Cupid, draw back your bow...

Why not let Valentines Day come early this year? It might warm some hearts in this "feels like" - 20 ºC weather.

In the spirit of urban romance, I've posted a picture of the 'cadenas d'amour', or in English, 'love locks'.  Symbols of romantic love, padlocks like these ornament foot bridges in cities like Paris, Rome, London, Cologne, Moscow, Vrnjacka Banja.  But in Toronto, city officials cut down all but three locks from the Humber River Footbridge back in December 2011.  The remaining trio hang strong, alone, no reinforcements forthcoming.

The footage for the video was taken during a walk around the Yonge and Eglinton area.  The man with his dog is near Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  The bridge overlooks the TTC subway tracks that enter Eglinton station.  If you watch, you'll see both classic and modern models of train.  Young and old, grumbling past one another on a bright white afternoon.

I used Finale NotePad, a free downloadable music notation software (http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/default.aspx), to notate the song.  The software allows you to play back your music as you write it, which is both handy and fun. And, it's free.

Sources:

http://www.bonjourparis.com/story/padlocks-paris-love-incarcerated/
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1099596--city-snips-all-but-three-love-locks-from-humber-bridge
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/09/thousands-of-love-locks-on.html

Photo: http://www.daringcoco.com/2011/12/love-locks.html

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a silent giant.  Visiting this place, I felt that I should be afraid.  Sometimes, we humans come face to face with raw Nature, and it indifferently reminds us that our flimsy creature comforts can be destroyed as and when it pleases.  There is no mothering here.

While I walked as close to the edge as I dared, the wind pushed at my back.  Chunks of rock littered the ground beneath my feet, and gaps in the big stones were dark and deep.  Somehow, these tripping hazards didn't discourage the other tourists.  People walked right up to the edge to take their pictures.  They may not have known that the rock surface at the rim could be unstable and ready to crumble under their feet.  Erosion.  According to mygrandcanyonpark.com 53 people have died from accidental falls over the canyon since 1925.

It is theorized that the colorado river carved out the Grand Canyon about 70 million years ago.  Before that, the river would have lain atop level land.  You can see lines along the walls of the canyon, tell-tale signs of where the river would have travelled.  If you look for it, you can find the lines and the river in this video.

The music that accompanies this clip is a celtic tune named 'Nyth Gwcw'.  The sheet music is published in a book titled "Celtic Music for Flute & Guitar, Allan Alexander & Jessica Walsh".  The book can be ordered online at http://www.fluteandguitar.com/celtic.html.  It comes with a CD on which Allan and Jessica perform the content of the book (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_9EBY0oU8).

Sources:

http://grandcanyoncvb.org/about-grand-canyon/
http://www.mygrandcanyonpark.com/2010/03/falling-to-death-grand-canyon/
http://geology.com/articles/age-of-the-grand-canyon.shtml

Here is a link that describes Supai, Arizona. People actually live in this remote place, located within the Grand Canyon. Accessible only by helicopter, hike, or mule!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supai,_Arizona