Scenes from a Psychogeography walk through the Financial District after the first major snowfall of the year.
The CN Tower in purple/magenta/pink mode, contrasted with fully-lit offices on the south side of King Street.
Outside of Metro Hall, we gathered around the
Eternal Flame of Hope, first lit by various dignitaries in 1996. The wind tried to snuff out the flame, but a hissing sound indicated this gas-fueled light wasn't going down without a fight. No fingers were singed while testing how close one could get to the fire. Further east, an Enbridge team was working on a steaming manhole, the likes of which I've usually seen only in Detroit.
We wound our way down to the Bay Street entrance of BCE...er...Brookfield Place (I'm still not used to the name change). Atop the illuminated walkway was
Vibrant Communities in Focus (
warning: link goes to Photosensitive site in general), an exhibit of works highlighting the effects of
Ontario Trillium Foundation grants over the past quarter-century. I think my camera pulled through in capturing the lighting - I like the effect on those walking through the exhibit.
Like most of the office towers we passed, Christmas lighting had been erected in Brookfield Place. Most of the group looked in awe at the sparkling lights hanging from the ceiling.
Seeing a fast-food stand that specializes in breakfast cereal, like this branch of
Cerealicious in Royal Bank Plaza, feels odd, as cereal tends to be the ultimate in lazy cuisine. If had the room, this set-up would work fine in my kitchen, given the number of boxes sitting above my sink.
Over in Union Station, we quickly discovered the video arcade in the lower level. The 70s style letting in its sign provided a hint of some of the vintage games we discovered inside. Not since my days of leering over hardcore players while waiting for my Saturday morning bowling league to begin have I seen games like
Burger Time and
Gauntlet available for play.
A detail from a
Doctor Who pinball game, one of several cult property tie-ins. The art for
the Patrick Troughton-era grouping on the left looks to have been copied straight from a late 1960s production still.
Among the newer games we were quickly hooked on was
Dance ManiaX, which required a combination of dancing and air drumming to play. It also featured a duck springing forward from a cuckoo clock to the strains of
Doodah!. Three tried it and quickly got into the game's groove.
The evening wound down at Jack Astor's at Front and University. As it was Grey Cup weekend, we saw numerous fans, including one with a scooped-out watermelon tightly affixed to his head (the effect of which reminded me a little of
a Kids in the Hall character). Drawings, such as this one of Bubbles from
Trailer Park Boys, hung throughout the restaurant. A caricature of Dubya above our table was unusually critical for a chain restaurant, criticizing his lack of movement on global warming issues.
Full photo set on Flickr. All photos taken November 22, 2007
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