I've been writing this blog since 2005. I have had a number of content specific blogs in the past, but decided in 2013 to consolidate them all back into PJMixer. You'll find photo projects, movie reviews, new music and general thoughts about my life. [My photographs on this web site are protected by Creative Common licensing and cannot be used for commercial purposes without permission].
The Temper Trap who played at the Glastonbury festival this past summer, who are currently on the A-List playlist on Absolute Radio UK (meaning they get played a LOT) and who will be performing on Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday night played at a free gig at The Horseshoe Tavern for The Edge 102.1 Dave Bookman's Nu Music Nite.
The Horseshoe Tavern is one of the few good venues in Toronto who allow any kind of camera (without a photo pass), so with the D-SLR in hand, we managed to get some great shots. I only found out about The Temper Trap during the last week. I downloaded some of their songs on Sunday. On Monday, I found out they were playing in Toronto the next night. Normally for me to love a concert, it helps if I know the songs really well but The Temper Trap are amazing live whether you know their music or not.
They are energetic and get the crowd into their music as you can see from these videos.
Here's the set list:
I look forward to seeing them when they are headlining. It's like we have seen them from their early days and there can only be great days ahead for them.
Browsing NOW magazine and a few concerts caught my eye that are not "hot" tickets per se, but are for bands whose music I like, the venue seems a good fit and I'd probably go if I had unlimited budget and lots of free evenings:
Matisyahu - Phoenix, Nov 30th - Acidic Jewish hip hop - yes, you read that right
Nitzer Ebb - Mod Club, Dec 1 - yes, das man ist bak (of Murderous fame)
Devendra Banhard, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Nov 27th - haven't heard much, but Seahorse from a few years back was brilliant - psych retro at it's best
Junior Boys - Lee's, Nov 6th - Hamilton Ontario amooth stylers
Bill Bragg, Tues Nov 7th - a few mates going, working class hero always has a lot to say
Sloan - Dakota Tavern Oct 19th War Child benefit and photo exhibit - good reasons to see a good rock band
The XX - Mod Club Dec 2nd - worldwide tour date for alt chart toppers with lots of rave reviews, love their complex mellow sound
Metric - Massey Hall Oct 20th and 21st - sold out, but likely worth scalper tickets, one of Canada's best alternative bands
And a couple that I'm going to:
Thievery Corporation - Kool Haus Oct 23rd - smooth grooves, complex urban sounds and exotic vocal varieties, I saw them at the front side of the tour in the Spring and it was a highlight of the year, expecting similar set list enhanced by better looking date
Champion - Mod Club Nov 27th - great band, better performers, best venue in the city, $15 tickets - no brainer
I truly believe we have a big problem on our hands - global climate change. I think it is everyone's problem, from Western governments to the Third World to you and me. Although I'm not an expert on how to solve the problem, I'm aware of it and consciously (or subconsciously) try to do my small part every day.
I take the subway to my downtown office
I prefer to take the subway when going out in the evenings and weekends
I often walk to customer meetings
I often ride my bike to locations within a couple of miles of home
I bring my own shopping bags to the store
I prefer not to use air conditioning
I collect items for safe disposal on city environmental days
I donate old clothes and household items to charities rather than throwing them out
I use refillable water containers
Under the right political circumstances, I think voting for the Green Party can make a statement
You could perhaps look at the following a few different ways (e.g. over packaging= clutter=waste/additional recycling, waste versus energy to recharge/recycle) , but I'll list them anyway:
I don't mow or water my lawn very often
I prefer to use cloth napkins rather than paper
I try to be as paperless as possible and use the computer for reading and note taking
I use rechargeable batteries
I buy digital music rather than CD's
I use CFL light bulbs in many parts of the home
Make Green part of your everyday
Many little things from everyone can add up to a lot !
When someone personally recommends music to me, if I don't know the artist or track, I'll make sure to make a note (Blackberry Note usually). If we have guests at home, most music fans aren't shy (as there's always music playing in our home and I'm always interested in hearing new music) and making a suggestion on the spot and having me sample (iTunes or TouTube) it right there and then. If I like the song right away, I'll often download it on the fly and if the mood fits, we'll be listening to the new track minutes later. Likewise when I'm visiting other music fans, they'll often put on music for me that they think I'll like. I'm sure many people would possibly feel this is inappropriate for a dinner party of other social occasion. But on the contrary, the chance to hear and talk about new music is one of the big reasons music fans spend time with one another rather than just sitting at home with their own music collection. However, we still perhaps feel it's more acceptable to host a dinner party and you just happen to play some new music rather than inviting people over for the simply listening to music together. That we be kind of odd, like something teenagers would do. Like I used to do.
Case in point. We visited my sister-in-law and her family the other night, and her husband (RSc) is a huge music fan (old school CD buyer) He recommended a band called The Clientele and lent me their new CD. I sampled the CD the next day, imported it into iTunes, categorized and rated the tracks and now enjoying some lovely mellow psychedelic new tunes. Solid warm album, perfect for quiet mornings. Thanks RSc.
Looking forward to more recommendations from my network of music fans, including my partner in crime Suze20TO, Dogtown's Eco and KS, Riverdale's RSc and SR, DC's RSe and CS, Uptown and Serbia's NF, Oakville's SHa, Ottawa's TE and Victoria's SHu.
Dump of stuff I'm listening to these past few weeks.
Jamie T - new album is simply fantastic, poetic rhymes with irresistible beats, could be album of the year; pjtrack: Sticks 'n' Stones
Cage the Elephant - solid rock licks, on-the-mark recommendation from SHa; pjtrack: In One Ear
Florence and the Machine - strong vocals from the gentler sex and lotsa layers of sound and harmonies; pjtrack: Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
Arctic Monkeys - not solid all the way through, but some standouts, especially a couple of the ballads; pjtrack: Cornerstone
Kasabian - two brilliant singles vying for top honours in my books plus a wrath of pure winners on this stellar album; pjtrack: Fire
The XX - male/female duet with moody back tones, wonderful late night listening, spot-on recommendation from RSc; pjtrack: Crystalised
Thievery Corporation - this has been out for a while, but as I have tickets to see them for the 2nd time this year, the album is still in constant rotation fantastic grooves with tons of vocal talents; pjtrack: The Numbers Game
K'Naan - I keep finding more and more fantastic lyrics in this superb album from local African/Canadian rapper; pjtrack: Take a Minute
Dizzee Rascal - sing-a-long Brit rapper w/ some fantastic dance club beats; pjtrack: Dance Wiv Me
Champion - simpler rock sounds for sophomore release, but those hard driving guitar and Max's direction and groove sounds combine on many great tracks, perfect appertizer for another live gig in a few weeks; pjtrack: Resistance (Skool)
Today, I'm going to start a test to determine if social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook can actually be a useful tools for finding answers to your many questions (and I know you have lots). Many of us Twitter and Facebook users typically send out statements on what we're doing or how we're feeling and like when we get a comment back. However, I don't think many people post questions. I definitely sprinkle questions here into my blog and occasionally get some answers, but generally speaking I don't think we're getting the most out of our investment into web 2.0. Many people still go with the web 1.0 route when looking for answers, such as highest rated products, cheapest prices, best local restaurants, music reviews and concerts listings. The latest tools in web 2.0 offer an array of clever ways of creating ever widening social networks, so why not leverage those networks a little more ? I'd go out on a limb and say that more people like to answer questions and provide their suggestions and recommendations than simply post of comment about their thoughts. Perhaps this way, people can participate in web 2.0 networks without feeling they are bragging or telling the world useless bits of personal information ! I'll prefix my Twitter and Facebook questions with QOTD - question of the day, and see what I get back.
Wednesday, I saw U2 for my third time at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. I saw them at Exhibition Stadium in the early 1990's and in 2005 at the Air Canada Centre. The photo below was a similar view from where I was in 2005. It's not my photo because although I brought my camera, I forgot to put film in it!
I didn't get tickets initially this year for U2 because either I couldn't get General Admission tickets or I couldn't get any. I wasn't interested in being far again. Floors was all I was interested in...so when a friend of ours emailed to say he had a couple of General Admission tickets...we didn't hesitate (and that was before we knew they were compliments of R.I.M. - does that mean I should finally upgrade my basic cell phone to a Blackberry? at least hubby is on his second so I don't feel too guilty).
Speaking of R.I.M. it looks like they were the solo advertiser last night with much of the Rogers advertising taken down and "Blackberry.lovesU2" signs everywhere.
Snow Patrol took to the stage first. I thought they were amazing. I had seen them a year or two ago at Kool Haus. It was great to see them in a bigger venue with the big screen and extra lighting. Unfortunately with a U2 crowd, not everyone knows them so some people around us were talking...but I still think most people really ended up appreciating their music and their banter, well at least the people on the floor as you can see from this photo.
So now, it's been 3 huge concerts this year that I have seen from up close. The Killers at the Air Canada Centre in January, Coldplay at the Rogers Centre in July and U2 at the Rogers Centre this week. Who would have thought I would have these experiences at the beginning of the year (or even last week for that matter).
This one definitely had the spectacle of the "Biggest Band in the World". In the past I have felt that Coldplay's concerts were more about the music rather than the entertainment. I didn't think anything could top this summer's Coldplay concert. I found Wednesday (and perhaps it was because I was closer than in the past) that U2 was about the entertainment...but also about the music. The musicians were all showcased quite well with spotlights often on them.
I was initially disappointed that the bridges to the circular runway were closer to the back. This is the view from the back of the stage that my husband took (and interestingly I got annoyed at him for because I wanted to get down to the field). I even said "it's not like we would use this photo for anything anyway"...crunch, crunch...that's me eating my words...
The two bridges are covered here, but you can see that they go towards the back of the stage. I had seen a video online of Bono standing on one of the bridges singing, so I thought I wouldn't be able to see him from the front. What a pleasant surprise when I realized that the bridges moved. A few times one of them moved right in front of us so that The Edge or Bono were walking right toward us.
The runway definitely makes the venue seem smaller. They used it a lot more than I thought they would. They would take turns going on the bridges or on the runway so we did feel like we were closer than we really were (to the stage). Even Larry came out on it once playing a bongo.
One of my pet peeves with concerts sometimes is that the lighting is so low and there is smoke from the smoke machines so it's difficult to focus the camera to take a good shot. Last night, we got great shots early, so we didn't feel like we had to keep taking photos.
We could just enjoy the show. I would still get caught up in the moment when they came closer so I did video most of the times they came close, but when they were on stage, I could relax and enjoy the show.
The first time that Bono was on the bridge, I was recording the song...but sometimes, there was this black vertical line in the way. I was a bit annoyed at my "obstructed" view...
I didn't realize what the obstruction was until after I stopped recording as he walked off the bridge onto the runway. He walked towards us to a microphone that had appeared just to the right of us where he finished the song.
I was like a kid in a candy store. Having arrived at the concert at 6:30, I never imagined having such a view, especially since people had started lining up the night before.
This was the second time that the Rogers Centre had the roof open for a concert (the first time for Bruce Sprinsteen). It was so beautiful to see the CN Tower lit up. I panned to it at the end of this video:
Before the concert, I wanted two songs by Snow Patrol recorded on video. Since they were staying on the stage and the crowd were not going nuts, those videos were easy to capture. U2 was not so simple however. For some of my favourite songs, they were behind the stage, or to the side or the crowd was jumping up and down that visibility was minimal. I recorded the songs when they were on the runway or a few quieter ones. For one song (Beautiful Day), I actually recorded the big screen, just to have it because I couldn't see the band at the time.
That is one disadvantage to having floor tickets. Sometimes, you can't see....but you can't beat the atmosphere!
Their 2004 debut album, Chill ‘Em All, won a 2005 Felix Award for Album of the Year in the electronictechno category. Chill ‘Em All went Gold and The Remix Album was nominated for a JUNO for Dance Recording of the Year in '07. They also released a DVD called Champion at ses G Strings that perfectly shows the energy of their lives shows, especially playing in hometown Montreal at Metropolis.
They released the second album Resistance yesterday. I had a quick listen at home last night, but it wasn't until I got a chance to listen to the album properly today with headphones that I can now say I like it. It don't think it's as strong as Chill 'em all and the upbeat tracks are definitely closer to the rock curve. I'm not big on lyrics, and some may find the lyrics somewhat repetitive, but they work well for me as sing-a-long words for the driving, thumping electro-rock sounds. There are a few interesting tracks that explore more electronica and trance themes, with Champion's signature instrumental layering and building of electronic intros and groundwork with guitar riff crescendos and intricate rhythm patterns.I saw Champion at Lee's Palace a couple of years ago and it still remains one of my favourite concerts of all time. Unfortunately I attended solo and there's no photos or video. On a trip out to BC days after the show, my skills of persuasion failed when I couldn't sell my friends on the idea of going to see their Vancouver show. I think one of my Quebec work colleagues has seen Champion perform live (as they do a lot more shows in Quebec) but I don't know anyone else that has seen their fantastic shows in the past. But quiet a few of my friends have loved the music on the first listen ! I've waited a couple of years to see them again, and was over the moon when I found out they were going to play a free concert at Yonge Dundas Square to open the Toronto International Film Festival.
I'm proud to say my 12 year old son is a big music fan (across rock, alternative and electronic music) and in combo of learning to play guitar, he's a fan of Champion just like his old man. So I took him to the concert on Thursday. We got there nice an early as I wanted to make sure we got a good spot so he could see and I could take photographs. We chatted with a few photographers and music fans, including Stranger #22 - Sherlon. With the exception of not playing one of my faves (The Plow), Champion delivered an awesome show. What makes Champion's compositions and performances unique is that while he's live mixing the electronic side of the equation he directing the guitarists with the intros and transitions with hand signals (as you can see in some of the photos on flickr). On the DVD he talks a lot about this technique and I'm still a little amazed at how he pulls this off and creates such a well "produced" sound. I'm not certain how many fans were present, but I'm sure there were plenty of new fans afterward. The free tent in the square was pretty packed and everyone quickly fell into step with Champion's mix of driving dance beats with hard rocking guitars. New male lead singer, Pilou added strong vocals and the special appearance of Canadian Opera diva Measha Brueggergosman topped off the evening perfectly.
A little clip of the YDS crowd showing how you just can't stop moving to the Champion sound ! ( I love the guy in suit and tie holding up his BB on the left at the beginning of the clip)
Playing their hit No Heaven as their encore (poor sound, but you get the idea)
So, for me, Max has created a fantastic formula for an alternative to the often sterile sounds of pure electronic music and the dime-a-dozen unimaginative rock bands who struggle to find that killer riff and a recognizable lead vocal sound. I think his mix of his laptop creation of electronic dance beats and intricate orchestrated guitar melodies, riffs and movements is pure genius.
A good friend of mine enthusiastically recommended the movie I Love You Man a little while ago and I got around to watching it last night - really funny. In the movie, the two lead guys hit it off when they discover they are both huge hands of Rush. Great to see one of Canada's classic rock bands feature so prominently in a Hollywood movie ! I'm a fan too and have seen them play a couple of times. So today, I take my burrito lunch over to the free TIFF (film festival) tent set up at Yonge Dundas Square and there's a few short movies playing, including an interview with Geddy Lee from Rush talking about Massey Hall. Now I come to think of it, I'd just seen a beautiful shot of Massey Hall (one block South of the square) just yesterday on BlogTO.
The Toronto International Film Festival starts today. In the festival's early years, I attended quite a view events and made time to see some more obscure movies, however I don't have any set plans this year. But, I do plan on enjoying some of the free events and also trying to take some photos, incl. candid shots of celebs and fans outside some of the gala events. There are a quite a few free events this year, especially at Yonge Dundas Square where I just enjoyed a light lunch while watching Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man under the tent. Plus a treat I'm really looking forward to tonight is the opening night concert by DJ Champion. The new single is out and the album due next Tuesday. If you're reading this today and within striking distance and like some hard groovin' electro beats and guitar riffs, check it out, you won't be disappointed. On the movie front, I'm going to use the festival as an excuse to watch some quality movies at home. I have a few queued up, incl. The Wrestler and Water.
I went out at lunch yesterday to practice my panning skills, trying to determine the best shutter speed to capture movement, not too fast because you don't want to stop the background (and wheels etc) and not too slow that you can't freeze the subject. I was getting some reasonable results with 1/125sec. To be honest it was kind of hard to even find fast moving objects around Yonge and Dundas as the traffic is pretty grid locked most of the time.
This was the last one I shot and as it happened, I think there's a story here. If you're not from Southern Ontario, then you've probably missed the news about a prominent politician who is being charged in the death of the bike courier earlier this week (Bryant quits post, declares innocence, cyclists ride in support of dead bike courier). This incident has sparked the debate again about cyclist safety on our city streets. I sometimes ride my bike around the city and I've had a few close calls with cars and experienced the tension of sharing busy city streets with mammoth SUV's, trucks and just plain, poor drivers. However, I must admit that I'm not always a model bike citizen and on occasion I'm guilty of disobeying some laws of the road. Another combustible element to the argument is the bike courier - urban hero or antihero ? So back to the photo, could my friendly subject be reacting to the possible negative slants towards couriers or is it simply capturing the stereotypical anti-establishment attitude of this urban figure ?
The other story that this photo perhaps captures is the growing negative attitudes towards photographers taking photos in and of the public. I've been personally tackling this one as I straddle the line between trying to capture unstaged urban street scenes versus approaching strangers for permission to take their picture as part of my 100 Stranger project. There is quite a lot of new commentary and a few organizations raising awareness on public photography, how it is legal - not a crime, how it is a creative art form to embrace, and in some parts of the world, how photographers are sometimes being suspected of being terrorists (something I haven't personally experienced).
So I'm going to keep taking pictures of people, because they are beautiful, interesting, funny, colourful and in many cases there's a story behind their photograph.
Friday night, while my husband was cooking dinner, we were watching an Oasis DVD. My husband began by selecting my favourite Oasis song...Don't Look Back in Anger.
I was debating whether I would ever see Oasis live, having missed the Virgin Festival from last year. I was saying that seeing them sing DLBIA live would be worth it...until the crowd was doing most of the singing in the chorus. I figured I wouldn't want to pay a lot of money to go listen to a crowd sing. But I was quite enjoying seeing them perform.
Being the multi-tasker that I am, while watching the DVD, I was also checking Twitter for any interesting tidbits when I saw someone mention that Oasis will never be the same. They were breaking up. I tried to go to their site (to confirm) - should I really trust Twitter with news? - but I couldn't log on to their site. I googled Oasis news and read an article quoting Liam's wife saying that they would never break up. So I let the matter go, until the next morning, when I saw in the news that Noel did confirm on their website that he had left the group.
So in honour of Oasis...I figured it was a good time to reveal my list of borrowed lyrics because two of my favourites are borrowed from Oasis. When I say "borrowed", sometimes it's intended and other times not.
What's the story morning glory I feel so low and worthless (It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry by Glasvegas borrowed from (What's The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis)
The radio is playing all the usual What's a Wonderwall anyway? (Writing to Reach You by Travis borrowed from Wonderwall by Oasis)
There is a house in New Orleans They call the Rising Sun (The Saints are Coming by Green Day and U2 (cover of The Skids' song) borrowed from House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long (All Summer Long by Kid Rock borrowed from Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard)
And he told Roxanne to put on her red light (When The Sun Goes Down by Arctic Monkeys borrowed from Roxanne by Sting)
Let the love tear us apart I found the cure for a broken heart (Let's Dance to Joy Division by The Wombats borrowed from Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division)
How far will you go? How deep is your love? (Can't Stop the World by Gavin Rossdale borrowed from How Deep is Your Love by The Bee Gees)
We live in a wheel Where everyone steals But when we rise it's like strawberry fields (Glycerine by Bush borrowed from Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles)
Baby I was born to run I won't be back to kiss you goodnight (I Won't Be Back by Daniel Powter borrowed from Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen)
I miss my wife and family (Frontline by Gavin Rossdale borrowed from Rocket Man by Elton John)
And I know that it's a wonderful world But I can't feel it right now (Wonderful World by James Morrison borrowed from Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong)
There we were dying of frustration Saying, "Lord lead me not into temptation" (Yes by Coldplay borrowed from The Bible)
I ran out for a very late lunch break today and while passing through Atrium on Bay, my good friend DA popped into my head as he works in the building and I hadn't seen him for a long time. I run back across the street to return to the office and I get a tap on the shoulder and there's DA. We had a nice catch-up and promised to get together soon. The power of thinking of friends.
I drove up to Muskoka this past weekend to pick up my son from camp. Whenever I'm driving back from this beautiful part of Ontario, or just passing through, or even after short visits, I have a very strong feeling that I want a cottage for me and the family. But it's not just a cottage that fills my dreamy head, it's the water, the dock, the boat, the whole shabang. There is just something relaxing about being close to water, maybe it's the sounds, or even the smell, but it's definitely how clean lake water feels on your feet, or as it cools you down with a summer swim. I love how tired you get when you're at the cottage, it's all that fresh air in your lungs, the sun still warm on your skin, your face weathered from the boat ride.
I truly think that Muskoka is one the Ontario's best assets, the water is clean and deep, the shorelines are rocky and dramatic and mostly free of weeds. There are many lakes or varying sizes (but none too big) and every one of their bays is unique. If you can afford a a property, they are spread out, strategically situated for lake and sun angles. The cottages are large with separate guest and boat houses. A Muskoka chair adorns almost every deck. Muskoka is a true outdoors escape just a few hours drive from Canada's largest metropolis. If a vistor to Ontario was to ask what the most beautiful and truly Canadian thing to see was - I'd say Muskoka.
But this is where the dream luckily ends. I've been able to create a nice little argument against the idea of a cottage. First, the traffic. A normal drive from Toronto to Barrie (half way to Muskoka) is about an hour; on Saturday morning (of the long weekend), it took me two and a half hours to get to Barrie. It was bumper to bumper for almost 100kms with only an occasional (and very dangerous) speed up break. People often say the Friday traffic is terrible and I've been caught in Sunday drive home traffic too. Net, the traffic to and from Muskoka around and on the weekends is very bad. Second, money. Ok, obvious I know, but lets peel back a few layers. A cottage is a second home and it would require just as much maintenance and maybe more over the years. It takes a lot of my energy to destroy my city home, do I have the time (no) or money to pay someone to do all the work on a cottage. Plus, contractors and trades are known to be more expensive in prime cottage country. Then there's the furnishing costs, I'd surely want most of the comforts of home in my new cottage, incl. an adequate entertainment system and a decent kitchen. Toys - well that can get expensive, from additional bikes to the highly desirable ski boat. And last of course, is the cottage itself, better-than-the-city size and parking (guests welcome), waterfront with dock and a deck with a view. I hate to be a snob, but what good would a small shack in a field within "walking" distance to the lake be ? If I'm going to have a cottage, it has to fit the dream. But I'm afraid, that picture is just too costly for this dude.
I was rather shocked to see my Mom's name (under a picture of a smirky 43 year old Wisconsin woman) on the front page of the Metro today. My Mom's namesake had been involved in a bizarre lover's quadrangle resulting in a rather humiliating outburst of female revenge on their lover. Come to think of it, my cousin shares my Mom's name and is much closer in age and looks to the crazy lady ! A rather unsettling coincidence.
We were talking about jazz tonight and Dad was remembering going to to see "trad Jazz" in Britain in the early 60's. Dad got one of his favourites out and played us some Acker Bilk. We then bounced around music genres for a long time and I then played one of my favourites of the day - Pete Doherty. So as Pete's singing, I pick up the Acky Bilk CD and I'm scanning the song titles and just as I'm reading the title of track - The Shepherd's Song, Pete sings "as simple as The Shepherd's Song". Wow.
Kooper woke me up around 6:15. I didn't mind the early wake up call, I had a good night's sleep. I'm starting vacation this week, so no work reminders, ideas or problems rattling around my head. No puppy mistakes this morning and he played nice and gentle with some timely treats and some lovin'. He's getting at that bonding stage where he wants to be close to one of us a lot of the time and when I sat with him this morning, he wanted to straddle me and sit on my lap - part dominant move perhaps, but still nice. Had enough mini-breaks to check computer stuff (still trying to figure best backup process), and he had a little snooze, timed perfectly for me to grab a shower. He woke up and I just took him for a little walk to the corner and back. It's one of those summer mornings where there's a slight coolness riding the gentle breeze, like that morning when you're up before everyone else in the cottage and you go out to the dock and you're alone with the water, the rising sun and splashes of fish and some merry birds. Well, here, there's no water, and the sounds are rather more urban, but accompanied with that fresh scented, summer morning breeze, they feel gentle enough to great a summer Monday morn. Kooper is loving his newly introduced walks and is very excited at the possibility of meeting new people. Not a lot of people out at 7:30am, but there was a work crew assembling for their job down the street. Sure enough, one of the rough looking guys asked about Kooper and came over to get some licks. I'm loving our new walks too ! Now, just getting enough minutes to record some thoughts on the deck with Kooper on this perfect new morning.
I had to do a double-take on the latest comment on my Flickr pictures...the name of the person providing the comment (also from Toronto) was almost the same as my next door neighbour. The best coincidence is that the second picture in his photostream is of a baby (born July 4th) and our neighbour brought home his new son yesterday (born July 3rd).
Simple rules of composition, well balanced colour and exposure seem to work well. New Flickr config allows me to now post to my blog a little more conveniently.
These three people sum up what I love about Canada. They are caring, compassionate and loving. They like an adventure and discovering new things, but are firmly rooted in family traditions. They accept and enjoy our cosmopolitan cities and multicultural mosaic. They are interested in the world beyond our borders, but understand the beauty of Canada. They love the outdoors, but also like the simple joys of life inside (which is especially useful during winter). They are kind and polite to friends and neighbours and are fair to all.
I put together a quick Flickr photo set celebrating Canada in pictures. These pics are all quite recent, so along with the Ontario countryside and lakes, Toronto and Ottawa, I'd like to use photography as an excuse to revisit a few of my other favourite Canadian places: Whistler, Montreal and Halifax.
I'm listening to iTunes set to Canadian artists today and enjoying a little time on the deck with my dog Kooper before the weather turns. I was going to add a playlist on Finetune, but for some reason they've disabled the create playlist feature, so I'll just Blip Sam Roberts instead.
Thursday, June 25th. We've had our new puppy Kooper for almost 2 weeks now. He is a 2 month Australian Shepherd. We had done quite a lot of research about the breed, visited with another Aussie owner and talked extensively with the breeder. We chose Kooper from the litter when he was just a month old based on what appeared to be his nice, calm nature and his beautiful colouring. However, since picking him up and bringing him home he is showing the true Aussie in him. That is, high energy, strength and intelligence, constant gnawing and chewing, frequent nipping and the occasional angry snarl and bite. It also appears that we have the potential for quite a large dog as opposed to the medium size more characteristic for the breed. At this time, I think he thinks he's the boss, perhaps enjoying his new role having come from more dominate pups at the breeders.
We had our first puppy training on Thursday night. I think it went quite well, no human or puppy was hurt, he didn't pee or poop on the floor and he wasn't barking uncontrollably. The little guy was so tired afterward though, all that play time and constant pulling on his leash. I could probably say Kooper was the most entertaining of the 7 dogs present. He definitely tried to assert himself, but was overpowered a few times by an older and larger labradoodle. Nice that he got a bit of a reality check. The one takeaway from the trainer on how to deal with his biting and nipping was consistently use food as reward for all good behaviour (playing nice, sitting and lying, waiting, leaving temptations alone etc).
Friday didn't end well. We tried some of the new ideas, but today it seems that every time we were playing with him it quickly came to an end when he began to bite. We even saw some true doggy aggression today with nasty growls and far from playful biting. We knew it would be difficult, but we didn't expect such a level of biting issues and aggression. We know its not his fault, and it must something we were doing wrong. We felt we are approaching his training as best we could, applying what we were reading and learning from other dog experts. We were putting a lot of energy, time and effort into his training and we seemed to be only making matters worse. My wife and I were very stressed out and I admitted that I was thinking that perhaps we'd made a mistake. It appears that Kooper felt the stress and sadness in the air and was very quiet in the evening.
One of his good traits is his nightime behaviour. He is quite easy to settle down now at night and there haven't been too many peeing accidents. Sometimes we'll sleep for a while beside his pen and we're testing the crate at bedtime on occasion as well.
We had a good Saturday, we probably gave half of his food today as treat rewards for obeying simple sit, wait and down tests and for leaving certain objects alone and listening to corrective instructions. We had family visitors in the evening and it went well with only occasional nipping.
I also had my second puppy driven stranger meeting in as many days on Saturday. On Friday, Kooper was the perfect chick magnate, attracting two attractive ladies over for a chat. And then on Saturday, I'm sitting with Kooper at the front of the house and one of our neighbours drives by and pulls his car into his driveway. Now this gentleman lives across the road and I've never met him. He always appears very serious, never noticing me or any of our family - quite an unfriendly fellow. He is however, a dog owner. On this day, he sees Kooper and I and as soon as he's parked his car, comes across the street to meet us. And what a nice man he is, I found out he's also from England and we talked about our dgos for a little while. Kooper lives up to being a true dog icebreaker.
It's Sunday morning now, the good news is that he lasted over 7 hours without needing to pee in the night. This morning's energy spurts were all fun and games but perhaps we let them go on a bit too long, so he's been getting rather nasty a few times this morning. He's having he morning nap now and the house is quiet. We'll pick up the new treat training when he wakes up and keep a close eye on his mood.
We are also starting to understand his daily moods, his eating and pee and poop timing and recognizing when he's over stimulated, when he needs some crazy time and when to just let him be. Hopefully, Kooper is starting to understand how we work too. We noticed that Friday was not a usual day as I worked from home and the kids were off school, so maybe that had some effect on his behaviour. Let's hope we don't have many more days like Friday.
Our new addition to our family is already changing our family in many ways. There are many challenges, but I can clearly see the positives and beginning to see the progress with his training. He has been part of our lives for just 2 weeks, but the emotional bond is already there. We love our Kooper.
Without really thinking about it, I donned a bright green golf shirt this morning for work. I got it a while back from a charity golf tournament. The logo is simply the company name and not really recognizable outside the financial industry. It has a few snags and a splattering of chalky dog medicine from this morning, but it does the job.
This morning I'm going through my flagged inbox items, seeing if there was a follow up I'd missed or needed to try again. So I give this guy a call and finally reach him and get some updates. As we're talking I realize, hey, I'm wearing a shirt with this guy's company name on it !
So, I have a few logo'd shirts, not surprisingly some overlap with companies I do business with. However, to pick this day to call this one person (which I hadn't tried in quite a few months and only ever talked to once in about the last 5 years), the same day I pick the shirt (and a have a few different shirts), well that's a pretty interesting coincidence. Maybe wearing it and subconsciously seeing the logo made me seek out that old email ?
Sidenote - this financial services company recently purchased a software company, my contact was actually at their offices this morning. Without going through stacks of old business cards, I'm pretty sure the acquired company was one I'd targeted for a new job a long while ago ! Small world.
I was in the waiting room of my physiotherapist's office and a father and son walked in from the elevator and the son was wearing a t-shirt with Role Model written on it. I couldn't see the logo or a clue to the inner meaning, but fair enough, maybe this kid really is a role model, say for other students at his school. Anyway, I was enjoying reading a novel called No Time for Goodbye as I'm waiting for my appointment, and a few pages after I see the kid, I read "I'm not the best role model". Which is rather an understatement coming from this criminal character in the book. Just as I'm writing this I remember a clever mass email I got around to reading today from my brother-in-law in Manitoba. It was entitled Who is your Role Model ? It goes something like this...
Each of us is the result of the influence of many people. However some individuals have played a significant role in our development, They are often called "role models" that we consciously or unconsciously imitate. Perhaps you know who that person is, or perhaps you don't. The world renowned Sir Trevoir Rigelsworth, Ph.D, has given us a simple way to determine our role model. It is easy and only takes a minute and it may surprise you.
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???*
Be sure not to peek! You don't want to skew your answer. Try this - it's really neat .. Don't look at the answers:
1) Pick your favourite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3 (I'll wait while you get the Calculator....)
4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number....
5) Add the digits together
Now Scroll down ..............
With that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Einstein 2. Oprah Winfrey 3. Mother Teresa 4. Randubius Raji 5. Bill Gates 6. Johann Von Stueckenberg 7. Brad Pitt 8. Babe Ruth 9. PJMixer 10. Barack Obama
I haven't done the math, but the simple logic is there somewhere, but these games are still a fun.
My wife was blogging and ranting about customer loyalty today (Bell vs Rogers). I stopped in at World's Biggest Bookstore (not sure if it truly is, but it is the closest bog book store to my office, and it is big and has a great selection) after work and the first book that caught my attention was Loyalty Management.
Here's something to brighten up this rather dull, gray Thursday. First shot I've seen of one of the new stadiums for next year's World Cup in South Africa. This is in Johannesburg and will be the site of the final. The colours are amazing and immediately say Africa.
We hear about car crashes all the time when we're dialed in to traffic reports, and over our lifetimes we are all involved in at least one car accident (I've had three I believe). But sometimes we forget how dangerous driving can really be.
This week, I talked with a customer who I hadn't heard of for a few weeks. It turns out he was involved in a serious accident with his family on the 401 and is suffering from back and neck pain. Today, I learned that the family of a work colleague in Ottawa were involved in a serious car accident yesterday and his daughter is in the hospital. My thoughts are with them.
I once heard that the car, most times, our comfortable and loyal "friend", can turn into your worst enemy in a blink of eye when things go wrong. Please drive safely, for yourself and fellow travelers on the road.
I played soccer tonight and I must say, apart from the good workout, it wasn't a lot of fun. I now have ice on my ankle and my jaw hurts from a full blast goalie clearance I took in the face. I think I may actually pack it in. My ankle, which in normal situations doesn't give me any trouble these days (after the break and surgery last year), is just not strong enough to make a convincing pass or worse, a threatening shot on goal. If you have access to my health file, you'll know about my "frozen shoulder" so I'm not playing my regular ultimate or golf this summer. I thought soccer may be a decent substitute but and I'm a little tentative on the soccer field too. Maybe someone is trying to tell me something ?
So, foot up and on ice, wondering whether to do some physio for my shoulder and if I need to treat my other problem (I'm still a little uncomfortable sharing the details, but let's just say, PA is forcing me to change my diet and is taking forever to cure). I'm actually saying screw it tonight and enjoying a beer as I feel sorry for myself.
So what else is keeping me busy these days ? Well from the business side, I'm enjoying having my evenings and weekends free until the next busy cycle hits. I'm probably spending the most time with photography and building a good collection of public content on Flickr and sharing personal photos via Picasa. Actually, I'm getting a lot more viewers and comments on Flickr than all my other online sharing these days. New music has fallen on the list, but I'm still downloading quite a bit of new stuff every month. I picked up the latest Q mag today and quickly found some interesting stuff, incl Canadian electronic act Junior Boys, the cool sounds of Camera Obscura (playing at Lees on June 27th), and the hard rocking new album from The Manic Street Preachers.
The other big news that is about to change my life is Kooper. Kooper is our new Australian Shepherd puppy who we're bringing home on Saturday. I'm sure he'll generate quite a bit of content here over the next few months. Still have some prep work to do, incl. installing some extra fencing in the back yard. We picked an Aussie because they are more of a medium sized dog, a super smart, athletic and very loyal.
Watching a little Derek Trucks in High Def (HDNet from the weekend) before heading to bed, hoping to log a few REM meets the sandman hours.
I was having a great little drawing session with my daughter after work today and out of the miscellany of items we were drawing I asked if she knew how to draw lightening bolts. Then on Twitter shortly after I follow a link to art work on my sister-in-law's Flickr page - whatja know - lightening !
I decided to ride my bike to work yesterday. Get the heart going (especially for the up hill return), be green, save $5 subway fare, all good. I haven't done this for years and probably only ever done it a couple of times. As it happens blogTO posted Sustainable Commuting: the Bicycle the same morning. I really like the soundtrack to the video, anyone got a helmet cam I can borrow for the next ride. BTW, I didn't walk my bike up my 25 stories.
Unfortunately I don't have my camera with me otherwise this may have been a wrecked landscape photo. I'm having lunch and reading my photo mag at Ryerson's green space, nestled among college buildings in the heart of downtown Toronto. I've been here a couple of times and find it's a relatively quiet spot that is isn't very busy and close to my office. A little din can be heard from close by Yonge Street, the faint radio sound from a parked truck isn't so bad, and the occasional hospital helicopter I can take, but the high pitched, metallic grind of the work men cutting concrete is doing a marvelous job at ruining this quiet urban moment.
Had to jot this idea down before going to bed. Felt that I might as well share it. I've had an idea about seeing the mess of a city in a different light. I added a new set in my Flickr account that is starting to capture some of the photos with this theme, although I haven't managed to capture the beauty yet, just document some wrecked landscapes.
So I was thinking, really what makes the city great ? It's partly its physical diversity and impressive structures, its neighbourhoods, but mostly, it must be its people. However, I'm a little too shy to simply walk up to people on the street and ask to take their photograph. I do it on occasion, but prefer to steal a candid shot. So I'm now thinking of trying to capture one of those one genuine expressions that you can't really pose for, laughter. But try and capture the moment and faces in amongst the less than pretty places on the street. Unsure of depth-of-field challenges with my 70-300, but I'll give it a try tomorrow (well, later today).
This is probably relevant, but I watched Slumdog Millionaire tonight. Still trying to put my thoughts into words, but I loved how "beautiful" the movie looked, slums and all.
I watched the Champion's League final this afternoon. Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0. Barcelona have an unusual "sponsor" of UNICEF. I actually did a little googling and was pleased to see that Barcelona actually donate a minimum 1.5M euro per year to UNICEF. A nice story in times of greedy sports teams and players ! Anyway, on the dining room table there's a tax receipt from UNICEF. I didn't know my wife donated any money to UNICEF and today was the first time I saw the paperwork. No biggy, but nice.
As I've noted a few times in the past, I notice coincidences quite a lot and I am very curious about their math and meaning. So much so, that I've decided to blog them. Announcing PJMixer'sOnly Coincidence ? Blog.
We are about to get our first dog. We saw him this past weekend and we should be able to bring him home next month when he's about 8 weeks old. When our plans were solidifying last month, my daughter came up with the name Kooper. She liked the name from perhaps a past memory and it kind of went with kanga and roo(our puppy is an Australian Shepherd). It turns out that the puppy's mother's name is the same as my daughter's and she had previously had a puppy called Cooper.
I did a quick google on Kooper yesterday, just to see if anything weird popped up. Nothing really, a musician and a photographer etc. Then when I was browsing in Indigo after work yesterday I glanced at a book featured on one of the aisle displays - Blood Sins by Kay Hooper. I just went to her web site and what do you know - she's a dog lover and there's a picture of a dog on the site that looks pretty close to an Australian Shepherd.
The other night my wife and I were talking about letting our friends know about possibly seeing a local band We Are The Take. The Next (random) song on iTunes starts and it's our friend's favourite (all time) track by The Lowest of the Low called Rosy and Grey.
The other evening my son was enthusiastic about The Incredibles, one of my favourite Pixar movies. When my wife is looking at Indigo.com a little later in the evening, there's a special Pixar ad on the landing page and Mr. Incredible is part of the graphic.
I got around to watching A Mighty Heart last night, the true story of journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. Really well made, riveting actually, Jolie was barely recognizable and her acting was superb. Although the plot with its myriad of foreign named characters was very hard to follow, it didn't take away from the key messages and emotions of the movie.
Anyway, getting to the coincidence. I record The Hour every night and it usually takes me a while to catch up but I don't really have any rhyme or reason on which one I watch first. I had previewed a few intros and I do recall glimpsing something about dangerous jobs, and maybe I did hear "journalist" but I think I filed it away*. I've been watching a few this week and chose to watch another before going to bed after the movie. The first one I clicked on was from May 13th and it included a fascinating interview with Terry Gould, a journalist who's been working in some of the most dangerous places in the world.
I just finished a book and have been considering what to read next. My wife who is part of at least 2 book clubs recommended Three Cups of Tea. I knew a little about the story, but wasn't certain about the geography. I started it when I went up to bed. The story is set in Pakistan and is written by Greg Mortenson and journalist, David Oliver Relin. In the introduction, Relin talks about journalists being drawn into his [Mortenson's] orbit.
Perhaps just a common thread or only coincidence ?
*clue into one way coincidence happens you observe something, but it doesn't sit in true memory, but rests somewhere behind a curtain and then is only revealed when it connects to something else you observe at a later time
100 Minutes on (West) Queen West and a little Dundas too. I had rented a couple of high quality lenses for the weekend which I returned this morning. However after viewing the Contact Festival exhibition at Mocca after work I put my faith back in my 18-55mm kit lens and along with some new inspiration I took a long walk to see what angles and content I could capture. Originals and full set going on Flickr shortly along with weekend shots.
I haven't been twittering a lot recently and now I find I'm a bit behind. Engage Twitter overflow blog mode.
Even though I've had to work a little this weekend and my shoulder is still causing 4am wake times, I'm enjoying this long weekend.
We went to the Ontario Science Centre today. I've never been a big fan since I always feel it's very disorganized and many exhibits are not working properly. But, the interactive exhibitions always seem to be hit with the kids and it got their brains working hard for 3 hours.
Catching up on a few movies too this weekend, Forgetting Sarah Marshall was hilarious and we just watched Benjamin Button tonight, which was a little different to what I expected. Can't say I loved it was but a curious story well told. Hot music of late includes Pete(r) Doherty, White Lies and S&R just introduced us to Bash for Lashes after dinner last night.
I enjoyed shopping with the kids yesterday and especially liked my son's rare fashion sense kick in with a pair of white and red Ferrari logo'd Pumas, sweet !
I've been taking a ton of photos this weekend. I went to Vistek on Friday and rented a couple of lenses (Nikon 18-200mm VR and Nikon 50mm 1.4) and a Nikon SB-800 speedlight for the weekend (pretty good deal I think). Although I'm constantly trying new photographic techniques, camera settings and subjects, I think I'm gradually getting a little better, but adding some quality lenses hasn't produced instant wows. Probably a good thing considering the price tags.
Sports - keeping it brief, Arsenal put up a decent performance to hold ManU to a scoreless time at Old Trafford, which gave The Red Devils the point the needed to clinch the Premiership. It's been a difficult season for a Gunner fan, but I'm sticking with them and hopeful for next season if they can add a little muscle and height at the back. Sorry hockey fans, still haven't invested time into the NHL playoffs yet, I'll probably wait until the next round. F1 is looking interesting this year, big shake up with Brit boy Jenson Button leading the pack - worth watching some new faces get the time at the front !
My sports, unfortunately Ive had to cancel a number of golf tournament and my ultimate season due to this frozen shoulder injury. I think I've stabilized it a little, but it hurts like a bugger now and again and very uncomfortable at night (to say the least).
As some readers may know I like coincidences. In fact with a few recent events and a story from SEH I'm actually thinking of spinning up a new blog to log coincidences - I think there's enough to make you go hm.
And to finish, today is my 18th wedding anniversary. We're planning on spending the afternoon doing the West Queen West walk, taking in some galleries exhibiting during this month's Contact Photography Festival and having a nice cafe lunch. Can't end without saying she's the most amazing woman and perfect for me.
Last night, The Horseshoe Tavern served up a gem.
The Horseshoe Tavern is one of the few good venues in Toronto who allow any kind of camera (without a photo pass), so with the D-SLR in hand, we managed to get some great shots.
I only found out about The Temper Trap during the last week. I downloaded some of their songs on Sunday. On Monday, I found out they were playing in Toronto the next night. Normally for me to love a concert, it helps if I know the songs really well but The Temper Trap are amazing live whether you know their music or not.
