MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: I RESOLVE TO QUIT BEING A BRAGGART!

 

SELF-PORTRAIT

Yes. I need to quit being a braggart. I need to quit the me, me, me, and more me themes that are prevalent in this very blog you are reading.

My braggadocio really began in 1977 after I had just read The Complete Book of Running by Jim Fixx. Right after reading that book, I became a runner. Living in Kamloops, British Columbia at the time, running the main trail at McArthur Island Park became a daily habit, and running continued to be a daily habit for the next fifty years! Between then and now, I’ve run a marathon (registered with the Saskatchewan Marathon), several half-marathons (registered with the Echo Lake Road Race), and hundreds of recreational runs around Wascana Lake in Regina, Saskatchewan.

MY MARATHON MEDAL '89

My braggadocio continued as I began taking classes at the University of Regina. And that is when I formally became a swimmer. For four years, I swam my morning mile having my individual medley (IM) being the front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, and butterfly. Though I was an English Literature major, Swimming was my minor, taking Swimming 110 (introduction to swimming), 210 (lifeguard level swimming), and 310 (instructor level swimming). Upon graduation, I taught swimming and springboard diving and snorkeling for well over a decade at the Regina YMCA.

I should mention, too, that I had also completed a scuba certification with the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) at Cariboo College in Kamloops, B.C., and a Scuba Bronze with the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) in Regina, Saskatchewan.

PUERTO VALLARTA DIVING

It has been some time since I’ve taught swimming. Even so, it does seem fitting that I now teach downhill skiing, having taken my instructor certification through the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance (CSIA). My first time on skis was in 1972 at White Track Ski Resort just north of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Since then, I have bump-skied at Tod Mountain (now called Sun Peaks) and Harper at Kamloops, Big White at Kelowna, Silver Star at Vernon, Sunshine and Norquay at Banff, and Whistler at Vancouver. And every weekend I am either skiing or instructing skiing at Mission Ridge Ski Resort in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan. I must confess that being a swimming instructor was a very plummy job, and that being a ski instructor is even more plummy!

In my adolescence and early adulthood, I dabbled in karate, and then as a middle-ager I took Tai Chi. These past fifteen years I have been both a student and instructor of Muay Thai (kickboxing). Muay Thai is not regulated so my instructor credentials could be specious. Even so, I still brag about it.

All these above mentions are my fitness creds. I could go on to mention that at one time I was a certified aerobics instructor (via the YMCA) and a certified Nautilus Weightlifting Instructor (also via the YMCA). Aerobics I’ve not done since my certification, but I still lift weights at least four times a week. I am a serious martinet when it comes to fitness. Muscle is medicine, and I lift weights for one reason only, and that is to look good! YOU. CAN’T. FAKE. FITNESS.

BUSKING AT TIM HORTONS SOMEWHERE IN ALBERTA

Of course, my academic creds give me more reasons to brag. My bachelor’s degree is in English Literature, and my Masters’ degree is in Educational Psychology. Having my bachelor’s degree gave me the opportunity to teach high school English, and having my master’s degree gave me the opportunity to teach university Psychology. I was on faculty as a sessional instructor in the Psychology Department for well over twenty years.

Having my master’s degree also prompted me to open a private counselling practice, for which I became professionally proficient in Choice Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Now, all these mentioned therapies are years behind me, for my present practice I focus only on HYPNOTHERAPY, for which I am a registered Master Clinical Hypnotherapist with the Canadian Hypnosis Association (CHS). I have been managing my hypnotherapy practice in downtown Regina for a dozen years and have no plans to ever cease.

Well now that I have bragged about my physical and academic creds, I still have space and time to brag about my creative creds.

More bragging. I am a published author, my first book being an academic writing of non-fiction, A WISHBONE EPISTOLARY published by the University of Toronto in 1985.

My second book, QUEST FOR BLACK BEACH, is an adolescent science-fiction adventure, published by Wood Dragon Books in 2023.

EVERYBODY IS READING IT!

EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT IT-- MY TELEVISION INTERVIEW!

Did you know that this self-published blog you are reading, has a readership in 152 countries to date?!

And now my creative creds. I am a singer-songwriter, having slung my twelve-string guitar and blown my Dylan harp while busking throughout Western Canada, and elsewhere in such countries across the pond in The Netherlands, Ireland, and Morocco.

BUSKING IN MARRAKECH

Being a planetary guitar-slinger busker, I have also been a caricaturist in those same countries. Drawing caricatures, I need only some Sharpies and a sketchpad. Locally, I love drawing at summer country fairs right here in Canada.

DRAWING AT A LOCAL MARKET

Yes. For 2026 I need to quit bragging. I think I brag because I think my sociability stock rises every time someone other than myself knows how talented I am at doing something! Because I think that they think that -- I do not deter them from thinking so.

THE LIFE YOU DREAM IS RIGHT BEHIND THE WORK YOU SHIRK! 

This I know. Yes. I am very close to writing a bestseller or being a famous caricaturist or having enough popularity to eke out a living as a planetary busker. I just need to quit shirking!

Yes. For 2026, my bragging shall be finis. 2026 shall be my year of wrinkled humility and mercenary notoriety. But alas, being 74 years of age, I am not as roseate as I once was. In fact, I’ll be lucky to last another ten years without suffering some physical or mental infirmity.

(But I’ll certainly not be bragging about that!)

SELF-CARICATURE

 

 

 

 

HARKEN (AGAIN)! NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE AND SMARTRE THAN SARTRE

 

HIKING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

In my last blog post, HARKEN! NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE, BUT SARTRE IS SMARTRE, I ended by confessing that I really did not if Sartre were smarter than Nietzsche, but now upon further reading and reflection I do know. As a follow-up to my last post, I can now declare that NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE, AND SMARTRE THAN SARTRE, and my only reason for saying so is because NIETZSCHE believed that physical activity was crucial for intellectual vitality, whereas SARTRE did not!

NIETZSCHE believed that a well-functioning body was necessary for good health. Nietzsche was among those philosophers who were famous for taking longs walks. He considered his daily walks to be a vital activity to prompt clear thinking. Nietzsche valued physical exercise, as did most of the philosophers I briefly wrote about in my previous post.

SOCRATES believed the physical body to be deeply connected to the mind. In fact, Socrates was regarded as a macho figure, walking barefoot in wintertime and demonstrating prowess as a warrior in battle.

PLATO, the most famous student of Socrates, was a fitness addict. He stated that “lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being.”

ARISTOTLE wrote, “It’s a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”  Aristotle believed that too much or too little exercise was detrimental to one’s well-being, whereas a measured and proportioned amount was necessary for one’s ideal mental and physical health.

CONFUCIUS stressed the importance of a balance between the civil (scholarly) and martial (physical) arts. Confucius loved archery and driving chariots.

SARTRE was the only philosopher mentioned in my previous post who was not physically active. And unlike the others, never did he ever explicitly advocate any kind of physical fitness for enhancing mental health. Yes, NIETZSCHE was SMARTRE than SARTRE, and NIETZSCHE was PIETZSCHE for believing that physical activity would enhance everyone’s overall well-being.

 ‘Tis only fools who neglect the body in favor of the mind, or the mind in favor of the body. Yes. There is good reason why so many philosophers are famous for taking long walks. And yes, precisely the same reason why I love hiking. (See picture atop the blog post.) And, too, one of the reasons I love guitar busking, slinging my twelve-string and walking city sidewalks to strum on any given corner in the summer in the city of my choosing. Thrumming and thinking -- this is my guitar busking!   

I shall close with yet another philosopher, BARUCH SPINOZA (1632-1677), a Portuguese-Jewish philosopher who was not mentioned in my last blog post. Spinoza said that the mind and body are the same thing, and for us to be complete as humans, we must concern ourselves with both. Spinoza insisted we should strive to be strong and smart. Yes. Strong and smart.

SPINOZA

This blog post I confess that I am but the wannabe spox expressing this NEILOGISM (neologism):

GET STRONG TO GET SMART – GET SMART TO GET STRONG.

HARKEN! NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE, BUT SARTRE IS SMARTRE.

 

AUTUMN IN WASCANA

Autumn is a beautiful season. But with the leaves swirling around the pumpkins in the ever-present strong gusts of wind, my busking is waning. Furtherance to busking, October pumpkin-sweater weather is never conducive to my traditional white t-shirt and blue jeans busking togs!

PUMPKIN WAY

For munificent guitar busking adventures, I need sunshine and summer breezes. Autumn is not for busking. Autumn is for hiking. Autumn is for hiking and thinking! Autumn is for hiking and thinking and listening to dead people. Yes. Listening to dead people. Listening to dead people means reading, reading, and more reading.

Factoid: We all have time to read, yet we don't. On average people play on their telephones five hours every day and watch 20 or so hours of television every week. 

Yes. We all have that superpower of being able to talk to the dead just by reading, and one of the best paths to gain wisdom is to travel back in time and read what the dead philosophers have to say about anything and everything. I try to never get too addlepated when thinking and discussing philosophy, and so I always need to dumb it down to my level of understanding. So, dear reader, here goes nothing and everything about what the ancients had to say about anything and everything.

I shall begin with the German atheist philosopher, FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900).

Nietzsche was famous for wanting us to be free spirits. Here are some of his quotes:

“God is dead. And we have killed him.” (Nietzsche had a load of haters for this one.)

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” (Oh yeah, we’ve all heard this one.)

“If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” (Yikes. This is dark stuff huh.)

Second comes the ancient Greek philosopher, SOCRATES (470 B.C. – 399 B.C.).

Socrates was mostly famous for his “Socratic” method of teaching, questioning his students with his emphasis being on ethics and self-examination. Here are some of his quotes:

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Reflection and introspection are addiction issues for moi.)

“Know thyself.” (I know I am narcissistic know-it-all!)

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” (I wish I could make my students think!)

Another Greek philosopher was PLATO (428 B.C. – 348 B.C.).

And it just happened, that Plato was a devoted student of Socrates. His famous quotes include:

“The measure of a man is what he does with power.” (Hmmm. I just finished reading the morning news from CNN, FOX, HUFFINGTON POST, and AL JAZZERA before writing this blog post.)

“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.” (This is easy to believe.)

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” 

(This one, in particular, is perfect for this eve of REMEMBRANCE DAY.)

Another Greek philosopher is ARISTOTLE (384 B.C. – 322 B.C.).

Aristotle is most famous for the development of “The Scientific Method.” A few of his most famous quotes are:

“We are what we repeatedly do.” (Yes! Our last press release is always indicative of our current behaviors.)

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” (Rabbit holes beget rabbit holes.)

“In all things of nature there is something marvelous.” (My love for Zen and the art of hiking proves this!)

Everyone has heard of the Chinese philosopher, CONFUCIUS (551 B.C. – 479 B.C.).

Revered as a great teacher, Confucius is credited with advocating for education to be made available to all. This is the most popular quote of Confucius:

“Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself.” (The Golden Rule!)

“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” (Especially those who are not looking for it.)

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” (I’m trying, I’m trying.)

And my last to mention is the French philosopher, JEAN-PAUL SARTRE (1905 – 1980).

Sartre is famous for being awarded the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN LITERATURE, but for political reasons declining it!

Being a founder of my favorite subject, EXISTENTIALISM, Sartre’s quotes are a treat to me.

“Existence precedes essence.” (In a line, this is Existentialism.)

“Hell is other people.” Uh huh and ha! You got that right!)

“I am condemned to be free.” (Deep, deep, and deep.)

‘Tis time for a couple of true confessions. I am attracted to FRIEDRICH NIETZCHE, mostly because his namesake, which looks and sounds close to my own first and second names NEIL FREDRICK.

To end, my macedoine mix of some famous philosopher quotes are written proof that I am a total palooka when it comes down my knowledge of philosophy. Furthermore, I do not have a clue if SARTRE was SMARTRE than PEITZCHE NITZCHE. I chose this catchy rhyme only because I am a SNAPPY TITLE GUY!

Yes. Harken and listen to the ancients. Yes. We can talk to the dead until we are dead.

LEST WE FORGET …

"ONLY THE DEAD HAVE SEEN THE END OF WAR" (PLATO)

LEST WE FORGET ...

 

 

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS: DOES LIFE GET BETTER THAN THIS?!

 

My blog title today, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS, is inspired (stolen rather) from Kurt Vonnegut’s 1973 novel of the same name. Factoid: Back in my English Literature university daze, I also read Vonnegut’s WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE (1968) and SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE (1969). SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE was later made into a Hollywood movie, SCI-FI Comedy-Drama, which I saw at the theatre in 1972.)

That was a lifetime ago, when I was in my ‘20s. Note, dear reader, now as a 74-year-old I have yet to master my life, never mind master my life in the BIGGER-THAN-ME sense. Intellectually, I have managed only to age into a perpetual thirty-something! How could I possibly know my darkly Vonnegut comedy-drama days would adumbrate themes for my future septuagenarian self!  One such example being that I believe that no one yet on this planet has mastered life – for all us whoever were and whoever are, are all beginners at being human.

Back to my blog title, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS. It just so happens, that my first name, NEIL, is derived from the Irish Gaelic name, NIALL, which means “CHAMPION.” Ah, PHENOMENOLOGY! Such a perfect blog title, right?! To live up to my Gaelic moniker, I am a champion in at least a couple of regards. A pusillanimous person I am not, and just as important, a quaggy person I am not.

MY SIGNATURE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Here is what I know about breakfast and me. Never do I crave bacon and eggs or ham and eggs or steak and eggs for my morning meal. I am long past devouring the “most important meal of the day.” Factoid: For me, breakfast is the least important meal of the day. Another factoid: I have issues about my weight. In my undergraduate days I swam one mile every morning before classes, and after each swim I would weight myself on the Toledo Scale in the change room. One hundred and sixty-seven pounds. This was my weight throughout the four years of my first degree. And now 50 years later I weigh two pounds lighter at 165 pounds! I weigh myself every day and if I am even just one pound over 165, I starve until I make weight. Like I said, I have issues about my weight! And yet another factoid: I am delusional. I believe that if I can control what I eat or drink, I can control EVERYTHING else!

Right after my signature breakfast of champions this past Sunday, I went for my daily run and two scenes stopped me in my tracks. This is the first one, from the north shore on Wascana Lake.

"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home" (Gary Snyder).

Does life get better than this?!

These two ducks on the water reminded me of the white chickens amid the vivid imagery expressed in The Red Wheelbarrow, a poem by William Carlos Williams.

"so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens."

And this is the second one, Willow Island in Wascana.

"I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it" (William Shakespeare).

Autumn running in Wascana. Does life get better than this?!

SQUIRREL! 

Caricatures, caricatures, caricatures have been on my brain since last June. It seems I cannot practice enough!

SQUIRREL!

Busking, busking, busking has been my raison d’etre for writing this blog! Keeping in harmony with my coterie of guitar slingers, I still love to thrum and strum at every opportunity. Any sunny and windless day I am looking for a buskspot! Last Saturday was one such day for my son, Baron, and self.

BUSKING AT THE EMF MARKET MALL IN REGINA

DOES LIFE GET BETTER THAN THIS?!

MY LIFE AS A BONA FIDE CARICATURIST: EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE!

 

MY LATEST BUSINESS CARDS

“EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE” seems an apt descriptor for my latest avocation, that being a bona fide caricature busker. From many directions in a random fashion, my life as a caricaturist is getting wind and taking sail. As noted on my brand-new business cards (see picture atop this paragraph) I’m up for drawing caricatures practically anywhere for any type of event. From wedding receptions to gender reveals to pet portraitures, playing Paladin, HAVE SHARPIE – WILL TRAVEL!

Following a summer of drawing caricatures at several rural festivals and street fairs, I’ve spent this past couple Saturdays setting up to draw at the EMF MARKET MALL in Regina, SK. At the EMF Market is where I met the neatest kid, Archit, who happened to be selling his acrylic paintings just a few vendors down the aisle from my caricature station.

ARCHIT'S STORY

Here are a few more of my customers at the EMF MARKET MALL:

Back to every which way but loose, a few weekends ago, I was invited to a Sunday brunch party to draw the attendees’ caricatures:

For the chef at THE CURE (a downtown bar), who was turning 40, I drew his caricature:

This next caricature is one of the most popular celebrities in Regina, TRISTAN OREMBA:

At the beginning of summer, one of my other job administrators had been transferred. For my farewell present, I drew her caricature:

And at the close of summer, one of my colleagues insisted I draw his best friend!

Factoid: It has been the perfect summer for me drawing caricatures. My caricature busking began at the MANITOU BEACH BUSKERS FESTIVAL, followed by a caricature stint at the OLD WIVES LAKE SUMMER FESTIVAL. From there I was invited to draw caricatures at the LIMERICK ANNUAL FARMERS’ MARKET and then invited back to MANITOU BEACH to draw caricatures at RELICS ANTIQUE SHOP.

Yes. This summer I have learned lots about being a caricaturist. In fact, three personal epiphanies have jumped out at me from these summertime adventures. First, I now realize that I am accursed with a busking addiction. This began with a guitar busking addiction (throughout Western Canada, Western Europe, and even Africa), continued into a banjo busking addiction (mainly Regina), then to a didgeridoo busking addiction (also mainly in Regina), a pencil-portrait busking addiction (Western Europe and Africa), and now caricature busking (so far only in Saskatchewan and British Columbia)!

Yes. I am an accursed BUSKING ADDICT. (Hmmm. But I suppose one could do worse than being addicted to busking!)

My second epiphany is that I am flummoxed by the simple fact that people DO NOT KNOW what they look like! This, of course, is a general statement and inductive reasoning need not necessarily apply, but this epiphany has been confirmed and shared amongst all those that I know in the portrait artist community!

And my third epiphany is that, for me, there is more money to be made busking as a caricaturist than busking in every other regard. When I am drawing caricatures, there is usually a lineup of people ready to pungle up and pay me $10.00 a pop! This works out to $10.00 per 10-minute caricatures, which approximates to $60.00 per hour. (I’ll not want to mislead, dear readers. At times I have made lots of money guitar busking, my record being over $600.00 in one day. But that was just one time. Most times whilst strumming I’ll take in $50 to $100 bucks in a two-hour stand. Drawing caricatures is physically easier and mentally more fun, as I’m always in conversation with my consumers.

It is said that talk is cheap, but this is not so when guitar busking. In fact, when guitar busking talk is expensive because it costs losing most of those passersby customers! Chatting, rather than thrumming and blowing my harp, halts both the music and the money!

Of those mercenary events listed on the back of my card (pictured above), I’ve yet to experience only a few to date. Regarding drawing caricatures at wedding receptions and birthday parties, I’ve been invited to none. Regarding corporate events and gender reveals, I’ve been invited to none. The same goes for retirement parties. But regarding festivals and street fairs and pet portraitures, I’ve been very busy!

My strategy to keep busy this autumn is to spend as many hours as practical in my favorite park, WASCANA CENTRE, caricature busking for practice and for profit!

 

 

BUSKER ALERT: BEWARE OR BE WARY OF THE KAMLOOPS FARMERS' MARKET!

For my summertime travels I had BIG PLANS for my caricature busking, my first buskspot being at the farmers’ market in Kamloops, British Columbia. (See the picture and words posted above!)

I LOVE KAMLOOPS! And I love Kamloops for a couple of reasons. Firstly, every summer I drive to Kamloops to hike and hang out with my daughter and granddaughter who reside there, and secondly, my early memories of Kamloops are most certainly hazed through romantic nostalgia.

In 1972, the summer of the BIG FLOOD of the North and South Thompson rivers, my cousin and I hitch-hiked from Regina to Kamloops to work in the sawmill. And what a summer that was! But that is another story for another time …

Anyway, back to the KAMLOOPS FARMERS’ MARKET. The website for such proves that the Kamloops Farmers’ Market is not acephalous and it states that it loves having buskers. 

Factoid: These words that are posted on the Kamloops Farmers' Market website are just glib -- they sound great, but they are not sincere.

A few days before the day of the market and following the directions as presented on the website (shown above), I called and left a voice message, I typed an email, and sent a text. One day passed and it was crickets for a reply to any of the three messages I had left. Two days passed and still crickets. In the early morning on the day of the market, I sent another text directly to Greg, the market manager, to which he did reply. In summary, he stated that as a caricaturist, I would be listed as a “crafter” rather than as a “busker.” As a “crafter” I would have to formally apply four months in advance to sell my wares at the market, because, the acceptance of such "is quite a process.” But it did not matter anyway, since my place of residence was outside 100-mile radius of Kamloops, I would not qualify. The Kamloops Farmers’ Market is for locals only. To say the least, I was certainly addlepated!

From my experiences as a street caricaturist everywhere elsewhere from Kamloops, as a caricaturist, I have been a busker in Dublin, Ireland, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in Marrakech, Morocco, and several cities in Canada.

Hmmm. I googled the question: “Are Street caricaturists considered to be buskers?” And the answer, according to AI, “Yes, Street caricaturists are considered buskers. Busking encompasses a wide range of performance arts in public spaces, including drawing caricaturists.”

Hmmm. And then I wondered, if Manager Greg had ever been to other summer fairs and markets? Including the iconic and same-province Inner Harbor in Victoria, British Columbia, where the caricaturists are significant members of the buskerhood, performing for masses of tourists walking along the legendary boardwalk each summer day?! Hmmm. Only at the KAMLOOPS FARMERS’ MARKET, it seems, that CARICATURISTS ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE BUSKERS!

Yes. This may be petty, but I shall continue, nonetheless. Now back in my home province of Saskatchewan, I have been very busy drawing caricatures, as a busker, at several farmers’ markets.

Here are some of my portraits from just last week from farmers’ markets in MOSSBANK and LIMERICK, two small resort towns in Saskatchewan, and my home city, REGINA:

And because I was dismissed from the KAMLOOPS FARMERS’ MARKET, I headed for RIVERSIDE PARK, right in the heart of Kamloops and drew these fine people who were working the BIKE VALET:

Posing in my CHAUCERIAN PARADE this week:

In this blog post I want to send kudos to all those “other” farmers’ market managers who have and continue to warmly welcome me as a CARICATURIST-BUSKER, and have embraced me with a heartfelt smile and handshake, and without having the complications of a written application of any sort.

And to close, my point for writing this post was to hoist by his own petard, the KAMLOOPS FARMERS’ MARKET manager. And I believe I have done just that!