See Kyle

While most gnomes seem to have fairy-tale evoking ornamental names like Grumbledorff or Wigglebottom, I've decided that maybe this little fellow should simply be called Kyle.

See Kyle here.



"Kyle" (as I've now dubbed him) is currently on display at an art gallery in Nuremburg.

The gnome, standing 35 centimetres tall, is one of 700 made by German artist Ottmar Hoerl that were displayed in Belgium and Italy. Nuremberg prosecutors are investigating after a complaint to local police, said spokesman Wolfgang Traeg.

"We've asked both the artist and the gallery owner to explain what the intention is," said Traeg, spokesman for the Nuremberg prosecutors. "It's not a crime if it can be proved that the artist was being critical of the Nazis."

Giving the outlawed Hitler salute or using Nazi symbols is a crime in Germany punishable by up to three years in prison.

The artist, who had previously been commissioned to make the egregious "giant blue and yellow Euro symbol" adorning the front of the European Central Bank, is a tad bewildered, and doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

"I'd have been executed by the Nazis if I had portrayed the 'super race' as gnomes in 1942,"

I had always thought that gnomes were creepy. This story does nothing to change my mind.

On second thought. Don't see Kyle.

Not To Be Outdone ...

... by St. Mary's, the Home of the Shakespeare Festival weighs in with its own autumn spectacle.


Fall colours form a backdrop for a windy walk on Huron Street near T.J.Dolan Drive in Stratford Friday.

Photo Credit: Scott Wishart, The Beacon Herald (Stratford)

Autumn in the Great Lakes Basin

Greetings from Southern Ontario, deep in the heart of the land of four distinct seasons. It's that time of year again. The foliage is showing off.

From the St. Mary's Journal Argus:

A window on autumn

Autumn arrived in St. Marys last week, and its cloak of brilliant colours has started to light up the landscape, such as here on Church Street South.

Photo Credit: Andrea Macko via St. Mary's Journal Argus

These Are Ubiquitous ...

... on Highway 17, traversing the North Superior Shore line between the Sault and Thunder Bay.

Wandering the North Superior Shore

It is not difficult to imagine how the stunning beauty of the north shore of Lake Superior has inspired Canadian artists from the Group of Seven to Lawren Harris.

Alona Bay (2 pics)

Agawa Bay (3 pics)







Of course, the pictures don't do it justice. That's what artists are for.