Friday, May 30, 2008

Sam Pie


I need to start baking subway-shaped cherry pies to throw at Mr. Sam Katz when I attend the Mayor's Luncheon For The Arts in June. Thanks for the invitation.

Rapid transit has been too long in coming to this sleepy burgh.

While LRT would be ideal, and the best long-term solution, BRT is a vital step in the right direction. There are a bunch of subway fanatics kicking around the cyberweb, but I'm afraid the only subway this city will see in our lifetime is the restaurant chain. Perhaps they should just hang out there from now on. Yes, I'm talking about TRUWinnipeg. Could a group of idealistic washups do any worse a job of selling their vision?


Thursday, May 15, 2008

Pray For Me (a.k.a. Ignorance Is Bliss)




I've enjoyed getting to know some of the characters in my neighbourhood. I think its important, on various levels -- a daily reality check being perhaps the most powerful. There are many people living around me who face much more difficult challenges on a day-to-day basis then I ever do, and I try to be sympathetic to their histories and broader cultural challenges that have landed them here in The West End.

For example, I've befriended Barry who squeegee's car windows with much comedy at the corner of Maryland & Portage. We share a chuckle every now and then, and I'll often pick him up a coffee or bagel. He's a good guy. The cops harass him needlessly (there are far more serious things going on around the corner that could use their attention), and I once had a squad car chase me down after I flipped them the bird for sitting in the Shell station parking lot (idling their car no less) just watching Barry. For fuck's sake guys.

There are also the two groups of children often found playing in my back lane. One, full of elementary boys, is constantly breaking bottles or rocking the dumpsters and generally getting up to no good. The other, a family with children young through teens, plays tag and hide & seek. I wonder what each group's home life is like? Their differences in behaviour is astounding.

...

Tonight, Patrick & I were walking downtown along Portage Ave after rehearsal. There were a good number of people out, and the bars seemed active. A good sign for a Thursday night. As we passed the APTN building a man sitting on the concrete bench said "Excuse me...". I kept on walking, as I didn't feel the desire to talk to a homeless guy tonight. There was lots of that on the weekend in The Exchange, and I was enjoying my conversation and didn't want to be bothered.

But I looked over and Patrick was gone. He had stopped back at the man who had patiently waited for his attention. Patrick was giving him the space to speak, himself patiently letting the conversation begin. Neither of us had any change, but Pat gave him a cigarette, and then asked him his name.
"Philip. What is yours?"
"Patrick."
"Thank you for treating me with respect. Nobody treated me with respect today."
"I'm very sorry to hear that."

They continued on for a bit. I introduced myself and we shook hands. And as we were about to leave, Philip paused and looked at his feet for a few seconds and then looked up at us and said,
"Please pray for me."

...

It was a powerful moment. And while neither Patrick or I subscribe to any formal deity or religion per se, the implications of the request were not lost on us. And for the rest of the walk home I thought about Philip and the life he may or may not have lead and wondering how he ended up here, at 11 pm on Portage Avenue, in Winnipeg, asking my friend and I for not just change, but for compassion and grace.

A vital reminder about the humanity we are surrounded by and the way we relate to those on the fringes of our society.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Bike To Work Day & Music Snobbery

Apparently the City of Winnipeg has deemed June 20 to be Bike To Work Day.

Its funny, in Amsterdam there are parkades full of bicycles instead of cars. We still have a long long way to go, but I must commend City Hall for at least taking a rare step in the right direction. (Though the 80% cut to the public art budget may negate this one good deed.)

That said, while North Americans (particularly us in the hick-belt) have a lot to learn from European cities, they don't always get it right.

... ... ...

I had a really good conversation with a MARIA staffer today about the state of the local music industry. Sometimes I get my panties in a knot because there is little local infrastructure in place for new music. No, not classical new music (oddly enough, it has a strong foothold here). I suppose art-rock could be the term. Or hell, even just indie-rock. I'm becoming snobby in my old age, and am tired of all the boring folk acts and derivative rock bands in this town. Everyone is rehashing the same old. There seems to be a wave of bold and challenging new acts coming out of Eastern Canada, and there are labels and agents and a fan base to support them. I keep on wanting someone to blow it all wide open locally.

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

... ... ...

There are some disheartening stories starting to spread about the assholedom of Paul Simon. Its hard to listen to Graceland when there is such thievery at its roots.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Introductions


Good afternoon, faithful readers, and welcome to Tales From The Hick-Belt Hilton. The title is a nod to Guy Maddin's seminal Tales From The Gimli Hospital, combined with Winnipeg's precious place atop the hick-heap. Between Chicago and the west coast, is there another city that wants sooo badly to be approved of and loved, but does everything in its power to make you hate it?

I'm excited to dive into my new blog, and looking forward to tackling a wide variety of subject matter. From downtown development in Winnipeg to music and arts to day-to-day life in the West End.

I was asked by a good friend recently why I've never owned a car or cell phone. I'm a busy busy beaver, after all. A man on the move needs these things, doesn't he? Well, I used to own a cell, but I prefer to be unreachable every now and then. A car though? Now, why on earth would I own a car? Its like throwing money away, while buggering your city's livelihood, all at the same time. We need people walking the sidewalks, and all the skywalks, parkades and ill-fit downtown redevelopment schemes aren't going to help that.

People living in the neighbourhood and walking around. Easy. Thats all it is.

I rarely go to the suburbs. I walk everywhere, by choice. I take the bus if I'm in a hurry. (Oxymoron? Perhaps, in this town. But one can plan out one's day's transportation quite easily.) I bike. I'll take a cab if I've gotta move gear to a gig, or get a bandmate to pick me up.

But why the hell would I choose to contribute to the absolute mess this city has become, as devised by automobiles and the culture surrounding them?