blah, blah, blah.....

I'm about to ramble on about the past week...ready?

The Sault Orleans benefit concert was a success and I would like to thank everyone involved for all of your contributions and hard work.

First and fore most, Mike Prentice for your vision and enthusiasm. Your heart is as big as...well ...you're a big fella, so it makes sense your heart is big too.

Adrian Vilaca for your ideas and being the go-to guy.

Craig West for managing and coordinating the musicians...you run one tight schedule...good job!

Curt O'Neil for the beautiful website and putting up with our constant pesky e-mails.

George Ravlich for the awesome sound production...and for only freaking out a little bit when your gear got wet!

Dan Nystedt for the fantastic multimedia presentation...I know it was more than a little hectic for a bit there, but you pulled it together beautifully!

Louisa Van Lith and the volunteers from the Red Cross for braving the storm and getting drenched for the cause.

Uncle Max and Mike's mom (sorry, didn't catch your name) for making one hell of a gumbo!

Sherie Gladu and "A Thymely Affair" for the amazing entrance way. And both Pat and Sherie for letting me use their studio to paint the sign, and for all your help doing so.

Allie Russon for all your running around and bead and balloon gathering...your Jack Russell is ALMOST as cute as mine...

Tracey Hilderly for doing a fantastic emcee job...and for being my partner in crying during the video presentation.

The girls from the "Pita Pit" for managing the gumbo sales.

The owners and staff of "Smack Daddy's" for providing the alcohol and contributing 50 cents per unit sold to the Red Cross.

Local Steel Workers Union 2251 for their Red Cross donation of $5000.00...wow!

A HUGE group hug for all the musicians that donated their time and talents for the cause; Brass Tax, Stifler's Mom, the Malcontents (way to give Mother Nature the finger, boys!), the Sault Swing Band, Lindsay Pugh (love that Dobro!), DJ Saige (it's just a little wet...it's still good, it's still good...), the Chris Belsito Band, Big Wheel and the Spokes (ya handsome devils!) and the Jay Scali Quattro. Those spectators who withstood the horrid weather conditions did so because of you.

To all of our sponsors, thank you. This event would not have happened without you.

To anyone else I have forgotten, my thanks and apologies...I tend to suffer brain farts now and again...

Being a part of this event made me happy.

For the rest of my week, I did a whole lot of not much. Friday night I ventured out to the Down Beat Lounge to see "Slow Nerve Action". This made me happy. But alas, the band was stranded west of Thunder Bay and could not make it. This made me VERY sad. But I managed to catch the "Inner City Surfers" at foggy Notions and this made me happy. Also went to the Greyhound season opener...happy! But we lost...sad.

Thursday and Saturday nights I worked at Lop Lops and made a bit of pocket money. This made me happy. But I had to work Sunday loan sharking...boo...sad.

Monday I spent a good portion of the day farting around on the computer...this always makes me happy. I am still unable to get my C.D. burner to work, however...much sadness...not to mention frustration and annoyance. Monday night, Krista and I played a mean game of scrabble. Not just any scrabble, but "Super Scrabble"...oh so happy! But I lost...bummer days.

So there it is...my bipolar week in a nut shell.

Oh...I almost forgot...less than two weeks 'til Social Distortion...happy, happy, HAPPY!!!

Unsafe Sex

So, whilst engaging in blissful slug-like, channel surfing behaviour late Saturday night, I was about to head to bed but thought I'd give my dish one more look through to see if anything worth while was on. It was almost 4 in the a.m. I was doubtful.

And then I found it...."Kondom des Grauens" or "Killer Condom".

Any one who knows me knows I am a fanatic for b-grade flicks, so naturally I HAD to check this little gem out. I was laughing out loud to myself within the first 30 seconds.

OK--OK, check this out, yo. It's a German "film" set present day in New York City and the lead character is a short, fat, chain smoking tough cop named Luigi Macaroni. Oh, did I mention he was also gay? The "film" doesn't get really good until a condom bites off his right testicle while he attempted to get his groove on with a young little man-whore after dumping his REEEAAALLY ugly cross-dressing boyfriend, Bob...or Babette at the central location of most of the "film", the "Hotel Quickie".

Did you happen to retain the whole "biting condom" concept in the above bizaare synopsis? Yes, a killer condom...a ravenous rubber with huge fangs and an appetite for blood...and a cute little squeeky voice, much like the voice Ash's lopped off hand had in "Evil Dead II". Classic.

By the time I went to bed at 4:30, not only had the carniverous contraceptive appropriated one of poor Luigi's nads, it had also killed 13 other men by...well...I'm sure you can figure that out. I never made it to the end of the "film" to find out why/how/where this evil condom came from. My need for sleep was far too great. But thanks to the miracle of satellite T.V. and the "Drive-Inn" channel, I'm sure another viewing of this classic is not far off.

SAULTORLEANS

As you may or may not be aware, a benefit has been organized to raise funds to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The event, spear headed by Mike Prentice, will take place on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion from 5 to 11pm.

There will be plenty of food, entertainment and chances for you to donate whatever you can to the Red Cross.

For full event details, please visit the "Sault Ste. Marie for Katrina Relief" website .

A challenged has been issued by our first sponsor, Herbal Magic, for other local businesses to sponsor the event. Answer the challenge and give generously.

Unbelievable....

This is a direct quote from Barbara Bush as she, George senior and former president Bill Clinton visited the Houston Astrodome where many of the evacuees from Hurricane Katrina were housed...

"...so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

To read the full story, click the title of this post.

I Cried at Work Today

As I looked images of the utter devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina, I realized just how lucky I was. I've always said it but never really had it demonstrated so drastically....


These people have lost everything and the loss continues to mount as the toxic water burying New Orleans festers in the hot humid weather.... and Tropical Storm Nate and Hurricane Maria are heading in their direction....

The E-Coli infested water is now being pumped out of New Orleans into the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain, inevitably resulting in ecological devastation that will continue for years to come....

...life in North America has changed forever...

It Serves Me Right, I Guess...

When I posted the "White Trash" photo of Pat Gladu and I on my photo blog, I was thinking the three people who bother to look at the damn thing would be the only ones to see the opposite of flattering photo...I thought it would be funny...

...stupid me...

It turns out that two "friends" of mine conspired against me...two people I have never once slandered, snubbed or socially humiliated...two people I have only supported and been nice to...

Beth Boskovitch and Chris Belsito, be warned! I am getting quite good at photoshop and I have in my devilish little hands many photos of the both of you. Remember: Paybacks are a bitch and revenge is a dish best served cold...

To those who have no idea what I am talking about, click here. See what my wonderful "friends" did to me? But I suppose it does serve me right for (a) trusting Beth to take the photo and have it in her possession, (b) posing for the picture in the first place and (c) posting it on my photo blog.

That's one lesson learned. Now the two of them get to learn NEVER fuck with a scorpio...

UPDATED SEPT 3, 2005

So I just realized that I cannot link directly to the SooToday page with the incriminating photo. So just click on the link in the body of the post and select the heading "Be Brainwashed by Our Hot and Sexy 4-Day Arts and Entertainment Outlook"...I know you won't be laughing AT me but laughing WITH me, so go ahead...laugh...

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (a title by Stanley Kubrick for a story by Donna Hopper)

I fancy myself a creative sort.

I am often found painfully hunched over a project,sculpting ...carving ...scribbling ...birthing my latest inspiration. This happens in cycles and I inevitably collapse with a tired brain, bleeding eyes and an overwhelming sense of immense satisfaction, gazing like a proud parent at my offspring. Thankfully this process almost never results in post-partum depression.

Following such an ordeal, a creative draught ensues. During this dry season, "The Simpsons" and "CSI" dim my wits...stunt my creative growth...dowse my artistic fire, causing the moths of inspiration to flit towards a brighter flame.

Wow...perhaps I should serve some crackers with that cheese...

Anyway, my most recent dry spell was longer than most. It began to worry me. Friends and fans of past work asked, "Donna, why don't you make jewellery/sculpt/draw/photograph/paint any more?" to which I never had a satisfactory response. I honestly didn't know.

Thinking back, I now understand it was the result of various accumulated frustrations. Lack of support, theft of my original ideas and disappointment at my own short comings are the big three. Embracing my lethargy, I became content to sit back and observe the artistic world from the side lines.


Not long ago, I was invited to partake in the embellishment of the wall surrounding the new arena construction site. Thinking it would be a prime photo session rather than an artistic work out, I agreed to make an appearance. This appearance created an obsession.

The first day of painting was fun, sweaty and productive. I managed to complete two "paint and brush" pieces and was quite pleased with their outcome. I also shot almost an entire roll of black and white.

The following day, I returned and began work on a third, somewhat uninspired piece. Thinking to myself,"Self, you can't make it look any worse. You might as well." I reached for a can of spray paint.



As I gently shook the can and listened to the little mixing ball inside chatter, a blast of anticipation swept through me. With a long "psssht", I had officially defaced my own work...and it was beautiful. A loud, maniacal giggle erupted from me and I was hooked.

As I looked at the swirling, misty line I had sprayed across the wall, the true potential of this taboo art form became evident. I spent the rest of the night spraying and giggling and shaking those chattering cans until darkness inhibited me and my hand cramped to the point of tears...tears both from pain and from the inability to continue the graffiti.

For the next three days, I completely forgot about my camera and worked through the hand cramps.

I have since ravenously devoured this new found love for graffiti and have been researching artists, designing my own "tag" and scoping out local spots I would love to "bomb".....that's right, I'm down with the lingo....I even have my own spray can trigger (thanks Beth) and two "Sharpie Magnums" for those finishing touches. I am armed and ready. You may someday soon see my name in the "Police Files" for my beautiful crimes, but it will all be in the name of art.

My migration to the art of bombing, now, seems only natural. I have, long ago, embraced the sub-culture surrounding this art form....skateboarding, punk rock, the need for self expression....and with my latest wake up call, I plan to hopefully remove the stigma inhibiting this urban form of expression.

Well, there it is. My story of how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. Change your perspective and look at graffiti as an art form rather than a crime and you, too, can love the bomb.


* This story was originally written for the September 2005 issue of Articulations. No, I did NOT paint the artwork which appears with this story. I do, however, hope to be this good someday.