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We’re having a contest. Tell me which version you like best and why, by posting a comment below.

One lucky winner will receive a complimentary print of your preferred version OR you can choose 1 of 50 images from our Hawaii Collection. See them here.

The image will be printed as a satin photographic paper print (approx 8×12″), and will include free delivery.

The winner will be announced July 4th and will be chosen via a random draw. Good luck!

Here are the two versions:

Profits from print sales are donated to cancer research!

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Local Magazine is available in the Beaches and Leslieville neighbourhoods of Toronto. Editor Sarah Dann is the brains behind it, and I think it’s great.

I contributed one of my Winter Series Beaches neighbourhood images to the current “Early Spring” issue as my little way of supporting local business (no pun intended!). Beaches butcher The Chopping Block (featured in Toronto Life Magazine) can be seen at the top of Willow Avenue.

Winter scene in the Beaches, Toronto Canada.

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This Is It, released by Sony Pictures.

While I was making television shows for MuchMoreMusic, I produced a documentary on The Jacksons. I was intimidated when I took it on because the family has such a checkered history. I knew it would be difficult to tell their story without it being sensationalized, especially since it was going to be part of a series entitled Celebrity Nosedives.

I never thought of the Jacksons as a celebrity nosedive. Not in the least. Theirs is a unfortunate family story. And I think my documentary portrayed that. How many fluff pieces have you watched about celebs that is such an obvious attempt to make those involved money? Too many.

So when Sony Pictures announced a few days ago that the feature length documentary about Michael Jackson was now in theaters, I read some reviews about it. Not only was it produced quickly, it is supposed to be an intimate account of Michael and the rehearsals for his comeback tour which never happened due to his unfortunate passing away. All shot in high-def in real time, with a somewhat cinema verité approach. Roger Ebert gave it a glowing review which you can read here.

l’ll inevitably go to see “This Is It”.

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If your computer data is important to you, implement a backup strategy. One solution the studio uses is from Sonnet Technology.

Back up – not as in “Whoa, back up!”, but as in “Backup your data!”.

Last weekend we experienced a critical data issue when one of our hard drives died without any warning. It was part of a disk array and contained almost a terrabyte of images! Can you imagine if we didn’t have a well thought-out backup strategy in place? Thousands of images would have been lost. Ironically it was a new, server-class drive, with over four years left on a five year warranty.

We’ve invested thousands of dollars in our backup strategy and Image Archive, so almost no data was lost – just a couple hours of that day’s work which had to be redone. What did take time was ascertaining the exact problem, correcting it and restoring the images.

This is all to say: Backup your data. From family digital photos to business-critical data, some of which you can’t put a price on.

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The world is evolving quickly.

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When I was a young boy (young as in a single digit age), my mother would take me on long walks. It used to drive me nuts; not because I didn’t like walking, but because she stopped what seemed to be every 10 seconds to look at something. It would take hours to make it around the block. At the time, I suppose I didn’t have a lot of patience nor the ability to appreciate beauty in the simplest of things.

A few years ago, an acquaintance snickered when he saw an image I’d captured of a pigeon. It was clear he wasn’t impressed. He thought pigeons were dirty and and a nuisance. When I look at it I still see a colourful, wild bird that has adapted to city life.

It reminded me of when I was a boy going for walks with my mom.

So, if you enjoy this particular image of this particularly beautiful pigeon, you can buy it. Imagine having it on your computer desktop, or as a framed print in your office, or on the cover of your urban wildlife magazine, and remember to look for beauty where you least expect it.

Beaches Pigeon

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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were the first to introduce this combo to the market, and when I was younger I considered them a food group. Hershey’s had hit a home run and became an instant classic. 

Then came the smaller Reese’s Pieces candy-coated versions.

Thing is, I think the peanut butter M&M’s are the way to go. They’re just perfect. Seriously. First, they’re bigger than Reese’s Pieces, and they don’t use as much candy. Why steal from all that chocolate and peanut butter goodness?

So, when I twittered yesterday about how much more tasty the M&M’s are compared to Reese’s Pieces, there was an outcry from the Reese’s population. My friend Norman, who lives in L.A. had this to say:

“I prefer Rhesus Peanut Butter and Monkey cups myself. Chocolate on the outside, chimp on the inside. MMMMMMMM”

That’s what years of working in the L.A. film/TV business can do to a person.

But think about it. You know that timing is everything, right? With it being Easter weekend, peanut butter M&M’s make for the ideal Chocolate Easter Egg for tiny tots. Everything in moderation, including chocolate. So hide them around the house for an Easter Egg Hunt. You’ll be the talk of the town; you’ll win the hearts of adoring chocolate and peanut fans, including the kid in all of us.

...goes well with chocolate.

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With over 17,000 songs in my iTunes database, I’ve lots to listen to (and it never seems to be enough).

I was watching the oh-so-excellent John Cusack film High Fidelity, (based on the equally funny novel by Nick Hornby), and laughed at the scene about creating the perfect “mix tape”. Of course we don’t make cassette tapes anymore, we make playlists in iTunes, transfer them to our ipod, or burn them to CD.

Here’s a playlist I like, made for those in love, and preparing for their wedding day. It’s mostly popular stuff, with a couple of tracks you probably haven’t heard, with a bit of jazz and ambient thrown in. Most of the tracks can be purchased in the iTunes store. Others you’ll have to do a bit more searching. Enjoy.

Images of a Promise Love Inspired 3 (an hour of music):

Name Time Album Artist 

Breathe In Breathe Out (Bonus Track), 3:42, Nothing Left to Lose (Bonus Track V…, Mat Kearney 

Gravel Lines, 5:50, Call It Life, Amy Seeley 

Love of My Life, 3:4,6 Rendez-vous, Sylvain Cossette 

The Dress Looks Nice On You, 2:33, Word Of Mouth – The 15 tracks ever…, Sufjan Stevens 

Incomplete, 4:00, Never Gone, Backstreet Boys 

Look No Further, 3:14, Safe Trip Home, Dido

Blanket, 4:07, Paste Magazine Sampler #36, Diego Sandrin 

Wedding Song (To Be Gone), 3:13, Anna Ternheim 

A Case Of You, 6:50, Live In Paris [Canada], Diana Krall 

Broken, 4:46, Who We Are, Lifehouse 

Chasing Cars, 4:28, Eyes Open, Snow Patrol 

Love Should (iTunes Originals Version), 3:02, Music Moby, Moby 

Sonnet, 4:21, Urban Hymns, The Verve

Blue Paper, 6:08 Hotel [Disc 2], Moby 

...music can help you have fun planning your wedding.

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