A weekend (and a year) of celebrations across Canada….150 years young…..but is it really?
Oh how I love history! An item on my “to do” list before I pop my clogs is to work towards, and obtain, my BA Mediaeval History. Cambridge University is where I’d love to be (I do love England) but University of St. Michaels College here in Toronto is also an excellent choice and know for their studies in Mediaval history. The bucket list is not long, just really big projects.
Again I seem to running in circles while Mother Nature seems to suffer from severe indecisiveness. Dark, ominous clouds roll in, thunder and lightning key up together, sheet rain hits, cue hail and the next thing you know the sun is shining. It’s warm, it’s cool, it’s hot, it’s chilly….make up your mind. I’m not sure if I should be dressing in sandals, sneakers or boots. One thing is for sure, the plants and trees are loving it! So many rich and varied shades of green have been added to the landscape palette and the flowers just enhance it all. For all her varied moods, Mother Nature has created a most beautiful spring. Now, if the weeks would just slow down a bit….
Another week, another childhood music idol walks among the immortal choir. No sooner had we hosed off the glitter and put away our vinyl copies of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” we learned that Eagles founder Glenn Frey had passed from complications related to his dependence on medication to control severe rheumatoid arthritis and acute colitis.
Life happens (or maybe it occurs), either way my plans for today’s column were short circuited by a few happenstance events that tumbled into each other this past weekend. A visit, a text, a ticket, a song and two remarkable performances by two gifted artists. One who is just beginning on his journey and another who’s journey began over 50 years ago. This is the blues.
Happy 2016, ev-ree-baw-daaaaay.
Woo! Howz everybody feel?
We’re all here to partaaaaaay!!
OMG!!! I can barely contain myself from bouncing around in my seat. There is not one part of my body that is not vibrating. Finally, unencumbered by my theatre seat, the urge gives way to pure, uninhibited “singing and dancing in the aisles”. I just about vaulted over my seatmate beside me to rush the stage and boogie up a storm. It is so liberating to let it just take over. What an encore!!!! Thankfully, my good friend and date for the evening, Pat Kelly, encourages this irrational behaviour. Gotta love him.
I don’t get out much. Living in suburbia is bad enough; being unable to drive only compounds the isolation. Still, there are times when I brave Toronto’s transit and hit the big city. This is about one such time, just this week.
Rolling Stone Magazine recently released their latest ‘list’, “The 100 Greatest Songwriters” rollingstone.com). Let me repeat that title, “The 100 Greatest Songwriters”. Their descriptive line states “From Brill Building tunesmiths to Punk poets, from Woody Guthrie to Max Martin, the visionaries who defined music history.”
My bones are aching like they’ve been played by a mad vibraphonist. Ah, the perils of live performance. The agony of the feet.But ah, the joys as well!
Before I begin my review, I have to say that I have the utmost respect for anybody who sits down (or stands up for that matter) to write a book…whether fiction or non-fiction. The amount of time and effort in research and the blood, sweat and tears that it takes to actually write it, can be monumental. Having contributed to over a dozen books, I know that it takes true dedication and can’t be undertaken lightly. Writing a book can (and often does) take over your life.
Bullseye Records of Canada
