as I walk Toronto

NDP and Bill C-51

Posted: September 14, 2015 in events, people
Tags: bill C-51, campaign, candidates, election, federal, media event, NDP, people, Queens Park, rally, speeches

On Saturday afternoon there was a small rally under the trees of Queens Park. It was attended by a number of Toronto federal NDP candidates and it was about repealing bill C-51. C-51 has been called the Anti-Terrorism Bill although it’s full name is: “An Act to enact the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act and the Secure Air Travel Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.”

It was passed in June of this year by the Conservative government with support of the Liberals. The NDP and Green party have been against this bill since the beginning. Part of the NDP platform for the present federal election is the promise to repeal Bill C-51 if they are form the next government.

Jesus in the city

Posted: September 13, 2015 in events, people
Tags: #jitc2015, angels, asian, banners, bible, biblical, celebrate, children, city, cross, families, flags, Jesus, kids, marchers, men, music, parade, people, religion, signs, street, trucks, walkers, women

Jesus in the City parade
They walked north from Queens Park to Bloor, south on Yonge, and then back across College to Queens Park and they walked with exuberance and joy.

below: The man who played Jesus was very good
The cold hard pavement couldn’t have been easy on his body.

#jitc2015

stalking Martians

Posted: September 12, 2015 in events, people
Tags: #tiff15, actors, cameras, Captain America, crowds, film festival, film opening, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, movies, Naomi Watts, paparazzi, photos, Sean Bean, Sebastien Stan, security, selfie, The Martian, TIFF, TIFF lightbox, Toronto

Today was the first day of TIFF.

Happy 40th birthday to TIFF!

King Street is closed between University and Spadina for a few days so I thought I’d wander through the TIFF party to see what was happening. I played ‘follow the crowd’.

below: Who are we looking for? I wasn’t sure, but hey, why not wait and see?

below: Widmer Street was closed to traffic

…. except for a few black Cadillac Escalades.

below: I’m not sure who he was but he seems to be taking pictures of the crowd
(or is he taking a selfie?)

below: Sean Bean (aka Ned Stark in Game of Thrones – thanks to the woman beside me who knew who he was) in the burgundy coloured vest. As it turns out, the movie ‘The Martian’ had just finished playing at the TIFF Lightbox and many of the cast members had been in attendance.

below: I think it’s Danny Glover; I could be wrong

below: Jessica Chastain, also in ‘The Martian’ worked the crowd. She was generous and let many people take selfies with her. Not in the picture, the three security guards who stayed close to her the whole time. Also not in the picture, any selfie with me!

Once Jessica passed by me, I moved away from the crowd and headed back along King Street.
I didn’t far when I spotted another, smaller, crowd.

below: Can’t be a badass security guy with a shaved head and dark glasses!

I struck up a conversation with one of the Escalade drivers. He told me that Matt Damon was due to come out in about 20 minutes after some sort of press event. That’s when I clued in to the fact that the people who got into the big black SUVs two blocks back had only been chauffeured to this place! Since I missed Matt Damon the first time around, I decided to stay. Besides, the crowd was friendly and chatty and I was having a good time.

below: Sebastien Stan walks to a car after signing a few autographs. When he first came out the door, there were a few, “Who’s that?”. The answers were almost all, “Captain America”.

below: Naomi Watt made an appearance too.
Hey, she’s not in “The Martian”, but I didn’t know that at the time!

Okay, okay, you all just want to know if Matt Damon let me take his picture.

below: One burly security guard stepped in front of me and almost destroyed the moment.
Note the shaved head. No sunglasses though.

Apparently George Clooney, Sandra Bullock and Helen Mirren, were at TIFF today.
I missed them; they’ll have to wait until next time.

#TIFF15

it’s become a game

Posted: September 10, 2015 in landmarks
Tags: angles, boat, buildings, CN Tower, crane, downtown, King and Spadina, lights, night, people, Queen St. West, rigging, Sherbourne Common, sky, skyscrapers, street scene, Toronto, views

And the point of the game is this:

How many views of the CN Tower do you think there are?
I suspect the answer is something like “bazillions” but I am willing to try to see how many I can find.

below: From far away. Looking eastward across Lake Ontario from Humber Bay park.

Some of these views you have probably seen before… and perhaps many times before.
But, I hope that some of these views are new to you.

below: Zipline at Canada Square, part of EpicIsOn event

below: From the east, across Sherbourne Common, late afternoon

below: And from the west

below: Behind a busy intersection, King and Spadina

below: behind Queen St. West

below: The CN Tower peaks out from between the pencil supports at OCAD

This post is a continuation of another CN Tower post, Always in the way, from last year.

Labour Day parade

Posted: September 8, 2015 in events, people
Tags: ACORN, ACTRA, agents of change, banners, CUPE, families, flags, Go vote, healthcare workers, hot day, IATSE, IBEW, IFPTE, ironworkers, kids, labour day, library workers, men, NDP, ONA, OPSEU, parade, people, placards, politics, power workers, protest, SEIU, signs, Solidarity, stagehands, Toronto, trucks, unifor, unions, vote for change, walkers, women, workers

Toronto Labour Day Parade
Monday 7th September
from Queen & University to the CNE

back to the Milky Way

Posted: September 6, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: aliens, alley, beard, buff monster, face, gems, graffiti, hearts, Jarus, lane, lovebot heart, man, Milky Way, mural, parkdale, people, peruse, poser bunny, skeleton, slaps, stickers, street art, streetcar, tags, TTC, walls, wheatpaste, woman

A return trip, out of this world.

below: Street art along the north wall of 376 Dufferin Street.

below: A new buff monster on pink.

below: Greetings from Parkdale mural

below: This mural can be seen from Milky Way although it is painted on the side of Stones Place on Queen St. West

below: Back in October 2014, there was a large lovebot on the wall where the mural is now.
For other photos of Milky Way from last autumn, see when I blogged about it previously.

Other new street art in the Milky Way was in a separate post a few days ago.

north of Nassau

Posted: September 5, 2015 in graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, anser, buildings, bunnies, city, doors, downtown, eyes, garages, graffiti, Kensington, lane, poser, scribbles, Spadina, street art, tags, Toronto, trees, urban, walls, weeds, windows

Nassau Street that is, just south of College and just west of Spadina. There is an alley that runs north from Nassau directly behind Spadina. A dead end lane runs perpendicular to it, behind the houses on Nassau Street. Like most alleys in Toronto, there is street art there. Some old, some new, and unfortunately some scribbled over. All in all, this lane is looking a little worn.

below: Only the eye remains from a previous painting

below: Two photos from the south side of Nassau street

pedestrian Sunday, Kensington

Posted: September 3, 2015 in events, public art
Tags: acrobatics, amai kuda & yjosephine, art, art fair, Captain America, clothing, drums, exhibits, family, flying aces, guitar, Kensington, Kensington market, kids, men, music, people, prose, scrabble, selling, street, T-shirts, vendors, women

On the last Sunday of the month from May through October, the streets of the Kensingon Market area are closed to vehicular traffic from noon to 7 p.m. This year, the first two Pedestrian Sundays were cold and wet. For July and August the last Sundays of both months were hot and sunny. The following photos were taken on those two days. Entertainment… music… art… people watching…. restaurants… shops – the colours of Kensington.

buskerfest 2015

Posted: September 2, 2015 in events, people
Tags: acrobatics, balancing, buskers, clapping, Close Act, crowds, drums, eating fire, entertainment, families, festival, Fireguy, fun, funny, hats, kids, laughing, MaracaTALL, meow mur, mime, mirror family, mirrors, Mr T Oz, music, people, performances, performers, Pierre St. Pierre, pogo stick, rope, roses, sauruses, shows, stilts, tricks, Wacky Chad, yo yo, yo-yo guy

Toronto International Buskerfest for Epilepsy, 2015,
over 70 acts from Canada and around the world.

Yonge Street, College to Queen,
28th Aug through 31st Aug

below: The Funnykito Show, Dan Marques is a performer from Brazil, part magician, part mime and part clown. Here he sets up a trick whereby he tries to remove a beer bottle from the hands of a volunteer with a whip.

below: MaracaTALL, drummers on stilts

below: There were four or five members of the Mirror Family roaming around Yonge Dundas Square. They were covered from head to toe with small pieces of mirror.

below: Meow Mur, a cosmic cat from another planet

below: Max T. Oz

below: Brant the Fireguy has a burning desire to entertain and does so with his ‘O Yeah’ show.

below: Pierre St. Pierre

below: Buskerfest helps to support Epilepsy Toronto; it is their largest fund raiser.

below: Lulu’s World, where a black marker and some tissue paper helps to bring a story to life.

below: Upside down on the rope, Natural Wings

below: Wacky Chad, pogo sticks, dance moves, little bikes, and more

below: Alakazam, throwing knives and other sharp objects as his show’s finale

below: Pyromancer, fire breather, entertains the crowd.

below: Taking turns conducting a small string orchestra

below: Giant Sauruses wander Yonge Dundas Square looking for food. They are part of Close Act Theatre Group from the Netherlands.

below: The Yo-Yo Guy, John Higby, performs.

below: Part of his act involves removing a coin from behind the ear of a volunteer with a spinning yo-yo.

we take selfies

Posted: September 1, 2015 in people
Tags: cars, couples, family, men, parade, people, posing, selfie, waterfront, women

We take selfies, lots of selfies.

I watched a family struggle to take a selfie of the four of them that they were all happy with. I offered to take their picture for them. Simultaneously, the husband said “no thanks” and the wife handed me the phone and said “We’d love that”. The husband rolled his eyes a bit and remarked on how useless selfies were but how we seemed to need to take them. This post is dedicated to him.