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Urban Shocker's Neighbourhood Watch

Orfeo ed Euridice, last night, was excellent. Super performances all around, and great work from orchestra and conductor. I may be quite wrong, but it seems to me that the applause for this opera was more prolonged than for anything else this season. Now, who would have expected that? It may have been the work of Lawrence Zazzo, or it may have been the outrageously good orchestral work ... the whole evening featured great music making. Glad that Gluck is on the menu again next year.
 
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Audience response at the end of the evening was prolonged applause when I went, too; those on stage basked ... or perhaps bathed ... in the love directed their way.

To the ROM this morning for the talk and visual presentation on the new galleries that open on Canada Day, sponsored by the Museum's Currelly Society as part of their free monthly lecture series. Then up to the ICC for the stunning Burtynsky photo exhibition on oil, then back downstairs to the third floor, to glimpse the new galleries being installed, and down to the second floor for the auction preview. Had a chat to one of the Museum's board members about a subject dear to many of us - why can't the ROM lean on their most well-heeled benefactors to shell out for some ( grits teeth ... ) "iconic" additions to the collection - the example I gave was Princess Beatrix's headgear worn at the recent Royal wedding, which just sold on eBay; it caused rather a sensation when simultaneously seen live by hundreds of millions of TV viewers all over the world and is just the sort of thing that would look nice in the ROM's Costumes and Textiles gallery.
 
Last night around 9:30 I left the Summer Palace, near Gerrard and Logan, walked up to the Danforth, strolled across to Main Street ... and back home again. A pleasant nocturnal peregrination at times, lasting several hours, but if ever there was an example of how the construction of a subway line doesn't guarantee that the thrills of bustling new construction and intensification will result, the Danny is it. And the stroll took on a pretty dreary aspect at other times, occasionally enlivened by the presence of a cluster of Ethiopian restaurants and some quite down-to-earth bars and their joyous patrons along the way. My outward route was along the south side of the Danny, my return along the north. The stretch between Woodbine and Main had the oddest assemblage of retail outlets, quite mad really. And 1847 Danforth - the artist window - provided the hidden treasure of the evening. The only other real delight was Danforth Court ( 2375 Danforth ), a stocky deco-ish cluster of lowrise apartment buildings arranged around a nice little garden courtyard with a couple of fine mature trees. At night, the light shining through the glass block entrance lobbies was charming, the symmetry and modest proportions of the buildings a joy to experience. Spatially, it worked. I do hope these buildings will not be lost; they seem like the sort of unlikely and probably generally unloved - or at least unknown - heritage we should savour.

http://www.apartments2rent.net/apartment_rental_walk.php?vbB192638
 
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^ Thanks for this. That is indeed a bit of heritage that should be kept and enjoyed. I fear that some of the current development proposals in Toronto are soul-sucking. It's not all bad, but it's not all good either.

Re. "The Danny", there are times when I wish it was more exciting, and there are other times when I am glad that it is exactly what it is.

Today I will take a big walk from the bitter end of Carlton (at Riverdale Farms) eastward along College as far as I can take myself. Maybe, just maybe, I will report on it.

By the way, I am now officially retired. I count myself just plain lucky to be able to retire relatively young. I will be doing volunteer work shortly though. Doing nothing is not an option, and presently I am looking for the right opportunity.

I vow to stay away from the computer a lot; I.T. has been my career, and there is only so much of it that I can take in my "diet".
 
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I've given myself over to "The pursuit of Pleasure and the Appreciation of Beauty" since my retirement began last fall. It's a quote from one of John Gloag's books, describing the life of a Georgian gentleman of leisure and it seems to fit well enough. Gloag's Georgian Grace, published in 1955, is a delightful primer of what went before the unfortunate combination of the industrial revolution, the means of mass production and Victorian "good taste" combined to knock everything off kilter for a while.

What sort of volunteering, possum?

Last night, with a friend to see Fritz Lang's Secret Beyond the Door at Lightbox. The campiest melodrama I've ever seen, with Michael Redgrave ( Vanessa's Dad ) as a deranged architect ( well, aren't they all ... ) who installs rooms in his house that are the actual rooms where murders took place. His lovely new wife, who is surprised to discover she's his second wife, is increasingly nervous. It really has to be seen to be appreciated. Then, we snacked in Canteen ( their sticky toffee pudding will be back on the menu in the fall ) and thence home to Deepest Riverdale.

Last week, to a couple of lunchtime concerts at the City Room - two Bach cello pieces performed by Rachel Mercer one day, and a Bach/Brahms/Barber combo later in the week. After the cello concert, my pal Libby and I ate at Bodega on Baldwin ( so many B's ), which has a pleasant patio, and then to the AGO to see the "AbEx" show. Sorely tempted to buy the Jackson Pollock painting jigsaw puzzle in the gift shop as we left.

Today, to the free lunchtime concert - part of Tafelmusik's Baroque Summer Festival - at Walter Hall. How nice the acoustics are there. The Handel was particularly enjoyable. The harpsicordist was a cutie, too. Then downtown, briefly ( free pizza being handed out at Ryerson ) in the heat. Later today I'm off with a friend to the ROM for the annual Chairs' Reception, which includes a preview of the Bollywood film card/poster show, plenty of chatter ... and more food and drink of course. I shall not starve, or remain sober for extended periods of time, as long as the gravy train is still running.

Anyone out there going to any Luminato stuff this year? The 1001 Nights looks like it'll be good, and some of the dance appeals to me. There's also the National Ballet's new Alice In Wonderland, which has been getting good reviews. And, of course, Devo and Men Without Hats are at Yonge-Dundas Square real soon, which promises to be one of the better outdoor retro freebies. Also, I've made an appointment for a couple of urban Torontonians and I to visit the BMO Project Room on the 68th floor of FCP to see their art collection - it's not a gallery that many know about.

It seems that there isn't a down season here any more as far as cultural stuff is concerned.
 
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^ Let me count the ways .... what a charming retirement gift, thank you dear Shocker.

Aaaah, on to other things, some practicalities ... this retirement thing can be a tad frustrating at times but it is not to be overblown, it is just another life adjustment, and I am seasoned at those. You've certainly given me a jolt. Toronto is full of stuff to do.

About the volunteer stuff, there is a large field to be surveyed, and I shall come up with something.

On my walk along College St., I went far past Bathurst, and took in Kensington and Little Italy and more. How fabulous is that area? It amazes me that none of my suburban friends know about it.
 
In my art school days, when a gaggle of us lived above the billiard hall at 816A College, the neighbourhood was a lot quieter.

Last night to Taj, my first Luminato event. Slightly disappointed, though the dancing of Sooraj Subramanium as the young Shah Jahan was a delight - his line, and regal bearing, were what I'll remember. Acting was strong, but I thought that the story, as luvvy-duvvy as one might expect given the subject matter, tended to loop and repeat itself a few times too many. The episodic format - dance/drama/pretty lighting effects - was clever enough and broke the evening down into visually engaging segments. The question posed: "monumental love and shattered dreams ... was it worth it?" is an apt one.

Gardening this weekend, and probably to the next free Tafelmusik concert tomorrow afternoon.
 
Going for some Mahler tonight at the TSO, and I am looking forward to it. I know it's not to everyone's taste, but there it is, I like that composer. The trouble many people have with Mahler is that he was a neurotic; he explored the psyche more than most composers would have done, in his time. The 5th symphony is about his falling in love with Alma, his wife to be. In a later symphony he wrote about Alma's jilting him. I've heard the TSO play this before under Oundjian and they were brilliant, hopefully tonight will be as good. Also on bill is the adorable (and wonderful) Joshua Bell in a Bruch piece. From what I have heard from my inside sources, the concerts this week are almost sold out.
 
Insanely well done Mahler, I'll remember it forever. One for the books. Joshua Bell also enchanted in the Bruch piece. I wish I could go again but my dance card is filled up.
 
Good for you.

Last night my neighbour Daphne and I went to the last of the four free Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival concerts, at Grace Church on-the-Hill. I'm so happy to have discovered this mini-festival ( which has been going for ten years ) at last. The concerts are a sort of "graduation" for the 95 advanced students - and a few professional musicians - drawn from across the world, who attend every year. I shan't give a blow-by-blow commentary on the composers and the pieces played, but I highly recommend taking in this series if you can next year. On Sunday afternoon I also saw the third concert at Walter Hall, and the quality of playing and singing from this "near-professional level" group of young artists was a delight to experience at all three concerts I attended.

On Tuesday night, to my second Luminato performance, One Thousand and One Nights. Frankly, I couldn't take more than an hour and a half of it, and left before the intermission. Much has been made about how this isn't the 1001 Nights we all read as children, about how it is the reclaimed adult version, but if you take out the strap-on dildos and fake sex it is actually pretty childish, and I can see why it became a perfect children's classic in the watered-down version. This is not to detract from the spirited acting, fast-paced staging, good music, and canny direction, but the relentlessly picaresque and cartoonishly episodic can only carry a production so far with an adult audience, I think. My reaction was much as it was with Taj last Friday. I don't believe I was alone, though few people seem to actually walk out of performances ( perhaps they hope they'll get better? ). But, eventually, I had an "Is it me?" moment, looked around at the audience, noticed more fidgeting and yawns than one would like to see ... and concluded that it wasn't just me.
 
Yesterday, with interchange42 to the 68th floor of FCP to be given a tour of BMO's corporate art collection, including the Project Room with Luc Courchesne's You Are Here:

http://www.youarehere2011.info/

Then, both of us on to the AGO, with an adma sighting along the way.

This morning, to the Four Seasons Centre to get a rush ticket for the last day of the National Ballet's Alice. My goodness, I arrived at 8:55 with a copy of the Globe and Gerald Cobb's The Old Churches of London to read, assuming I'd be first in line when the box office opened at 11:00 ... but the lobby was full of young people, camped out on the floor. Some sort of tour group, I assume. Turned tail and left; this is a production that we can bank on being revived soon.

Last week, as soon as the booking desk opened, I made two Summerlicious reservations at canoe - a dinner for four the first week, and a lunch - for four of us on this forum - the second week.
 
Last night, to the Patron's Preview of the ROM's new galleries. Plenty of grandees, speeches, lively conversation, cute waiters bearing trays of little nibbly things, and wine. Great to see some new acquisitions - gifted items - on display, and nicely displayed too, but I couldn't help but reflect that so much of what we saw, and much of the best that we saw, was acquired almost a century ago by the founders of the Museum. This is a general criticism that holds true for all of the galleries that have rolled out so far as part of Renaissance ROM. We all know that the ROM is buying new items for display, thanks to such benefactors as Louise Hawley Stone and her generous bequest, but could they not go a little wild now and then and buy some truly jaw-droppingly significant signature items for their galleries?

Last Saturday to MOCCA to see This Is Paradise, where I ran into artist Eleanor Rose Galbraith, who I went to OCA(D) with and hadn't seen in decades. I thought the show represented the Queen West art scene in the early '80s rather well.

http://www.mocca.ca/

Pleased the COC won their Dora, this year, for Orfeo ed Euridice - I thought it the best of the season.
 
You've been a busy one! I've been sidelined with an injury. Nothing serious, but it makes it difficult to tramp around all that much these days. I chanced it and took a very good walk just yesterday. I am told that healing will be quick.

That Dora for the COC is well deserved, as is the one for Gavin Crawford (The Situationists).

BTW-- we're skipping Corporate Pride this year. Off to the family cottage instead. I'll send a cheap imitation who will give my greetings to all and sundry.
 
We made it back to Toronto on Sunday (a.m.) because we realized that it was outright mandatory to be at this year's pride parade. On the way back, we saw a sign, very visible on southbound Hwy 400, on the Christadelphian Church (Barrie chapter) that read "I hate Pride" accompanied by a biblical reference. The prior year's choice was "Pride cometh before the fall".

To this year's signage, my squeeze and I responded in unison: posting such signs is probably a reportable offence. I am looking into filing a complaint. But frankly those bigots are a lost cause and I'd rather spend my energy locally where it may count. (Those rural types are the losers).

Back to Toronto, the Toronto Pride parade drew 1 million people. Squeeze and I appreciated Miller's presence, but to make a real statement, Barbara Hall and Mel Lastman should have been marching alongside Miller.

Ford really is some sort of shitbird. I will tell him something to that effect in person, first chance I get.
 
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