From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Sat, 02 Mar 2002 01:54:27 -0400
Subject : Canada sending another 130 soldiers to anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan» Senate committee recommends spending $4 billion more on Canadian Forces» Alberta judge rules against back-to-work order for 21,000 striking teachers
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
A three-in-one today! First: In the morning to get some office stuff done. The phone calls are coming in for the Khyber Kids, which is a bit of a relief.
Then Überstyle presentation at noon. Third time I’d seen it. Robbie says he is sick of it, but Hanna hadn’t seen it and Robbie and Kate had done an independent study with him and further developed the project with more focus on the packaging and presentation, and he wanted to see it. Afterwards we went to Café Mokka and ate lunch and I asked him questions for the article for the alumni magazine. Then we went to Atlantis Kobetek and ogled the new iMac. It even looks better in real life.
Then back to the Khyber to meet Andréa about Khyber kids stuff to do early in the week. Then prepared for a KDMC board meeting, updated the spreadsheet, made copies of the minutes. Had a good turnout, though there are still some board members who haven’t shown up in months. Surprisingly, neither Robbie, Ron nor Kate came, and I had thought that they would.
Lin from Calgary came by and drove me, Lucas, Jason and Jessica to the Mount for Laurel Woodcock’s presentation and opening. She spoke about her work in the auditorium for about an hour and showed slides and videos. Her work is quite accomplished, very slick and well though out, and she describes it well. Her show looks great. I hope we can achieve something close for the video installation we have planned for April. Just the thought of all the things that have to go right between now and then makes me break out in a nervous sweat.
Ate lots of cheese and crackers after the presentation, then Karina and Rebecca and I went out to wait for the bus. I think we missed it, or it was late, but Peter drove by, saw Rebecca’s jacket, recognized the bright pink, and turned around and picked us up. He was going to see Lynette’s band, the Bontempi’s, at the Attic. We went with him, as I wanted to see Neusiland again, and they were playing right after. Karina drank some Jaggermeister, which made her sneeze, and we played video games (Ms. Pac Man and Galaga) in between sets. Left around 1am, I picked up my bookbag from work, and we took a cab home.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To: jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date: Sunday, 3 March, 2002 12:26 am
Subject: Clement paints himself as next generation of Tory leadership in Ontario» Canada sending another 130 soldiers to anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan» Senate committee recommends spending $4 billion more on Canadian Forces• more…WORLD» One American killed, number injured in new assault in Afghanistan: Pentagon
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Slept in this morning, missed the Market completely. Karina and I decided to forego our usual breakfast at Mary’s Place and just eat at home. Puttered around the kitchen reading scraps of things and listening to DNTO. Nadia called from Vancouver, where she is living now. She just came back to Canada in January; she had been in Turkey and France and England for the past three years. She talked mostly to Karina.
I had a meeting with Mat and Lucas today at 4 to discuss keeping Lucas on as tech even after his contract runs out, which is the end of this month. Lucas had made great Mugshots posters. I want to try the Mugshots fundraiser at the Market for the next few Saturdays.
Put some posters up at the College and then walked home – my monthly bus pass has expired. Stopped by Leah’s house to drop off her purse which she had left at the media centre yesterday. We talked about grad schools.
Came home and made supper, then went to the studio and almost finished the puzzle. The last bits are going to be difficult, as it is just starry night; not much variation.
Came home and read ‘Instant Coffee, the Saturday Edition’. Want to go to bed soon so I can get up early and get some work done on the Alumni Magazine article. The house is a pigsty too.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To: jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date: Monday, 4 March, 2002 1:02 am
Subject: Romanow health-care commission begins public hearings in home of medicare» Kyoto climate change protocol will cost $30 billion, says chamber» Federal officials rapped for permitting double-dipping Public Works contracts• more…WORLD» Chretien tries to broker compromise among Commonwealth leaders on Zimbabwe
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Ahhh, another lovely morning of sleeping in late. Worked on the computer for a bit in the early afternoon; the weather outside was frightful (windy and raining), so I delayed going to the studio. Wrote my grandparents and my parents. It was the first time in months I have written. I have no excuse, really: after all, I write to you every day.
Karina and I did laundry (actually, she took the laundry while I bought some groceries, then cleaned up the living room. I even vacuumed). She was up late last night reading The Hobbit. I did a little more research for the article on Robbie, but didn’t do a whole lot today. Read up on the history of Flash animation. It really isn’t really that exciting.
At one point Mathew called. He had run into Craig and Craig was trying to get a hold of me but doesn’t have my home number. I called him at the Club and he said he could smell heating oil. He couldn’t see any leaking in the basement, but he doesn’t have a key to the furnace room. We just had oil delivered the other day, so maybe it is because the tanks are full. I will check it first thing in the morning.
We made sushi for supper tonight. Karina is getting really good. Andrew came over. Watched the Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle. I had bought some Cadbury Easter Cream Eggs for Karina but they were old and stale and hard. And cost twice as much as the bananas I bought at the same time. Bizarre.
Watched Boogie Nights. It was good, a bit long and really quite sad. I have been listening to the soundtrack while at the studio. Randy must have left it behind when he moved to Kingston. We inherited his ghetto-blaster with the working 4″ TV monitor in it. Also bizarre. The only channel it picks up is CBC.
Have to send out a Khyber email notice, then try to get to bed and back to getting up early in the morning. At least I have some bananas for fruit smoothies tomorrow, to start my week off on the right foot.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Tue, 05 Mar 2002 22:24:49 -0400
Subject : Slain Montreal police officer remembered as a mature and thoughtful man» Woman plays key role as police nab man sought in death of Montreal officer» Two suspects arrested in shooting of Manitoba Mountie after two-week manhunt
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
It is such a pleasure cleaning out the litterbox now. I dumped the old, non-clumping litter away last week and added all new, clumping litter and it is such a change it is magical. I’ll never use the cheap-o stuff again.
I couldn’t write last night because I was completely worn out by the time I came home, and Karina was on the computer working on an essay. I had quite the surprise yesterday. Two, actually. Jaci called me at work to ask if I was all ready for my class. I had forgotten all about my Con Ed class! Luckily she called, and early enough in the day that I could leave work early (leaving a gazillion things undone, of course) and get some slides and prepare for the class. And it went better than the last session; there were fewer people enrolled (again, all girls – strange. Where are all the boys?) And we actually worked on a project, and completed it by the end of class. It was actually fun.
The other surprise was a phone call from Luis in Toronto, offering to include me in a small group show with Sandy Plotnikoff and another artist whose name I forget. The show will be in Mississauga in May. I will have to have editions of the letters (both hardcopies and emails) ready by then. It should be fun.
This morning Judy called me at work and sang “Happy Birthday” – the whole thing. It was hilarious. I do rather like to downplay the whole birthday thing, really. Being 29, or even 30, is a perfect age. Equal distance to 40 and 20 – and I very much appreciate the qualities that those in their 40’s and those in their 20’s possess.
I spent the whole day working on the finances and updated the books, and accomplished a fair bit. There were also lots of calls and a few registrations for Khyber Kids. I feel it all slipping, though. Especially when Jan called to say she had heard back from DFAIT regarding the grant to bring the Critical Art Ensemble back to Halifax in July. They only received half of what they asked for, and now I have a week to put together the NSAC application. And there is the worry that the recent 5% cut to NSAC could put that funding in jeopardy. I’ll work on it this weekend. But everything feels slippery; notes are getting lost, files missing, dates hard to remember. I need to focus on a few things, not try to manage dozens.
Karina took me out to supper at Curry Village. We hadn’t eaten there in ages. She was in a sad mood, having received a lower than expected mark on one of her papers. Maybe she is coming down with something; both Lucas and Craig are sick. Lucas even took the day off work.
We were late for Colleen’s presentation, and only caught the last few videos. I like her videos, but was told that the slide presentation wasn’t that great. I didn’t even know that she drew, or draws. Then again, the critique was coming from someone who draws cartoons, and saw the drawings as weak.
We caught a bus home. Karina is taking a bath. Courtney is watching Fargo. Rebecca relinquished the computer for me. She has almost completed her article for the alumni magazine; I had better get cracking.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
CC : linh ly <linhly@shaw.ca>
Date : Thu, 07 Mar 2002 00:24:08 -0400
Subject : Israel’s attacks on Palestinians unjustifiable: Canada’s foreign minister» Manitoba avoids user fees or premiums in its plans for medicare reform» B.C. aboriginal band files claim over huge offshore oil and gas reserves
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Another day, another dollar. Was at work again early this morning, again updating the financial statements. They are coming along, slowly but surely. In a perverse way I sort of enjoy it, even though I make an awful accountant.
Gerry Collins called me from Saint John and we had a good chat. He wanted a tax receipt for the painting he had donated to the Khyber for the Gala last year. He waived the 50 bucks we owe him on the painting, which was nice. I am starting to really worry about cash flow.
Susan McEachern came by with her photography class to see Tim’s exhibit, which was great, though they came at 11:30, and I hadn’t brought the TV up from the Club yet. It didn’t take long to set up, and they had a good discussion about the work.
Lucas was out of commission again today. I had hoped he would be feeling better by later in the afternoon so he could teach the Khyber Kids class but it didn’t happen. There is a nasty flu bug going around. I called a few people frantically at the last minute and Ryan, a young volunteer, offered to come down and help. A couple of the kids in the class are getting quite advanced with the Flash animation program; I was actually learning a fair bit by watching them. Ryan is going to rent the Ballroom Gallery for the first week of April to host an ‘Open Venue’ art show. It stems from the lineage of ‘Fuck This Town’ art shows, but I am glad they have changed the name. It is hard enough for us to attract full enrollment in the khyber kids programs as it is, what with the bar downstairs and all; the less gratuitously-shocking the names for exhibitions are, the better.
I am still feeling overwhelmed by it all, all the work that needs to be done, though I was making some headway with the sponsorship arrangements for the Gala. The entertainment is still behind schedule, and now the renovations in the Club are behind schedule; Craig doesn’t think that they will start until April. I am thinking now that it may be a good idea to do some light renos and some good decorating for the Gala, and do the large renovations to the floor, stage and bar after the gala. We shall see. More volunteers are signing up, which is a good sign. I just need to organize better so they have things to do. I have to be less of a control freak.
Robbie came by after work and took me to supper at Mokka and we talked more about his work, the Internet, Art and Society. We talked late, and missed the start of the Outspoken Series. We arrived back at the Club after it had already begun. It was a lively discussion; Mike Hickey speaks well and is funny and informative, and very engaging with the audience. I like public discussions about queerness, identity and sexuality. They feel more liberating than some of the other obtuse theoretical discussions can be.
I was surprised to see Emily Luce in the Club; she is up from Connecticut for an opening of bookworks she is participating in at the Mary Black Gallery. Unfortunately, her opening is tomorrow night and is in conflict with both Spencer’s opening at the Mount and the public meeting on the re-organization of the Department of Tourism and Culture. I still haven’t decided which I am going to attend. I’ll leave it until tomorrow. Emily offered to give us her old G-3, and to even re-condition it! What a sweetie. She said she can give it to us in April. A Golden Spindle for her!
Didn’t get home until late and my clothes reek of smoke. Karina is baking me a cake for my birthday. I am making some rice and debating going to the grocery store, as we have no fruit or vegetables. Still not finished the article on Robbie; am thinking I should just go to bed, and work on it for a bit in the morning. I need to grab a small bite to eat and get some sleep.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Thu, 07 Mar 2002 23:25:41 -0400
Subject : No one tells Israel what to do in its own defence, says visiting president» Former diplomat James Bartleman sworn in as Ontario lieutenant-governor» Alberta aboriginals win sweeping tax exemption under Federal Court ruling
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Managed to wake up early this morning even though I set the alarm for PM. Drank water for breakfast as we have no groceries. It had snowed last night, so everything was covered with white again. Most of it melted by mid-afternoon.
Continued with the finances this morning, then had breakfast at the Med. Afterwards I talked to Colin at Allegra and tried to hammer out a plan for the promotional material. He called later in the day and it looks like we are going to have to pay some money, as he has to ship in the card stock we want. Seth came by and the animation looks smashing. The G-4 was acting up though. I hope Lucas can figure out what is wrong with it tomorrow. He was recuperating from the flu again today. Myron emailed with good news, the company he works for is going to transfer the Flash animation to Beta tape for us. I am still behind on some of the sponsorship letters, grants and upcoming programming. Eva and Lee have approached me about moving into more space in the Khyber, but there isn’t really more space for them to move into unless we kick Shana out. I hate having to make these decisions. Have to prepare for the Mugshots fundraisers for the next few weeks as well.
Had a bag of chips for supper and read the Coast while waiting for the chartered bus to go to the Mount. Briony and Jacob both went to the public consultations tonight so I didn’t feel so bad about going to the Mount. Spencer’s show looked great but I felt Mike’s unveiling of the Makeup
Library was a little weak. Maybe it was just that I felt a little weak. Rather than take the Charter bus back downtown Karina and I caught a ride with Tania. Karina made us some supper when we got home; she had bought groceries today. I did a little work on some of the grants but am zoning out, so I’ll head to bed shortly. Am going to finally send the letters out to the MLA’s and the Premier tonight, and get them out of the way.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Sat, 09 Mar 2002 17:50:21 -0400
Subject : Harper alleges Day duplicity in welcoming leadership rival into Alliance fold» Judge bans publication of 1997 search warrant involving missing-women suspect» Jobless rate stays at 7.9 per cent in February, another sign of recovery
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Our oil tank ran dry during the night so the apartment was cool when we woke up in the morning. Karina noticed it in the wee hours of the morning, and kept snuggling her chilly toes into the backs of my legs. She likes to be really warm and under lots of blankets when she sleeps.
Bit of a zany day today. Lucas was back, and Janet was in today, and Karen came as well to sort out the membership database mixup, and the media centre was full, and people kept calling about Khyber Kids (the morning class is now full), Tim brought his Intro Photo class to see his exhibition, I met with Sally about the Turret meeting on Sunday, typed stuff up, checked email, ate some lunch and then bought some paper from Loomis & Toles for the Mugshots event tomorrow. Had a panic attack that no one else had confirmed that they would help with the event and I would be stuck doing it alone. Am already dealing with a steady pressure on the back of my skull from a buildup of stress. Now my eyes feel perpetually strained and bloodshot: ickky. Garry Kennedy came over to borrow a ladder; he is helping to paint the eyelevelgallery for Cathy Busby. She gives her presentation in the Club tomorrow. He told me that he is showing the actual stencils I made for him for the Finchwell Heads in a gallery in New York. It made me feel pleased and used at the same time.
Ate an early supper at the Med with Karina. Her class had met with Richard Murphy today. We went to his lecture tonight, as part of the NSCAD Lecture Series. The best part was his discussion of the real/imaginary as it related to film, and as an example he showed about 15 minutes from the Danish DOGME film, Festen. It looks like it is a great film, better than The Idiots. The rest of Richard’s talk sort of fell apart for me; It was too literary, I wasn’t familiar with the author nor the work in question, and he was reading from a text that was littered with obtuse jargon. And it went a tad too long. And I’m tired and worn out and behind on so much stuff that I felt it was a waste of my time. The I got mad at myself for thinking of work too much.
Karina and I went back to the media centre for a little bit, I gathered up a few things we will need for the Mugshots tomorrow and we caught a bus home.
Am researching the Critical Art Ensemble. Am now going to try to get a Commissioning as well as Professional Development grant completed before next week. Still not finished my article on Robbie. Am not going to get in the studio at all this week, I can feel it. Am going to have to start cutting back on my inter-curricular art activities. this makes me mad and makes me resent my work; I start to lose my own sense of the value of it.
Have a few more email to write and then I must get some sleep. I have to walk downtown tomorrow to be at the Market for 7am so I can follow Fred around and maybe get a better table to do the Mugshots from. There are no buses that early.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Sat, 09 Mar 2002 21:47:11 -0400
Subject : Ottawa officer attends Russian trial of diplomat involved in deadly crash» Statistics Canada to release first census of the new millennium on Tuesday» Nothing certain about predicted oil riches in Hecate Strait: experts
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
It was surprisingly easy to wake up this morning, even though it was so early. Still dark out. I walked downtown. Picked up a few things from the office and then headed to the Market for 7am. Met Fred and he gave us a sweet spot in the main atrium, with lots of room for chairs and natural light. I took another couple trips up to the Khyber to get chairs and then waited for the rest of the Mugshots volunteer artists to show up.
Robbie, Sarah, Kate and Seth all came and stayed for the morning. We made a fair number of portraits and drew one another. It was fun and relaxing. We went to the Great Wall for Dim Sum when we were finished but Dim Sum is only on Sundays. We ordered a variety of dishes and shared them instead.
Went to the Club for Cathy Busby’s talk at 2pm. The second artist within 2 weeks to focus heavily on Roseanne Arnold in her work. Stayed for a bit afterwards to do payroll and organize a few things. Krishna called; he is leaving for Trinidad in a few days to visit his dad. He will be there for over a month, lucky bastard. He says everyone has been calling him a lucky bastard. Stopped by the T-Shirt place in Scotia Square to ask about custom made T-shirts. I want to order some T-Shirts with bubble letter to wear to work. I want 2 black shirts, one that says ‘Director’ on the front and the other that says ‘work’ on the front and ‘harder’ on the back, and a brown shirt that reads ‘party pooper’ on the front. this would then become my at-work wardrobe. The shirts are only $9 and then $.30 per letter. Caught a bus home and took a nap.
Made supper and Karina did the dishes. She is reading ‘Lord of the Rings’. After supper I continued working on Robbie’s article but spent more time surfing through art gallery and Flash interview sites. Then Rebecca and Mohanad came home with a couple movies and started watching ‘Parsley Days’, which I haven’t seen so I had to watch it. It was nice to see the neighbourhood on film, and I liked the story but thought a lot of the acting was poor. I didn’t know that Mike was in it; he wasn’t too bad.
I have been playing with my teeth lately. Running my tongue and the tips of my fingers over the edges of my bottom teeth. I don’t know why.
Found another newspaper image of you from a few days ago so I think I will go and trace it before diving into the article again. I still have grants to work on and a class to prepare for on Monday and then my slides and presentation material to assemble before Thursday.
-Chris
From: chris lloyd <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
To: jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date: Sunday, 10 March, 2002 11:32 pm
Subject: ‘Ralph’s World’ has changed since his Alberta election victory one year ago» Police officer injured, one man killed after shooting in Morrisburg, Ont.» Premier Bernard Landry faces battle as Quebec legislature opens on Tuesday
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Slept in a bit this morning. Karina was up late late late reading Lord of the Rings. I think she is trying to get through Book 1 before the end of the weekend. She even pre-empted the Simpsons to continue reading.
Caught a bus downtown for the Turret meeting. It was really windy out. The turnout wasn’t as large as I had thought it would be, but there were still about eight of us at one time. We had water and Timbits. It was a good discussion, though I’m not sure how ahead we are. A concrete plan needs to go into action almost ASAP – notices made up about the availability of the space, contracts, fee schedule, all that stuff needs to be made up. And Mern suggested applying for a Cultural Spaces grant for equipment to help outfit the space, and advised applying soon as the fund is starting to dry up. The end of April would be the next deadline. Briony offered to help with it, which is good.
Caught a drive home with Lucas Pearse who had a friend come and pick us up. Sally, Briony and I all piled in; lots of room, it was a Volvo. They drove me right home. I made some supper and then worked on the article on Robbie and emailed it to Sarah for proof-reading. Watched the Simpsons, which was pleasantly funny, and then 200 Cigarettes, which I have seen before but felt like I needed to see again. To laugh, and try to relieve some stress.
There is something wonky happening with my computer; I can’t download PDFs from the Internet. Rebecca has been trying to access some application forms and I was trying to get some CAE info. My Download Manager folder is missing, which worries me. I have no idea how to fix it.
Khyber Kids March Break starts this week. Am going to go into work early and make sure everything is OK. Andréa and Nadine were cleaning up her studio today, but I need to be there to handle questions, registration and get any materials she may need for the class.
Am still unprepared for my own class tomorrow night.
-Chris
From: chris lloyd <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
To: jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date: Tuesday, 12 March, 2002 12:44 am
Subject: ‘Ralph’s World’ has changed since his Alberta election victory one year ago» Six children killed in house fire in remote island community, dad arrested» Chretien says Sept. 11 one tragedy of many; brushes aside calls for monument
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
I finally threw out that loaf of Wonderbread that has been sitting in the small refrigerator at work since last August. It only started getting moldy a few weeks ago, but it was starting to smell. I had to clean the fridge out anyway to make room for some juice and water for the Khyber Kids.
It was a busy day at work. Both the morning and afternoon Khyber Kids classes were well-attended. The morning crew were really rambunctious, but the older kids in the afternoon were much more focused. Then there was the Free School in the Club in the afternoon and a small Cyber Kids class with Lucas in the media centre. His grandfather just died so her may be going to Toronto for the funeral on Wednesday, but he won’t know until tonight.
I tried to accomplish things today but as usual, only seemed to get halfway. Sarah read over my article, made a few suggestions and told me it was a poor example of writing from me. I feel the same way; I just can’t seem to focus clearly on the task at hand. Any task at hand, for that matter.
Hadn’t really prepared much for my Con Ed class tonight but it went fairly smooth. I am learning to not reveal all my tricks all at once. The class is more focused and creative and productive that way. Tonight we focused on rubbings.
After class I went back to the Club to meet Peter. Most of the art crowd had left by then; I had missed Cathy Busby’s opening. Met Peter to discuss some design concepts for the first wave of invitations. I am way, way behind on that. The mail should have gone out today, but the invites are not even designed yet, nor is there an envelope-stuffing party organized.
But good news regarding my travel plans this weekend: Karina has rented a car, as Discount is having a special. I can drive to Saint John early Friday morning, which gives me an extra day to work on the NSAC grants and attend the next Gala meeting. Yay, more meetings.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
To: jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date: Wednesday, 13 March, 2002 1:14 am
Subject: Father of six kids thought killed in fire not under arrest, say police» Alta teachers responsible for legislation to end dispute, says gov’t minister» Canada’s population growth hit record low from 1996 to 2001
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Hooray! I don’t feel quite so incompetent anymore: Andréa found the missing (and presumed destroyed) box of pens from Ben’s Pen Exchange. They were exactly where I had thought they were: in the Khyber Kids storage area in the basement. The box was covered by a blue piece of fabric, which was why I had overlooked it somehow.
Had to make some calls today to find people to watch over the media centre while Lucas is away. I think Jacob is up for it both days, and Ron may teach the Cyber Kids class tomorrow.
Bit of a harried day. Peter came early and worked on the Gala invitation design. Seth came as well and worked on the animation. Met with Jan and talked about the Critical Art Ensemble grant application. I had to run out after noon for a CAPS meeting at the Anna Leonowens to discuss the Contested Practices II curatorial conference happening in June. Gave Donna her videotapes. Ate sushi and jellybeans throughout the meeting.
Went for supper with Karina to the Bluenose. They have good French fries. I picked up a couple customized T-Shirts from the Shirt Shack in Scotia Square. I bought a black shirt with white lettering that says ‘Work’ on the front and ‘Harder’ on the back, and a white shirt with black lettering that says ‘Direktor’ on the front. My new work uniform. Am still in need of new pants and a couple sweaters. Am getting sick of wearing the same clothes over and over and over again.
Tim Brennan gave a presentation of his work in the Club tonight. It was a good presentation; he speaks clearly and slowly about his work, and I was quite taken by some of his earlier projects, such as the ‘Americans’ project. In it, he uses digital means to ‘erase’ the figures from images from Robert Frank’s seminal body of work, ‘the Americans’. The audience asked lots of questions and there was some interesting dialogue beginning to emerge. It feels like these presentations and gatherings are becoming more substantial.
Randy is in town from Kingston. He arrived by train this afternoon. He and Ron were working on David Clark’s new interactive project. It was nice to see him. His hair is much longer, and styled in the manner of a ’70’s porn star.
Worked late in the office working on the NSAC grants. Talked to Pat earlier in the day and it appears we qualify for both professional development and commissioning. Walked home with Sarah and discussed the rampant lack of criticality surrounding recent artwork.
Heard from Luis; he needs info from me for the show in May. I can also design a postcard, and Lola magazine wants something from me by week’s end. Spoke to my Dad and Mom on the phone tonight and made plans to meet them at the City Market in Saint John on Friday.
Have to go and have a shower; stink of smoke from sitting in the Club during the presentation, and Karina has just changed the bedsheets. First I have to send out the Khyber email announcements. Am up again early tomorrow; we will finally get our mailout completed, a few days late. Better late than never.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Thu, 14 Mar 2002 00:53:31 -0400
Subject : Remains of six kids killed in Quatsino house fire found, village horrified» Seven more seats proposed for Commons based on population changes» Ottawa-provinces-industry discuss softwood strategy as deadline looms
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Just got home and watched the final ten minutes of Edward Scissorhands with Karina, Rebecca and Courtney. Just watching the final few minutes certainly highlighted the cheesiness of the movie. Where did he get the ice from to make his sculptures and create the snow? How did they think that Winona Rider could pass as a ninety-year old grandmother?
I am listening to Amnesiac by Radiohead, and have been all week. It has been my late night aural fixation as I check my email and type my letters to you. Spooky work, very layered and eerie.
The Club was super busy by the time I left tonight. The breakers were in dancing and the place was not full, but getting close. The Board had a strategic planning session with Leah tonight, and there were other pressing concerns to deal with as well. Heather had some good advice and helped us read through the “legalese” of Craig’s management agreement.
I asked Robin Fry is Pegasus Plus would be interested in playing for the Gala. He seemed keen, and will run it by the rest of the group.
My grant-writing is progressing slower than I would like, but I now have one less to worry about. CAE wrote me back and they are not enthusiastic about the Commissioning grant. I could probably convince them but given the time it is not worth it.
Ron and Randy came by to help with the Cyber Kids today but only one, Lucas, showed up. He brought his cousin along with him, but as they are in a more self-directed part of the course there wasn’t a whole lot for Ron to do. The other kids must have had March Break activities to keep them busy. Ron and Randy showed some of their Flash samples and offered tips and advice. It turns out that randy never did receive a T-4 from the Khyber so I printed one off for him, but now I am worried that there may be others outstanding which I thought had been issued already. Revenue Canada is going to love me.
Karen and Amelia and Jacob helped out with the mailout today. It is going out late, but better late than not at all.
I was at work by 8am this morning. I woke up without the aid of the alarm. This is alarming to me. I am looking forward to taking a bit of a breather this weekend. Besides the 2 grants, I have a Final report for the YIP program and a list of activities for Janet to make tomorrow, as well as a schedule for volunteers and arrangements to make for the Mugshots on Saturday. Big Gala meeting planned for tomorrow night. Have to go through my slides and samples of work to bring for my presentation on Friday.
I can’t complain that my life is dull. At least, it doesn’t feel dull.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Fri, 15 Mar 2002 00:45:57 -0400
Subject : Child’s body found northeast of Toronto amid search for missing two-year-old» Handel’s friend felt ‘apprehensive’ morning of deadly fire» Canada may not ratify Kyoto climate-change agreement, Dhaliwal suggests
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Can’t write long. It’s late and I still haven’t organized my slides and other presentation materials. Today was hard-out grant writing. Jacob and I are racing, it seems; and completing for the same grants, clacking away at computers side-by-side. Had a Gala meeting tonight, met with Steve and Eleanor and Spencer and Sarah after the Khyber Kids class, then worked on the budget and minor details with Steven afterwards. They are completing their grant application tomorrow. I have to email Janet a list of things to do, organize my stuff and hit the hay. We want to and need to be on the road by 8am tomorrow. My presentation is at 1pm and I want to meet my folks for lunch at the Market. At least now Karina has decided to come with me and can drive; I can organize my slides on the way.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Mon, 18 Mar 2002 23:28:27 -0400
Subject : Dalton Camp, political columnist and influential Tory, dies atage 81» Leadership run wasn’t original plan, says Alliance candidate Stephen Harper» Harris knew in his ‘gut’ it was time to quit and make way for new Ont.premier
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Had a restful weekend; mostly watched movies. Judy has cable, so I was sucked into an Elvis movie marathon. I can’t believe how awful those movies were. I watched ‘Live a Little, Love a Little’, ‘Stay Away, Joe’, and some racing movie. I would have watched more but Judy and Karina couldn’t stand it anymore. I was amazed at how racist, offensive, sexist and blatantly consumerism-driven they were. Now I want to see more. I’d like to re-shoot some of the scenes, so that stripped of the glamorous Hollywood sets and vacuous pretty eye candy actresses the plots become even more ridiculous.
The weekend in point form:
¤ we were a bit late getting out of Halifax Friday morning. I took a bus downtown to retrieve a couple videotapes I had left at the office and which I needed for my presentation. Picked up the rental car, but was delayed by a sick employee who was slow in readying the car.
¤ we got into Saint John, met my parents at the City Market, had a quick lunch and then Karina dropped me off at St. Max for the presentation
¤ only 2 kids fell asleep during the presentation. A few really enjoyed it and asked solid questions at the end, but I had forgotten how disinterested and surly teenagers are, generally.
¤ Judy bought a car from her ex-lover on Thursday. As we were driving across the Harbour Bridge Friday night, on our way to pick up a friend of Robyn’s to go to a movie, the car broke down. Right at the top of the bridge. Luckily, we were able to put it into neutral and I pushed until we could coast the rest of the way down the bridge. We called a tow truck and left the car at Alpine Motors.
¤ went to see ‘Resident Evil’ with Robyn and his friend Justin. Awful movie. I walked out about 20 minutes before the end, it was so pointless.
¤ we drank 2 bottles of Gato Negro as Judy brought us up to speed on the latest with her ex-lover, Jim. It is quite a remarkable story; he is a mysterious character. He doesn’t really work, is independently wealthy (old money, I think) and disappears every now and again. Judy seems attracted to men who could very well be psychopaths. She broke up with him (again) last week, but still wants to buy his old car from him (it is an ’85 Volvo station wagon, so it should be reliable. The sale depends on what exactly went wrong with it Friday night and how much it will cost to fix). Luckily she hasn’t paid for it yet. Jim is in Cuba until Thursday, so she has time to figure it out a bit more before then.
¤ Saturday I watched the Elvis marathon, then Karina and I rented a VCR and Ghostworld. I liked it a lot.
¤ watched the celebration with Judy Sunday morning. Amazing movie – hard to watch at times, and incredibly sad as well, but just so amazingly put together.
¤ ate breakfast at Reggies.
¤ went to Rhoda’s Flea market. I bought some records and 8-tracks.
¤ we stayed until the Simpsons, then hit the road. Had a late supper at the Silver Fox Big Stop in Salisbury.
¤ Didn’t get home until 3:30am.
¤ met my folks after returning the car this morning. We had coffee at Tim Hortons. They had a good weekend and enjoyed the basketball games. They swapped cars with Trevor and Tamara, as they are going to Toronto for 2 weeks. Tamara is attending a dog training conference. My parents car is a little more reliable for long distances.
¤ slept in until noon today. Karina and I hung out in bed for most of the morning and early afternoon, then went for lunch at Mary’s Place. I went into work and was immediately overwhelmed. Luckily so much had been done on the weekend; the exhibitions that needed to be struck had been, and the ones that had needed to be installed had been. I just needed to make some labels. There is a minor crisis brewing with one of my NSAC grants, though. I had not included bios of the 2 Steves from Critical Art Ensemble, so I have to go down there and find them from the CD-Rom (when it gets there) and print the resumes and project descriptions. I really hope it was postmarked on time, and that the CD-Rom contains the necessary information.
¤ Only a couple people showed up for my Mixed Media class. We worked on photocopy transfers, but the low attendance heightened my sense of anxiety and stress about myself and my capabilities.
¤ Karina made cupcakes tonight.
¤ watched your interview with Peter Mansbridge on TV tonight. He asked far too general questions. You seem far too eager to link together and spread the virus of capitalism and democracy to every country in the world. Is this supposed to be the solution to the ills that are killing the planet?
¤ I borrowed a CD from Judy by a group called Divine Comedy. I am listening to it right now. I like it though Karina can’t stand the singers voice.
¤ Have to send some email then go to bed and get some rest; the rest of the week will be hectic.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Wed, 20 Mar 2002 00:09:29 -0400
Subject : Government asks for audit into possibility it paid twice for same report» Alliance leadership vote a nail-biter for Day, Harper on eve of first ballot» Softwood deal in trouble; Pettigrew heads to Washington to help
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Back to the usual routine today. Up early, grabbed a shower and some breakfast and caught a bus downtown. Spent the day trying to catch up on things. It was great that the office has been straightened up somewhat. Finished a final report for the YIP grant. Finalized some of the sponsorship arrangements, got the beta tape from Myron, paid some bills, the usual office stuff. Had a scare from Steve of Critical Art Ensemble. He emailed me back to say that there are no CV’s on the CD-Rom he sent, which means the NSAC application may be considered incomplete. We’ll see tomorrow. If it won’t be accepted then it won’t be accepted.
As we had originally thought that the bar would be undergoing renovations this week we didn’t have an artist lined up for the artist talk, so I went home early. Early being 6pm. Caught a bus to the Barrington Street Superstore and picked up some groceries, then caught another home. I love having a bus pass. Made supper. Karina had been up most of the night and all day working on a paper.
Mohanad, Andrew and Chad came over and together with Rebecca and Karina we played a cheesy board game; a Pocahontas game. Did you know that Disney has made a Pocahontas sequel? I wonder if it covers her marriage to John Rolfe and her death at the age of 21? Did you now that Disney has also made a sequel to the Hunchback of Notre Dame? And did you know that Elvis made over 28 movies? I thought 3 was a lot. Anyway, after the board game we watched ‘Live and Let Die’, a fairly early James Bond flick. It was side-splittingly funny at times, when it wasn’t disturbing or offensive. Ahh, the things one can learn of American culture through Elivis movies, Disney movies and James Bond movies. And Pocahontas board games.
We received an interesting donation on the weekend. A regular of the Club won some money on the scratch and win tickets and gave us $200. We’ll give him a plaque on a spindle for it.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
CC : andrea mantin <acmantin@yahoo.com>,Judith Mackin <judithm@nbnet.nb.ca>,krishna premdas <kpremdas@hotmail.com>
Date : Thu, 21 Mar 2002 23:44:05 -0400
Subject : Harper skeptical about co-operation with Clark; stresses Alliance strength» Higher food, electricity costs drive February inflation up to 1.5 per cent» More than 2,000 Tories give glowing farewell to Ont. Premier Mike Harris
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Slept in a bit this morning. It was due to the weather; heavy snowfall, which turned to rain. Slowed everything down. Mostly ran errands today. Went to the bank, went to NSAC to get the CD-Rom CAE had sent, which was mostly of their website, so I had to select a few pages to print and return to NSAC as part of the support material for the Professional Development granrt. Also gave a short telephone interview to Sally MaKay from Lola about my participation in the ‘Rolodex’ show and had a long conversation with Leah Hamilton regarding the business plan. Finished off a couple summer job grants as well.
While talking to Peter about the design plans for the Gala I hooked up that old Eight track player. The G-4 kept crashing so I had some extra time. The old eight track player actually works. It is the one I bought from the yard sale on the way to Liverpool this past summer. Haven’t tried to record with it yet, as I was growing attached to the Burt Bacharach, Tom Jones and the various tunes on the compilation 8-track. My plan is to record high-tech, digitally-recorded sounds onto 8-track. Just need to find some 8-Tracks I can record over.
Met Karina on the #7 and we went up to Dalhousie for the Critics Series. The speaker was Laura Marks, and she was talking about Invisible Media. She writes: “The twentieth century was called the century of visual media. Now, however, given the radical corporate annexation of visual images, the most interesting and urgent areas of communication to study are invisible media. These are waiting, hiding, latent media, coiled up like vipers: the computer virus is their most typical manifestation. [In my lecture] I will describe certain strategies of invisibility that contemporary media follow: these include making visible; sabotage; latency; and hiding in plain sight.” It was a good talk. It felt relevant and timely. She spoke a little too well; the result of getting ones PHD? Not that many people attended, but that could have been because the president of NSCAD was talking about Greece tonight. But that meant there was more food at the end of the talk, which was good because I had skipped supper.
Am still listening to the Divine Comedy. Am going to try to catch some of Zed TV.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Sat, 23 Mar 2002 00:54:57 -0400
Subject : Liberals use committee majority to clear Eggleton of lying to Parliament» Frustrated Pettigrew calls 29 per cent U.S. duties on softwood “obscene”» Ottawa launches review of steel imports, punitive duties possible
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Just finished watching the Celebration with Karina and Courtney and Sarah. It was difficult to watch on our TV; the subtitles were lower than the screen. Our TV and VCR are also dying; they probably won’t be with us for much longer. Celebration is a powerful movie. I missed a fair bit when I watched it last weekend at Judy’s house.
Sarah and I had gone to the opening at the AGNS. Ray had curated his first big show since becoming curator of contemporary art last summer. The show looked good, almost cramped the big gallery below the courtyard. David Diveney and Eric Edson’s pieces were amongst my favourites, as was Greg Forrest’s drum kit. I also really liked the mound of molded roofing shingles completely filling one corner of the gallery. The tent-like pieces I wasn’t too hot for. The placement of the works seemed a little forced as well. And there was not nearly enough food.
Today was the first day of the Howl Festival of Art and Revolution at the Khyber. I sat in on a panel of art and activism. I spoke mostly about Chad’s interventionist work involving the Green Wall and the more recent concrete wall he built at Scotia Square. I also emailed a small blurb about his work to Jane at the Coast. She wrote me back and asked if I wanted to write more about it. I do, but it’s only 150 words. Is that better than nothing? I missed the action and spoken word events happening in the Club tonight. It’s hard to do it all. When I poked my head in there were 2 guys on stilts, one was George Bush and the other was KC Irving, and they were arguing about money. Global politics made local.
Janet came in this afternoon. She continued sorting the submissions for the last call for proposals while I caught up on our bills. Lucas helped with narrowing down the field of projectors we are looking to buy. Winnie called about setting up an ISBN for her catalogues. I have yet to hear back from Caroline and that worries me. Those catalogues need to be done by the end of the month, which is rushing up faster and faster.
Robbie just came by with a new design for a Mugshots poster. I am heading to the Market first thing tomorrow morning to set up for it. Am not really that organized but I think I can swing it. I’ll just meet Fred at 7am, get the table and chairs set up and then heads to the Khyber to pick up all the supplies and print off the posters.
It’s late; I have to get to bed soon. Getting up at 6am. Am going to try to spend the afternoon in the studio, and get some work done on some portraits.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date : Tue, 26 Mar 2002 23:11:00 -0400
Subject : With battle to become Ontario premier behind him, Eves now facesLiberals» Klein seeks reassurance from Alta. Tories, warns successors to back off» Harper sets out to fix Alliance woes, but does he have the right stuff?
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
It has been a good weekend. Woke up super early Saturday morning to get downtown and prepare for Mugshots at the Market. Sarah, Andrew Hunt, and Seth Scriver came by. It was slow, but we didn’t lose any money. It is just nice to socialize. Had lunch with Sarah at the Med and gossiped. The Gallery was full of people for the Howl Festival workshops. The KDMC was full of kids surfing the net when I went in to print up the paystubs. It is wild to see six-year olds playing on computers like it was second nature. They must learn about websites from Saturday morning cartoons and cereal boaxes; they are all in cahoots.
I picked up the third of the Lord of the Rings books for Karina at her request. She said the second ended on a cliffhanger and she has to find out what happens. She is reading the trilogy at the expense of her studying.
Actually got into the studio Saturday afternoon. Finished that puzzle, finally. Made supper and veged out in front of the TV. Still haven’t seen our TV ad. Watched repeats of Olympic Figure Skating. Had a brief nap then headed back down to the Khyber for the rest of the Howl events.
The first poet to get up was gawd-awful. It was more of a naivé Young Socialist rant. It was ironic that I chose to wear my “work – harder” T-Shirt; he was wearing one that said “capitalism sucks – workers unite, oust the tories”. I agree, but his rant was so poorly written and executed it runs the risk of making all Lefties look retarded. But Kai Kelough, the poet from Montréal, redeemed the whole night with his exquisite delivery and masterful words. He had the whole bar drawn in. I bought his chapbook. Jacob’s 4th Delayed Knee Jerk Reaction was fine, though I think he makes them too long. And Pip Skid was in good form.
Because the first poet was so bad I started drinking Jaggermeister in my Coke. Missed the last bus so had to walk home. Karina and I got into a bit of an argument because I lied, trying to downplay the drinking. We talked until it was late and neither of us were thinking clearly.
Slept in a bit today, had some breakfast then went downtown to meet Peter at the KDMC. He is working on the design for the handbill and the poster and needed to use the computer. I came back home and Karina and I made a trip to the Laundromat. Over the past couple days Janet finished compiling the artist proposals for the Ballroom Gallery. I took a copy of them with me today, to read while we waited for the laundry. There are 40 proposals, which is more than we usually review at any one time. The selection committee meeting is set for Thursday. I still have to contact the board members to change the board meeting, as there is a scheduling conflict.
After laundry I spent some time in the studio preparing some panels to paint, gridded off some newspaper pictures of you, and treated the surface of the puzzle with a couple coats of Matte Medium. I may go over it with some Gloss medium before I paint the ‘America Strikes Back” image overtop.
Made supper tonight and watched a bit more TV. Continued to watch the Man Who Fell to Earth. I hadn’t realized what an awful movie it was. Had to stop it short to watch the Simpsons, then we started watching the Oscars. We still are. I’d like to watch the rest of the movie once the Oscars are over, but it is taking forever. I teach tomorrow night, and need to select some slides, and as well I have a lot of financial work, and Gala stuff to do tomorrow, so I will probably head to bed shortly.
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Tue, 26 Mar 2002 23:11:00 -0400
Subject : Child porn challenger wins artistic argument; acquitted of distribution» Canada’s health-care system needs more than federal funding boost says Romanow» B.C. doctors urged to drop job action after deal with premier Date :
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. Came home later than I had intended and was just too darn tired. Had sat in the Club after teaching my class and watched four #7 buses drive by while talking to Sarah and Ingrid and Michelle, who is visiting from Vancouver. Ariella offered to drive Michelle and I home, as we are all living North, but she got to talking and eventually I just walked home with Sarah after missing the last possible bus.
Don Simmons had his MFA Thesis exhibition opening at the Anna yesterday. There is one piece which consists of a large, furry red heart with spindly metal ‘arms’ attached. When you rub the heart, and if you find the sweet spots, the ‘arms’ girate and rattle against the wall. They can’t do much more, as they are trapped behind metal braces. I liked it, but it was crowded so I didn’t really get a chance to play with it. Then I had to go and teach class, which went well, back to almost full attendance. Four students, yikes.
Up again early this morning, stopped at Pierceys and finally found the components I had been hoping someone else would find; to enhance the lighting situation in the KDMC. There are some dark corners in that room. Spent a bit of time in the morning splicing extension cords and wiring up the lighting socket; the room is much brighter now. Will come in handy when we re-sand the floor this weekend.
Am quickly catching up on the financials, and getting the student job grants done as well. Hopefully we will have good luck this summer and be able to employ a small army of students.
Stuck around tonight for Cal’s artist talk in the Club. She is an amazing welder and cuts through steel more skillfully and elegantly than most can through paper. She is working on some great I-Beam pieces which will be exhibited in the sculpture court at the AGNS at the end of April, if she can figure out how to keep them from falling over and killing anybody. Art attack!
Took the bus home then walked to Sobeys to get groceries. Was going to make some supper but am too tense, sore, pissed off and grumpy to bother. Plus I ate pizza at Venus Pizza tonight; hence the reason why I am tense, I’m sure. Why I keep going there I have no idea. Actually, I’m grumpy because the house is full of people, and once in a while it would be nice to come home to a quiet, peaceful, empty space. Not all the time, but once in a while it would be nice.
Am either going to take a bath to try to unwind or watch a bit of the Changing Room video that Mike LeBlanc shot. Since I missed a lot of the performances that night it might be good to see it from someone else’s perspective. Or maybe I’ll just go to bed.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 00:10:59 -0400
Subject : Snap byelection call leaves Harper scrambling as Levant refuses to step aside» Prime minister announces byelections in seven ridings for May 13» New $5 bill features winter themes and excerpt from Carrier book
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Well, the provincial government dropped a doozy today, and shut down the Nova Scotia Arts Council. I knew things were getting bad with the provincial Tories, but had no idea they would go this far. they really, really must despise the idea of ‘arms length, peer assessed’ funding. The Nova Scotia cultural backwards slide continues. I’m all for renting a large barge and taking the arts communities on a long boat ride South. We could moor off the coast of some Caribbean Island and claim Political Asylum from our insane government which wants to sacrifice all the social and educational programs it can in its overzealous drive to balance the budget.
We’re training our kids to have such dull dreams:
“Mom, Dad, when I grow up I want to balance the budget”.
What an aspiration. What leadership, what caring, what humanity.
Oh yeah, the Hammsters are also planning to de-designate student loans for post-secondary programs which are not readily employable. Goodbye artists, writers, theorists, critics and philosophers. My, Nova Scotia is going to be a real attractive place to live in a few years. There will be a few fishermen and farmers left, the rest will be call-centre workers, lawyers and doctors. Oh, and actors, as I’m sure the film industry will continue to grow. Nova Scotians will become experts at playing bit roles in bad Hollywood movies about quirky places—like Nova Scotia. Maybe the Hammsters just want Nova Scotia to become more of an ‘authentic’ David Lynch set piece. Full of inbreeds and ignoramuses.
Aside from this news, the day was fairly uneventful. Worked on the finances and prepared for the board meeting. We had a lot of information to cover tonight, including the news about the Arts Council.
When I came home Karina gave me a haircut, I had a bath and Karina made me a sandwich. I feel so pampered. She is still not finished her Regina 5 manifesto, and is frustrated at them for being so vacuous about their work. I think she is too particular and trying too hard to make good grades.
Am meeting Ray early in the morning at Pierceys to get paint and renovations supplies for the building cleanup which is beginning this weekend.
-Chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Subject : Dissident MPs offer proposals to increase co-operation on Canada?s right» Calgary candidate steps aside to allow Alliance leader to contest byelection» IndustryMinister Allan Rock announces more money for university researc
Date : Fri, 29 Mar 2002 23:31:18 -0400
Attachment : MediaRelease_1 (1k), MediaRelease_1 (9k)
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Thursday: Met Ray at Piercey’s and we loaded up on gallons and gallons of paint. He dropped me off at the Khyber and helped me unload and then left to go down to NSCAD to repair his motorized ‘Grey Landscape’. I tried to gather up some loose ends in the office before heading to St. Mary’s for the emergency ‘Save our Arts Council’ meeting. Mat picked me up. His car smells like Dog. Lots more people at the meeting than I had expected. I joined the ‘media’ committee and along with Chris, Frank, Leah, Sarah and Gay we drafted a letter to go into half-page ads in the daily newspapers this weekend. Except that the papers were full – more good planning on the part of the PC government. Finally got back to work at about 3:30. Had to run to the bank before end of year to deposit the last of the C@P funding, and then NSCAD to get a slide projector for the selection committee. Then worked frantically to get everything organized for 6:30. Karina came by with a snack and helped organize. The selection process was speedy and exciting and lasted about 5.5 hours. We all went to the Bitter End for a drink afterwards, though Peter had to leave early to catch the last bus to Bedford. Sarah and Spencer and I stayed until closing time, and Craig left a little earlier. Walked home with Sarah and Spencer and went straight to bed.
Friday: Woke up, had breakfast, hopped on a bus downtown. A new volunteer named Jason was waiting on the front steps. Peter, and Sophie and her friend Doug came to help as well. We moved all the KDMC computers and equipment and furniture into the gallery and started sanding the floor. Ray’s sander works much better than the palm sanders Mohanad and I used before, but it still wasn’t fast or effective enough. We are going to try to rent a floor sander tomorrow and try to get the first 2 coats on the wood before Sunday. Dan helped with a lot of the cleaning and took over the light-replacements in the downstairs hallways. Lucas hooked up some of the computers so they will work in the gallery tomorrow and made plans for the new installation once the floor is done. I was feeling tired and ineffectual all day; there is so much pressing work I have to do and the NSAC stuff is adding more stress.
Got a ride home with Lucas and his mom – it was her birthday today – and had a quick shower to blow the dust off me. Courtney, Karina and I caught a cab to King Wah, a Chinese restaurant on Quinpool Road. We met Rebecca and Mohanad, and Aaron and Heather there. It was a good meal. The lazy Susan helped. We walked home.
There were a lot of emails regarding the ‘Save Our Arts Council’ ads and press releases in my inbox when I got home. Am including one for you. Want to check the NSCN website for other updates before I head to bed. Karina and Courtney are watching an awful movie, Inventing the Abbotts. It is incredibly dumb.
I have to get up super early to set up for Mugshots at the Market, and then straighten up the submissions information in the gallery and get a decent list of things for Janet to do before she comes in at noon. I am really feeling tapped out lately, but there is too much to do so I feel I can’t stop, or even slow down.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Subject : Tory steps aside in Calgary byelection to give Alliance leader aclear path» Dissident MPs offer proposals to increase co-operation on Canada?s right» Fedscontracting rules sound but implementing them is another matter: experts
Date : Sun, 31 Mar 2002 01:30:41 -0400
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Caught the #1 bus early this morning with Andrew. He had stayed the night and needed to catch the bus to go to work. I grabbed the necessary Mugshots stuff and headed down to the Market but there was bad news; Fred had not reserved us a table. Rather than try to do Mugshots in a cramped and tiny corner of the Market I called it off and had breakfast at the Med.
Rented a floor sander and picked it up in a taxicab. Lucas came in and before noon we had finished sanding the floor. It was renovations day. Janet sanded the baseboards along the main stairs. Peter Weal came to help and together we built shelves and modified the desks in the media centre to hold the computer towers. Frees up more space on the desktops.
Took the bus home; it was raining hard at this point. Made supper. Karina was having a nap. We got ready and walked to the North End Church for the AFCOOP 1 Minute Film Scholarship screening. We were early, so I bought tickets and we went to Gus’s Pub for a drink.
The screenings were fine, but Taryn is an awful host. She goes on and on and often makes no sense. I was pleased when Sally got up to introduce her film and she read off a bit of the NSCN release from a few days ago.
Afterwards Karina and I caught a bus downtown to meet up with Ryan and Tracy and Andréa and Lucas to go dancing at Reflections. We were a bit hungry so we decided to give La Cave another chance. We had red wine, mussels and garlic bread. We stopped by the Khyber on the way to Reflections so I could show off the shiny floor. Set the alarm off in the gallery. Lucas was still around; he was about to put a fourth coat of finish on the floor. We have to move all the gear back in to the room before eleven o’clock tomorrow.
Karina and I decide to forego the $8 cover at Reflections and just took a cab home instead. Have to get up early so I want to get to bed soon.
-chris
Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000167 EndHTML:0000005259 StartFragment:0000000454 EndFragment:0000005243
From : chris lloyd <frottage66@hotmail.com>
To : jean chretien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Subject : From flowers and e-mail to singing hockey fans, Canadians remember Queen Mum» Cross-Canada pro-monarchy numbers take big bashing in Quebec, poll suggests» Dalhousie University students stressed as classes resume after strike
Date : Sun, 31 Mar 2002 23:34:38 -0400
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Spent the day at work. Set the alarm off when I arrived because I opened the Ballroom First. Michelle Irving, Janet and Lucas came fairly early as well, to help move the KDMC gear back. Michelle is just visiting from Vancouver and is working on a CD at the KDMC. Lucas had put another coat of Diamond Finish on the floor after we left last night, bringing the total coast thus far to four. Dan finished installing the fixed track light ing in the downstairs hallway.
The refinished floors look great. The room seems much brighter and more spacious. I finished building the new shelves ad helped Lucas with the wires. Cleaned the office a bit, but am still way behind. Still haven’t sorted and packed up the submissions from the other night.
Ordered pizza again from Thomasino’s. Sally had come over to work on a grant application. I drove a staple through one of the network cables that I was trying to affix to the floor. Straight through the middle. At first we thought it had permanently damaged it, but after I took the staple out the printer continued to work, which was a relief. Those cables are expensive.
The kids who were scheduled to start installing the ‘Open Art Show (Fuck this Art Town #3) were late. We had cleared out the gallery for them in a big panic. The main organizer never even showed. At least he dropped off the rental cheque yesterday. The other kids who were installing wrote disparaging remarks directed towards the organizer directly on the gallery walls. It is refreshing to see that sort of direct dialogue between a young organizer / curator and the participating artists.
Walked home with Sally. We went through the big empty space behind the hotel so I could show her Chad’s intervention. I am supposed to send Jane a small piece of writing about it. Sally and I talked about the performance potential various spaces within that big, sloping, cavernous space have.
Had a bath after coming home. My muscles are really tensed up. Rebecca wanted to have a small Easter celebration with everyone in the house so Karina, Courtney, Rebecca and I had tea an chocolate and hot cross buns (leftovers from Jullians Bakery at the kitchen table.
Had thought there would be more email regarding the Arts Council stuff but all is quiet. Hopefully things pick up a bit more tomorrow.
-chris
DEAR PM 