Montreal Murals

Mural near the Entrance to China Town near St Laurent

Somewhere on the corner of St Laurent street.

This mural is in Little Burgundy and depicts Oliver Jones

This one is in Verdun

I love urban art and murals on buildings. We have many of them in Montreal and I find it's part of it's charm. We drove around the city on Sunday the 30th, and these are some of my photos.

Driving around Montreal.

From a distance I thought this church was a Mosque. But no it's actually a Catholic Church. Will need to take more photos from different angles. This church is unique.

Church I need better photos

Montreal seen from the overpass near Super Hospital.

Embarrased by some Canadians

It's happened before the elections. One unlucky mother in Montreal got attacked walking to pick up her children from school. While police were reluctant to call it a hate crime, I'm not sure what else it was.

A few days ago a similar incident occurred in Toronto. A mother was walking to pick up her child from school when she was brutally attacked.

What pisses me off is that WHITE CANADIAN ABLE YOUNG MEN think it is ok to attack lone women JUST because they are wearing a piece of cloth on their head.  And really if you think Islam is a fucking threat, do you really think beating up a lone single woman with a fucking headscarf is going to prevent terrorist attacks. Only cowards attack unarmed women. Only big time cowards and the ignorant join together to beat up some innocent unarmed person based purely on what she is wearing or even her skin colour or her perceived differences.

This is not the Canada I want to live in. Where mothers get attacked on the street for the perceived notion she is dangerous. I am deeply ashamed that it had to happen.

I'm also deeply ashamed by those who say to keep the Syrians at home. That allowing Syrian refugees will somehow bring terrorism to Canada. Get a grip, we have all sorts of homegrown fucking terrorists. The assholes who killed the 2 Canadian armed forces officer, the one in Ottawa, and the one in St Jean sur le Richelieu were not refugees.

Most of the Syrian refugees that Canada want to resettle are currently living in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. They were generally educated middle class people who saw the signs on the wall about the revolution back in 2012 and left to survive. If they wanted to create terror they would have stayed in Syria and joined either Bashar's army or any of the dozen factions including ISIS to fight.

If they have been in refugee camps, it's because they want security and to be out of a war zone, if they'd been rich, they would have relocated elsewhere in the world then in a refugee camp.  Most of these people will integrate into Canadian society like the Syrian and Lebanese that came before them. The first wave of Syrians came before the first world war. The 2nd wave came after the 2nd world war. Of course then there is the wave of Lebanese that came during the civil war in Lebanon.  All these people have become part of Quebec fabric and Canadian society. The sheer number of Falafel shops in Montreal is a testament to this!

First shots with the point and shoot.

On the way back from doing interviews at ETS, since I had 20 minutes to kill before the train, I stopped and payed a visit to m y favourite "place of worship" so to speak

Wooden statue of Mary

Basilique Marie Reine du Monde

I walked to the location in the church when the wooden depiction of Mary is found and I sat in quiet reflection for about 10 minutes.

Looking for Christmas presents - Looking for Photos? Christmas Photo shoot?

My friend Nina Haigh is an awesome photographer. I love her work, her vision. She's also easy to work with, energetic, enthusiastic and a ray of sunshine. I'm not just saying it because she's my friend. I'm saying it because these happen to be things I love about her.

Check out her ETSY SHOP  , there you might find prints you really love.

Check out her Facebook page.  where you can find the  Holiday Portrait Sessions,  which makes the perfect gift!!!!!

It happens that I also take photos where she takes photos and it always amazes me the angles that she sees that I don't see. It helps she's got professional training, but she's also quite the artist.   This photo below is one of my favourites, it's along the Lachine Canal in Lachine or Lasalle, I confuse all the beautiful weeping willows along that shore of the Montreal island.

Photographer: Nina Haigh

She works in the Eastern Townships, she's closest to Richmond, but she also travels to Montreal to do her art.

Day 15 - We drive all the way back to Montreal

It started to rain at 4am, and didn't let up. It was more of a drizzle when we packed the truck but we didn't care. We got so little rain the last 14 days that this rainy day didn't phase anyone.

If anything we were more comfortable driving in rain, we thought we had a better chance of making it back to Montreal without my rear left tire blowing up.

We left Murray Beach around 10am and drove towards Moncton. We stopped in Moncton to fill with gas and again in Edmunston. I have figured out that I can make it from Edmunston to Drummondville on one tank of gas and these are two of the cheapest places to gas up.

We were at my place by 9ish. We took the tunnel into Montreal and were lucky to get almost no traffic crossing Montreal. It's amazing how quick it can go from the Tunnel to my house when it's unclogged.

It was an awesome trip. My travel companions were awesome, I really enjoyed travelling with them.  Heck I didn't even get vaklempt in Sydney never mind frustrated or mad!!!

Tidbits for THursday.

I'm finally feel a bit better. Will probably not be on muscle relaxants today. My back isn't twinging this morning. But I'm sure by 2pm it will be. I was at work yesterday, though not particularly productive. However it was good that I went, as I ended up having 4 interviews that morning and my partner in crime didn't come in the morning, as he was meeting a new pediatrician for his son.  So I did the interviews alone. Most of them this time around I did alone. I liked 2 out of the 4 I saw yesterday a lot and that sucks because I only have 1 position left opened.  However I cannot complain, this is the most students that have applied for a winter internship.

Interestingly, I've noticed we get more students that were originally living in France. They either recently migrated and redoing their engineering degree, or alternatively studying in both France and Quebec depending on the year.   I've actually had one in an interview say to us because we started the conversation in English, that "aren't we in Quebec, shouldn't we speak French?".  Yeah. That didn't impress anyone. He was very full of himself. And where his comment shot him in the foot, is that I was called later and asked if this student spoke any English. When I mentioned his comment, he didn't get offered a job someone was considering him for, but hadn't checked his English skills.

I can't believe Montreal has bought an armoured car? To what end? To use against a few protesting students?  I know Montrealers like to protest but seriously, an armoured car?  Our tax dollars at work.

Day 11 and 12 - driving back to Montreal

Bridge on St John's river

Day 11, I drove from Mira River Provincial Park to Oromocto. Things were not working well with my companion and after 2 days in completely silence I decided we needed to head back home. I messaged my gf in Oromocto who was leaving for her trip on the Friday to ask if I could crash at her place that night.  She tried responding NP!!! for no problem, but instead her autocorrect made it in to NO!!!! Thankfully I did not see that until 3 hours later when I stopped to gas up again. She had then added the NO PROBLEM in words to make sure I didn't think she said no.  I think if I had just read NO!!! I would have responded "Ok fine I won't crash at your place, but could I spend the night?"  

St John's river at Sunset, seen from Oromocto

I had left Mira River at 7am, and we got to Oromocto mid afternoon. I was burnt from all the driving in the pissing rain in Nova Scotia. At least it was nicer in New Brunswick.

Went for a long drive with my gf that night. It helped me relieve some of the stress and I also vented at her some. We both needed to vent. About the dicks in our lives.  Yeah it sounds sexist, but when you act like a dick what can you expect?

Moon shines over Oromocto at dusk

No voice!

It seems that the people of Montreal have lost their voice and their rights. 

The May day protests which happen every year world wide, were cut short and 447 people were kettled and arrested last night. 

It really sucks. I strongly believe in the right of people to assemble and protest. If we can't even do that, then were will always be at the mercy of those in power.

Pretty soon you'll be arrested for wearing sunglasses walking down Ste-Catherine because it's obscuring part of your face, and you're walking in a crowd, and there is no plan given in advance to the police about your destination.

I'm starting to be embarrassed to say I'm from Montreal. :(

Montreal as a Night Tourist

Loved the effect of the shadows even though it's a bit fuzzy

Look at all the mother farking raccoons!!!

Look they beg for cheese balls?

View of the parking lot and the look-out

View of Montreal from the lookout - you can see Olympic stadium in the distance .

St Joseph Oratory

Mostly in Montreal ...

Montreal as a Tourist

Raccoon Mural near St Laurent

Mural near one of the arches going into Chinatown

The new location of the Montreal Pool Room

Another mural off St Laurent street

One of the funniest thing I saw in tourist shop

Downtown Montreal seen from City Hall.

Look my daughter is on that ship!!!!

Taken on July 30th, by someone into ship spotting. This is the HMCS Moncton entering the port of Montreal, and my eldest daughter was among her crew! IF you want to see more photos from this photographer, go here.

Casseroles night in Canada

Pots and Pans video in Quebec goes viral

Montreal suffers flash flood

Flooding in Verdun near de l'Eglise. Photo by Nina Haigh

Several people were getting their cars towed in Verdun, photo by Nina Haigh.

Parts of downtown and low lying suburbs like parts of Verdun were flooded following a wall of rain that dropped between 50-100cm of rain in a short time. Meteorologists say that this kind of rainfall happens once every 10 years in the Montreal area.  

Where I live in Pierrefonds, other then a few larger then normal puddles, there was no flooding.  Heck I'm happy I live in a low-lying area in Pierrefonds, my street didn't flood, nor did my basement. I guess the 2 sump pumps did their jobs!

Casserole night in Canada :)

We're inspired by the Quebec student strike and the popular uprising in Quebec against Law 78 and the Charest government, so ... On Wednesday, May 30, starting at 8pm, people from coast to coast to coast all over Canada are showing solidarity by banging pots and pans everywhere! This will be the first of many casseroles nights across Canada. Once Quebec student students stop the tuition hike and Law 78, we're all going to Stop Harper together! *

Nous sommes inspiré(e) par la grève étudiante et le mouvement populaire du Québec contre la loi 78 et contre le gouvernement Charest. Mercredi le 30 mai, à partir de 20h, les gens de partout au Canada montreront leur solidarité en faisant entendre un tintamarre de casseroles, joyeux oui, mais qui symbolisera aussi notre colère et notre exaspération. Ce sera la première de plusieurs soirées de tintamarre à travers le Canada. Une fois que nous aurons atteint la victoire quant à la hausse des frais de scolarité et que la loi 78 sera abrogée, nous pourrons aussi stopper Harper ensemble!"

The media and the rest of Canada have the Quebec student protests all wrong

Great blog via Huffington Post discusses how the media, and in my opinion, the rest of Canada have the Quebec student protests all wrong. 

Editorial cartoon from "Le Devoir" - Caricature du Devoir

Also amusingly, in the past couple of weeks, suddenly articles about Canada and Quebec have appeared in Al Jazeera. Here is there latest.  Usually they never write about us because we're too boring :)

Nightly protests and percussive civil disobediance

Most mornings now I sift through dozens of news articles on the events of the night before. One of the fears that came through last night is that the nightly protests will have a serious impact on Montreal's tourist season.  It really doesn't help that some journalists have written pretty one sided pieces making Montreal sound like Russia.

What's for sure is that there are nightly protests. Not just marches but people in various towns and cities are picking up pots and pans and spoons and making lots of noise at 8pm. It has yet to spread to my Montreal suburb but it's just a matter of time.  It's an activity that can include every member of society from babies to grandparents!

I haven't gone downtown with my vehicle in some time and don't intend to. Going downtown by train will remain my preferred method of travel.  As it goes, if you use underground public transport like the metro or the train, you can get around Montreal with the minimum of disruptions caused by the ongoing protests. 

Montreal is the city of festivals, perhaps this summer it will be mainly the festival of the pots and pans with whatever repercussions it might have on our tourism. 

What started in Montreal with the Occupy movement has now fuelled the student movement and will continue because people are fundamentally unhappy with how our governments work.

First there was the Arab spring now there's "le printemps érable" :)

Video de Mardi le 22 Mai - Etat Policier au Quebec

Etat Policier - Episode1