Listen up...

Just finished reading Derek's blog about his diminished hearing due to years of playing loud music without earplugs. He wisely suggests wearing earplugs all the time, and has been taking his own advice for about 3 years now.

This served as a reminder of my own hearing test I had just over a year ago. I was amazed at how much the hearing in my left ear had deteriorated.

I think I'll book an appointment to go down to the hearing booth and see how things have gone in the last year.

One thing to remember about your hearing: It will never improve. So, be nice to your ears.

Perfect Timing

I scheduled Friday and Monday as vacation days so that I could finish some outstanding work I have at home. Cleaning my room, finishing off some client sites, fixing up my own site, doing my taxes and getting more organized. I was also hoping to shoot a roll of black & white so I'll have something to develop for this week.

But on Thursday night, I'm racing down a narrow hallway and slam the three smallest toes on my right foot against a doorframe as the rest of me continues on at about 30 miles/hour. Trying to describe the pain would be useless, as I don't have any words that would approach the intensity...let's just say it was very very painful.

Initially I thought I had broken something, as it hurt like fire to move the toes even a micrometer. After laying on the couch for a while and an application of frozen shrimp (it's all that was available), the pain had subsided, so I tried to stand up. It felt like I'd stepped on a really sharp, rusty, pissed-off nail. A useful reminder not to put any weight on it.

So, here I am, two days later, with a very sore foot and not much accomplished yesterday because the only thing I could really do was limp. I managed to get half of my room cleaned and organized (the small half), but I am abandoning the rest as I really need to get some client work completed.

As Marlas would say: Stoopid toe.

Arsenic and Old Lace

I was fortunate enough to go to Arsenic and Old Lace last night, playing at the Stanley Theatre on Granville.

It was one of the best plays I have seen in a very long time. Perhaps even the best. The director did a great job putting it together just right, but the stars of this performance were:

Dr. Einstein (Colin Heath): Short in stature, but capable of some impressive physical comedy. I'm convinced he must have suffered some grave injury during rehearsals trying to do all of the tricks he pulled off.

The Set (Ken MacDonald): This is likely the best set I have ever seen. It sets the comedic tone right from the start, and the cast members fit into it beautifully. It was a joy to behold as the curtains went up.

Abby Brewster (Nicola Cavendish): If you see this play for one reason, it should be for Ms. Cavendish's performance. She is so beautifully impish and loony and hilarious that even her movements (she doesn't run, she bobbles) are hilarious.

If you'd like to see a live performance this year, this one is a sure bet. But a tip: reserve your intermission drinks when you get to the theatre so you don't have to stand in line. I finally got my iced tea just as the lights flickered and an announcement called us back to our seats.

Infrared Photos

I took my first roll of infrared photos about 2 months ago and had them scanned by Chris, but haven't gotten around to putting them online.

Having never worked with IR film before, it was a bit of a challenge, but I have two more rolls, so I'm bound to take more.

Many of the resulting shots exhibit a lot of grain which, in my research, appears to be typical for IR film. Another problem was the fact that my camera appears to have LED or something in the body that gives off IR light, as you can see quite clearly in the top-right of one of the photos (the one with two trees above another treeline).

The biggest challenge was actually seeing the image through the viewfinder. In order to get a well exposed picture, the film I was using (Kodak HIE Infrared Film) requires the use of a red filter (I use a Tamron #25) which darkens the image coming through the viewfinder considerably. I also used a UV filter to block as much UV, allowing maximum IR to hit the film. With both of these filters in place, it is very almost impossible to see anything. I tried taking the filters off, composing the image and putting the filters back, but with people in the park I was at (Central Park in Burnaby), the setting sun, clouds coming and going and other uncontrolled variables, some shots just didn't work out.

Aside from all that, some turned out quite nicely. Check it out:

Infrared - First Roll