.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } if I've been bad give me a lump of coal not a cold © Raffaella Loro I've been lying here for five minutes and all I can do is listen to the hum of the appliances and the hint of traffic on...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } I won't apologize for my knitting photos © Raffaella Loro I seem to be going to through a pretty intense domestic revival these days (well, except for washing dishes and cleaning, those are things best left for my housekeeper/best handyman boyfriend in...

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exploring the blues ...

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It was kind of a dreary day in Toronto today. No sun to speak of... and cool, cool weather. But it is autumn and I had been spoiled over the past week with gorgeous hot days (almost too hot) back in etown. After the white bear woke from his slumber, we took to the streets to find some food and then pick up...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } city hall embrace... © Raffaella Loro I have just realized that I forgot Wade's monopod at home. Good thing I am renting a fast lens for this evening. It's almost one o'clock here and Aryn is still in the process of waking...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } chopped locks must be chronicled © Raffaella Loro So today at the airport I was randomly chosen for a search (oh lucky me) which included a ridiculous body pat down, preceded with the question, "are there any parts of your body where...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } extra ordinary © Raffaella Loro Ever read something and not recognize yourself in it? I was looking through some old papers this morning and I came across this introduction to a paper I wrote a few years ago.One may suggest that there...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } the birds © Raffaella Loro I spent the morning by the river today. I don't get to spend nearly enough time there. It's a very calming place and when I visit there I feel like I am removed from the rest of...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } cinderfella © Raffaella Loro my housekeeper comes back from his conference today, which means I have to make the house presentable for his return. Otherwise he will wonder what I have been up to for the past week. Ordinarily I have no...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } head in a book © Raffaella Loro My course went live last night and I am back on the academic train. I plan to spend the remainder of the year immersed in research. I am very excited. It is such a relief...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } the money shot... © Raffaella Loro There is a lot of politicking going on these days and I've found it rather fascinating to compare the level of spectacle in the goings on of the Canadians vs. the Americans. In simplistic terms the...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } *let us cross the river, and rest under the trees. © Raffaella Loro I've had one of those weekends that was particlarly fruitful photographically, quite possibly only because I didn't have any deadlines and the photos had no other purpose than a...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } project © Raffaella Loro The second Pecha Kucha night was held on Thursday. As per what has become my usual volunteer contributions, I created the poster, assembled the presenter packages and master presentation, helped orient the presenters before the event, and acted...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } going to extremities © Raffaella Loro 11:24 pm, Thursday night.I have nothing to say, except everything of course.I should have gone exploring with my camera today. After dinner Aryn was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine, and I had a sudden...

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The mitts may be on but people are still clapping. But not to I am the Walrus of course. Yellow Submarine... Ringo finally gets to sing. ...

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as per tradition there was a mini donut run.These donuts are the definition of bite-size. ...

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Not seeing anyone looking too lonely tonight. ...

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Once again the expert has come in handy. 5 minutes until intermission, enjoying the show too much to post anything. It's that entertaining.Medley of favourites.Did I mention that the expert is also a percussionist. He just gave a thumbs up for Ringo's recent eight stroke roll.Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends. ...

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lyrical inspiration ...

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It's really working out to my benefit to sit next to a Beatles expert. Although he is nearly six months younger than me he has already told me all the song titles in the opening medley (just as I predicted) and pointed out that Jim Owen (John Lennon) bends his knees just like the real John.The crowd is definitely enjoying the show so...

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Managed to time everything right this evening, arriving with enough time to take the shuttle from the university. Better seats than yesterday, closer to the stage with a view even with my eyesight. Tonight is the Classical Mystery Tour - A Tribute to the Beatles. Tonight I'm sitting next to a full fledged Beatles expert. No doubt he will be prompting me with...

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indication of what's to come tonight. ...

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Written Sunday morning, back dated so it would appear in line with the other Saturday posts as I only show one days worth of posts on the front page.I didn't get a chance to post my final thoughts from the Saturday performance of SSUTS, so I will now (I should have been using this acronym for the Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky yesterday,...

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We took the shuttle bus home, but first we stood for the encore performance... a piece from Jurassic Park by John Williams.I'm looking forward to the Classical Mystery Tour tomorrow. ...

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another with guest vocalist Tyler Hamilton... and what will it be?Star Trek intro narration. Most entertaining.Star Trek Through the Years (various / arr. Custer)TV Theme / Deep Space Nine / The Inner Light / Star Trek: Generations / Star Trek Voyager / Star Trek: The Motion PictureI wish I could take more photos of the performance. For me much of the excitement of...

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Tyler Hamilton on stage again.... this time singing two songs from Oklahoma! (Bernhardt has dubbed Hamilton the Line King, hardy har har).Oklahoma!: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'(Rodgers/Hammerstein / arr. Bennet)We should all close our eyes for this one. Imagine corn as high as an elephant's eye, etc, etc, etc.Apparently Hamilton sees the squirrels too. And he likes to kiss old ladies. Obviously much...

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Great Western Suite (various / arr. Tyzik)The Magnificent Seven / Dances with Wolves / How the West Was Won / SilveradoThe gentleman next to me (not Aryn) has been looking forward to this one all evening. His daughter has just kindly informed us (and everyone within earshot) that hot chocolate is $2 at the main refreshment tent. If only we hadn't blown our...

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Aryn and I were out and about this afternoon. We had walked across the High Level Bridge and back again, arriving home at nearly six o'clock, which dashed our plans to take the LRT to the University and then take advantage of the free shuttle to the park. I am pleased that ETS was involved in this event and had there been the...

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Banter between vocalist and conductor. It is baritone Hamilton's third time with the ESO, second time at Symphony Under the Sky... and his parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Apparently tonight is the birthing of his new cd.and now...The Lion King: Can You Feel the Love Tonight?(music by Elton John / lyrics by Tim Rice / arranged by Gordon Goodwin)Don't know if...

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The Sound of Music: Edelweiss(Rodgers/Hammerstein / arr. Bennet)Tyler Hamilton on stage.Roger Bernhardt remembers to thank the sponsors. As Tyler waits, we learn that this festival has been "greened". ETS has hybrid shuttles, ESO staff are throwing frisbees from Bullfrog Power.I forgot how much of a joker the conductor is.Hamilton channels Captain Von Trapp. Does he have the same distinguished air as Christopher Plummer?...

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: selections(Gregson-Williams/arr. Bulla)I'm regretting not bringing a blanket. The sun is going down and I'm beginning to get cold. The current selection, which is rather suspenseful is not helping.Aryn is feeding me lines. I will indicate them with italicized textOrchestra is illuminated by the setting sun.Eight minutes was over faster than I could...

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The symphony is play a selection from The Pink Panther theme while a flock of Canada geese fly overhead. The geese are yet another indication that the summer is coming to an end.Now an excerpt from The Way We Were... the lady next to me is channeling a little Babs mouthing the lyrics.Oooh, the crowd pleaser. Rocky theme. I see heads bobbing and...

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Wireless is on at Hawrelak Park and I'm ready to start live blogging Sobey's Symphony Under the Sky. Almost didn't make it on time. Tonight is Night at the Movies which will no doubt be entertaining for me, especially considering that in the second half they will be playing a selection from Oklahoma!, which Aryn pointed out to me the instant we sat...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } rooftops of Edmonton... © Raffaella Loro I've been having a rough go with things lately. Things should be going well for me, I have good friends, a nice house, a job that pays reasonably well. But for whatever reason I'm not feeling...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } navigator © Raffaella Loro Somehow we've reached the end of August and I am sad for it. The summer is definitely my favourite time of the year although I spend too much time complaining about the heat after the sun and I...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } alley kat © Raffaella Loro I'm the first to admit that I don't have a knack for running my own business. It just doesn't interest me. I had toyed with having a photography business, but so far I haven't done accomplished anything...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } the closest thing I have to a balcony... © Raffaella Loro I've realized my moods are like a summer thunder shower. They're intense and short. I suppose I should clarify that I mean my good moods. Sometimes I can tell they're approaching...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } the crowd waits... © Raffaella Loro There are times when the weekend rolls seamlessly into the week. We return to work feeling refreshed and revitalized. It's a brand new week. However, there are other times when we find ourselves back at a...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } rainy day woman © Raffaella Loro I stayed at home today... not in the mood to talk to anyone or really do anything. The first bit of conversation after a day alone is always the strangest. Hearing words spoken by someone else...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } stretch your imagination © Raffaella Loro yes, it's that time already. Bon Voyage in reverse.I'm returning to Canada after my little vacay in Trinidad and Tobago. Taking home the red eye to Toronto, stopping in at Venezuela... looking forward to sleeping in...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } jacked back attack... © Raffaella Loro The bats are making noise in the corner of the room right now.That is not a euphemism.There is a nest of bats outside the house and at certain times in the evening they screech and scratch...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } shandy town © Raffaella Loro ahh vacation... how wonderful it is.so far I've accomplished very little, but I really don't care. This vacation is not about seeing the sights, but to relax... and relax I have. After arriving on Saturday evening... I...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } knees knocking... © Raffaella Loro Aryn and I have found yet another free WiFi spot (thanks to AirCanada's datavalet service) and we're sitting in sunny gate 172 waiting to board our plane to Port of Spain. Our proverbial dogs are barking. The...

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what is this? some kind of joke? Can it be really true that I am online at the airport with free internet? This is ridiculous.What's more ridiculous of course is the really lame elevator music that's playing. It's a sort of soft saxophone medley... perfect for a hotel restaurant with a really ugly fountain.Since I will be bringing my computer with me on...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } it's 9pm, do you know where the beach is? © Raffaella Loro almost ready to leave for Trinidad... it's been nearly ten years since I was there last. I'm really excited to go. I really can't wait. It's going to be so...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } conversation starter © Raffaella Loro I'm now on my third laptop since 1999. There's something particularly satisfying about being able to carry a computer around with you... typing in semi recumbent positions, moving away from being locked at a desk all the...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } rise and run © Raffaella Loro If I were to choose another line of work I think I would go into cinematography. Although I love still photography, there is also something about capturing movement that really appeals to me. When I finally...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } watching paint dry © Raffaella Loro Ahh, half an hour of time just for me. Well I did have half an hour, but I ate lunch at my desk and was interrupted and had to get back to work on a time...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } desert walk © Raffaella Loro Tomorrow will be happier. I'll only allow myself to have one super rotten day.This evening I went through my archives and tried to pull out photos that showcased my varying style. I needed to be inspired by...

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I go through periods where I am relatively light hearted and stress free. Today is not one of them. I couldn't sleep last night and lay awake composing letters I will never send. I've been enduring a long period of writer's block, which has extended from my academic work to my personal life. I have pages of information stored in my head, and...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } northern geographic © Raffaella Loro Oh poor unloved blog... how I have forsaken you.I have never developed this space into anything of real value, so there are often period of many weeks where I have nothing to say or think what I...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } terror at the discothèque © Raffaella Loro I hit the mid week wall. I'm exhausted and I've been dealing with tasks that should have been quite simple, but were made tedious by a slow and uncooperative computer. So I'd like to take...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } new additions to condomaximus © Raffaella Loro It seems pointless to break the silence only when I'm in the mood to rant, but I'm feeling particularly foul today for no particular reason. I had a good weekend, I'm caught up with school,...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } knit twit © Raffaella Loro If my flickr photostream is any indication of all I've been up to (which it is not), then it would seem that all I do is knit. Both fortunately and unfortunately this is not the case. After...

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.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } it's 9pm, do you know where the beach is? © Raffaella Loro I'm going to Trinidad!not right now though... it's still cold and miserable outside. I still have a few months to wait. ...

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