Stumped

What's left behind
London, ON, March 2009

About this photo: Thematic is letting treedom ring this week, and you can, too. If none of this makes any sense - or even if it does - just go here.

I always feel a little melancholy whenever I see a stump, especially one that formerly supported a huge tree. I get the whole circle-of-life thing, that nothing lives forever and at some point it makes decent sense for Mother Nature to simply move on. But nothing takes away from the forlorn feel of a cut-off stump. It makes you wonder what once was, and whether we're doing enough to replace what we've lost.

I live in a city that somewhat ironically calls itself The Forest City. Yet time and again, I look around stumps like this and see no new trees being planted to take their place.

I guess the circle is waiting to be completed.

Your turn: What are the first three words that come to mind when you initially see this photo?

Custer's last stand

Healthy or not?
London, ON, July 2009

About this photo: It's tree week all week long. Follow your mouse here to get in on the barked action.

I was on walking home after dropping the little man off at a nearby friend's house for a playdate. To avoid the mid-afternoon, mid-summer heat, I detoured onto a walking path that traces the route of a nearby creek.

It all sounded so idyllic until I realized I had no idea where I was. And GPS, so wonderful on mapped and marked streets, wasn't all that precise out here in the boonies.

So I wandered a bit, following the sun until I more or less recognized where I was. And as I wandered this anything-but-a-desert, I found lovely little scenes to shoot. Like this stand of trees that defied definition. Were they dying a slow, ugly death? Or were they defying the odds and starting to grow where before there had been no life at all?

Such a conundrum deep in the however-many-acre wood.

Your turn: So, which one is it? Dying or vibrant?

Thematic Photographic 142 - Let treedom ring

Barked
London, ON, March 2011

Pardon the play on words, but it's been a tough week and I'm looking for humor wherever I can find it. We'll be exploring trees as part of our new Thematic theme. Why? Because spring is a big time of year for these wondrous chunks of life, and I think it's a neat challenge to explore them with a lens.

Of course, Thematic wouldn't be Thematic without a little - okay, a lot of - interpretation. So I'll leave it to your discretion to define what a "tree" actually is. As always, don't be afraid to take the theme wherever you wish. There are no rights and wrongs, after all. What matters is that we share photographic goodness and learn a thing or two in the process.

Your turn: Post a tree-themed photo to your blog (or find something you may have shared a while back) and leave a comment here letting folks know where to find it. Visit other participants to spread the joy around. Feel free to share as many tree-ish pics as you wish over the coming week: We encourage photographic promiscuity around here. If you're new to this weekly Thematic Photographic sharing thing of ours, click here and all will be explained.

RIM's PlayBook: iPad killer?

In a word, no. And the BlackBerry maker's first attempt at a tablet has a number of glaring omissions as it hits store shelves next week.

But I still think it's a neat product that gives the market a refreshing - and much-needed - alternative. It won't knock iPad off its perch anytime soon. Indeed, at all. But its arrival makes an interesting market that much more so. And the world needs interesting. And competition.

It's been a lousy week - being sick has knocked me for a loop - but I managed to do a bit of media this evening, including clips with CBC The National's Havard Gould and Global's Sean O'Shea, as well as CBC Radio's national business guru Meegan Read. I'm dropping by the studio again in the morning (7:50 a.m. ET) for a live chat with BNN's Michael Kane and Patricial Lovett-Reid. Not about the PlayBook, though: This time we're covering Google's just-announced quarterly results.

I can always sleep and recover over the weekend. In the meantime, I had the kind of day that reminded me just how much fun life can be if you let it. I hope I always remember how to let it.

QOTD #19 - On voters

It's election time here in Canada as we get set to go to the polls on May 2nd. The federal party leaders - most of them, anyway - duked it out last night in the English-language debate. They're going at it again in French tonight, which is notable given that it was originally scheduled for tomorrow night. But after some hockey-loving citizens noticed it conflicted with, gasp, a Montreal Canadiens playoff game, the event was quickly bumped up a night.

Hockey over politics. Makes sense to me. It made this quote seem a little more...real:

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

Winston Churchill

Your turn: So did Sir Winston get it right? Are voters really too dumb for their own good?

Wondering what will be

Where do you want to go today?
Toronto, ON, December 2010
[Please click here for more window-themed Thematic]

Our kids like to look out the window whenever we travel. And when they do, I like to hang back and watch them take it all in. They're pensive, thoughtful individuals, just like my wife, so while I stand there I can almost see the wheels churning as they wonder about where we're going, what will be when we get there, and what adventures we'll encounter along the way.

On this morning, as I watched Noah observe the endless flow at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, I knew his wheels were spinning, and I knew we'd have lots to talk about in the days to come.

Your turn: So, where do you want to go today? Why?

QOTD #18 - On space

Today's one of those memorable days in history, space or otherwise.

50 years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, as his Vostok 1 capsule orbited the planet once before landing safely. 30 years ago today, John Young and Robert Crippen took Space Shuttle Columbia into orbit. Mission STS-1 marked the first time in history a spacecraft's maiden flight was manned.

It's hard to look back at both of these achievements without considering the courage it took these men to take the step and make the leap. It's hard to look back at both of these achievements and wonder what regular folks like us can learn from them. We may not be astronauts, but I believe we can indeed learn. Lots.

With this in mind, I thought this quote was somewhat appropriate:

"There has never been a statue erected to the memory of someone who let well enough alone."

Julles Ellinger

Your turn: What can we learn from those who choose to never leave well enough alone?

Windows by the pool

Microsoft Office
Delray Beach, FL, December 2010

The scene: It's 5:29 p.m. I've just filed a piece to my editor back home and am enjoying the view of the not-so-little folks in the pool (that's munchkin-the-elder making sure I'm still conscious of the fact that I am, actually, on vacation.)

My netbook (it runs Windows XP...a not-so-subtle reference to this week's Thematic theme) is sipping the Internet through an open WiFi access point. Thanks to the kind folks who decided to generously bathe the deck in wireless goodness, I'm as connected here as I am anywhere. Technology is indeed a wonderful thing: As long as the battery holds out. And as long as I remember when to shut it all off.

Which I do shortly after taking this picture. Because having the ability to work from anywhere also comes with a flip side: Knowing when to close the lid and call it a day.

Your turn: How do you set boundaries between mobile technology and your day-to-day home life?

QOTD #17 - On inner beauty

"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."
Ray Bradbury

Your turn: A new week beckons us all. In the days to come, how are you going to let the proverbial beautiful stuff out?

Who watches the sunset?

No one's home
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2010

About this photo: It's Thematic's windows week, and we're focusing our lenses on windows of all kinds. Please click here if you'd like to share in the fun.

Disclosure: This is the development where my in-laws spend their winters. It's known as Century Village East (wiki), and at various times, many of their generation have made this place their winter home.

When we visit, I like to walk the grounds and drink it in. Not because it's great architecture. It isn't. Imagine 1970s-era concrete repeated, almost identically, thousands of times over. It was cheap to build at the time - Red Buttons, who was the development's advertising spokerperson back in the day, would doubtless agree - but it can be overwhelming to the senses, a sad comment on the victory of economics over common sense and basic humanity. A little creativity could have made places like this so much more than what they ultimately became. Oh well, live and learn.

[My mother-in-law reads this. I am so going to get an earful next time we speak!]

Of course, there's beauty in everything if you look hard enough. When we're here, I like to take walks late in the day, when the golden hour sunlight bathes the typically drab concrete in somewhat softer tones. On this particular night, I had been standing here on one of the outdoor walkways for a while. I'm not entirely sure why: I tend to linger in places when I'm on vacation and don't have a clock dictating my every move.

I must have been there for 10 minutes when it dawned on me that I had been completely alone the entire time. No one came in or out. No one passed by on the street. Even the birds seemed to have stayed away.

I stared at the line of windows - I said at, not in...I'm no Peeping Tom, folks - and wondered if anyone was on the inside looking out. In all our time here, I had never seen a face in a window. This isn't a place that invites residents to just sit by a window and take in the scene outside. Which is a bit of a pity, because on this night the sunset was lovely.

Missed sunsets. Life's too short for too many of those.

Your turn: Do you sit by the window and just drink it in?

QOTD #16 - On crocodiles

"Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm."
Malayan Proverb

Ominous-sounding, isn't it? How do you find, and avoid, the proverbial crocodiles?

Thematic Photographic 141 - Windows

Mirrors, mirrors, on the walls
Minneapolis, MN, February 2011

Whether we're on the outside looking in or the inside looking out, it's a safe bet that windows play a significant role in the way we see the world and how we feel while we're doing it. Their very optical properties have always amazed and challenged me as as photographer. Think about it: on a bright day, I can't see inside these tinted and glazed surfaces, yet someone standing inside can easily see me. Turn day to night and it's an entirely different story.

Which is my way of challenging you to spend the next week sharing your own diverse views of life through glass. You can hit up the same window at different times, or walk the 'hood and see what you find. As always, how you choose to interpret a theme is entirely up to you.

Your turn: New to Thematic? In a nutshell, Thematic Photographic is our weekly photo-sharing adventure. I post a new theme - in this case, windows - and my lovely visitors (you!) post pictures that reflect the theme on your blog. Then, return here and leave a comment letting folks know where to find it. Visit other participants and share, share, share. For more background, click here. Know the ropes? Don't let me stop you. I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

Living in another world

Masters of the planet
Miami, FL, January 2011

You don't have to look far for evidence that humans have rather spectacularly reshaped the planet. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends largely on your individual perspective. I don't have any preconceived notions, and I don't think it's a simple enough equation that we can assign "good" or "bad" labels to anything. Life is rarely that clean-cut.

These rather spectacularly linear spits of land just off Miami are a great example. They were definitely a wow moment for the kids as we flew over them. We wondered how they came to be, and what it must be like to live there. I pessimistically mentioned their vulnerability to hurricanes and sea level change. Our son agreed, but still said the coolness factor could outweigh the risks for some people.

I rather like his perspective. Life doesn't always have to be rational, does it?

Your turn: Does it? Why/why not?

One more thing: This picture wraps up our "By land, sea or air" Thematic theme. New one hits the airwaves tonight at 7:00 p.m. What will it be? What would you like it to be? I'm all ears.

Full of ship

Cargo
Delray Beach, FL, January 2011

About this photo: It's Thematic's "By land, sea or air" week, and we're asking everyone - including you - to share whatever comes to mind. The fun starts here.

My daughter always spots them first. Dots on the horizon, slowly crossing the shipping lanes that run north-south just off Florida's coast. Where they're going is a mystery to us, as is their cargo. But for a moment on a sunny, sandy beach, I get to stand with her and wonder what is and what might be.

It's another one of those small slices of parenthood that make me glad I became a parent in the first place, because it shows me just how wide her eyes are, and how far she's learned to cast her gaze.

Your turn: Looking far. Why does that matter?

QOTD #15 - On laughter

"I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful. ”
Bob Hope

I always liked Bob Hope. His humor had a certain gentleness to it that somehow managed to touch me from my earliest years. Now that I'm well removed from those early years, looking at perspectives like these gives me even more insight into why he was special.

Your turn: What makes a person - comedian or otherwise - special?

Destroyers of worlds

Ick
Delray Beach, FL, December 2010

When I thought of this week's Thematic theme, By land, sea or air - click here to share your own - I didn't think I'd be focusing on discarded cigarettes in a dimly lit pharmacy parking lot. But the more I looked at this picture, the more I realized how much it fit.

We really aren't such great shepherds of our land, of the tremendous resources we've been gifted. This moment in the shadowy light reminded me that there are others out there who still don't get it.

Your turn: How can we become better shepherds of our planet?

QOTD #14 - On beginnings and endings

"All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time."
Mitch Albom

Mr. Albom is one of my favorite writers, a deft observer of humanity whose work never fails to move me. Every time I think about loss, I'm reminded of this quote. It may be hard to see the truth of it when you're floating through the foggy middle of life-chaos, but his words ring true when viewed through the broader perspective of history.

Your turn: How does time teach?

Sealed under glass

Small world
Miami, FL, January 2011

About this photo: Thematic celebrates all things land, sea or air this week. You can, too, by pointing your mouse here.

I seem to remember there being far more of these models-under-glass in the world when I was a kid than there are now. The spread of virtual reality, wireless-everywhere and mobility in our pockets seems to have taken the magic out of these three-dimensional representations of what might be. Which is a pity, because I can still remember how much fun I had every time we stumbled across one in a lobby somewhere. I'd look at these microworlds and wonder what they'd ultimately look like when they were really built.

So when we saw this one while checking in at Miami's airport, I half-expected my Internet-savvy the kids to walk on past. How could plastic models of now-out-of-service aircraft (look closely, those are Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and first-generation Boeing 747s) possibly be compelling to them?

Yet they gravitated to the model like moths to light and excitedly explored it for what seemed like an age. They were so enamored of the thing that we finally had to tap our watches when it was time to head to the security line.

Maybe there's something to these supposedly outdated model-things, after all.

Your turn: What's the appeal here?

Thematic Photographic 140 - By land, sea or air

Crossing paths
London, ON, March 2011
[Please click here to learn how Thematic works]

I've been moving between places a lot lately, spending more time in airplanes, cars and other forms of transport than I usually do. Whenever I travel, I like to try to slow the process down a bit, to feel it more than I can see it. I realize that flying, for one, has become a bit of a cattle car-like experience. Okay, a lot like a cattle car.

We shuffle, herd-like, from one part of the airport to another, following rules adapted on the fly to meet agendas dictated by shadowy terrorists who live in faraway caves. As I strip my belt and shoes off in the security line, trying to keep moving fast enough to avoid the stink-eye from those behind me, I imagine those same shadowy terrorists laughing heartily at what they've done to us, at the ridiculous lengths to which we must now go to supposedly stay safe when we travel. It's a sad comment on the inhumanity some of us seem eager to foist on other humans. It makes me wonder why some of us choose to be so mean-spirited.

But the process of travel can inspire as well as disappoint. Like on this morning a few weeks ago when I walked outside and looked up. I saw other travellers, on their way to places unknown, their planes painting gorgeous, albeit temporary, pictures in the sky. The sun, unwilling to be left out of this early-morning atmospheric dance, threw some upward-facing shadows into the mix. Just because.

In the end, we can choose to see ugliness or we can choose to see beauty. It's up to us. I know where I stand.

Your turn: Over the next week, I'm going to choose to share the beauty of land, sea or air and I hope you'll do so, too. New to Thematic? Click here. An old hand? Just dive in by posting a similarly-themed pic to your blog - or pick something you may have already posted. Leave a comment here to let folks know where it is. Visit other participants to spread the joy, and repeat as often as you wish. And if you want to bring a friend along, we encourage that, too. We'll be doing it all week, so check back to see what everyone else is up to.

QOTD #13 - On imagination

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
Mark Twain

Your turn: If Mr. Twain is right, how are we supposed to get our imaginations in focus?