Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween: Trick or Treat

The little ghosts and goblins will soon be knocking on our doors asking for treats (mmm delicious treats) and luckily this year it is not snowing (although it is a little damp and windy) but the kids are tough and will do a lot for candy. (That's Erin pictured above). Members of the Star Wars Canadian Rebel Legion gathered at the Milton home of Daniel and welcomed the young children dressed as Star Wars characters - the light sabers were pretty cool. Even some of the children dropping by were Star Wars characters, including the famous Darth Vader. Halloween seems to be the end of our beautiful fall colours. Go walk, climb or bike around nature and see the last leaves before Canada begins it's true season of winter. My son and his friends recreated a movie trailer for a school project. The movie they picked is the scary "Legion" due out in January of 2010. It is a fight against angels as a former angel seeks to protect a pregnant lady whose child can save humanity. First is the official trailer and their production follows. The official trailer is scary, their trailer is hilarious.

Monday, October 26, 2009

After Fall comes Xmas


Watching the downtown Christmas window decorations at places such as Simpsons and Eatons were favourites for many families and the Bay continues that tradition. Right now they have started to put up lights and garland on their awnings while the windows are covered up and display only holiday sayings promoting their unveiling in early November.



Fall is fast winding down as the leaves on the ground start to exceed those that remain in the trees.




Maple Leaf Gardens has come back to life for the Battle of the Blades. Ex NHL hockey stars join retired champion figure skaters to win viewer votes in a pairs competiton. They show is fun and it is good to see the old place being used before it becomes a Loblaws and Ryerson University sports complex.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Watertable all wet


Artist Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak's multimedia art installation hangs down under a small section of Toronto's Gardiner Expressway. The area is a little off the beaten path, just outside Old Fort York and across the road from some new condos. The concept is interesting: blue neon waves of light mimic the lakeshore while the sound of crashing waves is broadcast through speakers. Both the sight and sounds of the art is available during the day.




It is an interesting piece but it's simplicity belies it's apparent costs of over $100,000. Here is a Youtube video showing the lights and sounds of Watertable.

Around the Tower


The area around the CN Tower is full of interesting places to visit which we discovered again while out looking for the Star Wars guys taking part in the Tower climb. The storm troopers were up in the tower so we went across the street to the Leon's Urban Furniture store, so of course we missed the troopers when they came down! The picture at top is a panoramic view of the tower from beside the base and here is an empty fountain in the courtyard of the Rogers Centre.



We played in the Roundhouse Park, checking out the trains and tracks heading into Leon's. I hoped that Steamwhistle Brewery was open but that didn't happen till around noon.



The working railway tracks heading into Union Station are numerous in this area and the railway crews were working during the weekend while a passenger train passes by (in normal view and tilt-shift view looking like a toy train set).


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Zombie Walk 2009



Pam Anderson was in town this week to raise awareness for PETA and the protest against killing seal cubs and I am sure she wouldn't support feasting on human brains that filled the minds of the undead in Toronto. Yes that's right, the undead walked through the streets of TO, bloodied and single minded of purpose - brains, human brains, brains probably high in chloresterol.

PS - it was love at first bite as Adam Pearson proposed to Thea Munster (both pictured above) on a hill full of the fellow zombies.

The gathering began in the hollow of Trinity Bellwood Park on Queen Street West. Many showed up already undead and many also took advantage of the the free zombiefication provided by the sponsor Resident Evil in anticipation of the release of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. The walk also followed a different route on the way to Bloor and Bathurst.

Head Zombie Thea Munster continues to creep out the big smoke with the much anticipated Zombie Walk and more information can be found on her facebook page. There is always some zombie movies and after parties when the walk finishes.

There were some fantastic Zombies - my favourite being the blood dripping, contact wearing zombies. There was also a lot of clown and Jesus zombies this year, although clowns don't really need to be zombies to be scary.















Thursday, October 22, 2009

More Fall


Since Osgoode Hall trees are still mostly green I went to the GTA to get more fall photos.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Osgoode Hall in Fall


I dropped by the classy Osgoode Hall hoping that the trees would be in their glory as we pass through Fall. But they were mostly still green and the large grounds were still full of squirrels finding and hiding some nuts for winter. I took a panorama of the regal building, above, for your viewing pleasure while here is the historical plaque describing the building.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Waterfalls


I take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday to explore some waterfalls. The rain holds off and the clouds don't deter me although climbing down to the base of some falls is quite an adventure.

We decide on Albion Falls and Chedoke Falls in Hamilton. Albion Falls, below, has a number of stages and is a nice looking waterfall with pretty easy access and parking. Albion is one of my favourite waterfalls - it has a number of steps in it, with a large cascade at the bottom. The creek does a quick S bend as it cuts through the valley, exposing the various layers of sedimentary rock.





Here I am in front of Albion Falls.



Later Joe Fresh and I head to Chedoke Falls which is harder to get to. There are stairs into the river valley but we don't know where they are so I take the hard way down. The erosion at the base of this waterfall is amazing. I grab some of the shale and clay and it just crumbles in your hands. The shale and clay layers are sandwiched between hard limestone otherwise erosion would have destroyed the escarpment in no time.



Chedoke Falls is one of the storm drainage outlets for Hamilton mountain built over old creek beds which were buried underneath the surface in concrete culverts. Catchbasins, storm drains and downspouts are tied into the pipes leading to the edge of the escarpment. Some adventurers have explored part of the network of large stormpipes that spill out their waters at the waterfall - which can be a dangerous hobby.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fall in the Greater Toronto Area


The colour of the trees continues to change from the various shades of green into yellows, oranges and reds. This week the temperature is dropping like a stone and low temperatures will be at the freezing point. With the amount of rain we have been getting it won't be to long before the first snowfall hits the GTA. Until then enjoy the beauty of Fall.








Doors Open

Scarborough Bluffs

Pride

Redball

Beaches

Graffiti

Lake Ontario

Nathan Phillips Square

Transportation