Sunday, 10 AM - Turn Left.

It wasn't where I had to be, but it was where I wanted to be. I think that's a good way to approach Sunday mornings.

I've been doing this "February Photo A Day Challenge" that the blog "fat mum slim" organized. There's a list of words that serve as that day's inspiration. Sunday's simply said "10AM". I'm not sure why, but I felt I wanted to try something different other than what would have been a shot of me sleeping normally. I thought I'd give my 10AM some purpose, some thing I hadn't done in a while.I chose to be at Ashbridge's Bay Park at 10am on a Sunday.

I've been drawn to the calmness of walking along the water of Lake Ontario lately. Toronto has a beautiful waterfront and I've found it peaceful to just sit and watch everything flow by. The spot popped into my head as I'd recently found a box of old writing from high school. Back in my senior year, there were a couple nights where I felt I needed to have a good think to clear my head. So I would drive that old Mazda hatchback down the highway, listening to Nirvana's "Nevermind" or the "Singles" soundtrack on cassette, blaring Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. I'd pull into Ashbridge's Bay Park, park the car, and then walk the boardwalk out to the Waterfront Trail, sit on the rocks and just take in the night and the waves.

It'd been years since I'd done that. Most of my waterfront wandering has been along the west end of the city. With the mild winter weather this year, I thought I'd take advantage and go back to the bay. So I set the alarm, and on Sunday morning, I took a drive down to the park and made that same walk. I found myself at the east end of the waterfront trail. All along the trail, dogs were being walked, kids were jumping from rock to rock as they tried not to touch the ground. I heard the rhythm of a drum and sure enough, two women were down by the water, chanting while they performed a drum ceremony. I thought for a moment of snapping a picture of them for my 10am shot, but I felt it was something intimate that I didn't want to disrupt.

I shot my 10AM shot as I looked back from those same rocks where I used to sit and think:

I had a good wander and snapped a few more.

 

A little more walking and I found this bench, and its memorial dedication. If you sit there, you see the lake spread before you while the sun warms your face in the dead of winter:

It's funny the things you find when you decide to get up and get out on a Sunday.

Another hour of sitting and looking out at the infinite, and then it was time for pancakes and coffee. Which is where I wanted to be.

Loving "The Joy of Books"

A delightful stop-motion animated ballet of books at Type bookstore in Toronto (883 Queen Street West, (416) 366-8973)

Torontoist has a post on how it took 50 hours of labour to bring this film to life:

Torontoist: Making His Ode to Joy of Books

Down By The Water

On a leisurely Friday afternoon, I took the opportunity to spend some time in one of my favourite Toronto neighborhoods, Roncesvalles Avenue.It's good to see the street humming with life after the past few years struggling with a lot of street construction that hampered local businesses and contributed to a few closing up. There are plenty of new businesses going up, lots of new restaurant life.

I stopped as I usually do at She Said Boom, a second-hand book and music shop. And sure enough, there was that perfect moment when I walked through the door, and that smell of old books and the sound of Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers playing "Circle I" on the turntable combined to hit me all at once. I left the shop with a copy of the novel "The Amazing Absorbing Boy" by Rabindranath Maharaj, and of course, the record they were playing when I walked in, "Modern 88". That's not the first time that's happned there, and it won't be the last.

I walked down the avenue, an unusually mild winter day. Shops had their flowers and fruit on display. A low rider bike pedaled up the avenue, towing a child carrier behind it. I ducked my head into a few other shops, picked up an outstanding latte from Cherry Bomb Coffee, and made my way down to the lake. If you walk long enough, far enough, you reach water.

Winter took the day off, and I found a bench at Sunnsyside Beach to watch the water and world go by. Joggers ran the boardwalk. Cyclists rode the path. I was met by birds paddling in the lake. A pair of swans seemed out of place in the January sun, but there they were:

I was reminded of something a friend said the other night, on a much colder occasion. She piled up her winter jacket, bag, scarf, and all the things required to endure winter. She observed winter takes up a lot of space. Today, winter took the day off, lifting its burden of all the things that take up so much space.

I had my music turned off, choosing to just sit and indulge in the meditation that comes from listening to the rhythm of waves reaching the shore.

Everything flows, everything breathes. It was a good day.

Jeff Harris: 13 Years of Daily Self-Portraits

Toronto photographer Jeff Harris has been taking a self-portrait every day for the past 14 years, no matter what the day brings. Time.com has a video about the project. Just warning you, he shares everything of himself including his surgery, but he perseveres. Utterly moving.

"The images range from completely solitary, auto-timed self-portraits to photographs inspired by a collaborative spirit with whomever Harris encounters on a given day. Regardless of the mood, location or activity at the center of any given image in the series, they all show a marvelously open and generous approach to both diaristically recording and sharing everything from intimate moments to athletic adventures with a wider audience. In fact, Harris evokes the full range of physical experiences a body can encounter: from mundane inactivity to joyful dives to his body being open on the operating table."

Jeff Harris: 4,748 Self-Portraits and Counting

This video came to light via the Metro Morning program on CBC Radio One.Visit jeffharris.org to see the project in its entirety. Harris also has an interactive Journal  that allows readers to submit writing about a day from their life. Their stories are juxtaposed with his self portrait from that same day.

Read more: http://lightbox.time.com/2012/01/03/jeff-harris-self-portraits/#ixzz1icGBXGix

The year to come, or "Screw you Mayans"

First post of 2012. And, as it's on my resolutions to try to start posting on here again, the first of many I hope.

I'm going to work on being a bit more productive on here. I've been focusing on my worklife a bit more recently, but I miss this blog. So yeah, I think you'll see me on here more often.

If I had any resolution advice, it would be this:

1) Keep it achievable

Got a goal? Great! How do you plan to get their, wishing? Make a plan, break that goal into achievable small steps.

2) Don't take on too much too soon.

Ever make that resolution to hit the gym, then jump in to 3 sessions a week and give up by March? If you don't have a great track record, start slow and build up. If it's a gym program, start once a week. You'll start to feel good after a few weeks and start going more often. If it's to learn to cook, don't jump straight to stuffing a chicken. Start with the basics. A goal broken down into small parts is more likely to be completed.

3) Blab about it

We feel obligated to reach our goals if you publicize and talk about them. It makes us accountable.

4) Don't do ALL the things at once.

Related to #2, but if you have more than one resolution, who says you need to do them all right from the start of the year. Set a resolution or goal for each month or each quarter of the year. Incremental change can add up and is easier to achieve.

I've never been a self-help book guy, but if there's one book I think I'm going to be using a lot this year to reach goals, it's Nerdist Way, The: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life). It's a productivity book for creative nerd brained people. You know that part of you that obsesses about beating a video game or collecting things or obsessing over fantasy leaques? Why can't you apply that to the real world and gamify your life so you can view life-goals as levels, bosses, and achievements? It's written by comedian/podcaster Chris Hardwick (aka Nerdist), who has done a remarkable and inspiring job of getting his shit together from his days as a drunk slovenly former MTV gameshow host to a man doing what he loves, feeling good about himself, and providing a platform, be it book or podcast or Nerdist.com, for others to succeed.



I've chatted about it before, and you don't need to take the whole thing as "a program", but there's some great things in there about dealing with anxiety and panic attacks, ignoring self-doubt, how to map your goals, how to realistically get there, time management and finances. You take away from it the parts you find relevant. There are 3 sections: Mind, Body, and Time, but taking a browse through chapter headings may give you a clearer idea what it's about:

• RPG Your Life
• Seize Your Inner Monologue
• Choo-Choo-Choosing
• Body: The Getting Off Your Butt Part
• Becoming An Evil Genius

I've come to listen to Chris Hardwick through the Nerdist podcast, and his humour, enthusiasm, and his passionate "life is pretty amazingly phenomenal when you get off the couch and TRY" approach to life comes through his book.

I've got a notepad I'm going to work on this week, figure out what version of myself I want to be in the coming year and how to reach that place. I'll share some of that up here (see #3), some of it I won't.

Let's make it a good year.

Resolutions - I Am Jack's Enduring Legacy.

I am Jack's beating heart., a photo by the2scoops on Flickr.

If there's one picture of mine that I come back to that made an impression this year, it's this one. And if you make a New Year's Resolution for 2012, even just one, make it this: "love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." - Jack Layton

Happy New Year.

RADIOHEAD announce new album THE KING OF LIMBS in less than a week

Nice news to wake up to after watching Arcade Fire win the Best Album at the Grammys: Radiohead are gunning for the 2012 award and have sprung their new album upon us. Titled "THE KING OF LIMBS", you can pre-order either digital or special album packages with a download date of Saturday February 19th. The album hits stores March 28th.

Radiohead have been successful with this quick turnaround before with "IN RAINBOWS", by getting the album out as quickly as possible after completion and limiting the window where it may leak online before the street date.

Links:

RADIOHEAD: THE KING OF LIMBS pre-order website

RADIOHEAD: Official Site DEAD AIR SPACE

Stars at Massey Hall: Introduced by a friend of a friend

Whooo! Seeing Stars tonight at Massey Hall! It's been a pleasure seeing them play many times in all types of venues, but playing Massey Hall is kind of special.

Settimes.ca:
Saturday, October 23
Massey Hall, Toronto
Doors: 7pm
Young Galaxy: 8pm
Stars: 9:15pm

I tend to get a little photo-happy at Stars shows. I can't help it, they put on a great live show with a deep songbook of emotional, joyous pop. And it's hard to find a better, more charming duo than Torquil Campbell and Amy Milan.

the2scoops: Flickr - Stars photos

Here's a little taste of Stars, with a video I shot back in May at the Mod Club

YouTube: Stars - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" live at Mod Club

Nuit Blanche 2010: some final thoughts

Considering it's only 5 years old, Nuit Blanche has certainly made an impression on Toronto. And just as we always, there's highlights and things to improve.

My Nuit Blanche 2010 blogposts:

• Nuit Blanche 2010: Part 1 > Fly By Night
• Nuit Blanche 2010: Part 2 > Here Is What Is or Saved by Lanois
• Nuit Blanche 2010: Part 3 > Until The Night Is Over

• Flickr - Nuit Blanche 2010 - the2scoops

Favourite installations:

The Task by Chris Shepherd proves to be one of the most fascinating projects I saw that night. A man stacks and unstacks cement blocks all night. It's not in the effort of building anything, but simply the task. Nothing will be built, nothing destroyed.

Big O by Žilvinas Kempinas. Like The Task, it was beautiful in its simple concept: a loop of magnetic tape precariously balanced between a series of fans. It wavers, it flows, but still remains aloft. It's like some simple game we played as children, growing anxious every time it touches the floor that the game will be over.

So what to improve on for next year? Well, there's the annual complaining about drunks and crowds, but not much can be changed about that: it's a public event. If it can't be changed at homecoming, it won't be changed much here.

For constructive criticism that's actually realistic, I found Torontoist had a good list of ideas to improve the event next year:

I liked their suggestion to close off Queen: closing Yonge was a new change for Nuit Blanche which I hope to see next year, but it's time to consider closing Queen Street to traffic from Church to Dufferin. With so much foot traffic going through, it was impossible for streetcars to get through. Close off Queen, make Dundas and King "streetcar only" and make the TTC free for the night.

It's all night, not late night: as in previous years, I found myself at 4am standing where an installation should have been, only to find they pulled up stakes and left. And some of the installations, such as Koerner Hall, were merely on auto-pilot with pre-recorded music playing on a player piano. If the event is marketed as "until sunrise", we'd count on the installations to still be there until sunrise. I especially admire installations which are designed to reach their climax at dawn.

Nuit Navigating: this was the first time using the Nuit Navigator on my iPhone. I stand by the hope that the Toronto International Film Festival adopt a similar app, but while I found the Navigator handy for planning, I wasn't using it as much that night aside from the occasional GPS check. Part of that was it didn't seem the app was compatible with the new multitasking OS for the iPhone, causing me to restart the app every time I used it - I can understand how that happened, probably not much time to update the program given the new system was a late summer release. But I found in order to access the "My Night" planner, I had to log in each and every time I started the app. If that kink can be worked out, all the better.

Another idea would be to integrate the My Night into the maps - show pins for all the installations, use a different colour for the installations corresponding to the My Night planner, and give us the ability to "check" off installations as we go.

Best advice learned from that night? If you intend to last the 12 hour event, stick to water and coffee, skip the energy drinks and alcohol. The latter two make you crash pretty hard - in previous years, around the 4am mark. Seeing a few installations and then taking a late dinner break also helped too.

Each year Nuit Blanche evolves, and they listen to public feedback. If you have some suggestions, be sure to let them know. Myself, I definitely will be diving into to next year.

Nuit Blanche 2010: Part 3 > Until The Night Is Over

Feeling re-energized by Daniel Lanois's performance, 3am seemed like a good time to visit the installations along Bloor Street in Zone A. One subway ride later, and we arrived at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

At the RCM and the lush lights of Aurora continues to draw audiences in (a5); calming
by the2scoops via iPhone at 10/3/2010 7:28:28 AM3:28 AM Sunday, October 03, 2010

The atrium of the Royal Conservatory of Music was filled with these remarkable creations, with calm waves of light and sound reacting to the crowds passing underneath. Aurora was created by Philip Beesley Architect Inc. as "a responsive forest of light". The mechanics of it looked fascinating, but what we found ourselves in was a technological Northern Lights as we were washed in strangely calming sounds.

We made our way to the auditorium of the Royal Conservatory of Music, hoping to find some live performance, but only to find a player piano on stage. It was the first of many disappointing installations that seemed to shut down before the sunrise. Some installations closed not by choice, such as Iskootāo, a performance in the heart of Yorkville that was reportedly ended after noise complaints from a neighbourhood condo. Some installations just seemed to pull up stakes early, such as KortuneFookie, which was nowhere to be found at 4:30am.

Finally got a look at Lower Bay Station. Sadly no Starbucks built yet
by the2scoops via iPhone at 10/3/2010 8:14:16 AM4:14 AM Sunday, October 03, 2010

One installation that was open and still drawing an audience was the Interactive landscape Dune set in Lower Bay Subway station. A relic of a 3-line subway plan that was never implemented (Wikipedia - Lower Bay Station), Lower Bay Station is seldom open to the general public. But for Nuit Blanche, it was opened up and turned into "an interactive landscape of light".

The lights resembled a wetland full of glowing bullrushes and flickered with each noise from the audience, but the real show was when the subway trains passed above through Bay Station.

Only our 2nd coffee of the night, the hopping the subway down to the TIFF Lightbox in Zone C
by the2scoops via iPhone at 4:46 AM Sunday, October 03, 2010

By 5am, the streets had taken on the air of post-apocalyptic zombie movie. Survivors staggered the streets, in search of the installations still open. Empty cans of energy drink piled into the gutters. As much as we wanted to check back in to some of the Zone C exhibits like Erik Satie’s Vexations (1893) and The Task, but we likely only had enough energy to take in one more stop. For us, our goal was to check out the brand new Bell Lightbox complex at King and John. By all reports, the new home to the Toronto International Film Festival was a stunning addition to Toronto, and I hadn't had a chance to see it yet.

The building was, as promised, a testament to film. We found ourselves in a beautiful, bright space, warmly greeted by the volunteers. We took a peek at the The Essential Cinema exhibit and grabbed a seat for some stunningly disturbed clips from their Grindbox! trailer screening (Make Them Die Slowly is a very messed up film that surely influenced the Saw series).

Nice to end the night with a singalong to Always Look On The Brightside of Life at c47 Singin' in the Dark, Sunday, October 03, 2010 6:02:24 AM via Twitter for iPhone

Shaking off the Grindbox, we sat down in the cinema that was home to Singin' in the Dark. Early in the night, a host was rowsing the crowd in a singalong to traditional movie musicals, and later more eclectic selections. By 6am, the audience was comfortable just taking in the clips, laughing and cheering the stranger selections. At the start, we had scenes from "Reservoir Dogs" and "Blue Velvet", charming clips from "500 Days of Summer" and "Almost Famous", and then just outright weird clips like "Clockwork Orange". To end the show, and the clip that finally got some singing from the crowd (or at least me), it was Always Look On The Bright Side of Life from "Life of Brian".

As we were leaving the Lightbox, a volunteer asked if we had seen the Atom Egoyan's 8 ½ Screens. It wasn't really on our radar, but was part of the exhibits marking the opening of the Lightbox. We told the volunteer no, and he in turn responded like we needed to catch the last helicopter out of Saigon. "It's your last chance, it closes tonight! Go, run to the elevator!!!!"

And you know, he was right, it was pretty spectacular. The cinema experience is inverted: from a projector mounted on the stage in front of the main screen, a key sequence from Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 is shown. It flickers out into the cinema seats where various screens in all shapes and forms are hung.

It was something very unique to see, and we would have missed out on something cool if we hadn't listened to the volunteer. We made sure to thank him for his enthusiastic directions on the way out.

Thanks to all for a terrific Nuit Blanche. And with the last notes and the first glow of sunrise, adieu
by the2scoops via iPhone at 6:49 AM Sunday, October 03, 2010

As the sky glowed with the pre-dawn, we passed through Nathan Phillips Square where Daniel Lanois was overseeing the teardown of his installation. Within an hour or so, the city would be restored to its normal state, and bleary eyed, despite a mixed bag of an evening, I absolutely look forward to the next year.

The morning was creeping up on us, and I was looking forward to taking advantage of a late checkout time from the Metropolitan Hotel, and all-day breakfast at a favourite diner.

I'll post a little wrap-up tomorrow with some final thoughts on Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010.

Nuit Blanche 2010: Part 2 > Here Is What Is or Saved by Lanois

Part 1 of my Nuit Blanche night here

The hours between 11pm and midnight were not kind to us.

We fought our way north for the better part of an hour, browsing the Atrium on Bay and make it into Ryerson. By now the crowds were thick with drunken partiers, giving the night a bacchanalian flavour. And I don't mean that as a compliment. The streets were noticeably strewn with garbage, discarded samples from the corporate advertisers. The exhibits around Ryerson were, for the most part, underwhelming in scale and our Plan B falls apart when I couldn't find any sign of the shuttle to The Distillery District. All in all, about an hour and a half bogged down in the crowds, nothing "cool" seen, and the wind starting to flag from our sails.

But there's hope yet. We dove straight for two of the installations put on by well-known musicians. Sight Unseen was the more abstract of the two, from Lee Ranado of the band Sonic Youth and Leah Singer creating a fluid musical and visual landscape within the confines of the Old City Hall. Then it was on to Nathan Phillips Square.

Packed in at B1 Later At The Drive-in w/ Daniel Lanois & friends drawing us in by the2scoops via iPhone at 10/3/2010 4:58:59 AM12:58 AM Sunday, October 03, 2010

Daniel Lanois's installation Later That Night At The Drive-In turned Nathan Phillips Square into his personal canvas: screens and speakers of every shape and size filled transformed the square into a forest of sound, abstract video collages playing. We made our way to the small stage set up in the heart of the installation where we found the man himself at work. Every hour or so, Daniel Lanois and friends would play a few songs, their images projected onto the screens. It was like seeing him jam a house party that he invited a few thousand close friends to.

And now the cold quiet hours that tends to thin out the crowd to manageable levels
Sunday, October 03, 2010 2:03:43 AM via Twitter for iPhone

A highlight of the show was a gutsy performance from a brave salsa dancer on a cold night.

B1 Daniel Lanois just wrapped up another set, time to move north to Bloor

by the2scoops via iPhone at 2:48 AM Sunday, October 03, 2010