Saturday, September 25, 2010

Toronto Heats Up and Handle with Care

 This week has been a real whirl wind for me.  Lots going on.  As mentioned on a previous blog we have enjoyed the wonderful Harvest Full Moon all week and also the weather has been all over the map.  After posting my last blog I discovered that there are quite a few Harvest Moon events going on.  I would have like to get to see the  Mid Autumn Lantern Parade which is tonight at the Harvest Moon Celebration  at Harbourfront, but I opted to "get out of Dodge" instead.

We had the first day of Fall officially arrive on Wed morning.  We were confronted with  a torrential storm on Tuesday night, which downed trees and left great swatches of the GTA without power and unseasonable hot temperatures, made it a weird weather week.  We set temperature records  yesterday when it reached 30.5 degrees Celsius.  No fear that it will last, it is September and the temperatures do drop to the low teens at night. Today we are expecting the day time high to be a more conventional 16.


I decided to trek up to my Collingwood Shangri-La for the weekend, my condo in the city is on the market and it is just easier when there are showings going on.  The good news is that I have had a bit of action and there are some indications of an offer might be in the wings.  I have my fingers crossed.

I will be staying in town over next weekend - Saturday night is Nuit Blanche!  The history, concept and venues included in this annual Toronto all night arts event is described in the 2010 Nuit Blanche promotional website.  From the City of Toronto Message:

As the fifth edition of Toronto's Scotiabank Nuit Blanche approaches, it's clear that what began as a new concept for a free, all-night 'contemporary art thing', has become one of the most important and anticipated contemporary art events in Canada.

It all began at dusk on a rainy September evening in 2006, when the first Scotiabank Nuit Blanche was unleashed on an unsuspecting city. Since then, the event has been a platform for more than 600 official art installations by nearly 2,000 artists, representing more than 15 countries worldwide
 It is a bit of a circus but lots of fun and so much to see and do!  Artistic venues are open all night and vast swatches of the city are, for one night only, turned into outdoor exhibit spaces as art installations dominate every green space and other spots temporarily borrowed for the occasion.   Many streets are closed to traffic as the crowds wander the streets taking in the visual and interactive exhibits and partaking in the revelry in support of the arts.    Public transit runs all night and there is a hop on hop off Nuit Blanche ticket you can buy for $10.  -- which I will avail myself of.  Liberty Village is one of the neighbourhoods promoted as an event hub.  This year I am going to try to get up to see Zone A, which is in the central part of Toronto, just north of Bloor Street.

I have attended this event in each of the last 2 years.  Go here to read my blogs on previous year's events. 

Handle With Care and the Power (and disappointment) of "I'd Like That"
When I woke up this morning and turned on my usual, CBC Radio 2, the song Handle With Care was playing.  Whenever I have the opportunity on a weekend day morning I listen to Molly Johnson who hosts their morning program over the weekends.   I am never disappointed with the song selections and her morning chat is particularly interesting since she is a fabulous musician in her own right and a contemporary (and friend of) many of my favourite Canadian musicians.  The song was perfect for my mood and got me launched into my morning blog and wandering through the content for this next section.

According to Wiki:
"Handle with Care" is the first track from the Traveling Wilburys 1988 album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, and the group's biggest hit. Writing credits are shared by all five band members, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan.


The single reached #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #21 on the UK singles chart and #3 on the ARIA Chart.

The story goes that the  musicians were sitting around having dinner and George was casting about for song ideas for the B side to go with his single "This is Love".  Interestingly, a beat up box was the inspiration for the title "Handle with Care" and the line "Been beat up and battered 'round".  The song was written collaboratively and was deemed too good for a B side.  The song became the impetus for the Travelling Wilburys to form as a band and was on their debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 released in 1988.

I am not sure I am imagining it, but I seem to recall that this song was included in the Tom Petty concert I attended in the summer.  It is a great song.





(The Traveling Wilburys)
Been beat up and battered 'round
Been sent up, and I've been shot down
You're the best thing that I've ever found

Handle me with care
Reputations changeable
Situations tolerable
But baby, you're adorable
Handle me with care
I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care

Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on

I've been fobbed off, and I've been fooled
I've been robbed and ridiculed
In day care centers and night schools
Handle me with care

(Guitar Solo)

Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care

I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care

Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on

I've been uptight and made a mess
But I'll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care


The Power of "I'd Like That"
Whilst casting about for information on "Handle with Care", I came across this John Mayer song -it has a line "I'm Tired of Being Lonely", just as the Traveling Wilburys song does.    In it he gives a neat intro which pretty much sums up the reason why we have to  "Handle with Care" our relationships.  Most will probably go south.  (Do I sound cynical?)  It also nicely expresses the my state of mind this weekend, given that the early stages of an "I want to be with you" relationship, which had looked like it might be something that would last at least a season, went down the tubes for me this week.




lyrics to Love Song For No One / John Mayer

Room For Squares (2001)
Staying home alone on a Friday
Flat on the floor looking back
On old love
Or lack thereof
After all the crushes are faded
And all my wishful thinking was wrong
I'm jaded
I hate it

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
So tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
(get here)

Searching all my days just to find you
I'm not sure who I'm looking for
I'll know it
When I see you
Until then, I'll hide in my bedroom
just staying up all night just to write
A love song for no one

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
So tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here

I could have met you in a sandbox
I could have passed you on the sidewalk
Could I have missed my chance
And watched you walk away?
Oh no way

I could have met you in a sandbox
I could have passed you on the sidewalk
Could I have missed my chance
And watched you walk away?

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
So tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
You'll be so good
You'll be so good for me

3 comments:

  1. We've had some strange weather down here too. As you, we have had rain (not as bad as it was up there though. I don't recall losing any power!) and unseasonably hot temperatures. Yesterday, there was a lot of wind (HOT wind). A cold front is working its way through. We're supposed to be in the 50s today, but it is still around 60 and it feels like it might rain. Yesterday, during the winds, our side garage door was blown open into the garage. The door knocked down my bicycle and the trash can. Luckily, Bob's motorcycle wasn't parked in front of the door as is its usual place. The motorcycle would have gotten scratched! My bicycle survived, unscathed. Have a GREAT time in Collingwood.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, Peggy, you sound busy enough and entertained enough and thoughtful enough, but back to page one in the never-ending battle to find the right guy. What can I say?

    I like your music this time around, especially The Traveling Wilbury's piece.

    Good luck with the condo sale ....

    ReplyDelete
  3. I haven't listened to The Travelling Wilburys for years! Thanks for that little pressie.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete

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