A Walk In The Big Trees

Went for a walk today...skirting around Stanley Park...then I ventured inside the
tall...straight trees. That's always an
experience for me...that goes deep...or
flies high. Today was no exception to that. Among other things...it calms and centres me...and points me towards
what's important on this Earth Walk...
and away from what is merely "ladder
climbing humbug". I felt very thankful
to be able to do this in the middle of an
international city...and returned home...
relaxed...and beautifully drowsy........
...........................Quester.

And the Seed Shall Grow-3

[Words from song: "And the Seed Shall Grow". Copyright SOCAN.]
"And the Seasons Come...
and the Seasons Go...
and the Leaves fall down...
and the new Seeds grow...
That is the Wheel...
we turn upon...
and the Spirit lives...
though the Wheel turns round..."
......................................Quester.

Lake of The Eagles-2

[Words from song: "Lake of The
Eagles". Copyright-SOCAN.]
"Let your mind ride...
up to the clear blue sky...
and hear the story...
they're telling there...
Of The Time of The Drum...
and the ancient heroes...
and the cedar burning sweet...
on the evening air...
And the wind and the water...
speak softly...the Ojibway way...
for the Lake of The Eagles...
still lives on to this day..."
..............................Quester.

Laced Shoes On The Hydro Wire Thing

As an immigrant to Canada...I've gradually
figured out...some of the "mysteries of my new culture"...while others remain unsolved. The two
shoes laced up to each other...and tossed high up on to a hydro wire...that I've seen over many years...in different towns in Canada...is one that
...for some reason...I don't know the answer to.
I've asked about it once or twice...but never
received an answer with an authentic ring to it...
or if I have...I simply can't remember what it was. Is it part of a "pioneer ritual"...started in the nineteenth century...with the knotted shoe
laces signifying "lovers for life"?...or a ritual...
slightly less complicated than tying beer cans to
honey moon cars...but saying the same thing...about two people being hitched?. Is it a "grad
thing"...with students symbolizing the tossing away of the shackles of their high school years?.
Perhaps the answer is simpler than all that...maybe it is the result of too much beer on a Saturday night. I'm sure the answer...when I finally get it...is likely to make me feel very silly...about not knowing something so obvious. Be that as it may...it has already been of service to me...giving me ample opportunities to work out my "speculative powers"...and for that...I am thankful to the "laced shoes on the hydro wire thing"............Quester

Beautiful Day...Beautiful Night

What a beautiful spring day!. I walked
luxuriating in the sun...taking still pictures and video clips...of spring bursting out all around me. Tonight I've
just finished a long video making session...that involved some of the fruits
of today's walk about. I give thanks for it
all!......................Quester.

One More Magical Tool

For a few years I've been thinking of buying a camcorder...but I
needed a good artist's reason for
getting it. One of the questions that often comes up about acquiring such things...for me...is... but will I be able to use it
to create things with. I'd made my three videos currently on
YouTube...with the video option...on a digital still camera. In
the three weeks since the first on..."Pretty Brown"...was uploaded...there has been much response...and I'm still trying
to catch up with answering e-mails that have come in. I finally
had a strong artist's reason to get myself a camcorder...with more options than my still camera. Today I did just that. I have
a stiff learning curve ahead of me...in learning how to operate it
but I'm looking forward to it...having added one more piece to
my artist's magical tool box............Quester.

The Time Will go

[Words from song: "The Time Will Go"
copyright-SOCAN]
"Will you be bright...will you be bold...
will you turn out a high class lady...?
Will you still smile when I am old...
will you still dance with me...?
Oh child...the time will go...
soon you'll be flying...
to where...I do not know...
like a bird on the wing...
following spring...following spring..."
......................Quester.

Free Creativity

I know that some people have to create...based on the
commissions they've gotten to do so. I've done a few of those myself...for the BBC in England...for the National Film Board in Canada ...for grants from the Secretary of State in Canada. I won't lie...it was good to do those in the midst of all the creativity I was engaged in over many years. It's funny though...how people interviewing you for newspapers...or otherwise...usually hone in on "commissioned creativity"...like I've mentioned above. When they do that...ignoring the life long ...unshackled creativity you engage in...I think they really miss the boat...on something fundamental...and seldom mentioned about creativity. For me...that is...not what monetary or prestige prizes you can win for engaging in creative acts...but its tremendous contribution to the personal liberation...growth...and development...of the individual who ongoingly engages in it...regardless of what the newspapers or the markets have to say about it. Sometimes it seems to me...that too many people who engage...in acts of creativity...let themselves be imprisoned by the question...but will it be published...recorded...exhibited...or sell...oblivious to the value of engaging in creative acts...to their personal growth. In addition to that...it has been my experience over many years...that it is when I engage in "free creativity"...free of the chains I've mentioned and others...that the joy of creating returns...and I become as fresh as a child again...exploring the world around him and being in close touch with his imagination...and the power and beauty...that lies inside...waiting to be called upon...without any strings attached..................Quester.

Balcony View

It's been a very productive...but very long day for me...so tonight...I'm just going to post this picture taken from my
front balcony.........................Quester.

Interesting Times

Late last night I finished putting together a brand new song video. The work went flowingly...and I felt a calmness throughout. Perhaps I was benefiting from lessons learnt in the past...about
not letting yourself wind up...as you work on a
project. I remember early on...how at times...
on a painting or other creative project...
sometimes I would begin to push things forward
...with intensity...and end up blocking my own way ...doing that..to getting closer to completion. I
learnt to spot any intensity build up...right as it
started...and how to turn away from it. One of
the things that helped this...was ringing a change
of pace...for instance...taking a break...and going
for a walk...or engaging in some activity that was
quite different from the project I was working on
...while reminding myself of the agreement I had
with myself...to be back working on my project,,,
the next day...so that it could eventually be
completed. Anyway...last night I found myself
enjoying the work I was doing...and this morning
uploaded my new creation...to YouTube. I find
myself living in very interesting times...
.......................................................Quester.

And The Seed Shall Grow

[Words from song: "And the seed shall
grow"...copyright-SOCAN]
"Why do we wait for something else...?
This moment now...is life itself...
To see...to do...to give...to sing...
To love...and let love...enter in...
And I hear a whisper as I watch
the red leaves fall...
Here and Now is all...
Don't let it pass you by..."
..............................Quester.

Living Calm In A Fast World

Earlier tonight...I sent an e-mail to someone in
Guyana...about my "Pretty Brown" video. Within
about ten minutes...there was a reply. For me...it underlined...the speed of this "New Age"
of human communication we're in. Someone
born into the internet age...would not have
anything to compare it with...and the lightening
...magical speed...at which transactions take place on the internet...would be "ho-hum" territory for them. The river I was born and
raised on...in Guyana...was a place...where you
were lucky to receive a letter posted many days
previously...and this led to an ongoing distrust of
the postal services...that led to the funky tradition...of people boating or walking miles...to hand off a package or letter...to someone
who was trusted...feeling that way it would have a much better chance of arriving...before the
millenium came. So...hearing back from Guyana...in less than ten minutes...left me shaking my
head...and realizing that I should make sure that I emabrace this new time that I am in
...even moreso than I've been doing...while living my life at the organic...measured pace...that I
feel at home with. I know that sounds like a contradiction...but I think it can be done...with a
calm inner life being...where I ultimately wish to "rest my case".................Quester.

Pretty Brown Video

Some time ago...on this blog...I hinted at something I was working on...but didn't give any
details. "Now it can be told". Last year I made
five short videos...two of them involving songs
of mine. This was in keeping with my "creative
artist's attitude"...one aspect of which...is to be
always open to new creative frontiers. It is an
attitude...that has moved me as an artist...
through improvising melodies on my guitar...
then making full blown songs from these melodies...to "turgid beginnings" venturing into poetry...into...creating poems...I felt good about...then...painting pictures with acrylics on canvas...then making walking sticks and drift wood sculptures...then daily journalling...giving me good practice as a prose writer...then starting this blog...making digital pictures on my computer...acquired four and a half years ago...then just over a year ago acquiring a digital camera...and modiying pictures I took with it...then...discovering it also had a video option ...starting to make videos on it. In January 2007...I began to hear about YouTube...this online site...that people uploaded all sorts of videos to. In the wee hours of March 6th...feeling I was taking a complete shot in the dark...I uploaded a video I had created a few months before...around my most requested song over many years..."Pretty Brown". There is much more to tell about this experience...perhaps I will do so in future installments of the "Pretty Brown" saga..........................................Quester.

Pictures Of A Beautiful Child

Today I spent quite a bit of time...searching for...finding,,,
and looking through family picture..then taking digital
pictures of them...and storing these in my computer. The
digital pictures of the pictures...almost all suffered from
fuzzy focus...so its back to the drawing board with this. There are some I might even be using in a project...that I
have to find a way of getting good copies of...but at least...
after my searching and finding...I know exactly where they are. The picture taking not working out...was not the part
of this operation that was the most difficult. What was not
easy...was looking through pictures of my daughter...when
she was little. I've often said that she was one of the most
photographed little girls in the world...so I had many pictures to go through...what was hard for me was seeing
what a beautiful and delightful child she was...and knowing
...that time will never return. I'm sure there are a lot of
parents who have had that feeling...but life is...among other
things...flowing forward...and even when your remember
something from the past...fondly...looking at it...and remembering...then...letting it go.
.................................Quester.

Poem: Beginnings

"I was writing a poem
when I saw you...
by the Inuit stone figure
on the banks of English Bay...
I had gotten this far:
Into the cool waves...
the colour of brandy...
the black duck dives...
by the red buouy...
the powder blue boat
forsakes the wind...
shucks its limp white sail...
and chugs towards...
the cluttered shore...
Rain clouds swell
over the dark mountain...
as the pretty woman
on the bare bench...
pauses...with her post cards...
and puts on
her canary yellow jacket...
I was writing a poem...
when I met you..."
...............Quester.

Warrior Fighting For Your Tenderness

[Words from song: "Warrior Fighting For Your
Tenderness". Copyright-SOCAN]
"Pay no heed to the voices at your ear...
Telling you to be deaf and dumb and blind...
To all that is tender and wondrous and fine...
Sifting through the wild garden of your mind...
Keep on walking down the road that's chosen you...
Know that it was meant to take you home...
Become a warrior fighting for your tenderness...
Know though it's hard...you do not walk alone..."
.........Quester.

Light Of A New Day

It's been a day of heavy mental
effort for me...trying to solve
puzzles to do with various transactions online. This stuff might be easy for those born with
a computer keyboard stuck to their fingers...but for a "late bloomer" like myself...it's nothing
less than headache territory. That
is why this internet transaction I'm engaging in right now...is going to be my last one for the day/night. Nevertheless...it's been a very productive day...and the puzzles still left on my plate...in the light of a new day tomorrow...may cease looking like a row of Mount Everests...lined up in front of me. Hear's hoping...
............................Quester.

Blog Post Number 700!

Just noticed a few minutes ago...as I was
checking my blogger account for reasons
not related to counting the number of posts I've done...that...since I started in April '05
...I've done 699 postings!. When I started
I had no idea that I would muster that many
in such a period of time. From my hesitant
start...blogging soon became...a "good daily
habit"...and that accounts for all those
postings...things you engage in every day
of your life...have a way of accruing as
time slips by. Who would have thought I'd
survive blogging long enough...to do as I'm
doing tonight...posting..."Blog Post Number
700!"........................................Quester.

Jonestown

Just finished viewing a television program
...based on what happened to over 900
people...some years ago...at Jonestown...
Guyana...my country of origin. Over the years when people asked...and I've told
them I'm from Guyana...they have often
shaken their heads...and said knowingly...
"Oh...Jonestown". The ripples from this
mass suicide...or murder...continue to
roll on through time...in many ways...including sometimes making Guyana
a synonym for "The Jonestown Happening". Tonight I was saddened again...looking at a program about this diabolical event. Many thoughts came to me. The one that was more insistent than the many others was..."That's the kind of thing that can happen when people stop thinking for themselves...and give their power away to other people to make decisions about their lives". One of the biggest parts of this tragedy...was the number of children who perished...who themselves...did not make the decision to go to Jonestown...but were taken there...by those who were..."older and wiser". There is so much more I could say about this. Perhaps I'll do so another time...and wish the people of the world...who are longing for something finer in life...to do their own independent investigation...before they become the disciples of fools and mad men........
..............................Quester.

After Midnight

I usually try to get my posts in before midnight...but
tonight...I've been auditioning songs I've written...
that I have in my computer...something I hadn't done
for a while. It was an interesting exercise...and as I
listened to individual songs that I hadn't heard for a
while...my mind flew off on many tangents. I must
have been really engrossed because when I looked up
it was twenty five minutes after midnight . Anyway...
better early in the morning...than never...is what I
always say. Perhaps I'll sleep well tonight...knowing
I didn't really break my good habit of posting something...every day.........Quester.

Late Hallelujah!

It's been a day of frustrations...
disappointments...then problem
solving...then designing something new...that looks as if it's going to overcome the problems of the day. For this I give thanks....and shout a loud...
"Hallelujah!"...out towards the
darkened mountains.......
......................................Quester.

Poem Verses: Spring In The City

[Verses from poem: "Spring In The City"]
"And the song of the birds...
turns the song of the cars...
to a big city symphony song...
and the winos climb down
from their hard mission beds...
they'll be back in the park before long...
And the Alsatians sniff
the dogs low to the ground...
with the old gleam back in their eyes...
while the crows turn their tricks
high above the West End...
like black leaves spinning in the dark sky..."
...............Quester.

Poem: No Umbrellas

"In bulging clouds
that hide the mountain tops...
the rain waits...
It soon will wash clean...
the trees and stones below...
with no umbrellas
to stop their cleansing...
Perhaps...that is part of
our human problem...
In our fear we use
too many umbrellas...
to prevent us from being soaked...
in so doing...
making it difficult for us...
to be washed clean..."
.....................Quester.

Interesting Times

Much has happened over the last three of four days...
all of it good...creative...and communicative...but I
still haven't processed all of it. I usually process the
central...funky...fanciful...and human things in my life
...in my long hand journal...but my entries in my long
hand journal have been lagging too...perhaps when I've caught up with that...I'll begin to reveal some of
the good...interesting...or encouraging stuff that has
been happening...I'll just have to be patient with the
process of processing all that has been happening.
Looking at what I've already written...I see it as a text
book case of beating around the bush...but...it'll have
to remain that way...until I've processed it all...or more than I have...to date. One thing I can report...is
that with all the good stuff going round and round in
my head...my sleep has been topsy turvy...with things
like sending people e-mails...at 3.40 a.m....and such like...going on...and my snatching some sleep...at weird times in the day. Some time up ahead...I'll write a bit
more about what I've been hinting at...in the meantime...I hope I get some decent
sleep.......................Quester.

Simple Pleasures

Went for a long walk across East Vancouver today. There was a very blue
sky painted with billowing white and light grey clouds...with enough large
spaces between them for the sunshine
to light up the surging of spring all around. The second...or is it the third
wave of cherry blossoms were fresh on
the branch...and I found myself just
wanting to keep walking...after a few
days of opening my head up...beyond
where it was prudently supposed to go
...as I tried to solve some internet and
project puzzles...and feeling the wear and tear from that.
Nothing like engaging in one of the "simple pleasures" to restore you...and to take you to beautiful places...offline...
.............................Quester.

Poem: Crow Flap

"Crow flap...
disturbs
sullen air...
in centre of
grey sky
and mountain scape...
reminding me...
to uncloak
my wings...
and croak out
a war song...
instead of
falling asleep...
at my window..."
..............Quester.

Walking In Beauty

I was once asked to speak...with guitar accompaniment...some of the words of a Navajo
prayer...about "walking in beauty"...for use in a video
about sand painting. It was a piece of work that I found very satisfying. Among other things...it reminded me of a way of life...where ongoingly reaching for the "beauty"...was regarded as a high ideal. Just about every day in my life...I come upon
some manifestation of the ugliness in my world...
wars...people attacking each other in one way or another...and other crude forms of human behaviour
that suggest to me...that the reptile brain is still very
active in many human beings. In the face of that...it
is only reaching for the beauty in Creation...in people
...in the things people create...or the genuinely
compassionate or kind things they do for each other
...that helps me to go on...sometimes. I am also helped on my journey...by living on
the bountiful and beautiful West Coast of Canada...where shards of beauty are always
available...if you are open to seeing them. I give thanks today...for this help...as I go
on my way...in my troubled world..................Quester.

Unsolicited Advice

One of the perils of publishing anything online is that you lay yourself open...once in
a blue moon...to receive advice you didn't ask for...in the midst of all the encouraging notes good people send your way. I think that today would be a good day to publish again...a piece I did on this blog on February 24th last year...stating some of my long time views on unsolicited advice:
Some years ago...I found myself inundated with advice I hadn't asked for...and in my frustration with this...made a circular sign saying..."This is an unsolicited advice free
zone"...accompanied by a picture of zippered lips. I framed it and put it up in my home. People often forget that others are not asking for their advice...because they
don't feel in need of it...so...when it is given anyway...the recipient feels intruded upon. My own feeling about it is that this kind of advice...is indeed cheap. When people ask advice from me I sometimes say..."You want advice from me?...I have a room full of it that's never been used...and I'd love to pass it on to you". A sign...at least in your home...with the "zipped lips" logo...and a message about not wanting
unsolicited advice...may be just the ticket...when the sensitivity of others around you fails...and you need to remind them that their advice is not needed...without even having to tell them so...................Quester.

Watch The Flowers Grow 2

[From song: "Watch The Flowers Grow.
Copyright-SOCAN]
"Suddenly...the veil has fallen to the ground...
Suddenly...what was a phantom has been found...
Suddenly...what was a shadow turns to light...
And I can face the night...not have to hide away...
My wish for you is life will bring you...
To a place where time is sweet and slow...
So fight your wars and win your glory...
I'll stay behind and watch the flowers grow..."
...................Quester.

Getting To The Finish Line

Recently...on being asked by someone at a
poetry gathering...what artist's work I was doing these days...I replied that I was writing a book. The questioner persisted...
"About what?"...to which I repled..."Things"
...This left the asker of the question puzzled...and we got into a conversation...
in general...about book projects. At the time
I wasn't trying to be rude or cute. It's just that the question came right up against an
important part of the methodology I follow
when I'm engaged in working on a long
creative project. I've just finished posting
a piece on a Guyana website...in response to a request for a synopsis of my current
book project...called..."Keeping the lid on [until the pepperpot is finished]". My reason for this part of my approach...has to do with how premature revelation of the subject you are working on...can suck the steam out of your one pointed focus in reaching the finishing line...given the indifference or insensitive "unknowing"...you are likely to encounter. When a long project is done...people can be indifferent as they want to be ...the good news being that they were not allowed to have a hand in slowing down or stopping your project. So...here's to the creative artists...who find
their own ways of keeping on...until their projects are...indeed...completed.
............................Quester.

Going With The Gusto

Just came upon these notes on a pad from
several years ago...and I'll just put them down...first of all to remind myself of what I
had in mind then: "You've got to go with the
gusto of whatever you have in your life...not
spend your time looking at what you don't have in it...this also relates to "living in the
moment"...and not just being transfixed
between past and future. We human beings
tend to make the mistake of not living in the present...not living in harmony with the "isness" of things...but trapped in what "coulda" or "shoulda" been...and falling back into the cultural race...and feeling you'll never catch up. Yes...what you put store in...usually influences the way your life unfolds"..................................Quester.