Patience is a virtue

In a sea of humanity moving through the busy intersection of Yonge and Dundas you can find many messages and advertisements. A few of them are religious in nature and this lady stands still while everyone hurries by, her sign propped up on a step stool.

Poser's Rabbits

I was out and about checking out the mean streets of Toronto and I grabbed a few shots of graffiti. One of the pictures was of some white rabbits on a garage. Today I learned they were done by graffiti artist 'Poser' and described in this BlogTO article.

Now don't be a sicko but what is that thing sticking out on the sign?

This is where it's at!

Yes, this is where it's at! It's also over there. The graffiti that you can find around Toronto can be pretty amazing. This profile of a guy's head reminds me of USSR worker posters. It's time to step up production. worker heads of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your head.

Oh yeah, it's also under here.

LOVE on the beach

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all (Alfred Lord Tennyson).' And the sign on the hydro pole at Cherry Beach does say LOVE. Then in stencil there is 'Gregory Alan Elliot', artist and poet.

I think he sometimes is a little wordy, like this time, halfway through the poem I almost fell asleep. He needs to keep focused and on target, maybe just use symbols instead of those big words of his. And does he have to scream LOVE, can't it be love, gentle and sweet. The other issue is that it looks like an official traffic sign - disobey and face a fine, demerit points and possibly a crash.  That is why several people dropped to the ground and made LOVE right there.

If you find a needle...

Do not touch it! Tell a lifeguard or parks attendant.

Graffiti and Ford

I support the fight to get rid of graffiti tagging. And posters, those things are stuck everywhere. Mayor Ford tends to get skewered by the graffiti artists for his stance.

Here are some graffiti murals at the Guvernment night club.

film festival poster

Posters and graffiti, time for a little art in your life - out in the streets. Above is some film festival poster residue.

Kittens and the man on the wall

Kitten on a pole for box of kittens on a boat. A poster of a man peels gently on the brick supports of a park covered picnic area down in Coronation Park.

Stop war

It is amazing how handy stop signs are for making social statements. We have seen one that was modified to say stop eating animals and now I have seen one for stop war.

Peeling Chivas

Paint peels from the Chivas Regal scotch whiskey advertisement as it finely ages on the wall of a building overlooking a parking lot. It still made me thirsty.

When I went to the States I liked how you could get liquor and beer just about everywhere (and it was inexpensive) while here in Ontario you have to go to the Beer Store or the Liquor Control Board of Ontario ( the government must control everything) LCBO. I mean, what kind of crappy name is the LCBO? I always think of it as Lick Bo, where it should be the 'Booze Store'.

The provincial Liberals have announced that they are looking at relaxing some of the rules at festivals that they use to control the imbibing public. They will consider releasing drinkers from a fenced in beer tent area - FREEDOM.

Trash

Toronto ships it's trash elsewhere and the big city is currently looking at contracting out garbage collection. A lot of our trash is in the streets, taped to poles in every growing diameters. We could save money by just putting up a simple frame for just about everything, later the poster people would glue and tape on the structure, from phone booths to buildings, nothing is to big for the poster people.

Dirty, Dirty Building

Oh, you are a dirty little building, a little musty, a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. You can lease some offices along Yonge Street here - what will it take to get you into this beauty? It looks tired, so maybe it should get a massage from a nearby RMT.

Softcore Pawn Stars of Toronto

TV series ‘Pawn Stars’ in Las Vegas and ‘Hardcore Pawn’ from Detroit have shined the spotlight on the pawn business (buy, sell or use almost anything as collateral for a loan) in the States. From what I see they need margins of 40 to 60% to stay profitable and will only keep away from large items that would take up space for too long, otherwise anything seems to go. In Toronto we have a large group of pawn stores downtown in the Church Street/Queen Street East area. The few stores that I have been in are extremely crowded, dusty and, for some reason, nothing like what I see on television. They aren’t very busy either. As a photographer I check out the camera equipment and see that most of the stuff is old film cameras. Another time I checked for guitar cases but the few I found were not much cheaper than going out and buying something new.

One of the big stores is James McTamney & Company with their large green name on the Church Street building. McTamney’s say they are one of Canada’s oldest businesses and one of the world’s largest pawnbrokers. Next door is the H. Williams & Co with the large red, vertical Pawnbroker sign.

With the advent of online resellers like eBay, kijiji and Craigslist this probably isn’t the best market for selling used goods in a retail store front operation anymore. A lot of the loan business also would have gone to the abundant populations of payday loan outfits scattered everywhere. I think that they need to get Chumley on board and maybe the business north of the border may improve.

All that talk of hardcore and softcore reminds me of someone that long ago jokingly told me he was in the p*rn business. When I asked him what he did, he said he was a stunt dick. Now that was funny, when the action was too dangerous maybe a stunt dick would have to be called in to keep the star safe.

I see my Peeps

Easter Peeps stop and smell the early spring flowers like the Hyacinth, above, which are rising from the soil and helping to make this a more colourful time than the just passed dull grey winter. The bright yellow marshmallow Peeps candy are a favourite of the Easter Bunny.

Spadina Avenue Chinatown sign

Motorcycle helmet Royal Flush.

Long lashes at the Fan Appreciation ComicCon

Bricks and other Art

Not all art is intentional, sometimes it just happens. This large wall has been painted pink, its covering of mortar falls away from some of the bricks. The wall slowly strips away its' facade. Maybe a mural or large advertisement will fill the empty space one day.

The Paint Your Faith mural at the side of the Metropolitan United Church.

Chinese Restaurant mural and sign (Fantino hearts me).

Cleopatra

Elizabeth Taylor had a long and full life bursting with excitement and she left a legacy of films when she recently passed away. She was a movie star of the past and like many old memories, some people do not know who she is or even what movies she acted in. It's like when we tried to find the original True Grit movie starring John Wayne - when we asked if Wal-Mart carried the old movie, the sales associate did not even know who John Wayne was.

A poster is pasted to a pole on Queen Street West advertising a showing of the movie 'Cleopatra' which was one of the bold spectacles that made headlines in it's day for the extravagance that went into making the movie.

Barbie and Ken still together

Barbie and Ken have been back together since Valentines Day, their plastic love seems to burn bright - can a prenup be far behind? Speaking of plastic, I think Barbie is rich so Ken might be going for some of that other plastic - called American Express.

The original split and Ken's impassioned plea to get back together again broke my heart. Then joy in toysville as their lips sought each others. I also heard Barbie might be kinky - look out for the latex outfit.

Grad rate increase - time to party

The Province has announced that high school graduation rates have increased over the years from 68% in 2003 to 79% last year which means an increase of more than 50,000 graduates. I think it is because  everyone wants to get into college and university so that they can really take their partying to the professional level. I know my son has been tempted to upgrade from his amateur status.

This poster for the Annex Wreck Room was near Ryerson University and states "What OSAP was meant for!! $3 drinks all night long." OSAP of course being the Ontario Student Assistance Program designed to help people afford to go to school, or in this case drink. PS this blog now has a drinking surcharge as well. No, I'm just kidding about this one, but it has been reported that the tasty ingredients of beer are going up in price and the price of beer will have to follow. Those students might actually have to study more to make up the lost drinking time if this happens.

The four year high school year hasn't been the best decision, in my opinion, because so many either require five years to finish, or they go into post secondary learning at the tender age of 17.

Reality Show: PRINCE$$

Frantic Films is looking for demanding divas and dudes for a new reality show they are now casting called PRINCE$$. Host Gail Vaz-Oxlade will show some tough love - but you can't handle the love, you sniveling diva.

Barbie, I want you back! Ken

Don't you just love romance. Ken wants Barbie back, I guess that whole alternative lifestyle rumour was just a rumour. Should Barbie even take that Ken back? You can vote on it at Ken and Barbie's Love-O-Meter website.

Can they possibly get back together in time for Valentines Day on February 14? Get your Ken or Barbie something that represents your love or you could be fighting hard to win them back, just like poor Ken here.

Update: Ken gives Barbie some tongue action as they come together on Valentines Day 2011. See my post and pictures here.