I have spent way too much time running away from controversy. While I speak often, and often a lot, I am shy by nature and timid around strong and contrary emotions. When the pressure of discord rises, I quickly disappear. This is why I am so impressed with those who take the opportunity to let... Continue Reading →
I really am the most fortunate dog in alive in Kamloops today. I know that perceptions, especially self-perceptions, can be dangerous; they can lead to arrogance, misunderstanding and emotional injury. If the difference between one’s own self-assessment and the estimations of others is too great, conversation is difficult; allegiances, even friendships can suffer. All this... Continue Reading →
It’s done—my first image post, in a Kamloops Photo Club special project, 365 Interior British Columbia. I can do this; I just did; all that remains is to remember to post a single daily image for 364 additional days. No exceptions or absences allowed. If a golden rule of photography is to show up and... Continue Reading →
August 2021 was devastating for the residents of Monte Lake BC. A spin-off from the White Rock Lake Wildfire roared through the community, sometime pulsing up a single side of a long driveway, and at other time consuming a historic church leaving picnic benches only feet away untouched. Images of the aftermath show residential devastation... Continue Reading →
Many of my better ideas come to me while cleaning up the dishes, loading or unloading the dishwasher (the right way) or generally restoring order in the kitchen. This is no less true that on Christmas Day. Kathie does most of the cooking though I am trying to improve my culinary capability, slowly and incrementally.... Continue Reading →
1In those days BonnieHenry (note single word, just like CharlieBrown) issued a decree that all should be vaccinated. (This was not the first vaccination as two others preceded it, but the latest booster remains the best plan for safety, security and stability). 2All this took place while John was Premier of BC, Justin Prime Minister... Continue Reading →
This year, 2021, may be the best experience of Christmas I have ever enjoyed. While the jury is still out and final adjudication cannot occur until the end of the full twelve days, I suspect this Christmas will be more relaxed, more celebratory and possibly the healthiest ever. In this my first year with absolutely... Continue Reading →
People are bummed out right now; about COVID; about frustrated travel ambitions; about difficulties around gathering, even outdoors. Here we go again, just like last year, which was supposed to the THE LAST YEAR of pandemic interruptions. We all just want to relax, and fly, just like the Snowman. Amongst the clatter of cash registers... Continue Reading →
Some things are so good they must be shared, in this case, annually. The choral music of Morten Lauridsen fits this category well, especially as we approach the threshold of Christmas together. From his home base on Waldron Island in the Sun Juan Archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, from where the... Continue Reading →
Here we go, it’s that time of year again. Christmas--the Feast of the Nativity, the holiday season, the day before boxing day sales, whatever you call it--here we go again. Some call it a holiday, others revere a solemn Holy Day. Some find it very unsettling, lonely, even disturbing. Others simply dissolve into the bliss... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 