JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

While Amy, Sarah and I wandered around Amherstburg's annual River Lights Festival on Christmas Eve ( more photos ), we encountered this sign outside of a downtown sushi joint (something I never thought I'd ever see in my hometown). So what is sushi? Check out the other side...

Source: The Mail and Empire , December 25, 1909 - JB

Christmas is days away and local shopping centres are packed with shoppers scrambling for last-minute bargains and procrastinators who suddenly remembered they have gifts to purchase. Scenes filled with mobs of shoppers and frazzled sales clerks appear to have been as common a century ago as they are now. While researching a holiday-related piece, I came across a special Christmas section of the Toronto News from December 15, 1909 that urged readers to shop early. Note the thoughtfulness expressed towards those who get the short end of the stick at this time of the year—a century later, these suggestions could spare us a lot of grief. Christmas is almost at hand and the spirit of Yuletide cheer already here. One can feel it in the air—can read it on the face of the passerby. Thoughts are turning to the selection of gifts—each one to add to the cheer of the time. If only those thoughts could be converted into action. If instead of thinking of selection the great public were...

(click for full-size version) But how could our intrepid writer not been impressed with the facilities, flat rates and "Fiddler on the Roof" while writing this advertorial? He's being paid to enjoy it...which makes me wonder how Mr. Halliday would have raved about a lesser establishment... I spent a considerable amount of time researching each and every room at the Harlequin Hotel and declare that these character-filled spaces have their own unique touches. I could visualize the merry moments of bliss that filled each eye-catching element of all twenty-five rooms. The sheets come in a rainbow of colours that reflect the moods and inspirations of previous guests. The lush carpeting retains an inkling of the form and function of times long past. Sam the manager has done a spectacular job taking every guest's needs into consideration, from the cool breeze percolating through the stained-glass windows to the complimentary selection of toiletries carefully chosen t...

This ad for a popular 1950s swimwear designer delighted quite a few websurfers when it was posted on Flickr. Chalk it up to the simple, classy style the ad designer used, or the hints of mischief emanating from the model's face. As for what a New York shopper could have done to amuse themselves after purchasing a "jewel of the sea," let's consult the "Goings on About Town" section (or, as it was subtitled in '58, "a conscientious calendar of events of interest"). If they were in a theatrical mood, productions in first run on Broadway included Look Back in Anger , The Music Man , Sunrise at Campobello and West Side Story . Under "Night Life", the "Big and Brassy" section might have caught their eye. At the Copacabana, " Ella Fitzgerald , as oracle of many voices, many moods, many tempos, can range from the romantic to the abstract as quick as a wink. She's the one good deed in a very long night." Use...

Scene from a psychogeography walk last week: The display greeted the group of walkers as they emerged from a neighbourhood park onto Brock Avenue. Nearly every traditional and commercial symbol of the holiday season was present amid the carefully constructed carnival of lights. The jolly big elf, snowmen, penguins, gift-loaded trains, nativity scenes...little was left out of this west-end front yard apart from an illuminated thank you note from the beancounters at Toronto Hydro. It would have taken a supreme show of willpower from any bypassers not to stop and observe the display and find subtle touches that would be missed by others. Just as remarkable was the simplicity of the lights next door. Knowing there was no way to compete with the neighbouring display, the house on the right opted for simple yet colourful strings of lights to provide a cozy December glow.

How secure would you feel on these balconies? I felt seasick looking at them during a lazy walk through downtown Montreal. Photo taken in Montreal, November 7, 2009 - JB PS : Over on Torontoist, blind workers and trained toasters .

For the past several years, an afternoon of apple picking has been part of my Thanksgiving weekend. As long as the weather cooperates, it's a chance to relive a favourite childhood activity, when the entire family would head to orchards around Essex or Harrow. Recent pickings have been closer the latter, usually at one of two orchards on Ferris Road. This year, Amy, Sarah and I headed to Twin Oaks, a no frills spot where the only razzle dazzle is the van where pickers purchase bags for the fresh apple goodness to come. The trees hadn't been fully picked over, leaving us with plenty of fruit to choose from and clown around with . Even the ladybugs joined in the fun, though they failed to wrestle any apples off the trees. I'm still making my way through the x-number of pounds I picked. Most have wound up in lunchtime salads, mixed with cheese, mandarin oranges and other goodies. All photos taken October 11, 2009 - JB

While Project Concern is still functioning, it should also be noted that none of the chains thanked at the bottom of the ad currently operate in the Detroit area: A&P later bought Farmer Jack grocery stores and exited the area in 2007 Kroger purchased Great Scott! supermarkets in 1990 Cunningham Drug Stores was bought by Perry Drug Stores in the 1980s, who was bought by Rite Aid in 1995 I have no idea what Quick-Pik was. *** The July 1978 issue of Monthly Detroit reported on the “un-Americanization of CKLW,” as the " Big 8 " was rebuked by the CRTC for not making enough of an effort to provide the proper amount of Canadian content to Windsorites. According to writer Judy Gerstel, “you have to understand right from the beginning when you’re talking about CKLW that it is a Windsor radio station licensed by the Canadian government and in Canada success, if not exactly illegal, is at least undesirable.” During the station’s license renewal, the CRTC expecte...