talking cat

places I've been

create your own visited country map

ode to the ikefish

These fish were jammed into this fence by Hurricane Ike.

This is my ode to them;

like rumplestiltskin, wrinkled and wasted,
not one hair on the chinny-chin-chin.
a flounder in the fence,
I'm an ikefish,
oh fuck, I'm fucked,
how did it come to this?

my friend over there,
comes complete with garnish,
easy lunch for a skinny cat,
with ribs like twigs,
fragile window slats.

I didn't ask for such a fate,
fuck! I was just swimming around
like nobody's business.
just one more wash of water,
please, oh please.

alice

Well, it's been a while...

But check out this excellent video.

the illusionist

I saw this last night with wifey and babby-in-utero.

I liked it.

J liked it.

Babby had no comment (just a couple of kicks and squirms).

You may like it.

tagged...again

My little (40 year old) sister has tagged me to state 5 things you might not (definitely don't) know about me over at her blog.

OK then...

When I was 12 years old my mother wanted me to be a ballet dancer, so I went and auditioned at the National School of Ballet in Toronto. I was readily accepted, in fact, they really wanted me. My brother started calling me a "fag", and of course, at that age, I did not need my sexuality to be questioned, so I backed out. Instead, I went to a boys' school outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we did lengthy canoe trips (600 + miles), snowshoe runs (up to 53 miles), weekend dog sled expeditions, and did all the cooking, cleaning and maintenance for the school. This time set me up with great inner strength that has stood me in good stead throughout my life.

I have always wanted to be a father - since I was about 18. Now, I am finally going to be a father at 45.

I speak French, Spanish and Portuguese, though I am not fluent in any of them. Spanish is easiest for me. Of course, I am fluent in English.

I came to Vancouver for a two week vacation 19 years ago, and have never left. I met my wife here 19 years ago, but it took us 18 years to get married. We got married last June 21st - our 18th "anniversary", and the longest day of the year.

Everyone is different, but I'm not the same.

Done!

for Tara

Tara wrote and asked that a new picture be posted (or an eye patch given to the dead man), because it was starting to freak her out.

I like Tara, and I don't want her to stop visiting, so I am putting up a random image for now.

I've been terribly busy lately, and just haven't had the time for blogging. Bummer. Things might get even more sporadic as the baby comes, and after... Only 5 weeks to go.

Stay tuned, I'll try to post more frequently. Honest.

happy christmas (or kwanzaa, hanukka, solstice, whatever)

This is me in 20 years...

oops! bah!

It seems that I have a lump of coal for a heart...

You're a Total Grinch

Ouch! You make the Grinch seem like Santa Claus. Holidays definitely aren't your thing. Just relax, and create your own tradition. Even if it's drinking spiked hot chocolate and heckling carolers.

Are You a Grinch?

happy flippin' birthday to me

Agh! Birthday again.

I'm not very big on my birthday - fact is, I don't like December at all.

Born 3 days before the longest night of the year. Darkness and brooding.

Born on a Monday afternoon - Monday's child is fair of face... Certainly I am better looking than my brother (huh?), but I ain't no Brad Pitt (it's his birthday today too...)

December just keeps on getting grimmer. When I was in university, my best friend was killed in a car wreck two days before my birthday. My Grandma, who I loved so dearly, died the day before my birthday in 2003. Then, last week, on the 14th, we had to euthanize one of the best friends I have ever known - our wonderful, beautiful dog Que. All I really look forward to is the days getting longer again after the solstice.

Don't call on the 'phone, don't e-mail me. Just look forward to spring.

I'm here in my silent Scream...

one of those days

Yesterday was one of those days.

I was going to help J, and we would have been done quite early, but...

First, we were going around and doing our pick-ups, and I shut off the motor to save gas, and so that J wouldn't have to breathe in exhaust fumes. When I tried to re-start the van, all I got was some clicking sounds. The battery had decided that it's useful life was finished. We called BCAA to come and give us a boost, and we were told that they were very busy, and that it would be about an hour.

Judy called a friend, who came and got her, and took her home to get my van so that she could continue to do pick-ups while I waited for BCAA. BCAA finally came over two hours later (they have been swamped all of this month). I got a boost, and went home to wait for BCAA's mobile battery service. That came about another hour and a half later, and I had a new battery installed for 150 bucks. Cost of doing business.

Shortly thereafter, J called me and said that my van wouldn't start. I was pretty sure that it wasn't the battery, because I had a new one just a couple of years ago. J called BCAA again, and they arrived about an hour and a half later, and determined that the starter was shot. They did get her going, and she continued on to drop off all the dogs. She had to leave the van running for every drop-off, as she wouldn't be able to get it going again.

She got my van to the mechanic, and it will cost about $250 for a new starter, plus another couple of hundred for labour. Meanwhile, my master brake cylinder has been failing for the last six months or so, so I asked the mechanic to replace that while the van was there. He looked at me and asked if we had won the lottery. The master cylinder will be another $300 or so - plus labour. By the time the day was over, we had incurred well over $1000 in vehicle repairs.

One step forward, and four giant leaps backwards...

I'm awfully glad that we don't do Christ! mas, though I'm sure that we just made the mechanic's Christ! mas a lot rosier.

My head hurts.

6 weird things about me

I have been "tagged" by Tara and babybull
to claim 6 weird things about myself. I guess tagged is like playing tag, but electronically, and now I'm it.

Here goes -

1) I don't like sweets, and never have. I don't like ice cream, soda pop, candies, cake, lolly pops, chips (not sweet, but still junk food...), pie, cookies, whatever. I never have, and when I was a kid, never even ate my birthday cake. I used to put it in the freezer, and save it for years.

2) I count my steps. Stairs, how many steps to the corner store, etc. Every step is counted.

3) I don't really get any older. People consistently think I'm ten years younger than I am.

4) I have a weird effect on clocks and watches - I slow them down. For this reason, I cannot wear a watch. When I used to visit my Grandma, her clocks would be about an hour slow after me staying there for 10 days or so.

5) I can tell you what time it is within three minutes - even if I have not seen a clock all day.

6) This is the weirdest thing. I asked J last night what was weird about me, and she said nothing. When pressed, she said I was not like other people, but that I am not weird, they are. Huh?

There are hundreds of things that I could tell you that could be construed as weird, but I don't want to freak anyone out.

Why do people run from solipsist? You wear clothes from the sixteenth century and yell All the World is a Stage over and over

'Why do people run from you?' at QuizGalaxy.com

la pluie

This was the view in Vancouver today. It does not show the downed trees and hydro wires, nor does it show the collapsed buildings.

It was an horrendous day. Not fit for man nor beast, yet J braved it this morning with six dogs, and I braved it this afternoon with 7 dogs. J got the worst of it, as it was pouring swimming pools of water, and the winds were very high. I had it better with intermittent downpours and lashing winds to 90km/h.

Was glad to get home after all that. It's nice to have a roof over one's head on a day like today.

remember

This is George Muggleton who fought in WWI.
He was a family friend of my Grandma, and it was he who wrote a letter to her from the trenches.

lest we forget

I'm a bit late on this post - I don't seem to find the time until the afternoon, or until much later at night.

Today is Remembrance Day. Let us remember all of the young men and women that died fighting for something they believed in. And let us remember all of the innocents that died too.

Canada has not had to protect itself since the War of 1812, but Canadians have always gone to war in support of the British Empire. In WWI it is said that we defined ourselves as a country by stepping up to help to defeat aggression in Europe. We did it again in WWII, Korea, Bosnia, Rwanda, etc. Now we have soldiers in Afghanistan.

I think a lot about this at this time of year, but I never wear a poppy until November 11th, and wear it only on that day. It seems that Remembrance Day has become Remembrance Month, which is not neccessarily a bad thing, but to me, diminishes the meaning of the day.

I learned the depth of that meaning from my Grandma, who lived through WWI, WWII, etc. She lost schoolmates and friends in WWI, and one of her most prized possessions was a letter from a family friend who wrote to her from the trenches in WWI. I have that letter here, and intend to give it to the grandson of the author. Grandma was a teacher, and lost a number of her former students in WWII. She took this day very seriously, and I learned from that. I remember all of that horror by proxy. As our Quebecois cousins say Je me souviens, although what they remember is not the same as what I am writing about.

What makes me very sad about this day is that we have not learned, and although we remember those who died fighting for their beliefs in freedom, we never listened to what those brave men and women tried to teach us - Never again!.

rain

rain gif "gifted" by Telus

Oh, brrr! Yuk!

Out and about with the hounds again today. Usually, this is an idyllic interlude from being rooted in front of this infernal machine, but today it was detestable. Cold and rainy it was.

The Ridgebacks (also known as Sun Dogs, or Lion Dogs) hate the cold and the rain just as much as I do. They are warm weather dogs who love to lay around in the sun and the shade alternately. I am a warm weather dog too. It's interesting, because they have the identical colour of hair as I, and are easy going and languorous in demeanour. Hey, they are really good-lookin' too!

J got soaked (as usual), but she likes to walk in the rain because there are less people around to take exception to a group of 6 or 7 dogs. I don't care about the people - I need warmth!

At least it is well above freezing. There is snow and very cold temperatures elsewhere. I still long for Mexico when this time of year comes though.

November begins

Out with the hounds again today. It was cold and bright again. Last night it was down to -2 deg. Celsius. Brrr! I'm a warm-weather person, so I don't like that much. It's better than living in Winnipeg, or Nunavut though.



It was "Club Ridgeback" today, with four of them. On Friday I'll have five - maybe even seven if Simba and Biko come. I love having a group of Ridgebacks, they are such cool dogs. They have very gentle mouths when taking anything from one's hands, and are stubborn, aloof, and lazy.



It is Uncle Allan's birthday today. Happy Birthday Uncle.

October ends

Here's a picture of the hounds that I walked today.

It was cold and crisp and bright. Summer is gone for sure.

I've been really busy working on my new blog - It had over 850 hits on it's first real day.

What have I done?

tangled web blog

Badajoz at dawn
photo by author

Web.
Blog.
Blog on Web.
Web on Blog on Web.

When I started this blog, I was not sure where it would go, or what it would turn into. I wanted it to be organic, and to evolve naturally. Looking back over the past month, I recognize that it is becoming a tangled web, dripping with dew, and catching nothing.

I am all over the place - politics, paintings, photo's, (un)real estate, ponderings upon ponderings as I wonder at the feast that is my life. Thus, I think that I will set up at least one more blog, and separate the ideas. People interested in my (un)real estate views are not necessarilly interested in my cat, or my alarm clock, etc., and those interested in morphs between photo's and paintings are not necessarily interested in politics.

Bear with me while I sort it out, and I will provide links to what you are looking for.
Edit - the link to vancouver (un)real estate is now in the sidebar.

El Nino

El Nino is supposed to affect us this winter, with warmer, drier weather. I like that kind of weather, but it is delusional to hope for it. We depend too much on the rain. This is, after all a rainforest, and we need more vegetation, and less fires.

September 21st is officially the last day of summer, but summer held until this past weekend - when we had real rain for the first time in months, and the daytime temperatures dropped from 20C to 12/13C. Just as well really, as we needed rain, and will need it over the winter to replenish the snow pack - else we stand to have water problems next summer. It's pretty good though, it is the weather that kept me here - cloudy with light rain in the morning, then sunshine in the afternoon, and then maybe rain at night.

I do welcome El Nino home none the less.