The Point

Thursday, February 15, 2007

We have with us tonight

Friends, thank you.

It has been a pleasure having this long conversation with you, and next week I will be taking a long leave of absence. I have some more things up my sleeve before I go, but without further ado, the winner of the Where You Live photo contest. The challenge was to come up with the best photograph of why the place you live is great. And what amazing places they are.

The winning picture, from Bryna Andressen. Hometown biases aside, this picture from Edmonton has charm, whimsy and melancholy. Bryna has won from the side, though; she writes:
This is a GORGEOUS picture of the clematis by the back gate at my house (see attached). It was taken by my housemate Jenanne, and I was watching, but I wasn't behind the camera. Anyway, it definitely shows exactly why living here is great. There are all sorts of interesting shadows in the yard and patterns in the frost on the kitchen windows and lots of other good things to photograph.
Clever young woman that she is, she noticed I failed to stipulate who the photographer must be. She also sent in a lovely written piece called Fridge Ephemera: Without leaving my house I know the whole universe. An excerpt:
The local garbage and recycling collection schedule for 2006 and 2007 says that this Wednesday is garbage day.

The contents of the fruit bowl are as jumbled and transient as the items on the fridge. Right now there are three pears, two limes, one banana and three avocados piled on top of each other in the bowl.

The other day, Jenanne and I noticed that the last nectarine in the fruit bowl was still mostly green. But it had been there all week, and it was getting soft.

She said, “it’s like when someone tells you about an event and the number of the date and the day of the week don’t match. Will it happen on the 3rd or will it happen on Thursday?”

“What?” I didn’t understand immediately.

“It’s like the nectarine. Do you judge ripeness based on colour or texture? How do you know when it’s ready to eat?”

That’s a difficult question.

A photo of the lilac tree that grows just outside the kitchen window. It’s a record of the exuberant flowers that blossomed at the end of May, just as we were moving in.

I only sing when I’m alone. It isn’t a conscious decision, but I never let a song slip out when I’m in the company of anyone else – even someone I trust. It’s a mysterious reflex. But today I can hear the echo of my voice in this room. The sound reminds me of the character of this space when it was empty, before my housemate and I moved in. Until we started to unpack the boxes labeled “kitchen stuff,” the room was spacious and blank. White cupboards with red handles. Two large windows on adjacent walls. A new fridge.

A distinctive household hum accompanies this subtle and familiar echo. This ambient hum is made up of sounds from the fridge and the furnace, traffic outside and voices coming from downstairs. Am I really alone with so much auditory companionship? These sounds are easily overheard without conscious listening.

Bryna will be the proud new owner of a novel of her choosing from this blog and a brand-new reading list. Because it was very very difficult to choose a winner, here are all of the excellent runners-up.


This picture of Hinton comes from fellow Ultimate afficionado Rob Barchard, who is working near the mountains these days. An admirable inukshuk, and a beautiful view.


An amazing panorama from Vancouver by Sarah Lemmon, a regular contributor to this blog and a dear friend of mine. You'll have to click the picture to see it in its full size, because it cannot be done justice in this little preview.


And wisdom from Edmonton by Lauren. I harassed her into sending something in from among her growing number of photographs documenting the wonderful madness of our hometown.

Every place is paradise. No place is paradise.

Great work, friends.

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posted by Christopher at 7:29 p.m. | link | 0 comments

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Success is easy

Five hours left and no pictures in yet. You're going to make me invent another imaginary friend, aren't you? His name is Jaime, he reallllly likes books, and he's an excellent photographer...

Beat Jaime! Send in a picture of why you love the place you live, and win a copy of any one of the books I've reviewed/picked apart on this blog. Winning is easy!

UPDATE: Alright, since I have a strict policy of 'all deadlines are always unreasonable, no matter how long,' you have until Wednesday. You also now have stiff competition from two lady photogs. Shoo!

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posted by Christopher at 8:45 p.m. | link | 0 comments

Monday, January 29, 2007

Contest this!

I am officially announcing the first-ever photo contest here on The Point. In less than a month I will be taking a hiatus for a while, so this is my little way of saying thank you for reading.

The rules are: send in a picture that shows why the place you live is great. I will be selecting on the basis of charm, bravado, hilarity, and/or (for good measure) poignancy. This does not mean you have to send in a picture of a sign that says 'City of Champs.' Be brave. Be tremendous. Send in as many entries as you like.

The winner will (obviously) get their picture featured on this blog as well as a copy of any book I have talked about here (except Worldchanging, I do not intend to spend my entire tuition on postage) and a personalised handy-dandy reading list that will be good for your soul. You get to pick the book. Reading this blog every day over your granola is not required to enter.

The contest ends Sunday, February 11th at 11.59 Mountain Standard Time. Send your pictures to . If there are a lot of really good ones, maybe I'll do a retrospective or something.

Can't remember all the books? Click here.

UPDATE: Deadline extended to 11.59 pm on Wednesday, February 14th. Because we are lovers.

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posted by Christopher at 12:51 a.m. | link | 0 comments
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