Oakland, California; San Francisco, California; Toronto, Ontario
Gallery of California History: Spun the wheel to get Strike A Rick Vein, Retire to California!, on an exhibit on the Gold Rush Days. Meandering stroll through California history, since betore the acquisition of the territory from Mexico, through to modern-day Silicon Valley. Free admission on the first Sunday of the month an extra incentive for families to visit. (Gallery of California History, Oakland Museum of California, Oak Street, Oakland, California) 20220501Gallery of California Art: Revisiting patriotic stories from Chinese picture books #HangLiu (2012) Heroine of Gu Yanxiu has added plants and birds that didn’t appear in the 19th and 20th century originals. This image shows the heroine organizing women to plow the fields in revolutionary labour. The painter passed away in 2021, having previously been twice recognized by the National Endowmenf for the Arts. (Gallery of California Art, Oakland Museum of California, Oak Street, Oakland, California) 2022050SFO F gates: I wasn’t going to Hawaii, but one gate over were musicians, hula dancers and agents offering macadamia nuts. On the short flight SFO to LAX, the aircraft doesn’t even have entertainment screens in the seatbacks. First leg towards home, to meet my sister for a handoff of my father for the return to Toronto. (F gates, San Francisco International Airport, California) 20220502LAX Terminal 6:. Leisurely connection at LAX, as inbound flight was late. Excellent service on passenger assistance to get around the terminal. Automobile traffic outside was more stress. (Los Angeles International Airport, California) 20220502Arsenal Contemporary Art: Reflective fabric 40 metres long, stitched by @MataAhoCollective (2014) Kaokao #1, part of @TorontoBiennial. Pieced together by Maori artists, in a tukutuku chevron design used both as a military symbol and birthing maps. Size shown in relation to another visitor, innocently reading the description card for the work. (Arsenal Contempotary Gallery, Ernest Avenue, Junction Triangle, Toronto, Ontario) 20220507High Park: Cherry blossoms on a bright spring day attracts both parents with children, and social influencers looking for a selfie. Roads in the park closed to automobiles, traffic jams on the roads north of Bloor Street. Expedited the trip by taking the bike on the subway outbound, and riding on dedicated lanes all th eway home. (High Park, Bloor Street West, Swansea, Toronto, Ontario) 20220507OCADU Graduate Studies: In dimmed room, @mary_k_mcintyre 2022 Breathing Exercise #gradex107 @ocadugrad has partially gilded found cedar root lit from above, with cyanotype print behind. In shadow below is a charred pine branch. Work might have been better exhibited in a space with higher ceilings. Biography says metalsmith, maybe education is broadening the choice of materials. (OCADU Graduate Studies, Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20220512Centre for Social Innovation Spadina: Frdiay afternoon in-person social event for @climatecsi in the main lounge of @csiTO, bringing together enterpreneurs weary of years of Zoom calls. Easy to meet new people, as the cohorts have changed with years passing. Not a full representation, as the breadth of ventures has expanded nationally, so extra scheduling may be needed to catch individuals passing through town. (Centre for Social Innovation, Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20220513St. Lawrence Market South: Volunteers @SLNASpeaks ReMarket sorting donations on the left, Free Market on the right open Wednesday to 7pm. Thursday Repair Cafe 11am-3pm. Waste reduction by keeping unwanted items out of the garbage. Long table has many clothes, I scored a Cuisinart food processor for one son, and a Tiger rice cooker for another, as they’re setting up households. (St. Lawrence Market South, The Esplanade, Old Toronto, Ontario) 20220518Villiers Street: Looking south, new eastern bank of future Villiers Island is dry, with the Commissioners Street Bridge in place for 2024. Had to stand on short concrete construction cylinders to see over the barb wired fence and blue curtain. When the Don River is redirected from the westbound Keating Channel, this roadway today will have been dug out and underwater. (Villiers Street, Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario) 20220519Pine Hills Cemetery: Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Lowkong Society, the 吳 Ng Wu Ing Eng brotherhood in Canada. Ceremony explained that this monument is much newer, yet it’s a place that our sons have visited each year for decades. Cloudy day on Sunday was better than the tornadoes reported on Saturday. (Pine Hills Cemetery, Birchmount Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario) 20220522Pine Hills Cemetery: Visited Mom’s final resting place on a cloudy tomb sweeping day. Planted some flowers, burned incense and hell money. Event was overdue, mobility has been discouraged in multiple years of pandemic. (Pine Hills Cemetery, Birchmount Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario) 20220522Tov-Li South: Regaining lost time since university years and the wedding decades ago, had a casual dinner together to catch up on lives. Recapping the movements and careers of children who are scattering around the continent. Took some scheduling and logistics to coordinate this event just three of us across this big city. (Tov-Li South, Bathurst Street, North York, Ontario) 20220524Zoomerplex: Welcome and question-answer by #MarilynLightstone for @Doors_OpenTO tour of main hall, before seeing radio booth and museum. Complimented on her voice, she related history as a graduate of the second cohort of the #NationalTheatreSchool in Montreal, many years ago. I’m old enough to appreciate the career of this actress, but no so old that I’m listening to radio targeted to listeners reliving the 1950s and 1960s. (Zoomerplex, Jefferson Street. Liberty Village, Toronto, Ontaro) 20220528The Ismaili Centre Toronto: Park northeast of building is open not only for @Doors_OpenTO, but also wedding parties with photographers. Had joined 20 minute tour inside, the glass column extending up to the roof would be behind a featured speaker in the circular prayer hall. Guides were concise on Muslim history and religious history, I need to do some more homework to catch up. (The Ismaili Centre Toronto, Wynford Drive, Don Mills, Ontario) 20220529
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre: Sumi-e (black ink on paper painting) #HiroshiYamamoto (2022) encountered on @Doors_OpenTO site crawl, although the exhibition of The Way of the Brush regularly welcomes visitors. Work is one of 13 artists, students and teachers of the JCCC program running since 1964. Other activities in progress concurrently were a guided tour of immigration in the Moriyama Nikkei Heritage Centre, and kendo demonstrations in the studio. (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Garamond Court, Don Mills, Ontario) 20220529
