2022
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 6, 2022, 10:14 AM subject 94 – 289 – 0607
Dear Justin,
Sorry for the long absence, Sol and I made it to NB safe n sound, although Ramsay got wet inside as a thunderstorm caught up to us and travelled with us on the highway for a couple hours before we stopped for the night in Rivière Ouelle, where Jess and I had stopped in the snowstorm on our way back from almost buying Darren’s old house back in February. I unexpectedly took Sol with me as my Ex was exasperated with Rose and Sol fighting and didn’t think she would be able to handle taking them camping with her together. We cancelled his flight, which given the clusterfuck at the airports lately was probably a good idea. Jess’s flight to Calgary was delayed twice, she missed her connecting flight to Yellowknife, had to stay at an airport hotel, then two nights in Yellowknife because the bush plane only flies to her resort every few days. Anyway we’ve been working on the bunkie pretty much non-stop since we’ve arrived, managed to get it all sheathed last night before an anticipated full day of rain today. We’ll drive into the city today to pick up a few more supplies, mostly caulking, roofing nails, stuff like that, and put the windows and doors in probably when I get back with Rose and Sol next week. Tomorrow Sol and I head back to Montreal so Sol can spend an extra weekend with his mom and I’ll take Rose to ComicCon. Since I’m on vacation I haven’t been doing much armchair activism, signed a letter to David Eby the Attorney General of BC asking him to reconsider criminalizing the Wet’suwet’en land defenders, but I doubt he will. I imagine that, like you, he just wants to do the bidding of industry and just bulldoze those pesky Indians out of the way. He looks like a real dick.
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 8, 2022, 8:52 PM subject 95 – — – 0807
Dear Justin,
Wow, has the Rogers wireless debacle inspired you to re-think privatizing absolutely everything, and maybe given pause for a little reflection of having the public own elements of critical infrastructure? In fact, hasn’t the pandemic also made it clear that nationalizing energy and transport services is a good thing? Not pipelines, you know I disagree there, but even then by you buying a pipeline you essentially declared it a national interest – so why isn’t the Internet? Somehow commerce found a way. Today was the first day of Comic Con and Rose has never been happier. She would see a group of Cosplayers and squeal in recognition, then reel off the names of My Hero Academia characters or some other animé or vocaloid. She really knows her stuff! She decided to come home to watch the final episode of ST4 instead of the concert of Studio Ghibli music. We watched the second-to-last episode last night at home with Sol, then today we walked up the Plaza for the street sale, and walked Sol to his mom’s, who is taking him to a chalet this weekend. I just dyed Rose’s hair a dark green for her Cosplay tomorrow, it’s a non-permanent dye so will come out in 8-10 washings. OK off for the grande finale of Stranger Things!
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 10, 2022, 10:16 AM subject 96 – — – 1007
Dear Justin,
I survived a full day at ComicCon. I dyed Rose’s hair green AGAIN because her hair is so thick and so long it didn’t cover completely the first time around. She was very happy to Cosplay with her friend Eva and they both had a blast. I mostly just wandered around while they id there thing, we went to Chinatown for a late lunch, then watched the Masquerade, which featured some great Costumes, and then home on metro. Today the girls will be back at it, and I will pay to replace a lunch bag and keychains that Rose left on a bench and then disappeared. There is also the awards for the masquerade last night. Then I’ll pick Sol up presumably and we’ll get ready to head back to NB early tomorrow morning. Oh, and ST ended quite dramatically – Spoilers ahead! – With One slash Vecna slash Henry damaged and hurt but not quite dead, his plan of opening the 4 gates seemed to have partially worked, Max died for 1-minute and is now in a coma – Joyce and Hopper made it back, and now they prepare for what will be final season 5, how will it all turn out? Should I follow Arcade Fire’s advice and just say fuck it to season 5, or am I too invested? Is this kind of fantasy the things we should be divesting from? Naw, just divest from CGL and TMX and Big Oil and get on with a True Transition already. Even though it’s probably too late.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 14, 2022, 10:53 AM subject 95 – — – 1407
Dear Justin,
We’re back in NB, working on the bunkie. Yesterday my dad and I put on the roofing shingles. We started mid-morning and worked a good 2-3 hours in the blazing sun. Talk about sweat! We finished the job after supper, when it was cooler. Another big hurdle completed! The other day I put up all the fascia boards. Also installed an 80-foot zipline for the kids – and us, whoever wants to use it so long as they weigh less than 250lbs. Almost two of me could use it at once. I’m going to take the kids into Fredericton today to watch Thir: Love and Thunfer (more for me than them), and look at a property nearby on Elm Hill road. Off to make pancakes and then we hit the road.
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 15, 2022, 9:22 AM subject 98 – — – 1507
Dear Justin,
Sorry I screwed up my numbers, this is letter 98 of the year. Speaking of numbers I can’t get any new data on daily COVID numbers for Montreal. I guess the pandemic is really over? Thor: Love and Thunder was goofy and hilarious, I loved it, what a fun silly romp. Guns n Roses was well-used in the soundtrack. Those screaming goats killed me. On the way there we stopped to look at a property on Elm Hill Road that is promising – it’s $39,900, so price is right – for 2.5 acres with a stream running through it. The lake is super marshy and unswimmable, so we may pass. Since Jess is not here to really see properties I may not look as seriously, although I can always make videos. I wonder if the markets are still too hot? It still seems to me that prices are inflated. Oh right, inflation. Today I’m going in to SJ for the Third Space birthday gala, meeting up with Judith and Robert. Be back to the Bog after the kids’ choir performance tomorrow night. I’m not sure how much they will like their day of choir camp, but my mom signed them all up months ago and apparently Rose agreed to it. Sol does like to sing, but Rose does not like to be seen. She’s a sensitive and shy tween. In other news I can’t seem to access my online EI account, I still haven’ received a payment but I did get a phone call on Monday from an agent to clarify the starting dates for my two employers, which I had guessed incorrectly at. Is this still part of the Rogers snaffu? Yesterday my debit card was working but my phone wasn’t. It’s almost like capitalism is crumbling before our very eyes. One could only wish.
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 15, 2022, 9:40 AM subject 99 – — – 1507
Godammit, I think I mistakenly deleted a bunch of my sent letters to you. I was going through past letters for the year to make sure I hadn’t made any more numerical errors ( I did find some, missed 74, then doubled 75), but I found a bunch of missing letters that I’m sure I wrote and numbered but now cannot find. I think I might have deleted them by mistake when I did that big email purge. So anyway can you kindly send back to me copies of letters numbered 3 (would have been between January 9-10); 11 (probably January 19); 14 (between January 22-25); 18 and 19 (January 28-30 – also might only be 18 or 19); 52 (March 25-26); and 74 (May 6-9). Of curse some of these I might have skipped but I’m doubtful I messed up this many, I usually check my sent email to verify exactly what number I’m at. Not like anyone else is counting, and not like any of it matters, but there it is. And I’m not an idiot, I know YOU don’t have anything to do whatsoever with letters sent to the PM, but I know SOMEONE reads them (or at least scans them?), so whoever that is please just check the records and see if those letters are there. Thanks!
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 17, 2022, 8:32 AM subject 100 – 356 – 1707
Dear Justin,
I’m back from an overnight in Saint John. The Third Space gala birthday party was a bust, however. No DJ, no music, no speeches, no sense of an event – the silent auction was pitiful, except a few items online until next week. Judith, Robert and Heather and I left early, but Judith and I were both a tad hungover Saturday morning. Not enough water! And one or two beers too many as we discussed you-know-who and her continued impact on my mental state. Which is getting better in time, as they say, time heals all wounds. But I’m missing my Jess, this time apart might be harder than I had thought it would be. Anyway I also decided to become a type of “artist-in-residence” at Tuck for the next couple weeks and make a bunch of on-site oil pastel paintings of prominent SJ buildings and street corners. Apparently a couple of the paintings I made last year could have sold many times over, so I’ll just make them many times over. I zipped over to Michael’s to get canvas boards and pastels and varnish, and this week sometime will go back into the city and wander around choosing vantage points. At 7pm I joined my dad at the Trinity Church for a service because my mom took the kids to an all-day choir camp. As expected the kids did not enjoy themselves very much, Rose bad lip-synching during the service. They like singing, just don’t like singing hymns and being subjected to a lot of God and Jesus talk. This will be the last time my mom tricks us into it! We finished Season 2 of Stranger Things last night, now on to 3, if my niece is into it, as she arrives today. Still lots of little things to do in the bunkie, and panels to prep, and podcasts to listen to, and dishes to wash, and a lake to swim, and kayaks to row, and life to live.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 18, 2022, 10:56 AM subject 101 – — – 1807
Dear Justin,
Still at the Bog. We had a surprise in the kitchen table last night. During cleanup my mom found a nest of newborn mice and their mother scurrying around – they were literally under the tabletop cavity, the nest made from tufts taken from a table mat. I found a plastic dome-shaped lid and managed to catch the mother and nest at the same time, slipped a cutting board underneath and carried the lot of them outside and found a cinderblock behind the shed to drop them all off. The mother mouse immediately started gathering up her young and taking them somewhere else. So now we know who has been getting into the bag of marshmallows and crackers. Mama Mouse came back a couple times right away, I caught her once and brought her outside but she immediately bounced back towards the trailer. Anyway In other news the weather is hot and dry – no wildfires or record heat waves, at least not yet – buddy, get your climate emergency team ready (do you have one? We don’t have time for your so-called transition). I’m going to try to forget for the day the bullshit you and your cronies are up to, the collusion between ecocide industry, the rcmp and politicians, the unchecked profit-driven monopolies of telecom companies, the continued assault on Indigenous land defenders, it’s all so frustrating and depressing. Everyday I’m here I walk by a Canadian flag my parents have up and I bite my tongue -why? – that I find it insulting and why don’t I want to have that discussion about how so-called Canada is a bunch of extractive industry companies, banks and telecom giants in a trenchcoat with my parents? I fucking should have the balls to do at least that, and maybe fly a different flag, maybe make some banners with the kids, Wet’suwet’en Strong or Land Back or the like. I still haven’t received any EI payments and I wonder at what point I should try to call someone. Yes, I’ll bite the hand that feeds me, I’ll like to bite it right the fuck off. Now I’m off to wash dishes and then crawl under the trailer with some expanding spray foam to close up whatever little holes the mice are using to get in. I’d rather that than traps – we are on their land, after all.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 21, 2022, 8:33 AM subject 102 – — – 2107
Dear Justin,
Back at the Bog, after a couple days in the city choosing locations and making sketches for paintings. I worked on one for a couple hours at the art café but realized that I’m not entirely happy with the 100% oil pastel finish, so we stopped at Michaels again on our way back to the Bog to buy paint. I’m planning to blitz on some paintings today before my brothers and their families arrive tonight. Looks like it’s shaping up to be another scorcher out here. Nothing on fire just yet, except in Europe. And BC. And probably California. And India. Just a little pesky issue of Climate Crisis. I’ve joined a Leadnow organizing call for next week, but worry I’m stretching myself too thin since I feel I’m not doing enough to work towards stopping CGL or TMX, especially from here, working on pretty paintings for rich folk to hang on their walls. I suppose if I don’t have to worry about money then I’ll have more time and space for activism, and direct donations to those causes. They have mounting legal fees because the colonial courts keep charging them. That reminds me I should call EI today and figure out WTF is going on with my claim. I’m getting low on cash again and don’t want to dip into savings to cover rent.
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 31, 2022, 2:21 PM subject 103 – — – 3107
Dear Justin,
We’re back in Montreal, and the Pope can kiss my ass.
WTF is happening with Covid here? Still no numbers since over three weeks now. We going monthly? Is that helpful?
I’ve got Ramsay back in place, somehow managed to do it myself without throwing my back out, which I did just getting up out of an Adirondack chair at Judith and Robert’s cottage last Tuesday.
Anyway I’ll fill you in more, or not, later. I’m going to put some time in at the studio since my Ex took the kids for the day for her parents 50th wedding anniversary. It’s my parents 50th this fall too. What should I get or do for them to celebrate?
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- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
DEAR PM 