See No Evil

I live just a few blocks away from "The Gallery Walk" which is an association of 20 or so Art Galleries.

This guy was found out back of the Harcourt House, which is a not for profit public gallery and work space.

Although the owner of this piece just wanted to ensure someone did not walk off with it I think the unintentional image is very powerful.

Canada's Crack

I don't get it.. Can I have a 30 min lineup with my Double Double?

I walk past this line EVERY DAY.

My social urge to you all.. Drink TEA, and have more free time ;-)

Street Racer

With more Jobs than People in our province there is a lot of disposable income. The photo also represents the pace of life here in Alberta. My company alone is hiring around 100 New people this year. Most of them extremely Green and they are walking into an Income level 25-30% higher than what I did 3 Years ago.

Ready... Set... Go!

Happy Monday , I am not looking forward to my desk's Inbox.

The Citadel

I have always loved this piece of public art. I remember it from my childhood when my family would drive in from our small town to attend the theater.

It's sort of Japanese Zen meets Deconstruction. I have no idea what the artists intent is.

Happy Sunday Everyone !

Alberta Coat of Arms

I hope the skys are this blue in Edmonton today. I will be heading home on Sunday.

This is a shot from one of the provincial buildings. It features the Alberta Coat of Arms.

If you click on it and zoom in you will see the Coat depicts wheat fields in the for front with the foot hills and Rockey Mountains in the background.

The Citadel Atrium

This is just a small section of one of my favorite places in Edmonton. I work just down the block from here, and it provides a great lunch time oasis.

This Atrium makes up the main portion for the Citadel play house. The house has 4 theaters in it. Metro Cinema is permanently housed in one space. For 6 or 7 dollars you can see great independent films and old classics. My favorite today was `The Creature from the Black Lagoon`in 3D. The Rice stage is largely dedicated to small and avent garde productions. The Maclabb is my favorite space, as it is almost Theater in the round, but the space is the newest and the most inviting of all the theaters.

Maclabb photo is the work of Gomez Design Photography and is taken from a public Edmonton tourism website.

Last But not least is the Shoctor Theater which is a very classical proscenium stage setup. It is the Largest of the venues.

Chick a Dee Dee Dee

I wasn't sure if my bird feeder would attract anything, but I have been proven wrong.

Chick-a-dee's are my grandparent's favorite birds, so I was very happy to see this little guy escaping the cold winds. The picture is out o focus, but the blur seems to work with the picture of my poor frozen friend.

The weather is changing and I will start capturing some more photos of Edmonton now that things are warming up.

The Wheels of the Bus Go Through the Snow

This is my husband letting me know how he feels about me taking his picture. It is also the morning,which is his least favorite time of the day.In his defence I am an uber morning person.. I can be a bit much to handle.

We are on the Number 5 bus heading to work.

I'm Dreaming of a White... Spring

I am learning how to use my camera bit by bit everyday.Unless I have bright direct lighting I have had trouble getting what I want. Today's lesson involved setting my white balance settings and exposure speeds

;-)

That is my spouse in the distance, and it is still snowing.

(Taken Monday Morning)

Take THAT Snow

Despite the it beint the 3rd straight day of continued snow (5 CM is expected today) ... I have started to plant my garden. I also scrubbed my bathroom with a toothbrush, scrubbed my kitchen floors, organized my fridge, and watch way to many movies over this cold and snowy weekend. Is it wrong that I am glad the office is open.? Happy Monday everyone. This week like these plants should grow into something special.

The Ghost of Winter Present

The view from my living room window as reflected by my laptop screen.

It makes the cold gusting wind and snow seem a little more inviting and warmer. Or it could be that winter seems more distant this way.

Winters Last Kick at the Can

If you check last weekends post, you will see that we reached a high of 21 degrees. WELL....... this weekend we are not so lucky. (sigh)

Edmonton has been lucky, most of the province has gotten much more snow.

This is chez moi (my house)

Think for Yourself

Jaywalking fines recently increased to $250 Dollars. News interviews with a number of automobile drivers has reveled how "bothersome" pedestrians are. Seeing how this is my blog.. I want to express that I am sick of watching endless progressions of carbon spewing cars and their make-up applying cell phone talking operators who subsequently put a damper on my daily jaywalking experience.

Save the planet.... Jaywalk

Sad Day

This story broke the day I started the series on the Bay building, and I have been siting on it longer than I wanted to. This poor toddler was the innocent victim of Alberta's growth. As the province has boomed so has the drug trade. A huge transient workforce with no family attachment, nor support system, has fueled gang activity in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton to levels that has never been seen. Add to this the fact that, like most of our consumer goods, most of Canada's Contraband comes through Western ports. This makes Edmonton a prime distribution hub. Magnifying the whole situation is pop culture's trend to glorify gang culture. I am happy to report the toddler survived the ordeal, but will forever live with a bullet between her liver and spleen. A interview with the Toddler's mother reviled the victim's first words when she awoke. They were "Mommy OWE" I hope this story remains visible for a long time, as it has started a dialog in many communities. The incident did not actually happen in Edmonton but on a First Nation's Reserve called Hobbema, which has always had some sort of social problem as the young people on this reserve receive a large sum of money when they turn 18. This money exists because the reserve has or had a healthy oil revenue.

Old Meets New

What was once a dark and windowless structure has been gutted and turned into a sea of sunlight, glass and exposed building elements. The marble floors that were covered with carped sometime in the 70's has been re-exposed. Damage caused by the carpet glue and construction was not repaired but instead everything was finished in this, as is, state. The floating lilypad lights are dotted throughout the building. The main atrium is the most interesting spot in the building as the lights are layered at varying heights. On the main floor there is an Italian cafe that features an amazing selection of Gelato. All that is missing is the people, but they will come as the University slowly finishes and fills the space.

Art Deco

One of the sandstone murals. There are half a dozen of these all revolving around the fur trade.

A New Life

Work is still being done to the building, but from what I can tell the project is almost finished

Enterprise Square

The Bay building is a recent success story, after sitting empty for over 10 years it has now come to life. Built in an art deco style the building has a series of murals engraved into the sandstone outside. The doors are made from stainless steel, brass and glass. It is a monument to a time where department stores were vogue and at the height of trend. Inside the building are solid marble colums and floors. The sheer size of this building turned off every developer despite the fact it is in the heart of downtown and directly connected to the city`s Light Rail Transit. Today it accommodates the Provincial Art Gallery, a TV station, 2 radio stations and now the University of Alberta`s Continuing Education programs.

The Bay Building

The Hudson Bay Company has a long history with Canada. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company )

Edmonton's exists because of the fur trade and the Hudson Bay Company. At one time much of the land that Edmonton now sits on was owned by the Bay. Our river valley park system was a gift from the company as well, but when this land was handed over contracts were drawn up that would see little to no development on this parkland. This is how Edmonton wound up with such an extensive urban green belt. There has been talk of some select commercial development in the river valley, which I support. It would be VERY nice to be able to sit outside and have dinner surrounded by what is practically a forest in the middle of the city. As a whole the park system is under utilized by most people.

Perfect Timing

As I walked out of my gym, the sun was hitting the frosted glass signs of the newly redeveloped Hudson Bay building. It is now renamed Enterprise Square, and is the continuing education center for the University of Alberta. This will be the start of a small series on the building.

Metaphor

This stack of tires was found out back of a downtown business. This business backs onto a new park that was created for the High Level Trolley.

The tires represent Edmonton in a few ways. Firstly, we are one the most car dependent centers in North America. (I happily live car free)

When Edmonton was being populated, large numbers of Eastern Europeans settled here. With them they brought an ethic of hard work and a industrious attitude. Sadly the "Ukrainian Christmas" attitude also came with it. Edmonton has struggled to understand Form and Function, and has been very unsuccessful at melding the two until recent years.

A movement is underfoot though... Public art is growing, there are new strict design rules for building developers. and talk of a new downtown arena and entertainment center. Alberta the province is expected to grow 2 million people in the next 20 years. Change is being forced on all of us.

Spring Stroll

The city has sprung to life again as the mercury hits 21 degrees. These walking paths are part of a park system that when completed will be the largest urban green space in the world.

"At 7,400 hectares, Edmonton's North Saskatchewan River valley is the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America. There are 22 major parks and over 150 kilometres of trails on which you can enjoy walks, bike rides, picnics, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and more. " Taken from the City of Edmonton website

The High Level Bridge

The High Level Bridge began operation in 1913. It was designed from the outset to accommodate rail, streetcar, automobile and pedestrian traffic. Although the railway no longer uses the upper deck there is a street car that opperates during the summer. The Street car crossing is the the highest river crossing by streetcar in the world.

Fireworks over the Core

This is not my photo, but rather it was pulled from a recent City Hall Report. The City sits ontop of the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.