Things got a little hectic after Christmas, so I neglected to post this. It was… baffling, to say the least!
I get some weird search phrases, but this one stood out in the crowd.
Technorati tags: keyword search, bizarre
February, 2007
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What’s Going On In Wisconsin?
February 19, 2007 by Gail
Posted in Wacky WWW | 1 Comment
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Scranton’s Claim to Fame (Before “The Office”)
February 19, 2007 by Gail
…the hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania by blynaffitClick on the picture for the answer. Thanks to blynaffit for letting me use her picture.
See also David’s description of his city from the Flickr group “Praise and Curse of the City” two years ago:
I love that my immigrant grandparents made a life here, and my memories of their house across from the park and the museum, and hearing my grandmother’s Yiddish as a child. I love the railroad tracks and the boarded-up coal mines and the slag heaps. I love the careless accents and the affability of my neighbors’ voices. I love that there are soaring cities to the east, and endless forests to the west. I love that we still have our original chrome diners and our wonderfully awful newspaper, and one remaining human elevator operator. I love that Harry Chapin sang a silly song* about our town.
I hate that so much was lost when our city fell ill, around the time that I was born, and the youth and optimism that bled away over the years. (I love that health is returning, though.) Sometimes I hate that my city isn’t quite big enough, so that foreign films and foods and people don’t find their way here. I hate that the nearby farms are turning into housing developments, gated communities full of New Yorkers, wealthy and imprisoned. I hate the inept, corrupt and – worst of all – unimaginative public officials.
I love and hate the idea of leaving it, someday. I am Scranton.
*30,000 Pounds of Bananas.
Technorati tags: Scranton, Flickr, Harry ChapinPosted in David's Writing, Expat Life, Flickr, Other Photogs | No Comments
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Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
February 19, 2007 by Gail
I blame the winter temperatures here in Toronto for sending my appetite through the roof these days. I experienced cold weather in Pennsylvania, but I wasn’t outside as much as I am now except when David and I went flying. I remember learning in my first Archaeology course that the way humans deal with cold is to warm up by eating, and I am living proof! I could easily hibernate through the rest of this winter, I’ve got my winter fat stores ready to go until the spring.When my friend called me this afternoon to say she was preparing lamb shanks for dinner, how was I to say no? Lamb shanks! I never prepare lamb at home. In fact, today’s pork chops marked probably only the second time I made any, and that was for David (who was Jewish, but they’d eat pork and shellfish while I grew up Seventh-Day Adventist and we weren’t allowed to touch any of that, or even caffeine — strict!).
Wine and a big dinner later, the weekend is officially over…
Posted in Food + Drink | No Comments
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Looks Cold, Doesn’t It?
February 18, 2007 by Gail
I whipped up a Sunday lunch of pork chops and mashed potatoes, then stuck it all in the fridge and headed out the door because the winter light today was so good.
(Those crazy camera people, huh? They’re always yakking about light.)
When I drove to Philadelphia a couple of weekends ago, it was the same brilliance but even COLDER. I wanted so badly to stop the car and take photos by the lakeshore, but we didn’t have enough time. So I tried again today.
I brought all the cameras, and this is why: the Canon A80 wouldn’t even write to the memory card at ALL, and the batteries on the other two digital cameras were draining fast. But the wind off the lake was so chilling that I would not have lasted for longer than the batteries, anyway. Here are some pictures from my valiant efforts to ignore the cold:
All photos from today are here.
Posted in Critters + Creatures, Photography | 5 Comments
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The Power of Film
February 18, 2007 by Gail
I arrived home late after a cinematic bingefest. I used to go to the cinema on my own from time to time before I met David, but we watched so many films together (especially through Netflix) that it took me such a long time to get back into the movies. I’ve gone with a few other people since then, but my heart hasn’t been in it until quite recently. I had a craving for film this weekend.
So I guess I’m making up for it now.
I sure pick ‘em, though: between two movies there were three deaths and a terminally ill cancer patient. That would’ve been the fourth death, if Almodovar hadn’t stopped at–
–oh wait, that’s enough spoilers.
I was originally planning to see Children of Men, but when I saw the film list at the Carlton, the timing worked out for me to see both Little Miss Sunshine* and Volver*. I’m glad I saw them in that order, because I still would’ve been thinking about Volver if I saw Little Miss Sunshine second. Volver is a much better film, and the one I wanted to percolate in my head after leaving the cinema. The cancer patient scene is how it ended, and for that reason I was glad that I was alone in my car to weep in peace while the car heater melted the ice on my windshield.
* I’ll write more of a review on these later.
Technorati tags: Volver, Little Miss Sunshine, filmPosted in Haunted by Cancer, Reel + Screen | 2 Comments
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I Gotta Show This to My Dad
February 17, 2007 by Gail
Dad, if a two-year old can use a computer, you can, too.
Via kewlchops, aka George Oates, of Flickr.
Technorati tags: videoclips, kidsPosted in Flickr, Videoclips | 4 Comments
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You Didn’t Think I Was Finished Posting About Cuba, Did You?
February 17, 2007 by Gail
I seriously don’t know if I will ever have enough time to tell all my Cuba stories online, because there are just that many. You’d think I’d taken a six-month sabbatical there, I’ve gone on and on and on about it so much. And no, I’m not getting paid by the country’s tourism commission — the place captured my imagination and fascination in a way that doesn’t let go easily.
I wanted to come home from work and do a whole lot of nothing, where “nothing” means I’ll feed myself then spend most of the evening Photoshopping over a cup of tea. (I prefer Photoshopping to retail shopping any day. Shopping isn’t relaxing at all!)
Pentax K-1000
Centro HabanaView larger for detail.
I was taking pictures on the street where this little lady was sweeping in front of her house. I asked permission to take her photo, and she stopped what she was doing and motioned for me to come inside!
She sat me down at her kitchen table and fed me Cuban-style custard with marmalade (I eat practically anything, including marmalade, but this stuff is like nothing edible on earth and I tried to tell her I was like a borderline diabetic or something to that effect, though it probably got lost in translation and came out like "I like to roll in sugar"), and yogurt. I quite like Cuban yogurt, so I ate more of that to counter some of the marmalade that made its way to my plate.
I told her I would mail her the photos I took of her and in her house, and she gave me her address.
These Cubans are some of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. Every day it would blow me away how friendly and trusting they were.
Technorati tags: Cuba, hospitalityPosted in Cuba, Photography, Raconteurism | No Comments
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Conversations With a 6-Year Old Smart Aleck
February 16, 2007 by Gail
cameraphone shot of Michael after celebrating his 6th birthday — a week early — on August 26I had probably the longest single phone conversation with my nephew Michael on Valentine’s Day, one that lasted about 15 minutes. Usually phone calls with the Ms are short while the handset gets passed around from child to child, and we might get three or four rounds of dialogue peppered with outbursts of “Stop that! She’s poking me! I can’t hear you, Auntie Gail, Maddy’s singing really loud! Be quiet!” You get the idea.
Wednesday:
Me: “Maybe you’d better get off the phone, Michael, it’s bedtime now.”
Michael (peering at his digital watch): “It’s not, Auntie Gail, it’s 7:32.”
Me: “Do you know what time it is for me?”
Michael: “No. What time is it?”
Me: “I’m three hours ahead of you. So whatever time it is for you, just add three hours and that’s what time it is for me.”
Michael: “Oh.”
*pause*
Me (prompting): “OK, well, forget the minutes for now. What’s seven plus three?”
Michael (giggling): “SEVENTY THREE!”
Me: “Har de har har.”
(The boy is still giggling.)
Me: “OK, well, hold up seven fingers and then hold up three more. What do you get?”
Michael: “I can’t, Auntie Gail! I’m holding the phone!”
Me: *sigh* “Let me talk to Melissa…”Technorati tags: conversations, kidsPosted in cameraphone, The Ms | 4 Comments
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One Year Ago
February 15, 2007 by Gail
I’m really going to pay the price for staying up late, but I watched the presentation that I put together for Vinny’s memorial, all 145 slides. It was the first time I’d watched it since it was shown at Hamburg Airport on March 25, 2006. It took most of a week to put it together, and by the end of the scanning and layout and transitions and titles, it was ingrained in my brain. To watch it again after a year… well, you can imagine.
I took some screenshots of it in PowerPoint, only 5 random slides because I really do need to get to bed. (It’s Thursday, I have the bereavement group after work. It’ll be a long day.)
My goal is to get screenshots of all 145 slides and upload them to Flickr so the slideshow can be viewed that way, although of course it will be missing the transitions and the movie I filmed at the end. (You can watch it as a separate file here.)
Technorati tags: memorialPosted in Friends, Loss | 1 Comment
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The Big V-Day Dump
February 14, 2007 by Gail
When I went to bed last night it was already a winter wonderland and the snowplows were out in full force. By then I’d already given up the idea of driving to the flight centre after work, but it stopped snowing in the afternoon and the sun came out to melt some of it away. I debated whether to make an appearance in class this evening, but by the time five o’clock rolled around the amount of paper growing on my desk turned into a document version of a snowbank. That pile of paper made up my mind for me: forfeit the class and try and get the paper under control before it eats me alive!
So I ended up staying until about 7:20 (unheard of for me, here), but it was very quiet with everyone gone home and I could sift through it all with no interruption and actually finish something. I walked home as per usual and took some photos:
I find walking home while listening to music an effective way to decompress from the day, and taking photos is also very relaxing. I used to think it would be better to work even closer to home — not that I’m far away, but I believe in keeping the commute as short as possible — but now I think the office is in an ideal location (in terms of what shops and services are enroute) and just the right distance from home. I still take transit to work in the morning because I can’t seem to get it together very quickly in the a.m., I like to just get there since I don’t have time to stop and take pictures on the way in. The subway is faster and more frequent, but given a choice and a shorter distance, I’ll take the streetcar, thanks. Why? Because I like to be above ground and see things. In the subway, there’s nothing to look at but people who look in every other direction or advertising (ugh). Sure, there are ads above ground, too, but there’s also sky and people walking their dogs and parents pushing strollers and cars honking at taxis. That’s why I love and miss the Skytrain — there’s always a feeling of connection to the outside world (except in the few underground stations downtown).
Although works tires me out often because of the steep learning curve, I’m really enjoying the challenge of a career switch. It will take me a while to settle into government work, but ultimately the experience is invaluable. This new job combined with flight training taxes my poor brain sometimes, so it’s now more important than ever to find ways to relax and keep taking photos so I can try and fire up that right hemisphere and give the left one a break!
Posted in Toronto, Working Life | No Comments
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