Santa Claus Parade photos
below: What could be more appropriate than a few clowns with shovels to follow the police horses?
below: Crazy wabbits didn’t still in one place long enough to let me focus on them
below: Mrs. Claus
below: And at the very end, the main attraction, jolly old Santa Claus himself
Just outside the street entrance to St. Clair subway station, there is a new large mural by birdo aka Jerry Rugg. It is on the side of 1 St. Clair East. Leafless tree branches reach above the roofline of the station. It looks like red and blue cube shapes are suspended from above.
below: Here is the full mural as seen from a bit farther back. Now you can see that the wires and cubes are not linked at all. The wires are those used by the St. Clair streetcar. This part of the city is also known as Deer Park hence the deer at the top of the mural.
There are construction hoardings in in front of 1 St. Clair East because the building is being renovated. Several images by birdo are on the hoardings. These are some of them:
below: It’s a flamingo, it’s an octopus, it’s a….?
below: An owl’s face
As an aside re the name Deer Park…. according to Wikipedia, “The name dates from 1837, when the Heath family purchased 40 acres of land on the northwest corner of Yonge and St. Clair…and named it Deer Park. By the 1850s the neighbourhood included a racetrack, a school, and a hotel at which patrons could feed deer which roamed the Heaths’ property. The Heath property was subdivided in 1846 and was entirely sold off by 1874.”
Twice in two days at two different galleries I have encountered white, or almost totally white pieces of art.
This is “Untitled (Basel)”, 1969, by Robert Ryman (1930-2019) now on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Yes it is 5 white panels on a white wall. Before you scoff at this, one square similar to these sold in 2015 for more than 20 million dollars.
In the same room as the above is “The Rose”, 1964, by Canadian-born artist Agnes Martin (1912-2004). There is a pale pink colour to this one. The pink is made by a grid drawn by hand with red and black pencil, hundreds of red lines in all that “dissolve into a rose-coloured atmosphere”.
This is the view that greets you when you walk into the Olga Korper Gallery.
The art on the wall is an exhibit, “the laughter between two miles” by Ken Nicol. The pale grey pieces on the far wall were made with hundreds of pencil lines. Although the lines are in patterns of vertical and horizontal lines that aren’t quite a grid like the Agnes Martin piece above, the effect is the same. The lines are too close together so the eye sees it as a single colour.
In the example below, green, blue, and red lines make a design over letters. The letters are hand written (are you impressed? Do you care?) and they are “Sentences on conceptual art” written by Sol LeWitt and first published in 1969. LeWitt (1928-2007, American) is considered one of the founders of Conceptual Art. Apparently he once created something similar where all the if’s, and’s & but’s were connected. Here, the red lines connect all the art’s.
Text as a major element in a piece of art seems to be more prevalent these days, but that’s a subject for another day.
Instead, one last look at the Olga Korper Gallery before leaving – it’s a gorgeous gallery space.
November came in with a gust of grey and dampness. So when the sun breaks through for a while it’s time to grab a coat and a camera and get walking even if it wasn’t you planned to do that day.
below: The cube house at the bottom of Sumach Street is still with us. It was for sale early in 2017. At that time, March 2017, BlogTO published an article about this building that starts with this description: “Based on Dutch architect Piet Blom’s complex of Cubic Houses in Rotterdam, the UniTri structure dates back to 1996”. It was sold in May 2018 for almost three million dollars.
below: No idea is original. Seen under Richmond/Adelaide Streets.
below: This guy holding his hands in front of him and wearing a red wizard cap still adorns the corner of the Magic Building on Sumach. He’s just one of a number of wizards you’ll find there.
below: This was the scene of a large fire back in April 2018. Three buildings were damaged with the one in the middle being beyond repair. It is now gone. It’s been a long, slow recovery.
below: Another building gone. This one by choice.
below: Colourful porch details.
below: A photo to document this part of Queen Street East because whether it’s in 2 years or 20, there will be changes.
below: A row of old brick houses at 79 through 85 Shuter Street where a fire has recently destroyed some of the the upper levels and roofs.
below: The buildings are empty and boarded up. This is the southeast corner of Shuter & Mutual.
below: There is a development proposal notice on the buildings. The proposed plan saves the old houses and shows a tall glass building built behind and above them.
below: That’s a big drill!
below: Shuter Street at Church.
below: Looking north on Church Street towards the new buildings that are part of Ryerson University’s expansion.
below: Steeple, St. Michaels Cathedral
below: Looking west on Dundas towards Victoria Street and Yonge Dundas Square. The cylinder structure is part of the CityTV building. The outer layer is wire mesh.
BlogTO had promoted a Day of Dead march on 2nd November, starting at Spadina and Fort York at noon. It was a grey and miserable day but a few of us went to see what was up. What we found at that location at noon was a few other photographers standing around in a sheltered spot wondering if anything was happening. At 12:20 we started to leave – and that is when a group of about maybe 20 people dressed like the men below showed up. But half of them were carrying advertisements for Westjet. It was just a publicity stunt. Boo to BlogTO for promoting it as an event.
It has been a long time since I was in that neighbourhood with a camera so perhaps a short walk around would be a good idea. The new Canoe Landing Centre is taking shape at the corner of Fort York Blvd and Brunel Court.
below: The view from Fort York Blvd
below: The view from Canoe Landing Park. The centre also includes includes two elementary schools, Bishop Macdonell Catholic and Jean Lumb Public Schools, and a day care centre.
below: Making use of the park on a grey Saturday afternoon.
below: Douglas Coupland’s red canoe art installation is still there, jutting out over the top of the hill.
below: One of the views from the canoe, cars entering the canyon of highrise glass & steel condos along the Gardiner Expressway.
below: Working hard at the library at the corner of Bathurst and Fort York.
below: Bathurst Street as it crosses the railway tracks.
below: Chill! Stay warm until next time!
Yikes! Preparations are already underway in the Distillery District for their annual Christmas market.
At least their sign that counts down the number of days until Christmas is not hung yet. I am not ready to think about Christmas yet!
I was hoping for some sun as I walked the other day but October seems to have ended with clouds and rain. November is here and it is notorious for being grey and depressing. The clouds on these hoardings seemed appropriate. They are around a construction site on Lower Sherbourne street, at the southeast corner of Lower Sherbourne and Front.
below: This is the hole behind the hoardings.
That intersection, (LS & F), has construction sites at both the southeast and northwest corners. At a third corner, the northeast, there is a development notice sign.
Yet another developer wants to build yet another 37 storey building here. At least one person has voiced their displeasure.
And other signs of discontent nearby….
below: Looking west on King Street East at Jarvis.
below: St. James Park gets new walkways
below: In the Sculpture Garden across the street from St. James Cathedral is a collection of wood poles with small speakers attached to the top of them. This is an art installation by Lou Sheppard called Dawn Chorus/Evensong 2019. It is part of the Toronto Biennial of Art that is on now (until late in December). It “interrupts the denaturalized landscape with music created through the transposition of spectrograms of birdsong…”
below: ‘Haunted City’. One of a few Halloween decorations along Queen West.
below: While walking up Spadina this bike caught my attention because
below: … it’s decorated with many, many used tea bags. On closer inspection, there seem to be quite a few different brands. My guess is that this is one of a kind…. or at least I hope so!
below: I’m not sure just what these added words mean. Is now real? Can we be sure?
below: A few remaining campaign signs from the federal election back in October. The Liberals won every Toronto seat.
below: Discarded and left in a pile in an alley, JFK and Bobby Kennedy rugs. Not one but four? or five?
below: Uber5000 birdies riding in tandem, along with an old banana seat bike affixed to the wall.
below: A grumpy sign? Or just a sign with fangs?
below: Van Gogh can still be found on Huron Street
below: This is part of the CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) building at College & Huron Streets. There might be a certain charm in the concrete buildings of this era… when it comes time to renovate them or tear them down, will there be an effort made to save them?
below: Nearby, this “artwork” on the exterior of 215 Huron Street, is from the same time period.
below: Reflections in a window on the University of Toronto campus.
below: U of T playing fields on Hoskin Ave with the black/darker brick Trinity College behind.
A few more “campus in autumn” photos
below: There were still lots of leaves on the trees at Queens Park too.
below: Some of the oak trees had multicoloured leaves.
below: End. Yes, this is the end.
There is an alley that runs behind the north side of Queen Street West, just west of Spadina.
The next few photos are of street art that isn’t new (and it may appear in earlier blog posts). There are usually cars parked here and today most of the parking spots were empty.
below: An older elicser mural
below: Uber5000 painting (and his iconic yellow bird) – the man, the bird, and the surveillance cameras.
below: This house has been empty for a long time. The doors and windows are now covered with plywood, providing a canvas for some graffiti and a surface for a few paste-ups.
below: Urban ninja squadron is on the phone. Tacim Collective (from Milan Italy) is also represented here as is Paris BKC (Brass Knuckles Crew), and sketchrat.
below: There used to be a collection of these “blueprint” pieces (maybe four of them?). This is the last remaining one.
below: The lane ends in a mess at a chainlink fence that surrounds a vacant lot on Spadina.
below: Hidden away just beyond the fence is a face by Phillip Saunders.
There are two murals at Queen West and Denison.
On the northeast corner is a purple and black abstract painting by @onedaycreates and @mostlyletters (aka Jesse Watson). This replaces the green octopus that was painted here when the ground floor of the building housed the Hideout bar.
below: The back of the building
On the northwest corner is a mural of a path through birch trees in autumn that was painted by Jim Bravo. This replaces an older mural of a TTC streetcar (the one that included a woman pushing a stroller and a boy walking a dog).
below: Posters made by “Army of Lovers”, a group organized by The 519 (an LGBTQ charity). They were in response to a group of “anti-queer protesters, who call themselves Christian free-speech advocates” who planned to march up Church Street last Saturday.
below: Rev Jeff Rock of Metropolitan Community Church and Rev Cheri DiNovo of Trinity St. Pauls, led a ‘Unite for Love’ rally at Barbara Hall Park this past Saturday. Other faith leaders also talked to the crowd as did several politicians from all levels of government. Themes of the talks largely dwelt on unity, equality, inclusion, and the idea that we are perfect in God’s eyes.
below: Mayor John Tory being interviewed by the media after the speeches.
below: Also after the speeches, a giant rainbow flag was unfurled.
below: … and the crowd helped to display it.
below: The rain kept coming and going but that deter the crowd.
below: There were a few signs that people had made including this one about Jesus.
below: “Church is for everyone” sums up the message of inclusion found in The Village community
below: A little levity, a little unseriousness.
The above gathering was in response to a group called Christian Positive Space and an event described on their website as a ‘Freedom Repentance & Prayer March/Rally’ up Church Street. This group was gathering at Church & Esplanade at the same time as the crowd was listening to speeches in The Village.
Part of the backstory is that this group (CPS) was formed by David Lynn, a preacher who can often be found at Yonge & Dundas (He is also the founder of Christ’s Forgiveness Ministries). Back in June he was arrested for disturbing the peace when he and some of his followers tried preaching at the corner of Church & Wellesley (with loudspeaker), just down the street from Barbara Hall Park.
One of the themes of Saturday’s march was the idea of sharing the streets, that Christians should be allowed to do their thing on the streets without being harassed. Part of David Lynn’s talk yesterday was about how Pride gets to close down streets so Christians should be able to as well. There was also mention about some grievance that he had with the people who organize the Jesus in the City parade.
The walk was planned to go at least as far as Wellesley even though one of the conditions for Lynn’s release from jail was that he was to be banned from visiting that area of the city.
below: A lot of left over signs. Questions are being asked about who paid for them (as well as the many T-shirts that were given out).
below: Dictionary definition of godly = “devoutly religious; pious”
below: The People’s Party had a very visual presence at the march. I’m not sure which candidates were present. There is no mention of the walk on any social media for the candidates for both Spadina-Fort York (where the walk started) or Toronto Centre (where the walk was going to end). The candidate for Toronto Centre is actually from Hamilton (he’s also the VP of the party).
below: The police didn’t allow the walk to get past King Street. They kept the two groups separated.
below: Members of the PSU (Public Service Unit) await their orders
below: The white van was one of a pair that parked by the double line of police bikes that were containing the protesters south of Front Street. PSU officers then lined the intersection to control pedestrian traffic.
below: Most of the intersection of Front/Wellington and Church was blocked for quite a while. Pedestrians were not allowed to cross on the south side.
Overheard at the march: “Yoga is popularized witchcraft”. I was approached by a woman who struck up a conversation by telling me that she loved Trump. She said that one night God look down at her and told her to listen to Trump. So she did and she learned that he’s brilliant, that he loves blue collar workers, that he loves all races, and that he loves Israel. That’s why she now loves him and prays for him every day.
At this point in time, the words that Lynn uses in these situations are irrelevant; actions speak louder than words. His views on homosexuality are well known even if he proclaims to love all people, i.e. to love the sinner but not the sin. He can be cagey about the words and phrases he uses but just his presence at Church & Wellesley is a provocation and he should realize that. Trying to preach in The Village is just a stunt – it provides video to support his opinion that Christians are targeted and it gets him followers. There are much better, more constructive ways, to reach people.
below: A woman tries to persuade one member of the other side that being homosexual is a choice. She’d be happy to find him a beautiful woman to make him happy both in this life and in eternal life.
below: Occasionally there was some dialogue between the two sides. On the protester side there were those who were marching because they honestly believed that they were spreading a message of Jesus’s love for everyone. Others were out to provoke, disrupt, or at least to play the victim.
below: Also aligned with Christian Positive Space was Charles McVety who apparently was at the walk. He posted this on his facebook page (screenshot). Was he hoping for violence? Or was this just just another example of rewriting the story to suit your own purposes. Nobody was attacking anybody; there was no danger. McVety references “Tory’s mob” – John Tory chose to talk at the other rally instead of the CPS one.
below: Eventually David Lynn and his group backed down Church Street
below: And proceeded to walk up Yonge Street instead.
below: As the Christian group walked up Yonge Street, a group claiming to be Toronto Against Fascism blocked the way at King Street.
below: Once again there was a stand off with police holding the two groups apart. Eventually the “anti-fascists” moved over to the sidewalk. By then it was after 5 p.m. and nothing seemed to be happening. The groups didn’t appear to want to leave and the police didn’t seem to eager to try to disperse them. So I got on a streetcar and went for dinner.
I learned later that the police let the protesters walk a bit farther up Yonge but they were stopped at Adelaide and/or Richmond before eventually being broken up.
Today was Climate Strike day… a Friday where there were rallys and protests to call for action on climate change across Canada and around the world. Here in Toronto Queens Park was the gathering spot.
By 11 a.m. the park in front of the parliament buildings was quite full and people were congregating all down University Avenue as well. I wandered (pushed my way?) through the crowd while we waited for some speeches (that almost no one could hear) to finish before the walk part of the day started. These are some of the signs that I saw and some of the people that I talked to.
below: All eyes on the camera man.
below: People Act Now It’s Critical, PANIC
The best thing I heard this morning was one boy who said, “It’s not socialism, it’s a better kind of capitalism”.
below: Holding a sign that she made herself.
below: Respect your mother. There were lots of references to Mother Earth.
below: The turtles are only the beginning
below: Change is coming wether you like it or not. We need real change.
below: Being interviewed as she holds her climate danger rating sign.
below: Standing with the trees, and partially under the pines.
below: Make Ontario Greta again.
Roses are dying,
violets are too.
Save our planet,
we’re counting on you.
below: We want a green future
below: Every single use item is a time bomb
below: Taking cues from Kermit the Frog, it ain’t easy being green.
below: Continuing with the colour theme… All that glitters is not gold.
below: A common theme today was, “The Earth is hotter than”. In this case, I think that’s a Korean boy band? K-Pop? Or something like that?
below: More “hotter than” – this time an imaginary boyfriend. How can you not smile at that?
below: Look me in the eye, from up above.
below: Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone, plus Clean Energy = New Jobs
below: Our world is melting
below: Fight climate change or die frying
below: Another theme kept appearing today was an anti fossil fuel stance. “In 2018 Canada spent 3.3 billion on fossil fuel subsidies”
below: This is why we can’t have nice things.
below: Why should I study neuro when we’re all going to die?
Another post with more photos from the climate strike are immediately below this page.
as I walk Toronto 