crazed monkey

This morning after having bought my coffee, I went to grab the honey from the self-serve area. Noticing it was missing, I checked above the espresso machine to see if it was there. As it wasn’t, I asked someone for it and they went to get a fresh one. Upon his return, he told me that they were now keeping the honey behind the counter as “people were drinking it.” I wasn’t so much disgusted as I was upset at being told that fact now after months of adding saliva-laden honey to my coffee. Sometimes honesty isn’t the best policy.

Posted on September 12th, 2007 in culture - 3 Comments »

Chris S posted a summary of upcoming and ongoing public works projects within the city. One item he neglected to mention is the Four Seasons Centre For the Performing Arts under construction on Queen St. West between York and University. It is this project which is forcing the Hummingbird Centre, now the home of the Canadian Opera Company, to be rethought.

With all the construction, development and planning occuring, it appears that Toronto will finally be developed into the sophisticated little city we’ve always thought it to be. Yet, despite all the impending evolution, I can’t help but think that there’s something that’s lacking our attention. If you could make a suggestion to improve Toronto would would it be?

I have always thought that Toronto needs automobile-free zones where entire streets act as a public square. Several city councillors have supported a motion to create car-free zones in the Kensington Market, Yorkville, and Chinatown areas. I think it would be better if there were car-free zones closer to the downtown core, however.

When the south-east and north-east corners of Dundas and Yonge were razed, I had thought it would be nice to have a square straddle a closed-off section of Dundas. A small park to the north would be filled with shade trees which would also line the streetcar tracks. This could still be implemented, now that the plans for the cineplex on that corner have been shelved. However, I doubt that the same people who came up with the dreary Dundas Square have the ability to attempt something as refreshing as an automobile-free zone in the downtown core.

The upcoming projects Chris mentions are a good start. I just think more could be done to make downtown Toronto more vibrant and conducive to community and culture.

Posted on September 5th, 2003 in culture - No Comments »

Maybe it’s because I just started reading Scott McCloud’s Reinventing Comics, but two recent reviews of online comics seem to be lacking:

• Slashdot: Comics On The Net - A Business Primer
• Kuro5hin: Web Comics Reviewed

I feel that the comics reviewed in that second article are disappointing, albeit somewhat entertaining, forays into the genre. Most, if not all, of the featured comics would easily be at home in print. Personally, the online comics which stick in my mind are the ones which push the envelope. For instance, although I read When I Am King a while back, it still sticks in my mind. Even though it came out a couple of years ago, it’s still innovative. Why haven’t other comics followed?

Here’s what the standards geek in me wants to see: a fully standards-compliant comic (both CSS and XHTML) drawn in SVG and taking full advantage of the infinite canvas. If I had more artistic talent, I’d be devoting myself to that cause. Damn, that would be cool.

Posted on June 27th, 2003 in culture - No Comments »

Last night I headed out to the Toronto launch of the 2003 Varia compilation CD at Kathedral. My number one reason for going was to see acidasia perform in The Scroll and Ögenix. This was something I had been wishing to witness since I first heard of acidasia’s band membership.

The Scroll opened up and started off with numerous sound problems due to the inept and inattentive sound technician with which the event was cursed. Despite this, the band held their own and recovered excellently, successfully remaining in character throughout the set. The Scroll had an excellent stage presence, with the two lead vocalists acting off one another, giving a somewhat tongue-in-cheek performance with a subtle sense of humour. Each was dressed for their roles: Deeh, the male lead, in stilettos, fishnets and a scandalously short miniskirt, and acidasia sporting long black hair in thick curls, a black patent leather skirt slit on either side and thick-soled black boots. On a couple of tunes the duo sang to each other, giving the impression of a storyline. In retrospect, it would have been interesting to see this aspect of the set emphasised into an operetta of sorts. If done properly, this format could escape pretentiousness and enhance the atmosphere of the performance. Then again, perhaps The Scroll were already doing this and I’m just a little slow to figure it out.

Next up was Ögenix, the other band with which acidasia is involved. What a tight outfit this was. The instrumentals were note-for-note dead-on, which was astounding given the speed at which the two guitarists, Deeh and SET, were going. This, combined with Gabriel’s aggressive use of the synth and vocals, made for an energetic performance of well-organised chaos. If that wasn’t enough, Ögenix replayed a track at double-speed to close the set. Acidasia tells me that the band has been together and rehearsing for quite a while, and it truly shows. From what I saw Sunday evening, Ögenix is the one to watch out of Montréal, and they were performing under far from ideal conditions. I could write more, but you really need to see these guys.

Scrape followed in the next act with some dark beat poetry from the Underworld. The band consisted of one member on synths and a second front-and-centre on ghoulishly-vocoded vocals, miraculously filling the stage with his gesturing presence. The vocalist was not that large and yet somehow his arms seemed to encompass the entire stage.

Pulse Plant closed off the Varia portion of the show with a live techno set. I wasn’t paying that much attention and there’s not that much one can say about a lone man tweaking knobs onstage.

After the show some of us, including the members of The Scroll and Ögenix, headed out to a suite at the Marriott for the after-party. Apart from a loud and bawdy but relatively tame version of “truth or dare”, everyone was fairly well-behaved, depending on what your expectations were. Sure, there was the woman clad in latex fetish gear fellating a mid-size brass onyx statue, and an ice bucket emptied on an innocent and unsuspecting friend of mine, but that’s to be expected where there’s absinthe involved.

Ah yes, the absinthe. SET graciously shared his bottle of the stuff (apparently as real as it gets these days, labelled as such on the bottle) with everyone who asked, myself included. To serve, SET poured most of one shot in a glass, and placed a sugar cube dipped in the remainder on top of what I can only describe as a small metal plate punched with a few holes. This plate was then placed over the glass while SET poured a shot of Figi water. The sugar cube was then lit and allowed to burn for a few seconds, causing it to melt, before it was transferred to the glass. The resulting blue flames were put out with the shot of water. I can’t really describe the flavour, which was somewhat sweet from the sugar and cool, not warming like scotch, and with barely an aftertaste. The buzz was clean and smooth, almost imperceptible with more of a mental drunkenness than a physical one. Absinthe is definitely something I would like to try again, although it is quite expensive. Thanks again to SET for sharing.

I finally headed home at around 6am, giving me just enough time to put in a few hours of sleep before heading into work. Remarkably, I felt rested and even now don’t feel incredibly tired. I haven’t been able to stay up that late and with so few ill effects since my university days. I’ll probably pay for it yet, however.

Posted on June 9th, 2003 in culture, music - No Comments »

A good friend of mine from university will be performing as part of the 2003 Varia Compilation CD release tour at the Ögenix and on vocals with The Scroll. Other bands include Pulse Plant, Scrape, and headlining guests Sylvania. Tickets are $10 at the door, which gives you a copy of the Varia compilation CD.

I have to admit that it’s been a while since anything remotely techno-industrial was “my thing”. Hell, it’s been almost ten years since I willfully listened to anything kids today call “dark”. The music will probably be too loud, which means that I’ll have to turn down my hearing aid. Damned kids! Make no mistake that if Olivia is involved then it will be good. Oh, and there’s a good old-fashioned hotel suite after-party after the show. Look for the most straight-laced guy you can find and that will be me.

Update: I wrote a review of the Toronto launch party for the Varia compilation CD.

Posted on June 6th, 2003 in culture, music - No Comments »