Timbledown

The Trip East, Day 11: in which there is more art and less matters

2011-10-25T20:00:00.001-06:00

The bulk of the day was spent, as planned, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. They don't open until 11:00 am, though, so there was time for an errand before.

I went to Centre Eaton and picked up a pair of New Balance walking shoes. An immense improvement! Probably the best shoes I remember owning. Zero pressure on existing blisters from my previous shoes, and a nice springiness to the step. Night and day. Now I can see why Steve Jobs only wore New Balance - not the same model, but still. I might have just found my new favourite shoe.

Anyhoo, I arrived at the MMFA (or MBAM in French, which is more fun, frankly) and discovered it's housed in three different buildings, only two of which are publicly accessible as far as I know. There's an old converted church, and there's this new one:

Two very happy surprises about MBAM. First off, in celebration of a new exhibit of Napoleonic items that were recently donated, admission was free throughout the building. Second, something I didn't discover until I got into the galleries. I saw someone snapping away with their point-and-shoot. Then another with a DSLR. Security guards were walking by and not saying a word. Could it be? Yes. They. Allow. Pictures.

I had already checked my camera with my bags at the coat check, and not wanting to waste any of the 6 hours I had in the place, I dug out the trusty iPhone and began snapping. Here's a Renoir:

After a couple of hours in a few of the galleries, my phone battery was almost depleted, so I went back to coat check to recharge, and to retrieve my DSLR. On with the portrait lens, and more photos, this time (I hope) of better quality, although the iPhone's no slouch either.

Here's just a small sample of what else I got. Note Napoleon's actual hat and death mask - both were taken with the iPhone, the rest with the Panasonic Lumix GH2:

As 5:00 closing time approached, I began madly snapping away, barely looking at what I was getting, knowing I could take time to look at it later, albeit not in person. Tired but happy, I also came away from the boutique with a few books.

Rather than heading straight home on the metro, I decided to have dinner in the MBAM neighbourhood first. I wandered a bit in that strange headspace you can get into where you're so tired and hungry you don't know what you want. Everything also looked just a bit too classy for my mood.

About then I saw some cheap yellow chaser lights, which led me to Carlos & Pepe, a Mexican restaurant. Turned out to be just what the doctor ordered - and I was the doctor:

Rested and fed, I made my way back to the barracks. A few errands tomorrow, then on to the train, and thence to Quebec City, to attend the conference that initiated this entire trip. My posts may be intermittent over the next few days, as much of what I'll be doing will be work-related, but I'll try and keep things up.

The Trip East, Day 10: in which a man's gotta know his limitations

2011-10-24T20:04:00.001-06:00

Dirty Harry was right. I discovered the hard way today that you can't make 50 year old feet do 20 year old activities for very long without paying for it eventually. Especially in a city with hundred year old cobblestones.

My feet have been a bit achy and sore at the end of the day lately, but yesterday they were really talking to me. On the way home I picked up some new insoles and replaced the worn-out ones in my shoes.

Today, even with the new insoles, I found I couldn't walk more than a hundred yards without starting to limp. Pretty much constant pain, not unbearable, but certainly distracting. Tomorrow, I make a pilgrimage to the mall to source some better walking shoes and see if that helps.

Today was also the first test of my new migraine medication. I felt an aura coming on this morning, and thankfully I had a dose with me that dissolves instantly on the tongue. Aura came and went, but no headache afterwards. BAM! Take that, inherited condition!

Enough health complaints. Today I spent the entire day in Old Montreal. For me, it was almost completely about the architecture. Around every corner there's yet another building to gasp at. Here's a few favourite samples I found while following a great self-guiding tour:

The crown jewel of them all, though, was Notre Dame Basilica. Here's the sight that greeted me on first coming into the darkened sanctuary from a brightly lit street:

There's so much detail here, so much decoration; paintings, sculpture, woodwork, all decades if not centuries old. I was interested to find the two statuettes of Ezekiel and Jeremiah that might have inspired the well-known Irving Layton poem:

"What coarse jokes must pass between you..."

I was on a mission for lunch today: Poutine. Everyone must have their favourite place, but I found one in the vicinity, appropriately called Montreal Poutine. It's run by a few very nice young people, and their take on the traditional dish has some twists, but I opted for the straightforward version. I did offset that with a grilled cheese sandwich with chicken, three kinds of cheese, onions and caramelized pears, and a Maudite to wash it all down:

By about 5 pm, it was getting very overcast, too dark for photos. My feet were ready to give out at any minute, and it started to rain. Fortunately, I was pretty much done with the self-guided tour, so I looked for some place to have supper and rest up before heading home. I almost literally stumbled on this place:

They had a nice artichoke salad, a great grilled cheese sandwich (again, not so traditional, with ham and some kind of gruyere on the inside, and grated parmesan and a cherry tomato on top) and a European orange drink:

(I realized later I could have had a beer - it takes some getting used to a province where the liquor laws are more American than Canadian. Heck, I could have bought a six-pack from the gas station this morning if I was so inclined. But I digress.)

All in all, a good day, to which I meant to add a visit to the Museum of Archaeology and History, but all the museums are closed Mondays in the fall and winter months. Oh well, something for the next trip. I still have one full day left, and it's going to be spent at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I loves me a bunch of art, I does.

The Trip East, Day 9: in which Bucky figures prominently

2011-10-23T18:54:00.001-06:00

For some reason, I was up earlier than usual, and decided to go to Ile Sainte-Helene. The island has seen a lot different uses over the years - Aboriginal encampment, military post - but for me the one I remember most is the site of Expo '67.

I was 6 years old when Expo was on, and I've never been to the site before now, but somehow the event has held some fascination for me. The optimism, the late 60s styling, the international flavour - not sure if it's any one of those, or all of them, but I think the big one is the design.

One of the most prominent designers, of course, is R. Buckminster Fuller, or "Bucky" as he was sometimes known. His design for the geodesic dome of the US Pavilion is still standing:

Also extant are a number of pieces of statuary that I assume were on the original site as well, but don't have labels for some reason:

I was at the park by about 8:00, so there was almost no activity - at least little human activity anyway:

Later that morning, after having made a circuit of the entire island snapping away, I visited a couple of the museums. The first was the Biosphere, tucked into Bucky's dome. It has a number of interesting environmentally-themed exhibits, including one that had dress designs using repurposed materials. Here's one made entirely out of books, for example:

But the best part of that museum, at least for me, was the view from the observation deck. It's an odd feeling being inside the dome but outdoors; everywhere you look, your vision is obscured by that triangular grid. Reminds me of an old Star Trek episode, The Tholian Web:

On to the Stewart Museum, which has been improving its digs in an old military barracks and fort built in the early 1800s. There are a number of interesting artifacts dating all the way back to the first European encounters with the new world. (Sorry, no pictures - my bag had to be checked, and I assumed that meant I couldn't use my camera phone.) However, here's a shot of one of the exterior walls, showing some of those holes they shoot guns out of (can't remember the name for them, can't be bothered to look it up right now:)

After that, it was back to the mainland, so to speak. I had left my charging cable for my phone back at my lodgings, so I had no way of recharging it using my portable battery. So I made a pilgrimage to Mecca, the Apple Store on Rue Ste-Catherine.

Being a Sunday afternoon, the place was absolutely packed. My errand done, I realized all I'd had to eat that day was a snack breakfast at the Biosphere, so it was time for a good feed. Across the street from the Apple Store was Les 3 Brasseurs, a microbrewery and pub that seemed to get good recommendations. Their medal-winning house "brun" was superb, and I had a nice cordon bleu schnitzel to go with it, since it was Oktoberfest after all.

On the way home, I solved the mystery of the searchlights. It's an interactive art installation. Passersby can control the direction of one of the searchlights, and the others "react" to its movement. Up to six of the searchlights can be controlled at any one time. I didn't stick around to try it out, but the people who did looked like they were having fun. Here's a little info on it.

One last note on what's turned out to be a long post! I'm finding the sound of French around me is not as alienating as it seemed to be yesterday. In fact, it seems comforting. I do get the sense that when I do the courtesy "merci" at the end of a conversation that's been all in English, there's some times when I think I see a reaction flash across the person's face that seems to say sarcastically, "wow, the anglais is throwing me a bone". I don't know. On the whole, though, Francophones have been very kind and very accommodating. It'll be interesting to compare that experience with Quebec City when I get there - I've been told by some people there's less accommodation.

So thanks, Montrealers, and thanks, Bucky!

The Trip East, Day 8: a new province, a new language

2011-10-22T19:54:00.004-06:00

A day filled with mild culture shock. It began in Ottawa, ON and ended in Montreal, QC. But it might as well have started on Earth and ended on Mars.

Well, that's putting it a bit strongly, but the day (and I suspect, the rest of the trip) will be one long French immersion course. I do have some high school French, and spent a few weeks with a Rosetta Stone course to refresh my memory, but there are gaps in what I need in the way of everyday vocabulary.

That being said, everyone I've met so far has been very pleasant and accommodating, and in fact is probably used to dealing with "maudite anglaises" on a regular basis. It was gratifying when my limited French was able to leap to mind, but I suspect people were thinking in some corner or their minds, "look, a talking dog".

Anyway, on to the day's activities. After another fine train ride this morning thanks to VIA, I arrived in the Montreal train station, and emerged from the train area to discover these fine art deco murals:

I contacted my billet, and after a bit of a delay while my room was being prepared, I finally dropped off my extra luggage and was off to make the most of the rest of the day.

I decided to make my way to the top of Parc du Mont Royal, a good thing since it took the better part of the afternoon. I had planned to combine it with some other activities on another day, and it clearly needs a half-day of its own.

A ride on the metro, a short bus ride almost to the top, and then it's walking all the rest of the way. The fall colours and vistas made it far from drudgery.

At the top, I was rewarded with the sight of the iconic cross.

After Mont Royal, I headed off to dinner with the nephew of one of my dear friends. And where else would one go in Montreal, but to Schwartz's Deli!

We waited in line outside for about 20 minutes, and when we were finally let in, we sat next to an older local couple and another older couple visiting from Philadelphia. The close quarters necessitated conversation, so we talked about this and that as we partook of what must be Montreal's finest smoked meat sandwiches:

After bidding farewell to my dinner guests, I was treated to a light show coming from a couple of locations near the Place des Arts. What was the occasion? I don't know, but it was a beautiful sight. I shot some video of it, I'll post that sometime after I get back.

Now, very tired, I'm pondering which of my itineraries to take on tomorrow. If the weather's good, it'll likely be the old Expo 67 site, now known as Parc Jean-Drapeau. If not, perhaps a museum or two in Old Montreal.

The Trip East, Day 7: in which I suffer for my art.

2011-10-21T18:27:00.001-06:00

I'm writing this post on my iPhone while sitting in a laundromat. It's almost the end of another very long day.

It started with an unpleasant discovery. VIA Rail only allows two pieces of carry on luggage on the next leg of my journey tomorrow. Thanks to my recent purchases, I have 3. I called VIA to see about a freight service. Any option there wouldn't work with my itinerary. So, on my way to the National Gallery of Canada this morning, I stopped off at Canada Post, bought a box and aw tape, and shipped the excess back he. I have a feeling I'll need to do that once more before the trip to Quebec City, but we'll see.

Once at the NGC, however, things improved. The place was being threatened by a giant spider, however.

This is, of course, the Louise Bourgeois sculpture "Maman".

As I suspected, no photos allowed inside the galleries, so today's pics were limited. Got a shot of the long ramp up to the first level galleries:

What glories awaited at the end of that road! No words are adequate to describe what it's like to stand in the same orientation to a canvas as a famous artist, know the paint you are now looking at was put there by that artist. The only way to experience that creation more directly would be to watch it being painted.

Van Gogh. Renoir. Rembrandt. Picasso. And so many others, some of whom were unknown to me before today but which have now become new favourites, or at least new interests. Staring into the raw furnace of a Rothko. Basking in the brisk streamlining of Lawren Harris. Gasping at the energy Rodin brings to bronze.

It was 6 1/2 uninterrupted hours of bliss. No lunch needed - I was adequately fed.

Enough gushing. Tomorrow, on to Montreal.

The Trip East, Day 6

2011-10-20T21:28:00.001-06:00

Another very long day, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. For some reason I seem to remember parts of this place, even though I know for a fact I've never been here. Maybe there's just parts of it that remind me of other museums, like the Royal BC Museum.

I started off in the Grand Hall, devoted almost entirely to west coast First Nations.

This space is immense - it has to be to contain several full-size totem poles and replica longhouses. The facing wall of glass makes it seem even larger, and lets in a tremendous amount of light, even on a rainy overcast day like today.

The building is crammed with exhibits, but I'll try to pick out a few favourite items. In the First Peoples section, I found this interesting sculpture by Jamasie Pitseolak:

Anyone my age remembers those ads for the Unitarian Service Committee, including their address (okay, say it with me: 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa). I found a tribute to its spokesperson, Lotta Hitschmanova. From the exhibit, I learned her actual last name was Hitschmann, but she altered it in order to distance herself from her German heritage.

All the exhibits aside, there were three things I was really pleased with. One, the IMAX film Rocky Mountain Express, which has some spectacular cinematography. For a taste, here's the trailer:

Second, the Zen Garden outside the Museum's main entrance:

Third, the Cafe de Musee, the Museum's restaurant. For some reason, I and one other party of three were the only ones in the place. It turned out to be fine dining for lunch! First, a mushroom soup that was actually a puree, wonderfully rich without being heavy. The main course, a first for me, was quail in a raisin-cranberry sauce:

That was followed by a concoction the chef had come up with herself - won tons filled with cheesecake, rolled in sugar and cinnamon, with a raspberry compote:

Very fine, very French, and a nice preview of dining experiences to come, hopefully, in Montreal and Quebec City.

Speaking of French, the closer I get to la belle province, I'm noticing the more prominent its language is becoming. For instance, because the Museum is actually in Quebec (Hull to be precise), all the signage is bilingual, but with French first. Took my eyes a while to get used to finding the English section sometimes. Seems obvious, but for someone who's lived most of his life in a French-second world, it takes a bit of getting used to.

The Museum was open until 8 tonight, and for some reason I couldn't find a bus that took me back over to Ottawa at that hour, so I walked back over the Alexandra Bridge, stopping at one point to get a night-time shot of the Parliament Buildings:

Tomorrow is the last full day in Ottawa, and it'll be spent at the National Gallery. Like the AGO, it's a "no picture" place, so I'm not sure what I'll be able to capture, or even if I'll bring the bigger camera - maybe I'll just do it all with the iPhone!

The Trip East, Day 5

2011-10-19T19:08:00.001-06:00

Today was spent at Parliament Hill. It's very strange to visit a place you've only seen on TV, on film, etc. especially when it's filled with such iconic things.

I arrived at the Visitor Centre, and before the tour, I went up the Peace Tower. At the base of the elevator up to the top of the tower, though, was a powerful and moving room: The Memorial Chamber.

The room has a number of cases containing books. The books in each of the cases contain the names of the people lost in each conflict. The central book, the first one in the Chamber, lists the names of the First World War dead. Since the book contains over 60,000 names, each day there is a ceremony held - at 11:00 am, the time of the signing of the WWI armistice - in which one page of the book is turned. That way every name is seen for one full day every year.

The central book case is reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant, which is probably not accidental. The rest of the room is equally reverential, moving, and astounding - and all in a room probably 50 feet on each side.

It's testament to the impact that the first modern war had on those who lived through it; how clearly different in magnitude it had been from anything before it, and how earnestly they wanted to remember that magnitude, perhaps to prevent it happening again. All the more poignant in that more conflicts were to come - and more dead to remember.

The top of the Tower has a spectacular view.

I also took some video of the tour, and hope to post an edited version when I get back. The only part we didn't see was the House of Commons, since Parliament is in session.

I could have come back later to see if I could get into Question Period, but it would have meant going back through the airport-level security to get back in the building. Besides, there were other treasures waiting outside - the statuary.

I spent the afternoon running a few errands - a second camera battery, for one - and narrowing down my choices for my two remaining days in Ottawa. After some hard deliberating, it's the Canadian Museum of Civilization tomorrow (open until 8), and the National Art Gallery. The others will have to wait for another time!

The Trip East, Day 4

2011-10-18T19:16:00.001-06:00

What. A. Day.

I left my one-room bohemian digs this morning with an extra burden - a bag of books I had bought at the AGO and ROM. I didn't have room in my other luggage for them, at least not right now. I made the foolish assumption that I could walk from Bathurst and Queen to Union Station. Yes, it's walkable, but not comfortably with 3 burdens. Plus, about halfway there, the handles on the bag broke, so I had to carry it under my arm.

Also, about halfway to the station, my phone no longer seemed to be responding to tapping on the screen, which eliminated any quick photos I could take with it. All the snaps I took today were with the other camera, and it's so much more of an effort to get it out and shoot that I was pretty sparing with it. Here's one shot I managed to pause long enough to get outside the station. No idea what this sculpture is about, there wasn't enough time to check.

I arrived at Union Station with just a few minutes to pick up my ticket, and no time to scout for another bag to substitute for the ripped paper one, so I humped all my belongings onto the train.

The ride itself was beautiful. It really is a more civilized way to travel. No stress from driving, no road to be shared with other idiots or maniacs, just smooth rolling comfort and an ever-changing landscape. Granted, it's a landscape that goes by awfully fast sometimes, but I did manage to get the occasional interesting shot, thanks to the quick shutter on the Panasonic GH2.

Meantime, I did some diagnostics on the phone, but I wasn't able to correct the problem - still not accessible. It made no sense, and I couldn't find any mention of the problem or a solution online. (Thank goodness for the iPad, otherwise I would have been completely without Internet access!)

Finally, we arrived at Ottawa Station, and I got the shots I wanted to get before I left:

Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you.

A short cab ride later, and I was at the hotel. And what a hotel! Modest by hotel standards, perhaps, but in contrast to my last accommodations, it might as well be the Ritz Carlton:

And what a view! The telephoto even picks out what looks like some of the buildings on Parliament Hill in the distance:

I decide to head downtown to the Apple Store and see if someone can figure out what's wrong with my phone. A kind young lady began taking my information on an iPad to set up an appointment for me, then asked what the problem was. I described it to her, and she said, "Oh, I know what that is." After a few deft flicks and taps, the thing was back to normal. Turns out I had turned on the accessibility features somehow, which requires multiple taps to activate buttons, and other behaviours are toned down to allow for more ease of use. Except by me. I laughed heartily when she handed back the "fixed" phone!

I spent another hour or so doing some errands while I was downtown: getting my second meal of the day (at 3:00!); picking up a lighter jacket that should work better than the sweat box raincoat I've been wearing; and getting a couple of mesh laundry bags to help distinguish clean from dirty clothes (forgot to get them before leaving). I bought a pastry from a bakery in the Rideau Centre that looked like a cinnamon bun, but was tricked out like a boston cream - vanilla pudding filling, chocolate on top. Interesting, tasty, not sure I understood it, but I ate it.

One more thing. Remember that bag of books? Left them on the train. I called VIA Lost and Found, they said they'd call when they located them. Haven't heard back yet as of this writing. Oddly, I'm not terribly upset about that - I'm just glad some of my more expensive and difficult to replace items are still with me.

Now to bed. Tomorrow, Parliament awaits.

The Trip East, Day 3

2011-10-17T21:04:00.002-06:00

A long day at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). I've lost 2 drafts of this post to a crashy blog app, and am too tired to rewrite it, so here's a bucketload of photos from today. All were taken with the iPhone 4S because I forgot to charge my camera battery.

First, the TTC Museum subway station:

And now, the museum itself, some of my fave pics from today.

More later perhaps, including some Greek and Roman stuff. Tomorrow, on to Ottawa!

The Trip East, Day 2

2011-10-16T20:55:00.000-06:00

I spent the entire day at the Art Gallery of Ontario. They don't allow pictures in there, of course, but a selection of what I was able to get is below. The rest will be links.

When I got there right at opening, there was a line-up - something I'd never seen at a gallery. Turns out it was a member preview for the Chagall exhibit that opens in a few days. I thought about buying a membership just to get in to see it, but the lineup was so big it would have meant I would have had less time to see the other exhibits. Besides, Chagall really doesn't turn my crank anyway.

My favourite stuff was probably the Thomson collection of medieval art on the main floor - I spent almost twice as much time there as in any other gallery.

What struck me time after time is that I would come across a familiar piece by Emily Carr or Lawren Harris or someone else, something that I'd seen as a print many times, and would have to remind myself that no, this is the original I'm looking at, this is where all those prints came from.

Something that prints don't allow you to do is examine the craft that went into these pieces: the brushstrokes (or lack of them in some cases!), the colors used to create a certain kind of light, and so on.

The AGO's renovation (well, new to me at least, even though it's 3 years old) is magnificent, especially the "Italian Gallery"' the one that you see pictures of all the time. Well, you're going to see a couple more, so bear with me.

You can also see the exhibit that's been in there since the gallery opened. In the large trunk and the pieces along the wall, the artist carefully stripped away the wood of the tree, revealing the younger version of it embedded inside.

That's about it for pictures. Other highlights were: the Lawren Harris paintings, as I mentioned; the "salon" recreations (paintings jammed in next to each other, pretty overwhelming in a good way; the larger paintings like this one (the measurements really don't give you any idea of what the thing is like in person, all the figures are life-size!); the Pope bust; and - well, I could go on, but I won't.

The Trip East, Day 1

2011-10-15T21:23:00.004-06:00

The day started at 3:30 am, picked up by a cab at 4, arrive at Edmonton International Airport. When there, I had my first 21st century pre-boarding experience; checked in online the day before, electronic boarding pass on my smartphone.

Security was even 21st century, as I was compelled to either submit to a full body search or "the scanner". Being of a somewhat modest persuasion, I chose the latter. I stepped into a booth that looked like those "grab for cash" things at car dealerships, raised my hands over my head and clasped them, which in restrospect seemed a little like one of those victory poses boxers used to do, a bit ironic considering the circumstances. Turns out the initial alarm was caused by the two tiny keys for the lock on my suitcase that I had tossed in my pants pocket, and that my shoes had metal reinforcements. Fortunately, I was not considered to be a threat to the flying public, and was released.

The flight to Toronto is long enough to watch two movies, so I saw Orson Welles' MacBeth (the one with the squarish crown that makes him look like he has an inverted occasional table on his head).

The second feature was The Darjeeling Limited, which I saw 99.99% of, until they cut power to the screens just before the final few lines. I hope everything turned out all right for those plucky brothers - guess I'll have to rent it just for the sake of a few lines.

The flight was otherwise uneventful. I always dread turbulence, mainly because of a bad experience with it on a couple of occasions, so I know what the worst of it can be and always expect it to happen. I think, though that aircraft design and turbulence detection have advanced quite a bit since the days of "the unpleasantness".

Parts of Pearson International look like the set of Logan's Run. I didn't take a picture, but those who have seen bot h will know what I'm talking about.

The room is as advertised, the pictures didn't lie; what you can't put in an ad, though, is smell. When I was first let into the hallway leading to my room, there was a strong odor of a feline accident, but that seems to have dissipated, or perhaps been overcome by the smell of Axe wafting in from another room where the young male guests were preparing for a night on the town.

I spent the remainder of the day wandering about the neighbourhood. The first order of business was lunch, and having only had a turkey sandwith and coffee before the flight, I was pretty ravenous by then. I wandered about until something struck my fancy, in this case, sushi.

Izmi Sushi. Highly recommended.

I wandered some more, trying to decide if I wanted to still try and make it to some art galleries or museums, but decided I was too tired to make the effort. Some local theatre was considered but abandoned, as there was nothing playing that interested me.

So, I went to Captain America in 3d. So much for culture.

Taken as a whole, not a bad day, considering all I was planning to do was travel today. Tomorrow, it's all day at either the AGO or ROM. This is your humble correspondent, reporting from somewhat comfortable squalor, signing off.

The Trip East

2011-10-14T14:23:00.001-06:00

It's been a long time since my last post, almost a year. I've been posting on Facebook and Twitter mostly over the last year and haven't had time to do proper blog posts.

So why am I starting up again? Well, tomorrow I go on a trip to the eastern part of this country. It's a partly business and partly pleasure trip. I have never been to Ottawa, Montreal or Québec City, and I will be visiting all three of those lovely burgs over the next few weeks. Along the way I'll take a few pictures, maybe some video, and share them with you here. Stay tuned!

Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work

2010-12-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hello, long neglected blog.

What prompts me to break my silence is a collection of remarkable photographs that were unknown until recently. The photographer is Vivian Maier, and not much is known about her, other than what has been dug up by John Maloof, the man who bought a bunch of her photos at a rummage sale.

Maloof has been posting some of the photos, believed to number in the region of 100,000 total, on his blog.

Here are three of them that caught my attention. The first is one of several self-portraits.

Many more can be seen on Maloof's blog dedicated to Maier.

Maloof is planning a book and documentary on Maier, to which you can contribute funding by way of a pre-order.

More information:

The Wikipedia article

WTTW Chicago covered the story:

The first exhibit of some of the photos

(Thanks to Roger Ebert for a post about this earlier today.)

Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work

Out of Sight

2010-11-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Roger Ebert shared this via Twitter today. Completely endearing.

Roger Ebert's Journal: "Out of Sight." A magical anime

Gangsta Lorem ippzle dummy text generator

2010-10-20T20:28:00.002-06:00

Quod erat demonstrandum, fo' shizzle.

Gangsta Lorem ippzle dummy text generator

Thanks, Sarah J.!

(For those who don't know what lorem ipsum is, here's an explanation.)

Little Red Riding Hood Retold in Infographics

2010-10-04T10:18:00.000-06:00

In keeping with the theme of the last post on data visualization. I've seen this before, but someone posted it recently so I thought it deserved another viewing.

Journalism in the Age of Data

2010-10-02T15:34:00.001-06:00

I hate numbers. They have little meaning to me in themselves, and that meaning seems to decrease as the numbers of numbers increase. I also know numbers can have an impact on my life, so I love it when I can see them transformed into a brilliant visualization that brings out the meaning I can't see otherwise.

That's why I found this documentary so interesting. Through interviews with journalists, designers, programmers and others, it gives a "behind the scenes" view of the people who make data visualizations. I'm a junkie for good design and typography (I own a copy of a documentary on the font Helvectica!) so it appealed to me on that level as well.

Well worth a watch if you can spare an hour. Best viewed full screen.

Journalism in the Age of Data from Geoff McGhee on Vimeo.

(via kottke.org)

Tom Waits - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag

2010-08-19T19:04:00.001-06:00

(via @tomwaits, via @GreatDismal on Twitter)

Mashup - Smells Like Rockin' Robin

2010-08-18T10:44:00.002-06:00

Grinning all the way through! Discovered this on Facebook recently, but apparently the fellow (a Scot!) has been doing these video mashups for at least 3 years. Link to his YouTube page below, along with links to other great mashups.

Downtown Octopus (Petula Clark vs The Beatles)
Supreme Evil (ELO vs The Supremes)

Many more at Go Home Productions' YouTube Channel.

The Forest Rangers

2010-08-04T19:03:00.000-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a glimpse into my childhood.

In the 1960s and early 70s, television was limited to black-and-white and 3 channels. One of those channels, CBXT, an outlet of the CBC, carried many shows that became iconic for me.

One such show was The Forest Rangers. Here's a video of the opening credits:

Although it was shot in colour, we never saw it that way, so the red serge of the Mountie's uniform and the verdant green of the woods were supplied by our fertile imaginations. It's odd to see these in colour now.

Here's a clip from an episode. It's a shot of a television screen, so the quality is poor, but I think it gives a feel for watching the series back in the 60s.

Although a friend's posting of the video reminded me of the show (thanks, Larry!) I'm happy to report that the show is far from forgotten. There's a fan page, a Facebook group, and best of all, the series is being re-released on DVD.

Now, I'm going back to turn down the colour on my monitor and watch some more...

Working in a Music Store: An Insider's View

2010-08-02T11:57:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it's tempting to think of the employees who work in music stores as either elitist snobs or headbangers trying to pay the bills. But if you look at things from their perspective...

More, um, examples at the link below, and on YouTube. (Thanks, Spence!)

Dangerous Minds | What it’s really like to work in a music store

Even a Stopped Clock...

2010-08-01T22:43:00.005-06:00

What would you get if you took photos from Flickr that showed clocks stopped at every possible time, then wrote a programming script that showed each in sequence to make a picture clock of sorts?

This.

West Side Story, 21st Century Style

2010-08-01T22:05:00.001-06:00

Via William Gibson.

YouTube - TURF FEINZ "RIP Rich D" | YAKFILMS | ERK THA JERK | TURF DANCING in the RAIN | DANSE SOUS LA PLUIE

MRIs of fruit and vegetables

2010-07-18T07:29:00.000-06:00

Someone somewhere has managed to find some time on an MRI machine to scan fruits and vegetables. (No details on who, why, etc. on the blog itself, at least not that I can find.) The scans bring out the strange, alien beauty of the interior structure of these common objects. My personal favourite is the artichoke, but here's a watermelon:

(NOTE: the page has a number of large images, so it may take a while to load. The wait is worth it, though.)

Inside insides

(via donttrythis on Twitter)

Presenting The Bird Man of Portugal, Amibuz

2010-07-17T11:01:00.003-06:00

Absolutely charming. Roger Ebert tweeted about this video recently, not sure where he found it. Apparently this gentleman has a MySpace page.

(Are any of my Portuguese-speaking friends able to translate some of this? I think it's obvious from the context what's being said, but an exact translation, including the lyrics, would be nice.)

I Write Like...

2010-07-13T14:49:00.000-06:00

Who knew?

I write like
Isaac Asimov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Howard and John Talk Football (1974)

2010-07-12T20:33:00.000-06:00

A commenter at the link below makes a sad observation about the connection between these two six years later.

(via Micheal McKean on Twitter)

Classic Television Showbiz: Monday Night Football with John Lennon (1974)

Who Needs Posters? We've Got Staples

2010-07-12T20:19:00.000-06:00

UK artist Peter Root used thousands of staples to create a mural.

See more by following the link below. (Thanks, Sarah!)

Staples Center, Part Deux � Design Binder: Products Materials

Malt and Other Commercial Memories

2010-07-11T10:50:00.000-06:00

Hello - long time no blog! Many changes in my life in the last couple of months, I'll have to do a longer entry to go over them.

For some reason I was reminded of a commercial I'd seen a number of years back about Malt-O Meal that involved a father, a son, and the son's problem with his cereal. See below, and enjoy!

By the way, as you can see, this video comes from The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. They've got a number of commercials and clips from older TV, and many don't seem to be accessible anywhere else. Have a look around, and if you like what they've got, consider sending them a few bucks for upkeep.

Speaking of malt, here's a Schlitz Malt Liquor commercial, starring a familiar face as Robin Hood. (Interesting that this same actor would later play Errol Flynn, who of course also portrayed Hood. Connections, connections...)

Spike Jones - Clink! Clink! Another Drink!

2010-04-04T21:53:00.000-06:00

A follow-up to the previous Spike Jones video post. Can you spot the solo by a famous cartoon voice man?

(via)

Spike Jones - Live Performance of Cocktails For Two (1945)

2010-04-04T21:48:00.001-06:00

I've heard the recording of this Spike Jones classic many times, but was pleased to find this live performance. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

(And no, kids, this has nothing to do with the director.)

(via)

"Muley's Roundhouse" featuring Harold Ramis

2010-03-16T21:51:00.000-06:00

Of all the SCTV cast, Harold Ramis used to crack me up the most. It's a shame he's doing less comedic acting these days, at least that I've seen, but he's a fine director.

Here's my favourite all-time Ramis sketch, a one-off character that's stuck with me all these years. Prob'ly 'cause I'm tetched.

YouTube - SCTV, 11/21/77 - "MULEY'S ROUND HOUSE"

Eduard Hil Replies!

2010-03-13T07:54:00.001-07:00

I posted the Eduard Hil video a while back that's since become an Internet meme. Since that time a number of parodies of the video have bee created and posted. Now, Eduard himself has watched them and given his comments, and even gives an impromptu performance of the song!

YouTube - Eduard Khil (Hill, Trololo Man) looks YouTube parodies and sings Trololo!

The Endless Night: A Valentine to Film Noir

2010-03-04T20:26:00.001-07:00

The title says it all. A list of the films, and the music used, are in the notes for the video - be sure to read them.

YouTube - The Endless Night: A Valentine to Film Noir

(via)

Cardini - The Beauty of Magic

2010-03-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Magic makes me weepy sometimes.

It's been a part of my life on and off over the years. As a kid I can remember trips to a dingy little magic shop, the only one in town. I saw the shop owner demo some wonderful but simple illusions. I could only afford the cheaper plastic effects, and cheapened them even more by not practicing enough before I showed them to patient friends and family. I devoured books on magic from the library, trying to figure out each trick before I read how it was done.

My few insights into the "backstage" of magic have only deepened my appreciation for professional magicians. I know about the hours of practice that are necessary for perfecting an illusion, making each movement convincing and natural. My reaction was often similar to Johnny Carson's. I would watch magicians on The Tonight Show do close-up magic for Carson. Johnny used to do magic himself, and his reaction was perhaps even more of a compliment for the magician. Not a gasp, or a look of puzzlement, but a knowing smile and occasional burst of astounded laughter and a "wow!".

Sleight of hand is the Mount Olympus of magic. More than any other form, it places enormous demands on the magician. The level of dexterity required is phenomenal, equal to that of the acrobat or dancer. Precise, controlled, beautiful, and in the hands of a master, a work of art.

Which is probably why I was moved to tears at times by this video of the entire routine of one of the greatest sleight of hand artists, Cardini. His wordless performance, producing a seemingly endless stream of cards, cigarettes, and other items is a marvel. (Wordless, indeed - how appropriate that the man we know as Cardini was born in a village called Mumbles?)

After watching this, you may have a hankering for more - if so, I recommend doing a Google video search for some of the other great sleight of hand magicians - Dai Vernon, Ricky Jay, and others listed here.

Beauty dances with wonder. Bravo, maestro, bravo.

Another appreciation of Cardini can be found in this blog entry posted by the person who posted the above video.

Cardini on Festival of Magic (1957)

(via)

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

2010-03-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

This has been all over the interwebs by now since its debut yesterday, so this is pretty much a "me too" post. Great pop band OK Go (you may remember them from their treadmill-based video) has done it again, performing with an incredibly elaborate Rube Goldberg machine.

Links to the "making of" videos below as well, if you're curious (I know I was!).

(Thanks to Nora Young for retweeting this, which is where I found it.)

MAKING OF: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - RGM version

The First Film Alice

2010-02-26T23:02:00.002-07:00

With the impending release of the Tim Burton version, here's the very first film adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story. The film has deteriorated noticeably, but considering it was made in 1903, I think you'll agree it's held up well.

(via)

YouTube - Alice in Wonderland (1903)

Listening to Braille

2010-02-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Interesting NYT article on what it means to be literate in a world of advanced technology - when you're also blind:

"Horror stories circulating around the convention featured children who don’t know what a paragraph is or why we capitalize letters or that “happily ever after” is made up of three separate words."

With New Technologies, Do Blind People Lose More Than They Gain? - NYTimes.com

(via)

La Puerta

2010-02-26T22:04:00.001-07:00

Ingenious stop-motion animation piece from Spain. Enjoy.

(via)

YouTube - La Puerta

La la la la la...(UPDATED)

2010-02-26T21:06:00.003-07:00

Not sure what to make of this, but at least I don't need subtitles. As the kids would say, WTF?

UPDATE: Since the original post, I've turned up a bit more information on this performer. His name is Eduard Hil (spelt "Hill" in some places, which may not be correct). Someone has put up a fan page about him on Facebook, and a video search on Google turns up a few more of his videos.

Here's one, more links on this Russian language page.

UPDATE 2: Here's another video that shows an early clip of Hil from some musical film, followed almost immediately by another clip of him singing a live "remix" of the same song on a Russian chat show of some kind.

Embrace Life

2010-02-26T19:33:00.001-07:00

I love well-done PSAs. This one's been viewed almost 2 million times as I post this, and for obvious reasons. (Thanks, ze frank!)

YouTube - Embrace Life - always wear your seat belt

Joe Green Among the Greens

2010-02-23T17:17:00.002-07:00

I'm reminded of an old Victor Borge joke: "...and now a piece by Giuseppe Verdi. Joe Green to you."

And it was Joe Green, or at least his music, that invaded a market in Valencia, Spain on an apparently ordinary day. Piano music comes over the loudspeakers: somebody's playing Joe's tunes. Then a fruit merchant suddenly breaks into song. Heads turn, a crowd gathers - but see for yourself:

The event appears to have been a promo for a local opera company. Someone holds up a sign at the end that says "¿Ves como te gusta la Ópera?", which, as near as I can tell, translates, "See how much you like opera?" There's also a long web address at the bottom that I can't seem to make out, which I'm guessing leads to the site of the company that put on this event. I say "event" because it's too sublime to be called a "publicity stunt".

Stephen Fry shared this link on Twitter today, with this comment: "Art truly proves its power when it's taken out of its usual sphere and seen somewhere ordinary." Joe Green would have been pleased and proud.

It had me grinning and a little weepy at the spontaneous beauty of it all. Thanks, Stephen! (Or should I say Steve?)

YouTube - Opera en el Mercado

Bob and Ray -Two Classic Sketches

2010-02-22T21:59:00.001-07:00

One of my favourite comedy teams, Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding, do two of their classic sketches on the Johnny Carson show - "The Most Beautiful Face Contest" and reporter Wally Ballou interviewing a four-leaf clover farmer. The beginning of the first sketch is cut off, and the video quality is sketchy throughout, but it's well worth a watch.

An interesting side note: between the two sketches, Johnny asks Bob if any of his children are interested in show business, and he mentions his son Chris. That's Chris Elliott, who would eventually go on to fame as a regular on Late Night with David Letterman, and roles in movies like Groundhog Day. Now, Chris' daughter, Abby, has joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. The family was featured in a New York Times Magazine feature article last November.

Now, as Bob and Ray would say as they signed off their show, "write if you get work, and hang by your thumbs."

(thanks, They Might Be Giants!)

YouTube - Bob and Ray "Most Beautiful Face Winner"

Ten rules for writing fiction

2010-02-21T19:21:00.002-07:00

Margaret Atwood:

"Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can't sharpen it on the plane, because you can't take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils."

Ten rules for writing fiction | Books | guardian.co.uk

David Lynch's A Goofy Movie

2010-02-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

In the great tradition of other film trailer reimaginings.

YouTube - David Lynch's A Goofy Movie

CGI Cinema - Nuit Blanche

2010-02-14T20:18:00.001-07:00

A while back I posted a hyperreal CGI short. This one has an actual storyline. Gorgeous film noir look. Easy to see why this won an award. "Making of" video embedded below as well, so you can see where the elements came from and how they fit together.

Best watched full-screen if your machine's speedy enough. (via)

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

Making Of Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

"You're an idiot..."

2010-02-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

"... an idiot of the 33rd degree, and scion of an ancestral procession of idiots stretching back to the Missing Link."

Sic 'em, Mr. Twain. Posted on one of my current fave blogs.

Letters of Note: You're an idiot of the 33rd degree

(via)

Hot Secretaries

2010-02-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Pretty gals, burning flames, and magnesium. What could be better for Valentine's Day?

(via)

YouTube - Magnesium myth - (tongue in cheek girls)

Shuttle Sunset

2010-02-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

Taken from the International Space Station, the shuttle Endeavour is silhouetted against "orbital sunset" - the sun disappearing over the Earth's horizon as the spacecraft orbits the planet. Stunning and symbolic, as we only have five more shuttle flights before the fleet is grounded for good.

(via)

NASA - Shuttle Silhouette

New Colony Six on Kiddie A-Go-Go

2010-02-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

Delightful, nostalgic and odd all at once. Via the Johns of They Might Be Giants. From the details posted with the video:

Pandora (Elaine Mulqueen) introduces the New Colony Six, who sing "I Lie Awake," in this segment from a 1966 installment of THE MULQUEENS' KIDDIE A-GO-GO, which aired on Chicago TV from 1966 to 1970. (This clip appears courtesy of Jack Mulqueen, copyright Mulqueen Productions.)

iPad: The Undevice

2010-02-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

“The music’s not in the piano,” he said. “If it was, we’d have to let it vote.”

This mind-bending quote came from the article linked below. Well worth the time to read - the best assessment of the iPad's potential impact I've read yet.

Etaoin Shrdlu: iPad will help us most when it disappears

(via)

How To Report The News

2010-02-07T22:15:00.002-07:00

Comedian and former news reporter Charlie Brooker lays out the template for the typical TV news report. Spot on.

(via)

WARNING: some strong language.

Model Cars in Real Landscapes

2010-02-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

These are just wonderful. My father sent me a link to a slideshow of photos by Michael Paul Smith. He's a model maker, focusing on vintage cars and buildings. But he takes things one step further by sometimes setting up his dioramas outdoors, so he has a real background for the model foreground. The illusion is quite convincing to me, and he even includes a few photos that show how they were done.

For those who enjoy old cars, bygone eras, model making at its finest, or miniature photography, this is well worth your time. Slideshow below, the Flickr photo set of his models can be seen here.

Mouth Guitar!

2010-02-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Another Friday thing. I've seen this mentioned in a few places, most recently by David Pogue on Twitter, so I figured it's time to post it as well.

Charo sings "Love Will Keep Us Together"

2010-02-05T19:52:00.001-07:00

Just because it's Friday. (Thanks to Wil Wheaton who mentioned it in this blog post.)

Oscar Nominee for Animated Short: Logorama

2010-02-02T20:59:00.006-07:00

Among today's Oscar nominee announcements were the five animated shorts. Cartoon Brew has links to places you can watch all five, but as a teaser, here's one of them: Logorama. WARNING: some strong language, and a clown gone bad.

And as a palate cleanser, here's another nominee - Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death.

Wallace And Gromit - A Matter Of Loaf And Death

DANMAN | MySpace Video

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy - Louis C.K. on Conan

2010-01-29T20:54:00.001-07:00

In light of all the whining lately about technology not living up to "expectations", I feel it's time once again for what is becoming my generation's version of "in my day". Preach it, Louis.

Link to video (embedding disabled)

Unhappy Hipsters

2010-01-29T14:47:00.003-07:00

Take photos from architectural and design sites, make witty postmodern captions for them, and what do you get?

He couldn't stand another night with that smug hookah.

See more at Unhappy Hipsters.

(Thanks, Nora Young!)

iPad - review roundup and demo video

2010-01-27T15:24:00.002-07:00

I know, I know, everybody and his dog is doing something about this today, so no doubt you're mighty sick of it by now. But I just came across Apple's own demo video and thought you might be interested in seeing it if you hadn't already. For those of you who couldn't care less, move on, nothing to see here...

Huffington Post - Apple iPad Review (PHOTOS, VIDEO): Tablet Is 'Fast,' 'Beautiful'

British Woman Tries To Look Like Jessica Rabbit

2010-01-24T22:45:00.001-07:00

Another in a continuing series of British eccentrics. (via)

Gahan Wilson on The Sound of Young America

2010-01-24T20:54:00.001-07:00

One of my favourite cartoonists is the macabre Gahan Wilson. I enjoy his work so much I shelled out for a copy of his collected Playboy cartoons.

Here, on national public radio in the US, Wilson talks to Jesse Thorne about his craft, Halloween, and other topics.

More on the show's page for the interview: Gahan Wilson on The Sound of Young America

For those unfamiliar with Wilson's work, he has a gallery of samples on his website, but they really should be seen in print to be appreciated.

(via)

Take Back the Voicemail

2010-01-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Artist Rosylyn Rhee saved two voicemails she received from a man she had dinner with one night.

Then an idea occurred to me that I should make dance songs out of them.

I gave the voicemails to different artist friends to see if they could help out. These busy busy folks are crazy talented. I'm just tickled by their immense creativity and diversity of art. Thank you.

And Ladies: Take back the night!

Read the full story, listen to the original voicemails, and the music created from them, at The Wifebeater Project.

(via Shawn Feeney)

Other Blogs of Note: superuseless superpowers

2010-01-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Behold the might of "13th Bullet Bulletproof".

More at:
superuseless superpowers

(via kottke)

MC Honky - Sonnet No.3 (Like A Duck)

2010-01-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Something my buddy Lou posted recently reminded me of the video below. Found it around 2004-ish.

MC Honky seems to have been a one-hit wonder. Wikipedia entry is here, official site is here. Anyone else have any more info?

Prisencolinensinainciusol - OLL RAIGTH!

2010-01-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

I did a post about this on another blog a while back (no link, as I'm closing it up soon). The video I posted then was a compilation of two different performances of the same song. Now, I'm happy to report, I've found separate videos of each, embedded below.

The singer/songwriter is Adriano Celentano. From what I'm able to glean, he seems to be an Italian version of a cross between Leonard Cohen and Steve Martin. (Open to corrections from any of my Italian readers who know better - please comment!)

The song's title, "Prisencolinensinainciusol", is a nonsense phrase, as are all the lyrics. I understand the intent is to imitate the sound of American pop singers, perhaps Elvis Presley, whom Celentano admires. A number of YouTube posts have posted comic translations, some funnier than others.

But back to the original. Here's Celentano lip-syncing with energetic lead dancer Raffaella Carrà and a very large dance ensemble in a very large set:

And here's a later performance on some Italian variety show, with the premise of a language class as a preamble. (Unfortunately, the clip cuts off at the end. There may be a more complete version out there, but no luck finding it.)

There's one other performance with a much longer "schoolroom sketch" setup that appears to have an all-star Italian cast. Not knowing who the celebs are, and being unable to understand little of the humour, it's not as interesting for me. (Italian speakers/pop culture experts welcome to elucidate in the comments!)

There was a burst of interest in this song back when I did the original post. I found it via Neatorama but it was posted and reposted on a number of other sites. The spike in attention did not go unnoticed by the Italian media - in fact, it sounds like they called up Celentano himself to comment! (Again, if anyone can translate...)

Why go to all this trouble? I don't know. I guess I got a little obsessed with it. The song is extremely catchy, and I found it drifting in and out of my waking thoughts for days after I'd viewed it. Proves that you don't necessarily have to understand something in order to enjoy it. Which I do, immensely.

OLL RAIGTH!

Minipost - TO A TOP SCIENTIST

2010-01-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying very much the posts on the site Letters of Note - well worth a visit. As an example, here's a letter they posted, written shortly after Sputnik's launch, by a young man who wanted to put Australia in the space race. Transcript and further details here.

Letters of Note: TO A TOP SCIENTIST

Minipost -The Many Uses of Greenscreen

2010-01-17T18:09:00.002-07:00

A video showing some surprising use of "green screen", AKA chroma key. For the uninitiated, here's more about the process.

(via mental_floss)

The opposite of parasailing...

2010-01-16T20:15:00.003-07:00

(Click on image for larger version)
Blimp Tows Aquaplane to Give Latest Aquatic Thrill

HITCH hiking behind the Goodyear blimp Volunteer is the latest form of water sport for thrill seekers on the California bathing beaches. One of the most ardent devotees of the sport is Elmer Peck, of Long Beach, holder of the world’s record for endurance on an aquaplane. He is shown in the accompanying photo stunting on an aquaplane in tow of the Volunteer which is flying low over the water at a clip of 60 miles per hour. Stunting like this demands the utmost in nerve and skill.

The Count Remembers The Blues

2010-01-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Count Basie pays tribute to one of his idols, Fats Waller. (via Boing Boing)

All-Girl Banjo Band, 1928

2010-01-16T18:30:00.001-07:00

If this doesn't bring a smile to your face, you probably hate banjos. (via Boing Boing)

2010-01-16T16:07:00.001-07:00

Western Swing on 78 (repost with link) http://ping.fm/L1GZb

2010-01-16T16:05:00.001-07:00

If you're into western swing and old 78s, here's the motherlode! (via Boing Boing)

2010-01-16T15:30:00.001-07:00

Celebrate 50 years with a crash test! 1959 Chevy Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevy Malibu http://ping.fm/MzdED

2010-01-16T15:18:00.001-07:00

Wacky Packages: the 7'-tall vinyl wall-sticker edition http://ping.fm/dkZ9i

Walt Disney's 1943 org chart

2010-01-12T23:18:00.002-07:00

http://ping.fm/JxqS4

Big Lebowski rewritten as a work of Shakespeare

2010-01-12T22:38:00.003-07:00

http://ping.fm/8A6zo

The Third and the Seventh

2010-01-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Find yourself a speedy computer so you can watch this full screen. Everything, and I mean everything, in this is computer generated. If you need proof, watch the compositing breakdown video, where the elements are shown separately: http://ping.fm/ZvEHT/8200251
Besides, it's just so darn restful and beautiful to watch. (Thanks, D. T.-H.!)

Art Clokey: 1921-2010

2010-01-11T19:39:00.002-07:00

The creator of Gumby, Pokey, Davey and Goliath has passed into animation history. An Art Clokey tribute on Cartoon Brew: http://ping.fm/uGUwI

A Girl

2009-08-23T21:42:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, after a blood donation appointment, I decided to do something non-strenuous, something I hadn't done in a while. So I headed over to the Art Gallery of Alberta.

The place is in temporary digs in Enterprise Square (old Bay building, for you expat Edmontonians). Their new location is under construction, slated to open early in the new year. You can have a gander at the progress on this webcam.

The main reason I came was to catch the Ron Mueck exhibit. You've likely seen some of his ultra-real sculpture elsewhere on the web; I won't bother to give any links to his stuff, there's tons of pictures and video out there, just have a wee google and you'll find it.

Two of Mueck's pieces are currently on exhibit at the AGA: "A Girl" and "Old Woman in Bed". The first is a newborn baby girl:

Very realistic - and very large. From head to toe, she's about 10 feet long. The attention to detail is astonishing; tiny veins, moisture, smears of blood here and there from the birth, the fine hairs on the head. But it's the size that's so arresting.

Mueck's other work also plays with scale - one of his largest sculptures so far is of a crouching boy, 5 metres tall! - and to me, it's the sculptor's equivalent of the closeup in film. The subject is so large that it's inescapable.

One observation I found amusing and unnerving: the baby's right eye is partially open, and if you stand in front of the head and look down, a deep blue eye like all newborns have, writ large, is staring up at you through a slitted lid - an ocean of defiance.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the other piece:

The platform is about 2 feet by 3 feet. The woman's head would fit under your hand.

It's the most moving art I've seen in quite some time. The skin is pale, parchment-thin, like most people near the end of life, utterly convincing. You almost expect to hear breathing. But again, it's the scale that gives the piece its power.

I can recall having experienced people at or near death as being somehow smaller physically than I remember them when they were more vital. Mueck cuts straight to the heart of it by actually reducing the size.

If you live in Edmonton, don't miss the chance to see these pieces - they'll be leaving after September 7. If you live elsewhere, hopefully they'll come to a gallery near you; if they do, don't take the time to see them, or any Ron Mueck exhibit for that matter. The material on the web gives you a sense of the experience, but actually being in their presence is a quantum leap beyond seeing pictures or video, and is really the only way they can be adequately experienced.

Please, AGA, if you can afford it, more Mueck!

My Right Foot and Other Interiors

2009-08-16T13:55:00.005-06:00

ight. Well, I promised some time ago that I would post the scans of my foot and body, so here they are. (Higher resolution versions, if you're actually interested, are available in this set on Flickr.) For the back story on these, have a look at this post.

Here's my observations about these.

First, I think we're all curious about our own interiors. Maybe it's a morbid curiosity, maybe it's genuine fascination. As for the form that view of our interior takes, some may be less desirable than others.

I remember accidentally cutting a large hole in my right arm when a knife slipped. As they were sewing me back together, I got a glimpse of some subcutaneous curiosities. Surprisingly, I wasn't all that squeamish about it, probably because the gash was only about an inch long. Now, if my abdomen had been opened up and my guts were trailing behind me like a macabre sausage link, well, then ... but I digress.

The foot X-rays are very detailed, as you would expect for something for medical purposes. I was interested to see so many fine details: small veins in the skin on my heel; tiny lines running through what I guess are the bone surfaces. It makes me wish I knew more about basic anatomy in order to have a better appreciation for what I'm seeing. At the heart of all this is the simple yet profound idea that these are my bones I'm looking at.

I found the full body scans to be low resolution, difficult to make out details. (Check the Flickr posting for larger versions.) I was hoping to see more detail, especially in the skull area, which to me would have been extremely interesting. With a little Photoshopping, I could have played Yorick and Hamlet at the same time!

However, one detail did capture my interest: the brightest spot on the scan, which is clearly the bladder. I was injected with a radioactive tracer about two hours before the scan, and was told to drink a lot of fluids to flush it through my system. As a result, there's a high concentration of the stuff in that region. In fact, it almost looks to me like the bladder is a kind of nightlight, illuminating the interior of my pelvis and conducted the length of my spine. A glow-in-the-dark Visible Man model.

I was thinking I'd have some more profound insights about these images, but in the end they're more of a curiosity. I do enjoy having been through the process, and the images are a good keepsake of the whole bone scan episode. I do feel a bit guilty about having the procedures done in light of the recent scarcity of medical isotopes, but my scans occurred before the recent crisis, and since it was my doctor's choice to do them rather than mine, the guilt is only slight.

As for my right foot, it's still just a bit swollen on top. I was put on a round of anti-inflammatory drugs to take the swelling down. No significant problems were found, no damaged bones, so it's probably just a very minor injury that's taking its time to heal. Since I walk every day, that's probably prolonging the healing process.

One development, which my doctor tells me is not cause for concern and happens to people my age: the report that came with the X-rays says that there is "mild osteoarthritic change in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe." I don't have a comment for this, I just like medical technobabble. Metatarsophalangeal. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la la la!

Contrapunctus XIV

2009-07-12T21:41:00.007-06:00

Okay, it's been a while since my last post. I was originally going to put the following in bits and pieces up on Timbledown Annex, but then realized it needed a bit more space and consolidation. WARNING: The following may only interest music geeks, but if you're not one, stick with it, you may glean something interesting from it.

Not all of the music Johann Sebastian Bach wrote has made its way down to us. Some pieces are missing in their entirety. One in particular only exists as a fragment - Contrapunctus XIV from The Art of Fugue. There's two incomplete versions that have survived: one was published as a fragment, and the other, slightly longer by six measures, is on manuscript paper in JSB's own hand. (Click on the image below to see a larger version.)

The little handwritten note on the page was added later by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel (the following is taken from Wikipedia):

"Über dieser Fuge, wo der Nahme B A C H im Contrasubject angebracht worden, ist der Verfasser gestorben." ("At the point where the composer introduces the name BACH (which in English notation is B♭-A-C-B♮) in the countersubject to this fugue, the composer died.")

Nice story, but most scholars don't buy it.

At any rate, the piece has been a puzzler for academics, composers and musicians ever since. How to perform it, for one. Glenn Gould did it once as written, breaking off abruptly where the published version does, at measure 233.

The above is the second half of the Gould performance - part 1, in all its hummy, eccentric Gouldian goodness, is here. Despite its oddity, I like this version; it seems to say, in a different way, what CPE tried to in his scribble on his dad's score. Despite a long and fruitful career, JS had so much more to give us, but his work was interrupted by death, symbolized in Gould's lifted hand at the incomplete measure, which seems to be a mixture of hiding his face in shock and grief, and placing a hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp. Yeah, I know, Gould didn't intend all that, but that's what I got out of it.

The other question has been, WWJSD? A number of people have taken a crack at finishing Contrapunctus XIV, but in 1991, Zoltán Göncz, a Hungarian scholar and composer, decided that the clues to how the piece would have ended were to be found in the piece itself, in the other parts of The Art of Fugue, and in JSB's other work. After careful examination, he worked out a solution that extrapolates the three-part fugues into a four-part fugue that into the end.

You can read an article about his solution here. It's actually quite readable for a supposedly academic paper, and follows his reasoning clearly, at least for me.

What's that? Can't be bothered to read the article? Want to watch a video instead? Here you are, then.

Part 1 (curse YouTube's 10 minute clip time limit!). This is all Bach. The chart below is Göncz's analysis, where he shows the themes (numbers) and which voice (top to bottom: soprano, alto, tenor, bass) is playing it at that point. Göncz put heavy borders around the sections where each new theme is introduced, and the pattern of the introduction. (If you read the article, there's a nifty chart that, along with the text, helps to clarify this.)

And Part 2. At about the 2:00 mark, you'll see a vertical dotted line on the score, which marks where JSB's handwritten manuscript left off, at the end of measure 239. The next screen has a measure number: 240. From here on, it's all Göncz. He's taken the patterns in the three heavy bordered boxed sections, superimposed them on each other, and used them to create a new grid where the fourth fugue theme is fitted in the spaces left by the other three. Now all four voices each have a go at a theme, and all of them pass the themes around between each other. (Upside-down numbers mean the theme has been inverted - notes go up where they went down, and vice versa. This is not unique to Göncz, it's something Bach and other composers did frequently.)

What I love about watching these is being able to see where the themes are introduced and where they recur, and to be able to follow all the voices as they unfold in the manuscript. It's like "follow the bouncing ball", but with four balls, and imaginary ones at that. For those who don't read music (I read it just enough to get me in trouble), I'd be curious to know if it's as interesting. Feel free to put your feedback in the comments.

As a final note (pardon the pun), one scholar recently suggested that ol' JS deliberately left the work unfinished, as a challenge to future composers. The sneak. Well, deliberate or not, Contrapunctus XIV has certainly been a challenge, and will continue to be, no doubt, for centuries to come. Who knows, maybe Johann's version will turn up in a dusty attic someday, but I think the crafty codger just did it to mess with us.

Bits and Pieces

2009-06-09T19:36:00.004-06:00

I was waiting for inspiration for a longer topic for this post, but instead I've decided to gather all the little topics that have accumulated, and make one big one. (I've made a number of posts on my tumblr blog, which you can read here or access via the Timbledown Annex links elsewhere on this page.)

Update on the bone scan
I met with my GP earlier this week to get the results of my bone scan. He said there's no sign of a fracture, but there is some inflammation of the cuboid bones. He's prescribed an anti-inflammatory to take the swelling down on my right foot. (It's no more swollen than when I first noticed it about a month or so ago - in fact it may be less so - but at least another possible cause has been eliminated.)

I've also put in a request for a copy of the full body scan that was done. I'll see about posting some samples when I receive it.

Facebook posting styles
I'm not a heavy FB user, so the following may qualify as newbie in nature, which I freely admit to. Lately I've been interested in the various styles people have for answering the perennial FB question, "What's on your mind?" The postings seem to range from the cryptically short ("Bill is backed up") to the mini-essay.

When they're the former, a number of comment posts from friends are usually required to tease out more information from the original poster in order to clarify what was meant. My opinion: Being deliberately cryptic for effect can be fun or amusing, but if your intent is to connect with your FB friends, why make them work to understand you?

As for the novel-as-mind-content posting, I would think that the best outlet for that instinct would be to start a blog, post your opinion, and then link to that longer posting in your FB post.

Perhaps you think I'm wrong on all of the above. Or you feel the same way. Either way, feel free to tell me so in the comments.

Tactical communication
My fellow Edmontonians will likely be aware of this already, but our police chief has issued an interdict against officers using foul language on the job. The rationale is that cursing tends to provoke suspects and detainees.

So, what's the alternative? Something called "verbal judo", also known as "tactical communication". As I was writing this, CBC's "As It Happens" did a short piece on the major proponent of tactical communication, Dr. George J. "Rhino" Johnston. You can hear the AIH piece here (jump ahead to 16:27); Dr. Johnston's website is here, where you can hear more of his TC teaching.

Overheard in the supermarket today
"Honey, do you want the normal hamburger buns or the bun buns?"

On Turning 48

2009-05-31T08:45:00.001-06:00

Lea Thompson and I both turn 48 today. (Happy birthday, Lea - you probably won't get this, so this is more for my benefit than yours.)

Also, happy birthday to the Republic of South Africa, Clint Eastwood, Brooke Shields, and all the rest. May 31 was also the launch date of the Titanic and the day the last Model T rolled off the assembly line. (I generally don't regard the last two as omens.)

On the day I was born, John F. Kennedy was in Paris with Jackie to visit Charles de Gaulle. Here's a contemporary radio report, compiled by the site Crooks and Liars. Fascinating listening, and has echoes of Obama's presidency.

This isn't one of those "landmark" birthdays, like 40 or 50, so my feelings about it are fairly ambivalent. A mixture of the solemn reminder of aging, and a cavalier dismissal of the whole thing as contrived (you're only as old as you feel, as the cliche goes).

One thing I did do this year is to go against my introverted nature and be more proactive about celebrating the event. Rather than someone else planning something, I've set up a modest little celebration later today at a local steak house, and invited family to attend. (In the interest of full disclosure, the impetus was a gift card for said steak house which I want to use up before it expires. It doesn't have an expiry date, but I'm not taking any chances.)

Like New Year's, birthdays for me are now occasions for a bit of stock taking and possible course correction. Besides the continuing pursuit of fiction and self-employed writing in addition to my employed writing work, my list for this one includes a few new ones. Here's a sampling.

My retirement plan. How to make one, that is. I've lived as the carefree artiste and vagabond most of my life, so other than the Canada Pension Plan and a tiny five-figure RRSP from my acting days, I have nothing to look forward to. I'm certain my needs will be modest (heck, they are now) but some kind of nest egg should probably be started while I still have 17 or so years before age 65.
Will there be a "retirement"? As lifespans increase, more and more people are experiencing a longer working life. Those who retire at traditional ages (55-65) seem to be insufferably bored and go looking for activities that amount to going back to work. In the writing profession, it's possible to continue working as long as the brain holds out - Milton wasn't stopped by blindness. I'll likely want to keep writing, or working, past 65. So, it may be that I just need a backup plan should I be unable to continue, like disability insurance or an annuity. (I can feel the financially savvy among you squirming, so if you've got a better idea, why not put it in the comments?)
Explore old interests. I've been doing a bit of pencil sketching again, something I haven't done in years; I'll have to post some samples at some point. I don't read books nearly as much - some, but not as much as I'd like to. Maybe it's a matter of actually scheduling time to read, especially considering how important regular reading is for the writer. Playing piano and writing songs are another two activities I might like to return to.
Give travel some more thought, especially solo. Prompted by this article and this related one, and by a beloved aunt who makes semi-regular travel junkets on her own.

Some of you may be wondering, where does a relationship fit into all this? I'm single, and except for a few relationships, have been all my life. More on that in a future post, but for now, let's say I've had some realizations about that, and its importance for me.

Some folks get panicky about the advancing years, which seem to speed up the older one gets. For me, it's a mixed bag.

Sometimes I feel like a train passenger, looking out the right side train window, who can hear the other riders pointing at sights on the left side, but when I turn to look, they're already pointing at something else on the other side. I'm more PO'd than panicky - darn, missed that too.

But as some options close with the advancing years, there's also an odd sense of relief rather than regret. As I grow more comfortable and "set in my ways", I no longer have a desire to pursue some goals that seemed desirable at one time. Age gives focus. I'm now more aware of what truly makes me happy, and more content pursuing those things.

Lea Thompson looks like she's been pursuing other interests lately too - directing, appearing in musicals. I wish us both all the best.

Oh, and happy anniversary to Big Ben, who first spoke to the world 150 years ago today. Hit it, Benny boy!

The Bone Scan

2009-05-20T22:06:00.000-06:00

Today I had a bone scan done. First time ever.

A little background first. My right foot has been a little swollen on top. A bit sore, but only when poked.

A few weeks back I had my doctor take a look at it. After some poking and prodding, he asked if I'd stubbed my toe recently. (I couldn't recall at the time, but thinking about it later I realized it might have been possible.) He thought I might have a fractured metatarsal, but that he'd need an X-ray to confirm that. So off I went that same day to the radiologist.

A couple of weeks passed and no response from my doctor. The swelling still hadn't gone down, so I called to see what's what. He advises I go get a bone scan done, sends me the paperwork.

Today I show up at the lab, and my first surprise is that it's a two-parter. (Actually, this was in the form I got - I just didn't understand it until I actually got there.)

First, they shot me up with a radioactive tracer, and then got me up on a scanning machine. I lay on my back and the technician wrapped my feet in some kind of Velcro band that forced my toes to point straight up. She did a scan, and the machine did a lovely harp glissando when it was finished. Then another scan taken while I lay on my side. She then told me to go away, drink lots of water and pee a lot to flush the tracer into and out of my system, and come back in 2 hours.

I went back to work for all of an hour, then returned. I was called back in by another technician, who in turn handed me off to a third. This was going to be a full body scan, he said. His reasoning (which I agreed with) was that since I had tracer throughout my body on all my bones, he might as well get the whole skeleton, not just the foot. That way if there was any other oddities, they would be picked up. As I wasn't paying for it either way (God bless Canadian health care!) it made no difference to me.

I lay on the mobile table again, strap around my feet. He moved a large grey box about the size of a suitcase over my head. It was flat grey on the underside, with a black plus sign in the centre which I assumed was there for targeting purposes.

He then lowered the box to within about two inches of my nose. I can see how people who are claustrophobic wouldn't care for this, but for me it was actually pleasant. I tend to be claustrophilic, if that's even a real word. Only rarely if ever do I experience a sense of panic in a confined space, and most of the time find it comforting.

The suitcase passed over my body from head to toe, very slowly. I soon became bored with looking at suspended ceiling tiles and closed my eyes. Despite my uncomfortable position and my efforts to remain still, I found I was actually close to napping. (The lab tech said later it happens fairly often - he doesn't take offense.)

After the full body scan, another one with my knees raised and feet flat on the bed/bench/thingy. Then a third one, on my side, feet only.

When it was all done, I asked if I could get a copy of the images. He said all I have to do is request them from my GP, and they'd make up a set, put them on a disc, and send them to me.

Which brings me, at long last, to the point of this post. It was certainly an interesting experience - the tech talked a lot about the technology behind medical imaging, the various forms, how they complement each other. The whole process was, on the whole, kind of fun.

But this full body bone scan will, I think, give me an image of my entire skeleton. That's not something everyone gets the chance to see. I think it's going to be fascinating to look at those structures, the symmetries and imbalances, the irregularities. And perhaps, a fractured metatarsal.

Hopefully, when I get it, I'll post a few samples.

James Granger: Spiritual Father of Wikipedia and the Maker Movement?

2009-05-17T08:18:00.000-06:00

I follow Stephen Fry on Twitter (@stephenfry, natch). Among the many things he does, he also hosts a wonderful quiz show in the UK called QI. Lately, he's been getting the audience of the show to shout out a word in unison, posting the recording on Audioboo, and having his Twitter followers guess what the word is. No prizes, just a bit of fun.

Recently, the word was "grangerise" (or "grangerize" for us colonials). This was a bit of a headscratcher for me, I'd never heard it before. After a little searching, I discovered the word comes from the Rev. James Granger (1723-1776). The UK's National Portrait Gallery has a couple of pictures of the man here.

He's known in particular for a biographical history of England. Wikipedia has the full title of the work as:

A Biographical History of England, from Egbert the Great to the Revolution: consisting of characters disposed in different classes, and adapted to a methodical catalogue of engraved British Heads: intended as an essay towards reducing our biography to system, and to a help to the knowledge of portraits: interspersed with a variety of anecdotes, and memoirs of a great number of persons, not to be found in any other biographical work. With a preface, shewing the utility of a collection of engraved portraits to supply the defect, and answer the various purposes, of medals, by the Rev. J. Granger, vicar of Shiplake in Oxfordshire. (Fifth edition, six volumes, London, 1824).

James Granger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (17 May 2009)

And that's just the title, mind you.

What's really remarkable about the book, however, is that Granger deliberately left blank pages in the book. He wanted people to be able add to his work, by putting in their own clippings from other books and sources. It started a whole hobby movement, apparently, which is where the word "grangerise" came from.

Granger's entry in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica has a bit more information, and the National Library of Australia has a collection of Granger's works, including a grangerized copy of his Biographical History of England. There are references to other grangerized copies elsewhere as well. (It would be wonderful to find scans of these copies somewhere, but so far no luck.) Other than that, there doesn't appear to be much more about the Rev. Granger online. Anyone else have more info? Please post it in the comments.

Perhaps Granger sought and encouraged public contribution to his work, because he knew that many people would have more access to information he didn't, and would be able to supplement his work in ways he couldn't. He may have also wanted to give people the freedom to take his work as a theme and create their own variations on it.

Interesting how these ideas have manifested themselves over time, not only in the publicly editable Wikipedia, but also in the maker, hacker and DJ aesthetics of creating derivative works. Meanwhile, people are still riffing on the idea of the modification of a physical book. One in particular comes to mind - Humument - and I've seen other examples of artists modifying books.

Good on ya, Rev.

The second post. Yes, the second.

2009-05-16T00:38:00.001-06:00

Many, many months ago, I started another blog. I won't even bother to tell you where. It has one entry. It was a pretty good entry - a mixture of whimsy and pretension, with a touch of optimism for things to come.

So much for optimism.

Now, in an attempt to drop the pretension, I am starting this new blog. It carries the same name as a Tumblr blog I started some months ago, which will now become the Timbledown Annex. Or something like that. It's where I've been storing links I find to interesting things, and share them with friends.

I'll continue to add to the Annex over time, more frequently than I plan to add to this one. This blog will now be the main blog, where I post things I've created - essays, pictures, the occasional bit of poetry perhaps, and any other thoughts I feel important enough to share with the world at large.

If I feel so inclined, I might import that first post from the other site here in future. But for now, I think starting with the second post first gives me a bit more freedom.

So, if you've stumbled upon Timbledown from elsewhere, or came here because you know me, welcome. I hope you come away with something interesting, but if not, well, there's always the next post.