JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

One of the latest additions to Mom's collection of seasonal decorations is this charming pumpkin-headed lady. I wonder what name Dad would have bestowed upon her, as he did with many of the human-like figures found around our house during holiday seasons. PS : A pile of posts this week on Torontoist, including the first edition of IFOA , 1960s beverage dispensers and a diabolical intersection in North York .

“A Merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.” The desire to play and frolic seems to be a heritage of mankind. In infancy and early childhood this joy and exuberance of spirit is given full sway. In youth, that effervescent stage of human existence, “joy is unconfined.” But in middle age and later life we are prone to stile this wholesome atmosphere of happiness, with care and worry and perhaps, when a vexed or worried feeling has been allowed to control us, even forbid the children to play at that time. Why not reverse things and drown care and strife in the well-spring of joy given and received by reviving the latent spark of childhood and youth; joining in their pleasures passively or actively and being one of them at heart. So presuming that “men are but children of a larger growth,” the games, pastimes and entertainments described herewith were collected, remembered and originated respectively with the view of pleasing all of the children, from the tiny tot to, and includin...

Photo taken in Ann Arbor, October 10, 2009 - JB

Before reading this post, check out the related installment of Historicist . Mingling amidst meat. Photo by F. Ellis Wiley. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 124, File 12, Item 7. The F. Ellis Wiley fond on the City of Toronto Archives website is a treasure trove of images that preserve changes in the city during the 1960s and 1970s in glorious colour. The site has preserved Wiley's organizational scheme, which allow for leisurely flips through sets of buildings (many downtown, many long gone), parks and tourist attractions. His set of pictures of St. Lawrence Market pictures from the early 1970s through late 1980s provided a springboard for a post on the changes the local landmark experienced during that timespan. Warning! The pictures after the fold may not be suitable for those made squeamish by certain food items sold in the open. Reader discretion is advised...but you know you're going to look anyways. You survived the first picture, after all. Admit it. ADMIT IT!...

Readers of this site love Croft Street . Hits still come in for the series of posts I wrote four years ago about one of the city's most interesting streets. The graffiti, murals and other decorations that line the street are ever-evolving—several of the works I captured back in 2005 are long gone. A post-Nuit Blanche stroll through the neighbourhood provided an excuse to snap a few shots of the current crop of art along Croft Street's garage doors and walls. A departing citizen wishes peace on Toronto before heading to the west coast. Someone has to look out for the well-being of the neighbourhood.

The first few hours I spent in Seattle made me wish I had stayed longer in Portland—call it a combination of fatigue and bad luck. After whizzing up I-5 and dropping my belongings off at the hotel, I drove into the city in search of dinner. I hadn't looked at guidebooks beforehand, figuring I'd stumble upon a secret treasure. Not much caught my eye on the roads between Seatac Airport and downtown. I wound in Belltown, where parking was non-existant. Next try was Pioneer Square, where barely anything appeared to be open and a homeless guy dogged pursued me for spare change. Frustrated (and tired), I picked up some mediocre Mexican takeout on the way back to the hotel. My disposition towards the city improved the next morning, thanks to time Pike Place Market .

Nuit Blanche summarizing moment: just after midnight, Sarah and I stopped by the bustling food court at Village by the Grange . Tables were filled with customers, nearly all under 30, fuelling up for the rest of the evening. The woman behind the counter at the Greek stand was in a joyful mood, knocking the tax off our hefty containers of pastitsio and souvlaki because “it was the city’s night to enjoy.” Despite crowds and transit issues, it was a night to enjoy. The rain held off, the temperature wasn't extreme, fellow Torontonians appeared to be soaking in the atmosphere. If the art didn't grab you, the people-watching and snippets of overheard conversations did. Much of our enjoyment was outside the food court on McCaul Street, which was closed off for exhibits related to AGO and OCAD. While it was busy, we didn’t feel like we were drowning in a sea of people like the disaster movie scenes we passed by to the east on the Dundas streetcar. The atmosphere was light-he...

To quote my partner-in-crime: "Colour her eyes devilish; colour the flaps of her hat, her horns, diabolic: shades of red. Isn't she a pretty demoness, the SAS hostess?" The Executive Coloring Book ( presented for your pleasure at Ad to the Bone ), published in 1961, was a satirical depiction of the life of a grey-suited, pill-popping businessman—the sort of client needing the kind of vacation SAS could provide. Not to mention the nineteen additional stewardesses...hmm, maybe this ad should have been printed in Playboy instead of Harper's . Source: Harper's , April 1962 - JB PS : Over on Torontoist, an ad for the old Thrifty's clothing chain featuring a Blue Jay who liked to water the field .

What do your shoes say about the state of the economy and those who have benefitted or suffered from the recent economic malaise? Are fresh shoes a sign of hope and progress? Do well-worn shoes indicate degrees of comfort with one's position or a sign of incipient poverty? To communicate the differences between economic conditions and perceptions in Canada and the United States, shoes used in this performance art piece were acquired at shopping centres in Niagara Falls, New York and Toronto, Ontario. Participants will be encouraged to sit next to fake green plants to contemplate the theoretical artificiality of economic and monetary concepts. Performed between 4 and 5 A.M. at Brookfield Place in Zone B, October 4, 2009 In Reality : the energy boost provided by heaping helpings of Greek food at midnight had faded by the time I snapped pictures of our shoes during a rest break. Sarah had invested in a comfy pair of walking shoes earlier in the day, which paid off during our Nu...