Eggs? Check.
Bacon? Check.
Toast? Check.
Let’s get this Friday Fry-Up on the stove!
And so it begins anew.
The Canadian government has recently announced that a new research project has been commissioned to search for the ships of the ill-fated Franklin exhibition.
As you may or may not know, The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror set out from England in 1845 with the express intent of finding the ever elusive Northwest Passage. Instead, only one year later, Franklin and his men found themselves trapped in the ice. Some died, and some – in an aim to escape a similar fate – set out on foot to try and find a way out of that frozen, desolate Arctic hell.
Only the never made it out – alive or dead.
It was pretty much – poof!
And they were never heard from again.
Okay. I know this was a terrible thing to happen and everything – but what the dickens were they thinking naming their two ships The Terror and The Erebus!?
Talk about starting out on the wrong foot.
If you’re going to take on what is, for all intents and purposes, a suicide mission, wouldn’t you want to bring some levity to the whole situation by naming your boat something like – oh I don’t know, The Unicorn? Or how about The Heat Wave?
It’s called the power of positive thinking here people.
I mean jeeze – Erebus literally represented the personification of DARKNESS. That is some bleak sauce, emo crap right there.
Anywho, one of the greatest things to come out of this (evidently enduring) tragedy is this amazing, song sung by Stan Rogers:
This man is a friggin’ Canadian legend, whose songs regularly move me to tears. There is something just so simple and yet resonating about his tunes – and I don’t know if I think this way because of my East Coast roots, but even M himself is quick to state that he thinks Stan is easily the voice of Canada.
If you don’t know this man CHECK HIM OUT. Also read The Terror by Dan Simmons. Neither of these works of art will disappoint, I promise.
You got to put one foot in front of the other.
I recently signed up to run the Surrey International Half-marathon, taking place at the end of September. This will be my first half of the year, but I’m feeling really great about it.
My goal is to complete the course in one hour, thirty minutes (or less). My currently personal best is 1:38, but I think I’m in much better shape now than when I ran that previous race.
At least I think I am in better shape. I could show up that Sunday and end up running a heck of a lot slower than I expect – but I really hope this doesn’t end up being the case. Eight minutes is quite a lot of time to shave off, but I’m certain it’s doable.
And if not, I’ll have a taxi cab at the ready.
I kid, I kid.
It’ll be a bus.
Also, this will be my first race without the use of headphones. This for some reason fills me with zero trepidation, and it is this lack of trepidation that is giving me trepidation.
I will update you on my progress the closer I get to the race.
And my trepidation.
I’m all booked up.
Of late I’ve been on a crazy reading tear – for the past couple of months I’ve been blowing through two (and sometimes more) books a week like some crazed literary fiend.
It’s like an insatiable hunger. I look forward to taking skytrain in the mornings and when I get off work; I can’t wait to get in from my runs, shower and curl up on the couch; I sneak moments in the morning when I’m getting ready for the day; every night I read until I can barely keep my eyelash tips up and book spines straight.
At the moment I’m finishing up Lev Grossman’s The Magician King (await a blog post on this series in probably the next week) and can’t wait to dive into the next story.
Do you beauty cats have any good recommendations? What are you up to for the weekend?
Let’s find the hand of Franklin
reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.
Rant and Roll 
Reblogged this on Portland, Oregon. Blog of Aesthetic Prose Poetics By Portland Native Brian Hardie. ".
Why thank you Mr. Hardie! :)
you are an amazing artist. AMAZING. can i send you my new almost-done L.P.? Have you ever been to Portland? you live in canada? never been myself but have always wanted to go. i will be soon. whats that saint anthony quote? “life is a book, if you dont travel, you only read a page”? i have been to every corner of this country on tour and stuff but never set foot out of it…… i bet you are pretty too. did you know that the first rule of the avant garde is the second rule of pop music? again your writing is great. after this record its book and spoken word LP time. and more grant writing, meh… if you come to portland, i am Mr Portland. Born and raised. historian, anti-tourist guide, scene snob lol, an enchanted holy zen forest to hike right by my house (washington park/forest park). and underground art champion. i stand alone, building an artistic school of my own. oh yeah, really good weed. anyways……. bon
i’m sorry i have no idea where the canada thing came from. sorry. i prolly seemed like an idiot
yeah, lack of trepidation gives me trepidation (check): i run intervals once a week and it’s, eh, work. ONCE i axually enjoiddit. i worried, uh liddul.
BOOKS: i’m presently werkin’ thru t.pynchon’s Against The Day. seriously X-tra-dieMentionable. (good stuff).
and, it might be a trifle pedestrian (*axually not) fer ya, but BOWERMAN &THE MEN OF OREGON (KennyRogers). *it’s less pedestrian for yez ’cause yer a runner.
i plan to struggull thru’ a trail/desert 10k tomarraw ay-em. i’ve been runnin’ this race (“the desert championships”) since the early 1980’s! and often won the 10k (all the fast/good/mongo runners participate in the co-occuring/companion tougher 15k) in the 38 – 40 min. range. if i run under 50 tomorrow i will be pleasantly surprised.
I KNOW you can dew the 1/2 M thang in 90-some!
That race sounds incredible! How did it go? So cool that you’ve been running it for so long – I can imagine seeing (and living) the evolution of a race must be pretty darn cool.
I too do interval training so I completely empathize – they are the absolute worst and best things ever.
Against the Day is coming up on my list! Awesome, can’t wait to crack it open. I will look up Men of Oregon and add it to my “must reads”.
i surprised mice elf (pleasantly) and didn’t run under 50, but nearly so. did NOT “come in on fumes” and axually “picked it up” the last level mile or so.
my stance on Pynchon is that there are, no doubt, people who get together to TALK ABOUT IT. i abstain. refuse. can’t. ’cause i think when you’re reading (and who can’t help but be ‘affected’?) and just after having read some TP, it’ll be part of you and you it. (sorta like my comment to yer friend who said “i don’t understand poetry” — and i said “it understands you, tho’ “)
Congratulations, that’s brilliant about the race. Nothing better than finishing up knowing that you’re not absolutely dying. Did you have nice weather? I can only imagine how beautiful of a race it must be.
You stance on Pynchon is the best (and totally makes me laugh because it reminds me of all the insufferable undergraduate creative writing students I used to hang out with – and hey, I was one too.) We thought we were such intellectual, ZOMG WE’RE LIKE, SO WELL READ.
may i humblee suggesturatively indicate that, perhaps, i ought ta, email you directlee, farrumm tyme 2 tyingm, so azz, knot, to, tie up our comment space(s) awn werdpress.
basically, i didn’t crawl into the finish lying “on fumes”. still, 11 minutes slower than when i wuzzakidd.
Haha, no worries! I don’t mind at all – but whatever is easier for you.
I remember a race I finished last year and the dude in front of me was full on jelly legs like CRAZY! He collapsed directly in my path and I kind of hand to “jump” over him. Yeesh.
Lady, you are my hero! Good luck with the run, I know you’ll kill your old time and do great! And looking forward to hearing about your most recent reads. Have a lovely and fabulous weekend, mi amiga!
Aww, thanks chickadee! I still have a month to test the waters, but I am feeling pretty solid going forwards. We’ll have to see.
When is your race – it’s coming up isn’t it? Is J running with you?
We were due to run our at the end of Sept. J has had some major back pain flare up (weekly visits to the chiropractor) and we both have had some knee issues rear their ugly heads so we’re putting a hold on the half marathon for now. I’m shooting for another 5k at the beginning of October. Something to keep the knee moving without wrecking it too much. Can’t wait to hear all about your race and how you destroy your old time!! :)
Totally good call listening to what your body is telling you! I’m really sorry hear though to hear about your knee pain (and J’s back) – M has knee problems too and it comes and goes in waves. And when it’s bad, goodness know it’s BAD.
On the plus side, you will absolutely wallop that 5km!
xx