iPhone Diaries #592: Moxie amongst the pineapple

March 30th.

iPhone Diaries #591: Moxie amongst the Freesia

March 30th.

iPhone Diaries #590: Freescias on the window sill

March 30th.

iPhone Diaries #589: Mary for Easter

March 30th

iPhone Diaries 588: my kind of fortune cookie

for the procrastinator, the runner-up, and the perennially late. King Tin Restaurant, Waterloo. March 29th.

iPhone Diaries #587: Jake Gyllenhaal is home for Easter

Jake the fish, that is. Tomas is home too. March 30th.

The Pyramids, by Vitaly Raskalov

 

I feel that these are one of the most spectacular views of the Egyptian Pyramids I have ever seen, and this includes National Geographic photos. Raskalov and his team take it on themselves to scale monuments and buildings that are otherwise off-limits to most people. Check out Raskalov's website. It is in Russian but roll your mouse over the text until you come across the Link's text.

Rhoadie

Rhoadie, the Rhodesian Ridgeback with Ben. from Jan 2012.

iPhone Diaries #586: last phone standing...

... well, maybe not the last but it is a disappearing specie. Municipal Street, Guelph. March 26th.

iPhone Diaries #585: The Very Best Pizza in Guelph...

... and just maybe, the best in the Cambridge/Kitchener-Waterloo area. March 26th.

40 Baker Street: a Home away from home

A compilation of images that I hope sums up the raison d'etre of the Art Gallery at 40 Baker Street. Check out the 3 other videos that demonstrate the wonderful people who call 40 Baker Street their home, or their home away from home, or their weekend getaway.

Bob Rae on the piano

Bob Rae at the Live Restaurant in the Living Arts Centre, Mississauga
If there is one thing I can say about Canadian politicians, it's that with few exceptions, they are accessible. Robert Keith Rae, or Bob Rae, is the 21st Premier of Ontario and the current Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He sang one of his compositions at a benefit event, in support of Brampton's Rapport Youth and Family Services. Bob Rae is a statesman and a towering intellectual with a gentle soul.
This is my first attempt at a one-man, 2-camera shoot and I see some glitches that should be avoided in future shoots.

iPhone Diaries #584: Sunday morning goodie,,,

... pancakes with cottage cheese. March 24th.

iPhone Diaries #583: Frozen patterns...

 

... on an uneven sidewalk. March 24th.

iPhone Diaries #582: The best Adobo I've ever tasted....

by Mary, of non-Filipina heritage, using a cookbook recipe for adobo. March 23rd. Recipe by www.pepper.ph. In addition to the recipe, use lean pork chops, marinate an extra, extra, long time (you can't go wrong with the extra time), and use more peppercorns.

iPhone Diaries #581: Poor choice of words...

Page Three of the Guelph Tribune, March 21st.

Just over a year ago today...

a repost

At the Guelph Arboretum, under tall maples, birches, poplars, and cherries are areas that are flooded in the winter and spring. I came across two U of G students, Joey and Ben enjoying a game of hockey on an unseasonably warm early February day.

The credit for the music should be: JS Bach, 23 French Suite No. 6, BWV 817, E major_ Sarabande

iPhone Diaries #580: Rose's Salad

March 20th.

iPhone Diaries #579: Massif Mastiff

a Neapolitan Mastiff at the corner of Yonge and Dundas. March 20th.

note to Chris Evitts

!when the time comes, as it will, eventually, you should donate your brain to science.... so they can determine the composition of the matter: fertile, grain-fed, teeming with creative cells, etc.

i hope the rest of the world gets to know of your work... your drawing out loud mental meanderings!

 (another Guelph resident i'm proud to call  a friend).

iPhone Diaries #578: 40% left on

on the east side of Wyndham, south of Macdonell. March 2013.

iPhone Diaries #577: Extraterrestrial Bubble

taken with the Bubble Telescope, where the sloping driveway meets the flattish street, and where the winter melt pools.  March 2013.

The Essence of being a Volunteer

When you volunteer, when you give of yourself, you'll get more out of it than what you give out.

Baker Street Art Gallery

Every Friday evening, when most people are going home to unwind after a week of work, and looking forward to weekend activities, Sue Potvin leaves her job in downtown Toronto.But she does not head home. Instead, every Friday evening since 2005, she gets on a bus and goes to Guelph. There she spends Saturday and Sunday afternoons running the Baker Street Art Gallery.

The Gallery is a safe space where everyone can come to paint, sculpt, draw, and enjoy some coffee, sandwiches and friendship. All the supplies are provided through donations. Sue has an incredible gift of encouraging artists to express themselves.

"It's hard to articulate the love and passion I have for this place," Sue says. "The people hare are family to me." A gifted artist herself, Sue has found that people who have difficulty sharing their feelings in words are able to do it through art. "People have the opportunity here to explore their creative side, to put their troubles, visions and dreams into all they create. I think that feeling love, acceptance and guidance enriches all of our lives".

Because of the warm, relaxed atmosphere the Gallery is a busy place! Everyone feels at home, regardless of their age or ability.

Drop by to browse or create your own work of art! Donations of cash, food, or art supplies are always needed. Sue can be reached by email at susieq_tlg@yahoo.ca. Sue also makes videos about the programs and artists at 40 Baker Streetwhich can be seen on YouTube at bakerstreetvids or by checking in at eitehr www.40bakerstreet.com or www.mytown.ca.

iPhone Diaries #576: Overwhelmed

March 17th.

iPhone Diaries #575: she loves me...

Are you the  she-loves-me-she-loves-me-not type? Or are you the she-loves-me-not-she-loves-me type? March 17th. 

iPhone Diaries #574: The usual cast of characters

Zavitz Hall, University of Guelph. March 16th.

iPhone Diaries #573: The Cannon on College Royal Day

The iconic Cannon at the University of Guelph, painted with the colours for College Royal 2013. March 16th.

Bob Rae

The 21st Premier of Ontario and the Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, playing his own composition, "I Wanna Spend A Little Time With You" at a small intimate fundraiser in support of Brampton's Rapport Youth and Family Services, at the Live Restaurant in the Living Arts Centre, Mississauga. March 7th.

iPhone Diaries #572: the Red Brick Cafe

9 Douglas Street, Guelph. March 13th.

An essential place: 40 Baker Street

Each of us has the duty, as well as the privilege, to share what we are fortunate to have, be it resources, time, or talent, or all of the three. On the bus commute, my wife met Sue, the resident Gallery curator/administrator/alpha-mama-with-the-shoulder-to-cry-on/shepherdress, and my wife introduced me to Sue. Sue along with a few others, volunteer their weekends to managing the Art Gallery on 40 Baker Street.

I have a philanthropic bent, sadly not of the financial kind; however, my love of photography and, more recently, videography is something I can share and so I offered to do this and other videos for 40 Baker Street. Leandra came forward to share her feelings for and about the community at 40 Baker Street. So here's my first video, with more to come.

Click here for more on 40 Baker Street.

Bertolt Brecht on apathy

“The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn’t know that, from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and multinational companies.”

All the grave issues facing us today, and the absence of the appropriate political will by our governments, can be traced directly to people who wait for the politically active minority to do the footwork; worse, some people choose to ignore, for example, the perils of globalization, unfettered consumption, etc.

iPhone Diaries #571: Pretty in Pink

Saw this pink mitten on the Speed River, below the Boathouse

March 10th.

iPhone Diaries #570: POI

Piss On It. Mar 7th.

iPhone Diaries #569: Wet snow on a mild morning

March 7th.

iPhone Diaries #568: Rhoadie

March 7th.

iPhone Diaries #567: The giant Willow through the Spruce

March 7th.

a 50th Birthday Celebration

Robert is the well-respected and much loved eldest brother who took on the role of the father of a large family as a young teenager, helping to support his mother and his siblings. Over the years, Robert has taken on the role of a Godfather, "Ninong" in Filipino, to a large extended family, both in Canada and in the Philippines. He sacrificed his youth, as well as his own personal life for the betterment of his extended family. He has been married for the last 19 years but he continuous to provide financial support and moral guidance to all. He declares that "he wouldn't have it any other way". Robert is a typical Old World Filipino. The world could use more of his kind.

This surprise 50th Birthday Party is a celebration of his life, a testament to how much he is loved by all!

Please excuse the poor video quality. The original video is 1.5 hrs long and 4.5GB and this video vimeo has been severely compressed down to 400MB.

iPhone Diaries #566: Gleanings from a coffee trolley

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the Trolley:

March 4th.

Demolishing sacred cows: Prejudice, the Pope, by Tim Minchin

iPhone Diaries #565: Really good coffee

For most of things in life, doing what's good for the environment, as well as giving yourself a treat, and saving money while you're at it, is a matter of stepping out of our daily routine, exposing ourselves to new ideas, and, as the Nike commercial says, "Just doing it".

Planet Bean coffee is the best that I know of, for the very reasons seen below in photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The price for a 340g package of this Planet Bean Yirgacheffe coffee is $13.89CDN. The price for a 464g package of Starbucks' Pike Peak Blend is $16.95CDN.  Almost identical in price but miles apart in taste, a different planet altogether  in environmental impact. It's up to us, it's up to you.

BTW, Planet Bean is locally roasted in Guelph, ON. Mar 2nd.