The Innocence of Youth

My niece Mariana is at that age where she can comprehend the nuances and context of the world around her, but still has the unspoiled innocence of youth. She still finds wonder and amazement in the everyday things we would consider mundane and boring. "LOOK! A BUTTERFLY! AAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Seriously, she gets an impossible amount of joy in seeing something like a dandelion bloom, blowing in the wind. I wouldn't get that excited if I found a unicorn riding leprechaun, offering me 3 wishes and a chupa chup. If only we could find happiness so easily as the young do.
















I couldn't have asked for a more perfect park setting to contrast against her summery orange dress. All photos shot with a Holga 120N on Konica 400VX film (super expired).

Shortest workout ever...

So I was working out tonight… ba dum tish… no for reals, no joke. I've been having nightmares lately in which I'm like Jabba the Hutt at age 40... Anyways, I was doing some pull-ups, and suddenly something went really horribly wrong and my back is now spasming and angry painful. WTF?! When did I get to be so old and fragile? I feel about as frail as the dandelion blooms below… see that? Natural segway!

Shot last week with the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens, outside the school where Anita had her 'graduation' ceremony for Japanese class. Finally, our Friday nights are free again.

Cheers to the Old Man

Happy Father's Day to everyone who is, has, had, was, and/or ever/ never will be a dad. Is there any scenario I haven't covered? Anyways...

My pops is chillin' over in Ho Chi Minh where it's thunderstorming and 30 degrees. Perhaps 'chillin' isn't the proper term. That sounds a bit like weather I'd expect if Thor fell asleep during his watch, and Loki snuck in to change the thermostat. Oh Loki...

Seeing as to how I can't really go out and celebrate with ze fahja (outside of a Skype tea party later this afternoon), I'm a little bit jealous of all you folks who will get the opportunity to take your progenitors out for dinner, a ball game, have him show you how to fix your leaky toilet for the 23rd time this week, or whatever other wonderfully filial activities you have planned. Me? I get to play at hiding some information from the pops that would probably make him lose sleep for the next couple weeks (or at least give him incontinence for a day or two). Good job, mine dumbass brother. Way to ruin Father's Day for me. Seriously, 1997 called to remind you that you were 21 THEN, not now. Grow the EFF up. Anyways, that probably made no sense to those not in the know, so let's end on a happy note with the two things in common the old man and I have love of - BEER and PUPPIES!








And just for funzies, I dug up and scanned one of my favourite photos of the man of honour himself.



Have a good day with your Dads, folks!

Putting the 'G' back in Pudgy

President's Choice Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies are like my favourite food group. So naturally, I bought the PC Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches immediately after seeing them. They're literally two delicious cookies with a layer of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between. Brilliant!! The only way they could make this better is if they added bacon. I would've posted a photo, but I ate them before thinking to take one. I'm gonna be a little pudge monster if I keep this up.

Alright, back at you in the a.m. with a new photo post. G'night!
-Pudgy G

A fun way to get FAT in Calgary

Our Saturday would best be summed up by food and drink and food and drink and food and drink. Kris and Nicole came for a visit, and seeing as the weekend was suppose to be a washout, our plan was to hit up all manner of food and beverage establishments for an entire day. In retrospect, I feel like we mapped out an interesting day long itinerary for food and beer lovers. So if you're visiting Calgary and need some ideas on what to do, try this on for size. Warning - you will likely gain a few pounds by the end of the day.

First stop: Brunch and beers at Blue Star Diner, a little gem of a diner in Bridgeland serving locally sourced fare. Cozy, intimate interior, with a large chalkboard menu, friendly servers, and surprisingly short wait to be seated. The huevos rancheros tostada were awesome, as were the Chili Stackers. I can't remember what Kris and Nic had, but they approved as well.

Next up: Made our way to Crossroads Market and sampled the delicious ciders, pies, hot sauce, and meat snack offerings of various vendors. Hotsauce lovers, there is a fantastic little kiosk called Some Like It Hot, where you will find literally everything you could hope for, from 'mild tangy sauces in line with Franks Red Hot flavours' to 'nice smoky flavoured sauces in all levels of heat' to 'burns going in and burns even more going out' type sauces. Check em out, just bring water. And while Crossroads doesn't quite have the modern layout and decor of the somewhat recently relocated Calgary Farmer's Market, it makes up for in character with it's eclectic mix of food and flea market offerings. While perusing a selection of junk/tiques, I snagged a roll of Fuji NPH 400 for $3!!)

Next destination: mid afternoon snack at Jelly Modern Doughnuts. The donut selection is gourmet, with much more unique varieties and offerings than a standard Tim Hortons or Robin's Donuts. Sadly, they were sold out of their Egg Salad Donut sandwiches for the day... so I had to settle for a Maple Bacon donut instead, which was a tad on the sweet side, but you can't go wrong with BACON.

Next: Onwards for a quick stroll down 17th Ave, before stopping in at National Beer Hall for a sampling of their 72 North American beers on tap - and not 6 versions each of Molson/ Labatts/ Bud either, but rather a handful of locally crafted brews, and interesting beers from all over Canada and the US. As a bonus, for the oyster lovers out there, National also has a decent selection of fresh raw oysters to get your libido primed. I can't find a website for this new-ish beer hall, so you'll just have to go and see it for yourself.

Final stop: Headed over to Craft Beer Market, to taste some of the over 100 beers on tap. The food is pretty good as long as you're not on a diet or are at risk of a heart attack (20 Napkin Burger: 2x 8oz beef patties, 1 4oz beef brisket, beer infused cheese, and a mini burger on top as garnish!!). And the atmosphere is nice, with tall ceilings, so the noise factor of a few hundred drinkers crowded around you doesn't become ear jarring like other beer halls (I'm looking at you, Wurst!). The lounge area (big, airy space) is built around a large central bar with ample seating, and standing room. The crowd seemed to skew to mid-twenties and up, and overall, I would give this place an enthusiastic thumbs up for it's mix of food and beverage offerings, coupled with knowledgeable and friendly service (especially given the number of people demanding on the spot taste profiles for the 100 plus brews). Be prepared for a long wait to get into the dining area though (we opted to eat and drink our 4 hours away in the lounge instead)...

And with that, you should have enough fooding and drinking activities to cover you for an entire day. Bon appetit/ Cheers!


Kris and Nic at the Blue Star Diner


Huevos Rancheros


Chili Stackers


Jelly Modern Doughnuts - Flavours: Maple Bacon, Smore, and Lemon Curd.


Delicious beef brisket, w/ Mac and Cheese from Craft Beer Hall.

Insert superlative adjective here-STORM

Jeebus, is it fricking STORMING out there. The thunder is shaking the house like we're in an earthquake zone. And the last big clap set off the house alarm, which was rather scary. I'm sort of cowering in fear, nestled up on the floor against the couch, wrapped in an oversized quilt, wishing my big brave Anita was here... MOMMY!!!

Okay, maybe not so much the last part, but this storm is a bit freaky. Probably need a dinghy and a life jacket to get to work tomorrow. Calling it a severe thunderstorm doesn't really do it justice. We need a more extreme term for weather like this. Something like, Murderstorm. HellHathNoFuryStorm. HolyShitStorm. It's-Raining-Effing-Livestock-Storm. MichaelBayExplosionsStorm.

Anywho, I needed to post a photo of a peaceful scene to get my mind off the scary noises in the sky outside.



Taken over a year ago now, during a rainy 5 days in Porto, Portugal. Sigh...

The Art of Procrastination

I should be packing and prepping for my overnighter to Edmonton tomorrow. So as per regular G.Mach protocol, I've got the TV on, watching Lost in Translation on IFC. I've only seen this film 13 times, but it's got BILL FRICKING MURRAY, so you can't blame me for being glued to the tube. Plus, IFC has decided that sexy singles chat line advertisements every five minutes fit right in with their theme of great independent film. SEXY SINGLES CHAT, YEAH!

Okay, there really is no point to this post. Sorry. Have a look at this photo, and then go do something productive instead.


Shot in a park in Taipei, while we were sheltering from an intermittent drizzle. Nikon FG, on Kodak Portra 160. Colours tweaked in Lightroom. Click it to view large on black.

A Summit To Die For

My three favourite things in life are cameras, mountains, and beer. So the below photo of a tall boy atop the summit of Heart Mountain after an early season tune-up scramble, taken on Fuji Instax Wide film, is the penultimate expression of happiness and joy for me.



But it makes me sad knowing that while I was scrambling this rather puny mountain (elevation gain of ~900m, summit ~ 2135m above sea level) with Anita, Amy, and Mike this past Saturday, folks were dropping dead left, right, and centre at or near the summit of Everest in Nepal. In case you've been living under a rock this past week, check this article out for more info. And while I have no delusions of ever ascending Everest, I've taken risks during scrambles that in retrospect were stupid, just for the sake of bagging one more summit. So I can see the allure that captivates the thousands that have tried to summit this unrelenting monster, and even more so, the reasons why one would take such risks in the face of imminent death above 8000m. Some may criticize you for being stupid to risk life and limb over a mountain top, but the pursuit of a dream is a pretty noble ideal to die for. Just, it's better if you don't die. Just saying.

I don't do landscapes - Alishan, Taiwan

An oldie from the tail end of our trip to Taiwan back in January. This was shot in the lush mountain village known as Alishan, where people go to watch the sunrise over a sea of clouds, before embarking on a hike through the old forest. Unfortunately for us, it was drizzling rain and the sun stayed hidden that morning... however, the drizzle and humidity in the air did make for some beautiful misted views within the forest.

Holy Nerdgasms, Batman!!

Last night, Anita and I rushed back from a day of scrambling up a mountain (photos to come), cleaned up, wolfed down supper, and made it with just minutes to spare to Play! A Videogame Symphony, performed by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. And was it frickin' awesome! Presented in two parts, the first was a tribute to the classic Japanese composed pieces of music that accompanied some of the most celebrated video game series in history (Super Mario and Zelda, anyone?), to name a couple. Any kid who grew up in the 80's would remember the theme music to these titles, so you can imagine the feeling of nostalgia and awe when you hear these iconic pieces, played out in live, full, rich orchestral depth. Instant Nerdgasm!

The second half of the show transitioned to the more European and North American fare, featuring the scores to more recent games which Anita and I had heard of (World of Warcraft, Skyrim, Halo: Reach), but were largely unfamiliar with. The pieces of music were very epic and bold in sound, and were an interesting contrast to the previous Japanese pieces. There were very distinct nuances and feels between the two, which my non-musically trained brain find hard to describe adequately. But as Anita put it - the Japanese pieces were beautiful and very distinctive from each other, while the American pieces (although epic) all sounded the same.

And as an encore, they played this score from the 1994 classic (and one of my two favourite RPG's of all time), Final Fantasy VI. Enjoy: