Mike Simpson » blog

The Power of Online Video and Presentations – Chris Anderson from TED Talks creates a Prezi

Mike — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:09:01 +0000

Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas…

TED is a cutting-edge conference featuring “ideas worth spreading”

It goes without saying that people want to be entertained, and video may be the ultimate entertainment. The use of video in marketing, and education is also becoming more prevalent. In my workshop, a student recently declared that most of her listening exercises were conducted with video. I feel mostly the same way, and maybe that has to do with the fact that we often source our media from the Internet. The Internet, with its steady increase in content and bandwidth is an ideal platform for video.

When I conduct my “CALL workshop” – on Educational Technology – I have found that if I ask for “interesting sites” that I get a few predictable responses. In no means do I mean “predictable” as “dull.” But the two sites that are recurring with some frequency as possible teacher/student tools are TED Talks and Prezi. They are both very worthy of your time.

Presentation has come to mean two things: one a series of text and images, presented using tech like PowerPoint, and two, the actual process and art of giving a talk, with the slideshow of images and information playing a major role. the conventional knock against PowerPoint is that it is dull. In my opinion, it is not the technology at fault, but the skills and imagination of those who create them (to be simple we see too many bullets, too much text).

I happened upon some links I can share that bring it all together, and show the synergy between presentations and online video. First off TED Talks which is an amazing wealth of ideas and eloquent people speaking – and a worthy mention as great resource online. And the second, Prezi, has crept up in frequency and my be on the cusp of great things. It just so happens that I found a “talk” and a “Prezi” by TED head Chris Anderson, and it’s a cool reference from Prezi’s own blog to share with you.

Chris Anderson, not to be confused with Wired editor of the same name, is both the TED head, and one of a number of respected presenters who has shared a presentation using a web-based tool. Slideshare is a well known site, and experts such as Garr Reynolds, author of the amazing book “Presentation Zen,” has posted numerous presentations there (Check Presentation Design 411, which starts to really break the fundamentals down around slide 11). You can view Chris Anderson’s Prezi to see some of the format’s potential to be engaging and truly interactive. Watching his Prezi presentation I was reminded of the power of motion graphics tools like Adobe’s After Effects – it’s truly a visually dynamic format – the “camera” perspective pulls away, rotates and zooms in on featured content areas (which would represent slides in a tradtional Powerpoint format). Chris samples some “baby break-dancing” videos and other eclectic international footage to complement the message he has to share, which is that Internet video is changing the way we communicate in an increasingly globalized world.

If you are keen to create a whole new kind of animated Powerpoint, with highly visual transitions and different kinds of embedded media, you should check out Prezi, and Chris Anderson’s Prezi is indeed a true inspiration (see first link below).

Links:

There’s only one link you need that connects you with both Chris Anderson’s Prezi presentation and one of his TED talks:
http://blog.prezi.com/2010/09/16/watch-ted-head-chris-andersons-prezi/

Prezi – “Create game-changingpresentations online.”
http://prezi.com/

A blog article on the features of Prezi – “Finding an alternative to PPT”

http://www.k-international.com/blog/finding-an-alternative-to-powerpoint/

Presentation guru Garr Reynolds wrote about this same topic here
Garr Reynolds’ blog entry on Chris Anderson’s Ted Talk and Prezi

Alternative Online Presentation Tool – Slideshare -” Offers users the ability to upload and share publicly or privately PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and Adobe PDF Portfolios”
http://www.slideshare.net/

Alternative Online Presentation Tool - Google Docs (also create text docs, spreadsheets and more)
https://docs.google.com

Childhood Classmate Played Pro Hockey – Craig Fisher Retired after Concussion

Mike — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:50:32 +0000

When I was growing up, my mother would take notes about what sports we kids played, how tall we were at certain ages, and what we wanted to be “when we grew up.” My entries say things like: Mike wants to be: an astronaut, a fireman, a baseball player. And variations of those would recur. The one that was always there was the idea of playing in the “big leagues” or as the hockey world call it, “the show.”

I never got remotely close, though I captained my team one year in house league, and was always a strong skater. My brothers dabbled in some all-star hockey. Being a stats man I looked it up one time – if you crunch the numbers it is a long shot – something like 1 in 1500 registered minor hockey players will make the NHL. (500,000 kids are registered in Canada in any given year, and about 50% of the NHL, or approximately 300+ players are Canadian).

One classmate from public school who turned into a “phenom” – was Craig Fisher. I watched his career from afar. He grew up not far from me and we played “foot hockey” with a tennis ball in the school yard. I suppose as far back as I can remember he played in elite all-star leagues, and then moved to the next town to play in the “Triple A” league. He ended up playing for an American college and being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers 56th overall in 1988.

Craig wasn;’t the only kid I knew who grew up to play pro sports. I saw Nigel Wilson, another schoolmate, astound locals on the ball-field, and then go on to a major league baseball career with time spent in both the U.S. and Japan. Craig’s story was more special to me though. I guess hockey is closer to the heart. I’m a slightly fair-weather fan, and though I watch most Leaf games, I save my true enthusiasm these days for cheering Canada in international hockey. I do have a weakness not many might guess, for the interesting stories that go along with the long-road and grind that athletes endure in pursuit of professional careers. thus, I followed Craig from afar, googling him every few years to see where he was at.

Over the years in a handful of searches, I found interesting stats, articles and quotes about Craig. Craig played 12 NHL games for three different teams (Philly, Winnipeg, Florida), and spent his pro career otherwise playing on NHL farm teams in cities like Cape Breton, Indianapolis, Hershey, and Rochester (plus a stint in Germany in Cologne). A coach called him one of the best hockey players to play in the minors in the 1990s. In 1995-96 he scored an astounding 74 goals in 82 games with the IHL Orlando Solar Bears. In 1999, the year a concussion knocked him from the game, he had 23 points in the first 17 games and was pencilled in to be on the Team Canada squad at the All-Star Game. Just before Christmas that year I recall talking with my mother about his accomplishments and then hearing that a concussion had side-lined him. He retired not long after that, and it took him years to fully recover.

Just killing time a few days ago, I decided to google Craig and see what I could find. Not much has been out there for the last 10 years, aside from Rochester Americans fans lamenting the loss of “Fish,” and they called him. I stumbled upon an entry written in an upper NY State paper that discussed a hockey reunion in Rochester that featured the return of “Goal-machine Craig Fisher.” Wow! Really cool! Even nicer was to read that he sounds like he completely recovered and he is still involved in hockey, posted as a an assistant coach with a local Southern Ontario university team.

Craig had a very successful hockey career and I wish him luck in his coaching career. All the best!

Links:

Craig’s stats at the Hockey Database:
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=1686

Newspaper article about Rochester Americans alumni reunion
http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/kevino/2011/10/11/goal-machine-craig-fisher-joining-alumni-reunion/

If you click “Sports” in the categories you will find other related posts, plus I have written a book review about Canadian coach Dave King ‘s “King of Russia” (links at top).

Interview with Ray Larabie – Font Designer

Mike — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:01:13 +0000

Early this year I interviewed Ray Larabie, a Canadian font designer (from Ottawa), who lives and works in Nagoya, Japan. Ray studied animation at Sheridan college and worked initially in the video game industry. He runs a successful company called Typodermic. I knew about Ray back in my early days of design (mid 90s) because I had on occasion searched for free fonts on the web. At that time he operated as Larabie fonts (there are still dozen of his freebies out there!). I rediscovered Ray doing some font browsing at MyFonts.com. Ray is an interesting guy and I’m pleased to announce he’s the first subject in my newly launched interview page (which will archive other interviews I’ve done as well, with a variety of artists, musicians, designers and thinkers). Check out the interview!

Do we get the General Idea? Art Exhibit arrives at AGO

Mike — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:38:26 +0000

There is a quite a buzz surrounding the arrival of a large exhibition of work by General Idea at the Art Gallery of Ontario. GI were a Toronto-based art collective, founded in 1969 and comprised of: AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal. They were renowned for their irreverance and satirical wit – playful yet antagonistic in their sometimes harsh critiques of beauty, sexuality, the art establishment and the media.

The exhibit occupies most ofthe top two floors in the general collection, which means there is no additional charge. We arrived on a rainy Wednesday evening at 6 o’clock – coincidentally the night that the gallery is free for a couple hours, and made our way straight to floor 5, with the plan to work our way down to 4. We bypassed the classics on floor 1 and headed straight to the elevator. The scale of the work exhibited is impressive. It basically occupies two entire floors (there are only 5 in the general gallery) and features impressively large works (some of which though may fatigue the eyes with their incredible saturated color schemes).

The work itself is interesting but grows a tad tiresome – there are a handful of major works involved, motifs, that are worked again and again. The AIDS logo, if we can call it that, is a fabulous reworking of the classic LOVE sculpture created by Robert Indiana. It appears in various guises, and is an incredible example of the modern art of sampling, recycling and reworking earlier design for a modern purpose. When displayed across a 5 metre by 10 metre wall though, the motif loses something and truthfully is a little disorienting and painful to look at (there is actually a physically uncomfortable component that both me and my companion noticed – was that part of the intent? I’ll guess the answer is no and that the curators are simply milking the themes for all they are worth).

I was very intrigued by “Miss General Idea” – a paraody beauty contest that was a major early work. It is genius – they created this contest, publicized it and playfully attacked the institution of the beauty contest. It’s too bad the displays consist mostly of blown-up images from their pamphlets, or a few simple props (though the props are sometimes outstanding – the venetian blind dress comes to mind!).

There are motifs that entertain and bring true giggles – the Poodles orgy images are omnipresent but beautifully designed (and the babies illustration is wickedly brilliant!). The Poodles are a welcome image that recurs throughout the exhibit and somehow have true staying power never losing steam and are ingrained in my mind.

General Idea is arguably, one of the most important artistic groups to have been generated in Toronto, and , not being an art expert, I won’t judge their significance in that way. I will give them a nod and say that I greatly admire their pioneering DIY spirit, the verve with which they threw themselves into areas like publishing (FILE magazine), and their masterly manipulations of the establishment (“Miss General Idea”) and the art industry. A great sense of humour is readily apparent, though truthfully many pieces have a dark, serious quality. The aesthetic is very punk – which is always good. Even if you don’t “get it” necessarily, you will feel the visceral quality and never ever be bored. That said, I have been lucky enough to visit a few exhibits in the last year, including “Rear View Mirror” at Power Plant, Tim Burton at TIFF, and Marian Bantjes at OCAD, and I can definitely say there is room for improvement in the layout and presentation of the General Idea group’s art.

This exhibit relies too much on the AIDS imagery, tries to blow things up to a scale which doesn’t necessarily serve the message in the medium, and unfortunately lacks proper vehicles for two important elements. The first is a proper history of the group, something to give the average gallery-goer some context, and secondly, a proper venue for the multimedia aspect. Power Plant had small mini rooms that are dark and allowed one to sit and immerse onself in a movie for a few minutes. The AGO has monitors with either shabby speakers or headphones – which is not even close to good enough. Is the multimedia worth displaying? Then put it in a dedicated room!

General Idea were a compelling group of artists with some amazing ideas. This exhibit is probably your best opportunity to engage with those ideas. I just recommend going on Wednesday when it’s rainy and there is no line-up for the AGO’s free-admission night.

“Haute Culture – General Idea” runs from July 30, 2011 to January 1, 2012 at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.

Links:

Toronto Star article – provides an introduction and overview
http://www.thestar.com/article/1032194–general-idea-haute-culture-at-the-ago

Art Gallery of Ontario website

http://www.ago.net/haute-culture-general-idea

Remembering and Celebrating Jack

Mike — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:06:35 +0000

Photo by Jackman Chiu

On the morning of my birthday, August 22, we were doing our usual breakfast time things when suddenly the TV announced that Jack Layton had passed. What a shock! It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was amazing to witness the coverage on CBC and other channels – it reminded me of the fanfare and mourning that accompanied the death of Pierre Trudeau. One of the amazing things I remember about that was sitting with my mother and watching the train that transported Trudeau and his sons from Ottawa to Montreal, and how amazing it was when the camera captured people standing at railway crossings waving and the sons leaning out windows to engage with the well-wishers.

It is a sad and profound moment. At 61 Layton was truly just hitting his stride. Could he have been PM? It’s possible. There is a swing going on now in politics – the greens are gaining and young people are seemingly turning to the left. When they interviewed a group of twenty-somethings in a restaurant after the televised leaders debates during the last election, nearly every one of them said “Jack won.” I think it was partly his charisma, and partly a left-leaning wave. There are always waves and times of momentum, and right now Harper is riding his, but times will change, and he will be replaced. Will it be by an NDP, Liberal or Coalition leader? No one can say.

Jack was important to me and I am left very saddened by this turn of events. I remembered how gaunt he looked in his last television appearance but I assumed he was in recovery and going to gain strength and come back fighting. This time also reminds me of my mother’s battle with cancer. She too had ups and downs before she finally lost her battle. Jack represented a genuine force for the common good. He was the champion of what is right, and would engage in battles for the little guy – meaning the urban poor, women, children and seniors. He was particularly vocal on the behalf of seniors and that was an endearing quality. Of course he was a friend to the workers and battled for the environment too.

There is one particularly amazing scene that I have in my mind about Jack and his public persona and public battles. Some would say he had a bit of the grand-stander in him, but I argue that his pedigree, work ethic and talent for speaking just produced the right combination of characteristics to allow him to rise to the fore in many public forums of debate. He was an all-star city councillor and was frequently found at the front lines, at a protest, or discussing among a group at a public debate. This scene I have in my mind is one found in the documentary “The Mayor of Tent City,” which documents the brief existence of “Tent City” – a shantytown on Toronto’s waterfront that existed around 2000. The movie centres on a charismatic German emigree who the homeless denizens look to for leadership, but also turns the lens on Jack Layton, who is right in the thick of it when the police and bulldozers come calling. Here is what the CBC website report said:

City councillor Jack Layton, who is also running for the leadership of the federal NDP, said the evictions underline the homelessness problem in the city.

“As we’ve been pointing out for years, we need some affordable housing built,” said Layton. “At least at Tent City they’d built themselves a warm place for the winter.”

Jack Layton was a hero to me. It is obvious but can be restated – he was such a powerful figure that people would definitely vote NDP rather than for the local NDP candidate. He was consistently rated higher in polls than Harper or Ignatieff. The only elite politician with his kind of pull is probably Elizabeth May, and she is indeed a fighter as well, but the Greens may take many more years, perhaps decades, before they even get remotely into contention with centre-left parties like the NDP.

Truth be told, up until this summer I didn’t know much about Jack. It was a Maclean’s magazine piece on his life and legacy that really blew me away, and made me feel I understood the confluence of factors that brought him to that pedestal of power where he was but one step away from the PM’s office. Quite a rise, from city council to the highest echelons. Jack came from an elite background in Anglo Montreal, but was quite naturally a true man of the people – down to earth, earnest, vociferous on many issues and fronts, and it is these qualities that mark his legacy and instill powerful memories that will not dim for a long, long while. Rest in peace Jack.

Links:

Photographer Jackman Chiu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewolf011/

Maclean’s article – a MUST READ – The Life and Time’s of Jack Layton
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/06/17/the-making-of-jack-layton/

Macleans article – Jack Layton’s Amazing Race
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/04/29/jacks-amazing-race/

BlogTO – Hundreds rally to remember Jack Layton
http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/08/hundreds_rally_in_toronto_to_remember_jack_layton/

CBC Article on Toronto’s “Tent City”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2002/09/24/tentcity_eviction020924.html

Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Layton

The movie “The Mayor of Tent City” can be found in the Toronto Public Library.

Iconic Canadian Graphic Artist Marian Bantjes Exhibit at OCAD

Mike — Sun, 22 May 2011 21:59:14 +0000

"I want it all" - Marian Bantjes

If you get a chance you must head to the Onsite gallery at OCADU and catch the Marian Bantjes exhibit. Marian recently published, “I Wonder,” a beautifully printed and design “illuminated manuscript” (as design guru Steven Heller has described it). She is definitely one of Canada’s hottest designers. She is a graphic artist who brings passion and personality to her intricate crafty work. Specializing in highly detailed illustration and beautiful typographic work, Bantjes captivates with a variety of works, from magazine covers to posters to laser-cut valentine cards. The detail is phenomenal and the approach highly original. A little bonus is the sound recording of her reading one of her “love letter” pieces aloud, which you’ll find in the main room. This show is here for another two weeks – so be sure to check it out.

Read Steven Heller’s review of “I Wonder” in the NY Times (with slideshow of book spreads):
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/graphic-content-marian-bantjes-illuminated/

Visit the Onsite gallery is on the second floor of the main OCAD building at 100 McCaul St. in downtown Toronto (beside the AGO). The exhibit is on from March 2 – June 5, 2011
http://www.ocad.ca/onsite.htm

50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s Historic First Orbit in Space

Mike — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:30:06 +0000

10 Ruble Russian Coin featuring cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (Photo by Mike)

Today is “Day of the Soviet Space Program (Cosmonautics)” for Russians – a day to remember the cosmonaut and national hero Yuri Gagarin, who on April 12, fifty years ago, was blasted into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

His famous quote, and a good one to say when you are toasting your Russian friends over some vodkas is “Поехали!” (Paya hellei – Let’s go!).

I would encourage you to check out some video and articles that explore the first orbit by Gagarin and the Soviet/Russian space program – some recommendations follow.

Watch:

“First Orbit” real-time video recreation (uses HD international space station footage and original audio)

http://youtu.be/RKs6ikmrLgg

Read:

Article on Star City (Soviet / Russian Space Program Headquarters) at Russia! Magazine. First link is to web site, second is to actual magazine spreads using the Issue viewer (worthwhile to see some Laika – the space dog – cartoons).

http://readrussia.com/magazine/winter-2008/00044/
http://issuu.com/russiamagazine/docs/russia__magazine

Article on Star City at Wired Magazine

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-09/ff_starcity

Essential Docs – Mike’s Favorite Documentary Films

Mike — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:14:40 +0000

Mike has been an earnest student of film since he studied the “History of Cinema” and “Italian Cinema” at university. Mike is an aspiring filmmaker with a few short videos under his belt. Currently he is working on “City Symphony” – a hybrid documentary / music video that includes music by his alter-ego “Mikooshka.”

Here are some of my favourite docs – in alphabetical order. After you read this please feel free to comment or use the share button to send this on to your colleagues, friends and family.

* Canadian movie, director, or content

*9 Blocks, 6 Months – Dir. Christopher Romeike – Poignant interwoven stories in Toronto’s working class Parkdale neighbourhood. A sensitive and quiet movie that is emotionally rich and beautifully shot.

Barbarians at the Gate – Dir. Spike Jonze – Fun cross-America skateboard tour with Foundation/Blind teams. Frames the hi-jinx and skate action with the “American Vacation” style narrative and visuals.

Watch scenes from this movie via my playlist at YouTube
Barbarians at the Gate – Dir. Spike Jonze

Big River Man - Dir. John Maringouin – Follows Martin Strel, a burly hard-drinking Eastern European, who swims the longest rivers of the world, and in this feature, attempts to swim the length of the Amazon. Incredible mix of drama, humour, and scenery.

DC Movie – Dir. Greg Hunt – DC Shoe Co. + skateboard superstars = amazing production value. One of the most incredible “action sports” videos of the last ten years. Danny Way’s record-setting airs off the big ramps set to Metallica are easily the highlight.

Food Inc – Dir. Robert Kenner – A highly professional documentary that utilizes some slick motion graphics and cinematography in its production, while illuminating the current crisis in American/global agricultural practices (co-produced by Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation”).

*Gambling, Gods and LSD – Dir. Peter Mettler – a psycho-geographical journey into the modern day world via beautifully filmed scenes in North American casinos, evangelical churches and contrasted with scenes from exotic locations like India.

Grizzly Man – Dir. Werner Herzog – A story about a man who lived and died with grizzly bears in the Alaskan frontier – absolutely essential viewing from the quintessential documentarian. Also recommended is the more recent ”Encounters At the End of the World” (about his travels to Antarctica).

*Manufactured Landscapes – Dir. Jennifer Baichwal – Photographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscape due to industrial work and manufacturing. Some of the most striking scenes demonstrate the awesome scale of development in China.

*Mayor of Tent City – Dir. Rosalie Bellefontaine - Gritty urban tale of hope and redemption for homeless in Toronto’s “Tent City” shanty town. You may be only able to find a copy of this in the library system.

*McLuhan’s Wake – Dir. Kevin McMahon – Excellent overview of the life, career, and work of Marshall McLuhan within a narrative framework that centres on “The Laws of Media,” his last scholarly work. Also look for Kevin’s newest work, Waterlife – a doc focused on the ecology and issues of the Great Lakes.

My Architect – Dir. Nathaniel Kahn – Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.

*Souvenir of Canada – Dir. Robin Neinstein – Explores Doug Coupland’s life story, “Souvenir” photography-based books of iconic Canadian products, his family, and artistic life (his preparations for an art show called “Canada House”). One of my all-time favorites. Compelling, profound, and funny.

That is my list – I’d welcome yours! It’s an interesting exercise to do this. What do our favorites say about us? I know for one thing, that at this moment it’s even easier for me to concoct a list of docs than regular flicks. These days I am ravenous for documentary film and there is a mountain of great material out there. I get my movies in equal number from my local video shop – the amazing “Big Daddy’s” on Dundas St West – and the Toronto Public Library, which has an extensive catalogue.

Related Note 1: Read my book review of Douglas Coupland’s “Extraordinary Canadians: Marshall McLuhan”

Related Note 2: When I was googling these movies to confirm the director info I found my own page at the top of the Google results for “Barbarians at the Gate” (#1 of 353 listings for “Spike Jonze Barbarians at the Gate”). Spike Jonze is a famous Hollywood director these days, but he got his start in more humble skateboarding industry productions.

My original “review” page with stills from Barbarians at the Gate is here:

http://strongandfree.ca/skateontario/video/classics.htm

New Doc and Drama about Social Media (aka Facebook) – Catfish and The Social Network

Mike — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:42:22 +0000

This could be the zeitgeist moment of Facebook – when the little social network that could really become an all-encompassing behemoth. Already writers and thinkers in the tech world compare its scope and power with Google. It is an incredible phenomenon: it quite reminds me of the game changing killer app that was Napster at its peak circa summer 2001. It is is the quintessential social media app – and it seems these days that everybody is using Facebook.

Whatever your opinion of it, Facebook is an epoch definer, and a marvelous indicator of the state of the social Internet (aka social media), and two new movies in theatres now describe different facets of the world-wide wonder (which recently hit 500 million users and looks unstoppable). The two movies diverge in their style and content but a cautionary tale emerges overall.

“Catfish,” as I see it, looks to be the more interesting of the two. It’s a documentary about the true life saga of a New york photographer (Nev Schulman) who unwittingly befriends an artist fan on Facebook and has all hell break loose around him because of it. Apparently it’s a slowly evolving account of the worst-case stalker scenario you could imagine and it’s nerve-rattling.

“The Social Network” is a biopic that focuses on the conflicts and drama surrounding young founder Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founding cronies. Though starring actors like Jesse Eisenberg and pop star Justin Timberlake, this is no lightweight romanticized tale (it is unauthorized and “liberally dramatized” according to Wired Magazine). Apparently the story is highly melodramatic, invoking Greek mythology and dramatic turns that echo the back-stabbing confrontations of Shakespeare. As a rabid fan of documentaries I intend to catch Catfish soon, while I think I’ll wait for the Social Network to hit TBS on a “leave the TV on as background noise” night. Nevertheless Wired has a compelling article in their new issue (with amazing art) which is worth a look – links below.

Links:

Review of “Catfish” at Canada.com

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Review+Catfish/3569642/story.html

Article on “The Social Network” at Wired Magazine

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/09/ff_thesocialnetwork/

Pedestrian Sundays Rock Toronto’s Kensington Market

Mike — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:55:29 +0000

< Photo of Maracatu Nunca Antes, Toronto-based Brazilian music group, by Yvonne Bambrick

Kensington Market is a colorful, lively place chock full of quaint shops and colorful characters. On the last Sunday of every month they hold an innovative, car-free, pedestrian-only street festival.

My pal Grey Coyote is the President of the Kensington Market Action Committee and a loyal supporter of community events like Pedestrian Sundays. I asked him to write about the event and tell us what we might expect for the last two events on September 26th and October 31st.

“With the summer quickly fading away, the hotter days of Pedestrian Sundays is now behind us, but there are still two left to go. On September 26th, the theme will be fall harvest time – and on October 31st, it will be a Halloween theme as we honour our ancestors. As with every street closure, there will be giant games in the middle of the street, buskers and musicians spread out the whole length of the Market, and as far as the eye can see – food – food – FOOD! So far, with absolutely no corporate funding whatsoever, we’ll pulled off most of our 7th season without a hitch. Belly-dancers warmed things up in anticipation of summer on the May 30th opener. The June 27th event was a fire theme, and I almost got heat stroke shaking my percussion along with the Samba Elegua! On July 25th, we had a water theme to try to cool things down, and on August 15th, we all tried to turn off as much power as possible to remember the great blackout of 2003. August 29th saw the Kensington Air show (our way of saying that we don’t need the war planes that come for the other air show at the lake). For each and every one, the streets were packed with a multicultural melange of people enjoying the streets without any vehicular intrusion – something that can be instituted in any community that wants to band together and have a street closure day. – For me, that’s the most important part of it all – knowing that this is our town and our streets and that bowing to the convenience of cars is not something that we have to do every day.”

Grey Coyote
greycoyote.net
paradisebound.ca

THANKS to my contributors: Grey Coyote and Yvonne Bambrick

More info: P.S. Kensington