doreyme

Joy#334 of, the first Christmas cactus flower blooming, watercolour 7.75x9.25, December 1.09

 

the ridiculously impractical , ridiculously expensive Plateau benches

 have now been winterized.  I wondered how these ergonomically stupid, aesthetically putrid benches were going to work in the winter, what with the snow + all.  I somehow thought they'd be carted away, with further expense, + tucked away until next summer.  I was so wrong.  Instead, they got four little striped Danger! Danger! bedsteads to protect our threatened knee caps. 

Oh my + these ridiculous slabs  are parked in the smack dab in the middle of the Plateau which houses the greatest number of artists in ALL of Canada.   Artists who would have appreciated a shot at designing actually cool + functional benches for their neighbourhood.   Hopefully with Project Montreal now in power in the Plateau, things will change...?  

Oh + re: the Project Montreal.  They're talking a lot of making new green spaces.  Super idea, especially if that includes green spaces for people who walk their dogs 365 days a year.  And hey, how about some garbage cans?  How is the urban forest supposed to stay clean without garbage cans?

 

first snow, Outremont 8:47, November 30.09

 

Joy#333, of, the smell of geraniums when you water them, 5x9, watercolour 30.09

 

Quebec director, Gilles Carle, Rest in Peace

more in today's Gazette  

Joy#332, of, the view of Mount-Royal from Rachel St. 22x30 Nov 29.09

 

Montreal artist/critic/teacher Henry Lehmann, Rest in Peace

 

more about Henry in today's Gazette

 

joy#331, of, a big watercolour for a change, 22x30 Nov 28.09

 

t***sk, t***sk

My husband, who works in Calgary on what is slowing becoming a hit show on CBC called not If This is Sunday It Must Be Heartland, but just Heartland, Sunday night at 7:00, sent me this picture today.  Hmmm.  Go Als Go...?! (Everything I know about football, which is miniscule, I learned from Friday Night Lights.)

 

This applies everywhere, naturally

Outremount, 8:52 November 27.09

 

joy#330, of, what the mountain looked like only 2 weeks ago, 8x8, watercolour, Nov27.09

 

Love this photo of boxer, Sugar Ray Robinson

 

story here, in NYTimes

 

joy#329, of, the Laurentians in late November, 8x8, watercolour, Nov26.09

 

Thursday Nov 26 in Montreal...

  

cloudy 
thursday

+9 to +6

Another great visualization about Kyoto targets. go Canada go! ...NOT

 the full picture

some startling statistics about Canadian casualties in Afghanistan

"Canadian forces are actually suffering the most. They're mostly deployed in the southern Kandahar, which adjoins the province of Helmand, where the bulk of British troops are posted. Both are Taliban strongholds.
And, if wounded soldiers are factored in, a shocking picture emerges."

"This is probably why the Canadian government is not releasing its figures for wounded soldiers (It took a leak to the Canadian Press news agencyto get the figures). (Important: these figures include all wounded, not just seriously wounded. The Canadian figures for 2009 are estimates. As ever you can check my figures and sources in this Google spreadsheet.) "

All this + much more at the amazing Information is Beautiful site.

 

now that's a cool present to give or receive

by good ol' Lego

 

Joy#328, of, clementines that come all the way from Morocco, 12x12, acrylic on linen paper, Nov. 24.09

 

Stupidly, I never gave my brushes much thought

where they come from

But now I know + the Kolinsky sable brushes are no longer on my Xmas list.  Instead, I learn Robert Simmons "White Sables" are a good synthetic substitution, Santa. 

 

Yikes!

 + it's not Tina Fey

More PQ humbug...

The PQ under the leadership of Pauline Marois (who I believe is still trying to sell her 8 million dollar castle, I mean, chateau) is again making noises about limiting access to English CEGEPs.   (CEGEPs are where most kids in Quebec go to after high school + before university + most of them are French institutions.)   Many Quebec kids (16-18 year olds!) who have not learned English even though they were born ,

smack dab in the middle of North America leap at the opportunity to learn + master English at the CEGEP level, visions of Harvard or MIT or SFU or U of T dancing in their heads.  This the PQ would once again, like to put an end to.  Anglo kids, on the most part, unless they have a certificate of eligibility must attend French language elementary + high schools according to Bill 101 or  they can go to a private school in the language of their choice if their parents can afford it.    Quebec has the highest percentage of students attending private schools in Canada, perhaps even in North America.  Maybe the world?!

 These children of Bill 101  (the Anglos, the immigrants)  have the opportunity of attending the  Sorbonne  or locally McGill after CEGEP, if their grades are up to snuff. As do the Francophone kids  who pick up enough English  at the few English campus CEGEPS in Quebec.  Until or unless the PQ has their way. 

Will the PQ seriously continue promoting restrictions on what language a sixteen to eighteen year old can STUDY in or is this just hot air?   Is it even constitutionally legal in Canada? 

It almost makes my head explode to think of this swarm of pensioned to the gills adults sitting around devising new ways to restrict the opportunities of young adults just embarking into this exceedingly difficult world! 

Anecdotally...most everyone I know knows a friend whose  kid knows the son or daughter of a hard-nosed PQ member or leader + the story is always similiar.  That PQ member/leader's kid or grandkid is so no accent in either language bilingual it would make your head spin...+ is off to some swanky university in London or Boston, etc.  + how did that happen?   Because the separatist's  kid went to school in Ontario...or in Vermont...or in New England, bypassing that local proletarian CEGEP thingie altogether.  

Is it true?  I wish some gung-ho investigative reporter or  doctoral student would do their dissertation on the education history of the PQ leaders children in the last 25 years.  That would make a dang good read, in either official Canadian language. 

joy#327, of, the beauty of the morning on the mountain, 12x12 oil on wood (incised) Nov 24.09

joy#326, of, granadilla passion fruit from Indonesia bought in a Provigo on St. Urbain St. 5x12 watercolour Nov 23.09

If it's Sunday, it must be Heartland, CBC at 7....

 

or watch it online here

Joy#325, of, the geraniums growing in the kitchen, 8x8, watercolour Nov22.09

Dressing for the weather. Today in Montreal...

+45°F

+30

and moderate wind

cloudy saturday

+7°C

−1

and moderate wind

+ on Sunday...

+6

−2

Joy#324, of, 7 Indian Aubergines from Sakaris on the Main, 5x9, watercolour Nov21.09

Mont-Royal, 8:36, November 20, 2009

Joy#323, of a new New Yorker + a good dog by your side, watercolour 14x19, Nov.20.09

Jeanne-Claude, RIP

 

Christo's wife+collaborator

joy#322, of the Laurentians, near Red Valley, watercolour 14x19, Nov.19.09

Are Quebecers stupid? Heartless?

what is wrong with us that we can't take care of our dogs?  A United Animals Nation organization, based in California  (granted, with the help of the SPCA in Ste. Agathe de Monts) needs to come to Quebec to save our dogs from cruel, abusive puppymill + dog-sled "keepers"?   Humbug. 

Montreal City hall may order owner to tear down funky Plateau resto front...

apparently it's too funky for the neighbourhood the city promotes as arty/funky.

Plus, the owner didn't have a permit, but he's already been fined, so that issue has been resolved.   But, seriously, a few blocks west, also on Duluth, the city of Montreal inspectors/officials watchkeepers of all things heritage + vintage + historic have allowed this wonderful specimen of aluminum siding at its finest to exist in the heart of funky resto-ville, Plateau. 

 

Also, a few more blocks west, the last elected borough officials allowed this type of thing to creep into our beautiful "heritage" neighbourhood...

 

Nothing against bed/mattress stores, but this is not a big box/costco area of town. We don't need 100 foot ugly signage to figure out this is the place one goes if one wants a bed or mattress.   So, dear city, before you make the owner tear down his $50, 000 store front that took FIVE MONTHS to build (how many city inspectors are on the payroll?) you may reconsider your inconsistent policies. 

Guido van der Werve, talk + film screening, Nov 19 at DHC, Montreal (465 St. Jean), 7PM

  

Dutch artist, Guido van der Werve talks about his works in the exhibition Living Time and presents the Canadian premiere of his new film nummer twalf (number twelve) variations on a theme. The king's gambit accepted, the number of stars in the sky and why a piano can't be tuned, or waiting for an earthquake (2009). 40 minutes.

The artist talk will be given in English - Programmed by Sarah Watson

465, St-Jean 

more info here

Joy#321, of the Laurentians, near Lachute even without the foliage, watercolour 12x9, Nov.18.09

A good thing, from the city of Montreal....

FIRST IMPRESSION A photography exhibition by the youth of Saint-Henri A project produced in collaboration with the artist Michael Flomen, la maison des jeunes La galerie, and Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal in the framework of the Ville de Montréal’s Programme de partenariat culture et communauté 2009 The exhibition is a result of an intensive workshop in which the young participants were brought into contact with contemporary photography through their interactions with a professional artist and through guided visits to the exhibitions of Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal. They experimented with exposing photographic paper directly to light, producing images that celebrate and trace elements from the urban environment of Saint-Henri.

Opening: November 18 at 6 pm

Caffé Mariani 4450 Notre-Dame West (close to Métro Saint-Henri) From November 18 – 30, 2009 For more information: 514-390-0383

This project has benefited from the financial support of the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec and the Ville de Montréal in the framework of l'Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal 2008-2011.

the light in the lighthouse

ho ho ho, who knew the Bobster was so funny?

Joy#320, of, not buying Sarah Palin's book, Nov.17.09

more here to jumpstart Monday