Category Archives: Toronto

This wacky city I live in.

Nooeet Blanch – Big Blue Turd Excites Us All

Toronto

Photos here.

My first NB was interesting. With all the crowds and revelry it actually felt like Toronto did something cohesive and collective as a city. And it was fun discovering a shop window showing a video or a sculpture instead of the usual goods and services. People were exposed to challenging pieces that, yes did make you scratch your head and wonder WFT? But the fact that the art got so many people out of their house and into the streets was a clear sign of it’s success. So what if you laughed at a big blue swirly turd hanging over your head in the middle of the Eaton Centre? You’re there, you’re experiencing it and it got you thinking, even if it was to laugh or get angry or wonder where your ScotiaBank savings are going. Art wins. Suck that, Stephen “I hate the arts” Harper.

One thing that really got me down though, was seeing Cabbagetown’s contribution. Sad. The section of street that was blocked off was utterly empty. I think amount of artists (I counted 6 “artists”) were dwarfed by the space that they had available. And considering how “funky” C-town is suppose to be, with it’s great diversity of neighbourhoods to the north and south. It really could have been a lot more. When we returned after being in the downtown core, there was one woman reading quietly from her literature (two people on bikes paying any sort of attention), a big screen video showing Breathless (original French version), a log tee pee and a bunch of drunk yuppies joking how they should burn the tee pee down. The local Liberal campaign office was busy, of course. But that’s hardly art these days.

One milestone: I’ve never stepped foot inside Maple Leaf Gardens before in my life and I broke my sports history hymen by visiting the dueling rambling milk blobs. It’s a shame that building isnt being used for anything these days. Damn you Lowblaws!

Next year, I’ll treat it like Pride: have a nice pre-Blance dinner party, plan an attack (avoid anything “Zombie” or “fame”) and wander around loosely after that.

UPDATE: I guess all the good stuff was in Zone B. Goes to show you where all the creative types live.

Where’s The Guy…

Toronto, You Stupid Dick

…who is going to clean this shit up?

I really don’t give a fuck where “Fluffy” is. I do give a fuck that you’ve just made a huge mess outside the subway station, on the street corners and on the bottom of my shoes.

The last TIFF, certain dickhead marketing fucks shilling the crap movie “Weirdsville” did their sidewalk ads with an ink that is still visible to this day after a healthy Toronto winter. This shit better come off or I’m going to download your movie off the internet, burn multiple copies and toss them into the streets.

Fan Expo 2008

Hobbies, Toronto

All the pics I took here.

This year I wanted to take a more subtle look at the Fan Expo (one of the largest Comic/Game/Fantasy/Horror conventions in Canada) as opposed to my usual freaked out, get-that-shot-now, kind of photo hunt. And I found it intriguing, humourous and somewhat unnerving.

Intriguing:
I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing

Raw Shark & Ozzy mandus

Intriguing in the sense that there are people who spend hours and hours on a single costume to wear maybe twice a year (three times if they’re trying to make a viral video. Some cases, these people are like-minded as myself – so in love with the culture that they need to express themselves in cloth and plastic, but I can only stare in awe at the detail, but then I thank god quickly that I have a life. Seriously, kudos to the great costumes out there.

Humourous:
Tired

Pose!

I mean come on. If you’re going to wear it in public, then you better be prepared for bitter, angry people like me to take your picture and post it to the web in ridicule. Chubby Vader? Cute! WTF-costume that makes me scratch my head, shrug and hit the shutter on my camera? I can guarantee there are 4 more like me just behind me with their cell phone cameras ready.

Unnerving:

IMG_1686

WTF?
Finally there are people who go to the Expo just to wear what they like and be “accepted” in a crowd. Much like wearing a tube sock over your dick at Pride. For the most part, we really don’t need to see your outfit, but hooray we live in a enlightened society. Case in point, first picture, can you find the odd princess out in the group of Disney heroines?

Bye Bye Crumberland!

Distractions, Hobbies, Toronto

Torontoist reports (sadly for them, happily for me) that the Cumberland 4 up in Yorkville is closing their doors.

Boo hoo.

I’m all for independent cinema, it keeps the crap at bay and makes Hollywood look like a bunch of money hungry assholes they generally are. But do thoughtful, creative movies have to be shunted to a theatre so god awful that the experience of seeing the film detracts so much from the movie that it becomes just as easy to go rent it at home (and cheaper)?

I was much more sadder when the Uptown shut down, even after the hack job they did to it to keep it afloat.

FFN, meet BIA. BIA, Meet FFN

Queer stuff, Toronto, Travel

It must be an election year. Bush partially lifts the HIV ban to the US yesterday (as pointed out to me by Kingston Andy, the guy who married me off). Good news for HIV+ people travelling to the US. Now they’re pretty much level with people who regularly travel to the US and get nervous around power-mad TSA agents.

From Andy:

…the history of this is that it was a Democrat controlled Congress that introduced the restriction in 1987 and signed into law by Ronald Reagan, and it is again a Democratic controlled congress that sponsored the new bill signed into law by Bush. There was an expectation Bush might veto this line in the overall bill, but he didnt.

Of course, back in 1987, alot of straight people including law makers were under the impression you could get HIV by sitting on a toilet or kissing

So it looks like the FFN people can take an indefinite leave. Or maybe make nice with the Church Street BIA and stop this egotistical pissing match that countermands the Pride view of unity and maybe create a street festival that would rival Folsom’s. Just a thought.

Regardless of my bitchiness, this is good news!