Tamil protest becomes peaceful again

The chanting crowd of protesters have been moved off University Avenue back onto the boulevard across from the American Consulate after a number of days of blocking the road. When I came by the Tamil protesters were behind barriers shouting for President Obama to stop the war while faced by a large presence of Metropolitan Toronto Police.

The heart of Toronto

There is almost always something going on at the Yonge-Dundas Square area - from the Square itself to the Eaton Centre and City Hall. Freebies, goodies, concerts, art and music find their home in this place that I consider the heart of Toronto.

And here is the tilt shift version of the picture - thanks Joe fresh.



And now I see that they have turned on the fountains for summer.

Joe Fresh Beauty Box

The Joe Fresh Style Beauty Box was providing mini makeovers and highlighting Joe's line of makeup at the Square.

Joe Fresh is of course driven by creative director Joe Mimran and their fashion and cosmetic lines are featured at Real Canadian Superstore and Loblaws.

Classic card of the week

Pat Perry, 1991 Score

Oftentimes the backs of baseball cards tend to glorify their subject, regardless of that subject’s talents. This technique is reminiscent of those NFL Films pieces that aim to put a positive spin on an 8-8 Cincinnati Bengals season in which half of the roster went to jail by highlighting that one quarter of decent play that will signify next season’s turnaround. In fact, it’s typically these arbitrary stats for mediocre players that I tend to highlight and make light of on this here blog. Because I am a jerkface with nothing better to do. Anyhoo…

Enter: Pat Perry.

Nobody here has ever heard of Pat Perry, correct? Correct. So he’s probably not great. But still a major leaguer. His baseball card should highlight his positive attributes. Let us begin:



Pat, a soft-throwing southpaw middle reliever,

So far? Not impressed.

has suffered a lot of baseball rejection in his 13-year professional career.

This is not a good start. However, I look forward to hearing about how Pat has bounced back from these times of rejection to attain success, however minimal. After all, he does have a 13-year professional career, so something good must have happened.

He has been released three times and traded twice. Nine times he has played with at least two teams in one year.

Sure, that is rejection, I guess. But also acceptance, as teams always seem willing to make room for Pat Perry. Also: such is the life of the lefty middle reliever. They’re a hot commodity around the trade deadline. Obviously, the guy is not Sandy Koufax. But this is his own freakin’ baseball card for crying out loud. Can I hear about the time he struck out a couple Cardinals one time in 1989? No? Okay. Continue:

The lowest ebb of Pat’s fortunes came in 83’

I’d like to please alert you now to Pat Perry’s face (he looks a little bit like David Cone morphed with Erik Bedard, no?) appearing next to this biographical tidbit. He’s got a look that says, “Please, please don’t tell them about the lowest ebb of my fortunes in 1983, when I was picking through the dumpster behind Chicken Holiday while downing a fifth of Jack Daniels. Seriously. Please don’t tell them that. Nobody’s perfect here, okay? Please?”

when he was cut by Double-A Columbus (Astros) in June, signed by Double-A Buffalo (Indians) in July, cut 12 days later and finally signed by Class A Springfield (Cardinals) in August.

Pat Perry: You told them. Thank you. Thanks for nothing.

At any rate

I’d like to translate “At any rate” as: “Even though I –- the writer of this card -– have exhaustively outlined the horribleness of Pat Perry’s horrible baseball-playing ability, which is none, and horrible”…

Pat was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers in December ’89 after he was cut by the Cubs.

The nerve of those Dodgers for signing Pat Perry. Didn’t they know about his low career ebbs that occurred six years earlier? Those ebbs were bound to resurface.

Unhappily,

Thank you, card, for specifying that what comes next will take on an unhappy tone. For everything leading up to this point has been one big can of happy juice.

he was on the disabled list the first two months of the season with a shoulder injury and was used sparingly after that.

The end. Thanks for dropping by, Pat Perry! Here’s your card. And just remember -– when you think things are going bad in life, and you doubt even yourself…you’re probably right. Because you are horrible. Try not to get released today, okay? Jerk.

Did you know?
The most negative baseball card ever recorded was the 1913 Topps Sam “Piano Keys” Shumaker, which alleged that Shumaker was to baseball what “leprosy is to people.”

Kids & church: A match made in…somewhere

Note: This column appears in the 4/30 issue of The Glendale Star and the 5/1 issue of the Peoria Times

I’d like to take this time to extend my deepest apologies for every eye roll tossed in the direction of any parent whose kids were not behaving quite perfectly in church.

Now, granted, many of these eye rolls were completely and totally justified. I mean, hey -– at what point are you going to remove your crying child from the premises? After the homily is over? Before the next Mass begins? And your other kid has been staring at me for the past twenty minutes. I am out of funny faces and this entire situation has become awkward. Also, Poly-O string cheese in church? Really? Is that necessary?

What I am apologizing for is any annoyance I may have felt for any child not sitting completely still, with his or her hands held together in prayer, pensively contemplating the true meaning behind the Sacraments. I say this because –- I think you can see where this is going –- I am now on the other side. The wild side.

I can speak to this now because I am a foster parent with two full Masses under my belt, one of them being Easter Mass, which, if you survive attending with a two-year old and four-month old, you attain automatic induction into Heaven, as deemed by the Vatican in 1968.

I am not joking in the least when I say that, as a foster parent, my biggest concern was bringing the kid(s) to church. My wife and I decided long ago that as foster parents we would bring any child or children in our care to church each week, because we feel like that is important, to say the least. Since foster kids tend to exhibit a bit more extreme behavior than other kids, we knew this was a risk, albeit one we were willing to take.

Thankfully, we’ve been blessed with two great kiddos. Nevertheless, that doesn’t relieve the stress of approaching those church doors, because, as they say in parenting land (Salt Lake City, Utah), kids will be kids. It’s quite a paradox, too. Because while young children cannot possibly be expected to sit still and understand what is happening, it must also be stressed that church is not a playground where you eat Cheerios and play Transformers for an hour. That is called “going to the bank.”

For us so far, the process has been this: The four-month-old sleeps soundly until the exact moment that Mass begins. Whichever one of us is in charge of the four-month old immediately moves the child out of church, and typically ends up missing the entire Mass thanks to feeding and diaper changes. The other person then watches the two-year old like a hawk for the duration of the Mass. This past Saturday evening I found myself coloring in a Dora & Diego coloring book during the sacramental blessing. Not my proudest moment, though I hope that God understands.

I know I understand. So here’s an honest “I feel for you” to all the parents who bring their kids to church each week because it’s the right thing to do. Sometimes it’s enough to make you ask if it’s even worth it. I was thinking that the other night when I noticed that our two-year old foster child had placed a Dora doll on the bed, and was down on both knees praying for the doll.

So yeah. It’s worth it.

Berczy Square

The area along Front Street near the St Lawrence Market is a great area of Toronto - home of the Berczy Square fountain beside the Flat Iron building and it's large mural. This is the area where the annual Buskerfest Festival goes down.

Thriller in the intersection

 

Zombies take over one of Canada's busiest intersections to perform Michael Jackson's dance senseation "Thriller".

It was hilarious, we look down from high upon Jack Astor's patio overlooking Dundas Street and we see people dancing in the middle of the scramble intersection. The moves were unmistakeable - even from afar, they were doing Thriller.

The famous intersection has become a pedestrian free-for-all where every second pedestrian crossing turns the pavement into a churning mass of humanity. Now the undead fill the roadway with thoughts of brains temporarily drowned out by the internal song - thriller, it's just a thriller... The road has become a dance stage.

International Dance Day

Presented by Dance Umbrella of Ontario. I didn't know there was an international dance day but there it was on display at Yonge-Dundas Square. The rain held off and so did the warmth, but the crowd kept warm just watching the dancers.

Battle of York Day

Battle of York Commemoration at historic Fort York. Soldiers of the Fort York Guard, the Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada and the 22nd US Infantry did some artillery and drill demonstrations and shot off some muskets.


During the War of 1812 the American's decided to invade Canada. While they won a few battles, including the capture of York, both sides eventually allowed the stalemate to come to a peaceful conclusion.

It only costs $8 (adult) to come into the Fort and while the crowds were sparse the drills and musket and cannon fire were impressive.

Chandelier 2009 by Catherine Harvey

It's time for some unusual art as the installation piece "Chandelier 2009" hangs in Brookfield Place. The large, hanging chandelier was created by Catherine Harvey with recycled plastic containers and a plastic shovel and mirrored disco ball.

Classic card of the week

Fred McGriff, 1990 SI for Kids

Hello everyone. I present to you another installment in our Cards From Sports Illustrated For Kids series. Featured today is Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman Fred McGriff, seen here holding not one, not two, but three baseball bats. He can barely get his hands around all those bats! The crowd in the background stands in delight and amazement at how many bats Fred McGriff can hold at one time. I wonder if there are enough bats for the other members of the Toronto Blue Jays. Ha, ha. Lol. Omg. I would like to see Fred McGriff swing all three bats at once and hit a beach ball into outer space! What?

Let us discover additional information:



In 1981, major league baseball teams drafted 232 players ahead of Fred.

Frowny face: :(

In 1989, he led the American league in home runs, with 36!

Somehow I knew that this long and drawn-out story would have a happy ending! Exclamation points all around! More!!! 36! Pizza party!

Equally important to all of the enjoyment we are having here is the lesson. And the lesson here is this: Kids, sometimes Major League Baseball can be inaccurate with its approximations of amateur baseball players. If you ever find yourself at a baseball draft where 232 dudes are being picked ahead of you, one thing you can do is internalize this as a slight to your ability to play baseball, and then use that as motivation to hit 36 home runs eight years later, which will make all of the baseball teams that refused to select you earlier –- including the team that actually did select you –- feel so bad that they shut down all baseball-related operations forever. You win.

Feel free -- if you are one of those kids that sucks at baseball -– to use baseball here as a metaphor for other things. Like reading or something.

Onto the trivia question:

Millions of children wear costumes on Fred’s birthday. Why?

I give up. Anyway, we haven’t consulted Wikipedia in a while. Let’s do so, while also keeping in mind, as we’ve mentioned before, that Fred McGriff’s nickname was/is “The Crime Dog:”

In 2000, the production company Rocco's Jobbers

Sounds legit.

produced a pilot for a television series based loosely on McGriff and the "Crime Dog" nickname. The concept of the series revolved around a professional baseball player who moonlighted as a crime-fighting vigilante named "The Crime Dog".

Also, the baseball player’s name was “Fred McGriffith” and he played for the “Toronto Blue Rays.” Remember: it was only based loosely.

The project was a major creative and financial disaster

I find this hard to believe. Keep in mind that the first time I read this I was under the impression that this was a cartoon series, and I thought that that was a terrible idea. To think about this is as an actual television show with real people made my head explode.

failing to get picked up by any networks. It is believed that McGriff himself has the only surviving copy of the pilot episode, which was given to him by his friend and former teammate, David Wells.

David Wells: Griffy, Griff…sup dude. Check it out. Got the copy of “Crime Dog” you let me borrow. Dude…holy crap. That is the worst thing I have ever seen in my entire life, and I have seen some pretty sick stuff. I invited like, 30 of my bros over last night and we downed Schlitz and watched this thing like, a billion times. Other than that though, I didn’t tell anyone about it. Oh, and there’s a little bit of barf on it, so watch out.

Fred McGriff: I hate you.

On casting sheets used to promote the project, the comedy-action series was described as "Major League meets Blade", referencing two successful movie franchises.

As of now, I am officially convinced that this entire entry was made up, a la the Janis Joplin Wikipedia entry on 30 Rock. Whoever put this together is brilliant. Major League meets Blade? I am doing a slow clap for that one right now. Kudos.

Did you know?
The team that drafted Fred McGriff 233rd overall was the New York Yankees. Unfortunately their shrewd drafting strategy was thwarted when owner George Steinbrenner dealt McGriff to Toronto, based on the notion that there was too much crime in New York City for McGriff to focus on baseball.

Look here: Billboards to give city boost, street cred

Note: This column appears in the 4/23 issue of The Glendale Star and the 4/24 issue of the Peoria Times

The city of Glendale is -- like many other cities in the Valley and in the country for that matter -- working to resolve a budget crisis. Thankfully, help is on the way. In the form of two giant digital billboards.

The city has agreed to construct two billboards along the Loop 101 with the hopes of using the advertising profits to help offset the current budget deficit. The first billboard will read, in giant letters: What deficit? The second billboard will read: Buy stuff now. Experts predict that, as a result, Glendale will have a surplus of three million dollars by August, which will be used to purchase a third billboard. And so on and so forth.

Of course, these are jokes to lighten the overall mood here, which is grim. But not anymore. Because the truth is that the city stands to make a very decent amount of money from these giant thingies. In fact, apparently Glendale will make $500,000 just to have the billboards, and will also receive a $10,000 monthly rental fee plus one-third of the profits generated. The city can also earn a 15 percent referral bonus if they call up another city like Peoria, and say, “Hey, check out our billboards. Want one? Cool. Here’s the number. Tell ‘em Glendale sent ya’.”

So who stands to benefit from this? Absolutely everyone. Definitely American Outdoor Advertising, who will make the billboards. Definitely the city, and definitely local advertisers. But most importantly, I think the true beneficiaries of the new billboards will be drivers who enjoy looking at stuff while driving. Even better, these digital behemoths will change graphics every eight seconds, keeping drivers occupied and diverting their attention away from dangerous text messaging.

I have to admit, I’ve always been fascinated by billboards. It’s amazing to me that, with all of the technological progress and ingenuity and advancements with regards to advertising in print, audio, televised and online mediums, the thing that still gets ‘em in the end is a giant sign on the side of the road that lights up. God bless America.

Another subplot of these billboards that I find compelling is whether or not, sometime down the line, the city will accept advertising revenue from the potential new casino on Northern Ave, a project that many in the city council are currently vehemently opposed to. Should the casino ever become a realty, I strongly recommend to the city council -– just for my own amusement –- a big arrow on the billboard pointing in the opposite direction. That’ll show ‘em!

Anyway, count me among those excited for the new billboards. It will help the city financially, and that’s all good in my book. Oh, it should also be mentioned that the new billboards will feature additional traffic cameras. So there’s that.

(Relax. Just trying to lighten the mood.)


Ha, Ha...see? Hilarious! Or something!

Toronto Freedom Festival Kickoff - 4/20 2009

Preparations are underway in the rain for the Toronto Freedem Festival kick off event to be held today (Monday April 20, 2009) from Noon to 8pm on April 20, 2009 at Yonge-Dundas Square. The Festival itself will be held at Queen's Park North on Saturday May 2, 2009 (Noon to 8pm - Free Admission - rain or shine).


Festival Co-founders Neev and Gavin at the kickoff.

The festival hopes to promote the freedom to choose and legalized Marijuana and bills itself as "Toronto's little festival that could".

Saturday's main event is expected to draw over 25,000 to a day of celebration, voices, music and creative arts as well as a Global Marijuana March (GMM) starting and ending at Queen's Park and traveling along Bloor Street, Yonge Street and Wellesley Street.

A gathering of protesters also chose April 20, 2009 to stage an awakening at College Park at 420 Yonge Street. Hampered by the rain participants try to keep dry under the pine trees.

Classic card of the week

Tony Gwynn, 1989 K-Mart / Topps Dream Team

If I had to make a list of baseball cards that I am most proud to own, this one would not be on the list. It looks like it came with two scoops of ice cream and a balloon.

And let me tell you something else about this card that probably does not transfer well over this here Internet. It is glossy. And I mean glossy. There is like, two inches of gloss on this card. It repels all other forms of matter, which immediately slide off of its surface. If this card were carelessly left on a suburban street, and someone rode their bike over it, that person would incur serious bodily injury as a result. Because of the gloss.

Anyway, in 1989, Kmart -- famed orchestrator of the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team –- organized a predecessor to that dominating Dream Team. This particular Dream Team included Tony Gwynn, seen here about to demonstrate his dreaminess by batting one handed. The other members of this Dream Team and their schedule of games and the result of those games are irrelevant. All we need to know in this particular instance is that Tony Gwynn was on the Kmart Dream Team. But why?



Well, because apparently, Tony Gwynn was the “N.L. Rookie of the 80’s.” This can only mean one of two things. Either a) Tony Gwynn somehow maintained his rookie status throughout an entire decade, or b) of every rookie that played in the National League throughout the 1980’s, Tony Gwynn was determined -– by the Kmart chain of department stores –- to be the best, and thus earned the prestigious “N.L. Rookie of the 80’s” award which he was able to pick up in front of any local Kmart snack bar, and which bore with it automatic inclusion on the Kmart Dream Team.

Because, as everyone knows, there can only be one N.L. Rookie of the 80’s, the criteria for other members of the Dream Team remains unknown. Until, that is, I am able to uncover more of these special cards, which, unfortunately, seems unlikely, as my family preferred Bradlees.

Did you know?
The rights for organizing the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team were stripped from Kmart and handed over to Target in 2005 when, as a result of an extreme error in judgment, Kmart failed to include Kenyon Martin –- a.k.a. K-Mart –- on its 2004 Dream Team.

Street Performers in TO

With the nice weather returning to the big smoke we see more and more street performers plying their trade on the sidewalks. I have run into characters that I had seen several times at previous Buskerfest events including - Silver Elvis and Marie Antoinette (Kate Mior). Her pale face greets the peasants while wearing a beautiful gown. I take some pictures and drop some money into her bucket and enjoy her work. Awwww, summer is coming.




Shibaten Spirits plays his didgeridoo in Yonge-Dundas Square after the Toronto Sun's columnist Mike Stroebel did a story on how he was kicked out of the square by a large contingent of Toronto bylaw officers. His crime was noise pollution. The City has changed it's mind and allows him in the Square.

Japan & Montreal Fashion Weeks

« Japan Fashion Week in TOKYO » success

Modèle

The 8th edition of the Japan Fashion Week (JFW) took place from March 23 and 29 in Tokyo. About seven hundred renowned and up-and-coming designers (Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, India, United States and Europe) showcased their creativity and introducing Fall and winter 2009-2010 fashion trends.

www.jfw.jp

The great Braderie de mode québécoise - Spring 2009

Modèle

Montreal's eagerly awaited Spring 2009 Braderie de mode québécoise will be held from
Thursday, April 16th to Sunday, April 19th at Bonsecours Market in Old Montreal.
The Braderie serves up samples and inventory-surplus womenswear, menswear, kidswear,
coats, jewellery and accessories from 50 Quebec fashion designers - Marie Saint-Pierre, Muse by Christian Chenail, Rudsak, Soia & Kyo, Tavan & Mitto, Bodybag by Jude, Report Collection, Envers by Yves Jean Lacasse, Mackage, Ève Gravel, Michel Desjardins, Dinh Ba Design - all at 50% off or more!

April 16th to 19th, 2009
Bonsecours market
350 St-Paul East et 325 de la Commune East
Old-Montreal.
Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m
Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m

www.braderiedemodequebecoise.com

One week to Earth Day - Bloggers Unite

Ask not what the Earth can do for you (it has done so much already) - ask what you can do for your Earth. Ich bin ein Earthling.

Sometimes we look to one shining individual (like John F Kennedy) to galvanize people to make life changing actions, but it ultimately falls upon individuals to make the necessary changes. Bit by bit we seem to be getting the notion that our environment needs help. We need less pollution and more postive contributions and if I try and you try then maybe our combined contributions can make an impact.


Wind turbines in the Lake Huron Wind Farm provide clean, renewable power to Ontario resident's, helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

The annual awareness of our planet celebrated on Earth Day is now one week away - Wednesday April 22, 2009, what can you do for Earth?

Getting a second chance to make a difference

Note: This column appears in the 4/16 issue of The Glendale Star, and the 4/17 issue of the Peoria Times

It was a Friday morning not too long ago and my wife and I were looking forward to celebrating our five-year anniversary. We were going to a restaurant called True Food in the Biltmore section of Phoenix that evening, and we were going to have a romantic dinner.

A few hours into the day, I received a phone call from our agency. They had a foster placement for us. Now, we had said “yes” to several foster placements since our first and only one back in January, but had never received follow-up from the state, and they have the last say on which family will get which placement. That, combined with the slowing stream of foster kids in general thanks to statewide budget cuts had us wondering if we’d ever get a second chance to be foster parents.

So we said “yes,” and then went about our day, not expecting to hear anything else.

This time however, the state called. They wanted to confirm we were available for this placement. Even though I had just said “yes,” another yes would really mean yes. I gathered my thoughts -– which were many, and racing, and ranged from “we don’t have any toys!” to “how am I going to watch baseball now?” -– and just dove in headfirst. Yes, we were available.

Oh, and this placement was not for one kid, but two. Sister and brother. They were going to be at the house in a few hours.

We were not going out to dinner.

It really is funny how things work out sometimes. At the exact moment we were souring on the entire foster process, and deciding to go on with life and making plans that had no plans of being interrupted, everything turned upside down. Before I left work that day I emailed my mom to tell her the news, and she was thrilled to see us get an anniversary gift that no one else could have ever given us –- instant family.

So thank you, state of Arizona.

I think.

As I write this, my wife and I have about three weeks worth of overall foster parenting experience. That is not a long time. It has however, given us a whole new level of respect for parents in general. How many times –- in just three weeks -- have both of us wanted to scream out the window to every parent within earshot: “How do you do it???”

I think the echo would always ring back the same: You just do.

It has been an amazing experience so far, and it looks as though it’s just getting started. From the downs of messy diapers and spit-up caught in my arm hair, to the awkwardness of not being 100% sure which kid was mine when I went to pick him up at daycare (hey, some babies look strikingly similar, ya’ know?), to the extreme highs of seeing a kid’s eyes light up just because you’re there. Not to mention going to bed at night feeling pretty darn positive about doing something good for somebody else.

That Friday night, after we put our new kiddos to bed, my wife and I sat in front of the TV exhausted, eating the pizza we had ordered – true food, indeed -- and wondering aloud to each other if we can handle this.

We decided that we can. I mean, we have to.

“Do you mind if we put on some baseball?” I asked her.

Big Coffee

There was a big steaming cup of McDonald's coffee in downtown Toronto - imagine dropping that baby in your lap! It appears that the restaurant is offering free coffee from April 20 to May 3, 2009 from 5am to 10:30am.

High Park Holiday

It was a busy day in the jewel of Toronto's park system - High Park. The sunny start of our 4 day Easter Weekend brought many out to enjoy the attractions of this park which includes nature trails, leash free dog zones and a wide variety of animals in the small zoo.

The park is a perfect place to take the family for a full day of free fun - if you can get parking. The leash free area is full of dozens of dogs sniffing butts and chasing each other while their owners get to know each other. After looking at the dogs and the zoo you can head over to the children's play area full of wooden castles and swings.






It's definitely a park like no other.