February 9th - Post Snow

There's a campfire circle made
from old logs in a parkette on Cowan.
I wonder if there's ever been a fire?

^ Trees decorate the side of the community center



The Budget Super Savings Discount Store
should win an award for their name.

It's got an entire isle dedicated to snake oil charms.
What else can you find in there.....


ROAR!

The Winter Drags On...

but it's not dragging me down
and on a warm day like today
I know spring isn't far away


^clearly the work of The Grinch


^ Gallery 1313 - I love my homemade fisheye.


^here's a mural in a vacant lot where
a gas station used to be.
I wonder if there will ever be a new
gas station in Parkdale.
My guess would be that a straightened
Dufferin Street would bring one.


^ here's a crumbly old mural on the side of a Chinese restaurant.
Queen Street West / Dunn Avenue

Done with Winter

There was a big storm this Weekend,
the first really big storm of the season.

I'm done with winter already.

signposts

An open letter to the neighbours,

probably from an unstable author,
and more interesting than advertising.

October

This corner is slowly getting overgrown.
I wish more areas in Parkdale
were turning green.

Parkdale has some interesting sights.

Parkdale is funny

Here's a local artist project to update bike lock posts.
I get the bike, but why the glasses?

Someone had fun with the letters.

Sunnyside Pavilion
is the best place ever.
It's even better than that
when my girl's there with me.

back in action jackson

Yes, it's been way too long since a Parkdale Photo Update.
I blame my work, my motorcycle and excuse of the season... facebook.

Durring Doors Open Toronto I went on to the
roof of the Horse Palace at the CNE with my girlfriend.
It wasn't as exciting as I hoped, but it did feel like
we were somewhere we shouldn't be. inflitration.org

This is a funky old apartment building at King & Cowan.
There's some renovations going on right now.

This strange mural is painted on the side of
an abandon funeral home on Queen Street.
The more I think about it, the more creepy it seems.

A Parkdale Moment....

If you've ever walked along King Street in Parkdale
before 9:00am, then you've probably seen the mobs
of children on their way to school. Well this morning
I saw a Dad walking his two sons, who were probably
about eight or ten years old, on their way to school.

The Dad and his kids were singing 'I like to move it, move it'
and the kids were just laughing and screaming and singing.
I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, partially because
that song is a very guilty pleasure of mine, but mostly
just because it was such a perfect family moment.

The dad saw me smiling and laughing along with them
so he got the kids to wave and I gave him a big thumbs-up.
If I ever have kids, I hope they like to 'move it, move it' too!

oh coffee time!

A little while ago I had a picture

of a 'no pets' sign in the window
of my local Coffee Time. It was
a silly picture because they used
a stock photo of a wildcat.

Well now that photo is gone,
and this is their new sign.

I guess the problem wasn't with wild lynx
coming into the shop for a coffee,
but with adorably cute puppies.

I've never seen anything 'adorably cute'
in that Coffee Time, so I don't see the problem.

blue rodeo

Blue Rodeo sings some sad songs.

And maybe soon there'll come a day
When no more tears will fall
We each forgive a little bit
And we both look back on it
It's just bad timing that's all

We each forgive a little bit
And we both look back on it
It's just bad timing that's all


Sorry about these moody posts,
but I'll get back to parkdale photos soon.
Good thing the spring is here, and the sun s shining.

here's something fun to make up for my melancholy mood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5zzp5kNEYk
(an Extreme Hammock video starring ME!)

The day before the Equinox

Remember last sping when the grass was green?
Come on spring... any time now.

Yes I take lots of snaps of "horse cops".
I don't refer to them as 'cops on horseback'
because I think of the horse as an officer of the law too.

This one pulled over a car for making
an illegal left turn at King / Atlantic.
This is one of the 'Quota Corners'.

In Like A Lion....

March roared in like a Lion.
Here's a power "crüe" on Cowan.

The Crüe on Dunn Ave left Elmo
as a marker for low power lines.

I've always wondered if giving a
Police Horse a slice of an apple
would be considered bribery?

Deepest Winter

Here's my work buddy.
When I'm too busy with work,
I rely on him to take it easy for me.

Hang in there buddy,
the snow's not that deep.

No Wild Cats in Coffee Time

I bought a coffee Friday Morning before work
and ended up having the biggest laugh of the week.

Usually a dumb sign means that a dumb person
tried to 'pee on the electric fence', but I wonder
if this means someone tried to bring a jungle cat
into Coffee Time for a Bagel and a Double-Double?

Or maybe it means 'No Cougars'?
...only in Parkdale!

It's been too long....

I haven't posted in a long time

and I think it's because Parkdale is
slowly closing in on me. It's getting smaller.
I love that I can walk to work, and my girlfriend
lives just a few blocks away, but it feels like my
world is shrinking. Bloor St used to seem far north
to me but now I rarely cross Queen St.

I just found this: www.rentometer.com
and it turns out I pay slightly more rent
than other people around the area.
But still compared to the rest of Toronto....


^photos by Phirleh
(an all-around talent)

Inukshuks by me

Moving into Fall....

The remake of 'Hairspray' is filming around town.
People in Parkdale know this location as the place
where they fix broken garbage trucks that stinks
when the wind blows the wrong way on a summer day.

The Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place.
Ontario Place is South Parkdale, because I say so.

I made a joke to a co-worker that this
was Parkdale's "Haunted House" because
all the kids going to school in the morning
seem to walk on the other side of the road.
A few days after that someone was shot in the
head in the place. The cops say it was over crack.

CSI:Toronto was there for days

TorontoFC Update

I'm getting really excited about the
National Soccer Stadium (aka BMO Field)Here's a shot of the west side grandstand.
I plan on sitting right in the middle,
as close to the field as I can get.

Election Day

It's election day in Parkdale (and High Park)

I saw Cheri DiNovo near the voting station,
and she's much squintier in person.
I can vote for a person with gunslinger eyes.

Let's Go To The EX!

The Canadian National Exhibition
runs for the two weeks preceding Labour Day.
The EX starts if you go through the Dufferin Gates,
which is definately in the deepest, darkest hart of Parkdale

At the EX you can ride 'The Cooter'

This is the sun setting through a glass dome.
The building is doing a Circus show now,
but it's going to be a nightclub in the Fall.


So those wern't gunshots?
(I've never really heard gunshots in Parkdale)

This is the second biggest sunflower I've ever seen.
The biggest one was in the same lawn,
but I was too afraid to take it's picture.

I want to grow my own next Summer.

late summer

Well the temperature is dropping
and it feels like summer is closing shop.
I'm hoping for one last sunny heatwave
to give the season a proper send-off.

This door did not lead to the Dark Tower.
I checked.

I really hope they find "Fleabag"

The Mayor Of Parkdale

Here's Kevin Clarke.
He's running for mayor of Toronto.

Sorry I've been slacking with the updates,
but it's summer and I've been out of the city.

Self potrait with the crying 9-11 Eagle.

It's been a while since I've posted on here,
but that's because the other site I'm running
has just exploded. Somehow Extreme Hammock
has past 30,000 hits and it's getting bigger all the time.

Make sure to check it out.

Big Fun!

Well I've finally been given a break from the

work marathon that is Canadian Idol,
so now it's time for Summer Fun!

There's no better place for Summer Fun than
Sunnyside Cafe (and pool) on a Tuesday.
Parkdale's Oasis.


The hammock comes out down by Ontario Place!
There's something hypnotic about the wind turbine.
check out Extreme Hammock V.2


There's some really nice old Deco appts
scattered around Parkdale. The Everglades
is on Tyndall, sandwiched by towers.

It's right across from the 'Surfside'
which really doesn't merit a photo
or do justice to the name.

Turcks O' Fun

I was walking by my main squeeze's place
and I saw the best moving truck ever.

BSM by Kwest @ Liberty and Dufferin