Dedicated to Greg Lenko and the Waterfall Cleanup Gang

There's nothing quite like cogency...

Out of The Mouths of Wabs

The serious look on her face tells me to pay attention as she sits down opposite me. "What's up?" I ask. 

"Just thinkin' about a few things about this whole 'ward boundary review' whatchumacallit."

"Oh...? Such as?"

She thinks for a moment, clears her throat, then launches. "I get why people started that facebook page. And why they did the petition. But I don't get why Council is reacting the way it is."

"How so?"

re: David Brace and all the other children over at their Facebook 'box...

When is a 'Dissident' Movement Little More Than a Coffee Klatch Clique?

or

My Visit to a Dissident Sandbox

Last autumn –and I'll concede that the exactitude with which I'm able to corral my memories might be slightly flawed– when 'Peggygate' was at the height of its wondrous illumination of the city, when Mayor Bratina made his famous 'dissident' statement in response to the negative outcry (mostly online), about the same time that Graham Crawford of HIStory and HERitage had his fun poster-wise, a Facebook group was created. 'Dissidents (Hamilton Chapter)'. Common sense says that they wanted to have some fun, they wanted to blow off some steam...'birds of a feather' and all that. 

I visited the group. And just as I was a little sickened by the energies poured into 'Peggygate' by Ryan McGreal over at Raise the Hammer and Graham's (I refer to him in this way because I know Graham, he's anything but a mystery to me) inveighing against Mayor Bob on that blog in the form of comments, I remember shaking my head at the repetitive threads on Dissidents. In fact, when I got to know one of its more respected members and struck up a close friendship, she eventually stopped frequenting the group. 'Too much negative energy', or words to that effect.

'Peg 'o my heart'? No, 'Sorce of my hilarity'

Right.

I'm feeling in a particularly playful...and, believe it or not, non-bilious...mood today, so I'm going to push the 'Indulgence' lever to the max and respond to a prat that I've had online run-ins with before.

He goes by the name of 'Sorce'. (I say 'he' because I'm of too high an opinion of women in general to believe that it could be a gal. If that seems somehow 'politically correct' in some twisted way, so be it.) He comments at The Hamiltonian.

I've consistently found him to be... A pain-in-the ass.

Not because I disagree with what he says (I often do), but because of his...well, his delivery.

He's a prat.

The Hamilton Farmers' Market Revisited: Ugh.

 These are shots taken today at the Market.

I was walking around dumbfounded. I didn't pick up most of the items I'd intended to.

I couldn't believe what they'd done to the place. To the shopping experience.

This is what it used to look like. It was open, it was bright,it was the indoor version of the old outdoor Market.

I forget the number of stalls they've taken out, but it's really, really noticeable.

Maybe I caught it on a slow day, maybe I'll have to go back on a Saturday...but as the Brits are wont to say, "I'm gutted."

Next summer in Stoney Creek...?

Durand Park in Hamilton, this past Saturday night, leading up to their community movie presentation. (About an hour later, hence the lack of crowds.)

I love this idea, bringing people together from the local neighbourhoods for a casual, intimate gathering in a green space under an open sky.

And yes, I absolutely, positively have a location in mind in Stoney Creek.

More news as it develops.

Very much connected to this 'relationship of engagement'...

(Photo courtesy of Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times)

It's always fascinating to connect seemingly disparate dots.

To notice commonalities, elements that are tangental cousins, if only on a 'contributing factor' basis.

This article in the New York Times this week had some wonderfully illustrative bits, shining a little light on how our world has changed.

“It is apparent that we have a real serious issue, that the life of the mind has been in decline for some time now. Ignorance and indolence is the primary problem. If you take care of the mind, everything else follows.”

Again, this isn't a campaign issue...yet I believe is very much connected to what ails us.

The connection between the two photographs is...

See that place to the right of the middle of the photo? 'Ann's Coffee Shop'. It was the eatery fixture downtown 'back in the day'. (Currently, that title is held by 'The Village Restaurant'.) This photo was taken during the Santa Claus Parade in 1972, and is courtesy of the Virtual Museum by way of the Erland Lee site.

It says 'Coffee Shop' on the sign, but you may as well think of it as a diner. Because it was. It was owned by Ann Brown, a lovely round woman...and I guess I must have spent some quality time there, because the mere thought of the place makes me grin. I remember her being kind, and strong and wise.

And this? This is a typewriter a dear friend gave me as a 'novel-warming' gift when I moved to Collingwood to attempt to write my first novel almost two decades ago.

Can you read what's typed there? On that faded piece of paper?

When I was around eighteen, I wrote one of my first screenplays. It was set in Stoney Creek. I took it so seriously (I'd intended to film it myself) that I actually cast it. I remember calling up this gal, an actress in school productions, and asking her if she wanted to star in it.

Anyway, while I was writing this screenplay, my best friend at the time was my 'listener'. My sounding board. I'd get stuck on some element of plot, some ditch in the story...and we'd throw stuff around, I'd come up with an angle...and move on. (Most of this was done shooting hoops in his driveway) Well, over the course of me writing this script, there was this one bit that became legendary. A real sticking point. The story had the lead characters at Ann's...but I had no idea what was going to happen next. We'd go back and forth on this troubling aspect of plot, and get nowhere. I'd leave it alone for a while, only to eventually return to it saying "So we're at 'Ann's'..." Ever after, whenever I got stuck, even when I'd moved onto other projects years later, it became this huge piece of schtick to repeat it. It never failed to make us laugh, and never failed to grease the creative wheels. (It also helped remind us of more innocent days.)

And there you have what's typed on that decrepit piece of paper.

From our very own Battlefield Park

Though the orchard is gone, two pear trees remain in the main 'lawn' area south of the parking lot. This is what they produce. Yum.

Because sometimes, in the middle of dreck...

...the personal raises its head and burbles a little something.

So, some photos...

...and some words.

“The tragedy of peoples’ lives running in opposition, when one person’s needs –although not unreasonable or even great– are unmet, simply because agendas and priorities don’t line up; this is a commonplace sadness of Life.”

Me.