Where clean begins

Not quite forgettable
London, ON, July 2009 [Click to enlarge]

About this photo: It's laundry week all week long as Thematic Photographic explores the process of taking dirty clothes and making them clean again. I realize it seems odd, but if it challenges you to get out of your photographic comfort zone, then it will turn out to have been a worthwhile choice. You game? Click here.

You see things differently when you've got time to kill and not a whole lot to do in the interim. While I sat on an old church pew waiting for our clothes to finish tumbling, I found my eyes wandering around the laundromat. Where some folks might find a place like this to be forgettable, or even ugly, I would beg to differ. There's something honest about a place that doesn't pretend to be anything more than it already is, that goes about its business quietly without drawing much attention to itself.

The more I think about it, the more I realize the same kind of thing applies to people, as well.

Your turn: This scene could tell so many stories. Got one?

Vignette - Hung out to dry

Energy efficient
Montreal, QC, May 2008

About this photo: This photo supports this week's Thematic Photographic theme, laundry. Yes, I am indeed that weird. Head over here for the launch entry that (hopefull) explains my insanity. And have fun with it!

The scene: A sunny Sunday afternoon a year ago May. I'm on the slopes of Montreal's Mount Royal. I've just parked the car and am walking up the hill with my wife and my mother. We're headed to the hospital to visit my father, who's been here for much of the week, another chapter in an ever lengthening book.

It's a stunningly beautiful day that stands in stark contrast to the reason that we're here and the generally depressed state of the surrounding neighborhood. You don't walk alone here at night. And even during the day, you keep your eyes open. I'm feeling subdued as I fall behind my wife and mom, and as I look for some kind of goodness in a landscape that seems to offer none, my eyes fall upon a colorful third floor balcony at the back of an otherwise forgettable tenement. Laundry flaps in the wind, defying the drab of the surrounding area with a spirit that seems completely out of place in a place where no one seems to smile.

I know I'll fall further behind if I take the time to take the shot, but I decide I need to do something to break myself out of my melancholy mood before I head upstairs and attempt to accomplish the same feat with my father. It's never easy, of course, but no one ever said it had to be, right?

Your turn: Beauty in a decidedly unbeautiful place and time. Please discuss.

Thematic Photographic 60 - Laundry

Round and round
London, ON, July 2009 [Click to enlarge]

You find the most extraordinary things in the most ordinary of places. I wrote about the laundromat here, and in the weeks since we welcomed our bright red washer and dryer set into our home, I've thought about this unassuming fluorescent-lit place in an unassuming strip mall near a busy midtown intersection. Like so many of life's experiences, this one changed me just a little.

I understand how you might conclude that I've lost it. Wouldn't be the first time, I wager, and likely won't be the last, either. That's all part of the fun, as life wouldn't be quite as enjoyable a trip if we always looked at it from the same perspective.

So I'd like to turn our lenses on laundry for the next week. It's the kind of thing we do often but rarely think about - and certainly never photograph. It doesn't garner headlines, merit celebrations or otherwise draw attention to itself. It lives in the fringes of our homes, in basements, mudrooms, closets or, in many cases, down the hall or street.

But without it, the things we take for granted simply don't happen.

Your turn: Have fun exploring this week's theme. At its simplest, take a laundry-themed picture, post it to your blog, then paste a link - or a mention - in a comment here. Sharing and hilarity shall ensue. Here's more info on how Thematic Photographic works:

• Every Wednesday evening, at precisely 7 o'clock Eastern, I post a new Thematic Photographic entry.
• Each entry has a unique theme. This week's is...laundry!
• You post a similarly themed image over on your blog.
• You paste a link to your entry in a comment here.
• If you've already posted something that fits (on a blog, Facebook, MySpace, wherever) simply post the link to the existing entry. Old or new, all photos are welcome.
• You may post as many photos or links as you wish. For the next week, I'll be supporting this theme with a related picture/posting each day. I encourage you to do the same. This is all about sharing, so feel free to share to your heart's content!
• Please share this link with friends, too, and encourage them to join in. The more, the merrier.
• And please accept my thanks for your enthusiasm. Your participation has made TP a true highlight for me each and every week.

Spray me

Quicksilver?
London, ON, July 2009

It doesn't get more elemental than water. With it, we have life. Without it, not so much. Optically, it's quite likely one of the most diverse subjects for a photographer - or any other artist, for that matter. It's also hellish to capture cleanly, especially at close range. Exposure, focus and composition are especially challenging when an alternately reflective and transparent stream threatens to douse your lens.

Which explains why I enjoy it as much as I do.

Your turn: Would it be as much fun if it were easy? How does water inspire you?

Almost forgot...

This photo begins the long, slow process of winding down our most recent Thematic Photographic theme, elemental. You're still welcome to submit something by clicking here.

Tonight at 7:00 EDT, I'll be posting next week's theme. It will be...laundry.

I know, I'm odd that way. Enjoy!

Nortel's post-bankruptcy popularity

Sometimes, you have to disappear for a bit to get folks to appreciate you. Nortel's learning this the hard way after a years-long streak of bad luck and stupidity (mostly stupidity) that saw it lose $7 billion, tens of thousands of employees (and their pensions), and any credibility it once had as Canada's high-flying poster child of technological leadership.

The beleaguered company finally declared bankruptcy in January, and now a veritable circus has erupted around the sale of its remaining assets. This week, the battle revolves around the Wireless unit. Interestingly, everyone wants in, and as always, I've got some rather pointed opinions on what it means to Canadians, and why this issue represents something of a turning point for the future of tech in this country. If we get it right, we essentially still have a future on a global scale. If we botch it and give away the farm, we open the door to a gutted tech landscape and a branch office mentality for time immemorial.

Simple, really, and now would be a really good time for some leadership from the folks we elected to, you know, lead.

[Oops, sorry I got a little carried away there. I guess I care about this stuff. Lots.]

As often happens when a major tech/business story flares up, my phone's been ringing with requests asking me to help make sense of it all. Earlier today, I spoke with CBC Newsworld's Nancy Wilson (can't find the video, but they quoted me here), 570 News Kitchener's Gary Doyle, CHQR Calgary's Dave Rutherford, and, coolness of coolness, am scheduled to do a live interview with CTV's Canada AM tomorrow (Wed.) at 7:10 a.m. EDT.

I guess it'll be a long night of catching up on the regular work that still needs doing. No rest for the wicked...

This just in: Video of Wednesday morning's Canada AM interview with Seamus O'Regan is available here. Don't say you weren't warned :)

Storm's coming

Echoes
London, ON, August 2008

About this photo: It's elemental week, all week long, here at Written Inc. Click here to get into the elemental groove.

The first photos I ever took were stark black-and-whites using a simple - and simply bulletproof - manual-everything rangefinder camera that my grandparents might have been comfortable using. I was at camp, and the leader of the photography unit handed me the camera and told me to come back in two hours with no more pictures left on the roll. With 36 scenes to capture and a nearly empty stretch of green mountain terrain north of Montreal, off I went.

First lesson: no color, so I couldn't use it as a crutch to make an otherwise lousy composition seem interesting. All I had was basic light and basic composition - and absolutely zero ability to master either.

I long ago lost track of the photos I took that day, but I do remember willing myself to keep it simple, to not get too ambitious, to keep the scenes in my viewfinder from overwhelming a camera I didn't know, film that was color-blind and a newbie-photog's sense of...well, nothingness.

To this day, I remember what it felt like to strip it all down to the most bare of essentials. I had no choice, of course, because I may as well have been flying blind. But these days, with equipment that would seem Star Trek-ian to the teenaged me and a few years of making mistakes under my belt, I still most enjoy those moments when I get to boil it all down to its lowest common denominator.

Your turn: Simplicity is...?

Attention to detail, lacking

Semi-truth in advertising
London, Ontario, March 2007

About this photo: Our Thematic Photographic theme this week is elemental. As a writer, the fundamental elements of my existence are proper spelling, grammar and general attention to detail. Increasingly, it seems, these elements are in short supply. Which leaves you with a choice: Either wonder why this is so, or head over here and share your own elemental vision.

Not a day goes by that I don't see a sign somewhere that contains some sort of obvious error in spelling or grammar. I hate to sound like a writer who's always perfect - I'm not, after all - but it's almost as if people don't take the time to care about the quality of their work. It's not as if this is a tiny typo buried in the middle of a sea of text. It's a seven-word poster! You think SOMEONE would have proofed it.

Or maybe I'm just expecting too much in this apparent age of mediocrity.

Your turn: Am I justified in being frustrated? Or should I simply accept that mediocrity is the new normal in the modern world?

Note: Caption This will return next week.

New beginnings

Life, defiant
London, ON, April 2008

Nothing ever really ends. It may cease to exist as we know it, but eventually something else will rise in its place. Even the old tree trunk around the corner that we walk past every day has its own sense of continuity. The obviously large tree that once stood here and provided shade to the neighborhood is long gone. But the incubator of life at its base remains, and is arguably more vibrantly active now than it's ever been.

As I stood in a cemetery with my wife last week just before her cousin's funeral, I thought about how a mere few weeks ago we had visited him in the hospital, chatted with him in a delightfully sunny waiting room, heard the spirit in his voice as he shared how he had proven his doctors wrong by still being here after their even most optimistic prognoses. I took pictures that day because I feared we'd never see this cherished man again. And sadly I was right.

As I review the photos from this visit, now ephemeral pixels of data that are seemingly the only tangible pieces of him that we have left, I feel thankful that I got to know him and this part of my wife's family. His tree is indeed no longer standing, but I know the trunk he left behind is already teeming with potential, feeding on what he left behind.

Your turn: How do you remember those we've lost?

Out of gas

Pumped out
Williamsburg, KY, January 2009 [Please click to enlarge]

About this photo: This week's Thematic Photographic theme, elemental, invites a broad range of interpretation. If you're feeling elemental, head over here to share your own vision.

I had come to this mournful, forgotten place in the middle of a long journey because I didn't know if or when I'd ever be back. And if I ever did return, chances are this place, an abandoned gas station beside a cemetery, would be gone. Such is the ephemeral nature of life.

Your turn: There's something elementally sad about this scene that invites the mind to wander. Feel free to wander in a comment...

For another perspective from this shoot, please click here.

Where I call Nortel a squirrel

It's been a fun week in medialand for me. The various bits and pieces of former Canadian tech industry superstar, Nortel, are on the block. As everyone circles around like vultures, positioning for the inevitable kill, I've been watching the proceedings and trying to make sense of it all.

Research In Motion (the BlackBerry company) made things interesting this week by going public with claims it was being shut out of the process. The auction for one of the units, wireless, goes ahead today, albeit without RIM. I expect this to get even more entertaining well into next week, and quite likely beyond.

On Tuesday, I was interviewed by BNN's Michael Kane on his show, Lunch Money. I also spoke extensively with CBC Radio in both Ottawa (where Nortel looms large on the business landscape) and nationally (where, I guess, they also still loom large.) By far my favorite quotes came out of discussions I had with Reuters through the week. I hope they make you smile:

July 24. Nortel, A Fallen Canadian Icon, Starts Asset Sales. Byline Pav Jordan (New York Times link)

"The carcass of one of the leading high flyers for much of the last decade and a half is now up for grabs and to the victor go the spoils," said Carmi Levy, an independent technology analyst.

"Even though Nortel has been a laughing stock for much of this decade, that hasn't stopped some of its most vicious competitors from emerging from the woodwork to claim their prize."

July 23. Nortel looks to be worth more dead than alive. Byline Susan Taylor.

"There's a lot of delicious irony associated with what's happening now," said Carmi Levy, an independent technology analyst. "Everybody shows up for the funeral, but no one goes to visit the patients in hospital before they actually die."

[Snip]

The current heated interest in Nortel assets demonstrates the company's R&D might, but it also underscores its big strategic blunders, Levy said.

"When you're restructuring, learn which horse to back and don't back the wrong one," he said.

[Snip]

"You cannot be in perpetual restructure mode and you cannot change your restructuring strategy on a whim," Levy said.

"It was almost a squirrel-like leadership strategy (at Nortel) - look here, look there - you almost can't focus on one spot for too long."

The strategy was toxic when mixed with Nortel's ultra-conservative customers, who make multi-year, multibillion-dollar bets with their purchases, Levy said.

Great fun, this! I expect there's more to come over the next bit. Stay tuned!

Thematic Photographic 59 - Elemental

Someone was here
Montreal, QC, July 2009

It's a tradition when visiting a Jewish cemetery to place a rock on top of the headstone. It reminds others who may come afterward that someone had come to visit, that the person buried there has not been forgotten, that the continuity between generations that is so fundamental to our existence remains unbroken.

For ages, I had been tossing around the idea of visiting my grandparents' graves. They passed away long ago, and my memories of their resting places were limited to tear-filled funerals during which I was in no mood to take note of nearby landmarks or other identifying elements. Earlier this month, on a visit home, I got my chance. I'll share more about the experience in a future post, but I wanted to use this picture to kick off our latest Thematic Photographic theme, elemental.

What is elemental? My good friend, Mojo, suggested it, so I'll let him describe it:

My idea springs from the traditional "Earth-Air-Water-Fire" quartet, but it could be spun to include anything on the Periodic Table or further anything that is an elemental piece of some bigger thing. Like... Tinker Toys or Legos... or Chocolate chips. (Or eggs if you feel inclined to run afoul of the supermarket gestapo again...)

Your turn: As you consider your own spin on this very neat theme, please take a moment to thank the man himself for letting me use his idea this week.

If you're new to the Thematic Photographic experience, read on. Otherwise, happy shooting!

• Every Wednesday evening, at precisely 7 o'clock Eastern, I post a new Thematic Photographic entry.
• Each entry has a unique theme. This week's is...elemental!
• You post a similarly themed image over on your blog.
• You paste a link to your entry in a comment here.
• If you've already posted something that fits (on a blog, Facebook, MySpace, wherever) simply post the link to the existing entry. Old or new, all photos are welcome.
• You may post as many photos or links as you wish. For the next week, I'll be supporting this theme with a related picture/posting each day. I encourage you to do the same. This is all about sharing, so feel free to share to your heart's content!
• Please share this link with friends, too, and encourage them to join in. The more, the merrier.
• And please accept my thanks for your enthusiasm. Your participation has made TP a true highlight for me each and every week.

Bird on a stone

Songbird
Montreal, QC, July 2009 [Click image to enlarge]

My father and I had come to this place looking for relatives' final resting places. Online database searches helped us find and honor virtually every grave on our list. Except one.

The rain, which had started as a light drizzle as we arrived in this particularly old section of the cemetery, slowly intensified to the point that I all but ordered my father back to the car. He was doggedly determined to find it, but I figured the risks of my increasingly frail dad falling on the uneven, slippery ground simply weren't worth it. We would return another day. My long lost cousin would still, silently, be here.

As I turned for the car, I noticed a flock of seagulls (go on, say it) had landed on a nearby set of headstones. One bird, in particular, stood there and shrieked at no one in particular. I didn't quite know what to make of the moment (maybe you do...) but I knew I wanted to remember what it felt like to witness it.

Your turn: So what do you make of this moment? Odd, isn't it?

Shaggy wants his van back

Trippin'
Mallorytown, ON, July 2009 [Click to embiggen]

It's nice to know in this era of CAFE efficiency requirements and emissions standards, kids can still cruise the countryside in vehicles that bring back fond memories of afternoons spent with Scooby Doo.

I've often wondered why Velma never got the credit she deserved. Or what became of Fred's ascot. Or what was baked into Scooby's snacks that made him so unbelievably manic. I so miss the innocence of this lost era.

Your turn: We're still sharing odd-themed photos. Click here for the Thematic Photographic entry that started it all. We'll launch a new theme tomorrow, but I haven't settled on it yet. Got any suggestions?

Apollo 11 moon landing + 40 years = 0

If you've been living under a rock, you may be oblivious to the fact that 40 years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon.

Apollo 11 was a defining, iconic a moment in human history, and true the the hearts of pessimists everywhere, it marked the beginning of the end of American global leadership. It didn't take long for jowly Dick Nixon to disassemble all that had been so painstakingly assembled over the previous decade, for the beancounters to take over the job of inspiring the nation, and for dreams to take a back seat to visionless reality.

I know I'm too young to be a curmudgeon, but that didn't stop me from exploring the topic in my latest Wide Angle Zoom column for Betanews, We won't get 'mooned' again, or, why space still matters. I hope you enjoy the read and share a thought or two.

Caption This 130

Please caption this image
[Click here for Caption This instructions]
Toronto, ON, August 2008 [Click to embiggen]

Yes, that thing that's apparently dangling in the sky really is what you think it is. I don't think it's real, though, but I stood below, craning my neck into the sun for at least 10 minutes trying to figure that out.

As best I can figure, someone at the balloon company had - and presumably still has - a sick sense of humor.

Works for me!

Your turn: Please come up with a caption for this photo that's funny, charming and memorable. We'll be taking submissions all week, and you can enter as often as you like. Best one wins. Click the comment link to get started. For more background on how Caption This works, click here.

About last week's photo of my kids at the grocery store: I love taking them shopping, even if it means a more expensive - and sometimes annoying - trip in the process. I remember going grocery shopping when I was a kid, and it was always such a vividly detailed experience for me. I hope our kids feel the same way. This week's honorable menschens are:

• Thom: "Look Ma...was this the same price when you were my age?"
• B13: "When mom said fruit juice, she didn't mean peach schnapps... put it back!"

Mojo takes it with "Eggs, wasn't it?" It's something my daughter would certainly say, and she'd say it with that adult-like, all-knowing tone that only she's capable of. If you haven't visited Mojo's blog, Why? What Have You Heard? you're missing out on photography that regularly makes you think, and a world view that'll make you wonder who you're not out there taking more of it in. When I want to raise the level of my game - both through a lens and as a person - I simply follow his lead.

Bizarro store window

Yes, your butt looks fat
Toronto, ON, May 2008

I risked a ticket while sitting in stop-and-go traffic to grab this shot of one of the most wacky-looking window displays I'd seen in a while. I don't even know what this store sells, but I'm guessing I'm not part of its target market.

Your turn: I suppose this qualifies as odd. Have you shared yours yet? Head over here if you haven't (and even if you have!)

Walter Cronkite, the last giant

I'd be remiss if I didn't mark this day in some concrete way. Walter Cronkite died today at 92. His passing wasn't unexpected, as he'd been ailing for some time and his family had recently confirmed that he could go at any time. Regardless, he was the last of a generation of journalistic giants who defined the medium of television for decades and who set the tone for virtually every broadcast journalist who decided to go in front of a camera.

He was and always will be the gold standard of what a broadcast journalist should be. Long called the most trusted man in America, he brought an integrity to the chair that no one has ever quite been able to approach, let alone match. It was a cruel irony that he was succeeded as CBS anchor by a self-absorbed tight-end who never learned to take himself any less than uber-seriously. In contrast to his lightweight successor, Walter probably knew Kenneth's life story as well as the frequency he sought. Indeed, it so often seemed there wasn't anything Walter didn't know.

And if, as so many of us suspect, the seeming omniscient poise of the anchor was simply accomplished through the illusion of television - great writers, great production staff, great attention to detail at every level of the chain - then so be it. He was the epitome of someone perpetually at the top of his game, and his passing leaves an enormous void in an industry that's lost its way, and in a society that once relied on that industry for guidance.

Rest in peace, Mr. Cronkite. Thank you, and goodnight.

"...and that's the way it is..."

Wienermobile crashes into house. BBQ at 11.

I couldn't make this up if I tried. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the bane of PETA and vegans alike and an enduring icon of Americana, paid an unscheduled visit partially into a Racine, WI house earlier today when its driver accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake.

Please don't think I troll the Internet looking for wiener-themed stories. I occasionally peek through my stats to see what search terms bring folks to my blog. I noticed an uptick just now in "wienermobile crash". Since I had written about this very same thing last year (it crashed into a ditch, click here for original entry) folks looking for news of today's incident found me, too.

So...two accidents in just over 17 months. My bologna has a first name. It's called driver's ed.

The odd perspective of a child

Squeaky clean
Laval, QC, July 2009

A funny thing happens when I hand my camera over to our eldest son, Zach: I realize his sense of composition at the age of 14 far exceeds mine at that age. It's quite a kick to watch him wander around a scene, measure it with his eyes, figure out the one perspevective that'll have the most impact and then shoot it. It's quite a kick to imagine how good he'll become if he decides to pursue this seriously.

He's very thoughtful behind the lens, which isn't odd at all considering where he comes from. But things do tend to get a little wonky when he's in a comedic mood and wants to get a reaction out of his audience. Which is as it should be. I'd have him no other way.

Your turn: Do children look at the world differently than we do? Why might that be so?

For more odd-themed insanity, please click here for the launch entry for this week's Thematic Photographic.

Thematic Photographic 58 - Odd

Your throne awaits
Montreal, QC, August 2008 [Click to embiggen]

I take a lot of weird pictures. The kind of pictures that make folks stop and stare as I'm shooting them. The kind of photos that prompt the Doubting Thomases of our world to accuse me of wasting film (ha!) and time. Well, folks, it's my time to waste, and it turns out I rather enjoy wasting it. I'm odd that way.

Besides, I'd rather have a bizarre shot than no shot at all.

So for the next week, I'm hoping we'll all share some oddball shots that get the raised eyebrow look from friends and strangers alike. If it's just weird enough to be memorable, please share it on your blog and drop a link in a comment here. The more oddness, the better.

Your turn: Got an odd picture? (I'm willing to be you have lots, actually!) Do you know what Thematic Photographic is all about? Then start sharing. Need a TP primer? Read on:

• Every Wednesday evening, at precisely 7 o'clock Eastern, I post a new Thematic Photographic entry.
• Each entry has a unique theme. This week's is...odd!
• You post a similarly themed image over on your blog.
• You paste a link to your entry in a comment here.
• If you've already posted something that fits (on a blog, Facebook, MySpace, wherever) simply post the link to the existing entry. Old or new, all photos are welcome.
• You may post as many photos or links as you wish. For the next week, I'll be supporting this theme with a related picture/posting each day. I encourage you to do the same. This is all about sharing, so feel free to share to your heart's content!
• Please share this link with friends, too, and encourage them to join in. The more, the merrier.
• And please accept my thanks for your enthusiasm. Your participation has made TP a true highlight for me each and every week.