What Tom Thomson and I Have In Common

Tom Thomson was one of Canada's most famous artists. Associated with the Group of Seven, he actually died before the group was formed. Nevertheless he, and his work, significantly affected art in this country.

One of his most famous paintings was The Jack Pine, found at the top of this post. Well not literally. It was actually found near Grand Lake in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Thomson died in 1917 at the age of 39, drowning in Canoe Lake in his beloved Algonquin Park. The park served as an inspiration for many of his works.

Now, I hear you asking, "What in heaven's name could Dufus possibly have in common with Tom Thomson?" After all, I'm not particularly artistic. Sure I enjoy art and music but from a distance...on the receiving end, as it were. And I've survived well past 39. So far so good. And, while I could never participate in a 200m butterfly, I like to think my attempts at the dog-paddle would help keep my head above water if I fell out of a canoe. But then what the hell would I be doing in a canoe in Algonquin Park in the first place?

What do we have in common? Well now it can be told. The inspiration for The Jack Pine wasn't found in Algonquin Park. No. It was found in my side yard. It's true! See for yourself.

C'mon. Use your imagination. I can see it if I squint a little. Thomson's work has often been referred to as post-impressionism. I don't know about you but I'm pretty impressed!

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on,

Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever.

I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read.

So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still have Decem…

Paroxysm Paradox

The weather was unseasonably warm for October. The sun set around 6:30 but the daylight hours were quite enjoyable. So thought Richard, as he set out for his daily walk in the woods. He marvelled at the turning leaves which exhibited an explosion of colour more significant with each passing day.

But Richard knew the turning leaves would soon start to fall. And the trees would soon be bare with no leaves at all. And then the snow would fly and fall from the trees as the leaves had before it.

Richard couldn't help but think of the sudden change to come as a seizure of sorts. And he wasn't looking forward to it. After all, who would welcome a seizure, he thought, as he rolled uncontrollably among the leaves.

This week paroxysm/seizure was the prompt at Two Word Tuesday.

nonamedufus

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