Definitions

As part of my Nov. 21st presentation at No Face, No Problem, I played a round of "Definitions" with the audience. The results are recorded here:

anal - to put your butt on each other.

apron - to leave slowly.

barf - to create or assemble from materials.

bog - to tidy or clean when one is supposed to be doing something more important.

dog - a pharmacological sleeping aid.

dream - noun: an object one acquires when in a state of turmoil. Falls from the ceiling.

duh - a thing smaller than a bread box.

emit - a special leotard-like strip which holds the toaster down before popping.

fear - too many Johnny's.

help! - is the feeling you get after a night of climbing trees and vomiting from the upper-most branches.

hotdog - adverb: swiftly, quickly and calmly.

kittens - verb: thinking with your eyes open while sleeping.

lugubrious - _____ (blank).

magnify - a great anticlimax.

oink - a drink that comes from a cow's udder.

oversion - not after the best before date.

poo - refers to the battle in 1893 in the fields of Archubacht. Colloquially means to burn diamonds in April.

redemption - red liquid in the body.

sebaceous - a vessel used for nice wine.

sexy - a large tree grown for its strong wood.

sheepish - what hangs lightly.

sick - a state of non-abrasive wonderment resulting in unexplored emotion.

thing - a form which transcends all living matter.

tiger - is the best thing that came out of 1992.

time - to simmer forcefully.

tintinnabulation - noun: sort of like an expensive thing you could buy, like a nice thing, only it's not so great.

yet - an obsolete currency.

_____ (blank) - a murky, deserted place.


In the game of "Definitions" each player writes a single word on the inside of a folded piece of paper. The slips of paper are then passed around the circle, or shuffled and redistributed, and each player then writes a "definition" (in the style of a dictionary definition but funny, serious, dramatic, poetic, absurd, stupid, whatever) on the outside of the folded piece of paper (without looking at the word inside, of course!). The slips are then unfolded and read out loud to the group.

The above definitions will be added to our "Recordist Lexicon" which we started back in the late 90's as part of IBRI's weekly open meeting series (IBRI = the International Bureau of Recordist Investigation, 1994 - 2004).

Unfortunately, I was not able to record the names of all of the participants. If you were there and would like to be credited just send me an email - davison(at)recordism(dot)com. A partial list of participants (the few people I knew and remember being there): Filip Anton, John Barlow, Marc Bell, Mark Connery, Jesjit Gill, Anna May Henry, Graham Hollings, Laura McCoy, Jon McCurley, Brian Random, Nicole Turok.

- William

Drawing tonight!

Sorry I haven't been able to organize a drawing party this month, our recent travels resulted in a huge backlog of work which I've been wading through over the past week. We'll try to get back on the drawing party thing next month.

In the meantime, we will be at The Ossington tonight for Robert Dayton's "Feelings" DJ set and while we're there we will likely do some drawing. So come on out, say hi and sit in on the drawing if you like!

- William A. Davison

Drawings, Oct. 19/09

Collective drawings from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, Oct. 19, 2009. Participants: W.A.Davison, S.Higgins, Larry Eisenstein, Jacob Hughes, Jesjit Gill, Mat Brown, Mark Bland, Ron Loranger.

Oct. Drawing Party!

First drawing party in a couple of months (!) this Monday, Oct. 19th, 9pm - 12am (or later) at The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave., Toronto. Bring pens, pencils, paper, good vibes, wicked imaginations, etc.

- William

no drawing party

No drawing party this month, we're on vacation!

- William

at The Ossington tonight

S.Higgins and I will be at The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave., Toronto) tonight for Robert Dayton's DJ set. 9pm on. Probably do some drawing, or writing, or something while we're there.

- William

Drawings, July 20/09

Collective drawings from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, July 20, 2009. Participants: W.A.Davison, S.Higgins, Lorenz Peter, Daeve Fellows, David James, Jim Bailey, Pete O'Hearn, Kaya O'Hearn.

Collaborative texts, July 19/09

Barbarians vs. Cowboys

The lake of mud quivered slightly as she emerged, slowly and obliquely angled. Her bonnet remained hopeless but fear gripped the throng of onlookers and hippies sat in the back in a haze of goats' hair. The sack remained motionless, humming slightly for the return of England and other outmoded extravagances. Questioning whether it was possible to put both legs in one compartment, Lady Anthracite blinked and fluttered in the fog. "It's all a sham!", she moaned as the mysterious lights slowly moved under her smock. Scarlet flowerpots fell from a tremendous height only to ascend rapidly again mere seconds before crashing. Protective magic might serve to hide those unsightly folds of flesh worn by the Barbarian tribes but around here the cowboys have got it all wrapped up!

The Bearded One!

Feathers and paint were the sole components of his elaborate and ornate vehicle. The wheels were aristocratic planets that creaked in a vaguely tuneful way as they turned the butterfly wings. Older men scuttled across the ocean floor like crabs while the young ones employed inflatable roses to float to the oily surface. Loose or tight, molded infants appeared in the wings, their plastic faces gleaming under shapeless garments or microscopic organisms. Magpies grew more formal and transparent as evening descended. A crippled mathematician disintegrated into a picturesque fog. The mechanisms were inspected carefully and cleaned of any errant hares and toads but witchcraft still seemed the more viable option under the circumstances. Oak or willow poppies clattered noisily in the driveway where earlier civilizations once provided bugs with floatation devices. Queen Elizabeth now appeared from under a rock. "Behold, the Bearded One!", she exclaimed while extraordinary discretion kept her from revealing her magnificently lathered apparition.

- S.Higgins, W.A.Davison, July 19, 2009

Drawing Party July 20th

Drawing Drawing!!

This month's Ossington Drawing Party is set for Monday, July 20th at 9pm. Yes, that IS this coming Monday, as in two days from now! Sorry for the short notice. It was originally set for the 27th but there were some scheduling conflicts so we bumped it ahead.

This Monday at The Ossington is also the one-year anniversary of Intervention Monday (our generous hosts!) so it's an extra-special evening and should be a lot of fun! Bring your fave drawing implements and your collaborative spirit.

But wait! What if you just can't hang on until Monday? Then come and join us at The Ossington tomorrow night too! That's right, we'll be there Sunday night for Robert Dayton's DJ set "Feelings"...ah, good times my friends, good times...

To recap:

Sunday, July 19th, 9pm we'll be at The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave., Toronto) for "Feelings"

Monday, July 20th, 9pm at The Ossington again for the Ossington Drawing Party and the Intervention Monday one-year anniversary!

See ya there!

- William

More Drawings, June 29/09

Collective drawings from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, June 29, 2009. Participants: W.A.Davison, Mark Connery, Kelly Wilson, Alex Scholz, Jesse Huisken, S.Higgins, Peter Kalyniuk, Lorenz Peter, Kerry Zentner, Olia Mishchenko, Steve Venright.

Drawings, June 29/09

Collective drawings from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, June 29, 2009. Participants: W.A.Davison, Mark Connery, Kelly Wilson, Alex Scholz, Jesse Huisken, S.Higgins, Peter Kalyniuk, Lorenz Peter, Kerry Zentner, Olia Mishchenko, Steve Venright.

June drawing party

Next drawing party is set for Mon., June 29, 9pm - 12am at The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave.). Hope to see you there!

- William

The Ossington tonight

S.Higgins and I will be at The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave.) this evening around 9 or 9:30 to listen to Robert Dayton's DJ set (with guest DJ Mishegoss). Not our official drawing night but we will likely do some collective drawing while we're there. Come out, say hi, sit down and draw with us, shoot the shit, etc. etc.

Hope to see you there!

- William

Drawings, May 18/09

Collective drawings from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, May 18, 2009. Participants: W.A.Davison, Mark Connery, Brian Demoskoff.

Drawing Party May 18th

Our monthly drawing party is set to take place at The Ossington this coming Monday. Bring your favorite mark-making devices, paper, positive vibes, etc.

Monday, May 18, 2009, 9pm - 12am (or later)
The Ossington
61 Ossington Ave., Toronto

- William

Drawings, May 3/09

Collective drawings from impromptu drawing session at The Ossington, Toronto, May 3, 2009. Participants: Dahye Kim, S.Higgins, Kerry Wright Zentner, W.A.Davison, Brian Demoskoff.

at The Ossington tonight

S.Higgins and I will be at The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave., Toronto) tonight around 10pm. Our friends Robert and Kevin are DJing so it's a good night to just hang out, relax, chat with whoever might be there, etc. It's not our official drawing night (so we won't be able to take over the back room) but we will likely do some collective drawing and maybe some writing too. Maybe we'll see you there!

- William

Drawing, Sept. 29/08

Collective drawing from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, Sept. 29, 2008. Participants (partial list): Mark Connery, S.Higgins, W.A.Davison, Kerry Wright Zentner, Jon McCurley, Laura McCoy, Graham, Lorenz Peter, Ellie Ardani, Andrew Harwood, Mat Brown, Ron.

Drawing, Sept. 17/08 + Sept. 29/08

Collective drawing from drawing session held at Future Bakery, Toronto, Sept. 17, 2008 and completed at The Ossington Drawing Party, The Ossington, Toronto, Sept. 29, 2008. Sept. 17 participants: Mark Connery, S.Higgins, W.A.Davison, Graham. Sept. 29 participants (partial list): Mark Connery, S.Higgins, W.A.Davison, Kerry Wright Zentner, Jon McCurley, Laura McCoy, Graham, Lorenz Peter, Ellie Ardani, Andrew Harwood, Mat Brown, Ron.

Drawing, Sept. 17/08

Collective drawing from drawing session held at Future Bakery, Toronto, Sept. 17, 2008. Participants: Mark Connery, S.Higgins, W.A.Davison, Graham.

Collage/Drawings, Dec. 1/08

Collective collage/drawings from The Ossington Drawing Party held at The Ossington, Toronto, Dec. 1, 2008. Participants: Michelangelo Iaffaldano, S.Higgins, W.A.Davison.