I've been in Canada almost two weeks now and I still wake up every morning at 5 or 6 (or 4 right after the time change) - what's up with that? I lay in bed this morning feeling grumpy about that and the fact that I'm still struggling to complete my grant application due tomorrow when I had a wonderful realization: I've been writing for days about rhetoric and the expressive powers of music but seem to have forgotten its practical applications...

There aren't a lot of tracks which can reverse the feeling of having gotten (UK: when in Canada...) up on the wrong side of the bed, but the Martyrs/O Lusty May set on Concerto Caledonia's album Spring Any Day Now does the trick. Every time. I think it's because it starts out quite grumpy, and then quite protestant, and then it secretly changes (can you find the spot?) to one of the most joyful things you'll ever hear. And, sometimes only meantone will do. Trust me on this one.

I took a Greyhound to Ottawa on Saturday and here's what I saw at the bus station diner. I thought it was a menu, but then realized that it was a shopping list.

I'll have the Frozen Chicken Breasts and Moutarde, Please.