Even on a slow night cars constantly turn into the little stub of Cambridge between Somerset and the rusty chain, stop and park or just leave it idling while they run in for their takeout Chinese from Ben Ben / Yangtze / Chu Shing, turn around and lurch off like dinosaurs out of a tar pit.

This was a time exposure, probably about 10 seconds. Those ghostly figures out in front of Nancy Hair Salon are some of the wedding party, and I think you can just see Randy the beggar hard at work at his self-appointed task as the doorman at Chu Shing.

Here’s another one of the wedding party, little flower girl in a pretty dress, Trinh Luu Law Office and the cars streaking by … life in the city.

I posted a couple more pics from my front porch a long time ago, Sept.22 2006 to be exact:

• Night Life

Pic 804
Kayakers

May 23, 2010

Two years ago:
Pic 464
Graffiti

May 23, 2009

Pic 465
Fountain

May 23, 2009

Three years:
Pic 132
Food

May 23, 2008

It was snowing so hard on Tuesday, it seemed like there was nothing for it but to head down to Yummy Sushi in time for last call for lunch. But only if you could get the window seat, which we did.

This is as far as Muffy the cat got. Three feet from the door. Cats don’t get it about winter.

Here’s Judy headin out for sushi

Window seat at Yummy

Me waiting for sushi

Friendly waitress with rainbow rolls

Food

Someone walking by and the snow softly falling. More sushi across the street, down here in Sushi Paradise.

What is this woman doing?

That’s about it. Weekday lunch at Yummy Sushi is only $12.99 for all you can eat, which I think is pretty good. Plus they stamp your card for one free lunch after every ten so it’s 10% less if you go all the time. And why wouldn’t you?

I like the sushi fine but I’m no connoisseur. Try and get one of the window seats, then you can watch the world go by on Somerset as you stuff yourself with raw fish and tempura shrimp.

Yummy Sushi is next to door to Yangtze at Somerset & Cambridge.

Pic 707
Kayaks

February 4, 2010

Two years ago:
Pic 355
Hartman’s

February 4, 2009

Three years:
Pic 36
Weeds & fence

Feb 4, 2008

Puke fish

Same place.

Raw Sugar

My street corner.
That’s all!

Pic 696
Prorogue this

January 24, 2010

Two years ago:
Pic 345
Red Cap

January 24, 2009

Three years:
Pic 25
Yellow

Jan 24, 2008

Looking south from Somerset.

Then I saw these weeds in the snow

And this gorgeous pigeon.

Pic 679
Bus rider

January 8, 2010

Two years ago:
Pic 330
Crazy fashions

January 8, 2009

Pic 331
The wall

January 8, 2009

Three years:
Pic 11
Patterson Park

Jan 8, 2008

Pic 638
Rochester Pub

November 26, 2009

Two years ago:
Pic 280
Experimental farm

November 26, 2008

Playoff update

Sens don’t make it to the rink

The Ottawa Senators failed to show up for Game 1 of the NHL playoffs against Pittsburgh today. Reports say disgruntled goalie Ray Emery hijacked the team bus and drove it to Rochester.

My cat was pretty surprised. He likes to look out that window, but he didn’t know it opened. I’m not even sure if he knows what outside is. He liked it though. I think a lot of information came crashing in for him, along with the blast of powdery snow. He was acting like he wanted to go.

I might let him go out when spring comes, if he wants to, but I didn’t want to have to go out on Cambridge Street and chase him down in a snowstorm in the middle of the night.

These are the pylons that hold the rusty chain that stops people from going the wrong way on my one-way street. Don’t get me started about the pylons. I blogged about them here: Big day on Cambridge St and here: Laser dreams.

Then I noticed something lying on the snow. First I thought it was some garbage somone had dropped there but as you can see, I was mistaken.

Just as I was wondering what to do about a person who had either died in the snow or lain down to make angels, they got up and walked away.

They were a little unsteady on their feet, so it’s possible they had been drinking; but the walking wasn’t easy for anybody last night. I think the snow angels theory is correct. At least they were dressed for it. They were wearing a one-piece parka, like coveralls with a hood.

There they go turning onto Somerset, heading toward Bank. I hope they got where they were going!

Dragon mural in the parking lot.

Must be time for AsiaFest! Come on down and eat good food this weekend.
Saturday and Sunday, 11-5.

Update: It’s called FestivAsia. That’s why it’s so hard to find out anything about it. Here is a link to the Ottawa Citizen’s story.

Pot of gold

Robyn with a Y is usually a girl. I hope she gets the gold.

William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950). (But you knew that.) How very socialist-realist, how gazing-boldly-into-the-future! King was prime minister of Canada off and on from 1921 to 1948.

“King held séances throughout his life, where he regularly communicated with the spirits of his mother, his grandfather (the leader of the 1837 Rebellion, William Lyon Mackenzie), his predecessor Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the great nineteenth-century British Liberal Prime Minister Gladstone, as well as Saints Luke and John, all of who advised him on his career and politics.” (I learned all this here.)

Here are some flowers. I don’t know the names of flowers. They look like bells to me.

I don’t actually like cars, and I haven’t got one, but that doesn’t mean I won’t photograph them. This night I was trying out time exposures. I thought if I could capture some of the feeling of frantic activity on my street corner, my picture might get to be the picture of the week.

I did enter the contest with one of these pictures, the one of the long bus, but the winner was a shot of a little girl with huge sunglasses pretending to drive some kind of derelict muscle car in her dad’s driveway. It was a great picture and I absolutely understand why it won the coveted “pic of the week” honour. It’s hard to compete with a little girl in big sunglasses.

Anyway, I still like my pictures. I’m going to post a couple of them. I like the first one for its moody neon-night feeling, and the second for the blur of the long bus slipping through traffic like a wet bar of soap.

Rainy night

Bus