Standardbred

Canon EOS 20D

This was shot yesterday at a standardbred training facility in Oldcastle, Ontario. I was there to interview and talk to Brian Tropea. He owns, trains, and races standardbred horses. We were standing in his large stable, talking about the politics of harness racing, when the large doors at the far end cracked open like a hangar. I fired off this shot mid-sentence. In the field with the wind chill, it was about -20 degrees Celsius. The steam coming off the horse was unreal. I'm glad it showed up in the shot. My favourite thing about this shot, though, may be the blue cooler--a shock of colour in such a moody image.

I hope to add a music and book feature soon. It will be over to the left, right below the gear list. In lieu of getting that going, I've been listening to The Howling Hex's You Can't Beat Tomorrow, as well as Magnolia Electric Co.'s What Comes After the Blues.

As far as reading goes, I haven't had much time, but Ian McEwan's Amsterdam continues to surprise with some very subtle, hilarious humour. Having read three of his other novels, I didn't expect him to be pulling off these on-liners. Maybe you have to be in the newspaper business to find them funny, but the stuff that takes place in the newsroom is dead-on accurate in its depictions of journalistic one-up-manship, pettiness and ruthlessness.

I'm also rereading Christian Hawkey's excellent book of poetry The Book of Funnels. It's even better a second time through. Verse Press always puts out strong stuff.