Toronto, Ontario; Pleasant Hill, California; Fairfield, California; Walnut Creek, California; Oakland, California; San Francisco, California
Palmerston casual dinner: Invitees list included many active in Canasian Artists Group circa mid-1980s, and friends of the Asian Canadian bookstore of Andrew Lee. Today’s generation doesn’t know the history of Toronto 30 years ago, and we debated whether they need to know. (Palmerston, Toronto, Ontario) 20160604
Robarts Library: Eleventh floor stacks, with triangular window bays protruding out facing Sussex Street. My alumnus card still gives me access to the stacks to old books, including one older than my attending university. Biked cross town, got caught in torrential downpour in the last five minutes, so entered the building dripping water. (Roberts Library 11th floor, University of Toronto, St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20160605Riverdale Park pedestrian bridge: View south on lower Don River, at rush hour with traffic northbound practically stopped. Rode bike west on Lake Shore Boulevard, then north. Carried bike up many flights of stairs to pedestrian bridge from West Riverdale Park to East. Just a short loop around our neighbourhood, but the headwind was strong on the outbound. (Riverdale Park pedestrian bridge over the Don River, Toronto, Ontario) 20160607Yonge Street at Yorkville Avenue: Facades of heritage 1870s-1890s Yonge Street buildings (John Oram, #836; Moses Staunton, #838-844; James Weir, #846-848A; Charles Frogley, #850) are being preserved as incorporated into a luxury 58-storey glass and steel tower at 1 Yorkville under construction. The storefronts are empty. In the lot behind, there’s a big pit with construction machines digging. Neighbourhood was quiet on a Saturday when festivals were drawing crowds elsewhere. (1 Yorkville Avenue at Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20160611Ryerson Student Learning Centre: Entered old building from Victoria Street Lane, not thinking of connection to new Yonge Street entrance. Library is open Sunday into evening, so Ryerson University students must not see summer as a special season. With eduroam, Internet access works the same as at home, so bicycling was just for exercise. (Ryerson Student Learning Centre, Yonge Street, Toronto) 20160612The Hearn: For Monday, @Luminato Festival is closed to the public. Rolled up on bike, attendant said to come back tomorrow at 5pm. The Hearn is a fair bike ride from Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, most people would choose the shuttle bus or pay the $15 onsite parking charge. (The Hearn, 440 Unwin Avenue, Portlands, Toronto, Ontario) 20160613Factory Studio: Chinoiserie play by @magicalmudge readers @R4Burning @Aranthor @pauliedat director @tara_beagan @fuGENTheatre @FactoryToronto partnered with @Shawtheatre. Story set in late 19th century, midwest America, about a mural to be created by a Chinese painter. For the WalkTheWalk National Festival of Asian Canadian Women, stage set with unwoven/weaving/comingtogether hanging knots of twine, manila rope, cotton rope and fibre piping. (Factory Studio, Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20160614OCADU: For Systems Thinking Ontario, Panagiotis Panagiotakopoulos @closetheloopgr starting with basics of Viable System Model, before describing application on a unified Sustainability Management System. Bimodal knowledge distribution in audience, from those who are new to VSM, to some who are experts. (Lambert Lounge, OCADU, McCaul Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20160615
The Hearn: Tenth annual Luminato Festival, sited this year at the former Hearn Generating Station that was decommissioned in 1993. The main hall used to house eight large turbines. Art has been placed on the ground floor, and on the walls of the top level, six flights of stairs up. On the west field is Pierre Huyghe (2012) Untilled (Liegener Frauenakt) Reclining Female Nude, where a bee colony has taken over the head of the figure. (Luminato, The Hearn, Unwin Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20160616
Michel de Broin (2013) One Thousand Speculations:
View of the installation in The Hearn from underneath on the southwest side, as part of Luminato 2015. Ball is composed of 24 aluminum structural sections and 1184 acylic mirrors. Area underneath the ball is cordoned off, for safety. Venue is a disused power generating plant, temporarily refurbished for a 10-day event. (The Hearn, Unwin Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20160616
Maple Leaf Lounge Transborder: Entourage of 6 bound for SFO, chilling over breakfast in the Maple Leaf Lounge. New check-in routes to U.S. gates. (Pearson Airport, Toronto, Ontario) 20160617Hyatt House Pleasant Hill: The last day of serious bachelorhood, amongst the male cousins available for matchmaking. (Hyatt House, Pleasant Hill, California) 20160617Jelly Belly Factory: Families queued in mid morning lineup for self guided factory tour of Jelly Belly production. We weren’t in the first 500 visitors who got the free two pounds of candy. We donned hairnets to view operations from overhead windows. (Jelly Belly Factory, Fairfield. California) 20160618The Gardens at Heather Farms: Wedding of Julie and Kevin, exchange of vows and rings, conducted by a non-religious officiant. Event was well-attended by a large family group, and many friends. Late afternoon ceremony had practically perfect weather conditions. Reception, dinner, and dancing into evening. (The Gardens at Heather Farms, Walnut Creek, California) 20160618Jack London Square: Bronze of White Fang wolf-dog hybrid, in front of Jack London’s Cabin. Interior of building is ultimate minimum for author. Oakland was a waypoint for family moving from Pleasant Hill through San Fran tourist stops, to Burlingame hotel overnight for early SFO flights tomorrow. DY and I are repositioned in an Alameda hotel for my meeting in Oakland tomorrow. Six of us arrived on Friday on the same plane, but are departing on five different routings on Monday. (Jack London Square, Oakland, California) 20160620United Club, SFO: Of the six of us leaving SFO today, I am on the latest flight direct. Dropped DY at West Oakland BART station at 9 a.m., she should have arrived in Vancouver before I depart to Toronto. The whole family is at ease through airports. (Club United, International Terminal, San Francisco International Airport. California) 20160620Fu Yao Supermarket Riverdale: Fresh jackfruit in season in Chinatown, they’ll sell you less than the whole. Biked over to replenish the pantry, since the family was away for four days. Shift to Pacific Time and back, late evenings with extended family, and then evening flight home means brainpower low due to to jet lag. (Fu Yao Supermarket Riverdale, Gerrard Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20160621Lower Don Trail: In progress Art Relay @PanAmPath A Love Letter to the Great Lakes under ramp from Don Valley Parkway southbound to Gardiner Expressway westbound. Official photo opportunity still two days away, at which point the artists should get more rest beyond the hammock. Signs for bicyclists to dismount or go slow through the site, ask that the work team be left alone so that they can make a crazy deadline. (Lower Don Trail, Toronto, Ontario) 20160622Manulife Centre: Cinema in Yorkville is on upper level of plaza between two modernist residential towers, built in the early 1970s. Building was new when I first came to university in Toronto, and a short walk off campus. Admission price for movie is lower on Tuesdays, and I caught X-Men Apocalypse on a normal sized screen with a handful in the audience. (Cineplex Odeon Varsity, Manulife Centre, Bloor Street West, Toronto) 20160628Nathan Phillips Square: Afterwork @TorontoJazzFest @GrayMatterSound Derek + Justin; @elibennettmusic @luisdenizsax Todd Pentney. @TOArtsFdn in 2015 honoured Justin Gray with Emerging Jazz Artist award. Temporary stage on northeast plaza, beside main stage tent, festival not using New Theatre Stage. Audience filled outdoor chairs mostly in sunlight, others listening from more shady spots outside the official fenced area. (Toronto Jazz Festival, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Ontario) 20160629
Mill Street Beer Hall: H2 Harkness-Herriott @MillStBeerHall @TorontoJazzFest Sean Harness guitar @MikeH_trumpet Herriott as duo. No percussion or bass, yet so much music. Imaginative arrangements, no other musicians to hide behind. Early evening show, high stools in middle of beer hall facing west, so fans standing beyond the few seats with a prime view. (Mill Street Beer Hall, Distillery District, Toronto Jazz Festival, Ontario) 20160630
