photo/art by Thomas Allen

I know you've seen his work: vintage paperback covers X-acto knifed into melodramatic dioramas. I've been seeing them all over the place (here, here and most recently here). It was showing up so often that I became worried that someone was stealing his bit. But no no, it's all him. If I had the money, I would definitely purchase one of his stunning prints. In the meantime, I'll resign myself to lusting over my pirated self-made desktop wallpapers.

CONSUMED: various media, including the covers for (a) Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton, (b) the May 2009 issue of the Walrus Magazine, and (c) Born Ruffians' most recent album Red Yellow & Blue

Canon Powershot G9

My trusty Powershot A95 started to fail when I was on the Amazon River on my trip to Peru. The symptoms: purple, streaky pictures, and a flickering viewscreen. I panicked, because it was only the first day of our weekend excursion; what was I going to do for the rest of the trip? After a few desperate moments, of which all I did was restart the camera several times, full functionality returned. But I knew my camera's days were numbered.

So when it came time for The Great Wedding Circuit trip that I was taking at the end of September, I refused to be subject to the whims of a temperamental piece of equipment. Instead I recruited my mother's new Powershot G9 as my sidekick. And how glad I was for that! Not only did it save me from post-vacation amnesia, it also sliced and diced my dinner (and did my laundry too)! It also took pretty decent pictures.

Now all I can think is: I can't wait for my very own G10 to arrive!

CONSUMED: Salt Lake City, Vancouver and Calgary