The earth moved! About ten or fifteen minutes ago, a small tremor passed through Toronto. I noticed it because my rack of disk drives started shaking, and making ticking sounds of metal under stress (the rack, not the disk drives)!
Update 1: According to the National Post blog, the tremor was felt as far away as Ottawa, Montreal, and Cleveland. According to the USGS in the same blog post, the magnitude was in the mid 4's.
Update 2: The United States Geological Survey reports on their website that the earthquake occurred at 17:41:41 UTC about 39 km north of Cumberland, ON close to the Ontario/Quebec border. This puts it around 13:41 EDT, with a slight delay before reaching Toronto. At the time, I didn't think to check the system clock on my computer. Knowing the time delay, and determining the distance from Google Maps or Google Earth, we could calculate the propagation speed of the shock wave through (mostly) shield rock. The intensity was magnitude 5.5 [changed to 5.0 on a subsequent viewing] higher than the mid 4's that I reported earlier. The USGS seismometer data also places the epicentre of the quake quite deep -- about 17 kilometers [change to 18].
Update 3: Map of epicentre location:
View Larger Map
Update 4: The Globe and Mail's blog has extensive reporting from all over the province. Various Facebook updates, as well as the verbal report of my son, indicate that offices and classrooms were briefly evacuated - a prudent move in the face of what is described as a "moderate" intensity earthquake. There are reports of a bridge (Barrage McLaren) damaged close to the epicentre, and another bridge near Bowman, PQ, closed. There have been no other damage reports so far as of 17:45, but some government facilities in Ottawa are closed. Ottawa is built on ground which can potentially amplify the effect of an earthquake, and reports (again via Facebook) from friends living there indicate that the intensity was a lot greater for them than for me. Rumours that a tsunami warning was issued for the artificial lake constructed for this week's G20 summit meeting are entirely unfounded [yes, now I am just being silly].
Showing posts with label Toronto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
More about As You Puppet
Corwin and I went to see As You Puppet, a production in the Toronto Fringe Festival, on Monday. It wasn't what I expected, but it was still a most enjoyable show.
The Spring Gala on the second last day at Corwin's school was to have been Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as adapted by Jill. Corwin was to have played Bottom. However, the play at school failed to happen - the day before the performance, five or six children came down with flu symptoms, and in light of the current pandemic concerns about H1N1, the decision was made to cancel the performance.
Unlike Corwin's heavily adapted school play, in As You Puppet, the actual dialogue and scenes from As You Like It were used. This was Corwin's first introduction to the actual language of Shakespeare, and despite my concerns, he had no trouble following the story.
In my earlier post, I noted that both Eye and Now had given this play very good reviews. Having actually seen the play, I can see why. What struck me was the tremendous energy and intelligence in this production. Other than abridgment for length to make the entire production an hour long, it made no other concession in terms of the dialogue. I was gratified that Corwin followed it, despite the use of the archaic original Shakespearian language, but also, apparently all or most of the other children in the audience did so as well.
Both the principal performers -- Jane McClelland and Mike Petersen -- were obviously putting a lot of energy, thought, and effort into their performances. It was clear that they both knew this play cold, but also that they had real Shakespearian experience as well. My cousin Wayne Sujo, who was (among other things) the stage manager for this production, told me that they had spent two months rehearsing. The rehearsal time definitely showed. Despite the minimalist sets, and the stuffed animal actor surrogates, the story moved along briskly, with no hesitations or visible problems.
There aren't many performances left, but this play is highly recommended by both Corwin and myself.
THUR JULY 9, 3:45PM
SAT JULY 11, 12:25PM
SUN JULY 12, 7:05PM
(at the Palmerston Library -- further details on Facebook here and on the Toronto Fringe Festival website here)
A final thought - it would be great if this production went on tour in Toronto's (or other jurisdiction's) elementary schools. This would be a great way to introduce younger childern to Shakespeare, and to do it well before high school.
The Spring Gala on the second last day at Corwin's school was to have been Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as adapted by Jill. Corwin was to have played Bottom. However, the play at school failed to happen - the day before the performance, five or six children came down with flu symptoms, and in light of the current pandemic concerns about H1N1, the decision was made to cancel the performance.
Unlike Corwin's heavily adapted school play, in As You Puppet, the actual dialogue and scenes from As You Like It were used. This was Corwin's first introduction to the actual language of Shakespeare, and despite my concerns, he had no trouble following the story.
In my earlier post, I noted that both Eye and Now had given this play very good reviews. Having actually seen the play, I can see why. What struck me was the tremendous energy and intelligence in this production. Other than abridgment for length to make the entire production an hour long, it made no other concession in terms of the dialogue. I was gratified that Corwin followed it, despite the use of the archaic original Shakespearian language, but also, apparently all or most of the other children in the audience did so as well.
Both the principal performers -- Jane McClelland and Mike Petersen -- were obviously putting a lot of energy, thought, and effort into their performances. It was clear that they both knew this play cold, but also that they had real Shakespearian experience as well. My cousin Wayne Sujo, who was (among other things) the stage manager for this production, told me that they had spent two months rehearsing. The rehearsal time definitely showed. Despite the minimalist sets, and the stuffed animal actor surrogates, the story moved along briskly, with no hesitations or visible problems.
There aren't many performances left, but this play is highly recommended by both Corwin and myself.
THUR JULY 9, 3:45PM
SAT JULY 11, 12:25PM
SUN JULY 12, 7:05PM
(at the Palmerston Library -- further details on Facebook here and on the Toronto Fringe Festival website here)
A final thought - it would be great if this production went on tour in Toronto's (or other jurisdiction's) elementary schools. This would be a great way to introduce younger childern to Shakespeare, and to do it well before high school.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Modest Art Installation Proposal
We drove by the Art Gallery of Ontario earlier on Sunday. The new renovation has been completed and is open. Seeing this got me to thinking about the neighbourhood. The Ontario College of Art and Design is immediately south of the Art Gallery and the Sharp Centre For Design, part of OCAD, is also a striking piece of architecture -- it is built to resemble a giant table, looming over the other buildings around it.
I first saw this OCAD building a few years back from a vantage point further south, when I was visiting my cousin at a place he was looking after for a friend.
Given that the OCAD building resembles a table, I propose the following art installation:
On the roof of the OCAD building, at each of the sides of this giant table, create a place setting at an appropriate scale, consisting of a plate, a cup, a bowl, a knife, a fork, and chopsticks.
These place settings would be visible from all around the OCAD building - basically, from any structure higher than its roof. Each place setting would represent a particular group - for example, politicians, the economic elite, homeowners, and the homeless. But I propose sufficient ambiguity in the design to allow viewers to create their own symbolic OCAD dinner party.
I can't possibly be the first one to have had this idea -- someone should do it!
I first saw this OCAD building a few years back from a vantage point further south, when I was visiting my cousin at a place he was looking after for a friend.
Given that the OCAD building resembles a table, I propose the following art installation:
On the roof of the OCAD building, at each of the sides of this giant table, create a place setting at an appropriate scale, consisting of a plate, a cup, a bowl, a knife, a fork, and chopsticks.
These place settings would be visible from all around the OCAD building - basically, from any structure higher than its roof. Each place setting would represent a particular group - for example, politicians, the economic elite, homeowners, and the homeless. But I propose sufficient ambiguity in the design to allow viewers to create their own symbolic OCAD dinner party.
I can't possibly be the first one to have had this idea -- someone should do it!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Snowstorm
Up until November, Corwin had been pretty sad with the expectation that for the third winter in a row, there would be no snow.
All this changed with the first major storm of the winter which happened at the end of November. Instead of melting, a lot of the snow remained.
The second major storm of the winter started with warm moist air in Texas. By Saturday December 15 the moisture laden air had reached us and had collided with an arctic air mass to produce whiteout blizzard conditions, lasting until Sunday. The storm brought near record snowfalls to Toronto.
As expected, the city ground to a halt. Fortunately, the current mayor is too smart to panic and call in the army like the last one did back in Jan 1999.
Starting Sunday morning, we were out shoveling the driveway.
We were out again in the mid afternoon, when the accumulated snowfall for the last few hours made it look like we had done nothing in the morning.
This photo of Corwin is very festive, with the red and green Christmas colours and the snow. He had to be convinced to stand still for the shot, and then minutes afterward, tried to bean me with a snowball. Snowballs and parental victims are why winters exist...
By early evening, the snow had mostly ended and there was only a centimeter or two of accumulation to shovel. To our great surprise, the snowplows came by before midnight -- under the previous mayor, it would have been days. But the passing of the plows also required a final trip out, to shovel off the comber of packed snow in front of the driveway.
All the snow had to go somewhere, since it is illegal to push it onto the road. In our case, we put it onto the lawn, onto an ever-growing snowbank. But the downside to having a snowbank taller than you are is that it becomes really hard to toss more snow on top of it.
As with all things, excessive snow is a relative concept. My sources in Northern B.C. tell me that there's a half metre of snow on the ground for a few weeks now, and nearly two and a half metres up in the mountains.
The same storm that dumped on us also did the same on our friends in the Ottawa Valley. Here is the view from Bob and Elaine's front door.
For the record, I am bored of shoveling snow. Make it stop.
All this changed with the first major storm of the winter which happened at the end of November. Instead of melting, a lot of the snow remained.
The second major storm of the winter started with warm moist air in Texas. By Saturday December 15 the moisture laden air had reached us and had collided with an arctic air mass to produce whiteout blizzard conditions, lasting until Sunday. The storm brought near record snowfalls to Toronto.
As expected, the city ground to a halt. Fortunately, the current mayor is too smart to panic and call in the army like the last one did back in Jan 1999.
Starting Sunday morning, we were out shoveling the driveway.
We were out again in the mid afternoon, when the accumulated snowfall for the last few hours made it look like we had done nothing in the morning.
This photo of Corwin is very festive, with the red and green Christmas colours and the snow. He had to be convinced to stand still for the shot, and then minutes afterward, tried to bean me with a snowball. Snowballs and parental victims are why winters exist...
By early evening, the snow had mostly ended and there was only a centimeter or two of accumulation to shovel. To our great surprise, the snowplows came by before midnight -- under the previous mayor, it would have been days. But the passing of the plows also required a final trip out, to shovel off the comber of packed snow in front of the driveway.
All the snow had to go somewhere, since it is illegal to push it onto the road. In our case, we put it onto the lawn, onto an ever-growing snowbank. But the downside to having a snowbank taller than you are is that it becomes really hard to toss more snow on top of it.
As with all things, excessive snow is a relative concept. My sources in Northern B.C. tell me that there's a half metre of snow on the ground for a few weeks now, and nearly two and a half metres up in the mountains.
The same storm that dumped on us also did the same on our friends in the Ottawa Valley. Here is the view from Bob and Elaine's front door.
For the record, I am bored of shoveling snow. Make it stop.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Last Day of School 2007
Friday June 22 was Number One Son's last day at school. Grade Two is over.
The last week of school was filled with rehearsal for the Spring gala, the Spring Gala itself, and winding up the year. A couple of days earlier, Corwin was heard to say "If today is the twentieth, then it means there are only eight more days until Brie arrives!"
The actual last day of school was a day of treats and fun -- all the year's work completed. According to his report card, Corwin is reading at about a Grade 6 level -- so I guess the house filled with books has had some effect :-)
Here is Corwin with Miss Cheung, who was also his Grade One teacher the previous year.
After we packed all of his books into the car, Corwin took us down the trail into the park in the ravine behind the school.
This is a pretty significant ravine -- there is a little stream and a bridge. A paved bicycle trail leads (I assume) off to Leslie Street toward the West and Don Mills Road to the East. The ravine is bounded by the 401 to the north. We didn't see it, but there is an old log cabin.
The stream shows every indication that there are certain times of year when it is a lot deeper and faster. This is like a little bit of controlled wilderness in the city.
We found a set of log steps leading off the main paved path. Following the steps led us to a series of odd mounds whose origin and purpose were unknown. Kids playing? Shelters built by homeless people? Something else? Further expeditions over the summer will reveal more.
After our Friday night visit downtown to see and have dinner with my mother, we stopped at Demetre's on the Danforth to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer in a truly happy way.
The last week of school was filled with rehearsal for the Spring gala, the Spring Gala itself, and winding up the year. A couple of days earlier, Corwin was heard to say "If today is the twentieth, then it means there are only eight more days until Brie arrives!"
The actual last day of school was a day of treats and fun -- all the year's work completed. According to his report card, Corwin is reading at about a Grade 6 level -- so I guess the house filled with books has had some effect :-)
Here is Corwin with Miss Cheung, who was also his Grade One teacher the previous year.
After we packed all of his books into the car, Corwin took us down the trail into the park in the ravine behind the school.
This is a pretty significant ravine -- there is a little stream and a bridge. A paved bicycle trail leads (I assume) off to Leslie Street toward the West and Don Mills Road to the East. The ravine is bounded by the 401 to the north. We didn't see it, but there is an old log cabin.
The stream shows every indication that there are certain times of year when it is a lot deeper and faster. This is like a little bit of controlled wilderness in the city.
We found a set of log steps leading off the main paved path. Following the steps led us to a series of odd mounds whose origin and purpose were unknown. Kids playing? Shelters built by homeless people? Something else? Further expeditions over the summer will reveal more.
After our Friday night visit downtown to see and have dinner with my mother, we stopped at Demetre's on the Danforth to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer in a truly happy way.
Landmarks
When I dropped my mother off at her home after our dinner with my cousin Tak and his parents a month ago, I took a few minutes to drive along Bloor Street and to venture south along Yonge Street -- things which I almost never do because traffic along those streets is usually so dense.
Given the lateness of the hour, I had thought that perhaps Bloor would be little more passable. I was wrong -- the traffic inched along just before Avenue Road/Queen's Park, and the reason was because this was also the day that the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) opened.
The Crystal is the latest addition to the ROM, a striking piece of architecture as the following image from Wikipedia shows:
On the evening of May 28, the traffic was slow in front of the Crystal, with construction barriers still up and workmen still doing things. This is very reminiscent of the end of a software project, where the users and managers are congratulating themselves on a job well done, oblivious to the developers who still labour behind the scenes to hold things together and make the launch a reality rather than wishful thinking.
I had lots of time to take some shots out my car window, after first shutting off the flash on my camera. Traffic was never stopped for more than a few seconds, although movement was only a bit more than walking speed. I juggled the camera and steering wheel, managed not to get in a car accident and shot a series of frames, one being of my knee as I was fumbling with the camera.
I haven't been to the ROM in years, but I will probably try to get there again. It would be interesting to be inside the Crystal.
The Crystal itself has been controversial, with both proponents and detractors. Sometime that week, I had been listening to Lynn Slotkin, a local theatre critic, on an afternoon CBC Radio broadcast. Slotkin made it clear that she was a detractor -- referring to the Crystal as a "Carbuncle" several times. Slotkin appears weekly on the CBC, and I remembered her for her dislike of the play "What Lies Before Us" that my cousin Wayne had appeared in back in February.
The Crystal was designed by Daniel Liebeskind, an American architect also noted for planning the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in Manhattan.
I don't claim any great knowledge or appreciation of architecture, but I like the Crystal. My first sight of the Crystal made me think of an immense golden jewel looming over the street. I like the fact that it looks like the future resting on the shoulders of the past. I like the symbolism that this vision of the future was built from a donation by an immigrant -- someone who did not inherit his position in the financial and cultural elite, but who joined it.
Turning the corner onto Avenue Road and heading south, the Museum was much as I remembered it. The planetarium, once a favourite spot, hasn't been open for years -- one of many ill-considered moves by the Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris in the 1990s.
Away from the construction around the museum, traffic was much lighter and I was able to get downtown without much additional delay. I parked on Elm Street and walked over to Yonge to photograph the other landmark that I wanted to capture. Earlier that day, it had been announced that Sam the Record Man was to close at the end of June.
I discovered Sam's soon after I arrived in Toronto. There are a stack of three-decade old vinyl LPs gathering dust in my mother's basement that come from there, and a substantial fraction of my CD collection as well. My music interests are odd, eccentric, and narrow. Sam's was a place where I could find and fuel whatever new musical interest that came to me. I am sad to see it go.
I walked a block south on Yonge to Edward Street -- home of the World's Biggest Bookstore, a store now part of the Chapters/Indigo chain and closed by the time I got there. However, Funland, a video arcade remembered from my teens was still there and still open. The smoky haze of my teens was gone, removed by anti-smoking legislation from the 90s. In the back, ancient pinball machines were still available for a quarter a play, as well as video games from the 70s and 80s.
Looking south on Yonge Street from the corner of Edward, there were workmen at the corner of Dundas and Yonge, a corner brighter and taller than I would have imagined when I saw it for the first time in the early 70s. In front of me, on the south side of Edward was the mall and office tower where Lichee Garden had its last incarnation.
On this Wednesday night, Yonge Street was not very busy. I found myself wondering whether that had always been so? Had there only ever been crowds during daylight and on the weekends? Or had the crowds at night gone away as the street changed? I didn't remember -- and it was time to go home.
Given the lateness of the hour, I had thought that perhaps Bloor would be little more passable. I was wrong -- the traffic inched along just before Avenue Road/Queen's Park, and the reason was because this was also the day that the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) opened.
The Crystal is the latest addition to the ROM, a striking piece of architecture as the following image from Wikipedia shows:
On the evening of May 28, the traffic was slow in front of the Crystal, with construction barriers still up and workmen still doing things. This is very reminiscent of the end of a software project, where the users and managers are congratulating themselves on a job well done, oblivious to the developers who still labour behind the scenes to hold things together and make the launch a reality rather than wishful thinking.
I had lots of time to take some shots out my car window, after first shutting off the flash on my camera. Traffic was never stopped for more than a few seconds, although movement was only a bit more than walking speed. I juggled the camera and steering wheel, managed not to get in a car accident and shot a series of frames, one being of my knee as I was fumbling with the camera.
I haven't been to the ROM in years, but I will probably try to get there again. It would be interesting to be inside the Crystal.
The Crystal itself has been controversial, with both proponents and detractors. Sometime that week, I had been listening to Lynn Slotkin, a local theatre critic, on an afternoon CBC Radio broadcast. Slotkin made it clear that she was a detractor -- referring to the Crystal as a "Carbuncle" several times. Slotkin appears weekly on the CBC, and I remembered her for her dislike of the play "What Lies Before Us" that my cousin Wayne had appeared in back in February.
The Crystal was designed by Daniel Liebeskind, an American architect also noted for planning the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in Manhattan.
I don't claim any great knowledge or appreciation of architecture, but I like the Crystal. My first sight of the Crystal made me think of an immense golden jewel looming over the street. I like the fact that it looks like the future resting on the shoulders of the past. I like the symbolism that this vision of the future was built from a donation by an immigrant -- someone who did not inherit his position in the financial and cultural elite, but who joined it.
Turning the corner onto Avenue Road and heading south, the Museum was much as I remembered it. The planetarium, once a favourite spot, hasn't been open for years -- one of many ill-considered moves by the Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris in the 1990s.
Away from the construction around the museum, traffic was much lighter and I was able to get downtown without much additional delay. I parked on Elm Street and walked over to Yonge to photograph the other landmark that I wanted to capture. Earlier that day, it had been announced that Sam the Record Man was to close at the end of June.
I discovered Sam's soon after I arrived in Toronto. There are a stack of three-decade old vinyl LPs gathering dust in my mother's basement that come from there, and a substantial fraction of my CD collection as well. My music interests are odd, eccentric, and narrow. Sam's was a place where I could find and fuel whatever new musical interest that came to me. I am sad to see it go.
I walked a block south on Yonge to Edward Street -- home of the World's Biggest Bookstore, a store now part of the Chapters/Indigo chain and closed by the time I got there. However, Funland, a video arcade remembered from my teens was still there and still open. The smoky haze of my teens was gone, removed by anti-smoking legislation from the 90s. In the back, ancient pinball machines were still available for a quarter a play, as well as video games from the 70s and 80s.
Looking south on Yonge Street from the corner of Edward, there were workmen at the corner of Dundas and Yonge, a corner brighter and taller than I would have imagined when I saw it for the first time in the early 70s. In front of me, on the south side of Edward was the mall and office tower where Lichee Garden had its last incarnation.
On this Wednesday night, Yonge Street was not very busy. I found myself wondering whether that had always been so? Had there only ever been crowds during daylight and on the weekends? Or had the crowds at night gone away as the street changed? I didn't remember -- and it was time to go home.
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