The train bridge series.

The train bridge in Saskatoon. Thanks to an instinctual fear of elevated narrow places made of wood, no doubt an evolutionary trait left over from my days as a tree-dwelling orangutan, I didn't actually walk across it until 2003. And even then it took a romantic snowy evening and a cute girl to urge me upwards and onwards.

These were taken on Christmas Eve. A story: as I was finishing my shoot and heading back to my car, I met a man walking his two dogs. They were approaching the walkway that runs along the side of the bridge when the dogs veered left and started scampering along the tracks instead. In typical hyper puppy style, both of them stumbled between the slats. One fell in up to his forelegs. Then he/she fell again. Holy shit, did my heart leap into my throat. I think I was more unsettled than the owner, who took it all in with the patience of someone who's probably seen his stupid loveable fluffballs lick live electrical wires. Anyways, with a decided lack of grace the two dogs realized they were one misguided paw away from being canine pancakes, stumbled back to safe ground, and we all carried on our merry way.

Stairs, in shadow.

Flatland.

That's university-owned land off in the distance, used for agricultural research, I believe. Amazing how the sun turns the railroad slats blue.

Safe on the ground.

Splinters.

Wish I spoke railroad.

"End of PC" - a prescient political message, circa 2003?

Conquering my fear, 2005 version.

I like the 45 amd 90 degree angles here; the sense of vertigo I get from looking at it, not so much. That's a long drop.

Dateline: Halifax

Just a quick update from Halifax, where the people are friendly and the lighthouses ubiquitous. I'll have more from Saskatoon in a few days, including the First Annual Lego Spaceship Vote-Off.

Ego: massaged.

Well. This was unexpected.

I received an e-mail from Zed (an independent arts and culture show that airs veeeeeeeerrrrry late on CBC) in my Flickr inbox, of all places, soliciting some of my photos for a 20-30 second musical montage segment they do every week.

Of course, I'm not the only one they've contacted. And there's no guarantee they'll publish any of my material. Nevertheless, it's kind of cool. Most of the other people they've contacted are from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, so it's clear they were contacting urbanites like myself. But I have a measly 44 photos on my piddly little free flickr account.

I mean sure, one's of a reflective orb, which might raise my coolness factor to acceptable Zed standards. But still: I only figured out what an "f-stop" was a month ago.

So should anyone want to track down that which has so enamored the producers at Zed, here you go.

Of mitochondria and minority governments.

It would appear that my former Grade 12 biology teacher will be a candidate for the Liberals in Saskatoon-Humboldt in the upcoming federal election.

I can't say I'm terribly enthused about Mr. Stroh's nomination. In fact, one could say I actively campaigned against him when he ran for Saskatoon city council, in the sense that I surreptitiously stole and discarded a pamphlet he'd left on my then-girlfriend's parents' kitchen table before they could read it.

While I'm not commenting on his political stance (not that I can - check the "Issues" page to see what I mean), I will make note of the fact that Mr. Stroh's website makes a great deal of his "30 years of experience as a highschool teacher." I make note because what that doesn't point out is that, assuming the average highschool biology teacher sees forty previously untaught students each year, Mr. Stroh's pedagogical skills - which can best be described as "perpetually and terminally grumpy" - may have led to the alienation of at least 1200 potential voters.

On the other hand, he did let us fledgling biologists redo our assignments until we got the highest mark we were comfortable with. A shrewd vote-buying scheme, perhaps? We'll find out January 26th, I guess.

Paging all health insurers.

I feel the above image, snapped on a very brisk December morning outside Union Station, has the potential to make an excellent cover photo for a health insurance brochure. The skyscraper suggests growth, the statue health and vigor, and the overall perspective very strongly conjures feelings of hope and upwards momentum.

Thus, I humbly offer it to any of the numerous Canadian health insurance companies which keep tabs on this blog. I would only ask, in return, a solid, low-cost dental plan. Because it hurts to eat chocolate, sometimes.

I see a red door...

St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Anglican Church in Toronto, close to Kensington Market. As the building is 147 years old, I'm pretty confident in saying that the cheeky Doors reference was not part of the original design.