Bird on a...car

I'm so pretty
Deerfield Beach, FL
December 2011
More Thematic fly...here.

I'm not quite sure what this lovely bird was trying to say, but he (she? I can never tell) sure grabbed my attention in the busy parking lot. We had just gotten out of the car - Juliette the Jeep is in the background - and amid the noise of the busy shopping mall, this one bird stood out.

Fate? Who knows. But she (I'm going to go with she. Thanks for humoring me) hung around long enough for me to compose and shoot. Thank you, sweet bird. Safe flight.

Your turn: What's she saying?

On finding beauty amid desolation

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."
Anne Frank

Words to live by...

Cloudy with a whole lot of sun

Mesmerizing
Over the Pacific Ocean
May 2012
To share your own fly-themed pic, click here

Clouds aren't random at all. There's rhyme and reason for everything that happens in the atmosphere. If I hadn't believed that before snapping this picture, this one frame would have been enough to change my mind.

I haven't been able to keep myself from coming back to this shot and just staring at it in the months since I first took it. I can't explain why, but I keep seeing new things in it every time I load it up.

Your turn: What do you see here?

Shadowy craft on a lush planet

Cast a giant shadow
Chicago, IL
May 2012
Thematic. Fly. Here. Thank you.

I have a habit of working in places that are beneath approach paths to major airports. In high school, I always made sure I got a seat by the window so I could see the jets taking off from and landing at Montreal's Dorval - now Pierre Trudeau - airport. I learned plane spotting at an early age, and relished those moments when the teacher would stop talking to allow the deafening roar of fully-throttled aircraft to fade into the distance.

I was reminded of that earlier this week as I sat at my desk and worked away on one of my newly assigned projects. We're located a few kilometres west of Toronto's Pearson airport. A clearly large plane flew overhead, and I could practically feel the thrum of its high bypass turbofans straining to pull the craft free of the earth. It was a cloudy day, so I couldn't really see much. But I smiled at the memory all the same. Planes rule.

This particular plane, the 777 that had carried me from Shanghai to the very middle of the American heartland, rules as well. I was kind of glad I got to shoot its shadow as we approached O'Hare, and I quietly hoped the folks on the ground down there were looking up thinking much the same thing.

Your turn: What do you think when you look up and see a plane?

It's a honey of an o

Frozen in flight
Laval, QC
August 2012

Note: This photo supports our latest Thematic theme, fly. To share your own, please follow this link home.

I'm a big fan of honey. There's something so peaceful about mixing it into my tea on a cold winter's morning. It isn't like dumping in a bit of sugar. You've got to deliberately squeeze it out, or use a spoon, and as a result the experience becomes a lot more tactile and thoughtful than the alternative. Yup, I'm odd that way.

The container itself also seems to play a role here. I have soft-shaded memories from childhood of the hive-shaped bottle sitting on the kitchen table. To me, honey always came in a hive-shaped bottle, and anything that used a regular old container just wasn't the same.

My mother-in-law has this lovely honey container that every time I see it takes me instantly back to that kitchen table from so long ago. Sure wouldn't want to be that poor bee, though. Talk about eternal frustration.

Your turn: What's the bee thinking?

Writing through the darkness

We interrupt this blog for a quick level-set. Janice is a friend of mine, someone who I got to know through my adventures as a media whore tech journalist. She builds the graphics that pace the news here in our burg, and I annoy her to no end every time I come into the TV station for an interview.

So the neat thing is that she writes a blog, My Place In The World - which you should bookmark/favorite and read. Often. The not-so-neat thing is that her dad had a heart attack this week. She wrote about it here.

Her news woke me up to my own father's journey through the murky world of cardiac illness. And how writing about it seems to help those of us standing around the hospital bed navigate the uncertainty. Stringing words helped me find my way through some very frightening, dark times - in fact, it was what pushed me back into writing in the first place. I have every hope the same thing is playing out in this case, too.

Life on the road

Once upon a time, I rode my bike to work. Depending on where we lived and where we worked, it ranged between a quick 4 km spin through the streets of midtown Montreal, to a 35 km stretch along the waterfront after we moved to the 'burbs. I rode because I could, because it added an almost indescribable dimension to the day, because I knew it was incredibly good for my long-term health, because it gave me two wonderfully Zen-like stretches of time during the day when the phone wasn't ringing and life wasn't intruding.

I haven't had much need for the commuter bags over the past couple of years because I've been working from home, but all that changed last week (click here if you're just joining the fun.)

The drive to the office is now 100 miles (160 km), and as much as I'd love to cover the distance on my bike, it'll never pass the "are you nuts?" test. So I've swapped two wheels for four, pedal power for internal combustion. I'm slowly getting to know the OnRoute staff on a first-name basis. Heaven help me.

I'll admit to missing my bike commute, the culture of preparing to ride, of getting my head in the game and methodically transitioning between the road and the office. I miss the feeling of moving myself long distances with nothing more than my legs, of being so in touch with the road as I moved between work and home.

But life goes on. And when opportunity called from the big city way east of here, I couldn't say no. With so much of our lives rooted in the community here in London, we won't be moving anytime soon, so I'll be driving. Watch this space over the next while as I share words, images and who knows what else from the stretch of highway 401 between Mississauga and London.

Your turn: Got any long-distance commuting tips? I'm all ears.

O'Hare - bird's eye view

You'll need a map
Chicago, IL
May 2012
Please click here for more fly-themed Thematic

If I'm being brutally honest with myself, this picture is far from my best work. Very far. On so many technical levels - light, clarity, composition - it fails every bar I set for myself when I shoot and edit. Yet I kept coming back to it in my set from my Shanghai trip, because it somehow told the story of this place better than any picture I took on my long flights home.

Aside from using satellite mapping - Bing Maps, of course - you rarely get the opportunity to see virtually all of an airport's land mass. It really opens your eyes as to how remarkable these facilities are, and how lucky we are to encounter them every once in a while. I can't wait to return.

Your turn: It's been a while since we played the "first three words" game, and I realize I miss it. So let's dive back in, shall we? What are the first three words that come to mind when you initially see this pic? Don't overthink it - be visceral! Now...go!

Thematic Photographic 223 - Fly

Give props
London, ON
June 2012

There's a whole lot of wonderful associated with the world of flight. The physics of flight dictate a kind of spare approach to engineering. No room for extra flourishes or wasteful add-ons. Everything is structured and shaped with the sole intent of allowing these fantastic machines - and everything on board them - to get (and stay) off the ground, fly tremendous distances at ridiculously fast speeds, do so efficiently, and eventually return to earth safely and comfortably.

While the engineers who design aircraft probably don't give it much thought, the inevitable results of their efforts will almost invariably look pretty neat in their own right. So when I strolled down the assembly line at London-based Diamond Aircraft, it was hard to resist the urge to capture a few pixels.

Your turn: As this is the launch photo for our new Thematic theme, fly, your mission is simple: Take a fly-themed pic, share it on your blog or website, then pop back here and leave a comment letting folks know where to find it. Feel free to repeat the process through the week, and don't forget to visit other participants to share the joy*. Thematic is our weekly photo sharing activity, and you can learn all about it here.

* Please accept my apologies for not being a diligent visitor in recent weeks. I've been fairly consumed with the transition into my new role (click here for more), and as a result have had a lot less free time than usual. Thank you for your understanding - and continued support of Thematic. I should be back to a normal cadence in a few weeks.

Another brick in the wall

Vanishing point
London, ON
February 2012

I thought I'd sneak in one last-minute rectangular-themed photo (it's not too late: click here to share yours*) because I rather enjoy how photography can play with the concept of shapes. And with our minds, too.

Depending on how you choose to view this shot, there either is or is not a single rectangle here. Sure, the bricks themselves are rectangular on their respective, real life surfaces. But the angled perspective means there isn't a single rectangle on the two-dimensional photographic plane you see here.

So which one is it? It doesn't really matter: merely churning the possibility is fun enough for me. And I hope for you, too.

Your turn: Does photography make you look at the world differently? How?

* Our new theme, fly, launches in a short while - at precisely 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Got anything in mind?

Don't touch the electric fence

Should I even be here?
Port Stanley, ON
July 2012
Get your last-minute Thematic rectangular submissions in ... here.

The big beach at Port Stanley is bordered on its eastern side by an artificial breakwater. Like many others at other waterfronts, this one is off limits to the public. Unlike many others, it's about as welcoming as Alcatraz.

I thought we'd round out this week's exploration of all things rectangular with this one, because even though these shapes are so often associated with proper order and neatness, it isn't always the case.

Your turn: What's going on here that justifies the uber-security? I've never been able to figure it out. Got any ideas?

Almost vanished history

Traces remain
Stratford, ON
July 2012
Click here for more Thematic rectangular goodness

Southwestern Ontario is blessed with towns large and small that are filled with hundred-plus-year-old buildings. Some of them have been lovingly restored, while others seem to wear their years with a little more grit. Sometimes, if you look closely, you can see echoes of what once was.

Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Sunrise in a distant airport

Dawn breaks through glass
Hong Kong, China
May 2012
Thematic. Rectangular. Here. (No, it's not too late.)

Pictures to me are more than two-dimensional collections of pixellated light and color. If you do it right, they capture the spirit of what it must have been like to stand there when the scene was actually happening. They help you remember what it felt like to experience it first-hand. And if you do it really right, they give folks who weren't there at all pretty much the same feeling.

Because whenever I go somewhere, I feel somewhat responsible for sharing the experience with folks back home. If my family's going to make sacrifices so that I can be away, then the least I can do is bring them something a little more meaningful than an airport gift shop memento.

Which brings me to this shot, taken just after our monster Toronto-Hong Kong hop over the top of the planet landed in this amazing place. The members of our little group of intrepid Canadian journalists were more than exhausted, and I'm still not quite sure how we found our way through the terminal to the gate for our next and final flight to Shanghai. After we settled into the waiting area - bar none, the comfiest terminal I've ever experienced - I picked up my camera and wandered for a few minutes to take the place in.

The rising sun stopped me in my tracks. At first I was disappointed that I had to shoot it through windows that hadn't seen Windex in...well, ever. But then I backed away after realizing the imperfection was part of the story of this morning.

Imperfect. But memorable. Maybe that doesn't only apply to scenes from faraway airports.

Your turn: Do sunrises inspire you? Why?

On paying the price for your dreams

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
Leo J. Suenens

I like the sentiment here. Nothing is simply handed to us: everything demands at least some form of investment and sacrifice. I find that strangely inspiring.

Color in a colorless place

Concrete block
London, ON
June 2012
Please click here for more Thematic rectangular

Look deeply enough in the the margins and eventually you'll find something worthy of an extra look or two. It doesn't have to be spectacular. Nor especially tall. Or beautiful. Or opulent.

It can be as simple as a block concrete structure in the middle of a run-down, scrub-and-gravel-covered property hard by the rail tracks on the eastern edge of downtown. It can be as simple as an unassuming building that someone decided to paint in a decidedly assuming way.

But you'll never know it's there if you don't change your perspective. Because if all you're looking for is the spectacular, you'll miss it entirely.

Your turn: What else can you see in the margins?

Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign.

I see these bumper stickers every once in a while. They're usually on an old pickup, an old Ford Tempo or an old Chrysler Neon. Common factor: old.

Never mind that the concept of "domestic" or "foreign" no longer really exists. That the globalized automotive supply chain can mean a vehicle assembled just outside Detroit has a lower level of domestic content than one put together in Mexico. And never mind that this car was made in Sweden.

I was tempted to knock on the window and point that little factoid out. But I figured the passive-aggressive route - surreptitiously grab a pic and then blog about it in my typically self-righteous tone - was preferable. In any case, this was just too funny not to share.

Your turn: Thoughts?

--
For more Thematic rectangular - because what's more rectangular than a box-that-it-came-in old Volvo? - please click here.

On the people around us

"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Maya Angelou

Mayor McCheese gets into trouble

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this piece about London and read it on air when I guest-hosted on Newstalk 1290 CJBK (link). A few days later, I delivered the closing keynote at the DIG conference (link). In both cases, I made the case for a city that I think has long lived in the shadows of the national stage because we simply don't market ourselves as well as we could or should. I shared examples of companies and organizations that are doing world class work. But they don't get the recognition they deserve because we're stuck with a dysfunctional civic leadership and community leaders more comfortable in the last century than the current one.

Now, we've made the national news for a mayor, Joe Fontana, who today was charged by the RCMP (yes, those Mounties) with three counts: fraud under $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer, and uttering forged documents. If convicted on all three, he could go to jail for up to 10 years.

The allegations stem from a $1,700 cheque Mr. Fontana allegedly wrote to pay for part of his son's wedding in 2005. At the time, he was a federal Member of Parliament and a cabinet minister, and the RCMP alleges that cheque was paid with taxpayer dollars.

Fontana has steadfastly refused growing calls by some city councillors and a growing body of citizens for him to either step down while this process is ongoing, or resign entirely. His contention: he's got a lot of work to do for the city, and he refuses to be distracted from it. While I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty, I feel his dogged determination to hold onto power at all costs is detrimental to this should-be-great city.

While our mayor twists in the wind, everything else is forced into a state of suspension. City Hall deals with gridlock because nothing else can be realistically debated. Civic staff are distracted because their leader isn't fully engaged in the process of, you know, leading. Citizens are ill-served by a process that is neither efficient or focused. This is not how a city is supposed to be run.

If Mr. Fontana truly cared about the citizens he feels he's working so hard to serve, he'd step aside and allow himself the time and energy to prepare and execute his defense. He'd let the city get on with the business of civic business in his absence. He'd have the humility to recognize he does no one any good by muddying the waters with his presence.

Selfishness in the top levels of leadership is hardly anything new, here or anywhere. Power does many things to people - and blinded vision is often one of the resulting symptoms. But when it sullies the reputation of a city that deserves so much better, I simply can't sit by and say nothing.

Mr. Fontana, you're not so important to the day-to-day or long-term trajectory of this city that your absence - temporary or not - will hurt us in any way. Your mere presence has become a liability. Have the courage to put the city's needs ahead of your own, and do the right thing by stepping aside.

Your turn: Thoughts?

But wait, there's more:

• RCMP statement
• The mayor has scheduled a press conference for 1:00 p.m. ET today. (AM980 report)
• Aaaand the mayor has held his press conference, and he refuses to quit. London Free Press story here. He claims he has the support of the people. I scoured Twitter looking for examples of this support. I found no evidence of this. I did find, however, lots of angry Londoners. Maybe JoFo's supporters don't use Twitter. Right, Stephen Orser...

Thematic Photographic 222 - Rectangular

Shapes and light
Delray Beach, FL
December 2009

I'd like to get back to shapes - specifically rectangles - with this week's Thematic theme because they're so elemental, so easy to just get into, and so much darn fun to play with when you've got a camera in your hands. And since my brain's a little preoccupied this week, I thought keeping things simple here would make sense, too.

P.S. Thank you for your patience this week. I'm a little late getting the Thematic train rolling. Life stuff. It's all good.

Your turn: Got a picture of a rectangle? Or a rectangular something or other? Or something that reminds you of a rectangle? Post it to your blog, then leave a comment here letting folks know where to find it. Visit other participants and bring a friend along for the ride. Thematic is our weekly, non-competitive, fun-filled photo sharing/learning/exploring activity. Here's more background.

On doing what you love

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”
Rumi

I'm delightfully overwhelmed by the torrent of happies that ensued after I announced this, and I can't thank you enough for your comments here, on Facebook and on Twitter. I was so focused on work throughout the day that I didn't have a whole lot of time to read much of anything until this morning, but please know how deeply touched I am that so many folks took the time to write. You made a great day that much greater.

Day 2 at Microsoft picked up where day 1 left off - with tons of smart, dedicated people doing what smart, dedicated people always do - and it's clear I've found an amazing place to call my professional home. I'm still pinching myself, but at least now I'm off and running and immersing myself in a pretty remarkable work environment.

Thematic will resume tonight. My apologies for not getting it online last night. I got home later in the evening and subsequently ended up falling asleep somewhat unexpectedly. Or maybe it was expectedly. Long, eventful days will do that, I guess.

Your turn: What do you love to do?