A Couple of Weeks Later

Our second trip to Chicago in six photos with caption. 

First night we walked around the Loop to find the new Target.

This was the swimming pool in our hotel.

A Cupcake ATM? Who would have thought.

Couldn't look at the field, but the outside was pretty impressive. 

Also, Chicago Comics was a great local comic book store.

Couldn't find the Wilco loft so I settled to see where they recorded the live record.

We also went to the Art Institute of Chicago (sad that Nighthawks, my favourite painting, was on loan) and, like everyone else, took our picture at the bean. Notice that it's all couples in the photo.

That's it. Interestingly enough we keep getting asked why we went to Chicago. It's like people can't imagine going somewhere and not visiting all the tourist attractions. We like Chicago. It's got a good feeling to it and there's tons of cheap, interesting things to do. Even riding the train into the city was a minor adventure. Also ate well but can't decided what was our favourite: Purple Pig (tourist favourite), Native Foods Cafe (national vegan chain), XOCO (celebrity-run Mexican restaurant) or Quartino (favourite from our last time).

The Anthem by Kardinal Offishall

So this song is all about Toronto, and not just the downtown core but all the great neighbourhoods around the city. Kardinal show the city in all its glory. I love this. So often people get hung up on the downtown and forget the larger city. This why people should explore their city. This video, along with the new book Stroll, is how people should think of the city. The last couple of municipal elects have had this suburbs vs. downtown division that I'm not liking at all. Love and enjoy the entire city, not just your neighbourhood. I could take or leave the song but I love the video with all the landmarks. Between this and Scott Pilgrim (with its focus on the post-university area of the city) this has been a couple tweleve months of Toronto love.

This was my lunch hour

Things I Learned Today

There's an Emo, Ontario and there are four doctors practicing there who are accepting new patients. This is what I'm learning at my job.

Gone

Click on image to see larger.

This block of newly declared historic buildings burned to the ground last night. Fuck. I like some of those stories and I've seen more than my fair share of shows at the Reverb (although I'm not sure if that building was actually destroyed) and Suspect Video had the some of the greatest selection of movies in Toronto. Everyone in Toronto is sad about this fire. Queen Street West won't be the same without these stores. Duke's Bicycle Shop had been there for over 90 years. No cause has been determined yet.

Toronto at night

City Hall at night

Last night I saw The Tracey Fragments. Made by Toronto filmmaker Bruce McDonald, this film* explores a young woman's search for her lost brother while travelling on the Winnipeg bus system in a shower curtain. This movie interesting to watch once but that's about it. I've taken a Winnipeg bus and Tracey, the film's protagonist, would be lucky to find anything on those routes. If want to know what it's like to take a bus in Winnipeg I suggest listening to the Weakerthans' song "Civil Twilight" off the new record.

*featuring a score by Broken Social Scene, a fine performance by up and coming actress Ellen Page, and small cameos from D-list Canadian television actors

True Blue

This was the last of the great adult movie theatres in Toronto. I thought it had closed down, but it hasn't just yet. Sadly, my girl wasn't really interested in seeing any of the featured movies.

Home for a rest

So, I'm done with school for 2006, back in Toronto and not a moment too soon. It seems that living in such close proximity to Michigan has caused my accent to get a strange twitch. I'm hoping some time around some urban hipsters in rundown dives will get me talking like the pompous bullshiter we've come to know and love.

I have this map in my head. Thank god someone wrote it down. I'm still trying to decided whether or not I should sue.

WHERE'S THE FREAKIN' SNOW?!?!?

you say the most beautiful things

Today's post is all about things I've said in the past. First I held the door open for a man with a stroller because I'm a nice person. Then I went to see a concert. And finally, I went to a street corner and enjoyed the silence.

So to recap, I held the door open for Moe Berg of the Pursuit of Happiness, saw the Weakerthans in concert (who started their set at an event to celebrate Winnipeg with a song that included the chorus "I hate Winnipeg"), and on the way back saw the drummers at Dundas and Yonge.

Oh I had some really good nachos and saw zombies (but sadly didn't have my camera on me at that time).

You do remember the mountain bed?

Back before they went and ruined Dundas and Yonge here in Toronto, there used to be some busker on the side of the street. When my friends and I were downtown, we'd stand there and watch these two drummers do their act. They had set up two drumsets and then used everything else around them (streetlights, trashcans, buckets, etc.) and sometimes other people would play with them. It was quite a show. Now, because the city wanted to make that area "nicer" for tourists, they got rid of the buskers like those two drummers. Sadly, those guys added flavour and spice to the city. Now, that area of the city's downtown core is sterile environment. I guess it's better for business and the economy, but for me it's not the same. I want "the ugly" with "the pretty." It's the small details that make a city worth living in. It would be at this point I wish I had some digital pictures to show what they've done.

Aside from being a drunk, I also help destroy the moral fiber of children

Yesterday, while walking through Chinatown, I saw several children selling pirated copies of the lastest movies. One child specifically caught my attention because all he kept repeating was, "three for ten dollar," and just continued playing with some random toy he had. He couldn't have been more than ten years old. I've seen people selling illegal copies of DVDs before, but the shocking part was the use of children. From a criminal standpoint, I understand why children were the ones peddling the wares on the streets, but it somehow still seemed wrong. If they get caught, they'll serve less time. Hell, they probably won't be charged with anything because it's obvious that they're not the masterminds behind trade. I just couldn't believe it... and yet I did nothing 'cause I couldn't think of anything to do.

On a slightly different note, this is my 200th post. Yay me. It only took me just under five years to reach this plateau. What can I say? I'm just that slow.