totes music mems

What was your "mindblowing" instrumental music experience?

I thought of these 2 songs because of some show on CBC radio this morning. The host said something about Mondays being dedicated to listeners' mindblowing classical music experiences, and she asked "kids" 18 and under to call in and share theirs. Well I'm not a "kid" anymore, but I'll share two of my experiences here. They're not necessarily mindblowing, but notable nonetheless.

Number one: Brahms' Hungarian Dance.

Number dos: Strauss' Pizzicato Polka.

Anyone who ever played in a youth orchestra or symphony may be able to relate to these two pieces.

Both were pieces that we had to play/rehearse/perform REPETITIVELY as young orchestra and symphony musicians between age 10-17. Both bring me back to my angsty hormonal youth and all the fun memories of "band camp" and other so-called retreats. The Hungarian dance is AWESOME because it's fast moving, playful and when you play it, you can just rip'er UP! I'm talkin'like heavy pressure on the bow, hairs flying, body swaying, rip it up! Plus our friend Chris used to do a vocal rendition of it with high pitched squeals that make me laugh now thinkin about it.
That was an experience.

Then the other news.. Pizz. Polka, well, you can hear it for yourself. It was quite limiting in terms of expression, because with pizzicato (plucking the string) the string can only resonate as much as the string wants to on its own. Not only that, but the whole piece keeps you on your toes, note to note. I'm getting anxiety all over again...!! Pre-teen hormones cause excessive thinking and feeling, wondering and wishing...so there was very little time for polka-ing. Let's DANCE! Brahms, rip it UP!



the good news

the bad? news

inspirational individuals

a photo i took on a nature walk with my friend Steve :)can you guess what it is? could be a lot of different things depending on how you look at it!


So I've recently attempted to go vegetarian and it's been quite enjoyable and easy due to all the options out there. Perhaps I am slowly overcoming my weakness for McD's golden mcnuggets and bacon. (see below: Jim Gaffigan on the beauty of bacon). As for WHY I have chosen this route, it boils down to the unethical and inhumane treatment of most animals that are produced into meat found in the majority of North American grocery stores. Would I eat free range? Maybe. Fish that I've caught myself and ethically farmed animals are also possibilities. I'm still navigating the whole thing and figuring out the facts, but my main concern is that each living being on this earth be given the chance to live with dignity. I need not get into details, but there is a multitude of information out there about what's going on right here .

This whole veggie thing has made me consider the power of one. (WONDERFUL book by the way..). A lot of people believe that they can't make a difference on their own. I could not disagree more. If you really think about it, we are all living examples of one person making a difference in the world. For instance, one friend told me she started working with special needs children after being inspired by the time I've spent with my friend Taylor who has Cerebral Palsy. He has also given me faith in the power of one through his community work and his advocacy for special needs funding and support in Alberta. Wholehearted (in fact all) choices DO have an exponential effect in our own lives and the lives of others. No one person can "save the world," but individual efforts can definitely combine to improve the lives of others. Apathy achieves zero.

To begin to name the many individuals who have brought me to the place I'm at mentally and emotionally could take up a novel! So for today, I'll mention Emma (please if you have time, check out her beautiful artwork!) who inspired me to believe in the beauty of dreams, both the crazy ones that happen to us as we sleep, and the material, life goal related ones. Meaning can always be taken from dreams..whether it's only subtle reminders or a new perspective on the things we've been questioning.

On that note, I'll leave you with some quotes from a paper I wrote for my Indigenous Ways of Knowing course that may or may tie all of this up..or maybe open it all up!?


"Research of the ecological world should be done to serve not only ourselves as human beings within a short period of time, but to benefit the earth and all of its living plants and animals and to ensure that benefits will be far reaching and long lasting."

"Knowledge is in the earth. Dr. Bastien said in class, 'plants already know what to do. We don’t. It’s our job to figure it out.'”

"Both Narcisse Blood and Betty Bastien assert that we have no choice about our past, but we do have the choice to make ourselves an agent of change rather than a victim of circumstance. A focus on the negatives only gives power to “disharmony (Wilson, 2008, p.105),” so positive relationships must be reinforced to pull things together."

"I am responsible for choosing to experience that which is naturally or unnaturally occurring in my surroundings and for thinking about what needs to change, all the while trusting that if my intentions and actions are honest and purposeful, the universe will reciprocate."


Bacon.