Mixedtape 16

Calgary in winter…

Click to listen…

1. Two – The Antlers
2. River of Dirt – Marissa Nadler
3. When Water Comes to Life – Cloud Cult
4. Horse & I – Bat for Lashes
5. Smokin’ From Shootin’ – My Morning Jacket
6. Huntsville, 1989 – The Last Town Chorus
7. Cocaine Lights – Phosphorescent
8. Fog – Mason Proper
9. Advanced Tool Users – The Most Serene Republic
10. Chicago – Sufjan Stevens
11. Sore – Annuals
12. Is This Really What It Comes To? – Port O’Brien
13. My Maudlin Career – Camera Obscura
14. Harmless Lover’s Discourse – Odawas

Got any suggestions for music I might like?  Please leave a comment.

2010s new years poem

Later
Still
Filled with wonder
With this legacy
Stretched from dust
And ancient furnaces
Into beating hearts
And fleeting memories
All encompassing
“Thanks
Mom”

Love and peaches

I had organic peach yogurt today. There were no peaches in it, despite the label’s unmistakable promise of acidophilus, bifidus and l.cassei culture enriched peachy goodness. Not the slightest taste or scent of peach; organic or otherwise. Nothing, nada, nil, zip, zilch. As I sat eating chalky yogurt with a white plastic spoon I wondered, “Do these missing peaches have Buddha nature?”

Enthemic’s Aloo Ghobi Masalla

Main: Section 1 onion, break up 1/3 cauliflower (perhaps 1.5 cups worth?), cube (thumb width) 1 large potato – place in frying pan – add water so it half covers the potatoe cubes. Bring to boil then cover and simmer until cauliflower cooked aprox 5 mins. Remove lid and simmer for 5-10 mins or until sauce is ready. You’ll only need to stir this once or twice – stir gently.

Sauce: Blend 1 (sml to med) onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1-2 red chillies (to taste), 2 tbsp peanut oil – heat in sauce pan till light brown (aprox 5 mins). Blend 2-3 (medium) plum tomatoes, bunch of coriander, thumb of ginger – add to pan, simmer 5-10 mins till half of the liquid is gone. Stir in ground seasonings 1tsp each: coriander, paprika, garam masala, salt, tumeric. 2 tsp each: cumin, fenugreek.

Combine sauce and main, add widely sliced portabello mushroom, add squeeze of lime juice. Simmer until enough of the liquid has gone – aprox 5 to 10 minutes.

Makes enough for 2 – 3 servings…

What constitues “better”?

The sun is just going down. I’m back from the local coffee shop, where I sat on the patio and read what is quickly becoming my favorite book of the year, “Hold Everything Dear” by John Berger. It’s very good.  You would probably like it.

If you read it we could then have a lively chat about what constitutes “better”.  Berger’s letters, what’s going on in Iran, my own struggle to reconcile paying work with worthwhile work, and the (zen) dissonance between renunciation and compassion, have all brought that question to the forefront of my thoughts recently.

It’s sort of a nebulous conversation topic for me though.  Berger portrays the current conflicts, and ultimately social injustice in general, through the lens of class struggle (which I’m inclined to agree with) – but that’s not very helpful afterward when trying to bring it back into the realm of the actions of an (this) individual.

What are your experiences/thoughts on “social justice” and that fuzzy area where the actions of an individual get mired in the shear scope of the issues?

URMagazine

If you are a Rogers cellphone customer in Canada your mailbox may have been graced by the marketing drivel that is “URMagazine“.  Presumably the “ur” stands for “ur lets just ignore our own opt out list” because that what is they seem to have done.  Presumably so they could brag about “publishing over 500,000  copies per issue”.  It seems unlikely that anyone would voluntarily subscribe to this garbage, so that probably translates into close to half a million pissed off Rogers customers.

If you are one of those pissed off customers and would like to opt out you can do so following this link: http://ur.marketspace.ca/contact.htm

The link to opt out of all marketing material from Rogers is here: https://your.rogers.com/newsletter/opt_out.asp (Though this is the same list they seem to have ignored when mailing out URMagazine)

Lhasa – Lhasa de Sela

My favorite Canadian musician Lhasa has a new album out, and it’s really great!

You can listen to it here.

Mixedtape 15

Click to listen…

1. Hollywood – Angus and Julia Stone
2. Sea Song – Lisa Hannigan
3. November Was White, December Was Grey – Say Hi
4. Donde Esta La Playa – The Walkmen
5. Oh My God – Ida Maria
6. You Really Wake Up The Love In Me – The Duke Spirit
7. Stay Positive – The Hold Steady
8. Never Had Nobody Like You – M. Ward
9. Crabapples – Bruce Peninsula
10. I’m Confused – Handsom Furs
11. 2080 – Yeasayer
12. Helen of Troy – Telefon Tel Aviv
13. Graveyard Girl – M83
14. Paris Is Burning – Ladyhawke
15. Handsfree (If You Hold My Hand) – Sonny J

Got any suggestions for music I might like?  Please leave a comment.

Mixedtape 14

Some fun quirky indie tunes.  Enjoy.

Click to listen…

1. Animals – Ketch Harbor Wolves
2. Taking The Farm – The War On Drugs
3. Another Travelin’ Song – Bright Eyes
4. Big Waves – Sad Day for Puppets
5. Alina’s Place – Fredrik
6. Mothertongue – Nico Muhly
7. Melodies & Desires – Lykke Li
8. Bruises – Chairlift
9. En hand i himlen – Jonathan Johansson
10. Fuck You – Lily Allen
11. Waitin’ For A Superman – The Flaming Lips
12. Keep Yourself Warm – Frightened Rabbit
13. Anna – Hello Saferide
14. A Small Setback to a Great Comeback – Her Space Holiday

Got any suggestions for music I might like?  Please leave a comment.

Ketch Harbour Wolves – Dead Calm Horizon

I’m really loving the new album by Ketch Harbour Wolves called Dead Calm Horizon.   Ketch Harbour Wolves are a fantastic Canadian indie band who sound at bit like a cross between Arcade Fire and The National (two of my favorite artists). “Midnight Dark Waters” is my favorite track so far.

Check it out:

Download Entire Album (zip):			format
	Ketch Harbour Wolves ~ Dead Calm Horizon All 7 tracks archived in .zip format		mp3	flac
Download Individual Tracks:			format
1.	Words	3:31	mp3	flac
2.	Leaves	4:10	mp3	flac
3.	Gold	4:14	mp3	flac
4.	So Long To The Ground	4:01	mp3	flac
5.	Midnight Dark Water	4:26	mp3	flac
6.	Animals	4:38	mp3	flac
7.	Letters	3:13	mp3	flac