From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Tue Nov 2, 2004 12:19:45 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Sponsorship probe could undermine bureaucrat’s fraud trial, says lawyer, La Commission Gomery entendra mercredi le témoin-vedette Charles Guité
Dear Paul,
Well, I followed my traditional pattern for Halloween: turning off the light and ignoring the bell. Actually, nobody rang; it had started to rain just at suppertime. I spent the evening working on some exhibition applications and then went to Claudine’s, we dressed up as weird Zorro-like dandy superheroes, and went downtown to hear Jeff and Nick play on St. Denis. To start the show Jeff broke two guitar strings in a row (on two different guitars) and bled all over them both. I don’t think it was done on purpose. We were all tired though and split a cab with Sarah R. just as their set was ending. And today, the weekly work cycle began anew. I had a strong case of deja vu as I was screwing some drywall this afternoon. Sort of a, “just how long, how many days, how many times am I going to be doing this?” and then all the fears and anxieties about school, work, life, money, careers, etc. popped out of my head. Quietly, though, so that nobody else noticed.
I’ve had a couple really fun days with Clo, we’ve had some good conversations about art and life in general. I really like that girl. Today I had supper with her, she had made a macaroni casserole that reminded me of home. I stopped there after work to retrieve some art documents to send to YYZ for an exhibition application. Have a few more to send this week but french classes begin again tomorrow so my time will be even more compromised.
This evening I cleaned the apartment a bit and then went to SJMs to wash laundry. Started to watch a movie with Sarah R., The legend of 1900, which Clo and I had rented Sunday but never watched, but we stopped it halfway. It was waaaay too cheesy! We watched the Saturday Night Live presidential debates spoof special on TV instead. I had a few laughing fits and felt better about everything. Except that today at work Brendon burst my Washington Redskins bubble by mentioning the <a href=”http://www.buycostumes.com/presidentialmask.aspx“>Presidential Mask</a> predictor, which has, since 1980, foreshadowed the US election results through sales of caricature masks. And this year, Bush has outsold Kerry 53%-47%, signaling that he’ll be re-elected. Which is what a lot of people think will happen, in that sort of resigned “you can’t stop progress” sort of way. Depressing.
I haven’t heard back from you yet regarding the PM portrait proposal. I’m going to start using the proper channels. By the way, you wouldn’t happen to want a couple cats, would you? One with a minor indoor spraying problem?
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Wed Nov 3, 2004 7:17:42 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Federal-provincial-territorial ministers agree on national child-care program, L’opposition péquiste exige le démission de la ministre Julie Boulet
Dear Paul,
Please say it isn’t so. Dit moi que c’est un cauchemar, parce-que il y a. I was at Champs last night with Sarah R. and Mark (we split a club sandwich and fries, I was hungry after class), and Jen and Nick. The first hour was funny, they were playing the Jon Stewart comedy special, covering the election. As the night wore on it started to become apparent that Bush might win. Nick left early, the look of disgust palpable on his face. And now it all seems to rest on Ohio, and days of counting and re-counting. What surprises me is that Bush actually improved in the popular vote, garnering 51% of close to over 100 million voters. Does that mean that 48 million Americans are idiots? Or just easily fooled? I woke up early worrying about it, biked home (has slept over at Claudine’s, her place newly arranged with the new couch, it’s very cozy and comfortable), my apartment still smells, though now more like stale air and air fresheners, but still, it worries me too. I wasted my hour free time yesterday pointlessly riding around on the metro; I got on the wrong direction after changing at Berri-UQAM, fell asleep, woke up half way around, so had to switch to the blue line, was almost late for class and in a bad mood as a result. But class was fun, it felt good to be practicing more regularly again. But I’m feeling exhausted, and like I’m coming down with a cold. I’ve got to go, make a lunch for work and clean the kitty litter.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Thu Nov 4, 2004 7:14:30 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Canada-U.S. relations expected to be same-old, same-old with Bush re-election, Martin parle du “besoin d’un nouveau multilatéralisme” de la part de Bush
Dear Paul,
Le cauchemar va continuer. C’est incroyable. Est inacceptable. Maybe Canada and Québec should make special provisions to accept US Democrats and Greens as refugees. It would certainly help reverse the “brain drain”. We talked a lot about politics in french class, where I heard about Jeb Bush’s 3 million $ campaign a tué le train haute vitesse dans Floride. Why have efficient high speed trains when you can continue to convince your populace to buy a Hummer each? Why not, when your brother lost over a million jobs in his first mandate and reversed a projected budget surplus, effectively losing trillions of dollars? Hell, let’s increase military spending—already the highest in the world—to 20% of the total budget! Why spend only 200 billion $ when you can spend two or three times that? get armed to the teeth, lob missiles into space, take over the world, why not? OK, we didn’t talk about all that in class, that’s just me. Me being pissed off and feeling sick thinking about the next four years. Sick thinking about the hypocritical right-wing religious nut-cases that voted for Bush, and disturbed at just how many of them there are. Do they not grasp the irony of their zealotry? That it is equal to, or surpasses, the beliefs of Muslim extremists? Where’s the tolerance? Oh right, I forgot: tolerance would have been at the basis of the gay marriage referendums, which most states rejected. Well, here’s to another four years, Bush (insert mental image of upraised middle finger, or pants being dropped to reveal a full moon, whichever you prefer).
On the plus side, I met up with Claudine after class at Café Esperanza where she was having coffee with a classmate from her Arabic class. His name is Drew and he is going to pass my name along to a friend of his who is doing some major apartment renovations in the Mile End. Hopefully getting some work with him will end my chronic anxiety about work and money. Anyway, I must go, I forgot to pay my rent and want to cycle by my landlord’s place on my way to work this morning.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Thu Nov 4, 2004 5:32:19 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Martin slams anti-American rhetoric by Liberal MP, Parrish unapologetic, Guité tente de mouiller une fois de plus le premier ministre Martin
Dear Paul,
A couple recent pet peeves of mine: Motorists who speed at intersections when the light turns yellow and honk as they careen through when the light turns red. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but at most intersections (especially the really busy ones) in Montréal there is no delay. Once the light turns red the opposite direction turns green. People, cyclists and motorists tend to start crossing when the light is green, often to halt abruptly as some nincompoop in an SUV, Hummer, Rolls or Beamer streaks through the intersection at an accelerated speed. This makes me so mad that lately I’ve been thinking about ways to vent my frustration, but all my ideas (throwing items, giving chase and then the boot, etc.) all seem to have a high probability of ending badly. Any suggestions?
I’ve forgotten my other pet peeve, it came to me on the bike ride home from work and left my mind as soon as I arrived. Probably had something to do with George Fuckhead Bush. You already know my feelings on the matter so I won’t launch into another tirade now.
Hey, do you want a cat? Kuan peed in the tub yesterday and on my kitchen floor this morning. This weekend one of my many apartment projects will entail either cleaning the carpets thoroughly or rolling them up and putting them into storage. I’ve just about had enough of this. I’ll get a separate litter box for her, and if that doesn’t work…well, I don’t know what I’ll do. It’s frustrating that Clo is so allergic, she gets all stuffy when she visits me here, and as a result we spend more time at her place, which is fine but I’d like to enjoy my place a bit more as well. Any suggestions? Do you even have cats? What brand kitty litter do you use?
Anyway, I’d better run. I need to jump in the shower and mail some letters before class. I’m finally sending my grandparents the last of the money I owed them for the computer loan. Now, as per Murphy’s Law, my computer will probably suffer some bizarre meltdown. Better update my backups.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Sat Nov 6, 2004 7:44:45 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Two tugboat crewmen missing off B.C. coast, strong winds hamper search, Québec accorde 1 million $ de plus à la lutte contre les gangs de rue
Dear Paul,
Sorry I didn’t write earlier. I blame it on my dreams, both those I have at night while I’m sleeping and those for my life, which I seem to have lost track of for the moment. Say, if it was always your dream to be PM what is it like living it? Are you happy? A lot of people don’t seem to happy with you, myself included. Un chose, je pense que tu etait purposefully misleading on the bouclier antimissile issue before the election, knowing full well that the majority of Canadians are opposed to such foolishness. Do you want to be Prime Minister of Canada or lap dog of GWB?
Friday was an almost pointless day for me at work. I could feel a head cold coming on the night before, and was drinking hot lemon and ginger, but I felt in a fog all day long (the earplugs add to that sensation, actually). Spent a good part of the morning and afternoon sifting through rubble and tossing the larger chunks of concrete in the dumpster. The I filled in around the base for the balcony steps that Mike and Simon made. When I was inside I was leveling the ceiling in the furnace room. Going inside and outside wasn’t great for my cold, that’s for sure. On the plus side, j’ai acheté mon carte de menseulles pour le metro, juste avant le baissé de temperature. Le promenade sur la train cetait bon pour un petit somme.
Vendredi soir je suis recontré Claudine a l’arrête Lucien d’Allier et ensemble nous sommes marché a l’Armée de Salut sur Notré Dame pour le vernissage Used/Goods. L’art des trieze artistes avait melangé partout le magasin. C’etait fun avons cherché pour ca. Claudine had told me about the exhibit, organized by le collectif Cut Rate. She had done the translations. Ran into Ray Cronin there, who was with Jean-Pierre Gauthier, the recent winner of the Sobey Art Award. We talked a bit about grad school options, and I said I’d send updates on work I’m doing now. But as Dido sings (at this very moment, actually: “I don’t have time”). Sarah R. met us there, her friend was MC for the night as well as the Talk Show events occurring throughout the month. There are fun activities, like “Tirez le maximum de votre argent” et “Atelier de couture: Raccommodages” et “Réparez vous-mêmes”, et aussi un démonstration culinaire.
So afterwards the three of us took the metro back to Sherbrooke and walked to Jen and Nick’s. They had made reservations at Roi du Plateau. I told you that I ate there this summer with the TO and Halifax gangs, but I never really told you about it. The restaurant is a smallish room, plain but not offensively so, nice dim lighting and really busy. I had the same waitress both times, she’s pleasant but abrupt. The chicken is not as good as Chez Doval, neither is le vin rouge de maison. Claudine and I were both feeling under the weahter, stuffed up, not tasting much. We cabbed back to her place and fell asleep early, after a bath and tea.
And the weird dreams continue. A couple nights ago I dreamed of a dog falling from a window washing platform seventeen stories to the middle of the street. After a gruesome splat, the dog got up and walked around, with a painful, wobbly body. And this morning it was weird voyeuristic sex dreams. We were up early, Claudine is starting work again at a bookstore, part-time. We had time for play and coffee and reading the newspaper. On my way home I bought a new litter pan for the cats. Watched the striking SAQ workers for a bit with the owner of the pet show. She has to listen to chants and whistles all day long.
I worked on exhibition applications most of the day, specifically for <a href=”http://www.joyceyahoudagallery.com/“>Joyce Yahouda’s The Store</a> and the Art Gallery of Calgary. Why is it that I have such a hard time writing about my work? I hate artist statements, they should be abolished. I was running late, I blame all the porn on the internet, surfing takes far too long. Made some prints and headed downtown to the Belgo. Met Mona Hatoum briefly but she was being swarmed by ritzy artzy fartzy folks, so I didn’t dally. Plus I felt a bit shy, like an awkward fan. The work she had on at René Blouin was odd though, not much kick. I found her wax paper rubbings of collanders/strainers a bit unnerving. So simple, so raw, delicate, effective. But the process, the simplicity and economy of means is a lot like my street rubbings. I already feel that I’m being derivative enough as it is (take <a href=”http://www.wynicktuckgallery.ca/past_2004/past_ferg_2004.htm“>Gerald Ferguson</a>, for example). But enough of that. There were good exhibits at CIRCA, La génération spontanée par Yves Blais avait plus que beaucoup des mouches comme j’avais jamais vu, et Effritements par Patrick Beaulieu a fait les petites arbes tourneraitsans interruption, to make a stunning visual imprint. Spooky, both shows.
So now I’m off to Claudine’s again for supper at her place. Neither of us have concrete plans for the night, we’ll watch a movie or go to a café to read or write, we both have work to do. She was asking me tough questions last night, about direction and motivation and life, and I don’t have those answers, and it scares me a little. School, work, art, life. It seems I’m doing it all in backwards order, something isn’t quite sitting right. Whatever. I’d ask you for help, but I get the feeling that I’ll sooner be struck by a falling hippopotamus riding a piano than hear back from you. It seems a bit ungrateful, considering that you suck up 90% of my email time!
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Mon Nov 8, 2004 7:11:36 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Martin’s pre-election jet trips cost taxpayers up to $1 million, records suggest, Les déplacements pré-électoraux de Paul Martin ont coûté jusqu’à 1 million $
Dear Paul,
Had a lazy, wandering Sunday. Woke up sort of early—I keep forgetting to turn off my phone, and my 6:45am alarm goes off—and Clo and I had coffee, read the paper a bit and then went for breakfast on Laurier, a nice little place called le Comptoir de something-something. Picked up cold medication and lozenges; we’re both stuffed up, but not too badly. Walked to my place to get my bike, the weather was unusually warm. Went to some of the fabric stores on St. Hubert, then decided to se the exhibitions at the MACM. Ed Burtynsky’s photographs were amazing, he manages to make nickel mine tailings, industrial dumps, tires, refineries, vast fields of oil wells and massive ships being torn apart by hand, look beautiful, despite the resonance they imply; that of massive destruction. He really highlights what impact we leave on the planet. The Isaac Julien videos were really good as well, he adeptly handles three screens where the images interact, and sometimes overlap, to tell stories of colonial experiences. While at the MACM we bought tickets for the Cremaster Cycle, by over-hyped artist Mathew Barney. Apres le musée nous avons decidé a aller pour café. Nous étions en train de aller quand il y commencait a pleut. Nous sommes allé a un “java u” qui est proche a le librarie ou Claudine travailler. Nous avons mangé une bonne soupe et sandwich, et un thé et café.
In the evening I made a casserole and watched Tout le monde en parle, where Guy Lepage apologized for throwing Richard Desjardin’s trophy during the ADSQ awards ceremony last week, while at the same time maintaining that Richard could have made the effort to come to the ceremony and receive his awards. Sheila Copps was on the program, too, and again maintained that you are, or were, planning to privatise CBC, change the Canada Health Act and join the US on going to war in Iraq. I cleaned the apartment to make it Claudine-safe; she’s allergic to the cats. She came over and we watched a little TV (literally and figuratively) before heading to bed.
And now I’m late for work again.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Wed Nov 10, 2004 12:34:38 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Mother and seven children perish when flames engulf Niagara farmhouse, Paul Martin réplique à Jean Charest au sujet du fédéralisme fructueux
Dear Paul,
My cold has returned. It might have something to do with riding the metro and breathing all that recycled air, full of everyone’s germs. Or maybe I’m not eating enough vitamins. Or getting enough sleep.
Tim’s latest Good Reads is from John Ralston Saul. As per usual, it is about the public good, debate, discussion, governance and the role of media. I felt guilty after reading it. It made me feel isolated and useless; often how I feel about wanting/trying to be an artist. I need a good crit, that’s what I need. First I need to make some work. Hey, I booked Galerie Espace on St. Laurent for an exhibition in March. It will be a 2-person show with Melissa. It is tentatively called “People Rubbing Things/ les gens frottent quel que choses”, but I don’t think that title will stick. It’s opening March 23, you should try to come. I might put you on the bill anyway, so consider this advance warning.
Work is more of the same. Today I replaced plywood flooring that had been torn up in the master bedroom because there was a problem with the wiring underneath. Started putting the ceiling up in the basement. Finished some hardwood flooring in the powder room. The owner absolutely, positively wants us finished in 3 weeks. I hope to find other contracts before then.
Today I actually locked myself in the powder room and had a five-minute nap. I’m growing weary of the constant ups and downs throughout the day. I have three or four major mood swings each day, depending on if I’m thinking about art or work, politics or love, relationships or money.
French class was fun. I talk casually more and more with other classmates, and with Melissa, which I find odd, because we talk with each other in english everywhere except at school. And the more time I spend there the more it feels like school, old-school style. Like I’m right back in grade seven.
So the polar ice cap is melting, that’s just great. Do we need any more evidence the world is slowly going to hell in a handbasket?
There was a small party/potluck tonight at SJMs in celebration of Jessie’s birthday. I stopped by after class. Was too tired to really have any fun. I wish there was a 24-hour grocery store close by.
I’m working on some digital photographs and some models for the Curio Cabinets. It’s getting too cold out to make new frottage paintings, though I did buy some fabric this past weekend and can make some if the weather changes. But now that halloween is past and all the Xmas decorations are coming out there have been ample opportunities to acquire new images that see to fit with the themes I’ve been tracking. Collecting.
Have been flirting with the idea of taking a sick day this week to finish up some proposals and find some old cabinets to start working on. The loss of money isn’t fun, but I could accomplish a lot and it would be good for mental health, as well as the physical.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Wed Nov 10, 2004 11:30:19 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: No deal on offshore resources but Ottawa, provinces to keep talking, Le Québec veut conquérir les marchés du Mexique, de l’Inde et de la Chine
Dear Paul,
Had a long day at work today. There was little for me to do, so found myself standing around a lot. The biggest holdup is the moldings, and the electrician, and decisions on walls and ceilings in the basement. At least I was inside; Simon and Allen have been outside all week completing the balcony. My cold is still lingering, and I’m wondering if it is worth going to work and being bored out of my tree and risk my health, or if I should just take a day off. I’m leaning towards a mental/physical health day. Maybe Friday. I’ve got a ton of things to cross off on my current list of things to do. The fact that Xmas is sneaking up on us is freaking me out. I need to make travel plans, any plans, really, and budget, and figure out gifts, all that fun stuff. Do you do all your own Xmas shopping? When do you find time?
I’ve been thinking about the Queen a lot lately. I find her a bit omnipresent, probably due to the fact that she is on all our money. Did you know that her official title here in Canada is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”? Whose faith, by the way? I think I’m going to work the Queen into this project of mine, maybe make a watermark of her and stamp everything with it. Did you know that when she visited Quebec City in 1964 she was greeted by large crowds of booing separatists?
I’ve been reading email and websites that seem to point to another Bush tampering. It seems a lot of those new fangled electronic voting machines, like the ones used in Florida, created some questionable and in some cases, flawed results. Like a long string of Bush victories in high Democratic states, and cases where more votes were tallied than people actually living in the areas. There have been lots and lots of complaints of interference as well. Do you think Bush might have stolen another election? At this point, does it even matter? None of the major media outlets are following this with any diligence. Maybe I’m just unwilling to let go, I’m still in denial.
I’m going to try to find an ingrown hair on my face and then go to bed early.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Sat Nov 13, 2004 2:05:26 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Grief, tears as mother, seven children killed in house fire are mourned, Le mouvement Option Citoyenne se défend de nuire au PQ
Dear Paul,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. I had every intention of doing so last night, but I decided to have a nap after supper and that was it. I slept thirteen hours, wow. I think I needed it, as I feel refreshed and in better health today. Which is good, as for the past couple days I have been feeling stuffed up and in “cold mode”. Which made me feel even more useless at work, wandering around the house fiddling with things. I’ve been helping Brendon with the baseboards. Re-learned how to bisect an angle, something I don’t think I’ve done in twenty years. I remember many math classes, when my teachers said that there were lots of practical applications but I didn’t believe them because was going to be an artist (i.e. unemployable) and wouldn’t need it. Well, here is yet another example of needing it. And liking it, which is the weird part. And of course wanting to take such a simple method and turn it back into art, or at least find an art use. So I’ll buy myself a geometry set today.
Speaking of Remembering, Thursday was Remembrance day. We listened to english CBC, which made me remember how much I dislike Shelagh Rogers. Her show drips with far too much sentimentality about “Canada”. And I am annoyed that most often remembrance day ceremonies lean towards a glorification of war. I would think most veterans, having been hooked into serving themselves, would be more anti-war—including current war—than most. For me, remembering the Great Wars of the past is to try to prevent such atrocities from happening again, and the ceremonies seem to pale in impact given that there are so many wars still raging. And that the world’s sole “Superpower” feels justified in invading other nations under false pretenses.
Anyway, Thursday night after class I cycled to la Boit Noir to meet Claudine. We were going to rent a movie but decided against it, and went to El Dorado to split a club sandwich and beer instead. Had a good conversation about art, and my proposed portrait-painting project. I still haven’t heard back from you, but I don’t know what other official channels to follow. A lot of other departments concerning the Prime Minister have the same email address. How many people read these letters, anyhow? I’ll have to start making phone calls, and try to figure out where and to whom to send an actual proposal. Or do you just choose your own portrait painter? So far as I know Jean hasn’t had one done yet, and Mulroney’s was only unveiled a couple years ago. His was painted by Igor V. Babailov. Oddly enough, Jean gave George Bush a painting by the same artist. Do you know him? He makes nice portraits, but they are kind of boring.
Today the sun is shining and it isn’t too cold out; I’ll make some more frottage paintings, and pick up some art-making and apartment supplies, do a little shopping, prepare some more exhibition applications. My problem with time is exacerbated by the infinite depth of the internet. Anytime I start researching things it expands to fill all my available time, and then I often get so sidetracked that I lose what I was looking for in the first place. And I think I might have signed up for another three months abonnement of La Presse, but I’m not entirely sure; I tried the whole conversation in french. I’ll find out this week, when I get the bill, exactly what transpired. I still have trouble following conversations, especially on the telephone.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Sun Nov 14, 2004 9:50:29 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Season’s first major storm pummels Nova Scotia, leaves 100,000 without power, La Nouvelle-Ecosse essuie sa première tempête hivernale dimanche
Dear Paul,
Well, we didn’t get to see the show at Oboro because the gallery is closed on Sunday. Quite convenient, for those of us caught in the rat race Monday to Friday. Most likely a staffing/funding issue, otherwise why not open on Sunday? Articule is in the same building and it was open, but the shows there not spectacular. I didn’t feel like seeing minimalist computer drawings or dense and obtuse video art today, I wanted to see a dark room and sixty diodes blinking red and green, linked to the wind. There wasn’t much wind today, so we probably didn’t miss much.
But my foul mood returned, which probably didn’t make for good company. Maybe it’s just the change in season, or the restlessness I feel at work, or the fear I carry of not having any more art ideas, or the motivation to complete the ideas I have. I came home and set about cleaning the apartment, but I am really getting tired of cleaning up cat hair. It’s everywhere! I should really shave those two.
Spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening at the Laundromat. It was packed, so waiting times for washers and dryers were high. Good time to read the paper, or write a bit, but that’s about it.
So then I bought some groceries, forgot onions and had to go back. Made some spicy chili. Watched the Simpsons. It was the renovations episode. Worked on the rope piece for Peter’s gallery. I have to send it to him by the end of the month.
I was defrosting my fridge and punctured the freezer liner with a knife. Stupid. The Freon is leaking and according to the Fridge Doctor, it is better to replace the fridge than try to fix it. Damn.
I’m off to make some rubbings ce soir, I noticed some good ones on my street, near Rosemont and Parc Laurier.
How’s Haiti?
-chris
From: chrislloyd@videotron.ca
Date: Sun Nov 14, 2004 11:55:04 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: chrislloyd@videotron.ca
Subject: Grief, tears as mother, seven children killed in housefire mourned Près de 1000 personnes rendent un dernier hommage à Monika Woerlen
Dear Paul,
Went to Home Depot yesterday and fell into a foul mood. I
don’t know if there is some causation there. The lights, the
sheer size of the place, it’s overwhelming. Plus all day I
seemed to be getting into the way of people. It peaked while
at a tiny vegetarian restaurant on St. Laurent called Le Vivres. I
had met Claudine at Stokes on St. Denis; she had extra 20%
off sale price coupons and needed a pepper grinder. We went
out for supper afterwards. The food was…interesting. Lots of
peanuts. But the place was too busy and I started feeling
clausterphobic, surrounded by too many dreadlocks and
patched skirts and too much honest healthy goodness. That
mean conservative streak within me, that is usually quite
dormant, started to rear its ugly head. Especially after I
had to cycle to the Couche Tard a coin de St. Joseph parce que
le restaurent ne prend pas carte de debit ou credit. Hmph. OK,
I understand the mentality behind taking a stand against big
banks and their hyper-inflated profits and suck-ass service
fees, but then why run a business in the first place? Annoying
for those of us that don’t carry a lot of cash around.
So after eating we went to F-52 for the Shary Boyle’s book
launch of Witness My Shame. The drawings wear the title well.
We spoke briefly, mostly of ARCs, and how they suck the life
out of their employees. The Clo went to La Boit Noire and this
time rented two movies, Wallace and Gromit and La Guerre
des Tuques. Both classics, in their respective fields.
Today is another sunny day. We’re off to visit an exhibition at
Oboro, then I’m going to try to finish my list of things to do.
Maybe get some paintings made. I didn’t get any done
yesterday; couldn’t find the right spots.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Mon Nov 15, 2004 5:26:44 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Fingerprints, photographs begin at U.S. border crossings with Canada, Mexico, La CSN souligne le 1er anniversaire des lois “antisyndicales et antisociales”
Dear Paul,
Do you think I can patch the tiny hole in my freezer with removable weather-stripping and duct tape? I’m going to give it a try, but I’ll buy the duct tape on my way to class. Right now I need to shave and grab a shower and a quick bite to eat.
Had a successful evening; I made three frottage paintings on my way to Clo’s. I’ll post a picture of the best one on the website later tonight. Clo had rented Coffee and Cigarettes but we both fell asleep after the third our fourth story. The dialogue seemed to be getting repetitive; each time coffee or cigarettes were mentioned I felt more and more tired.
Had a good day at work. The days seem to be getting shorter, but I think it’s because our breaks are getting longer. The latest I’ve heard is that the floors are being sanded December 1. We can’t be in the house then. I haven’t heard back from the Xmas tree guard position I called about. I’ll keep you posted.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Thu Nov 18, 2004 5:45:56 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Former cabinet minister Gagliano denies allegations of mob membership, L’ex-ministre libéral Alfonso Gagliano fait encore parler de lui aux Communes
Dear Paul,
I hear you’ve ejected Carolyn Parrish from the Liberal caucus. Good move. You don’t want too many free thinkers who shoot their mouths off like that in your party, I’m sure. Nope, a dedicated crew who step in line and follow orders is just what the doctor ordered. Best not to hear too many individual thoughts on such delicate matters as Canada-US relations. Especially when you are trying to be, what, George’s new best friend? Better clamp down a little tighter before Mr. Bush arrives at the end of the month. By the way, is he going to be addressing parliament? I’d like to see that, maybe I’ll make a special trip to Ottawa. Can the public watch? I’ll bring my “Fuck Bush” sticker and maybe make some posters. Have you made plans to ship in extra police officers to cover potential demonstrations? I’ll be sure to bring my camera. I’ll bring some exhibition applications for Gallery 101 and the Ottawa Art Gallery and a proposal to be your official portrait painter as well, so it will be a mixed business/pleasure trip. That way I can claim most of it on my taxes, if I ever get around to registering. And if I ever get around to doing my taxes. I went five years the last time, I guess seven months late so far this year isn’t so bad.
Gotta go, I’m meeting my french class at the opening of the Salon des livres for some sort of treasure hunt. Need to grab a shower first, I’m covered with sawdust.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:05:18 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Ont. doctors vote to reject government’s proposed payment deal, Grève à la SAQ: Le ministre Michel Després ne voit pas d’urgence
Dear Paul,
Hey, thanks for writing the other day, brief response that it was. And typical. Why not try some variation next time?
I really enjoyed my “mental health buy a fridge” day off work yesterday. I had a pleasant evening at la salon des livres on Thursday, bought some art magazines and a subscription to CV, and met Claudine after work. We split a pizza on St. Denis and spent the night at her place. So Friday it was almost warm out, and I cycled around Beaubien and Papineau in the search for a new fridge. Well, new to me. I finally found just the right one, a Danby Ignis that is just the right size and was just the right price. It was delivered in the afternoon but I needed to wait four hours to plug it in, so that didn’t happen until, well, just a few minutes ago. I was invited to Fred’s birthday supper party at Tony du Sud. I was Sarah R.’s “date” for the night. It was a fun yet slightly bizarre evening, sharing a table of close to thirty people, fifteen bottles of wine or so, and a waiter whose best trick was the disappearing act, and then during Fred’s little “thank-you” speech he dropped the bomb and asked Anna to marry him, so needless to say there were tears everywhere. Very touching. She said yes, by the way. After supper most of us went to le boul noir on Mont Royal, a tricky place to find for the first time, it’s big but tucked into a second floor, above the Jean Coutou. Played pool and nine ball, drank some beer, and then crashed at Claudine’s. Much later than I had planned. It’s hard to judge how late it is sometimes, especially when the bars are still open at 3am. And I don’t care how the rhyme goes, beer after wine is no better than before. I slept in late and I still have a bear behind the eyes. And now I’m off to watch Cremaster 1 and 2 at the MAC.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Sun Nov 21, 2004 6:52:44 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Federal Liberals were ahead in recent national poll with 40 per cent support, Développement durable et exportations d’électricité vont de pair, dit Charest
Dear Paul,
Have you ever heard your neighbours having sex? I suppose 24 Sussex is a bit more isolated than the typical Montréal apartment. Anyway, last night, just after Clo arrived from a house party, we heard my neighbours come home and just start going at it. It was hilarious, a bit of a turn on too, but mostly funny, the noises! The bed rocking, the odd shifts in tempo and frequency, the wailing. It could have been mixed seamlessly into the Cremaster films.
Speaking of which, I finished the <a href=”http://www.cremaster.net“>Cremaster</a> cycle this afternoon. #3 is my favourite, with #2 a close second. I still don’t know quite what to think of it all. One thing is for sure, though: it sure jazzed me up about art again. I’ve been on a weird high for two days straight, like coming out of yesterday’s hangover has been like coming out of a larger fog. Also, hearing that Joyce Yahouda Gallery is interested in the proposal I sent them for The Store helps, as now I have to make stuff. Same with Peter, he’s installing all this week and my rope piece isn’t finished. But a lot of looses ends are coming together and I’m feeling oddly energized. And it’s like their is some sort of weird magnetism going on, and I don’t just mean with the ladies. Sure, it’s all fun and well to flirt with the young twenty-somethings at parties, until you get too drunk to follow the conversations no matter where they might be leading. There is also that weird magnetism that happens between strangers in a crowded room, something more akin to ESP or telepathy than straight-up desire. Running into old friends, like Rob S. (62) on the #55 and diving right into conversations about computer programs that turn music into 3-dimensional models, and grants, and art, in a few brief minutes. He’s just back from touring and playing the drum machine on his computer has given him carpel tunnel syndrome. And then running into the ESP girl again, out of nowhere on St. Laurent, but still no talking, and then I go and walk into a lampost, typical.
Seeing good art brings the everyday into sharper focus, so sharp sometimes it feels like it is splitting apart vision itself. Things get hard to look at. I was at the MAC early and decided to take in the Michel Goulet show, Part de vie, part de jour. It was really good, a fun alchemy at play. Makes me wish I’d spent more time in the metal shop at school and had access to a warehouse full of plasma cutters and steel. I also watched most of Isaac Julien’s documentary on Frantz Fanon, who wrote The wretched of the earth, which was stunning and fantastic and, well, makes me want to know more about Algeria. Yeah, I’ll get right on that. Once I’m unemployed, maybe. Speaking of work, the 4-day work week is really where it is at. I’m so energized right now I could eat a horse (and I probably just did, who knows what was in that Belle Province burger). That’s not quite what I mean: I’m going to go work on three art pieces at once, that’s how energized I am. Then I’ll go out with Sarah R. and Jen to hear Nick and Geoff play, and take digital pictures of all the weird crazy shit that is Montréal—the honeymoon isn’t over yet, by the way, I still find myself wandering around in sheer wonderment—and then maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll get a late-night phone call from someone special, who might need some TLC after a hard day’s work.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:41:52 AM America/Montreal
To: group 1
Subject: Changes to art funding at the Canada Council
Hello everybody,
Sorry about the long mass email, but I’ve been getting a few of them myself recently, all about the same subject: the proposed changes to the canada council visual arts funding programs. Since copy + paste email petitions don’t work (in my opinion, anyway), I’ve set up an online one. You can access it real quick at:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/artsfunding
And of course for more info on the proposed changes you should visit the Canada Council site at:
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/visualarts/va_consultations.htm
And if you want to keep up with me and my letters to the PM they are at:
http://www.dearpm.blogspot.com
Take care,
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:56:21 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Tories win 10th straight majority, Des agriculteurs amènent des vaches au parc Lafontaine pour les ministres
Dear Paul,
Here’s a question for you: how do you get rid of a repeating squeak in the sole of a boot? I don’t know if I told you this already, but I finally bought work-boots for myself, a few weeks ago. I figured if I was going to stay in the construction milieu for any length of time I had better have them. Plus, they will make good winter boots, as they are quite warm. The problem is, a week or so after I got them, the sole on the left started to squeak. It squeaks every time I take a step, it doesn’t matter what surface I’m on. It is getting to be really, really frustrating. Any advice?
I took the night off french class tonight to try to finish some art projects that have imminent deadlines: choosing the letters for The Store, and finishing my rope and collage projects for Peter. I’m not having any luck with either, at the moment. The letters are too hard to choose; why one over another? and Word keeps freezing every time I try to write to PDF, in order to print them tomorrow. The ropes look better, especially after I shortened the whole piece, and made the nooses smaller, but it still looks odd. I made some frottage paintings of the heaping mass of it last night, which turned out OK and I might include in the stuff I’m sending to NB. I also finally managed to get a really large street painting of my favourite gas/gaz plate on Beuabien, just across from the SAQ. It was late at night so there was very little traffic; important, because this plate is right in the middle of the road. A drunken patron of Skyy Bar came out and talked with me for a bit; he thought at first I was making a protest against the SAQ. The workers are on strike right now.
Have you been following the stuff going on at Canada Council headquarters lately? They are proposing all sorts of bizarre changes to their funding programs in order to meet the demand of today’s reality of more artists and diminishing funding. The proposed new categories would make it a lot more difficult for visual artists to get adequate funding for creative work, which would pretty much make it a moot organization for most artists I know. And these aren’t even the young, young pups anymore. There’s a whole new DIY thing going on now. Canada Council will most likely catch on to it in another decade or so. Anyway, I’ve been getting the email petitions, flawed as they are. Sending an email petition is basically impossible, to sign, because digital versions replicate themselves and get re-sent a gazillion times. What you really need to do is set up an on-line petition, as it keeps the petition in one place. So I went and set one up, you can sign it <a href=”http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/artsfunding“>here.</a> So much for making art tonight, I’ll be sending emails for the next hour trying to get people to sign yet another petition. But you know me, I’m a great procrastinator. You must get loads of petitions, there seems to be one out there for just about everything, some more legitimate than others. Do you ever get huge bundles of pages with thousands of signatures dropped on your desk and just go “whoah”? Do they ever change your mind or rock your world?
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:43:57 AM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Wasted drug costs, misspent native education budget highlight auditor’s report, Ottawa paye des dizaines de millions en trop pour ses médicaments, dit Fraser
Dear Paul,
I’m exhausted and just want to sleep. Je sens mal. Dernierement, quand je dors, je dors mal et pas beaucoup. Je suis un morte vivante a travaille. Mais oui, ecoute, j’ai enfin trouvé Laurent, un ami de Geoff par téléphone aujourd’hui, et je parle avec son patron, et je vais travaille avec leurs, commencement lundi. Good timing, as the floor sanders are starting at the current house on December 1. I was hoping to take the 1st off and go to Ottawa and protest the Bush, but I guess I will have to find some other outlet for that. It would have been so sweet to hear him try to convince parliament of the urgent need for le bouclier antimissile. Unfortunately, I need the work. Slave to the money, etc. In some utopian corner of my brain I am hoping to save up some money while I am working so as to tide me over when I don’t have work. Like some sort of nest egg, or self-financed artist grant. Trouble is, as you know, I spend way too fast.
French class was fun tonight. We watched a movie (faire pour télévision, peut étre?) on Joseph-Armand Bombardier. It would be better as a straight-up documentary, as the subject is interesting, but the interpretation, music and acting isn’t. Bought some groceries afterwards. Ran into my downstairs neighbours at the marché. Ils m’ont dit ce que ils avaient pensé que je ne habitais ici encore, parce-que ils avaient rarement me vu. We also talked of recent leaks in the building. Apparently the plumbing is a bit of a patchwork quilt. Figures.
The only real eventful part of work today was when Greg and Tom got into a huge yelling argument in the hall and were threatening to beat one another up. I guess some guys carry that schoolyard method of brawling through difference into adulthood. It’s definitely some sort of primordial, territorial, aggressive tendencies boiling up. Oh, and I also extracted some drywall screws from the walls beside the pocket doors. The tips of the screws had the potential to scratch the surface of the doors. More of the two steps forward, one-and-a-half steps back approach.
But I’ve still some artwork prep to do tonight before I hit the hay, so I had best be going. Am mailing my nooses to Peter tomorrow before work, and will leave a bit early to print, assemble and drop of the work for The Store. I still have some collage pieces to complete as well. No rest for the wicked?
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:59:44 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Worldwide shortages of doctors a ‘perfect storm’ for Canada, says CMA head, Martin inaugure dans la liesse une école financée en partie par le Canada
Cher Paul,
Aujourd ‘hui c’etait un petit congé pour moi. Quand je suis finalement revé—je dis finalement, parce que j’ai dormi pendant trois sonneries jusqu’a onze heure—j’ai eu mal a cou. C’etait difficile pour respirer. Heureusement, aprés deux ou trois heurres, le maladie a disparu. Puis, il a senti bon a resté chez moi pour la jour. I think I really needed the extra rest. Spent the whole day working on the collages I eventually sent to Peter, in my little red suitcases. Les valises etait vraiment bon choses pour envoyer l’oevres d’art. Mais, il y a un jour de détente, encore. I just couldn’t work fast enough. Little things, tiny decisions, piled one on top of the other until I was out of time. Fun, though, as they were art-related. Today I also needed to print the letters for The Store, but had a few problems at the Bureau d’affaires. Printing problems, aarg! Plus, I had weather problems today: il a plu partout. Il pleut encore. I couldn’t start, let alone finish, the ten frottage drawings for The Store. So I’ll put that errand off until tomorrow. A good excuse to leave a half hour early. I find the four-day work week much more enjoyable. It’s nice when it happens right in the middle of the week, too.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:25:44 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Deputy prime minister lauds decision of Ukrainian court in disputed election, Deux ministres du gouvernement Charest sont dans l’eau chaude
Dear Paul,
I’m missing the first half of my french class tonight to finish a cover letter for a job posting Timothy emailed me. The job is reading and forwarding mail to the NDP party. How ironic would that be if I happened to get the job? Do you think the fact that I told them I write to you every day helped or hindered my chances? It would be nice to work in an office again. The war-grunting and constant alpha-male battles at the construction site are starting to wear me out. I can see alpha-male battles being a problem with the Federal Liberals (haven’t read Sheila’s book yet, but I will, at some point), but I hope the problem won’t be so acute with the NDP.
I left work an hour early today to finish ten frottage drawing for The Store. They didn’t turn out that great, because I had forgotten my special graphite stick at home. And the only decent water main I could find didn’t give the most legible impression. Why do I always leave things to the last minute? I guess I like the thrill of working under pressure. And making sidewalk drawings in sub-zero temperature. I think my next artist grant application should be to send myself to Rome in the winter to make sidewalk paintings. I can conceptually link it to this project, you know, the Pope, the Renaissance, Power, Art, the Everyday, etc.
Actually, I’ve been thinking and wondering lately if this project has more to do with documenting various cycles of work and labour relations than an examination of political relationships. But I guess there are links along the way. But this work, my “artwork”, seems more and more to be about describing events that unfold in my “other” work, i.e. paid work. But thinking back, I realize I’ve always been interested in the bizarre jobs I’ve held. And seeing as I start a new job next week, in a cabinet-making factory, and I’m starting to imagine myself working in correspondence offices for political parties, I imagine this trend will continue. For kicks, I thought it might be fun to recap all the jobs I’ve held since I started being a slave to the money:
• Babysitter
• Video store clerk (in my aunt’s basement, age 14)
• Mcdonald’s
• Barge-grinder
• Canadian Armed Forces Militia
• Door-to-door encyclopedia salesperson
• Door-to-door liver foundation canvasser
• Telephone sales
• Tim Horton’s
• Waiter
• Roots salesperson
• Handmade T-shirts
• Exterior house painter
• Baby clothes salesperson
• Door-to-door Greenpeace canvasser
• Handmade greeting cards
• Storefront display painter
• Telephone sales
• Xmas decorator
• Specialty interior painter
• Laundromat attendant
• Gallery attendant
• Gallery preparator
• Artist-run centre Director
• Occasional arts writer
• General labourer
Hmm, this list is pathetic! And I’ve probably forgotten a few of the less memorable. Weren’t you president and CEO of Canada Steamship Lines when you were my age? At least I don’t hire cheap foreign labour and evade paying my taxes and cut the hell out of social programs and spend a million dollars flying a fancy jet around the country in a near-desperate attempt to hang on to power, nor do I brown my nose on the ass of a certain demi-dictatorial leader of a nearby southern country (and I’m not talking about Cuba!). Keep your millions and your ego, Paul. I don’t want the headaches and guilt they must bring you. Though I’ll take some cash if you still want me to paint your portrait.
I’ve procrastinated enough, It’s time I get my ass to class. I can only listen to so much of “sac a dos—avec Valerie” on Radio-Canada. Just what IS that babbling creature she is always talking to? Est-ce qu’il habite dans un sac?
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:14:55 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: Harper maintains message consistent in Quebec and rest of Canada, La francophonie accorde à Québec l’organisation du sommet de 2008
Dear Paul,
Friday marked my last day at the house in Westmount—for now. To complicate matters, Steve asked me to come all next week, and I’ve already agreed to work with Laurent next week. So I called Babek and arranged for him to replace me, at least for half the week.
J’avais un petit fatigué pendent vendredi. J’ai passé la nuit hier chez Claudine. C’etait le premier fois dans le semaine, parce que elle est eu un grand contat du traduction. J’ai endormi plus tard, aprés beaucoup de travaille sur mon ordinateur. Il a besoin un bon nettoyage.
J’ai reconnaité Claudine et ses amis a un petit bar sur St. Laurent quand mon voisin Anne-Marie travaillaint. Elle me donne un bierre, gratuit, un p’tit cadeux. Peut être a cause de j’ai essaié parle seulement francais acec les gens? Je ne sais pas. Apres, tout le gang ont allé a un petit resto-italian. Le resto c’etait
Aujourd ‘hui j’ai nettoyé mon aparement, il c’etait vraiment salle. At least it has been smelling better. I rolled up the blue rug; I am sick of constantly cleaning the cat hair from it. I think I will shave them. What sort of drug should I tranquilize them with?
Aussi, j’ai marché a centre ville pour donne dix nouveau frottages a The Store. J’ai fait les est en train de marcher. I made them along the way. Alana par The Store a eu m’ecrit demander si je peut apporter des autres avec plus variété. The previous ten I had brought were all of the same source. Remember, I told you I had left them until the last minute, typical.
I ran into Kent and Claudine while at the Belgo. She gave me a little gift and told me not to open it until I got home. She bought me cute underwear with the picture of Chrétien and Bush together in China, the one I painted and called “Like Family”, and eventually sold to the AGNS. I’m going to try the underwear on and then try, in the manner of Bart Simpson, to take legible photographs of my own ass. I’ll post them on my blog if they work out.
I really must go and organize my workroom. There is stuff everywhere.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd@videotron.ca>
Date: Mon Nov 29, 2004 10:54:58 PM America/Montreal
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Subject: From Raging Grannies to belly dancers, peaceful Bush protests expected, Des producteurs de vaches de réforme manifestent devant le parlement
Dear Paul,
Samedi soir j’ai vu le film “Kinsey” avec Sarah R. Il etait bon. Hier, j’ai vu le film “treize ans” avec Sarah R. et cette ami Karen, qui visité juste pout un jour par Vancouver. Nous avons vu le film chez moi, aprés soupé, que j’ai cuisinée. Aprés ca, Claudine a vient ici et j’ai vu le film encore. C’etait fort, vraiment fort. Reminds me of why I want to forget being a teenager.
Ajour ‘hui c’etait mon premiere jour de travailler avec le compagnie “Furnibois”, avec Laurent. Je vais parle avec tu encore sur cette sujet; maintenant, je suis en train a rencontrer Claudine chez ell pour un film. Je pense que “Spider-man 2” est sur la menu. We had a great night together last night, probably woke up the neighbours. Nice to have nights like that once in a while.
I have to tell you about my new plan: Pour faire un autre chose dans mon ouvre (cette lettres, par example), je sera être ton exclusif port parole. More on this later. Oh, I also spoke on the phone today with Nathalie from TRAFIC, that contemporary arts festival in Abitibi in the spring that I applied to. I think she liked the idea but was concerned about the close proximity in time and geography (and my project) to the Manif d’Art. The whole conversation was in french so I might have missed a few things, but I think she is going to check with the other commissionaires and call me back shortly.
Anyway, I’ve my second wind, and I’m off.
-chris
DEAR PM 