to be hip, or not to be

Doobie Brothers Road Trip.

2012-02-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

I wassitting in the library, not at « work », but working on my thesis. Well, in all honesty I was looking at my screen thinking intelligent thoughts about Acadie, whilelistening to Classic Rock. The Doobie Brother’s “China Grove” came on my Itunes. (go ahead, play it)

My foot started to tap. I possibly did some subtle air-guitar playing.Nonetheless, it put me in a good mood, as it usually does. I was transported tomy dream land, a land where my dreams come true and everything's nice. Ah yes. I imagined me takingthe road trip I’ve been meaning to take, across America. Summertime. Windowsdown, classic rock blaring, sticking my hand out and feeling the pressure ofthe air in and under my hand. Stopping in interesting towns. Eating interestingfood. Laughing uncontrollably with fatigue. Almost running out of gas a fewtimes. Sleeping in a tent, and once, at a cheap motel because it was raining to damn hard.
Lots of coffee cups in the backseat.

All of this ignites the flame that lights up who I really am.

Here's a picture of my 2 great friends, when we took a road trip to New Orleans last year... the dream continues, but the dream is now. I'm going to make my dreams come true. (apologies for sounding so cliché. actually, I'm not sorry. I'm proud of my clichéness). Leave a comment. About anything that makes your foot tap, or about your dreams. Be sappy with me, my friends. Peace ;)

Afternoon Groceries on my bike.

2012-02-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

The splendor of a warm afternoon rain unearthed the beauty in the misty air as I rode my bike to the grocery store.
Pedalling allows me to glide through the world. Freer than most folks stuck in their cars. I feel closer to the trees. I feel every little bump below me. I hear things I'd never heard.
Time is no longer measured by anxious small moments that have deadlines so near you can taste them. Heart pounding and short breaths.
Time is measured by the endless possibility of tomorrow and of the upcoming year. Life is eternal. As long as you feel its Energy. The heart smiles and you breathe fully.
A little girl with hair so blond in a car with her mom stopped at the corner where I was waiting to cross. She was probably 12. Her shy gaze looked up at me, down at her lap, and back up at me. I smiled. She smiled back.
She was me at that age.
A glance in a mirror.
What have I accomplished in 15 years? What have I endured?
I remembered who I was then, a girl that wanted to save the rainforests, play with monkeys. I was going to change the world. And by night I was a ninja.
Possibilities. Growing older closes doors that actually cannot be closed because all we have are windows. It's all about how you choose to see.
I wondered for a moment what the girl thought about me.
Sometimes I feel so connected to my surroundings, it's as though I am them and they are me. Maybe that's why I have so much faith in others.
Easier to get hurt.
I'm so grateful that I get the chance to have a 'bike' kind of life. My days have movement.
Our lives are but a passing wind, from childhood to the last breath. I want to fill my days with love from now on.

Surprise!...here's Life.

2012-01-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

Life as a Surprise.

Some people will surprise you in good ways, and unfortunately, others will surprise you in very bad ways, something you would never have expected from them.

It may throw you on the ground, and you may feel as though the dust inhibits you from breathing and from properly seeing the world spinning around you.

Just wait for the dust to settle. It'll come in a day, a week, maybe a month. But it will come.

And when it does, you will lift yourself off of the ground, and you will find a new, beautiful path that you had never seen before. Maybe you will hop on a train and end up somewhere new. Or maybe you'll stay somewhere familiar, as strong as ever.

Nevertheless, just hold on to that invisible thing that is Hope. It'll get you through anything my dears.

Love,

ps: and if not, eat dark chocolate and drink coffee.

Alone in Learning

2012-01-24T17:07:00.000-08:00

You don't expect that the people you love in your life may not always be there, especially by choice. But it happens.
They will shock you.
And you try to deal with it best you can. Even if it means serious workouts followed by eating dark chocolate while watching comedies from the 80's. And hugs from your friends. Many of those. Because sometimes the tears are going to fall even if you hate that you've been reduced to that, but the hugs make you feel less alone. We're only human.
So this brings me to the thought I have in my mind this week: being alone.

I think I've been waiting a while to find someone that would want to experience life with me. Someone that genuinely would enjoy going on my sometimes silly adventures.
But what if I can't find someone willing to do that with me?
I'm going to have to plan on doing these things alone.

I have a Bucket List with over 40 entries. I'm sure that list will grow to exceed 100. It gives me satisfaction to scratch off one more thing accomplished.

I've decided to make a list of some of those things that I want to do this year. I can't wait for that impossible person to join me. So far, I am going to:

skydive
Finish Masters degree
a trip to Alberta
Go to Italy to study here (http://www.adg.it/) (may be far-fetched, but I'm going to try my best)
Yoga outside at Sunset & at Sunrise
lots & lots of camping and hiking
purchase a DSLR

2011-10-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

Don't forget to check out my bucket list! (I really want to know what you all are yearning to do as well! leave comments! That would make my day)

Also, there's my 'Let's play nice' blog, where I recently posted a link to a great non-profit organization...that I think you should check out!

Don't forget to "follow me", that way I'll know if anyone's actually reading this...lol

Hope you all have a safe and thrilling Halloween!

*Keeping the people in Thailand in my thoughts*

Out of the Darkness walk

2011-10-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday's Out of the Darkness walk was a success on so many different levels:

Emotionally - It was an important day for so many families who gathered to remember the ones they love. Pictures of the deceased adorned many of the personalized tshirts.
Financial Success - The money raised will be used in various ways. One of them is that they have implented programs in many of the schools in the Acadiana region to raise awareness and offer help to kids in need.
Awareness - the word suicide makes people uncomfortable. But it is indeed an illness, a mental illness, that is as real as cancer or other illnesses. The more people know about it, the less obscure it becomes, and the more they will be willing to learn about how to deal with those that need help.

I decided to walk in Jamie Hubley's memory, a 15-year old who after battling depression, ended his life not even 2 weeks ago. He'd also been bullied for being openly gay. I posted a picture of Jamie, a beautiful soul, on the 'Memory Wall':

Before they released the balloons, they named so many names of people that had committed suicide. Jamie's name was called.
I wrote "Be Free." in my balloon.

Here's to Jamie.

There's still time to donate to this cause, up until December. Follow this link if you want to (it's a secure site):

http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=1338&participantID=226674

Meet me (poem)

2011-10-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

As autumn takes its time to transform itself into its full splendor, I became self-reflective, and thankfully, another poem was born:

Meet me

I want tomeet you

And feellike I’ve known you before

I want youto meet me in

The fieldwhere Autumn

Offers ablanket of leaves for

To lay,under the tree where

You let melay my head

On you. AndI’ll look deep

Into youreyes, world winds

Whirlwind emotionsspin

Abound

Dreamsalive

And I’llknow that you were mine once before

In a pastlife where we

Werelovers, grown old together.

And theleaves shall fall around us.

And the sunwill set

Kissing theday goodbye.

GT.2011.

Festival-ing

2011-10-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Things I learned at Festival Acadien et Créole this year:

- although we like to complain about the dust, it's a great conversation topic. People love to talk about it, whether about how much there is, and afterwards, about how when you blow your nose.. well you can imagine.
- I've added 2 guys on my list of: do not dance with them. ever. again.
- Wayne Toups and Steve Riley = good times.
- Even if you're 27 (me), many people still believe you're under the age of 21...
- Canadians enjoy alligator-on-a-stick and beignets a whole lot.
- this Festival is awesome because most of the Festival goers are in a great mood! (it does not matter wether this happiness is alcohol-induced or not)
- force yourself, using any strength you have left, to go to the Blue Moon afterwards, each night. it's worth it, even if you feel like a sardine.
- Monday comes around and you realize how much stuff you need to get done. Reality sets in. Sad times. It shall be a week of intense studying. If you need me, i'll be at a coffee shop somewhere in Lafayette.

Looking forward to the next one!

Cheers mes amis

So for now, here's what's up

2011-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Updates up the yazoo.
In case you care, I've scratched off a second item off my Bucket List (I fed a giraffe...twice!) You can check out my list here :)

Do you have a list?? I'd love to know about it. I find that having one has allowed me to live life with a 'let's do it!' attitude.

I've also got a Blog part deux on the go... Here's the first post. It's a blog about doing great things in this world...how to make it a nicer, happier place!

Cheers friends! Remember to tell someone I love you today

Autumn and decisions

2011-08-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

I started this blog post a few weeks ago:

Takin’ life by the horns.

That sounds like a saying PETA would object… In any case, in our lifetime, we often find ourselves afraid of everything. We’re more afraid of things, people, events, than not. Except if you’re Bob Marley. Don’t worry…about a thing. Those kinds of cats exhude relaxation. Ignoring the possible help of a certain herbal supplement.

We are afraid of consequences; “If I make this decision, maybe it’ll end up biting me in the...derrière.” Alright, so maybe that will happen. Maybe not. Nobody knows. Today’s society finds us all wrapped in a big blanket of anxiety, and stress.

I asked myself this week: if I had one year to live (I am aware of this seemingly overused philosophy), would I live differently? Think differently? We all know we would, but how to put this into action?

Step 1: Foregoing an assistantship in order to have a more peaceful frame of mind.

Life isn't meant to be really easy and all fun.
I want to chronicle how some of this goes. I think it would be fun if any of you would join along with me...maybe blog about it, let me know about it, or just leaving a comment.

For now, as leaves fall and autumn embraces us in a pumpkin-spiced word....let's be grateful for what we do have, and pray that the rest will fall into place.

it's about Time and no Time.

2011-03-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

I feel as though I'm about to write something really cliché.
Home. Love. Life. Decisions. FriendsFreedomFinances!! ...are but some thoughts I am having.
I'm near the crossroads ya'll and it's scary.
Afraid of disappointment. Disappointing me? Others? Who?
Do I stay in the USA? Do I go back to school right after I graduate from my MA.? Do I travel?
Will I find love?!
What would Kerouac do?

It's
poem. Time.

What are Thoughts
what are Awakenings
what is the truth.
What is the right
thing
to do.

Who says what decision is right
and who is right to make the decision
They are but our longings wants
needs desires
There is no right thing to do because
life is a million causes and
effects
of which we have no control
And not being able to predict
the Future the only power we
have is the power to make
a Decision.
Right or right.
(Feb. 26.2011) .GT.

I'll be home for Christmas

2010-12-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

I’ve always read, heard, or watched films about people going home for the holidays. But this is my first being the one ‘going home’. I’m sitting on a plane, flying from New Orleans to Philadelphia, and then connecting to Halifax. Home. It’s dark in the cabin, we’re approaching supper time. The sun is setting on the horizon which we are leaving behind, casting oranges and red, purple shadows upon the clouds. It’s a little surreal for me, going home for Christmas. It feels very grown-up like. I have a life in the USA now.

Cherishing memories is what I do best. Perhaps it makes me appear dorky. Call me what you will. I love Christmas. I love my family and my friends and my cat. I love Christmas carols, Christmas lights, Christmas spirit, I love wrapping gifts in front of our fireplace while listening to Christmas carols, my cat watching me and playing with the random bits of wrapping paper. I love baking festive cookies with my mom, watching all the classic Christmas movies, and that feeling I whenever I pass by a house that is brightly lit. I love watching the snow flakes fall, glittering on the ground, shimmering sideways as they pass by the window. I love going for walks in the snow, how it crunches underneath my boots. I love Christmas Eve, it’s peaceful anticipation of the day to come. All these reasons and a million more for why I can't wait to be home.

My musical soundtrack for the plane ride is a méli-mélo of who I am: eclectic. Bing Crosby, Bobby Helms, and Tony Bennett sing me Christmas songs. Alanis is telling me what she really wants. And Arlibido talking about jiggling Jell-o.

(Do not Flush while sitting on toilet) – I’ve always been (probably too) amused by this saying. What would happen?

I am home now. It feels wonderful. It baffles me how strong the element of familiarity can be. I look forward to the upcoming weeks. And I will no doubt keep ya'll informed.

Love always,

me.

I feel you water

2010-09-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Water is Life.

Perhaps a phrase heard one too many times. Maybe too obvious to ring true anymore.
But, possibly one that holds so much beauty in its grasp, that it deserves reconsideration. Hear me out.

I sit on a black, metal bench, a few feet away from the Girard Park pond. Unconscious glances suddenly revealed to me the magnetic force of water. Literally, water has long been linked to the moon, the latter exercising a strong magnetic pull which creates the tide. Mi'kmaq legends explain the tides as a massive whale in the water, which I'll gladly accept as well.

The pond is encircled by people. People of all ages. Families. Couples (one Mexican couple making out in the gazebo. Right in front of me).

In today's world, people...families rarely get together to just Be. But here, families are just strolling, enjoying each other's company. They are being.

Dogs frolick. The ducks, travelling in groups like troubadours, quacking for food, or like vagabonds, swim in the water, feeding, cleaning themselves.

Children happily throw them bread, a lifesource. Two girls, two sweet twins, their faces chocolate-colored, their dressed of a soft yellow which ties in the back in a big ol' bow, hair piled up high, throw bread, believing this is a first for the ducks. Excitement. Compassion.
There is a unifying force here at play.

We are all connected here, in 'l'Acadie Tropicale'. 1755 tore families apart. The sea quickly then became a dreadful enemy, a symbol of despair, of the ripping apart. But it then became the way of life, and also for many similar cases for the Acadians exiled to Southern Louisiana.

how many thousands of organisms life in the water before my naked eyes? (Boggles the mind. It should, because the inter-connectedness of those creatures are as instrumental to our equilibrium as any other element.)

A teenage girl feeds McDonald's fries to the ducks. I suppose everything deserves a treat now and then. And high cholesterol.

Three ducks speed past me, wings flapping the top layers of the pond ferociously-happily. The pre-speedboats. Environmentally-friendly.

We may think we control our World, nature. Our egos tell us we are the Kings of this 21st Century concrete-jungle.

But the ducks, the pond, show us otherwise. As the trees surrounding it (and in it), drinking Mother Nature's gift, let us reflect on the delicate drop. The meaning of the water. The clouds that circle all around us all. Nothing really seperates us. Look at the ducks next time, as a child does.
Remind yourself how they need water to Be.
And we do too.

2010-08-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

i'm a romantic.
Not a cinderella-romantic. Although I love Disney.
i'm a Wordsworth romantic: (example) "For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes the still, sad music of humanity"

Lately, things in my life have seemingly shifted but on the surface have stayed the same. Like a leaf in the wind.

Love. Life. Living Life. Loving Life. Living to Love. The last one fits most clearly.

No matter what we tell people, no matter of what we try to convince ourselves, we want to love and be loved. And don't worry, it's not narcisistic to say so either.

A heartache can reak havoc on us more than we first believe. It's silent. Not concrete. Hard to explain the emotions we feel. It's like a ghost ship that has sunk but keeps haunting.
Sometimes we believe we're in the clear, we're ok. Usually that's the last hurdle to overcome, usually the hardest.

I think it's safe to say i'm ready. Ready for life again. i've had a great run in the last couple years. I've conquered fears. I moved to another country for Grad school. But I think it took coming back home, a reconnection with myself, to make me realize a few things; I pondered so many times: when will I not feel like a little girl anymore? I still feel that way, yet now their is a strong peace, that makes me feel like a warrior.
During an escapade on the Bay, nature was in line with my soul, thoughts pure; As the ocean lay before me, welcoming me, embracing my soul, I asked myself: Am I ready? Ready to love again? ...which is to say: am i ready to let go?

Yes.

No one really wants to be alone.

It is possible to be with oneself. Meditation brings me there.

But dang it - I still want someone with whom I'll drink my coffee in the early morning light.
Namaste

Little girl filling big shoes

2010-07-27T16:39:00.001-07:00

Little girl steps into her momma's high heeled shoes. Wobbly, she looks in the mirror and tries ever so carefully to apply the red lipstick, like her momma does every morning.

I am pretty sure that my current waves of thoughts is being brought about by my upcoming birthday (yes, it's true; next week I turn 26). But it's a thought that's been reacurring for the last couple years.

Do you feel like an adult?

Strangely enough I feel embarassed to say that I don't, not quite. I often feel like the little girl in the shaky high heels, trying to act the part. But i'm going to be 26. Where is the finish line for 'youth'?

I'm a Grad student at a University in a different country then my home. I have a car. I do dishes. Cook. Clean, etc etc.

Introspection gets the best of me.

I suppose it's inevitable, that I should be nostalgic and such a few days before the next year of my life. Maybe i'll need to be the so-called 'settled' (aka: married and a house) in order to feel that adult-y feeling. We'll see. There's a quote I love, "Grandmothers are just 'antique' little girls." At the end of the day, perhaps the feeling I have is not one of being 'young or little', but maybe it is simply the feeling of my own unique being. Maybe it is the 'me' that will stick with me for the rest of my days.

It wouldn't be that bad...When I'm 85, looking in the mirror, how cute would it be to picture myself as a little blond-headed girl, wobbly in the high-heeled shoes..

What do you think?

Poem titles stress me out.

2010-07-23T04:53:00.000-07:00

A longing deep inside me
Exists
And sways in the breeze of untrollable thoughts
A yearning
for the touch.
There's a look
We all know
A hooked
heart
a comfort
even apart.

You are a mystery to me
The face with no distinction
But what I would give
To know who you are.

I will hold you someday.
I will try to take your breath away.

Your name will flow from my soul
As we meet, I know.

Mossy adventures through time

2010-07-09T06:33:00.001-07:00

Blogs have never been my strong point; I forget to update them. This week, I was reading a blog (not mine), and I was suddenly filled with ideas, inspiration. That happens to me sometimes when I read. Not often. But it is the Why to ‘why’ I love to write. It’s how I release those ideas.

The blog was Jader Bomb's, and she wrote about finding colored glass buried in the wood. As though she had tapped a magic wand on my head (preferably a sparkly one), I was transported back in time (the art of writing, my friend, is indeed the ultimate time machine). I was placed square in my grandma’s backyard, in the woods, underneath the canopy of tall pines, the ground a soft blanket of pine needle and moss. It’s another world there. As a child, I would often go play in there… the summer rays would create a great ambiance and the smell of the pine made me feel alive. Sometimes I would find old bottles, often broken, half-buried in the ground (how safe this was). I was tremendously excited to find these! I would picture my grandparents, in the ‘old days’, drinking from these bottles. I imagined young men sneaking a few brew… It was moments like those that were the golden moments of my childhood. Jader Bomb’s colored glass brought me there again.

Cheers yall. I hope you find yourself in great spirits tonight. and everyday. :)

a new unfinished poem

2010-06-06T10:39:00.001-07:00

we are all vagabonds
strumming our own tunes listening to the waves as they
play the bongos and djembes of our rituals
strum humming along the seasons everchanging
cracks on the sidewalks as a little girl
have now become the cracks in the heart

-- -- --

Embark with me on a snowy cloud
that trails the frail

Enlightenment is just beyond
Cradled where the sun blankets the
Forest floor
The Spring is but a hot winter's caress
Nothing. Less,
Mother Nature
Hear my call
I won't ignore yours.

hmm

2009-05-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

A little over a year passed since I saw Bob in concert for the 1st time. A whole YEAR. A lot has changed, yet bigger changes are coming. Life is like that.
Decisions, decisions. That's what life is made up of...decisions... We'll all make choices, and there are no right or wrong decisions made. We follow a path and nonetheless, we learn. There's good in everything. Really.
So now - am I looking for work? School?

Fleet Freeriding.

2008-12-15T05:30:00.001-08:00

Flying fleet of a Freeriding
Wave
continuous motion
our solution.

swirling, Falling

As the hipster
burning Sun man
pierces its crimson
promise
Reflecting in the grey-eyed dog
ol' Master we are not
in it for now
But in IT for the long haul.

Breathe Life Smoke.

2008-10-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

The road snakes its way past the farm house

Where the red barn

Brown cow

Pigs cat dog

Hauls the hay

And picks at the pantry

The old lady

Bent over

Sizzle, the eggs

Hard work

Bad back

As the smell of the cowboy

Spooks the lonesome traveler

As the black car

Smoke fumes

Escapes the pipe, coughing

The hitchhiking vagabond who doesn't believe

In you me them or god

Smokes his joint as the horse watches him

Black eyes

Stare.

And the sweat rolls off the labourer as the hobo

Hums and strums and licks

And spits at his harmonica

Everyone's watching

Through a window we call our eyes.

It's a slow day

Mist and moon

There's no time for thinking or waiting

The road snakes its way down

Horizon swallows it up

It doesn't matter

Where it goes

Promises kept unkept

And lies like the spider

This web beautiful

But traps unsuspectfully

Creatures.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Urban Bag of Bones

2008-09-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

restrictions and constrictions
do this do that
no don’t and stop!
confusion sets in as I wander this asphalt jungle
clarity is stuck in that latte
and in that CEO

Politics is the new Hollywood
in things, fads, trends, fashion
Obama shirts à la Che
next to the Ramones
Let’s Go.

The World’s People is
One Big Dysfunctional family
Nobody will
pass the gravy
to thy neighbour.
Backstabbing, greedy, needy
Really?
But Dr. Phil said so.

unsaturated stained glass world
Don’t expect yet except this acceptance

We’re all bag of bones
Whatcha’ think your soul is?
Is it a rainbow
the miraculous
Grins, embrace, love,
faith or fate?
mine is honey
Positivism sticks
Maybe my soul’s crazy glue.

Rain torpedoes

2008-07-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve been contemplating something in my head all day (where else would I contemplate from? Puzzling) Bob Dylan says: « Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet. » Of course I am going to think that’s genius. It’s so honest. Think about it. Imagine a cold, rainy October morning. Downpours are followed by yet another one. The humongous rain drops fall from the sky like torpedoes, splattering on the pavement and your windshield, the wipers barely able to do their job. By the time you run inside to your office, you’re drenched and you discover your waterproof mascara isn’t so waterproof at all. In any case, the chances that more then one of your co-workers will comment on how much they hate this weather is high and probable. Right? Right. I’ll admit to being one of those, too often. Now reverse all the way back to your childhood; remember the days when rain was fun? I do. I remember one summer, a warm summer rain falling and making the air smell so clean…I put on my bathing suit and jumped on our trampoline, in the rain. Dangerous, but fun nonetheless. See, back then, without all the anxieties of adult life and the daily stress of work and responsibility, I FELT the rain. I remember being in the car and watching as the drops collected on my window, falling slowly but gaining momentum as it gathered force with the other droplets. An army of H2O.

Is it too much to ask for most of us to change mentality and return to a place where we can feel the rain, feel the wind, feel the snow and feel life?

Bob as an Enigma

2008-05-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

The show was a Bob show; exactly what I wanted and expected. In today’s world, everyone expects something from everybody – act a certain way, talk a certain way. People expect you to be who they want you to be.

Bob has never really bought into that. I’ve always admired Bob’s ability to retain that air of nonchalance. Not ignorance, per say, but he does what he does not because it’s his duty but because he just wants to...man.

Back to the bright lights of the Never-Ending Tour: no chit-chat was needed between songs. As he once remarked, ‘what do you want me to say, really’. His voice was strong and still passionate. I only wished he would’ve picked up that guitar. What am I saying – he doesn’t have to play the guitar. The Evolution of Bob. Just accept it.

Some songs surprised me; ‘Nettie Moore’ made me incredibly emotional.

What Bob does, really, is dig down to the core of human existence. As I experience life, I understand Bob’s songs more (if that’s possible). I remark: ‘Ah, he’s always right, that Bobby.’

For any Dylanite, basking and revelling in the beautiful chance at seeing Bob in concert is a treat. Like ice cream.

Some days I believe that I understand his every word, or at least understand the underlying sentiment. But I’m sure Bob could prove that I’m all wrong. Enigmatic to the bone and I love it.

Dylan in Halifax

2008-05-16T11:18:00.001-07:00

The countdown is on. 8 days until my very first Bob Dylan concert. Could be the first and the last but nevertheless, I am going to try as hard as I possible can to absolutely relish the show and seize in all of the sounds. I wonder what he will sing, silently hoping he’ll play my favourites. Will he even talk to the crowd? I’ve never had so many expectation yet none at all, all at once, for a performer.

a new wave of Beatniks is forming

2007-07-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

Finally - the Beat has found a rythm in the walls of Sainte-Anne. University, that is.
Mr. Williams, broadcasting from far away, teaching us about the Beatniks and the importance of these dudes.
Sure, they may not exactly have everything to do with Bob Dylan..but they were friends. If that counts. lol. The influence Ginsberg and Kerouac had on our little but great Bob is tremendous and cannot be ignored. What, at times, characterized Dylan's music were his subjects; the ways he used to push those ideas forward were with his words. Well - explanation found when looking at the Beats. A free-flow of thoughts urged the beatniks to spill unto their pages what they really felt and thought.
Truth is :
The Beats are often ignored.
They were a small group, sure.
A friend of mine, a great fan of music, told me he'd never heard of Ginsbergs or of this 'Beat' stuff. As a fan of The Doors..little did he know about Morisson's relationship with the Beat poets.
Anyways, all for now.

"I believe that we are put here in human form to decipher the hieroglyphs of love and suffering. And, there is no degree of love or intensity of feeling that does not bring with it the possibility of a crippling hurt. But, it is a duty to take that risk and love without reserve or defense." Ginsberg, the man.

a Subterranean frame of mind.

2007-03-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

Soundtrack of my life. Life today, that is.

Have you ever heard a song that reminds you of something that’s happened in your life? You say, Wow! I could’ve written this! .. then you add it to your MP3 player, listen to it all the time, get sick of it, then DELETE. Gone. ? I have. But that’s what I’ll be ranting about today.

Subterranean Homesick Blues. Need I say more?
Everyday when I drive somewhere, I listen to this song. It never gets old. It’s quite funny at first, doesn’t make much sense.

Please do check out the video; it’s priceless. http://mp.aol.com/video.index.adp?mxid=1400612&_AOLFORM=w708.h344.p7.R1

"[The song] was, in fact, an extraordinary three-way amalgam of Jack Kerouac, the Guthrie / Pete Seeger song "Taking It Easy" ('mom was in the kitchen preparing to eat/sis was in the pantry looking for some yeast') and the riffed-up rock'n'roll poetry of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business".

""In addition to the song's influence on music, the song was used in what became one of the first "modern" music videos. Although Rolling Stone lists it as the 7th on their list of "100 Top Music Videos", the original "video" was actually the opening segment of D. A. Pennebaker's film, Dont Look Back (a documentary on Bob Dylan's first tour of England in 1965). In the film, Dylan holds up cue cards for the audience, with selected words and phrases from the lyrics. While staring at the camera, he flips the cards as the song plays. There are intentional misspellings and puns throughout the video, for instance when the song's lyrics say "eleven dollar bills" the poster says "20 dollars". The original video takes place in an alley behind The Savoy Hotel in London where poet Allen Ginsberg and guitarist Robbie Robertson make a cameo.

In addition to the Savoy Hotel video, two alternate videos were shot: one in a park where Dylan, Robertson and Ginsberg are joined by a fourth man, and another shot on the roof of an unknown building (possibly the Savoy Hotel). A montage of the videos can be seen in the documentary No Direction Home.""

he's done it again.

2007-02-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

Our Bob won a couple grammys last night for: Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, and solo rock vocal performance for 'Someday Baby'.

I can deal with hearing mediocre singers on radio all day. I can deal with the fact that less-then-talented singers make millions of dollars, just by lookin' pretty.

But I couldn't deal if Bob wasn't around.

He's the Man.

"I saw screws break loose, saw the devil pound tin,
I saw a house in the country being torn from within.
I heard my ancestors calling from the land far beyond."
(Caribbean Wind )

The wonderful world of Dylan addicts. among others.

2007-01-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

A really goofy grin spreads across my face. I try my hardest to stop it. But it's inevitable. The smile, followed by the laugh, will come. No stoping it. It's a Tsunami of happiness, my friends.
What is going on here? you may ask...
4 words: Bob Dylan's 115th Dream.
Yve, you know what I'm talking about.
This song is my favorite drug, my happy pill. I prescribe it to everyone.
There is sheer genius that lives in that song. Bob Dylan, the Creator (my friend Yvette and I, who have adopted a new religion based on the writings of Bob, now exclain Oh my Bob! Instead of the overused Oh my God, or OMG in the new-age MSN talk...), wonderfully shows his personality in this song. I think so anyways.
So please, everyone, find this song (perhaps.. 'downloading?') and listen to it, many times. Look at the lyrics (http://bobdylan.com/moderntimes/songs/115dream.html)

**Here are some of my favorite sections of the song**

The start:
" I was riding on the Mayflower
When I thought I spied some land..."
********************************
This is great, but why? Listen to the song and you'll know why. The recording actually has Bob bursting out in laughter. It's so real. the song continues, after a few brief moments of laughing, with Bob saying "Ok, take 2."

"Just then this cop comes down the street
Crazy as a loon.
He throw us all in jail
For carryin' harpoons."
*********************
I love the rhyming, and the content is hilarious! So, we have Bob, in his dream, where he thinks he's found this so-called 'America'. A new land? nope. obviously, because there's police there already. Agh..the law. I can picture Bob, his hair blowin' in the wind, with a harpoon resting on his right shoulder.wonderful. A folk-native in crazy America.

" Just then the whole kitchen exploded
From boilin' fat
Food was flying everywhere
And I left without my hat"
****************************
After ordering some 'crêpes', the kitchen explodes? wow. that is entertainment. Poor Bob has lost his hat. I bet it was a fedora.

"Ran out to the street
When a bowling ball came down the road
And knocked me off my feet
A pay phone was ringing
It just about blew my mind
When I picked it up and said hello
This foot came through the line"
****************************
This is why he makes me laugh; I visualize what's happening so clearly. The bowling ball, to me, is oversized - think Indiana Jones. The foot-in-phone: MONTY PYTHON.

And now, for something completely different!

Well, not really. 'On a more serious note' would've been more appropriate.

You know how they say a work of literature (Shakespeare) is considered 'Great' if it survives the times? Well, let's take a look at Bob. His song 'Masters of War' is absolutely relevant to today's world situation. It could easily have been written this year. But it wasn't. Anyone who isn't a fan of Pres. Bush should listen to it. Today.

****

*Umm...*

so last night I attended a poetry reading. Awesome, awesome event. Almost as awesome as the chocolate cake my mom makes sometimes. Yup - THAT awesome. So anyways, it was very inspiring. You know every now and then, you have these moments of realization? .. Something 'clicks' in your head. Something inside you has changed or evolved. Well last night was one of em'. I'm in my last year as an English major, on the brink of insanity. (oh wait - I'm already there.) Everyday I wake and think: What am I supposed to be doing? blah blah. (yeah, I say blah blah, because my mind tends to wander). And it's like this: I am a quirky individual (wrote an entire essay about this - if you're interested, i can share this with you, but it'll cost ya. just kidding.) I love writing because it's a way for me to explore my thoughts. If I made a movie with my thoughts, someone would surely look at me with a raised eyebrow. For example, Yvette and I have thought about a Giant Muffin who walks around Sainte-Anne. And naked grapes.

Yes. WEIRD.

But I think it's fabulous that I'm weird; I have so many fun thoughts, and let myself really think through them.

Am I rambling?

No wonder nobody is leaving any comments. what a strange blog.