JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

During Thursday night's  Festival of Lights  in Kensington Market, the  Toronto Parking Authority  tested its latest innovation at the Bellevue lot: special spots to leave one's pants. If the results are successful, other spaces will be created around the core, which will come in helpful for those times where you can't be bothered to cart your pants around when you're not using them, or when carrying them becomes a distraction. Not to be outdone, the Toronto District School Board will be testing their new specialty parking spot over the holiday break at Central Tech: tires or toilets only.

It's that time of year again...time to take a trip back into the often terrifying world of 1960s cookery. Better Homes and Gardens Casserole Cookbook (1968) was well used at home growing up, mostly it contains one of my favourite comfort foods, steak and noodles (or, as the cookbook calls it, Round Steak Sauerbraten). Here's the recipe - I figure I should serve up the tasty before the the tacky. 1-1/2 pounds steak, 1/2" thick (we use sirloin instead of round) 1 envelope brown gravy mix 1 tbsp dried onion 1 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp wine vinegar 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1 bayleaf 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper hot buttered noodles (extra broad egg noodles preferred) Cut meat in 1" squares, then brown. Remove meat from pot, add gravy mix and 2 cups water. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Stir in next 8 ingredients. Add meat. Pour into casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350F for 90 minutes. Remove bayleaf. Serve on noodles *** I

Yes, our friend the darling pet monkey is back. A year-and-a-half after hanging out with Dr. Strange and Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD, here he is in a "confessional" magazine. Maybe the monkey was edging towards more adult concerns - supporting cancer research, removing unwanted hair, etc. Note price and clothing remain the same, leading to one funky (smelling) pet. Like the monkey, Blair was also a frequent comic book advertiser well into the 70s, with "Tim Newcomer" as their usual saleskid. Alas, no further information on them. Permagon was only one of a wide variety of oddball products Honor House sold in magazines. If you didn't want a hair zapper, how about a personal nuclear sub ? Also, note how the object the scantily-clad model is holding in the closeup looks like a grease/mark-up pencil. Could be they lost the zapper for the shot and had to borrow the closest substitute from the paste-up artist nearby. It is also possible that she is wearing one of t

This week's walk: holiday lights in Rosedale. Along the way, we discovered an abandoned/secured property, fully lit up yet totally inaccessible. All walkways up to the house were blocked by fencing. We guessed a legal dispute was at play - our theory was an inheritance tied up in litigation. The picture on the right turned out blurry, but a few filters give it the proper spooky effect. I expect rays of light to burst through the windows at any second... The further north we went, the number of lighting displays increased. This held to another group theory, that lower-wealth neighbourhoods contain better holiday displays (wealth being relative in Rosedale, though this point was proven to me a few nights later when I wandered on my own around the city, to be covered in an upcoming post). The side shot above almost looks human shaped, except for the giant tail/very long watering house/whatever you imagine it is. North of the train tracks, homes decked with lights stood o

A fine array of products available to Marvel Comics readers in 1967. Things were going well for Merry Marvel that year: sales were rising and Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four debuted on Saturday morning TV. Multiple-advertiser pages such as these remained a staple until the early 80s. Compared to National/DC, who carried ads from reputable companies like Tootsie Roll, Marvel's resembled a flea market, the junior version of similar layouts from their men's magazine line. Isn't that pet monkey adorable? Who wouldn't want a shirt-wearing, lollipop-munching primate around the house? We're not going to ask if owners had any other uses for the cage and leather goods included with the monkey. Note emphasis on "young" monkey - we'll never know if older monkeys in the stable sued on the grounds of age discrimination. Note Orwellian name of the advertiser. This little monkey got around, as we'll see in a future vintage ad... Based on Perfect Voice

While out for a stroll Sunday afternoon, I wandered by the College St end of Croft St and noticed a few new elements - a fresh series of artwork along the walls of the east side of the street. John Croft, receiving the official plaque treatment. The plaque is sandwiched between dancers on the left, an unnamed portrait on the right. The red figure in the middle reminds me of characters from 60s/70s undergrounds (usually talking pills). Haircuts and apartment dwellers. The new heart of the city? You're a wonder, Wonder Woman . Waiting for the Croft St Red Rocket.

Another break from the vintage CBC ads this week for a peek at how CITY-TV advertised itself in the late 70s. Little flash or uber-hipness here, just strong lettering and increasing shades of grey. On air for five years when this ad appeared, CITY had upped its signal the year before, when the CN Tower went into service. Note that the station was way up the dial at channel 79, where it stayed until 1983. The station had a mixed ownership, including Moses Znaimer - CHUM wouldn't buy its first stake until the following year and wouldn't gain full control of the station until 1981. Brian Linehan's City Lights enjoyed a healthy run on the station and in syndication (1973-89). Known for digging deep into the background of those he interviewed, he was later parodied by Martin Short as "Brock Linehan" on SCTV . Linehan's 2004 obituary from the Globe and Mail . Another CITY regular spoofed on SCTV was Morton Shulman, whose life included stints as Toronto'

Now here's something I've never seen before... The Sunday New York Times made its debut at the new digs this weekend, with a red sticker on the bag. This sticker provided a dire warning to whoever might want to snatch my afternoon reading. Anyone have statistics on the conviction rate for people pilfering their neighbour's papers? There were times I could have used a notice like this at my old place, especially one month several years ago where the person housesitting the apartment above me ensured that my morning Globe and Mail made it into my hands 50% of the time, often appearing pre-read (it took several reminders before they left the paper alone).

Once upon a time, I moved around a lot. It wasn't uncommon to move my junk in and out of residences, houses and sublets two, three times a year in university. But I didn't have as many possessions as I built up in the bunker over the past seven years, so moving was never particularly taxing. There were times I had wished this was the case now. The past week was almost pure packing. There had been dribbles over the previous month, but it was mostly tossing a few clothes in donation bins or donating cannned goods to local food banks. There was life to live, and my old landlord wanted to show the apartment. Only when my target date began to dawn on me did I get down to business. I was proud I moved around 20 boxes in the Official Warehouse Car on my first two runs...then collapsed from total exhaustion. Pacing was going to be the key, especially as I discovered just how much of a packrat I'd been... An old-fashioned, writing-university-essay style panic attack struck

A short break from the usual Tuesday CBC ad for a look at one of its competitors. CHCH started off as Hamilton's CBC affiliate in 1954, severing its ties around 1960-61. For the next three decades, it was one of Canada's strongest independent stations, developing programs such as Hillarious House of Frightenstein , Party Game and Smith & Smith . A number of sales followed, until it formed the basis of CanWest Global's CH network after the station was acquired from WIC. The introduction of colour programming spurred this series of trippy ads, featuring the station's "flower" logo. Also note that while the ad is tuned in and turned out, it doesn't suggest that the audience "drop out". The bean counters wouldn't have appreciated the audience numbers had that happened... Source: Toronto Life , December 1967 

One anniversary I missed last month - the 20th for British rock magazine Q . Amy and I started to pick it up around '93 and were regular readers for the rest of the decade, before price increases forced us to the back issue market. We'd howl at its humourous edge, especially the "Who the Hell" interviews and the side comments used for photos. English words drawn from article headlines slowly crept into our vocabulary. It was much fresher than the North American press - did we really need to know everything about a tired 70s act's latest project, as Rolling Stone often featured? Cover stories on the premiere issue were Paul McCartney, Big Audio Dynamite, Lenny Henry and cocaine. Among the pieces inside: * How digital audio tape threatens to sink the then-still-new compact disc * The collapse of Stiff Records * The new face of British horror fiction (featuring Alan Moore, Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker) * Reviews of albums by Elvis Costello ( Blood &am

Random notes from The Political Party Monday night... * Arrived around 7:45 and the place was already packed...though I managed to snag a parking space directly across the street. The joys of running late. * I've been to Revival twice before and couldn't believe how different the space looked with full lighting. Surprisingly bright. * To indicate that time was up when answering a question, the TTC chimes were used. Some confuson was caused when a bicycle The only real abuse of this came during Jane Pitfield's last question, when she rambled on about crime in the city (summed up as people don't feel safe in the city because "crime is unpredictable"). * It was quickly clear that the house was pro-David Miller. It felt as if there were a few strategically-placed designated clappers for Pitfield, especially one near the front of the room, who at times literally was the only person clapping. Miller seemed more relaxed than his challenger, in dress, tone

Colour programming debuted on CBC in September 1966 with a documentary on the Calgary Stampede on Telescope ( video clip ). Slowly, colour worked its way across the schedule, which brings us to today's ad. A description of The Paper People from a 1991 article on author Timothy Findley's dramatic work in Theatre Research in Canada : The 1967 broadcast of The Paper People , CBC's first feature-length colour film, caused an immediate controversy. Members of Parliament joined the public and critics in an outcry over the film's high cost and subject matter. The film focuses on an artist who fashions life-size figures out of papier-mâché then burns them in a kind of early performance art, filming the conflagration. The filming of a documentary about the artist's work frames the story. Findley came up with the plot idea after producer Mervyn Rosenzveig said he wanted a script to capture the essence of the sixties. Script editor Doris Gauntlett and director David

1) A recent Psychogeography walk, which circled the train tracks running alongside Dupont. Left: Nighthawks at the Vesta Lunch. This was my first visit to the venerable greasy spoon and I was happy to discover my stomach could handle it (mind you, I only had a roast beef sandwich, but the meat was thrown on the griddle). On the right, one of Toronto's darkest secrets - its quiet strain of anti-Wookieism. More photos from this trek on over here (Oct 20th pics). *** 2) Marche Jean-Talon in Montreal. I drove back from la belle province with a back seat full of produce, ranging from peppers to pattypan squash. Made a fantastic spaghetti sauce from a large $1 bag of baby eggplants. The orange samples on the right are typical for the market - they lived up to their "very, very sweet" billing. I could have made a light lunch out of all the chunks of apples, pears, pineapples and cucumbers that were up for grabs. I also blew a bundle on local ciders and preserves at

1970 was a time of change for the evening newscasts on both sides of the border. Stateside, NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report ended after 14 years with the retirement of Chet Huntley. John Chancellor and Frank McGee joined Brinkley for the next year on the renamed NBC Nightly News , then Chancellor went solo. ABC News started the year with Frank Reynolds and Howard K. Smith behind the anchor desk, until Reynolds was replaced by Harry Reasoner (in between stints on 60 Minutes ) in December. The National officially gained its name in 1969, amid an anchor change (Stanley Burke, who quit as newsreader to raise awareness surrounding the Biafran war in Nigeria, was replaced by Warren Davis) and a switch to colour. Lloyd Robertson replaced Davis in 1970. One question this ad raises: was grey jacket/tan or mustard yellow shirt the official CBC newscaster uniform in 1970? As for the hosts pictured, Robertson remained as anchor through 1976, while George Finstad became one of the orig

Tried to go with a slightly spooky theme on last week's walk. With a stroll alongside Mt. Pleasant Cemetery as the starting point, who knew what ghoulish sights and sounds awaited? Heath St is one of Toronto's most chopped-up streets, hacked off into three sections due to ravines. The busiest portion is the main branch, running from the Rosedale ravine to almost the back entrance to St. Clair West subway station (from there to Bathurst, it's Tichester) - I often use this portion as a car/bike alternative to St. Clair. We joined Heath at the end of its Moore Park branch, where it runs into a footbridge across the Moore Park ravine. The yellow light cast the right eerie note. Once across the bridge, we headed into the ravine. Our eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, the only light provided by the occasional house up top. The path followed Mud Creek, which was appropriate given that we wandered along a combination of mud and leaves, which created a spooky squishing

...or, how to exploit the symbolic power of your name for fun and political profit. There is no shortage of candidates taking advantage of this playbook during the current campaign. Two candidates ringing their Bells - the top's from Leamington, bottom Guelph. The latter is, depending on your view of sign clusters, in full bloom or needs serious weeding. Note avoidance of phrases like "ringing in change" or "time for a change". From the Maitland area in Eastern Ontario, a candidate capitalizing on the avian aspect of their name. There are variants to this playbook: Variant #1: Utilizing the punny potential of your name. However, if the candidate's name was November, using a similar line could cause heads to scratch more than usual. Variant #2: playing on the name of your ward, as is the case with this sign from Guelph. This sign takes the tasteful approach, with a silhouette of the namesake saint and a small pair of shamrocks. Imagine

When I was little, we picked apples along Ridge Rd, outside of Harrow. By the orchards was this barn, which back in the day was a vibrant mural of a deified apple. Now, it appears the worshippers have moved on, as time has taken its toll. I've always been a font geek, even if I didn't hear the term until well after childhood. I also loved road signs as a kid. Put the two together and you have this picture. Street signs in Leamington and Wheatley had an unusual blocky font that I never saw anywhere else, instantly telling me where I was. Over time, these signs have been replaced, to the point that Robinson St, located near the Heinz plant, has one of the last survivors.

Toronto was one of the last municipalities to allow candidates to erect signs this year, which was very noticeable if you drove out of the town. Signs in the rest of the province were in full bloom by the time the first signs appeared in Toronto last week. As I have driven around most of Southern Ontario over the past month, I've had my camera handy to capture any signs that deviate even slightly from the usual "Vote John Doe" or "Re-elect Jane Doe". You can find the growing set of pictures over on Flickr . Today's samples come from my old stomping grounds, the deep southwest. From Kingsville, one wonders how many American Pie-based jokes this candidate is on the receiving end of. It's human nature to make fun of a candidate based solely on their name. This comes from the "70s Real Estate Sign" playbook. It screams small-town realty firm: the logo, the placement of text, the cut-out picture, the colour scheme. Discovered while driv

Amherstburg can join the list of towns across North America that have a dead mall. After 30 years, most of them known as Fort Malden Mall, White Woods Mall will breathe its last within the next few months, to be replaced with a power centre anchored by the Bentonville Behemoth. For most of its life, the mall was filled with small local businesses and Windsor-based chains. Few national retailers passed through its doors over the first half of its life. The original portion of the mall, the east corridor, opened in 1976, with A&P and The Met (Metropolitan stores) as its anchors. The Met was a second-tier discount chain owned by Gendis, who later converted it to a SAAN store. For several years, both chains operated across the street from each other. Don't really remember much about the Met, other than Dad used to pick up cutout records there and Amy and I had childhood portraits taken there. It was considered ultra-low-end shopping by late childhood. The only other Met locat