Downed trees and puddles. Fringes of destruction.

A few days ago, Manitoba was hit with a huge storm. Torrential down-pours flooded the area, and grape sized hail clanged on our rooftops. Winds gusted at near 100 km/h, and power was lost all over our city. Trees were blown over their limbs were flailed and scattered on the lush green grass.

It was the perfect time to have guests over.

Large lakes have formed on each side of the Trans-Canada Highway (I wish I had my camera). One day later and the aftermath can still be observed, and I documented it in pure observational form. But most documentaries are glammed up. Without being too presumptuous I give you the Fringes of destruction:

No parking sign gimp'd

Curb with reds enhanced for drama.

Downed tree gimp'd

Devastatingly dry drain-curb

Puddle gimp'd

Jarrett

Garbage-Bag-Tree!

I've finally found the enigmatic Garbage-Bag-Tree! It's located in my back yard and looks beautiful and poetic. The conflict between the artificial object and the natural setting is a pretty good metaphor for our consumerist culture. As natural humans we want to conserve the environment, but yet we rape our land and consume it as a resource. We make bags!

Garbage-Bag-Tree: Trees without leaves that seem to attract garbage bags that roost in their branches.

The Garbage-Bag-Tree itself is a delicate balance. The plastic bag is just hanging on by a thread. The bag is ready to dissapear.

Garbage-Bag-Trees - Sony DSC W120 enhanced in gimp.

Bagfully yours,

Jarrett

Not-so-lost in the woods. Photography exhibit.

Not-so-lost in the woods - Shot near Camp Hughes, Manitoba

Public transport.

A slight exageration, but familiar!

Public transit is pretty terrible in my town. The bus itself is a sardine can with one exit at the front. On days when it's exceptionally full you might have to stand, which is an impossible task. The bus driver drives like a maniac! They're one of those people that learned how to drive on a farm or something. I almost fell out of my seat when the driver guns it down public streets! Then, the driver screeches to a halt at every stop, hurling people forward.

Now, you're probably saying it's a lot of fun already, but there's more. The driver felt obligated to make a prodding remark about a passenger after they left. I'm tired of people doing that! What this motivates this guy to mouth off? It makes me paranoid that someone might say something about myself!

What a character. Next, I exit the folding doors and driver feels motivated to do is close the doors before I fully make my exit. Ouch! The door hits my elbow. Great. We really need a subway here.

Respectfully,

Jarrett

Urban verse.

Lights - Sony DSC W120

Obscurity

I sit slouched over at the desk
staring at my garbled rag, my vision fading
screen barring
the opalescent prison is sunless.

My eyes divert to tubes aglow
blinded by the emanant rhythm.
My sight swirls
millions of fractals throb in disillusionment
free of quiet chaos.

I see you, like all the rest
complacent and docile
you clear your throat
speaking the absurd and hurtful
nothing is off limits.

I stand up, plod across the filthy tile
sinking in the snow
taking myself for granted.

You cross my path, barricade my plans
freeze my tracks, like some competition,
then rumble on a little.

The lights are bright, I'm barely here
goodnight.

Jarrett

The pop culture of Nanook.

Comic mentioning Nanook - The Far Side, Gary Larson

Every North American has heard the name Nanook once in their life, but not many people really know who Nanook is. Nanook of the North was directed by Robert J. Flaherty and filmed in Northern Quebec from 1920 to 1921. Flaherty travelled to the fur trade village of Port Harrison with two Akeley motion picture cameras (which the inuit refered to as Aggie) and sought to capture a near dead culture on film. What Flaherty made was arguably the first commercially successful documentary ever made. The film followed the everyman of the north, Nanook and his family. It showed the struggles, triumphs, and comedy of the north.

However, it should be noted that Nanook never existed, and that almost all of the film was staged. Nanook was played by Flaherty's Inuit friend Allakariallak (pronounced Al-ee-ook) and the family in the film wasn't his. Nonetheless, a very successful film that has seeped into popular culture.

Eskimo pies with mascot "Nanuk"


Canadian Arctic sovereignty mission "Operation Nanook"

Yours,

Jarrett

Wheat Kings - The Tragically Hip.

I love this song and have been strumming and singing it for a few days now. It's so mellow, which makes it one of the Tragically Hip's best strictly acoustic songs. The chord progression is rather simple just G, C#add 9, and D. That's why I've taken a break from playing it for awhile, because it's not challenging enough. Yet, it's a song that's really close to me.

Wheat Kings is a track from 1992 Fully Completely, the best Tragically Hip album ever recorded. The reason I like it so much, is the name of the local hockey team Brandon Wheat Kings, but the song isn't about them. The song covers the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard, and his 22 years imprisonment for a crime he did not commit. He was ordered life in prison when he was only sixteen years old.

When you listen closely to this song you can really feel the story. Gord Downie uses excellent metaphors in describing David's case. For instance the high school is the prison, and represents how he was thrown in jail at a very young age. Tonight, I plan on sitting outside, listening to Wheat Kings, and watching the sunset on my deck.

Yours,

Jarrett

P.S. Here's the lyrics:

Sundown in the Paris of the prairies
Wheat kings have all their treasures buried
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
Pushing around the weather vane Jesus

In his Zippo lighter, he sees the killer's face
Maybe it's someone standing in a killer's place
Twenty years for nothing, well that's nothing new,
besides, No one's interested in something you didn't do
Wheat kings and pretty things,
let's just see what the morning brings.

There's a dream he dreams where the high school is dead and stark
It's a museum and we're all locked up in it after dark
Where the walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
Hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers
Wheat Kings and pretty things,
wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Late-breaking story on the CBC,
A nation whispers, "we always knew that he'd go free""
They add, "you can't be fond of living in the past,
cause if you are then there's no way that you're gonna last".
Wheat Kings and pretty things
let's just see what tomorrow brings
Wheat kings and pretty things,
that's what tomorrow brings.

Visual poetry.

Here's a visual poetry piece I made a few weeks ago. It represents the feelings certain words evoke within us, happy or sad, cool or hot. The coloured lights were exactly the metaphor. I was going for 1920's avant-garde and Guy Maddin put together.

Enjoy

Jarrett

Winnipeg Jets and the old Winnipeg Arena.

It has to be said. For any Manitoban to not talk about the Jets is a disgrace. So, I guess it's my turn.

The Winnipeg Jets were the major hockey team in Winnipeg, first being in the Western Hockey Association and later acquired by the NHL. The team stayed in the long demolished Winnipeg Arena. The real Winnipeg Arena, not the MTS corporate shill center. The team owned a few great players like Dale Hawerchuk, Bobby Hull and Teemu Selanne. The old barn even hosted Game 3 of the Canada/Russia '72 summit series.

It was built in 1955, by Winnipeg Enterprises Corp. a community owned organization. It was one of the smallest NHL arenas in the league with around 15,565 seats. In playoff games the whole crowd would wear white in support of the team. The Jets were loved by the city and shown wonderful patronage from 1972 to 1976. This was a working class arena. No box seats, hard plastic, and very small. It was also renowned for it's unique urinal trough in the men's room, where men would pee in a giant urinal with little privacy.















Sadly, the Jets left Winnipeg after being purchased by the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996. There was a public outcry, citizens organized a "Save our Jets" fundraiser/concert (Fred Penner on the roster) and raised 10 million to keep the Jets in Winnipeg. But the NHL had made up it's mind, they wanted a larger arena with box seats and they wanted another team in the United States.

Winnipeg was without a major hockey team and the old arena was falling into disrepair. In 2003 After years of citizens begging for a new arena with hopes of getting the Jets back, the city finally built one the MTS Center. It was a purely corporate motivated buy after the city decided to demolish the site of the former Eatons department store on Portage Ave. This architectural lie of an arena was built just under the minimum required seats for an NHL franchise. The city had no intention of bringing the jets back, because they already had an American Hockey League team in town, The Manitoba Moose. Possibly the lamest and biggest deception of a hockey team Winnipeg has ever seen. With no use left for the old arena, the city started demolishing it in 2004.

The MTS lie.















Demolition:





























Seats:
















Bare bones:















I remember passing the old arena while it stood, I would have liked to gone inside. My dad apparently caught a Jets game back in the 80's sometime. Even though the Jets are long gone people still buy reproduction jerseys and hats in large
quantity. I guess Winnipeg hasn't given up yet.

Bring them back!

Jarrett

Ink stamp art

Fuck you - Ink stamp on paper

Woot! I just bought some ink stamps and pads, and I'm planning to make more art pieces like the one above. Sometimes when you click print on a computer, you miss out on personally printing your message. When I stamp ink down on paper, it makes me feel in control, I'm not a slave to some word processor. I'm the word processor.

Jarrett

Poem, from my little book.

I'm looking through my little book today and come across a random poem. I wrote it a few weeks ago on lunch break, sitting in a little park a couple blocks from school. I find it difficult staying inside on a nice day, in a stuffy cafeteria listening to garbled noise and eating processed garbage food. So i pack lunch everyday and walk to the park on lunch hour. I'd rather drink in nature, than sterility.

Untitled

Mighty wind blows
trees sway under false clouds
the wind can't blow me down.

I notice a child
on the taut blue strands
Laughing, and swaying into infinity.

A timeless birch
bears it's green buds
summer isn't quite here yet
for the air smells crisp.

A mangled cage of wasted nature stops in it's tracks
temporarily forgetting it's own erraticness.

Three forgotten souls roam
in their tight-legged dress
flail their satchels whilst they frolic.

Waves ripple on tall grass
their blades singing a silent sonnet.
The waves are too familiar
I come from the land of a thousand lakes.

The flag dances it's jingoist jig
impending doom on the horizon.
I must leave before the ceiling unleashes it's wrath.

I must return to slavery
like everybody else.


Yours,

Jarrett

The striped shirt.

Striped Shirt - photo rotoscoped in gimp

I like my striped shirt. Why? Well, I guess it's because I bought it for under two dollars at the salvation army shop. It's a good shirt, nice and airy. I must have bought it about five years ago, for retro day in grade eight. I was being an 80's Marty Mcfly character. Wore a vest and my mom's jeans and everything. I don't remember a reaction to my get-up from the other students, I doubt they cared at all. Aside from a few teachers laughing at me, that was about it.

Damn, I like this stupid shirt. It's one of my few button up ones. It's not even an 80's type shirt, to be honest. It's an older brand, Premiere Collection. It looks like a forty year old, young Bob Dylan type shirt. It looks better tucked in blue jeans, but nobody tucks their shirts in anymore. That's why I like it.

Jarrett

Spring!

Well, spring is really in full swing in Manitoba now! The grass is green, the birds are singing, bees are buzzing around. Here's a video I shot outside the other night at sunset, filming the beauty of the grass.

Spring is here!

Yours,

Jarrett

Photo enlarger & chemicals.

My dad found a Besseler 35mm photo enlarger last week for ten dollars! It came with all the developing chemicals, and container so I can develop black and white film at home! It includes a whole bunch of light filters for print making, so i will probably experiment with different colours.

Here it is:

Where do babies come from?

Have you ever wondered where babies come from? From a cave of course! Tom Green shows us how throwing baby dolls around can actually be funny in an immature way. The fighter jets and the cops showing up adds a whole other element to the simple physical gag.



My Stunt Baby video is pretty similar, only my doll is stuntman. He does kid stunts, like riding a trike down a big hill, playing road hockey, and strapping himself to a roof of a car. Turns out my idea wasn't so original after all. Strange synchronicity, don't you think?

Yours,

Jarrett

My desk.

In a rush today, all I have is a picture of my desk.

That is all.

Jarrett

Financial enslavement/ The corporate matrix

In a society that rewards conformity, obedience, and financial enslavement, how can anyone truly be free?

This is a question I've been thinking about quite a bit. I've been doing a lot of research into the World Bank, the IMF, the Rockefeller family, and the Bildeberg Group. It seems like all the big business people get together to discuss how they should essentially rule the world. These evil megalomaniacs can be directly related to the creation of financial institutions such as the World Bank. The World Bank wasn't created for the greater good, it was made to virtually enslave the third world. When a Latin American country or Middle Eastern country needs a loan for development, they turn to the World Bank. The World Bank really doesn't pay them a cent. What they do is let the big corporations and banks from the Western world (the lenders) develop industry in their country. Only a fraction of the pricipal ends up in the hands of the workers in that country, while the Western corporations get unnessessarily richer. Then, when that country is done paying back the loan (in interest) the counrty becomes poorer than before and is forced by the world to liquidate all their resources. Then they sell them back to the Western world! Or they sell their public utilities to Western corporations.

Does this seem strange to you? All the World Bank does is make the mega-wealthy, even wealthier! Most people would dissmiss this as a conspiracy theory, but it isn't. It's been proven time and again in countries like, Bolivia, Panama, Iraq and Ecuador. Why is none of this mentioned in the mainstream media? Because the media outlets are owned by big banks. Global is half owned by Goldman-Sachs.

Do you see the nature of the matrix and the absurdity of it all? Does the picture above make sense now? Try and relate it to what I've afformentioned.

Yours,

Jarrett

Pink Floyd The Wall

So, I bought Pink Floyd The Wall the other day. If anyone is actually reading this post, I strongly recommend checking it out. It's an amazing film. Even if you think you haven't heard a song from this movie, you certainly have and don't realize it. Search for of Comfortably Numb, you will recognize the tune. It is jam-packed full of classic songs.

The film follows the experiences of "Pink" a young man who humanity has trampled over. His father died in WW2, while Pink was very young and as a result his mother instills all her fears into him. His negative experiences throughout the film add up and force him to build a wall around himself in order to cope with cruel outside world. This is in essence The Wall. While the film is mostly based on the life of Rogers Waters, bassist of Pink Floyd, it also contains references to band member Syd Barrett and his schizophrenia. Even with little dialogue, the film can still evoke strong feelings in the viewer.

The film is very avant-garde, with interesting surreal settings. It time travels between scenes which is a visual treat. It contains powerful animated sequences which modern CGI can't match. They contain strong social and political messages, especially about war and materialism. Watch Goodbye Blue Sky and Empty Spaces, you'll know what I mean. THEY AREN"T CARTOONS. IF YOU WATCH THEM STONED, YOU WILL FREAK.

The whole movie itself is a profound message about society. Conformity, materialism, insanity and the futility of war are all represented beautifully. It begs to question: Is society insane or am I? The symbolism is amazing and adds a whole new dimension to the songs. The destructive/constructive hammer, the flowers, the faceless school children, the sea of faces, the television set, the maggots, the telephone. Is it not surprising that after watching this movie, I dream something every night? No mainstream musical can even match the experience of watching this movie.

I hope you will take the time to watch it, and draw your own meaning and conclusions.

Yours,

Jarrett


P.S. Goodbye Blue Sky is my favourite scene. Watch for the dove shredded by the German eagle of war and the frightened ones with gasmasks. The bleeding Union Jack is a powerful symbol. Says things about war without the need for words. Enjoy.

Eye contact is very dangerous.

The bus is a terribly depressing place. "What a miserable fucking place that is", in the words of Jeremy Hotz. It seems people on the bus are very afraid of any sort of contact, between strangers. If you dare look in to the eyes of your fellow man, they will look away. Humanity doesn't seem human anymore. This seems to be an ongoing trend within the corporate controlled matrix. No human contact, that person is probably a criminal or a rapist! If anyone looks differently than the majority, they are not worthy of contact. But who makes us think we are surrounded by less than human beings? The media and major corporations are constantly convincing us to stay scared, seperate, angry, depressed, and not satisfied with ourselves.

I'm tired of the dehumanizing of society. Public transportation should be vibrant. Instead, people only talk to their social group and keep their heads down. Trained magnificently through public "education" and television. Humans are afraid of humans. Sometimes I think we are just herded beings like sheep. But, sheep need a sheep dog to police them. Humans are trained to police themselves. I wish there was a track of Danny Shine playing on the bus. It would drastically improve the ride.

Everything is OK is my manifesto. Like Danny says, Everything is absolutely OK, including you.

Yours,

Jarrett

Nanook of The North.

My favourite scene, the fishing sequence. Flaherty uses the bright snow as a natural light diffuser. Contrasts superbly with the reflections of Nanook on the water. You can view the eight part playlist here.

Here's the wikipedia blurb about Nanook of The North. It was written partially by me, taken from the research page of the director, Robert J. Flaherty. What we can take from this film is a mean to justify an end. I didn't matter to Flaherty that the Inuit were using rifles for hunting in 1921, and that almost every scene was staged. Flaherty wanted to bring the unknown traditions of a forgotten culture to the Western world. He succeeded.
Enjoy ;)

From wikipedia.org:

In 1913, on his expedition to prospect the Belcher Islands, his boss, Sir William Mackenzie, suggested that he take a motion picture camera along. Flaherty brought with him a Bell and Howell hand cranked motion picture camera. He was particularly intrigued by the life of the Inuitnitrate film stock was ignited in a fire started from his cigarette, in his editing room. His film was destroyed and he received burns on his hands. Although his editing print was saved and shown several times, Flaherty wasn't satisfied with the results. "It was utterly inept, simply a scene of this or that, no relation, no thread of story or continuity whatever, and it must have bored the audience to distraction. Certainly it bored me."^[2] people, and spent so much time filming them that he had begun to neglect his real work. When Flaherty returned to Toronto with 70,000 feet of film, the

Flaherty was determined to make a new film, one following a life of a typical Eskimo and his family. In 1920, Flaherty secured funds from Revillon Frères, a French fur trade company to shoot what was to become Nanook of the North^[3].On the 15th of August, 1920 Flaherty arrived in Port Harrison, Quebec to shoot his film. With him he took two Akeley motion-picture cameras which the Inuit referred to as "the aggie".^[4]Flaherty also brought full developing, printing and projection equipment to show the Inuit his film, while he was still in the process of filming. Flaherty lived in an attached cabin to the Revillon Frères trading post.

Melanie McGrath, a writer, writes that Flaherty, while living in Northern Quebec for the year of filming Nanook, had an affair with his lead actress, the young Inuit woman who played Nanook's wife. A few months after he left, she gave birth to his son, Josephie, whom he never acknowledged. Josephie was one of the Inuit who were relocated in the 1950s to very difficult living conditions in Resolute and Grise Fiord, in the extreme North (see High Arctic relocation). Flaherty knew of his son's difficulties, but took no action.^[5] Corroboration of these details of her writing is not readily available and Flaherty himself never discussed the matter.

For the new film, in an attempt to portray Inuit life in its purity, Flaherty staged some scenes, including the ending, where Allakariallak (who acts the part of Nanook) and his screen family are supposedly at risk of dying if they could not find or build shelter quickly enough. The half-igloo had been built beforehand, with a side cut away for light so that Flaherty's camera could get a good shot. Flaherty also insisted that the Inuit not use rifles to hunt, though they had become common, and pretended at one point that he could not hear the hunters' pleas for help, instead continuing filming their struggle and putting them in greater danger.

Story of the blog.

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Garbage Bag Trees. The poems and stories of a young man in western Manitoba. A blog named after the great expression coined by Gord Downie, lead singer of The Hip. Here is the meaning.

Q. Would you please explain the phrase "garbage bag trees". My stepson Graeme has noticed that this phrase appears in two of your songs. I apologize for not being able to recall which songs they are.

A. Graeme is a good boy - I don 't recall which songs they are either - but at the time, it was Winter heading into Spring when trees are without leaves and seem to attract garbage bags that roost in their branches. - Gord Downie

Yours,

Jarrett