Chris' Blog

We just returned from seeing Martin Sexton in concert at the Myer Horowitz Theatre. We had seen him twice before at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in ’97 and again this past summer. Both times his performances were quite short, so when the opportunity came to purchase tickets for a full concert, I jumped at the chance. We were not disappointed; the concert was amazing. Martin Sexton performed solo with only an acoustic guitar (acoustic-electric if you want to get picky) and for one song a piano. To make up for not having a supporting band he would ‘sing’ other instruments: saxaphone, trombone, and even electric guitar solos. The audience of about 800 was kept entertained throughout, although it was clear that many were fans already. I would classify Martin Sexton’s music as folk-blues. Many of his songs leaned much more heavily toward one side than the other and a few had a definite jazz feel to them as well. He is a great songwriter, amazing vocalist, and plays guitar as if it is an extension of his own body. It makes me sad that someone as talented as Martin Sexton receives such modest attention while others with considerably less musical ability sell out stadiums. Where’s the justice?

I have a new job! It’s for a small high-tech company called Picomole. I start October 1, the same day we get possession of our new condo.

…well conditionally that is. It’s a small one bedroom apartment across the street from the Bonnie Doon mall. It’s going to be great! You can see the condo listing if you would like more info.

Last night Christine and I were walking around the neighbourhood where we are living and we walked to a park with baseball diamonds. There was a building there with “Duggan” painted on the side and I remembered playing baseball there when I used to go to Allendale school. That was 22 years ago. That frightens me.

Christine and I spent the weekend at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. This is the second time we have attended. The first was in 1997 and it was amazing. Compared with ’97, this year was disappointing; however, we had a good time and enjoyed ourselves and the music. We’re already looking forward to next year and hoping for more blues (Chris) and Celtic (Christine) performers.

Another Heritage Day has come and gone, but not without a trip to the Heritage Festival to sample some world cuisine. We went on Saturday. It was raining all day. Fortunately that meant short lines for food and no dancing or shows to distract us from what the Heritage Festival is all about.

What I ate:

spanakopita from the Greece pavilion – delicious
some kind of beef stew from the Eritrea pavilion – very good
a banana pastry from the Philippines pavilion – very good
a mango shake from some booth – delicious
a beef kebab from the Arab pavilion – dry and disappointing
for dessert, a little doughnut and rice pudding from the Scandinavia pavilion – excellent

And there you have it, an expert opinion from my accomplished palette.

According to a cereal box William Shatner wants you to join a movement. He recommends that you take the two week challenge of mixing 1/2 a cup of All-Bran with a cereal that you actually like every day for two weeks and then to see how you feel about it. After taking the challenge himself Mr. Shatner said, “I feel really good about it.”

I read about this in the Metro News: A man and a woman were arguing in the parking lot of the Baccarat Casino in Edmonton. The man took off his shirt then punched the woman in the face. The woman collapsed and the man choked her until she stopped moving. Then he got up and kicked her in the face ten times, then walked around a bit to catch his breath before kicking her ten more times. Apparently the events of the incident are well corroborated because there was a crowd of people watching.

Guess what Edmontonians, if we don’t want our city to become a cesspool we have to treat it like it’s our city. Get involved.

The woman did not suffer any serious injuries.

Yesterday I woke to the harsh reality that Spring is still yet to come. Twice the beginning of Spring has been unconscionably interrupted by a bleak snowfall. If I ever get my hands on that dirty lying groundhog…

Disclaimer: For the dictionary police out there…I’m talking to you, Joni…I have used ‘wherefore’ in the often misused way to mean ‘where’ as opposed to its proper meaning of ‘why’.

We just got back from seeing Eric Clapton in concert. I have been waiting years for the chance, and now I have had it. Eric Clapton was amazing. Robert Cray opened as well as joined Eric Clapton on stage for the final song of the night, “Crossroads”. The three or four extended organ solo’s were a bit much, but overall everything was great. I had forgotten what an incredible guitar player Eric Clapton was until I saw him tonight. Good times.