Category: Toronto

There's not enough sunscreen in the world

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

This afternoon I decided to brave the crazy heat and head over to Ward’s Island. I figured it would be nice to get some pictures of the skyline (including our condo) from there and of the Leslie Street spit from the other side. I took the TTC to the ferry terminal and waited for my ride. The Centre Island ferry came and went and I waited with the remaining crowd for the Ward’s Island ferry. I noticed as I waited that I was pretty much the only straight guy waiting. Tons and tons of gay men, mainly couples, but I was definitely in the breeder minority. Strange, I thought, but maybe the gay guys just like Ward’s Island. Whatever.

So the ferry showed up and I climbed aboard. It was hotter than the hubs of hell outside, and standing on the ferry’s deck there was neither shade nor breeze so I waited inside the little cabin and read until we left. The horn sounded and we pulled away from the dock; I checked my watch…leaving a little early. Sweet. Then, around the time that my brain registered that something may be amiss, we made a sharp right turn just out of the dock. I realized my mistake: I had accidentally gotten on the Hanlan’s Point ferry. This was a pain, as I was heading to precisely the other end of the islands than where I was trying to get to. However, it did solve the gay-man-abundance mystery: they were all headed to the clothing optional beach.

Well, there was nothing for it…I decided to walk the 4km to Centre Island. The buff men and their towels went right; I went left, dodging from tree to tree and trying to stay cool. It wasn’t working; the trees are too sparse to provide much shade as you walk, and there was no breeze coming off the water, even as I got around to the southern edge. By the time I made it to the water taxi (I didn’t relish the thought of getting onto the ferry full of hundreds of stroller-wielding families, especially since I was wearing my “I Hate Your Kids” shirt) I was sweating like a pig. I got back to the city, ran to catch a streetcar, caught the subway and on the walk home grabbed a gigantic chocolate/ice concoction at Timothy’s. MUCH better.

Sigh…I guess Ward’s Island will have to wait for another day. Not tomorrow either; it’s supposed to be even warmer.

[tags]toronto islands, ward’s island, centre island, hanlan’s point, nude beach[/tags]

It was pretty funny when H-Simp punched N-Flan

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’m liking my new blog template. If you notice any bugs (beyond the broken links in the consumption/mp3 widgets in the sidebar; already noticed those ones) let me know.

.:.

The Simpsons Movie (imdb | rotten tomatoes): pretty good. Little dopey toward the end, but solid laughs throughout. Much more sophisticated visuals than I’m used to seeing in the show, and humour a little more in the pratfall/timing style of the early seasons than in the more recent absurdist style. Good escapism for sure.

.:.

Daily Dose of Imagery has (yet another) very cool shot of downtown Toronto, including our condo. The perspective is misleading; our building (on the far left) is actually dwarfed by the big bank towers).

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The whole athlete nickname thing where they use their first initial and the first syllable of their last name (e.g., A-Rod, J-Kidd, T-Mac, etc.) has gone too far. It was already silly when it got to J-Dub, but now that it’s reached Man-Ram, it’s just torn the ass out of the whole thing.

[tags]wordpress templates, simpsons movie, daily dose of imagery, toronto, athlete nicknames, manny ramirez[/tags]

The gathering storm

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

A thunderstorm rolled in over Toronto in the early evening. It came in over the lake, providing this awesome contrast. There was crazy lightning too, as well as a giant rainbow (picture to come another time).

By the time, the title is also the name of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor song. Well, part of a 20-minute song called “Storm”. You should really download it. It’s brilliant.

[tags]toronto, thunderstorm, godspeed you black emperor[/tags]

2 down, 17 to go

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Nellie took this last weekend. It was such a perfect view of the full moon on the inner harbour that we sat on the balcony, had a drink and just stared at it. You can click on the picture for more sizes.

.:.

Fatblogging check in #1:

  • Original weight: 233
  • Weight this week: 231

Mild success. About what I expected, considering I had two veggie burgers and half a pizza in the span of 24 hours this weekend. As my friend Joe pointed out, if I can lose 2 pounds a week for 9 weeks I’ll be doing pretty well. To that end, I just got back from another 2.5 mile run. I’ll keep going at this easy clip for maybe another week or so, then I need to push it. As it is I’m running those 2.5 miles in ~27 minutes and not even breathing hard, so I either need to speed it up or add a second exercise (we have a 30-minute limit on our treadmills). I think I have a jump rope around here somewhere…

[tags]toronto, full moon, harbour, fatblogging[/tags]

If you're depressed and have ADD and you know it, download these (and clap your hands)

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

If you’re in need of a song that’s less than two minutes in length and guaranteed to put you in a good mood, here it is: “Quito” by The Mountain Goats.

Ah shit, I’m feeling generous. Here’s another: “Half-Empty Halls” by The Evaporators.

You’re welcome.

.:.

Nellie’s away for the night, and part of tomorrow. I lazed around for a bit, did some errands, went to the Nike store (as I was paying I realized Jason Spezza was standing next to me, buying a stack of stuff as tall as my wife), went for a run, ordered some pizza, watched JFK (just ’cause), cleaned up and am now listening to music at a volume that seems to frighten the cats.

.:.

I needed a drink last night after work, so we met up with CBGB and a friend at The Auld Spot. The veggie burger was extra tasty, the beer was cold, the waitress was hot and the conversation was lively. It was just what I needed to ease into the weekend.

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As of today I am 5/7 of the way through my MBA.

Aweso.

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Two cool bits of news courtesy of the two best Toronto-centric blogs: Torontoist points to the new and improved driving directions on Google Maps (which is very helpful if you’ve ever tried plotting a scenic route) as well as a neat little mashup called Taxiwiz that predicts your Toronto cab fare. BlogTO, on the other hand, discusses the recent decision that permits street vendors to sell more than hot dogs.

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Finally, I leave you with this hilarious little comic my friend Dino sent me.

Vegetarian Zombies

[tags]mountain goats, evaporators, nike store, jason spezza, auld spot, fun with fractions, torontoist, blogto, taxiwiz, google maps, vegetarian zombies[/tags]

Happy Canada Day!

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

What a nice weekend so far. Yesterday Nellie and I slept in a bit, then got up and went back to our old neighbourhood to have some breakfast at Eggstasy and buy some new a/v-related furniture (stands for my side & rear channel speakers, and a new TV/component stand) at Bay Bloor. It was a beautiful day, and one of the first we’ve had in a long time to just spend at our leisure. We ran a few more errands, chilled at home for a bit and went to Fieramosca for dinner with Nellie’s mom and her boyfriend. When we got home the full moon and the wind created an amazing effect on the lake, so we sat outside (despite the cold wind) before heading to bed.

Slept in once again this morning before finding some brunch at the Irish Embassy — I was craving fish and chips, of all things — and saying goodbye to Nellie’s mom. Since then we’ve been trying to muster the energy to finish putting together the TV stand and set it all up, but have been unsuccessful so far.

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According to Gothamist, the Copacabana is closing. This truly is the end of an era in Manhatt…wait a second. The fucking Copacabana is still open?

[tags]canada day, eggstasy, bay bloor radio, irish embassy, toronto, copacabana[/tags]

The best defense against ribs

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Normally after I write an exam I’d just come home and crash, but today I had things to do. I dropped my stuff and went up to the office; I wanted to get moved into my desk so I could hit the ground running Tuesday morning. I shared a brownie with T-Bone, caught up on some email, waited for Nellie so I could show her my new floor and then headed home. On the way I bumped into two of my classmates on Bloor; they’re hanging around the city for the weekend.  Now I’m home, catching up on a bunch of stuff, waiting for Nellie and her mom (who’s visiting) to make pizza. Tomorrow, when I have more energy we’ll visit the Distillery District.

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If I lived in London today, I’d buy one of these t-shirts.

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Thank goodness the Toronto Ribfest has moved out to Centennial Park (wherever the hell that is). I don’t think I could bear to have it just around the corner on Front Street this year.

[tags]keep calm and carry on, london bomb, toronto ribfest[/tags]

Can one glamp in Central Park?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

This is my favourite time of night. Not day, but not night yet either. That’s St. James Cathedral, by the way. It’s the structure that inspired my building.

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Apparently I’m even further behind the time than JR, ’cause I’d never heard of glamping either. But I like the sound of it. Someone needs to make a canoe with a Bang & Olufsen stereo in it. I’m also in the market for an inflatable 5-star bathroom.

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Porter is now cleared to fly to New York. Well, Newark airport, but close enough.

Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, and now New York; I may never fly from Pearson again. Uh, until September when I got to Europe.

[tags]st james cathedral, glamping, porter air[/tags]

Is 36,000 BTUs enough to cook eggplant?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’s been a busy weekend. Yesterday we got up early, went to St. Lawrence Market to pick up some shrimp and scallops and fruit, ran a few errands, picked up some shirts we ordered from American Apparel, did some work (schoolwork, in my case) and went over to CBGB’s place for a barbeque. The barbeque fun didn’t stop there; we zipped around the corner to Home Depot and ordered a barbeque of our own: this one by Vermont Castings [pictured at right].

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The party at CBGB’s (in belated honor of GB’s birthday) was a lot of fun…a packed front porch followed by a packed backyard patio, great food, cold beer, many laughs, and a slight overindulgence in the desserts. What’s better than that?

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Today’s been great so far too: I slept in until 9:00 (the cats practically kicked me off the bed after that), got up, read the paper, went out to find some breakfast and came back raving about the perfect weather: it was warm but not hot, and breezy enough to keep the smog off. I collected Nellie and we headed off on a stroll to the Distillery District. We had a peek in a few galleries, stopped at the Mill Street Brew Pub for some brunch, got some amazing chocolate at Soma and wandered home along the Esplanade, popping up to Front Street so that we could see all the dogs at Woofstock. Now, sadly, it’s back to reality as Nellie has to work all day and I’m catching up on a bunch of stuff. It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning though…

.:.

My comment spam problem is getting worse and worse. Most of you never see it (unless you subscribe to my comment feed) because the comments are buried in old posts, and the vast majority of it gets caught, but when you get 1300/day a few are bound to slip past my spam filter. What does slip past is often very nasty too, so if you’re reading the comments and you see unpleasantness, I apoligize.

[tags]st. lawrence market, american apparel, home depot, vermont castings, distillery district, mill street brew pub, soma chocolate, woofstock, comment spam, akismet[/tags]