I walked around the city for a few hours this afternoon. I felt the need to explore some new streets, to find new passages. It was a beautiful, though cold breeze cut, day here in Halifax. I wound my way to Point Pleasant Park, which was devistated by Hurrican Juan in September. It’ll be closed until June and is fenced off while repairs and cleanup take place. I wasn’t able to see much of the damage that was done to it, however.
On my way home I made a point to crisscross the railway. One thing I feel strongly about is the rebirth of a national public rail system. We should have affordable public tansportation connecting all parts of this beautiful land, and a modern rail web would do this most efficiently, I believe. Plus, how can I fulfill my ambition of becoming a hobo without a railway?
I’m chronicling what I listen to with Audioscrobbler again. If you’d like to find out what I’m listening to at any moment, or want to know the bands and songs I listen to most, you can take a look. As random facts, know that The Squarewaves’ song “The Second Hand” is the track I have listened to most and that Valley of the Giants are my most listened to band.
Yesterday afternoon was spent with Cerra. I accompanied her as she did banking and shopped, and it was less frightening than might be expected.It was actually nice to hang out with her again and break from my usual routine. She bought me a cream egg flurry, which I enjoyed very much. Cream eggs are quite possibly my favourite food, and the ice cream version was excellent. The ice cream alone would have made the afternoon very pleasant (yes, it was that good), but it was going well even before then.
In the evening I was able to get my hands ears on Feist‘s Let It Die. It’s one of this years’ most diverse and remarkable albums. The eclecticism apparant in this recording is matched by a superb voice and musical mastery by both Leslie Feist and her band. “One Evening” is the initial standout for me, reminiscent of some of the better pop offerings of the 80’s. Feist’s version of Sebastian Mure’s “When I Was A Young Girl” (originally performed by Nina Simone, another wonderfully diverse artist) strikes as a haunting song anticipating death. “Inside and Out” sparks the heels with its infectious anthemic dance sound. This album plays from genre to genre, and will be sure to excite you if you have any affinity for jazz, pop, folk and music in general. Let It Die will stand as one of the best albums of 2004, so be sure to hunt it down when it is released in Canada on May 18.
Through Link Pool, my friend Mark‘s link sharing project, I was pointed to A Softer World. It’s a beautiful site made by fellow (former?) Haligonians that is updated weekly with comic-formatted photos and words. With sequences such as this week’s “As a child, I learned that books can set you free, an encyclopedia held over my head, waiting in the dark as he crept into my room,” darkly comedic, touching and somber mixtures of photos and words are offered up from A Softer World each Friday. Add it to your weekly reads, or at least give the archives a glance. It’s mighty fine art.
I plan to go for another nice long walk tomorrow. Would anyone like to join me?