I’m very proud to announce that the first issue of Making Room Magazine has launched!
MakingRoom is a magazine about the process, intention and results of image-making. It’s our hope to comfortably view and examine the range of individual processes that lead to powerful visuals. We plan to talk fairly plainly but with depth to artists at all stages of their practice.
Years ago I lent out and never received back my copy of I Seem To Be a Verb by R. Buckminster Fuller. Because this book is out of print I’ve bemoaned its loss and have searched in vain for it in used bookstores. Recently I managed to get another copy through alibris.com and I’m so happy.
For those that don’t know, R. Buckminster Fuller was an inventor, holistic thinker, futurist, architect, urban planner, etc. most widely known for his pioneering work with geodesic dome structures (Toronto’s Ontario Place sports one of them).
The book is a collaboration between Fuller, Jerome Agel, and Quentin Fiore. Fiore is well known for the books he did with Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Message and War and Peace in the Global Village. I Seem To Be a Verb is somewhat similar in format to those books in that it presents associative imagery and blockquoted text. They’re all highly entertaining books to jump around in — like channel surfing or magazine flipping.
For more about R. Buckminster Fuller, there’s the Buckminster Fuller Institute.
A few days ago we had our first snowfall in Toronto. It was shortlived and mostly consisted of the tinyest flakes that disappeared as they hit the ground. I wanted to try and capture the flakes as they fell. The nice part about winter is watching snow fall. It’s a shame it has to pile up and turn into shades of grey here in the city.
Photos from when we went to the Jardin Botanique in Montreal in the summer. These shots of papyrus from the large pond in the Chinese garden (also seen here) show an interesting quirk that my Fed5 has; in some photos the entire shot will get a golden yellow cast. I haven’t been able to figure out the circumstances but I’m assuming it’s some sort of flare when the light hits the lens in a particular way. I’ve liked the result when it’s happened so far even though it’s quite random.
I don’t expect to be seeing this sight much in the next few months. Here in Toronto an empty TTC streetcar is pretty much a summer occurance. During the winter months it seems like every streetcar is filled to bursting, either too hot or too cold, and has a river of melted slush on the floor.
We went to see Gus van Sant’s newest movie, Elephant, last night. The way it was shot is quite beautiful with lots of natural light and colour combinations that had the two of us thinking about the sort of pictures you can get from a Lomo LC-A. It’s a very minimal movie with some faults but overall I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Coudal Partners – Photoshop Tennis: The Open Championship — 11 open positions are chosen Friday September 19th 2003 from a pool of hundred of entered volleys.
I’m crossing my fingers. Yay! I was picked!
Today is, I believe, the last day that we will have jet planes ripping through the sky directly above our neighbourhood for the next year or so. Good riddance!
Because we live fairly close to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds we get treated every year to the sounds of Indy cars, fireworks, and jet planes on multiple occasions.
The worse of these are the planes which are part of the Canadian International Airshow. Single and formation flying jets whipping quite low to the ground above residential neighbourhoods just isn’t a great idea. The noise is irritating to say the least and the potential danger is unreasonable.
I’m sure there are a few diehard fans who come into Toronto each year for this but we have to live here and there is really zero benefit to the Parkdale / Brockton area except heavier traffic and maybe some extra cash to those who rent out their lawns as parking to CNE goers in general.
The CIAS website has a banner pointing to a site asking for names on a petition for new jets for Canada’s “national icons” the Snowbirds. There is a load of rhetoric on the linked site about national identity, encouraging Canadian youth to join the Canadian Air Force, and the economic benefits of airshows to the Canadian economy which are all dubious.
My best friend and partner in all things, Gayla, is 30 years old today. We’ve been together for the last 10 years so we’ve seen at lot of changes in each other. It’s wonderful to have someone in my life that I’ve shared good and bad experiences with over all these years and that I can always be myself with.
Happy Birthday Gayla. I Love You.
Coudal Partners, well known in part for playing host to many memorable games of Photoshop Tennis, has recently announced The Open Championship. As part of the 32 person tourney, they have 11 open play spots to be chosen by a panel of juges based upon return volleys they receive. I thought it sounded like fun so I lobbed one back at them.
Check the Tennis HQ page for updates as things progress.
