Blog Dis

Every day, regardless of weather, I walk downtown, primarily because I don't own a car or an electric bike, nor even a moped. I'll ride an Uber to the opposite end of town when my sister and I visit w/ our elderly mom. So on the whole, I walk everywhere and I cycle in my the city too, though this is for enjoyment and exercise.

When you walk everywhere, you see a great deal more than you'd see from a window of a car or bus. Walking is private time for me, to be alone with my thoughts and fanciful ideas, to avoid engaging in conversations that are too often superficial only because social situations are, more often than not, about skimming the surface, to collect information, to enable the individual involved in their light discourse to know how best to position themselves, such as you'll often encounter when socializing in a work environment.

When you walk, however, there's little to no superficiality and this pleases me immensely because I've never cared for superficial banter in the first place. Walking presents opportunities that abound to observe your surroundings, to be aware of traffic, pedestrians, bikers, dogs and every car that appears to be swerving at the last possible second to avoid slamming into you. When I walk, I'm imbued with energy, similar to the energy that comes with live music and summer festivals, like Ottawa's Bluesfest, which ended on July 20, and which followed Ottawa's Jazz Festival, both events occur in July. We still have Ottawa's CityFolk festival in September, where all manner of folk music is unleashed, and where one year I was able to catch Van Morrison. There's also Ottawa's Chamber Music Festival, an enormous hit with Classical music fans and, relatively new to the Ottawa scene is the Escapade Music Festival, which made its first appearance in 2010. This festival celebrates electronic music.

I've attended hundreds of concerts in my life, and pretty much every festival that's been held in Ottawa, tho' Bluesfest more than any other. And what do all of these festivals have in common besides music? Food! And more food! I smell food being cooked outdoors when I walk downtown and it's impossible not to smell food with food stands at many street corners. Think Ribfest, another example, which lasts for one week all along Sparks Street Mall - the smell permeates the downtown core and drives meat eaters to distraction. BBQ chicken and dogs are popular, plus other sugary treats and then there are festivals that celebrate ethnic food such as the Lebanese or Greek food festivals that take place every summer. Energy, food and festivals go hand-in-hand. The tiny creatures who live in our downtown parks and who eek out a living in the city centre are also up-to-date on the variety of cuisine that can be uncovered in trash cans, like our industrious racoons, known by their nicknames, trash pandas, whose dexterous fingers can open any kind of lock to gain access to organic waste bins. During festival season in Ottawa, the bins are over-flowing with delectable leftover food particles, and these industrious animals are wired for sound by the time they've finished devouring a smorgasbord of yummy eats.

Parks are generally the first to come under assault from the business of plying humans with stimulating food and music. To be sure, downtown living is its own reward with a constant reminder that energy is everywhere, in music, in food, in the little animals that come out after the event has ended, when its their time to indulge. I may walk everywhere when I walk in my city but since I moved to a new location, closer to where I work, I no longer make the 20 minute walks in summer, or 30 minute walks in winter, where I used to live, considerably farther away. Back then I'd carry with me a small bag of mixed nuts to feed chipmunks and squirrels. I kind of miss this interaction.

This year I've been closely watching how I spend my pennies, because I'm researching deals in preparation to upgrade my home computer. I'm budgeting and visiting umpteen sites before I take the plunge, so there've been less outings to festivals, patios and happy hour deals. Instead, I'm content to continue watching the activities that go on outside, whenever I take a walk, and to continue listening as music being played in some far-off area catches a wave on a current of wind and rolls into my vicinity, late at night, when everyone's gone to asleep.

Prices, sadly, for every music festival have doubled or tripled since the pandemic. It grieves me that these high costs are passed on to music-goers, while the organizers pocket a hefty sum, as do the performers. But where and when did we lose sight of the joy of outdoor music festivals in lieu of making more money?

I have little hope that festival prices will go down as the years go on.

Here's an image of the crowd at Bluesfest, a two-week celebration of music that attracts visitors from all over Canada, not just Ontario, who'll vacation in the city for the duration, and attend every single show, every day. That's dedication! My last visit to Bluesfest was back in 2023 when I caught Ludacris and Pit Bull and it was an awesome show. I only wish that ticket prices would be given some relief from the organizers, but I fear this isn't set to happen, any time soon, given that people who love to attend live performances will have to bite the bullet to see their favourite performer.

In the past, I've been fortunate to see performances at Bluesfest for Robert Cray, Santana, Jackson Browne, White Stripes, Metric, The Flaming Lips, Blue Rodeo, K'naan, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp and on and on. I can't afford to see them all, and not all guests perform exclusively blues music but so long as the temperatures are not too scorching hot, and the prices not too blazing high, I'll await the release for the next year's line-up.

A long weekend is soon upon us and if you're scheduled to see some live music, it looks like in Ottawa the forecast for sunny skies will be in your favour. Enjoy!

Sometimes you just have to stage a protest bcuz if you didn't, how would an oppressive conglomerate know you're fed up? It's no different than holding back your opinion or sometimes anger, when dealing with someone who's behaving in an unreasonable fashion or who has demonstrated a pattern of abuse. If you don't lose your sh*t every now and then, how will these individuals ever know when they've crossed the line?


Read More

I am besotted with him,
when after he laid me,
with blinding impression,
first lit by candle.

I swooned when his hand found me,
disturbed the barely held,
liquid in place,
the soiled lace of my garment.

My anticipation overcomes me.
His will too weak
to stay away from my swell.
I smell like no other, he tells me.

In fury, he charges,
and buries his mouth
into my split pear, he slides
and confesses his love to me.

COPYRIGHT © Patricia K McCarthy

We have arrived at that juncture once again, a Mercury Retrograde, which began on Thursday July 18th and which doesn't end until August 11st. I've purposely let a week pass before issuing this post, to allow some perspective, to see if you've personally noticed any glitches, such as people acting oddly, couples getting into major arguments, mechanical things breaking down, arrangements falling apart, and the like. You'll know what I mean, if this resonates with you.


Read More

Wanna head out for some fun in the sun? Summer is the ideal period of time in the year for having fun, more so for those living in countries that have four seasons. I've traveled into countries that don't have four seasons, will not ever have four seasons, and deal with sun seven days a week, 52 weeks out of every year. That's a lot of sun.


Read More

If only, I could read his mind,
as easily as I can see his body,
to know the kind of woman he wants,
I would change to become,

A long stare of soulful contemplation,
or I could even act the whore,
speaking depravity,
to blow his swollen head.

Or else, a chastity belt,
I should wear,
to make him try even harder,
to bring me to come hither,

into the bed of petals and sunlight,
alongside our glistening thighs,
let us ride,
let us ride.

COPYRIGHT © Patricia K McCarthy

One of my blog readers dropped me a DM, asking me why I had failed to mention the subject of love, when speaking about lust. Yes! You are absolutely correct, my friend. Where there is lust, there may be love to follow, though not necessarily.


Read More

Lust is one of my all-time favourite subjects. I wrote six urban paranormal novels featuring a solitary vampire, which some readers call vampire erotica. So, it's almost a natural instinct for me to gravitate to this wonderful human emotion, more so given that we are currently knee-deep in summer, when lust is all around, or rather strolling around town, wearing barely-there clothing.


Read More

I will divide the mountains
from the land,
and divorce the clouds
from the sky.

I will become the hunger,
before death is the beginning of time,
I will return to the place
where loose ends no longer exist.

In the air I breathe,
I will give you the morning,
in discussion and exchanges,
in adjectives and verbs.

When you rise and speak,
heaven and earth will meet
inside my love,
inside my heart.

COPYRIGHT © Patricia K McCarthy

Every day should be devoted to hunting for the golden moments, those times when we reflect back on them years later and say aloud to ourselves, "Wow! Weren't those the good ol' days?" Because each moment after you wake up, the first thoughts in your head should be a re-affirmation that you're alive and breathing, able-bodied and still thinking.


Read More

None of us wants to be bored out of our bloody skulls, to reach such a tedious level of interaction that you'd rather watch dry paint peel off the wall. The kind of tedium about which I speak has everything to do with the more boring elements of our jobs, the unsavory tasks that we'd rather avoid, kind of like pulling out weeds before planting new flowers in our garden that will eventually elevate into a bloom. The weeds play a vital role, as far as they're concerned, maybe less so with the garden's aesthetic look. Keep in mind that dandelions are considered to be weeds but they are often the first food source for bees come Springtime.


Read More

When we butterfly,
in my heart,
I vaporize into daytime,
and lighter miracle.

So bright, you are the blanket,
around my naked form,
and we fall, under a topaz sky,
so ripe.

We fall from far above,
like fixed sight in eyes.
And our mouths, our tongues inside,
with pleasure, we eat raw our love.

COPYRIGHT © Patricia K McCarthy