The Brown Knowser

It's been a great year when all is said and done. And a busy one. With my book finished and at the publishers, my blog going full strong, and me finding my groove with my photography, I really can't complain. In fact, I have a lot to be thankful for. And I want to say thank you to all of you who have followed me over the year, first with the Brownfoot Journal and then with The Brown Knowser . Since I started my second blog in June, I have had nearly 8600 visitors to my posts. That's more than 1200 visits per month, and that's not including the visits to my blog for Songsaengnim , the Brownfoot Journal , or Gyeosunim —all which were also steadily visited. So thank you. Over the year, I've enjoyed getting more familiar with my camera, introducing my Where In Ottawa? contest, Wordless Wednesday , and Photo Friday . And so, for the last post of 2011, I'd like to share with you what I think were some of my favourite photos of this year. This week, between the ce...

As an early Christmas present to myself, I bought a slide scanner, which Lori quickly confiscated, wrapped, and made me wait to Christmas Day to play with it. Before the digital photography age, I was an avid photographer—especially in the years that I worked in a camera store. Back then, I would be able to purchase film at an unbelievable discount; the biggest discount was with slide film. And E-6 processing was free. So I shot almost exclusively with slide film, and I went through it like a drunken sailor goes through his pay when he reaches port. Every once and a while—usually no more than once or twice a year, I would host slideshow parties, but I would never trap my friends to showings of my holidays. We would have a regular party, with drinks and snacks, and folks would socialize. But at some point in the party, I would fire up the slide projector and I would show 100 of my personal favourite photos. These would be random shots, possibly of flowers, sunsets, nature...

Because it's the holidays, I'm having too much fun being lazy, and so once again I'm repeating a blog post. I will be retiring my other blog at the end of this month, so here's one of my popular posts from January. In case you haven't seen it, enjoy. If you've already read it, I'll have something new for you tomorrow. I loved music on vinyl. I remember saving my allowance for that trip to the record store, buying that new release or that addition to my collection by a group or artist that I just couldn't live without. I remember getting that album home, tearing off the cellophane wrapper, pulling out the sleeve, opening up the cover (if it came in a book-like format). The smell of the new vinyl as you pulled it out of the sleeve, sometimes hearing the crackle of static electricity as the plastic and paper rubbed and made a mini charge. That static would get me charged as well. In those days, I would make time for my new purchase. I would tur...

With Christmas only two days away, I want to take this time to wish everyone the best of the season. May you find peace and happiness over this time. It's too soon to wish you peace and prosperity in the New Year, but thanks for following my blog and I wish you all a happy holiday.   Happy Friday, and have a Merry Christmas!

At first, we did it out of excitement, unable to wait. Later, it became a game about how far we could go, how much risk we were willing to take. In time, it became a ritual. The first time we crept downstairs, anxious to see what Santa left us, my younger sister, Jen, and I faced an obstacle: each other. "Go to bed," I whispered, not wanting her to make any noise, thereby arousing the attention of our parents, who had only a half hour or less gone to bed after placing our wrapped gifts under the tree. Our older sister, Holly, was sound asleep, able to contain her excitement and curiosity. The first time that Jen and I met on the stairs, we got our parents' attention: "In to bed," my mother called from her bedroom, "or Santa won't come." Reluctantly, Jen and I returned to our respective rooms, giving each other the stink eye for having spoiled the other's plans at checking out the cache of presents. Later that night, after I had deemed t...

Lori made me call my doctor on Monday morning for an appointment. When I described my symptoms to the receptionist, she made room for me that same afternoon. Typically, I have to wait a couple of weeks or more to see him. Here are the symptoms I described: Shortness of breath Numbness in my arms, fingers, and feet Constantly tired Constantly cold A general weakness Sometimes, something in my chest flutters like it's doing the opening drum roll to It's The End of The World As We Know It (and I don't feel so shit-hot) I thought it was my heart. So did Lori. Heart disease runs rampant in my family; so does cancer. I figure that eventually one will get me. But these days, I'm hedging my bets on the former. And I have aunts, uncles, and cousins who went at a fairly early age because of heart failure. One of my cousins dropped dead at 42; his brother, a couple of years older, joined him a few years later, at 50. My dad died of a massive heart attack 10 years a...

It's come to this: I'm rehashing old blog posts. This post comes from my other blog, Brownfoot Journal, before The Brown Knowser . I thought I'd dig this one up because it was well-received and is timeless for the holidays. If you haven't read this post before, enjoy. If you have, suck it up I hope you enjoy reading it again. Last year, my kids called me a "Christmas-hater" and the name stung. But only a little. * On some level, I'm not a fan of Christmas. Not of the decorating, nor of the card giving (actually, the Brownfoots have pretty much given up on that front), nor, especially, of the shopping. I hate going near the malls and department stores at this time of year: fighting crowds, standing in lines, searching for that ever-elusive parking space. Not being religious, the spiritual side of Christmas is lost on a cynic like me. My participation in the festivities this year included some shopping, getting our tree, standing it in the house,...

A few years ago, I remember visiting the Canadian Museum of Civilization and seeing an exhibit that showed some well-preserved Stone-Age artifacts, including a perfectly preserved person. Lori and I, at the time, exclaimed that if you wanted something to be kept intact, you simply threw it in the bog. Well, the folks at Beau's All Natural Brewing Company in Vankleek Hill—just east of Ottawa—pride themselves on crafting organic, all-natural suds, so it would be unthinkable to add any preservatives to their creations. But then again, a bog is all-natural, isn't it? This week's tasting is Beau's seasonal beer, Bog Water . The name comes from a bog in Alfred, Ontario (not far from Vankleek Hill), which is some 10,000 years old and is home to many endangered and rare wildlife. Instead of using hops in this beer, Beau's uses sweet gale, a wild bog myrtle, to create a unique style of beer, which they've named Eastern Ontario Gruit. Here is the skinny on...

This location is one I could never use for Where In Ottawa , so let's just appreciate it for what it is, shall we? And also look at it in another way. Happy Friday!

I hit the wall early, last night, and didn't get around to writing a blog post until this morning. I've been very tired, lately, my head in a fog. Lori has downloaded an app onto her iPhone that monitors our sleep, and the results aren't good. On average, we are taking in about five hours each night. Often, less for me, as I get up more than an hour and a half earlier than Lori on Tuesdays and Fridays. On those nights, I'm lucky if I get four-and-a-half hours of sleep. Not good. So today's blog is written in a fog. To accompany my loss for words and account for my lack of concentration and short attention span, here are some photos that were shot the other night, as I was heading home in a real fog. It's hard to believe it's mid-December. Where is the snow? Today, a mere 10 days before Christmas, we're expecting a high of 9°C. Perhaps winter is sleeping in. The lucky bastard.

I love seasonal beers. They pop up on the shelves of our local beer or liquor stores, arouse our curiosity, make us want to take them home. We do, and we either fall in love with them or we don't. If we don't, no problem: they won't be cluttering valuable shelf space for long. But if we find a real treat, something we love, we only have a short time in which we can enjoy them. And so we make the most of them. Cherish them, because they won't be around for long. So far this season, I haven't met a beer I didn't like. Lucky me! My latest find, which I love, is one of those beers that I will cherish until I can no longer find it. Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout Winter Beard Muskoka Brewery Inc. Bracebridge, ON LCBO : $10.95, 750 ml; 8% alc/vol What first drew my attention to this beer was the size of the bottle. You've gotta love a beer that comes in a vessel the size of a wine bottle. At 750 ml and eight-percent alcohol, you...

Oliver! December 6–24, 2011 NAC English Theatre Company Directed by Dayna Tekatch Musical direction by Allen Cole Music and lyrics by Lionel Bart You know, if I had been at home, watching this production on the television, sitting cozily in my big, green chair, I would have turned it off after the first 10 minutes. But I would have missed out on so much. Such was the opening night of the NAC's production of the musical version of Charles Dickens' classic tale of Oliver Twist . For me, it started off in such a weak way that it made me want to walk out. Instead, I sank low into my seat, folded my arms, and tried, unsuccessfully, to fall asleep. Let me start off by saying that I'm not a fan of musicals. I love theatre. I love music. But for some reason I don't like the two together. I want a story, or I want a music performance with an artist or band. I don't want a play where the story is presented by singing and dancing. That said, I have ...

It seems that yesterday's post was just what everyone needed. Within an hour of my first announcement of clue #5 for Where In Ottawa , many of you flocked to my blog and several of you tweeted me with guesses. But three of you left the correct answer to the location of the contest. However, there can only be one winner. and this time it is Mike Bulthuis. Congratulations! The location to Where In Ottawa is the central branch of the City of Ottawa Archives , on Tallwood Avenue in Nepean. Here is a breakdown of the clues:  Ottawa's main store—this is the central (main) branch of the Ottawa archives (which stores documents and photos of our city) So new, but so much history—this building opened earlier this year: it's brand-spanking new The writing's on the wall... er, window—on all of the windows around the building, a document excerpt is etched in the glass (see below) Not Charlotte's web—the building was going to be named after Ottawa's fir...

So, my Where In Ottawa challenge has you stumped, does it? Well, fear not, my friends, I'm here to help. I've had a couple of good guesses so far, but they're not even close (that's a hint, too). So I'm going to post the following photo of the actual building. And clue #5 goes with this photo: A colourful place for our colourful past . So, do you think you know Ottawa? Prove it! The contest remains open until someone correctly identifies the location (or maybe until I run out of clever clues). Leave your answer in the Comments location of the original post ( click this link ). That way, we can all track the submissions in one place and we can all see the timestamp of the answer. I like to keep this contest transparent, you know! Good luck!