you must take the derive

I don't spend all that much time thinking about how I move through a city-scape, because ninety percent of the time I am moving, it's with a specific location in mind. It's in my nature; I am always thinking about the destination, rather than the journey. The more I think about it, the derive is actually the total antithesis of how I move throught the city. Nothing I do is random, and lately, I feel it's because I haven't allowed myself the time to be random. A few weeks ago, a derive would have seemed like a great idea, but now with this new cold snap, it just seems like a deathwish.

My hope for reading week is that it warms up, even just so the chill is tolerable. If this happens, I will absolutely attempt a derive. Perhaps I'll invite someone along (spontaneous and uncharted field trip, anyone?)

For the performer/creator part of my brain, the derive is literally improvised performance; you must allow yourself to be influenced by the other actors in the scenario and the scenario itself. A good rule of thumb in improv is to constantly be making offers and saying yes. I think that rule can be applied to the derive as well. If you start saying 'no', it's because you desire too much control.

Another thing we often say in theatre is to "follow your impluse". Again, I think this is true of the derive as well. Some of the best work I've seen my peers present has been informed by a single impulsive gesture. The derive, as well, can yield amazing things if you let your feet do the thinking, as well as the walking.

RESIST NOT. There is so much to be found in the drift.

treading the (key)boards

I have an intense love-hate relationship with essay writing.
  
   Essays are just about the worst on-again/off-again boyfriends ever, and this class is like singles therapy (if such a thing exists?) It's refreshing to walk into a class where there's no essay writign involved, because as I plow deeper and deeper into Undergradlandia, it's something I've just learned to expect:

"This essay is worth 25% of your final grade!"
"Your final paper is waited at 40%."
"For your final project you will submit a 15 page research essay on a topic of your choice. The paper will be worth 60% of your final grade and all your remaining sanity."

When I was first telling people about this course, they couldn't quite wrap their heads around the fact that an English class had no essay writing component. But why should it? When Malcolm was in talking to our class yesterday, he said something that I think a lot of professors know but don't like to admit: essays are (often) boring, required reading in the land of academia. There are others, like our fearless leader H.Z., who actually understands that, and is trying to help us out of the rut we've been stuck in when it comes to REAL writing.

What point am I trying to make?....English classes help make you a better theorist, a better essayist and a better critical thinker, but many of the most accomplished writers of our times are novelists, not essayists. Sure, they must have written some essays on their way to becoming published authors, but I think we can all agree that A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a far better novel than it would be an essay on autism.

I don't want to dump on essay writing. I get a lot of satisfaction from finishing an intense essay, especially when I feel it's well-written. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's nice to have a break, and to find new ways of spurring on my ideas.

fast-paced world

I know the prompt this week is about minorities and their locations within the city, but I want to put a different spin on this post.

  After reading Darren Hagen’s “The Edmonton Queen”, it made me remember the gay bars that have closed down in the city. First it was Flashback, and then the Roost, and most recently, Play has been closed down.  This got me thinking about the closure of local businesses in general, most recently (and most disappointing for me and my wardrobe) Nokomis Clothing on Whyte Avenue.

   My one totally irrational fear is that Edmonton will, over time, become one giant box-mall. Remember Southside Sound? Remember Megatunes?  They were great music stores that could not compete with HMV. I assume it’s the same for Nokomis – they could not compete with the chain clothing stores. I don’t want to bash chain stores, because I think at a certain point, based on financial needs and proximity, we all have to shop at those places. However, I do think that as city dwellers, we should try to discover and frequent our local gems, and thus, help to sustain them in an increasingly homogenous city.

Tidbit: The title of this post was stolen from brought to you by The Dukhs' song "Fast Paced World"...Winnipegers! Check them out!

And check out http://www.live-local.ca/ for info about eating and shopping locally.

you can't find it on a map...

Maps. Map-map-mappity-map.

What am I going to map when I have the chance?

I've often thought about doing a food map of Edmonton. Despite being limited by celiac disease, I'm still a foodie at heart.  The map would have several categories of cuisine (Mexican, Bistro-style, Japanese, Italian, etc.) but also categories such as "Hidden Gems", "Places to Avoid" and "Where to find (blank)". I don't want to limit myself to just restaurants, because there are lots of great shops around the city that carry things  you would never have imagined, like the Portuguese Bakery on 118 Ave with their egg-tarts, or The Happy Camel in the West End, which makes the best Baba Ghanouj ever.

I'd also love to do a Classic Hitotoki map of Edmonton. The new Hitotoki is too reminiscent of Twitter to hold my interest. I think Twitter is a great business and networking tool, but I really don't care about how awesome your Venti-No Foam-Extra Hot-3 Pump-Toffee Nut-White Mocha is. I really don't.

What I like about Classic Hitotoki is that it's like a gallery; carefully curated to ensure maximum viewer/reader enjoyment. The stories on the website are beautiful, and after reading a few, I wish I could have been there to witness those moments myself. The profiles of the authors that accompany the stories are also very interesting, because it's not only a view from the local inhabitants, but also a view from travelers, students abroad, business folk. It gave me a sense of the individual place in the collective space.

Looking at Hitotoki got me thinking about making what I would call a memory map. I'd find an area of the city that I am familiar with in some way and record memories from various locations. Eventually, I'd like to build the map so other people can add memories to the same locations, if they have memories of that specific area. As someone who loves music, I though it might also be interesting to attempt a music memory map. Spots on the map would be tagged with a particular memory, a song associated with that memory or with the place itself. What might be cool is to send someone on a walk of that map, with a playlist on their iPod and have them play certain songs in certain places.

This is what I've come up with so far. Thoughts?

a definition

My Edmonton is defined along paths which I use to travel to and from, to and from, to and from. The road from my house to the University is well-worn by the wheels of the number 4. The sleepy shop windows of Whyte Avenue become my favorite movies, watched over and over and over again.

It is the loop down 109 Street, past Wizard Comics, The Garneau Theatre, Transcend Remedy and Da Capo, that swerves neatly around past The Sugarbowl and the High Level Diner. It encompasses a good part of the North Campus and completes itself at the junction of Whyte Ave and 109.

I spend a lot of time in theatres. Something about sitting in the dark watching people perform make-believe is equal parts haunting and hypnotic. This is my medium, as well, so whenever I am watching theatre, I have to let go of the “Hey, I know that person,” and let the character win me over. Whether small or large, old or new, absurd or realist, I am never more at home than I am sitting in the dark in front of a stage.

I also spend a lot of time in coffee shops, and there, I spend the most time writing I’m always searching for new coffee shops to write in, a bench or a corner I can appropriate for an hour or two. But it must have good coffee. I’ve never felt comfortable writing at home. I likened it once to having sex in your parent’s house; at any moment, they can walk in and you’re caught, naked and vulnerable at the height of your orgasm.

Though it’s unlikely, the potential always exists, and this is why I write in coffee shops.

test 1-2-3-1-2-3

Alright, here we go...

This blog will chronicle my observations about Edmonton over the course of my English class. I'll be looking at it's history, it's people, it's hidden gems and major attractions, it's shape, it's space and the magical pull that seems to keep people here.