The Sporting Life 10k route ran past my building today. Around 8:30 I heard the Chariots of Fire theme song (seriously…on loudspeakers) and looked down to see all these runners streaming down Adelaide. I took a few pictures, which were awful; thankfully Nellie got out of bed and took some proper ones.
The shot below was taken straight down from the corner of our balcony, to the intersection of Church & Adelaide.
More pics at my flickr account.
[tags]sporting life 10k[/tags]
Well, that was a fun day. Once again, with no TTC, we left early to get to the Bloor Theatre for our documentary. It was another beautiful day so we were happy to stroll and take a couple of pictures along the way, like this one of a billboard desperately in need of grammar checker…
…and this one of a very cheeky sign on St. George, on the U of T campus.
We were hungry and thirsty by the time we reached Bloor, so we stopped in at the Brunswick Avenue Pump for some food and a cold beer. Nellie got a Hoegaarden, which is always awesome, ’cause she has to hold the giant glass like a sippy cup.
After finishing up there we still had a few minutes to spare, so we backtracked to COBS Bread to pick up some tasties for the evening. Nellie got a cinnamon bun to eat in the line, and I got some kind of giant apple thing for after dinner. It was in a big box, so I asked them to hold it there for me. Off we went to get in line, and a few minutes later we were in and watching the doc.
Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (hot docs) was our last doc, on the last day of the festival. It was a very interesting topic — troubled, violent British kids (and I mean violent…kicking, punching, spitting, stabbing, using words that would make sailors blush, etc.) at a special school — but the film itself wasn’t that impressive…I saw no arc, no narrative, no depth. The teachers, which probably isn’t even the right word for them, must surely be the most patient and calm people in the world; it would have been very interesting to see how they cope when they’re alone for a few minutes after dealing with those kids all day. So not a bad documentary by any means, but I wanted more than I got. It was a BBC doc; I suspect it was turned into a series at some point.
We left the theatre and went back to COBS. As soon as we got there the girl who’d sold me the apple thingy gasped and covered her mouth…she’d given away my dessert. Or sold it. Or gave it to the staff. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but it wasn’t there. No big deal; it’s not like I was dying for the apple dealie, but she apologized profusely, refunded my money and offered to give me anything I wanted, so I took a couple of croissants. I figure that’s what the pastry gods intended; who am I to question divine will?
We began walking home, but around Harbord and Queen’s Park it got a bit cold so we flagged a cab. Actually, we only half flagged it; it was too bright to see if the sign was on or off, and from a distance there appeared to be someone in the back. However, he pulled over and we jumped in. What we saw in the back window turned out to be a pillow, in the shape and design of a globe. Here’s how the conversation went from there:
I struggled with the answer, getting close to Lagos but not quite reaching it. As it turned out, Lagos is the biggest city but not the capital, so it didn’t matter. He gave us another chance, asking us for all 13 Canadian provinces and territories in alphabetical order, in 30 seconds. I think we could’ve gotten it, but he sped up the clock a little. The he told me to ask him a question, and we went back and forth. I got close to guessing a few (all the states bordering Canada, but forgot about stupid Minnesota; languages spoken in Singapore but I couldn’t think of Tamil; countries bordering Germany but only got 8 of 9) but this guy answered everything…African countries bordering Lake Victoria, north-to-south order of former Soviet breakaway republics, states with coasts on the Gulf of Mexico, the island between Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island, and piles of others. He even knew the names of the island chains between Tiera del Fuego and the Ross Ice Shelf; I had no idea some of the islands there are called the South Orkneys.
I asked him if he was a geography major or something; he told me he’s famous and began handing me laminated copies of press clippings about him. He actually calls himself Mr. Geography and his offer was for real…if you answer his question, your ride is free. He gave me his card and let us take his picture. I got out of the car laughing and smiling and smarter, and don’t even remember the ride home (I had my nose buried in an atlas trying to stump him). Best cab ride ever.
Quite a day. And the capital of Nigeria, in case you’re curious, is Abuja.
[tags]ttc strike, hoodia, brunswick avenue pump, cobs bread, hold me tight let me go, mr. geography, abuja[/tags]
There were some last-minute warnings last night from news outlets about a surprise TTC strike; this morning, lo and behold, the operators walked off the job at midnight. The mayor is royally pissed, as he should be; he’d asked for 48 hours of notice before any strike, but the union made up some bullshit story about fearing for the drivers’ safety in the face of angry commuters. ‘Cause, you know, a snap strike will have us feeling all kumbaya when the Premier forces you back to work (as he’s expected to do) in the next couple of days.
Transit expert Steve Munro has a lot more to say on his site, but the general feeling right now seems to be that the union has played this one very poorly indeed.
On a personal note, given that we live downtown it shouldn’t really be a big deal for us to get around anywhere, including up to the Bloor Theatre later for a documentary (looming thunderstorms notwithstanding) so it’s only a mild inconvenience for us. Not like the thousands of club kids who came downtown last night with no warning that their ride home would throw a hissy at midnight.
[tags]ttc strike[/tags]
[tags]parrsboro, nicole atkins, thermals, canadiens, toronto weather[/tags]
OK, it wasn’t quite that dramatic — this is a camera effect, not reality — but Earth Hour was at least noticeable from our balcony. We had CBGB over to observe the darkening, and while the effects from here weren’t as dramatic as if we’d be airborne, we could see the difference. Toronto even exceeded their 5% power reduction target.
Nellie was struggling to get good night shots — she still needs a decent tripod — but a few turned out. You can see them over at my flickr account.
[tags]earth hour, toronto[/tags]
Last night I went straight from work to the Auld Spot, to meet up with Nellie & CBGB. A good unwinding was exactly what I needed, and a few pints of Dennison’s took care of that. However, I ate way too much yesterday (big breakfast, team lunch, big dinner, beer) and I still feel gross. Clearly I can neither eat nor drink like I used to.
I got home just in time to see the end of the Montreal-Buffalo game. Montreal was down 3-1 with less than three minutes remaining in the game, but scored twice late to tie it and then won it in OT. It’s a pleasant, if strange, feeling to see my team playing so well.
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The plan for today: summon enough energy to go run some errands and buy some food, and then welcome CBGB over for Earth Hour this evening. We’re still not sure what we’ll do, short of turning off all electrical draw. I don’t expect a major difference in the appearance of downtown Toronto, but there are some promising signs.
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A shooting occurred last night on board a TTC subway car, near where I used to live. Crazy.
[tags]auld spot, montreal canadiens, buffalo sabres, earth hour, toronto, ttc shooting[/tags]
Spring has a downside, one that sometimes makes me want to vom. Smokers, on the whole, are disgusting assholes.
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Dinner last night at Tutti Matti was pretty good. I had a caprese salad* and the grilled swordfish and a dessert called the Gino, a semifreddo covered in chocolate sauce. Damn.
Nice atmosphere, good service, and we all enjoyed our meals. Fieramosca is the undoubted comfort zone for us in terms of Italian food, but Tutti Matti may now be a good alternative, a more “downtown” option if needed.
* It’s hard to believe, sometimes, how much my tastes have changed over the past few years. Not long ago the idea of eating a giant pile of buffalo mozzarella and tomato covered in olive oil would have turned my stomach.
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Last night Montreal beat Boston for the eighth straight time this season, and eleventh straight overall going back into last season. They won in the shootout, which was the best possible scenario: Montreal stays where they are (tops in the east!) and Boston earns a point to stay ahead of the chasing teams like Toronto. There’re two reasons why this is good for the Habs; if Boston holds on to the 8th (or even 7th) spot, there’s a good chance Montreal will play them in the first round and…well, eight in a row. The Canadiens have owned the Bruins this year.
The other reason why a Boston point last night was beneficial: it makes it harder for the Leafs fans to hold on to their mass delusion of making the playoffs. With eight games left they’re four points out of the final playoff spot, and they’d have to leapfrog four teams to get there, but the delusion lives on. Rather than shutting down their veterans, letting their young players get some much-needed development and securing a spot in the lottery, they’re playing themselves into a lower draft pick.
But hey, if they want to keep it up, that’s cool. I kind of hope they win both games against the Bruins (the team they’re chasing) this week and get their hopes up even higher, so that when Montreal plays them next Saturday, I can watch live as the Canadiens crush their playoff dreams once and for all.
Wait a second…goddammit, I won’t be able to watch that live after all. Stupid climate change…must you ruin everything?
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My buddy Joe sent me the new Constantines album yesterday. I’m only a few songs in but I already love it. “Million Star Hotel” in particular is brilliant. The last two ‘tines albums were amazing and under-appreciated; if you like the rock and roll, do yourself a favour and check them out.
[tags]smokers, tutti matti, fieramosca, montreal canadiens, boston bruins, toronto maple leafs, nhl playoffs, earth hour, constantines[/tags]
The upcoming Mark Wahlberg movie Max Payne (imdb) is being shot in Toronto right now, and today from our balcony we could see some helicopter scenes being filmed. Actually, the helicopters have been buzzing around the sky above us pretty much non-stop since the early afternoon. You can see from this shot that helicopter #1 (which is part of the movie; the other chopper is unmarked and, I presume, has a camera and/or the director in it) was hovering over Yonge & King, roughly. If you click the next picture you’ll see the helicopter was marked “NPYD” so the people in One King West and BCE Place who weren’t informed of the movie shoot must’ve been awfully confused.
Eventually they peeled off from the downtown; they then set up so that the black helicopter hovered over the waterfront while the “NYPD” chopper did a high-speed lap around it. It circled out over the island, over the DVP and right over our building. Nellie got this great shot of it as it appeared overhead.
Hours later they were back at it, swooping back into the spot near One King West (which was lit up). Sadly, Nellie hasn’t quite figured out the nighttime settings on her new camera, and thinks she’d need a tripod for the shots anyway.
Anyway, apart from getting my haircut and buying a new garbage can, that was our excitement for the day.
[tags]max payne, mark wahlberg, one king west, bce place, toronto, helicopters[/tags]
Another day, another snowstorm. How typical.
Actually, this one caused some consternation as my brother et al were scheduled to fly back to Halifax this evening. They ended up going to the airport a little early in the hopes of getting an earlier flight, and were able to do so. The early flight ended up leaving nearly an hour behind schedule, but that’s about all you can expect on a day like this, and there’s no reason to think their original flight wouldn’t have been similarly affected.
I’m glad they got away successfully. It was a nice visit, I’d hate for it to have been ruined by problematic weather.
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I can’t believe I have to set the clocks ahead tonight. Ridiculous. Thanks, Dubya. Swell idea.
[tags]toronto snowstorm, pearson travel, halifax flight, daylight savings[/tags]
It’s been just over 36 hours since some members of my family arrived: my dad, my brother and my nephew. Since they got here yesterday morning we’ve had some breakfast at Sunset Grill, walked around Toronto a bit, played some crib (while my brother & nephew went to the CN Tower), watched some Planet Earth, had dinner at The Keg, shopped at St. Lawrence Market, had breakfast at Over Easy, visited the ROM, relaxed (while my brother & nephew swam in their hotel’s pool), ordered some Pizza and went to a Raptors game (while Nellie bought herself a Nikon D-60).
The question now is whether they’ll be able to fly out tomorrow evening because of this storm.
[tags]sunset grill, cn tower, planet earth, the keg, st. lawrence market, over easy, ROM, raptors, nikon D-60[/tags]
Skirl | Dan Dickinson 