I went out at lunchtime, which was clearly a Bad Idea, because now I am freezing. Residual cold! As all Canadians between Alberta and Quebec well know, we have been hit with a brutal cold spell, and things are very, very cold. Although not as cold as they are in Winnipeg (poor blue_lotus - what a terrible time for a work trip!). This morning I realized what had been missing from winter so...

As there are 12 days left in the year, I thought I'd start compiling my selection of albums from which I will be drawing my "Lue's Top 10" lists. This year I purchased a number of albums that were not only new releases, but new bands (to me at least). Included in the list are: Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend Hold Steady - Stay Positive Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Fred - Go God Go The Kills - Midnight...

I got this meme from blue_lotus .   Bold things you've tried and strike through what you won't eat.  1. Venison 2. Nettle tea 3. Huevos rancheros  4. Steak tartare 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding  7. Cheese fondue 8. Carp  9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush   11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi 15. Hot dog from a street cart  16. Epoisses  17. Black truffle 18. Fruit...

It's Summer Olympic time again and that means that my childhood best friend Jake is once again rowing for gold. Jake and I were inseparable when we were 2 and 3, which is kind of hilarious, but then again that's the age we were when blue_lotus and I knew each other too and here we are! Jake and I met up again in high school (my family and I moved around a bunch but we ended up back in Saskatoon...

At last here is the poem that I've been working on. It's the first poem I have written in 9 years so be kind with any comments. Physics Lessons. There’s a fountain on the back lawn of the legislature building. Four birds mark the compass points while slinky black seals climb its central rocks. In the evenings it is illuminated in green and the ribbons of cascading water become the Aurora Borealis...

blue_lotus just posted about her friend's article on why we dress the way we do , and about her own choices . I thought it was really interesting, and that I'd join in :) I've struggled a bit to find a way of dressing that suits me. I have such conflicting needs from my clothes! - I identify with several sub-cultures but have eclectic tastes, so I don't want to tie myself down to any one of them...

blue_lotus wrote an interesting post on clothing and why we wear what we do, in response to another friend's post. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it is actually something I have been thinking about a lot lately so I thought I would join in on the musings. I have been thinking about how I present myself to the world, and how it is far too often not actually how I would like to...

A big shout out today to bluelotus who was a kind friend and sent me some Lucinda Williams, Serena Ryder and Mavis Staples on cd. So far I've listened to both the Lucinda Williams cds and LOVE them. And a big shout out to Diane at my local tax preparation branch. She quickly processed my taxes and I got a nice little refund to pay for the emotionally driven shopping I did last fall.

I haven't been online much the past while, but I haven't had much going on either. We leave for our Andes trip in 10 days, which just seems surreal to me. We're pretty much ready, I have packed a few things already and we have most of our gear gathered up and ready to go. At this point I just can't wait and am just trying to get through the next week so I can get on that plane with my boys and get...

Things I need to keep in mind as motivators for my battle against Winston's hounds: 1) bluelotus is here next week reading her ass-kicking poetry . 2) Joe Louis gets here any time now and there will be coffee drinking, food eating, and, perchance, some shoe buying. 3) Joe Jackson's new CD Rain is only 11 days away. That will get me to February where, so far, I have the new Mike Doughty CD coming...