911

901

839

And a new 443!!!!!

Yet more 444!

8:53 a.m.

Another 443

955

1004

843

Cars

928

925

824

444

443

First Snow 2010

100

444

443

Dub Down Babylon!! Los Undergods Mexicanos

Carlos Santana solo at JazzFest2008

Hobo Kelly

When I was a little kid growing up in LA I watched a lot of Hobo Kelly.

Crazy Double Rainbow Guy

Carlos Santana-Bella

Not sure what the title of this one is...but you should watch it.

Dependent Origination Chart

...just saying.

Amado's First (Pre)School Picture

This is a picture of a picture, but it's too cute not to post! Don't ask me what was going on with his hair that day!

Random Snapshots I

Random Blackberry snapshots from the last couple months. Just so you know I'm thinking of ya!

The Comfort Maple

This wonder of nature is in my area and I hope to visit it one day!

From Wikipedia:

The Comfort Maple tree is an individual sugar maple (Acer saccharum) located in Comfort Maple Conservation Area in the Town of Pelham, Ontario. The tree is estimated to be about 500 years old. ^[1] While this estimate is not based upon a complete ring count,^[2] if correct, it would make this one of the oldest sugar maple trees in Canada.^[3]

The tree is named for the Comfort family, who acquired the land on which it sits in 1816.^[4] A township map from later in the 19th century shows the land owned by John B. Comfort ^[5] and a sign at the site tells visitors that the tree and the land around it was donated to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority on April 30, 1961 by Mrs. Edna Eleanor Comfort.^[4]

The tree is 24.5 metres (80 ft) tall and 6 metres (20 ft) in circumference at the base.^[1] The tree has been repaired over the years with bricks^[3] as well as concrete and guy wires.^[4] The conservation area is located at the end of a narrow lane off of Metler Rd. (Niagara Regional Rd. 28) near North Pelham. It is surrounded by farm land. It is just 0.1 hectares (0.25 acres) and has a small parking area and some benches. ^[1]

Trucker's Signals

Great post from the cool site, Broken Secrets (which just won a Webby). I'm posting it here for my Mom and Irene who spend a lot of time on the open road. (And for the other 22 visitors my stats tell me still come to my blog each day, though my updating has been rather sorry in the past few months. Thanks for stopping by!)

Truckers usually communicate with each other using citizen’s band (CB) radios, but they communicate with you using headlights, turn signals and trailer lights. In a lot of cases, you probably don’t realize they’re doing it.

The most common signal is used by cars and trucks in oncoming lanes. They will double-flash their headlights when they just passed a police speed trap that you’re heading toward. While this is very helpful, be sure you know your local laws about this, in some places it is against the law.

More than two consecutive flashes from oncoming traffic signals that there is another type of danger ahead, such as a foreign object on the road and drivers should proceed with caution. These two signals are often confused, but the appropriate action is the same, slow down. ...

(more here...)

Existential-Man

Paint Your Faith Vancouver

This is the poster for the gallery opening connected to the new Paint Your Faith project we are working on for Vancouver. So cool! Check out the new Paint Your Faith site too (click here).

Beautiful (Time Lapse)

Stomacher - Untitled/Dark Divider from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

When you see Jah Light...

Bob Marley - Exodus

Cesar Chavez

I am not sure how well Cesar Chavez would fit into today's role of the stereotypically slick, sound-bit, media-powered movement leader. But in the borderlands of the heart, where there is so much love and hate, this humble, nonviolent leader for human rights continues to remind us of those who have the least in our world and to inspire love, grace, and compassion for them. That is something to celebrate.

See: "On Cesar Chavez Day: Recognizing Farmworkers"

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things - 1961

John Coltrane Quartet- Afro Blue

John Coltrane :: Alabama :: Jazz Casual

John Coltrane live 1965 - "Naima"

With everything going on these days, I need the kind of grounding that only John Coltrane can bring.

Fun with a Permanent Marker

This morning. Imagine my surprise.

RIP Bob Biniak

Bob Biniak, my of my favourite Dogtown skaters from back in the day, has died. This guy was fearless and such an inspiration. RIP.

Obit from San Jose Mercury.

Photo by the late Warren Bolster, Skateboarder Magazine, Dec. 1976.

Trust in the Stream

[This is why I love Gordon Cosby of Washington, D.C.'s Church of the Saviour. He may be in his 90s, but he truly gets it. Truly and deeply. -A]

"There is a river, whose streams gladden the city of God..." (Psalm 46:4).

The stream flowing through our lives is from eternity to eternity. It is artesian. It is totally adequate. Everything we need is borne by that stream. Its origin is the realm beyond, and it carries infinite resources. In this space-time realm, conditioned as we are, the stream can seem to be a trickle. It seems puny against the drugs we're battling, against the divisions among us or the power of greed that fuels our economy.

When we're up against all the world's needs and lacks--the way we perceive life--the stream seems inadequate. But in fact, it is a powerful, surging, cleansing tide that purifies all it touches. It is a grace torrent. It flows irrespective of merit. It carries everything that a human being has ever needed--and could ever want. Whatever we need will flow by at just the opportune moment. Our problem is that we're not attuned to the stream. We don't see it. We're not even looking in the river's direction.

But when we wait in expectancy, looking at the stream and then recognizing what we need as it floats by, we simply reach out and take the gift. It's an effortless way of living. Usually we're not attuned to effortlessness. We're too busy striving. We're holding forth and carrying on and trying to reach our goals. The wisdom of the stream is the opposite of this. What I'm talking about is moving from a conceptual awareness of God's care--the idea of God's providence--to trusting the flow of that stream that carries everything we need and will bring it at just the opportune moment.

[Read the rest of this sermon at Inward/Outward.]

Gordon Cosby, along with his wife Mary, established The Church of the Saviour in 1947. In this, his 93rd year of life, he still offers his wisdom and vision to the community. Audio versions of his sermons can be downloaded at Tell the Word. (Click on "Search the Word.")

Source: Sermon (June 11 1989)

Gold!

More than an hour after the Canadians won gold in men's hockey, our whole apartment complex (8 high rises, 2000+ apartments), broke out singing "O Canada" from the balconies. Hockey, as everyone knows, is a core part of Canadian culture and it was so beautiful to see this country overwhelmed with joy when this was confirmed on the international stage.

Jean-Michel Basquiat : The Radiant Child

I heard a very inspiring interview on CBC's Q with Tamra Davis, the director of this film about 1980s artist Jean-Michael Basquiat. Inspiring, I guess, except that Jean-Michael died of a heroin overdose. A brilliant, trend-setting artist gone too soon.

Care and Feeding of a Mermaid

I've missed my own blog....

Tumbleweed Invasion

So fun! Looks like somewhere near El Mirage. I could watch this all day!

Good Morning Toronto XXXIII

Good Morning Toronto XXXII

The sun is finally back, moving northerly as the days become longer, and peeking back around our neighbours' building again.

Four Years Old!

His birthday was a couple of days ago, but I wanted to show off this picture of Amado in his new hat Grams Coop and Bean gave him. He's getting to be a real little boy so quickly! (He's also very hard to take a good picture of these days!!!)

Racing Car

Photo by Amado.

Somebody's been into the numbers....

By Jove, I think Amado's solved the Unified Field Theory!

20 Years Ago, I was in Japan

The Known Universe

Happy New Year!