Last night was the official tree lighting ceremony for the Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery District. The Next Generation Leahy gave a stellar performance. Based on the size of the crowd I wouldn't be surprised if next year they extended the fee paying period to include Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday. A portion of each five dollar admission fee paid on the weekends will go to the Daily Bread Food Bank, the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, and Plan Canada.
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An article I wrote for Fresh Print Magazine based on a Key Note speech by author Neil Pasriche.
To me Pompeii is in the realm of lost civilizations that makes me wonder when they will flush out Atlantis. In The Shadow Of The Volcano is on at the ROM until January 3rd, 2016. Within the covers of this document that promises to provide "frameworks that can help us support those who are homeless [while] work[ing] towards preventing and ultimately ending homelessness" are eight of my poems with accompanying visual art pieces. The following is just one of those paired sets. Aloha Big Kahunacouch surfing as necessity is ‘gnarly’ and ‘extreme’ ‘hang ten’ is difficult ‘hang twenty’ is supreme not being the ‘grubbing’ ‘sponger’ ‘dude’ & ‘dudette’ means the odd ‘mush’ or ‘keg’ taken out of ‘pocket’ no playing with the ‘woody’ or getting the ‘buoy’ ‘naked’ no room to deal with ‘swells’ can’t even fit the ‘snake’ in there is only one ‘priority’ on someone else’s turf get your own ‘360’ ‘board’ your own ‘rad’ place to ‘surf’ There are hidden meanings that will help bring the collection together. First, all the base images were created in black and white. That represents the approach current policies indicate homelessness can be dealt with. Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all application of theory or practice. The second secret is related to the accessories applied to each image. They are either candy or toys. They are an allusion to the fact that homelessness issues are sugar coated &/or treated as child's play.
This was an unusual documentary viewing experience for me. Usually, I contact the organizer of a festival (like Hot Docs) and they politely inform me about the protocols for viewing any documentaries I may be interested in. I usually watch them in bed, all huddled up under my covers, with my English bulldog Daisy. First time all the way through no breaks. Second time it's pause and restart as I take copious notes.
For Lowdown Tracks it turns out I was already going to the event as their official photographer. The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness conference took place over three days in Montreal. (You have to admit that's pretty far from my bed in Toronto.) To top it off I was in a ballroom that had been reconfigured to a double screened theatre complete with popcorn. During the single viewing of this documentary I was seated in a straight backed dining chair with none of the comforts of home. No blanket. No Daisy. No privacy. You may be asking why I needed privacy. Well to the delight of certain close families members I am highly emotional and I'll cry at the drop of a hat. They had a jolly good laugh at me at the local Cineplex during Big Hero 6. Just sayin' ... Honestly, the organizers of this viewing of Lowdown Tracks should have been handing out tissues ... not pop corn. Now, I don't want to hand out spoilers to Lowdown Tracks, other than to say, I will never again pass by a street musician without removing my headphones and giving their work an honest listen. It does need to be mentioned that I didn't miss the irony in having to travel to Montreal to see this award winning documentary that was actually made in Toronto. Fortunately, TVO is allowing me to revisit this documentary on my terms this coming weekend. I will be in bed, all huddled up under my covers, with my English bulldog Daisy. I will most certainly have a box of tissues within arms reach. TVO screenings schedule - Saturday November 14 | 9:00pm Saturday November 14 | 1:00am Sunday November 15 | 10:00pm Wednesday November 18 | 1:00am Thursday November 19 | 9:00pm Sunday November 22 | 12:00am Lowdown Tracks will give you a whole new appreciation for many things. Among those: - street musicians, and the creature comforts of home. |