From: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Sep 2, 2006 9:16 PM
Subject: Tofino likely to stay open; Abdullah Khadr fait une courte apparition à une audience pour extradition
Dear Stephen,
I started this letter yesterday but didn’t get past the “Dear Stephen”. I’m in one of those DGAF moods. It is during times like this—like during elections—that the monotony and uselessness of this project really gets to me. Then what gets me down more is that it is the only “art” I’ve been doing lately. Like, all year.
Anyway, Claudine started my shift at the bar tonight, last night was a bit slow for a Friday and I was bored silly by the end, and now I don’t feel like being around people and basically stayed in bed all day. Apart from a couple trips to my parent’s house to feed the cats. Also started painting their front door, one of the little side projects I wanted to get done on their place before they get back. They are halfway across Newfoundland already, and are back Tuesday.
I think I’ll have a shower before either going back to bed or downtown. It’s a toss-up at the moment.
Ever get down? Does your job get you down? Ever feel guilty for keeping more and more Canadian troops in Afghanistan with no clear purpose? I guess one could consider the elimination of terror a clear purpose if one was an imbecile like George W. Bush. It’s a nice thought but a bit hopelessly naive, wouldn’t you think?
Whatever, you clearly have your own agenda and will stick to it no matter what I say.
We are in the middle of a really boring provincial election. Neither front running party have much charisma nor clear platforms I checked online a couple days ago. You’d think the party’s platforms would be available AT THE VERY LEAST by the MIDDLE of the election campaign. What the hell have they been doing the past couple years?
So any advice on what to do if one is not inspired by any of the candidates? Would you ever willingly spoil your ballot or just let it happen by accident?
-chris
From: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Sep 4, 2006 2:16 PM
Subject: Friendly fire kills Canadian soldier; Afghanistan: un soldat canadien est tué par un tir ami de l’OTAN
Dear Stephen,
Why do they call it “Friendly Fire”? There is obviously nothing friendly about it. They should call it “Oopsy-daisy” or “We fucked up”.
Claudine and I were in the car yesterday, driving to Hampton in search of coffee. We didn’t find any. We’d been out feeding the cats and painting the door at my parent’s place and stopped by Bikes and Beans but they were closed. Holly’s no longer has an espresso machine and neither does anyone else in the Valley, for that matter. Plenty of Tim Hortons around, especially empty cups all over the ground, but that wasn’t what we were looking for. We still haven’t found what we’re looking for.
So while we were driving we heard the special CBC bulletin about the four new Canadian deaths, part of “Operation Medusa”. Who names these missions anyhow? The same guy who came up with “Friendly Fire”? When we heard the bulletin we had to wonder why they were interrupting Sunday afternoon programming. It seems fishy. Carrying the army media release live seems to add further impact to the mission, which seems a somewhat political statement to be making. I mean, if we accept the fact that Canadian Troops will be in Afghanistan rooting out Talibans in what is basically a war, then casualties are going to be a given. Is it going to be headline news every time a soldier falls? Will the attention paid to the events keep the mission itself more in the public eye, perhaps keep the debate alive?
I was wondering this morning, when did Canada as a sovereign nation actually declare war on the Taliban?
Yesterday we spent some time on Gondola Point Beach, then met up with Katie and Rich at her camp, and had a barbecue. Drove back to town and had a bath and watched Syriana, which was too complex and jumpy for me to follow it all.
Now I’m back to work on grants and filing, after trying fruitlessly again to find decent coffee in this town. Running out before the Labour Day weekend was a big mistake.
-chris
—
Chris Lloyd Projects
http://www.dearpm.blogspot.com
A Division of ADD Painters:
“we’re here to swerve”
From: chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com> Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Sep 6, 2006 1:13 AM
Subject: Canadian troops stay the course; Ken Dryden dévoile sa vision pour le “grand” Canada de demain
Dear Stephen,
Today was full. Up early, made breakfast, worked on grants. Claudine made lunch and then we were off towards my parent’s house to vacuum the ton of cat hair that Yaga and Little Buddy have left on almost every surface. Ran a few more errands including a wash of the car. Back home for a barbecue and finally sating our thirst for coffee at Opera Bistro. Continued work on the AWOL show in Baltimore. It’s become very complicated: the opening is a day sooner than I had realized and will now arrive only two hours before the opening. This means that Andy in Baltimore and his crew will have to print the letters and install them. And I still can’t decide between just balling them up in a pile on the floor, or making paper airplanes, or now this, a new idea, organizing them in monthly file folders and installing them in an official-looking filing cabinet, perhaps with a shredding machine on top with instructions for visitors to the exhibition shred each letter that is read. I’m sure Andy is going to love reading my instructions. I’ve spent two complete nights already just copy-pasting and formatting 2006. My darn version of Word crashes if I work too fast. It can’t keep up.
If you’d like to get your mind off all the depressing news about dead Canadian soldiers and growing opposition to an unclear mission—are we in Afghanistan as peacekeepers or to install democracy? How do we measure success? etc.—then check this link out here:
http://www.rcaaq.org/actualites/nouvelle/1261
It’s a great article by Jocelyn Fiset on how the visual arts have been made almost invisible by the mainstream media, a fact I’ve been bitching and moaning about for years. If mainstream newspapers gave the visual arts the same coverage and respect they do news, sports, business, travel, cooking, comics, pop culture and classified ads, then we’d have a much more informed and appreciative audience for contemporary, living artists.
I’ve got to get to bed. My folks are back from their cross-Canada cycling tour, passing the 7,000 km mark on their odometers in the parking lot of Signal Hill a few days ago. Their friends Don and Joyce drove them back. I’ve got to pick Dad up for work tomorrow. Early.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Fri, Sep 8, 2006 at 11:47 PM
subject More than 2,000 bid farewell to fallen soldiers; Yvan Loubier tire sa révérence et ne sera pas de la prochaine campagne
Dear Stephen,
I’m at work but it’s slow for a Friday night. The CCMAs are in town which supposedly has 30,000 people attached to it but if that’s true they are spread all over the place.
Though now it’s close to closing time and I have some stragglers and I’m waiting for Rae to return and we’ll go catch the last bit of the Scratch Bastid show at Neptunes.
Tomorrow Claudine and I are going kayaking with Bill and Signa in St. Martin’s.
Finished the two grants for the new municipal arts funding program and now I’m on the 4 CC grants to finish before next Thursday.
Met with Donna M. to go over the gallery books and prepare year-end statements. Yay, my favourite thing.
I’ve been depressed all week long, which sucks.
-chris
—
Chris Lloyd Projects
http://www.dearpm.blogspot.com
A Division of ADD Painters:
“we’re here to swerve”
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Sun, Sep 10, 2006 at 10:21 PM
subject Canada doing more than ‘fair share’; Avec 92 pour cent d’appuis au NPD, Layton rêve de devenir premier ministre
Dear Stephen,
Sorry I haven’t been writing you. I’m still feeling out of sorts, a little like being underneath a constant dark cloud.
After work Friday night I met up with Rae and Meghan and Ben at Neptunes for the Bastid, who was again in fine form and had a large crowd worked up and dancing like madness. It was like the underbelly of the CCMAs; all the hip kids not into country were there. With maybe the exception of the hard core punk kids who were probably at Elwoods for the Baracuda Sunrise.
Grabbed pizza afterwards at KoD. Was up too late.
Saturday morning we went to St. Martin’s with Bill and Signa for an afternoon of sea kayaking. It was my first time but it was easier than I expected. The tandem kayaks are much more stable than singles and very difficult to tip. We enjoyed very much seeing the cliffs from the sea. It was peaceful and pleasant, despite the fog and cloud. We had ‘burgers and fish chowder before coming back to town.
We had a performer in the gallery as part of the free CCMA uptown shows. Her name was Manon but I missed her performance as I was working. We were busy early on, then it bottomed out, then it got a bit busy later. Jamie came in with his friend Seamus and they proceeded to deplete our beer stocks. Paul Zed stopped by as well and told a story that I am prohibited from sharing with you, sorry. Seamus will track me down if I do.
Slept in this morning and worked most of the afternoon; grants and the like. Collected more Tims cups as we are going to use them in October with the Kitchen Party performance event. Still hammering those details out as well. Still have things to complete for the AWOL show in Baltimore and lots of housekeeping details which keep me feeling overwhelmed, unable to concentrate on one thing at a time, daydreaming about moving to the country. That desire to simplify, like moving to a farm, ever get it?
Tomorrow night we are screening Fahrenheit 9/11 in the gallery. I figure it’s as good a way as any to commemorate the anniversary. I’m talking the 2001 9/11, not the 1973 9/11.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Mon, Sep 11, 2006 at 11:22 PM
subject Harper lauds Canadian troops; Condoleezza Rice remercie les Canadiens pour leur hospitalité
Dear Stephen,
“menace of terror”? WTF? Who is writing your speeches now, the guy who writes for GWB? I can’t wait until you start using his “battle for civilization” lines. It’s a battle for civilization all right: Ours, and our unalienable right to set up Tim Horton and Burger King restaurants in every freaking corner of the globe, spreading our “civilization” as far and as wide as it can possibly go.
Excuse me if I seem overly cynical, we screened Fahrenheit 9/11 in the gallery tonight and watching Moore weave his web of corruption between Bush and the Saudis got me all fired up. I understand you’ve put yourself in a position where you have to defend and support our troops, but why do so by blindly following US foreign policy? Can’t you see past it?
Anyway, what do I know. I write grants for a small-time gallery of “contemporary” art and work in a wine bar. What do i know about foreign policy? I know I have to get my passport renewed before going overseas, but for the trip to Baltimore my drivers licence will suffice.
For all the work the Canadian troops are doing in Afghanistan we still get shafted on the world stage when it comes to credit. This is from the Nation (probably too “leftist” for you though they claim to be just independent, i.e. providing analysis instead of simply copying media releases):
“In the south, British-led NATO forces are engaged in an all-out fight against Taliban guerrillas, in the grandly named Operation Medusa. Since early August NATO forces (know locally under the acronym ISAF) have had twenty-three soldiers of various nationalities killed and an undisclosed number wounded. Six ISAF troops have died in the last week alone.”
Though if it is any consolation to you the Operation Medusa links to the CBC website.
“One British officer, Captain Leo Docherty, a former aide de camp to the commander of UK forces in Helmand province, was so disgusted by the war that he quit the British Army last month, calling the campaign in Afghanistan “grotesquely clumsy” and “a textbook case of how to screw up a counterinsurgency.” He accused UK and US forces of bombing and strafing villages.”
Maybe they should stop coming up with such dumb names for their operations.
Last night I watched Solaris, the recent remake, before tossing and turning in bed. Claudine slept even less as she continues to work like a maniac to finish up translation contracts. And I keep splitting my time between organizing myself for the AWOL show, writing the grants and collecting Tim Horton cups. I grabbed another full bag today covering the EXACT SAME STREETS I cleared yesterday. WTF?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Wed, Sep 13, 2006 at 12:40 AM
subject Major Canadian operation shifts focus; Le PQ évalue les dépenses extraordinaires du gouvernement à 2,8 milliards $
Dear Stephen,
“mop-up phase”? Certainly less ugly than Operation Medusa and far less glamorous-sounding. Perhaps it insinuates it will be less risky? Who came up with this name, the janitor?
I spent the day on grants and emails and chats and board meetings (2) and errands. Am still behind on grants due to a faulty MS Word program (pirated, of course, so who am I to complain). Also, have been distracting myself with both sides of 9/11: those that claim a conspiracy, a cover-up or an inside job, and those that follow the conventional story.
What does it all mean? Do conspiracy theorists simply fall into the human trap of needing explanations for the unexplainable? Or are there serious inconsistencies in the accepted story that demand more investigation? The simple one being, um, mostly unpopular president needs reason to invade Iraq, presto, invasion on US soil, introduce Patriot Act, suspend civil liberties, you’re with us or against us as we commence with a new Crusade for a New World Order and everything will fall into place.
Both sides have holes in their theories, of course, but is it simply because I lean more to the left that I often find the derision, anger and violence espoused by those on the (far) right to be, well, just so much more hateful and spiteful? I mean, just check out the screaming guy in the rebuttal video:
<a href=”http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4162315283354424113&hl=en”>Abby something</a>
And read a few posts on the anti-loose change doc blog here: <a href=” http://screwloosechange.blogspot.com/”>screw loose change</a> I mean, sure, a lot of conspiracy theorists can come across as nuts. And surely some are and spend too much time obsessing over details. But if FOX and CNN is the alternative, the mainstream, the “truth”, then bring on the nuts! Here’s a link to the supposedly most-downloaded film ever, <a href=” http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5946593973848835726″>Loose Change</a>. Let me know what you think.
Phew. There are no easy answers and I’m tired.
PS Apparently the report on why WTC building 7 collapsed is coming out in early 2007. Maybe that will shed some light.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Thu, Sep 14, 2006 at 12:27 AM
subject Gunman opens fire at Montreal college; Une fusillade fait deux morts et 19 blessés dans un cégep de Montréal
Dear Stephen,
Well that sucks, another pointless shooting at a school. Better crack down on combat boots and trench coats. I wonder what causes people to snap like that?
Worked on grants all day and through most of my shift at the bar. It was slow, though the few people who did wander were asking if the CCMAs were still going on. What, there wasn’t enough country-music themed events around the city all last week?
According to the latest polls the provincial Liberals are pulling ahead. Apparently people want a change. Though when your strongest campaign slogan is change for the sake of change, well, I’d think twice.
In fact, I did think twice, and since we’re leaving on Friday and will miss the election I’ve already voted and spoiled my ballot as well. I just couldn’t make up my mind. I’m sure that either Ed or Idee would do good things and work hard for their constituents. I just don’t like how it comes down to a choice of either/or. I’d rather have my vote count but not count at the same time. You know, show a certain dissatisfaction with the system.
Tomorrow I have to print out and compile and mail all the grant forms and finish a bunch of little details for the AWOL exhibition, such as organize slides for the artist talk and find a Nerf basketball hoop and a paper shredder. Who am I kidding I don’t have the time or money nor inclination to spend all day Friday in airports lugging around a paper shredder. Maybe I can get one in the 2 hours window of time I’ll be in downtown Baltimore before the opening. We’re also taking a quick trip to Fredericton tomorrow; Claudine is dropping her computer off for repairs and I am finally putting my passport application in. I asked Ed, a doctor and patron of some of my earlier paintings, to sign it, as he lives not far from the bar. He found our barolo a tad weak. So maybe en route we’ll stop at Hell’s Creation to get a paper shredder. I can put it in my suitcase.
Now I’m getting sleepy again.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Fri, Sep 15, 2006 at 1:36 AM
subject PM vows to introduce legislation; Anastasia De Sousa aimait le rose plus que toute autre couleur
Dear Stephen,
It has been a long day. Finished the grants and Jud was super and printed all the pages so I actually had them in the mail just after lunch. Forgot to write a cover letter but really that is just a formality. I hope the CC sees it that way.
We zipped up to Fredericton and back; Claudine dropped off her computer for repairs and I dropped off my passport application. It was smooth and efficient and I should have my new passport by the first week of October.
We ate at the Blue Door but the meal was way below par, served cold, waaaaay too greasy. The staff were really apologetic and offered free drinks but we were already tired and one of us had to drive. Claudine drove and I dozed. I felt shell-shocked most of the day, zombie-like. Darn grants.
Relieved Peter at the bar at 7:30 and finished the shift. Mildly busier than Wednesday. Rae hung out and kept me company. Peter has bought a Smart car! It is black and I think he plans to put the happinez logo on it. It will look sharp. I have yet to see him enter or exit the tiny car, which must look interesting; he is over 6 feet tall.
Selected some slides to bring for the talk, printed the labels and packed my suitcases. Now I can sleep for a couple hours before we catch our flight. We’re on a triple stopover: flying to Montréal, Toronto and then Baltimore. It must have been the cheapest flight because that schedule is making pains in my back already. C’est la vie.
Wish us luck. I wish YOU luck in trying to pass legislation that will somehow stop people from losing their minds and shooting up a school. Sounds like your neighbour’s plan to stamp out evil. Just introduce legislation calling for an end to it. I could start to rant here but I’m exhausted and must get some sleep.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
cc Andy Cook <tapeandscissors@gmail.com>,
date Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 9:37 PM
subject Killer’s family pleads for privacy; Une quarantaine de personnes soulignent la mémoire d’Anastasia De Sousa
Dear Stephen,
We made it to Baltimore but not together. Claudine had misplaced her passport and didn’t have a birth certificate (it was inside her passport) so the Air Canada rep said she probably wouldn’t get across the border and re-scheduled her flight. The bummer was that when I got to customs and they asked to see my ID I only gave them my drivers’ license. D’oh! She arrived just after Andrew Hunt and I finished our artist talk, which started an hour and a half later than scheduled. The timing for everything was fairly loose; Andy and Mike and Hans arrived less than an hour before the opening and finished installing a few of the pieces; there was a cute intern, Michelle who was there when I arrived and who had helped file all my letters. Well, almost all, as there was a few months missing but there was a Kinkos nearby. I installed the basketball hoop and the paper shredder around a desk that contains all the letters and shredded and balled up a few to get started. Andrew Hunt arrived after 6 with his painting; he had been caught up in traffic slowdowns along the highway from NYC. The opening was decently-attended and I like most of the work in the show, especially Cooper and Emily’s video ‘songs of praise for the heart beyond cure’. Eventually a group of us went to a bar near Andy’s house called Dizzy Issie’s (but everyone pronounced it ‘Diseases’, which, considering that it is still a smoking establishment, seemed to make perfect sense). We drank unbelievably cheap beer, the local Matty Bo, short for ‘National Bohemian’. It was just after midnight when we came back to Andy’s to crash but it felt like tomorrow, we had been up and on the go for so long. We slept really well in one of Andy’s roommates rooms, except Andrew slept poorly on the couch. Other roommates work bar jobs and came home late and then after that someone threw a basketball at the window and woke him up and kept his nerves on edge.
Today we grabbed breakfast at a funky 24-hour diner just a few doors down, the Paper Moon, then went to the National Aquarium and spent hours watching fish and rays and sharks and frogs and eels and crocs and tons of other interesting things, like the thousands of people wandering around watching the same things. It’s a fabulous aquarium. After that we stopped by an area of town that the city is trying to designate an ‘arts district’ but the only people we met were crackheads and couldn’t get into the huge building, which houses studios and some exhibition and some live-in spaces.
There was a street-festival happening up on The Avenue, John Watters old stomping ground, called Hampden Fest, with bands and vendors and people wandering the streets drinking beer. Lots and lots of hipsters with an incredible array of tattoos. Ate at a western-themed diner with a mostly organic menu. Now we’re back at Andy’s debating whether we have the energy to go back to the Current Gallery for a night of bands, Swan Island, Odd Bones and Mess up the Mess. We’re leaving in the morning with Andrew for NYC.
Baltimore is an interesting city. I think I’d like to visit again and spend a little more time exploring. Hard to do it all in one day.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Sun, Sep 17, 2006 at 9:54 PM
subject Injured students’ conditions improve; Michaëlle Jean défend la mission en Afghanistan, où elle voudrait se rendre
Dear Stephen,
We’re in New York City. The drive from Baltimore this morning was mostly uneventful. Claudine and I read from Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Incredibly loud and extremely close. We had breakfast at a pub called the Yacht Club which wasn’t great, though it wasn’t terrible. I spilled hollandaise sauce and egg yolks all over my leg but I blame that on the steep angle of the table.
Claudine and I wandered Rebecca’s neighbourhood up by the George Washington Bridge after Andrew dropped us off as she was doing some freelance editing. I had a shave at a local barbershop, the second time in my life with a straight razor. The guy missed a few hairs though. And I need to find a way to prevent ingrown hairs. Perhaps a better facial exfoliant? Any suggestions?
We at a fun and inexpensive neighbourhood pub called Jerrie’s Place. We’ll spend the evening making our weekly gallery-visiting plans, going through the Time Out and the NY Times and the New Yorker—I’m reading a fascinating piece on Clinton and his AIDS work—and maybe watch a movie. Right now I need a shower. I’ll post some photos from the show in Baltimore later on, I just re-charged my camera.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
cc Andy Cook <tapeandscissors@gmail.com>,
date Tue, Sep 19, 2006 at 9:04 AM
subject Dawson students take back their school; Les funérailles d’Anastasia De Sousa auront lieu cet avant-midi, à Montréal
Dear Stephen,
We spent the day walking and shopping; we were zonked by late
afternoon. We started with midtown, a stop at Hérmes to sniff some
perfumes, of course H&M, where I found some jeans on sale, and then
the East Village, Alphabet Town, circling back towards Greenwhich,
spent time in a bookstore reading alternatively the 9/11 official
commission report and the dozens of more conspiracy-based books,
grabbed some groceries and headed back to Rebecca’s. She stayed at
work until late, getting home after midnight; she was working on some
freelance editing. We had considered finding a movie but we were too
tired; stayed in and read, planning the rest of our days in NY.
So NB has a new government, with Shawn Graham’s Liberals eeking out a
victory over Bernard Lord and his Tories. Odd that they won less of
the popular vote and received fewer votes, but that’s how it works.
I hear you’re having a rough start to parliament, what with all the
intense scrutiny over Afghanistan. How do we stand on guard against
suicide bomber on bicycles? Will killing all the Taliban finally make
the world safe?
I hear an Air India plane turned back after leaving from Toronto
because of an “suspicious package” that the police in Toronto
examined, removed from the plane and blew up. The passengers were
“interviewed” all night long, that must have been fun. No word yet on
the origins of the package, which apparently posed “no harm”. Then why
blow it up? To justify the demolitions team? To give them on-the-job
training? I guess that makes sense.
Gotta go, breakfast calls and today is a big Chelsea day.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Wed, Sep 20, 2006 at 9:34 AM
subject Mourners stand in driving rain for funeral; Les funérailles d’Anastasia De Sousa sont célébrées dans la sobriété
Dear Stephen,
My, how the galleries continue to grow in Chelsea. We went to dozens
and dozens yesterday, wandering in and out of exhibitions that varied
in quality from the very average to the satisfyingly spectacular.
Kwang-Young Chun and his “Korean mulberry paper paintings and
sculptures” at the Kim Foster Gallery was really special, huge
asteroid-like forms whose surfaces were completely covered with
triangular folded bits of newspaper; a show by Rafael Lozano-Memmer,
with his digital effects, such as a series of suspended belts which
rotate around and “watch you” as you wander around Bitmaps; a cool
installation of confetti in various forms by Rivane Neuenschwander at
the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery; an intriguing sound installation involving
harmonicas strapped to vacuum cleaners by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at
Paula Cooper; somewhat banal sculptures by Jessica Stockholder at
Mitchell-Innes & Nash; self-indulgent iMovies by celebrated artist
Samaras at Pace; yet more solid steel from Richard Serra at Gagosian;
the list goes on and on and on.
We had a nice but slightly over-priced lunch at Empire Diner and met
Rebecca on Canal for supper in Chinatown. Had a great, inexpensive
dish at a Vietnamese restaurant and wandered back through SoHo to the
metro. Thought about getting a movie but couldn’t decide on a title;
there was mostly crap available for sale at Blockbuster, and I wasn’t
about to spend twenty bucks on the original Pink Panther.
Today we’re seeking out smaller galleries in SoHo and the East Village
and will check out the new MoMA. First Claudine is returning shoes; an
over-zealous salesman sold her on a size too small.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
date Thu, Sep 21, 2006 at 11:27 AM
subject Arar wants to be removed from watch list; Line Beauchamp présidera la prochaine campagne électorale du PLQ
Dear Stephen,
Had a fun day yesterday in SOHO but lost an exhibition; when we
arrived at the location there was no trace of it; it was supposed to
be in a supposedly ‘haunted house’, an old theatre, but it was really
a theatre, and no-one we asked knew anything about it. Because it
closed on Sunday. There was a Sophie Calle piece in it so we were sad
to have missed it, and I was angry to have spent so much time looking
for it. Art that no longer exists.
But the Michel Gondry at Deitch Projects was an excellent, playful,
really quite marvelous exhibition. We hit a few more and eventually
found ourselves at the MOMA and Rebecca got us in free and we quite
enjoyed the new $650 million renovation. The current show lacks for
something, though there are some nice pieces, the Richard Gober and
Rachel Whiteread and of course the Gerhard Richters are all nice,
morbid but nice.
We went back down to SOHO for Sarah Millman’s opening which featured
really quiet, understated yet quite strong video works. We met up with
a bunch of post-NSCAD kids, designers Colin and Gillian, who is moving
to Brazil shortly and architect Annie, who is from Montréal, and we
wandered to the East Village and had supper somewhere. I forget the
name.
So you’re in NYC too! We should hook up for drinks. We’ll be back at
the MOMA for an opening tonight, maybe you could drop by. Clinton was
there yesterday. This whole UN thing is snarling up traffic in NY
something terrible. You guys have thousands of cops just standing on
street corners around barricades watching pretty girls.
Good luck with your speech at the UN today. We’ll be at PS1 if you
want to swing by and catch some good art about entering or leaving the
body.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
cc Andy Cook <tapeandscissors@gmail.com>,
date Sat, Sep 23, 2006 at 9:39 AM
subject Top cop’s future clouded after probe; Karzaï remercie le Canada pour ses sacrifices et défend la mission militaire
Dear Stephen,
Heard that your speaking gig at the UN went well; short and sweet. We must have been crossing paths; Claudine and I were midtown for a swank opening at the MoMA after spending the afternoon with Greg at PS1. He had just returned from a conference in Vancouver and is trying to find ways to stay in NY with Rebecca.
PS1 was filled to the gills with art about the body; specifically, about entering and leaving the body, death and birth, the good stuff. Near the end it was gettign hard to take, all the excrement, the Paul McCarthy and Carolee Schneemann, lots of work about vomit, Mona Hatoum’s digestive tract video on a plate, and then there was the sex room. It was all a little overwhelming but quite inspiring. I love that place, though the guards stick to you like glue and the service at the café was soooo slow. Although the slow service did give us more time to watch the videos of people gorging themselves.
So after the swank opening at MoMA (open bar!), we headed back up to Washington Heights close to Rebecca’s and ate again at Jesse’s Place. We went home, packed, slept for two hours and we were up to catch our plane. Jesse’s Place still had people milling around at 4am. We caught the subway, then the M60 bus to La Guardia, where there were hundreds of people and seeming mass confusion but we got through everything on time we hop-scotched to Montréal, had the best coffee and croissant of the week, then arrived in Saint John.
I was back at work last night, which eventually returned to the Friday’s of old, it actually got quite busy later on, which was nice. Claudine went to Fredericton to pick up her computer and drop mine off. It might not still be covered by the extended Apple logic-board warranty so I have my fingers crossed. Not while I’m typing.
Jamie and Paul came in the bar last night and we talked about the mission in Afghanistan. He says he supported the extension of the UN mission because its initial thrust was to protect women and children. I told him it seemed that it was becoming all-out war and that it was losing its focus. Also he said the pres of Afghanistan told parliament to expect the mission to last ten years, which is a bit freaky to consider.
More late; Katie just arrived and we’re on our way to the Kingston Farmer’s Market on the Peninsula.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
cc Andy Cook <tapeandscissors@gmail.com>,
date Sun, Sep 24, 2006 at 10:06 PM
subject Ramadan marks end to deadly month; Québec arrive au Sommet de la Francophonie avec au moins deux objectifs
Dear Stephen,
Last night was quiet in the bar, at least until I left, around 10. Lisa was at the apartment, she and Jess had arrived earlier, before Jess came to relieve me, and brought meatloaf her mom Pam had made, and Claudine had made a potato salad and a real zinger of a chocolate cake. We had tea and watched a movie, one of my favourites, How to get ahead in advertising. I love the script and Richard E Grant’s delivery.
We were up early this morning to take advantage of the rental car and we drove out to the Fundy Trail and hiked to the Hearst Lodge. Ate lunch there and hiked back, then drove towards Sussex in search of apples. We were looking for a U-Pick, but would have settled for Stedmans’s, but they were closed. First time in over forty years, we were told. Rumour has it that Wal*Mart bought all their apples this year. That news put us in a bad mood; actually, I had been in a bad mood already, after reading about the rise of the Evangelic Right in Canada and the many wacky groups getting tight with your government. That and I’m stressed already about the amount of stuff I have to do with the upcoming gallery events and my own projects and not having my computer is a real pain.
Anyway, we were given directions to Keith’s U-pick in Havelock, about thirty miles north, and we picked a couple bags of Cortlands and McIntoshes. It was raining but we didn’t get too wet. Stopped at our garden on the way bag and harvested some carrots and cucumbers. We have some pumpkins growing but no sign of any squash.
We made a quick pea soup for supper and had some smoked salmon we bought at the farmers market. Claudine had bought us tickets for the Ode à l’Acadie music show at the Imperial Theatre and so headed off to that for two hours of fun. They were good singers and musicians but it’s not my style; it felt a little too Star Acadamie mixed with a Tourism NB promo video.
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
cc Andy Cook <tapeandscissors@gmail.com>,
date Tue, Sep 26, 2006 at 12:35 AM
subject Surplus reaches $13.2 billion; Lisette Lapointe briguera bel et bien l’investiture péquiste dans Crémazie
Dear Stephen,
I have good news and good news and bad news. The good news is that the extended Apple warranty for the logic boards still applies to my computer, and it should be repaired by Wednesday. Which is good because the sooner I get it back and working the sooner I can finish final reports and get money for the next wave of projects for the gallery. The other good news is that we should be able to send Jasper’s work back to Amsterdam from the airport here in Saint John. I guess it all depends on who you talk to; the previous times I was dealing with Air Canada Cargo they told me that the crate was too large for the planes that fly into Saint John. The guy here didn’t seem to think there would be a problem. The bad news is the cost of shipping the crate, which is going to be easily double what I had estimated, because I had thought we had already paid it. Fun. At least it is easier getting the crate to the airport here than trying to find a truck to Halifax. I don’t suppose you could get DFAIT to pitch in a little on this one, for old times sake?
Spent the rest of my day meeting with Jud to discuss a possible sound-art radio show for CFMH, putting up posters for the movie nights, checking email, catching up on projects, washing laundry, reading the newspaper and making supper. Tonight we screened Napoleon Dynamite to a small but appreciative crowd. Maybe we could have attracted more people if I had send the email earlier than today.
Tonight Claudine and I worked a bit on editing my mini movies for the Continental Drift special screening this Sunday. The deadline for submissions is Friday, in case you have anything you’d like to send. The email address is on the cdrift website, I believe. That’s http://www.cdrift.ca.
Did you read John Polanyi in the weekend Globe? He is a Nobel laureate and member of the Department of Chemistry at the U of T. He wrote about how backwards the US is in its plan for stamping out poppy crops in Afghanistan. This is, by extension, part of what Canada is hoping to achieve there. He makes a strong case, as does the Senlis Council, for promoting a way to legalize the opiate trade towards the production of legal painkillers, such as morphine and codeine, of which there is a global shortage. In fact, according to the INCB-International Narcotics Control Board-the richest countries in the world consume almost all the opiates, leaving over 80 per cent of the global population without. Additionally, according to prices set by Afghan drug lords, it would cost $600 million to buy the entire Afghan illicit drug crops, which is $180 million less than the US spent on trying to eradicate it last year. Or $50 million less than the recent renovations at the MoMA. So wouldn’t it make more sense to encourage farmers to grow a legal crop than punish them for doing what they’ve always done under the Taliban? Maybe that could cut down on the suicide bombings, and the locals might view the UN force as an entity that is bringing constructive change to the country, and not as invaders. Could you look into this please?
-chris
from chris lloyd <dearpm@gmail.com>
to pm@pm.gc.ca,
cc Andy Cook <tapeandscissors@gmail.com>,
date Thu, Sep 28, 2006 at 8:38 AM
subject Horror seared into memories of rescue crews; Arrivée de Stephen Harper en Roumanie pour le Sommet de la Francophonie
Dear Stephen,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. Spent a good chunk of the day on studio projects. I’m finding more time to do that without my computer, which won’t be ready by this afternoon at the earliest, and most likely tomorrow. I had my first french class at the SJAC Tuesday night, which went relatively well. There is a group of nine of us, various ages and mostly at similar levels. I think it will be a fun class. Good practice.
The gallery received the two grants from the new program to assist with the Kitchen Party performance series and Jo Cook’s ‘zine show. There is a ceremony next Wednesday in the Red Room. Not to be confused with Red Rum.
I hear you are still trimming $1-billion from the budget and tossing the entire surplus to the debt. As you can imagine I don’t agree but hey we can agree to disagree. I especially like how you’re making it harder for people to receive legal aid in mounting challenges to legislation, such as for language or human rights issues. That is surely a right held only by those wealthy enough to mount legal challenges.
Gotta go, Claudine needs her computer.
-chris
DEAR PM 