Cities crucial to Canada’s success with emerging Indian, Chinese markets: PM, Hausse de 7,3 millions $ des poursuites dans le dossier des commandites
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Sat, Oct 1, 2005 at 7:10 AM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
I am so, so sorry for writing to you last night in the state I was in.
I should have just gone to bed. I’ll write a little update on the
conference later today, if I find time. The conference is proving to
be very stimulating, lots of good conversations and discussions
happening, it’s very much fun to be around such a large group of
artists. I’ve run into Mathieu Leger, who is doing a performance at
the Gala Galore! tonight, and nisk and Jennifer and Angele from
Moncton, and John from Sackville, and met a really interesting artist,
Cornelius, who moved here from Toronto 2 years ago and has been going
stir-crazy for lack of a scene. He’s been trying to contact Bernie,
the cultural affairs officer, and hasn’t heard back a thing. Sort of
like my writing to you, only he’s not so obsessive about it. Anyway,
I’m off to read the recently-adopted municipal Arts and Culture policy
so I’ll be better informed at the panels this afternoon.
Again, I apologize for last night. I’ll try not to let it happen again.
-chris
Attempts to woo MacKay home likely to face uphill battle: N.S. Tory insiders, Des jeunes libéraux se déshabillent pour promouvoir l’unité nationale Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Sun, Oct 2, 2005 at 10:59 PM
To: paul martin <martin.p@parl.gc.ca>, paul martin <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
I’ve just zoned out for a few hours in front of that dastardly flickering light box, so now I don’t very much feel like writing to you. The conference is over and was exhausting, mostly mentally exhausting. Last night was the gala, it started off under the whales in the NBM and moved through a Claude Rousell exhibit. I’ve always liked his tri-colour outdoor sculpture on top of City Hall. Better ‘plop art’ than bronze moose, in my eyes. The exhibit was odd, as it was comprised mostly;y of colour photocopies of photographs of his two and three-dimensional works. Ran into Ed and Clea and of course we talked about travel and the Orient and Trans-Siberian Express and Prague. And then there was the Gala and lots of fun entertainment, everything went off without a hitch and Pauline stood up to introduce the main presenters and sponsors and gave credit to Judith first, very unexpected. George Elliot Clark gave an incredible recital, a psychic stream of verbal barrage of 400 years of concentrated black history and poetry. Sat at a table with Peter, his friend James, Cornelius and his lovely wife Anne, and Christian and Jody (whom I mistakenly introduced as ‘Jessie’, which I think she actually liked and it possibly opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for them), and my regular drinking buddies, Dave and Mary Ellen. It was a fun night but I didn’t stay out too late as there were more presentations this morning. Glen Murray, former mayor of Winnipeg, gave a great talk on creative cities that showed vision and guts. Now I’m all excited about the whole urban planning / renewal / rejuvenation, still all hot on Colin Turner’s thesis project, and got up to speak and dis Halifax for giving the Khyber such a hard time and hoping that we (by ‘we’ meaning the city bureaucrats and elected officials, etc.) have the guts and decide to take some risks to really move the city forward. Maybe I’ll run for office. Who knows. So after things wrapped up I helped Christina Parker crate up her exhibit and then Judy and I ate at Swiss Chalet and decompressed before visiting her folks in the hospital. I actually like, more and more, visiting the hospital. I think I’m going to investigate the possibility of doing some art-related events there. Mary is a riot and cracks me up so hard when she’s on the ball, she also brings out the best, though sometimes crudest, side of my sense of humour. Her dad wasn’t into me today though. So then we came home and Judy crashed, she’s been out cold on the couch ever since, and Peter and I had some wine and he worked on the computer and I watched Dodge-ball (which was terribly dull and disappointing), then a string of animated prime time television. And now I just want to sleep and desperately want/need a massage. Overall I think the conference was a good event, great dialogues were started, and hopefully people will take some concrete actions from it. Like pestering their local councils. I figure I’ve had good practise at that so I’m as good a choice as anyone. Maybe first I’ll get the gallery and wine bar up and running and fully operational. There remains a shitload of work to do on both in the coming weeks.
-chris
Government says it’s offering Dingwall severance over fears of lawsuit, Au Parti québécois, Paquette et Ouimet veulent parler de contenu
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Tue, Oct 4, 2005 at 3:56 PM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
I’ve had a not-terribly-productive day, and I’m already feeling
exhausted. It might have something to do with watching three hours of
common council proceedings on TV last night. It was so monotonous I
was completely enthralled, especially with the fixed camera angles.
Had fun yesterday at the hospital, cracking many jokes with Mary, even
Burt was in good spirits. We had some wine in the bar while
brainstorming some product launch ideas with Christian and Adrian from
Evolving Solutions. Today Peter, Judy and I debated where to put coat
racks. My mom and her friend Diane came by to say hello and see the
progress in the gallery. If the weather is nice I’ll go cycling with
them tomorrow.
Continued installing the Post-it(r) notes today. THAT’s what is wearing
me out. It seems to take forever and keeping everything level and
lined up is rather tricky.
We’re leaving the office soon to have a beer at the Aquarius for a
change of pace.
–chris
MacKay says farewell to Nova Scotia premiership, will stay to run federally, Le Parti québécois se dit capable de faire plusieurs choses en même temps
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Wed, Oct 5, 2005 at 9:23 PM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
Went cycling tonight with my folks. We did a slightly shorter route
through the penninsula, and left earlier because of the waning
daylight.
Finished the wall of post it notes. Erin came in before lunch to help
for awhile. It is certainly a less-monotonous job with another.
Last night Peter, Judy and I ate at the AQ. Later on we found a joint
and smoked and watched TV; hours of CSI, an episode directed by
Terantino. Stayed up too late. My sleeping schedule is now all
backwards; I’m starting to stay up later, and I’m still getting up at
7 AM. At least I’m not getting up at 3:30.
I think I’ll go to bed now, I have nothing more to say, except that I
like stout beers.
-chris
Ontario officials say nursing home outbreak likely legionnaires’ disease Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Thu, Oct 6, 2005 at 9:48 PM
To: paul martin <martin.p@parl.gc.ca>, paul martin <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
Had an active day. Drove into town with my dad. Worked on gallery PR most of the day. Did an interview with Matt from Halifax writing for an on-line Saint John community paper. It was a fun interview; it felt long and long-winded and I’m sure will appear drastically different in printed form next week.
Looked at an apartment further down on Princess street. A 2-bedroom basement apartment. Not enough light. And the bedrooms looked a bit like those room from psychology perception experiments where the rooms small room change dimension and the doors appear large but when you go near them they shrink; a bit of Alice in Wonderland. Too strange and really, no character.
After this I spoke to my bank manager and ripped a few layers off him for the policy-driven 10-business-days hold on out-of-province cheques. A cheque that showed up as being “in” my account, as of two days ago, couldn’t be cleared until October 18. What the fuck? So I gambled and basically threatened to close my account if the cheque wasn’t cleared ASAP. I say gambled because I know that the bank knows I have a crappy credit rating and outside of basic service fees they really don’t make much money from me. I half expected him to tell me to take a long walk off a short pier. But he cleared the cheque.
Then we all went to the hospital, Danika is in town for the Thanksgiving holiday, and we played “name that animal” starting at “A” and getting as far as “Q” with Judy’s parents. Her mom and dad were both in good spirits. Her dad was kicking ass in that game.
Judy and I went to Fabricville, picked out some fabric for curtains we’ll install in the waiting room near the bar washroom, then we came home, Peter had cooked pork and squash and potatoes and we drank wine, red and white, then settled into the CSI routine.
I might be renting a studio space; am looking at one of Dominick’s, or his brothers’, buildings tomorrow. More interviews scheduled as well. Do you want a copy of the media release? Go to the gallery website to get it, http://www.galerietiersespace.blogspot.com
Have a nice night,
-chris
B.C. students to remain out of classes Tuesday as teachers’ strike continues, Paul Martin n’exclut pas d’éventuelles baisses d’impôt sans conditions
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Sat, Oct 8, 2005 at 11:48 AM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
Started up with the apartment searching again the other afternoon, I
forgot to mention to you. Looked at a basement apartment on Princess.
A little too dark, and the bedrooms were tiny, and reminded me of
psychology depth perception tests. I just looked at a large one on
King Street, but all the flooring is linoleum and the bathroom about
the size of a closet. There would be room for both Claudine and I to
each have a studio though. I’m looking at a few more this afternoon.
I was going to look at a potential shared studio yesterday afternoon
with Meghan and Andrea in one of Dominick’s buildings but he had a hot
water tank explode in another building and as a result he couldn’t
show it to us. We’ll have to re-schedule. A group studio sounds
appealing, a sort of Warhol-Factory idea.
Made just a quick visit to the hospital yesterday, after wandering
around a few Big Box Stores looking for odds and ends to complete the
re-design of the bar waiting room and bathroom. You know the lighting
and the air in those stores makes me crazy. Yesterday it just made me
dopey and drousy.
Peter made Paella for supper, a special treat as Danika was home
briefly from Halifax. We drank some wine and smoked up and watched
hour after hour of CSI. The original plan was to go out for a night on
the town but we couldn’t summon the strength to do so. Had some fun
conversation though. What’s up with Spike TV and the constant
CSI-athon?
So the big news yesterday of course was the sudden censoring of the
latest issue of [here]; the publisher flipped a gasket when he saw the
cover photo of an infant suckling at a breast, he ordered a halt to
distribution, recalled the issues that had already been dropped off,
ordered a new print run with a cheezy Clip Art cover, and fired the
editor. I guess this means the Irvings, proud owners that they are of
[here], New Brunswick’s formerly INDEPENDENT weekly news and cultural
newspaper, must view child-rearing as a disgusting and shameful act.
Perhaps hell-spawns or vampires also feel the same way? Ooooh, nasty
of me to insinuate, I’m sure the Irvings are very pleasant and
good-hearted people if you look beyond their business practices and
slight economic stranglehold on the province. But censorship? Of a
boob? Body parts that slightly more than 1/2 the population owns and
of that number, over 68%, (lactually lowest percentage in the country
BTW, hence the reason for the article), practice the age-old and
perfectly natural practice of breast feeding their young? We can’t see
this image…why?
Anyway, I’ll do my little part to see if we can’t shed some light this way on the issue of media monopolies and concentrated ownership and how these practices slide seamlessly into the nasty terrain of censorship. If I can get permission from the photographer I’ll post a link to the original cover, or get a copy of it for the blog. Until then, I’m off apartment hunting in the rain.
Canada commits $20 million for Pakistan quake aid; denies it was slow to act, Semaine de prévention des incendies: les pompiers parlent de piles
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Mon, Oct 10, 2005 at 8:20 PM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know: I’ve been slack. I haven’t felt like
writing. I’ve been going through one of those “what’s the point?”
phases. You know how it goes.
I’ve been apartment hunting the past few days and think I have
narrowed it down to two. The one on Duke is nicest, better view, but
doesn’t have the yard, storage in the basement or washing machine like
the one on Paddock. And nice as Phillip was, his effort to combine a
couple bachelors’ in one of his buildings only resulted in me seeing
far too much of a stype of uptown SJ lifestyle I’d really rather not
see. At least up close, to the point of smelling, where the scents are
so pungent they assault the pores, not just the nostrils.
Yesterday was Judith’s birthday party at the hospital, Floor 3C. One
of the strangest parties I’ve ever been to; her dad fell asleep
halfway through his cake; Robyn was sullen and morose as he didn’t
want to spend two weeks with his mom and Peter and I; Linda shovelled
three pieces of cake down her gullet; Robert, short and shrivelled
like a gnome, responded to every comment with a swiftness and wit that
Johnny Carson would appreciate and Jay Leno still strives for;
Kathleen was loud and boisterous and ended every comment with some
variation on her trademark “You’re bad but you’re honest”; John and
Karina arrived and acted weird; Debbie waltzed in and organized;
Judith organized and got emotional and organized some more; the nurses
launched into “happy birthday” before the candles were lit; another
round followed a few minutes after the candles were eventually blown
out; Mary (another patient, not her mom), kept asking for a taxi;
patients were wheeled in and wheeled out, it was all very, very surreal.
My parents picked me up from the hospital and we went to Harbout Station (still a silly name for an arena) to watch the Seadogs lose a sloppy 4-2 to Victoriaville, then I treated them to dinner at D’Amico’s. A small crowd there, despite the Sunday night half-price wine promotion. Where do all those hockey fans go to eat on an early Sunday night? East Side Marios? Boston Pizza? We drove home and watched a smattering of TV, including the Yankees come from behind win over the Angels.
Worked all day today at the building, prepping the waiting room, stripping paint of the bar back door, painting the stairs and floor, taking advantage of the night off for the restaurant (fumes). Came back out to my folks for a yummy turkey dinner and more CSI.
-chris
Plane with disaster relief gear heads for Pakistan, troops follow on Sunday, Le fleuve Saint-Laurent est un enjeu important pour le Bloc québécois
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Sun, Oct 16, 2005 at 11:05 AM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
I know, I know: this is getting out of hand. Almost a week has gone by since I last wrote. What happens when you combine wine, apathy, launching a gallery, workaholism, pot, paranoia, politics, TV, CSI, and birthdays? You get me not writing to you, that’s what. So where to begin? Should I re-cap? Is this project even valid anymore? I mean sure, it might give a nod to human fallibility and all, and in the vein of On Kawara, who just just didn’t get around to finishing many a Date Painting, it might work, but still, I feel guilty and slack.
OK, to summarize:
Tuesday: Debbie, Peter and I, along with John and Karina and Lise, threw a surprise birthday party for Judy at Opera bistro. Getting Judy, unawares, to be at Opera for 7:30 meant eating at Asian Palace beforehand and drinking two bottles of wine. She was successfully surprised.
Wednesday: I decided to take the apartment on Paddock Street, despite seeing a couple really nice apartments belonging to Jim Bezanson, current (or former) Heritage Bylaw Officer. They were both just out of my price range. Plus I’ve heard some nasty stories of what he can be like as a landlord.
Thursday: I can’t remember Thursday, specifically. I’m sure things happened.
Friday: Gallery launch. Started the day attending the press conference where Michelle Hooton announced that she would indeed be pursuing Elizabeth Weir’s recently vacated MLA seat, as a PC. Spent the day preparing the gallery with Judy and we had a great turnout. Michelle was very casual and fun with her opening remarks and alluded to the perhaps odd relationship Peter, Judy and I share, which probably left more than a few people scratching their heads in baffled curiosity, but I’m sure that occurs often enough. Anyway, there was a great mix of old and new friends, my folks came, people stayed longer than I would have expected, people left and then came back, all the wine and beer eventually dried up and we went to D’Amico’s for a slice and a beer.
I did have one very odd conversation with a woman who claimed that I went to high school with someone named Michael Brown and that his primary memory from that era was that I picked on him. Teased him about some green hooded sweatshirt. I have no recollection. I remember getting teased and picked on by all sorts of people, but whatever, that was high school, that was a lifetime ago. I googled him but can’t find him. I’ll check my yearbook next time I visit my folks, this week actually, as my mom is going to Halifax for an eye operation and I’ll be looking after the animals.
Saturday: Judy and I escaped the Brodie Building for a day, at least after cleaning up the gallery post-launch. We drove out to the valley and visited her friend J öel, we had some laughs. Started a heady conversation about art and value and oral histories and performance art that required us to sit in her car in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere for an hour until it cleared. Doesn’t it just astound you how many people drive to these nowhere places, the big shopping malls with huge tracts of land converted to parking lots, to spend their Saturdays? It blows my mind.
Anyway, when we felt we could drive we went to the movie theatre and watched a matinee sceening of A history of Violence, which had Cronenberg’s signature all over it. Not a bad flick.
Peter cooked supper, we had some wine, watched TV. Poltergeist was on. I’ve always liked Spielberg’s not-so-subtle critique of consumerism and progress, how these become forces beyond our control. Did you know Michael Jackson once spent millions of dollars to curse twenty-five of his enemies? David Geffen was at the top of the list, and Spielberg number two or three. These are the pointless, useless bits of trivia one can learn from watching late-night TV.
Speaking of useless trivia, it will be so nice to move into the new apartment and have my art supplies and start working on new projects. I actually have plans to work on a wide variety of new projects. Maybe I’ll even put into place some manner of completing this one. I’m so excited to get my stuff next week and especially see Claudine again. It’s been over five weeks, which feels too long. A week is too long. It’s like putting a big chunk of your life on hold.
Anyway, today we’re cleaning up the office and getting organized for the coming weeks and finishing off some things in the bar; the stools are in, the mahogany bar top is in place, the stainless steel has been installed, it’s all coming together.
Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean receives warm greeting in rain-soaked Winnipeg, Martin ne se sortira pas facilement des commandites met en garde l’opposition
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Tue, Oct 18, 2005 at 9:38 PM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
I don’t know what it is but lately I must be mildly addicted to
watching bad TV. And I don’t mean CSI, which given the sexy lighting
and eye candy and sensual blending of gritty crime with buff employee
sexual tension is, in fact, perfect TV; no, what I mean by bad TV is
Common Council proceedings. Or CPAC. Last night I watched TNB give a
long presentation to Common Council, which makes me think that heck,
we should make a presentation, it would be fun. My favourite part
though is when a councillor speaks but you can’t see his mouth because
someone else’s head is in the way (fixed camera angles); a golden
opportunity for some creative overdubbing. But watching CPAC tonight
just makes me shake my head at this supposed pinnicle of our political
process; Question Period. How can you stand it? The inane shouting,
the partisan jousting, the name calling, everything about it reeks of
elementary school, like battles on the playground. It’s just so…weird
and icky. Makes me want to shower just watching it from a distance.
-chris
Dingwall denies breaking Mint rules, says he quit to save controversy, Constitutionnalité des congés parentaux: la Cour suprême déboute Québec
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Thu, Oct 20, 2005 at 11:04 AM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
Had a couple fun meetings yesterday, the first with Peter and Jessie
to go over some basic opening and operating procedures for the bar.
She’s our WMD: smarts and personality and beauty in generous equal
measures. We’ll have lineups of star-struck drinkers at the bar, just
waiting to be waited on by her. The second meeting was after work with
Colin Turner, the architect whose “Turning the tide” thesis is up at
the SJAC. We arranged to have him give a presentation of his work at
the gallery sometime in early December. It was inspiring to talk with
him about vision and plannign for the future, but at the same time a
bit disheartening to think about the unwillingness on the part of the
Port of Saint John (owners of so much prime real estate) to embrace
change and risk and make a positive move towards developing the
harbourfront. It seems they are still quite stuck on the model of what
a working port should be, circa 1970. Just another brick wall to bang
against.
So another wall is the heritage preservation committee. We submitted
plans for the exterior sign for the bar, but it has hit a couple
snags. First they don’t like the small letters; back in the 1900s
exterior signs were all-caps. Then they don’t want a mix of helvetica
and century gothic fonts; only helvetica. The bizarre thing is that
there is hardly a difference between the two; the century gothic is a
little fuller, the letters a little rounder, overall it is a slightly
more pleasing font. That’s it. Why be so anal? How does drawing a line
between helvetica and century gothic actually help the struggling
downtown heritage district rejuvinate itself? Where’s the flexibility
and openess to allowing more creative interpretation of the heritage
bylaws? It makes it seem all the more ironic that out of all the
apartment buildings owned by the heritage preservation planner, none
are located in the heritage preservation district.
Anyway, enough bitching. I’ve also been working on grants and gallery
coordination lately, trying to organize some high school class visits.
It’s hard to reach all the art teachers as none have their own
telephone extensions. What an efficient means of communication it is
to pass messages through the school secretaries. Oops, sorry, no more
bitching.
And what’s all this about David Dingbat whining about his entitlements? What a great precedent that would set! I’d love to be able to get a juicy severence package after quitting a job after racking up 3/4 of a million dollars in taxpayer—oops, rather, Canadian Mint—funded expenditures. We watched him on the news last night, waving a pack of gum about like cheap imitation of Jean and his golf balls, what a tool. Altough it is slightly more entertaining than watching apathetically as the death toll rises dramatically in Pakistan and everyone stands around pointing fingers at everyone else standing around. It’s the perverse but unavoidable fascination of watching a car crash, only on a global scale. Oops, sorry, no more bitching.
-chris
New drunk-driving charges reopen wounds never healed for Tory families, Les relations entre Ottawa et Québec ne sont pas tendues, selon Jean Lapierre Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Sat, Oct 22, 2005 at 6:27 PM
To: “]’paul martin” <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
Had fun out at the Blue Olive on Rothesay Avenue last night. I actually preferred the opening act, Shawn Hewitt with his powerful lyrics and strong vocal range, over Hawksley Workman. We didn’t stay too long; Peter dropped us off, we drank some beer and talked with some folks, bummed a few smokes and then took a cab home. I seem to recall watching yet another episode of CSI before going to bed.
Today I slept in and then accompanied Judy out east to hunt down a few odds and ends for the bar. A hazy day even though outside was clear and bright. Did some drywall taping and removed the stencil for the bar sign. It of course ripped a good bit of paint off. I went to Fred Ross’ studio to borrow a small paintbrush and we ended up talking for close to an hour. It’s always a varied and stimulating conversation with Fred; no beating around the bush or silly small talk, just right to art and life. We talked a bit about William Ronald, founder of the Painters Eleven, and how he had spent a short period of time in Saint John. I haden’t realized that he had received a CC grant to make portraits of Canadian Prime Ministers. I guess I should keep trying. Judy and I talked a bit more about just what I could do to finish off this project. If you have any ideas let me know.
Had a so-so visit at the hospital; Burt was uncomfortable and when he is in this state it affects Judy a fair bit. We’re getting ready for a night out with Dave and Mary-Ellen, a small housewarming at their place. We’re starting with a carmenere we haven’t tried yet called PKNT. Medium-bodied and smooth and rich in the mouth. But I need a shave, I’m hitting the 3.5 day itchy beard wall. And a shower, for obvious reasons.
-chris
McGuinty to outlaw letting civil servants pick up tab for cabinet ministers, Les ministres de la Santé ne livreront pas toute la marchandise fin décembre Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Sun, Oct 23, 2005 at 10:04 PM
To: paul martin <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
Finished the plaster on the last patch of ceiling at the bar today. It’s much more fun and efficient and less dusty to just trowel the whole ceiling, creating ridges and lines, and forego the sanding. *shudder* Sanding is the worst. And the end result is all rustic and historical and matches the look and feel of the rest of the bar much better. Curtis installed the new front door, we hooked up the iPod and washed some glasses. Put the almost-finishing touches on the outdoor sign. Had a mellow lunch at Sabastien’s across the street, watching the rain form rivers that flow down Princess Street and empty into the harbour.
Last night Judy and I went to a housewarming party at Dave and Mary-Ellen’s…I mean, we went to a housewarming party at Mary Ellen and Dave’s. It was fun, despite the initial anxiety that being thrust into a social gathering in the middle of the suburbs – and being new suburbs located in places I remember as forest when I was a kid – suburbs that a close friend of ours actually refers to as “Hell’s Creation”. This close friend lives there, too. But it was actually quite fun and entertaining and I talked with M.E’s dad about my latest favourite topic, urban development and needing vision and risk and deep pockets. Like the Simpsons parody tonight on the latest epidemic afflicting municipalities around the globe: Frank Gehry’ Disease (I think I might have contracted this at some point in the past three months; hard to say if it was picked up in Toronto or Chicago). If I had $50 million I’d build it. Of course, if I had $50 million I wouldn’t be writing to you day in and day out, year in and year out now, would I?
So I’d best go pack, I’m heading to Toronto tomorrow to reunite with my sweetheart.
-chris
Search underway for sailboat as hurricane Wilma nears Atlantic Canada, Rice ferme la porte aux demandes du Canada et souhaite plus de perspective
chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Tue, Oct 25, 2005 at 4:43 PM
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Paul,
Hit a few snags before leaving yesterday. Enterprise didn’t know if or
when they had a cargo van. My fault, really, for waiting until
Saturday to make bookings, and no local offices were open. Spent the
day priming and painting and stripping wood until finally finding
another company that actually had a van in stock. More expensive,
unfortunately, but enabled me to leave around 4PM. Made good time,
stopping once at the Québec-NB border to refuel and again at the
Québec-Ontario border, again to refuel. Lucky for me the gas prices
have dropped a bit, and of course are about 10 cents cheaper per litre
in Ontario. Why is that again? Less taxes or higher demand? Anyway I
drove all night, stopping for an hour snooze, and made it to
Claudine’s door by 8:30, later than anticipated but OF COURSE the 401
was moving at a snails pace and I skipped the Don Valley entirely and
meandered through city traffic. Almost nothing burns me up more than
traffic jams on a freeway. I imagine thousands and thousands of people
beginning their work days under heavy dark clouds inspired by tedious
traffic jams. What do you suppose that does for productivity? And what
do we do about it?
Anyway, Clo and I had a fun day, it is fantastic to be with her again,
we slip immediately back into our particular way of being. It will be
too short a visit. This afternoon we had brunch at Aunties and Uncles
(running into a whole slew of Halifax-era folks, of course), then
window shopped for hats, picked up some new happinez work duds at H&M,
and checked out a few galleries, saw the Sobey Art Award 2004 shows at
the MOCCA , which was great because it was the first time I had seen
Greg’s bronze Stanley Cup and Washing Machine sculpture, and a bunch
of Marcel Dzama’s witty drawings. Unfortunately a few other galleries
on Queen had already closed, but we peeped in the windows. Now we’re
making coffee before meeting up with some of the gang this evening.
We’ve decided to load the van tomorrow before I head back to Montréal.
I could really, really use a nap before doing anything else.
Anger, anxiety high as air evacuation of Kashechewan reserve continues, Boisclair prévoit qu’un Québec indépendant sera champion du pacifisme Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Thu, Oct 27, 2005 at 4:51 PM
To: paul martin <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
I’m still in Montreal. It took all day to pack my things and load the van. And boy did we load the van. That van is loaded. Marc and Jessie were a great help. Last night I hung out with Eric, then Melissa, then Sarah. Bijou nearly tore my legs off when I brought Manu into the apartment. Talk about territorial. And Kuan ran off into the alley just as Marc and I were about to put her in the carrier. I’m going to meet my friend Jen for coffee or a beer while I wait for Kuan to return. Then I drive back to NB. I hope my bed mattresses stay secure on the roof. Wish me luck. I plan to drive slowly and carefully the whole way, and I’ll stop periodically if I get drowsy. Though I’m sure the cats’ singing will keep me awake.
-chris
Military hopes water purification unit will be setup in Kashechewan by Sunday, Duceppe mise sur une future armée québécoise pour vendre la souveraineté Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Sun, Oct 30, 2005 at 1:21 AM
To: paul martin <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. I suppose I should have written to let you know I arrived back safely. Drove all night from Montreal after hanging out with Jen and Donna at Casa del Popalo and talking art and politics. Kuan came back to the apartment and I scooped her up and away we went; she actually travelled quite well, more quiet than Manu, though there were a few times where they had a good duet going. When we were nearing Rivière-du-Loup Manu started wailing in manner that really freaked me out. I stopped and filled a littler bin with some roadside gravel because I thought she needed to go to the bathroom, but when I let her out of the cage she simply climbed to the highest box. So we drove that way for awhile and she explored a bit but mostly sat and watched the highway.
Anyway, we’ve all been hard at the bar the past couple days, finishing all the woodwork and varathaning and painting. It’s all very exciting and a bit nerve-wracking at the same time. I’ve unloaded mine and Claudine’s things at the new apartment, in the basement; the previous tenants aren’t out yet. Now that I think of it I don’t really know when I’ll officially move in and start unpacking; the bar opens for the first “dry run” on Monday, there is gallery news on Tuesday, and Jacob and crew arrive Thursday for two performances of Perhaps in 100 Years. 3/5 are allergic to cats. I don’t have mine at the moment; Manu is with mom’s friend Diane, and Kuan is with mom and dad. Mostly hanging out in the basement. No visible sign of recognizing Yaga, except for some mild hissing and the usual deep growling.
I’ll try to write more tomorrow but I’m not promising anything.
-chris
240 Ontario reserve residents headed for Ottawa; search on for more shelter, Les réserves ont droit à une eau potable de qualité inférieure Inbox
chris lloyd <chrislloyd6627@yahoo.ca> Mon, Oct 31, 2005 at 12:56 AM
To: paul martin <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
Dear Paul,
I am writing to ask for your leadership and support in a request that federal funding for the not-for-profit arts sector, through the Canada Council for the Arts, be increased by $5 per Canadian, effectively doubling the current annual contribution.
Canada’s not-for-profit arts organizations and artists are the backbone of the cultural sector in Canada. In 2002, GDP from culture activities amounted to more than $39 billion. This sector is bigger than the agriculture, forestry, mining and oil and gas sectors combined.
However, Canada’s contribution to the arts lags far behind most of its European counterparts both in terms of per capita spending and spending as a percentage of GDP. For example, Arts Council of England (ACE) receives $24.36 per capita, the Scottish Arts Council is at $22.37 and The Arts Council of Ireland obtains $17.91 per capita. An increase of $5 would bring Canada to $10 per capita and would go a long way towards rebuilding Canada’s cultural sector.
Since 1998, Canada Council has seen a 50% increase in the number of applications from arts organizations and a 30% increase from individual artists. Each year thousands of eligible artists and arts organizations are turned down for support, resulting in an enormous loss of creative potential for Canada. I believe it is critical that public funding keep pace with both the growth in the number of artists in Canada and their drive for excellence.
Canada’s quality of life depends on strong, vibrant and sustainable cities and communities. Arts and cultural activities are important components of creating shared citizenship and to building strong communities that can embrace the richness of our cultural diversity.
As Member of Parliament, I hope that you will agree with the merits of increased federal funding for the not-for-profit arts sector, through the Canada Council for the Arts.
Sincerely,
-chris
DEAR PM 