Sunday, December 30, 2012

Montreal snow

Avenue de Kent
Van Horne

I finally got out the camera and took a couple pictures this morning. Just going outside to face the piles of snow requires effort. Most sidewalks in this neighborhood are buried under snow. Good luck on the side streets. There's enough room for one vehicle to drive through. Forget about trying to park; it's next to impossible, unless you own a plastic hut or paid to have your driveway plowed.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

happy holiday

drawing by Lohbado




Dreaming man wishes you all sweet dreams, happy holiday, happy friendly gatherings, happy quiet time, happy relaxation.

Monday, December 17, 2012

slum apartment

sink and hot plate



top of fridge

bathroom
Lohbado wandered into an apartment the size of a storage locker. The tenant gave him permission to photograph a few details. The rent is high. One pays for the privilege of living indoors. It's better than living on the street. Landlords have to survive. The tenant gets depressed and stops cleaning the place. It's easy to sink into depressive inertia, to spend days inside, sleeping, watching a DVD and sleeping some more. I got depressed just visiting the place, the low ceilings, the smell of decay.

Eighty per cent of the man's income goes towards rent. After paying rent, there's eighty dollars left to pay for everything else during the month. There are little survival tricks. Don't use toilet paper. Wash your clothes in the bathtub. Get food from the food bank. Never go beyond walking distance. If you can find a cheap bike, that would be nice. It costs nearly six dollars for a round trip on public transit.

Sometimes a man has trouble holding and keeping a job. There are psychological issues. One could take medication. As one becomes lower economic caste, doors close. People turn away in disgust. Such a person learns to keep a low profile.

This apartment is luxurious compared to some other places I've seen in much worse condition. The ratio of what one pays and what one receives in return increases with the level of one's destitution. You pay increasingly more for increasingly less. 


Friday, December 14, 2012

vintage camera items

Fotax Mini from Sweden



Good luck trying to find film for the Fotax. The camera is from about 1948. Also, I haven't been able to figure out how to open it. Maybe it's jammed from years of sitting on the shelf.

I remember my father using photo-flash lamps, blinding blue light, a popping sound, in the early sixties.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

tire pattern in snow


First snow here to stay, it melted a bit, then froze. The street is slippery in places.


Have some cherry juice and a biscuit.


Monday, December 10, 2012

change in the weather










Yesterday, I walked to the plaza and took a photo of the parking lot before going in. There was something picturesque about the sheer desolation of the scene. Today, a layer of wet snow covers the streets of Montreal.

Monday, December 3, 2012

weird door

green door



radio

There's no connection between the two images. Sometimes the mind makes unexpected associations. Perhaps this loose couple will give birth to a new concept.

ah, so

Thursday, November 29, 2012

maybe success

don't forget to smile


Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok

Friday, November 23, 2012

full jobber bushman




The full jobber bush man drill bits can handle most lengths.


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

just add peanut butter

bathroom tile

keep it clean



add peanut butter



evening sky

A mondo mystico progression occurred as Lohbado stood in the bathroom. To make supper, all he had to do was just add peanut butter. After, he looked out the window.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

garbage day




Garbage day is often quite the adventure. One of the garbage men commented on how it looked like an entire living room on the front lawn. Those men are real athletes. They lift a lot of heavy material and keep the place tidy.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

happy couple






What does it mean to be a happy couple? What is the shelf-life of romantic love? What happens when romance fades and one is forced to deal with the other person? Why is it so difficult for people to get along? What do people expect from each other when they become a couple?

Friday, October 26, 2012

The Grumblers Group



Join the long and troubling tradition of grumbling. We invite you to wallow in worry. Proclaim every little irritation and mental discomfort. Holler as loud as you can, to drown out other grumblers and to draw attention to yourself. After all, you are you, the most important you on the planet. The you of you is more important than the billions of other yous, because you are the only you you. There’s only one you you, whereas there are seven billion other yous. The rarity of you you makes your you all the more precious. If only other yous would stop and realize there’s only one you! Then maybe the other yous would give you the attention you need!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Oogalitarian

June 2009, taken during Lohbado's last day in Kangirsuk

Let me repeat, once again, the origin of the name Lohbado. A gray-bearded man heard the sound of a subway train getting louder. The train burst into the station in a roar. Within the loud noise, he heard a voice shouting: Lohbado. Lohbado. Lohbado.

Drool flowed from the side of his mouth and soaked his beard as he strained to hear more Lohbado.  In the broken wind of the train, he heard a riddle: Tell me now quickly, what is your name? I need to know your name. There's something riddle-like in a name, especially when you forget your name. It's dangerous to not know your name.

My name is Lohbado, the one who drools through his beard.

Look at the wheels of the train. Watch as the doors slide open. Look at the mouth of the tunnel. The subway train goes in one end and out the other. The secret lines in the hole, opening, zero, oh. Oogah!

    Oogah exploded in his ears. The accelerating and various other noises joined together to shout, in such a way as to be understandable within his sound-consciousness, Oogah. Oogah begins with two Ohs, zeroes, openings or passage ways. It balances on the G spot, Oh on one end, Ah on the other. An epistle to the Oogalalians in an Oogalitarian society, open your heart and mind. Don’t hesitate to pass through the Oh.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

How would you like to be remembered


Over the hill is fine. At the top of the hill, look back on years of confusion, ups and downs. Pause for a breather.

Monday, October 8, 2012

walk on the quiet side

woman from a beauty salon sign




I walked to the bank this afternoon and withdrew some money from the instant teller. It was enjoyable to walk slowly in the sunshine. There must be come sort of magnetic attraction among people. It often happens, when I’m strolling along, a person suddenly steps right in front of me and blocks the way. While walking down the hill, suddenly a young woman, wearing strong-smelling perfume, stepped in front of me. I couldn’t get around her. So I accepted the fact that I would be following her down the hill, our vibes interconnected. If she didn’t like it, she could get out of the way and let me pass. I lacked the stamina to sprint around her. I didn’t want to follow her. That’s how it ended up. This happens often.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

autumn flowers




That's it, another summer over, another autumn begins. As I get older, it becomes much easier to slow down and enjoy the flowers along the way.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

happy



Ok, so what is happiness? Cha cha cha, OOO Cha. Relax, say hello to a friendly cat, smile, be friendly.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

relaxing

on the back balcony
in the park
The relaxation of summer is over. September came in with wind and rain. Time to go back to classes.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

family visit



Once in a while it's fun to visit people you haven't seen in a long time. I hadn't seen Mary in about thirteen years. It was a lot of fun to relax and talk about things.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

dream hostess

welcome to the dream

The door opened, a dream hostess appeared, welcoming you to wake up and explore the world of dream while you sleep, or to enjoy the dream-like nature of reality while you don't sleep.

Friday, August 17, 2012

doing the laundry






Gotta keep up with the laundry. Don't let it pile up, otherwise it's going to take a lot of machines to clean those clothes.