Environ Mental #5 – Special CD Release Issue

Are you racing while others are lacing? Or was it the other way around? Hey! It’s snowing!!

You know that CD I have been on about, “Trying to Keep an Open Mind”? Well it’s done…What’s the connection between the CD and the weather? I was hoping to get it done for the Winter Solstice and celebrate it with the track “Standing Still Sun” but unplanned things happened. So, appropriately as I watch the snow falling and the temperature plunging for the second time this winter (sic) here in Toronto, it will be welcomed with the track “Wintertime” not to mention the rapidly approaching Groundhog Day. This Groundhog Day is particularly auspicious as it coincides with a full moon and you must hear “The Groundhog Day Slaughter”. A damning indictment of NAFTA, Global Warming, conspicuous greed, revenge, sex, conspiracy…sex? Have I got your attention?

I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you all to an official CD release party! You are welcome to join Marie and I at Fionn MacCools Pub at 21 St. Clair W. on Saturday, Jan. 27/07 after 1:30 PM. When this CD goes 'gold' then you will be invited to a party where everything is on the house, but this time bring your wallets. :-)

If you can't make it to the party, let me know if you would like to buy a copy and I'll send it to you. It costs $15.00: info@alter-eco.net

RSVP

As some of you know, I have been writing songs and poems on and off since puberty but was sparked by a comment from an old friend I hadn’t seen for decades who melted my heart when she told me that “Night Trains” was a favourite of her daughter’s. Soon after I heard that TVO (TV Ontario) was having a songwriting competition and decided to enter it. It was a ‘winner’ in the sense that I committed myself to putting together all my songs & poems and recording them with a cool, open source, recording software, Kristal Audio Engine, my trusty computer, Darthcricket productions (me - my alter ego), Marie’s patience and all the Angels that reside in “This Old Guitar”.

In the next few months I will be developing a website for the music but in the meantime I have an online publisher, Lulu.com, where you can hear all the samplesand enjoy them - hopefully enough to buy individual tracks or the whole album, 13 tracks (37 mins) as mp3’s. You can purchase it directly from me a personal copy for $15.00 playable in any CD player. If you think that you know someone who is interested, passing it on to them is very appreciated.

So I hope you are all waxing your skiis and sharpening your edges because it will go a long way to reducing the damage to the ozone and turn commuting into a healthy pursuit.

Cheers and all the best to you in 2007,

John aka Darthcricket

We went to our first corn roast, yes actually roast, last sat with the STOP people and had a wonderful time. Here is a link to some pics... (Thanks to Marie Van Schie for the pics.)

I love roasted corn (never roasted corn before) especially with the various butter sauces (fresh chives from the garden and basil ditto). Also I had one with a lime dipped in chili powder and rubbed on the corn - really nice East Indian style.

Today we walked over to Wychwood Park to see the Barn site and wondered down to the pond and took a few pics... (Thanks again to Marie Van Schie for the pics.)

Tomorrow we're going to make a pizza at their bake oven and Wed will be in the garden again.

Fri afternoon Marie and I got a call from the project manager, Amanda, for the community garden at STOP Community Food Centre and confirmed our volunteering for the community garden. Woohoo! We started the next day from 10 - noon. Arrived before Amanda, and met Herman who is given an honorarium to look after the garden and spends most of his days there working it and keeping an eye open for problems - people stealing or messing it up. He lives in a house across the lane and can watch it from there.

We got the tour from him and were told not to touch anything and told us why as some vegetables were young and some special Caribbean type stuff. Naturally he is very protective!

He is a real charmer after you work with him for a while. We took a break after an hour crawling around on our hands and knees under the tomato plants picking weeds. He had mixed up a beverage from the various mints in the garden and some gingerroot and asked us to try it. It was delicious! It was sweet but not too much and the ginger was predominant over the mint but not too much and there was a natural fizz but not too much nice body but not too much - it was just right. Had a full glass the next and chased it down with cold coffee. Amazingly perfect.

Had a great morning. We are going back Wed from 5:30 - 8pm. Marie is quite excited about the Green Barn Project, STOP is part of it with Foodshare, at the old Wychwood TTC Barns. We are keeping our ears to the rail on that one but in the meantime we are looking forward to working with the people at STOP.

So for the last 2 days, we have been putting up a small garden on the balcony, with green onions, peas and M wants to try some beets while there is still some growing season. We are making some room up by the windows to try to grow some things over the winter. Next year we plan to go crazy. M is inspired to do this having a small book called The Apartment Gardener.