Posts Tagged ‘Pokemon’

standing room only

Posted: February 19, 2017 in locations
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Take one ordinary semi-detached house on an ordinary street in Leslieville…
and add a decoration or two…

the front yard of a semi detached house is full of toys and stuffed animals, signs and flags, and Christmas decorations,

The above photo was taken back in November whereas the one below was taken a couple days ago.  Many, many items are the same.  The biggest change is that there a few more Christmas decorations now large candy canes, another Santa Claus, a couple of angels and an elf or two.

a massive collection of dolls, toys, stuffed animals and decorations fill a front yard of a house

Call it cute. Call it creepy. Call it fun.  Call it fascinating. Call it a mess.

below: Some of the dolls and toys are attached to wooden stakes that stand upright in the yard.

a small smiling doll with her arms up is attached to a wooden stake in the front yard of a house

below: The fence is packed full with toys and dolls and the like, including this creepy clown and ghoulish green faced doll.   The pink Powerpuff girl (Blossom?) looks happy and even Elmo doesn’t seem to mind being behind bars.

peering between the metal bars of a fence is a creepy clown doll and a green faced zombie doll, a string of Christmas lights is across the bottom of the fence

a mickey mouse plastic figure is sitting on a wire fence, his chin is his hand and he's looking upwards, other toys out of focus behind him - circles with happy faces and a couple of frisbees

below: A red candle fence lines the entrance.

frontyard of a house is full of toys and decorations, the front walk is lined by large plastic red candles, the front door is in shadows.

below: The retaining wall is also covered.  Welcome to our Garden, Boston Bruins, more Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer, Season Greetings and a frisbee or two or three.

under a metal fence, a retaining wall that is covered with frisbees, plaques with words on them and other plastic bits

I wonder how it all started?  And where is it going?

Shrek is between two snowmen, all plastic toys and decorations, behind the metal bars of a fence, a lot of toys and dolls and stuffed animals behind them.

I wonder what the neighbours think.

a white plastic gnome and a Disney princess are among a large collection of toys in a front yard

a red plastic toy in the foreground, a doll in a purple dress in the background

a plastic Santa Claus, a plastic angel and a pokemon

a stuffed plushie creature is attached to a pole with black electrical tape around his face such that it covers his eyes

a toy flower with a green stem, petals made of pink fabric with white polka dots, red lips and large white and blue sunglasses.

a faded blond doll with blank eyes looks down, she is attached to a wooden stake with black electrical tape

The Ex!

Posted: August 30, 2016 in events
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Hey you!
Been to the Ex yet?

a man dressed in costume, white face, bobby hat, white gloves and a red and white striped shirt

An end of summer tradition since 1879… although a lot has changed since then!

below: The midway, 1937 (photo source: history section, CNE website)

an old black and white photo of the midway at the CNE taken in 1937, lots of people in period clothes, an olf tilt-a-whirl ride also in the picture.

below:  Part of the midway this year.  Rides, games and food! … oh, and people!

looking down the CNE midway towards the CN tower in the late afternoon as the sun gets low, riders overhead on the Skyline ride, lots of people walking, lots of signs for games and food.

midway game, shoot out, early evening, lights on, people walking in front, ferris wheel in the distance.

Games of skill

many people playing a midway game at the Ex involving rolling a bowling ball up a short alley. Prizes hand all around them.

And games of chance (gambling, if you will)

two young men in blue shirts working at one of the midway gambling games, with another man standing behind the counter

a young boy pokes his around his mother to watch her as she plays a gambling game on the midway at the Ex

Rides that turn you upside down,

young women upside down on the Fire Ball midway ride, their long hair hanging down.

make you scream,

two people upside down on a ride at the CNE,

swing you around,

a young couple kissing on a swing that is up high

drop you,

people wait in line for a ride that takes up up in the air and then drops you. A group has just begun their trip upwards.

jostle you around,

a mother and daughter enjoying a ride, like a roller coaster, as it comes around a corner.

and let you laugh with friends. 

two girls coming down a large, multi lane, slide, holding hands and laughing

below: And, hey look, the pink and blue ride in the background, that’s a tilt-a-whirl ride.  It’s a bit different from the 1937 version pictured above but the concept is still the same.

a couple ride on a midway ride at the Canadian Exhibition, behind them is the blue and pink tilt-a-whirl ride

Food… deep fried almost anything you want!

people standing in front of food vendors that ate brightly lit up, selling deep fried food such as deep fried oreos, deep fried pickles, as well as chicken and corn dogs.

The Ex…  The CNE…  call it what you will.
Have fun!

lots of people in swings suspended by chains, about to twirl around at the CNE

late evening on the midway at the Canadian National Exhibition, water game at the ex, piled high with stuffed prizes, and some people playing the game and some people watching the game

Two young Asian men on a ride, they are lying on their stomachs and appear to be flying, in circles, with the ex midway behind them

a young woman is screaming as a ride takes her around in circles, she is slightly blurry because of the speed of the ride

a young black man wearing a turd hat and talking into a microphone as he tries to get people interested in playing the game he's working at. A wall of stuffed prizes is behind him including yellow pokemons

a group of young people around a counter playing a game of chance outdoors, at a fair, the cne

a very large inflatable yellow ducky with bright red beak and black sunglasses, standing beside a pick-a-duck game with a wall of stuffed yellow ducks behind it

blog_catching_skyline_riders_cne

zombie for a day

Posted: October 27, 2013 in events
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Toronto Zombie Walk, Nathan Phillips Square,

26 October, 2013

The rain stopped just before the Zombie walk started but there was a very chilly wind blowing.  The weather didn’t stop the zombies!  It didn’t stop the fun either.

close up of a girl's face. She has a fake mouth tied together with red embroidery thread

I met a zombie, and it was fun.

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a mother and daughter dressed up as zombies. Frizzy hair, grey skin and lots of fake blood dripping from their mouths.

keeping it in the family – like mother, like daughter

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A woman with make up on her face to make her look like a zombie.

zombie repose, by the archer

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A man with white makeup on his face, a chain around his neck and a plastic rat on his shoulder.

A rat’s best friend.

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two girls with big bows around their necks, fake teeth and lots of blood

cute but bloodied

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Two men. The one on the right is wearing a hoodie that says smoke meth and hail satan.

They humoured me.

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A zombie holding a large yellow Pokemon zombie. He is screaming at a photographer

even Pokemon was not spared.

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two woman dressed up like zombies. The woman in the foreground has blood dripping off her chin and down her neck. The woman in the background has a large ugly facial wound

dripping blood, and the eyes…….great zombie eyes!

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a man made up to look like he has a pencil shoved into his eye

an eye for an eye, oh wait, a pencil for an eye

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a girl with red frizzy hair who has white makeup on her face and a bloody mouth

bulletproof

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A man with very long hair, a moustache and a beard with blood running down his face. A fake leg is attached to his shoulder. and he has chains around his neck

screaming, blood curdling screams……

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Three people - two grey zombies and a young Asian woman who is pretending to be scared of the zombies

one of the many great interactions between the zombies and their audience

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Two girls wearing woolly hats and very ugly fake teeth. THey have lots of blood on their chinslots of b

so much for the orthodontics

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three zombies dressed in white coveralls, sitting by The Archer sculpture in Nathan Phillips Square

even zombies need a break

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Mayor Rob Ford poses for a photo op with a zombie

Rob Ford meets zombie

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a woman with lots of fake blood on her chin and down her front

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First Toronto Japanese Summer Festival

Posted: July 28, 2013 in events
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Dundas Square, Sunday July 28

I happened upon this festival this afternoon.   It was crowded but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

crowds at Dundas Square for a festival

Many people were out at Dundas Square this afternoon enjoying the perfect summer afternoon.

 

two kids drawing with coloured markers

There were displays and activities. You could make buttons, practice calligraphy or try your hand origami.

two girls dressed in kimonos trying to grab a small inflated balloon that is floating in water.

Catch a bobbing balloon with a tiny hook!

 

people standing around a booth sponsored by the beer company Sapporo. One woman is having her photo taken. A group of people are waiting in line to go into the booth

 

Display of T-shirts for sale. They have Japanese writing on them. One is the character for energy and the other is the character for "be yourself'

T-shirts were some of the things that were available for sale.

 

A man wearing a Pokemon mask on the side of his head. Also in the photo is a small boy wearing a fedora but falling asleep on his father's shoulder

There were also masks for sale.

 

A woman holding a red paper umbrella standing beside a woman wearing a baseball hat that says Toronto on it.

A woman wearing a kimono made of fabric that is covered with red maple leaves.

Many woman wearing kimonos in all colours and variety of fabrics. Some men were wearing the male equivalent (sorry, I have forgotten the name). There was a kimono fashion show as well.

geisha with makeup and red parasol. She has flowers in her hair and she is wearing a yellow and green kimono.

a little girl wearing big orange and white heart shaped sunglasses

 

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