Out on a wild goose hunt

Yesterday I was out enjoying my rare day off running around from one end of Hamilton to the other. As usual I had my trusty digital camera with me and grabbed these shots of some Canada geese. I can't believe how docile these birds are, they are not scared of the traffic and I was only a few feet from them for a couple of these shots. The first couple of pics where taken in Westdale, the rest where taken in the grave yard that my parents are buried in. It's nice to know they have a great view.













Later,
Kenaz

Rose of Sharon

This is probably my last picture of my flowers for the year, since it has been an extremely hot and dry summer here in southern Ontario. My Roses are gone, so are the Lilacs and the last to hold on where my "Rose of Sharon".



Rose of Sharon is a flowering shrub native to much of Asia. It is vase-shaped, reaching 2-4 m(6-12 feet)in height. It is also known as "Rose of Althea" and is widely planted in areas with hot summers for its very attractive white, pink, red, lavender, or purple edible flowers. It is very strong. If cut and put in a vase, it will survive for much longer than other plants.

The national flower of South Korea, the flower appears in national emblems, and Korea is compared poetically to the flower in the South Korean national anthem. The flower's name in Korean means immortality.

As well, the Rose of Sharon is a flower of uncertain identity mentioned in English language translations of the Bible. The name first appears in 1611, when it was used in the King James Version of the Bible. According to an annotation at Song of Solomon 2.1 by the translation committee of the New Revised Standard Version, this is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for "crocus". Different scholars have suggested that the biblical "Rose of Sharon" is a type of Crocus.

Later,
Kenaz

The Crying Shame of Randle Reef

My personal take on the "Crying Shame of Randle Reef" featuring my cat character

Background

Randle Reef is located at the foot of Sherman Ave N in Hamilton Harbour, and is considered to be one of the more complex and highly contaminated sediment sites throughout the Canadian Areas of Concern.

HOW BAD IS RANDLE REEF?

* Second-worst coal tar contamination in Canada, behind the Sydney Tar Ponds in Nova Scotia, where a century of coke and coal gas manufacture left one million tonnes of contaminated soil and sediment.

The federal and provincial governments began a 10-year, $400-million, cleanup of the Sydney site in 2004.

* Mud to a depth of three metres or more is laced with chemicals so toxic they burn human skin and if inhaled cause anaphylactic shock -- a severe allergic reaction. There's enough hazardous material to fill Copps Coliseum to the roof three times.

* The sediment is so toxic to underwater creatures that 80 hectares of the harbour floor is essentially a dead zone. Fish that survive have growth and reproductive disorders.

* John Shaw of Environment Canada calls it "a spill in slow motion," because contaminants deposited in the Sherman Inlet as far back as the 19th century are spreading outward and leaching up into the harbour water. "The more diffuse it gets, the more difficult it becomes to implement solutions," he warns.

Goal

To erase the stigma of being a dirty, polluted steeltown and to change in the way people look at Hamilton.

Cost of the Plan

The proposed plan is to contain and cap the contaminated sediment, creating an eight-hectare peninsula with shipping terminals surrounded by green space, calls the $90 Million cost to be shared three ways by the federal government, province and local interests.

Problems

Both Federal Environment Minister John Baird and the McGuinty government's representative Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten say they put the environment first, but they won't commit the government to helping fund the cleanup of toxic contaminated Randle Reef.

Broten said her government has put up $30 million for other Great Lakes cleanup projects. She said Ottawa needs to put up its share for Randle Reef as it did for the Sydney tar ponds, but she wouldn't address what is the hold up from the province. This is buck passing by any other name. The truth is, the tar ponds only got cleaned up because Nova Scotia embarrassed the Federal Government into doing so. It's about time Hamilton politicians step up to the plate and drum it into the heads of the Liberals that Hamilton is important to the environmental fabric of Ontario.

Later,
Kenaz

Everythings coming up roses!

These are the first digital pics of my roses first blooming today. I have both red and pink.




Later,
Kenaz

Core Values

This is a step by step look at the creation of my latest piece "Core Values". I wrote in detail the theology behind the piece over at "Kenaz's Blog" in a post entitled "My vision for Sherman Ave North"

Original digital photo


Altered photo using the photosmart software


Using coloured pencils my vision for the street is created


Finally, I've added the signs on the buildings and incorporated the title as "graffiti" on the side of the theatre


Later,
Kenaz

Awash in their Afterglow

Rest in peace Mom and Dad, your loving son.
May 7/99 Mom passed on
June 29/03 Dad passed on.

The love and memories of my parents have inspired my creativety many times. My latest work is entitled "Awash in their Afterglow"



Later,
Kenaz

My Tulips and Daffodils

It's been one of the coldest winters on record here in Hamilton. Several records where broke in February and especially March. I've been documenting the progress of my tulips and daffodils since they first started to poke their heads up through the ground. They even managed to survive two freak early Spring snow falls. So here is a small display of my growing "Tulip and Daffodils" collection of digital photos. I plan to continue the collection right through to the end of the flowers life cycle and then continue with a series of "Roses" and "Lilac" collections through the Summer.

March 14


March 20


March 25


March 28


April 5


April 6


April 15


Well, Spring has certainly arrived in stride. With it days full of incredible sunshine and warm temperatures. Here is some more photos of my growing collection. It's starting to look as if the only way I'm going to enjoy my flowers is through the pictures, the neibourhood kids have already started to pinch them.

April 21


April 27


May 1


May 2


May 2


May 3


Lilacs


Later,
Kenaz

Pride Mural

The nice thing about old homes is the fact they have full attics and not just crawl spaces. I've created an open concept design with the bedroom in largest front room, a sitting room in the middle and then my shelve unit for my old movie collection at the back. The only part that was plain was the stair entrance, so I decided to create this wrap around mural. I call it "pride".






Close-ups of the photo mural.








Later,
Kenaz

Scrap Steel

I get to work on Friday's a little early for my 6:00am shift and the first one their so I have time to find candidates for my photos. I liked the industrial look of the scrap steel bins so I grabbed my small digital and snapped away. I immediately envisioned these in black and white and then with a little help from a photo editor, here they are.



I also took this photo this week of the steel mills on Sherman, heading towards Burlington. I also thought this picture would look good in black and white.


Later,
Kendall

A little bit of the flavour of Bartonville

...even if that flavour is a bit off. One of my favourite characters to adorn Barton Street East, here in Hamilton is a young guy who hangs out out front of the liquor store and bank area of the strip mall near Ivor Wynn. To his credit he isn't some bum with their hand out looking for money for booze. No, he's their with his guitar offering up his brand of street performing. Unfortunately he has absolutely no talent. He strums one string on his guitar and belts out some made up song(?) I mean, with songs with lyrics that include I'm gona' catch a train and I just smoked some crack, the play list needs some work. Oh well just another facet that makes the neighbourhood interesting.

Here's another comic strip featuring my "Blue Collar Gang" and their take on Bartonville's answer to William Hung.


Later,
Kenaz

More art works

These some more pieces of artwork that I have in my home. These are hanging in my weight room and provide visual stimulation while I work out.










These are pieces that I created.

"Pear Jars"
Inspired by movie posters I created this one using my "Cool Cats" characters.