One final revelry at the Panorama Restaurant at the Sutton Place Hotel

The Sutton Place Hotel is a hotel no more. It is being converted into a condominium.
Looking south towards the CN Tower, summer 2011.

Be you: being lonely in a crowd

May 30th.

pretty in pink

May 30th.

Porsche Boxster

Surreal.

May 30th.

when you're hungry...

one of the very best quickie Chinese combo for under $7 I've ever had ($6.25+tax, tip extra) may be found at the (generic-sounding) Oriental Taste at the corner of Yonge and Glen Echo Road, north of Lawrence. Combo#1: on a large rectangular plate: generous pieces of chicken on fresh, crunchy bean sprouts, chicken fried-rice that wasn't drenched in soy sauce, fresh veggies, sweet and sour spare ribs, and a large egg roll.. (How do they turn a profit with this serving size and quality?)

A decent treat after a shoot at the Rosedale Golf Club. May 30th.

click, click, click, click: 4 moments on...

...  the Bloor platform northbound.

 

 

 

9:15 pm, May 30th.

Guelph Potters Market at the Goldie Mill

I call her the "turquoise lady"

Works of Art by Mary Philpott from Stratford, ON

 

 

 

 

The 8th annual Potters Market in Guelph is a sure-fire (pun intended) way  to reconnect, if only for a moment, our  primal link with one of the oldest professions in the world. There is nothing quite like drinking wine or beer from a locally-made earthenware goblet, drinking coffee from a substantial mug that invites a caress and a dawdle over the morning breakfast, or enjoying your stew from a dark heavy bowl.  Far from being pedestrian, well-designed and useful pottery are items that act as milestones in one's life, just as dogs, cats, (and children!) in family photos mark moments in our lives. There is the memory of that first glance of that item (as if it had your name on it), the conversation with the artist potter, the exchange of money that, for sure, is not enough compensation for the art and soul that went into the "item", and the first use of it: putting it against the light to admire the colour and design, and cupping it in your hands as if to  feel the fire that smoulders still from within.

Thank you to Jessica Steinhauser (for organizing this event) and to the artists who have come from hundreds of miles around to display their wares.

For those of  you who don't know what I'm talking about, try going to your local community pottery event, pick up a mug, and for a change, sip your tea or coffee from it on a quiet weekend morning over the weekend paper. You will know what I mean, then!

May 28th.

iPhone Diaries #449: from outer space

Hummingbird feeder from outer space (as it hangs over a deck). The old one broke when it was being sterilized with hot water. But no worries, pieces of it will be incorporated into an upcoming stained glass project by Mary. May 27th.

iPhone Diaries #448: Rhubarb Pie

freshly picked from the garden at noon...

to a sweetly-tart pie for dessert after supper! Life doesn't get any better than this! Thank you Mary for the baking  and to Nelida, who gave us the rhubarb plant a few years ago. It's the gift that keeps on giving. May 27th.

iPhone Diaries #447: Guelph Lake

Found this fishing accessory on the banks of Guelph Lake near the Dam.

The Guelph Lake Dam as viewed from where the Speed River starts. This spot is the culmination of a bike ride along the Speed River from the River Run Centre in downtown Guelph to Guelph Lake. More Guelph Area Trails here on Randy Sutherland's blog. May 26th.

If you only read one item this year, make it this one!

Seth Godin: What Matters Now

Do yourself a favour, and do something for yourself. Depending on your temperament and tendencies, reading this book could either be life-changing, or life-altering. If I'm preaching to the choir, there's always something more to be done. If after reading through and it still doesn't change anything for you, then you have my pity but not my sympathy. It's a free ebook in pdf form for downloading.

CARLOS FUENTES: 1928-2012

I "discovered" Carlos Fuentes late last year and since then, I can't get enough of his works. I read him slowly and I reread passages over and over again because his writing is so vivid, complex and nuanced at the same time .... as if I'm there. The Philippines doesn't have any writers like Fuentes, at least nobody since Jose Rizal in the late 1800's. His subject matter is so much like the environment and the people where I come from, and his stories are like what the older generations from my province (Negros Oriental) speak of... the influence of the Church and its superstitions over a Spanish-and-mestizo-controlled society, the corruption,  the heat, the heat and humidity in the night, the passions, the cruelty, the kindness, the subtle power women have over men, etc.

Sad to see him pass away but he led a very full life and accomplished life and I have already picked up a few of his books from my local used-bookstores. 

ANTON HAMMERL: 1969-2011

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/13/a-christie-s-benefit-for-slain-photojournalist-anton-hammerl-s-family.html

Fireworks in suburbia

Sparklers on Victoria Day, Guelph. May 21st.

"Hippocampus"

"Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos, meaning "sea monster".

on a wall behind the Red Brick Cafe, Guelph. May 2012

Wall Art

 

 

Guelph. May 2012

Ballet

Dancers from the RBC Apprentice Program of The National Ballet of Canada. May 16th.

Experts discuss concussions and brain injury

Panel discussion: The Injured Brain: Why Preventing Concussions Is Critical. One of a series brought to you by SickKids. The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, The Toronto Reference Library. 

and the treats! do the happy! May 15th.

"save the last dance for me"

Last shots of the night taken on the NEX 5N using the Twilight Mode (jpg only). The Eglinton Grand is a historic landmark: the former Eglinton Theatre is now a sought-after venue for events such as weddings. It is always a pleasure to shoot a wedding here, esp for Boston Avenue Weddings. May 12th.

iPhone Diaries #446: an invite?

Noticed on the sidewalk at the corner of Fraser and Liberty Streets in Liberty Village, very early Saturday morning (7:45) at the start of a 17-hour wedding shoot! May 12th.

iPhone Diaries #445: Snake

A DeKay's  Snake (Brown Snake) encountered on the Guelph Radial Line Hiking Trail. May 6th. 

Rugby in the pouring rain

It's more fun in the rain. Bishop Mac vs. St. James. Guelph.
April 30th.