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Last night I watched and episode of Frontline on PBS. This episode titled “On Our Watch” featured the tragedy of genocide in Darfur. At canvas we have dedicated ink to the cause, I have written the White House and we sponsored the UU Walk for Darfur last month. But you know what, as I watched the show I saw this was not enough. We’ll work to do more in the coming months.

As we sit down at our tables this year we should give thanks for what we have, but we should also think about what is still going on in Darfur, what has happened while our world leaders were saying “never again” referring to Rwanda and Bosnia. We need to speak out, act out and communicate to our leaders that a war based on lies can’t be more important then taking care of victims of genocide and attempted genocide.

Food for thought this Thanksgiving.
Tom Pellicane - Publisher, canvas Magazine

Note: You can watch the episode on line at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darfur/

Thanksgiving is at the end of the week, and since we had a hectic close for the December issue we’re all looking forward to taking a breath here at canvas Magazine. I’m looking forward to spending some time my family and having an opportunity to examine all the things we have to be thankful for. This year our gathering will be small, but nonetheless we’ll have the traditional meal with Turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. However, there will be a change in the type of Turkey we’ll be eating. This year we’re having a Heritage Turkey.

If you didn’t read the article on Heritage Turkeys by Chris O’Hara in our November issue, I’d suggest you do before you buy your Turkey, if you haven’t bought one already. (You can find the article posted on this site if you don’t have a copy of the magazine.)

I’m not a big Turkey fan to begin with, and after reading this informative article I will think twice about eating traditional turkey again. Luckily my wife, Adele, took it upon herself to get a Heritage Turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. She cares about us, and once she heard me describe what stood out most to me in the article … “If a human baby grew at the same rate as the modern factory-farmed turkey, it would weigh 1,500 pounds at 18 weeks of age” … she immediately placed the order.

Adele is vegetarian, so it while it matters to her what the rest of the family eats, she wouldn’t be eating the turkey anyway; but she must have heard the sound in my voice and seen the look on my face when I repeated this to her. It amazed me to read it and still astounds me when I think of it. I’m an overweight guy in my forties who eats more junk than I should, but it confounds me to learn the things about food, like this, that most of us are never informed about.

Today we live in a world where people are told what they want to hear by those trying to influence them, so it’s important for each of us to question, read, learn, and speak out. As I wrote this sentence, I began to think that maybe the Thanksgiving turkey is a metaphor for life. If we don’t ask for Heritage we’ll get life that’s genetically modified, lacking the true flavors that should be there. A life packaged in a nice wrapper, exclaiming the virtues of what it is supposed to be, yet falling short in what it really should be.

I hope this Thanksgiving we’ll all take a moment to think about our lives and move further toward the decision to live a “Heritage” life; it might require some extra work on our part, but I’m sure it will be well worth it.

Tom Pellicane – Publisher, canvas Magazine

Last night we, canvas Magazine, held our first open mic night. We didn’t know what to expect and the night exceeded all of our expectations!

This was an idea shared by one of our staffers/colleagues Liza Brice, we loved the idea, asked Liza to pick a date and make it happen.

She did and it turned out great - Thanks Liza

Some people that also helped us get it done were:

Electra Jacobs – Thanks for performing introducing us to Joe and Glen
Joe Iadanza - Great job on the sound and thanks for bringing us the volume
Glen Roethel – We appreciate your making time for us before your other gig

Not only are Electra, Joe and Glen great musicians, they helped us pull the night together and we’re grateful for their support! Check them out when you can you’ll be better for the experience.

There were other great musicians & music, poetry readings, complimentary fair trade coffee; provided by Georgio’s coffee Roasterie and chair massages; provided Moss Spa & Yoga.

To all that took part in Open Mic Night thank you for making the 1st canvas open mic night a success and we look forward to seeing you in January.

Tom Pellicane – Publisher, canvas Magazine

If you haven’t heard yet or seen the ad in the magazine, we’re having an Open Mic Night tonight 7-10pm, Nov. 15, at the Footprint Gallery - canvas Magazine office, 51 Gibson Ave, Huntington, NY, 11743.

It’s our first one and we’re excited for you to join us if you can!

Tom Pellicane - Publisher, canvas Magazine

As last week fades into memory I keep thinking of the words to the Pink Floyd song “Time” and specifically this verse

“…Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines…”

When I was a kid listening to Pink Floyd the lyrics and sounds of the song had very different meanings and effects on me then they have today. I’m older, maybe a little wiser and the words sink in a little more I think.

Here we are on deadline for our first anniversary issue and I’ve spent a few moments taking stock in what we’ve accomplished, what we planned to accomplish and where we’re going in the future.

And the words play again

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