White Rock Blues

The weather during spring break did my head in and I really needed to get out of the city. We headed south to the seaside town of White Rock for some fresh air and seafood. I love spotting herons and red-tailed hawks looking for easy prey on the flat soggy delta flats . We saw pairs of courting crows and raptors in leafless trees in stark relief against the grey skies. Once we'd arrived in White Rock we wound our way down to Marine Drive and scoped out the place with the most promising signage. (I'm a sucker for a blackboard.)



Inside Charlie Don't Surf, we huddled in a chilly, over-decorated atmosphere that reminded me of gloomy days spent in British seaside towns that seem to specialize in that particular brand of gloom-tinged coziness.



The food was fine. I liked the spicy deep-fried calamari and my well-dressed beet and spinach salad. The service was absolutely awful, with a narcissistic waitress who didn't bother to veil her absolute distaste for our table. We basically had to flag down other waitresses to do her job while she sulked and straightened cutlery at empty tables.


This is a new place opening up next door to Charlie Don't Surf.

I love the little museum across the street from the restaurant, with its one-room diorama of how the railway station looked in days gone by. It also has an excellent tidal pool aquarium and some taxidermy of local fauna.


We tried to find a quaint little shopping area in the centre of town and failed. Perhaps there are hidden delights to be found here on a warmer sunnier day.

Mysteries of the Brain

So it seems there's a bit of a problem with my brain these days. Even though I have created a performance piece called Brain Dress it's been a few years since I did any reading on the subject on the "leetle grey cells" as Hercule Poirot would say. A few weeks back I began to suffer from some persistent and egregious symptoms affecting the way I perceive the world. I'm being somewhat oblique here because I'm hoping it (whatever it is) just goes away. Here's the thing--I'm curious how much people actually think about the health of your brain. Apparently meditation keeps your brain young. Someone I met recently highly recommends it to stay youthful. Our culture is so focused on the body that we forget about the health and beauty of the mind.

I am looking for answers when and where I can. In the meantime, I just have to make my life as simple as possible right now and just try not to get too stressed out. I am looking for simple physical tasks I can do in my art practice to re-connect those wires in my mind that seem to have fried themselves out.

This Post's for You

Sometimes you meet someone who is so refreshing and delightful it makes you hopeful again. Sometimes you meet a person who is so well-suited to their job and exuberant that it is infectious and life-affirming--someone who makes you laugh and cry and think deeply about what it's all about. You might never see this person again, but just the thought that they are out there is very comforting.

I wish I could make you a painting or a cake or some kind of masterpiece that would show how excited and grateful I am, but I can only say thank you here where chances are you will never read this. Thank you for reminding me of what inner beauty can mean.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you....1000 Blessings.