Red Cedar

You know how sometimes you just get stuck on a song? Well – today I’m stuck on Thom Yorke’s Analyse – from his new album The Eraser. The whole album is pretty great, but that song keeps getting me back, I’m not exactly sure why…. very Radiohead though, and in that way somewhat soothing.

I am attending a self-care workshop this weekend and each participant has been asked to bring two pieces of music that have particular resonance for us – I’m not sure to what end – but it’s been an interesting question for me which two pieces to pick since I have been innundated by music my whole life, and over time have had many songs important to me.

In the end I have decided to go with Facades by Phillip Glass and Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead which both manifest in my body in a similar way when I listen to them – a rather freeing and exploratory thing. Not joyous, but existing in a space that makes me very calm and grateful. Interesting that both Glass and Radiohead are considered minimalists in their respective genres – as though the sparseness in melody opens up a space easy to step into and inhabit if only for a few minutes at a time. Other music is much more “crowding” in some respects and seem to “envelope” rather than free up space.

One of the recurring themes in my thinking about music lately has been the role of dissonance in minimalist music, and the myth of “harmony” in civilized society (primitive and tribal societies often create music rich in dissonance, something I think is really important in the context of organic rather than mechanized growth). I know – sounds kinda pretentious – but it’s not… and perhaps I will get around to writing about it here sometime.

Mostly I’ve just been thinking that I would like to get back to making music with other people – and soon I’ll be in a new town to do just that. Nice.

I found out this afternoon that I have a workspace waiting for me at the institute where I was hoping to work just outside of Victoria – which is the last major hurdle to working on the island, and one I was holding my breath over a little bit. The Information Management Director was good to his word, and has managed to get me co-located with his people over there – which means now it’s just the details that need to get worked out.

I bought him a decent bottle of red wine as a thank-you which seemed appropriate given how important this favour is to me (he was nicely surprised by that – bureaucrats don’t often buy each other thank-you gifts).

Because I don’t have much to say this afternoon beyond the fact I am feeling pretty damned good at the moment, I leave you with this strange picture my dad sent to me yesterday, drawn by a friend of his of a DFO boat he used to work on back in the sixties (the Comox Post). You will note the details in this photo, specifically the cutting knife attached to the front of the boat (used to kill basking sharks) and an actual likeness of a shark about to be cut. My co-workers thought this was quite good – definitely a weird fisheries thing.

This is my cousin who was shot on the weekend – the article is from the Albany-Herald in Oregon. It’s just another unfortunate occurrence in the lives of my extended family – with medical bills that no one can afford to pay.

Funds set up for woman’s medical care

Albany attorney Dustan Johnson has set up two bank accounts for donations to help with his daughter Cara Johnson’s medical care. Cara, 20, is in critical condition at a Eugene hospital after a gunshot incident over the weekend.

The two accounts are at US Bank and Key Bank. Anyone can deposit money at any branch of these banks by mentioning Cara’s name.

Cara is in the intensive care unit at Sacred Heart Medical Center, recovering from a rifle wound early Saturday morning. It occurred in a residence west of Eugene, according to the Lane County Sheriff’s office.

Johnson said Cara was showing some signs of improvement this morning.

Sheriff’s officials said it likely was an accidental shooting, but the investigation continues.

Democrat-Herald