Cakes, stones and violins
Year's ago when I was an associate member of the Stone Sculptor's Guild in Calgary, I took a lot of advice from a stone carver who's father had been a cake decorator. This was a formative issue for the young…
Photo difficulties with Apple’s iPhone OS 4 upgrade
I upgraded my iPhone today to the latest operating system. It took an hour or maybe an hour and a half, and it prompted me for clicks several times. When it was done, I unhappily discovered that many of my…
Ode to spring
I found these images on Tim Irvin's blog, here and here. And so striking, they are, I decided to build the following animation. Keep in mind, that it took Tim's back yard about one week to do this. If you…
by Darcy Merrick
Ronald Reagan comes to Victoria (Esquimalt)
Ever walk into an elevator with someone you think might be packing a handgun under their coat? What if you know they have a pistol? It changes more than the vibe or the atmosphere. It takes a lot of trust.…
The meanings of ‘animal’
Years ago I heard David Suzuki speak in Halifax. He was on book tour for his, then recent publication, The Sacred Balance. He told many stories that night and he spoke for several hours about the fundamental connectedness of life.…
Making Tim Ball
This is a story about one of my moments of glory. Some of you know that some years ago I was fundraising for Greenpeace. One particularly cold winter day, I engaged a passerby in a conversation about global warming. The…
Bumper stickers
Bumper stickers and car magnets are an interesting window into human identities and human values. Generally people aren't paid to put these kinds of things on their vehicles so we know they're authentic. And in our culture, a car or…
Thanksgiving 2009
My apologies to Quvi, and the rest, for this horrendous photo. Unfortunately, this is the best I could do given the circumstances. It's for Hugh and Jane, who couldn't make it.
2010 Olympic branding challenge
Over thirty police officers were counted at Centennial Square on Friday during the No Olympics protest. That's not including the snipers that were reported to be on the rooftops or the officers on horseback or the officers that make up…
Autumn, reprise
Came across this photo of an old journal entry dating back to 1999. It's a poem. Just in case you can't read the writing, I've provided the text below. I kind of like it! But I would make some edits,…
Local and live at Spiral cafe
There's a coffee shop in my neighbourhood and they do stuff there that I really admire. Yes, they also serve well-made, organic, fairtrade coffee. But they do more. I'm not a music geek. Heck I hardly even enjoy music. But…
Weekend on Galiano
Spent last weekend on Galiano. There's nothing better than sharing a cool island weekend with cool friends.