Good Morning Stradivari

Her Excellency The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean

2005-12-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

gg2
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

Last Wednesday, I had the honour of photographing Her Excellency The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, our newly appointed Governor General. She is a model that is not difficult to take beautiful photos of.

Jean Desmarais

2005-12-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

desmarais2
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

I had the priviledge of working on a collaboration with concert pianist, Jean Desmarais. Photographs of my art can be found on my website! It was so amazing to watch my art projected behind his piano while he performed his recital of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition".

artonthewall

punk rock grannies

2005-10-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

punk rock grannies b&w
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

We are the Punk Rock Grannies!!!

Watch out!!!! We'll be at an all ages show near you......

the other cheek

2005-03-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

the other cheek
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

recycling some of my artwork names and using them for my photographs!

bob

2005-03-10T23:02:00.000-08:00

So, Bob has been receiving alot of attention since his birth this week. I think that it has taken people by surprise that "I" am Bob's creator.

Usually, the creators of such characters are high tech nerds with lots of facial hair and know how to ....."code" and stuff.....

Oh well, I move and shake and yes....I play with a doll named Bob.....

Hope you're all enjoying his adventures!

bob working hard

2005-03-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

bob working hard
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

planing away....

bob is so useful!

bob tightens a clamp

2005-03-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

bob tightens a clamp
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

busy at the studio.....

good thing bob is around!

bob 7

2005-03-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

forgot the milk
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

bob was horrified when he realized he forgot the milk. his roomie might be a little cranky at him today....

bob is going to be a good bob today and buy milk.

bob 6

2005-03-09T06:30:00.001-08:00

bob needs a lesson in being subtle...
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

bob get tired of waiting for his turn on the computer....

bob 5

2005-03-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

bob is amazed
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

bob sees something on his favorite site that amazes him.....

bob 4

2005-03-09T06:29:00.000-08:00

up too late....need coffee...
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

it was a late night and the site eventually came up. bob stayed up way too late and needed a stiff mug of coffee in the morning....

bob 2

2005-03-09T06:27:00.000-08:00

while flickr was down
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

he had to lie down for awhile......

bob 1

2005-03-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

while flickr wasn't cooperating
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

bob was on edge while his favorite internet hangout was down.....

finger plane

2005-03-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

DSC09065_1
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

here's the other one!

http://blog.flickr.com/

restore this old French cello

2005-03-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

restore this old French cello
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

Hey everyone! This is sooooooo hot! This photo and one other which I will post next made it into the flickr offsite blog!!!!!!

http://blog.flickr.com/

so many repairs

2005-03-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

too many repairs
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

This is bossman. He's busy working and being patient with me as I run around the violin making studio taking artsy shots of him working. Thanks for being patient bossman!

so many repairs

2005-03-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

too many repairs
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

This is bossman. He's busy working and being patient with me as I run around the violin making studio taking artsy shots of him working. Thanks for being patient bossman!

GO brunchers

2005-03-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

GO brunchers
Originally uploaded by kazam.

It's growing!

So, Go Brunch today was a full house.

Topics included:

-the Bond Girls
-paint your pyjama party concerns
-Natalia Zukerman's concert
-cross country skiing weekend
-cds
-house concert
-i have turned into a bloggemaniac
-regular weekly potluck dinner gig
-the guy in dkny and others being here every saturday for the rest of my life.....!
-online auction for the arts

I'm sure I'm missing some key topics but the GO brunchers can add them to comments if they remember!

Thanks for being here everyone!

art installation black and white

2005-03-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

art installation black and white
Originally uploaded by kazam.

This was one of my favorite installations. We had a great party including wine and karaoke! Don't tell anyone, but football guy sang......! Sorry football guy!

Natalia

2005-03-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

Natalia
Originally uploaded by kazam.

Natalia is a great performer. More on the performance later.....she is very funny.

check her out....she'll be back in Ottawa soon!

Time for sleeping now, Go brunch is tomorrow!

check out Natalia:Natalia Zukerman

Braille

2005-03-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't told my braille story yet. It's an old one but I laugh every time.

I was new to Ottawa and I walked past a human rights monument with my friends. There were tall concrete pillars with words on plaques "bolted" into the pillars.

The plaques were 30 feet in the air.

There were 4 bolts on each plaque with big round heads on them.

So, as I was walking by, I read the plaques....."dignity"....."equality" and then, upon noticing the bolts, I exclaimed, "hey look...it's in braille"!

oh yes.....not my proudest moment.....

I continued on with only the slightest pause and said "you know....for all of the blind people........ who want to climb up there and read it".

yep....and there you have it. I've never fully recovered from feeling completely stupid for that one and that was 8 years ago.

I'll blog the photo later!

nice day for a little scroll.....

2005-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

self and scroll
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

hotstuds

2005-03-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

hotstuds
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

These are studs on the inside of a violin front to reinforce a crack. It should never have the chance to reopen now! Aren't those studs hot!

To Run or Not to Run

2005-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

looking back

2005-03-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

looking back
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

me and my roomie...bossman.

Free Drinks

2005-03-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

So, yeah. There is something to be said about free drinks. They seem to free your mind. I was at my friends wedding reception the other night and a few of us decided that a paint your pyjama party was in order.

Yes, you read things correctly.

We intend to buy fabric paints and white pyjamas and get together at our apartment with people we sort of know and paint each other's pyjamas. Ok, well...... I'll be fair, I just told my roomate and his girlfriend tonight that we may have this party.

So, the current concerns of this party are:

blogger girl-what if people in white pyjamas become too free with throwing water around.

bossman-what happens when he sees one of these guests as a customer....(er, eh hem...ahhhh, so, how are you...uh, i washed my pyjamas a couple of times....do you mind a little retouch?)

blogger girl-no stippling or riopelle

bossman-some areas of the canvas are off limits unless special permission is granted

blogger girl-it can't turn into some crazy paint twister on the floor thing.

blogger girl-canvas must be warned.

good morning stradivari-the canvas must be worn at all times.

blogger girl-no sudden brush strokes

I think that now that there aren't any free drinks around things look a little more complicated.
Anyone else have any concerns in regard to this party?

My bathroom rocks

2005-03-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

My bathroom rocks
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

More on Bossman

2005-03-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

Bossman

Guy and Guitar

2005-03-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

Guy and Guitar
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

So, here's bossman after we fixed a crack in Natalia Zukerman's guitar. What do you think? Should bossman change careers? He looks pretty natural with that guitar.

check out Natalia:Natalia Zukerman

Dominican Republic Day!

2005-02-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

So, I went to the party tonight for Dominican Republic National Day celebration. I wasn't sure if I was going to have a good time because there were alot of people there who thought they were soooooooo great. I ended up meeting some super great people who were down to earth and accessible.

Tomorrow I am going to a concert in Wakefield with my friends. It's a little over the top as we are arriving to this jeans and t-shirt bar in a 19 seater stretch limo. Life is never dull.

The Oscars and Barbara Streisand

2005-02-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

When you are at an Oacar party with more than one gay guy, do not, I repeat, DO NOT make any mentions whatsoever about Barbara Streisand's weight gain......even if you think it looks alright (which I personally do). That's all I need to say. Gay boys are very protective of their Barbara!

Last Night

2005-02-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

Happy National Day to the Dominican Republic!

The wedding was great. The groom had the most loving look as the bride came down the aisle. It was soooooo sweet and she just smiled the whole time. I met some cool people (like the chief justice and her husband) but most of all just enjoyed being around my pal and watching his happiness.

I left and went to the Oscar's in pyjamas party and met more cool people. I stayed the night and brought my friend's super cool, folk rock singer, step-daughter to the violin studio so that bossman and I could fix a crack in her guitar. This is something that we don't EVER do.....it is a one-off. I'm off to meet up with her at the studio.

I'm attending a party hosted by the Dominican Republic Embassy. It's their National Day today.

Big Night!

2005-02-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

So, tonight I will be going to the Supreme Court of Canada to watch my pal get married to his love of thirteen years. She's not thirteen.......they've been together for 13 years. Then, after the reception, I'm heading to a friend's place for the last bit of her "watch the Oscar's in pyjamas" party. What a fun night!

GoBrunch February 26, 2005

2005-02-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

GoBrunch February 26, 2005
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

Go Brunchers laughing.

Conversation at Go Brunch:

-The should be CBC show, "Up Yours" in the AM.
-The Pererborough Dagwood sandwhich.
-Being let down by your crush but still wishing the other person "happy heritage day".....it is very honorable and shows maturity.......well at least a sense of humour.
-My "type" of woman.
-When friends become "TOO" important and try to climb the social ladder by dumping all of their real friends.
-When important people posess humility and are accessible, it is a great thing and adds to their success.
-When relationships end badly or sadly.
-Having close relationships with your exes.
-Grown Up show and tell:
=The guy in DNKY brought The Walrus magazine
=Blogger girl sported her glasses
=bossman showed off his new laptop
=I showed my Elton John autograph that he signed13 years ago on a piece of my artwork.
=Naturally cool chick brought some Malibu shooters
=a 15 year old dalmation...5 years off the chart!
=Women who think bossman is hot.

my little nerds

2005-02-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

my little nerds
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

I couldn't resist another photo of this "too cute" couple.

DSC08687_1

2005-02-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

DSC08687_1
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

My spruce patch repair. Isn't it smashing! It was carved out of a piece of spruce to the exact shape of the edge. In other words....it's not bent, it's 100% carved into that shape. It was made to reinforce cracks in the ribs.

DSC08763

2005-02-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

DSC08763
Originally uploaded by good morning stradivari.

Look at my cute little nerds! awwwwwww! My roomate (bossman) and his girlie (blogger girl).

Don't Get All Cultural On My ___(rhymes with gas)

2005-02-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

So, I was on msn messenger with a friend tonight and I told her i was listening to the King's Singers, a famous, well established harmonious sextet. These guys can sing! I was enjoying their Gilbert and Sullivan CD....Here's A Howdy Ho!

She replied that I not get all cultural on her "___". (rhymes with gas). This is a family show folks.

Some of my friends just don't understand me.

I'll just play Tegan and Sarah for her..........

Size Doesn't Matter

2005-02-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

The fact is that grown men will always be boys. Big boys with toys. The funniest thing I have seen in awhile walking down the street appeared today.

Imagine.....two orange sidewalk plows drag racing down Gladstone.

It was like two little dinky toys but as I point out, size doesn't matter. They were little orange race cars to the grown "boys" inside.

I wonder what they could do with mopeds!!!!!

Getting Old

2005-02-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

So, tonight, I bought makeup. This is not the first time I've bought makeup.

It's the first time I've felt that I HAD to.

While I was at Shoppers, I thought, "oh yeah, while I'm here, I should really pick up some new hair dye".

Next thing you know I'll be doing the thiry-something year old drug store relay. I'm going to be sneaking out in the support hose section and b-lining it for the bi-focals on my way from the rub A535 aisle.

It's a very sad day indeed.....and just the beginning, I suspect.

I forgot

2005-02-22T15:53:00.000-08:00

So, I set up a friend with an internet account. He always forgets things and for this reason, I made his password, "I forgot".

So today, we were talking about his account. I had long forgotten about his password. When I asked him if he remembered his password, he said, "I forgot".

I wasn't surprised because he often forgets things.

I shrugged my shoulders in a smartass kind of way....you know the kind of way....like..."I knew this would happen"!!!!

He just stared at me.

Then he said, "No, my password is I forgot"!!!!!!!!!!!

Another unfortunate, backfiring joke on myself!

I really need to tone down my smartasm.

Book Launch Day

2005-02-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

We ate and socialized all day today. Alex Brett's booklaunch was great!

Today's GO Brunch Conversation Results

2005-02-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Today at GO Brunch, we discussed:

-the photographs of an Ottawa cellist in Preston magazine (alot of oohs and ahhs)

-visual identification of salt versus sugar (apparently we found it sounds different when shaken also....and oh yeah, thank-you Philly Boy for pointing out that they also "taste"different)

-Heritage Day (which is on Monday and we all now have historic places buttons...thank-you Blogger Girl!)

-handmade purfling and the dangers involved (mostly for me)

-Christos in Central Park (The Gates)

-online auction names

-the new Ottawa Concert Hall architectural plans

-The ice on the canal (it is in good shape)

Here is where we start to digress...................

-violins and seedlac varnish (do customers know what is in it?)

-where and how to get bug "excretions"

-knock-knock joke...knock, knock - who's there? - apinta - apinta who? - apinta Guinness

Sniff Test (must read Seedlac Varnish to understand)

2005-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

So, today after our CBC GO Brunch, we took a little trip to the violin studio to check things out and have a little varnish sniff test. I hid the names of the varnish from the sniffers to see which varnish they liked the smell of the most. 5 Go brunchers tested the varnishes and 3 out of 5 prefered bug shit varnish to Sandarac or the plain ól resin varnish.

Boss man and I couldn't participate of course because we know the look and smell all too well for the results to be fair.

I think the results speak for themselves. There is a certain solidarity I am feeling now. Seedlac man. It remains undefeated in the sniff test.

No bread bags please

2005-02-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

I just can't let this story go untold.

My roomate and I went on a big shopping spree.

The purpose: new wardrobe for him.

So, he takes a pair of his hot new Mexx trousers to have them hemmed. He comes back home and a couple of days later he goes to put on his nice new stylin' grey pants on. I walk by his room as he's tightening his belt and hear him exclaim, "ahhh, my nice comfy pants".

Now, normally, there would be nothing funny about this comment....however when he came out into the kitchen to enjoy morning coffee (our ritual) he stood in front of me, leaning very "cool like" against the counter sliding his hands into his trouser pockets. He gets a very unusually confused look on his face and pulls out an empty, crumpled up bread bag. His face continues to keep the look of confusion and then I yell out, "Those aren't your pants".

That's right. Those comfy, fitting pants that he put on without noticing were pleated for one thing and were all old and faded. Yes, someone else's old worn trousers. So as usual our morning coffee became a big laughing fest.

So, I guess what you have to learn from this story is that if you pull a crumpled up bread bag out of your brand new trousers......they probably belong to someone else.

seedlac varnish

2005-02-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

So, I have some unfortunate news from the violin studio. Well, maybe just embarrassing. I was at the violin shop yesterday and upon smelling the seedlac varnish I exclaimed to Guy (violin maker-boss man) that I just loved it's aroma. He giggled like a big mean 'ol brother and filled me in on all of the gory the details. Seedlac varnish is made from purified bug secretions.

Yes folks.......bug shit picked off of trees.

So, now I have questions:
1.....can I still like the smell knowing that it is bug shit? If I did, could I still respect myself or expect anyone else to respect me?

2.....when I use my fingers to smear it onto worn edges of violins to protect the wood should I be grossed out?

3.....how did this come to be? Who went walking through the trees thinking, man look at all this great bug shit....what a waste....I know what I'll do with it...I'll disolve it in a little alcohol and varnish violins with it.

If anyone else has any questions or answers to these questions, please enlighten me.