Sosoetry – Tamara

After writing kooky little poems about some of my other co-workers, I did one about my little pal Tamara.

Tamara used to be known as Guest

But she still remains a pest

Even with those she’s close to

She touches things she’s not supposed to

She’s a curious little monkey

Obviously envious of my being so funky

Sure enough, every morning without fail

She razzes me about my rooster tail

Kids me about being so tall

Tells me my backpacks too small

She accuses me of being a yuppy

Yet it’s she who wants an expensive puppy

Her sense of humour is rather quirky

And her personality is best termed perky

She complains of having a big ass

What she really has is too much sass

She’s proven to be quite artistic

But has no time for the narcissistic

She can’t stand George Dubya Bush

She’d open a can of whoop ass on his tush

She’s obviously very good at graphic design

But when the room turns cold she starts to whine

To Mark she must have appealed

They’re now married living in Springfield

With this girl there are no maybes

She’s adamant she wants no babies

She disapproves of smoking pot

And splats stray cats with a slingshot

She really is quite bubbly though

Her glowing smile makes it doubly so

Of her life she’s making the most

But at parties she’s unsure if she should be Guest or host

Fall Colours on the Bruce

Took these pics a while back. Strolled along the Bruce Trail below the Escarpment.

Typeface Design – Penetralia

Like many of my early typefaces this got its start as some lettering for a logo. Started in 1990, drawn in FreeHand and then transferred over to Fontographer. One of the first things I thought had a bit of cohesion. Always had the notion to expand it to a lighter and a heavier weight (or two), but never got around to it.

Frog Tattoo

My take on NorthWestCoast designs that is going to go on the front of my left ankle.

S.o.t.D. – Fools Gold – Stone Roses

Oh I have been so super bad about keeping up with this the last few weeks.

Fools Gold – Stone Roses

Carroll’s Point

I’ve been eyeing the little spit of land jutting out into Burlington Bay over by the Woodland Cemetery for years now and decided to see if I could go and explore it. 

Carroll’s Point slightly off to the right of the centre of the pic. Mount Nemo off in the distance on the left.

Hamilton Harbour off in the distance.

Another perspective on Carroll’s Point.

Valley Inn Road has recently been closed to car traffic. (yippee!) There was an old Bailey bridge crossing the waterway, and it was decided that replacing the bridge for the volume of traffic that actually crossed it wasn’t worth it. A walkway bridge has been bolted over top if it, and the road barricaded. This looks back the way I had come, with the McQuesten High Level Bridge in the centre of the picture.

Carroll’s Point as seen through the trees along the cliff. I cut along the edge of the Woodland Cemetery in an effort to find a trail that led down.

From the other side it doesn’t look like it’s up that high, but I suspect that it has to be at least 5, 6, 7 stories high. 

Of course I left my house a bit too late, because I was fiddling around with some gear that I had made that I wanted to take photos of. (Big surprise.)

I went right to the point above C.P. and tried to find a route down that way. I made my way down about 20 meters, but saw that I had to go through a little gulch (which had some hand and footholds) but that at the bottom of that gulch was an almost vertical drop of at least about 3 stories. Nah. Off to my right, I could see a faint trail, so I back tracked and found the start of it. Much less chance of killing myself this way.

Looking up the shore line of Burlington towards the Skyway Bridge.

Looking across the Bay towards Hamilton Harbour. If it wasn’t for the blight of heavy industry, I firmly maintain that Hamilton might well be one of the nicest places in Canada to live. Not that it’s the worst place now, but it would be even more desirable if it wasn’t for the smelters and refineries.

And pivoting to the right, looking towards the Iroquis Bar and the Escarpment beyond that.

On the other side of the spit looking towards the McQuesten High Level Bridge.

I found some evidence that people come here sometimes (a remnant of a fire at the tip, a few cans and beer bottles {cleaned up a few, but didn’t have enough room in my pack for more – good excuse to come again}) but I doubt it’s very many. I suspect more people access this spot by boat then on foot. (In the summer I see many sail boats anchored in the cove.) It’s likely too out of the way for very many scroats to come here for a bush bash. 

I hung out for a while, ate some oranges, took some photos of the gear setup I’d wanted to record, had a delicious after oranges aperitif, and snapped some last photos. Too cold to hang out much longer, especially with the wind blowing across the water.

Made my way back up the cliff, back through the cemetery, and home.

I know that the cemetery was at one point the Carroll family farm who deeded it to the city to become a burial ground. The Carroll’s were among the first European settlers in the area. All I could think was how incredible it must have been to go to the new world, and arrive there, and discover that that was your farm. Wow. Cliff top farm, verdant land, surrounded by water, abundant game and fish, nice view, oh and a neat little spit at the bottom of your property.

In case anyone needs a Yule gift idea for me...

There was a bit on the news here yesterday about a guy who ordered a Lego pistol. It arrived at his work and he was so excited that he put it together at his desk. A neighbour across the lane way saw this (very realistic looking) pistol (you can cock it, take the mag out, etc.) and called the police. A while later the guy was being told to come out of his office with his hands up by a tactical team.

Of course my reaction was “That is so cool! I want one of those!”

So in case anyone out there wants to get me something for christmas but is at a loss as to what....

http://www.brickgun.com/Semi_auto_w_Mag/BrickGun_Semi_auto_w_Mag.html

The MP-5 they have is awesome, but apparently they only ever made 12, since the parts were so obscure, and they no longer make it.

What it is is not even so interesting to me, but what does interest me is seeing how they managed to make it work. You can slide the frame back, and even lock the slide, pull the trigger, have it click, look down the ejection port at a round sitting atop the mag.

There is a Millennium Falcon from Lego. Yeah, yeah cool, Star Wars. Yeah, cool, the Millennium Falcon. Cool, lots of Lego pieces. But what interests me is seeing how they managed to figure it all out, and I would really love to see the book of instructions that must accompany it.

View out the back

This is the view I have out the back of my place. I like where I live. The railway marshalling yard spoils the view a little bit, but only a little bit.

Strathcona School Garden

There have been plans afoot to do some landscape gardening in the kindergarten playground of the school that my nephew goes to. A landscape architect had drawn up plans, a promise had been secured of plant donations, our friend Tom had offered a dump truck of soil from Harper’s Gardening Centre, where he works.

I put the word out throughout the neighbourhood asking for some volunteers to come with shovels and wheelbarrows to help. I fully expected that it would look like a scene from that mawkish Worlds Most Extreme Home Makeover (or whatever it’s called – can’t watch that saccharine spectacle) with a hundred hopped up helpers. Alas, come Sunday morning, it was only the five of us.

First we pulled out a lot of dead plants and weeds, and broke up the ground where the soil was meant to go. What was there was hard and lifeless. Some of it looked like bags of portland cement had been poured into the ground as fill.

5 cubic yards of rich soil from the kind folks at Harper’s Gardening Centre.

Then came the back breaking task of shoveling it into wheelbarrows and wheeling it into place.

We hung up a bag to make it easier to put all of the dead plants, garbage and abundant pine needles in.

Besides putting soil into beds, the two pine trees were also pruned of a lot of low hanging dead branches.

Shoveling all that earth was a task and a half, but it felt good being able to help. Nothing will be planted until the spring, but it’s ready to go when it rolls around.

S.o.t.D. – The Power of Bhangra – Snap

The Power of Bhangra – Snap

The Power by Snap is pure brilliance, but this remix takes it a step beyond.

S.o.t.D. – The Power – Snap

The Power – Snap

Blew my mind the first time I heard it. Still unbelievably good. I would love to see a bunch of uptight religious fundamentalists try not to dance as this was being played.

S.o.t.D. – Untogether – Lush

Untogether – Lush 

Loved this band! Another of the bands that made 4AD so great.

S.o.t.D. – Six Days – DJ Shadow

Six Days – DJ Shadow

S.o.t.D. – Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Outlooking – His Name Is Alive

Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Outlooking – His Name Is Alive

S.o.t.D. – Subzero – Nuspirit Helsinki

Subzero – Nuspirit Helsinki

Kind of an evocative, funky, jazzy lounger.

S.o.t.D. – Funky Nawari – Jeff Stott

Funky Nawari – Jeff Stott

S.o.t.D. – Monument – Kilowatts

Monument – Kilowatts

S.o.t.D. – Emotions of Paradise – Miro

Emotions of Paradise – Miro

Looovve the 303 bass line in this.

Sosoetry – Wanda

After writing one silly poem about a co-worker, I then wrote another one not long thereafter. This time about Wanda. Likeable little fuss budget who knew about everything going on in town and had no qualms about chewing some local official out if things weren’t being done to better the town.

With the fury of a sword wielding saxon
And a voice like an air raid klaxon
Like a grouchy biker on a Honda
Step aside, here comes Wanda
We can often hear her mumbling
Steer clear when she’s grumbling
She appears to be under a lot of stress
It gets that way working at the Express
Only after she’s put to rest the paper
Does her grumpiness start to taper
Sometimes she’s pretty cheerful
Screw up and she’ll give you an earful
Now why is she a curmudgeon?
She just saw a sidewalk smudgeon
And if she’s ever cursing and grumpy
It’s because the park looks dumpy
“Hey you workmen cease that fun!
Those road repairs must be done!”
You’d better mow that grass
Or she’ll kick your ass
Those skateboarders had best obey her
She wields more clout than the mayor
She can at times be preachy
And occasionally a little screechy
Some might say she’s a meddler
I think she’s nuts for liking Bette Midler
Even though she’s a Wetland Suzie
No one will ever call her a floozie
Often times she wears a scowl or a frown
But you know deep down she loves this town
She really cares about this community
Scofflaws will get no immunity
She’s been here since days of old
Through it all she’s had a heart of gold
Maybe it’s that fiery Greek blood
I hear it’s thicker than Catfish Creek mud

Why you little…

S.o.t.D. – Spinning Whale – Cell

Spinning Whale – Cell

A plane I’d love to have.

Went to Remembrance Day ceremonies yesterday. About the only time of year that I get a bit emotional. 

While hurrying to get there I heard that unmistakable sound of four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, as well as some others. A B-25 Mitchell came roaring over, followed by a Lancaster and accompanied by a C-130 Hercules, all of them quite low. I didn’t get my camera out in time to get any pictures of that awesome sight, but off in the distance I could see, but more distinctly, hear the snarl of three Harvards, with a PBY Canso bringing up the rear. Always thought it and its close cousin, the Catalina, were such cool planes. If I had the opportunity to get any plane, I think that would be it. Cover huge distances and land on either land or water. Talk about an adventure vehicle.

Typeface Design – SubRosa

An early orthogonal typeface, dating back to 1992.

Gettting involved

I have a tendency to be a bit of an anti-social hermit. It’s just so easy to tinker in my workroom or sit behind a computer and design things. Or grab my pack and disappear into the woods for a while. But that is tempered by a sense of compassion and concern, and a desire to get involved on some level. That’s the odd dichotomy of me. On the one hand I’m a perfectly content loner, and on the other hand I quite genuinely like interacting with people, and I think I can establish a rapport with most. While I’m perfectly happy wandering far off into the forest, I also care about the neighbourhood I live in, and take small steps to make sure it’s safe and liveable for all its inhabitants. It’s where I live. It’s where Anand goes to school. It’s where my friends live and work. It’s where we walk and garden and shop and play and socialize. It’s important.

Getting worked up about the environmentally unsound practices of a human rights abusing dictator on the other side of the world, strikes me as well intentioned but futile. While the results of simple actions in one’s immediate environment may not seem as profound, I think ultimately those are the things that do have real ramifications for the world at large. You know, that whole “think globally, act locally” maxim.

I recently got involved with a local guerrilla gardening group, and think that is great fun. I recently made the suggestion that if the idea is to make neighbourhoods more attractive and foster a sense of community, perhaps we could volunteer to help some seniors who can’t really do the physical aspects of gardening anymore. Everybody thought that was a swell idea.

I’ve been to some of the meetings of my local community council. I’ve sent info to them a few times. I’ve chatted with some of the members. I like what they’re doing. I got an email from them last week, asking if I’d like to join the council, as a member at large. No huge time commitment, no daunting responsibilities. Come out once a month and discuss things that are pertinent to the neighbourhood. Which I did last night. And thought it was a very worthwhile thing. Good group of people, interested and committed, and taking pro-active steps to making our little corner of the world better. And it just feels nice to be involved on some level. My contribution may only be a small one, but it’s still far better than doing nothing. I already somehow got roped into coming up with a logo. I think I can do that.

I can wrap my brain pretty easily around the area I can walk in a day. I can communicate with the people around me. I can contribute my time and energy to making a positive change. I can very easily see the positive and negative outcomes of peoples actions. I understand the desire to try and address all the worlds ills. But it just ends up leaving you frustrated. I’ve come to the conclusion that doing small things in my neighbourhood to make it a better place is more immediate and controllable. And I guess it all boils down to Gandhi’s “be the positive change you want to see” adage. 

So I got off my butt to try and do my bit. And it feels…pretty darn good.

Logo – Skull Hand

A logo for a metal band.

S.o.t.D. – Descendants – Shen

Descendants – Shen

Another guise of a fantastic Toronto DJ, Noah Pred.

Lego – F-13 Blue Jay

Thomas Industries has developed the new F-13 Blue Jay.

The F-13 is a sophisticated fighter-bomber.

Small and agile, it is a highly maneuverable air craft. It’s equipped with two 30 mm cannons.

It’s a two seater plane – the navigator/bombardier sits in the front and the pilot sits in the back.

The F-13 is both a nimble interceptor and a deadly accurate close air support bomber.

Equipped with the latest avionics and two side mounted turbo thrust engines that allow for its awesome agility.

The main power is provided by two massive ramjet engines.

It can carry just about any payload, including photo reconnaissance pods, humanitarian relief canisters, cruise missiles, whatever the circumstances call for.

This time it’s carrying two 10,000 pound RFD laser guided bombs.

Yet another incredible vehicle from the inventive minds in the laboratories over at Thomas Industries.