MY FAVOURITE

New Blog Feature called MY FAVOURITE.

By Norm Richards


I awoke this morning with an idea. This happens every once and awhile. Kind of like morning pages which you have to pour onto the page as soon as you wake up.

I'm going to create a series and I'll place it on my Blog page. I will call it "MY FAVOURITE!"

It could be a favoured person or thing and even an animal. Sometimes it will be brief, sometimes it will be for all times. But, most times I imagine favourite will be momentary. I'll leave it to you to decide why. Sometimes I'll say why.

Sure, like anything else there are good days and bad days. To be positive and forward thinking I'll focus on this. I'll search each weeks for things to name as favourites. You could be a favourite for some reason.

I'll take photos. I will capture some, since others take great pictures and deserve the attention. So, look for these on my Blog normswords. I'll have a new feature called normspictures. Perhaps this will evolve into high quality motion pictures. Who knows? For now, I'll have normspictures and normswords tell the story.  I believe a great deal of my current Blog postings are favourites already. This will ad to the dynamic.


I hope you like it.

Norm

Another Favourite - Actress Abbie Cornish

 

Have Faith or No Faith at All.

Well, here we are, November 2012, not long before Christmas. Where I live and in commune with family and cultural customs and faith, it's soon going to be Christmas again. People of other faiths honour this time of year differently and in slightly different ways from the world's Christian community. Every culture in the world has it's own windows. Celebration or honouring belief and trusts of faith is not the soul property of us Christians. No, we happen to honour faith at this time of year by celebrating gift giving in praise of the three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus, thought to be the son of God. Wow, now there's a big one, the son of God! Who's God? Much of what was adopted way back when, is a Christian calendar year. It brings order and peace among the races, so goes the beliefs. However, if you follow the Mayan calendar, the end of days is on December 21,2012!

http://news.discovery.com/history/maya-long-count-calendar-end-date-120629.html

Are you ready for that?

I'm not.

I love my family and I want to see them again, surely before I'm wiped of the face of the earth. For now, Christmas 2012 will do, if we get there.

When I was growing up in a small northern town, we had a big church to attend each Christmas. I was pulled kicking and screaming to church at midnight, of all hours. One year, I noticed a guy I knew well two pews behind me. I was smart enough to know, the man was Jewish. Not only, that he was the high profile Mayor of our town he was from a group who eventually saw to the death of Jesus himself. Since I'd had some indoctrination into the life of Jesus, I was surprised to see this man among us. In some way, it was as if his attendance was to celebrate Jesus without prejudice. Even then, I thought to myself, we Catholics had something going since this guy came to our church after all that happened in history. The songs by the choir were glorious. The sound of a full choir and the assembly of a full congregation had me at hello. I thought, why not? Midnight Mass wasn't so bad afterall. I loved the whole experience but I wasn't about to become a total bible thumper just yet, I still had sins to commit. The beauty of being Catholic is we can sin but confession would get us to heaven after all. Remind me, I have to go to church to confess before December 21st or I'm toast. What about the rest of you?

By Norm Richards        

Putin Talks Sex with Harper!

Sun News Reports Putin Talks Sex with Harper at APEC Summit

Sunday August 9, 2012

Story by Norm Richards

Canada’s Sun News Parliamentary Bureau and National Affairs correspondent David Akin wrote today Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a 50-minute closed-door one-on-one meeting during which Putin talked about “gang bangs” in public museums. According to the David Akin report Canadian officials were witness to Putin responding to Harper’s asking him how Canadians could believe that Russians have the right to speak their mind and exercise freedom of speech, Putin said Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot who is currently jailed in Russia, participated in some performance art which was filmed and posted on the internet consisted of Tolokonnikova and others having group sex and Putin used the word “gang bang” at the Timiriazev State Biology Museum in Moscow in 2008. He told Harper, Tolokonnikova was pregnant at the time. So, according to Putin this was an aggravating factor in Tolokonikova and in turn Pussy Riot’s conviction in 2012. In Putin’s view stated on live television, group sex is perfectly fine in private but when done in a public place it becomes a mitigating factor and reason to jail Pussy Riot, four years after the public demonstration took place. Putin threw this all off by claiming free speech is okay in Russia just so long as the charges Pussy Riot now suffer and this “gang bang” art allegation doesn’t meet his approval or break so called Russian law.

What a crock of shit! I say Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich - Pussy Riot members currently in jail would never be jailed or even paid much attention if they lived in Canada or the United States under such similar circumstances. I’m not sure a court would even hear a case made against them, except to warn them and set them free.

What the hell, man? Here I am sitting in my own country while life and freedom goes on around me and I’m concerned about three women locked up and behind bars in Russia? What is going on with me? Well, I’ve always been concerned about injustice or better still to have the right to live in a just society. Most of the time, I have the luxury of being free and having free speech rights. Maybe, I even have a heuristic manner in the way I approach others views. If I was otherwise, I suppose I would be employed as a front line reporter at a news network or newspaper somewhere. Instead, I prefer an open share on the internet. People can read and reply anytime they like if it so moves them. I even find letters to the editor suspect. They are handpicked, pre-selected and published only if approved by one inside man. Perhaps it’s a bit Putin like in itself.

FREE PUSSY RIOT IMMEDIATELY!

Birthday Boy Today

By Norm Richards



I enjoyed my year. I prepared for a trip home to play a rock concert with old friends. It happened all too quickly. I know know why we loved practices and playing every Friday for dances. It was the highlight of our lives. My buds keep playing but I'm away in the city where they don't live. I think I'll find people who share my passion soon and I'll get back in it.

Since I had to focus on the hometown gig this year, I haven't visited my children who live elsewhere. I miss them dearly and eventually may have to move just to be near them. We'll see. For now, I have to keep writing and dust of the many projects I have lined up. I just saw Nick Cave's screenplay come to life in "Lawless." I really loved it. He gave the actors something to work with and the story works real well. I recommend any one of you go out and see the movie.

Take care. Have a real nice day now, you hear!

Norm

A new blog story about me

A question was asked of me on Facebook of something I wrote in my book: “Moon” a nick name I had in my formative years. She chuckled asking me about it since she knows me. Seems odd, I suppose is why she chuckled, not knowing really, why. Here is my response:

I was the class dreamer, without focus, couldn't learn properly, ADD is better known today. The nuns who taught us brushed it off as dunce cap idiots. We were punished, ignored and called names. Sister Pousue or however you spelt her name, called the distracted unfocused kids "The Man in The Moon." It hurt and even stuck since most of my school mates were bullies and knob heads. Others in my community never understood the label and simply thought it was a workable nickname. I resented it to no end. I grew into a good adult. I never became a desperate human living on the street or worse. I discovered and developed talent within me. I later excelled in school when I returned. I married a good woman and had two wonderful children. My career has been a challenge and varied. I love the arts and find home in it. I turned bad memories into things I write about and most of all I don't care for people being treated bad, unjust and without proper resolve. I believe every person deserves better and the right to seek it out.


My friends response went:

Thank you Norm, for sharing what happen. What happen to you and others was a crime against humanity. Your words are real & passionate, therefore the dichotomy between the stories that you tell and the stories told by those who did the abuse is crucial to present day literary criticism wars. PS, your recent publication was an honour to read .....

posted by Norm Richards

Free Pussy Riot!

FREE PUSSY RIOT!



I cannot standby and watch while three performance artists are put in jail for having a point of view. It should not happen and no government or legal system anywhere in this world should be part of or uphold charges that would put anyone in jail for having a point of view, even if it's harsh and critical since artists are the eyes, ears and voice of civil society, any society, anytime.

Norm Richards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-MMwQkAwF8&feature=share

The Pas Centennial Jam

My Hometown Centennial Jam August 5, 2012


By Norm Richards



After playing to the largest audience Symbols of Sound ever played the previous night, we did the five dollar Jam on Sunday. But by then, I wanted to visit more. Although, I enjoyed seeing Heather (Russick) Wenger get up and sing with Garry's accompaniment. I wanted to visit and jam in what I could. Both Perry Nicol and Donna Bachnick said they would be at the airport party happening at the same time, so I went. I was craving a forum where people would sum up their lives since we were teens. Where would I find that? I asked myself.

On arrival, there was Donna Bachnick–St Godard now and Jan Marin-McDonald who both lost their husbands in the recent past. Their hubbies were friends. In fact, Bill stayed at my house for part of nineteen sixty seven and sixty eight after his move from Flin Flon. In the summer of sixty seven, Bill, Bob Ford, Mike Dickey and I lived in a one room apartment in the Lamb block. It was a bit cramped but took on the feel of a frat house. We needed to be away from parents and closer to girls. Bill had a cool blue Chevy convertible that year and we drifted from Flin Flon to The Pas doing sports, gigs for me and chasing girls.

I knew John St Godard since we were kids. I enjoyed talking with these two women near the lake this sunny afternoon. I shared some family photos I brought along with me. We took photos together and embraced warmly. It was sure nice to meet up with them again. Man, Gody Streit hadn't changed a bit. But, I recalled him as larger in stature. He was there tending bar. “Moon!” he said right out. I asked him not to repeat the nickname since I always despised its origin. His brother Abby said hi. He grew up. Our school and air cadet photos today reveal his younger face. We talked. Al Lagimodiere had the same eyes under an older face but I didn't remember how short he was. Maybe I was always taller. I really enjoyed an exchange with Sandra Hayes-Gardiner who put out a book in conjunction with the Centennial. I didn't do that but I asked the committee if I could sell my book at the arena. I was turned away without even explaining my book fits the event and town history. I noticed later they let their own hand-picked merchants in to sell Centennial products. The only consolation to me was they didn't seem to have a run on their products. I got to promote my book by word of mouth. It felt honest, not crass. I left the airport gathering feeling a little more whole for the experience but still suffering from history lost. I returned to the arena in town where volunteers, our band and committee staff had a farewell gathering. It was nice. The balance of my time was spent with family.