art lover, reader of books, capturer of light, manipulator of pixels, teller of stories.
My friend Shawn and I decided to grab tripods and cameras and take some photos at sundown tonight. We decided to go to the Museum of Civilization and take photos of the setting sun on the Parliament buildings. Well that never happened but the full moon did come out. It was, however, a really nice couple of hours relaxing and talking about photography.
I was mentioning to friends how I really wanted to pack my camera gear and head to Egypt to take photos of the events unfolding along the Nile. I’m not going to go but it is tempting to be on the ground during these tumultuous times.
I have, like many, been following the events quite closely. I find that the Western media have a very superficial understanding of what is happening but, luckily, Al Jazeera and European media outlets have better coverage. I was quite surprised at this article in Le Monde in an interview with an Egyptian general who argues that Egypt is the only country to successfully defeat a militant and political Islam in the 1990s under Mubarak and will again, with the appropriate use of force.
More here.
The most thoughtful coverage is found at the Arabist blog here that includes an article from Paul Sedra, in Jadaliyya pointing to an important departure in the traditional reading of Egyptian nationalism:
“For an arm of the government to reference Copts as a target of violence—much less reference the Copts as a distinct community at all—is a stark departure from a long-standing policy of refusing the acknowledgment of sectarian divisions within Egyptian society.”
Original story is here.
I, like many, am quite concerned with the events unfolding in Egypt. It appears that the USA has decided to withhold any further aid dollars to the military government but that shortfall was quickly made up for by the Saudi’s who have agreed to make up any funding shortfalls.
Stability over justice is the new phrase to keep in mind for this region!
More to come on this topic.
Update: interesting analysis at Dissent here.
I had to take the day off from work today since I pulled a hamstring at the gym this morning running interval sprints. So here I sit, ice pack and all. What it does allow, however, is to get back to posting and watching some movies. First up is Sam Pekinpah’s 1975 film The Killer Elite with James Caan and Robert Duvall. While not in the same top tier of Pekinpah’s classics, I do recall that I enjoyed this movie when I saw it years ago. More at IMDB here.
Tristan and Marion have taken possession of their new home, a few blocks away. Friday evening was a minor gathering of sorts where I met the parents of T/M’s friends in Pittsburg and Tristan’s squash partner. I had a very nice night drinking champagne and looking at some Paris pictures with Yves and Giselle. I am very envious since they both leave soon for several months in wonderful Paris where they spend lots of time. I’m hoping to have coffee with them in Paris and learn more about that wonderful city from Yves, who has already suggested picturesque spots that I didn’t even know existed! And did I mention how beautiful T/M’s new place is? A great space!
And I helped Darren move their stuff into their new place steps away from Westboro beach! i know that the kids will love being so close to the beach, being that they just moved from their house close to Kitsilano Beach on the wet coast. A really great house with fantastic character and a great backyard! Great neighbourhood and wonderful space.
So here are some links to various things that have piqued my interest over the last few days:
Metabones has introduced a speedbooster for my micro 4/3rd camera!! I have only recently been introduced to this technology but, from what I can gather, this will not only increase the size of the sensor image to close to full-frame, but it will also give me a full stop of light. My Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, for example, would become closer to an 8-9mm f2!!!!!! I do, however, still have some research to do!
Hunter S. Thompson’s daily drug itinerary is fascinating here. Essentially cocaine from the time of waking up (3 pm) until marijuana at 6.
Also from Open Culture. My favorite horror novel The Raven, read by Vincent Price, Christopher Walken, and Christopher Lee. Poe’s work will go back into my reading list as we approach October, me thinks! Here.
My birthday is coming up for anyone who wants to buy me this $82,000 complete Nikon camera and lens set. Including the $18,000 400mm!
A 375 year old Bonsai that survived Hiroshima here. A beautiful Japanese white pine. I love bonsai and this is certainly a beautiful example!
Here are some fascinating “infographics” or mental maps showing timelines of human history. Great website to explore!
And street artist Above paints what I think might the coolest graffiti of the year 🙂
That’s it for now. I’m going to hobble to the kitchen now for some lunch!
A deliciously long article and interview withWilliam Gibson here. Excellent! Really interesting piece!
Vacation season is upon us. August is traditionally a time when most of my colleagues are on holidays. Since I tend to take my holidays in the fall, this is the busy season at the office since we are so short staffed!
So I tripped and fell yesterday while walking to work. Very bizarre sensation slipping and falling on the pavement in July. There were freshly painted lines on Laurier and I just wiped out, slipping, I’m assuming, from either water or the reflective dust. My iPhone case is busted, I have a hole in my pants, a bruise on my knee, scrapes on my hands from my attempt to buffer my fall, and I have lost any chances of the coveted Mountain Goat award (I made the last one up). I have submitted a claim against the City for the repair of my iPhone case and my pants, but I won’t hold my breath. Très embarrassé. 🙂
I finally got a chance to get back to hot yoga on Sunday. It is very nice to get back to a regular schedule! I’m going to get my camera out this weekend! That will be quite nice! I miss just going out and taking photos!
Here is a quick link to an article written by Martin Scorsese on film literacy. When I read the article I went onto YouTube to watch the early 20th century films that he was speaking about such as the Great Train Robbery. Aint technology grand!
Anf, finally, if you haven’t seen this interview of Azlan on Fox “News”, you really should. Azlan, a biblical scholar, essentially rebuffs all of the clumsy anti-intellectualism of this interviewer on Fox tv (hard to call it news, right?). Essentially what the interviewer says is that Azlan, a Muslim, doesn’t really have any right to study Jesus. Even though Aslan is a professor of religious studies. Crooked Timber, of course, has the best academic commentary on this issue.
A rather provocative article here.
I, too, think that this level of privilege is obscene. Its exploitation is even more perverse.
Wow. A VERY impressive use of time-lapse of cityscapes and a kaleidoscope filter.
Best timelapse I have seen in quite some time here.
My friend Shawn and I went to the airport today hoping to get some really cool photos of planes taking off and landing. Well it didn’t turn out that well. But we did get some pretty nice shots on the drive back home.
May 15 was the date that I posted about reading Dan Brown’s Inferno. Today it was announced that they are making it into a movie. Wow. That was fast! And at least Ron Howard is directing again.
After a week in the cottage and with the heat still sweltering, I have decided that even with air conditioning, I am not cooking or doing any full blog posts until the thunderstorms break this heat wave 🙂
And this version of Joyce’s Ulysses is MUCH easier to read than the real novel!
Slaves did not build the pyramid here.
Stuff to do in Rome here. All of these are on my list so expect photos!
And speaking of, here are a few shots from the weekend:
