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8月9日

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I was out at Yonge & Bloor on Saturday night... and spotted a Toronto icon:  Zanta.
Zanta can be seen on Toronto's streets most nights of the week.  While officially 'banned' (whatever that means) between College and King, Yonge and Spadina (resulting from several incidents with CHUM / CityTV)..... Zanta is known to frequent stretches of Yonge Street... particularly Yonge & Bloor as well as Yonge & Eglinton.
 
Zanta's famous for his "Yes Yes Yes" catchphrase... which he encourages his fans to yell if they spot him on the street.
 
My experience on the Yonge night bus was a memorable one:  Zanta performing push-ups (on his knuckles no less!) as he hangs from his feet from the stanchion on the bus.
 
Zanta reminds me of another Toronto character:  Flyerman.  Both have an insatiable desire for attention and fame... and will pull any variety of stunts (be it push-ups, in Zanta's case... or illuminated jackets, in Flyerman's case).  Coincidentally both are the subjects of biographical documentaries.
 
Do you have a Zanta story to tell?
 
 
Further reading:
- Official web site:  http://www.torontozanta.ca/
- Wikipedia biography:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanta
 
 
8月1日

Foggy weather on Saturday

As typically occurs on slow news days, the media turns their attention to truisms like "the summer season is hot".   When the City of Toronto issues "heat alerts" and "heat emergencies"... like magic... we have a sound bite from the Medical Officer of Health with warnings to the young and the elderly.  More grist for the proverbial journalistic mill.  Still... do we not reserve the right to any common sense any longer?
 
"Hey... it's sunny, humid, and 40+ degrees outside.  Gee... think it's about time to tackle that roofing project."  Not a likely consideration for most.  I guess we need to legislate common sense for the rest.
 
On the topic of weather... this past weekend gave way to some unusual weather patterns.  On Saturday Crystal and I spent the afternoon at the "Beach" area to soak up the culture at the Beaches jazz festival.  While we walked down to the boardwalk, we got caught in a brief sunshower.  Upon arriving at the boardwalk, we confronted a wall of fog blowing in off the lake.  Is this an effect of the hot temperatures we've experienced over the last couple of weeks?
 
Below are a few photos showing the fog... as well as a few other photos from the walk along the boardwalk.
7月9日

Viva Italia

Tonight Italy celebrates its fourth FIFA World Cup win.  Across St. Clair Avenue, thousands have flocked to Corso Italia to rejoice in a thrilling victory that went to penalty kicks.
 
Below are photographs that I captured earlier this afternoon:
7月2日

New photos in "Out and about" gallery

I'm pleased to report that the new camera has already paid dividends.  The updated "Out and About in Toronto" gallery includes a sample of its recent photos.
 
This summer has proven itself to be a great source of photo opportunities:
 
- The good:

- The bad:

  • Closure and demolition of Don Mills Centre -- a landmark and step forward in planning mixed-use development in Toronto (and from a personal perspective... the place where I first learned to drive!);

- The ugly:

  • Downtown fixture "Zanta" (aka David Zancai) poses for the camera on the corner of Yonge & Carlton at 2:30am on a Saturday night

More to come...

6月19日

Canon camera crazy...

Well it's official:  I am addicted to my Canon 20D.
Since picking up the 20D last month with its bundle of an extra battery, battery grip, and travel case... I've augmented my collection with:
  1. Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens;
  2. Canon EW-78B II len hood for the 28-135mm lens; and
  3. Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens

I purchased the 28-135mm to use as my "walking around lens":  good range, decent optical quality, light/portable, and reasonably affordable.  Given its reviews  on www.fredmiranda.com/reviews, I was attracted with its price performance.

More recently, the 85mm prime lens filled my requirement for a good portrait lens that I could use in low-light situations.  I've long been interested in improving the quality of the concert photos that I take, this lens filled the void nicely.  See the concert photos taken in the photo album for samples.

Despite its reputation as being an expensive retailer of camera equipment, I found Vistek's rental department a great opportunity to check out the lenses before buying.  I rented the 85mm prime for $17 for the weekend.   Make sure you boost your credit limit before going to the store:  their security depsits are not trivial ($250 deposited for this lens... more for the higher quality lenses).

Danny Michel - Valhalla

On Friday June 16th, Danny Michel played the Mod Club.  Danny celebrated the release of his sixth full-length album this past week... and invited several notable guests -- including Kevin Fox and Luke Doucet.  His 90-minute set featured tracks from his new album -- Valhalla:   the radio-friendly Midnight Train, personal favourites Into the Flame and White Lightning, and Black Tornado (with its chorus being eerily reminiscent of Two Hearts).  And in true Danny Michel style, the band treated fans to a rendition of In the Belly of a Whale, a song often requested but rarely played due to its difficult guitar parts.
 
Check out the photo album for photos from the concert.... courtesy of my Canon 20D and 85mm f2.8 lens!
7月24日

A few more photos

After being a delinquent blogger for the past several months, I've decided to make amends with a few more photos I've taken of late.