Mother's tomb

While riding through Cote des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal, Lohbado paused to pay his respects at Mother's tomb. Death is a good reminder to be alive. Don't wait until you're old and frail to pay attention to details, to soak in the sights and sounds. Lohbado's mother died not long after turning 50. Lohbado with respect and appreciation remembered his mother.

Tims hand made cars

This video is about Tim who carves automobiles out of wood. It's a relaxing pass time and enables him to indulge his interest in cars. In this video, Tim talks about the 1967 Chevrolet Biscayne. Tim also is experimenting in making small cars on 3D printers and has tried making them with resin.

Seth's first long drive on the freeway

Seth drove an old pickup truck a bit too fast on interstate i -5 from San Mateo to L.A., California. He ran into an object which damaged the truck and forced him to pull over in the middle of nowhere...

poetry of cement

It's very impressive to ride the bike path under viaducts along the Lachine Canal in Montreal. The sheer size of the cement pillars and the way they cut up the sky into panels brought back memories of ancient monuments. Monolithic cement mass filled Lohbado with wonderment. Even though the viaducts serve an everyday function, there's something powerful and impressive about them.

down to earth

photos taken during bike ride along Lachine Canal

After gazing into the sky in search of flying saucers and space aliens, Lohbado came down to earth and took photos of heavy objects, for example, big trucks and shipping containers along the bike path beside the Lachine Canal in Montreal.

space aliens

Lohbado encountered three space aliens while crossing the Plains of Radiation. They used sign language to ask Lohbado directions to food and shelter. The aliens gave Lohbado a bottle of Zog Juice. They sat around the remains of a meteorite and got to know each other. The space aliens were direct descendants of bacteria from the giant Og's drool, which fell on to a rock which Og picked up and hurled into space 250 million years ago.

Seth

A moment of relaxation during a long weekend... The question arose during conversation about what caused the blackout of cultural knowledge about 7000 or so years ago. The continuity of knowledge fades out as one gazes backwards into history. Cultural history begins to grow in the time of the Greeks, for example,  preSocratic writings, 5th and 6th century BC, marked a beginning of what is now known as philosophy. Seth also shared stories he'd heard about the origin of life. Perhaps some bacteria in a meteorite hit earth and instigated evolution of life. Of course, there's always the temptation to say that when something begins here, it actually began elsewhere. Life never began where one might expect. It's beginning arose from conditions originating elsewhere, which leads into infinite regress. What exactly caused the big bang... in the beginning, matter existed, which gave rise to further existence, which intensified into a bang, a cosmic orgasm which began the universe as it appears to us.

lohba vlog 29

Warm weather has returned to Montreal. Lohbado enjoyed moments of silence in his apartment, then went out to savour the sounds of summer: lawn mowers, power tools, road construction. Sometimes in the park one can hear birds. Lohbado also contemplated the nature of self, how it is composed of many things.

bardo vision

Lohbado dreamed a fire in his stomach shot sparks up into his skull which loosened the glue which held together the heap of memories, fantasies, thoughts and emotions that generated a personality or sense of self. His self decomposed into millions of tiny particles or monads. The dream narrator said the monads were mirrors of the cosmos. Just before waking, a strange face appeared, with a crack down the middle. He woke up to realize he was still Lohbado.

wedding anniversary

more photos below the read more button

Congratulations to Jim and Francesca on 25 years of marriage. The celebration was at the Montreal Shambhala Centre.

religious dream

digital painting by Lohbado

Lohbado dreamed he was back at his father's church, carrying a heavy piece of wood to a birthday party. When he got there, he would be given a slice of cake. He saw goat eyes watching from the bottom of a couple tea cups. He was tempted to throw away the log and sit down. Instead of crying over spilled milk, he could have cake and eat it too.

a cultural outing

Lohbado was invited to visit the Musée d' art contemporain at Place des Arts in Montreal. It was a culturally rich experience of sight and sound. The main exhibit was a series of video installations. It could be viewed as video painting. Instead of using a paint brush to produce a static image, one could use video cameras and recording equipment to create moving images and sound. Large video screens were set up in various rooms, enabling one to be totally drawn into the audio/video experience.

lohba vlog 28

Happy to be alive, Lohbado did another video painting, a composition of motion and sound, mostly recorded during hootenanny at Brasserie Beaubien in Montreal.

hootenanny finale pictures

see more pictures after the read more button

The hootenanny finale of the season took place yesterday at Brasserie Beaubien. If you missed it this year, it will be back in September. Thanks to Dana, Randy, all the performers and everyone who made this season a happy, foot stomping event...

to rid the mind of poison

Lohbado went to the chemistry lab at Lumpkins University in Yamaville to do experiments to rid his mind of poison. Get rid of all meanness, depression, anxiety and wishful thinking, then relax. Dr. Jane Wormsly happened to be there. She advised them to not react to the thoughts flowing through the mind. Let the thoughts come and go without reacting. It's better to relax, pay attention and be fully present as opposed to drifting away into the clouds. Of course, there's no goal, no objective, other than to let go. If you try to get somewhere or attain something, you'll only be reenforcing the grasping, biting, sucking reflex present since birth.

lohba vlog 27

Lohbado was struck by a red brick wall and the power of concrete. Concrete and brick are basic substances, very useful and much easier to understand than abstract ideas.

Lohbado made the video with an old pocket camera. The camera could be used like a paint brush to create video paintings, plus there's the fun of adding sound, to reflect mental sensations or stream of consciousness.

the Grande print art fair Montreal

Fifty artists presented their work at le Grande Foire d'art imprime in Montreal on Saturday, May 7. This was part of Montreal's festival of printed art. The print fair was organized by Louis Rastelli from Archive Montreal. Here is a selection of photos. It would have been nice to take photos of everyone and their work. It was a culturally rich event, a lot of wonderful print art on display exhibited by gifted and friendly artists.

to be somebody

acrylic painting by Lohbado

To be somebody when examined closely is quite ordinary and at the same time mysterious. Self could be like a lens which brings physical and mental objects into focus. Self could be a focal point of sensual and intellectual events. Self could be compared to a computer software, maybe like a browser. The browser surfs the web and picks up data, a world of games, videos, information. Similarly, one's self navigates through the world of the senses and picks up sense data plus psychic waves in the form of thought, concepts, ideas, stories, daydream, memory. When the brain functions smoothly, one successfully interacts with others in the world. Problems happen when someone begins to have distorted ideas about oneself.

Moronovian creative process

digital painting by Lohbado

What you do first is create baloney, garlic sausage, grilled tofu or lentil burger; then destroy it. This is the Sandcastle Principle. Make a sandcastle. Waves, wind and rain wash it away. Creativity involves a process. The first step is to take a chance. Begin. The first gestures might be dull or predictable. It's ok to be dull at the tabernacle, as long as you do it whole-heartedly and are willing to accept the consequences. Don't shy away from being exposed. What is there to expose? The consequences aren't serious. At worst, you'll create something boring.

bubble gum machine

Sometimes the learning process involves "humiliating" moments where one chews gum and keeps walking. There's only one way to find out how that feels. Do it and see. Try it. Chew gum. Walk around. Blow bubbles. Maybe it's silly. Maybe not. Moronovians are complex creatures with a variety of needs. Lohbado was on a sugar-free diet, so relied on memory. He tried to remember how he enjoyed bubblegum as a boy and sometimes tried to read messages from food spills on the table.

Bubble gum must be there for a reason, otherwise, why would they make it? Somebody's gotta chew it.

lohba vlog 24

click on image to watch video... What Lohbado does is a process, like a plant growing, without any goal other than it's the nature of a plant to grow. Lohbado began the day with calligraphy and a reflection on openness.

keeping up with appearances

digital painting by Lohbado

Lohbado dreamed two creatures appeared in front of a funky shop window and discussed keeping up with appearances. On one level, it means trying to be trendy, so people will think you're cool and like you. This is a situation of how one presents oneself to others. How does one decide on what to wear, what makeup to apply and what gestures or tones of voice to cultivate in order to be liked? What exactly is being presented? Are you presenting yourself, or a representation of yourself, in which case, what exactly is your "self"? The representation of yourself could be the mask, the outer shell, the clothes the style. Or maybe what you see is what you get. Maybe there is nothing more than appearances.

cat paradise

Lohbado dreamed he died and went to cat paradise. He lay in a bed of flowers while cats of various ages relaxed. If he'd been a mouse, such a mistake could have been disastrous. Are there mice in cat paradise? The cats might like it, but it could be painful for the mice. Is there suffering in paradise? Maybe it depends who's in charge. Maybe in paradise some suffer and some don't. Lohbado felt fine in cat paradise, until he woke up and realized he'd gone the wrong way.

Loh bardo

digital painting by Lohbado

As Lohbado fell into a deep sleep, it felt as though he were being pulled down into a moist dark pit, where roots stuck out through the clay walls and bug-like creatures gazed at him from hollows and cracks. He realized there was a way out, if he kept his wits and didn't panic. There were plenty of doorways offering an exit should things become too intense. Realizing it was not an all or nothing situation, Lohbado relaxed and enjoyed the textures of the underground world. It was like entering a temple of earth spirits. As he relaxed, the creatures became friendly. They highly recommended the simple life and laughed at the silliness of trying to proclaim oneself, or attempting to have power over others. They said it's good to stay grounded and rooted in tradition, while growing towards the sun which illuminates infinite space.

Lohbado and Lohbado

Lohbado plus Lohbado equals Lohbado. One Lohbado is composed of many Lohbadohs. Even the name Lohbado has two letter Os, which serve as lenses or portals plus circumferences around space.