* not with ink

There were no formerly heroic times, and there was no formerly pure generation. There is no one here but us chickens, and so it has always been: a people busy and powerful, knowledgeable, ambivalent, important, fearful, and self-aware: a people who scheme, promote, deceive, and conquer; who pray for their loved ones, and long to flee misery and skip death. It is a weakening and discolouring idea, that rustic people knew God personally once upon a time - or even knew selflessness or courage or literature - but that it is too late for us. In fact, the absolute is available to everyone in every age. There never was a more holy age than ours, and never a less. from For the Time Being by Annie Dillard Thoughts, anyone?

Coldplay Someone asked me recently what I thought about this article that references a quote from Coldplay lead Chris Martin, admitting that their lyrics "are a bit sh*t." So this is what I think: a. An artist can say that they aren't super-fond or proud of some of their works - but I don't like how the article then picks which lyrics they think are dumb. What if those particular ones are ones Martin is proud of? b. In a song/poem/work of art, not every single stroke or line is the focal point. On their own, they may even seem bizarre or pointless. But if, together, they make a piece of art, then that is the point. And I happen to think that, as a whole, Coldplay's songs are certainly above par, both musically and lyrically. c. I also think (in an only vaguely related thread) that it is strange how Coldplay is doing so much publicity around their new album. Have they ever done this before? Why are they doing it now? It is making me slightly suspiciou

Today has been a great day, except for the part where I got sucked in to watching Glee . Which is completely my own fault. But previous to this caving-of-the-self-will, I had the most encouraging and terrifying conversation of the year. And earlier in the day, it was confirmed that I will now have one job and one job only. Let's round off the day with a song. A song I hope to see performed next Tuesday, when I see this duo in concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   And now maybe another song.

I'm on a major literary/creativity kick. I have stacked up seven library books that now need devouring. The first one I cracked open is called Road-side Dog by Czeslaw Milosz. In it, he writes: My knowledge is limited, my mind puny. I tried hard, I studied, I read many books. And nothing. In my home, books spill from the shelves; they lie in piles on furniture, on the floor, barring passage from room to room. I cannot, of course, read them all, yet my wolfish eyes constantly crave new titles. In truth, my feeling of limitation is not permanent. Only from time to time an awareness flares of how narrow our imagination is, as if the bones of our skull were too thick and did not allow the mind to take hold of what should be its domain. I should know everything that's happening at this moment, at every point on the earth .I should be able o penetrate the thoughts of my contemporaries and of people who lived a few generations ago, and two thousand and eight thousand years ago. I

For those of you who actually visit this blog instead of just reading it through a feed (Mom & Sarah and maybe a few others?), I updated the look! I also added my "Letters to Strangers" as a tab right at the top of the page, and then formatted that blog to have a unified look. I wanted something super streamlined. Thoughts? Any other changes I should instigate?

I had a fantastic day in Hamilton yesterday. I know that Hamilton is a town many people love to hate, but I kind of like it. As I drove down from Mississauga, in a UHaul driven by my delightful friend Amelia (who could hardly be seen by other drivers), we came into the city, and she said, "You know, if you could just cover up that part, it's a really beautiful city." And she was right, with a hand out to hide the factories/industrial whatever-they-are from our view, it was beautiful. "Varun calls it Mordor and The Shire," she concluded. I think I made a new friend as we painted some accent walls in Amelia & Varun's new place. And then, after an afternoon of unpacking and cleaning and painting, I went off for coffee with another friend. Coffee turned into dinner, and before you know it, she and her husband and I were passing around a crossbow and talking about hunting. NO JOKE. We talked about a lot of other things too: mostly life and Jesus and

It is too bad that "going dancing" always takes a sour turn. And is inevitably a kind of sad reflection of our culture's distorted longings. (Cougars? Weird. Old men with young women? Weird. Men circling the dance floor watching women? Weird. Women getting all sexy with strangers? Weird.) I just want to dance . There are several creative things I want to do this month. I have a collaborative creative project on the go (read: neglected). Then I came across two international collaborative art-for-the-masses projects: Inside Out What Does Your Soul Look Like? I'd like to submit an article to this . And enter this contest . Instead, I am currently watching Ellen interview Taylor Swift.

1. Life is full of things to do and thoughts to sort out* and those are the two things that keep me from blogging. Neither is showing any let up, so who knows how much I will post in the rest of this month. Also, WHERE DID OCTOBER GO?! It's pretty much over, according to my calendar. 2. On the weekend, my older brother mentioned how he was pleasantly surprised by the message behind Lil Wayne's How to Love. Even this brief comment was enough to get that hook in my head. (Earworm: the only type of bug I like more often than not.) Well done, Lil Wayne. 3. I have a dilemma. A ways back, I gave myself a little challenge that was actually quite fun for awhile. But now, I'm not sure my motivation is  healthy anymore. Or if it's even possible to complete it. But I don't like to be a quitter. And time is running out while I hem and haw and stall. What to do!? 4. Tomorrow I leave for a weekend of celebration in Vancouver and Whistler. It is the

It's voting season; I think we Ontarians go to the polls on Thursday. I am, as usual, an uninformed voter. Time is running short. I won't vote Conservative, I'll tell you that. I dislike that their attack ads started before the election was even called. I dislike that they referred to McGuinty's "sneaky eco-tax." The whole thing bothered me. Immensely. I don't feel confident in the NDP - although they're popular these days, are they actually prepared to lead the province? That leaves the Liberals... Although I find their TV ads convincing (Dalton McGuinty seems to have accomplished a lot in the last four years), I am sure there's more to the story. The problem is, I don't fully trust anyone to be who they say they are during the lead up to an election. Opinions? Thoughts? Pressing issues that you would like me to consider in casting my vote?

Help me, please. Which concert should I go to? Die Mannequin Anna Calvi The Civil Wars Hey Rosetta! (The Jezabels) The Rural Alberta Advantage Deer Tick Elliott Brood (One Hundred Dollars) Hey Ocean Dan Mangan (The Daredevil Christopher Wright + The Crackling) Besnard Lakes (Malajube, The Darcys) Ra Ra Riot (Dinosaur Bones) Neon Indian (Com Truise, Purity Ring) Loney Dear Wakey Wakey Star Slinger (I'm too lazy to link to videos for each band. This is what happens after two consecutive night out until the weeeeeeeee hours of the morning. It's 9:30 and my eyes will hardly stay open. Totally worth it, but don't know how people do this more than once every four months or so.)