I always like to try new things. Tonight it was some natto. I actually have had it in my freezer for several months, but I finally made the time to try it.
The first thing that I noticed when I unpacked it from its single portion container was the gooey stuff on the beans that resembled cheese. When I dug the fork into the natto – the gooey stuff was very stringy – like cheese. It actually was fun to eat. I didn’t eat it with anything. Apparently, it’s eaten with rice, soy sauce, mustard or even a raw quail egg.
Afterward, I discovered that it is high in nutrients and vitamins. It’s also supposed to have a strong smell. However, I didn’t notice the smell – because I like most fermented foods or perhaps I was eating it too fast. It was gooey but good!
I sold my D-SLR last week and then purchased a new D-SLR to replace it. However, the purchase that was most notable for me was the purchase of medium format camera at a camera show over the weekend.
Following up on my last post where I spoke about my affinity for square images; I purchased a vintage Yashica A. For the price of a moderately expensive meal, I got the Yashica, a vintage leather case and 10 rolls of film.
It will be interesting to see how the first images turn out. I’m excited about the possibilities!
I notice recently that I’ve been cropping some of my images to a square or 4×5 format. I find that the 3×2 format of 35mm and D-SLR cameras don’t always work for what I’m shooting. I never used to crop my photos because I was framing the subject to fit in the camera viewfinder but it did not work when I viewed it on paper or on the screen.
However, I noticed that when I cropped some of them, it gave them a new life and changed the perspective of the photo. I’m sure I learned why in school, but my brain is like a sieve and I usually forget such minute technical details. I normally would shoot, process the levels and then post – maybe I could not be bothered to crop photos before.
Now that I think about it, why isn’t all film/digital in a more square format? Lenses are round and if film is not, there’s a lot of wasted space. I will guess that it started with some film manufacturing executive fitting into the manufacturing process or something like that. I’m going to a camera show on the weekend so I’m sure some people can let me in on the secret.
Enough talk, here are some pictures. Two of my favorite images, one square, one 4×5. Ironically, both from NY – maybe that’s what changed. Click on either image to jump to my flickr set.
Slideshows of the sets; click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
I listed my former Nikon D200 camera along with my tourist zoom lens on Sunday and I sold the camera tonight; the lens is still for sale. I was surprised because I thought the lens would sell sooner. I’m about to buy a new camera but I haven’t decided which one to get. I think I already know, but I’m thinking of a few different options. I had this one for almost two years. I honestly thought I would have owned it for much longer – but I guess two years is a lifetime in the age of electronics. One can’t get attached to objects.
I definitely learned a lot from this camera – including lighting, exposure and especially effects with a fisheye lens. I haven’t decided what to do with the fisheye lens since it only works on the smaller frame digital cameras and not the full frame digital cameras – which I am very likely about to buy. Maybe I’ve outgrown the fisheye lens. A fellow photographer told me that I would probably outgrow it in about a year and a half – I’m three months away from that since I got the fisheye lens in 2007. Although I am curious to experiment with a super-wide angle lens. That could be my next challenge.
Some recent images with the D200 and fisheye lens.
Five years ago yesterday, it was a Thursday afternoon. I was at the office and it was just past 4:00p; I was on the phone with my girlfriend [at that time] because we were arranging to go to York University to watch the Canadian Open tennis tournament in the evening. During the conversation, the lights, computer and other electrical appliances in the office went dead. I looked out the window and noticed that the subway train below had stopped in its tracks also – I knew something was not right.
Walking home through the streets of Toronto seemed to be a jovial experience. Everyone was talking; traffic was cooperating and nobody seemed to be complaining. I got a free popsicle from a store that was giving them away. I also got some free iced tea and water from a restaurant that had set up a table for all the people walking home.
I ended up having a party for some friends (that could get to my apartment) to eat my frozen food and drink my beer before it got warm. I didn’t care about the beer, but it was a good reason to have a party.
We celebrated the fifth anniversary last night in Toronto with several groups, including: PS Kensington, Critical Mass and Newmindspace that culminated at Spadina and Bloor streets in a street party.
The night started with a spectacular sunset, which set the mood for the party.
Here is my flickr set from the evening. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
Someone posted a request on the vegan couchsurfing forum for a vegan mango lassi recipe. I’ve never made one because I don’t like diary nor do I like mango lassi – well, the only one I had was in little India in the east end of Toronto about 10 years ago and I hated it.
On my way home tonight, I picked up a mango; the rest of the ingredients, almonds (already soaking), avocado and cardamon I already had at home. I threw it all into my blender and the result was very tasty. It was thicker than I remember and definitely more palatable than I remember too. A nice little experiment. I wonder if she has any more drink ideas?
I wrote about how some don’t have enough food in the last post; I sometimes can’t get enough. However, the guacamole exquisito at Sneaky Dee’s is always green, always good and always more than enough – but I always finish it. Now I need a nap.
Images of some food that I’ve had recently. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
Chocolate bars from Food Not Candy – makers of chocolate from 100% cacao, raw and organic. No preservative or additives. Probably the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted.
It was actually the first thing that I purchased on eBay to give it a try. But I ended up with a paint by number set that I would not ever paint. I enjoyed them as a kid, but do not have the time nor patience to do one now. After several months with the paint by number set kicking around, I got the idea to enlarge it and hang it on my wall as art. I found that many people did not know what it was when they looked at it. Some thought it was a topographic map.
I made some others and matched some pencil crayons instead of paint so people that visit could fill in the spaces themselves. It has been by my door since 2001 and the result is interesting. Some did not know the meaning of the numbers – on the canvas or on the pencils and used any colour anywhere – hence the blue fur.
Some do not consider this art; but what is art really? According to the wiki page, Leonardo da Vinci might have invented paint by numbers but a fellow from a paint company commercialized it in the 1950s. It is probably considered pop or folk art; the Smithsonian had a PBN exhibit in 2001.
It had developed into quite a fad. Perhaps art wasn’t getting to the masses in that time. Older PBN sets feature works by famous artists whereas newer ones are generic paintings – animals, landscapes, clowns (eek!), etc. When I was bidding for my PBN set, I bid on some others, such as an unpainted da Vinci. In the end it went for over US$200 – which was a lot in 2001!
This PBN will be complete in a few weeks and be returned to its original place over my couch. I wonder what I will fill the space by the door with next.
My PBN set from Flickr. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
All this in about a minute. Just staggering numbers and almost unbelievable. It takes about ten minutes to slaughter five million chickens and in one year, 117,687,096,000 are killed. I wonder if this includes the number of male chicks that are disposed of by the egg hatcheries that breed egg laying hens. This and other interesting information can be found here.
My diet consists of food from maybe three of the above categories. As some earlier point in my life I would have thought I was missing something. However, now, I think all that I am missing are diseases of affluence, contributing to animal suffering and the destruction of our planet. All can be read in the following books. I re-read each of them last month. A brief review of each book follows below.
Meat Market describes the animal agriculture industry, its practices and why it should be abolished. It was written mostly for vegetarian advocates, but gives a true picture of what happens in factory farms. Typically, the vegetarian movement talks about three three pillars, animal agriculture, the environment and health. Erik Marcus explains that as advocates, we should focus on animal agriculture to expose the animal agriculture industry to the general public because of the horrors that take place in factory farming. All people have compassion for animals and their treatment. If one saw how animals in factory farms were being treated, they might not want to eat animals.
Silent Spring is about the connection between all living things. Humans try to control a portion of it by adding pesticides and chemicals. However, Rachel Carson explains how the pesticides and chemical use to kill one species, actually does harm to others and the environment in general. This is evident in fish – almost all farmed fish contain PCBs and DDT which runs off from the land despite the fact that they have been banned since the 1970s. This book was written in 1962 and the claims were so shocking that the US president at the time, John F. Kennedy ordered an inquiry into the books claims. The book is still in print today.
The China Study is probably the most relevant for people. It discusses the link between diet and health. The book is called the China Study because of the genetic makeup of the Chinese population – 80% have essentially the same DNA. It was used to show health pattern based on their diets. I bought this book for a friend that was on a cholesterol drug because his doctor informed him that his condition was genetic. His father and grandfather also had high cholesterol. He read the book and adopted a vegan diet. After about six months, his cholesterol returned to normal and he lost weight that he could not shed when he was on his previous diet. It was his diet that was hereditary.
Batcave, Contents of My Fridge - Quote, Food, Japanese, Photography, Raw Food, Toronto day by day, Vegetarian | Garry October 21, 2008 | 
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