From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 2, 2003 1:46:40 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Tory leader makes no apologies to critics of merger with Alliance
November 1
Dear Jean,
Hey there, I just wanted to drop a quick line. I’m at AndrewH’s Halloween party. Went to Sackville today and saw the best art I’ve seen in maybe two years. Maybe more. Great, great stuff. You should check out Rita’s show if you can get a chance, it’s only open for another week. We tried to drop in on Robyn’s studio at Struts but they were already closed. We spent too long on the bench at the Canadian Tire in Amherst.
Wearing the same costume as last night. The Glow Stick residue still stinks. Toxic and intoxicating.
Not many people here; have to get back to the dance floor.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 2, 2003 4:50:47 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Police hopeful TV show on missing Toronto girl will bring new clues
November 1
Dear Jean,
Just wanted you to know that I made it home safe. The bike didn’t get stolen, even after leaving it on Gottingen St. in front of Andrew’s place for more than a few hours. It was fun to bike around in my costume after his party; ran into Mareike and her brother and roommate and went back to their place for more beer. Talked a lot about exhibition proposals and Rita’s show, which I still love.
Am going to get some sleep.
-chris
PS the party at Bella Muse on Friday night was great and weird and fantastic and uncanny. Imagine the Star Wars canteena with a high proportion of Goth costumes and a fashion show interrupted by a Carrie-esque blood-letting, a cap-gunfight and a hot tub. Nakedness, the shower-curtain ghetto, marijuana, beer and Tequila. Getting sprayed with Skin-So-Soft at the end of the night by a guy who came in looking for change. Had a great talk with Alyssa for the latter part of the night and we went to NEDs (North End Diner) for breakfast.
PPS And then driving to Sackville today with Swintak and Greg and laughing my ass off and coming up with great projects and sitting on that courtesy bench at the Amherst Canadian Tire while Greg bought a rifle and she and Swintak proceeded to joke about doing me in (Hanging, gunshot or lethal injection) and then cannibalize my body. And then visiting Rita’s show, with the car, and plastic bags, and cigarette butts, and more robotics than you can shake a stick at, juxtapose with a poetic nightmare vision of suburbia, complete wth pets, recycling, soap, puzzles and skunk-lawns. Really, it’s indescribable.
Feeling optimistic for the first time in a while. Good friends and good art helps.
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 3, 2003 7:16:02 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Former Ontario premier Harris won’t seek leadership of united right
November 2
Dear Jean,
Slept until noon. Judy called but we didn’t talk long, she just wanted to know if I was coming to SJ or not. I’m not. I’ll mail a few small paintings to Peter for the group show at his gallery, but may not be able to work on the Xmas tree. Unless he mails it up to me. Went into work for most of the afternoon to finish off the grant; there is still a little more to do, but I think it is all under control. Need to pick up labels and liquid paper.
Made lasagna with Sarah Fork for supper and read the newspaper and a magazine in the evening. Cleaned up a bit. Washed a few loads of laundry.
The warm spell is wearing off, and the more seasonal chilliness has returned.
Some of the white makeup I had put in my hair for Halloween II hasn’t come out yet, even after showering, shampooing and lots of scrubbing.
Am off to grab some breakfast and get to work early.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 4, 2003 1:38:44 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Ottawa will drain federal surplus to offer provinces $2B more for health
November 3
Dear Jean,
What a night! What a day! Finished the grant, Andréa was in to help complete it. Dropped it off at the central PO on Hollis Street just at 5pm. Then it was off to the next activity, helping Hal Niedzviecki set up for the Broken Pencil ‘Zine tour in the Club. Surprisingly, everything went smoothly, even with yours truly working the sound. There was a great turnout and the readings—especially the “how to make a ‘zine” slide show—were fun and entertaining. Drank too much, though. Maybe I really am trying to make Halloween a week-long event. No costume, but I felt quite transformed when I took to the stage at Cheers. Maybe I should back up; after the ‘zine crowd fled the scene and Jen and Scott took off Dierde and I decided impulsively to head to the ‘Dome. It’s one of those crazy ideas I get once in a blue moon: to check out a bar—especially that one—that I have never been to. I was foiled again, however, as the ‘Dome was closed. So we went to Cheers instead, also a bar I’ve never been to. And guess what? It was karaoke night. Before ordering my first beer I had signed up to sing Beat It, by Michael Jackson. When I was finally called up I launched into the song Sex Pistols style. It was so much fun! I am such a bad singer but almost bad enough to be good. And I won $6.35 from one of the VLT machines in the smoking room. I figured I may as well take up hard-core gambling next, to accompany my drinking and smoking and workaholism. Just kidding! Smoked a joint later on and Dierde and I had wacky, lengthy conversations about Jellyfish and Starfish and a slew of other typical pot-induced subjects. It was almost light outside when I finally crashed; good thing I had decided to take the day off today. I worked Sunday and Monday, so I figure it’s justified.
Got a phone call from Claudine this morning; it was really nice to hear her voice. She’s here in less than 2 weeks; we are both nervous (the summer seems a long time ago) but I think we’ll get along fine.
Have a bunch of personal errands to run today, but should probably have a nap first.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 5, 2003 11:55:52 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Arar describes torture in Syrian jail; Chretien rejects call for public inquiry
November 4
Dear Jean,
Had a bad scare today. Was getting ready to head out to do some banking and I couldn’t find the envelope that contained my paycheque, my travel reimbursement cheque from Baie-St Paul and Yang’s rent cheque. The last time I had remembered seeing it was shortly before getting on stage at Cheers to sing Beat It the previous night. When I called the bar they couldn’t help me because it was the day shift—you know how it is: Day and Night—they told me to call back later. Spent the day fighting off the growing dread that I had lost a lot of money as some sort of Karma payment for really bad singing, or just general debauchery. I looked under the tree I had tried to climb on the way home from the bar—as I seem to recall hanging upside-down at one point—but no envelope. Had a brief nap in the afternoon until I was woken by Lyndon asking for his rent. Called Cheers again and lo and behold they had the envelope, what a relief. Met up with Andréa and Spencer in the Club and had a couple beer and helped Jessie set up for the artist talks before heading to Sobeys for some groceries. Had a really nice chicken and carrot curry for supper. Was over-tired but didn’t sleep well.
Am late; have to go open the gallery.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 6, 2003 10:07:01 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Saskatchewan New Democrats win 4th straight election with razor-thin majority
November 5
Dear Jean,
It was freezing out yesterday, with light drizzle that gets right to your bones. The drizzle turned to a heavy downpour by late evening. I walked home after the board meeting with Dan (who was going to the Superstore to buy bread) and Briony (who was going home), and I stopped by Bearly’s to see if Yang was there. He wasn’t but I was a bit early. My enthusiasm for karaoke had waned somewhat so I just went home and watched Family Guy (repeat) and ate some of Sarah Fork’s pizza.
The board meeting actually went by quite smoothly and took just an hour and a half. Kevin and Shelley sat in as guests and were voted on at the end.
Jo Cook is back in town, setting up a show in the windows at eyelevel. Wesley is building lightboxes to fit in the windows and illuminate the drawings. We’re going to meet for beer and maybe a studio visit this week—even though I don’t really have a studio anymore.
Elizabeth stopped by and sniffed out a couple large sheets of Plexiglas from the basement that I didn’t even know we had; she is drawn to the stuff like a magnet. She was back later in the day with her year-old deep-fried Gap shirt sweetly encased in a Plexiglas box. It is our first in a series of art raffles; would you like to buy a few tickets? $2 each, and 3 for $5. We’ll post a picture of the shirt on the Khyber website later today. Am going to set up a nice photo of it right now.
Listening to Joel P. really loud in the office right now; that’s why I like coming in to work early. Listen to rock and roll and fill out paperwork.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 7, 2003 1:28:10 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Chretien spends his last day in Commons fighting same battle as 1963
November 6
Dear Jean,
It would have been nice to sleep in this morning but a work crew was scheduled to be in the building testing the fire alarm, emergency lights and sprinkler system, so here I am. Ran into Yang in the hall this morning at about three or three thirty; first time in about a week. We made plans for karaoke next Wednesday. He was wearing fuzzy slippers.
Was out late at the Old Triangle Pub with Dierdre and Elizabeth listening to a Celtic duo called Solstice from Montréal; they played more traditional favourites (yet another rendition of Barrett’s Privateers in one ear and out the other, leaving painful toe-tapping residue behind) and covers than I would have liked, but they were trying to work the somewhat lukewarm crowd. Was at Tom’s Little Havana with Sarah Fork for a drink beforehand; she’s actually quite fun, I imagine it must be like having a little sister. I’ve never met anyone before who can talk nonstop. I made her supper in exchange for eating some of her pizza the night before.
Am finally catching up on paperwork at the office and getting things done. I think I am slightly obsessed with the Deep Fried GAP Shirt. I hope I am not the only one who buys tickets. Now that you are going to have more time on your hands maybe you should get a few.
Jo offered me some leftover thin plywood from the lightboxes Wesley is constructing; I will make a great effort to make some new paintings in the coming weeks. I am falling further behind now that you have been featured on the front pages numerous times in the past month. And once I get the laptop—still waiting on Apple for the price drop—I’ll be organizing and orienting more of my studio work into a more portable format. Hopefully those activities will keep me out of the bars.
Am heading home for lunch and to run some errands.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 7, 2003 11:25:10 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Chretien attends event that could be last official stop in Shawinigan, Que.
November 7
Dear Jean,
Was having a fairly productive day at work until just after lunch, then it hit me: a cold. The light-headedness, the swelling synuses, the raspy feeling in the throat, the puffy and watery eyes. The rest of the afternoon a write-off. Couldn’t even read Emily’s essay, kept zoning out. But Wesley came over and he and Jo wanted to take me out to dinner, so I stayed until five and Wes and I drove to the Garden Inn in the rental car and picked Jo up and we went to the Granite Brewery Henry House for supper. I actually felt better as the night went on, discussion with Jo and Wes is always stimulating and engaging. I think the couple pints of Bitter actually stopped the advancement of the cold in its tracks…for the moment. I can sense it coming back and am going to get to bed and try to sleep it off. I need to catch up on my sleep.
Well, the experiment in having a car-only tenant has failed miserably: the workers next door managed to gouge a huge scratch along the side of Gillian’s car. And Lyndon has just gone on another vacation for 2 weeks. They are going to keep renting the space but only keep their car there at night, so I halved the price for it.
Have got to go to bed, am feeling unwell.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 8, 2003 5:19:29 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Paul Martin making right moves courting alienated West, but needs results
November 8
Dear Jean,
The cold tackled me again at some point during the night and hasn’t let up. I had ambitious plans to get up early and get personal errands and possibly even some art-making done but could only muster the strength to hit the snooze button. Numerous times, until I ended up just sleeping through it—the french classical station is quite soothing, actually—and slept until noon.
Ran into Yang again; that’s twice in one week, almost surreal. He bought a raffle ticket for the Deep Fried GAP Shirt.
Started to clean the house, including the guts of the vacuum cleaner. It sucks even better now. Have been drinking copious amounts of hot water with lemon and honey. Went for a brief walk—it is freezing out!—to pick up the 4.5″ Xmas tree that Peter put on the bus for me; now I have to figure out exactly what to do with it. My first though was unmentionable, then I though stripping it of the “needles”—but that will prove impossible, unless I burn them off. Hmmmmm.
My folks will be in town tomorrow, and we may get together for dinner somewhere.
Have been making many different rubbings of your Calgary ’90 leadership convention pin; I am going to enlarge one of them poster-size to put in the eyelevel members show.
There are a couple small gatherings and pot-lucks going on tonight but I think I’ll stay in and drink hot water and lemon and read and doze and probably watch TV. If I can get my strength together I might make some art (gasp!)
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 9, 2003 1:25:39 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Paul Martin making right moves courting alienated West, but needs results
November 9
Dear Jean,
Bummed out on three potential potlucks last night—Jessie’s birthday, David and Spencer, and Diedre, who called just before supper—and slept for sixteen hours. Am trying to wrestle this cold to the ground; have been wearing a touque for the past two days. Still drinking hot water lemon. Eating oranges. Chicken noodle soup for lunch. Am heading to the office for the afternoon, getting the Inter/Arts grant together and meeting Christine to go over the newsletter. Having supper tonight with the folks.
Still having trouble deciding what to do with that Xmas tree Peter sent me. Woke up this morning thinking of getting a package of toy army soldiers and tyign them to the boughs with fancy red ribbon. After burning the tree.
Or maybe duct tape: cover the tree from top to bottom…or audio tape as tinsel? Or…maybe chop the whole tree up, every last bit, and stick it all in Mason Jar containers? Hmmmm…
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 9, 2003 2:19:50 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Justin Trudeau describes Chretien as close friend, smart politician
November 9
Dear Jean,
Tupperware will do the trick: 3 different sizes, stacakable like a pyramid, with the chopped up tree bits inside, mixed with Xmas bulbs and tinsel.
Maybe even some potting soil in the bottom.
Will hit Zellers tomorrow to get the bins.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 10, 2003 7:14:56 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Immigration minister clings to idea of national ID card in face of criticism
November 10
Dear Jean,
Didn’t sleep well last night, and was up way before my alarm went off. Have a lot to prepare for today, for this week. Garbage to go to the curb, poster to make at Wade Co., paintings to gather for a studio visit with Jo and Wesley after noon, programming and grant-writing committee meeting to prepare for. I didn’t get much work done at the Khyber yesterday, the oil tanks had run dry and the building was frigid. Will undoubtedly have to refund Angels and Heroes theatre company, as they had a scheduled performance last night.
Had supper at the Granite Brewery with my folks and Trevor and Tamara; it was fun, it’s good food and good beer. Mom may pick up some good-sized Tupperware containers for me today for the Xmas tree project. Round or square should do the trick.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 11, 2003 4:55:11 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Mother of soldier killed in Afghanistan places
November 11
Dear Jean,
Had a great day yesterday until the bottle got hold of me again. I was in such a good mood for the whole day I was practically skipping everywhere I went. Must have something to do with the date, the weather, and the alignment of the planets. It took two trips to Wade Company to get the big poster made of your Calgary ’90 leadership pin; the walk to the North End was a pleasure. Ran into Lucie, who I haven’t seen for ages; she’s signed up for Mugshots in 2 weeks.
At noon I met Jo and Wes for a studio visit. It was great talking about work and paintings and the letters and the different twists and turns in the project. Through talking with her a few crucial ideas fell into place that will really help me unify the project. She even bought a painting, “The cutest little baby face”. We went for lunch at that café below the apartment building nearby on South Street, I can’t remember the name of it but the pizza was good and we talked and talked some more.
Kick started the furnace when I got back to work (the oil had been delivered in the afternoon) but stripped the bleeding bolt. Called Art and he advised to shut the power down on that furnace, just to ensure it didn’t start by itself and leak oil all over the place.
Had a productive programming meeting and am all gung-ho to tackle the Inter-Arts grant—or, at least I was gung-ho. Stayed for the eyelevel opening then sat in the Club afterwards with Courtney and Sarah and bitched about local apathy and lack of ambition (the Club was empty at the time, which sometimes sets me off, especially on post-opening Mondays). But after Jo ad Wes joined us and we had a few more drinks and the Club slowly filled up I changed my tune. Sarah Fork came by and eventually I rallied her and Courtney and Sarah K to go to Cheers for more karaoke.
The place was packed, due to Remembrance Day. We signed up for at least half a dozen songs but the DJ totally dissed us and we didn’t get called to sing anything. Either the hard-core regulars were getting special treatment or I freaked him out last week and he was purposefully avoiding me. Sarah Fork and I had an ongoing “shake your butt” contest on the dance floor; she would ask people to vote which one of us was better. I lost by a margin of 3-1.
Almost got into a fight after leaving the bar. Some big guy muttered something that sounded mildly offensive to me as we were leaving and I threw off my jacket and shirt and tried to take him on. Thankfully he must have thought I wasn’t worth the effort because he probably would have pummeled me: I’m a pacifist, for crying out loud: what was I thinking?
As a result of the late evening of festivities I was too hung over to work on the grant and basically wasted a day. Have been having a good email correspondence with Sarah H regarding the complex mixture of hostility and respect and economics in the art world; am trying to come up with something good and punchy for my newsletter letter. Am meeting Caroline for coffee at five and then later will help set up some equipment for Duncan’s artist talk, then will meet Jo and Wes and Jen and Ryan at the Shoe Shop for dinner.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 13, 2003 2:17:16 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Chretien keeps ’em guessing at otherwise suspenseless convention
November 12
Dear Jean,
I’m back at work, doing some last-minute editing of the next Khyber newsletter. Yeah, i know it’s late. But it’s not such a bad thing to fill one’s time with. Don’t mind the spelling mistakes. I was at karaoke earlier with Yang and sang 2 songs: Beat It and Copacabana. It wasn’t a stellar performance, but I had a good talk with Yang about the crossover between different modes of cultural production. Can karaoke qualify as an area of artistic investigation? maybe I’ll write a thesis on it.
Today was busy; lots of catch-up, banking, writing, emailing, gathering info. The Interarts grant will be a bit of stretch, but I think we’ll make it. Have some confirmation from performance artists from out west.
Went home for lunch after picking up my tree tupperware from Trevor’s new office. Those few minutes alone are a breath of fresh air. Stopped at the MFA studio’s to poke around. I like Yang’s backrgrounds done in encaustics; very process-oriented, sublime and subtle in articulation.
Our phone has been cut off; I forgot to pay the bill. But the bastards never sent warning letter! They haven’t heard the last (not even first) from me. Fuckers. I’ll fucking break them. I’ll be on the phone with them all day tomorrow. They’ll rue the day!! And I’ve even been carrying the bill around in my pocket for the past week, meaning to pay it. Bastard corporate greedy fucking freaking hogs.
I’m going home, I need some sleep.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 13, 2003 2:38:33 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Martin announces transition meeting with Chretien at leadership convention
So…it appears that my internet is still working. Interesting. I guess those fuckers at Eastlink aren’t all bad.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 14, 2003 10:14:55 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Chretien uses farewell address to Liberals to patch up old wounds
November 13
Dear Jean,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. Busy at work, finishing up the newsletter. Christine had done a great job Wednesday evening on the layout, getting everything whipped into shape in a just a few hours. I fussed around with minor editing and picky details yesterday, and was very happy that it was completed by mid-afternoon and there were no computer/printer problems when I took the file to Allegra.
Finished work an hour early and finally picked up my laptop; the Apple-authorized price reduction came through. It was a bit of a bizarre process getting a certified cheque from the bank, as they needed to compile the money from my account from three different sources. Got caught in a torrential rainstorm on my way to Terra Consultants, but luckily I had time to stop at the house and put on my raingear. Matthew helped transfer my music files and added the new memory.
Worked on my Xmas tree project for a bit after supper; the branches come off easy enough and are flexible enough to stuff in the Tupperware. I’ll need to get more containers if I want to use the entire tree—I’ve already filled up my available containers with less than half the tree.
Went to Dal for the walking tour of the exhibition Search and Rescue. It was a fun, informative and casual evening; the tours lasted almost two hours. Of course, we all went out afterwards, some of us walking to Tribeca in the rain, others driving. Devised a beautiful, complex, bizarre and twisted art project with Swintak that involves secretaries and, as Robin put it, a “bureaucratic perpetual motion machine”. I’m sure I could even find a way to integrate pools of quicksand into that project; if not, then definitely trap doors, Mr. Burns and Dr. Evil-style. What I had hoped would be just a one-drink evening turned into Spencer and I closing the down the place with Robin Metcalfe, who is in town for the weekend planning for the Acadian Conference. Spencer seems to be on a similar tear as me, though he has a good excuse, that of leaving the country shortly to teach English in Taiwan.
Had breakfast with Spencer at the Med. I don’t think I am in shape to be at work today; might head home when the building starts to fill up at noon. Need to catch up on some rest before Tashia’s birthday party tonight and the Burlesque show on Saturday.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 14, 2003 10:50:11 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Jean Chretien, Paul Martin stand opposed on day of unity fete
Dear Jean,
Oh, I forgot to tell you that our phone is hooked up again. I went to the bank and paid most of the bill off. I still can’t believe Eastlink is that hard-core: apparantly they called four days before the bill due date and left a message that the phone would be disconnected in a week. I didn’t get the message (or I did and ignored it). Lucky there was no re-connection charge.
Just spent a pointless ten minutes on the phone for some government services survey that we didn’t even qualify to take in the first place. I knew it!
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 15, 2003 12:47:16 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Martin victory speech casts off ghosts of father, past in favour of future
November 15
Dear Jean,
Bailed on Tashia’s birthday party last night. Was way too tired and worn out throughout the day to stay out. Slogged through parts of the Inter-Arts grant, it is not going so well. I feel like I am inventing programming around extremely loose guidelines just to get the grant. The support material is really weak, too. I’m sure it will come together: we’ve pulled golden rabbits out of our asses before.
That reminds me of the giant radio antenna that aliens planted in Carmen’s ass on South Park last night.
The first snowfall of the season occurred in mid-afternoon, but only lasted a few minutes. The temperature dropped rapidly though, and by end of day it really felt like winter.
Robin stopped by the office to say hi; he had just come from an interview for position of director at the St. Mary’s University Art Gallery. He said that Spencer and I keeping him out late last night didn’t seem to harm his performance during the interview. I hope he gets the job, Halifax could really use that cultural shot in the arm.
Watched Finding Nemo with Sarah Fork last night. A fun and entertaining piece of fluff. Fell asleep on the couch, went to bed early and read. Sarah and Aaron’s article is in this month’s edition of C Magazine.
Just came back from the Farmers Market. It was really crowded. Bought some fish. Am going to work on the Xmas tree project and the grant this afternoon. Will try to get tickets for the burlesque show tonight at the door but if they sell out c’est la vie; I’ll come home and work some more.
The house needs a major cleaning.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 16, 2003 10:49:16 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Lax controls, cost overruns dog $325-million Defence computer system: report
November 16
Dear Jean,
Spent a lazy Saturday evening and Sunday. Didn’t go into work on Saturday so had no money for the burlesque show; I didn’t want to risk standing in line in the cold hoping for a ticket so didn’t go at all. Combined my loose change with Sarah Fork and we bought some run and played cards, then watched I Shot Andy Warhol.
Slept in this morning and then began a big apartment cleanup. Vacuumed, swept, dusted, cleaned the bathroom, washed dishes many times over.
Worked on the grant and watched TV in the evening. Have more work to do on it tonight. Is the laptop truly coming in handy when it is used so one can work on a grant in front of the TV, then as a fancy tray to carry cups and teapots downstairs? I guess so.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 18, 2003 11:17:00 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Martin pushes better relations with cities, mum on transition of power
November 17
Dear Jean,
Spent the day working on the grant and transfering files to the laptop. I found the networking surprisingly easy and the transfers were fast. Have a balanced budget for the grant but it seems too easy; I must have missed something important. We are still waiting for support material to arrive.
Had a KDMC board meeting but was hauled out early to help Gwen bring chairs down from upstairs for her and Norman’s performance in the Ballroom. Luckily Shelly’s show was an easy strike: it took about fifteen minutes, total.
Was on pins and needles all day. Trevor picked Caroline and I up from the Club and drove us to the airport. Claudine’s flight was delayed a half hour so guess what: I pulled out the trusty ol’ laptop and continued working on the grant. When Claudine arrived most nervousness and awkwardness disappeared. Trev drove us back downtown to the Khyber, and we stayed until close, had a beer and talked about Sophie Calle and other art Claudine had seen in her travels.
Took the day off work today; Andrea will be in charge of the newsletter and mailout. I’ll write more later, I guess I sort of have some news.
-chris
rom : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 18, 2003 6:12:28 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Martin to be new prime minister Dec. 12 as Chretien announces departure
November 18
Dear Jean,
Had a good afternoon; we walked down to Point Pleasant Park to survey the damage. There is a fence up all around the park and it is clearly closed, yet we found an open gate and wandered inside. It wasn’t long before Park Patrol found us and escourted us out. They really don’t want people in the park!
Went to Saint Mary’s University Art GAllery to check out the Drop Coth Paintings again, and stayed for awhile talking with Mathew, Robert and Gillian and reading some of Gerry’s past catalogues. Stopped for coffee at Trident afterwards, then visited the Anna Leonowens. Left Claudine at the library to meet Caroline and went to Sobeys for groceries.
The good day bubble was busted with a phone message from work: apparantly the newsletter was printed with “chunks of essays missing” and there is some dispute as to who is at fault. Great.
Tried to make a fish and rish dish for supper that ended up bland and slightly soggy. Am heading down to the Khyber shortly to help Jessie set up for GNKs artist talk; that should be fun.
Want to have a quiet night and maybe work on some of my own art stuff. Leave the grant and newsletter fiasco to tomorrow. Maybe I should start thinking seriously of a “transfer of power” date?
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 20, 2003 12:33:22 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Abducted woman Stamp rescued by Ottawa police, ex-boyfriend captured
November 19
Dear Jean,
Just watched When We Were Kings, the documentary about the Rumble in the Jungle. Quite nice, dramatic and passionate and gave me a slightly broader impression of Ali. It was quite the drama when he came back from the ropes and beat Foreman.
Completed the newletter today, added a few erratums in place of the bits of missing text. Lots of volunteers came in and worked all day long (though I came in to work late, around eleven: I slept in). The covers look great, Paul dropped them off mid-afternoon; they are red and salmon-coloured with black, he and Seth did a great job. Had a meeting with Dan late afternoon to finish the HRM tax-exempt forms and the bureaucratic nonsense of it all set me off on a rant. I think I’m about due for retirement from ARC administration. Three years is enough, don’t you think? I need to focus more on my own work.
Made supper with Claudine, we drank some wine the went to the liquor store for more. Ran into an HFX regular beggar, he had lost his shopping cart full of bottles. He gave me some money to buy him some beer but I bought the wrong kind and then had to exchange it. I don’t kknow if that is the right thing to do but he seemed nice enough, and showed us his tatoos.
Finished chopping up the Xmas tree; surprisingly it all fit in the available containers.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 21, 2003 10:23:44 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Paul Martin can’t claim immunity from testifying in tax case
November 20
Dear Jean,
Woke up early this morning even though my alarm didn’t work again. Turns out I had it set on PM, not AM. Went to work a bit later than usual and helped put the rest of the newsletters together with Andréa. We talked about our schedules, new hours—I’m going to be working less, she more—and my pre-letter of resignation. I feel like I am trainspotting: watching the stress train leaving the station. Departure date: end of January.
My left eyelid has been twitching uncontrollably since yesterday. It reminds me of the police chief in the Pink Panther movies whenever he thought of Inspector Clouseau.
Had the issue of wheelchair accessibility come up today as the Canadian Heritage meeting needs barrier-free access for their meeting December 1; they aren’t going to get it in the Turret. They wouldn’t even get it in the Club. See, it’s issues like that that just compound my stress and blind me to the good parts of my job. I’m sick of hassles and bricks and mortar problems.
Had lunch with Trevor and Poppy at Spice. Poppy was sporting a bruised and bloody eye. I think I must get my accident-prone gene from him. He was hunting with my uncle Andy on the weekend and slipped while carrying a dead deer—the two rifles he was carrying swung up and cracked him in the eye, knocking him out. He’s lucky he wasn’t hurt more badly.
Met Claudine at the AGNS and we checked out the Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas exhibition. It was a fun show, and cheered her up somewhat: she hadn’t had a great day. Her film developing went badly, her sound recordings didn’t work out and to top it off a bunch of kids near Caroline’s house threw glass bits at her.
We came home and made a nice salmon supper and fed Sarah Fork, too. She is flying to Montreal tomorrow morning to visit Karen for the weekend. We asked her to bring home two dozen bagels.
Talked about deja vus and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy until late.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 22, 2003 2:20:03 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Ottawa depending on goodwill of slaughterhouses to make cow cull program work
November 21
Dear Jean,
Had a bit of a frustrating day at work. The ZED TV crew was bit late and then when they did show up they spent much longer than I had expected with their shoot. Andrew, Leah, Jeremy and Emily seemed good-natured about staying longer to complete their portraits, but I think Craig was a little miffed at having the bar closed all afternoon.
The furnace was leaking heating oil, and being around the fumes while cleaning up the spill gave me a nasty headache. Still managed to catch up on some of the financials. The building felt hectic all day, what with Andrea and Jessie in and about, and Ryan our volunteer archivist helping paint the Mugshots panels, Julie helping to organize the Rummage Sale room, and the phone ringing all day and visitors constantly coming by the office.
Had a beer after work with Claudine and Mitchell and Annie, one of LES FERMIÈRES OBSÉDÉES who is visiting for a few weeks. Then home for a nice supper, we made a red curry chicken and drank red wine. We debated between going to see Wax Mannequin perform at the Khyber Club or see the new Looney Tunes movie; in the end we did neither, and stayed inside, out of the rain, and kept warm. Later in the evening we watched a bit of that recent documentary on Micheal Jackson. His story just gets sadder and sadder as it becomes more bizarre.
Didn’t make any art today, but am feeling calmer and happy and content. The eye twitch is gone; maybe it knows I am not working this weekend!
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 23, 2003 1:14:33 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Fans flock to Edmonton’s golden pond to see first-ever NHL outdoor game
November 22
Dear Jean,
Had a great Saturday. Woke up early to go to the Market; maybe a little too early. I was a bit groggy with sleepiness until I had finished my coffee. We took our time wandering the stalls in the Market, though we walked fast there and back: a winter crispness was in the air.
Cleaned up the house a bit; need to combat the cat hair better, as Claudine is allergic. We cooked a nice sweet potato soup and napped and watched some late afternoon TV. Prepared some ingredients for sushi Yasuko-style and then walked to the north end.
Picked Caroline up and we continued the long walk to the Music Room on Lady Hammond Rd. Duncan MacDonald was giving a performance called Invisible Piano. The Music Room is a great small performance and recording venue with a stylish Steinway. I don’t understand why there are folk-art-esque masks on the shelf above the piano. There was a good turnout, almost a full house I think. Duncan played eight compositions and then the lights went out completely and he played a variation on the eight compositions in reverse order; quite a distinctly different experience. He announced at the conclusion that a bunch of folks were going to the Lion’s Den for drinks and karaoke. The magic word. We decided to stop there for a quick drink before continuing home for sushi.
We stayed at the Lion’s Den all night and were the last to leave. It was hard for us to break into the regular’s cicuite but I was finally called to sing Your Cheatin’ Heart by Hank Williams. I was quoted as being “not bad”. Claudine and Caroline blew the crowd away with a fabulous rendition of Mitsou’s Goodbye Monsieur Cowboy, and Duncan and Graeme were highly entertaining in a Talking Heads number. We drank lots of beer (the pitchers were cheaper than the glasses). Claudine and I had some of the sushi when we got home after splitting a cab with Ryan, Andrew and Caroline. We actually met Yang at the house when he came back from the studio late in the morning.
Trevor is picking us up shortly after his basketball game and we are borrowing his car to go driving outside the city. We’ll take a lunch and take some photographs and enjoy the non-city, fresh winter air.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 24, 2003 9:06:10 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : CSIS had no role in Arar’s detention, says spy watchdog
November 23
Dear Jean,
Had a good afternoon in the country. We experienced a couple different forms of Maritime hospitality. At one cove we stopped to take some pictures and were out on a repaired dock when an old fella started hollering at us from his verandah. I went up to talk to him and he said he was worried we could get hurt and that he didn’t want to be responsible so we should leave. Then he said the dock we were on didn’t actually belong to him but a neighbour, who “has a shotgun”. Wha? Was that a threat?
We stopped again to take photos of a house that had hundreds of Xmas decorations on it. The owner was adding the final touches, some fresh boughs to his deck handrails, and Claudine took a picture of him in front of his house and he invited us in to see more of his decorations. It was incredible: every square inch of the sitting room and kitchen was covered with Xmas decorations. Streamers from the ceiling, tinsel, garlands, and every conceivable version of Santa you can imagine. He showed us a bunch of his singing Xmas toys. We stayed for about half an hour. Their house smelled wonderful as his wife was cooking, and we talked about their cats and vet bills and Dartmouth as well as Xmas. He decorates just as fastidiously for Easter, Valentine’s Day and Halloween.
We ate lunch in the parking lot at Peggy’s Cove after visiting the Swissair Memorial, then drove back to Trevor’s to drop off the car. He drove us back downtown and picked up Caroline and her roommate Jessie along the way. We had the rest of our sushi and drank sake for supper. Jessie’s mom picked up her and Caroline and Claudine and I watched a bit of TV before heading to bed.
Am heading in to work today because Andrea is working at St. Mary’s and we have openings tonight. I hope the installations went well over the weekend. I need to finish my Xmas tree and get it in the mail early this week for the Peter Buckland Gallery.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 25, 2003 12:07:28 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : More Canadian tax cuts likely on the way, Manley tells New York audience
Dear Jean,
We had a good turnout for the openings Monday night. Garry’s studio class show looks really good, four sets of decent paintings and a nice contrast between plaster sculpture and balloons. Garry always gets sushi for his openings, which is always a treat. Emily’s group show in the loset looks great, lots of wicked drawings, witty text bites, scatalogical humour, fun stuff. A real love of drawing and doodling comes through. Claudine and I didn’t stay long, went home to eat. Made a gourmet-style supper from the leftovers, soup and sushi. Rented a movie and worked on the Xmas tree sculpture while watching L’Affaire Pornagraphique. It is a touching love story, sort of like 2 ships passing in the night, not really about porn. The viewer is never let in on what the shared fantasy between two strangers is.
The Xmas tree(s) look good, I feel it (they) are almost succesful. Finished the tupperware containing the white lights this morning. I am going to title it “Three wise guys”. Need to take a few digital pics today before shipping it off to Peter in Saint John.
Am meeting Claudine and Caroline at NSCAD in a little bit to do some copy-stand work, then to the Khyber to scan some negatives. Am meeting Sarah Fork at the Lord Nelson in a few minutes to help her carry her bags home, she just got in from Montreal. She and Karen had a good time, from the sound of things. I’ll make smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers on fresh Montreal bagel for supper, yum!
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 26, 2003 1:01:19 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Paul Martin denies Canada shunning man released from Guantanamo Bay
November 25
Dear Jean,
Wasn’t planning to go into work today but Andréa wasn’t feeling well and went home early. I came in for a few hours in the afternoon but of course didn’t accomplish much. The fundraising committee is in disarray and ad deadlines are creeping up. Since the tenants of the Green Lantern building have been forced out the Turret is getting more requests, which is good for revenue but a headache to manage and schedule. Claudine is leaving on Thursday and I don’t want to be stressed out with work until then.
We met up at the KDMC and scanned some negatives, then walked to NSCAD to shoot some slides at the copy stand. Walked halfway there before realizing I had left my paintings at the Khyber, which inspired an on again, off again discussion about memory, Benjamin, translation, and the Third Space for most of the evening.
We walked to the north end in search of a mixette bonjour for Claudine, which we found at Java Blend. It was a nice walk, as the temperature was really mild. Visited with Mary while storing my paintings in Yang’s studio (too heavy to carry to the north end and back) and checked out the wild ceramic creatures she is making for a stop-animation film.
We had been discussing hamburgers the other day so we went to the Shoe Shop for supper. Took some wacky photographs with the KDMC digital camera. Went back to the Khyber to get a computer box—Claudine is buying my iMac, but my box is slightly destroyed from the flood—and carried the box home on top of a dowel. Bought some wine and worked on the final touches of the Xmas tree, now called “Three Wise Guys”. There is certainly some strong nativity imagery from the arrangement of the three stacks of Tupperware. Changed the orientation of the lights; they are now coiled inside a glass jar that is screwed to the centre of the tree base, which hangs on the wall, like a star.
Took the day off work today to finish some proposals, pack the 3 Wise Guys, run some errands and hang out with Claudine.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 27, 2003 5:37:24 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Alliance MP suspended for anti-gay comments, issues apology
Dear Jean,
Sorry I’m writing so late. A bit of a harried day at work today. Claude from Canada Council Inter-Arts division is in town for the CCA and met with me for awhile to discuss our past and future performance series, and MacFarlands dropped off the chairs for the CCA. Met with Dan late in the afternoon and we had a beer in the Club. Have to meet Katherine and Christy tonight to go over the CCA wrap party tech and content specs.
Caused another alarm clock fiasco this morning that led to Claudine missing her bus to Quebec City. We had only been asleep an hour or so when the alarm went off and I turned the volume down instead of hitting the snooze. The next bus was at noon so we had some breakfast and it was probably a more relaxed departure. I hate goodbyes, you know that. It was a quick visit but lots of fun; we get on spledidly with one another. Next on the agenda for me will be a trip to Montréal to help her paint her new apartment, whenever she gets one, sometime after Christmas perhaps? It would be nice to spend New Year’s Eve there.
It was a rollercoaster evening that came after a quiet and pleasant afternoon. I had taken the day off work and we puttered around the house for the morning and ran some errands in the afternoon. At a second hand bookstore I found your autobiography, Straight From the Heart. It was hardcover and marked at $3; Claudine haggled and the owner gave me a deal and marked it down to $1. We had a nice steak dinner at home and then met Caroline at the Split Crow for Power Hour—I think it was the first time I had been there since finishing NSCAD. It’s like riding a bike though: you don’t forget how to get the most bang for your buck. We hit the Khyber afterwards for On the Strength to watch the breakdancers and dance a little ourselves. The rollercoaster arrived after I had greeted M., whom I hadn’t seen since summertime, perhaps a little too warmly, and Claudine and I had our first really emotional discussion about our relationship—which up to this point has barely been defined. The roller coaster touched on everything from commitment and respect and honesty to language and cultural barriers. We were the last to leave the Club, teary and bleary-eyed and exhausted yet invigorated. Steve had to give me a $2 discount on account of me not having enough cash to pay my tab, d’oh. We wandered home slowly, but ended the night on a good note after some “window-shopping” along Spring Garden.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 28, 2003 12:09:22 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : John Manley, deputy PM and finance minister, leaves politics, at least for now
Dear Jean,
Slept in this morning, despite my best intentions to go to work early. I guess I needed to catch up on some sleep, even though I wasn’t out too late last night. Met with Katherine, Christy and Philip in the Club to hammer down a few details about the CCA wrapup on Saturday. I think Christy and Philip are a little overwhelmed by it all. Talked with Greg and Ray for awhile afterwards about art that doesn’t exist (except in the idea phase) without tons of electronic gear. Who is responsible for getting the stuff— the artists making the work, or the institutions that are presenting it? It became hard to debate the issue as Death by Nostalgia took to the stage for the Horseface meet Horseface fundraiser. They were loud, tight and rocked out. I had to leave partway through the Middleclass Pushovers set, even though I liked their sound. Zooma the Clown didn’t impress me, but I was sitting in the nosebleed part of the Club and couldn’t really see what he was doing. Looked like the standard card and rope tricks.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 29, 2003 12:25:36 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : John Manley bows out of politics, weighs offer of ambassador to U.S.
Dear Jean,
Just came back from the market. Ran into Lindsey and Marc again; it is our usual meeting place to catch up on news. It is raining and windy outside so the market wasn’t super-packed, but I was there kind of late and a lot of produce had sold out. I forgot to buy eggs. Am heading into work shortly to prepare the Ballroom for the CCA, but want to eat lunch and wash some laundry first.
Spent a quiet night at home last night working on slides and exhibition applications and proposals. Am going to send something off to the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, and am finally getting that package off to Gaston. Started reading Straight From the Heart. So far it seems a bit dull and dry and meandering. Are you going to publish another book after you retire?
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 30, 2003 8:31:18 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Wanted: new minister who understands energy issues and gets along with others
Dear Jean,
I spent too much time at the Khyber this weekend, though I wasn’t drinking (a bit of a surprise there!). Saturday night I helped with the set-up and striking of the Ballroom for the live video re-mixing of the CCA conference by Christy Wade and Philip Clark. It went OK; they took a concrete, abstract-imagery take on the footage they shot of the conference. There was a good turnout; the Ballroom was packed. For an hour, anyway. Then the whole building pretty much emptied out. Went home early and watched a pretty good movie with Sarah—Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress—and then read for a while. I’m sorry to say but Straight from the Heart is not a very interesting book, even given that you wrote it before becoming PM, even before becoming Liberal leader. There are some awful passages that make no sense: what do you mean by “When I saw the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories and the Kluane Range in the Yukon, I wanted to protect them forever and eventually did”? How can you possibly speak about “forever” in the past tense?
Today I spent pretty much the whole day setting up the members show. It is a bit sparse this year, so I treated myself and put in three pieces: Shawn helped me rig up some dowel and we suspended one of the big Jean Chrétien: Man for All Reasons poster—from the rubbing of the little leadership campaign pin, the same as the one in the eyelevel show— from the ceiling; and I printed and framed a “God’s eye-view” of the Last Supper, from the slide Claudine and I had taken of the little knick-knack I bought from the Cyclorama store this past summer; and a fluorescent light tube I stuck in a corner of the gallery, sort of hidden, sort of illuminating an interesting section of wall, sort of Dan Flavin-esque. Put up a bunch of posters on my way home, then made supper for Sarah and I: our family mealtime.
Am putting in a full day tomorrow, then a part day on Tuesday, then am planning on taking the rest of the week off to work on my own stuff: applications, proposals, Xmas gifts and “making art”. Sounds fun and scary at the same time. Am hoping to hear from Mohanad soon about possibly working with him on some projects over the holidays; that way I can stay in Montréal longer and make a little money while I’m at it.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : November 30, 2003 10:31:47 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Snow, protest and border tie-ups delay exercises to prepare for Afghanistan
Dear Jean,
Hey, I just tried out an Audioblog feature for my site. I had one free post available so I used the recording I kept from the time someone from the PMO called me about returning some letters. The whole conversation isn’t there, unfortunately; my allotted time ran out. Anyway, I thought you’d enjoy it.
Watched the Simpsons and washed laundry tonight. The tableclothes from the Khyber were all covered with beer or salsa stains.
-chris
DEAR PM 