The Brown Knowser

This post, in no way, is intended to make light of the hard work by all of those who are involved in the Candance and American Dance Awards (ADA) competitions, from the dancers, the choreographers, the judges, to the administrators of the events. If any offense is taken, remember: most of the time, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. For the past three years, I've had the honour of taking my two kids to dance in competitions in our province, neighbouring American state, and in Florida. It's a treat to see them and their peers do what they love best, and to showcase what they have worked so hard to achieve. It's also great to see kids from other schools in other parts of Canada and the U.S. do the same. There are some amazingly talented performers out there who, if they so choose to pursue this path further, will have wonderful and rewarding careers. As a proud dance dad, I like to watch not only my kids perform on stage, but also watch the expressi...

I know: I almost always have a blog post for Monday, but today I came up empty. Having spent this weekend at a dance competition in Buffalo, NY, I filled my days with helping other dads with props and ensuring my girls (the three of them) had food to sustain them. At the end of each long day, I only had energy to put myself to bed. And because we drove home last night, I didn't pull into the driveway until 1:30 this morning. So, again, I had no time or energy to write. I did, however, take an hour or so yesterday morning to rush downtown and shoot a few photos of the city. Here's one: I'll have something better for you tomorrow.

I once read that the high-dynamic range (HDR) feature in photo-editing software was designed for photographers who know nothing about photography. I wish I could find where I read that. Perhaps it was only on Twitter. I've seen lots of photographs that have involved HDR. The idea is that this feature allows you to modify a photo to appear more like what is seen with the human eye. For example, if you want to take a picture of a person who is standing before a sunset, while the eye will see features on the person and the colours of the setting sun, a camera will try to balance the amount of light it reads, and you are left with a silhouette of the person. HDR will correct for that light balancing. Some cameras have a pseudo-HDR feature built into them. The iPhone camera, for example, has that setting, whereby it takes a "normal" shot and an "HDR" shot at the same time. Some photo-editing applications can take your photo and apply that HDR look to the phot...

Long before I decided to pretend to be Roland Axam , before I went to Scotland for the first time, I was drawn to the Scottish brogue. I loved the rough sound and the way the R's would roll off the tongue. I particularly liked the Scottish accent coming from a woman's mouth. That was, and still is, a big turn on for me. I used to be a customer at a bank where one of the tellers was a Scot. Her voice was soft but the accent was clear, to be sure. And later, I worked in a camera shop with a Scottish lass who put a smile on my face when she would offer a promotion to our customers: "With that, you can have three free rolls of film or three free photo albums." Imagine that said with a brogue, the R's rolling on and on. But my first encounter with a loud, guttural, Scottish brogue came in the summer of '87, when some friends and I were enjoying a gorgeous evening in the back patio of the long-gone, Byward Market bar, Stoney Mondays. On their patio, you fe...

This post is nothing short of self-promotion. If you don't want to read it, check out yesterday's post or go to my Beer O'Clock blog. Every once in a while, I have to remind myself that I did publish a novel and that I'd very much like for you to read it. Because, when I look at my royalty cheques, I realize that every so often I earn enough to buy a copy of my own book. And nothing more. So please buy my book. Buy one for yourself; buy one for a friend; buy one for a loved one. Because, some day, I'd like to say I can afford to buy two of my books. Maybe, I'd give some away (wait... I already do that: what kind of idiot am I???). If you're not sure whether you want to plunk down a lot of cash, go to my Songsaengnim blog . Read the first chapter, for free. If you want to read more, there are lots of ways to get your hands on a copy (or two, or eight). Through Chapters-Indigo (paperback, hard cover, or Kobo); some stores may actually have th...

Last night, like many Canadians, I watched the Juno Awards. I'm not normally into watching any type of award show, but I thought I would see which performers I knew and which were new to me. Lately, my kids have started listening to the radio and tuning to stations that play the pop songs they like. I now understand my parents: I hate the music that my kids like. When I was in my teens, my brother was just a pre-schooler. But I would crank my tunes and he would love it. He would always ask me to play some Peter Gabriel, U2, Ultravox, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Yes, among others. When he reached his teens, his taste in music was good. He would still listen to the songs I played, but he also branched out into other contemporary artists, like The Stones, and his new music was pretty good (he actually got me into The Cranberries and Coldplay). I like to think I have a firm hand in guiding his taste in music. When my kids were starting to appreciate music, I had them craving new...

This was a last-minute-decision shot, one that I hadn't planned to take but thought to myself, "if you don't take it, you'll regret not having it later." When in doubt, take the shot. Nine times out of 10, you won't use it. But at least you'll never beat yourself up over having not taken it. Last Sunday, just before my family and I left Mississauga for home, we made a stop at the Square One Mall. My wife wanted to shop for the girls at the H&M and at some other shops that are either not in Ottawa or are not convenient for us. Because I hate to shop, I dropped my wife and kids at one of the mall's entrances, and then decided that I would take some photos of the area. I had been looking at The Absolute Towers since we arrived (they were nearly completed two years ago, when we first came to Mississauga for a dance competition, but I didn't have time to shoot them then) and figured it was now or never (or not until we returned for the next C...

I often think of this date as one of the first we ever had, but then Lori reminds me that we had been dating for about nine months. When I think of the circumstances of the date, I know that she's right. But I treated it like a first date. I was excited. Maybe too excited. It was planned out perfectly: dinner at one of our favourite restaurants, a romantic soak in a hot tub, a light-hearted movie, and then a long evening of passion. No wonder I was excited. The restaurant was as old as I was, having opened its doors in 1965. I was about eight years old when I first went to it, and I loved it from that first time. Peter's Pantry, on Richmond Road, near Lincoln Heights, was the best Italian restaurant in the city. It was famous for its pizzas but made a killer lasagna too. When I was a kid, the dimly lit dining room with its Tiffany lamps and ornate brass railings was pretty swanky. The waitresses were pretty, adorned in what now seemed like ballet body suits with tassels...

I took a break from the terrible news to get away from it. But my thoughts kept returning, so I turned to my keyboard. On days like today (yesterday, or later, for you who are reading this post), we are sadly reminded that all is not well with the world. Just as with 9/11 and the London attacks of 2005, we are reminded that our everyday lives can be turned upside down, that the people who are full of hate can unleash that negativity with such life-altering results. It's hard not to be affected, even when we're far away from the devastation. And my heart goes out to the families, friends, and loved ones of those affected by the tragedy in Boston. I have been to Boston, have stayed within a block or so from where the explosions occurred. When I saw the images on television, I knew exactly where the attacks took place because my family and I have been on that street, on those sidewalks. The view from our hotel room in 2011, looking toward the finish line for the Boston ...

As far as dance school, we dads have it pretty easy. Sure, we'll cart our wee ones to and from lessons and practice, will watch rehearsals, recitals, and competitions, but for the most part, that's pretty much it. That's not enough. Dance moms make sure that the kids have the right outfits, the right tights. They'll ensure that our girls' hair is just right. And that's just for everyday classes. For competition, they make sure that the dancers are properly equipped with the right body suits, tights, and shoes. They'll make sure they have the correct jewelry and the proper-coloured makeup. They will help make the costumes, they will spend countless hours gluing sparkles on dresses, they will create fascinators, they will accessorize and make sure everything goes together for when the curtain goes up and the music starts. Yup, we dads have it easy. But not all dads. There are a few who help build the props. These dads will bang wood together, slap ...

This will be brief, because I'm out of town and time for blogging is limited. So here's this week's roundup of The Brown Knowser and Beer O'Clock : The Neverending Project —to date, it's still not done. Brushes With Celebrities —before I followed celebs on Twitter, I used to interview them. Wordless Wednesday: April Studio Shoot —another photography meetup project. I kept it fairly clean. Road Trips of Days Gone By —travelling with the family always reminds me of past trips. Photo Friday: In The Wings —these shots seemed appropriate, given what we're doing these days. I didn't get many chances to review beer this week, but there was one Beer O'Clock post: Spring Saison —a Belgian-styled ale from Brooklyn Brewing. Enjoy your weekend! Posted with Blogsy

Early yesterday, I started thinking about today's blog post and pondered what I could shoot that would be worthwhile. Being in Mississauga for a dance competition, I'm not in familiar territory. Sure, I've been here before and stayed at the same place just two years ago. But being here primarily for a dance competition, one in which photography is strictly forbidden, I had to think outside the box... er, venue. Very close to where we're staying are unique twin towers that beg to be photographed. The Absolute Towers seem to twist skyward, almost in a dance of their own. What better structures to photograph? And I found a good spot to stand to take the shot, so it seemed like a done deal. Except, the weather didn't cooperate. With the snow storm warning through Southern and Eastern Ontario (and with up to 25 cm of snow expected in Ottawa, it's a good time to be away from home!), I was met with rain, fierce, cold winds, and ice pellets. Not the kind of weat...

I love to drive. I love to get behind the wheel and hit that open road, becoming one with my vehicle. When I'm alone in the car, I can travel for great distances without stopping. I would make sure I had used the washroom before I set out, sip whatever liquid I packed and whatever snack I had prepared, and stop only for fuel. The longest that I've gone without a break, while driving solo, was eight hours (and only one fuel pit stop). With others in the car—especially, my family—stops are more frequent but are also, mercifully, short. For washroom breaks and fresh air for cabin-fevered kids. Because we have a minivan, we pack coolers with refreshments; we also keep the kids entertained with video games, a DVD player, and their iPods/iPads. Some of our best vacations have included lengthy periods on the roads. With yesterday's road trip to Mississauga, I was reminded of some of our memorable trips on the highways. Prince Edward Island: For three summers, from 2006...

The Internet Age has not only made the world a smaller place, but it has also brought people closer with the advent of social media. These days, you can keep in touch with far-away friends through e-mail, Skype, Facebook, and Twitter, to name a few methods (or, at least, the methods that I use). But you can also reach out to people who, before social media, where only accessible through the big screen, television, and radio: public figures and celebrities. And, in those forms, contact was only one way. Because of Twitter, you can follow your favourite celebs and read what they are doing at that particular moment, but you can also reach out to them, responding to their tweets or just contacting them directly. If you're lucky, they will respond to you. Recently, I remembered that, for a short period, I was able to interact with famous folks without the Internet, without social media. When I was a journalism student at Algonquin College, I spent six weeks in an internship at T...

I am not a handyman. Sure, I can paint walls and wallpaper. In my late teens and early 20s, I worked in a paint and wallpaper store, and part of my duties was to redecorate the display cases and to teach customers how to spruce up their homes. Towards the end of that part-time job, I was hiring myself out to customers, offering to do the work for them, once they purchased all of the tools needed to get the job done. Until recently, the biggest job I did in my house was to replace the awful dining-room chandelier that came with our home. In it's place, I hung a modern lamp with four halogen bulbs. I also added a dimmer switch so that we could create mood lighting when entertaining guests. I was surprised that in the rewiring of the light fixture and switch that I didn't electrocute myself or set the house on fire. Before From the day that we moved into our home, my wife and I haven't been thrilled with the vanity that came in our ensuite bathroom. Sure, it has a...