Go as far back as you like in urban history – right to square-one if you want – there was always a square involved. I bet they even did temporary art installations at Sumer. Nuit blanche is an odd tradition in Toronto
Go as far back as you like in urban history – right to square-one if you want – there was always a square involved. I bet they even did temporary art installations at Sumer. Nuit blanche is an odd tradition in Toronto
One last series from the fan-expo, this time of stand-out individual costumes – soloists, if you will. I rather wish I had caught this first furry-bird in video, because even the walk had the exact right sort of cartoon surliness. Not just
Being an art-model is a strange gig – and there really is something very gig-like about it, because no two classes are ever anything like the same. Of course the subject makes a difference, and the personalities even more so – but
I’ve got an amalgam of fairs in my head, exotic and local. The ‘Ex’ (Canadian National Exhibition) looms especially large – but Centreville on the Island (an old-time town, full of antique-themed rides) was always cheaper and ran a far longer season
As I’ve noted before, even a personal-sized slice of the universe is much too complicated for us to be able to perceive it’s true and total reality – therefore it is necessary for us to make up vastly simplified stories to tell
Some more images from the truly wonderful annual Polish festival on Roncessvalles in Toronto. Though it is true that many have moved away from the old area over the years, this also means this party is unmissable – because it’s always full
Reductio ad abdurdum is a very old and well-tested method of logical PROOF. It says that if the logic of your ideas inevitably leads you to something ridiculous, then those ideas which brought you there are also ridiculous – this is simply
I honestly can’t for the life of me figure out what is going on around here – an experiment in INFINITELY increasing density? Toronto is a big city, and there are many other areas with plenty of development potential, but the craze
John Lennon said a lot of sweet and interesting things in his time, but one of my favourite clips had him talking about how strange it is to do creative work, because our friends often don’t believe that we’re working at all,
I am, you will likely have gathered by now, a very big fan of street festivals. Not only an excuse for extra fun (always a good idea), they are also a terrific way for one neighbourhood to tell those from other parts
As a young avant-garde musician (think Mingus/Dolphy exuberant cacophony, only with infinitely less talent) who had nothing but a grade-two education on-paper, I had a heck of a time getting (or, to be fair, wanting) any sort of half-decent straight-job. Ended up
The weathered letters are now gone, I figured I’d best grab this nostalgic ghost, while the brick beneath it still remembered them. The Brunswick Tavern is no more – and honestly, it had been going downhill for quite some years, so it’s
Went out for a grocery run on the weekend – and I noticed that the signs were up for the big annual five building garage-sale. Wasn’t late in the day, seemed reasonable to think that I could afford to swing-by on my
Here’s another especially lovely thing about Fan Expo – it always makes me think about how much the relationship of two figures can say in a picture-plane. Also, about our youthful friendships, from a writerly perspective – that is, their psychological and
I mentioned before that I believe in judging people not by my philosophy of life, but by their own. I feel the exact same way about countries. What’s wrong with us as nations is about our betrayal of our best selves. When
There’s no question that the horrendously wow-distorted (and frequency attenuated) recording, played through the klaxon-honky speakers of the classic old ice-cream trucks is deeply imprinted on the minds of many North Americans from their youth – but this quieter and more patient
I have to say, I’m still sad that we didn’t decide to develop Downsview (former military airfield and site of DHC – de Havilland Canada – builder of the best bush-planes ever made). There was definitely room up there for a new
One of the more intriguing characters I ran across at Fan Expo was this guy – I feel fairly confident in saying that he would like to be referred-to as duckman. Energetic and prepared. Plus – (and for his business, it’s a
There are a few different reasons I love this particular festival – one of them is the costumes one sees on proud display – ranging from the silly to the incredible – for nostalgia, hilarity and on-the-street cognitive dissonance, it’s among the
There are few things prettier than grand pre-war towers – and banks were particularly great for investing in sculptural art and durable embellishment. This is a detail of one of my very favourite buildings in the financial core of Toronto – the
One of the best things about being a writer and a generalist, is that you have a great excuse to ask all sorts of questions about the world, representing everyone’s curious ignorance (rather than having to admit to your own). If you
Heterodyning is cool stuff – yes you do know what I mean – when you’re tuning one note to match up to another, and you get close, and you hear the difference-frequency showing up like a wow-wow-wow sound, beating inside those main
One of the biggest problems with politics nowadays, is that it is largely created using debates made out of words. At the best of times, individual perceptions of events, which words best described those perceptions, and the exact meanings of those words,
Visited the Ryerson Image Centre once again – again a wonderful (totally free) show. You’re going soon, right? As previously mentioned, there are four different display areas (sometimes five) all of which have been used well, every time we’ve gone. (And they’re
I hope my friends have gathered by now that I can be relied upon to offer cheer, in (roughly) equal measure to the heavy stuff (and neither, trivially). This is an example of recent wonderful achievement so nearby that we could almost