Mythos & Marginalia

life notes; flaws and all

j.g. lewis

original content and images ©j.g. lewis

a daily breath...

A thought du jour, my daily breath includes collected and conceived observations, questions of life, fortune cookie philosophies, reminders, messages of peace and simplicity, unsolicited advice, inspirations, quotes and words that got me thinking. They may get you thinking too . . .

I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.

j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.

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Decidedly Uncertain
Posted on September 28, 2016 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment

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           Should I stumble, as I am most certainly to do, pay no attention
        to the rip on my trousers, or swollen bruise on my knee. I have many
   more scars,     and they have become a better part of who I am.     As if
       character marks on the surface of the antique table, or the
 cumulative incidental nicks and scratches on a ’61 Telecaster
                                    lessen the intended beauty and purpose.
       If I fall, and you discover me in the gutter, I will not need assistance
 returning to my feet, but would appreciate
        a hankie to dust off my skin, and perhaps a fresh bandage
        to mask the blood spilling from within.
              When, at a street corner, I seem stalled or uncertain, please
              pass me by. There is no need for directions, as
   I am probably just deciding if it is choice or a chance. We come
   across many paths, and they all move forward. I have an idea
 where I am going, and might later become sidetracked,
     or choose a cross street. You would be best thinking
     I will someday find my destination, than feeling you had led me astray.
 It’s not that I am above asking if uncertain, but
                           I would find it more purposeful
 to step ahead unknowingly, than to have you feel a burden
 or responsibility.
                     Should we cross paths again, and you find me in repose, or
           a terminal state of confusion, you would be better off continuing
 along the cracked sidewalk. It is not that I wouldn’t enjoy the company,
 it’s just that I cannot answer your why. Share a smile, however.
                                                 I do collect moments, as souvenirs,
                                  and what better way to remember anybody
                                                than to know you shed a little light.
                        Later, when you catch sight of me in a park; on the bench;
                 under a tree, near that fountain, with my camera, or a journal,
        please leave me to my silence. Know that poetry
 is having its way with me, and I have already shared
 the crusts of my sandwich with the pigeons.               Generosity comes
                 in many forms, and I am grateful for each of life’s experiences.
      As you take in this fresh autumn chill, do not be concerned
      for my welfare. I will find the warmth, as I always do.
 Yet, should you feel cold, or uncomfortable, do not hesitate taking
 my sweater to cover your shoulders.                             The garment,
 like me, may be tattered and frayed, but in it you will find comfort.
              Return it to me when it is no longer useful.     I have others.
      If I were to unexpectedly bump into you at the market,
            and we are as surprised then as we had been when,
                           remember how we once shared something,
                                 and we are both better off because of it.
                                                     We were not strangers, not then, not now.
© 2016 j.g. lewis

Every Picture Tells A Story
Posted on September 21, 2016 by j.g.lewis // 1 Comment

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An extended weekend of amazing live music and wonderful weather; well, musical performances so great that you forget about the rainy Saturday sandwiched between Friday and Sunday.

The Toronto Urban Roots Festival — in the middle of the city at the tail end of a long hot summer — welcomed performers from across the planet with enthusiastic crowds. With four stages stretched out at Fort York Garrison Commons, the diversity of the line-up meant there was something for every mood, every age and style. There was not a single disappointment to the weekend, not even the rain.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll just let the photographs tell the story.

Pictured below: The Hives, James Bay, Explosions in the Sky, Whitehorse, Lake Street Drive,  The Sheepdogs, Matt Mays, The Sadies, Matthew Good, The New Pornographers.

All images © 2016 j.g. lewis

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Moving To Something New
Posted on September 14, 2016 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment

iphone

What more can a phone do?

Every year consumers, and the industry, wait for Apple to provide an answer to the burning question and tell us exactly how far it has pushed the boundaries of wireless communication.

Last week, as it has done each September, the company released its latest products, including the iPhone 7. And the announcement was met, initially, with lukewarm response. News reports that night almost ho-hummed the whole affair, speculating a certain drop in stock prices the next day, as if the company had nothing new to offer.

It didn’t seem to matter that a new camera system was added to the now-dual camera device, or that screen size was increased slightly and the power and capacity nearly doubled. New colors were added to the sleeker aesthetic, and an improved operating system is to be included. Headphones will go wireless.

But it didn’t seem to matter to the media, as if it was boring, as if they were planning on it. Like they were expecting more.

Again, what more can a phone do, and more importantly, what should a phone do?

Right now an iPhone, or most cellular devices for that matter, can do more than what could be predicated in the comic strips and cartoons of yesteryear. George Jetson or Dick Tracy would certainly be impressed. Mobile devices can transfer data, text, images, and voice, with greater speed and more efficiently than our desktop computers from a decade ago. The new iPhone 7 will do more.

But, apparently, that wasn’t new enough, according to the media.

We all want something new.

New is, many times, the prime reason for packaging and promoting any consumer product, whether food, fashion or footwear. Or even consumer electronics. The automobile industry may well have been the original merchants of ‘new’ as it began the custom of releasing annual models of the same car.

The same could also be said of vacuum cleaners, televisions, or even the “new and improved” baked beans or tinned soup that have been pictured in media advertisements for years.

If you can’t boast of anything else, you can always talk up the new. Fashion trends, and styles, in any season, are always caught up in the much hyped new.

We are sold new. We welcome new. We expect new; so much so that we quickly tire of the old. We now replace the old, with new, almost on whim. It is society’s way.

We eat at the newest restaurant, because it is new, and for no other reason. We guzzle the new beer. We may even ditch an old favorite because we are told the new is better, or different (there’s a combustive combination: new and different).

At one time — it wasn’t that long ago — even in my lifetime, there was this thing about quality. Things were built to last. As long as it lasted, you didn’t need new. And things lasted longer. They were built that way.

Technology has changed that. We all know there has been greater technological advancement over the past 10 years than there has been in the balance of our lives (and it doesn’t matter if you are 20 or 60, for that change has been that fast, and that remarkable).

In the process of all that change, there has been an incredible amount of stuff that has been produced which becomes obsolete quicker than ever. Think Junk 1.0, then Junk 1.10, or Junk 2.0, and so on. The new stuff becomes the same old junk. Perhaps brighter colors, or faster features, but after it has served its short space, it is all headed to the landfill.

We always seem to want new; a new job perhaps, or we get tired or grow indifferent to a partner or lover. We want something new. That new always seems to be waiting in the wings, but after a while doesn’t it always become the same old, same old?

Some of us don’t want new, not always, or not as often as it is available.

I’m still pleased with my iPhone 6; it’s a Plus (that was new; a larger version). It took me a while to fully change over, or become accustomed to the changes from an iPhone 5, but it was welcome. Just as I’m sure the 7 will be appreciated, but I’m also sure I’m going to wait for the 8 (my contract says I have to).

The iPhone 8 will be released next year, on the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone (then so new it didn’t even need a number). By then, I’ll be ready for something new.