Melancholic Remains

No. 2654 - 31 May 2011 - 16:38:01

This old church -
somewhere in Saskatchewan
by the side of the road
in a farmer's field.
Memory is a hollow victory.

On this, the thirty-fifth anniversary of my father's death, I remember.

His kind, intelligent soulfulness and unconditional love for family are greatly missed.

Reach

No. 8692 - 25 Apr 2011 - 12:20:47

Regeneration

No. 4378 - 26 Jan 2011 - 15:13:06 * No. 1959 - 25 May 2011 - 18:53:03

The St. Boniface church-yard on Taché at Rue Provencher in
Franco Manitoba.

L'Autre Plage

No. 7897 - 12 Apr 2011 - 09:24:29

No. 1559 - 23 Jan 2009 - 15:06:59

Form

No. 8513 - 21 Jul 2008 - 10:24:18

Scholastic sandbox within the Academic Quadrangle at
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby Mountain Campus.

Orientation

No. 9421 - 22 Aug 2009 - 12:47:21

Cherry Blossom Season

No. 5697 - 01 Dec 2007 - 01:51:31

Detail of a painting by the author.

Stop Censorship

No. 2830 - 11 Sept 2007 - 20:17:39

The internet crack-down will not be about piracy or democracy but rather good old-fashioned control of the few over the many.
Check out the list of SOPA supporters at
http://wwws.house.gov/htbin/search?vdkvgwkey%20%3Csubstring%3E%20%22/judiciary.house.gov/%22|sopa
And for more information about this legislation see
http://www.slashgear.com/slashgear-101-sopa-and-pipa-explained-in-plain-english-17209599/

Thanks to Michael K and all my friends at dlisted
http://www.dlisted.com/2012/01/18/hot-sopa-related-slut-day#comments
for the information and links above.

Vive la revolution!

View From A Labyrinth

No. 3491 - 21 Dec 2011 - 14:37:53

Celebrating winter solstice at 09:30 pst.

Fall On Pavement

No. 4424 - 18 Oct 2007 - 09:32:20

Outcast

No. 2624 - 10 Sept 2007 - 06:47:37

Two For All Souls' Day

My father with his father, circa 1952.

One Saint For All Saints

St. Begga of Landen (615 - 17 December 693)

After an evening, spent singing a tricky High Mass by William Byrd at
St. James' Anglican, I forgot to post on All Saints' Day (yesterday).
In its place I present one saint.

St. Begga is purportedly a distant but direct grandmother/ancestor of
mine through my matriline - discovered during a research inquiry into
mitochondrial DNA and its implications for the social constructs of
womanhood and feminism.
Once widowed, she took the veil and founded seven churches and a
convent where she died and was buried. As a wealthy and powerful
woman, within the confines of her time, her greatest act possible was
religious patronage for which she was rewarded with sainthood.
Many people with a franca-matriline can trace their way back to this
saint - mother.

Halloween

No. 5495 - 30 Oct 2010 - 20:07:46

Exhibit

No. 0094 - 08 Oct 2011 - 15:05:23

Heart of the City

This neo-Gothic church building set in a neo-Dickensian downtown neighbourhood is St. James' Anglican* - frequent photographic muse, home to my beloved High Mass Choir (alto) and on Saturday, October 29, from 12 noon to 4 pm, host of an Open House for the Heart of the City festival.
It comes with a guided tour (12:30 pm), John Donne sermon in costume (1:30 pm), St. James' Music Academy performance (3 pm), photo exhibit (12:00 - 4 pm) and all for free!

* 303 East Cordova at Gore

Nonchalance

No. 4543 - 27 Oct 2011 - 14:46:58

Geraniums On The Pavement

No. 9957 - 06 Oct 2011 - 12:24:19

Untitled XIV

Red-Shafted Flicker

No. 9040 - 14 Sept 2011 - 16:59:10

No. 9751 - 29 Sept 2011 - 10:15:50

Mt. Pleasant

Out a bedroom window I rented for September there was a small, shambolic garden which was a dead zone for birds outside of the occasional crow or house sparrow. I was more likely to hear than see anything in the tall laurels and when an unusual call caught my attention I took a picture of a mysterious silhouette on top of a neighbouring cedar. Once the image was up on my computer screen and with my BIRDS of North America* on my lap, I set about identifying the visitor to my ninth level of hell. The shape of the beak and a couple of spots on the chest led me to the page of large woodpeckers known as Northern Flickers, specifically, a Red-shafted Flicker (the western form named for its red wing feather shafts) - a medium-sized land bird.

Over the next two weeks the bird returned and confirmed the identification I made with the help of my digital camera with telephoto lens. Thanks to iPhoto I can synthesize the experience for my own gratification. Birding maintains my urban connection to nature - a rare and wonderful relationship.

* by Kenn Kaufman

Web Design

No. 9348 - 24 Sept 2011 - 08:21:39

No. 9412 - 24 Sept 2011 - 09:09:54*No. 9422 -24 Sept 2011 - 09:11:32

A spider sets up shop near an errant nest of wasps.
Bon appetit!

Latino Lunch

No. 9942 - 06 Oct 2011 - 11:38:52 * No. 9984 - 06 Oct 2011 - 12:55:33

Ingrid Méndez de Cruz and her team prepare and serve lunch every Thursday in the crypt at St. James' Anglican especially for hispanic residents of the downtown.

Queen of Surrey

No. 8457 - 10 Sept 2011 - 10:06:08

No. 8978 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:56:15 * No. 8982 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:56:32

No. 8918 - 11 Sept 2011 - 14:44:31

No. 8940 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:45:47 * No. 8950 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:46:08

Stuff that happened on the ferry from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay, two weeks ago on what was, in hindsight, the last great weekend of the summer includes an impromptu tango and figurehead display by talented passengers.

Signs By Ken

Nos. 9047/9209/9246 - 14 Sept 2011/19 Sept 2011

Art on Clark Drive.

Inside Out

No. 8761 - 11 Sep 2011 - 10:03:57 * No. 8766 - 11 Sep 2011 - 10:04:51

Although it is an invasive, non-native species, the Himalayan blackberry is mostly tolerated in these parts for the pounds of free, tasty fruit it produces. My brother's wife and I share a passion for 1950's Fire King Ware in this particular green
and for delicious, free blackberries.
While visiting them on the Sunshine Coast
(and taking pictures of everything)
she suggested I experiment with the bowl of fruit in the sunlight.
Voila!