Who Knew Belgium Could be So Surreal?

Of course, like everyone, we've seen The Dark Knight, and, again like everyone, will see it at least twice, but in the meantime anyone who feels like simply renting a DVD and watching it lying on the sofa with the windows wide open to the evening air might do worse then checking out In Bruges, the debut feature of Tony-awarding winner playwright Martin McDonagh, with Brendan Gleason, Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrell, oh my.

(Image: tripadvisor.)

Drizzle...

..the forecast for today. Drizzle, aka mizzle, aka a very fine rain. How low it brings the sky! Right down to the tops of the blades of grass, it seems. Pretty sparky word for something that is, for all intents and purposes, small suspended water droplets. Let's distract ourselves by imagining the culinary usage of drizzle: he drizzled the butter over the asparagus, she drizzled the oil over the warm spinach salad, they drizzled the melted chocolate over the caramel-walnut cheesecake bars.

(Image: fooddiary.)

Metamorphosis

If you, like me, have been waiting for the spam worms to metamorphose before you would or could sit on a blanket in the back yard, quote working unquote but really just watching as the slanting sun rays folded like a fan at the tops of the trees - yes, the change has come; just like at the climax of Lisa Moore's superb novel Alligator, the air is flurry of little white moths.

(Image: Elaine Rich quilt.)

Laundry & Lattes

It seemed to be pushing 30 degrees yesterday - so naturally I choose to spend the afternoon doing laundry. Normally I am quite happy at the laundromat, even oddly so - I think it's the low drone siren song of the chorusing washers and dryers. And I am never too warm. People can be running around in tank tops and hot pants, and I might, might, remove one layer of sweaters. But even I was challenged by the mid-afternoon temperatures. By the time I'd matched and folded that last pair of socks, I was in a stupor and deeply needed a chilled-latte revival. Fortunately downtown St. John's is awash in cafes, which propagate dandelion-like along Duckworth and Water Streets. I only had to stagger a very few feet before I encountered an aproned barista. (What on earth did people do in the pre-ice-blend-green-tea hazy summer days of yore? Went for the old H20 I guess.)

(Image: smaland.co.uk.)

Trinity

We're back from our first summer road trip, one night in gorgeous, gorgeous Trinity, where, thanks to Rising Tide Theatre, we were able to circulate among the patrons, hand out some complimentary magazines, and sell some of our latest issues. We also caught up with our cover-girl-artist Michele Stamp (Vol. 99, no. 2), in residence at The Artisan Inn for July (check out her exhibit in The Twine Loft). And, as no road trip is complete without a soundtrack, ours was accompanied by ABBA, circa Mamma Mia!, and courtesy of my tech-savvy daughter.

(Image: trinityvacations.com)

Karma @ Rabbittown

Anyone looking for a good play could do worse than to check out

Karma at Rabbittown Theatre. Full disclosure: Karma is written and directed by Bryan Hennessey, aka my husband of nearly seven years, but, hey, I married the guy because he was such a fine playwright (this is true). Anyway, Karma is a two-hander, with the talented cast of Monica Walsh and Philip Goodridge; tickets are $15/$12; curtain time is 7:30pm and the running time is a very karmic-friendly 65 minutes. Tonight is opening night and it's up until Saturday (the 26th). Hope to see you at the show!

(Image: karma-people.)

P.S. We're planning a road trip to Trinity tomorrow, to set up a booth for the magazine - will be out of office until Friday but will touch blog/base then!

"Music Hath Charms

...to soothe a savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." This oft-misquoted line (it is not "to soothe a savage beast") is the work of William Congreve (1670-1726), from his play The Mourning Bride (which also produced his other equally famous and frequently misspoken line: "Heaven had no rage like love turned to hatred, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned"). Whatever, we know the truth of it - so, has everyone else out there seen Mamma Mia yet? It is one great big aural exuberant mood boost - even if you are not an ABBA fan.

(Image: flatrock.org.nz.)

Culture Rocks

As our readers know, we at the N. Q. take our culture seriously. Nothing animates us more than an engaging discourse on the dialectics of post-post-Modernism ; our radio dial never strays far from the most erudite of public radio; and no weekend is complete without an exhibition or performance of the most avant garde punk-trip band/painter/mime. So it is with all due ceremony that I announce - my daughter and I have totally scored two tickets to the Backstreet Boys ! Oh-my-God, OhmiGod!

(Image: enterteenmentnews.)

Art Installations

Sometimes one needs to think outside the canvas. I've been reading about this fabulous art installation: Waterfalls in New York - what a shimmering concept, gossamer pouring over concrete. Closer to home, catch Woodrow, by Graeme Patterson (at The Rooms until Sept. 14), a suite of scale models of the church, hockey arena, silo and other structures of a Saskatchewan town. Remember The Rooms has free admission on Wednesdays 6-9pm, and if you don't like the art you can always look out the window, so there's no excuse not to go.

(Image: abcnews.)

Mid-Summer To-Dos

1. Just noticed this feature on the Blog toolbar.
2. Lets you make lists.
3. So here's a few wished for to-dos for the rest of this so far so glorious summer.
4. To sit in an spanworm-free backyard with the laptop and a glass of Riesling.
5. To swim outside, once.
6. To finish
   Mrs. Dalloway, a project inspired by a comment of Lisa Moore's (though I think she was actually talking about To The Lighthouse, but no matter).

(Image: associatedcontent.com.)

A1C @ Baird's Cove

Friday night saw the gala opening of St. John's newest gallery - A1C Gallery, located in the same creative downtown core as Eastern Edge, St. Michael's, and the Leyton Gallery. A1C (they take their name from the postal code) is the new, artist-run facility emerging from the old Resource Centre for the Arts Visual, with a brand new space solely dedicated to visual art showings and happenings (unlike the old spot at the Hall, which doubled or tripled as a foyer and reception area - having the odd play-goer absently lean up against a painting was ever a concern). The inaugural exhibition is an unjuried show of well over a hundred pieces - great stuff for an event that came together (deliberately) sans curation. Gallery co-ordinator Gordon Laurin did a fab job pulling together such a big night.

(Image: www.historicplaces.)

Nothing Says Summer Like a Long Weekend

This time of year we find it hard to remember how to get through a whole week - one with like five working days or whatever? Did we really do that? All the time? Never mind, we have another lovely break heading our way. Known around these parts as Orangeman's Day, to the French-speaking world it is called

Bastille Day. So in the spirit of a little la vie en rose, feel free to don le Tricolore, pop the Veuve Clicquot and toast la liberte, egalite, fraternite!

(Image: photoeverywhere.)

Copy Deadline

Seven weeks to go!

Time to touch base with our lovely and talented writers and

contributors.

Got an article here on the 1858 Cable,

expecting something on the early days of

The Herald, Ray Guy has promised a piece - and

then there's Berni Stapleton, practically

our writer-in-residence, it's going to be fun...

Newfoundland in Summer

I once heard the redoubtable Christopher Pratt refer to "the hypocrisy of Newfoundland in summer." It was during a CBC radio interview - I forget the actual topic - but I knew what he meant. What is this warmth, this sun, this benign environment that can allow us to walk around not only without a parka but without socks? It's like Newfoundland is trying to pull a fast one.

(Image: novaweather.net.)

Onwards!

Readers should be receiving Vol. 101, no. 1 even as we speak - but we, the faithful staff at the N. Q., don't rest on our laurels (although, it is true that some of us did sneak out of the office early yesterday to see the matinee of Hancock, a wobbly but oddly watchable flick). But, it's back to the drawing board now, designing Vol. 101, no. 2. Theme: Communications.

(Image: kodiak.org.)

Mail-out

The magazines are on their way!

(Image: rpsc.org.)

Vol. 101, no. 1 Delivery Today

The printers promised it would be here by 3:30pm...or - wait - maybe that's them - no, it's the construction guys downstairs...gosh, it's hard to settle to anything...just waiting to open that first carton of magazines, to see, really see it, like for real...

(Image: lazyenvironmentalist.)

Pedestrian Thoughts On A Summer Morning

Nothing beats walking to work on a summer morning. Nothing feels so fresh, so full of promise, so potent with - hey! we're walking here!
My route to the office takes me through three busy intersections. Of course I set a good example in pedestrian etiquette by a) crossing at the crosswalk and b) waiting for the walk sign. But many drivers seem to forget that an intersection can involve a convergence of people, not just cars. They look to the left to see if there is any oncoming traffic, but not to the right to see if there is anyone, or even any penguins, on the zebra crossing. It's quite unnerving. And a bit discourteous. After all, I do my bit for civic roadside safety (I never learned how to drive, and believe me, this is a definite gift to the people of this city).

(Image: lifeinthefastlane.ca.)

Gathering at the War Memorial

Yesterday's service in memory of the fallen at
Beaumont-Hamel was beautifully presented and very well attended. Of special note were the lines of nurses, smart in their white uniforms and red capes, and the tall and cantering Constabulary horses. As the ceremony unfolded - brief prayers, Taps, a gun salute in three volleys - everyone kept a respectful quiet, even the smallest children. And then, we hope, everyone spent the rest of their holiday, the first real summer day in the city, doing as they pleased, and in peace, as those soldiers must dearly have hoped, some day, to do.

(Image: danger tree at Beaumont Hamel, granitebreweries.)