Joel Plaskett, Passover & Manhattan Sundays

Weekly Update 2017-14: Canadiana strummings of Joel Plaskett, deeper thoughts on Passover, and a look into early Sunday mornings on the streets of Manhattan.

Music: Joel Plaskett
First mentioned way back in the beginning of my blogging days, Joel Plaskett has been a staple of Canadian music in my parents' home. Since I first heard his song featured in a Zellers commercial (RIP), my whole family has been obsessed with his music. Hailing from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Plaskett is near and dear to me because he plays in an eclectic array of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop. But at the same time, you can hear the Maritimes ooze out of the speakers with his songs, and I love him for that. It's just so, quintessentially Canadian. Check out one of my favourite songs off his album Three.

You can see Joel play Massey Hall on Saturday with his dad Bill. What a great family affair (for him and for my family).

Accomplishment:
This week was ripe with accomplishments - the best of which being that I got my bike tuned up at a good bike shop (unlike last year), complete with new rubber handbar grips that are a delight to squeeze. On top of that, the mechanic at the shop named my bike the “bumblebee” because it's black and yellow. What a lovely idea! After I retrieved my bike, I managed to bike from Ossington station all the way to my friends' house near Jane station. If you thought the hills at Lansdowne and Keele stations were bad, you haven't even SEEN the hills around High Park. I though my legs might fall off. This weekend provided me with 16.2km of biking, and I also biked to and from work yesterday (even though it was raining).

I also finished my Passover questions, which I'll be discussing at my Passover seder this year. Why not use the holiday to delve deeper into some issues and interesting thoughts with family? More on that later in this post.

Finally my work's dodgeball team was given a timeslot for a game early enough that I could play, which I did. I realized I am really good at dodging, but terrible at catching.

I also managed to find five friends to join my Spotify family, which means we will all pay $3 per month for Spotify. Peanuts!

Goal:
This week, I'd like to read up on the actual story of Passover, especially since I'd like to start a good discussion around the holiday next weekend.
I also got my coworkers to critique my blog visual comps, so I'll be making a few changes to those.

Random Thought:
With all this studying of Passover, I have begun to realize that while holidays represent stories of the past that we can learn from, they are just as focused on the present and future. They give us a lens and a setting with which to analyze our current ways, and decide if they should change. It also provides us with the ability to do this with our family (both by blood and by friendship). Of course, there is so much more that others may place on the holidays, but to me, simply using it as a time to bring family together and reflect on our lives seems like a great way to be.

Inspiration: Richard Renaldi's Manhattan Sundays
Imagine the party-filled streets of Manhattan on a Saturday night. People are out in their fanciest, furriest, most sequinned clothing, laughing and having a good time. Fast forward to the quieter hours of just before sunrise on Sunday morning. Those same people who went out and had a good time are not making their slower, less energetic journeys home. They may seem a bit dishevelled or worse for wear, but they had a great time.

Richard Renaldi's Manhattan Sundays are a photographic diary from 2010 to the present, chronicling those wondrous hours in the wee part of Sunday morning.

These snapshots reveal so much about the people who live in the bustling city. It's almost like Humans of New York but with a darker edge. Check out more here.