PodCamp London

Steve Groves: Ldn. Free Press web strategist.

This weekend was Podcast London. There is a strong "geek" community here in London, Ontario. I use the word geek because the group of computer wizards themselves use the term in a humorous, modest manner.

An intrigued Ryan Wiseman, left, meets with Nick Wynja.

These are bright, in many cases brilliant, people. And Saturday they shared some of their knowledge.


A young man, Nick Wynja, gave a demonstration on shooting and editing video using nothing more than an iPhone. He can have the finished ready-for-air clip back at the television station before the competition has returned to their cars.

Newspapers, with their growing Internet video presence, could also use this technology to advantage.

Work at a paper? Check out this VeriCoder Technology link and their 1st Video app.

An sound editor is a word conductor.

Another speaker talked about editing sound with respect. He approached a speech recording as others might approach a piece of music.

There is a rhythm, a cadence, to our speech. John Meadows told us, "If people can hear your edit, your edit isn't working."

Rod Lucier points to the Creative Commons symbols in use.

Rodd Lucier, left, discussed copyright and the  development of the Creative Commons designations and symbols.

For an explanation of the various CC symbols, check out the Creative Commons site.

All images shot at the event are covered under the Creative Commons designation.

It spells NUJV. Huh?

Speaker, Nik Harron, told the audience the Beatles, in this famous picture, are spelling out a word in semaphore and it isn't "Help." Spelling help was the original idea but it was decided "those letters didn't look good." NUJV appears in the picture. 

I think that is another way to spell "Oops!" 

Seven homes collapsed. Why?

A row of five unfinished homes collapsed in northeast London Saturday around dinner hour. Another two, several kilometres away, were also taken down by what were reportedly light winds. Why did these homes collapse?

Yes, seven homes were dropped to their knees by winds gusting to 67 km/h as measured at London International Airport. All were only partially built and thus were quite vulnerable, but vulnerable to what? All were two storey homes but after they collapsed it was mighty hard to tell.

One onlooker said, "It wasn't even that windy."

For the complete story and the answer to this puzzle, I have posted more information plus more pictures on Digital Journal.

Modern Buildings - Old Street

The bright, yellow tree is one of the many steel painted trees enlivening downtown London and the brightly tinted reflective glass is the former Canada Trust branch at the corner of Dundas and Talbot Streets.

Being kitty-corner to the JLC one would think this would be an excellent location for a restaurant. A lot of other people over the past few years have agreed and voted their agreement with their wallets. A number of restaurants have come and gone since the branch closed and the voting on the benefits offered by the location does not seem to be closed.

The large, white building on the far left is the Bell building. It was originally the hub for Bell operations in Southwestern Ontario, and in a sense it still is. But today the building is no longer home to original large number of Bell employees. On the bright side, whether the building is populated by Bell employees or not, London still has a great building and we all know how London has treasured its downtown structures through the years.

I wonder what originally occupied the site of the present Bell building and of the former Canada Trust branch?

Fountain Times Three

Marcel Duchamp would be envious: three fountains.

One for papa bear, one for baby bear and one for? Can't be mama bear.

There seems to be a problem with my story.

Whatever, the Covent Garden Market in downtown London, Ontario, has a men's room well equipped with a urinal to suit every height.

I made a colour print but somehow this photo just looked so much better black and white. I think black and white can be distancing and this picture benefits from being given a little extra distance.

For more on ready-made art see: Move over Marcel


Cheers,
Rockinon

"A wilful act of vandalism"

More than two decade ago the well respected art critic Clement Greenberg had the art world in a turmoil over his treatment of a few David Smith sculptures.

During his life Smith had respected Greenberg and when the artist died Greenberg gained control of some of Smith's last sculptures. Smith had experimented with mixing painting and sculpture. Greenberg did not approve and had the works under his control, which Smith had given a coat of primer, placed outside to weather.

This was not the first time a sculpture painted by Smith had been altered. When a coat of red painted had been stripped from one of his works in the '60s, Smith had angrily denounced the action as, "a wilful act of vandalism."

Many of the buildings that were once part of the war veterans village have been left to rot. Others have been renovated to the point that they no longer have their original cottage look. There was an indoor swimming pool and a bowling alley among other amenities in the village. It was a remarkable little place sitting on rolling land on the southern edges of the city.

So here's the question: who are the vandals? The folk who paint graffiti over the walls and even roofs of the dilapidated structures or the folk who left the buildings to weather, to be stripped of their paint, to rot?

If you'd like to know more about the village, reporter Kate Dubinski and photographer Sue Reeve of The London Free Press have posted an article with photos on the paper's Website. See: 'Hidden gem' nears end.

Geek Dinner features caribou

The monthly Geek Dinner, held last night at the Black Shire Pub, featured caribou — oh, not on the menu, just on the program.

SocialMedia, a Toronto company specializing in the fermenting of word-of-mouth campaigns, gave the organizer of last night's dinner a kit to promote a campaign being waged to save the woodland caribou.

If you're thinking you don't give two-bits for the woodland caribou, you're wrong; It's antlered head adorns the Canadian quarter. Once abundant across the country, they are now found only in Ontario and in people's pockets. Boreal woodland caribou require undisturbed habitat — no logging allowed — if they are going to survive. They also require a lot of support from concerned Canadians.

What groups use the talents of Social Media? Well, the David Suzuki Foundation , Greenpeace, Canopy and ForestEthics all are behind the Save the Bou campaign. Like to sign the online petition? Click the Save the Bou link above.

Geek Dinners are always interesting 'cause Geeks are cool.

Café Milagro

I love this little story. I'm going to write it, post it and tell Mai, the lady whom I believe is shown in the picture. If there are errors, she can let me know.

For years the Café Milagro has been a fixture in the centre of Byron, the now suburb but former village in the southwest of London, Ontario. The little restaurant was already here when I moved to Byron eons ago. I believe it was a Spanish-owned café at the time, hence the name.

Today it is owned by a lovely woman named Mai, who came to Canada from Thailand. Under her ownership the menu changed and expanded,  now featuring an international mix with an emphasis on Thai cuisine.

Where else would one be able to order pad Thai, Italian wedding soup or a Chicken Fajita Wrap from the same menu? I've heard the pork tenderloin with roasted red potatoes is delicious and others have remarked on a cheesecake dessert served warm with a hot fruit sauce.

I've been there a couple of times and it can be crazy. Mai was the only one waiting on tables the evening that my wife and I were there. We were not in a hurry and so it was not a problem. The food was good, the service friendly — but Mai did look a little stressed.

I love supporting local businesses, especially ones that I can walk to. I find the Café Milagro worth the walk. Be warned: the last time I got enthused about a place, my review got mixed reviews. Some folk had a good experience and others... 

Cheers,
Rockinon

Halloween!

It was Halloween and do you know what that means? Bowls and bowls of candy, bags and boxes of the stuff covering the bottom of a closet. The first year we lived in Byron, in the southwest of London,

Ontario, we had 200 kids and we ran out of candy. We said never again but we meant running out of candy and not kids. I doubt that we got two dozen trick and treaters. Oh well, I got lots of candy and I didn't even have to leave home to get it.

(Our little Bat Woman is Fiona in a picture by mom. Earlier in the day Fiona was busy making a Thriller video for YouTube. Haven't heard if she has gone viral.)

. . . in a pear tree

I have to give my wife credit for spotting today's picture. She saw the pear tree, burdened with fruit but almost devoid of leaves, as we travelled south on Colonel Talbot Road toward Lambeth. From a distance the ripe pears hanging on the bare limbs looked like decorative Christmas ornaments.

The little fox was a blur.

It's not the best picture of a little red fox. I could have done better if I'd had a longer lens. But, I'm still pretty happy with the image. I think my little watch-pocket-sized camera performed admirably.

I live in a suburb of London, Ontario, almost at the southwestern edge of the city. I say almost as there has been development since moving here. Near my home there is a large open field which may never be built on; reportedly, it once was a garbage dump. At one end of the field there are methane vents lending credence to the dump story.

The field attracts mice. The mice attract hawks and foxes. Now, to get a picture of a hawk. (First, I will have to buy a new camera. To learn what two camera have my eye check my Rockin' On: Photography blog.)

A Soho charmer

This is another home in the SoHo, South of Horton, area of London, Ontario. This home is on the southern edge of the city core near the Thames River. As I have revealed in days past, there are homes in this area going back 130 or more years and a few still look quite good. Sadly, many of the homes have been demolished or so modified over the years that they have lost all their charm — but not this place. This home, surrounded with greenery, is a real charmer. I've posted more about this neighbourhood on Rockin' On: the Blog.

Going, going, Georgian heritage soon to be gone

For years I have admired the white, vinyl-sided, building at the corner of Wellington Street and Horton Street in downtown London, Ontario. Much of the building was often empty and it was clear for years that one day it would be demolished. Well, that day is at hand.

I may be one of the only people in London to mourn its loss. I am just guessing, but I think this Georgian style building may have been originally a hotel serving the railroad trade back in the 1860s. Before it was sided with plastic and divided up at street level into stores, this building had a simple elegance.

 I understand that a recent inspection of the interior showed that over the years substantial renovations have been done. Some of the original wood trim, a number of the solid wood doors, some flooring and even heritage windows remain but all has deteriorated. Its landmark status has been lost as the street scape in the immediate vicinity evolved, or devolved, over the years.

The folk who bought the property and who are going to demolish this heritage building are the very people who build the new, and oh-so-bland, Salvation Army shelter at the opposite end of the block. If I had my druthers on which building should go and which one should stay, I'd be hard pressed to make a decision.

Horton Street approaching Springbank Drive

After getting the shot in the park (see yesterday's post), I returned to Horton Street to await the return of my wife with the car. There was a street sign beside the roadway that I could use as an improvised monopod. With my little camera it is best to refrain from shooting at the high ISO settings, the images get grainy or noisy. I prefer to support the camera, accept the motion blur, and shoot at the usual 50 ISO. It works for me.

Lovely Home in a Forgotten Part of London

This home is in a forgotten part of  the London core — on the southern edge near the Thames River. There are homes in this area going back 130 or more years and a few still look quite good. Sadly, many of the homes have been demolished or so modified over the years that they have lost all their charm. I'm try to learn a bit more about this neighbourhood and will post my findings on Rockin' On: the Blog.

London Soap and Cosmetic Company

In 1985 the oldest surviving soap factory in Canada was destroyed by fire. Today this is all that remains. How very, very sad. This was a interesting plant, and with some imagination it could have been a really cool museum with a great location beside the Thames River.

According to the plaque, from 1875 until 1984 the factory on this site produced a profuse variety of soap products. For the last four years the property was owned by the City of London and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

The rusting artifact is a toilet soap milling machine that mixed soap flakes with different fragrances to produce bars of fine soap. The flakes of soap are long gone and in their place flakes of rust are appearing on the massive gears.

In the coming days, I am going to be running pictures from this core London neighbourhood, a neighbourhood under stress. More has been lost in this neighbourhood than the century soap plant.

Move over Marcel

Marcel Duchamp's ready-made urinal was voted the most influential work of art of all time by 500 art experts back in 2004. Well, it is 2009 and it's time for Marcel. Duchamp to step aside. It was so long ago, 1917, when he shocked the art establishment by taking a urinal, calling it Fountain, signing it, and putting it on display. It was a brilliant addition to avant garde art. Oops! I forgot to sign my art. Aaahhh!

In 1915 Duchamp coined the term "readymade" for these found objects which he chose and presented as art. His first readymade, an inverted bicycle wheel mounted on a stool, was presented in 1913 and actually predates the term.

Jane McIntosh tells us on her blog that Fountain was an example of Dadaism, which was not art but anti-art bent on rejecting traditional culture and embracing chaos and irrationality.

Hey, that's me — irrational, chaotic and rejecting of just about everything; why stop at culture? (For a more in-depth look at "Is it art?", please check Rockin' On: the blog.)

Black-eyed Susan

I knew it was called Black-eyed Susan but when I googled it for more information it appeared on the Ontario government's list of weeds. According to the government site, Black-eyed Susan is a native plant in the Great Plains but was introduced into Ontario where it has spread aggressively throughout the province in meadows, pastures, edges of woods, river valleys, lakeshores and roadsides. Clearly, like most who move to Ontario, Susan likes it here.

Red dress draws attention, smile keeps it

I don't imagine many photographers could stand idly by while this young woman walked past. The bright red dress, the large purple sunglasses, both work to attract attention. But it's the smile that keeps the attention and says don't miss this.

I didn't.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Addendum: pictures that work because of a smile are usually best when we can see the eyes, eyes with bright catch lights. This smile has enough sparkle to be successful all on its own.

Dog days of summer past, unless you're a dog

While walking through Victoria Park, in downtown London, Ontario, I caught sight of this dog sleeping at the feet of its owner. I crawled under the park bench for the picture but I worried pooch would awaken and be upset having a camera tight in its face. There was no need to be concerned. This dog was out and I didn't have to explain myself to a curious pooch. Now, explaining myself to a curious owner, that was another matter.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Skateboarders are cool

No matter what you think of skateboarders prowling downtown London for challenges, skateboarders are cool daredevils. I rode a skateboard, once. I started at the top of a hill and rode the borrowed skateboard to the bottom, where a low-hanging rope blocked my way. The skateboard went under the rope, I jumped and went over, landing with numerous stumbling, forward-lurching steps; I wasn't cool.

The skateboarder, left, was going airborne in order to land at speed on the edge of a stainless steel topped concrete bench. He then slid some distance along the metal edge before wrapping up the trick with a leap to the pavement. Cool!