Thursday, June 30, 2016

Royal Ontario Museum Pull





Toronto Public Library: "Runnymede" Branch




Until now, I had never been to the Toronto Public Library's "Runnymede" branch. As a matter of fact it had been many years since I last strolled about the area of Bloor Street and Runnymede Road.

What a difference two decades makes. I have a good visual memory and I'm sure that the last time I was there that section of Bloor was not so finger snappin' happenin'.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

"The Cobbler's Cat" - Poem

The Cobbler's Cat

It's the Cobbler's Cat
for this the
pet's got the
nicest shoes
makin' for the
finest moves

a twist in tail
the 'tude of
a Street Dude
this furry feline
don't get no
boos!

that's what's
a
Cobbler's Cat




***
2016
Simon St. Laurent

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Father's Day 2016

H.W. St. Laurent, Royal Canadian Air Force

Meanwhile, Over at Barrie Allandale....

Minutes ago I updated business regarding The Barrie Allandale Show:


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Another Canada Post Star Trek 50th Anniversary Post

Today I went into a Canada Post outlet to buy some stamps and saw that there was another model of Canada Post Star Trek 50th Anniversary display post. The post I blogged about last Friday was also there.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Canada Post's Star Trek 50th Anniversary Post

Canada Post is doing quite the number in celebration of Star Trek's upcoming 50th Anniversary: canadapost.ca/startrek

One of the most famous and most analyzed television series of all time premiered on September 8, 1966 on NBC. Here in Canada CTV premiered the show two days earlier.

When I was in my local post office today I was most impressed by this display post:

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

And Then For Something Completely Different: A Poem



Time Merchants

This morning I coffeed           
on Yonge Street               
with an old friend
caught up on
issues since

I last saw him
last week

He and I disbanded:
My friend went back
to his conference and
I decided
to do something I
rarely do
anymore

walk up Yonge

"Look at all the
bloody
Vertical
Cracker
Boxes!
(going up
or already spiking
the cloudy sky)"

This town is out of
control
Zoning going to
The Twilight Zone

Yonge Street has
changed
much these last few years
helped
by Premium stacks
sprouting
from holes

Before I made it
to Bloor Street I
was stopped by

a woman selling
something
in front of a shop

Cosmetics
Me?

Why not?....

No, I
don't use facial moisturizers
but I should

Perhaps
I could

The sales lady was
in top form
having worked a little sales

I know the bad
and
the good

The cosmetic's test was done
on my forearm
but
I can imagine

With every peek into the bathroom
mirror my imagination tweaks
with age

** return **

Bloor Street
away

less

eventful


***
2016
Simon St. Laurent

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Yes, Russia Did Win the Space Race. And How!

Tonight on Ontario's superlative television network, "TVOntario", plays 'part one' of the fine BBC documentary film Cosmonauts: How Russia Won the Space Race.

That great race to the island in the sky was won clearly by the USA, leaving the USSR in Earth orbit.


But.

The contest itself was not only of note but of one note.

The Soviets were never serious about the affair. I won't go into a political history lesson here, but suffice to say, where the Americans hit the moon several times their opposition stayed in town, so to speak, establishing an outpost around Earth in the form of the Salyut (and later, Mir) space stations. On these platforms they learned about human physiology in weightlessness and conducted numerous scientific experiments.

From the Soviet Union's "feigned" moon attempt sprouted the outstanding Soyuz spacecraft, modified versions of which ferry men/women and supplies to the International Space Station today. (This space cadet considers the Soyuz "system" to be one of the great man-made machines.)

Throughout the 1960s the game became the moon: the ice hockey net; the basketball hoop; the goal line and the uprights. Easy to say in hindsight, yes, but there was a whole field to be played.

There's so much more to the story.


Cosmonauts: How Russia Won the Space Race
Tonight at 10 p.m. on TVOntario

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Books - Lots and Lots of Books

Living for many years in Toronto's "Annex" neighbourhood has made me more than a little familiar with Ten Editions Books.


Today this Annex Dweller realized the shop is not as familiar to me as I had led myself to believe. There is a back room with even more wonderful used books -- lots and lots of books.

Books are important to me. I have a few bookcases, holding pulp and paper bound as information and joy. (One case alone is devoted just to film & television subjects.) As a matter of fact, on average, reading is more important to me than watching films or television.

The two times I've admitted to preferring spending time in front of text over moving images the answer I got was the same: "Not me, I'm a visual person."

"Ahh....so am I." (It may appear to be a contradiction, but I've been known to cast surprises.)

I'd rather hang around in a bookstore than panic and salivate over a television remote. An old friend of mine, like me, has worked in film and television for years, and when he comes into town we hit the wonderful local used bookstores. What impresses me most is his enthusiasm for different subjects. (It's so nice to see a filmmaker get his "stuff" from outside of movies and television.)

Ten Editions Books has been at the same address (698 Spadina Avenue) since the epic year 1966.