life continues mysterious and beautiful,painful and confusing,and son and so on...i feel like some renegade radio dj talking to the spirits of the night,and the funny thing is,i really have no understanding whatsoever of why i am here doing this and that is totally ok by me....maybe most everything is ok by me.....and i get why that might not work for most of the population,the masses are to me,mad extremists completely intolerant of the certain and all consuming weakness of the outsider....it is a scary fucking world,tonight dividing south street atoms on my beautiful CCM and witnessing the violence,the increasing violence,i know i am an outsider,i know that something is severely wrong,i am afraid of what is to come,it is a blessing and a curse,a two edged sword,and so on and so on..............it is very hot,the humidity high.....bad economy? nahhhh.....i don't know,anyway,i am here,i will make these things from time to time,i am a man,i am happy and frightened and in love,i think too much but so what?
be well
be strong
be kind
be aware
be nice
try if you can
live like you are present
=jc=

hello,
this is just a simple short note to say thanks for being here,i am leaving this site but am not sure as of yet wether it is a permanent thing or not,i may be back in 2 weeks or 2 years or never again,it was fun while it lasted but now money being tight etc has created a number of changes in my life,i am in the beginning of a new relationship and feel my time would be better spent in reality than in virtual reality,take care of what is important
and be a great day
sincerely
jim chevalier
july 17,2010

yes,you read it correctly,yesterday i was able to acquire another beautiful bicycle,this one is a raleigh 3 speed in showroom condition,it is at least thirty years old and like i said in perfect condition!!!,the old fellow i bought it from was obviously quite anal retentive as everything he owned was immaculate,anyway it is a beauty and i am most pleased....bayfest is happening here this week,rush played last night and i think tonight is weezer,i won't be attending......the heat wave we have been enduring seems to have broke a bit,yay!!,i love summer but as in winter the extremes can be brutal....well that is about all for this session...time to do some cooking (fish,stir fry)
enjoy your saturday
peace
=jc=

i awoke as usual,enjoying my simple life over a cup of coffee,not a gourmet coffee,no,a humble serving of maxwell house because the price was right...yesterday because of the kindness of someone (ty D.A)i was able to obtain the mechanism to put my seat back on my bike and therefore ride it again,i am a poor man,i paid 30 dollars for me old rusting 3 speed last summer but i loved it and it served me well,getting me to groceries and anywhere else i needed to go in the city.i loved it and felt as if it was doing my health good as i rode it everyday...well someone stole it today,i had it chained to a pole out front of my apartment,i wish whoever stole it could understand how completely important it is to me as it is my only mode of transportation,i wish they could feel how my heart is sad and how discouraged my mind feels at the moment...i looked online and saw some bikes for as low as thirty bucks but to me that is a lot of money,it sets me back and to be honest that is the last thing i need right now,money is too tight to mention and believe i do not need much to live on.....so now i am stuck and everything becomes a bigger chore,thanks a lot you asshole
i guess you can say you changed my life..............................
=jc=

ever had the feeling that you aren't good enough? me2,over and over again and i know that in one area of life it is the real truth....still redemption is not that narrow and with the right kahunas and a will to live one may see that life is much much much more multidimensional,that is what artists help with,chance taking fuckups who busy themselves with frivolous activity that most can't understand and the rest fake attention about,yes the artist is so- so -so- so-------- important,without her/him everything would be nothing and nowhere,it is the artist who brings the spice to life,and the living who provide the life to spice,this place i speak of,without prejudice,without gender,without concern...............i guess i am wondering if anyone has ever lived a life without concern or blame simply because they were them...different...i am on wine and the smashing pumpkins are playing at the moment and yes, i may still be "a rat in the cage" and yet i maintain the ability to choose.........MORE TO COME.....
-jc-

listening to a fine writer is for me orgasmic,to hear any truth expressed eloquently is moving,at the moment i am listening to mary gauthier,a country poetess who i assume has really lived,at least enough to feel but more importantly to see,the song is called mercy now,on an album of the same name,yes we all could use a little mercy now...sometimes it is a difficult path we wrestle out of life and we can't even say why,still each of us is subject to all that the other has to deal with,"every single one of us",she sings,"could use a little mercy now...lately as a result of things i have written and said,people have been wondering what is going on with me,well so have i,all i can really say at this time is that i am trying to get through it,i know i don't always do that very well but still i assure you i am doing the very best that i can manage....much of what i feel at the moment is based on the mechanical,as in survival,as in financial,as in worry,as in stress....writing is one of my only safe vents,i find if i can say it on paper that it often acts like a release valve,in that i feel so lucky,and i feel so sad for people who cannot find a way to express themselves,i count my blessings of which i have more than i could possibly deserve,i am an optimist by nature,i know that lately i have most likely appeared quite the opposite in my communications,well i think i am over that hump,and am finding my route back to me,back to who i really am....i want to say a huge thankyou to those who love me,who believe in me,who give me that mercy i so desperatly need,it is good to be cared for,if i tested those boundaries i apologize,sometimes i guess i am looking for confirmation one way or the other,we all do need a little mercy
thanks again
you know who you are

=jc=

roll with the punches.....ain't no use in cryin',worry doesn't change a thing,and nothing is what it appears to be.... just three of lifes useless and overused cliches,still,rather handy in times of soulless selfishness...new songs help blow the blues away,old fears make certain they never stray too far....60% chance of thunderstorms makes for something to look forward to...wish i could sleep,that is the really hard part,i'm so tired,so exhausted feeling and it never seems to end,i don't really understand why i don't collapse
try to sleep again now
wish me luck
=jc=

first off yes it is fathers day,if yours is still around tell him you love him...
it's sunday,hot but breezy,i am in super lazy mode just chillin' and wondering what is to come,what will the future hold for me,sometimes it seems there are a million possibilities,not sure if i have shared this as of yet but come september i am going to be thrust in front of the camera playing the lead role in a movie,really,it is a strange thing for me to think about but i am truly looking forward to the experience,as more is revealed i will share it with you...........i think my tummy is starting to growl so i am going to see what grub i can whip up,have a great day
keep your feet on the ground
and a smile on your face
:)
=jc=

watched john lennons imagine yesterday,rode lots around on my bicycle today,going to do more of the same tomorrow.

had a chat with an old neighnour of mine,we never talked really as neighbours and i don't really know why as i find him an enjoyable person to converse with...

it's hot

ate a harveys burger for supper

red wine tonight is alright

was emailed a second draft of a script

enjoying the breeze

still smoking like a chimney

wondering lots about my purpose

a good friend is indeed priceless

hoping the pigeons can chill for a dawning

the breeze is becoming a wind

the wind it blows and blows and none of us knows

but the sound of the leaves in the trees

whisper and sing

=jc=

...................
''''''''''''''''>=================
/
:
if da shasta ate the pasta
so it is
if a fornher ate a corner
twice a day twice a day
if a blinkoo ate a wilterd
den dat bites
if ta tatoo lady wif ta quifer and the gravy
come along
come along
so here it is,the 231st day of glaften and all is as it is,how are you,not bad,how are you,im ok,hiow aoe te kk.....12 98 in twelve ninety eight i swam the milky way
now i swim the soda pop way
if your well your lucky
and so am i
blessings
=jc=

hello,i already created a post i called runaway brain but for some goofy reason i accidentally deleted it,so although i can't remember a single thing i wrote then ui will try again

if you see me on the street
with my heart on my sleeve
if you see me on the street
and my heart starts to bleed
remember it's only me
a singer of sad sad songs

if you see me looking down
with my face in a frown
if you see me looking down
i might be falling down
remember it's just me
a singer of sad sad songs

i just want you to know
i still love you though
in spite of what they may say
i just want you to see
i'm messed up with need
a singer of sad sad songs

if you hear that i'm sad
that i'm taking it bad
if you hear that i'm sad
lame,crippled,gone mad
but still i am me
a singer of sad sad songs

ok o i wrote a song this time and i like it at the moment,and i guess that is enough for now...

be well
be yourself

=jc=

i played for the lambton art gallery today,it was the student art awards ceremony,it was very easy as i was simply creating background guitar for the event...i also have some sad news,my long time friend Scott Feeney lost his mother who had fought alzheimers,such a nasty disease,how it robs and torures its victims and the ones who love them,you have my sympathies and thoughts at this time Scott....we had a very hot humid day until about 5 p.m. and then a cool air struck,and now looking outside a heavy fog...interesting weather...well that's about all for now,thanks for the visit
peace
=jc=

so a friend of mine was saying that BP has an 800 number for people to call in solutions to the worst ecological disaster in history and i commented that i had the answer...stuff the BP executives into the hole,and if that isn't enough pigs to do it just continue with every oil exec until we run out,then maybe the goverments of the world would be willing to donate themselves to serve the sheeple but sooner or later the whole would be plugged and the world a better place to live by their absence.....i want to see those that benefit from these bastardly corporations,the executives,their wives,children etc.,the governments who profit constantly from their corrupt backscratchings,i want to see them out there,laboring to clean up the mess they made,fuck BP,fuck Haliburton,fuck them all....they are the ones who again and again make the average citizens life harder,who create despair amongst the poor,who whore themselves off in a bed of blood with the bankers and politicians,they are the ones who profit,who kill the oceans,pollute the air,who steal from the poor,who benefit from war,they are the pigs demonic that make the struggle to survive in spite of their disgusting greed even more miserable,fuck all of you pigs,from britain to canada,from the usa to the middle east,and so on...you are the ones to blame for robbing the innocent yet to arrive,you are pigs,fat,greedy pigs who without the conscience of a devil destroy the hopeful idealisms that lead humanity forward to peace and equality of life,you are hatred and terrorism,you are distrust and fear,you are liars and thieves,murderers who dress their children in the blood,sweat and tears of the suffering,who fill their bellies with the heartache of Bopal,the legacy of chernobyl,the pain of the 911 widow and orphan,the scars of hiroshima,the desperations of iraq,and on and on and on....................
it will not end until punishment exceeds fines easily paid to appease as smokescreen the evil they perpetrate from generation to generation....
shame on you all,you pigs
you filthy,filthy pigs

fight the power

time for a pig roast

time for change,right obama??????

smile for the camera pig

the world doesn't need you

=jc=

mistakes...we all make 'em,enough said
happiness is great and often elusive
rest is nice when you can get it
ok now that i got the title subjects off my chest i can rant any old way i want to,and that is the joy of having ones own website,blog thingy.....i had this guy following me tonight in a car,i turned left,he turned left,i went into a parking lot,he went into a parking lot and on and on for about ten minutes,of course the usual paranoid fantasies ran through my tiny brain,but although i dismissed them all i couldn't help but wonder why this freak was on my tail,i mean maybe he loves me so much that he now has to watch my every move or maybe he is a hitman put on me from some long forgotten enemy,or maybe he is an agent from Big Brother sent to harass me into submission,fact is i have no idea why anyone in their right mind would want to follow such a boring man as myself,oh well,if i had been on the ball i would have got his license plate number but truthfully i did not,hope it doesn't happen again.....in other news,megalomania is on the rise and compassion low.....i was thinking how the planet is in peril and at the same time realizing that the earth will never ever die,it is humanity that is in peril because sooner or later if we continue with the abuse the world will simply rid itself of us,i like that,yes,a lot.....and i am positive that its next inhabitants will make the exact same mistakes as we have,just sayin'......now,if you are a regular reader of my journal(god forbid) then i am certain that you have wondered,"what's with this guy?",well the truth is i am in a state of transition which i myself don't understand,lol,no,really! if i know me i would say that any day or week or month i will be making an announcement in that regrd,so if you could just pit up with me and pray that it is a good thing,in fact if my destination is less than desirable i will blame you,lol,just kidding,still i really have no understanding of myself,i used to think that i did but now it is a whole new ball game without uniforms,get it?
well to be honest i don't but hey like i said i really do not know
bless the unkown
i think it is what keeps me mildly insane lol
in the meantime
enjoy yourself
peace

=jc=

i conclude that the only thing that matters in the slightest way in this life is perception,it rules and is without exception wrong,innacurate,uncaring,unthoughtful,and the only motivation for effort....facts are useless because they are subject to interpretation,humanity as a result approaches death in loneliness as it is the only way it can end,all things are not as they appear,all things as such are not true.....the existentialists i regret saying seem to be the only ones willing to expose our great despair,and i prefer that to this modern notion of problems and solutions,truth is that new car isn't going to make me happy,and besides all happiness ends in despair,it is simply the real way of things,not my plan at all and i have lived my life believing other wise or should i say other lies....henri rousseau(not 100% on the spelling oh his name) said there was no god and thus no hope,but he was intelligent enough to recognize that noth he and our society could not sustain itself that way,so he concluded that in spite of his disbelief he would "act" like he believed,i admire that in some ways and have found myself somewhat the same...reality is a fun word which no one wants or lives up to,so why care about it? to me it seems a much much much better thing to instead act in ways that make things easier,no one wants truth,no one wants reality,and i believe that is evident in every corner of life in this time without exception,it is ok to face it you know,it is ok to say fuck it,it is ok to give up or to keep trying as long as you think it might make things a little bit more comfortable for ones self,i believe that is all anybody ever does anyway,so why not go with it in a big way,all people do what they want to do anyway,think what they want to think,act like they think they should act soooooooo go for it! enjoy yourself in every way that you can and remember that the only wrong are those that tell you you shouldnt

and that is the truth
kind of,maybe
just sayin'

so be a great day i suppose
if you want to
=jc=
i dont feel like proofing this so ignore my usual typos

sometimes it seems as if i've seen too much in way too few,this mystery surprises even me sometimes and sometimes i am the author,and fiction and fact are irrelevant, not worthy of our time,we have seen what can be made of both we have seen and often we played blind......"what are you writing?",he asked and i said,"i dont know,never have,never will",and he blew my brains out with his eyes and danced a jig to see me die,he served me hot for sup that night,he licked his lips and down he bite,deep into the maze that was my soul...nothing is quite as it appears,ever,this crazy tapestry,we fragile fractals,this weave of perception and trickery is home to us all and the door is alaways locked and the key no where to be found....3:40 in the a.m.
heebie jeebie night
there is some alignment of jupiter and uranus at this time which hasn't happened since the seventies,and that explains it all....................

dont' worry
be happy
peace
=jc=

sunday,a bit cooler,a bit wetter in the morning early but by noon it was pretty nice weather all in all...met mike and jane stevens downtown,caught a bit of this and a bit of that and enjoyed it all...well done Artwalkers!
see you next year :)

=jc=

well it looks like i won't be doing the artwalk thing due to unforeseen circumstances,so i think i may just take my acoustic guitar and do a bit of old time busking in front of cheeky monkey record store,the owner said it was ok and it is a lovely day,so yes that is what i am going to do,soooo,if you are sitting at home thinking of what to do with your saturday,may i suggest a stroll through downtown where you will get to see some of the areas finest artists displaying their work....see you there i hope
be a great day
all day
peace
=jc=

A R T W A L K :)

thursday,one of my favorite days for various reasons,the biggest being i play poker on thursdays,but fact is i like the word,not sure why,i just do........went to bed at 5 this morning so i was lucky enough to get almost 3 hours sleep before the dastardly school buses came as they do on weekdays,lining up in front of my house with engines roaring until i am shaken from my bed...oh well....i suppose i will stop yawning sooner or later......................so this weekend in sarnia is artwalk weekend,saturday and sunday artists get to fill the downtown area with their efforts and once again show that there are some rather talented individuals in our fine community,this is the first year i am not performing officially,although i will be making music somewhere on saturday,so if your in the area for the festivities just keep your ears open for ambient sounds emanating from somewhere,most likely either the rooftop or sidewalk front of DNA recording studio on christina street...i secretly hope it is the rooftop so that the music just appears to be in the air,plus i always wanted to do the rooftop thing since the beatle movie,Let It Be...either way i look forward to it.....well i think i shall look into another cup of java,have a wonderful day
make it count
=jc=

out there,somewhere in that fog,surrounded like you and i by the hum and whirr of the modern age,somewhere clinging like dust to rust moments from disintegration,somewhere in this hospital hall and empty mall,somewhere along the walkway and the river,somewhere a baby cries,a lover lies,a father dies,and butterflies are not flying,out there is the real night,in here the real night,out there the underpaid and overworked,the overpaid and underworked,out there the dealer and his jive walk in shadows,talk in rhyme....everything is a mystery,everything mysterious,well no,i'm not delirious.are you serious? on and on like perpetual yoyo's,and still things change,morph,mutate,and they more they do,they don't,and yet the sail is set,no turning back it isn't easy,no,not like that,and so it goes,it's one thing after another,tumbling like jack after jill,and jill after jack down that hill,the los of all innocences,all conscience,all reason,all compassion...and now it is time to go
i lay down in the fog
and counting stars he could not see
voices whispered secrets in harmony
and on the verge of frightening
but madness finds a grace
in spite of time
in spite of space
i tried it once
i had a taste
enough to know
enough to see
but so much more
you must believe
and if i must be silent
and if i have to hide
then i shall be invisible
and on that horse i'll ride
2:08 a.m. tues.june 1
2010

=jc=

good morning ,it is 11:23 and after a very late night of debauchery i feel pretty good,it is another perfect day in sw ontario and as the caffeine kicks in and i transition to the land of the living i am actually developing an appetite,i love breakfast but i don't always partake....whitey and sam were over last night,something we hadn't done for awhile,it was fun,we had a few good laughs...today i have a couple of things i am thinking of doing,none involve physical labour :)
i may just spend the day making music,i don't know,lol,it is probably too soon for me to be here writing,the longer i am awake the more confused i am getting,lol,ok so maybe i will stop right here and return later to tell what i actually ended up doing today...k?
in the meantime
have and be a great day
=jc=

i remember asking jack young what being eighty is like and him saying."more and more like a dream",today was a dream,a beautiful,glorious dream...i took a ride downtown on my bicycle as is my way to start the day,had coffee and pancakes mmmmm,then went down to the walkway along the river,sat on a bench,found a stick,went back to downtown main street and bought some onions,then back on my bike to return home...worked on an instrumental piece for awhile and just generally really enjoyed the day,things just seem to be getting nicer all the time :)
hope your day was as nice as i was,hope you enjoyed it like i did,now here is to a pleasant evening

peace
=jc=

a beautiful hot day in south western ontario today,just the way i like it,sunshine and blue skies.....bought a new lock for my bicycle because i despise bike thieves,cooked a roast,and generally got last in a may daydream...yep if i could just get rid of say 4 fifths of the population things would be almost perfect lol,i say and watched four people screaming at each other in this heat and once again considered myself rather fortunate to be able to witness such a display of intelligence...now i think i am going to go the beer store
enjoy your day
peace?
=jc=

hello,it is 6:11 in the a.m..i've been up all night for no good reason,which might be the best reason to stay up all night anyway...
smile
=jc=

do you ever wonder what you don't know? lol,i know it is a strange question,most of us most of the time run shop based on what we think we know...but what if life were different from that,what if it wasn't about the obvious,i mean,it makes sense to me that it should be that way,look at science for instance,these days the discoveries are multitude and it seems that every time they learn something new that it also proves wrong some long standing notion believed to be solid truth....not knowing may be the only place a humble man like myself can be sure,yes,sure that i don't know all things....well,the more i have thought about this the more i have realized the same about people,can we ever really know another persons thoughts,i would say it is an obvious no,we are mysteries bouncing off of each other in hopes of more,i look at my friends and family and some who have passed away and often wondered to myself at times,do i really know anyone? i do believe it is possible i should say to really really know someone but that is wholly dependent on a number of conditions,the main one being a candid spirit,we have all heard about karma and reaping what we sow,the new radicals said it well when they sang,"you only get what you give",if i want to know another in other words,then i suppose i need to be an open book to them....that is not always easy,to be that naked,that vulnerable in my ways,it is scary and one risks all by doing so,yet i imagine the pay off is plenty worth it,i would like to be that kind of person,but at times when i have tried there have been those who have warned me about giving too much of myself away,,,hmmm,not sure about that because if i only get what i give then maybe i should throw all caution to the wind,take my chances etc........just some thoughts
on a friday night
in may
be well
take chances
love one another
=jc=

today was almost a perfect day,the sun shone beautifully,it was warm but not too hot,the water in the river looked a beautiful shifting blue and i was on my thirty dollar bicycle coasting the streets with ease...these days(of which there never seems to be enough) are a treasure,a boost to ones spirit,a lift to the psyche',and to think it is supposed to be even nicer tomorrow is almost too much to handle,will i be able to sleep at all tonight?...so tomorrow i will get up,shave,shower,grab a handfull of blue berries and a couple spoonfuls of hemp hearts and a cup of fresh coffee and hop on the bike for another fine adventure,i love it!!!!.....i watched a movie called "sex,drugs and rock n'roll",the story of Ian Dury and the Blockheads,i loved the film and highly recommend it to all and any rock fans,Ian was an original,a rebel simply because he knew what he didn't want,he struggled and had his moments of greatness and fame,i won't say anymore except give it a go......well i just did the laundry and now it is time to fold and hang...hope your day was as lovely as mine was....and tomorrow also
be a great day
=jc=

howdy.....so the last 48 hours or so i have been unsuccessfully fighting some kind of flu bug and it really sucks...had a super hard time last night getting any sleep and now it is raining which doesn't help the head at all,still i know this to will pass eventually but at the moment it would be nice to feel better.....maybe tomorrow
be well
=jc=

recently i had the pleasure of a visit by a visual artist i know,i was lending a very small hand to a project he was pursuing,at one point we talked about this compulsion towards creative endeavor and both of us agreed that it was not a choice,but instead something one just had to do...in fact at one point he looked at me and said,"i don't know how people who have no creative outlet survive",well,i think if i didn't i would have opted out of this sphere a long time ago...it doesn't mean that a person has to be an artiste',it may be that you find cooking a meal or decorating a wall in your home satisfying...anyway after thinking about that conversation for a couple of days,i believe the word passion can be inserted,so i might rephrase his statement and even replace the word creative with the word passion,yes i think that is it,creative people are usually in my own experience passionate people,and passionate people seem to be creative people,either way it is about having a sense of purpose....just a few thoughts about it all,certainly not the last word...............wow,my stomach just made the strangest noise,kind of machine like,lol,so maybe i will go find some midnight snack to appease the beast...until the next time
peace 2 u

=jc=

i feel really good right now,and that in spite of a week of rain,rain and more rain.....amazing........the day went ok,i worked on an instrumental piece,creating various parts,replacing some with other ideas,and then finally realizing it wasn't working out so i scrapped it.....no biggie.....it happens.....often even

but still i feel great

ya yes yea yah yeah

_________________________________________
playing................. .....................

boingggggg!
ok so i am silly.....like your not?????????????????????????????


found
a
bunch of old tapes
mostly my 80's band
the level heads
fun to listen 2


and besides that
welcome
:)
=jc=

again


robbed
what i had written was worthy of saving

but now it is gone

lost in this so called cyber space

a term created to appease the slaves another week or two



anyway,the stinking system ate my work....i am angrily eating walnuts

how can u sleeeepppppppppp???????????????????????

when i can hardly breathe?

i dont think it is possible for me to even begin to express my contempt for the internet

tempted by the fruit of another...great song,great 80's pop band called "SQUEEZE",check them out if you aren't hip to what they are about..............while you are at it,youtube "SEASICK STEVE"............................i think i'm done




hope u r ok
goodnight/morning















go to seep

=jc=

it is a miserable day,cool,raining non stop,a good day to occupy oneself with as much distraction as possible...a good day to crawl into a dark corner and lose consciousness,it is these kind of days when the brain is anxious to entertain itself without prejudice or discretion...where time is simply wasted as if it had no end,and the inspiration to elevate is non existent..........days like today are the backdrop to nowhere,a blank stare,a black map giving no direction,a lack of will,too weak to care.....the head aches,the body is tired,and others just intrude.....life is not welcome here,active participation completely frowned upon and even the mention of involvement is met with nausea......and still the rain pours.....thought is an irritation,i covet sedatives,enough to make me comfortably numb.....the phone ringing is enough to make me want to yell obscenities

today sucks
tomorrow more of the same
=jc=

this is now the 3rd attempt...............................the first two were sabotaged,.... 1 was magnificent...quite possibly the finest piece of writing ever to appear on the world wide web,full of insight and humour it was a work that sparkled deep....the 2nd equally a revelation and yet a completely different flavour,or rather a whole new recipe.......yes folks,we missed it,the visitation was short,sweet and very effective,but now it is simply, clean up time.......a dark cloud enters the room and i turn holding a decorative bar mirror with a hot portrait of elvis,an artifact i mined garbage night 06 and kudos to this neighbours good taste........................ok,so as i turned i saw the clock (5:03 in the a.m.)and with a shake and a shiver headed to bed
goodnightxo
=jc=

sitting half way between heaven and hell(a place i call home...earth),listening to alex jones on the web,now i have switched over to Coast to Coast,(the old art bell show),it just isn't the same since art retired...anyway it is still way more entertaining than the main street junk........anyway all of that is unimportant,so did i tell ya that i dropped my apple wireless mouse on the floor,the cement floor,and did i say that it busted? ok well this microsoft mouse is cool,but overly aggressive,it jumps wear i point it,i have been making some tracking adjustments to good effect....ever wish you wasn't you?...ME2...i feel like a lost boy most of the time,but i am basically a happy man,and i do feel fortunate to lead the life i lead....i just think i am probably a difficult person to accept because i live in an almost opposite fashion from most of the world,i wish i could get some kind of pension for being so dysfunctional,actually i wish someone would trust my musicality enough to allow me to have a house gig,you know?,where weekly i am allowed to do whatever i think is appropriate for that particular week,i love playing screaming blues rock guitar,i really do!,i love having a band like AF,that i can utilize as a vehicle for my songwriter side,but i have a lot of other works in various genres,and i would love to find a venue that i could express them in...ok clubowners,space owners,restaurant people,any space that would seem hospitable to an array of styles and medium...'nuff said,so talk to me..................in the meantime i continue to amass my work and get it to the web,and i am enjoying the process.......well i think it is time to tumble off to dreamland,i hope if you are asleep that you sleep deep,that you feel rested upon waking and that your dreams be sweet
goodnight :)
hmmm sleepppp


=jc=
p.s. tomorrow

over the years i have filled many a notebook with my writings,most of it is destined for the dump,lots of it has been lost or destroyed but a few are ok...well i have been taking some of the ok stuff and recording readings of the same...some will be accompanied by aural landscapes..i only have one thus far that i am pleased with,i am not yet sure how i will present them to the world,possibly on you tube but i am still considering all that.....it is saturday,so i hope to spend a good part of the day recording more of these works
besides that i am just drifting
peace
=jc=

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...........are often by surprise or design,i love creating change in myself at times,the last 3 years i have been creating electronic music and as of this past week have begun to unveil it to the world...the first project to be unveiled is called.. OS vs.1 ambient communications volume one...yes it is all ambient music,designed to create a feeling,it is called OS referring to operating systems...it is volume one as there are many more volumes to come,all of that material will be released through an experimental label called Amok Recordings,volume one is available through a free download at the Amok site.......here is the link to get there http://www.amokrecordings.com/ ,it is a fairly long download as there is over 2 hours in the first volume....anyway i hope you go there and download it and like it........heading to London town in the morning,so i should shut things down here and go beddy bye....thanks for being here as always
peace
=jc=

so silly that....what? you say?....oh i am referring to the concept of disapproval via ones peers...i mean,yes i admit that the language was quite strong (or weak,depending on your philosophy) watever that really means..........i was just in a bad mood thanks to no sleep and a deep desire to see certain folk (or should i say scum) eradicated from the face of the earth,not that i would want to play God....on the contrary,God forbid to be exact...but i definitely have a sick little mean streak when reminded of a certain stink....anyway,enough of that........i was playing around looking at various tutorials last night and it is absolutely amazing what a person can learn in an hour regarding the complex art of "hacking"...don't get me wrong,i know nothing of the such but still i found everything from how to hack an email password(which of course then gives you the exact same control and visible knowledge of all content therein as the owner) to even tracking someone by cellphone signal or generating addresses at home and work and even beyond as in an address the cell owner visits,in other words everything a cell phone owner does with identity included!!!!!!!!!!!.....isn't that sick?...................at this point in history all cells can record audio goings on,even when they are turned off !!!!...does that freak anyone else out? well it sure makes me think twice......1984? BIG BROTHER? Hmmmmmmmmmm.....wat da ya think................................................................................. at this point in history,on my old website....in poem...in chat.......in coments on facebook....in email inboxes ..........i have said enough to hang myself quite efficiently.......so? so what....
selah
=jc=

just to warn you,i am in a terrible frame of mind,i rarely get truly angry and usually am just a big mouth but today is real different,today i could be very bad,i guess this is my little warning to the world not to fuck with me,the kind of day that i wish i had some strong sedatives....why you ask?what has jim so fucking pissed off?.....well you snooping dirtbag,it isn't any of your business now is it?i think i am somehow hoping that if i vent enough it will all just go away,i was thinking of taking up voodoo just in case......or maybe just go for a drive to some far away spot where i can research the hows and whys of time....or maybe a good therapist(isn't that an oxymoron?) i will be heading out the door in a couple of minutes to greet the new day with its new challenges and its new assholes,kewl<<<<stupidity at its internet finest>>>i find myself getting more and more contemptuous of the web(web:a device of death)and increasingly notice that it seems to bring out the worst in people,and i suppose i am a case in point...people lol,oh well i could take great,great joy in continuing here and am certain that i could find the words to fill hours of wasted time but instead i will quit....yep just quit
now wasn't that easy
lol ya kiss it
=jc=


p.s. nothin'

it is monday morning and after a rather sleepless night i am sitting at the computer with coffee and cigarette and a head nobody wants....sometimes in this absolutely absurd life of mine i find myself frayed and rather loose ended,lol,well i think that's me today...you know?...i mean sometimes you make the effort but it just don't work,so you try again and it all goes wrong again...so maybe another angle and that don't work either,so you step back,take a long hard look and go at it again...but still no luck...but they say "if at first you don't succeed try and try again...hmmmmm....i think sometimes you just have to wait and hope for the best....i would rather do that than give up,i guess that makes me an optimist...but things in this life don't always bend the way you want or hope them to...
so it is monday,a new day,a new work week,a new hope....thanks for popping in
=jc=

let me start by saying that to those who visit regularly i am sorry for not being too attentive here...it has been quite a week....yesterday was terry titians funeral,followed by a large jam session at the legion,everyone i heard sounded great,i was asked to play but did the shy thing i do sometimes and simply disappeared after awhile...the day before i played during the visitation,an honour bestowed on me by terrys brother reg,thankyou reggie i will never forget that......also friday saw the release of my first electronic music on Amok recordings,the project is titled,OSvs.1.0:ambient communications,volume one...and it goes under the name Chevalier,the project is over two hours long and can be downloaded for free at the amok recordings site,i hope all enjoy it,it is called volume one because there is much more music to follow....it is raining hard here as in cats and dogs but at least it is warm,sleep evaded me but that is nothing too out of the ordinary.....also i got my new guitar yesterday,it is a midi ready fender stratocaster and i am very pleased,i can't wait to use it....well i am drinking my first cup of java and it is mmmmmm good...i will be working on recording edits most of the day,which i do enjoy,here is hoping your day is enjoyable as well...
be a great day
=jc=

it is with the greatest sadness that i bring this news,Terry Titian a fine musician and a wonderful man has passed away after a lenghty battle with cancer,my heart is hurting,terry came here from hamilton with his band "bootleg" in the late seventies,he stayed at my place and we quickly became friends for life...i always admired his guitar playing and enjoyed his smiling face,he was a favorite in venues throughout south western ontario and you would be very hard pressed to find anyone who would speak harshly of him........you are and will be missed terry,i love you dear friend,may you rest in peace
i am very very sad
=jc=

tomorrow is april 22nd and that means it is earth day,and we all know what that means but it also means i will be interviewed on 103.3 fm on the Playfair music show,with steve dumont and gary connors....so i wonder how it will go,what kind of questions i will endure and what songs i should play,new?old?...dont know but i am sure between steve and gary things will move along nicely....anyway that's all i am going to say today....so tune in,the show is on at ten in the am and hopefull will entertain you
thanks i will give a post game report afterword
peace and have a great earthday!
=jc=

i decided to pass on the song line thing at the beginning of these posts...too much work and the payoff just isn't there...it's a goodbye blue sky weekend here,a bit hard to take after some of the glorious teasing we have suffered with a few warm and sunny days,still the good weather is increasing and the promise is enough for now.......i have been writing again and am pleased with the direction it seems to be taking,i just noticed once again how i refer to the writing as an almost separate entity,and it often can feel that way....at the moment i am drinking copious amounts of coffee and trying desperately to find my way into full consciousness,lol....i am such a mess in the morning but i suppose if you have been following this madmans journal you already know that as a repeating theme.........today i hope to continue on mixing my electronic works,i have been neglecting them and that can be a good thing i have found as it provides enough distance for the ear to be able to give a fresh listen,and thereby fresh judgements on what should be what.....mmmm cofee what would i do without you?.....steve dumont telephoned me yesterday and i will be with him on the Eagle 103.3 FM for an interview on april 22nd,i will post more detail as the date approaches....other than that i am not playing anywhere this weekend so i plan to do as much nothing as is possible....kind of just taking care of business...lol...enjoy your saturday
cheers
=jc=

where are the hearts in the back seat of the cadillac,shiny and red....


suns shining,breeze a bit cool but still a rather lovely day....now i am tired though and need a nap....yes i do
so thats all for now
boring but maybe i will try a second part later........goodnight gooday
must sleep
=jc=

fascist architecture of my own design....


had a great weekend,the benefit on saturday night was fun and successful,ten thousand dollars were raised for the lewis family!....the band played well and i think i may have finally resolved an issue of my own reguarding musical gear...yes,without going into details,lets just call it,"getting what you really want at first saves frustration and money later"...uh huh,and yes i am getting a new guitar,and i am hoping it is the last,i really am a one guitar kind of guy,so heres hoping...ill let you all know when i get it by the way....man i am having a hard time getting to do my daily half hour on the treadmill but i am not giving up..................................well i am kind of grungy grubby so i think i will hop in the shower and clean up my act,hope all is well with you
smile
=jc=

aint it just like the night to play tricks when your trying to be so quiet....

rainy day...head all messed up with sinus crapulence.....but i like my new song and that is a great feeling,often when i write the songs end up in the trashcan,i like to first see if i can even remember it the next day and then if two or three days go by and i still enjoy the thing,well then i keep it...it just feels good to write a keeper,i have too many things i want to do yet,my electronic stuff,instrumentals,the basic electric stuff,an acoustic project is in the works and last but not least i would love to put together an electronic ensemble...of coure then there is the painting and poetry,interpretive dance,um a shot at acting and maybe even do a little producing of others...lol...not too much to squeeze into this already cluttered life is it......well at present i am gearing up for a gig at paddy flahertys this thursday with almost floating,floating is a strange band in many ways,5 dysfunctional people who are commited or should be,lol,but i love em all,its like these days i see bands where everyone kind of looks alike and dresses alike and yada yada but floating is,well,different lets say...doesnt make us any better or worse than anyone else...just different, i am thinking about opening this show with some acoustic stuff but haven't really decided yet,anyway i hope you all who are able come out,it is what it is and me thinks that is its own flavour,not perfect,not over the top,just a pretty good band doing some pretty good music....i know it is a real rarity for me to do that kind of horn blowing but it is what it is

peace to all
=jc=

i take a walk,the sun is shining out....

yesterday on facebook a friend of mine quoted the first couple of lines from one of my songs,"pleasant day",said he woke up with it in his head,thanks Ian,i cannot describe how cool that is for me because i wake up every single morning with a song looping away in my brain,i guess it is nice to know i get to be a plague on others every so often,lol,but seriously that was a thrill to hear.........well it truly was a gorgeous day today,and i was able to get some good tracks on some of my recording,i have decided to start advertising for a sponsor for some of the stuff in the vault that i would like to see hardcopied,by advertise i mean just what i wrote here,lol,so if you see this and want to talk business with me just drop me an email and i will be sure to get back to you quickly....after a couple of failed attempts mark hussey and i are setting up to do the second episode in our series of skype chats,and at the same time the Eagle 103.3 FM is trying to do the same,i look forward to both events and will be sure to announce them when everything is sealed....well i just poured myself a pint of lager and think i will spend some time chillaxin....hope your day was a good one
until the next time
be a great day
=jc=

smiling faces sometimes they don't tell truth....

indeed wise words,in fact i have found that some of the smiliest people are just covering up something much much darker,and i suppose that's the idea,funny isnt it how with some folks no matter how nice they are that you can get a bad vibe from,in fact the nicer they get the more the vibe can persist....just to let you know how i am thinking,picture a politician,pleasant,charming even,smiling,shaking hands,kissing babies,acting so consistently and yet underneath is a liar,a thief,and in many cases a cold blooded murderer who will even lie to send young men and women off to die for his own gain...strange but true none the less,it reminds me kind of of hamlet,"the lady doth protest too much",it can often be that the extra effort is only a cover up...so why am i writing about this? lol....well lets just say i have had my own experience with phonies who for the longest time i thought were sincere only to find out what viscious selfish narcisists they were...but that was when i was young and naive'...im not so young now and definitely not as naive......anyway thats the lesson for the day lol
be real
peace
=jc=

just sittin' and thinkin' and wishin' and hopin'<yes that is a reference to a pop song<name that tune

i was thinking i would try and start each entry with a lyric like that and a challenge to not only name the tune but the artist also...
well i am a gluttonous swine once again and so full of good food it is ridiculous,kurt and lauren are here from toronto,thus a feast was in order,i didn't even have desert (home made apple pie),of course it is possible i may have a late night snack...good friday is a strange day,just is....and this particular good friday remains consistent,unexplained and consistent
i am playing this coming thursday and saturday with almost floating,thursday is paddy flahertys and saturday a benefit at the polish hall for the lewis family which i will write more about as it draws near...............i think i will vegetate here for the rest of the evening,maybe play a bit of poker...i'm not much good for anything else lol
anyway,hope your day has been splendid,certainly the weather alone made it so!
until the next time
peace
=jc=

morning world,with your bang bang here and your grinding there and here a bomb there a wall everywhere a war...old macdonald had a world he-i-he-i-ohhhhhh
long weekend coming,easter,christians will be celebrating the sacrificial death and resurrection of jesus of nazareth....since i placed that last dot,i have sat here staring at the screen,should i write about jesus?the bible?and i decided nahhhh,too much for my little brain and besides i am way lost on drawing conclusions one way or another,i used to believe but now i haven't the foggiest so lets just set that aside for now.....it looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day here,more like july than april first,but i'm not complaining....i have really been considering giving up on songwriting,i just don't seem to be able to put the pen to paper,i have lots of ideas that go nowhere,well nowhere significant and i dont want to settle for mediocrity...on the other hand i am pouring out instrumentals and really enjoying them,i think in part because i grow tired of opinion,lol,my own included,what is that saying? opinions are like assholes,every body has one?...lol...not quite what the world needs now but the hits just keep on comin'.....what hasn't been said?...and does it matter anyway?.....have i given up on humanity? well i don't know,maybe,maybe not.... there are those who i am certain just think i am depressed but i dont know,don't think so but i guess it is possible...but i don't feel like i am,lol...personally i think i am either on the verge of some kind of breakthrough let's say or about to tell it like it is,like it really is....just got to be sure when i do and if i do...do i sound confused? scattered? unsure? lol,if i do i understand but think it is not so simple as that,life is life,full of curves and turns,peaks and valleys,giggles and tears,joy and disappointment,and so much more,not everything can be classified or categorized,or so easily understood and often it is just misunderstood....some will tell you they are certain of this or that but there is no certainty,no singular defining truth for everything all of the time,although i admit that i am not the final authority on anything,other than my perspective....sometimes i think doubt and uncertainty is the only real faith,sometimes i don't,lol,what a way to wake up huh?lol,well i need much more coffee and yes i know it is full of poison,i just don't know why some feel it is their duty to keep reminding me of such wonderful news,ok well with that i shall say to you,have a nice day,it should be a lovely one,and mind your own business if at all possible :)
thanks for the visit
be a great day
=jc=

so yes its friday night and i am boring...lol..at least when i am gigging it gets me out of the house...oh well,traditionally march has been a slow month for me,this is no exception...i suppose i could work on some unfinished music i have waiting in the vault,but i just don't feel like it,and i suppose life can't always be an exciting adventure...computing is fine but you can only check the news on facebook so many times before it gets old...there is always youtube and i most likely will end up there before the night is through...it is the kind of night when it would be great to have a friend drop in but i suppose as it is friday they are all doing something wonderful...probably together...without me,lol ok no pity party here,lol.......anyhow this isn't going anywhere so rather than bore you the reader any longer i think i will just quit this right now
of to youtube lol
thanks for visiting
=jc=

lovely day...lots of good sunshine....feels so so gooood :)

unfortunately the day had a dark side,a dear friend of mine who i have known forever lost a son,can anything be worse? the father terry titian(a fine guitarist and singer) and the mother brenda mayer(also a fine singer)lost their son chad titian,chad had created electronic music and his parents were very proud of him...tonight their hearts are breaking with a terrible sorrow...myself and everyone in almost floating are thinking of them tonight,praying for them....that they will be strong in spite of weakness and not let this tragic event destroy them as people...certainly chad would not have wanted that...for a parent to lose a child is misery,and somehow never seems appropriate,the parent is to go first and the child to carry on....brenda,terry,you are in all of our thoughts and prayers this night
much much love
=jc=

i am not a fan of guns and roses,but i awoke with the end vocal of "sweet child of mine",strange....i have been very sick,cold thing,sleeping in the day,up all night...probably going to sit up all night tonight,i feel like im not in sync with my own life,lol,sounds crazy i know,maybe i am...i see a lot of heads nodding out there,i suppose that is to be expected,it is just part of the price of doing things sideways as i am prone to do...are you a misfit? well,i am to,it has its good side as well as bad,and it at the very least has been an interesting ride thus far,besides it is like the bruce cockburn song i have found myself making frequent reference to,you know the one? "the trouble with normal is it always gets worse"...so at least i get to avoid that!lol...i almost wrote a song yesterday,yep i came close but at the last minute i put the pen down and decided not to,i do that these days and i am not really sure why,sometimes i wonder if i am finished writing,who knows and time will tell.....some periods in a persons life are smooth and easy,things just happen and fall into place perfectly,this is another kind of time in mine,one that is full of big unanswered questions but at least i have questions....normally in a period like this i would be anticipating a wave of inspiration to sweep me somewhere else,but this time i don't know,this time may be taking me someplace i haven't been,hmmmm,i wonder...i suppose that i will know sooner or later,in the meantime i will try and keep my eyes and ears open and my heart soft,i say that about my heart because i can get angry at times with things in this crazy world but deep down i know anger is not the answer,at least not for me....
where do we go now
lol
good question
may you find your way
peace to you
=jc=

p.s. happy birthday ron pickard!

so it is saint patricks day.....the bars will be loaded with professionals and amateurs soaking themselves in lager and food coloring and wearing green and talking about being one eighth irish on their mothers side etc...to me it is basically john coopers birthday ( a dear friend),you see i am closer to john than i am to irish culture,not that i mind anyone celebrating anything so long as i am not expected to join in...yesterday was our own mark potvins birthday and by the looks of the well wishing on his facebook page he may have had a good one,lol,i just never made it here to say so yesterday,hope it was mark :) ......i saw whitey briefly today and he showed me the scar on the palm of his hand (ouch) but he says it is healing so we are all keeping our fingers crossed for him,it is march break here and though i can't be sure i think that sam is skiing with her family in michigan,but really i am just guessing because i can't get a hold of her and they have gone the previous two or three years.....i had not looked at my guestbook page here for a few days and was pleasantly surprised to see new names,some are from some very talented musicians i am lucky enough to know,people like mike stevens,glen teeple and carrie graham,i know mike and carrie are on you tube and i say check 'em out,they are great! glen was in a band i loved called Elim Hall,he now owns and operates a recording studio called the music room...it is wonderful to read the comments and a real encouragement to me,thanks everyone who took the time to sign............today was absolutely gorgeous,the sun shone and a warm breeze helped soothe away winters cold,even noticed some buds on the trees! woohoo!! i love it....we may have some winter visiting yet but it seems the worst is most likely over....thanks for dropping in,don't drink too much and don't be a stranger
much peace
=jc=

friday night,not playing this weekend...supposed to be doing another episode with mark hussey this weekend,should be fun and i will make sure to post it......yesterday was gorgeous,the sun was shining and it was warm,too warm for march but not for me....i had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with jess pedlar,jess is the editor in chief of a magazine called "Fix",it covers arts and entertainment in the area and does it very well,the mag looks great and is a good read...anyway jess is going to be doing a conversation with me,i say conversation because i find most interviews kind of stiff,this will be on video and eventually posted on the Fix website...jess recently took a short hiatus from producing the mag but is gearing up to resume the work...once again i will let all know when the video is ready and up on the Fix site...just found out we are going to be part of a fund raising event for the annual sarnia Artwalk,it will be in april and when i hear the actual official lineup of bands i will post it....almost floatings bass player (craig "whitey" gillings) has been diagnosed with carpal tunnel in both hands,he has had an operation on one but i haven't yet talked with him to see how it went,craig is a really great bass player and i know it has been literally painful for him at times,hopefully after both hands have been operated on he will be as good as new....well that is about it for now,i sure am enjoying this weather,oh yes don't forget to set your clocks this weekend,spring forward,fall back! lol
anyway thanks for the visit
peace
=jc=

just another gorgeous march day in lovely southwestern ontario...what? lol,this weather is just such a treat,and i dig the way people get a bit happier(self included),this is what i have ached for...sunshine!!!!,now having said that,i press the button on my mouse that gives me a 5 day forecast of the weather...oh oh,it looks like it's going to rain on wednesday(tomorrow),in fact it's either raining or cloudy for the rest of the week.......but on the brightside it looks fairly mild...i don't know what to say.........but i didn't see earthquakes,or hurricanes,or tsunamis forecast at all,no monsoons or cloverfield monsters and that's a good thing,i like good things..........
i'm tired
time for bed
it was nice hearing the birdsong today
spring is near and dear to me
smile at strangers it's good for you
and them and me
=jc=

.....tonight,a girl i know asked if it was the beginning of the end...not to me in particular,but to anyone with an opinion or feeling etc....there was something so profoundly sad in this that i was arrested immediately and felt the need to take some time to think about it,digest it,feel it out.....if i were to play the hip zen mentor i could say,"it has always been the beginning of the end!",well,i didn't,although i could definitely riff a lecture on that one...no...and i do not want to avoid this very poignant cry....i have for quite awhile now,"felt something",so what does that mean...that i am searching for something?,that i am a troubled individual?.....no...that isn't it...when R.E.M. released "it's the end of the world as we know it(and i feel fine),i spent a lot of mindtime considering the truth of the phrase,dylan said the times were changing.....but something different again is what i think i am feeling...maybe...i have friends,people i love,who tell me that it is nothing,maybe they are right.....maybe...i don't know....some are sure,sometimes i envy them...but i know they are only humans like me,and that all things dogmatic are largely a matter of faith....do you feel it? so then,what is it? you can comment if you want,i do want to hear what people(you)are thinking,i hope you are thinking...
today was march seven,the sun was shining,warming my soul,giving me hope,spring is near,life is good.........it is supposed to be a sunny day tomorrow,enjoy it,make it yours,in the nicest way
be kind
=jc=

i did the synth guitar thing with dave miner at the tree house last night,it was a first friday event in downtown sarnia and was well attended,there were people making music throughout the area and i think the sunshine got people in the mood for an evening stroll...local rockers van scott did a cd release at the industry and i was going to go but ran into car problems and couldn't get to where my ticket was...ended up popping into the trinity lounge,empty spaces was happening so we hung out there until closing basically,walked home at a good clip and proceeded to sit chatting and sipping with dave and andy(orourke) until about 4 or so,finally falling asleep on the sofa....all in all it was fun and i even think we made some cool music....hope you had fun with your friday
today looks just as sunny as yesterday! drinking coffee,waking up,next event is getting the gear out of the tree house sometime in the next hour or so
enjoy your day
=jc=

trying to drink more water is hard.....i was on facebook last night and everyone including myself was excited about canada winning the gold in hockey and extremely dissapointed in regards to the closing show,people were using terms like embarrassment,i didn't watch the show but after hearing how horrible everyone thought it was i am glad...anyway,the thing that hit me was why wasn't Stomping Tom Connors there? well i decided to try and find out and discovered that in fact his agent made an effort to book tom but he was rejected by the powers that be,what???!!!!!! how could they,is there any other figure who has spent a lifetime singing our countries praises more than tom?? he has written about hockey(more than once)and our people and places and even has a song written about the olympics,he even went as far as revamping the lyrics to include vancouver!!!! what the hell is wrong with these people? Nickleback? Hedley???? can you imagine what would have taken place if he had sang the "Good Old Hockey Game"?? the place would have exploded and the sound of all those voices would have been heard for miles....personally i feel like apologizing to the man.he is getting older and will not be around forever and anyone in this country can understand what the honour would have meant to him,i guess we wanted to appear hip and young...well instead we appeared mediocre and that after a display of greatness!!! i picture some dink sitting in his plush office feeling like he is in touch because he hired nickleback,well spare me please,was the opera singer necessary?
i make no apologies if i have offended anyone who happens to be a fan of any of these less than unique acts,but Tom,i am sincerely sorry you were not included
maybe next time
i hope
=jc=

growing up in canada,i heard so many times lines like,"if america gets a cold we sneeze",thus,living in the shadow of the greatest superpower the world has yet known creates a built in humility.Canadians have the reputation of being polite and nice,that is the thing i am most proud of,today we won the gold medal in ice hockey,it felt like the entire country was tuned in watching and i must admit a swelling of my own national pride as our anthem was played in the arena,it was a terrific game,and i am not just saying that because we won,i felt bad for the american team who fought so valiantly...and there it is,it was a great game because it was evident that every player on both sides played their hearts out,and yes we are "nice",we even chanted "USA,USA!"when the silver medal was being given to them...lets not lose that,lets continue to have a humility about our position and a joy over our victories but like the plaque that used to hang on my parents kitchen wall said..."it's nice to be important,but it's more important to be nice"
congrats to all the athletes
congrats to canada!
=jc=

this february night is not to be trusted,there are winds,currents,that introduce impostors and thieves,now mind you,i have had my share (i hope) of demons,but one can never be certain of having it all sorted out...strange the way i talk isn't it,but that's part of it....people seem so ready to be outlandish with words these days,i have noticed on facebook how en'vogue profanity has become,great words that have at times been the perfect punctuation,words that actually had high potency value are now being diluted by mundane and unthoughtful overuse....there is absolutely no stopping it from happening,of that i am quite sure....the free speech movement fought intellectually to gain status,that is all being undone at present....now that children rule the planet and practice every adult ritual except responsibility,there is a null and void effect at work,looking for meaningful rite of passage the point is missed,the rite points to something greater......plus,it is all simply juvenile,in other words,silly......i sometimes wonder if google is creating a world full of know it alls,who really know little...recently someone close to me was reading some D.H.Lawrence,they were amazed at his eloquence...it is difficult to believe in a new lawrence these days,yet i know i am wrong...but this i do know
children should never be in control
just whippin' the dragon
word
=jc=

well the snow fell,the wind blew and i was totally surprised that anyone ventured out into that cold february night,in fact on the way there i imagined the club calling it a night by ten and sending us home,but instead the best people on the planet showed up and with their applause and words of encouragement,inspired the band to play well,all in all it was an excellent night,i only played my strat last night,i think it was because of watching jeff beck on you tube earlier in the week,jeff is my all time favorite rock guitarist,actually it is a toss up between him and jimi hendrix,i can only imagine what hendrix could have come up with,but beck has not been stagnant,or content to rest on past glories,he continues to push the envelope and in my opinion he still leads the pack,are there faster players? oh yes,but i am talking about a depth of musicality and mastery over his instrument that is exceptional,anyway i did miss the synth,it is nice to be a flute or vibes or some other non guitar voice once in awhile,still rawkin' the strat was cool......
so all in all a fun time was had
all for now
stay warm
be happy
=jc=

just getting ready to leave for set up/sound check at paddy flahertys,really in the mood to play(rarity),feel like improvising tonight....its an early start for us,the band takes the stage at 9,thus an early end,so come on out,looking forward to a fun thursday night!
if anyone wants to film tonight and post it anywhere,i am good with that,in fact i encourage it
i will be sure to give a post perfomance report after the show,so see ya later alligator
=jc=

snow......shudder....snow......to all you dorks who think it is just a grand thing when we get a few centimeters of the crap,to you i would like to say that you are obviously mad as a pack of rabid dogs who desperately need to be "put down".....snow! everybody was all goonie about getting some sunshine the last couple of days,but i knew,i knew that the very slight bit of mild weather meant trouble,and now look at what happened!! i would rather it be cold with no snow than get a bit of sunshine,not enough to make it warm enough to have a picnic in my shorts,no,just enough to be a cruel reminder of what is missing....snow...u can have it

listening to stevie wonder at the moment,the Innervisions album,so very very good,if your not familiar with the album,i highly recommend it,i think stevie plays every instrument on it which makes it simply amazing! what a talent!


if your in the sarnia area i want to turn you on to a new radio station,it is the eagle 103.3 FM,it has been playing a lot of local artists and i really love that,not just because i am one of them but because it is the kind of encouragement that is needed in a thriving arts/music scene like ours here in lambton county,one of the programs is on wednesday at ten a.m. i believe,it is hosted by steve dumont,steve is a local musician and friend who is interviewing musicians each week,it is a great hour so check it out...gary connors another local musician and long time lambton radio personality is the day dj and a funny guy,if i have a criticism it is that i would want to hear less country and a greater diversity of genre...still it is a beginning and one i hope is supported as i think it could grow and become a powerful presence in our area

well it is time to go play some poker online
cheers
my friend ms.B assures me that the days are in fact getting longer and that it won't be long until we are all strolling the sunny sidewalks in our favorite warm weather wear.... yesssss
keep on
keepin' on
and just be a great day anyway

=jc=

what a super duper laid back mellow day i have had,i know some may frown at the idea of a man celebrating the fact that he accomplished nothing but to me it is a victory!!! everytime in this old utilitarian slave driving world i find myself with the opportunity to just be and go unnoticed it is wonderful,i am amazed at the number of people who feel the exact opposite,who feel if they are not doing,they are in turn not being,but i guess it is just another part of our unique scenario as individuals........tomorrow may be a different story,dave miner is coming over to do some electrical work and i will be his helper,as i am quite incompetent in most areas to do with the mechanics of most things,but i can hold a flashlight where it needs to be held or make a fresh pot of coffee etc.....plus i want to create a history page here so that those unfamiliar with me can have a better perspective should they visit....i kind of feel like watching a movie now,the question is which movie??? oh i am sure i will figure it out,in the meantime,until the next time
peace to all
=jc=

so...you would not believe,even if i told you,where exactly i am right this second...so,why bother.....a friend and fellow musician,Glenn Kennedy is wrapping up his production "vampire heart",tonight and i hope he did well,he wrote,performed in the lead role and no doubt did whole lot more to make it happen,way to go glenn and the rest of the production,i would have loved to been there but had previous commitments,family etc..........i had a surge of something tonight after midnight and began to clean the war room,in case you are not familiar,the "war roon",is my corner of the underworld,where i commune with the unseen and dance amongst the fog of distracting overtones,it is the "war room",because the battles are fought there,anyway all that bit aside...i cleaned,i am still cleaning,by the time i am finished it will appear to most like a crappy old corner of the basement...but to me,to me it will be new and fresh and ready for the next installment....................speaking of installments,the next "almost floating gig is this coming thursday at Paddy Flahertys from 8 until 11,there is some new material,and besides,if you are listening,you know it is never the same...anyway,come out and help us get there,a band is only as good as its audience,and you guys are usually great :)
ok so enough of that...in other news..i ate for about 5 hours today,my appetite is insane,i am getting fatter than i want to be!...lol,but it is true....so time to try again...man i hate trying.....it is 2:22 on the clock,i am mellow but not so yellow,i am currently listening to a piece called Etherium ,i am sipping some scotch in my robe,and wondering,this piece creates that wonder,who are you? where are you? who am i writing to....i hope to have some exciting news to share shortly,not huge,but cool to me......so it is late...i think i will do some more sorting,cleaning stuff,tanks for dropping in
sweet dreams
=jc=

how many times have you done it? i know i have more times than i remember...i recall standing with my old friend paul woods(infamously known as pye dubois after he had just stepped into such a moment,he said."i only take my foot out long enough to fit the other one in"....know the feeling?of course you do,we all do!....most of us apologize,or just slink away hoping no one caught our moment...in case you haven't figured it out,i am talking about,saying the wrong thing at the wrong time,or in the wrong place,or in the wrong way etc.,that is what those who are socially conscious and conscientious do in most cases.....but...then there are those,who take no thought for your frailty,who seem not to place much value on your judgements and experience,who seem to be certain,yes,certain!sure!resolute!confident!positive!blah blah blah...that they know! without doubt,that they have the answer,nay,they have every answer to everyone...hmmm,maybe they do,how would i know? i only know that i don't...i do know that if i were to try and truly share my thoughts that they would be misunderstood,either by way of my inability,or by the dogma they embrace,or by the knowledge they believe is it,and so on and so on...be it atheist or believer,empirical science or politics,hyper dimensional physicist or mathematician,the evening news or old fashioned rumor,teacher or student,sinner or saint.....as my mom used to say.opinions are like assholes,everybody has one....i love to dialog freely,absolutely love opening two minds to riffing,comping,stomping,yada yada,collaberation is a groove,but as soon as you tell me that you have special knowledge,or understanding,or information that i must hear,i'm gone......i am a simpleton,just one more lonely traveller on this painful and pleasant road to some hinted at destination where the streets have no name...i know nothing,well,i know what we all know,and that's enough for me,no strings attached other than the ones from my heart to the many loves of my life who i long to see again,but,that doesn't mean i will,i just don't know,either do you,any of you....someone once wrote that,"faith is the substance of things not seen,the evidence of things hoped for",the longer i meditate on such a grand declaration,the more i agree...
but that,is just one mans opinion...... :)
be a great day
=jc=

it is 8:33 a.m.,i have been up for two and a half hours...what is with that???......oh well if i am awake i might as well use it,so i have been working on a couple of instrumental pieces,i find i enjoy working on more than one piece at a time,if i hit a wall or get bored or tone deaf i can always switch gears and move over to the other.....i love working on electronic music because it is wide open,the only rules are what works...today i hope to begin to build the visuals,my main reason for wanting to do so is so that i can post some of my musical works on youtube etc.,the particular piece i am doing today will be accompanied byi mages of hands,my hands of course,unless anyone wants to volunteer their hands,lol...last night i got into watching video of a friend who passed away a few years ago,his name is Gene Eugene,he was a wonderful talent and i miss his presence,fortunately others who feel as i do also had video footage of gene making music,talking etc.,when i was in southern california i stayed with gene for a bit at his home in Pomona,even went through an earthquake together,one of the coolest things for me was that gene was friends with Moe Howard,a lovely man according to gene and i enjoyed looking through his scrapbook at home photos,in case your wondering,Moe was the Moe of the 3 stooges,cool huh?...gene was often on the TV show Bewitched,i guess the fact that there are video tributes to the man speaks volumes,he is missed indeed................well my tummy is growling so i suppose i should think about calming the beast,so what shall it be? a bowl of cereal? toast and eggs? or maybe i will take a stroll downtown and treat myself to someone elses cooking....anyhow it seems to be getting louder so i will go now.....hope your day is happy and well
peace
=jc=

first of all,i apologize for the many errors in my journal,typos basically,it seems i have no way in my journal to fix my mistakes once committed to page,weird,anyway please be understanding...thank you...the soundtrack to this page,it's music i conceived and created and performed(along with the crucial help and input of my bandmates),how or why is that somehow worth less?than say a snowboard run?....i need that explained to me...now sports guys relax,i am not challenging your manhood...although i wish you would stop all the butt patting...(joking)...a very very important partner/leader/organizer of the arts and its community here is our beloved Lawrence House,the Lawrence house is a local center for the arts and artists,it is open wide to the public and offers a wide variety of programs and events to display local work and thrill local audiences,even inspire....the lawrence house(hereafter referred to as the LH) is in real need,as a result of our struggling economy?,they have lost some major support from the corporate sector,they need support,and i jimbob chev think it is just as or arguably more important than the olympics,why?...well...let me try and explain,kids in every corner of this country play sports,it is everywhere,it is fun,kids have tons of energy,not to mention the thrill of competition,or the immediate social rewards(see jack and dianne),sooooo,.....so,kids already get a lot,an awful lot of sports,in the playground,at school etc..........are there programs available for kids in the arts? yes for sure,but i dont see any concert halls being constructed for kids,at least not in my community....so you remember the first time you ever saw any kind of theatrical production in a theater? do you remember the feeling of awe you had as the lights dimmed? i do.....i think that is just as important as the thrill of victory....or...the agony of defeat
i got more to say but i'm tired of the argument,tired of seeing it clearly,and of being backburnered by the squeakier wheel
i hope you all understand me,this is not an anti thing,it is a consideration of value,and it is an observation...on our values
so much more to say
and would i like to set a new record?
LOL
......absolutely!!
love your neighbour
=jc=

P.S.
please think about the LH,it really needs our support right now,thanks......your the est! :)

last night after an Almost Floating rehearsal,i sat sipping a drink and talking with a friend,the olympics came up and i was asked for my opinion,i found myself getting a bit angry and saying i could care less about the olympics....maybe that wasn't 100 per cent the truth but i was reacting emotionally and that based on a very real consideration...i am a musician,an artist,i have spent my whole adult life in music,trying,striving,practicing to create something meaningful and memorable...i have friends throughout this country who have spent decades doing the same,what has been achieved in the way of recognition is the result of hard work and perserverance...this is not an anti athletic statement,i do not want to be misunderstood...in my community there are many sites,arenas,parks,etc dedicated to sports in this community,i think thats a nice thing...i think it is great that a child can grow up with the dream of becoming an olympian,i think that it is all good,i know that our government has poured millions and millions of dollars in my lifetime into sponsoring these dreams,i think that is ok also...but<<<<<here we go,but i dont see even a bronze effort made towards supporting the arts....sports are a good thing,fun and all that but music,painting,poetry,dance,sculpture etc.,doesnt seem to be considered to be quite as important...and yet the research is amazing when it comes to the effects of the arts on the minds of children for instance,we know that music develops the mind in the area of mathematics,i dont know about curling or any of the events in the same turns,i am willing to concede benefit outside of the obviou,no problem,i just want to know why the arts are not given the same supportif you think you know,if you think you have the answer,share it with me,please,i am at the point where i geel like saying piss off to the whole big buck sports arena,music for instance has been bringing millions of dollars in tax revenue to this country for decades,i guess it wasn't enough,cynical?.......Yep!
=jc=

sometimes there just isn't a thing to write,well that really isn't true but the words arent right,you know what i mean? you know how that feels? you want to say it all,but that is probably too real....so you stare at the screen like some hypnotized fool,you type a letter here but it just don't do,the trick isn't working,just can't find your way,to that secret vault,the one where writers play...looking for inspiration,looking for the path,but nothing is nothing,i guess ill go have a bath,then just as you logout,theres a line in your head,and should i turn around or maybe slip off to bed.....this place is as real as the concrete and steel,but how to get there,that's some other deal...i know he said,i know what to do,i'll write what i can't,and pretend my way through....maybe it's broken and not just a cramp,maybe i'm empty and so the bulb needs a lamp,i've been here before this season so dry,i sat for days wondering just why,how is it that one day i seem to flow,and the very next hour,well,i just don't know,how is it each time,i am certain its done,only to find i have just begun,so here is this thing,i bought it for you,couldn't find what i wanted,this will have to do
roses are red
violets are blue
its all i got
so i give it to you
xo
=jc=

last night i accompanied a friend who sang "somewhere over the rainbow",we did it without any rehearsal and i really didnt know the song,but we got through it and i personally had fun....the singer is a local performance artist whi i happen to think is brilliant,her name is becky dawn burroughs,becky also set up a kissing booth for free kisses,it was safe though as a sheet of plastic wrap hung between the kissers,and this all took place at a writers reading event organized by melissa upfold,a fine poet herself....when mel welcomed the room she made a comment about "creating our own history",i really like that idea...at the moment in sarnia there is a lot of history being created...artists seem to be coming out of the woodwork,painters,poets,performers...an art explosion in my opinion,something that can only happen when artists decide to get active,remain in the community and not be seduced by the false promises of the big city bright lights syndrome,which has more to do with distraction it seems...i say that because the most prolific people i know are right here in sarnia,it has always been popular to bash ones hometown but i see how that changes for people over the years also......you see there really is "no place like home"
peace
=jc=

after a couple of nights of insomniacal torture i went to bed very early,shortly after 8 in the evening my head hit the pillow and shortly after i was out....sometime later i began to feel off and finally got up about 2:30,been sitting here ever since,winter is not my time of the year,of that i am certain....as soon as the present storm began to move towards us,i began to feel crappy,i have an ultra sensitive sinus head thing that is very disruptive,lol,i hate getting sick,well,not that any of us really like it......so now it is 4:36 in the a.m. and i am feeling sick to my stomach...man...this never happens to me in the summer,well it did last summer because it rained so much,but normally no...i suppose this wasn't my most pleasant entry but it's all part of it....hope to have a more uplifting report before long...in the meantime i think i'll go find a darkened,quiet room and close my eyes
yours in sickness and health
=jc=

it is 4:34 in the a.m. and here i am,wide awake,a disease i inherited,my mother suffered severely,my dad no,he was rather conservative that way,in bed most nights by 2,mom and i left in her words,"to wander the floors like some damned fool",and now they echo in my head,words are like that,bouncing in the basement for years like some superball void of gravity,then one special day they do the big bounce upstairs and slap your consciousness with no remorse,echos,you got them,i most certainly have them,sometimes they make me laugh,sometimes its different......tonight i am simply crazy,without rhyme or reason,a hungry dog 14 miles from home...it is very hard sometimes,living such an off life,outside it seems,always outside,i see some,especially the young,i see them and my heart aches,how will they work it out? will they survive? will i? lol,no but,i do see them,the outsiders,i know i am one of them,lol,ironic,the outsiders club,i heard lennon singing today,"watching the wheels",yep,so eloquent,i just love to watch them roll,mom used to say she didnt want to miss anything,what might you miss at 4 in the morning? well,maybe yourself....the middle of the night is oddly confrontational,those echoes you know?
love yourself
=jc=

i slept through superbowl this year and was not dissapointed at all...watched the who doing halftime on youtube,not sure what to think,but then again i usually feel this way.every year the largest production budget in the world spotlights some performer(s),and every year i find myself thinking,"that's it?,that is the best they could do?",on top of that i could care less about the game,nothing against football in particular,and i am sure if i were there it would be a spectacle to behold,but the fever is just a bit out of line to me....given my less than ideal experience in high school,it seems the game does not nurture the best of characters,given the fact that i looked a bit different from the rest of the population i found the glorious team had more than it's share of bullies,now in 2010 my home backs on to a high school field,i sometimes sit on the back deck watching them practice,maybe it is the constant yelling on the behalf of coaches trying to squeeze the best out of the players or maybe it's just a lousy upbringing,whatever it is i don't care,so if you enjoyed your superbowl,good for you,me? i had a nice nap :)
peace
=jc=

last night i played at the tree house with dave miner,dave is an interesting fellow who along with his son adam own DNA recording studio,we decided to do an electronic thing with two midi guitars and it was a riot,only bummer about last night was that i didn't have the time to run around and catch the other musical events for "first friday",i was able to run down the street and caught "crow jane" at blackwater cafe',they sounded good and my friend christine story brought the essential flavour needed for their particular band of bluegrassy music...the tree house is a great little spot and mo and jo the owners are a treat.....afterwords we went over to DNA and had some fun sitting aroound the table makin'music.....all in all a great first friday
that's it for now,just wanted to make sure i got this down
later
peace
=jc=

i awoke today with a killer migraine,stumbled out of bed and walked right into the wall,ouch,stumbled downstairs to the coffee pot,struggled to pour a cup.stumbled further on down to the war room,man,i never even used to get headaches,now it is insane,rare but when i get one of these i am useless,i get this neon picket fence effect super imposed over everything,i can't read,can't drive,and all i want to do is sit in a darkened room until it passes,today that happened just before two in the afternoon,i awoke at 5....but it finally did end as usual and as usual it felt so so good not to feel bad.....talked with ann sterling(director of the lawrence house)on the phone,she is worried regarding funding for the loho,seems they have lost some major support over the past year,it would be such a loss where it to fail,they have a diversity of programs that serve the community at affordable prices and in turn enrich its residents in a myriad of ways,comedian john wing is at the imperial theater thismonth as a fund raiser for the house,too many in our arts community depend on the network it provides,we can't let it slide,so if you are out and about in sarnia and happen to see a lawrence house event,check it out,attend,support.it is too important not to..........this coming friday is what is called here,"first friday",every first friday of every month the arts community in conjunction with the downtown business community,opens its doors,has musicians playing,artists displaying and hust a host of neat stuff to experience,and as always the lawrence house is part of it,always fun and interesting,first friday has really grown,this one includes,dave miner and myself at the tree house,a cool new eatery in town,cat cabajar will be doing her painting thing and dave and i will be providing audio atmosperics,so drop in say hi and enjoy the festivities
in the meantime smile
be a great day
=jc=

as the first specks of sleep fall from my eyes and consciousness unveils itself scattering like fog in a breeze there emerges an echo in my head,this morning it was unusual in that it toggled between two very distinct atmospheres,one was Poker face by lady gaga and the other being Within you without you,just a line from each but ping ponging between the two is a very odd way to begin any day,it seems each morning has its loop and i cannot help but wonder what that is all about...are these my brain faves it entertains itself with,am i catching my mind offguard? another thing i have noticed is that often they are songs i can't stand,lol.....by the way i feel like i have to say something about our lady gaga,i think she can sing,seeing her on the(yechhh)grammies with sir elton john made me go do a bit of googling,what do i know about this phenom? well i am not going to turn this into a wikipedia site for ms.gaga but i must say i am impressed,in a nutshell she has paid some dues and i for one like her voice,her pitch that night was far superior to a lot of the other voices i heard,i am not in love with her videos but then again im not 18,maybe in fact it is a kind of mellowness that comes as we age but i was much harsher on madonna than i find myself being with gaga,of course that could all change tomorrow,lol,but for now as for me,learning a wee bit more tolerance ain't such a bad thing :)
love yourself and try not to hate others
=jc=

ok so we did the first session for the podcast and it just hit me that i don't know if it has a name,anyway i am assuming that tonights show was kind of a test run,although it did seem to go really well,mark hussey is the host,moderator,cool guy,etc.,he is a thoughtful person with a good mind,in my humble opinion he is perfect for this,also my dear friend ojo taylor has agreed to be part of the forum,ojo is a fine musician,and teaches at some university in virginia,sorry i can't recall which one at the moment but i believe it is in harrisburg,sooner i will get the details down and i hope in time to include at the very least a link here to the podcast........so that is what my saturday was about basically,at the moment i am enjoying a beer and listening to ambient master,"diatonis",this technology is so cool,it opens up so many doors creatively,well,like the podcast tonight,i am in the war room,mark is somewhere i am not exactly sure,we hook up on skype and wham,we have contact,lol,people are recording albums without ever being in the same room!! i think it is great,maybe the music "business",is suffering somewhat in terms of what sales once were,but i think it is a good thing that they don't have the same monopoly that they once had.....the playing field has not evened yet it has simply become more affordable for the little guy,i am constantly being impressed by the work of people who only have their creativity and a computer or a digital camera,not only that but entertainment options for those interested has really expanded,now it isn't weather there is anything to occupy my time,it is,do i have enough time to watch and listen to all that i would like?....
and i am glad
=jc=

lazy cold saturday,end of january,we are getting there...tonight i am involved in an online forum,which at this point i know nothing about,i believe it will be in podcast form and when i find out the details i will make it known here......funnt but although i have not been performing in january,i still have my fingers in a couple of pies,it is nice to be busy,not too busy but productive,actually when i think about it,it is more like 4 or 5 pies,mmmmm pie.....it is 5:13 p.m. and i usually don't write at this time but methinks my schedule is all screwy as i have been waking and sleeping at odd intervals,but that's ok, hibernation need not be regimented,anyhew i just wanted to share the forum news and will be back later with more info
peace
=jc=

well i contacted support and they sent me an email saying that my problem was solved and all things on the site are running just fine.....that is a good thing......i just finished working on a very complex piece,there is tons to do yet but it is on track,i usually don't write complexity but this was one of those happy accidents i stumbled across while i was working on something else....some pieces lead you and like a good labourer you simply follow,others you lead,you are the director,i am not sure if i have a preference,but hey that's rock'n roll......Gary Connors sent me a message requesting an interview on his radio show today,i want to do it but i want to think about what i want to do first for a bit....happy birthday j.p....i have often thought of hosting a radio show,a very alternative kind of thing with stuff you will most likely never hear otherwise,a talk show would be fun...i think my biggest obstacle is that i have a lot of ideas,lol,really,i can't keep up,too much work and i am a pretty lazy guy,a million ideas,not enough time or energy to get there,oh well,lol,stuff will get done,created,finished etc....
just rambling
keep smiling
be a great day
=jc=

ok so my dear friend mike stevens told me he couldn't leave a comment,dang,so i wrote my host and told them and am now awaiting a reply,sooooooo,if you have tried but not been allowed do not worry,i am sure this inconvenience can be made right,i love reading your comments,it is why i do this,so don't give up and i will definitely make a huge announcement when this bump in the road is fixed....i saw on ebay that pete seeger is putting his banjo head up for auction in order to help haiti,what an amazing man he is,spent his whole life preaching peace and love,he is in his nineties now and although in the video i watched regarding the auction(youtube)he mentions that his memory is failing,he maintains that sweet spirit that has taken him across the globe,so if you want to give me 5,0000 dollars i will buy it and everything will be good,lol.....my friend tilda watson(not her real name)told me the winter is on the wane and that the light is now getting stronger,although i am not a fan of the season it has been much easier to get through than last years snow drenched assault,and for me that is a real good thing,i mean heck folks we is half way through it!!
in other news..........i read that Avatar is the all time box office smash,busting all other records to date,how is it that some just can do no wrong? and others meanwhile can do no right? i mean,Avatar is what it is and that's cool but i would not call it the substance film of the decade,ahhh forget it,i just realized that it smashing all previous records probably means i am a voice crying in the wilderness,kind of like me golfing against tiger woods......lol ok maybe not the best analogy,but after a couple of glasses of red wine the best i could do
and with that i say,until the next time
peace,and lots of it
=jc=

so tonight,well technically speaking it was last night(two hours ago)i decided i would find out what i could about the amount of giving in regards to the haiti disaster,130 mill from usa,130 mill from canada,various large amounts from other countries,of course the stars are getting their tax breaks,then there are the hundreds of millions of heartfelt donations from the masses,you and i,haiti is a small place,about the size of maryland,around ten million people total,and desperately in need........now lets flash back quickly to an incident in america,hurricane katrina,hundreds of millions of dollars where raised,most once again coming from you and me,and what happened? well,according to what i have been able to find out,not really a whole lot when one considers the huge amounts collected.....my heart is with the haitian people in their time of great need,i do not in any way begrudge them the help,no,not at all,i just would like to be able to find a way to make those responsible for the allocations of funds so that they may end up where most needed,i don't trust the authorities,remember,a fortune was spent on Blackwater mercenaries to guard the streets of new orleans.......not the best way in my opinion,now i see everyone has a telethon,a disc,a gig,a fund....the question is,do those in charge have a conscience? i know of nothing more prone to turn the heads of human beings than money
here's hoping this time is different
much peace
=jc=

"hey kid rock'n'roll,rock on!"...by the way,the reason i am doing the part 2 thing is because there seems to be a limitation on the length i can use here,just so you know...ever hear of Pinkie Lee? he was kids TV personality in the late forties or early fifties i think,i stumbled across some footage on one of my favorite sites(Boing Boing,check it out),my dad used to get the musicians rag put out by the american federation of musicians,there would always be these ads in the classified section at the back of the paper advertising this book called "Mic Bits by Pinkie Lee",that is where i knew the name from,i always wanted to have a look at the book,after watching the clip of his television show i can only imagine how goofy and corny the stuff was,by the way mic bits refers to the banter a musician makes between songs,or maybe an emcee would use at a function,i wonder how many of those books where sold,and to who?that ad ran for a lot of years........i'm hungry,thinking maybe an omelet,garden variety,with cheese and toast and orange juice,mmmm,ok i got to go eat....now lol
be a great day
=jc=

It's 9 degrees celsius,i like.....sunday,slow and easy,drinking coffee,read the Times and BBC,maybe even listen to some CBC,check out a couple of mixes,or maybe even create a wee bit,i have too many ideas sometimes,sometimes i get out of bed earlier than my body is ready for because some idea is knocking at my brain(it likes to play),sometimes that knock is very persistent,as it was this morning,i went to bed about 3 a.m.,the brain said it is time to have fun about 7:30 a.m.,that has been happening a sick amount lately,i mean i love to compose but a nice long sleep would be welcome also,lol...spent some time this morning looking at shortwave radios,i have a thing for radio and radios in general,but it has to have an analog dial to tune in with,digital stuff sucks that way,when it is the middle of the night and your pulling in stations by micro increments you need the subtle touch of a thumb,and your head has to be tilted just right also,anyway,i love radio,shortwave is the coolest,sometimes you can tune in the most radical people,some revolutionary somewhere calling for soldiers in the fight against whatever,or maybe an airplane,or some mysterious transmission that sounds like something you are not meant to hear,i think i want a crank also,don't want to worry about batteries,but at this point i am just shopping around......
i need to lose some weight,i dragged the treadmill upstairs as i kept banging my poor old bald noggin on the beams in the basement,hope i get into it,time will tell...i got Rock On stuck in my head,you know,david essex,basically kind of a one hit wonder..go to part2

i just watched a video on facebook that my friend Matt Walsh put up of his old band Ten Seconds Over Tokyo,great video and i really enjoyed seeing them again,great band but unfortunately they were one more victim of the "biz",anyway all that aside it lead me over to Tom Beatons page,Tom was the guitar player for TSOT and now has a band called the Antennaes ,they shared the stage with us on december 19th and it was good,but why i am writing this is,Toms mother passed away,such a heavy loss,mothers are indeed special and my heart,and mind is with the Beatons in this sad time,i might be back later but i wanted to share this withyou,Tom is a member in good standing of the local music community and a good guy,if you know him and happen to see him,be kind
=jc=

monday night i felt just the slightest bit bumpy in my tummy,still nothing to get excited about....fast forward to 2:22 in the a.m. of tuesday morning and i thought the cramps were going to kill me,so for the last almost 48 hours i have had zero appetite and essentially slept most of the hours away,given the achy body,hurting head and less than ideal stomach i figure i have the flu,the question is,"will i survive!!"....well,yes me thinks,at this very early thursday morn i would say yes,i shall endure,but whoah! what a ride it has been! LOL,i can laugh about it now because i am starting to feel it lessening but it really was touch and go for awhile....speaking of the flu,i ran into a woman last week who told me she had thought she was going to die with it,she said she had the H1N1 flu,she also shared that she had the vaccine,both vaccines!...i only know one thing,but that one thing i know for certain,SOMEONE MADE AN ENORMOUS CHUNK OF CASH,and so it goes....i am not publicly performing at the moment and as it turns out,that is a very good thing....nothing like singing your guts out when your seasick....still February is a busier month,there are at the least a couple of things brewing but i do not as yet have all the details,i will make sure to post them here when i can.....sick is weirdland isn't it? i have been sleeping all evening,woke up about 10:30,now what am i going to do? lol,well to be honest i know exactly what i am going to do,i am going to pick up the pen and see what awaits me....adversity is a teacher,and sometimes an inspiration......and i am a hypocrite,no one whines more than i when the fan gets hit...if you catch my drift
well,drop back tomorrow,you never know what tomorrow brings.....tomorrow
be well
=jc=

what a lazy weekend! and i love it....barely got out of my robe all weekend,i find i am content to do a lot of nothing lately,i think it is just one more piece in my how to survive a canadian winter guide,hmmmm,maybe that's the book i should write,i am sure survivalists have already written such a book but i would think they approach it from the outside,but what about ones sanity??.....lol that is what interests me,of course i could beat myself up for being so selfish but nahhh!
in other news,there just isn't much to report,i have been creating music and had a rather good day today doing so,one piece in particular reminds me of a 60's soundtrack thingy,almost a "peanuts" theme feel at times,not quite finished but shows promise.....artist and friend Skot M posted a video of me today on facebook playing at the Lawrence House,it skips and people are talking very loud and i have a look on my face that i know well,lol,hope he removes it,lol
anywhere,that's about all for this lazy lazy sunday in january,thanks for being here
we will talk soon
peace
=jc=

i was able to acquire a temporary copy of mike stevens and matt andersens disc,it is called,"piggyback" and was recorded with scott merritt at the console doing the engineering,anyway i just wanted to use this sopace to say what a great disc it is,these two work well together and put out a whole lot of music for just the two of them.i am not going to give it all away by detailing the albums songs,suffice it to say that it is well worth the trip to "cheeky monkey" or whatever your local disc shop is called and if they don;t have it,get them to order it,you will be glad you did

well done matt and mike :)

=jc=

like the rest of us i have been watching the coverage of the earthquake aftermath in haiti,such devastation,it seems we(the planet)are being hit with major disasters on a regular basis...the logistics,the cost,the manpower is enormous,it occurred to me that if there were not billions being poured into the killing war machine that we would be able to do more to help when these crisis hit,but there are tens of thousands of soldiers in iraq and afghanistan,therefore they can't be in haiti,plus the vast fortune being spent on bullets,bombs etc. to destroy means that we have less to spend on helping others in need.....well,i guess that is who we really are,i mean we can say what we want but we all know that talk is cheap,fact is we would rather kill than save,our politicians are corrupt and in the pocket of big business which is also corrupt,we the sheeple are simply the oil in the machine,we make it all possible through taxes and our subservient position,forgive me but it really pisses me off,i am at a point in my life where i realize that nothing is going to change,in fact it is my feeling that if anything we are entering a more legislated,controlled period of history,we are on the losing end,we the slaves are just fodder for the machine which does not care at all about any of us,this is what wealth does to people when they become isolated from the real world,it is a seduction.a robbery of all that truly makes us....ok catch this because i meant it...makes us "good"<<<simple little word,big meaning,goodness,remember?
ever wonder why it doesn't seem to matter who is elected to lead us? the answer is rather simple.....think about it
=jc=

the world is white
i rarely get out of my robe at this time of year unless it is absolutely necessary....winter to me is something i put up with,i have met those who get all excited about it being bone chilling cold,strange creatures most likely from the pit of hell,yes,i have a dark side and it most often surfaces in winter but as my friend tilda reminds me,the days are now getting longer,the nights shorter and the devils season is on the wane....on the other hand it is probably my most productive period,today for instance i composed a piece and did some work on two others...it's all about survival,so rather than climb some tower with a slingshot in hand i opt for making music,it is how i roll,how i survive,how i hold my head up,it is my purpose....this journal helps,i think it is all about not being too idle,not allowing the brain to bully me into madness(see the shining),i don't like the cold...at all,i never have,i never will,i used to ski,and that did help,the best part was returning to the warmth of my hotel room and sipping a drink by the fire.......so you see,i have found my way.....stay warm,stay occupied,stay in :) lol,ok it isn't that bad but i just can't wait for spring!!!!!
be a great winter
keep smiling
=jc=

sunday...mellow....yes it looks pretty outside but not that pretty,lol,it still has to be shovelled,but yesterday i got a cool surprise,my friend jim tayler came buy with his truck and plow and in three runs up and down the driveway it was done! we made jokes about homer in the snow king episode,thanks jim.......today i may not leave the house at all,it is almost 1 in the afternoon and i am still in my robe,i don't think i have any need to venture outside into our lovely canadian winter,i think i will do some cooking,how's a curry sound?i love a good curry and i aint bad if i do say so myself...helps clear the sinuses,lol.....by the way thanks all for signing my guestbook and the sweet comments make it all worth the effort,i am still learning and hope to continue to add nifty items to this site,lately i am fairly busy tweeking an electronic project i have been working on for the past year or so,when the time comes i will let you know the details....so now me thinks i shall head to the galley and begin preparing my curry,maybe drop in later,i'll let you know how the food goes.....so be a great day,visit often and enjoy your life
peace
=jc=

ok so as you can see with a quick look,i have two spots in regards to Lhasa passing away,this was a screw up,i actually kept losing them or so i thought and did a total of five Lhasa articles.....sooooo i am still learning,but the good news is i am learning fast,i guess that is what mistakes are for,anyhow just wanted to clarify my error....more to come later
yup
=jc=

a few years ago i was at marks house(potvin) and he turned me on to an artist by the name of Lhasa de Sela,i immediately became a fan of this gifted performer,full of flavour and yet familiar,if you dont know her work i encourage you to give her a listen....Lhasa passed away on the first of january after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.both mark and sam(pickard) saw Lhasa perform at the Montreal jazz festival and were blown away,i never got to see her live but have enjoyed her via youtube...all i can say is Lhasa you brought something beautiful to this world,your creative spark will be missed
rest in peace
you are remembered
=jc=

if you had ever heard Lhasa de Sela you knew you were listening to a very special and unique artist,it is with great sadness that i create this tribute,she passed away on the first of january after a lengthy battle with breast cancer...the first time i was introduced to her music was at Mark Potvins house one night a few years ago,i was immediately touched by this exotic and yet familiar flavour,i immediately became a fan,her voice emoted and though the lyric was not in english,i found that hardly mattered,both Mark and Sam got to see her perform at the montreal jazz festival,Sam told me it was fantastic and Marks review was no less enthusiastic,i never got to see her perform live but am fortunate enough to enjoy her on youtube,in an age of clonelike singers who are more interested in celebrity than making quality original music Lhasa was a stand out,it is a shame we had to lose her,that we didn't get to see this creative power evolve even more than she already had,no household name,i am assuming that most everyone who reads this will be unfamiliar with her work,i encourage you to discover this treasure,Lhasa de Sela,a true artist,an inspiration to me,your music will live on
rest in peace
you are remembered
=jc=

no response,i leaned back in my chair,still holding her hand,the nurse said,"she eats well","two nights ago,she sang all night long","really?",i responded,wow,....wow,the nurse couldn't tell me what songs my mother was singing but that didn't matter to me,....i sat and stared at my mom for a couple of minutes,kissed her and reiterated my love for her,got up from my chair and left
i feel there is something to celebrate
cheers!
=jc=

I went to see my mom today,i haven't visited her in months,i think about her all the time,but getting myself to visit this awesome woman can be very difficult,every night as i lay in bed i think of her there and my heart aches,i say a silent but heartfelt prayer for her well being,that she neither be afraid or suffer pain,this terrible disease that came and robbed her mind also robbed me and the whole chevalier family,mom hasn't known me in years,she doesn't respond,her eyes are closed,her head down,chin to chest,24/7,day in day out....so it was out the door and of to Petrolia where my mom is,it was the best that could be done at the time,there was nothing available here,as it has turned out,it is a good place,the nurses are kind and she is visibly well taken care of...as usual when i arrive i have to spend extra time getting the door codes and asking where margaret chevalier might be found,today i was told she is in the dining room having lunch...i stood at the entrance to the dining room,looking across a sea of white hair and wheelchairs,no one seems to take any notice of my presence and i begin to slowly walk through,hoping to see her beautiful face,finally a nurse asks if i am looking for someone,"margaret chevalier",i say and she says,"oh yes,margaret! margaret you have a vistor!",she wheels my mother around and gestures towards an empty chair,i thank the nurse and take the seat facing this giant,this icon of my life,this most sacred of all treasures to me.....at first there is the natural attempt to communicate,i reach out,touch her arm and take her sweet hand,i gently stroke her hair and whisper in her ear,"i love you mom,it's me jim,i love you"

you may have noticed that i refer to the last installment as the 3rd and you may have wondered why,well that is because i somehow lost the 2nd installment in cyberspace...sigh
so that's why m'kay?
=jc=

do you create? if you do,and it really doesn't matter what it is you create,but if you have been doing it for years as i have,then you know what a "dry spell" is,i have had many,lol,and despite the fact that i can laugh about it,they are not a lot of fun and can actually be rather troubling,the first couple of times it happened to me i almost panicked,wondering if i would ever be able to write again,but in time you realize that the well needs to refill sometimes,so after my initial dryspells i relaxed and knew the process was in its refilling stage,that is until this last one...yesterday for the first time in a year i wrote,nothing earthshaking but man! it sure felt good,is it the end of the drought? well,i really don't know but at least it gives me hope that there may just be a song or two left to write...so at 11:19 on a very cold canadian sunday,that's where this cowboys head is at,only time will tell wether or not there is more to come,either way this will most likely be the place i vent about it all...in fact that is the best part of keeping a journal,it is a venting post for my head....and yes there are many considerations to write about in the creative journey but hey,i am only on my second cup of coffee :)
later alligators
=jc=

So yes,this is my new website and thus,this is my new journal,I hope to write here daily,this is just kind of a test entry right now,as the site is still under construction but coming together quickly,sooooo,drop in often and hopefully i will have something entertaining to write
Peace
=jc=