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Spring has been a bit of a whirlwind here so far! The last little while has been one of the most hectic times in recent memory.
I took an quick trip out to Edmonton for the Cross-Pollination workshop at the end of March. This was probably the best professional gathering I’ve ever attended – it was a small, invited group of people which allowed for really good discussions. There were no concurrent sessions and we all were asked to workshop our papers, which had been circulated ahead of time. There were so many interesting topics discussed and it was just amazing to have the opportunity to really think deeply about how “environmental thought and activism” (to borrow from the event sub-title) can emerge from the arts and the humanities. So many excellent papers and so many exciting ideas exchanged. I think I thoroughly enjoyed the entire event, but if I had to pick a highlight I think it would be Lyndal Osborne‘s discussion of her work. Absolutely incredible stuff! (and to think I used to be both a student and a sessional instructor in the same department as Lyndal but did not actually meet her until this workshop. How odd!)
While I was in Edmonton I got to have a quick whirlwind visit with my parents, which was lovely! We went for a celebratory dinner at Padmanadi, one of the most delicious vegan restaurants I’ve ever been to! The food is Chinese food-style, but made with analog meats instead of the “real deal.” Loads of yummy fresh veg too! What a treat it is to be able order anything from the menu!
I also got to spend a fabulous evening with Fiona, a good friend who I haven’t seen in ages because she has been living in places like New Zealand, the UK and Alaska. The stars aligned and we were actually in the same city for the first time in about 5 years! We went to the Hotel MacDonald for old time’s sake (we used to go there for drinks and to restore our sanity when we both lived in Edmonton) and had a blast ordering a ridiculous amount of ridiculously expensive appetizers ($10 popcorn anyone? But it was tossed in truffle oil, so…) We were too busy yakking to take any photos, but it was such a great night!
The week after I got back from Edmonton was the “Thinking About Animals” conference at Brock. It was so amazing to see such a great turn-out for this event. I don’t know the exact count, but people came from all over to discuss, debate and think critically about relationships between species. It was fabulous and I was sorry that I had to miss so many sessions due to teaching and other commitments. (the perils of attending a conference at one’s home institution, I guess)
The 2011 Niagara Social Justice Forum came on the heels of the “Thinking About Animals” conference. I was part of the organizing committee for the NSJF this year, so it was an especially intense time. We had a great day for the forum – beautiful sunny skies, perfect for the nature walks along the escarpment that were booked for mid-day. There were 18 workshops on a wide range of topics (everything from youth homelessness to water access and social media to the rates of diabetes in Aboriginal communities), an “art space” (featuring an exhibition of images to raise money and awareness for Toronto Pig Save, a children’s art competition and a craft table where participants could paint messages of social justice on a banner and make their very own compostable plant pot and then plant an heirloom tomato seed donated to the event by Tree & Twig), a performance by WomEnchant, and a screening of NFB’s Reel Injun. A long, wonderful, rich and rewarding day!
I thoroughly enjoyed all of these events, but I’m glad that the pace is going to slow down a bit now. Classes have ended and it is time to turn my mind to summer research/writing + gardening. I’m looking forward to some new adventures on both of these fronts!
In order to beat the winter blahs I took a mini-break in Toronto this weekend. While it wasn’t the sun, sand and surf of a destination like Cuba or Mexico, it was still nice to change up the routine a little bit.
After going over to the p|m Gallery to attend the opening of a show called “Immersive” (a great show featuring work by my friend and colleague, Duncan MacDonald), we stumbled on to some fabulous live jazz at the Communist’s Daughter. We had just planned to go there for a post-gallery pint, and had no idea of the treat we would discover once we walked in. The tiny bar was packed to the rafters with people enjoying the “Saturday afternoon Gypsy Jazz” show. Musicians were crammed up against the front window, and behind the bar was Michael Lewis Johnson – pouring pints, playing the horn and belting out jazz tunes. We ended up staying for two sets, enjoying the music, the atmosphere and the people. While I have included a picture below, no camera footage could ever come close to capturing this experience, you really have to be immersed in it! I hear this takes place every 2 weeks – I’ll certainly make a point of heading back for another show!
Earlier in the day, we had brunch at Sadie’s Diner. I was especially looking forward to checking out Sadie’s this weekend because of a fabulous exhibit of work by 6 artists, all of whom are either currently students in the Brock Visual Arts program or who have recently graduated from our program. The exhibit is called “Playing House” and it will be up until the 28th of March – if you are in Toronto, be sure to check it out! (and grab some delicious vegan pancakes or a tofu scramble while you are there too!) Congrats to Miranda Austin, Carley O’Hara, Julia Prudhomme, Bethany Scholl, Bruce Thompson and Michael DiRisio on a great exhibition!
I was also happy to have a chance to check out Panacea and The Loving Hut (vegan AND nut free!! Yay!). I also discovered that places like Rancho Relaxo veganize many of their dishes by adding Daiya cheese and/or faux meats. This seems like a simple enough premise, so why can’t other eateries do this? That evening I was dining with a vegetarian and an omnivore and we all were able to find something we liked on the menu. Don’t get me wrong – I love an all-vegan place and I am not at all suggesting that everyone should run around and eat “fake” cheese and meat every day. However, there are times when it becomes necessary to pick a vegan option at a “mainstream” restaurant and I’m always impressed when there are more options than a measly “garden salad” on the menu.
All-in-all, a whirlwind trip into Toronto complete with good fun, good friends, good art, good beer and good eats. And really, what else could I ask for?!
Happy February! Spring will be here before we know it!
Last evening was “pARTners for change,” a fund-raiser in downtown St. Catharines. The event was a joint initiative between the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts and OPIRG-Brock, and money raised goes to support student scholarships and community programming through OPIRG’s downtown InfoShop.
We are still tallying everything up, but I certainly felt that the evening was a success. So many wonderful pieces of art in the show/sale (thank you to all the artists who generously donated work), and so many wonderful folks who showed up to enjoy the evening.
Good food, good drink, good company, good deals, good art, and two good causes!
We hosted the event in two spaces – at Pan and at the OPIRG InfoShop. The two locations are just a couple of minutes apart on foot and our lovely antler-wearing student volunteers did a great job of making sure everyone knew where they were going.
Our organizing committee needs to meet and take stock of how things went, but I sincerely hope that this will become a regular event.
Tonight my iPod played 80s music while I baked Gingerbread Cupcakes. The recipe came from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (seriously, how can you resist a book with this title?) and the musical inspiration came from my friend and colleague, Duncan MacDonald. (watch this video, you’ll understand).
Gingerbread Cupcakes
-1 1/4 c. flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-3 teaspoons ground ginger
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 c. vegetable oil
-1/3 c. light molasses
-1/2 c. maple syrup
-1/4 c. soy milk
-2 tablespoons soy yogurt
-1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
-1/4 c. finely chopped crystallized ginger
Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a bowl and mix.
Whisk oil, molasses, maple syrup, soy milk, yogurt and lemon zest in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just smooth. Fold in crystallized ginger.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake 19-22 min.
Frost with lemony buttercream icing — vegan, of course! (blend 1/2 c. vegan margarine softened with 2 c. icing sugar. Then add freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency)
I can’t believe I’m blogging about this, but I’ve just got 2 things to say:
1) Jana Sterbak did this years ago. As a historian of Canadian Art I feel compelled to point this out.
2) How come the meat dress grosses most folks out, but meat eating does not? I’m just asking…
Over and out.
I love Seed — they feature the most interesting stories and sites, including two of my new favourite online exhibits:
An article in the St. Catharines Standard discussing the city’s “blueprint for the future” caught my attention this morning. The draft of the City’s new official plan is available online and makes for quite an interesting read. Of particular interest to me were the following points:
1) “The City will balance the provision of a safe, functional, and attractive pedestrian and cycling oriented environment with an acceptable level of vehicular traffic” and “The city will encourage alternative forms of transportation that promote energy conservation and a healthy lifestyle.”
2) “The City should establish a minimum 1 %, and work towards a target of a minimum 3 %, of the capital budget of all major public buildings and structures, for the provision of public art.”
There are, of course, many more things discussed in this document, but I find these two particularly encouraging!
There will be a series of open houses and presentations in the coming weeks so that members of the community can find out more about the plan and have their say.
1) Opened my email this morning to discover an ARTstor newsletter telling me that images from Cook’s voyages to the South Seas are now available through this wonderful image database. So cool!
2) Read about a very interesting-sounding photo exhibit in Toronto. Must go see this!
3) Found out about The Working Proof, an organization that sells art prints and helps charities. Love it!
4) Donkey Sanctuary! Need I say more?
Well, sabbatical hasn’t started off as I’d hoped. I got walloped by a nasty cold/flu thing this past week and spent 4 full days in bed. *blech* Much TLC, hot tea, and the occasional Chocolate MoMint biscuit have helped me beat it, so I’m back to work today.
Instead of spending any more time going down the rabbit hole of image permissions and copyright, I’m going to finish up the text portion of my manuscript and send it off. I’d like to finish it today. Then I can get back to dealing with the images. I love, love, love studying visual culture. I couldn’t imagine working in any other field. And yet, the frustration and stress around securing image copies and permissions, etc. is enough to make me lose my mind. I wish there were a straightforward checklist that one could use for this kind of activity, but it seems that every image I want to use (and those that my friends and colleagues seem to use too) is anything but “straightforward.” Ah well, it will be a learning experience I suppose.
In other news, I was delighted to see this article in the local paper today — I’d love it if St. Catharines became a hub for the GO train! Oh, and on the car-free front, I am not at all regretting my decision to “retire my ride.” I was a little worried about the hassle of cancelling my insurance — the last time I had to do that it was a royal pain in the neck and I got dinged several hundred dollars for “early cancellation.” It seems that this time I need not have worried. The good folks over at CAA have been super-duper helpful and, in fact, I received a refund cheque in the mail today. The only hitch is that I’m still waiting for my $300 from the “retire your ride” folks — it has been nearly 2 months since they picked up my car. I’m going to have to call and see what’s up.
Ok, time to get on with these final manuscript edits!
When the semester gets busy the regular blogging comes screeching to a halt. When I first started blogging RBOCs were all the rage — a quick and dirty way to post about unrelated topics. I’m sure there are new terms for this practice now, but I’m too tired to think of them.
In no particular order:
-I had much fun in Toronto last week: The Royal, a play at the fabulous Tarragon Theatre, shopping in Kensington Market and a dee-licious dinner at King’s Cafe.
-I also took in a live NHL game last week. My favourite team (the Edmonton Oilers) were playing against the Buffalo Sabres, so Colleen and I got tickets, donned our Oilers gear and headed “over the river” to check it out. Ultimately the “good guys” lost, but we still had a most excellent time. The game was very good (the shots were nearly even), and the Buffalo fans were a lot of fun. I grew up in Edmonton during the “dynasty years” and was lucky enough to have gone to a number of games back in the day, but it has been ages since I’ve taken in a live NHL game. I must do it again soon!
-And on the subject of Buffalo, we discovered a very good brew pub. If you are into good beer, check out the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery. You won’t be disappointed!
-The James A. Gibson Library at Brock has just published their latest newsletter. In that newsletter is an article about Brock faculty who blog and it features yours truly. Neat.
-Rumblings of an expanded GO service in Niagara have me feeling hopeful. This doesn’t counter my disappointment over the decision to remove the recently-created bike lanes in downtown St. Catharines though.
-I’m thinking a lot about climate change these days. I’m also thinking a lot about how amazing David Suzuki and the folks at his foundation are. I wish our elected leaders would get with the program. Dr. Suzuki is urging all Canadians who care about climate change to give the PM’s office a call about this — there are even prizes to be won for doing so.
-Today in my Canadian Art History class I brought in a film on Pegi Nicol MacLeod. I seriously adore this artist and imagine she would have been a lot of fun to hang around with.
-Why is Battle of the Blades still on my TV? Why???
-On the other end of the CBC Television programming spectrum, I really, really enjoyed the 3 part series, Darwin’s Brave New World. If you missed it you can catch the episodes online.
