left in ruins
There used to be a beautiful building here, but it was ravaged by a fire some years ago. The facade still intact, but the insides crumbled and charred, the building was boarded off and you could only catch a glimpse of it over the top of the scaffolding. For a while, if you paid attention...
a fine (transit) romance
I grew up in a city where the transit fleet had a grand total of three buses. At my young age, rather than applaud that my community had any form of transit at all, instead I found this to be a bit pathetic. I had grown up with rather romantic notions of transit, having watched...
spring in the air (and my step)
This blog unintentionally went into hibernation this past winter. I can come up with no real reason for the lack of posts, other than the part of my brain that was dedicated to the creation of new posts on this blog went a little dark for the past few months while I worked on another...
sparkling classics
The weather in the week leading up to Symphony Under The Sky had been unusually warm. No one could have predicted that the hottest day of the summer would have fallen in September. Around the city people had been flocking to have their last al fresco experience before fall arrived. I had also been trying...
en plein air
Although it looks ominous outside this morning, I will be braving the elements to attend the evening performance of the Symphony Under the Sky in Hawrelak Park. I always enjoy attending these shows, with the symphony outside of its regular context of the concert hall. The Winspear Centre is an amazing venue, but then so...
the affectionate screamers
There is often a cluster of chain-smoking kids who like to gather in the public square by City Hall during the day, kids who dress in black and wear chains, playing hackey sack and shouting at each other from the patch of grass on one side of the square across the vast expanse of concrete to...
the sum of all our parts
Looking down from the second balcony the audience had become a sea of heads. In the dim light of the hall I could make out a suggestion of coloured shirts – certain bright tones stood out from the rest. When the musicians stopped the scene would change to a flutter of hands – and the...
natural high
So, I’ve been on a bit of a tear recently on my bike. A long tear, not unlike the tears that my poor muscles get every time they are pushed hard while pedaling up giant mountains. Having started to make a large number of friends at work, most of whom bike, I’m finding it difficult...
predestination
I noticed that we had reached that time of night where the apartments we were walking past were lit up like living lightboxes. It was just at that moment before the people inside had realized that the lack of light outside had made it possible to see in past the glass of their balcony doors,...
friday night digital delights
So, as I spent the early evening preparing my mind for the awesomeness that is sure to come with Wade and Phil’s arrival tomorrow, i began to ponder more near term possibilities. I sat on my gypspy bed, shifting often to prevent limbs from falling asleep, pondering. Pondering, what shall I do with this glorious...
bike season is upon us
From the desk of the esummer Having bought a loft at the end of a bike trail in downtown Edmonton, I promised myself I’d buy a bike and ride to work, at the U, daily. A few weeks ago when the weather turned sugary delightful myself and two friends headed down to the redest bike...
letters to a city
I started this site with the foolish notion that I would easily be able to convince my friends to contribute. I was lost in my red cloud of collectivity, thinking that if I built it, they would come. Certainly the interest is out there, I just need to be a bit more enthusiastic when persuading...