Book ~ "Digital Photography FAQz" (2012) Jeff Wignall

From Goodreads ~ Straightforward, clear answers to the most commonly asked digital photography questionsWhat's the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom? Do more megapixels equate to better photo quality? Why is there a delay after I push the shutter release button before I can take another picture? If you?ve ever asked a question concerning digital photography and wished you had a helpful resource to provide you with clear, reliable answers, then look no further. 

With nearly four decades of photo experience under his belt, author Jeff Wignall responds to 365 of the most common digital photography questions with informative, practical replies. The full-color format helps you see what he's talking about.

• Boasts a colorful yet simple design that helps you find exactly the information you're looking for
• Illustrates each answer with one or more photos 
• Eliminates any ambiguity by providing you with authoritative answers along with clear illustrations

"Digital Photography FAQz" is a well-organized guide, featuring answers to questions that you haven't even thought of yet! 

I have three cameras ... a Canon point-and-shoot that is usually in my purse, a Nikon D5100 DSLR along with some lenses, and a Nikon CoolPix (that's in between the two) that I use often.  Needless to say, I take a lot of pictures.

I'm still an amateur and like reading photography books to see what professionals take pictures of and how they do it.

This book had four parts:

1. Cameras and gears - five important features to consider when purchasing a new digital camera, pixels, memory cards, RAW file formats and JPEGs, focus, lenses and more
2. Basic photography techniques - light meters, exposure, fixing mistakes with editing, depth of field, modes (aperture, shutter, auto, etc.), zoom, etc.
3. Lenses and accessories - carrying gear, remote trigger, sports helmet mounting, underwater, exposure for neon signs and fireworks, the golden hour, landscape photos, etc.
4. Creative shooting techniques - interior shots, architectural details, through windows, red-eye reduction, flashes, candid shots of kids, etc.

This book is set up with a question then the answer.  At times, though, I found an answer a bit complicated and didn't understand what the author meant.  And there were times when I thought the placement of questions/answers odd ... to me, taking landscape pictures belongs in the second part not the third part.

The pictures were colourful and inspiring ... it would have been nice to get more detail on them (shutter speed, aperture, etc.).  I'd recommend this book if you are a basic to intermediate photographer ... you know the basics but aren't sure what to do with them.

Book ~ "Singing to a Bulldog: Life Lessons a Fellow Janitor Taught Me: My Journey from Happy Days to Hollywood and Beyond" (2014) Anson Williams

From Goodreads ~ Growing up in 1950s California, young Anson William Heimlich showed very little promise. Clumsy, unsure of himself, and made to feel like a failure by his disappointed artist of a dad, Anson started working odd jobs as a teenager to help support his family. 

His boss at one of these jobs, an aging black janitor named Willie, unexpectedly became a mentor - and the lessons he taught young Anson proved to be invaluable throughout his subsequent career as an actor, director, and entrepreneur. 

 In "Singing to a Bulldog", Anson Williams (as he came to be known) relates both these lessons and the never-before-revealed stories of the many seminal TV series he has worked on through his 40 years in Hollywood, including:

• being directed by Steven Spielberg in his first job as an “Equity” actor
• pitching Garry Marshall on the idea of adding a band to Happy Days
• getting kidnapped by the daughter of the president of the United States
• mentoring Shailene Woodley on the set of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"

This entertaining and inspirational memoir has a cross-generational and broad appeal, combining all the fun of a celebrity memoir with the profound impact of a motivational bestseller. 

Like everyone in the mid-70s to mid-80s, I watched Happy Days ... this is the bio of Anson Williams, who played Potsie.

He starts each chapter telling a story of working with Willie, an old janitor, in a furniture store when he was in high school.  It is Willie who encouraged him and taught him him life lessons.

Anson's dream was to be an entertainer and he eventually landed the role of Potsie on Happy Days.  Once Happy Days ended in 1984, he focused more on directing (his directing credits include Melrose Place, Star Trek, Beverley Hills 90210, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Lizzie McGuire and The Secret Life of an American Teenager.  He also founded Starmaker Products, a cosmetics company.

I liked the writing style.  It's always interesting to read an insider's view.  It's written at a high level and doesn't get into a lot of details.  He doesn't reveal a lot of dirt and when he does, he doesn't name names.  He glowingly talks about people he's met and admired like Ron Howard, Frankie Valli, Elvis, Aaron Spelling and Brad Pitt.

Local Public Eatery, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening at Local Public Eatery in Liberty Village.  It opened in late July and we've been wanting to check it out.

It was fairly busy when we got there about 4:30pm.

There weren't any tables available so we sat at the bar.

Book ~ "The Juicing Bible" (2011) Pat Crocker

From Goodreads ~ The first edition of "The Juicing Bible" won the 2000 International Cookbook Revue Award and has over 500,00 copies in print. It continues to be one of the bestselling juicing books in the marketplace. 

In response to consumer demand, we've decided to add more value to this comprehensive book with an additional 16 color photographs, which takes the total photographs up to 32. All the outstanding elements in this essential guide for anyone who wants to explore the wide-ranging nutritional and health benefits of juicing are still here: A market-leading 350 recipes - delicious fruit and vegetable juices, tonics, cleansers, digestives, teas, roughies, smoothies, milk and coffee substitutes and frozen treats. Information on the seven body systems, including their importance to good health along with diet and lifestyle changes that will keep each system working as well as it can. Details on 80 common health concerns, with recommendations on how to use natural foods to combat each condition. 128 illustrations of fruits, vegetables and herbs, plus information on their uses and healing properties, and advice on purchasing and storage.

Gord and I have a Nutribullet and we use it every day.  It also does a great job in pulverizing things and I've used it as a juicer so that's why this book caught my eye.

The chapters are:

• Introduction - benefits of juicing, benefits of pulping and juicing machines
• Healthy body systems - information on the seven major body systems as well as diet and lifestyle changes that will help keep these systems working as well as they can
• Health conditions - what to maximize and eliminate, healing foods and healing juices for a variety of conditions
• Healthy foods - fruits, veggies, herbs and other ingredients
• Recipes - juices with fruit and veggies, for healthy bodies, roughies and smoothies, specialty drinks and frozen treats

• Appendices which include food allergies, an elimination diet and herbs to avoid in pregnancy along with a glossary, a bibliography and sources.

There are many delicious recipes that I'd like to try.  There are lots of colourful pictures that make them irresistible!

If you have a juicer and you want some ideas, you'll want to get this book.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Book ~ "The Smoothies Bible" (2010) Pat Crocker

From Goodreads ~ Smoothies are a fast, easy and great-tasting way to achieve good health.

Home cooks can now introduce even more antioxidant fruits and vegetables into their daily routine. "The Smoothies Bible" makes it easy. More than 400 healthy smoothie recipes that include fruit smoothies like flu fighter #1 and berry bonanza to mango madness and nectar of the gods. Get a daily dose of vegetables with peppered beet, squash special, zippy tomato or gazpacho smoothies. More than 100 fully illustrated profiles of fruits, vegetables and herbs. 80 common health concerns matched with healing smoothies.

Gord and I have a Nutribullet and we use it every day for our morning smoothies ... I put almond milk, frozen berries, powdered greens, baby spinach, fish oil and protein powder in mine.

The chapters are:

• Introduction - types of smoothies, smoothies as part of a healthy diet, tips for making smoothies, benefits of smoothies and equipment
• Healthy body systems - features information on the seven major body systems as well as diet and lifestyle changes that will help keep these systems working as well as they can
• Health conditions - what to maximize and eliminate, healing foods and healing smoothies for a variety of conditions
• Healthy foods - fruits, veggies, herbs and other ingredients
• Recipes - smoothies with fruit, veggies, healing herbs, dairy, dairy alternatives, hot and frozen, and dessert and cocktails

• Endnotes - includes a glossary, bibliography, sources and appendices (food allergies and food combining)

There are a lot of delicious recipes that I'm going to try and the pictures make them even more tempting!

If you have a blender and you want some ideas for some healthy smoothies, you'll want to get this book.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review. 

Book ~ "Summer in a Small Town: Welcome to Icicle Falls/Treasure Beach" (2012) Sheila Roberts and Emilie Richards

From Goodreads ~ Two unforgettable towns, two touching stories ...

Welcome to Icicle Falls by Sheila Roberts

It's the 1960s and Muriel loves the beautiful town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Life is good, except that her father expects her to run Sweet Dreams, the family chocolate company, when he retires. But she has sweet dreams of her own, dreams about a handsome stranger who comes to town.

Decades later, Cass Wilkes lands in Icicle Falls as a single mom with little money. But this small town has a way of giving people second chances they don't expect!

Treasure Beach by Emilie Richards

Life on Happiness Key is lonely for eleven-year-old Olivia Symington, so when she finds a message in a bottle on Treasure Beach, her interest is piqued. Someone needs help and she knows what that's like. Maybe by helping she can even find a friend.

The women of Happiness Key are worried about Olivia and her fascination with the message. But they know how isolated she feels, so they set out to help her find the mystery correspondent - and maybe a little happiness of her own along the way.

There are two short stories in this book.   

Welcome to Icicle Falls is an introduction to Roberts' Icicle Falls series.  It is the sixth book I've read by this author (and the fifth the Icicle Falls series that I've read) and I liked it.  It is written in an interesting style ... Muriel and Dot are narrators and at times they are talking to you AND to each other.  Muriel tells of when she was a teenager growing up in Icicle Falls.  She had to work in her dad's chocolate company while her friends had a fun summer off.  A stranger arrives in town on a motorcycle and catches her eye.  Dot tells the story of Cass, a single mom of three, who lands in town when her car breaks down, never leaves and makes a new life there.

Treasure Beach tells the story of eleven-year-old Olivia whose best friend has just moved from their small town.  Plus her mother is dead and her father is in prison and she's living with her grandmother.  She finds a bottle one day at the beach with a message from someone who is looking for help and she sets out to find out who it is. This is part of the Happiness Key series, which I haven't read.

It's a quick read with feel-good stories.

Moxie's Grill & Bar, Toronto, ON

I had supper with my pals, Deb, Liz and Franca tonight ... we used to work together and have been friends since the mid-1990s.

We met at Moxie's at Wellington/University.

Franca ordered haddock with lemon quinoa with sautéed kale leaves, edamame beans and fresh herb chimichurri ... she said it was excellent.

Book ~ "Stuff You Should Know About Stuff: How to Properly Behave in Certain Situations" (2014) Tripp Crosby and Tyler Stanton

From Goodreads ~ Do you know how to properly conduct yourself in a public restroom? What about while in the midst of a profoundly awkward silence? Have you perfected how to get out of helping your friend move?

If you answered no to those questions, fear not. "You need Stuff You Should Know About Stuff", the book that future anthropologists will no doubt call "the Rosetta Stone of handling trivial life situations."

From the sketch comedy duo who created the viral videos “Sh*t Nobody Says” and “Things You Can't Do When You’re Not in a Pool", Tripp and Tyler bring you the written word in "Stuff You Should Know About Stuff", a guide instructing you how to navigate the treacherous waters of life’s odd quandaries.

There are even photos and illustrations for people who enjoy photos and illustrations and stuff like that. You can read it from cover to cover or you can choose to educate yourself only in conjunction with your bowel movements. Totally your call there.

"Stuff You Should Know About Stuff" places the priority on the trivial experiences of life, because that's where we spend most of our time; trying to recover from going for the fist bump when a casual acquaintance wanted a high five.
 
Tripp and Tyler are a sketch comedy duo most known for their funny and viral YouTube videos. They started creating their original material in 2006 and have they’ve amassed over 30 million YouTube views and over 100,000 subscribers.   Each year they host live events for over 250,000 people where they perform original sketches, interact with the audience, and interview notable personalities.

They've written this book about stuff we should should know about stuff.  The chapters cover:

• Public situations - rules for waiters, movie commandments, concert etiquette, recommendations for hotels and more
• Situations involving communication - phone rules, excuses when you see someone you haven't called back, Twitter rules and more
• Very specific situations - tipping, becoming a runner, birthday customs to eliminate and more
• Situations involving friends - helping someone move, when you don't remember their name, wedding rules and more
• Situations involving (more than) friends - ruining Valentine's Day, surviving chick flicks and more
• Situations involving certain other people - problems with weathermen, computer tips for Mom and Dad, gum chewers and more
• Situations they wanted to include in the book but couldn't figure out how to categorize - pretentiousness, signs of a TV addict, things to quit and more

It's a cute funny quick read.

Book ~ "Toronto Sketches 11: The Way We Were" (2012) Mike Filey

From Goodreads ~ Mike Filey's column "The Way We Were" first appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun not long after the first edition of the paper hit the newsstands on September 16, 1973. 

Now, almost four decades later, Filey's column has enjoyed an uninterrupted stretch as one of the newspaper’s most widely read features.

Mike Filey had a column in the Toronto Sun for about 30 years and I read it for many years (I like learning about the history of Toronto) ... this book is a compilation of some of his columns.

In this book, we learn about Elmer the Safety Elephant, the birth of Toronto Island, Titanic survivor Arthur Peuchen, Sunnybrook, how Yonge Street and Royal York Road got their names, transit, Little Norway, origins of Canadian Tire, E.J. Lennox's battle with city hall, the fire on the Noronic, why there is a weird jog between College Street and Carlton Street and more.

In addition, he talks about Maple Leaf Gardens, which was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1931–1999. The Leafs won 11 Stanley Cups from 1932–1967 while playing there. It also hosted the Beatles, The Who and Elvis Presley in concert, wrestling, boxing, basketball and more before laying dormant for about ten years.

Loblaws bought the Gardens in 2004. They converted the arena into a Loblaws grocery store and Ryerson University built an athletic centre upstairs.  Gord and I visited it in 2012.


The end of aisle 25 is where centre ice was ... they've marked it with a red circle.
 

Me

Best Western Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre, London, ON

I have a seminar and one-on-ones to conduct today for a client in London so I drove down yesterday and spent the night at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre.

Reception area

Here was my king room ...

Book ~ "Toronto Sketches 10: The Way We Were" (2010) Mike Filey

From Goodreads ~ Mike Filey's column "The Way We Were" first appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun not long after the first edition of the paper hit the newsstands on September 16, 1973. 

Now, almost four decades later, Filey's column has enjoyed an uninterrupted stretch as one of the newspaper's most popular features.

Mike Filey had a column in the Toronto Sun for about 30 years and I read it for many years (I like learning about the history of Toronto) ... this book is a compilation of some of his columns.

In this book, we learn about motel alley on Lakeshore Blvd., how Teraulay Street became Bay Street, where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run, ferries, Gibraltar Point Lighthouse (I've been in it!), Gooderham and Worts, Toronto's changing skyline and lots more.

He also talked about the Toronto Central Prison, which is in my 'hood.  It opened in 1873, when the area was still well away from any residential development. The prison was intended as an industrial facility and began with the manufacturing of railway cars for the Canada Car Company. Hard work and discipline were considered the best forms of rehabilitation and active industry would raise money for the prison. The prison should have flourished as an example of modern penal facility of its time but by the 1880s it had a well-deserved reputation for brutality.

Its first warden, William Stratton Prince, was an alcoholic ex-military officer who resigned as chief of the Toronto Police to take the position. During his tenure, he would be accused of ordering extreme beatings, denying medical treatment and supporting clandestine nighttime burials. Wardens that followed tried to adopt a less disciplinarian approach but the guards continued to brutalize the inmates.

In 1915, the prison was abandoned as changing attitudes toward crime and punishment led to a revamping of the province’s correctional system and replaced by the Ontario Reformatory in Guelph. For the next five years, the facility was used as an army base and a processing centre for new immigrants. In 1920, the main prison building was demolished and much of the land sold for use by the railroads. Remaining buildings ended up being used by Hobb's, Dr. Ballard's and finally by John Inglis and Company Limited until 1981. All that remains today is the Central Prison's Roman Catholic chapel (added to the main building in 1877) and the Paint Shop, which became part of the city’s inventory of heritage properties in 1985.

This chapel is one of only two buildings
remaining of the Toronto Central Prison

Even though the book was published in 2010, it was still an interesting book because it dealt with many historical events in Toronto. If you live in Toronto or are from Toronto, you should check it out.

Shelly's Tap and Grill, London, ON

I had supper tonight at Shelly's Tap and Grill.

There are two parts ... there is a dining room.

I sat on the bar side.  There was a sign to wait to be seated ... so I did ... for a long time.  No one made an appearance so I sat myself.

I ordered Chicken Pad Thai (without peppers and onions as they upset my stomach).  It was delicious!

Dish cloth

I made a dish cloth today.  It is a quick and easy pattern.

 I used cotton yarn.

Cast on 4 stitches.

Knit 2, YO, Knit to end.

Turn work.

Knit 2, YO, Knit to end.

Turn work.

Keep doing this over and over and over and over and over until there are 56 stitches.

Knit 1, K2tog, YO, K1, K2tog, knit to end.

Turn work.

Knit 1, K2tog, YO, K1, K2tog, knit to end.

Turn work.

Keep doing this over and over and over and over and over.

Cast off the final 4 stitches.

Book ~ "Toronto Sketches 9: The Way We Were" (2006) Mike Filey

From Goodreads ~ Mike Filey's column "The Way We Were" first appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun not long after the first edition of the paper hit the newsstands and front porches on September 16, 1973. Since that day more than three decades ago, Mike's column has enjoyed an uninterrupted stretch as one of the paper's most popular features. 

In 1992, a number of his columns were reprinted in "Toronto Sketches: The Way We Were" by Dundurn Press. Since then another seven volumes of Toronto Sketches have been published, each of which has attained great success both with Toronto book buyers and with former Torontonians wishing to relive an earlier, gentler time in the city's past.

Mike Filey had a column in the Toronto Sun for about 30 years and I read it for many years (I like learning about the history of Toronto) ... this book is a compilation of some of his columns.

In this book, we learn about the plans to connect the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to the city (tunnels, bridge, landfill and even a cable car), Summerhill train station (now a liquor store), subways and streetcars, fires, Maple Leaf Gardens (now a grocery store), gas stations and more.

He also talked about the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, in our 'hood, which has changed since the book was written.

Throughout the years there have been numerous name changes - the Toronto Lunatic Asylum, the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, "999 Queen Street" and the Queen Street Mental Health Centre. The site was a Provincial Psychiatric Hospital operated by the Government of Ontario until 1998 when the Provincial Psychiatric Hospitals began to be transformed into public hospitals. In the last few years, there has been a redevelopment of the site, an integrated and mixed-use urban village.

John Howard's "Provincial Lunatic Asylum" in the 19th century

Late 1950s

June 2012

June 2012

June 2012

Even though the book was published in 2006, it was still an interesting book because it dealt with many historical events in Toronto. If you live in Toronto or are from Toronto, you should check it out.