Today's Sketch - "Sure it's cold....."
We are certainly having a cold winter, but there is nothing better than getting out and enjoying it. After all, isn't that what being Canadian is all about?
Today's Sketch - "Sure it's cold....."
We are certainly having a cold winter, but there is nothing better than getting out and enjoying it. After all, isn't that what being Canadian is all about?
Today's Sketch - "Sure it's cold....."
We are certainly having a cold winter, but there is nothing better than getting out and enjoying it. After all, isn't that what being Canadian is all about?
"38 YEARS TO BANJO GOD"
I had my first banjo lesson of 2014 yesterday. I was thinking about how long I have been taking lessons, which is just over a year now, and just how far I have come. I can actually play a couple old time songs now - or should I say I can massacre a couple old time songs. I am always amazed at those people who an play so well and make it look so easy. Bastards! How do they do it?
As with everything in life, to get good at something you have to practice......a lot! To get really good, to the point of being an expert, you have to be completely obsessive and pretty much practice all the time. In Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers", a terrific read by the way, he boils it down to ten thousand hours of solid practice to master any skill. Gladwell backs up his hypothesis with some very compelling evidence. Obviously some people certainly have some natural aptitude, or what we call talent, for some things, but I think this only avails that person with a small advantage - the rest is simply hard work.
To put this into perspective, lets use banjo as an example. Based on the ten thousand hour rule, if I was to practice 15 minutes a day, 7 days a week, it would take me 109 years to master the banjo.
A half our a day would reduce this to 55 years. One hour a day, or seven hours a week would take 27.5 years. Ten hours per week, 19 years. 20 hours a week, 9.6 years and 40 hours per week,4.8 years.
Holy Crap! Based on these stats, I should be really good by the time I am 90 years old - 38 years from now! Haha!It's gonna be a riot in the home!!
It is a really good thing I love my banjo, but maybe I better ramp up the hours!
I wonder if Janice would mind me taking up the bagpipes..............
"Punch Me in The Face"!
On my walk to work one day, I saw these two guys busking their way across Canada. Of course had to stop to talk to them as they were playing banjos, an instrument close to my heart! I saw them again last week, and one of the two was sporting a nasty shiner. I thought the sign he was holding was hilarious so I had to get the low down. Seems he was sucker punched in a local Ottawa park the night before. A little worse for wear but his banjo and sense of humour were intact!
This is one of those quirky life interactions that most of us would not even consider, and likely ignore or avoid. I decided to do a quick mini-sketch to capture the moment. Street life is infinitely interesting and sometimes quite amusing. You just have to open your eyes to see it.
"One Year Car-Less"
It has now officially been one year, that I have lived without a car! I now know, from personal experience, it can be done! It is surprisingly easy and at this point I have no intention of going back! Yes there are inconveniences, like slogging groceries in a backpack in the dead of winter.....actually, now that I think about it, that's the only one! The benefits however, are amazing. Here are my top 10:
1. When I did drive, I did not have a car loan on my last vehicle, so I got off lucky with around $5K in car expenses a year. With car loan payments, that could easily hit $10K/year. That's money in the bank.
2. I now have the coolest bike in the world with my Brompton! Check out their webpage - www.brompton.com - These guys have created a serious cult following!
3. I no longer have to be a taxi to my kids - I guess that isn't totally fair as an empty nester, but if they were still living at home I wouldn't be their personal chauffeur!
4. I walk or bike to work every day which means I get to listen to audio books and learn all kinds of new and interesting things.
5. I walk or bike to work every day so I get the added benefit of being in the best shape that I have been in years - and I get to eat ANYTHING!
6. My blood pressure, which used to be in the mildly hyper tensive range is now, at last check, 109/60 - Freaky low!
7. Did I mention that I am in the best shape I have been in years? I am running the New York City Marathon in November 2013 - I couldn't have done that a year ago when I commuted by car!
8. Walking is like a moving meditation - I no longer suffer road rage; I have a clearer mind; I have a quieter mind; I am way more relaxed; and I sleep unbelievably well.
9. I have a much better appreciation for my city - when you drive you don't see beyond the road and the traffic around you. When you walk or bike, you truly experience your environment and the people. Contrary to popular belief, Ottawa is NOT the city that Fun forgot!
10. I am no longer bothered by the weather. When you walk everywhere, you get used to it. Bring it on! Rain, sleet, snow - I am ready for you!
Now that I am moving into year two of my life without a car, I look forward to diving into exploring further the notion of sustainable living and design. I think it would be really cool as a designer to really push the status quo of what has become the conventional Canadian suburban lifestyle by exploring a much more urban based sustainable living model.
"Gobi Desert Day 14"
The Wrestlers
The i2P team timed their expedition perfectly, hitting two separate Erlin Gurvaan Naadam festivals in the Gobi Desert. Erlin Gurvaan Naadam quite literally means "the three games of men", comprising of horse racing, wrestling and archery. These festivals are held midsummer all across Mongolia. This small painting screamed for abstraction. I decided to capture the shear mass of the wrestlers in blocks of colour foregoing fine detail to capture the essence of the wrestling match.
