JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Day two began with buffet breakfast at the hotel. While additional entrees were available for free, the spread was fine by us. The tub of grits on the steam table was a sign that we were departing the Midwest. We also had our first serving of biscuits on the trip, though none of us tested the sausage gravy. The latter is treated as a family joke - Mom always conjures images of people shovelling away giant bowls of white sauce speckled with black pepper and bits of breakfast sausage, twisting her face upon mere mention of the dish. I didn't feel like causing her any pain, so I resisted trying the gravy (I'm indifferent towards sausage gravy, but will sneak a spoonful if it looks fresh). After checking out, we drove into downtown Louisville. All I expected to see was the world's largest baseball bat, leaning on the Louisville Slugger Museum. Main Street proved to have a few surprises... The West Main District boasts the second-largest concentration of cast-iron ...

Costume idea #432: The Jolly Green Giant as a fancy dinner guest Requirements: Green makeup Fabric, construction paper or fresh produce to make hair and toga One dickey (a thin pool flutterboard or white drywall combined with a black bowtie will also work) Cloth napkin Optional add-ons: dollhouse table, miniature guests, can of Green Giant vegetables Source: Better Living , June 1953

From the "Fun with Photoshop" department: an aura around the place I entered the world, Grace Hospital in Windsor. The facility was launched by the Salvation Army in 1918 as a maternity hospital but quickly expanded into general services. Operations were merged with Hotel-Dieu Hospital in 1994. Shuttered since 2004, Grace has seen a steady physical decline, with few windows not boasting a crack or three. A local urban explorer documented the early stages of its decay . Part of the site is slated to be demolished while the rest will be converted into a long-term care facility . Dad always referred to Grace as "the baby farm." For many years he purchased his Sunday New York Times at a convenience store a few doors east of Grace and often noted my connection to the hospital. Our visits to the neighbourhood these days are limited to dining at Shin Shin across the street. We tend to go there once a year for our fix of green beans in hot sauce. The combination of...

Dance music for a Monday morning...from one of the worst movies of all time, 1964's The Creeping Terror , a dance hall sequence with a twist-a-rific tune that never ends. This is the ultimate movie for those who moan about the lack of man-eating alien carpet flicks coming out of Tinseltown these days. Basic plot: a spaceship crashes in California. One of two creatures inside escapes and dines on the locals, though it doesn't seem to like swallowing high heels. For expert commentary, we're using the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of the movie. The music begins around the 51:30 mark.

A quiet information tent next to OCAD, waiting for a long rest. Across town on Roncesvalles, Sunday reading for those barely making it out of bed...if they went to sleep at all. Photos taken October 5, 2008

For the second year in a row, I tested my endurance during Nuit Blanche . Unlike last year, the other events over the weekend came before, not after, the all-night event. The morning was spent putting the finishing touches on an article , followed by a fantastic round of dim sum out by the airport with the monthly dining group. I tried to nap in the afternoon but only managed to spent 90 minutes in Dreamland. The challenge was to see how deep into the night I would last. Judging from the reactions I've seen so far around the web, it looks like my big mistake was not drifting far into Zone C. I almost made it at the end of the night, but fatigue derailed those plans. I also remembered my trek through that zone last year , a miserable experience I didn't feel like repeating. C'est la vie. Despite a few duds along the way and less energy, I enjoyed this year's edition more than last year's, helped by elements not directly related to the works on display. *** ...