Perspective in brick and mortar

Not so plain after all
London, ON, August 2007

I had gone out to pick up one of our kids from a birthday party at a local bowling alley. I was a bit early, so while the little folks consumed every last morsel of unnatural-looking icing and ran around the room a few more times just because they could, I went for a stroll outside.

There wasn't much to see in this place, a busy strip mall that occupies one of the busiest corners in the city. The plain-looking facade was like that of any other strip mall in this city that's defined by a surplus of forgettable architecture.

Yet as I stood in the late afternoon sun and took in the scene, it once again occurred to me that even the forgettable can be memorable if we choose to frame it just so. The basic subject matters less than how we choose to view it.

Your turn: Something plain that became less so when you chose to look at it differently. Please discuss.

Cover me with warmth

SPF
Grand Bend, ON, September 2007

Nesting or cocooning are behaviors often associated with preparing to endure another long, cold winter. We hunker down and hold onto things we hold dear, that bring us warmth and comfort.

So as the winds outside blow increasingly cold, I find myself spending a bit more time looking over pictures I took when the breezes were warmer. I linger over them and let the images get absorbed into my psyche. This image in particular warms me. I see little snippets of family life, taking in what was likely the last visit to the beach before everyone returned to school and work. It's pictures like these that remind me of my own childhood experiences in these places where the land ends and the big blue sea begins.

It's the photographic equivalent of a bowl of hearty soup, a rocking chair and a big, soft comforter.

Your turn: What do your nesting rituals look/feel like when the weather turns? Why do they matter to you?

Wordless Wednesday - Twin towers

Laval, Quebec, August 2007

Who's a media whore?

That would be me. It's a title I wear without shame. Why be ashamed of something I enjoy?

So after last week's getting-my-name-online/in-print festivities (see here), this week seems to be continuing the trend:

• InformationWeek. Verizon's Open Move Hastens Wireless Market Transformation. Byline Richard Martin.
• BetaNews. Google's storage service appears close to launch. Byline Ed Oswald.
• Toronto Star. RIM may be next with touch screen. Byline Chris Sorensen. This was by far my favorite. Anytime I can disagree with a Gartner analyst and someone from my now-former employer, life is good. Even better, they tossed my name into the sub-head: Consultant Levy argues Waterloo firm is anxious to lure more consumers.

Your turn: Media whoredom. Good? Bad? Please discuss.

Forgotten

Don't look away
London, ON, November 2007 [Click to embiggen]

The irony of posting this image so soon after posting an entry on beauty isn't lost on me. I came across this sad scene as I was walking home recently. I hovered for a bit on the sidewalk, wondering if I would dare take a picture. After pacing back and forth at least half a dozen times - and likely prompting passing motorists to think I had overindulged in an old bottle of Baby Duck - I pulled the camera out and started shooting.

Why on earth would I take pictures of a dead rodent? Simple:

• Photography isn't always about beauty. Sometimes, the lens captures less glorious views of our world. For better or worse, occasionally we need to get a stark look at reality, too.
• If I hadn't taken this picture, I doubt anyone else would have. Imagine living a life, then being completely forgotten.
• Shouldn't the arts provoke us to think a little? If this photo jars you a bit, then it's done its job.

So there you have it: I've taken a picture of a dead critter and left you all wondering what the hell I was thinking.

Your turn: What the hell was I thinking? What the hell are you thinking as you ponder this macabre scene?

Caption This 46

Please caption this image
[Click here for instructions on how Caption This works]
Toronto, ON, May 2007 [Click to embiggen]

One of the things I loved about being a globetrotting analyst was the flying. One of the things I hated about it was flying alone. Hanging out in strange airports and having no one to interact with for hours on end gave me lots of time to stare out the windows with a sense of fascination and wonder not too far removed from that of our children.

I was on my way to China on this morning, moving through Toronto's Pearson International Airport to catch the second of three flights that would take me further from home than I had ever been. For some reason, my eye kept falling on things that said "Canada". I guess I really am a homebody after all.

Your turn: Please suggest a caption for this image. Submit as many comments as you wish. I'll announce the winner next week.

About last week's image of an alleyway in London: A mysterious bricked-in pathway just off an old street resulted in some compellingly brilliant and diverse suggestions. Heidi takes it this week with this wonderful phrase: "But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."

Honorable mentions also go to:

• Judy: "This way to The Really Secret Garden!"
• Wendy: "Gateway to adventure"
• Mom: "Enter at your own risk."
• Terri: "May your path be long...and not end with a closed gate."
• Miss Meliss: "Urban Hideaway"
• Moon: "It's the simple paths that lead us to the most magnificant of places."
• d.o.m. dan: "Where the streets have no name"
• BreadBox: "Forbidding gate, secret garden...."

Thank you again, everyone, for playing week after week and turning this into a highlight for me and my family. We love reading your creative suggestions. Here's to many more...

The BlackBerry controversy continues

I've stepped in it again. Earlier this week, I was interviewed for a piece on the next generation BlackBerry platform (the 9000-series, for the geekier-inclined) by Dan Jones of Unstrung. The article, RIM's Touching New BlackBerry Plans, was published late Tuesday.

As things go in the world of the Internet, the piece was picked up in some notable places. In some cases, it's sparked some, um, not-very-nice responses from largely anonymous blog commenters. Here's a rundown of some of the more fun ones:

• Boy Genius Report. This is my favorite of all. You've got to love when teenaged fanboys in their mothers' basements get all hot and bothered by something I've said. Funny how no one has the guts to actually post a real name or link. Imagine that.
• Gizmodo. Another notable geek-gadget blog.
• ZDNet. Where Russell Shaw calls me a clued-in analyst (whew, at least one person knows how to be nice!)
• And others: PC World, ZDNet UK, and even a blog in Australia.

Another notable media hit: Chris Sorensen of the Toronto Star published an article, Internet 'brownouts' feared by 2010 as user traffic soars, where I was quoted debunking the claims of Nemertes Research, a small U.S. outfit. I did a number of interviews with CBC Radio stations across Canada as well, and as a result I suspect I won't be receiving a Christmas card from the Nemerteites anytime soon.

(The piece was reprinted in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record and the Hamilton Spectator. The Electricity Forum also picked it up. I know, I'm still scratching my head over that last one.)

Your turn: Does it take courage to slag someone from behind the wall of anonymity? Do you think folks would be a little more diplomatic if they had to attach their names to everything they post online?

Urban mural

Trees on brick
London, ON, October 2007
[Click to enlarge]

I'm a big fan of anything that takes the endlessly repetitive landscape of a built-up, run-down city and tries to make it unique and memorable. Even when it's done on a small scale, like this mural on an old building in London's east end, I have to believe that it improves the life of the neighborhood - and of its residents - in some way.

I don't know who painted this. But whoever it was clearly saw a reality that extended well beyond the dusty brick and empty glass storefronts that surrounded this place. A sliver of hope where there previously was none: I like the feel of that. I hope you do, too.

Your turn: Something small that gives hope. Please discuss.

Beauty redux

Isn't she lovely?
London, ON, November 2007

I take lots of pictures of things. But I'm never happier than when I'm taking photos of the people who matter most, who I love, who love me, who surround me and make me what I am.

I took this one as we set off on another grand family road trip. The kids were belted into the wondervan, everyone was happy and fed, and suddenly my wife was there, and I had to remember that moment.

This picture reminds me that sometimes you just need to pause and remind yourself why the life you lead is infinitely better than anything you ever hoped for. Or deserved.

Your turn: You're lucky because...?

One more thing: I often take pictures of my family. Just because. Here's an earlier one of my wife.

Crossed wires

The local grid
Shanghai, China, May 2007

If the devil is supposed to be in the details, then one has to wonder why we don't pay more attention to the little things around us.

When I was in Shanghai, I took big pictures of the skyline (see here and here), but it was the little pictures that sealed my memories of this remarkable place.

The so-called small views have an attainable reality that the big ones often lack. The people who live here don't spend all their time staring into the distance. Rather, they spend their days navigating the blocks near their workplaces, their homes, their schools. The things they encounter as they go about their lives make up a much smaller vista than the tourist books would have you believe.

These otherwise forgettable overhead wires may not merit any kind of extraordinary attention. But they're real, they're local, and they help me remember what it felt like to stand on the street corner and shoot this. Somehow, the broad vistas failed to accomplish this.

Your turn: Small, local, real. Why is this important to you?

Wordless Wednesday - Craggy

Climb this
London, ON, October 2007

Some photos remind me of my mood when I took them. Yes, even I have gray days.

Your turn: I know this is Wordless Wednesday and all, but I'm a journalist. Ergo, I'm anything BUT wordless. So what do you think of this photo? Is it moody to you?

Letter to the supermarket weenies

Way back in September, I posted an entry about a couple of teenaged grocery store employees who shot a satirical video and were subsequently fired and sued by the good folks at the A&P (click here to read it and see the video.)

The company sued them for $1 million, saying this was the amount of business they lost because of the video. I found that laughable, and tossed it around my head for a bit. After about a month of stewing, I was feeling somewhat self righteous one evening. So I wrote a nasty letter to A&P and e-mailed it to them. I thought you might find it an entertaining read:

To whom it may concern,

I find it amusing that you use value of lost business as validation for the size of your lawsuit against these two young men. Do you really think that you lost $1 million in business immediately following the release of this video?

If you were managed by individuals who were perhaps more aware of how companies should adapt to the new social media-aware economy, you might have seen this video as a marketing opportunity. Instead, you've betrayed your old-school approach to management and convinced the next generation of grocery shoppers that you really have no clue.

If anything threatens your bottom line, it is the substandard way in which your stores are run. To wit, I went shopping at the store near my home here in London, Ontario a couple of weeks ago. From afar, I noticed a stand of blueberries and thought on impulse that I should bring home a basket.

As I approached the stand, I noticed the entire area was infested with swarming fruit flies. I alerted an employee and was greeted with a shrug. I escalated the issue to the manager on duty, and was told that's how they were received. Needless to say, I didn't buy the blueberries. Or anything else.

A parody video by two young men with a future isn't going to keep me from shopping at A&P. Fly-encrusted fruit displays will.

Carmi Levy
London, Ontario, Canada
writteninc AT gmail DOT com

I e-mailed this note at 8:41 p.m. on October 10 of this year. I haven't heard back from them, nor do I expect to. Great customer relations, A&P.

Your turn: Do you complain to companies? Why/why not? Got a story to share?

Please don't squeeze the Charmin

Sad news from the grocery aisle: Dick Wilson is dead. Folks of a certain age may remember him as Mr. Whipple, the curmudgeonly grocer who in hundreds of television commercials begged shoppers not to squeeze the Charmin.

No cause of death was listed, but one presumes it had nothing to do with his little TP addiction.

I always thought that squeezing the toilet paper somehow violated some sort of unwritten supermarket law, that some things simply didn't fly in the once-genteel grocery stores of a now-forgotten age. Either way, the phrase was a cultural touchstone for much of my childhood.

Here's a peek at the classic franchise:



Additional links of note, because I know you have so much free time to read this:

• Mr. Whipple wiki entry
• Charmin wiki entry
• The Charmin gateway (yes, a toilet paper brand with its own web site. We're doomed.)

Mr. Wilson was 91. Shopping won't be the same without him.

Your turn: Do you squeeze it? Come on, be honest!

A little birdie told me

Tweet
London, ON, November 2007 [Click to enlarge]

Our little community is home to some remarkable talent. Recently, a noted artist, Erica Reshef, opened a studio in our area. Known as ArtVenture, it's the answer to my wife's longstanding desire to take an art course and explore her potential. We've also registered our kids here, and this bird awaited our youngest son when I dropped him off earlier this month.

The studio faces west, so the late-autumn sun casts a brilliant light into the front of the studio. When it became clear that the weather would cooperate on this day, she set up these small birds on the floor and had the kids work with the shadows that they cast on the paper below.

My kid gets to explore this world laid out by an artist whose creativity and ability make most visitors' jaws drop when they see her work. Lucky him. Lucky us.

Your turn: An artistic experience that meant something to you. Please discuss.

Caption This 45

Please caption this image
[Click here for instructions on how Caption This works]
London, ON, October 2007
[Click to enlarge]

Sometimes, I wander the streets of my burg and deliberately look for scenes that make me think. I usually seek out older areas, where the buildings aren't necessarily high-rent. As a rule I won't peek into windows - the whole peeping tom thing, after all - but stealing a look down a forlorn alleyway seems to be socially acceptable.

I liked this view as soon as I reviewed it on my camera's screen, but over a month after I first took it I'm still having difficulty figuring out what to call it. Simply put, I don't know what stories this place might tell.

This is where I turn it over to you...

Your turn: Please caption this image. Submit as many suggestions as you wish.

About last week's image - drinking and driving in Shanghai: Of all the pictures I brought home, this one more than most illustrated the social and cultural differences between our respective societies. I guess some things get overlooked as a society that's been suppressed by communism for generations suddenly discovers the lure of capitalism.

BreadBox takes it with this sardonic take: "In an attempt to curb population growth, China encourages drinking and driving"

Honorable mentions go to:

• Scottenvonrotten: "The problem with having a Dewars in China is 3 seconds later you want another one."
• Carolyn: "Highway HopScotch"
• Sister AE: "Now THAT'S what I call a drink for the road!"
• Anne: "The directions say 'exit before scotch' (hic), not after."

More next week. Until then, happy captioning!

Checkmate

Waiting for battle
Laval, QC, November 2007 [Click to enlarge]

Our kids like chess. They started playing it at my parents' house, and I took this image after they finished playing there during a recent visit. I like that even at their age, they can find common ground around a game that has nothing to do with video game consoles and wireless Internet connections. I also like that it gives them another opportunity to connect with their grandparents. It's often the little things that matter most.

Your turn: What is this scene saying to you?

More tea, please

A peek into my mother's tea box
Laval, QC, November 2007 [Click to embiggen]

I'm notorious within my extended family for suddenly zoning out in the middle of a conversation as my eye catches something. Sometimes, it isn't something I see as much as something that pops into my mind, an idea that I think would be cool to somehow turn into a picture.

Visiting my parents gives me ample opportunity to explore with my lens. As time passes, they're becoming more supportive of my oddball approach to photography, often encouraging me to take pictures of things they find interesting.

And so it was with my mom's tea box. I liked the lines of it, so I scooped it up from the dining room table and brought it to the couch for an impromptu shoot. All the while, my parents sat nearby and watched, smiling. It was a moment I'll remember more for their reaction than for the picture I took.

Your turn: How do you share your photography with others?

Curved atrium

Let there be light
Seattle, WA, May 2006

I look up a lot. I think most folks spend so much time staring down or immediately ahead that they miss a whole lot of interesting stuff going on just above their heads.

I took this one at the base of Seattle's Space Needle as I wandered around the gift shop. It struck me as a particularly cheery place, with the kind of view that, while not as overtly spectacular as the ones from the top of the structure, was memorable in its own way.

As I squeezed the shutter, I smiled to myself as I realized that everyone would be taking pictures from the top, but only I would be taking this particular scene home. Sometimes, it's comforting to be contrarian.

Your turn: You're different. How?

One more thing: I did take a picture from up top. Click here to see it.

Peace Tower

The center of the country
Ottawa, ON, August 2006

The Parliament Buildings are home to Canada's elected government. They are the spiritual focal point of the country, the place you come to when you want to understand how democracy works in this country. Canadians are somewhat reserved when it comes to expressing their sense of patriotism. But when you walk around Parliament Hill, you can almost feel the pride that folks have in these tangible icons of the country.

This was our kids' first-ever visit to Ottawa. We had stopped here for a couple of days on our way home from Montreal. Our youngest son kept craning his neck, trying to see to the top of this structure, the Peace Tower, that is the most prominent feature of Centre Block. He was six at the time, obviously impressed by the sheer presence of these structures.

He was also hungry and cranky at the time, and wouldn't let me take his picture. So I did the next best thing by trying to capture the scene from his perspective.

Your turn: What do you see when you crane your own neck and take in this scene. Look deeply and think big.

Wordless Wednesday - Colorful

They melt in your mouth, not in your hand
Toronto, ON, September 2007 [Click to embiggen]

Your turn: Does a jolt of color help offset the seasonal descent into grayness?

One more thing: I'm apparently becoming addicted to taking pictures of brightly colored candy - Smarties, Glosettes, Reese's Pieces, Peanut M&Ms, you name it. If it's edible, I'll shoot it. If you're hungry, you may want to pause before following these links. Just sayin'.