The main drawback of Jim Watson being elected mayor of Ottawa is that we don’t have Larry O’Brien to kick around anymore. He was such an irresistible target. I don’t know if it was his colossal ego coupled with his little wee brain, or his ludicrously macho approach to life, or his absolute willingness to […]
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knitnut.net: A Hipstamatic kind of morning
I took all these pictures of Canada Geese with my Hipstamatic while walking to work yesterday morning.
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Continue readingknitnut.net: About that birthday video
So. Remember the time it was my birthday and I promised to post a video of all the birds singing Happy Birthday?
Well…let’s just say that they all got camera-shy and clammed up and refused to sing. So I decided to give them another chance the following day, but again they suffered from performance anxiety.
It’s […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Happy Birthday to Me!
Here are a few things you can do to celebrate my birthday today!
The Fabric Flea Market – at the Glebe Community Centre from 10:00 to 2:00. All proceeds go to Cambridge Public School. Admission $2. Lots of bargains on fabric, yarn, patterns, buttons and other needlework supplies.
Grand opening of the Daily Grind Art […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Jack is not his real name
I’ve known Jack (not his real name) a long time. We were room-mates when I was still in high school and he was in university. He was never a shining example of robust mental health, but he always maintained at least a half-hearted grip on his sanity, despite his contention that sanity was over-rated.
I used […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Saying goodbye
The art-making party for Elmaks was wonderful and fitting, and the service the next day was lovely.
I don’t usually say funerals are lovely, but this one was. His art decorated the room, and several pieces from the art-making party the night before were there too. (Not mine. I’m still working on mine.)
There was […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Blessing of the Animals
We started the day at an estate auction run by a crabby auctioneer, followed by breakfast in a Glebe diner. Over breakfast, GC and I wrote a note to Elmaks, and later we visited his final swap box, which is hanging on the construction fencing on Bank Street, around Third Avenue.
We left the note […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Goodbye, Elmaks.
Maks and Oboe
Elmaks, local street artist, inventor of The Swap Box, and all-round nice guy and gentle soul, died on Thursday. I’m told that his body was found in the forest on Friday, and that he had committed suicide.
I’m shaken and saddened by this news. I didn’t even realize he was depressed.
He came […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: I got in an actual fight
Yesterday afternoon I was walking down Merivale Road, nursing a migraine, when the guy walking in front of me grabbed an election sign out of the grass and tossed it in the ditch. Moments later we were both standing at the intersection of Merivale and Baseline, and I said “You know, you’re not supposed to […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Meet the Folkers
So a while back The Ottawa Citizen asked if anyone was interested in blogging about any of the local music festivals for them, in exchange for festival passes. I applied to blog about the Folk Festival. I kept waiting and hoping, but I never heard back from them. By the time I realized they weren’t […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Saying goodbye
I went to Parliament Hill yesterday, to pay my last respects to Jack Layton. It was a very long, very slow line which stretched pretty much around the whole East Block. I’m glad I went, though I didn’t stay.
There was a man near me in the line who said it would be 10 p.m. before […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Goosebumps and tears
I’m heartbroken about Jack Layton’s death this morning.
We all knew it didn’t look good a month ago when he stepped down temporarily from his job so he could get treated for cancer. He looked so thin. ‘Gaunt’ was the word everybody used. And the alarming thing was he had become so gaunt so quickly […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Ottawa Police break sleeping man’s bones
Once again, there are more horrifying allegations of brutality lodged against members of the Ottawa Police Service.
A woman and her teenaged daughter found a man sleeping on the sidewalk early Saturday morning. She called 911, expecting the police would help the man. When they arrived, according to the woman, they shoved him around and […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Kathleen Petty
I listen to Kathleen Petty on the Ottawa Morning Show on CBC radio every morning. Just for a little while…from the time I wake up til the time I get up. Maybe half an hour or so.
The last time I remember feeling any kind of attachment to a radio personality was as a little […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: A whole bunch of stuff
The Baseline Cowboys raised $300 in empties and spare change for Christie Lake Kids on Wednesday! Rumour has it they’ve also volunteered to help out with Christie Lake’s cooking program. It seems everybody who meets the Baseline Cowboys has something to say about how likable they are.
Here’s a photo of them sitting in the […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Lost dogs: Baloo and Solo
I’ve been looking for Baloo, a half-groomed lost dog this week. He’s a rescue dog. The Rescue had him at the groomer’s to get his matts cut out. Poor little guy ran off from the groomer, just as a customer was opening the door. He scooted out the door and he’s been missing ever since. […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: The Cowboys and the Kids
The Baseline Cowboys were catapulted into the local celebrity spotlight over the past few weeks as bloggers blogged, reporters reported, and photographers photographed them. They’ve been in the Ottawa Citizen twice, on MajicFM radio (did I spell that right?), all over Facebook, and of course, on the couch on their front lawn, drinking beer and […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Standard operating procedure vs police brutality
I’ve been thinking more about the Roxanne Carr videos. About the way she was handled by the police in the cell block. The officers seemed so calm and methodical, as if they were just following proper procedure. They didn’t seem to be angry or out of control. Add to this the fact that the Acting […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Roxanne Carr cell block footage released
The videos of Roxanne Carr being checked into the Ottawa Police cell block are now public. You can see them here.
Roxanne Carr left the following comment on my blog, on the Bank Street Bully post, in December, 2008. I haven’t edited it at all, other than to add paragraph breaks for ease of reading.
My name […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: A fan of The Fan
We went to see The Fan in Strathcona Park last night. It’s Odyssey Theatre’s 25th anniversary production.
The Fan is a big fat rollicking farce with lots of big, over-the-top personalities, humour and movement. It’s about romance, rivalries and rumours in a tiny Italian village in the 18th century.
This was a terrific way to spend […]
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