Market Street:: On west side of St. Lawrence Market, @OldTownToronto lunchtime jazz duo @AndrewMarzotto guitar + @AndrewMcAnsh trumpet in loose gig. Shoppers walking by, trucks with backup alerts, and car noises on The Esplanade behind. The musicians weren’t responsive to my request for songs from this century, the old standards are more familiar. (Market Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20240903
Chester Hill Lookout: View southwest beyond Prince Edward Viaduct over the Don valley, towards downtown core apartment buildings, bank towers, and the CN Tower. Summer heat is over, but foliage has not yet turned into autumn colours. Sun is setting earlier, I got caught out without my bike light. (Chester Hill Lookout, Playter Estates, Toronto, Ontario) 20240904Bakery Lane: Disrupted morning with flat tire, that deflated overnight. Used @CAA app to request help, estimate was 40 minutes, they arrived in 25 with a flatbed truck that does fit into the laneway with new buildings both north and south. Opted to inflate the tire and drive the 2km to @CanadianTire nearby, we called ahead for an appointment and hope for an earlier slot. (Bakery Lane, Riverside neighbouthood, Toronto, Ontario) 20240906McCowan Log House: One of three buildings of the Scarborough Museum, constructed the 1830s in Malvern, moved in 1948 to Morningside Heights, then finally to 1974 to current location in Thomson Memorial Park. City-owned buildings are accessible with ramps into structures from before Canada was a country. Donned an extra layer of clothing for a cooler autumn Sunday. (McCowan Log House, Scarborough Museum, Brimley Road, Scarborough, Ontario) 20240907Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre: Part of Vibrate / Still exhibition #NobuoKubota (2024) Lee88, part of the Intermedia series. Developer has filed for building designed and built by Moriyama Teshima Architects in 1963 to be demolished or altered for condominiums, facing resistance from city council and neighbours. Late Sunday afternoon quiet, with judo students enjoying after-lesson social plans. (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Sakuray Way, Don Mills, Ontario) 20240907Kew-Balmy Beach: Bench conveniently located alongside the Boardwalk, with prime view of family playing baseball on the sand. Cool Sunday afternoon, the sun disappeared and a few drops of rain sprinkled later. Still lots of people strolling while talking, some with pets. (Kew Balmy Beach, Hubbard Bouldevard at Glen Manor Drive, Toronto, Ontario) 20240907Pho Com Tam 168: Convening for early Saturday family dinner while grandfather is downtown. Schedules have been busy, it’s been a challenge to find a slot when everyone is available. Sons said this venue was a hangout under a different name when they were going to high school. (Pho Com Tam 168, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20240907Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf: Quick hometown day trip, five years since the Ing family officially fully decamped. Needed map navigation to find the steamships with Bay Street torn up for underground pipe replacement. I don’t recall James Street running behind the high school when I was growing up. (Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf, Bay Street, Gravenhurst, Ontario) 20240908
Market Street:: Languid noontime pace with @gisun_music “Never Met” as summer weather returned after a cold spell. Still tourist buses at top of street for St. Lawrence Market @OldTownToronto , with shoppers enjoying lunch in the sun. Musical intermission as a short break on a busy day, biking cross town. (Market Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20240911
The Gooderham: Outdoor patio on the fourth floor activity area of The Gooderham apartment tower in the Distillery District, with a small gap to the Clear Spirits tower to the west. Observing residents in the neighbourhood suggests young professionals, separate from the tourists in the historic attractions. Visiting for a birthday part hosted in the party room of a son’s friend. (The Gooderham, Cherry Street, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20240914The Gooderham: Set up to deejay for 5 hours, changing cuts every 3 minutes. Observed the way digital mixing happens, the knob twiddling reduces the bass when swtiching songs, so that transitions are smoother. Preview in the headphones plays higher quality than is heard in the speakers. (The Gooderham, Cherry Street, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20240914
The Gooderham:: Birthday celebration dancing with family and friends. We didn’t know what to expect, the group retreated to privacy when the choreographer arrived. Performance ended with vegan cake. (The Gooderham, Cherry Street, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20240914
The Gooderham:: Winding down the evening with the lights down, just dancing for selves, not for performance. Birthday celebration did offer dinner and cake, yet setup for deejay with hiphop and breaking is unusual for most families. Met again some friends that we say at the big party before the move to NYC, a few years back. (The Gooderham, Cheery Street, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20240914
Dundas Street East, west of Logan Avenue: Looking southwest, construction widening Bala Subdivision rail line that currently services the Go Train Richmond Hill line, will have additional tracks for the Ontario Line. Sidewalks are temporarily unpassable, road is narrowed to single lane each direction. Homes on Paisley Avenue that back onto this zone minimally get a reprieve from machines and trucks on a Sunday afternoon. (Dundas Street East, west of Logan Avenue, Riverside neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario) 20240915Notre Place Monument: Unveiled in 2018 on the Western Gateway Lawn at the south edge of Queens Park, monument represents the contribution of Franco Ontarians to building the province. Notre place (our home) has three parts: le sentier (the path), la forêt (the forest), and la clairière (the clearing). History counts back over 400 years to French explorer Samuel de Champlain mapping the land from 1613. (Notre Place Monument, College Street at University Avenue, Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario) 20240915
Market Street:: Lunchtime performance @oldtowntoronto @EmilyNSchultz singing The Sun, a tune inspired by the relationship with her sister. Singer-songwriter with inventive technique on hollow body electric guitar, plus added complexity with loop pedal. Monday seems to have more traffic on the street behind, with tourists still visiting the neighbourhood on a warm fall day. (Market Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20240917
Ikea North York: Friday night cheap date, shopping for ideas and buying nothing. Situation with a room with a second single bed that can’t be removed, looking at alternatives to repurpose the furniture for sitting by adding firmer deeper cushions. Store associate said that soft cushions can’t be bought separate from sofas, so we toured the fabrics sction. (Ikea, Provost Drive, North York Ontario) 20240920Rosetta McClain Gardens: After flying in on red eye from Los Angeles, drove from Markham south to edge of Lake Ontario to look at flowers. Found a wedding party also doing portraits on a cloudy day. Rain started just as we departed from the park. (Rosetta McClain Gardens, Glen Everest Drive, Scarborough, Ontario) 20240921Tim Hortons, Midland and Steeles: California resident taking in the Canadian experience in lineup for takeout breakfast. Observed fluid service roles with a senior role switching between cashier and expediting tasks, in a trying to speed up the customer queue. Located in the heart of the local Chinese community, tables were full of family and friends gathering on me a Sunday morning. (Tim Hortons, Midland Avenue at at Steeles Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario) 20240922Varley Art Gallery: Tracing Patterns exhibition Andrew Benyei (2005) Public Opinion three dimensional mixed media sculpture of resin and oil paint framed for wall hanging. Characters are not long crowded together, they’re stepping on teach others feet. Highlighted fabric is denim, the swatch to the left is available for those who want a tactile involvement with their art. (Varley Garllery of Art, Main Street, Unionville, Ontario) 20240922Varley Art Gallery: Before opening reception of Meera Sethi A Brief History of Wear, with 2 blue walls hung salon style. Sixteen acrylic paintings 2009 to 2022, in five series of Firangi Rang Barangi (Colourful Stranger); Foreign Returned; Begum; Upping The Aunty; and Who’s Your Dadi? Indian-born Canadian visual artist with interest in making, wearing and disposing of cloth, and self-expression through clothing. (Varley Art Gallery, Main Street, Unionville, Ontario) 20240922
Varley Art Gallery: Hanging in a circle, Meera Sethi (2018-2023) Outerwhere is 12 used coats with mixed media. The winter coat is essential for Northern climates, for both physical and metaphorical protection. Articles sewn in by hand include toys, flowers, plastics, fibre crafts. (Varley Art Gallery, Main Street, Unionville, Ontario) 20240922
Maple Leaf Lounge, Domestic, Toronto Pearson Airport: Starting the trip to Italy in the domestic lounge, with a domestic Canadian VQA Sauvignon Blanc. Asked Omari to serve DY the smallest taste possible, we’re not really drinkers. Booked on a direct but not nonstop flight, so we may see the international lounge in Montreal. (Maple Leaf Lounge, Domestic, Toronto Pearson Airport) 20240925Montreal Trudeau Airport: Transferring from domestic to international terminal, there’s an immediate sensory overload of duty free shops. Flying on the direct one-stop route, we enjoyed the privilege of marching across the airport with an entire passenger group travelling on the single flight number. First leg was on equipment coming from Frankfurt second leg is on plane from Nice. (Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, Quebec) 20240925Milano Centrale: Transferred from 50 minute Malpensa Express airport train to Milano Centrale, onto 2 hour regional train for Genova Brignole. Trenitalia app won’t install from Google Play store from Canada, so resorted to booking on kiosk near tracks. Wanted to take an earlier intercity train that is 30 minutes faster, but that was listed as unavailable. (Milano Centrale station, Italy) 20240926
Castello di Riomaggiore: Cloudy morning view east of vineyards cultivated since the 13th century. Castle was built in 1260, served as a cemetery in three 19th century. Slow ascent via steep roads and narrow pedestrian steps. Construction noise hammering somewhere in the village resounds everywhere. (Castello di Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italy) 20240927
Riomaggiore Marina: In the valley of Rivus Maior, the river flowing into the sea was buried under the street. The original founders of the village built 3 to 4 storey houses against the cliffs. As the clouds gave ways to the sun, the wind brought waves to crash against the breakwater. (Riomaggiore Marina, Cinque Terre, Italy) 20240927
Via dell’Amore: Booked ahead for the walk reopened just last month from Riomaggiore north to Manarola, bypassing the lineup of 100 people at the bottom of steps looking for tickets. Rockslide from 2012 injuring tourists are now precluded by metal mesh covering the east wall alongside the path. Names of Roman and Greek poets who wrote of love appear on plaques periodically, remembering couples from villages who would meet halfway between. (Via dell’Amore, Cinque Terre, Italy) 20240927
Mercato Orientale: First opened in 1899, the outdoor market on the east side of Genoa became covered. Sellers of fresh produce and local meats have stalls in the inner ring, with a semi-hidden outer ring of specialty products. Tastes of imported foods would seem to be against Italian tradition. (Mercato Orientale, Via XX Settembre, Genoa, Italy) 20240927
MOG Mercado Orientale Genoa: Modernization of the central core space in the larger product and meat market aims to attract trendy locals and foodie visitors. Acronym implying modernity reflects brightly-lit central area raised up a few steps from the traditional stalls of uncooked ingredients. At early dinnertime on a Thursday night, the restaurateurs were just opening up, and customers had not year arrived. (MOG Mercado Orientale Genoa, Via XX Settembre, Genoa, Italy). 20240927
Chiostro di Sant’Andrea: In the ruins of a monastery from the 12th century, the @BilbosaBand was doing a sound check 90 minutes before their live @teatrodelchiostro performance. Approaching the Porta Soprano walk, we heard drums and individual instruments in the 30-minutes setup. We were intrigued by the musicianship, but hanging out for an 8:30pm start wasn’t a good idea for Canadians trying to beat jet lag with early nights. (Chiostro di Sant’Andrea, St. Andrews Cloisters, Vico Dritto di Ponticello, Genoa Italy) 20240927
Dogali Funicular (Montegalletto Lift) from vertical to horizontal: Rode bus to upper station of the Dogali Funicular, the only lift in the world that switches from vertical to horizontal motion. Looking out the front door, counted about 20 florescent tubes on the way down, stopping with a pause to see motorized wheels on the track spinning. When the sister car arrived and started ascent, our car rolled south to the exit. (Dogali Funicular (Montegalletto Lift), Genoa, Italy) 20240928
Piazzale Porta del Molo, Porto Antico: Walked the Old Port from west to the Piazzale Porta del Molo, bypassing the Maritime Museum and Aquarium. Redeveloped in 1992, the area saw lots of families out for the Saturday afternoon. We didn’t notice any fishermen, they supposedly land on the western docks. (Piazzale Porta del Molo, Porto Antico, Genoa, Italy) 20240928Via Banchi, Sottoripa: Walked the porticos (covered narrow lanes) originally initiated circa 1125 as an planned urban district by the consults of the Municipality of Genova for hosted shops, artisan workshops and warehouses. Originally close to docks by the harbour’s edge, piers extended the land further into the sea. Now has a variety of retail shops, with fresh fruit markets with open storefronts every few blocks. (Via Banchi, Sottoripa, Genoa, italy) 20240928Comune di Genova: Amidst the grandeur of palaces on this street, we encountered a large group of well-dressed people. Late on this Saturday afternoon, we then saw a bride in a wedding dress. It seems as though civil ceremonies in Genoa city hall can be the size normally expected in churches, with a large number of guests. (Comune di Genova, Via Garibaldi, Genoa, Italy) 20240928Genova Brignole station: One of seven Metaphor of Travel sculptures in Genoa spring to fall 2024, Bruno Catalano statue Simone is outside the Brignole train station, as we are departing. With a history of the Moroccan artist exiled to France as a teenager with his family, the suitcase symbolizes the baggage that we carry with us. Yesterday walking around the Piazza Ferrari, we saw the brother bronze, Khadine. (Genova Brignole station, Italy) 20240829Lugano Stazione: Arrived at the primary destination for this trip, the train was packed to standing room with a lot of passengers getting off at Como, the last stop in Italy. Paused at the border for inspectors to check passports, Switzerland isn’t part of the EU. Coming from busy urban Genoa, this city seems more orderly and quiet. (Lugano Stazione, Switzerland) 20240929Grottino Viganello: Plenary start to 2024 Banathy Conversation by @garysmetcalf for #CSRPInstitute, explaining history of Social Systems Design dialogues contrasting to academic paper-reading presentations. Experimenting with evolving methods with face-to-face inquiry amongst a new generation of scholars, no wifi in the venue. Some unfortunate last-minute cancellations, we hope to invite them to subsequent meetings in 2025. (Grottino Viganello, Via della Pergola, Viganello, Switzerland) 20240930
Parco Ciani: Pedal boat on Lago di Lugano, looking south from the city at sunset. In the distance, the shore of comune Campione d’Italia to the east in Italy, and the peak of San Salvatore in Switzerland, where country borders are not straight lines. Leisure touring time is short with sunset around 7:00pm with meetings concluding at 5:30pm. (Parco Ciani, Lugano, Switzerland) 20240930
Systems Processes Theory has been under development for many decades, led by Len Troncale, a past president of the International Society for the Ssytems Sciences. Many have found getting a grip on the science to be a demanding task, both in scope and in depth. Over many decades, Lynn Rasmussen was a collaborator, refining and […]
The Socio-Technical Systems (STS) perspective, dating back to the studies of Eric L. Trist and Fred E. Emery, was on the reading list of organizational behaviour classes in my undergraduate and master’s degree programs. It wasn’t until 15 years later, when I got involved with the systems sciences and David L. Hawk, that the Socio-Ecological […]
Civic Tech can be described as projects using technology “for the public good“. Civic Tech may be related to, but different from Gov Tech. For the May 2024 Systems Thinking Onrtario, we had two knowledgeable guests in conversation. Dorothy Eng, executive director of Code for Canada since 2021, related her professional journey from engineering to […]
On my May trip through the UK, I accepted an offer to lead an Expert-Led Session at the University of Hull. I had previously been a Research Fellow of the Centre for Systems Studies, but haven’t travelled to the Hull for some years. As we worked out the arrangements, I found out that the seminar […]
I’ve been checking on the breadth of some personal research on systems thinkers. (The list is incomplete, and may orient more towards systems scientists). Searching on Scopus gives an h-Index that counts scholarly references (with a boost, for the first person on the list who received a Nobel prize in chemistry). The list below is […]
Reading a theorist who espouses the dao (tao) in their systems work? Here’s a challenge: is the writer referring to daojia, or daojiao? Daojiao 道教 is religious daoism, gaining legitimacy only with the Tang dynasty (712-758 CE), after many centuries with the religion of Confucianism as dominant. Classical Chinese philosophy is hard to interpret even […]
David L. Hawk (American management theorist, architect, and systems scientist) has been hosting a weekly television show broadcast on Bold Brave Tv from the New York area on Wednesdays 6pm ET, remotely from his home in Iowa. Live, callers can join…Read more ›
Following the first day lecture on Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1 for the Global University for Sustainability, Keekok Lee continued on a second day on some topics: * Anatomy as structure; physiology as function (and process); * Process ontology, and thing ontology; * Qi ju as qi-in-concentrating mode, and qi san as qi-in-dissipsating mode; and […]
The philosophy of science underlying Classical Chinese Medicine, in this lecture by Keekok Lee, provides insights into ways in which systems change may be approached, in a process ontology in contrast to the thing ontology underlying Western BioMedicine. Read more ›
In conversation, @zeynep with @ezraklein reveal authentic #SystemsThinking in (i) appreciating that “science” is constructed by human collectives, (ii) the west orients towards individual outcomes rather than population levels; and (iii) there’s an over-emphasis on problems of the moment, and…Read more ›
In the question-answer period after the lecture, #TimIngold proposes art as a discipline of inquiry, rather than ethnography. This refers to his thinking On Human Correspondence. — begin paste — [75m26s question] I am curious to know what art, or…Read more ›
How might our society show value for the long term, over the short term? Could we think about taxation over time, asks @carlotaprzperez in an interview: 92% for 1 day; 80% within 1 month; 50%-60% tax for 1 year; zero tax for 10 years.Read more ›
In trying to place the World Hypotheses work of Stephen C. Pepper (with multiple root metaphors), Nicholas Rescher provides a helpful positioning. — begin paste — Philosophical perspectivism maintains that substantive philosophical positions can be maintained only from a “perspective” of some sort. But what sort? Clearly different sorts of perspectives can be conceived of, […]
Finding proper words to express system(s) change(s) can be a challenge. One alternative could be diachrony. The Oxford English dictionary provides two definitions for diachronic, the first one most generally related to time. (The second is linguistic method) diachronic ADJECTIVE Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “diachronic (adj.), sense 1,” July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/3691792233. For completeness, prochronic relates “to […]
The selection of readings in the “Introduction” to Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2, Penguin (1981), edited by Fred E. Emery, reflects a turn from 1969 when a general systems theory was more fully entertained, towards an urgency towards changes in the world that were present in 1981. Systems thinking was again emphasized in contrast […]
In reviewing the original introduction for Systems Thinking: Selected Readings in the 1969 Penguin paperback, there’s a few threads that I only recognize, many years later. The tables of contents (disambiguating various editions) were previously listed as 1969, 1981 Emery, System Thinking: Selected Readings. — begin paste — Introduction In the selection of papers for this […]
In a recording of the debate between Michael Quinn Patton and Michael C. Jackson on “Systems Concepts in Evaluation”, Patton referenced four concepts published in the “Principles for effective use of systems thinking in evaluation” (2018) by the Systems in Evaluation Topical Interest Group (SETIG) of the American Evaluation Society. The four concepts are: (i) […]
