Friday, October 31, 2008


I am so with these people. And I don't even live in the U.S.!

Thursday, October 30, 2008


Ooohhhh, my head hurts. Why? Because this is actually considered newsworthy. 59% of Americans think Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be vice-president. Excuse me?!? Only 59%?!? She's a corrupt idiot, for crying out loud! A cynical ploy on the part of McBush's handlers to try to convince Americans that he's hip! She's not even out of high school! "What do you mean you won't fire my sister's ex? He was mean to her! What's the point of being, um.....governor! if I can't fire anyone I want?" Can't you just see her stamping her Ferragamo-clad foot in a fit of adolescent pique? Oh. Wait. You can't get Ferragamos at Wal-Mart, can you? Mrs. Joe Q. Plumber would never wear Ferragamos, would she?

And, worse (as if it could get worse), some people are even touting her as a viable candidate for president in 2012!

Like I said yesterday, the next few days are gonna kill me. I just can't shake the horrible feeling that America will elect McBush. No one I know down there is going to vote for him, but... Face it, Bush got a second term when he should have been run out of town on a rail. The potential for disaster is all too real.

Meanwhile, speaking of friends south of the 49th ('way, 'way south in this case), here's a little something lighter.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008


Waiting for Goldilocks, I guess.

Meanwhile, I swear the next few days are gonna kill me.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008


My version of a perfect way to spend a day. Well, if I'm not out photographing it, that is.

Monday, October 27, 2008


Yep, stupidity has once again crossed the line. Surely everyone's read about this moron. Notice there's no mention of Mrs. Bizilj?

On the other hand, do I detect a shoo-in for the 2008 Darwin Award?

Sunday, October 26, 2008


Ah, yes - it's fall. Let the cliches commence!

But, at least there's a little adventure to go along with this shot. It was taken on the grounds of what used to be one of the largest psychiatric hospitals (actually, probably the largest) in B.C. The past tense is due to the fact that, like governments in a lot of places, a series of our provincial governments, starting in the early 1980s, decided that all the folks who used to live here could do just as well out in the "community". If you want to get an idea of how well that bit of idiocy worked out, go back into this blog's archives and look at shots from the Downtown Eastside. There won't be many shots of the folks who live there, but you'll get a pretty good idea of their living conditions.

And, you know what's really charming? Vancouver's hosting the 2010 winter Olympics. Remember how well China did this year trying to hide its less-than-ideal side? Yeah, well, keep your eye on Vancouver. Sometime over the next year the Powers That Be are planning to vacuum up all the poor souls they so unceremoniously turfed out of this hospital and drop them right back in. Temporarily, at least. Just till the tourist bucks have come to town. Meanwhile, the hovels these folks currently live in are being rapidly converted to expensive condos. What's going to happen in 2011? These folks are going to once again be turfed out of Riverview so that it, too, can eventually be turned into condos. Nice world, huh?

Oh! I almost forgot the adventure. Right. So, I was out there with my good friend, Dr. Flynn. She's actually a psych doc and has worked at Riverview, so she knows the place. Well, O.K., she hasn't worked there in a few years, but... Anyway, we arrive, drive around looking for suitable photographic material - Paula wants to photograph the place in all four seasons - and finally park. Right next to a security guard's car. With the security guard in it. Naturally, we blithely ignore his presence. Well, after about 5 minutes of uninterrupted shooting, said guard wanders over to Paula to tell her we can't take pictures. I was about 30 feet away, doing my best to ignore the guy. And feeling increasingly aggressive. Gees - I was reminding myself of a dog I once owned - bite first, ask questions later. Paula, however, was calmly talking to the guy (must be why she's good at being a psych doc, huh?), which gave me time to cool off. Good thing, too. He was a very nice guy and the rule he was enforcing was, damn it, legitimate. It seems the hospital folks are worried about people coming in, taking pictures of the joint that include patients, and posting those pictures on the internet for anyone to see. Kind of an invasion of the patients' privacy, right? Yep - right. So the three of us chatted for a while about the hospital (it's got some truly nifty buildings), the sad state of psychiatric care in the world, and other issues, and then Paula and I drove off, looking for other photographic fodder.

O.K., not exactly 007 material, but...

Saturday, October 25, 2008


Ooooh, I'm in big trouble. I've got that "time for a new camera" itch. And it gets worse! I've actually got that "time for two new cameras" itch. Now, it's not totally my fault. The single camera that I crave doesn't exist! I want something I can use long lenses on, wide lenses on, with a decent viewfinder, and that's small and unobtrusive. How hard can that be? Evidently, too.

So, I'm feeling the powerful pull of the Nikon D90 and the almost equally powerful pull of the Panasonic LX3. Agh! The former, obviously, offering the use of a variety of lenses, big photosites on its sensor, multiple focus points, and a whole bunch of other swell things (among which I don't count video - I don't need no stinkin' video) to boot. But, it's big. Compared to the LX3, that is. Which offers tininess, a 24-60 zoom (oh, how I wish it went to 90!), a fast lens (f2-2.8 at the wide open end)...What's a guy to do?

Yeah, well. Meantime, if you're into good photography, buy this book. I just got my copy today and it's real darn good. As an added bonus, here's a link to an interview with Sam Abell, the guy who took the photos. He's an interesting guy who's shot a lot of stuff.

Friday, October 24, 2008


If you're one of the folks from America who reads this little blog, when "that day" comes, to borrow from Spike Lee, do the right thing.

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Thursday, October 23, 2008


I'm sure this shot has potential as some sort of visual metaphor - the Bush presidency, the McBush candidacy, the current state of the stock market - but I'm not saying a word.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008


Another day with nothing in particular to say. What a relief, right?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008


What can I say?

What can I say?

Monday, October 20, 2008


More of these dying plants? Gees! But, it's not my fault. They fall apart in such an interesting way. And these particular plants, well, as yesterday's post showed, I did try to get out of my neighbourhood. The plants you're looking at are clear on the other side of town! Can I help it if they're popular with landscape gardeners?

And, I almost forgot - you lucky New Yorkers! There's going to be a William Eggleston exhibition at the Whitney, Nov. 7 to Jan. 25. You gotta go.

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Sunday, October 19, 2008


As everyone who wasn't in a coma today knows, Colin Powell put his stamp of approval on Obama. With any luck, that was also a spike through the heart of the McBush campaign. Between Powell speaking up and the recent polls, I'm almost tempted to optimism.

Having been born in 1952, I was just the right impressionable age when the American civil rights movement took off in the early '60s. Almost every night on the six 0'clock news there would be footage of black people being tumbled down some Southern street at the end of a jet of water from a fire hose wielded by some white police officer. Or being beaten with billy clubs. Or shot. Television footage couldn't, of course, show the real horrors. Bombings of black churches with children inside. Burnings, lynchings. Those things turned up in the pages of "Life" magazine, and other news magazines of the day.

Yep, it's gonna be a pretty huge day when Barack Obama gives his inauguration speech. A real big day.

And you know what'll be even bigger? If, at the end of his 8 years in office (I told you I was feeling optimistic), the reviews of his presidency never once mention his skin colour.

Saturday, October 18, 2008


O.K., I'm on a "leaf" thing. The same damn leaves. What can I tell you? I think they're pretty darn nifty, and I see them every time I go to the library, or for a wander along 41st (which you'd have to live here to understand, but...).

Still, it does have current relevance. Yep, Dumbya ("Scumbya" to his friends) just will not die (metaphorically, that is). Here he is, in the waning months of his "presidency", and he's still dumping all over America. What do I want for Christmas? Indictments of El Stupido, Cheney, Rove, and Rumsfeld. Will I get my wish? Sure. As soon as the Second Coming happens.

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Friday, October 17, 2008


Undoubtedly you'll have noticed a large "green" component to the last couple of days' posts. What can I tell you? I was on my way home from picking up coffee (if you haven't already got one, the best bucks you'll ever spend will be on your very own espresso machine), and these plants were between me and home. And you wouldn't believe the contortions I had to go through to get this shot.

Now, if you're feeling a tad overloaded by all this "green", well, here's some relief. Never let a little life that's not human stand between Sarah and her oil. Aside from her amusement value, do you find her as utterly repellent as I do?

Thursday, October 16, 2008


If you're like me, admit it, you've got a soft spot in your heart for Republicans. Why? Because they're stupid, that's why. How many times did John McBush invoke the name "Joe-the-Plumber" as a symbol of the virtuous American little guy the other night? 12? 20? More? Joe, whose real name is Sam, who isn't actually a licensed plumber, who's actually in arrears on his taxes? This guy is John McBush's symbol of America?!? A guy who's too dumb to realize that his tax bill is actually likely to go down under Obama's plan? That is, it would go down if he ever decides to actually pay it.

And you've got to love the closing racist slur, don't you?

I love these people! They're dumber than....you guessed it....a bag of hammers.

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008


I dunno - do you think there's any potential for a deeper symbolism in a shot of decaying leaves?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008


How can that kid run in those heels?

Maybe she feels Smirkin' Steve and his Cretinous Party breathing down her neck. I'm sooooooooo depressed. Not to mention embarrassed. This is the guy who wants to put 14-year-olds in jail for life, tax the poor and give to the rich, privatise healthcare, make abortion illegal...and yet, my fellow Canadians are re-electing him! Granted, in typical Canadian fashion, the cause for celebration is, um, dubious. But still...

Please America! Elect Obama! Please don't force me to turn to heavy drinking and Prozac!

Say...speaking of heavy drinking...I was in my local wine emporium this evening, picking up a couple of bottles, and overheard a woman grilling one of the clerks on which beers had preservatives in them. Now, I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that she was worried about the potential health effects of said nasty preservatives. It was all I could do not to wander up to her and point out that a) alcohol, a key ingredient in beer, is a preservative, b) it's also a sterilizing agent, and c) it's a poison! What could anyone possibly add to that? God, I love stupid people!

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Monday, October 13, 2008


I hereby declare fall officially begun, here on the Wet Coast.

Sunday, October 12, 2008


I'm an atheist. Nevertheless, I'm friends (good friends) with a number of people who believe in one or another religion. It makes their lives better. Fine. But, folks like the ones in this story really make it hard to be patient with religion. Bishop Fred, for example, is obviously a cretin. One who will pretty much ensure that at least some of his parishioners, women only, of course, will ultimately die of cervical cancer. Oh, well - they'll just be getting to meet their Maker that much sooner, right? Would that Bishop Fred had already done so.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., it's Republican politics as usual. Heavily reliant on aid from the Scum of the Earth. The Republicans pay them to lie, and FOX puts them on the air. And I always thought the big question in life was what its meaning was. Nope. The big question is why do people vote for these swine?

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Saturday, October 11, 2008


We're baa-aa-ck.

So, the file name for this shot is "wake up". Darned appropriate in this election season, wouldn't you say? To begin...

Americans - any of you thinking even slightly of voting for John McBush - wake the fuck up! Your country, thanks to Bush and his fellow Republican cretins, is in the toilet. Monetarily, morally, and any other way you want to look at it. These creeps have gotten as close to destroying your country as it's possible to get without actually doing it. And, trust me, the data's not all in yet on that - it's just possible that they have, in fact, destroyed America. Worried about Osama? Get a grip. He's got nothing on these weasels.

Meanwhile, here in Canada, my home and native land, the situation's almost as dire. People are actually thinking about voting Ref......er.....Canadian Allia......damn!....Conservative. Talk about cretins! These doofuses can't even come up with a creepy plan of their own - they have to imitate Republicans. Life sentences for 14 year olds! Who's dimwit idea was that? Global warming isn't real! Yep, they've got the finest "scientific" minds available working for them. And I particularly love this! The party has realized that their own leader is such a vile slug that they're advising him to shut up totally between now and the election. Yep, that's what you want in a nation's leader - a guy too stupid, or slimey, or whatever it is his own party thinks is his problem, to allow him to speak in public.

Golly, I feel much better being back at this.

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Wednesday, October 01, 2008


Shoppin'. That's what I'll be doing this weekend. Looking for a new bike. I'm thinking something in the cyclocross line, but...

Yeah, yeah - and I'll try to get some new shots, too.