On Sunday, July 26th, starting at 3pm there will be a drum circle in his honour at Spanish Banks and there, his ashes will find a resting place.  All are welcome to bring a drum and join the gathering.

May there always be a drum circle at Spanish Banks to carry on the tradition that was started by ManDido. I hear that the one he started in Montreal is still going strong, although Baba Dido has not been leading for decades. I hope that here too, his legacy will continue and Vancouver will always know the sound of the djembe, sogo and jun-jun drums that he brought to us.

Check out my site on WOOLOO

Call for Proposals
Wooloo.org
(Berlin )

Following the great success of Woolo.org’s contemporary art festival in Berlin in 2008, we are proud to present NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN 2099 (yes, 2099).

NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN 2099 will take place as official part of the cultural program for the United Nations (UN) Conference for Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 9th to 18th, 2009.

To challenge the discourse surrounding our future co-existence on this planet – while simultaneously questioning the forms of governance being produced by the UN’s nation-based power structure – NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN has adopted the general theme of “2099”.

The festival curators invites artists to submit proposals for products, life styles and everyday interventions, as they could look and function in the year 2099.

GO TO www.wooloo.org to read more and submit a proposal.

Website: http://www.wooloo.org

It would be very exciting to present a workshop in Copenhagen. We really need to adopt a greener lifestyle and I provide simple ways to do that. Many people are afraid environmentally friendly living is expensive, but some of these actions save money. Always good in these difficult times.

I am currently looking at new templates and redesigning the Live More Lightly site to be more user friendly and offer more features than just a blog. WordPress is very powerful and I am just learning how to use some of the more advanced features.

There have been some developments in my artistic practice and I invite you to check out my other site Sound+Light+Motion on www.vix.ca.

I had so much fun doing the Live More Lightly Workshop at Vancouver Community College! Many thanks to staff and student assistants who were very supportive. I was able to give away a handout of an excerpt from my upcoming book, the “Live More Lightly Songbook and Workshop Guide”. The book contains a chapter giving helpful suggestions that are easy to integrate into our lives.  The “Many Small Things That We Each Can Do” handout was very popular and many were given away. At least two teachers want to use it as resource material for their class.

The photo below is of student helpers, Ting Ting (left, holding poster) and Yushu (right, holding handout).

Both Yushu and Ting Ting Enjoyed the song and helped me to find participants. My Hitachi video camcorder is working flawlessly now and I have the cable to download the video into my computer. It will take a bit of time to edit, but I will post some video very soon. I was lucky enough to buy a really good used tripod so I could set up the camera and use the remote. This is not the best way to do a video, but I hope to have enough good footage to make a short clip for the blog.

The photos of me were taken by a friend of mine with my camera. I will ask him if he wants to be credited, but I thank him for coming down and taking some great images of the event. I took the rest of the photos and I have been learning a lot about photography that I will share in future posts.

This is a photo of me choosing a participant to make their pledge. For more information about the workshop and the multi-media book please click on the links.

To invite Victoria to do a workshop with your organization please e-mail info(at)livemorelightly.com – just put in @ instead of (at)

Enjoy the photo gallery or read more about the event by clicking below. I am using the NExtGen Gallery plug-in and there seems to be some problems with the slideshow not functioning properly. Try clicking on an image and holding the left mouse button down.

The Vancouver Community College Student Union organized a “Water Taste Test” that was very popular. The idea was to find out if people could tell the difference between bottled water and tap water.

The goal was to discourage bottled water use. They attempted to prove that tap water was drinkable and free compared to bottled water, which is not much different and costs money. They cited statistics of a high percentage of water bottles being sent to landfills because they do not require a deposit. This fit in very well with the Live More Lightly pledge to bring a container for your drink – coffee or water.

There were many other activities and exhibits and many of the other exhibitors participated in the song.

Vancouver Community College is having a celebration and I have been invited to present my workshop as part of the activities for students.

The theme of the Sustainability Fair, “Green 365 @VCC” fits in perfectly with the idea that we can live more lightly. I will be handing out my sheets with 50 things that “we each can do” on April 28th at the Broadway Campus (aka King Edward Campus) 1155 East Broadway and on April 29th at the Downtown Campus, 250 West Pender Street. Contact info and map here. Song performances will occur at noon and 12:45pm, so participants are welcome to come down and sing!

I am really excited about this opportunity and hope that many of the students will get involved.

I took this photo of Jack Velker at ManDido’s memorial service in January. At the time, it seemed like an unusual thing to do, but I wanted to remember all my friends that were there remembering ManDido. I didn’t have the courage to take photos of everyone, just the people I knew well. Now I am really glad I did because Jack has passed away.

I met Jack at the Sunday Soul Service at the Cottage Bistro at 4468 Main St. Sometimes they let me sit in and do my songs, and I was always happy to sit and listen to the house band. Ross Barrett, saxophonist and flute player, who was also at ManDido’s memorial, is pictured below. He was Jack’s partner in presenting the Soul Service each Sunday for the devotees of the Isis Cult. The Cult will be meeting in full force this Sunday to remember Jack (Facebook event here).

I always enjoyed going down and sitting in at the Cottage with the band, as the ranks of players swelled off the stage and on to the floor. Sometimes there were rows of people playing as Jack conducted chorus after chorus through “Little Liza Jane”.

When Jack strapped on his bandoneon, the “stomach Steinway”, as he fondly called it, Ross’s deep love for Latin music could really shine out.

The band was in fine form last Sunday and this Sunday will be a more official memorial. I don’t know if I will play, but I will be happy to listen and take photos.

Last year I was so excited to be going to Bellingham, USA for the Watcom County International Women’s Day Celebration.

Womens_Day_Song08

This truly was an International Women’s Day for me!

One of the best parts was marching through the streets chanting. In Vancouver, I had always had to be setting up and getting ready for when everyone arrived, but here, I was able to march through the streets. It really gave a feeling of solidarity. Later the woman who spoke on food security made some interesting points linking the West coast of North America with Latin American issues.

Womens Day Song Information and Lyrics

This year I was busy and many changes occurred in my life, so March came in with a whisper.

I am still seeking a venue for my song performance this year.

These performances are usually last minute as most of these events are set up and managed by volunteers. I will post when I have a performance, come down and sing with me.

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Women’s Day Song 2000 video
Womens Day Song Video (videopop plug-in still a work in progress -  may not work)
This is a video of a song written by Victoria Gibson in honour of International Women’s Day. Performed by Victoria and the Seaquam Secondary School Choir for the Society of Women in Science and Technology Conference in 2000 held at the school.

See my previous research on environmental initiatives by electronics companies.

I have not received any funding and I have been spending so much time on this and other music projects that I have not been making as much money as I should. So I tried to be frugal and bought this camcorder “open box” at Future Shop. It was missing some parts, the proprietary USB cable and the charging and A/C cables and transformer. This has made it difficult to use because I can’t download any video from the 30 gigabyte HD without the cable. The customer support at Hitachi, particularly Tina and Lorne have been very helpful in giving me part numbers and assisting with my problems. I have now ordered the parts and when they arrive there will be a lot more video on this site.

The camera captures video in High definition Blu-ray that can be burnt on to special disks (over $20 each) or downloaded to a computer. It also acts as a still camera saving on to a compact SD card flash memory. High definition and Blu-ray are new territory for me and I am sure I will have some difficulty as I don’t have a player or DVD in my computer that is compatible. It seems I always have to get more stuff, no matter how much I already have!

It will be fun to work with the video and to be able to document my progress on this and other projects. Now I need a wide angle lens, lights, tripod and protective case — at least I can start with the camera and get some video on the site.

I am trying to wait until the last possible minute to buy a video camera to mount on the bike. Technology is advancing so that anything I buy now will be outdated by spring. I will have to take the plunge at some point, just so I can practice with the machine before actually mounting it on the Yamaha FJ1200. I am sure there will also be mounting and vibration problems, but I hope to get everything worked out before next summer.

Cell phone companies are now interested in assisting me with streaming video off the bike, for a fee of course. The streaming would be limited to areas with cell phone coverage, so the mountains and more remote areas would be off the grid. I would still like to stream to a satellite, but the concept will take more development.

With the dark days and fewer distractions, I am sure the book will advance exponentially and I will keep you all posted on the progress of the project.

The amazing thing is that I didn’t get really wet. I am wearing my summer mesh jacket over a fleecy, but if I lean on my tank bag the windshield and my full-face helmet keep a lot of the rain off my upper body. The rain brought warmer temperatures too. I thought I would get really cold in the clear night after I missed the earlier late-afternoon ferry while sitting in rush-hour traffic. When did the traffic get this bad going to the North Shore?  I never want to have a job where I have to drive in rush hour everyday, but with an air-cooled bike it was not going to work.

I used every back road trick I know and still ended up in a line-up that really worried me, especially when the bike started to smoke a bit. Yipes! I was really glad to get over the 2nd Narrows Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and cool off my distressed engine.

I caught the last possible ferry out of Horseshoe Bay to Langdale and when I got off that ferry, it was dark and misting heavily. I knew my bike would be cool at least, so I rode that twisty highway at an unhurried pace.  I arrived at the north end of the coast and met a friendly ferry worker who rides a collector-plated Bonneville. He let me go in the office and gave me tea. Bless his heart, he told me stories of riding before I was even born.

Now I am in Powell River, surprised at how warm and dry I remained. I hope my computer didn’t get too wet. It will be wrapped in plastic in future until I get my hard bags. So far, this is The Live More Lightly Tour ’08!

Here is a brief excerpt of the teacher’s opinion of the Live More Lightly Workshop. I am delivering the DVD of the two sessions I did to try to arrange more workshops, so wish me luck.

lml_teachers

Post-Labour Day September, the cooler air and reduced traffic on the highways made the idea of a weekend trip to Seattle with my daughter seem like a wonderful diversion. I still don’t have the video camera or hard luggage, but we were only going for a weekend. This was the longest trip I had ever taken with a passenger, but my daughter knows how to become part of the bike. I felt confident that it would be safer than her last trip in August on the bus shuttle service from Vancouver to Seattle. The bus was tied up in a four hour border wait and then was hit by a semi-trailer truck in Seattle. I had a premonition of danger when I dropped her off at the bus, but I had thought it was related to the helmet I was lending her. She told me that she was going to be a passenger with a young man who had recently started riding. I was worried about this idea, but at least she had an approved helmet. After the bus incident, I have to say that I am going when my time comes and I guess my daughter is too. I was worried about the motorcycle as statistically, most accidents happen to new riders, but sometimes I have to let go and say, despite my considerable investment, “It is your life”.

I don’t push my luck though, and I was careful to purchase additional medical insurance for us both before we left. Given my daughter’s proclivity for dangerous episodes, I bought it for a year. I departed from work earlier than usual, but I wanted to wait until the worst of rush hour was over before facing the suburban traffic snarls. We were packed and mobile by 6:30pm taking the South Granville bridge and driving though Richmond to avoid the Oak St line-up. Even though it would take the same amount of time, it is time with air over the cylinders. It was windy on the Highway 99 stretch between Richmond and the border, with nothing but open farm fields and suburban developments to block the wind off the ocean. I was glad to have the extra weight on the back as we passed a few semi-trucks. With the Yamaha FJ 1200, there is always plenty of power, but I am so light I often get blown around by the wind. There were some darker clouds ahead and was a bit concerned about rain in the small mountainous region near Bellingham. We were being buffeted by strong cross-winds and the smell of rain was in the air.

As I crouched to try to keep my windblown hair from whipping my passenger, we passed a cushy Honda Goldwing with full fairing and a big passenger seat with backrest built into the luggage. The rider had a sense of humour as he gestured to my daughter that his back seat would be far more comfortable for her than mine. At 100km per hour (legal speed) it was pretty amusing. He turned off at White Rock and I climbed the big hill towards the border.

I took the Truck Border crossing because the sign said a 5 minute wait and the extra drive was worth the 15-20 minute cut in creeping line-up time. You can check the border line-up time before you leave here, but I find things can change quickly if it is between 5 and 30 minutes. Last year, when I rode to the Bumbershoot Festival, I pushed the bike through a really long line-up at Peach Arch crossing, but this time I had help. To keep the big motor cool, I turned it off and pushed, if I started it every time I had to move, I would run out of battery before I got to the end of the line. It is really hard to steer when you are pushing a bike with your feet and someone else is pushing from behind up hill, but I was glad to have the help. The line-up really was 5 minutes and the Border guard joked with us that most people crossing had at least two wheels per person. We explained we were the environmentally friendly, economy tour, only one wheel each.

On to Seattle, the truck route bypasses Blaine, so we were right on to I5 and heading south. I stopped once for gas and a stretch, but the ride became more comfortable and the wind died down a bit as we followed the highway more inland and the sun began to set. The sunset from the highway was beautiful and I slowed over bridges and clear areas so we could enjoy the view. There’s not much chance for conversation due to wind noise, so I only asked for direction when I saw the moon glowing in the sky next to the Space Needle. It was 9:00pm, 2.5 hours Vancouver to Seattle when I found the restaurant called “Bleu Bistro” in the Queen Anne District.

Our host for the weekend, Robin, met us there and after a wait at the bar, we were shown to a private nook. The entire restaurant was filled with curtained alcoves and I wondered how the servers could manage, until I noticed the webcam surveillance. The menu offered a vegan salad option that I happily chose and the food that my two companions selected was more meaty and dairy rich, but looked equally delicious. After our meal, my windblown offspring decided to travel in the car back to North Seattle where our host lived. Robin was a swift and excellent driver who knows Seattle well, so it was all I could do to follow the silver compact car through the turns without being able to remember exactly where I was going.

Robin parked in front of a well-kept suburban home in a quiet, tree loving neighbourhood. I backed my bike into the empty space and covered it up. My daughter and our gracious host went dancing at the Mercury Club and I stayed at the house to work on my Linux Ubuntu firewire problems. Robin’s girlfriend stopped by with a queen sized inflatable mattress and helped to make me a super comfortable bed. I am unused to such welcoming luxury and I soon made use of the resting place provided.

Saturday morning, we went for breakfast in the silver car, a biodiesel powered Jetta, and I left my motorcycle resting in the driveway. There were so many novel experiences in Seattle, being driven around by someone else in a car was only the beginning. We met Ivo, who gave us a tour of the heritage home he is renovating and then joined us for breakfast. He offered to take us in his Prius, and I was interested in checking it out, but we ended up in the Jetta, using biofuel. We arrived at the Portage Bay Cafe, which has one of the most delightful breakfast experiences in Seattle and a satisfying time was had by all. Breakfast was followed by a trip to Ivo’s favourite hardware store where I found the elusive low pressure tire gauge. I bought the deluxe shock mount model, my major purchase of the trip.

Photo will follow

When we returned to Robin’s house, I found that he was very familiar with the Linux operating system. The other factor that made my trip to Seattle unique started to sink in. I was never in a room where I was the computer expert — and I did not visit one place where I felt it was my duty to fix their computer/internet problems. Instead, I found people who could help me and were willing to do so. This was a wonderful piece of serendipity; part of the reason I had taken this trip was that I knew if I stayed in Vancouver I would be working on other computers and not on Ubuntu notebook requirements. More details on this in my next post about my Linux + Firewire progress with the Saffire LE Audio Interface.

Unfortunately, my camera batteries were all dead for some reason and the only photos I took on the trip were with Kyle’s enormously expensive Nikon (on automatic). Kyle Cassidy and Trillian Star were in Seattle from Philadelphia and it was their presence on Sunday that has given my daughter an additional reason to make the trip. I took pictures of the three of them and hope they send me copies. Kyle is a photographer and Trillian is his actress beloved. They met us in a coffee bar and followed us back to Robin’s house where the conversation flowed until it was time for everyone to leave.

Seattle is a beautiful city and has the advantages that a larger population density can provide. Our motorcycle trip homeward was made late in the evening and was uneventful except for our gas stop. We arrived safely home after a very quick ride north on I5 and Highway 99, with only a 20 minute border wait. The FJ1200 proved reliable, but now needs some work and I’ve got to get those bags on the bike. This was a great test-run and I look forward to a trip northward along the coast soon; before the clouds and rain take up residence.