Photo Stories 4          Everyday Wendnesday Jonny posts a new featured photo on facebook and writes a story about that photo. Here is a chronological order of the stories starting with the first featured photo that was posted on his facebook page on Jan 5, 2021. PHOTO STORIES PAGE 3 MOST RECENT STORY Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Nov 17, 2021 "Tipi or not tipi." Photo 46: Affordable Housing Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: John Carroll Quote by: Heather Sesame Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 29, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Nov 22, 2021 Gimme Shelter         It's almost a year later since this photo was first posted to Facebook and John Carroll gave it the title 'Affordable Housing', and let's face it, the housing market bubble has not yet burst. It's only gotten worse. There was a cartoon in the Sun this morning of the housing market bubble floating out into space. Last week I was talking to a booking agent who was marveling over the fact that they could now hold a decent comedy festival because all the best comedians have come home from LA to wait out COVID, and it occurred to me that the main reason the housing market is exploding in Canada is because we Canadians are natural travelers, and because of the pandemic, everyone has home to wait out the storm; therefore there are very few housing going up for sale. Everyone is hunkering down, and renovating. My mom's renovating plans keep getting pushed back by the company because contractors are so busy, and also because they are having difficulty getting supplies. Let's face it, it's a $h!t show out there and it's not going to get any better.         There was an article in the Sun this morning by Penelope Wild about incentives for first time home buyers. It seems that are several routes one can go to obtain assistance when first buying a home. The Central Mortgaging and Housing Corporation, the federal and provincial governments all have incentives. I must admit, it looks a little complicated, but let's face it, every little bit helps. The information on homebuyer incentives can be found at cmhc.schl.gc.ca. I am so thankful my wife and I bought a house when we did back in 2006. Of course even back then I thought the prices were high. What are my kids going to do when they one day go looking for their first home? I have a feeling they are never going to move out. It might not be a bad idea to buy one for them now. Of course I am just looking for enough gigs to pay for my own shelter, let alone buy one for my kids. I can only imagine how even more difficult it is going to be for the people of British Columbia who have lost so many homes due to the 200 year flood that just decided to show up last week. Are we still debating climate change? And with the loss of the supply chain, it won't just be 'Gimme Shelter'. Soon it's going to be 'Gimme Food'!         On the personal side of 'affordable housing', a friend of mine sent me a text late Saturday saying he would like engage my artistic talents to acquire an affordable cityscape painting of bendy houses and buildings. He has several of my paintings already and would like to increase his collection. The trouble these days is that I can no longer afford the extra time to make cheap paintings. When I was doing tons of shows, it was nice to have a break occasionally to make an affordable painting for a friend, but unfortunately now I will need to sell any painting for as much as I can get. I am also working on a 12 foot game that will be the centerpiece for the Groovy Games Getaway that my mom and I are hoping to open sometime next year, so my time is quite valuable. As Heather Sesame said: "tipi or not tipi." I think the real question is, "to poo or not to poo" because right now life is already full of so much $h!t.. Story title by: Paula Wison Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Nov 24, 2021 MIRRORED DUSK Almonte Oct 25, 2020 1:49pm "If art reflects life, it does so with special mirrors." Photo 47: Mirrored Dusk Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Ross Long Quote by: Bertolt Brecht Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 30, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Nov 29, 2021 Reflections of Time         As a new variant, Omicron makes an appearance, I have found myself reflecting on my life and questioning whether being a full time entertainer/artist is the best path for me. I have been doing this job for almost 30 years now, and it's pretty much all I know. And while people certainly long for shows, live entertainment will likely not be the same again for years. So I have applied to be a school bus driver. The main reason I am choosing to do this is because there is a shortage of drivers, as many drivers are retired folks who don't want to take the risk of getting COVID. I received an email this morning about one of the bus routes that has been cancelled at my son's school, so there is a great need for people to step up and take over. I should be in good position to do that. I have another 15 years before I reach that precarious retirement age, and I seem to be in decent health, so perhaps the bus lines can make use of me. A second reason I am choosing this job is that since it's more of a part time job, I should still have time to do art and shows, especially online shows where my set up is already taken care of. I am also no stranger to large groups of children, or driving large vehicles. Hopefully the transition should be rather smooth.         Another reason I am shifting gears is that I have spent most of the past two decades focused on music, and while I have worked on art and writing occasionally in the interim, they have definitely taken a back seat. When I was young, it was my plan to focus on music in my 20's, art in my 30's, writing in my 40's and possibly politics in my 50's. In my 60's I would like to focus on being retired. I am definitely behind on that plan, but as we know, life never goes according to plan, ever. In any case, driving a bus would allow me to focus on art and writing in the middle of the weekdays when the kids are at school, and then I could do shows in the evenings, on weekends, holidays and summer days.         The last reason for taking a new path is that I would like Junkyard Symphony to carry on after I am gone, and it's high time I start teaching a new generation to take over before I get too old to pass on my knowledge. The drummers that work for me are several decades younger and are in a good position to take over, so we have been doing online meetings for many months to prepare. In January I plan to rent a room so we can start in-person training, and hopefully by February they will be ready to lead their own shows.         When we approach the dusk of our lives, sometimes we have to look back and reflect. Have we done everything we wanted to do? While I truly believe it's still mid afternoon for me, I have to start thinking of what I will be doing in those dusk years. Maybe a school bus driving artist/musician/writer is not such a bad plan. My good friends sure seem to think so. Not sure where politics fits in, but maybe it's something I will write about. It's better to be a writer than a politician anyway. Lastly, the main reason I am taking this job is that I believe that bus drivers, teachers, childcare workers, healthcare practicioners, stay-at-home parents and all the people who watch over our children, are the backbone of society. These are the most noblest of vocations. Our children are our future and we need to take good care of them. So I am going to pursue this new vocation with enthusiastic dedication, and when I sit in the driver's seat of that bus, I am going to make sure I have a good view of my mirrors, and the children in my care. Story title by: Nancy Peters Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Dec 1, 2021 "Something there is that doesn't love a wall - that wants it down." Photo 48: Cross Over Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Nathalie LaPlante Quote by: Sally Olsen and Robert Frost Posted and Named on Facebook: Dec 1, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Dec 6, 2021 Stuck Between         This morning I learned that I have 8 Junkyard Symphony workshops confirmed for Dec and Jan, which is fabulous because work has been coming in slowly this fall, hence my plan to pursue a side career as a school bus driver. But with this new addition of work, I could probably scrape my way through the winter as a self employed entertainer, and not ruin my 30 year streak. Of course, these workshops are in the middle of the day and won't inhibit my plan to become a bus driver if that is what I decide to do, so now I find myself stuck between the decision of ruining my streak but attaining some level of financial stability, or keeping my dream going but living with unending uncertainty.         I have been posting my photos on Instagram, every day if I can remember to do it. The photo I posted yesterday just happened to be 'Cross Over', the Featured Photo for this week, so one might say that I have come to an interesting cross roads. I always post a quote with the Instagram photo, but not necessarily the same quote that I posted on my website. Sometimes I like to look up new quotes that go with the picture. The one I posted on Instagram to go with 'Cross Over' was by Victoria Addino. "Always think extra hard before crossing over to a bad side, if you were weak enough to cross over, you may not be strong enough to cross back."         I don't agree with Victoria's "bad side" comment. I think all sides are just sides. They are neither good or bad, they are just different. But I must admit that the quote does have some merit. When you cross over to one side, you may not be able to cross back. I have been self employed my entire life, and being self employed helps keep me self employed. I have gotten a lot of shows because I was available for those shows, and part of getting shows is doing shows, as one show promotes another. The more shows I do, the more shows I will get. But if I cross over into a world where I may not be as available for shows as I used to be, the amount of shows I do will be less, therefore the amount of shows I will get will be less. In other words, in a world where I am no longer fully self-employed, I may not be able to cross back.         The Ottawa Senators, my favourite NHL team seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have lost most of their games and find themselves last in the league, not where there were hoping to be at this point. The GM had declared at the start of the season that the rebuild was over amd we all thought they would be well on their way to a playoff position. Clearly they are not. On a good note they won the last two games, against two of the best teams in the league, Carolina and Colorado. So they are on a good new footing, a footing they achieved by sending their number one starting goalie, Matt Murray down to the minors and allowing the backups to take over. Coincidentally, Murray lost his first minor league game, and his replacement, Anton Forsberg, who has been playing great, has won two. Murray may find himself not being able to cross back over to the big leagues. Meanwhile, the team may have crossed over a threshold, but of course they will now be stuck with the decision of trying to reach the playoffs, or staying at the bottom in order to get a good pick next year. For my part, I hope they try to reach the playoffs. Watching a team tank their season is no fun for anyone, other than Matt Murray.         "Something there is that doesn't love a wall - that wants it down." This quote is by Robert Frost, and I have to admit I am not entirely sure what it means, but I do have an interpretation. Walls keep us safe, but walls also keep us captive. Finding ourselves stuck between safety and freedom is the never ending challenge. While we grow to love a wall that gives us security, we may also want that wall to come down someday so we can escape and live life to the fullest. Perhaps the best advice I can think of is to build your walls strong, but don't build them too high, just in case you want to cross over. Story title by: John Aughey Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Dec 8, 2021 "Art is never finished, only abandoned." Photo 49: Mémoires de Lenoir Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Richard Stephen Perkins Quote by: Leonardo da Vinci Posted on Facebook: Dec 1, 2020 Named on Facebook: Dec 13, 2021 Featured Photo Story, Monday Dec 13, 2021 Depressed Deco         It is said that the only things that are certain are death and taxes. I think a better saying would be that the only thing that is certain is that all things will eventually fall apart. This includes earnings and life. I took my car in to the garage this morning for what I thought would just be an oil change but apparently it needs so much more, new brakes, cabin filter and an oil pan. I also bought a new arcade game this summer for the Groovy Games Getaway and already it needs a new control board, and the distribution company wants to charge me $100. I discovered later that I could get if for $20 direct from the company, but for some reason they are not returning my emails, so now I am forced to buy it from the distribution company for the 'screw you' price. I had plans with my dad and then an old friend fall through this weekend because of the new Omicron variant, which sounds morel an evil robot than a virus. The new variant seems to be running rampant through the community and everything is falling apart and we are all depressed. The only consolation we can take from all this is that eventually, COVID will fall apart too.         Here is some history about the RCA building taken from the website of memento.heritagemontreal.org Emile Berliner, the inventor of the microphone, the gramophone and the flat disc, founded his company, Emile Berliner Gramophone, in 1899. In 1900, he began producing records and gramophones and opened a retail store on St. Catherine Street the same year. He acquired the land at the corner of Saint-Antoine and Lenoir Streets in 1906 and built his manufacturing plant there in 1908, a five-story brick building. The company was acquired in 1924 by the Victor Talking Company, which in 1929 was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America, which later became RCA Victor. Until 1943, new wings were built on the site and others were demolished to create the complex we know today. The building was home to Canada’s first ever studio with polycylindrical acoustic walls, allowing sound to be reflected in all directions         In 1967, use of the recording studio ceased and in 1972, the company transferred much of its production to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. The following year, RCA sold its buildings to a private investor who turned it into a rental complex. The scientific communications equipment department continued to be operated at the plant until the end of the 1970’s. In 1985, the studio, hidden behind a concrete wall, was rediscovered and put back into operation under the name Studio Victor. The Emile Berliner Wave Museum, a tribute to the inventor of the gramophone, was opened to the public in 1996. Like many industrial buildings along the Lachine Canal, the RCA building was later taken over by small industrial businesses as well as others working in the field of graphic and artistic production. (Source: Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec, in French – free translation.         Currently, the building is in need of serious repairs. Although the west facade, the most visible on Saint-Antoine Street, has been renovated, the east facade facing Lacasse Street needs major work. Indeed, several panes of glass are broken, the concrete structure is visible in places and since 2019, scaffolding from a general contractor has been installed without work having begun in any way.         Although this building is not classified by the Ministère de la Culture, or even cited by the City of Montreal, it remains a witness of the industrial and cultural past of the city that is still very much alive today. Story title by: Chris Pilsworth Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Dec 15, 2021 "Shitter's full!" Photo 50: A Great Snow Dump Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Kyle Felhaver Quote by: Cousin Eddie Quote highlighted by: Nancy Peters Posted and Named on Facebook: Dec 3, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Dec 20, 2021 Shitter's Full         The story today is going to be a little bit shorter than usual. I have to admit that I am not in my best of spirits. I usually look back at the original post for each picture to find the second best title, and that almost always becomes the story title. But today I didn't have to look farther than the quote "Shitter's Full", which couldn't be more fitting. Yes we did get a big dump of snow this past weekend, but more to the point, we got a big dump of Omicron. Cases are doubling every day and we are working our way towards another full lockdown. I have already had a show for today canceled and trying to get a booster shot booked in Ottawa seems virtually impossible. The NHL appears to be shutting down and even our mayor has COVID. Yep, the shitter is definitely full.         On lighter note, my wife and I received an early Christmas gift from my brother Dave and his wife Irene. They gifted us a free weekend getaway at a 2 bedroom cottage on Lac Morency, QC, near Tremblant. So we brought the kids and my mom and we took advantage of the snow dump and cold weather to go tubing, with a stop in Montreal on the way to visit our favourite bowling alley, Quilled G Plus, which sits atop a hill overlooking highway 20. The bowling was a blast and the cottage was beautiful, although the weekend seemed somewhat dulled as we watched the local Quebec news of cases rising rapidly. We should have turned off the news and just enjoyed our peaceful getaway in bliss, but alas, it's always better to be fully informed.         There hasn't been much development on the school bus front. I turned in my health exam and have not heard a word since. Perhaps they are hesitant to hire new drivers when there is likely a full shut down of schools on the horizon. On a better note, Junkyard Symphony was hired to do an 11 day tour of schools and community events in Northern Ontario in April, and while I could get my B team to do the tour, it's looking more and more like I will be pulled back into the world of entertainment. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. I love touring with the band. Let's hope we all have safe journeys ahead. Merry Christmas everyone! Story title by: Nancy Peters Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Dec 22, 2021 CHRISTMASTIME MOON OVER KATIMAVIK Ottawa Dec 1, 2020 46:19 PM "Your holidays will have good gatherings, not necessarily large ones, but... good ones, when you see a bright Christmas time moon over Katimavik." Photo 51: Christmas Time Moon over Katimavik Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Ross Long and Sally Olsen Quote by: Jonny Olsen Posted and Named on Facebook: Dec 4, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Dec 27, 2021 Good Gatherings         It wasn't a large Christmas gathering, but it was a good one. My brother and his wife came up from Toronto and my wife's cousin's family came over. We were ten people in all, pursuant to the recommended limit given to us by the province. My mom, who lives next door to us also came over for a time to add to the fun, so yes, at times, our party went to 11. Hopefully we don't get in trouble. Don't tell anyone. We had some wild and crazy times....mostly just eating turkey, exchanging gifts, stories and lots of laughs.         Yesterday we had a gathering for my mom's birthday, which is why this post comes on a Tuesday rather than the usual Monday. It was just my family and my mom, but we brought my dad over to from his seniors residence in Central Park. He would have come for Christmas, but he wasn't feeling great and that would have brought our party up to 12 people, and that would have really been pushing the limits! So he stayed home on Christmas, but he joined us on Facetime in the morning for the opening of the presents. After dinner last night, My mom opened her gifts, an artwork from me and Jake and tons of chocolate from Gina and Alma. My dad got her Hilary Clinton's latest fiction novel. Then we perused through some slides of the old days and it brought back lots of nostalgia.         Eventually the evening came to a close and it was time to bring my dad back to his residence, but on the way we drove around and looked at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. There are so many wonderful displays. Around the corner from us there is a house with about 50 inflatables. I would like to ask the residents if they could text us whenever they begin the inflation. I think my son would really like to watch that and make a video. I have some lights up on our house, but nothing fancy, just white ones that weave through the bushes and then up onto the roof. Maybe next year I will get a little more elaborate. I am always so busy with my other artworks (paintings and games) that forget I have the perfect canvas at Christmastime to show off my artistic talents.         I certainly hope all of you had some good gatherings. It is unfortunate that we can't yet have the large ones that we used to, but we still have to be careful. The COVID cases are flying out of control. Apparently there were 2000 just in Ottawa yesterday. While Omicron is incredibly infectious, it doesn't appear to be quite as lethal as Alpha and Delta, so hopefully it will push out those dangerous variants and leave us with just some coughs and sniffles. Despite all these stresses, we do what we must to carry on, and have our small gatherings rather than large ones. In some way I feel the small gatherings are better. It gives us more quality time with the people we love. \ Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Dec 29, 2021 THE BLUE J BOOGIE 401 MILHAVEN Dec 6, 2020 4:10pm "You go your way. I'll go mine." Photo 52: The Blue J Boogie Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Ross Long and Marcus Maidment Quote by: Chris Pilsworth Posted and Named on Facebook: Dec 7, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Jan 3, 2021 You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine         Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health was all over the kids going back to school. She believed that the school would be a more controlled environment than the home where people get together with their friends and family without observing proper safety measures. She suggested that reopening the schools would help prevent students from falling behind in social and educational development, and from experiencing mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Doug Ford disagreed, and the man from the land of the Blue Jays did a little boogie and shut down the schools. So while Etches went one way, Ford went another, and since he is the premier of the province and ultimately in charge, his way goes.         There's no doubt that the response among the parents will be completely divided. I am sure many parents are doing a little boogie dance of joy now. The cases are spiraling out of control and many were worried about sending their children back to school. Of course there are many parents that can't stay home from work to look after children and they will have to get a move on to find somewhere for the kiddos to go. They better start to boogie. For my part, I am relieved. I was worried about sending my son back to school as there had been many COVID cases in his school before the holiday break. There are not likely to be less now. I am home most of the time, and my wife is home all the time, so we are good to watch over him and keep him safe, at least until he gets his second vaccine.         This past week I did a little boogie and found some booster shots for myself, my wife and my mother. It's impossible to get a booking these days, but I popped into the Walmart pharmacy several times and asked if there were any cancelations. To our luck there was. Unfortunately we we weren't able to get the shot for our daughter, so she has to wait until Feb 2. When she finally gets her booster and my son gets his second, we will all do a little boogie dance. Until then we just have to do our best to stay safe. And for all those of you who are stuck at home and are feeling the pinch of depression, put on some music and just dance. It's hard to feel sad when you're dancing. You dance your way and I'll dance mine. Story Title by: Chris Pilsworth