Wide Open Future

Hi!

Sorry for the lack of postings for ~a week. Been kind of busy, alot of it with SNAP. This morning included, as I got up at the crack of dawn (well, just past it…6 AM) to shoot the Becel Ride for Heart here in Toronto. Sure, the lack of sleep was annoying, but I got to shoot with (as well as talk to and pick the brains of…I’m sure I annoyed them ;)) some photographers from the major papers, etc, which was a blast, and I got a couple decent shots out of it. Including the one that accompanies the post; this guy was the first out of the gates of the main group at 8 AM. Right after I clicked the shutter, a horde of other bicyclists rode by, so I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

I’ll try and keep this regular again…my mistake!

Looking Up, Out and Around. Repeated.

Now, this article is a couple days old, but it has *got* to be one of the coolest things I’ve read in awhile.

A building. That rotates. Its floors. Individually.

Where else but Dubai would such a piece of maverick architectural design be even considered? Sure, logistical issues such as plumbing, piping and wiring come up, but in all seriousness, the fact that the floor you live on rotates on a weekly basis is just SO cool. Though I can imagine that, upon reaching week two, my enthusiasm would wane to the point where I’d be paying an exorberant amount for ‘just’ an apartment.

Ah to have too much money than to know what to do with.

Shot my first ‘event’ (or three) a couple days ago, with a couple more to shoot tommorrow. I’m pretty pumped.

Fidelity

Sorry for the lack of postage yesterday. It will probably continue for the next couple days.

For you see, I have a job with a local paper, and this weekend is apparently event-central. There are also various other social events goign on that will keep me occupied, so this maaaay be it until the end of the weekend. But never fear, for I will return!

Meanwhile, the post for today is something I took, earlier today. Well, technically yesterday (I’m writing this at 12:36 AM).

Star Lite, Star Bright?

So, the Toronto Star have changed their format (note - link is a PDF of the new style).

I can say I’m a fan. I mean, it’s hard to really ‘hate’ a newspaper visual format, and even a change as jarring as the Globe and Mail’s recent hyper-border-itis change was met with approval from me. The ULTIMATE critic of visual presentation.

First, the good.

-Slightly bigger text with an increased lead. I’m not (that) blind, but somebody else is.

-Focus on local news. This is a huge one. I read other news sources (BBC, CNN, CBC) for international or national news; I want something a little more ‘professional’ than Torontoist, Spacing or blogTO for my local news. (No disrespect to any of those sites; I read them regularly, and have much good to say about them.)

-Spiffy, slightly minimalist design in terms of text and dividers

-The ‘feel’ of the Star remains the same. The Star, Globe and Post all have widely different looks and atmosphere (as does any paper, really…duh), and for whatever reason, I like the Star’s the most. That hasn’t changed.

Now, the bad

-Slightly bigger text…does that mean we have fewer stories, or simply shorter ones? Presumably, the gains made in text size are taken from national and international coverage, fitting in with the GTA focus.

-”Voice of the GTA?” Come on, Torstar. You’re better than that. Even a “since 1892″ would have sufficed, if traditional. “Voice of the GTA” is just lame.

Now, my split

-One inch narrower. Not sure whether to put this under ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Under the good, less paper is always a positive. Under the bad, however, I’m again worried how much text has been chopped off. I’m sure it’s minimal, especially when combined with the increased focus on the GTA, and thereby less focus elsewhere. Though who reads every word of the newspaper, anyway?

Thoughts?

Side note - Today’s picture was from my train ride home from university for christmas back in December. It’s titled “December Sky,” and has undergone some post-process ‘enhancement.’

News of the Century! No..Decade! No…Year! No…Day! YES!

I’m apparently 2 days behind the rest of the world with this news.

But.

Starcraft II has been announced.

It only took them a decade.

The reasoning for my choice of a Catholic church as the picture for this post?

Because this announcement proves a deity’s existence. Pick one, any one. They’re there. Now.