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a July 22nd, 2007

  1. Summer Sunday at Belfountain

    July 22, 2007 by Gail

    Three of us spent the whole day at the Belfountain Conservation Area, which is about an hour northwest of Toronto and not much further from where I do my flight training. It was a nice break to get out of the city for a day and hang out with friends in nature. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves, because I’m all out of energy.

    (Pssst Francesca — see the toes? I took your advice!)

    the feet feel good
    sitting on a rock in the Credit River

    in the creek
    in the creek

    before I closed my eyes
    before I closed my eyes for a nap on the grass

    Belfountain dam
    the dam

    a chance butterfly encounter
    a chance butterfly encounter

    More photos tomorrow, once I’m all recharged again.

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  2. Lexington Avenue Steam Explosion

    July 22, 2007 by Gail

    Lexington Avenue Steam Explosion
    Lexington Avenue Steam Explosion by JimmyOK

    Last Wednesday there was a steam explosion in New York City one block from where a friend from Flickr, Jimmy O’Kelly, works. He took this shot and Yahoo News interviewed him over the phone to add his commentary to their online news piece. I found this style of news reporting — a photo slideshow with voiceover not from a news reporter, but from eyewitnesses — much more palatable than watching it on TV.

    I compare living in a city like New York to living in London: in the days before terrorism was on high-alert (although London had that for years when the IRA was active), “there is always something going on” usually referred to newsworthy events in arts, science, sports, some cultural or social activity. These days metropolises are targets, and since 9/11 I’m sure New Yorkers are more than a little jumpy.

    I remember last autumn when Jimmy and I were walking around New York in the middle of the night when the city seemed quieter and saner. He told me the City takes a lot out of a person; the stress takes its toll. I believe it.

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  3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

    July 22, 2007 by Gail

    A Midsummer's Night Dream
    CanStage amphitheatre at High Park

    Well, I discovered a couple of ways to stop myself from coughing all the way through an outdoor production of Shakespeare — eat and drink. Drink and eat. Repeat. The play was nearly two hours with no intermission, which means I ate more in one sitting than I have all week!

    Thanks to Arliin’s advice to get there early to stake out territory and bring along picnic food, I secured a prime location for three of us well in advance: an hour and forty minutes before the performance! This sounds crazy early, but the amphitheatre isn’t very large and I wanted to make sure we weren’t relegated to the far wings. Peter and Lauren arrived before 7:00 and we dined on chicken, samosas, dips, bread sticks, tortilla chips, potato wedges, vegetables — I’m Filipino! There’s no such thing as too much food! — and wine before the performance, but we were still grazing and sipping as we watched. It was the perfect summer evening: not too warm, not chilly, no swarms of mosquitoes, and the play itself was extremely entertaining — a “hip, urban interpretation of Shakespeare’s timeless comedy.”

    http://www.canstage.com/

    “Delving into the world of paparazzi and celebrity culture, the play is set in downtown Toronto and features a multi-racial cast and Caribbean carnival-influenced costumes and rhythms.”

    The last part is something I really enjoyed — I wished I were allowed to take photographs of the colourful costumes. Makes me want to go to Caribana this year.

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