Sic erat in fatis

It has been a long while since a painting involving a canoe has adorned my page. This one is by Frederick Remington, and is among a series entitled "The Great Explorers." If I recall correctly, the explorers here are Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Medard des Groseilliers, who ranged the American and Canadian wilderness in the 17th Century. The fellow standing in the midsection of the canoe certainly is dressed as a French dandy, at any rate. The two men, related through marriage, were among the first on Lake Superior. Remington was noted for portraying authenticity in his work, and this landscape resembles northern Minnesota and places in Ontario and Manitoba that I have seen. Remington is noted primarily for his sketches, illustrations and paintings of cowboys, Indians and cavalry troopers. Interestingly enough, he also worked as a newspaper reporter.

Stranger in a strange land

This has been a bit of a strange few days (weeks? months?) for me. More to the point, I have been running on three or four hours of sleep a night for more than a week now. It has ushered me into a strange world, reminiscent of Robert Heinlein's science fiction novel, "Stranger in a Strange Land," which I first read as a pre-teen boy. This, possibly, explains why I never matriculated to adulthood.

Although I have not worked at the newspaper since the end of May, for all of June and into July I had been involved in a task which required my presence two or three hours a day. And, while trying to readjust my sleep pattern from my "newspaper regimen" to a more normal day / night sequence which would accommodate "real life" and "real responsibilities," I have totally messed myself up. (Some would say I did that decades ago.)

Then, too, I have been trying to ease down on blogging by running a couple of songs with a paragraph or two of background regarding the music and the musicians. I would rather be writing other things, or writing nothing at all. (Try sleep depredation some time; the experience is fascinating.)

This is to say that I finally will be slacking off to what I talked about on June 30. Which was:

"As the length of daylight hours in the northlands begin to shorten (yeh, really), so does my time writing here. My thought is to leave "Sort of San Fran" alone for the most part to indulge in a sort of a hiatus. When the opportunity or a reason arises, I might not be able to resist temptation and produce a post. But, I am not going to worry about it or to think about it for the most part. I hope I will continue to make comments on the pages of others, but no promises to do it with every post you write."

In terms of plans, in a few days my mascot and I will embark on a brief canoe jaunt and some lakeside relaxation, maybe even do a few shallow-water dives.

So, with that I will join Messieurs Radisson and Groseilliers to paddle off into the wilderness, free and unfettered by shackles other than those I willingly place upon myself.

And, as the canoe fades into the mists of time, a voice from some 450 years distant into the future shouts from the treeline to break the silence: …. rock on ….

Here are a couple more from Vixen, in case someone besides me likes the girls' music:

The band is Vixen
The songs are:
Not a Minute Too Soon & Rev It Up