This past weekend, I got a text from my brother telling me that he was watching a Harry Nilsson documentary on Netflix. In short order, I found "Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?" and we started to watch.
It was so good, a really lovely tribute to a completely under-appreciated artist. I was introduced to Harry Nilsson as a very little girl. We lived in a bungalow on Murray Place in Amherstview and shared our front porch with a very cool young couple named Mike and Jan. Mike was British and probably a bit of a hippy (this was the very early 1970's) and he introduced me to "The Point." Instantly, I fell in love with the song "Me and my Arrow" and would hum it for days. Much like the Beatles, Harry Nilsson was definitely a big part of the soundtrack of my early childhood.
Watching the movie, hearing all of those old wonderful songs again, made me realize just how big a part it was. I don't think any kid who grew up in the 1970's got out alive without singing about putting the "Lime in the Coconut" The current crew of little kids should probably listen to more Harry, he was a brilliant guy who was taken from us far too young.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, January 06, 2011
rest in peace Mr Rafferty
I meant to post this yesterday when I first heard about the death of Gerry Rafferty but the day got away from me before I could do it.
The song "Baker Street" always brings a particulary sweet childhood memory back to me whenever I hear it. I recall going on an errand with my dad in our 1974 Dodge Dart. I think we had to go Canadian Tire, the long-gone one down on Rideau Street. I was probably 10 or 11, it was either spring or summertime and I waited in the car while dad ran into the store. On this particular trip, he'd let me pick the radio station (which was a huge deal to me at the time) and he left the radio on for me while he was in the store. While he was gone, I remember both "Baker Street" playing on the radio and "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band. For whatever reason, hearing "Baker Street" always triggers something in my head and I'm back on Rideau Street, happily sitting in the Dodge Dart, waiting for my dad.
I was saddened to hear about Gerry Rafferty's death and about his struggles with alcohol. Thanks to you Mr Rafferty, for the music and the memories.
The song "Baker Street" always brings a particulary sweet childhood memory back to me whenever I hear it. I recall going on an errand with my dad in our 1974 Dodge Dart. I think we had to go Canadian Tire, the long-gone one down on Rideau Street. I was probably 10 or 11, it was either spring or summertime and I waited in the car while dad ran into the store. On this particular trip, he'd let me pick the radio station (which was a huge deal to me at the time) and he left the radio on for me while he was in the store. While he was gone, I remember both "Baker Street" playing on the radio and "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band. For whatever reason, hearing "Baker Street" always triggers something in my head and I'm back on Rideau Street, happily sitting in the Dodge Dart, waiting for my dad.
I was saddened to hear about Gerry Rafferty's death and about his struggles with alcohol. Thanks to you Mr Rafferty, for the music and the memories.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Do you think they meant to say hungry man?
I still haven't finished my post about the Roger shows, I likely will get it done sometime but am not sure when.
Procrastination seems to be my middle name these days. I had many great plans and long to do lists to get through this weekend. The plans went by the wayside. I spent the weekend doing my normal weekend things, errands, laundry, minimal housework, much playing with the dogs. Overall, it was a great weekend. As far as my mental to do list, it was a miserable failure.
I'm okay with that though. To do lists can wait, playing with the dogs cannot. The puppy playing is even more of a priority when there is an extra dog in the house. We're looking after the beautiful Bella again this year for our wonderful artist friends who are at a big art show and sale for 2 weeks. Bella is a doll and she gets along well with our guys. The first couple of days are always a little weird. Sam is fine but Gracie is a jealous little thing, does not like having another girl dog around. Gracie really likes being the only "good girl" in the house and who can blame her!?
Part of my puttering this weekend was to include massive reorganization of my office. We bought some furniture (small pieces) at IKEA last weekend during a quick trip to Ottawa. The purchases have me thinking about how to make the most of my office space here at home. When I get my act together, I'll have a permanent spot for my sewing machine. It'll be so much easier (I keep telling myself) to do mending and stuff when it's set up full time.
The only thing I accomplished from my post-IKEA list was to wash the new set of purple sheets I bought and put them on our bed. They look lovely and I'm sure will feel good tonight when we get to sleep on them for the first time. They are a really dark purple. White dog fur will likely stand out really well against them, I have no doubt.
I must say, I have no complaints about getting less done than I'd hoped to because you just can't complain when three dogs are sleeping on the floor around you. With all of that cuteness to experience, complaining is just downright dumb.
Procrastination seems to be my middle name these days. I had many great plans and long to do lists to get through this weekend. The plans went by the wayside. I spent the weekend doing my normal weekend things, errands, laundry, minimal housework, much playing with the dogs. Overall, it was a great weekend. As far as my mental to do list, it was a miserable failure.
I'm okay with that though. To do lists can wait, playing with the dogs cannot. The puppy playing is even more of a priority when there is an extra dog in the house. We're looking after the beautiful Bella again this year for our wonderful artist friends who are at a big art show and sale for 2 weeks. Bella is a doll and she gets along well with our guys. The first couple of days are always a little weird. Sam is fine but Gracie is a jealous little thing, does not like having another girl dog around. Gracie really likes being the only "good girl" in the house and who can blame her!?
Part of my puttering this weekend was to include massive reorganization of my office. We bought some furniture (small pieces) at IKEA last weekend during a quick trip to Ottawa. The purchases have me thinking about how to make the most of my office space here at home. When I get my act together, I'll have a permanent spot for my sewing machine. It'll be so much easier (I keep telling myself) to do mending and stuff when it's set up full time.
The only thing I accomplished from my post-IKEA list was to wash the new set of purple sheets I bought and put them on our bed. They look lovely and I'm sure will feel good tonight when we get to sleep on them for the first time. They are a really dark purple. White dog fur will likely stand out really well against them, I have no doubt.
I must say, I have no complaints about getting less done than I'd hoped to because you just can't complain when three dogs are sleeping on the floor around you. With all of that cuteness to experience, complaining is just downright dumb.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
stupid
I'm a big dummy.
At lunch today, I started a blog post. I ran out of time so I saved it and thought "I'll send this home to myself and finish it tonight."
Unfortunately, I forgot to send it home and I don't feel like trying to remember what I was saying so, it'll not be posted until tomorrow at the earliest.
It may be boring unless you are at least semi-interested in Roger Waters.
In the meantime, I can say this, I'm not overly thrilled with our municipal elections results. Our new mayor is a little goofy. At least he seems goofy to me. Hopefully he'll be a harmless kind of goofy.
In our district, an amazing person was elected to represent us. I feel like I can trust Sandy Berg to represent our concerns. Our previous representative, Steve Garrison, was a terrific guy and we're going to miss him a lot (he stepped down, I'm sure he could have been re-elected if he had run again). I'm also happy that we have a lot of new folks on council. Hopefully this will be good for us as tax payers, I feel like we were really gouged by the past council. So, congrats to Sandy and the rest of the new council!!
At lunch today, I started a blog post. I ran out of time so I saved it and thought "I'll send this home to myself and finish it tonight."
Unfortunately, I forgot to send it home and I don't feel like trying to remember what I was saying so, it'll not be posted until tomorrow at the earliest.
It may be boring unless you are at least semi-interested in Roger Waters.
In the meantime, I can say this, I'm not overly thrilled with our municipal elections results. Our new mayor is a little goofy. At least he seems goofy to me. Hopefully he'll be a harmless kind of goofy.
In our district, an amazing person was elected to represent us. I feel like I can trust Sandy Berg to represent our concerns. Our previous representative, Steve Garrison, was a terrific guy and we're going to miss him a lot (he stepped down, I'm sure he could have been re-elected if he had run again). I'm also happy that we have a lot of new folks on council. Hopefully this will be good for us as tax payers, I feel like we were really gouged by the past council. So, congrats to Sandy and the rest of the new council!!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
apres long weekend
I'm back at work today after a delicious four day weekend. The weather was amazing and we had a nice, relaxing time. In the middle of it all, we got our yard all sorted out and ready for winter. The lawn is cut, the patio furniture has been put away, the shrubs and bushes have been trimmed back. Mark even pulled out the snow shovels so we'd have them handy, should we need them. Hopefully we won't need them soon but once October hits, you never do know.
I have another long weekend booked this coming weekend too. 5 days actually. We're going to be seeing Roger Waters in Ottawa on Sunday and in Montreal on Tuesday. Mark saw the first two nights of this tour in Toronto last month. I have deliberately not read reviews or watched any video clips of the show as I'd like to be surprised for the first show.
In 2007, when Roger toured "the dark side of the moon" I did the same thing and was glad to not know too much about the show going in. I'm not the biggest Pink Floyd fan in the world (I really prefer the Syd stuff) but Roger does do the spectacle thing probably better than anyone (although I'm not a huge fan of "big" shows either).
Mark saw Pink Floyd do the Wall 3 times in New York in 1980, he travelled to Berlin to see the big version (Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, et al) in 1990 and he'll have seen 4 shows of the 2010 tour. It's a really big deal for him. He worked through the summer and didn't take a vacation so he could pay for all of these tickets. I'm so glad that he's been able to see these shows. Also, I'll probably get to visit IKEA when we're in Montreal so that's always good!!
I have another long weekend booked this coming weekend too. 5 days actually. We're going to be seeing Roger Waters in Ottawa on Sunday and in Montreal on Tuesday. Mark saw the first two nights of this tour in Toronto last month. I have deliberately not read reviews or watched any video clips of the show as I'd like to be surprised for the first show.
In 2007, when Roger toured "the dark side of the moon" I did the same thing and was glad to not know too much about the show going in. I'm not the biggest Pink Floyd fan in the world (I really prefer the Syd stuff) but Roger does do the spectacle thing probably better than anyone (although I'm not a huge fan of "big" shows either).
Mark saw Pink Floyd do the Wall 3 times in New York in 1980, he travelled to Berlin to see the big version (Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, et al) in 1990 and he'll have seen 4 shows of the 2010 tour. It's a really big deal for him. He worked through the summer and didn't take a vacation so he could pay for all of these tickets. I'm so glad that he's been able to see these shows. Also, I'll probably get to visit IKEA when we're in Montreal so that's always good!!
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