Following with the musical theme, it's been a long, long time since I've seen an artist live that I would get really excited about.
Currently I can think of 5 artists which I would LOVE to see- ranking them "can't sleep excited" to "very excited" would be the following: Gavin DeGraw, Jason Mraz, James Morrison, Eric Hutchison and Amos Lee. Now you may be saying to yourself "Jbear, aren't these all somewhat unshaven, late-twenties white males (ok Amos might be half black) who write about quarter-life crisis, lost love, a lack of self-identity?
Yes.
But as Mr. Pysanka would attest- I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their music regardless of the similar theme behind it. For a long time (read years) I've indulged my habit of checking their websites on a monthly basis to ascertain whether anyone of them were coming to a venue (read Canadian city) near me. Imagine my delight and subsequent horror last month when I realized that Jason Mraz was indeed coming to Toronto on August 15- ONE DAY AFTER I LEAVE. Now usually this is when I would immediately call corporate travel and extend my trip- but we're leaving for Montana that day so this plan (although potentially blindly simple) was foiled. I shed a couple tears (no, not really) and moved on, with only the occasional lament to Mr.Pysanka about what a travesty that was.
Anyhoo- fast forward to last week where I happen to catch an announcer on the radio explaining about how great a certain artist is to see live- however I tuned in too late because I didn't get the name. But using detective skills honed during my blockwatch days, I deduced by the faint refrain of "I'm Yours" that perhaps they were referring to Jason Mraz. I made a mental note to check his website when I got to work but in midst of meetings, powerpoints and bossing people around I forgot to check. I got home from work and was chatting with Mr. Pysanka when I remembered the radio show and immediately went to Jason Mraz's website, frantically scrolled through the tour dates to see if perhaps my dream was coming true.
Sure enough, JASON MRAZ IS COMING TO CALGARY OCTOBER 2. I shrieked, I cried (no, not really) and immediately called Sisterbear to alert her of the news.
Long story short, by joining the fan club I permitted to purchase tickets at the pre-sale which began at 10am on Wednesday. Acting quickly, I bumped a client meeting to allow me to be on-line at precisely 10am and we now have THIRD ROW SEATS for his show at the Jubilee on October 2.
My apologies for the prolific use of caps- I wasn't sure how else to express my excitement. Because I am excited. Very excited.
July 12, 2009
Man in the Mirror
July 8, 2009
On marriage
Interesting thoughts on marriage:
The fundamental question we must ask ourselves at the beginning of the century is this: What is the purpose of marriage? Is it — given the game-changing realities of birth control, female equality and the fact that motherhood outside of marriage is no longer stigmatized — simply an institution that has the capacity to increase the pleasure of the adults who enter into it? If so, we might as well hold the wake now: there probably aren't many people whose idea of 24-hour-a-day good times consists of being yoked to the same romantic partner, through bouts of stomach flu and depression, financial setbacks and emotional upsets, until after many a long decade, one or the other eventually dies in harness.
Or is marriage an institution that still hews to its old intention and function — to raise the next generation, to protect and teach it, to instill in it the habits of conduct and character that will ensure the generation's own safe passage into adulthood? Think of it this way: the current generation of children, the one watching commitments between adults snap like dry twigs and observing parents who simply can't be bothered to marry each other and who hence drift in and out of their children's lives — that's the generation who will be taking care of us when we are old.
I'm not sure it's ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN, (won't SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?)but I do think that there is value to being married.
The fundamental question we must ask ourselves at the beginning of the century is this: What is the purpose of marriage? Is it — given the game-changing realities of birth control, female equality and the fact that motherhood outside of marriage is no longer stigmatized — simply an institution that has the capacity to increase the pleasure of the adults who enter into it? If so, we might as well hold the wake now: there probably aren't many people whose idea of 24-hour-a-day good times consists of being yoked to the same romantic partner, through bouts of stomach flu and depression, financial setbacks and emotional upsets, until after many a long decade, one or the other eventually dies in harness.
Or is marriage an institution that still hews to its old intention and function — to raise the next generation, to protect and teach it, to instill in it the habits of conduct and character that will ensure the generation's own safe passage into adulthood? Think of it this way: the current generation of children, the one watching commitments between adults snap like dry twigs and observing parents who simply can't be bothered to marry each other and who hence drift in and out of their children's lives — that's the generation who will be taking care of us when we are old.
I'm not sure it's ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN, (won't SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?)but I do think that there is value to being married.
July 6, 2009
July 4, 2009
Stampede 2009
Calgary is the midst of it's annual stampede where corporate Calgary shifts its focus from oil and gas to saving horses by riding cowboys. And yes that is the title of a country song.
CATTY has made fond stampede memories and I will cherish these forever. But I am having a hard time finding my stampede spirit this year. Maybe it's the fact that I am stuck at the university- in the world of academia with nary a pancake breakfast in sight. Or maybe I have seen too many too short denim skirts and low cut gingham blouses, but I am less than enthused about stampede this year. This is not to say that I won't wear jeans to work next week, I warmly embrace that peripheral benefit.
Who knows, maybe the stampede spirit will strike next week when I sneak downtown a couple mornings to eat pancakes and bacon.
July 1, 2009
Princess CATTY
I was looking through some pictures on my computer and wanted to bring your attention to AGM 2009 - Against All Odds where Reshree and my activity was to have a CATTY birthday party - complete with invitations, hats, princess napkins, blizzards and gifts. We even had a game! It just reminded me again that no matter what we do, there is no one else I would rather spend time with - especially when we can be street.
June 27, 2009
Three Things
In no particular order, three things I have been meaning to post on:
1. My Garden Part I- In our (ok, my) quest to be a quintessential inner city/urban dweller, Mr. Pysanka and I have a community garden plot roughly the size of a graveyard plot. We planted seven potato plants, 1 1/2 rows of onions and 1 1/2 rows of carrots. The yield from our humble crops will likely feed us for only a few meals, but my reaction towards the garden has shocked me. I CAN'T STOP WATCHING IT. Almost every night I (or Mr. Pysanka and I) trundle down the hill to check on it's progress. I am so delighted in the simple law of the harvest- you really can reap what you sow! All of our plants have come up and are growing nicely. I am already planning what type of meals we could have with only garden produce (and some sort of meat).
2. My Garden Part II- On my daily walk to our garden I pass a house with a dog tied to a rope in someone's front yard. You can tell that he is desperate for attention because when he sees someone walk by he hurriedly grabs the old worn chew toy which sits beside him and runs to the fence. He then drops the chew toy by the fence and presumably wants you to pick it up and throw it. The first couple times he did this I was reluctant to play along because I don't make it a habit of putting my hand over the fences into the yards of strange dogs. But my love of animals overcame me and I hesitantly reached in, grabbed the dirty toy and threw it for him. Sure enough, that was exactly what he wanted and proceeded to retrieve the toy and drop it in front of me to play again. It causes a piece of my heart ache because this dog is so lonely and clearly just wants attention. I briefly entertained the idea of knocking on the owner's door and offering to walk him for free, but thought that might be perceived as crazy. Thus, for now I will just play fetch with him a few times whenever I pass by his house. So sad.
3. MJ- I was in the Petro-Can elevator returning from the annual compensation & bonus presentation with a colleague when we looked up at the tv screen and heard the news. The elevator full of strangers produced a collective gasp and people began commenting to each other on whether it could be really be true. Anyone who has ever ridden an elevator knows that this broke all protocol- in elevators one should keep their eyes straight ahead and only make cursory comments about the weather, if necessary. As I got off on my floor, I rushed back to the computer to begin trying to verify the news.
As I drove to volleyball that evening, as least three stations were playing commercial free Michael Jackson for hours at a time. Like most of us born in the 80's Michael Jackson was part of our childhood soundtrack. I vaguely remember as a 4 year old attending my aunt's wedding and tiredly dancing with my Dad, waiting for the DJ to play "Beat It" as I had been promised he would. This weekend as Mr. Pysanka and I have been out, a lot of the music heard in passing cars, shops or on the street is Michael Jackson. For a reason I can't pinpoint, I am enjoying this collective appreciation and celebration of great, untouchable music. While his life was not without criticism and controversy, he made undeniably great music.
Jbear.
1. My Garden Part I- In our (ok, my) quest to be a quintessential inner city/urban dweller, Mr. Pysanka and I have a community garden plot roughly the size of a graveyard plot. We planted seven potato plants, 1 1/2 rows of onions and 1 1/2 rows of carrots. The yield from our humble crops will likely feed us for only a few meals, but my reaction towards the garden has shocked me. I CAN'T STOP WATCHING IT. Almost every night I (or Mr. Pysanka and I) trundle down the hill to check on it's progress. I am so delighted in the simple law of the harvest- you really can reap what you sow! All of our plants have come up and are growing nicely. I am already planning what type of meals we could have with only garden produce (and some sort of meat).
2. My Garden Part II- On my daily walk to our garden I pass a house with a dog tied to a rope in someone's front yard. You can tell that he is desperate for attention because when he sees someone walk by he hurriedly grabs the old worn chew toy which sits beside him and runs to the fence. He then drops the chew toy by the fence and presumably wants you to pick it up and throw it. The first couple times he did this I was reluctant to play along because I don't make it a habit of putting my hand over the fences into the yards of strange dogs. But my love of animals overcame me and I hesitantly reached in, grabbed the dirty toy and threw it for him. Sure enough, that was exactly what he wanted and proceeded to retrieve the toy and drop it in front of me to play again. It causes a piece of my heart ache because this dog is so lonely and clearly just wants attention. I briefly entertained the idea of knocking on the owner's door and offering to walk him for free, but thought that might be perceived as crazy. Thus, for now I will just play fetch with him a few times whenever I pass by his house. So sad.
3. MJ- I was in the Petro-Can elevator returning from the annual compensation & bonus presentation with a colleague when we looked up at the tv screen and heard the news. The elevator full of strangers produced a collective gasp and people began commenting to each other on whether it could be really be true. Anyone who has ever ridden an elevator knows that this broke all protocol- in elevators one should keep their eyes straight ahead and only make cursory comments about the weather, if necessary. As I got off on my floor, I rushed back to the computer to begin trying to verify the news.
As I drove to volleyball that evening, as least three stations were playing commercial free Michael Jackson for hours at a time. Like most of us born in the 80's Michael Jackson was part of our childhood soundtrack. I vaguely remember as a 4 year old attending my aunt's wedding and tiredly dancing with my Dad, waiting for the DJ to play "Beat It" as I had been promised he would. This weekend as Mr. Pysanka and I have been out, a lot of the music heard in passing cars, shops or on the street is Michael Jackson. For a reason I can't pinpoint, I am enjoying this collective appreciation and celebration of great, untouchable music. While his life was not without criticism and controversy, he made undeniably great music.
Jbear.
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