54

Slee. Marz. Dev. String. Syd. Keys. Bishop. Black.

... cinquante-quatre

are/were the days, and counting. And I didn't need to buy any shoes to sell it.

I say again, the black pearl. And the summertime is coming. See ya in magical edinburgh.

Many years later.

someone in a suit here has been to jail

Ah, the smell of the ocean. The clouds over the full, spectacular moon. The girl dancing in front of the band earning the inevitable kickout. The curly-haired one oblivious otherwise. So are the glorious salty stories of an excellent pre-Burns eve. The deep fresh air. The intoxicating essence of C over water. Rabbie in 2. Giants in 11. Alexander in 255. Pat in ... Well, let's go to the triangle and find out. And 25 for the Black Pearl of Louis. And the Karsh Churchill.

Oh the stories, Stransky. Wherever which way we run.

Tonight I met dozer.

Inside

Another weekend of incident and foreshadowing - reminder of past disappointments and reckless failures. Yet perhaps enough to move along, with the lost ability to post from the blackberry and rising work responsibilities but dreams of wordly travels still paramount. You look pretty young to be a lawyer, comes the response. Indeed. And then as the daily noon gun fires over the city.

Waiting, now. Hoping that time can heal the works that need doing the next few nights, knowing that it will. For that proclamation to come with gusto: Goodbye to all that.

Oh my. Just the second Friday of 2008. Many more to come. Looking forward to seeing where they go. Keep your head about you. And go big blue!

Sunday Afternoon Regulations

Oh, the joy of those laws and regulations the powers that be deem necessary for a just and free society:

11 No advertisement shall

(a) contain a personal endorsement of any liquor unless approved by the
Corporation;

(b) convey the impression that the consumption of liquor is necessary or
helpful in obtaining any social prestige, business success, popularity or escape
from personal problems;

(c) depict family scenes that in any way involve use of liquor, including
any group of adults accompanied by children;

(d) encourage or promote the consumption of liquor by minors, or use
wording that suggests misuse or its consumption in an immoderate way;

(e) indicate that liquor may be consumed in any way, manner or place
prohibited by any federal, provincial or municipal law;

(f) make any claim, directly or indirectly, which implies or attributes to
any liquor, either alone or as a mixture, any healthful, nutritive, dietary,
curative, sedative, or stimulative quality or properties;

(g) portray drinking-party scenes which show immoderate or extreme use of
liquor;

(h) refer in any way to persons who may be minors;

(i) state prices without Corporation approval and without compliance with
Corporation policy guidelines.

... and Coke Fridays

Interesting first TFI of 2008, still reveling in the spirit of M. Obama's marvelous performance out of Iowa and drafting french composition under the stars instead of cavorting downtown. Two interesting months of work ahead, followed by yet another as yet unknown European escapade. Easyjet now flies to the Greek islands and to Egypt, but sadly not until the summer. More confirmation I need to move back to London, I suppose, if NYC turns out to be but a fad. Interesting to think upon, in any case.

For now we'll see how various energy efficiency, wind power purchase agreements, competition act cases, payday loan lender regulation, beer accord lawsuits, petroleum pricing promotions, and real-time pricing rate disputes unfold. Damn that's a varied practice for a lawyer in year 2.

Carry on. Pictures from the levees soon enough. Off to watch the debates. Let's hope New Hampshire holds and there is no comeback for the Clinton this time. Damn I wish I were there. Hope not fear still resonates. And this time our candidate is better.

No Man Is At All Hours Wise

And so the new year rolls in with a successfully raucous ending in the streets of Lunenberg, Grand Parade, and the levees of Halifax Regional Municipality. Once again we donned the tuxedos to receive our blessings from the Archbishop, Lieutenant-Governor, Mayor, Rear Admiral, and other fine hosts. The Moose Milk was flowing. Perhaps the highlight of 2008's first day was attendance at the Buffalo Club in Eastern Passage (whose motto I quote in the post's title - exceptional) where I was asked a few times whether I had just come from a wedding, or whether we were undertakers. Good times.

The eyes, now sufficiently sobered, turn to 2008. What trips will it hold? 2007 was a fine one for a' that: Oxford and the Blarney Stone in February, Chicago in March, Niagara Falls in May, Paris in August, Calgary in September, the Vegas-Phoenix-Grand Canyon triumverate in October, and spectacular Turkey in November. Already the holder of a one-way return from London on March 23, St. Patty's should be the impetus for further vagabonding revels by then. 52 or so Fridays, where they will be spent thereby shall hang the tales? Predictions include Malta and Ollie's Last Pub, for one, but the true resolution would be to set foot on a new continent - South America or Africa. Add that to the list of more typical "healthy" resolutions that this year (at least for the next two months) may actually be kept.

Quoi d'autres? That's the magic, I guess. The who, what, when, and wheres of a new year set out like blank pages waiting to be filled - as opposed to the why that may never be properly understood even in retrospect. Here's to a prosperous one, and the dreams to come.