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Dearest blog,
It was never my intention to neglect you. I got a little caught up in the things that make you so fun to write. Nevertheless, I am here now. I have consorted with mysteriously beautiful women. I have drunk whiskey in darkened bars. I have taken the stinky dog for walks at the crack of dawn. Last night, after another solid day's work I decided to trek downtown and see my cousin, Punch. I went to see him support Vernon Reid's band MYID at Pepperjacks last Saturday, but my attention was a little divided to say the least....

Yesterday, however, we just hung out. We ate burgers, smoked and drank rum with orange and pomnegranate juice. We watched a Nina Simone performance on DVD. I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to Nina, and I think I learned a lot about her from that. She has the spirit of Jimi about her. She used her voice and her piano like he used his guitar. They both had unconventional techniques about their musicianship, but it was that difference that makes their work beautiful. I also started to see why Amy gets a pass for acting a bit off key. I have witnessed Lauryn Hill in full Nina Simone mode, turning up 45 minutes late for a show, rambling for extended periods, but playing some heeartbreakingly beautiful music occasionally. She was also heckled by a lone member of the audience. "Sing some songs, bitch!" I believe, was one of the comments. I came to find out after reading an interview last year, that the heckler was actually Amy Winehouse, who had taken her cousin to the gig as a birthday present. Small world, eh?

Nina was a rare genius. She admittted to being high on stage, but it was difficult to tell where the drug ended and Ms. Simone began. She was a virtuoso soul. Very bewitching to watch at work. The epic 10 minute version of Feelings, was beautiful to watch. Between her voice and the piano, it was like listening to someone navigate their entire emotional spectrum in a single sitting. At the end of it you feel tired on her behalf.

So Christmas is on it's way. I have yet to do any shopping. I'm not sweating it though. You're talking to the Xmas Eve Killer. I hit the mall, early doors - gangsta rap in headphones and I go for mines. The festive spirit is yet to truly embrace me this year. I've been a little busy, but a planned road trip to Niagara to look at the lights and lay up in a cheap hotel like an outlaw, drinking wine in the bathtub with Ms. Alana, may actually provide me with a little breathing space to get my jolly on.

In other news - Whiskey and Whimsy continues to evolve as Steve colours the artwork for the proposal. I know because he told me in an e-mail yesterday. He also said that Woolworths is shutting down.

Feelings - Nina Simone