Winnipeg, Canada
Stress—it’s everywhere, it seems. Unknowns trigger worry. Fear fosters misgivings. Anxiety runs rampant. Angst rules. A nervous disquietude seems to gnaw at all and sundry—so, what’s a person to do? From an internal Circle document I stumbled across on my hard drive today (compiled by a remarkable administrator who worked with us a decade ago and who used to fill spare moments making “pro-activity lists”) here are a few tips for “How to cope with stress”—after all, laughter is the best medicine, right?
1. Jam tiny marshmallows up your nose and try to sneeze them out.
2. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on.
3. When someone says “Have a nice day” tell them you have other plans.
4. Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they’re in jail.
5. Dance naked in front of your pets.
6. Drive to work in reverse.
7. Make a list of things you’ve already done.
8. Fill out your tax form in Roman numerals.
9. Lie on your back and eat celery, using your navel as a salt dipper…
Images: details from works by Theodore Gericault, Edvard Munch (The Scream), and Roy Lichtenstein.
Toronto, Canada
I’ve accepted an invitation to serve on the Design Advisory Board of Applied Arts magazine. Touted as “Canada’s Visual Communications Magazine,” Applied Arts is published six times a year and goes out to a readership of over 65,000. Since its launch in 1986 the magazine has become this country’s premier publication in our field.
Learn more about Applied Arts here.
Winnipeg, Canada
It’s been a week since I picked up my new car, a silver Volvo C30 (replacing the trusty little black BMW 318ti* which has carried me safely for nearly 1/2 million kilometers since 1995). Designed by Montreal-born Simon Lamarre (with a nod to the 1970s P1800ES and 2001’s Safety Concept Car) this stylish Swedish hatch seems nimble, safe, and comfortable (good ergonomics, great leg-room, excellent seats) with relatively good fuel efficiency (I had hoped for a hybrid or turbo-diesel, but unfortunately car model and engine choices in Canada are more limited than in Europe).
Weather in Manitoba this week has offered its seasonal challenges and a suitable test for the new wheels—I’m happy to report successful starts on mornings as cold as -35 Celcius (I haven’t used the installed block heater yet) and good performance in sill-deep snow….
*As the old 318ti needs an expensive timing chain to keep it on the road, it’s up for sale at European Domestic Service Centre in Winnipeg (good parts for a song—the Recaro seats and alloy wheels would make nice retrofits for someone restoring an older 3-Series BMW). Interested? Contact me here.
Images: a 1971 Volvo P1800ES and the new C30 share similar posteriors, high shoulders, and glass hatches.
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
Here’s a cheerful shout out to friends and colleagues in the Northern Hemisphere as you celebrate the Winter solstice (or Midsummer festivities in the Southern Hemisphere). Fires will be kept burning through the night… (as has been the case since the advent of human history), and lively celebrations and cultural festivities will begin in every corner of our tilted planet. Best wishes to all…
Churchill, Manitoba
It’s that time of year again… and seasonal greetings are pouring in by the hour. This lovely photo of two Churchill polar bears is from good friend and client Mike Grandmaison, just back from a northern photo shoot. Quoting his e-card (and apropos to the season): “Sometimes I just don’t know whether I’m coming or going.” Cheers, Mike… and stay warm!
Winnipeg, Canada
My seasonal button for this year revisits a poster I created some time ago for Buy Nothing Christmas. There are compelling alternatives to consumerism, and less is usually more…
Winnipeg, Canada
Aiden Enns (founder of Buy Nothing Christmas) along with some merry minstrels and assorted anti-consumer activists are gathering in the ‘Peg tomorrow night for some pre-Christmas shopping mall mischief… as I’m not able to join the toqued troubadours, this poster is my contribution to the cause this season.
Learn more about Buy Nothing Christmas (alternative gift ideas, twisted carols, down-loadable posters, etc.) here. Listen to the song ‘Buy Nothing At All’ by Joel Kroeker here. Help to promote Buy Nothing Day (this Saturday, 29 November) and consider giving the gift of time (or a lovingly made gift you’ve created) instead of shopping this season. And, if you see anyone shopping aimlessly, give them a good hug… it may be all they really need.
Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba
[weird warning—blame it on the fresh air…]
While stacking my girlfriend’s supply of winter firewood in the brilliant sunshine of a perfect October day I found myself thinking about singular vision, the mythical Cyclops, and my dear old cat Erasmus (who departed this temporal realm two years ago) who I had named 18 years ago after one of my favourite old dead guys (whom I still tend to quote a lot), the Dutch Renaissance humanist Erasmus (Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus)—the man who is credited with the maxim:
“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
(from the Latin in regione caecorum rex est luscus.)
Images: The Cyclops Café (below my favorite hotel in Seattle, the Ace, and with such a clever WYSIWYG sign); Cyclops (by Jaime Pitarch); and the mythical Cyclops that has stuck in my mind since first encountering Homer’s Odyssey in grammar school over four decades ago (as envisioned by monsterkid.com).
Toronto, Canada
The signs sprang up suddenly under the cover of night. Official-looking and made of hard plastic and aluminum, they were bolted to posts at major intersections along Lake Shore Blvd. Others turned up at busy downtown hubs. “Quiet,” read one, in front of a downtown hospital. “Homeless people sleeping.”
Another advised, “Homeless warming grate. Please keep clear.” For Mark Daye, who created the series of seven signs, it seemed a master stroke of subversion. How do you draw attention to an age-old urban issue, especially when passersby have long been conditioned to ignore the usual signage—those tattered posters glued to poles and construction sites? “I started thinking about the way sign systems work,” says the 30-year-old Toronto student. “There’s official signage. There’s advertising. So I thought, what would happen if I used official-looking signage, but I put an unofficial message in it?”
Read the full article in the Toronto Star here. View more images on Mark Daye’s flickr™ photostream here. (Thanks to Aiden Enns of Geez magazine for the heads-up… I’m not sure quite what to think of this either—will it reinforce stereotypes to people with no homes, or could it actually inspire compassion, raise public consciousness, and increase support for social safety-nets?)
Winnipeg, Canada
Travel details are confirmed, and the Poet is making final preparations for his trip to the prairies. For friends, family, and poetry fans in the Manitoba area, here are the dates, times, and venues of Sam W. Reimer’s confirmed book launches, poetry readings (and signings) during the second week of October:
Winnipeg – 8pm on Monday, 6 October,
McNally Robinson’s Grant Park store,
(The Prairie Ink Restaurant).
Morden – 7pm on Tuesday, 7 October,
Pembina Hills Arts Centre (wine & cheese, etc.).
Steinbach – 7:30pm on Friday, 10 October,
Mennonite Heritage Village museum.
More information is available at www.samwreimer.com. A bit of background on Gray Matter Graffitti (the poetry book I edited/published with Sam W. earlier this year) is available at this post. Photo credit: Dan Schellenberg.
