For those of you who have already gobbled up this week’s episode of The Agency, we have a bonus episode this week. First we chitchat for a bit then move into an interview Candy did recently with social activist Andy Thayer. You can listen here or find the podcast in the usual places. I hope you enjoy it!
I want to take a moment to thank our awesome listeners. In the next few days we’re going to cross a milestone – 3,000 downloads. I know we have a dedicated core of listeners who keep coming back. We really appreciate it.
I had planned to enjoy many nature walks through the bird migration season this year, but the acute quad tendon tear in my right knee put a stop to that idea. I had to wear a knee splint for 8 weeks and since I’ve been working on building strength in my leg muscles.
Lambton Woods
The other day when my friend Hobie stopped by to pick up a copy of Issue 4 of the Squeeze Box Man graphic novel, I suggested next week we meet up early one morning at Lambton Woods for a nature walk. I’ve tested my knee on uneven ground by taking The Partners to the Etobicoke Valley leash-free park a couple times. While I’ve had to be quite careful on the roughest path, I’ve managed that little adventure reasonably well. In my mind, I’m ready for longer walk, and I thought Lambton Woods, along the Humber River, would be perfect.
Cattails
This morning I decided to drive over there and walk the loop from the parking lot, through the woods to the rail trestle then back along the river, just to make sure I can handle this walk OK.
Honeysuckle berries
There were several cars already in the parking area when I arrived at 8:20 this morning, and I did see a number of walkers and cyclists, but it wasn’t really very busy and certain social distancing was not an issue.
Female red-winged blackbird
Woods rose
As it turned out, the Lambton Woods loop is a perfect place to gently challenge my knee. This spot often has a variety of mushrooms growing and I was hoping after the big rain the other day to see some fresh mushrooms along my walk, but in fact I didn’t see any fresh mushrooms fruiting at all this morning.
Raspberry
Walking on uneven ground and up and down hills, I could feel the muscles working.
From the footbridge over the Humber below the trestle
dogwood berriesCanada Goose
By the time I got back to the car, I could really feel the muscles in my right leg, and now that I’m home, sitting down, they’re a bit sore. The good thing is I know I can handle a walk of this length, and I can handle the uneven ground of a forest trail pretty well.
from Issue 4, Squeeze Box Man – illustrated by Jacob Yerex, story by Eugene Knapik
Working on the Squeeze Box Man graphic novel with Jacob Yerex has been so much fun. I love the way he brings Staashu’s band NPK to life. Issue 4 is now available. Copies are $12 CAN + postage (3 bucks in Canada, a little more to USA). For copies of the new issue or back issues, please email me: 27thstreetpress@gmail.com.
I’ve been working late nights on a new series of paintings out in my little converted garage studio. They’ve been in flux for some time, as is often the case with my paintings, and have been coming together in recent studio sessions. Bigfoot & The AI is one of 3 dipychs, or 2 panel paintings I’ve got going. It’s an oil painting and each canvas is 2′ square.
I don’t have any immediate plans to exhibit these paintings – but that does not mean they are not available. I think by August I’ll have enough of this group of paintings completed to offer studio visits to anyone interested.
I just clicked the publish button on our 51st episode of The Agency Podcast. We’d like to thank our listeners for sticking with us. We’ll keep creating podcasts as long as you keep listening. We’re also sending out big virtual hugs to our Patreon supporters for helping us pay the bills. Today’s discussion will take you from The Lindy Hop to The Twin Towers with stops in between. I hope you enjoy it.
You can listen here or find us in the usual places.
The story Shave and a Hair Cut is a critical one in the Squeeze Box Man story arc, because it is a physical representation of Lazy Allen’s transformation: he goes in looking rough but emerges a new man. As well, at the end of this story we introduce a real-life character, artist Andy Fabo, an old friend of Lazy’s.
Lazy lives in Long Branch, coincidentally the same Toronto community I live in. Jacob (who illustrates the novel, bringing my characters to life) and I chose to set this story in an actual Long Branch barber shop called The Nite Owl. This location has been a barbershop since the 1940s. After the original crew retired, it was closed for a decade then reopened as The Nite Owl – a fantastic old school barber shop (where it happens I get my hair cut). We asked my barber Steph if she would like to be in a graphic novel cutting Lazy’s hair. Of course to do so she would have to go back in time to the early 80s, but fortunately, Steph was up for some time travel.
Jacob played the part of Lazy and went in for a haircut. I was there with my camera and captured loads of detail for Jacob to work with in his drawings.
If you’re interested in getting a copy of Issue 4 (or back issues) please email me your request to 27thstreetpress@gmail.com. Copies are $12 (Canadian) + postage. We have 2 more issues to go to complete this story (you never know, there may be more adventures later), and we’re already at work on Issue 5.
Title page for Bananas Foster, Issue 4, Squeeze Box Man
Who is Bananas Foster? Find out in Issue 4 of the Squeeze Box Man graphic novel. Copies are $12 + postage. Email me: 27thstreetpress@gmail.com. Back issues are also available. Squeeze Box Man is based on a book of short-short stories I wrote (yes it’s available on Amazon) called Squeeze Box Man – The Lazy Allen Stories. The graphic novel contains most of the stories from the book as well as several new stories. All the fabulous drawing in the graphic novel is done by Jacob Yerex, who has also contributed to story and character development.
Composer Ennio Morricone, who among other things scored over 400 film and television projects, has died at 91. RIP.
Here is the Danish Symphony Orchestra performing the theme from For a Few Dollars More. What a great performance of a fantastic piece of music!
And now let’s listen to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have a go at the theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, perhaps Mr. Morricone’s best known work.
Finally, here is Mr. Morricone conducting the Munich Radio Orchestra, performing The Ecstasy of Gold, also from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. This one really affects me emotionally.
This afternoon, Tuffy P discovered some Dead Man’s Fingers or Xylaria polymorpha at the back of our yard, tucked in under a fence. It’s a saprobic fungus, meaning it lives on decaying organic matter, such as a decaying stump or roots. It is apparently common but the only place I’ve seen it is in our backyard. We had some a few years ago as well.
27th Street 