Sunday, July 26, 2009

A Week in the Life

The past week has been a whirlwind. Between work, events, and activism I have hardly had a chance to catch up on relaxing, let alone blogging. Add to that the fact I have been trying to get in as much bike time as possible, and you have a recipe for Paula not being in front of her computer very much.

On Monday I went to Capital EX. This was the first time I have been there since the event re-branded from Klondike Days. The midway was owned by a different company, and there seemed to be fewer rides. Not that I am much of a ride person. I was tricked into going on the Crazy Mouse and had a sore throat for the rest of the afternoon from screaming. I actually found the displays in the Agricom the most interesting part of the afternoon, especially the butterfly area. I also enjoyed going on the big ferris wheel and getting photos from the top. Here are the photos of that and everything else.

On Tuesday I went to Taste of Edmonton for the second time. I enjoy trying different foods from different restaurants. I just wish it was not so expensive! Here is a look at what I tasted and tried. Most of it was good, and some of the portions were not bad values.

Prior to heading to Churchill Square, I took some shots around McCauley. We had a really intense storm last Saturday evening that resulted in a lot of trees going down, including this one on 93 street. I also got a few pictures of new community murals that have gone up along the LRT pedestrian/bike trail.

I attended a board meeting of the Phoenix Multi-Faith Society, for which I have been writing articles about interfaith cooperation. It is always great to be able to put faces to names of people with whom I have been working. The board consists of representatives from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths.

On Wednesday I attended an animal rights event for the first time. It was presented by Voice for Animals and Friends of Lucy and took place in front of City Hall. They are calling for independent experts to examine Lucy the Elephant at the Valley Zoo and determine whether she should stay put or be moved to a sanctuary in Tennessee. I am trying to keep an open mind on this issue and think City Hall should be taking a mroe active role in getting involved in the discussion. Here is a look at the rally (I admire the woman in the elephant suit - it was a hot afternoon!) and a short video.

Thursday had me bring my bike out to Terwillegar Park for some off-road fun. I don't really like riding on non-paved trails, so this was a bike and hike. Besides, the scenery is so beautiful I had to keep stopping to take pictures.

I also worked at my music this past week. "The Side of Peace" is another song I have written about the situation in Israel/Palestine. I performed it once live at an event called Expressions Against Repression, but I wanted to do a more "serious" recording of it. I also uploaded it to my main YouTube account with the hope of more people seeing it as they come to my channel to view videos about activism. Here it is.

Back at my music YouTube channel, there have been two new additions. I recorded a cover version in Spanish of a song called "Maria del Campo," a very old León Gieco song. In my video I got so into the song I did not realize my head was at times getting cut off! Also, by popular demand, I did a quick video of "Solo le Pido a Dios" yet again, clearly showing the guitar chords I am playing.

I had another huge adventure this past week, but it is worthy of its own blog post, so that is what I am going to do!

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