Happy Birthday, Claire.

One Claire I know was a toddler when the Rheostatics recorded this.
Always loved the song, and Claire is the best girl's name, ever.

Life is all about beginnings and endings, and this song is all the more poignant to me now, owing to it's connection to Paul Quarrington, who wrote the song for the soundtrack for the movie based on his novel, "Whale Music".

Claire turned 20 on Jan. 20. Happy Birthday!!

Paul Quarrington died on Jan 21, 2010, at age 56.

Norman Rockwell Moment for Jason Wieler

Toronto media outlets have been abuzz this week with the news of skyrocketing rider complaints at the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission). But let's try and take a positive look at the mess: the situation has provided Toronto interactive designer and illustrator Jason Wieler with a Norman Rockwell moment.

He snapped this photo of the fare collector at McCowan station just before 10 p.m. on Jan. 19, and later posted it on Twitpic. He intended it for the amusement of his friends, but an image this good won't stay private for long.

Of course, the photo has exacerbated the storm of righteous indignation that was already circulating in letters to the editor and e-news comment pages (overpaid, ungrateful unionized workers, etc., etc.). The TTC is my exclusive mode of transportation when I am in Toronto, and I truly have very few complaints about it. Sure, I've experienced my share of cranky streetcar drivers, novel-reading collectors, and so forth, but I'm not sure that I would not succumb to the same temptations, given the nature of the job. Admittedly, it is a sad reflection on the state of affairs regarding customer service at the TTC that everyone passing by assumed the fellow was asleep and not unconscious.

My second thought on seeing the photo: "Drop my token in the box or get a free ride?"

My first thought: "What a fabulous photograph!"

The moment, the light, the composition. Those are the three ingredients of a great candid photo, and they're all here.

As reported in the the Torontoist, Weiler says he hopes the photograph doesn't cost the TTC employee his job. "I didn't want to get the dude in trouble … that wasn't my intent of course. I know that this guy's probably got a mortgage and kids. No one wants to take away someone else's work."

You can visit Wieler's website, ogleto.com and take a peek at what interests him. Here's his self-portrait of the artist as a young criminal:


Glad to see you are not the sort to take yourself too seriously, Jason. We wish you all the best in your career in illustration and photography.

Frank Viva, Illustrator

Canadian illustrator Frank Viva is a lot like his name: straightforward and full of life. I've been a fan of his work for a long time.

Above is his illustration for the Jan. 18th, 2010 edition of the "New Yorker".

Frank always has lots of irons in the fire (or pens in the inkwell). One of his many projects is Whigby, a company producing and selling cards, wrapping paper, posters etc. Here is my favourite Whigby wrapping paper design:

Alarm clocks and aliens. Shaky shaky, wakey wakey!