inbetween

Vancouver was a blast. We blasted there, and we blasted back. I don't think humans were meant to go from the Tsawassan (sp?) ferry terminal to Burnaby in less than a half hour, but we did.

And I don't think humans were meant to leave the West End and arrive at the Ferry Terminal in under an hour. Fifty minutes to be exacty.

The Pride Parade wasn't really. There were the usual suspects: youth groups, safe sex advocates, politicians (note that the power in party didn't show), and for-profit corporations. I'm tired of seeing banks involved in pride parades. Their sponsorship is wonderful, as is there financial support, but do they need to march? And Starbucks! They're on every street corner (even the gay streets), why do they need to be proud?

Shopping: fun, funny, and furious. The parade got borning, after the third or fourth twenty-minute empty period, so (like any good gay people) we went for sushi and shopping. Yum. And then there was swimming, and the hooka. Such relaxing is unheard-of for me. I like it.

Today we saw a bunch of Rodin's work at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and then shot back to the little (and clean! OMFG!) city.

And I found a wet-spot on my bedroom carpet. Thanks universe, but I'd rather have a puppy do that, than my granny.

Wandered around Luminara a few weeks ago, and spent the entire time cursing the bastards who stole my car and the tripod in it. Bastards, may you grow man-balls on your forehead. Anyway, had to resort to resting the camera on the ground, and guessing at the focus and composition. This is one of the few better shots.

More from the Festival of Light. Shot by placing the camera right on the ground, and shooting up. May the baby-eating bastards that stole my tripod be tied to a tree and covered in honey and left for a bear to rape. AND NOT THE FUN KIND.

Anyway, one second exposure, colour balanced in photoshop.

St Ann's Academy was featured in Luminara this year, and had a beautiful papier-maché lantern.

St.Ann's Academy

What is St. Ann's Academy? St. Ann's Academy is an incredible structure with an even more incredible past. Parts of the Academy actually predate Victoria's incorporation as a city and the story of St. Ann's Academy goes back to 1858, when four Sisters of St. Ann and a lay helper arrived in Victoria from Quebec to begin their mission of teaching and health care. Those first Sisters lived and worked in a small log cabin located on the Academy's grounds. The centre section of the building you see today, built in 1871, was Victoria's first four-story masonry building. By 1886, the Academy had expanded with the addition of the east block and the chapel. The Chapel was built in 1858 and served as Victoria's first Roman Catholic Church and cathedral. In 1910, the Hooper or "west" wing of the Academy was constructed, completing the structure now preserved as part of the St. Ann's Academy National Historic site.

See also:

• St Ann's Academy, Victoria, British Columbia
• The Homeroom: St. Ann's Academy
• Parks Canada - St. Ann's Academy National Historic Site of Canada

Taken on the BC Ferries Queen of Disrepair last weekend.

The Vancouver Gay Pride Parade was last weekend, and we went over for it. Wow, so boring. We left, about half way through it to go shopping and have lunch. This photo (more interesting than most of my parade photos) was shot on the ferry on the way to Vancouver, in the gift shop.

Some interesting EXIF: Canon Powershot S410, taken 2005:07:30 @ 19:06:40, no flash, focal Length: 7.4mm, 1/80th second @ f/2.8

Joy, Ben and I went to the beach a while ago, and I suddenly got drunk. Surprising really. Got some good pics, including this one.

Details: hand-held, 1 second exposure, intentionally -2 exposure bias (to get the exposure down to 1 second, as opposed to four). Colour and exposure corrected in Photoshop.

Taken just over a month ago, downtown Victoria while I was just wandering around listening to music. I think I take better pictures when there's music playing.

Camera Model: Canon PowerShot S410
Image Date: 2005:07:09 13:59:05
Orientation: Rotate 270
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 7.4mm
CCD Width: 7.11mm
Exposure Time: 0.0013 s (1/800)
Aperture: f/7.1
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Center Weight

Taken at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's Moss Street Paint In. The sculptor in the background is demonstrating how flexible her oil-based clay sculptor is, considering that it is weeks old. Soon it will become a bronze statue.

Technical details are preserved in the EXIF data.

As reported in the Rocky Mountain News: Local

Writer's remains en route to funeralThompson's ashes, along with fireworks, head to Woody Creek

By Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News
August 18, 2005

Hunter S. Thompson's cremated remains, mixed with fireworks and packed into 34 mortar tubes, were en route to Woody Creek Wednesday.

I'll be out of the country until Monday. I'll still be answering email and checking in on the Blogs when I can.

click here to contact me, if you don't have my email address. I don't publish it online.

Have a lovely weekend everybody, don't party too hard without me.

This is my first red state. It isn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be... All the people have been friendly (shock!), even the border people (wow!).

Brandon is cute as ever! Today's his birthday.

Denver is fun, but very dry. VERY dry. All the locals keep warning me to drink water. Got a headache? Drink two glasses of water. Got to go pee? Drink water. Feel sick? Drink water. Don't like something? Drink water.

Today: Shopping, lunch, and then fambily.

Denver is a city rich in history and heritage. The state capital was built in 1908. The monument out front was originally created to "celebrate" a victory, which was later denounced as a massacre of Native Americans. The dome of the Capital Building is covered in 200 ounces of 24k gold leaf. Even more examples of extravagence exist on the inside.

People in Denver have been very polite (notable exception: Some faggot bartender with a breast fetish, and unstoppable need to do body shots off guys he doesn't know.) and courteous.

• Denver, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Google Maps - Denver, CO colorado state capital

Looking north from yesterday's capital building, this is a view of Downtown Denver.