“My haiku,
I hate broccoli,
it is disgusting,
why can’t it be meat?”

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. You had a bad day once. Am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed. Why else would you dress up like a flying rat? “

“Surrender!? You think this letter on my head stands for FRANCE!?”

”In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight.”

Can you match all of the above superheroes to their quotes??

What is your favourite superhero quote?

"What are doing tonight Pedro?" "Saaame thing we do every night Buddy....."

I’ve read about these cute little guys for quite some time now. It seems after a move and previous mates passing on these two found a friend indeed.

"You know Ped, I thought Kimmel was on Brokeback Mountain?"

Pedro, 21, and Buddy, 10, have become nearly inseparable after arriving at the Toronto Zoo- and you know what, if I could

Yet for some reason more people have opted for the viral headline, “Gay Penguins” than ‘bromance’ or friends. Guess it makes for better headlines…. But come on, does everything out of the ordinary always have to be judged?

The latest headlines have stated that these boys have been split up and paired off with female counterparts. Apparently our man Pedro here has already posted his flag and started building… a new relationship that is… We can expect Pedro babies as soon as Jan some say!

"Hi I'm here!!!!!!!!!"

What do you think about Pedro and Buddy? Have any baby Pedro name ideas?

Related articles

• Same-sex penguin pair pursue female partners (cbc.ca)
• Toronto Zoo decision to separate ‘gay’ penguins sparks international outcry (theglobeandmail.com)
• Gay penguins no more: Buddy and Pedro find female partners, zookeeper says (vancouversun.com)
• Toronto Zoo to separate ‘same-sex’ penguins (cbc.ca)
• Buddy, Pedro separate, start wooing lady penguins (ctv.ca)
• When Buddy met Pedro (macleans.ca)

If you read my last post then you know that I stumbled upon Japanese- Canadian Frank Moritsugu completely by accident. I landed upon Toronto Museum Project’s page in an attempt to research an old theatre here in T.O. that has been recently revitalized.  If you’ve been to or live in Toronto, you may know of the Gerrard Cinema which was opened under the name The Athenian in 1911. Currently it is a theatre devoted to the community and the independent movie scene- awesome concept- you can check ‘em out here. Yes, I’m gonna make you wait until my article is published to find out a bit more .

In the meantime, I would like to share a bit more from the Toronto Museum Project… this time in the form of a short, but old video to give you a concept of what Toronto once was.

Reader meet Toronto circa 1960!

What I’m grateful for: Public transit (TTC), large beehives, horn-rimmed glasses, and The Guess Who!

Europe In Toronto? By Aldo G.
With my commentary!

Aldo G.

This video was likely shot around the time I made my first visit to Toronto as a child, in the 1960s. I remember fashionable crowds, the body-shaking ‘monster’ streetcars clanging by me with their loud screeches and the polite conductors, uniformly dressed.

The street cars still make all kinds of racket

(Old) City Hall, felt so old and European to me. While my parents were immigrants from Italy, I had yet to visit Europe. This new country, our new country, was a mix of new and old, and Toronto a unique blend. Arriving at Union Station and ascending to street level, it all seemed so different, perhaps better than any city I’d ever visited?

Old City Hall is absolutely beautiful and as a Torontonian I love that the city still has some of its historic architecture!

Yes, I soon concluded – definitely the best – much to the existence of Casa Loma. My fondest memory from this visit is of

Casa Loma

riding in a car (without a seatbelt), on the way to a cousin’s wedding. As we meandered along the road, what came into view was a monstrous, castle-like surprise. As I had never seen it before I gasped in awe. It was all the more dramatic for the darkening sky, a warning of the oncoming storm – the bride-to-be’s worst nightmare.

Casa Loma has some amazing history to it! It was built in a span of 3 years, beginning in 1911. Due to financial issues it was ceased by the city. In 1937 the city considered it to be demolished. And during World War 2 it concealed the use and manufacture of  sonar. It is currently undergoing a 15 year restoration and is a very popular tourist attraction. Man, what a rollercoaster!

Image via Wikipedia

This vision that has always stayed with me, the wedding trip castle with grey clouds, lightning in the background. It was some years later that I would get to go inside Casa Loma and complete the picture my imagination started – reflecting the grand past; a European throwback. Each time I take a visitor around town, it includes Casa Loma – with nary a peep about what lies on the horizon, an old but new castle.

I think we can learn from Europe and their love of architecture. I myself wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of our city preserved. Can’t wait to see the final product when Casa Loma is complete!

Have a favourite Toronto attraction, spot, or building? Let us know! Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Related articles

• Casa Loma organ turns dream into reality (thestar.com)
• Casa Loma joins ScreenScape to Educate and Entertain Visitors (prweb.com)
• Silent Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Tonight at Casa Loma (prettycleverfilms.com)
• TTC suggests annual 10 cent fare increase (cbc.ca)
• Reasons to love Toronto #1 The Toronto Film Scene (expatlogue.wordpress.com)

What I’m thankful for: Hard work, talent, spirit, and focus. Kudos to you Mr. Moritsugu!

This poster shown in 1964 on delivery trucks and streetcars is a symbolic comment on my successful Toronto life. In an era when few Asian Canadians worked as writers and editors for major Canadian newspapers, I had become the first Japanese-Canadian staffer for The Star and the first non-white columnist on any daily in the land. My initial Star column was about books and magazine and appeared thrice weekly. Then I took over the daily TV-Radio column.

The true significance of this recognition was that in anti-Oriental B.C. where I was born and raised, although elected editor-in-chief of the largest high school’s student newspaper, I never dreamed I could become a mainstream journalist. It was after World War Two ended and I now lived in Eastern Canada that I first realized becoming one was possible. While attending the University of Toronto on veteran’s benefits, I was elected editor-in-chief of the student daily. I won

Frank M. Torontonian

a Canadian University Press best editorial award, which led to a job on MacLean’s magazine. After 10 years in magazines (I had become the Canadian Homes managing editor), I was invited to join The Star. With my decade of magazine experience I became the assistant entertainment editor. After a rich three-plus years, I left Toronto. During the 1967 Montreal Expo I was the Montreal Star’s Expo Editor. This led to being invited back to Toronto to become a deputy commissioner of the Ontario pavilion at Osaka’s Expo 70, etc. After those rewarding away stints, in 1970 I returned to Toronto to stay.

Calm, cool, and Serene.

I’m not sure what it is that makes me feel so damn great about sitting alone with a book, or a guitar on my porch, or just watching people go on by.

Relax, the world isn't going anywhere

It’s times like these where you learn the most about yourself. You’re left with your own thoughts, feelings, moments. To find out more about yourself will help any other relationship you have> Friendship> Family> Lover.

It gives time to relax and be one with yourself.

"Hey, I can sense you staring...."

I was once told that if you take the time to step aside and watch the people around you for as little as 5 minutes, you’ll be able to see how that person really is.

"Are you judging me?"

But mostly, I like to admire the stillness and beauty that is nature…. Or what’s left of it.

Somethings I’ve always been fascinated by are travel and culture. I hope one day to experience more of both.

Halong Bay

“Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics, whereas disciplines such as anthropology, sociology and psychology analyze its relationship with humans and generations.”

-Wikipedia

From The Mind of Melanie.

Two of the most important things in life, I believe are friends and creativity I know this is about creativity and probably should have typed ‘creativity’ first, but I like my friends you selfish bum .

To create is beautiful and rewarding, especially if you have a passion for it. We create new articles in every day life- whether it be writing, drawing, painting, photography, etc. It feels good. You envision something and your subconscious takes over, breathing into it a life you could have only imagined. But what’s best is that when you have artistic friends, you can share in this together… or just admire their work! :p

I thought I would showcase some visions from the inner workings of some pals.

Enjoy.

Have something you’d like to share? Know a cool artist? Don’t be a

A Jordanne Production.

hog, share it!

From the mind to the pen> Kenny.

From thee Jordanne.

David Barkham

Dear Zombies; I Don't Discriminate.

And time doesn’t wait for me, it keeps on rollin’

Man it’s been such a long time.

Needless to say here I am giving a little boost to my blog, one of my many hobbies. It’s funny how you can find such joy and excitement in certain activities, but as soon as life’s bustle comes along they sadly take a backseat.

But without keeping our eye on the things that make us happy the most, we sometimes find ourselves lost in the real world; the things we make money doing; debts and financial planning; family woes.

If we’re not careful, we’ll lose ourselves.

Explosion

We need that breather to breathe life into our creations and passions! It keeps us going; it keeps us sane.

Time really is a strange entity- if it even qualifies as one, I mean it is man-made, right? We still take the liberties (in most places around the world) to manipulate time based on our vitamin D requirements, eh .

We’re here right now, and some of us think that we’re invincible, but where are we gonna be 30 years from now? The scariest part and yet the most beautiful is that everything is and always will be changing. I’ll be 52. It’ll be 2042. I’ll be living somewhere new, my sisters will be all grown up, and my parents will be old.

It’s the getting older part that scares me the most.

And yet, here I am dwelling in the now about the future.

I once heard someone say that stress is brought upon by the resisting of the future. Think they hit the nail on the head there. I mean I’m excited about new possibilities, new opportunities, learning lessons, and so on. But the prospect of seeing more of the ones I love grow older and potentially more frail is the hard part.

So, taking that as my segue, I’m going to make the month of December 2011 my list of things that I am grateful for!

And on that note, I’m gonna leave you with this little ditty… one of my favourites!

Does anyone know why they don’t make music like this anymore?

Have a fav song you’d like to share? Post a link!

Wanna see what I’m most grateful for?

Click like button, share the post, subscribe!

I’m sure it gets a little stuffy in the breathing area of things, but the recreation of that long, slithering, curious dragon seems worth it.
It’s a celebration that comes by every Autumn and is welcomed by many Asian folks around the world. Mid-Autumn to some mean the time has come to harvest, eat with loved ones, or a time to recognize one of the numerous folklore still remembered today.
In honour of the moon-cake-eating day,  I thought I’d share this picture with you.