"Summertime! Thats it... just summertime"

August 8, 2009

Toronto – Halifax

Soundtrack: War

Artist: Sinead O’Connor via Bob Marley via Haille Salassie The first (Ras-Tafari)

(Google search Sinead O’Connor vs. the Pope. Follow that up by watching her version of Bob Marley’s “War” (a song that Bob wrote based on the speech of King Salassie of Ethiopia, asking the world to help stop war in Africa, starting by the end of Italy’s bullying tactics against the weakly armed country). Sinead is now on the top of my hero list, thank you Sinead for standing up….get up stand up! Down presser man!!! Where you gonna run to? You gonna run to the rocks, the rocks will be melting, you gonna run to the sea, the sea’s gonna be boiling, you gonna make your bed in Hell, I’ll be there….Down Presser Man!

Heres the link for the SNL clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5SRwuo3fOk

Here is the clip from the Bob Dylan tribute concert where she was thrown thousands of voices of hatred towards her. This brings tears to my eyes, so powerful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCk2YQS8vaw

Soundtrack: The Dead Flag Blues

Artist: Godspeed You Black Emperor

All I can say is buy a Godspeed Album, turn off the lights, turn on your noise cancelling headphones and BE PREPARED.

Back to the bass

Jessica, Kaiya and I are enjoying the benefits of a successful upgrade certificate on our flight home from our Ontario adventure. Kaiya is feeding from the bottle, Jessica is being lovely as usual, and I am thinking about some of the things that has gone down of significance since my last post. A lot has gone down, this is a quick flight, how do I go forward? Point form usually works pretty good for me! Typically I like to write a blog in a narrative, but I am on such a short flight segment, and the wine is going down quite smoothly, business class wine is far superior by the way. Man I am a flight snob…Air Canada did this to me. Funny, last night we were at the KOA campground in London Ontario and we met up with my dear ole travel friend Shannon Armstrong for a few drinks.

Shannon read my blog about my loss of the ole Elite Status, and she thought I was serious…”Greg how you have changed!!!”. I KNOW Shannon from countless adventures hitch hiking around Eastern Canada and the Eastern States, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Lorneville! The usual! Ha ha. Anyway, I am going to blast through this past month...here we go…

· Caraquet – NB Arts Board Meeting

Jessica and Kaiya joined me the day I got back from London on an amazing road trip to Northern New Brunswick so I could attend to my duties as a board member of the NB Arts Board.

New Brunswick is one of the most freakin beautiful provinces in Canada…and NO ONE KNOWS IT! Why does Nova Scotia get all the praise and glory? Yes Nova Scotia has great beaches, but so does New Brunswick, and I’m sorry, East Coast hospitality in NB would win in an arm wrestle against East Coast hospitality in NS any day. We had a great Arts Board meeting, the arts in New Brunswick are alive and well and REVOLUTIONARY!!! There is a sentence that I like to repeat in my head from time to time, and the NB Arts world fits well with it…”Lets just fucking do it!’. There should be no barriers in creating art….if its money, lets provide the artists with money, if its inspiration, well we have plenty of it to share, if its market presence, lets FORCE our communities into supporting the arts, checking out gallery hops, going to a local pub to see a band, checking out the local theater...WE HAVE THE POWER…Lets just fucking do it!

Jack Kerouac Quote

When we produced the Grave Concerns episode about Jack Kerouac we got in deep with the family and friends of one of my favorite authors, and certainly one of America’s most profound adventure writers. When Brent and I were drinking a brew at one of the local brew pubs, we ended up chatting with the family doctor of one of Jack’s childhood best friends; Billy K. Billy K has a nephew named George who is a musician and producer who is working on a project that I can not disclose any info on at this time, but its about Jack and his relation with George's uncle Billy. George honored Brent and I with the request to provide a quote to be written that would last the test of time. The quotes would be on the packaging of the up and coming tribute media presentation I will await George’s consent to write anything else in detail. If you are a beat fan, and if Kerouac is one of your spiritual guides of travel, adventure, jazz, love and booze, then I am sure you will want to tune in as this project develops.

Grand Lake Visit to Krista Bishop

After our visit to Caraquet Jess, Kaiya and I tripped though miles of mid New Brunswick woods and finally made it to Chipman, the through to Grand Lake where we met up with both of our childhood / teenhood (respectively) best of friends Krista Bishop’s camp on the lake. A fantastic reunion of friends, of moms, of children. A jump into the lake for swim number one of the summer, then a 6 hour drive back to Halifax. Yummy.

·

NB Merit Award

WOW. New Brunswick Day is a day I am proud of, if you haven’t guessed it I am a fan of my home province. This year they honored me…the city of Saint John wowed me with an award in recognition of my input into the NB arts and culture scene, man, I must say, of all the honors that I feel I do not deserve, this is at the top of the list, but what an honor. Thank you New Brunswick.

· Fredericton Wedding of Vicky Scholten.

Big wedding last Saturday night in Fredericton. Vicky is one of Jessica’s med school running friends, There were a lot of amazing people there, the party was great, Kaiya loves Daft Punk.

· Wallace McCain Institute session 1

All you need to do is check out Wallace McCain Institute online and you will see what a ridiculously incredible program I have been accepted into. This program chose 12 other executives, CEOs and presidents of other NB and NS business to meet once a month for a whole year to share, to grow and to learn. That’s all I need to say, I want tow rite a whole book on my first experiences at the cabin in Alma NB lakeside, but we have vowed confidence. I will say no more, accept the fact that I am more excited about this adventure in business then of any other amazing and life changing thing that I am witnessing this year. Enough said.

· Magdalene Islands Adventure

As an entrepreneur it is near impossible to TURN OFF and take a vacation, well I did. Right when I said goodbye to the Wallace McCain crew I drove to Truro Nova Scotia, met Jess and Kaiya, hot the PEI ferry, drove to Souris PEI, the took the all night ferry to the Magdalene Islands, we arrives at 9 am to our rented house. We met my brother Mark and family, and Jessica’s brother Chris and family. We had a great week of beaches, kite flying, and relaxation. It was worth it I feel like I don’t care anymore, If my soul needs some time, I want to grant it. Check out this group of islands, its magical it’s very Sigur Ros “Heima”. Wild horses, big cliffs, big winds, WOW. Magic.

· Evolve Music Festival 10 years

After our week of R&R in Magdalene’s, Jess, Kaiya and I crossed the ferry again and ended up outside of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. We cruised into the farm land that occupied a few thousand music fans at the Evolve Music and Awareness festival. This was to be Kaiya’s first live music. We entered during Mishka (Jah Live!) and left after a sweet set of positive vibes from Xavier Rudd, our Australian Didge playing, good vibrations creatin’ spirit man! “I want to be … FREE E E E E E E! Let me be now! Let me be free, I want to be free!

· South Shore Pleasantville

Time off for one night, hanging with my family, my cousin Martha from the UK was here with my brother’s kids, drinking red wine on the La Have River reminds me of one week ago drinking quality beer on the beaches of Grand Bay when got to visit Anthony and Amy and their new little creation Samuel. What is life without rest? What is rest without inspiration. I would rather sleep under the sun if I was exhausted after a marathon then inside on a bed. Experience, adventure, unlike Kim Mitchell, I am not a wild Party I am a wild broken and predictable record.

· Rock Fest on Citadel

Hemmings House was hired to film this year’s Rock Fest in Halifax. Alistair had the full switcher set up under the stage as Sammy Hager, Chad Smith, Joe Satriani it the stage with their new rock’n’roll formation; Chickenfoot.. Rock on Farrell.

· RV Ontario Road Trip

Muskoka. The cottage country of Ontario is nothing but inspiring and life breathing! Jess, Kaiya and I rented a motor home and drove up to meet our good friends Raj Panikkar and his lovely lady Glynis (the baby whisperer!) We had a great relaxing time on the side of the lake, swimming, drinking craft brew and red wine. A true summer experience!

George Town. Jessica’s mom grew up on a farm in Georgetown Ontario. This place is amazing, its full of incredible artifacts and memories! We pulled the motor home up and camped beside the soy bean field that Jessica’s uncle John farms. This property in 2 years will be a new urban sprawl cookie cutter home development. Tis the cycle of life I guess on the upswing?

London. After our visit to Georgetown we cruised down the 401 to the KOA outside of London Ontario. Great times dealing with exploding motorhome sewage pipes and overflowing toilet water. Joys of motorhoming! Jessica’s brother Chris, Beth and family joined us as did my old adventurous friend Shannon Armstrong.

Ok, I’m sorry for the relatively lame blogging style (rushed and bullet formed), so much has happened in the last few weeks, I can’t believe I resorted to bullet form, but what the “H”, “E”, double hockey stick, time is a luxury these days…in fact I have such little time that I haven’t checked my Facebook inbox in 3 months….I am afraid,. Time time time,is not on MY side! Fire, fire fire on my mountain of my human existence. Talk soon!

"Postcards from Greg Hemmings #15" - Gotta Have Kaiya Now

May 12, 2009 – “Gotta Have Kaiya Now”

I am a lover of adventure, life and experience. My work as a filmmaker has allowed me to travel the world and have some of the most amazing experiences of my life on the road. The craziest journey that I have ever experienced started last night around 7:30pm. Jessica and I packed the Subaru for what was to be the shortest, but most important road trip of our lives, driving two kilometers from North Street to University Avenue to the IWK Childrens’ Hospital in Halifax. I had the honor to experience my daughter’s first breath of life early this morning after an intense few hours of labor. A new and far more relevant chapter in our lives has begun. Baby “Kaiya” has just entered a world where there are limitless possibilities, adventures, and love.

"Sail Away Captain Paul...Peanut Hemmings"

November 9^th, 2008

Halifax – Montreal

I am writing this foggy early afternoon from the Halifax Maple Leaf Lounge preparing for my trip to Montreal to finally release the “Airplane Journals” documentary that I have been working on since I started this blog which goes by the same title. As far as I know this will be the last flight I take before 2009 and I feel it is an appropriate time to close the Airplane Journals off with the premier of the documentary at the ICF Executive Coaches Summit tomorrow. My flight home I think will be my last post in this journal. I think it will be appropriate to start a brand new one to start the New Year.

I must first make mention of the passing of Captain Paul. If you have been a reader of my blog you will have read about some of my Caribbean adventures aboard the “Avontuur” tall ship sailing the seas with cargo from South America and throughout the islands, trading by the power of wind, muscle, and strong mind.

Captain sailed off into the next life this October 4^th, 2008. He was an incredible man, and had a ridiculous impact on my life, on my love of adventure, on my hard work ethic, on my philosophies, and on my love for the open seas.

Charlene Hamley, the lovely woman who hooked me up on the ship in the first place sent me a book mark that she lovingly put together in Paul’s memory. On it reads;

SEA-FEVER

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

By John Masefield (1878-1967).

Once I find my Avontuur Journals I will be sure to transcribe them and post them.

Thank you Paul for having such a huge impact on my life and on the lives of all who cam in touch with you!

WITH DEATH COMES LIFE.

The Circle of Life has once again shown itself in a timely fashion. Coinciding with the death of Captain, Jessica and I found out we are PREGGO!!! Yes there is going to be a little Hemmings! If it’s a girl I hope for the names Irie or Kaya…If a boy Noah, or Jude! Some have rolled their eyes at these suggested names, but I dig them! I especially like Irie and Kaya, Irie cuz everyting is Irie, and Kaya because it’s a beautiful name, and it’s a great Bob Marley tune, and because the meaning in several languages is beautiful. (It is also a slang term for ganja in Rasta! Ha)

We are praying for a healthy baby, I am stoked to be a dad! Send us positive vibes and prayers please!!! November 9^th is today’s date and Jessica is over 15 weeks now! Our due date is May 5^th. Again, hoping and praying for a healthy little Hemmings. A few blogs ago I mentioned that I wasn’t drinking alcohol anymore, well this is why!!! I am going to try to go dry for the length of Jessica’s pregnancy. I broke my dry spell when I was in Cannes (responsibly of course!), so now I have bent my rules so that I will be dry anytime I’m in Canada! Ha ha.