... that might make you laugh, be outraged, and wince all at the same time.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Andrea is funny
Before Xmas, Andrea was trying to order something online for her sister in the U.S. The problem? All of the places she tried refused to take an order from anyone without an American address, and Andrea lives in Toronto. At one point she wrote to me:
it just sucks and is depressing - some woman at kohl's help desk phone centre thingy said, "is there anything else I can help you with?" And I said, "yeah, can you tell everyone in the US of A that there are other countries out there?"LOL
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
What it's all about
Aaron tells the story of a friend in the Peace Corps (in Togo):
A couple weeks ago she was sitting at the market .... A little girl (probably 5 or 6 years old) and her mother were there as well, sitting a few feet away. My friend saw the girl point to her and ask a question to the mother. We are all very used to being talked about and she thought nothing of it.
Again the little girl asked something of the mother and pointed at my friend. This time the mother got up, and slightly sheepishly walked over to where my friend was sitting and asked, “I’m so sorry to bother you, but, my daughter has never touched white skin before. Would you mind if she touched you?” My friend being the good sport she is thought for a second and said, “Sure.”
The mother motioned to the girl who timidly approached my friend, slowly put out her hand and touched the white arm. Her eyes went large and she quickly pulled away. She stood there, staring at my friends arm, and finally reached out to touch it again.
This time she gave it a few strokes then looked up and said to her mother, “It’s the same as black skin!”
Hong the model
Hong the model
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Taken with my new flash equipment. Not bad. It helps that the "model" is so pretty! :)
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Balls Falls (Lower)
Balls Falls (Lower)
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
We went to Balls Falls in Vineland today. Nice relaxing walk. The layers of rock in this picture have distinct colours - click on the photo to view in larger sizes.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Male Muscovy Duck
Male Muscovy Duck
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I saw this duck today at a park in Unionville. Its mate was all white but with the same redness around the beak and eyes. There was a stupid younger couple who were trying to take pictures with their cell phone at the same time I was and they literally chased the birds into the stream. (What do you say to such people???)
Anyway, these ducks seemed fairly docile and came back onland after the idiot couple left and I got some shots at a distance that they seemed to be comfortable with. I wanted to be able to identify them when I got home to my Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Birds!
However, much to my consternation, there was NOTHING remotely like these ducks in my field guide. But after a few minutes of searching on the Internet, I learned that this is a Muscovy duck that is considered "domestic". They are often bred for their white colour, which does not occur often in the wild. See the Cayuga Bird Club newsletter at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/pdf/March2006.pdf.
What in the world did we do before there was Google????
Toogood Pond, Unionville
Toogood Pond, Unionville
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I was there tonight. Drove past it and circled back. Pretty. I'd like to go back when there's more light.
Friday, December 15, 2006
This week's lesson
Happiness
Originally uploaded by aaronwtong.
... is that sometimes being unhappy requires far too much energy to sustain.
Life's too short - and I am far too privileged as a middle-class North American - to be unhappy for very long.
I don't have all the answers, but I have a couple more than I did a few days ago.
Eine kleine Nacht Fotografie I
Eine kleine Nacht Fotografie I
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Taken last night.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Turkish officials fire airport chief mechanic over camel sacrifice
Yes ...
ANKARA, Turkey — A crew of mechanics at Istanbul's airport were so glad to be rid of some trouble-prone British-made airplanes that they sacrificed a camel on the tarmac in celebration — prompting the firing Wednesday of their supervisor.The photo of a worker raising a large piece of bloodied camel meat on the tarmac of Ataturk International Airport was published on the front page of at least two newspapers, drawing the wrath of transportation authorities.
Tuesday's sacrifice of a camel with small Turkish carpets over its humps at the busy airport was regarded as a disgrace and an embarrassment for the country at a time when it is seeking to join the European Union.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Ever encounter this poem in school?
"The written word
Should be clean as bone,
Clear as light,
Firm as stone.
Two words are not
As good as one."
-Anonymous
P.E.I.: 'Pesticides are what is killing our kids'
Anyone who has known me long has heard me say: "I never met a potato I didn't like." I love potatoes - boiled, baked, fried, scalloped, stuffed ... But after reading this article, I might have second thoughts about eating potatoes.
Rural PEI is an unlikely hotbed of rare cancers, and one doctor has made it his mission to raise awareness about the potential health hazard posed by pesticides used on the region's potato farms ...
It is perhaps because of the province's appearance as a bucolic rural idyll that Ron Matsusaki had the biggest shock of his professional career when he moved to the island three years ago. The affable 57-year-old doctor was taken aback by all the rare cancers he began noticing. The illnesses seemed more like what might be expected near a hazardous waste site.
"Nowhere, nowhere did I see cancer that in any way resembles the cancers that I saw when I came to PEI," Dr. Matsusaki said. "I was totally dumbfounded."
... Perhaps because he arrived with the fresh eyes of a newcomer, Dr. Matsusaki was sufficiently alarmed that he started to speak out publicly about this rash of unusual cancers and his suspicion that the blame for them lies with one of the island's economic mainstays, potato farming, and its promiscuous use of pesticides.
... Some of those who are living in the area where Dr. Matsusaki practices and have experienced cancer in their families are convinced that pest sprays are the only plausible explanation because there is little in the way of industrial releases of cancer-causing chemicals ...
Here in Kensington, a PEI community surrounded by potato fields, one of the studies found the second-highest pesticide readings in the country. The area had extremely high levels of chlorothalonil, a fungicide widely used on the island, along with 16 other pesticides.Potatoes are a heavy user of chemicals, needing up to 19 sprays in a single growing season. Farmers often spray potatoes on a weekly basis, or even more frequently to try to prevent blight, the crop-ruining fungus that caused the Irish potato famine, as well as herbicides to kill the tops of the plants at the end of the growing season to make the underground tubers easier to harvest.
There is likely to be more pesticide exposure on the Island in recent years than there once was because potato acreage has expanded dramatically -- doubling since 1980 and up about 40 per cent since 1990, to meet the booming demand from French-fry makers.
Courtyard somewhere in San Gimignano
Courtyard somewhere in San Gimignano
Originally uploaded by Miss_M.
I'm dreaming of travel ...
Welcome in africa
Welcome in africa
Originally uploaded by jipol.
Looking at this photo by jipol almost made me cry.
Jipol writes: "In Senegal. Smiles everywhere"
Incredible Tuscan view
narnia
Originally uploaded by mym.
According to mym, this is the view from the wall houses in the above post.
Two articles on people making a difference
Both these articles are written by freelance journalist Bruce Gillespie. Both are inspiring. Both were published in ON Nature magazine (which I recommend).
The first article is about an Oakville man who, in his fifties, became involved in protecting nature against urban sprawl, and his surprising success and effectiveness.
The second article investigates the environmental, cultural, and financial success of environmental programs in public schools in Ontario.
Both are worth reading. Enjoy!
Losing the True Meaning
Jamie has such power and force in her writing. I think in part it's because she doesn't flinch from the truth or emotions, but looks at them squarely. Check out this heartbreaking post.
A loving embrace
A loving embrace
Originally uploaded by Tintagel22.
Photo by Tintagel22, who's added the caption, "Goodmorning and "Bon Appetit", my love."
Very clever, very European! :)
Lovely colours and use of light in this photo.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Sunset @ Ashbridges Bay V
Sunset @ Ashbridges Bay V
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Sometimes it's dark and lonely, but there's still a little bit of light that somehow makes it all work.
In blogging I sometimes struggle with balancing honesty and realism. Many people I know read this, and usually that's great. But when you have to pick and choose what to reveal, you can create a false image of yourself as a person or of your life. I'm not sure that it really matters what people "out there" think of me, but it does matter to me that they not have unrealistic impressions of what it's like on the other side of the fence (whatever that fence may be to you - marriage, age, location, money).
So what can I say? Lately I've been struggling with disappointment in the behaviour of some people of whom I'd expected far better. Sometimes that disappointment bleeds back into anger (which was where I started after the shock wore off). In some ways, I feel stuck, and feel that I've lost/misplaced my own inner light. Other times I feel like the sulky teenager who's just realized adults are fallible and hates everyone. LOL (Well, except for the fact that I don't hate anybody.) In moments when I'm kinder to myself, I realize that I'm actually going through the 5 phases of grieving and that I need to honour it and work through it (rather than repress it) but also to give it time. In the end, I think it will come down to how I choose to live my life (e.g., love, forgiveness, self-empowerment vs. bitterness and holding grudges).
I'm trusting that eventually, this small darkness will produce something precious or beautiful, as in this photograph.
Friendly dog in the park
Friendly dog in the park
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
This turned out better than I'd expected.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Victoria's Secret + the environment
Very interesting news from earlier this week ... So who should the next target(s) be? How about Tim Hortons or Starbucks for all those non-recyclable/unrecycled beverage cups???
Dec. 7, 2006. 05:37 AM
After two years of sparring with a major conservation group, the company that publishes the Victoria's Secret catalogue vowed yesterday to use more paper that's either recycled or from sustainably managed forests.
...
Ohio-based Limited Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and several other store brands, said that by the end of 2007, the more than 350 million catalogues the lingerie retailer sends out each year will contain at least 10 per cent recycled paper, or paper from forest operations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC.
The council is an international non-profit organization that supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests.
...
It also said it would no longer buy paper from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., which has logging operations in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Hinton, Alta., that are considered environmentally unfriendly and which refused to change. A recently expired contract was worth about $100 million a year.
...
The moves open the door to purchases from Ontario, where two companies — Tembec Inc. and Domtar Inc. — are expanding the amount of forest operated under stewardship council rules, which limit the size of clear cuts, and set standards for reforestation, habitat protection and other environmental concerns.
"Under our new guidelines, we'd be interested in hearing from any folks in Ontario that meet the new criteria," Tom Katzenmeyer, a senior vice-president with the company, said in a conference call.
Supplies of recycled and FSC paper are limited, he said. "I'm optimistic the industry will rise to the occasion and want to compete for our business."
"We'll meet with the Ontario government and suppliers," said Tzeporah Berman of ForestEthics, which operates in Canada and the U.S. and for more than two years ran a publicity campaign that attacked what it called "Victoria's dirty secret."
...
"We believe that working together we can set a new standard for the catalogue industry," Katzenmeyer said."I think this is the tip of the iceberg and other companies will follow," Berman said.
...
"We need to look at conservation as part of economic prosperity," Berman said. "The long-term economic health of Ontario is tied to its ecological health."
...
Canada, Russia and Brazil have the only large tracts of undisturbed forest left on Earth. Apart from being crucial habitat for caribou and other animals, the forests help to combat climate change by storing massive amounts of carbon.
Canada's boreal forest is being cut at two hectares per minute, Berman said. About 90 per cent of the cutting is in virgin, old growth forest: 88 per cent of the output goes to U.S. buyers.
What an expression! :)
What an expression! :)
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
This is too good - captions, anyone? :)
Very cool photo - but not mine :(
Scacred Heart Church 12.10.2006
Originally uploaded by 10thAvenue.
Audrey is THRILLED when her maman returns from her night out
Audrey is THRILLED when her maman returns from her night out
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Last night I babysat for my friends Ryan and Isabelle. It's been a while since I've spent much time with babies, but I'm not exactly a neophyte. Nevertheless, Audrey was distinctly unhappy until her parents came home, and then she lit up (as you can see in this photo).
Of course, there's nothing to take personally - and I truthfully didn't expect the evening would be much different. But dang it, this kid is adorable!!!!
And it's always good for parents to have a night out, don't you think? :)
Thank goodness for the activity centre!
Thank goodness for the activity centre!
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
One small yellow flower
One small yellow flower
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I guess we all have a choice from time to time whether to be interesting and bright in the midst of dreary circumstances.
The wonder of cropping photos
Okay, you know you've got the photography bug bad when you're thinking late into the night (when you don't have access to your computer) of shots that you've posted and how you should have adjusted them to make them stronger! LOL
But this is really cool, and for anyone who's interested, I'll share a little information with you that I've learned through experience and a couple of photography classes. There are people out there who on principle refuse to crop their photos - and they will have many more mediocre pictures than they would have otherwise. In my opinion, cropping your photos is not an indication that you're a bad photographer. Heck, sometimes the opportunity to get that shot is fleeting and all you can do is aim, focus, and shoot - and sometimes upon further reflection, you realize that there's some "dead space" that is keeping your photograph from being as compelling as it could be. I also find "post-production" cropping helps me take better photographs - I have to crop far fewer pictures than I used to! (or I have less and less to crop each time) I guess you could consider it training.
The photos I'm about to use as examples aren't phenomenal, but the point is that they are significantly improved through cropping and following "the rule of thirds" or the guideline of "fill the frame". The first original is a cute picture of my friend Isabelle with her adorable baby Audrey:
But there's a magic when it 's cropped - it becomes more immediate and pulls you in:
Another one, original first:
The above shot isn't bad. I love the light on the edges of the leaves. But the cactus is dead-centre and overall the image isn't as strong as I'd like. So, trying to make the picture conform to the rule of thirds by cropping it until the centre of the cacti is in the upper right intersection of the "thirds lines", I realized there was quite a bit of the cactus that I could crop without losing anything:
This is the photo that was bugging me last night. Yesterday I was a bit tired and thought that I'd effectively filled the frame with these cacti. But my subconscious was apparently displeased because, hours later, I was thinking how the cacti seemed to be pointing to the edge of the photograph and that it could be cropped a bit. I was really happy this morning to see that there is actually a significant area of dead space on the right edge of this photo, and that I could also crop a fair amount of the bottom without losing too many of the red flowers (which are an essential counterpoint to the cacti).
The cacti are still pointing to the left, but now it doesn't look like they're trying to escape the photo.
I actually thought about this photo some more and cropped it even further:
If you don't have a copy of Adobe Photoshop or some other photo-editing software that came with your camera, you can download Picasa from Google for FREE. I use Picasa all the time - it's an amazing and easy tool. I will use Picasa to browse through all my pictures when I upload them from my camera (Picasa can read RAW format, which really helps!!!), and I will use it to do minor/easy editing (cropping, converting to black and white, etc.) before converting the images to JPG. Easy, easy, easy! :)
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
My plans for tomorrow night
Watching "The Nature of Things" on the CBC at 8:00 PM EST:
On Dec 31st, Stephen Lewis’s tenure as UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa comes to an end. For five and a half years, he’s criss-crossed Africa and the world at breakneck speed. His crammed schedule has included endless speeches and high level meetings with Presidents, UN officials and anyone who will listen to his impassioned plea for Africa. Possessing an intricate knowledge of the continent, he's made countless visits to grassroots projects: they give him great hope but also disturb him most deeply because the spectre of death is still everywhere. Each death haunts him. He rarely sleeps on these epic journeys – in fact it's not clear when he gets any rest at all.
The Nature of Things has already made 2 documentaries following Stephen Lewis's work in Africa (Race Against Time, 2001 & The Value of Life, 2003). Both won many awards, and The Value of Life raised $120,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
Now we set out again with an indefatigable Stephen Lewis on one of his last missions, to assess the global response and continue his own emotional-roller coaster journey. With him we visit South Africa and Lesotho. We see his delight and pain at witnessing the strength and carnage at the grassroots level. In Lesotho, one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic, there is new optimism. Lazarus-like, the sick are rising from their deathbeds, thanks to a rollout of antiretroviral drugs.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
A fun Flickr photo
Originally uploaded by antonlarkin.
I love browsing through other people's photos on Flickr ... with the advance of digital, there truly is a renaissance of photography taking place. This photo is exquisite.
Mile. Stone.
Kalisah has a great blog entry about a milestone in her life. Betcha you'll grin like I did when I read it! :->
Andrea and Tricia share a laugh
Andrea and Tricia share a laugh
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
This past Friday, Andrea had a great party for some of her girlfriends. I love this shot here of Andrea and Tricia - they're so fun.
Gathered around the tarot cards
Gathered around the tarot cards
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Roberta giving tarot card readings. I'd never had a reading before, but it was illuminating. Roberta is very good at this.
Roberta and me
Roberta and me
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I love that I'm out of focus and in low light in this picture - I find it's a fascinating contrast to the brighter, sharper image of Roberta (who is amazingly photogenic!!!!).
It is RARE that I allow anyone else to hold my camera. It took an extraordinary amount of trust in Andrea, particularly considering how much champagne she was drinking! ;->
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Pails, buckets, and brooms
Pails, buckets, and brooms
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
From my trip to Kensington Market last weekend
One of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen
羅山風情畫 / East Taiwan Landscape
Originally uploaded by fjny
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Grapes at Kensington Market (colour)
Grapes at Kensington Market (colour)
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Warming up old bones
Warming up old bones
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
I love this shot. I'm sure it isn't great from a photography point of view, but I remember watching this old, arthritic cat creak her way into a warm place where she could bask in the sun, and I'm filled with tenderness for her.
Boots
Boots for sale in Kensington Market
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Boots for sale in Kensington Market
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Manufactured Landscapes
"Manufactured Landscapes" is an enlightening and visually impressive documentary:
It's a bit slow, but still very worthwhile, particularly if you can watch it on a big screen. I may never look at a table fan or an iron or a ship the same way again.MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is a feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky makes large-scale photographs of ‘manufactured landscapes’ – quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams. He photographs civilization’s materials and debris, but in a way people describe as “stunning” or “beautiful,” and so raises all kinds of questions about ethics and aesthetics without trying to easily answer them.
The film follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Sites such as the Three Gorges Dam, which is bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million people, factory floors over a kilometre long, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai’s urban renewal are subjects for his lens and our motion picture camera.
Shot in Super-16mm film, Manufactured Landscapes extends the narrative streams of Burtynsky’s photographs, allowing us to meditate on our profound impact on the planet and witness both the epicentres of industrial endeavour and the dumping grounds of its waste. What makes the photographs so powerful is his refusal in them to be didactic. We are all implicated here, they tell us: there are no easy answers. The film continues this approach of presenting complexity, without trying to reach simplistic judgements or reductive resolutions. In the process, it tries to shift our consciousness about the world and the way we live in it.
Tree in the fog
Tree in the fog
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Taken Saturday morning. We've had a lot of fog this week - very atmospheric. :)
Monday, November 27, 2006
The Supercrew
Nishi, Elaine, Hassan, Dana, and Ada
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.
Nishi, Elaine, Hassan, Dana, and Ada - we met while training to be volunteer "volunteer supervisors" at the AIDS conference in Toronto this past August.
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