With Glowing Hearts...

We see thee rise, the true north strong and free! From far and wide, GO CANADA, we stand on guard for thee!

Over the past few days, I was able to greet the Olympic Flame as it made its way through the Greater Toronto Area.... it began its journey on October 22, 2009 as all Olympic Flames do, in the Temple of Hera in Olympia Greece.... there, a high priestess focused the sun's rays on a metal reflector to ignite a torch.... after an 8 day relay through Greece, the flame was taken to Canadian soil in Victoria B.C. where it began what will be the longest domestic Olympic torch relay in history....

it has already made its way through Northern and Eastern Canada and even passed through CFS Alert in the northern tip of Nunavut!.... for trivial pursuit purposes, Alert Nunavut is the most northern permanently inhabited settlement in the world.... well, it wasn't as cold as Nunavut, but it was pretty darn cold in Toronto on Thursday when Chuck and I welcomed the flame at Nathan Phillips Square....

luckily there was lotsa music to keep us moving and warm.... I had to take a picture of these protesters to remind myself of how much I love breathing the sweet sweet air of freedom and democracy!....

just last year during the 2008 Communist China Olympic relay any signs of free speech were stifled and/or censored by communist gestapo tactics..... FREE TIBET you heathens!!!.... btw, the sign says "No Olympics. No tar sands on stolen Native land".... aside from the First Nations protesters there were also anti-poverty protesters who were able to cause a disruption in the relay.... this resulted in over an hour delay in the Flame's arrival into Nathan Phillips Square.... but it was all good, it gave Chuck and I more time to partay....

on Saturday, while I was out starting my Christmas shopping (hey this is really early for me), I caught the Olympic flame again as it came through Mississauga....

our final torch bearer was two time Olympic Gold Medal Champion Cheryl Pounder of the Canadian Women's Hocky Team.... another of the Mississauga torch bearers was our own and very beloved mayor, Her Worship Hazel McCallion.... at 88, she kept pace with her juniors jogging the Olympic Torch 400m before passing it on to the next torch bearer.... she has been Mississauga's Mayor since 1978 and she's still very much the "Hurricane Hazel" we all adore....

despite hosting the Olympics twice before, Canada has yet to win a gold medal on Canadian soil, but the third time is usually a charm, so GO TEAM CANADA in Vancouver 2010.... looking forward to Feb. 12, good luck/bonne chance!

TECHNORATI TAGS: olympic torch relay

Hey Santa, Remember Me?

Nothing like a Santa Claus Parade complete with marching bands, Christmas carols, humongous floats, and excited kids (of all ages) everywhere, to get you infected early with the Christmas spirit.... Luckily, I dropped by Leah's blog yesterday.... she inspired me to take a break from my anxiety riddled nerd-fest in the Gerstein Library, to greet good ol' St. Nick on his annual pre-Christmas eve visit to Toronto.... I think I'm finally starting to shed the humbug that's been hanging over my head for the past couple of years.... Thanks Leah, I'm glad I found you and your family in that crowd.....
Gimme a big cheeesse Samantha Claus....Whoaw Clifford, you're huge....
Lookin' good Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.....
Check out SPUDerman in the back....
Watawat....
Weeeeee.....
Santa's workshop, must mean a certain somebody is close by.....KIDS GONE WILD.... I guess they sense the big guy's near.....The big guy himself....
A Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night....
TECHNORATI TAGS: santa clause parade, toronto

Une Nuit Blanche avec moi-même

At 2 A.M. this morning, I found myself neither able to sleep, nor able to focus on what I was trying to study..... I've been having trouble focusing all week.... well, next thing I knew, I found myself making a cup of coffee and hoping into my car, and then driving to Toronto.... it's been a long time since I've done anything remotely spontaneous..... and with gas prices these days, the spontaneous decision to hop in the car and go for a drive is no longer one made lightly.... I figured with crude oil prices dropping and gas at only $1.09/litre, I'd splurge a little.... what the heck? only $1.09/litre? that's still ridiculous.... I thought I'd check out this year's Nuit Blanche, and I figured the drive may do me some good....

after parking the car, I found myself walking down an uncharacteristically empty University Avenue....where the hell am I? what the hell am I doing? and where the hell am I going?..... these are questions I find myself pondering these days, even when I'm not wandering the deserted city streets at 3 A.M.....

check out what they did to city hall....the installation is titled "Stereoscope" by some German dudes, it's an interactive light installation... you can influence what's displayed on the city hall windows through smart phones, the web and physical controllers that are located in Nathan Phillips Square.....
This one is titled "Waterfall" by Katharine Harvey, made from recyclable plastic bottles.... it's hanging on the Ontario Power Generation Building.... I thought that was poetic since it reminds me of Niagara Falls, which generates a lot of Ontario's power....
this one is titled "A Dream of Pastures" by Mitchell F. Chan and Brad Hindson....

it's an interactive light and shadow animation projected against the wall of the Art Gallery of Ontario, see the guy riding the bike? it's his shadow riding the horse....

okay, there were a lot more installations strewn across the city.... 155 to be exact, needless to say I didn't see them all.... I figured it was time for me to return to my reality.... plus I had enough of the fumes emanating from the alcohol drenched post-last-call crowds, and had inhaled enough second hand marijuana smoke for the night.... also, the sun would be on it's way back soon.... a new day.... hopefully a fresh and more focused start for the week.... wish me luck....

Acquainted With The Night
by Robert Frost

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

TECHNORATI TAGS: nuit blanche toronto

Six and a Half Hours at the ROM

I know that I haven't been regularly updating this blog for some time now.... the truth is that lately, nothing much inspires me to do so.... plus, I've been in the zone for so long (the USMLE zone that is), that any prolonged diversion from the zone inevitably ends in stress and anxiety... we all know what happens once in the blogosphere right?.... it's hard to get out.... I have become classically conditioned to associate blog with said anxiety that even when I do have free time, I usually don't spend it in the blog world anymore....

Luckily, for this much neglected blog, the drought seems to be over.... at least for a while anyways.... This is thanks to blogging friends Gina and Leah, who are now officially real world friends as they became the first bloggers I have ever met in person.... Leah and Gina were kind enough to invite me to join them and their families for an adventure at the Royal Ontario Museum aka the ROM.... I have been eagerly awaiting the return of the dinosaurs since they closed the dinosaur exhibit a few years ago to prepare them for the big move to their new home in the Crystal.... they've been settling into their new home since December now, but like I said I've been in the zone....

I immediately recognized Gina and Tony as they walked towards the ticket line where I was standing.... with a warm greeting hello, I was happy to finally put a voice to the blog.... soon after, Leah, Andrew, and Samantha made their way towards us.... it felt like I knew them all already even though we'd never met in person... with the formalities out of the way, we made our way to find us some lunch... food before dinosaurs, I always say.... we ended up at a sushi place in Yorkville.... Gina even took a picture of my chirashi lunch.... mmmm chirashi.... thanks for the pics Gina!
With full bellies, we headed for the ROM to work it off....Hmmm is this really a museum caliber artifact? I've got a few of those in my closet....
I love salakot....reminds me of a wall in my bedroom....Say cheese...The ROM's old facade peeking through the new Crystal walls....Tibetan scriptures... FREE TIBET! This is the mummy of Antjau circa 715-525 BC....
He was the son of Ankhhor, and the husband of Tjesnitperet..... He was not given any titles, but may have been a wealthy landowner or trader....He was a descendant of Libyan mercenaries on his mother's side....
Gina poses by an Egyptian tomb.....
Turn around Gina and Tony....Say cheese....Contemplating Anciet Egypt.....Discussing Ancient Egypt.....
Tony, Leah and I contemplating Ancient Egypt.... (pic pilfered from Gina, thanks Gina!)Little boy contemplates Ancient Egypt....
slow down lady, take the time to contemplate the wonders of the ancient world.....Don't rest on your laurels, no matter how golden they may be.... from the Ancient Rome and Greece collection ....
Hark! Are the Dinos back?.....
Yes they are! Tyrannosaurus rex.....
Say cheese.... yikes, never mind!
Big ass Barosaurus lentus.... His name is Gordo...



















Gordo was "discovered" in the ROM vaults in 2007.... he had been in the ROM since 1962, but had been stored away as separate collections of bones..... when it was realized that he was actually one big skeleton, he was mounted to make the largest dinosaur skeleton on display in Canada.... he is 27 m (90 feet) long....
And to think, Gordo was a vegetarian.... How you get so big eating food of this kind?
Say cheese Gordo.....
A baby Gordo.....
Stegosaurus sp. ....
Horned dinosaur, Chasmosaurus belli....
Allosaurus fragilis.....
Giant Sea Turtle Archelon ischyodus....
Giant Fish Xiphactinus audax.... Mushu's distant cousin?
Albertosaurus libratus beside a smaller "Toronto" Raptor (Deinonychus antirrhopus Torontonius)....
Sorry, can you tell I like dinosaurs? Last one I promise.... This is Q, he's a Pterosaur or Pterydactyl Quetzalcoatlus northropi.... one of the largest known flying creatures of all time.... Q has a wingspan of 12 m or 39 feet....
I lied, a couple more... Pteranodon sternbergi....
Say cheese...
okay bye dinos....hello bats....
Are you looking at me?....
Galapagos Giant Tortoise.... these guys were alive and kickin' it pretty good in front of everybody to see.... Leah told Samantha that the boy tortoise was just itchy.... ba-dump-bump....
Say cheese....
Despite all the well deserved hype about the architectural wonder of the new ROM Crystal, my favourite architectural wonder of the ROM is still the rotunda.... the old main entrance....
That All Men May Know His Work.....
Wow that was a lot of pictures eh? Well, it was a 6 hour day afterall. A great day, I even got a present at the end from Leah, and Gina and Tony drove me home.... What a great bunch of peeps eh?Thanks again guys, hope you had a great long weekend.... until the next adventure I'll see you in the blogosphere. Cheers!

Say cheese....
TECHNORATI TAGS: ROM, Royal Ontario Museum