Without a Yard

Back from la belle province & feeling a bit disoriented & muggy. It was a long & weird weekend with much time spent in hospitals. It took me back to the bad old days of slowing mourning the loss of my grandpa in my adolescence. Listening to ‘adults’ talk about morphine, blood pressure, diets, tumors, chemo, etc. - It all came back to me with one whiff of industrial cleaner & one squeak of latex gloves. No matter how beautiful Montreal all is, & how gracious the family of the Beau, it is never easy to visit people in pain. The only thing worse than feeling helpless while you watch someone suffer is being the suffering party yourself. Enough upbeat typing.

We did take advantage of an amazing exhibit that showcased every single one of Brian Jungen’s masks at the Museum of Contemporary Art. As massive & epic as Jungen’s skeletal re-creations using plastic lawn chairs were - hovering over our heads in a beautifully (if not a bit cramped) display, I prefer the intricacies of his masks & the loaded imagery/messages therein. I couldn’t believe that they had each & every mask he had ever crafted in one room - it was mind-blowing.

Of course we enjoyed the Museum’s permanent collection of Quebec artists’ works - especially the well-curated (tho too brightly lit for Riopelle - his larger, shiner, oil works do look better in the National Gallery) 40-50-60’s cluster…The most pleasant surprise came with the video installation of exceptional music videos. The siren song of delicious & affordable Lebanese fast-food kept us from screening the entire series of videos (plus the fact that we I repeatedly watch the Director’s Label DVDs & had just bought ANOTHER music video anthology in Japan…which I could’ve gotten cheaper here), but we did catch the most recent Rokysopp (What Else Is There) & Malajube (Montreal -40c) clips & the earliest vids in the rotation (Queen, Art of Noise, etc). I hadn’t seen Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’ in years and was still impressed with the freaky faux-futurism & Burtonesque gadgetry.

Anywhoo, the geist of the post is that it was a bittersweet weekend. Such is life - enjoy art, revel in music, take comfort in family & friends, but it does a body good to remember that all we really have is our health. Hope this wasn’t too Yoko Ono for you.

I should start to catch up on abandoned pre-weekend projects, laundry, groceries, cleaning, gym-visits, etc….but I’ll probably troll around YouTube for a couple of hours ‘making up for’ the missed videos left unwatched at La Musee….

A la prochaine,

Meegs

Home time. Leaving for the Hoot in a couple of hours, making a pre-emptive strike to log some family QT before summer craziness & concerts & more travel (to Montreal…& beyond) pops up. Had to set our Sunset Rubdown tickets free last night (boo-urns) & they’re spoken for so don’t bother asking! Should be back in Hogtown by earlyish Monday & off again afternoonish Thursday for la belle province. In between that time period - there will be a TEST! Pheef. Need to de-summerize my brain & prepare for a work-opportunity-writing exam. Tips?

Very brief & groggy pre-departure posting - stayed up wayyy late geeking out to, appropriately enough, a Freaks & Geeks marathon. Wow. All but one disc left & I dunno if I will suffer from separation anxiety when I leave the apartment (& the DVD player). If I start panicking, I can always crack open my old yearbooks & I’m sure that’ll quell the withdrawal symptoms. I can’t emphasise enough how brilliant F&G was as a series - the pre-Undeclared, post-MySoCalledLife un-sitcom/dramedy tour-de-force. Rent it now (Joe Flaherty from SCTV is in it for Chrissakes! Imagine ‘Wonder Years’ with references to Dallas & biting comments from burnout stoner kids & loser sci-fi fans. How can you NOT fall in love with Bill Haverchuck?? ).

Got a loverly surprise of a call from Gwen last night & we’re on for Mission of Burma on Wednesday night at the ’shoe - Bostonian post-punk, anyone? Join us. Good times. (pricey, tho - $18.50)

Might not have speedy information superhighway running through the old homestead…think that Gmail’s a challenge to load…so no hard feelings, i’m not ignoring my e-mails or postings….this time.

meegs

After waking up very early & very disoriented for the second time in a row & having another night of weird dreams (not precipitated by fiery wasabi or vindaloo like in Tokyo or London…)…

I’m just now realizing how little I was talking/listening while I was away & spending many days solo. My broken Japanese probably had my word output averaging under 150….Unless I stumbled upon an especially chatty gaijin traveller or enthusiastic English-learning kids (which didn’t happen at all at the 2nd hostel, it was primarily a Korean businessman’s reststop)…& the language barrier kept me from one of my first loves…eavesdropping…

Although I could understand that the freaky dread-wearing & orange-tanned clubbing teens were squealing over the same things that I’d overhear working at Urban Outfitters, I just couldn’t enjoy the embarassing & gory details…&, in turn, ended up zoning out - not to iPod land either, I made a concerted effort to listen to everything - traffic, advertisements, sirens, nature, and people…but the chatter mushed into a small part of the hum of the city & I daydreamed around it…

Not that I was a complete hermit, but I was pretty much deaf/dumb to the world on the eves/afternoons/mornings when I wasn’t hanging out with Aya, which consisted of two long afternoons that I was lucky to share with a Tokyo pro & University of Texas alum, one spent in kooky-trendy Harajuku & one spent at the Tower of Tokyo & in chaotic Shibuya; or Toshi & Hiro, which included three very beautiful, restful and indulgent latenight weekday dinners that will forever stand out - aside from the amazing road trip around Japan on the weekend- as a great times to hear their thoughts on life, family, partners, careers, work and friendship…& of course, music & movies & books.

It was surreal seeing Toshi & Hiro ‘after work’ since our living together in Texas. Back in the day, they were the ones with flexible schedules as students - cooking up a storm, roasting DVDs & CDs, wrapping up dissertations & coursework, going out mad-late on weekday nights & taking risks on weird concerts. My whining about non-traditional/long hours & working events/weekends seem pretty petty after thinking about how many hoops they must’ve jumped through to get a Friday off work….

Anyway, this post was intended to say that I have been dreaming with the sound off - no language whatsoever - for two nights in a row & it’s a bit off-putting. Figures come & go & they’re usually unrecognizable, I’m usually in transit or lost or both. I’m sure it will pass, but until I re-calibrate my word output - I’m sure that this helps, too - I don’t expect ‘talkies’ anytime soon….

Peace
meegs

After exploring the modern art museum in the morning (& learning about so many -new to me - Japanese artists - along with the familiar Lichtensteins & Warhols), I ventured to Ueno to check out the old black market - called the ‘Arcade’. It was HUGE.
I cannot believe that I would find something that trumps Camden Town - but this is it. Great deals, weird imports & quirky characters. I spent about three hours just wandering around the stalls & window shopping (if you can call it that in an open-air market..).

TOnight, I pulled a ‘Jackie’ & splurged on a solo ticket to a piano recital (Satsuki Kobayashi - I took her family name as a sign that I should splure for the ‘Usual Suspects’ reference) that was being held in the home of the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra - in beautiful Ueno park

. The recital hall itself was the perfect size & suited the pieces by Schumann - I have a soft spot for this composer since my deletante teen years playing piano…he was a pretty messed up character, tried to kill himself by drowning in the Rhine, was dissed by the Brits, critiqued Chopin - I consider him the Thelonius Monk of his time. If it weren’t for his wife (& Monk pretty much only talked to his wife & ignored his bandmates, too), his music might not have lived on….& maybe Brahms edited a few works here & there to keep Shumann’s rep in tact…A really interesting life story if you’re interested in madness/music/genius/etc. (His wiki page has some decent links here).

Anyway, the recital was bittersweet - the pianist’s performance was amazing - makes me regret Bobby Fishering on my piano days at 17, though. The recital hall was perfect - modern wihtout being stark & impersonal; quirky without being too futuristic…It must be mentioned that this is just one of the innumerable buildings in Tokyo that are above=average architectural gems. It’s not just the art galleries that stand out - many office towers, shopping complexes, metro stations & of course temples & shrines are designed so thoughtfully & carefully that its easy to overlook the ‘average’ Tokyo structures even if these ones’d be shining stars in Toronto.

The recital hall was a mix of poured concrete (don’t cringe, it jutted out from the side stage walls with extra-large impressions that were fern & bark-like), marble & steel (behind the stage it was a massive leaning step-ladder shaped zig zig thingie).

Kobayashi’s playing honoured Shumann’s weird ways. The sometimes dissonant & unfamiliar bass was mellow & the off-kilter ambling rhythms stepped forward just right during the Blumenstuck op19 intro.

During the faster parts of the Studien nach Capricen Von Paganini, she attacked the difficult Andante & Agitato parts & played the glissandos with the tiniest inflections & nuances…I was floored.

During the Papillons op2 - some of the quieter parts were a bit vampy but it worked out in the space & in between some of the most Prestissimo sections, she calmly wiped her palms on the beaded tulle layers of her ballgown - very riot grrrl.

Phew. I’ve probably written too much about one little part of the trip, but it stands out as a great experience…A great venue, receptive audience, amazing choice of pieces & composer - & to top it off a top-notch performance…sigh…”I always love the accomp’niment and that’s because..”

Things have been moving at a breakneck pace - this is admittedly a rushed & brutal post/update….but here goes…

I’m writing at 8:15 London time, eating breakfast & watching BBC morning news. When the laundromat opens at 9am, I’m doing a load of laundry & packing. Then I’m on a bus by 11:15 & in the tube & off to Heathrow Airport - that should take about an hour all together. Staying here at Tammy & Zac’s for almost 2 days has been so amazing & relaxed - no crazy drunk kids running around, no stress about showers/washrooms/stolen food & a very calm atmosphere (& British Big Brother - kickass).

Yesterday I went into the city early to meet two world-travelling ‘former colleagues’ (for 2 days now) for one last breakfast….One ‘refridgerator’ dude is going to Namibia for 4 months doing volunteer work - big hearted & brave. Another will be back in TO in August & then off again to do more volunteering in Bolivia. Said some insufficient brief goodbyes to the rest of the crew, but I’m pretty sure that the tiny town of TO will have our paths cross sooner than later.

I have had few chances to talk to anyone on the phone this week - airtime is mad-expensive in London & phone cards evaporate in a matter on seconds…Doesn’t help that I was conned into lending my card to a desperate Canuck-stranger during the Canada Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square…we are too polite for our own good, eh?

In the nick of time, I snagged an infamous dinner of fish & chips from an award-winning (aren’t they all?) & greasy (don’t they have to be?) take-away last night for dinner & ate in a nearby park with Tam & Zac.

Earlier, while Tam was at work with her entertaining crew of Grade Three-ers, I re-explored the neighbourhood of Brixton with Zac.

The market scene is so impressive in London & like my 2-time visit to Brick Lane (the vindaloo gave me peyote-level weird dreams about organizing a parade in Parry Sound comprised entirely of grouchy senior citizens), I couldn’t resist going back to Brixton for a spicy Jamacian patty…

After Brixton, Zac showed me the neighbourhoods around Portobello Road & Notting Hill - it’s much nicer than Chelsea (sterile & faux-Italian & snooty - & Could some social anthropoligist please tackle the Oxfam stores in London to study class, gender & image? I spent hours fascinated by the posh volunteers, the donors & the wares - especially all the generously-sized Prada & Gucci wear that have the size-tags cut out but not the brand-name labels….hmmm).

Because it was a Monday - there wasn’t a big food market in Portobello Market, but the antique shops & boutiques were so pretty…I had to check out Rough Trade while I was there & I couldn’t resist buying the new Belle & Sebastian single (since I got the Christian Silva single for free at the gig, this is music industry karma & technically spending $$ on this is just balancing out the freebie, riiight?)..

I feel like I’ve maxed out the free flight from work - I’ve done many museums by myself & taken my time to see the exhibits I want to see (especially 60s fashion at the V&A - had to re-do that one). Visited Camden Town
2xs during the day & again for the nightlife, crammed in two trips to Brixton & Brick Lane, etc, etc - not to mention the many, many trips ’round Westminster Abbey & Big Ben & Buckingham Palace thanks to the prime location of our residence during the work-week.

Despite the boho stuff & the freebie museums, I couldn’t resist the siren song of Oxford street….After stumbling out of Chelsea/South Kensington (disappointed - now I know why Elvis Costello sings ‘I don’t want to go to Chelsea‘), I walked 2 blocks East of Harrod’s & happened upon the Camper Shoe store & their summer sale lured me in. The beau will be especially happy to know that I’ve pitched my stinkiest shoes - daily flat favs, black Mary Janes that are very much worse for wear - & replaced them with a funkier brown leather Camper version.

I’ll be getting into Tokyo at a decent time - before lunch - & I will be able to seek out the tourist information booths in the airport, pick up subway maps & regular maps & make my way to the hostel without a rush (if that’s possible in Tokyo).

Anyway, I’m very excited & a bit anxious about the trip. This will be a very long flight, but I know that it is worth it. Tammy & Zac will be doing a long & life-changing flight themselves on the 23rd. It’ll be so great to have them in Canada - maybe we should switch countries so they have a place to stay for all those important Arsenault games next year…

I can’t wait to see everyone back in Canada soon. Hopefully I can take the bus up to the hometown in late July & catch up with my family & cool off before the job hunt goes into high gear….

Peace,
Meegs

P.S. ‘Where is the washroom?’ = ‘Toire wa doko desuka?’