liquor trips

it's the moustache

aquatic george

Progress?

3 years ago I took some well intentioned but blurry pictures. Not too different from today!

The Raleigh Cat

http://www.joshuahoffmanphoto.com/raleighcat/

This photo set displays a diverse group of cyclists with all sorts of bikes from the Raleigh Cat event in Raleigh. I like this very much, it makes me happy. It's a tighter and more personal focus on the types of cyclists you might ride past everyday. Inventive cycling events are few and far between in Ottawa (excluding Critical Mass). Or maybe they are underground, exclusive and invisible.
I think we've got to do something about this!

summer successes

Shark & Shark

by Dylan McIntyre

The gift of art!

the Psychedelic Sons (The Centretown Collective)

yessss

The Only Good Comment on YouTube Ever:

kitakashiwa (2 weeks ago)
"The Oates moustache was working overtime in the 80s"


hahahaha! Damn right, celebrate!

Koko Taylor, Queen of Blues

For more amazing Blues greats photos check out Doug Fulton's Photos



Koko Taylor just recently passed away at the age of 80 after having a 40+ year career.
If you don't know her, I will show you.
From her website:

"Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.”

In Chicago, “Pops” worked for a packing company, and Koko cleaned houses. Together they frequented the city’s blues clubs nightly. Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song...."


(I like the expression on the guitarist's face when he looks at her.)

I've got it:

It's time to stop whining and get outside!

the anticlimax

time to redefine my parameters.

Howlin' Wolf- Smokestack Lightnin'

Wholy, what a voice this gigantic man had.
Everyone from The Who to Bob Dylan covered this song. Why would they even dare?
Who can compare to the presence of Howlin' Wolf?
This is one of my favourite blues songs, his voice is beyond powerful and eerie.

here's to the simple things

Remember X-Men the Animated Series?

These episodes are highly entertaining and hilarious. The dialogue is terrible and therefore incredibly hilarious. This one deals with a super villain from the Soviet Union who was frozen in ice. Some super secret branch of the American government/military digs him up so there are a lot of comments regarding who's government lost or won. haha, exactly.

Billy Squier's "The Stroke" and a whole host of issues

Remember when Billy Madison returns to high school in a jean jacket and REO speedwagon tshirt?
Billy Squier's "The Stroke" is playing. Billy is supposed to look dated, but I thought he looked pretty badass getting out of the trans am.
I've been watching a lot of old music videos from the 60's on and men used to be hypermasculine and hypersexual. Ie- tanktop, tight pants, facial hair, an abundance of chest hair. That rules. I think dudes are bringing it back somewhat, but our culture still hasn't got over the hairy 70's and we still seem to have an aversion to body hair. We've invented lasers to fight it. Weird.
Anyway, I am declaring April as "Male Sexuality Month" in honour of my friend who, for betting purposes, is remaining celibate until May 1st.
As a woman it's nice to see men tuning into their sexual prowess and men showing off the goods for a bit. Thanks, Rock and Roll.
That being said, it is not always successful and this video is disastrous. His pants are so tight and doing something terrible at the front, and he even adopts a very sloppy version of Mick Jagger's strut.

And what is this song even about? Drugs? Sex? The man? Why isn't this a straight edge anthem? Or is it? X up or die, or listen to this song. It will probably get stuck in your head.

Mungo Jerry- In the Summertime

I really love this song. I'm not sure if this video makes me like it more or less.

The way Ray Dorset looks at the camera makes me feel like he's looking right at me from the past and is staring at my boobs.

But who doesn't love a little jug music? (hahaha, that totally wasn't supposed to be a terrible pun but it is, and its awesome)

Either way I watched the video twice in a row. You got me Mungo Jerry. You win.

The Sewing Machine- Betty Hutton

This makes me never want to sew again. This was a hit in 1947. Jesus, what a good year that must have been.

PROMdemonium

Best event I've been to in Ottawa in a very long time.
I'm going next year! Everybody go next year!

bicycles!

I love you, Specialized Globe Sport 2007. Or as I call it, Black Magic.
It's not the coolest looking bike around, but I've found that comfort and quality components make for the sweetest ride.
This summer I plan on going for long bike trips which probably means...

and

Pannier's of course make you look massively uncool, but I think I've reached the point in my life where practicality means a lot more.
I also need to get a courier bag, or perhaps maybe this lunch box that straps to the front of your bike. Amazing.

I am also thinking of putting these on my bike as well.


I'm going for the "large moving storage unit" concept this summer.
So maybe I'll just get this. And if I see you, I'll give you a ride.



Do you name your bicycle(s)?
What is it's name?

Blue Whale

The 2 things I'd like to see in my lifetime are Blue whales and great redwood forests in California.
Blue whales being elusive and migratory creatures may make this difficult, so I am grateful for programs such as Kingdom of the Blue Whale.
The website for the program is also really informative and interactive.
For example, did you know "Blue whales are one of the loudest animals on Earth and can produce sounds louder than a jet engine"?!
Super cool. When I listened to a clip that required a subwoofer, mine was challenged
I also learned that it takes 30 T. Rex at 5.9-6.5 Tons to equal one 200 ton Blue whale, and that a basketball court is a bit smaller than the length of one Blue whale.

Click here to check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Outdoor Web Cams

I think this is a fantastic idea.
The web cam that shows parliament hill can be amusing/incredibly uneventful, but I think I prefer the weather cameras from The Weather Network's website and the US National Park Service website. There's something more exiting about an outdoor webcam, even with the lag or poor quality. It's not static and intentional like photography but instead remains passively in one location only, demonstrating weather changes and the change from night to day.
Look!
Ft. Myers, FL Because I lived there.
Glacier National Park, Montana It's beautiful.
Paris, France The sentimentality of the Eiffel Tower.
Cape Town, South Africa I want so badly to visit Africa.
Giza Pyramids, Egypt Pyramids!

There's so much more, explore!

photographia

I have a sincere love of light, sun, lighting, and shadows. Therefore,
here are some relatively uninteresting images. I recommend clicking on them to see them in full size.




bus strike


would you rather go without a toothbrush or try this baby out?


why I'm distracted in class

I love the Discovery Channel

This song always gets stuck in my head.
My favourite: "I love hot magma!"

Scott McCloud

TED: Inspired talks by the world's leading thinkers and doers. If all the lectures/talks are like this, TED will be consuming much of my online time. Scott McCloud is very engaging to say the least. Once you watch the first 5 minutes I'm pretty sure you'll be in for the entire 17.

Beautiful Losers

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

cool

from New Orleans to Tennessee

sunrise