Canadian Youth Eco Photography
you have to check out some of these entries from Ottawa’s Eco Art photo contest. Great stuff.
the last days. . .
so its my last day in the big bad world of Texas, and I must say its been fun living here.
I find it pretty funny actually. You see I’m a little white kid from Ohio
and I’ll prolly always have that persona about me
but when you tell people you’re from “Texas” they all look at you the same way. . .
“Texas!” oh wow, . . . do u have to carry a gun when u go to the store?. . . “
I like to mess with them…
“yup, and then when I’m done I mount my horse named Silver and catch an armadillo for desert!”
Its funny. I don’t look Texan, and I’m not Texan. But the label is stuck. . .
oh well…
anwho I’m all packed
 not  bad eh. . . I wonder if they’ll let me carry on that black one.
I hope so.
I can’t  believe that on my last day here it’s cloudy
I don’t think its been cloudy since Pancho Villa came through here
. . . no I’m wrong, it was when Billy the Kid was in town. . .
seriously
notice our dead palms. . . I think the one in the back is gonna make it
but that little one in the foregroud.
its dead.
last time I”ll see these palm trees
and the last time I’ll look at this pool and say
“u know if only it wasn’t so gosh darn cold”
this is the last night I”ll sleep on not quite a bed. . .
… in a room that isn’t mine
and the last time (I’m excited about this one). . .
I have to clean up after a dust storm
the last time the neighbors dog will bark at me
(tripod isn’t out today)
hopefully he barked himself to death
I’m sorry was that mean?
my last load of laundry
and the last time I”ll use the living room as my closet. . .
I’m quite nostalgic today. . .
but I guess thats ok right
being my last day and all. . .
sniff
birds flying high, you know how I feel
I was surfing online for photos of my ultimate destination in may and ran across these photos. They were taken from a hot air balloon around London, ON. They remind me of some of the things I think about when I paint. I’m not sure. I think the things I see in nature that are tied so deeply with creation affect my work. Nature’s a big inspiration for me. What inspires your work? Whatever it might be. Â The photographer’s info can be found here.
old technology changing the city
The last time I went to Paris I saw something I had heard about since 2007, a public bike system called Velib’! In my opinion this is a genius solution for the worldwide problems of urban congestion and pollution. Here’s how it works
Image via Wikipedia
Seventeen thousand bikes are stationed at Twelve hundred stations all over the city. You walk up to a station, swipe your card, get a bike, and you’re off! When you get to your destination you park your bike at a nearby station. Once you’re ready to leave again you just repeat step one! This takes out all the hassle of owning a bike (theft, maintenance, storage) and gives you all of the pros of using one (exercise, less congestion, mobility)!
The question was, would something like this really catch on? The answer was a big fat oui! Bikers on the streets of paris have doubled. This has led to the need for expansion of the public biking infrastructure.  This in turn is having the real long term effect of reducing the number of cars on the road!
Now, the success of Velib’ is contagiously infecting other cities in Europe such as Barcelona. Above is a video from faircompanies outlining their version of public biking. More recently Canada has embraced this great plan as well! Montreal runs a system called bixi (bike + taxi) and Toronto is in the process of doing the same!
Its amazing to me how some of the most complicated problems can be solved with something we’ve had for years. . . what else are we missing?
love
So the past week has been pretty crazy! Why? My girlfriend came down from Ontario to visit and well. . . I had a little surprise for her when she landed 🙂 Lets just say she answered a very important question I had for her and her answer was yes!!!!!!! So full of smiles right now its crazy ha ha. . . Its funny how much love influences art.  Even if you hate love I would find it very foolish to deny its influence on the arts.  The pursuit, the attainment, and the loss of love are timeless pillars of inspiration to everything from painting to poetry. . . any thoughts? And Dario. . .  I give u permission to rant away ha ha
Secret Stripes
For their 2007 Canadian tour the white stripes did something that I found amazingly interesting and innovative! In order to get off the beaten path and reach their fan base on a personal level they did a series of “secret” unannounced free shows in the most beautifully random places. Â Here are two of my favorites! Kudos for being creative!
Trees are always happy, even when they’re not
Niagara Falls
-life as a sketch- 