July 1, 1916

(Image: blogspot.com.)

I've mentioned my summer course a couple of times (everyone remember that Russian avant-garde poet who sought to evade death by paying his rent well in advance? I've yet to hear a more practical recipe for eternal life). The topic was the grotesque, which frequently led to discussion of its opposite: the

sublime. Definitions vary but many feel, whatever state the sublime truly is, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) achieved it.

(Image: Rothko; Red, Orange, Tan and Purple, 1954.)

Everyone Needs a Little Holliday

After class last night - the topic was Francis Bacon - my cultural environment took a 180 degree turn when I came home and watched a Judy Holliday film. In case you've forgotten what a treat she is, here's the famous gin game scene from Born Yesterday.

(Image: image.examiner.com.)

Jump in The Works

Being a gym rat, I have memberships at two. On campus there's The Works, which is a great space. The huge building is full of light, and a great range of people use it, from silver-haired power-walkers to small babies in jogging strollers (well, the babies were kind of brought there as opposed to propelling themselves, but they seem quite content). The usual soundtrack is the radio on K-Rock or the aerobic instructor's hyper-energized versions of such favourites as Dancing Queen. Really, I'm beginning to find the slightly distant and echoey notes of 1970s music oddly comforting. Plus you just might see the members of

East Rock Crew or a cheerleading squad practicng their extraordinary moves. It's a happening spot, I tell ya.

(Image: thedancecurrent.com.)

The east side of the fourth floor of the Science Building here on campus has one of the most stunning views of the city. Seriously, it should be a tourist spot. You can see down to the last traffic light on Elizabeth Avenue, across Pleasantville and up the White Hills, and out both Quidi Vidi Gut and the Harbour. Last night, when the deluge cleared off, the view from our classroom was just gorgeous: a drift of mist at the foot of Signal Hill, the setting sun bouncing off puddles, and a huge rainbow shooting right across the rim of our own metropolis. By the way, anyone looking for astonishing views of the city will want to check out St. John's: A City Pictured, currently on show at the Christina Parker Gallery. And you'll love our summer cover, for sure.

(Image: Expectation, by Laurie Leehane, www. leehane.ca.)

We're gone to press with the Summer Issue, and the great thing about this stage is that the NQ now mostly exists in the mind's eye of myself and the designers (the fabulous Granite Studios). And believe me, right now it is one perfect magazine. Pristine, ideal, and typo-free. That's one of the great thing about the imagination - you can imagine stuff. This site even offers some suggestions.

(www.legoland.com.)

First long weekend of the summer

...and by gosh if it isn't absolutely gorgeous out there. Perhaps you are already heading out the highway, steering for your cabin or a B&B or a kayak and a pair of hiking boots. I'm sticking to St. John's, partly because of those proofs I've been nattering about, but also because the city in summer is a whole new experience, a re-imagined space. Maybe at some point me and my laptop will find ourselves at an outside table at a downtown cafe, and in between edits I'll dip into some reading like this

short story

by Luigi Pirandello.

(Image: fineartamerica.com.)