From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 29, 2006 12:46 AM
Subject: Canadian commander dismisses report; Déséquilibre: sans chiffrer ses demandes, Audet déplore l'attitude d'Ottawa

Dear Stephen,

What a couple busy days! I can't even remember what happened on
Monday, but I was busy all day, and in the evening I helped Claudine
and Sam and Jessica Rhaye paint their new office. Yes, Claudine is
renting space with them and Mark at the John Law building, which was a
former Revenue Canada building. It is a nice space, right across the
hall from the Cobalt Gallery and with nice neighbours like Lise and
Suzanne. So we painted until late, then Sam drove us to Judith's so we
could borrow the Element to pick Rebecca up from the airport.

Yes, Rebecca Rose Roberts is in town for a visit before she moves from
Toronto to NYC to begin her new job as a junior editor in the
publishing department of the MOMA. Swanky! It is certainly good news
for her. She finally finished her thesis not too long ago, also good
news.

So yesterday RRR and I hung out and did St. John sight-seeing and
gallery-going, I paid off my new Peter Salmon painting (we decided to
go with the shopping cart over the Home Despot parking lot), and we
had coffee and talked art and stuff. We came home for supper and
attempted salmon on our new barbecue but the coals took forever to
heat up properly. I didn't allow enough time. After supper we were off
to Patio-Oh!—the launch of Opera Bistro's new patio. Lots of wine and
snacks. Talked to Paul Zed about the CBC interview and his
interpretation of the roses on the Chrétien's lapels in the painting
that Jamie had given him. He doesn't believe that they were in the
original photograph. I'm still trying to convince Jamie to go to yoga
with me on Mondays. He's trying to get Judith to organize a big labour
day party at his place.

We went to Elwoods and then Churchills after Patio-Oh! and were out
far too late and drank far too much for a Tuesday evening. As a result
I'm paying the price today. I was up early to get Judith's Element to
drive out to my folks and test the packing of bags and bike boxes.
Everything fits but it will be a tight ride. Put a second coat of
orange on the walls at Claudine's office and then it was time to open
the gallery and the bar. Jess relieved me for supper and we met my
folks and we ate at Sebastians. Always pricey but always so tasty.
Then it was back to work. Sam had organized a 'creative professionals'
networking meeting at the bar, which was busier than usual for a
Wednesday night. Decent tips; enough for gas money.

We're up at a ridiculous hour tomorrow to get my folks and drive them
and Rebecca to the airport in Moncton.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 28, 2006 10:56 PM
Subject: Canadian commander dismisses report criticizing mission in Afghanistan

Dear Stephen,

I think you should really consider this story and report as it
pertains to the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. I didn't realize that
we were still calling the mission "OOperation Enduring Freedom", which
is the cheesiest title ever for a military mission. On that basis
alone I vote we pull out. The following story is from Canwest:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The commander of Canadian combat troops in
Afghanistan reacted angrily to a scathing report published today by a
European think-tank that says Canada's military mission in South Asia
is an impossible task that is doomed to failure.

The report released in London by the Senlis Council, a drug-policy
research organization, was crammed with alarming tabloid-style
statements such as "Following U.S. policies is turning Kandahar into a
suicide mission for Canada."

The 91-page report states "Canadian troops and Afghan civilians are
paying with their lives for Canada's adherence to the U.S.
government's failing military and counter-narcotics policies in
Kandahar" which the council claims has triggered a new war with the
Taliban.

"It is completely off, this report, from what I've read," said
Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light
Infantry battle group. "It tries to place the blame for the insurgency
on those who are here trying to help the Afghans instead of
insurgents.

"The blame is not on those who are trying to help the Afghan
government. It's on the Taliban and those who are supporting the
Taliban."

The Senlis Council, that has in the past suggested licensing
Afghanistan's opium production to produce morphine and codeine,
recommends more development money and engagement with the local
community to differentiate the 2,300 Canadian forces from their U.S.
counterparts.

"Canadian troops are more or less following U.S. policies in
Kandahar," executive director Emmanuel Reinert said. "It is turning
the mission into some kind of suicide mission," he said.

The Senlis Council interviewed Afghan farmers, mullahs and others to
produce the report, titled Canada in Kandahar: No Peace to Keep.

Reinert said the Americans' Operation Enduring Freedom "has failed to
bring security into the region."

"It is now blatant, after almost five years of presence over there
(that) it is absolutely necessary for Canadian troops to break away
from this legacy," he said. "It appears that they have not been able
to do so in the past 10 months."

The Canadian forces took over the provincial reconstruction team in
Kandahar last August and are working under Operation Enduring Freedom.

Reinert said Kandahar province faces crises due to poverty, the opium
trade and lack of security.

"Development money has to come first" to alleviate the poverty
problems, he said.

The Senlis Council also recommends avoiding civilian deaths and
stopping the eradication of the poppy crop.

"It's very important to send a clear signal to the local population
that there was a change of management," Reinert said.

"To clearly manifest that this is now a totally different approach so
as to avoid attacks on the livelihood of the farmers, to avoid the
deaths of civilians, and to avoid being seen as invaders" would signal
a more positive contribution in Afghanistan, he said.

(c) CanWest News Service 2006

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca, odab1@parl.gc.ca
Date: Jun 28, 2006 5:04 PM
Subject: SAVE THE PORTRAIT GALLERY OF CANADA!

Dear Stephen,

It's ironic that just as The Portrait Gallery of Canada decides to
aquire some of my work—which will include a portrait of you—I hear
that YOUR government is trying to scuttle the project. The Portait
Gallery has been in the works for close to a decade. It has already
collected over 1,000,000 drawings, paintings and photographs.
Initiated by public choice, and under the wing of the National
Archives of Canada, the Portrait Gallery plans to open in the building
formerly occupied by the American Embassy. The location is brilliant!
It is situated on Wellington Street, directly across the street from
the Parliament Buildings. Built in 1932 in Neo-Beaux-Arts style, the
scale of the rooms is ideally suited to portraiture. The building has
been gutted, and the architect's plans have been drawn and approved. A
large addition has been planned.

Now, as part of an effort to trim $2 billion dollars off its overall
expenditures, the Conservative government has placed the Portrait
Gallery under review. Construction has been halted, and there is an
agenda in place that wishes to have the project abandoned, or at the
very best moved to some less visible location in order ostensibly to
"save money".

You tool! Quit picking on and cutting culturall programs and save your
precious dough elsewhere. I'm sure you can find the cash somewhere,
maybe from oil subsidies or armaments. Tell Bev Oda for me that I
think she has no backbone. And you have bad hair.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 26, 2006 11:41 AM
Subject: Report suggests biker gangs will rebound; Une politique de défense doit précéder l'achat d'équipement, selon le Bloc

Dear Stephen,

We survived the weekend. It included a wedding almost overrun by
babies, a reception threatened by rain, a lost coin toss to determine
who was to work the bar in the evening, a switcheroo at the bar, a
house party with barbecues and DJs, an extreme bout of paranoia, a
sweaty dance club, a late night visit to a poet's house, an
early-morning CBC program, a day at a lake with sunshine, beer and
another barbecue and a movie full of iambic pentameter.

I'd go into more detail but I don't have the time at the moment and
you probably don't care anyhow. Not like that has stopped me before.

I'm waiting for a call from Nancy Nisbet, the artist from BC who is
driving a transport truck around North America in an effort to raise
awareness of the growing and insidious practice of RFID tagging. She
has all her worldly possessions in the truck that she is freely
exchanging with anyone who has an item to trade. The rain has stopped
and Richard from the SJPK moved our location back to beside the
Barbour's General Store, right at the bottom of King Street, on Water
Street. A good location. Her exchange event starts at 1pm and goes
until 3 or so. You can check out more of her project at
www.exchangeproject.ca. Looks like you missed her when she was stopped
in Ottawa. Too bad.

-chris
--
Chris Lloyd Projects
www.dearpm.blogspot.com
A Division of ADD Painters:
"we're here to swerve"

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 24, 2006 12:47 PM
Subject: Bikers, police gather in Windsor; Stephen Harper refuse de reconnaître l'existence de la nation québécoise

Dear Stephen,

I have good news and bad news and good news and bad news and a bunch
of in-between news and more good news and more bad news.

The good news is that Michael's opening went off without a hitch, we
were totally ready hours before 6pm, with enough time to catch the
Korea/Switzerland match.

The bad news was that Korea lost, which made Travis sad.

The good news is that Heather Button was not too disruptive and kept
Toronto talk to a minimum and was actually quite pleasant. The good
news is that my parents and friends Donnie and Joyce came and
Michael's whole family came, even some cousins.

The bad news is that not a whole lot of other folks came, but in other
bad news, it was also raining most of the day.

The good news was that I wasn't working last night, enjoyed a glass of
wine and Claudine and I rented a movie, which we fell asleep to.

The bad news was that I had to go to Hell's Creation this morning to
buy pants to wear to Mark and Janet's wedding.

The good news is that I actually found pants that fit me from le Chateau.

The bad news is that they needed to be hemmed. The good news is that
Claudine can hem.

The good news is that today is St. Jean Baptiste, the National Holiday
of Québec and, ironically enough, the founding date of Saint John, NB,
by Samuel de Champlain in 1604. The bad news is it makes Claudine sad
to be far away from her friends and family and culture.

The in-between news is it appears you have put your foot in your mouth
when it comes to recognizing Québec as a nation, which is sure to pull
even french federalists away from the conservatives, and further
inflame sovereigntists and separatists.

The good news is the wine spots on the shirt I am wearing today mostly
came out. The good news is we have a ride to the wedding with Tim
Phinder. The bad news is it is raining. The good news is, we don't
need to water our garden.

The bad news is it appears that the Kazemi case will close with no
justice. No justice, no peace.

So don't forget to listen to the Maritime Magazine program that
features Mark's interview with yours truly. The bad news is that is
airs at 8:30 in the morning.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 23, 2006 2:00 AM
Subject: Alberta gambling study a world first; Le Bloc met en place des mesures pour reconquérir la région de la capital

Dear Stephen,

"Harper makes long-anticipated apology for Chinese head tax". Good for
you, this has been a long time coming. I'm assuming an apology and
compensation to Natives for completely destroying their way of life
and stealing their land from them is in the works, right? Right?

I guess that apology could come from France and England, since they started it.

Whatever, I'm way off topic before I even begin!

Happy Summer Solstice. We rang it in on Elwood's new patio, which they
managed to complete in time for a big three-band show. I arrived after
work, which was a bit busier than usual for a Wednesday, and had a few
beers with Claudine and Tim. Somehow we managed to be out until 3 AM.
I tossed and turned and had weird dreams all night. Needless to say it
was tricky getting up this morning.

Had a board meeting at noon that was quick and efficient, then went
back, for the third time, to look at the crackhouse on Garden Street,
this time with the bank's agent. He was able to get us into the ground
floor apartment, even though the "tenant" was still "sick" and
"sleeping" in the "bedroom". A gaggle of pimps and prostitutes and
drug dealers wandered in and out as we checked out the furnace and oil
tank in the back. A regular party. They complained that nothing was
being done about the mice, despite having already received many
eviction notices and having not paid rent in over seven months. No
wonder CMHC doesn't want to be in the landlord racket.

Wally bailed on me, despite the fact that I booked this meeting around
his schedule. We might just make a low-ball offer on the place,
conditional on some final estimates and getting in to see the attic,
which suffered a small fire during a crack cookout and has been
blocked up ever since.

Despite being a crackhouse, we feel the place has potential.

Spent the rest of the day trying to complete errands and failing at
every turn. Ended up worked more than I expected due to some
communication breakdowns between Peter, Jess and I. It all worked out.
I had supper with Claudine and Travis at Lemongrass, then after work
Travis and I checked out the sparsely-attended Blue Quarter show at
Nep-Tunes. Travis has been helping like gangbusters up in the gallery,
from building funky shelves to helping Michael paint his ridiculous
slogans on the wall. Shannon has finished her "cartoon
meat"—drumsticks in the upstairs bathroom, porkchops downstairs—and
they look great. There is still lots to do but I think we can get it
done in time for the opening.

I have an interview live and in the studio with CBC tomorrow morning
at the insane hour of 6:50. They are interested in the PM project,
specifically the paintings. I think they are also using it to promote
the Maritime Magazine program which airs this Sunday, also at a
ridiculous hour, though 8:30 is not so bad.

I MUST go to bed now, I am exhausted and my feet ache.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com

To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 21, 2006 12:19 AM
Subject: Khadr's lawyers face extradition; Jean Charest compare la hausse de la cote du Québec à la coupe Stanley

Dear Stephen,

Sorry I didn't write yesterday, everything is getting faster and more compressed with more complications. We drove in town later Monday morning with my mom, and had a disorganized day trying to get back in the routine of working from home. I spent the first part of the day trying to get us back online at home; our router was on the blitz. I wa son the phone for hourse with various technicians from who-knows where. The apartment is a bit of a mess and the weather was the shits again. Fog and cold, an authentic greeting for the first cruise ship of the season.

You can always tell when they are here: sales of dulse triple.

So there is so much going on I don't know where to begin: Boys' night out, stag parties, hockey, Jessie, the National Portrait Gallery, computer glitches, the CBC Interview, yoga, the gallery, Heather Button and more. It's all a bit overwhelming.

Yesterday I took my first ever yoga class with Jay at the Yoga Outlet. It was fun, a decent workout (I sweated), and relaxing. It helps my back.

So after yoga I went home, had a shower, did some more email and went back to the Yoga Outlet with the projector from the gallery. Jay has digital cable and we can hook that sucker right up to the projector. It was for the Game 7 Stanley Cup final between Edmonton and Carolina. It was only after smoking a joint that I fully realized the complexity of Coach's Corner with Don Cherry. The game was exciting, with lots of ups and downs and some solid hockey, few penalties, but June is way too late for hockey. One had the sense that the players were skating through melting slush at times, it was so sluggish. A fun guy's night out though. Chips and beer.

I tossed and turned most the night, my mind just reeling with the idea of Google Earth and satellites everywhere watching everything.

Then today I was trying all day to catch up on computer work and it was always slipping away. Gallery stuff to do, letters to write, I couldn't find my groove. Mark needed me for a revision of some interview material for the CBC piece. I met him at the building but managed to lock my keys in the gallery. Judy lent me hers which are now lost. The interview went fine; I think at some point I joked about writing to the PM until I'm 75. Travis arrived and we did some work in the gallery even though I had forgotten to bring my tools, especially my screwdriver, and I'll probably forget again tomorrow and there will still be a room full of televisions bolted to the floor while Michael tries to install. Good grief!

I did receive a positive email: the National Portrait Gallery would like some of my PM portraits and an edition of books. This means I really need to get a few portraits cranked out of you. I'm thinking the "Mr. Harper goes to Ottawa" would make a nice one. It's of you walking the tarmac with your family and dozens of assistants and security in tow, plane in the background. Either that or one of the "three amigo" pieces, with you and George and Vincent. We shall see.

Travis drove me out to the valley. We stopped at the garden on the way so I could water the beds. Even though we have had two straight days of cloud and/or fog, there has been no rain, so we were worried the beds would be too dry. Travis dropped me off at my parents' house before heading out to Mark's stag.

There is an absence here. Jessie is gone; she was put down earlier this morning. It was and has been hard on my folks; Jessie was a faithful companion for almost fifteen years. She was truly a fun and loving dog. But she was growing a nasty tumor and had slowed down considerably in the last number of months. With the cross-Canada cycling trip coming up this was a tough decision but probably the best one. You can read more on their blog,jillandbobcyclecanada.blogspot.com

Mom dropped me off at Craig's house on her way out to an evening ride. Mark's "stag" party was basically a regularly-scheduled book-club meeting (tonight they were discussing "Tideland") with a few other invitees. Some of us barbecued, we all drank various beers, we shot some basketball hoops outdoors and shot some pool indoors while watching NBA finals. Another fun guys' night out.

Now I'm back at my parents' listening to Yaga wander around the house (he sports a bell), and planning a few more emails before heading to bed. Heather Button has been calling our house, angered because I haven't been emailing her from the gallery. I have nothing against the Toronto art scene, but I can't stand hearing about it anymore from her. It's not productive.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 19, 2006 12:55 AM
Subject: Happy Father's Day: She's one. He's 56; Cannon ne fera pas des pieds et des mains pour aider Québec à respecter Kyoto

Dear Stephen,

Happy father's day. Did you do anything special?

The courtyard party was a blast. The bar was slow until the time I
left, late, around ten-forty, because a new arrival to the city, a
poet and playwright, discovered the bar and I had a couple glasses of
wine with him. His name is Clyde. Check out his
website, you can listen to some of his poetry. I
find he sounds like Al Green.

I missed the band but Mike Hawkins was spinning some silky wax and the
dance floor was grooving. I teamed up with Jamie as some sort of
Laurel and Hardy dance-off duo. We ran back to the bar to get beer,
after running low from Meghan and Ben's fridge. At the bar we
collected Jess, then grabbed cigarettes from Callahans. At O'Leary's
and ran into Clyde again. Some sort of celebratory toast involving
tequila ensued. We dragged him back to the party, despite the fact
that he was originally out only to rent a movie and had yet to phone
his wife. We tried to tell him it was the best thing to do but he had
resigned himself to the fact he was already in trouble. Despite the
many cigarettes floating around I smoked little, and no pot, though I
could smell it almost everywhere. One goal of the night was to
maintain just a little bit of control. Which I did, even after the
police came and left and the music died down. A few of us went over to
Debbie's place across the street to hear stories of the seventies from
Kim and Diane. Claudine and I walked home.

Today Judith stopped by and we all drove out to Hell's Creation to get
some groceries and herbs. We stopped at home Despot and the place
drove us all batty and we left without buying anything. Stopped at
Dairy Queen and we all ordered burgers and strange ice cream
concoctions. Mine was called Chocolate Corruption. I couldn't finish
it and the amount I did eat almost made me vomit it was so rich.

Jude dropped us off at our garden on the return to town and we seeded
for a couple hours, shaping the garden into various plots for
pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, beans, radishes, carrots, lettuce and bok
choy. Walked home and washed our muddy feet.

Dad collected us and we went out to my folks' for supper. Salmon on
the barbecue. We all played on our laptops and other technological
gizmos. Once we figured out how to get the DVD player working again we
watched Les triplettes de Belleville. I think we're going to screen it
in the gallery some night to help raise some money for their trip. Can
you think of other fun cycling-related films we could screen? I was
thinking maybe Quicksilver.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 17, 2006 6:49 PM
Subject: Avian flu detected on P.E.I.; Les 11 candidats au leadership libéral s'affrontent en débat à Moncton

Dear Stephen,

Sorry I didn't write last night. It was a late one.

First of all, the sun came out, finally, so we borrowed my Dad's car
and drove to the nursery and bought seeds and sheep manure and soil
and peat moss. We have taken a plot at the SJ Community Garden, even
though we also want to use out backyard for planting and barbecuing
this summer.

The bar was real quiet for the first few hours and when Jess arrived I
met up with the gang at Asian Palace as Em, their new chef, was
offering a special sushi menu. They had him set up at the bar5,
rolling and slicing up a storm. Tasty.

Afterwards we went up, up, up to Jay's studio and then went up some
more; up a ladder through the attic to the roof, and hung out there
for a bit. Went back to work and it finally picked up and we had a
good 2-hour rush. Had some late tables but I still finished in time to
catch a few songs from Mr. Something-something, at Elwood's. They had
the whole place dancing and grooving tho their rhythmic sounds.

We debated going to an after party but it was already quite late so we
decided against it. Still past 3 AM before getting to bed.

Today we grabbed a quick breakfast at Reggie's and then cycled to
Frenchy's to find outfits for tonight's Horsefield St. Annual
Summertime Courtyard Party. It's a '70s them tonight, so appropriate
outfits are a must. Claudine's currently adding bell bottoms to a pair
of tight-fitting Lee-brand jeans, that combined with a tiny zipper-up
top gives her a bit of a Daisy Duke look. I found yellow pants with an
elastic and a bizarre top, as well as terrible shoes. I've shaved,
leaving a small baby mustache. I've parted my hair. It all looks
terrible.

After Frenchy's we tackled our dirty plot at the community garden. We
picked the most ghetto spot, but only because it was right beside Dave
and Erin. Our site was partially covered with an orange tarp and weeds
and strange grasses grew everywhere. We weeded and tilled and added
the good stuff. Did it all by hand because we couldn't get the
roto-tiller going. Water in the gastank, perhaps. We worked away,
quiote content to be outdoors in the sun, until I was quite late for
work. We had completely lost track of time.

Managed to bike home, have a shower and change before heading the bar,
opening just on time.

Now it's just a countdown until Jess arrived and I'm off to the
Courtyard party. About two more hours.

Been to any themed parties lately? Been to any parties lately? Do you
barbecue at Sussex Drive? We found a big round charcoal-fired barbecue
yesterday at a secondhand shop. Twenty bucks. Practically a steal.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 15, 2006 10:34 PM
Subject: Feds table street racing bill; Ottawa pourrait devoir déployer plus de soldats en Afghanistan
Dear Stephen,

I'm so much happier now. I can see clearly now, even though the clouds
have NOT gone. No, the happiness of which I speak can only be brought
about by the return of my sweetheart, who flew in from Montréal last
night. Life has returned to normal.

Today was a good example of an almost perfect day; waking up not too
early, not too late, having coffee in bed, spending the day working on
projects, we get together to talk about this thing or that, we make
lunch and eat sitting down, read the paper or magazines, talk about
ideas and life, have sex, again, back to work, upstairs-downstairs, a
mix of gallery event planning, studio painting, translation contracts,
research, reading, then a walk outside. All that is missing is great
summer weather and about fifty thousand people milling about the
uptown.

Still, check out those housing prices. Even here it's booming, up 12%
over last year. Still near the bottom of the pack nation-wide, and
less than half the national average, but still.

We had a late lunch / early supper at Opera with Elizabeth after
running into her on the street. She's nearing the end of her training
week as an operator at Aliant. We split a nice bottle of tempranillo.

Now I'm at work again, another slow night and I'm debating closing
early. Travis was in for a long while and we talked about North
American consumerism, America, China, Korea, art, music, cities,
family, a bunch of stuff. He and his sister put up a bunch of the
posters for Michael's upcoming show, I fooled the children of the
revolution. Should be fun.

I'm really looking forward to the Exchange Project show. I'm waiting
to hear back from the Port Authority about parking.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 15, 2006 10:06 AM
Subject: Battle restarts with Parliament Hill rally; Le député Charbonneau se défend de contredire le programme du PQ

Dear Stephen,

What a contrast in citizenship I witnessed yesterday afternoon! I was
working at the bar, like I do every Wednesday—well, almost every
Wednesday—and a couple patrons informed me that a friend of theirs had
just received her Canadian citizenship.. They were all meeting up to
celebrate, a group of friends, a real party.

Then another patron came in who is related to the 'founding fathers'
of Saint John, the United Empire Loyalists. She loves her
country—seems scared to leave it, actually, due to the
recently-discovered 'terrorist plot'—but she spoke with such grandiose
authority about 'her' country that I was left feeling annoyed with her
claim to citizenship.

For most people I know who have gone through the immigration process
it takes about five years. Five years of paperwork, meetings, studies,
examinations, the whole nine yards. It's not an easy process.

For those of us 'naturalized' citizens, we perhaps take it or granted.

I ran into the newly-minted Canadian outside on my way home; she
appeared radiant and jubilant and carried small flags.

Maybe the United Empire Loyalist will renounce her citizenship so she
can become a Lady. She spoke a lot about Paul McCartney and Elton
John, conflating Canadian and British citizenship.

I ate at Saigon Noodle last night and thought more about immigration.
Here we have a great Vietnamese restaurant, perhaps not the greatest
location in the world but certainly not bad, great food and decent
prices, and only two people in the restaurant. Sure, the decor could
use some work, but it's not hideous. The music playing was
elevator-style, so I spoke to the manager afterwards about it. He
asked what kind of music around here people liked (music with the
voices?). I told him to just play what he listened to, whatever he
liked (as long as it wasn't elevator music). He asked, Vietnamese?

I looked around. This is a Vietnamese restaurant, right? Yes. Well
then, sure, why not?

Elevator music is like the inoffensive colour beige. It represents the
urge to bring culture down to the lowest possible level. It stands for
big-box-store homogeneity. It's about anonymity and placelessness and
lack of identity. It drives me absolutely insane.

Speaking of beige and big box stores and NAFTA, Third Space Gallery is
going to host the artist Nancy Nisbet and her
Exchange Project. She's driving all over Canada, the
USA and Mexico with all her personal belongings that have been tagged
with Radio Frequency ID tags and is exchanging everything with
visitors to her trailer. I have to find all-day parking for an
eighteen wheeler for Monday, June 26.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 14, 2006 1:30 AM
Subject: Billionaire philanthropist remembered; Mont-Orford: le premier ministre Jean Charest nie être en conflit d'intérêts

Dear Stephen,

My zany fiancée just called and woke me up to share a little bit of
the fun she is having in Montreál. We couldn't hear each other but I
could hear Malajube rocking out at the Metropolis. Her very good
friend Stephane and his band Avec pas d'casque opened.

"Place en premier lieu à l'énergique rock garage du duo
guitare-batterie Avec pas d'casque, qui vient enflammer la scène du
Métropolis à la demande expresse des gars de Malajube. Le rock
paradoxalement déjanté et sophistiqué du quintette français AS Dragon
(souvenez vous d'A.S Dragon VS Bertrand Burgalat…) prendra la relève
avec, aux commandes vocales, la déroutante chanteuse Natasha, qui vaut
presque le déplacement à elle seule. Sautée ! Le brillant quatuor
Malajube, LA nouvelle sensation du rock montréalais, vient clôturer ce
décapant programme armé de ses orchestrations gonflées aux sonorités
pop rock punk. Ambiance coup-de-poing, guitares abrasives et claviers
survoltés au menu. Décoiffant"

And damn I'm here in bed. And damn but didn't Rodney get re-elected
and his Tories another minority in NS. Atlantica is making me blue.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 14, 2006 12:21 AM
Subject: Billionaire philanthropist remembered; Mont-Orford: le premier ministre Jean Charest nie être en conflit d'intérêts

Dear Stephen,

I just gave the cats some catnip before bed and they are flipping out.
Manu is rolling in and out of the bedroom doing cartwheels and Kuan is
compulsively licking her entire body while she tries to eat every last
speck from the floor.

They don't seem to suffer from any paranoia, however, which is the
biggest reason I'm staying away from my own catnip. Lying awake all
night imagining being chewed alive by the very same cats is not the
best way to get a decent night's sleep.

Had a good studio day, with an excursion to Giant Tiger to buy TP and
lunch at a nearby diner my only outing. Then of course it rained
again, most of the day, the humidity keeping paint wet longer and
thwarting plans layering as well as a mid-evening stroll or bike-ride
around the South End. I concentrated on cleaning up the apartment
instead. This involved a vigorous scrubbing of the toilet. It also
involved bringing back downstairs things I had previously brought
upstairs. I'm going to make another go of the studio in the basement,
now that I am a little more organized.

Imagine that: me, organized.

My bedtime reading as of late consists of Nobrow by John Seabrook,
issue 122 of Parachute, and Money, Value, Art. It's a race to see
which book helps me nod off the fastest.

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 12, 2006 10:57 PM
Subject: Terror suspects strike back at law; La session parlementaire va s'achever comme la précédente: sous le bâillon

Dear Stephen,

I finally had what one could consider a productive studio day. In this
case it means some paint was put on canvas and some products purchased
from the Internet. I've decided the best art is that which can be
ordered in bulk. After pointlessly harassing managers and staff at
various Wal*Marts trying to find those damn 'Support our troops'
magnetic ribbons I searched online and hit a gold mine. There are
dozens and dozens of companies devoted the fine art of vehicular
magnets! Everything from the standard yellow to customized to photos
included to personalized soldier name to the red-white-and blue to a
bless this and bless that and of course the seminal 'Freedom isn't
free'. So I should be expecting a parcel by the end of the week or
early next.

Now all I need is a big car to put them on. Like a Hummer limousine or
something like that.

Did you hear about the new H3?

My parents needed some help with their computer so I came out with dad
after he finished work. We stopped at Sears so he could compress down
pillows. He's trying to find one that he can make super small to take
across Canada.

I hadn't realized before how complex the grading system of down
pillows can be. The five stars compressed the best.

I'm watching the Oilers/Hurricanes game. The only hockey game I've
watched—and probably will watch—all season. No cable or TV at home and
even if there was I probably wouldn't watch hockey. Not in June. I'd
rather be all over the World Cup. If I could figure out some way to
scam cable for the next month at the gallery I'd screen the games
there with the projector.

Tomorrow is another studio day. Unless the sun miraculously comes out
again, in which case I might make some sidewalk rubbings.

Oilers are down 2-1 after 2; I'm going to look for movies. With 62
channels there must be something on. Maybe CSI or Six Feet Under?

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 12, 2006 1:02 AM
Subject: Troops encamped in Taliban's 'backyard'; Le PQ dévoile son programme électoral en matière d'éducation

Dear Stephen,

The rain continues, and with it, my slide in temperament. Slept in
late, after staying up late, after closing early. The bar was busier
than normal for a Saturday, what with the Atlantica conference and
all, but the place spontaneously emptied out around midnight. I had a
couple beer with Meghan and Ben upstairs, then a slice of pizza at
Spagos before walking home. In the rain.

Today I met Travis at the gallery to take photographs of the
installation for the upcoming catalogue. We came back to my place for
coffee and looked through magazines and websites and my stack of PM
paintings, as well as the ones on the go. The one's on the road to
nowhere. What gets me down is the idea of making more stuff; I'm
feeling too cluttered as it is. What I think I want to do is make art
without adding more junk to the planet.

Went for a walk around suppertime to take photos of Tim Hortons cups.
Got grossed out by a crow pecking at a flattened pigeon. Went to
Church Street for supper. Was hoping for some soccer on TV but there
was only golf. Walked home. In the rain.

I tried to get my butt in gear to tackle the studio but I just
couldn't. I'm questioning the point of it all and putting myself into
a bad mood. I spoke to Claudine on the phone and we're both unclear
about how to tackle the next few months, where our priorities should
be. We want a house, but the question is where? We want to travel, but
again, where, and when? Should I go back to school for a Master's and
if so, where, and in what field? It would make more sense to stick
with curating or museum studies or maybe something useful like
welding.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 10, 2006 7:54 PM
Subject: Two cameraman injured in Caledonia; Un homme est arrêté après avoir menacé des musulmans devant une mosquée

Dear Stephen;

"Off with his head!"

Ha-ha, just joking.

I ran into Joquim in Java Moose this afternoon while having a coffee
and a chat with Elizabeth, who has moved back for the summer, and we
joked about how just about every teenage male has joked about
beheading someone, usually someone in a position of authority, often a
politician. Is Alice and Wonderland going to become a banned book
because of references to decapitation?

Elizabeth and I had a fun afternoon. We met up at the SJAC, where,
true to the article in the Reader this week, we were the only
visitors. She had brought an Etch-a-Sketch, and we practiced drawing
the extremely realistic paintings on display in the Frazee Gallery. I
suppose the incessant rain could be blamed for keeping people away;
it's been almost three weeks now and only the words of David Suzuki is
keeping me from exhibiting the harshest form of "Climate Rage". He
believes we have to learn that we are a part of our natural
environment, and not separate from it. Though if we built a big-ass
bubble over the city then we could control the climate and have it
rain only between the hours of 2 AM and 6 AM. Sunshine every day! It
would be perfect.

And isn't that what humans are after? Perfection?

I had a fun chat with an older Leftist gentleman from Manitoba who was
just aghast at the "editorial" news stories on Atlantica that appeared
in the TJ. Welcome to concentrated monopoly-ownership of the print
media in NB! I loved the irony of the TJ running "Pro-Atlantica, all
the time" editorial-style "news" items, while the ""balance" appears
in the "alternative" paper, [here], which is of course also owned by
you-know-who, and relies on the fact that most of the writing is
complete and utter shite too further discredit any balanced debate
about the pros and cons of Atlantica.

For my part, I'm actually more on the pro side, but only because I
think Massachusetts and the rest of New England should secede and join
a seceding Maritime bloc to form our own nation of Atlantica. We'd all
be better off; Albertans would be happy, so would Ontario, Québec will
secede as well and the USA could draw new boundaries around
"Jesusland" and the religious right can be left to their inbreeding
and shoot one another up in complete family dysfunction as they
gleefully await the Great Rapture or WW3 or the return of Papa J,
whichever comes first.

My biggest beef with the Atlantica conference has been that by and
large, there was no cultural representation or discussion. It's as if
for big business, it's all business, all the time. They forget that
for the non-workaholics, there exists more to life than business. For
those that work to live—not live to work—there is a whole world full
of literature, art, poetry, films, and ideas.

Does a creating a super-highway economic "corridor" transporting more
"made in China" for more distribution by Wal*Mart and company impact
positively or negatively on our collective culture?

Will tightening our connections with New England expand our collective
talent-pool so we can address pressing issues of energy-consumption
and share more energy-efficient ideas?

I don't know the answer to these questions because I'd rather buy a
$700 painting by a local artist than spend it on a seemingly one-sided
business conference with one-sided coverage in the one-sided press.

Hey check out my parent's blog
They are documenting the lead-up to and the entire 62-day cross-canada
cycling tour they are about to undertake. You can follow the links
from their site to help contribute to their effort. Be generous:
You're the freaking PM!

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 10, 2006 3:16 AM
Subject: Homolka can't change name, court rules; Jean Charest se moque des volte-face du PQ au sujet des écoles privées

Dear Stephen,

It's been a long day. It started out with the book launch of "How to
live a great life", a collection of essays by people in SJ, Judith
included, a fund-raising project for the Saint John Regional Hospital
Foundation. There was a brass band playing and almost twenty
contributors to the book signing copies around the Market Square
fountain. Afterwards Peter treated Judith and I to a filling buffet
lunch at the Asian palace. Then Jude and I went to Hell's Creation,
her to deal with some Blue Cross issues for Robyn and I to peter
Wal*Mart about those 'support our troops' magnet ribbons. They keep
giving me the runaround.

Work was busy almost all night. A combination of the Atlantica
conference, the Atlantica protesters—apparently a couple were arrested
today, but I don't know any details. Smells like over-reactions at
first blush. There was also a nurses reunion and a big bash on the
waterfront hosted by the SJ Board of Trade. All of this added up to
the bar being a busy place. I was there until 2 AM, but earlier I took
my supper break with David Suzuki. Lisa had a spare ticket and wash
rushing over to the university late with her friend Dawn, who drove us
there and back in a flash. His autobiographical talk was fun and
informative, and he made an impassioned plea for environmental
activism at the end. I'd vote for him.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 8, 2006 2:15 PM
Subject: Goddard laid to rest in nation's capital; Exiger le passeport à la frontière ne sera pas une solution miracle, dit Wilson

Dear Stephen,

I'm heading into the CBC studio this afternoon to read through some
letters for that Atlantic Magazine interview. It airs June 25th. We'll
all be struggling to wake up in time to hear it after Mark and Janet's
wedding. I guess we could record it. I have almost two thousand
individual letters to scan through to find some to read as samples for
this CBC thing. I have no idea where to begin. They all seem the same
to me. All equally embarrassing. And I sound terrible and incompetant
when I read them.

Mary had another seizure yesterday. It was her quick-thinking
roommate, the indomitable Ruth, who noticed something was amiss and
called for backup. Mary suffered a broken rib as a result of all the
resuscitating action, but she is apparently a bit better now.

My daily blahs have continued. I am now blaming the weather as well as
the disturbing news stories (reading the news counts as research while
in studio mode). We haven't had sun since New Hampshire! Over 1 week
ago! And my five-day forecast doesn't predict any until Tuesday! It's
enough to drive someone mental. Or at least drive my sweetheart to
greener pastures; she's off to her hometown of Montréal for a
week-long visit.

We visited another couple bank repos yesterday with Don, our real
estate agent. There seem to be lots of those repos around, which makes
me wonder a little bit about the foundations of our economy, but
that's another story. We might make a bid on a definite fixer-upper on
Garden Street, just down the road from us. There are currently some
crackheads living illegally in the ground-floor apartment. They
wouldn't let us into their apartment, and the back half should just be
torn down, and we couldn't even view the attic rooms because the
staircase had been blocked off, but there is some good potential. A
larger place we viewed on Princess Street is just too far gone and
they are asking four times the price! So we shall see.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 7, 2006 1:23 AM
Subject: Guite guilty on all charges; Charles Guité reconnu coupable de fraudes est menotté et incarcéré

Dear Stephen,

Today was a blah day. I couldn't get motivated to do either gallery or
studio work and kept reading the newspaper or books that made me more
angry and depressed. Claudine was working all day and I washed dishes
then dirtied more and alternated between reading bits of Kingdom
Coming, which consistently scares the bejeezus out of me. Later in the
afternoon we visited Mary in the hospital, then cycled around the
South End looking for houses, then went to a Continental Drift Film
Festival meeting. Then we made supper, which made us drowsy and a
little ill—either the cod was bad or the cheese sauce for the veggies
was too rich—then we went for a walk and rented a movie from Terry's
on King St. The movie was called Junebug and was really well-done,
great pacing, sound, dialogue, lots of realism and depth to the
characters. A simple story of a homecoming, a family visit, but with
the richness and complexity of religion, family, family values,
tensions and the search for meaning. And who's not searching for
meaning? Those that already believe that they have it.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 6, 2006 12:27 AM
Subject: Tempers flare in Caledonia, Ont.; Au procès de Charles Guité les jurés délibéreront pour une septième journée

Dear Stephen,

We just came from a marathon of incompetence. We went to the weekly
council meeting because Jay was giving a presentation in support of
the yet-to-be-built Saint John Skate Park. It's only been in the works
for about six years but that's the pace of life here. We stood and
listened to almost two hours of mindless drivel as the councillors
either couldn't or wouldn't make up their minds about decisions, rules
of conduct, procedures or the time of day. I have a feeling that there
are major personality conflicts on council. Jay's presentation was
fun, animated and informative. It ended and the council took turns
massaging their own egos in support of the project before they
deferred their collective support of $226 000 and then re-affirmed
their support but only in the 2007 budget, and only if the skate park
raises an additional $300 000 in cash and sponsorships, but it seemed
like a victory. The dozens of skater kids that assembled in support
probably left with the idea further entrenched in their minds that
most adults are idiots and that only the supremest of idiots would run
for council. Welcome to real-world politics, kids! Here we have the
leaders of tomorrow, already totally disenfranchised with our
political system. Way to go, guys! Because of course, it is mostly
guys. Tired-looking old white guys with thinning or white hair,
wearing wrinkled suits. Nothing short of a vision of inspiration.

I had spent the afternoon with Mark recording footage for the upcoming
CBC show. It will air the day after his and Janet's wedding. In about
three weeks. Boy, time just flies. It was a good afternoon but I found
it a bit heady, close to three hours just thinking and talking about
this project. Then Elwoods went up in flames and sirens and fire
trucks arrived to put out the grease fire. No one was hurt and the
restaurant only appeared to suffer from smoke damage, but still.
Weird.

After the council meeting a bunch of us went to Thandi's, the new
Asian-fusian restaurant that took over d'Amico's, formerly il
Fornello. The decor has been changed a bit, with the worse addition
being the cheap-o faux-art prints all over the wall. I just don't get
it. Don't they know they could probably hire a local artist to make
original works for the same price, and have something that doesn't
look like it came off the walls of a K-Mart or Wal*Mart or I*Suk*Mart?
The food was delicious but those prints make me want to never go back.

You want to know another bizarre thing? Common council here has a
pastor say a prayer before they begin their meeting. He went on and on
about asking the "Lord Father" and the "Father God Almighty" for aid
and assistance with the meeting. The Almighty lord on high was
obviously busy elsewhere as the three hours I witnessed were about the
most excruciating I've ever spent anywhere. But don't you find it
weird that in a so-called era of separation of Church and State we
have a prayer from a clearly Christian religion? What about pluralism?
What if there were Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or *gasp* atheist
councillors? Oh right, I keep forgetting: this is Saint John. 95% of
council will be male, white, old and christian.

Like Michelle Goldberg highlights in her book "Kingdom Coming":
America is a Christian Nation. Why should Canada be any different?

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: christelle alin
Date: Jun 4, 2006 11:45 PM
Subject: Canadians apathetic to terror threat; Gilles Duceppe lance un appel à la vigilance face à la menace terroriste

Dear Stephen,

I'm still feeling hung over. Last night I left work early to go to a
barbecue at Katie and Rich's new place. They just moved a few days
ago, into a really nice apartment on Duke, the apartment below one
that Judy lived in. I don't know if it was the wine, the pot or the
crazy 80-proof rum that Rich pulled out of somewhere, but by the time
we left to walk to Elwoods to catch a band I was already a handful.
The beer and tequila were certainly not required. I've forgotten
almost everything, thankfully. Apparently I was the only one dancing,
manically, to the band, and threw a beer bottle on the floor, which
was when Claudine first attempted to drag my sorry arse home. I left
the cab and played in traffic for awhile, clearly deranged. There
were more shenanigans, newspapers emptied to the sidewalk, then
finally Tim helped load me into another cab. I think there was
projectile vomiting as well.

So today was a bit of a recuperation day, and mellow apartment
cleanup. My parents came over and I helped a bit with their new blog,
we had tea and snacks. Claudine and I decided to use her free film
passes to see a movie, despite there not being anything we really
wanted to see. We settled on The breakup. Let's just say it didn't
exceed my expectations and leave it at that.

Yesterday Ray and Sarah came by the gallery. He's writing a catalogue
essay for the Kelly Mark show. We went to Sebastians for a beer before
I began my shift and they drove back to Fredericton. We had a nice
talk. It's always fun and stimulating to talk about art.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: christelle alin
Date: Jun 3, 2006 1:45 AM
Subject: Loonie might equal greenback; Harper cite le Québec en exemple pour les relations intergouvernementales

Dear Stephen,

Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I was busy waking up early, finding a
fun trail somewhere in the White Mountains, hiking up and down a small
one called Pine Mountain, near Mount Washington, then driving through
New Hampshire and then Maine chasing and then being chased by
torrential rain, stopping at various Wal*Marts looking for "support
our troops" magnets, they are for a future project, then stopping at
the border and having our messy messy Yaris searched by the customs
agent because of course we were in a rush and hadn't bothered tallying
our receipts and just guessed at the amounts (I'm not allowed to do
the talking with customs again, ever), then I dropped Claudine off at
Judith's for Janet's wedding shower and I dumped everything from Yaris
onto the salon floor (most is still there), changed and went to work,
and by the end of the night I was tired and fell asleep instantly.

Today I slept in a bit and then had coffee and something to eat and
read the paper and continued to think about the uproars surrounding
same-sex marriage and religious fundamentalism and the War On Terror
and the War On Drugs and War And Peace and War In General and Kyoto
and general apathy concerning the environment and how I'd like to see
An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary based on the book by Al Gore,
but it probably won't be distributed here, and I wonder if the book
is, how many years will it take? And we gave the cats some catnip and
they wrestled and we watched them wrestle, and then Claudine and I
spent time studying our "daily positions" book, then I was off to open
the gallery and prep the bar, which was quiet quiet until past
suppertime, I ate at home, Claudine cooked, we talked, we made plans,
we're always making and revising and fleshing out our plans, then I
was back to work and it was busy and now I'm back home getting tired
again and overwhelmed with so many things to write about.

-chris

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: christelle alin
Date: Jun 1, 2006 7:59 AM
Subject: Smoking bans in force in Que. and Ont.; Les premiers ministres continuent leur combat contre le passeport

Dear Stephen,

We've stopped in Lancaster, New Hampshire, after chasing lightning
then fog swirls through Vermont. Mass MoCa was a few hundred miles
detour but was it ever worth it. North Adams is a tiny little
"anywhere U.S.A" town which had relied mostly on one industry for many
years (a dyeing company until the late sixties, then building
electrical components until the mid-eighties). When Sprague Electical
closed 4,137 people were out of work—in a town of 18,000, that was
quite a blow. Faculty at nearby Williams College were shown the
sprawling complex while searching for sites to exhibit large scale
works of contemporary art and voila, the idea of Mass Moca was born.
It opened in 1999 after years of planning, research, lobbying and
fund-raising. It's the largest museum for contemporary art in the
country. It reminded us a bit of Shawinigan, only a few of those
museums could fit in this one. One of the exhibits we saw was rides
from an amusement park—all functioning, but slowed down, moving
incrementally, lights going on and off but in altered patterns. The
room they were in was simply unbelievably huge. The Huang Yong Ping
snaked through even more massive, massive brick and sunlit rooms. I'll
tell you more about the exhibits later on, as well as our thoughts on
how to propel our own little gallery in our own little town forward,
but right now we're about to hit the road again and do a little hiking
in the White Mountains before zipping home.

-chris