if . . .

Wegman :: note :: ... walking by the river encountered a jogger with dog ... the innocent eyes & curious gaze captivated me ... " Wish I were a dog", I exclaimed ... partner responded "You are - You are!" ... finally found myself ...

He turned to jade and left the world. He danced death outside to no secret. He closed his blind eyes tightly shut and invited some close friends over. The friends lost their way somewhere. They reappeared inside the deep dark. Since his soul snapped and sunk, they held a magnifying glass inches away. :: note :: ... a pillaged poem ... Strangers by Annie Finch ...

On a hot summer day, a country in mourning, we each went our way to the very end. Awaiting her return, the day after winter solstice, anticipating footprints in the snow I close my eyes to perceive the airport kiss which like vapour disappears forever illusive. Have just replaced the calendar, surprised that 1998 matches 2010, acknowledge the ignorance of time, comforted by the ignorance, a better part of beauty, in the briefest of times charms the magic of the moment. Are we sharp-witted fools sacrificing cold blooded existence to a studied cultural fanaticism, artists out of desperation barricading ourselves from catastrophe, self-disciplined martyrs ruthlessly pursuing danger, exploiting the chance, the last compassionate chance towards a fatal & ambitious ideal nonsense. The mirror reflects the look of a wild man. Switch on the coloured festive lights as a beacon. How will she look? You don't have to be with a person in order to feel bound to them as to no other. Cross th...

The Urban Dictionary defines skit skit: "to cum or to want to be cummed on by either sex" and yet SKIT SKIT is a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based sketch comedy troupe composed (this time round) of Ashton Francis, Kristen Holfeuer, Matthew Keyes, Ed Mendez and Tara Schoonbaert. This wonderfully skilled group last performed @ The Refinery December 17, 18 & 19th. Cam Fuller of The StarPhoenix wrote they are "a big hit with the audience" & their Facebook page affirms this. No small feat in a genre that puts a high premium on novelty. A mix of video clips around Heritage Minutes & Sexy Singles flows seamlessly into live SNL type sketches boldly & exuberantly performed at a carefully crafted pace. The writing is paradoxically broad & concise at its best when they follow the comedy edge of making serious stuff humorous. Where the troupe shines most are their provocations at the arts. Matthew Keyes does a priceless Nichelback parody, Tara Schoonbaert...

With warning as lightning heralds thunder love rumbles my heart. Textwork is a practice, not a product. It is praxis, part and parcel of the critique of the everyday creative life act. It invites something out of nothing. A source. TextwUrk is not a metaphor, not metaphorical. It is creative work. A passion. It exists precisely in the obdurate interstice between body and voice. It exists in the arrow - the connection. It is memory. It is invisible to illuminate. It is not a set of procedures or perceptions. It is the crisis noise in the system. It is not the encapsulation or object of the crisis noise or the system. It is continuous; it is parasitic; it is thetic. It seeks obstacle. It is of no interest except as cultural residue: it is of great interest to the actor's studies. It is nothing more than the continuous reification, territorialization and rendering of the actor's work/etude - as if the etude were always already cleansed, available for the taking - as if the etude w...

Within the Penumbra By F. D. Schultz Most of what you see tonight is in the shadow, in silhouette, in twilight, dawn ... within the Penumbra. Most of life happens as T.S. Eliot writes in "The Hollow Men": "Between the conception / And the creation Between the emotion / And the response Falls the Shadow / Life is very long" We yearn for freedom. The freedom to seek the truth though truth is never what it seems. Conceived in a world of order, rules and laws we choose between friendship & betrayal, between security and adventure, between the authorities of love & wrath into hope & despair ... within the Pneumbra. Follow the cast & playwright caught in the eternal mysterious spirit world in the time of Pandora's Box on a journey towards that moment where nothing is left but to stand face to face in affirmation or regret ... yes or no ... within the Pnuembra. Time present and time past / Are both perhaps present in time future, And time futur...

Dreamt a delightful dream last night; today received word from my beloved. Her voice a hundred times over rested on my chest; I fell asleep. The heart ecstatic at being ever so pressed warmed the cold, grey afternoon. - See: Writings :: note :: ... inspired by 30 Sijo Poems translated by Chung Chong-Wha ...

Eventually she stopped death outside. Never again would they add pillows to prop up her misunderstandings. No more negativity. Who had been more noble? Firmly rooted to the earth, one must act. I will transcend this way, where I lie, a miraculous mystery. - See: Writings :: note :: ... a counterpoint to this soon by Crag Hill ... find this type of juxtaposition/playing fun ... hope it doesn't offend ...

1. Doksu To Labor Pomp & Protest 28/7/09 We catch the last moments of the splendid changing of the guards at Doksu Palace. Colourful flags of Dragon & Phoenix snap in the procession. Protesters camp outside city hall while bored police stand ready with sheilds.A long white proclamation banner heralds discontent. From the human rights office hangs a stark multi-storied banner demanding the Premier fulfill his election promise to make Seoul more handicapped accessible. A stately building surrounded by wooden benches & a spacious courtyard is the Ministry of Labor. Two mythical beasts guard the entrance & Harubang watches over the parkade. The gorgeous night sky illuminates the tranquil clouds. For the sake of memory peace reigns for all the silhouetted foot soldiers of the night. 2. Insects on Line 6. 29/7/09 Have you ever had a huge snake wrap itself around you or held a blue silvered beetle in your hand or watch a gecko climb up your arm. I have and wonder how the snake...

1. Gyeongbok Palace 20/7/09 Six-Fold Screen of the Sun, Moon and Five Peaks. Eight-Fold Screen of Peonies and Rocks. Ten-Fold Screen of Shelves Full of Books. Faint sounds of Royal Court Music dispell past affairs of guilt & torment like visionary footsteps echoing in the cavernous hollow Palace building new consciousness of the old. 2. Seonyu Island 21/7/09 Frogs random croaking tickles the strolling couples amourous desires. Gentle waterfalls soothe the weight of time wrinkles on faces of three older woman friends. Men gamble & fish freely in the wind playing to catch treasures of leisure. We descend steps disappearing into the Han under the arced bridge sweeping all cares to the warm night sky on heavenly swings. 3. Seowon Temple in Maputo 22/7/09 Climb to the top not to look down or out over but look on the golden hand. Prayer gesture Imploring tomorrow for yesterday's gratitude. I saw the newsroom today. What a lucky man. 4. Odusan Unification Observatory 23/7/09 At th...

1. Dangsan: Day One 12/7/09 the green & wood embrace & edge tongues of form reach for expectant joy 2. Dangsan: Skies open 13/7/09 Hard rain through night. Tiny districts folded within each other like streams pouring souls to the Han. 3. Mapo-gu, Sungsan-1-dong (Family visit) 14/7/09 Rabbit wanted to eat tiger. Brother tiger had been kind showing pictures of when they were babies. Instead rabbit climbed his mothers back & clung tightly most of the night. 4. Insa-dong (Inner district) 15/7/09 Shadow birds converge on blue pots as red women divulge secret worlds. The trickster monk cries "Come, come hold the paper." Sketches a show - we are all poor artists. 5. Insa-dong (Inner district) Part 2 16/7/09 Be free whisper all the quiet places of beauty. We are serious & socially responsible. We scream in tender silence our love for our community. We are the outliers. Share the dream. Outside people jostle for every inch in the heat. 6. North Korean Studies (Gyon...

... the movement of an artist from the world of practice often comes with great mourning & even greater reflection ... Pina Baush preserved her dignity and spirit with considered if not miraculous attention ... others not so ... ... the present media frenzy surrounding MJ allowed me to reflect on an aged post : "it is impossible not to contemplate with a shudder the shadowy line between art, ecstasy and psychosis." . . . Cox in his “documentary” about the Russian born dancer Nijinsky The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky is quoted: “Nijinsky was a beautiful spirit. He went mad because of his love of mankind. We live in a world that has gone crazy – it is no wonder that souls like Nijinsky go mad.” Words as if spoken towards any artist humbled by their own demons & excesses of a hungry sensibility, extreme traumatic periods & victim of time and place. ... further darker evidence: "Once we commit ourselves to a passion, noble or sordid, it is of no importance, ...

John Ralston Saul makes the declaration we are a "métis nation" pointing as much to national identity as to a roadmap for our future. CBC Radio rebroadcast (originally aired in April '09) the 2009 UBC-Laurier Institution Multiculturalism Lecture The Aboriginal Peoples and New Canadians: The Missing Conversation (available for four weeks as July 13 podcast ). His coterie: "It's crucial that all Canadians cultivate an understanding of our Aboriginal heritage, and the role Aboriginal people played in the development of Canada," says Beverly Sabourin, Vice Provost (Aboriginal Initiatives) at Lakehead University. "Understanding our common history and our respective roles will help guide us into the future, allowing all of us to collaborate in building a "fair country." ( Lakehead U Talk ) "In one of the strongest and most convincing passages in the book, he argues that the 'single greatest failure of the Canadian experiment, so far, has...

Puzzles within puzzles. Last days to first ... look for a completely different thought somewhere in another time which passes between neither in ending or beginning ... see the connections ... an encounter with a word, a gesture ... a cut-up, a collecting, a re-start, getting on the wavelength ... - See: Terms :: note :: ... the village idiot/grasshopper/pilgim has spoken ...

End of term high school student projects culminate with successful presentations. A filleted (25 minute version) of Shakespeare's MacBeth & a student translation of The Farce of Patelin by Moliere . We study the action of Shakespeare & the origins of Moliere. A great deal of independent work. Commedia masks, swords, props, costumes, light & sound with simple set allow for the exploration of image in time & space. The basement & the stage both used as rehearsed at the same time. End of year stress resolves into creative energy and a concentrated effort. - See: theater :: note :: ... congrats to all & wishing a wonderful summer ...

Presented by the E. D. Feehan Drama Club, Alice an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 classic Alice in Wonderland proved to be a savvy & skilled production of humour and delight. Director Pat Lengert must be commended for his astute manoeuvring of complex scenes and set changes as well as a sharp eye for economy of action. All actors rallied around his cartoonish style bringing depth and enchantment without losing any of the irony embedded within the text. The childish and whimsical images of this production transform the fantasy-ridden wonderland of Alice from a carefree or nostalgic escape from reality into imaginative distortions twined with the reality of childhood confusion. It is not illogical nonsense rather more the frustrations of youth making sense of the crazy "real" world. The students performed with boundless enthusiasm & intuition catching the allegory of the material with experienced innocence and most importantly with a sense of curiosity. Simp...

Georges Vanier Elementary Fine Arts School presented The Big Five Zero a wonderfully crafted piece pulled from the hat of teacher/musician/artist/Impresario Jeff Cunanan & admirably directed by Alyssa Deacon this past week. Written for the 50th Anniversary celebrations we follow two clever students, Vic (Jodie Lysyshyn) and Gerry (Mikayla Reschny), as they discover the long rumoured hidden school basement with its treasures and spirits. Jodi and Mikayla carried the action with energetic performances well beyond their years, always fresh and cheeky. Their parents played with deadpan irony & tongue-in-cheek caricature by Renelle Hunter and Christopher Bantle, remember the good old days of good ol'Vanier. Along the way we meet Music Teacher Mrs. C (Sarah Twa), Secretary (Robyn Peiffer), Hippy Man (Joey Schatz), and the Ghosts of Students past (Jonathan Forest, Nicole Opsal & Jayne Barrett) revealing snippets of school history and lore. The ultimate challenge for the two...

A closing term note. An Open Letter to my Students - Dean Shareski expresses my feelings ... different course, learning style & methods yet very similar frustrations ... to all learners a passionate & challenging future ... most of all will miss your creativity and how we educate the imagination together ... - See: Education :: note :: ... now the season has truly ended ...

Shakepeare's most moving & emotionally complex A Winter's Tale performed by a lively student class fed my hunger for classic theatre paradoxically simple of design and rich in detail. The tragi-comi-romance appeals as a wonderful resurrection myth. The reunion of father and daughter is deeply affecting and when Hermione's statue comes to life she warmly embraces Leontes in the spirit of forgiveness manifesting the spirit of the play: nature's enormous power of renewal. Steeped in intelligent & fine ensemble acting & further articulated with a passionate vocabulary of pain and contrition the hours slipped by creating a magical bizarre world full of colour, song & dance. A review by Kathryn Willms, The Star Phoenix follows the model outlined in the guardian theatre blog What should we teach our young critics? - See: theater :: note :: ... best of the term ... only performance this term ...

- clown posses for a photo behind a glass door during the International Day of the Theater celebrations in front of the Ruben Dario National theater in Managua, Friday, March. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) - See: theater :: note :: ... WTD blog ... put on a red nose the freedom & responsibility of unfettered play ... play behind reflective glass ... the street as stage ... the theatre building as backdrop ... open the door to be to see to dream ...

An ArtLab / aneco project. Rolling composter installation by Wendy Peart located on Saskatoon City Hall grounds. ... caged material for composting ... "As visual imagery, I believe the organic form can incite basal, yet complex, reactions that arouse viewers to acknowledge their relationship within the intricate ecological world," writes Peart. ( ArtsBoard ) - See: Sculpture :: note :: ... have loved this piece in all its seasons ...

Joni Mitchell: green flag song "a new body of photographic work by iconic singer/songwriter and visual artist Joni Mitchell " ( Mendel Art Gallery ). ... had read that Joni was angry ... entering the gallery room for green flag song was more oppressive than angry ... the dark grey walls with over 120 green & rose hued grainy images hung in vertical triptychs were uninviting ... hurriedly left the room forcing myself to re-enter & each time staying a little longer to digest the images ... pictures of war, terror and solitude evoked pathos ... ... on a bench lay a piece of corrugated cardboard ... the catalogue ... a beautifully crafted work of documentation ... lost myself in words, songs and photos of the artist at work ... returning gaze to the walls noticed none of the individual images were particularly arresting it was their context which provoked ... the process of broken televisions & disposable cameras heightened the sense of decay, waste & destructi...

... why my icon is king kong was thought provoking ... the web (flickr, twitter, friendfeed ad infinitum) relentlessly demands an image ... for years cast about changing icon and have settled on this black&white photo of the northern lights ( aurora borealis ) ... history ... it is a photo my father took while working in Fort Churchill Manitoba Canada ... he had till then devoted his life to plasma physics & upper atmospheric research spending nights on the lookout tower photographing the sky ... my mother found the negatives in one of the clean outs following a moment of transformation (birth/life/death) ... title ... from the beginning (2002) called my blog if & later as my presence webbed out adopted the tag ifsphere ... place & imagination ... the icon spells if ... the solid tower & wave lights ... visualizes the splendour of the night sky ... hints at the mystery of l(if)e ... "As the solar wind interacts with the edge of the earth's magnetic fi...

"Writing for the theatre is at its best an act of transgression - and as teachers of playwrights, we should encourage our students to step over the line, redraw the line, erase the line, even multiply the lines so that we sit up, step forward, strike out. I believe the job of mainstream culture and mainstream theatre is to keep the peace. Our job, as teachers, is to encourage new writers to break it, to disrupt the lie, to speak truth to power. Think seriously about the word en-courage: What are we giving our students courage to do, exactly? Not just entertain. Rarely do students of drama enter the classroom with what we might call, for lack of a better term, "original minds." Surely their originality, their agency for questioning and considering, is there, but it has been dominated and subdued by a culture that amplifies individuality over community, profit over peace, property over human need. For we live in a culture that is hostile to creativity and original thought ...

There are no limits to the act of the imagination. Herbert was the catalyst of creativity. He demanded we play & play is serious & play is joyful & play is painful & play is life ... & death. He has flown from this world of practicality. The place he taught the practice of making the impossible possible. I hold him here deep in memory. I loved & fought him as if he were my father. The last time I talked to him was too many years ago. He was enthusiastically discussing his upcoming role in a stage production of My Dinner with Andre . I wished to tell him he respected me more than I deserved. We weren't in his atelier but in a garden of paradise and I wanted this revolutionary veteran to know without his support I wouldn't be where I was or where I became. I didn't but we did embrace & in his grasp I would have liked to have been able to comfort his restlessness - the disquiet that lurked around his expressive power. Thinking back a crow was per...

"... Openness is not the enemy. Openness is what protects these kids. Openness is what draws people out into the open, like those Flickr photo collectors (you can be sure they are known to police, or at least, that they should be). And openness is what allows you - and others - to talk to your kids, to give them the tools to protect them from danger, to given them the knowledge and the empowerment to stand up to those people whether they are total strangers or close family..." ( Stephen Downes | comment 7 ) - See: terms :: note :: ... an issue that needs to be opened within our personal, private, public, institutional environments ... the struggle/choice to be open - when & how ... responsibility (the ability to respond) is threefold: me, my partners & my environment ... a personal attack requires healing and leaves scars ... living with scars ... be open, be sensible, be sensitive (full of senses) ... it is risk ...

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A terrorist phelpsian fist jab twitt to all the staycation maverick edupunks, those burrowing frugalista joes TBTF: Change. Yes we Can. - See: Terms