The Haunting of West Edmonton Mall

Far, far out west of Canada
in the icy cold city of Edmonton
in the province of Alberta,
lies a stately mall of gigantic proportions called West Edmonton Mall ...
where millions come visiting ...
to splash money lavishly on food, games, wine, women and song ...


When darkness falls
and the air is still ...
with not a sound all around
I will come forth from once boisterous Bourbon Street ...
after I awake in eternal unrest
to seek justice in this cruel world around me ...
where the poor, downtrodden and weak
suffering women are lonesome, often make the bad choice of high risk living
and in tragically sad unkind barbaric inhumanity
are sexually abused and even slain in different ways ...


To be continued when the medium awakes ...

Bloody Tale of a Canadian Bust

Out in Edmonton, Alberta is a statue of a naked female torso ...
It belongs to me ...
and I would love to have it back ...
Where it is & who has it
I know not now ...
I recall leaving it in the basement of a wooden house ....
But here's the bloody tale related to it...


It was a bitterly cold snowy day
and there was this often said words
"The wind chill factor ..." made it like hell was on ice
but coming from a hot tropical climate it was close to heaven!

There was this middle age Canuck
a mommy who tried hard to finish a sculpture
so that she would get her grade in Art & Design ...
It was not an easy task
as the wood sawing machine was old & its blade was blunt .,.

So I had carpentry experience before in school
doing well in the subject ...
and I helped her to carve the tiny piece she wanted ...

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain & soon realised that my near-severed fourth finger ...
was dangling from my hand ...
There was no medical aid noticeable at the U of A woodwork place
& the instructor wasn't around after preparing the sawing machine for us ...
so in mad pain I held onto my finger & dashed out to the nearest medical clinic on campus
just 50 yards away ...
without proper winter attire out in the cold
I could feel my body freezing as the Chinook wind blew hard ...
I stumbled, slipped and fell twice on the slippery icy walkway as I ran with my blood flowing freely,
dripping, dripping everywhere from my hand ...

Soon I was given several stitches & had the day off to rest in bed at home!
In gratitude, the lady presented me with the bust of herself when we parted at the end of our Art & Design class ...
& the instructor made my time (& pain) worthwhile by giving me a 'B" for excellence in Art & Design work after purchasing my wooden sculpture with a fee months later ...

Coming up ... pic of the charming lady sculpturing herself ...

UA German Club Ski Trip

One of the most memorable times during my academic studies at the University of Alberta back in the nineties were participating in the many sports activities we had in the German Club.

Here's a pic of one of those memorable days. We had a ice-skating and ice-hockey match out to one of the frozen lakes and I had organized it as the elected sports conveynor for one of the years .

That's me in the white skull cap! I can't even recall what was on my head ... I believe it was a cap! I'm holding a long ice hockey stick.

What can I say about ice hockey? It's terrific fun but it can be nasty as there is so much speed involved in the game as we skate on the slippery ice and whack the small round puck into our opponents' small home goal.

Then there are times when desperation and accidents could create some jousting and pushing ... and punching! Certainly, it's a man's game!

So when I was in Calgary, I was going, "Go, Flames, go!" but when I was in Edmonton, I had to go, "Go, Oilers, go!" and of course, we had the whiz kid and champion, Wayne Gretzky in those exciting days!

Remembering Autumn

Here's something about autumn, when winter is round the corner. In Canada, especially in the western provinces of Alberta and Sasketchewan, it starts getting really cold; in New Zealand, it gets cold too but it really isn't as cold as in Canada!

All the same, as the green leaves of summer turn into beautiful hues of yellow and orange... falling gently to the color-coated ground... those who are lonely hearts will feel their hearts melting deep inside...aching and aching as loved ones are remembered and dearly missed. This is always one of the four seasons in the West that deeply stirs one's soul...

Here's one of my favorite French singers of all time, Francois Hardy, singing a gut-wrenching melancholic song, "Autumn Rendzevous" and yeah, fellas, to me this talented and beautiful lady reminds us of those attractive lost loves in our life wherever they are... and of what a different life could be....

Of course, it's past autumn and winter right now but don't miss the memorable experience this year!

There have been some requests for the lyrics... so here it is:

Now the summer days are ending

Leaves are falling, red and gold.

Now the warmth of love is fading

And the nights are getting cold.

From the east the wind is blowing

Now the sky's no longer blue

Overhead the clouds are growing

Summer's gone and so are you.

You wanted to be free

Love was just a game to you

And you never meant to be

At this autumn rendezvous.

All the happiness life gave me

Changed to emptiness today.

Now that you no longer love me

Autumn's come, it's here to stay.

Life seems empty now without you.

It's not easy to forget

I may learn to live without you

But I'll always feel regret.

I would cry but it's no good

Tears won't bring you back to me

Though I'd stop you if I could

I can't change what has to be.

With the years I'll still remember

And in time the hurt will go;

I'll forget this sad September

And be glad I loved you so.

Respect Parking Attendants!

FLASHBACK

Alberta, 1987, courtesy of The Edmonton Sun... Here's a guy who's pleading for a second chance after he was issued a parking ticket in one of the towns near Edmonton.... Did his dramatic begging work?
You would be surprised with the outcome.

Now could this ever happen here? There are occasionally a few news reports of local council parking attendants being abused for carrying out their duties by enraged motorists ....

I look forward to the day when meters are used instead like in many western cities as there are inconvenient times when we run out of tickets ... and the nearest ticket-selling shop is frustratingly nowhere in sight.

Amazing Weapon of the Russian Special Forces

Here's a pic out of many others that I've kept from my Military History class at the University of Alberta in Canada.

It's that of an underwater SPP-1 4.5 mm pistol. The weapon is fitted with a four-round magazine. It fires a drag-stabilised dart with sufficient power to deliver a lethal effect at 50m range in air or up to 1m range underwater, depending on the depth of the water.

It is used by a Russian Special Forces combat diver who would also be equipped with a close-circuit aqualung.

Marilyn Monroe's & Albert Einstein's Kid

Imagine the brilliant Einstein and gorgeous Marilyn together having a kid ...

Controversial Pic!

The pic on the right appeared on the front page of one of Edmonton's most widely read respectable newspapers, The Edmonton Journal on a dull Thursday, December 7, 1989.

It was about a crazy gunman at the University of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec who killed 14 female students, allegedly because he hated feminists.

Then all hell broke lose when it hit the streets of Alberta and soon the paper was bombarded with heavy criticisms of being in poor taste and tactless in showing the pic with the injured female student's tit exposed for all to see.

Perhaps it was much ado about nothing as nude dancing is legal in many of the strip joints in Alberta.