Pastels on the lawn

Colorful places to rest
Grand Bend, Ontario, July 2007 [Click to enlarge]

My wife noticed these chairs sitting unoccupied on the sloping front lawn of a sleepy old inn overlooking the beachfront parking lot in this lakeside town. Alternately known as adirondack chairs or muskoka chairs, the colors almost begged to be photographed.

I didn't even have to ask. As I looked at her, she nodded at me and, smiling the smile of a wife who knows what drives me, told me to take a walk with my camera. She's cool that way.

I think we have a potential new candidate for our living room wall.

Your turn: This image continues to speak to me 10 days after I first took it. What's it saying to you?

One more thing: This isn't the first time I've explored these chairs. Click here to go back in time.

Caption This 27

Please suggest a creative name/caption for this photo [See below for details]
London, ON, December 2006 [Click to enlarge]

Being among the minority that does not celebrate Christmas, we've never experienced the joy of waiting in line to sit on Santa's knee. So the pictures we get of this annual tradition won't be the overpriced, rent-an-elf-taken, unfocused Polaroid variety. I'll be stealing them with my own camera when no one's looking, thank you very much.

As I walked the upper floor of nearby Masonville Place (wiki) with our kids last December, I peeked over the railing and saw a very fatigued Mall Santa below. I don't know what he's being paid, but I'm sure it isn't anywhere near enough. Bless him.

I share this image now because it's July, and we'll be elbow-deep in holiday-season madness before long. I just didn't want anyone to forget how much fun it is, even for the jolly man himself.

Your turn: Please come up with a snazzy, snappy, funny caption for this image. Call your friends and have them jump into the fray, too. All denominations welcome. I'll announce the winner next week.

And the winner of last week's Caption This is....JC for this gem: "She is always picking my brains"

I took the picture so quickly that I didn't notice the funny-looking thing behind the munchkin's ear. As I reviewed it later on, I kept asking myself what mom was stuffing into his ear. This quote nailed the bizarro thoughts that hit me as I stared at this image, high up in a lonely hotel room. Please take a moment to visit JC and share a congratulatory message or two.

Not sure how Caption This is played. Click here to go back to where it all began. All shall be explained. Enjoy!

Density, squared

The walled city
Shanghai, China, May 2007 [Click to enlarge]

It's difficult to explain just how densely populated this city is. The kind of image most often used to tell this story is typically a people-choked streetscape. And not to worry, I've got plenty of those in my archives. But it was this image, taken at 5:44 a.m., that will forever sear the incredible density of this place into my brain.

I remember sitting in my quiet perch on the very top floor of the hotel after taking this picture, trying to understand how such an architectural monstrosity could have been conceived. In the end, I gave up: I doubt any of this was a clean sheet design. It was likely added to in haphazard fashion over the years as needs grew and available space shrank. It was a set of constraints that the average North American likely would never understand. Which was why I was glad I got to witness something like this first-hand.

At that moment, I felt my understanding of the broader world expand just a little bit more. One doesn't judge this kind of discovery, after all. Rather, one must understand how it came to be.

Your turn: What do you think when you see a building like this?

Where the rubber hits the road

Traction
London, ON, June 2007

We've been riding bikes a lot lately. Our kids have been bitten by the cycling bug, often asking to go out after supper so they can get some seat time with us. Sometimes we take the dog outside, and sometimes I leave the dog in the house - where he proceeds to bark and cry at the window - so I can get on my own machine and ride alongside them.

I love knowing that the simple act of riding a bicycle, something that has defined me for so long, is now becoming a part of our kids' lives as well.

More on this soon. For now, I leave you with a view of my son's bike during a rare motionless moment.

Your turn: What does cycling mean to you?

One more thing: I rather like how this entry contrasts with Cyclical Geometry (if you haven't read it, feel free to click back.) Cycling in China and cycling on our cul-de-sac present two very different realities, yet they are amazingly similar as well. I suspect the legions of riders I saw when I was in Shanghai were all once just kids, too, taking their first tentative spins around the neighborhood. Just like ours.

Historic front porch

Iced tea, anyone?
London, ON, April 2007 [Click to enlarge]

An old veranda stands witness over the historic neighborhood, blending in perfectly with the trees and bushes that surround it.

Your turn: This house has just sold after being on the market for quite some time. What would a summer's evening on this porch look like? What kind of stories will the new owners be able to tell?

Can you Etch A Sketch?

From the world of the trivial and immaterial comes this...

It's been 47 years since the Etch A Sketch was released to a dumbfounded world. Deceptively simple on the surface, it survived at the top of my toy box long after everything else had either sunk permanently to the bottom or was mysteriously scooped into a garbage bag and left by the curb when I wasn't looking.

My Etch A Sketch survived through more hospital stays than I can count, and somewhat perversely it eventually became an icon of my upbringing. I wish I had held onto it. Maybe there's some garage sale-hunting (or craigslist, perhaps?) in my near future.

If you're feeling nostalgic for a time when toys didn't require batteries and an electrical engineering degree, you may find yourself - just as I did - taking a sketchy tour of the Ohio Art Company official website, the Wiki entry, Wired's take on it, and the inevitable online version - better known as Etchy - of this venerable toy.

Your turn: Can you share a thought about a childhood toy that mattered to you long after you morphed into an adult. What made it special to you? Why do some toys become meaningful classics while others are almost immediately relegated to that mythical forgotten pile?

Windows over an alleyway

Overlooked
London, Ontario, March 2007 [Click to enlarge]

Ever notice how some out-of-the-way alleyways seem to have a million windows and other vantage points, yet no one is ever actually visible in them?

Your turn: Why is that?

Obscene fruitography?

Bananarama
London, ON, March 2007 [Click to enlarge]

Forgive my indulgence: I'd like to revisit the theme of fruitography (if you want a good laugh, Google it. Then go see where it all began.) That's where I shoot closeup pictures of fruits and/or vegetables (no, let's not get started on vegography; one invented word for now is enough.) There's no real reason for this obsession beyond my desire to look at ordinary things in extraordinary ways.

I believe that bananas sit atop the fruit pyramid. There's something essentially perfect about these self-contained, nutrient-packed creations. The out-there color is an added bonus.

So I thought I'd observe my lunchtime dessert closeup before I wolfed it down.

Your turn: My next fruit of opportunity should be a...?

Cyclical geometry

Means to an end
Shanghai, China, May 2007

Between cars, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians, there's precious little open pavement in this city of 20 million people. Cyclists take to the road at their peril, it seems. Yet the way they approach this mode of transport is decidedly different than in North America.

Back home, we ride high-tech alloy wondermachines that cost more than my first car. Here, the average bike is an old, clunky beast of burden that doesn't seem to have ever been new.

Back home, we wear helmets, spandex shorts, gloves, shades and whatever other chic gear we've picked up at the bike store. Here, riders never wear helmets, and the clothes they ride in are the clothes they work and/or live in.

Back home, we ride for pleasure. A few of us commute, but we're usually the minority in an urban center. Here, it's an accepted mode of transport, with some bikes precariously loaded with more cargo and kidlets than I can stuff into my minivan.

As I peer through the viewfinder at this ancient machine, I wonder what its owner would think if he/she saw me ride by on my pink Specialized, wearing my helmet and related gear. I'd probably get a dismissive shrug as its owner got on and quietly pushed off on yet another daily commute. So different, yet so similar, all at the same time.

Your turn: Do you ride? Why?

Birthday boy

Sitting pretty for the camera
London, ON, July 2007 [Click to make the puppy into an adult]

Our dog, Frasier, celebrated his first birthday on Sunday. He can't read, of course. Nor can he understand the concept of calendars, orbital mechanics or Hallmark cards. So as far as he was concerned, today was yet another day in his charmed dog's life. But to our kids, today was special.

Noah spent much of the day drawing cards in various shapes - dog bone, party hat, dog head, etc. - and taping them up throughout the living room. He placed them wherever the dog was likely to see them, but too high for him to actually get to. See, our beloved dog is quite the paper-chewer.

Dahlia sang him the happy birthday song as soon as he woke up this morning. She sang it a few times, with different tempos, and at increasing volume. He didn't seem to mind.

Zach ensured he had extra food in his bowl this morning - notable because the smell of Frasier's food usually makes Zach nauseous - and also made sure my wife scheduled time to go to the pet store to pick up a gift for him.

I know. Birthday gifts for a dog. Ridiculous.

Yet I can't help but think that this was an entirely appropriate way to mark a milestone in this furry being's life. In a year when he went from the well-documented birth of a purebred to a family that clearly couldn't or wouldn't care for him, and left him in a cage for upwards of 18 hours a day before we adopted him, it mattered that on his birthday he had a happy day surrounded by people who adore him. It mattered that our kids got to bring a neglected pet into their home, that they learned how to love something more than any tchatchke they could get at a store. It mattered that this little one's life got happier as the year progressed, as did ours.

For him, today wasn't any different than any day in his life these days: He plays, he gives kisses, he gets hugged a lot, he sleeps, often on us, and he chews up the occasional newspaper and shoe. But for our kids, today allowed them to formalize what they've learned about pet ownership since we welcomed him into our home almost four months ago. As a parent, it was a joy to watch.

Your turn: What do you wish for a dog for his birthday? Be creative!

Caption This 26

Please give this picture a name and/or caption [See below for how this works]
Shanghai, China, May 2007 [Click image to enlarge]

Sometimes, the best way to capture impromptu photos when visiting a faraway or otherwise new-to-you place is to simply walk and shoot. No need to overthink the composition: just point your camera at whatever captures your eye. You can figure out meanings and settings later on.

Which is what I did as I walked along the riverfront in Shanghai. It was a hot and humid afternoon, and I was, as usual, lagging behind my very patient and understanding group of colleagues. And as I saw this image of a family out for a walk by the water, I knew it was a keeper. In this case, one shot was all it took. Now it's your turn to name it.

Your turn: Please come up with a caption or title for this photo. Post it in a comment. Post as many captions as you wish: I give props to multiple-submitters. I'll post the winner next week. Need to refresh on the Caption This rules? Click here.

About last week's winner: The picture of two servicemen sitting atop their Hercules transport plane piqued a lot of response. Awareness takes it with, "Stan and Joe opted for the economy tickets. Little did they know it was more than surviving without complimentary nuts." If you haven't seen her site, you're missing out on one multitalented Canadian.

One more thing: It's been half a year since I started Caption This. I didn't really think it would last as it has....I don't typically stick with regular features on my blog. But this one seems to have hit a bit of a nerve, and I'm really enjoying the week-to-week progression. I hope you are, too.

Toothopolis is under attack

Too much choice
London, ON, July 2007

The grocery store of my childhood was a homey place where I recognized the names and faces of most of the folks who worked there. It was small enough that I could see each corner when we walked in. Product choices were pretty simple: pick from the one or two options, then move on.

Today? Not so much. I'm in the toothpaste aisle of the local Loblaws, our version of an oversized temple of conspicuous consumption. It took us well over five minutes to decipher the eight different kinds of Crest toothpaste. I was about to use my Moto Q to research these offerings online when my wife figured it out and made her choice.

Every item in our cart requires a similar process: stand in front of the overloaded shelves as you make a purchase decision only marginally less complex than that required to grant launch authority to a space shuttle.

This plethora of choice drives the need for airport-sized superstores whose dairy sections come with their own zip code. On a day when the Live Earth concerts decry global warming and prompt us to act, I wonder about the role that supersized commercialism and mega-choice in places like this grocery store play in our current environmental pickle.

I miss the human-sized stores of my childhood, and wonder if I'm the only one who feels that way.

Your turn: Am I? What message do today's superstores send to you?

Hey, that's my plane!

Air Canada Airbus A340, waiting for flight
Shanghai, China, May 2007 [Click to enlarge]

I took this picture right around the same time as this one. I had a little time to kill before boarding, so out came the camera as I tried to capture my last glimpses of this place before taking off.

The geometry of an airplane is too compelling to leave be. I think I could walk around this particular bird all day and shoot pictures for as long as my battery and memory card would hold out. Maybe someday soon I'll get to do just that. For now, I'll just leave this straightforward image on your screen.

Your turn: The immediate moments before you take off...what's going through your head?

Woody and curved

Timeless design
St. Thomas, Ontario, June 2007 [Click to enlarge]

I took a quick time out from craning my neck at the airplanes to catch a glimpse or two of the lovely old cars that were on display on the flight line. The vehicles provided a nostalgic backdrop to the raw display of testosterone-driven power, and gave air show attendees a chance to slow things down for a minute before the next act took to the skies.

I found this woody wagon in the shade of a U.S. Navy training aircraft. Its sinuous curves and rich surfaces reminded me that beautiful designs are timeless, and we as a society are so intent on pursuing the Next Big Thing that we don't spend enough time seeing where we've come from. Pity that, because we might learn something about ourselves if we took the time.

Your turn: Is nostalgia all it's cracked up to be?

How many years?

15.

That, according to the calendar, is how long my wife and I have been married. We celebrated our anniversary today by once again going to the beach in Grand Bend and just being us. It was an amazing day.

But it just doesn't feel like it's been that long. In so many ways, it feels like it's gone by in a blink. Just yesterday we got married. Just yesterday we rented our first apartment and set up our first home. Just yesterday we decided to start a family. Just yesterday we welcomed our son into the world and drove him home with the hazards on. Just yesterday we pulled up stakes and moved to another city. Just yesterday we added two more amazing little folks to our family and watched our three kids grow into incredible people in their own right.

Just yesterday I saw her for the first time and felt like my life had changed in some inexplicably good way. Just yesterday I rode my bike home from her house on a warm summer's evening and knew that she was the one. I wish I knew how 15 years seem to have gone by seemingly overnight.

On the other hand, 15 feels like forever. I don't remember what life was like without her. I don't remember a world that didn't have three smaller versions of us intertwined in our lives. I don't remember what our home was like when it didn't fill slowly with patter and little voices in the morning. I don't remember what it was like to not hear her voice as I slowly awoke. I don't remember what it was like to sleep alone. I don't remember what it was like to not be thinking about her every waking moment. I don't remember what it was like to write before I had my inspiration. I don't wish to ever remember what my life was like before she was a part of it.

It seems like yesterday, and it seems like forever. At the same time. I can't begin to explain the dichotomy, but I don't think I need to. I just need to say thank you for that lightning bolt of incredible luck all those years ago. I just need to say thank you to her for knowing we were bashert (fated) even before I did. I just need to say thank you to her for somehow keeping our family's life on track despite the craziness that I have always brought to it. It isn't easy being married to an always-on creative like me. Yet she somehow makes it seem easy.

Simply put, I am what I am because of her. My life wouldn't have been anywhere near as fulfilling if I hadn't experienced it with her. Indeed, all of this was meant to be.

Call me greedy, but I want a lot more than 15 more years. I don't know how one person deserves as much as I have. But now that I've had it for as long as I've had it, I wish it would never end.

If you haven't met her, please visit her blog and share a wish with her.

Your turn: The Flintstones "Happy Anniversary" song is once again ringing in my ears. How do you mark major anniversaries and/or milestones in your life? Do you count your blessings?

One more thing: I reread my entries from last year and the year before, just because. They brought me peace. If you're new to the blog and you want a smile, feel free to click back in time and see where I come from.

Six more...

Snowbird on the ground
St. Thomas, Ontario, June 2007 [Click to enlarge]

Canada lost another six soldiers in Afghanistan yesterday, their lives ended when a roadside bomb obliterated their armored vehicle in the Panjwaii district, just outside the city of Kandahar.

When we were at the air show barely two weeks ago, we were privileged to meet so many members of Canada's military - any of whom could just as easily become victims if and when they are sent to this precarious region.

There's been a spirited debate over whether public service vehicles in Canadian cities should be carrying magnetic yellow ribbons to express support for the troops. The small-minded among us have been flooding editorial pages and radio talk shows, trying to convince anyone who will listen that they oppose war and they won't support a ribbon campaign.

I'll be perfectly blunt when I conclude they're all morons. You can oppose our involvement in an armed conflict - Canada in Afghanistan, or the U.S. in Iraq - but still express support for the men and women who are fighting and dying there.

I pray for those lost souls tonight, and for those among us who can't appreciate what these brave individuals and their families have lost on behalf of the rest of us.

Your turn: Thoughts?

On language...

Need a copywriter?
Shanghai, China, May 2007

When I was in China, I found myself actively looking for English signs. My going-in assumption was that they'd often read funny because of the massive structural differences between eastern and western languages.

As you can see from this image, I wasn't disappointed. I found this sign in a very chic-looking multi-floor department store. The store was plastered from top to bottom with signs like this, and I couldn't leave the building without taking at least one picture to remember the scene.

I post this not out of mockery or disrespect. Their English is light years better than my Mandarin, after all. But it was too cute to pass up.

Your turn: Got any funny anecdotes from the world of translation?

The neighbors we meet

Winging it
Pacific Ocean, Eastbound, May 2007 [Click to enlarge]

When you're sitting in a tube made of alloy for 15 hours, accompanied by hundreds of people who don't speak your language, you find yourself finding little ways to amuse yourself. Regular readers of my blog already know that at some point, I'm going to pull out my camera. This trip - back from China - was no different.

This image, captured just as the sun rose off our port side, was the one that helped me connect with my neighbour. Doris was a middle-aged Chinese-Canadian from Toronto on her way home from visiting her father in Harbin. As soon as I took this image, she asked me about the pictures I take, and asked to see the ones I already had stored on the camera. I gave her a quick slide show.

Thankfully, I didn't bore her: She pulled her own camera out - a Nikon, yay! - and shared the pictures of her family. Every picture had a story, and she smiled from within as she shared each one. We chatted for a while, and she tutored me expertly in holding chopsticks when our meals came.

Funny how miles above a desolate ocean so far from home, I briefly made a complete stranger's day, all because I decided to take a picture or two (or more...) She made my day, too.

Your turn: Ever had a complete stranger give you an impromptu slide show? Do you have a stranger-type travel story you'd like to share?

Canada Day, Eh?

I. Am. Canadian.
St. Thomas, Ontario, June 2007
[Click to enlarge]

Call me a patriotic sap, but I love being Canadian.

Yes, I'll admit I whine about our relatively high taxes, our governments that seem to have raised corruption and nepotism to a high art, our lack of inexpensive data plans for BlackBerries (we invented the things, dammit!) and the ridiculously stereotypical winters.

Come to think of it, I whine quite a bit. But when I'm travelling in some far off place and I see my first sign of Canada on the way home, I can't help it if I feel just a little cozy inside. It's a great place to call home, and a welcome place to return to. There's a sense of empathy within this country that I just don't see elsewhere. For all its warts, this is a country that still hasn't forgotten how to look out for those in need.

Since I grew up with the concept of Tikkun Olam - repairing the world - as a regular touchstone, it's nice to know that my country sorta echoes my own personal sentiments.

Which is my way of saying that as I enjoy the Canada Day statutory holiday (thanks, government people, for giving us the day off!) with my brood, I think of the generations of folks - leaders, citizens, people from near and far - who have helped shape this place. It's far from perfect. But it's ours, and it feels like a pretty righteous place to lead a life.

Your turn: Are you a fan of your country? Why/why not?

About this image: I shot it surreptitiously at an air show. This shoulder belongs to a member of the Snowbirds ground crew. He was walking the security ropes, ensuring no one got too close to the planes or the equipment. True to fashion, he spoke jovially with everyone he met and he handed out stickers to the kids. A real Canadian hero, in my book, especially considering how he and his entire team were still grieving the recent fatal crash of one of their pilots.

Caption This 25

Please think up a clever caption/title for this photo [details below]
St. Thomas, Ontario, June 2007 [Click to enlarge]

These two crew members are winding down on top of their C-130E Hercules after spending the day showing countless visitors - including my children - the ins and outs of their fantastic machine. I used my long lens to pick off this image without them ever knowing I was there. Please start thinking of an appropriate caption or title for this photo. More on this in a bit, but first some housekeeping:

Last week's Caption This image of a geometric subdivision taken from the sky garnered lots of interest. Courtney takes it for her gem, "I hate playing Monopoly with my Dad." David merits special mention for his "Sheep Think." Dave gets my eternal thanks for "Levy-town" and Roxanne is my hero for digging up Little Boxes, the poem by Malvina Reynolds that came to mind as I tripped the shutter.

As an aside, I studied this poem in high school under an English teacher who taught me for four years and never missed an opportunity to push my buttons. I hated her then, but eventually realized that she saw my potential as a writer and didn't want me to let it lie fallow. I find it fascinating how a picture that slipped past my scratched plastic aircraft window in a blink could evoke such powerful memories.

Your turn: Please come up with a caption for this photo. I can't promise fame or fortune, but it'll be a neat process regardless. I'll post the winner next Sunday. Not sure what Caption This is all about? Click here.

One more thing: It's Canada Day today. I'm going to don some appropriately-themed red-and-white clothing and spend the day with a very excited brood of little people who look a bit like me. The kids really love this holiday, and my wife and I are going to find some family-friendly way to remember the day. Monday's a statutory holiday as well, so I'll write about the holiday in earnest tomorrow. For now, it's party time in the Great White North, eh.