False Positives

The West Toronto Junction Historical Society, celebrating the Junction’s Centennial of becoming a city in 1908, has a serires of (well 2 so far) YouTube video’s of Historical Walking Tour in the Junction.

Junction Mayor G.W. Clendenan (Gib Goodfellow) and journalist A.B. Rice (Neil Ross) come back to life to share fascinating tidbits from the Junction’s exciting past.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/JunctionWalk for more.This is a great use of the Technology (video cameras, and the Web / YouTube) to educate, document, promote and distribute.  Good for the Historical Society!

Also worth mentioning is the upcoming (and 16th annual) Junction Arts Festival September 3 - 7, 2008, which includes a performance by (5 time Juno winning) David Usher on the Saturday.

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This weekend starting on Friday (May 30) at 6-9pm, then Saturday 11am-5pm until Sunday (June 1) from 11am-5pm, it will be time to enjoy the 11th Eleventh Annual BLOOR WEST VILLAGE ART TOUR SHOW & SALE some of the best art in Toronto’s West End, at 19 locations from Swansea to The Junction.

The http://www.arttour.info/website has a list of the 19 sites to get you started, all location and many fine shops in the area will all have the Art Tour pamphlet with a guide map. Enjoy!

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New to Toronto’s Juction Junction area is SMASH (http://www.smash.to, 2880 Dundas Street West,Toronto, Ontario, M6P 1Y8 , Phone 416-762-3113) a gallery of Art, Photography, Architecture and Residential / Industrial Salvaged Objects, and visual inspiration. It also includes a satellite location for design and architecture bookstore Function 13.

Currently in per opening mode, to take advantage of the CONTACT Annual Toronto Photography Festival (May 1-31 showing all over the city), it shows much promise in it’s visually stimulating and gloriously raw space.

SMASH is, at on the north side of Dundas and east of Keele Street, a happy addition to the Junction’s art scene. The Junction (also called Junction City) is the west end Toronto neighborhood centered on Keele and Dundas, just north of the better known High Park and Bloor West Village areas.

Update : SMASH is having it’s offical grand opening June 10, 2008, as “Toronto’s largest and best source of quality salvage materials, vintage fixtures and character architectural pieces”. Congradulation to SMASH partners Jose Nieves and Jose Ortega! Also showing is photography work by  Jerome Jenner , “Tattooed Pin-Up”.

Update : June 13th, Smash in Blog TO.

Update : on June 14, The Toronto Star reviewed SMASH in Smash offers eccentric mix of salvage.

And June 21 the Globe and Mail notices SMASH in Toronto’s bohemian Junction, but has not put the review on line.

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I’ve gone and collected another set of Japan links once again, cause its the future, or at least one piece of it….

Via TokyoMango : Takeshi Kitano ( sometimes credited as ‘Beat’ Takeshi and best known in the West 1995 for his role is the 1996 “Johnny Mnemonic” film adapted from the William Gibson short of the same name), actor/director/TV show host, writes children’s book! His new collection of short stories ‘Boy‘ came out this August.

NeoMarxisme is a Blog with lots of interesting jpop gossip. Marxy is a writer and musician living in Tokyo, Japan.

from Boing Boing very strange “butt biting bug” video

StartDrawing.org a portal for Asia’s artists and drawings. This site was started with the aim of showcasing and sharing drawings from talented artists in Asia, and in the process, promote the joys of drawing.

X-SEED 4000: A Proposed Arcology in Tokyo is 3,123 feet tall with a 6 square- kilometre footprint, and could accommodate five hundred thousand to one million inhabitants.

Lisa Katayama of Tokyomango: is Geeky Girl We Love.

Ghost Hound. To Quote Jean Snow “Why are you going to want to keep an eye out for the upcoming anime series Ghost Hound? It’s from Production I.G and Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell), and to be directed by Ryutaro Nakamura (Serial Experiments Lain).” Out October 18 2007.

List of English words of Japanese origin. You may already be speaking Japanese (badly). (I know I am. In addition to my awful Cantonese, and borderline English. Gibberish is my mother tongue, with apologies to my Mother.)

Trends in Japan for all your trends in Japan, because it’s the future, or at least one piece of it.

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Tales of the BunnyFish is a new exhibition for Kozyndan at West Queen West’s Magic Pony from June 28 till July 29 2007.

So What’s a BunnyFish?

The bunnyfish is a unique being from a highly sentient race that has lived in the seas for many thousands of years unbeknownst to man. We have been following the exploits of one particular bunnyfish who was fished from the sea not long ago and who decided to stay topside and learn, explore, and LOVE!

In the past Magic Pony has hosted exhibits for Fligh Club and Japanese kimono designer Mamechiyo

update : see kozyndan flickr set and Magic Pony’s flickr set

From the Torontosit : Rabbit Of The Sea

my own BunnyFish Cookies picture (to eat or to cuddle?) :

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Magic Pony is pleased to announce Flight Club : Solo Show with Moira Hahn. A stylized menagerie of classic Japanese deities and demons blended with contemporary anime culture. The exhibit will run from Oct 5 - Nov 5, 2006. The opening reception will be held Thursday Oct 5th, 2006 from 6-10pm.

Last Feburary, Magic Pony had a very successful showing of Japanese Kimono designer Mamechiyo.

As as extra credit note : surfers in Edo era Japan wore Namitatsu brand tees.

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One of my very, very, local artists k.c. Citroen, who participated in the Bloor West Village Art Tour, is amongst the artists showing at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel on Thursday MArch 2nd (2006) as part of SpeakEasy’s 10th anniversary Fine Art Show (one night only)

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July 22, 1972 - January 30, 2006

Artist Seth Fisher passed away Monday, January 30th, accidentally from a fall.

His death was sudden, swift, and a great loss to us all. His funeral and cremation occurred on February 2nd in Nagoya. Condolences can be sent to his wife Hisako and son Toufuu via the contact information on his site The Flowering Nose.

For a glance at his art checkout the gallery, and you’ll quick see why several of his titles are going on my buy list.

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Toronto’s Bloor West Village Art Tour is happening this weekend (May 13, 14, 15) with 21 Artists in 13 Locations around Bloor West, the Junction, and Little Malta.

del.icio.us Tags: Toronto/Art or Technorati Tags: Toronto/Art

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Via CBC Arts, a new award celebrating Canadian cartoonists and named after prolific artist Douglas Austin Wright.

Winners for the 2005 Doug Wright Awards for Canadian cartooning (The Dougies?) will be announced at an awards ceremony held during this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival (May 27-29). The Nominates are:
For Best Book:

• Marc Bell, Worn Tuff Elbow #1 (Fantagraphics Books)
• Geneviève Castrée, Pamplemoussi (L’Oie de Cravan)
• David Collier, The Frank Ritza Papers (Drawn and Quarterly)
• Darwyn Cooke, The New Frontier, Vol. 1 (DC)
• Seth, Clyde Fans: Book One (Drawn and Quarterly)

Best emerging talent are:

• Rebecca Dart, Rabbithead (Alternative Press)
• Max Douglas (Salgood Sam), RevolveR: One (Spilt Ink)
• Alex Fellows, Canvas (Fantagraphics Books)
• Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1 (Oni Press)

update May 29th: and the 2005 Winners were :
Emerging Talent Award: Bryan Lee O’Malley
& Best Book: Clyde Fans Book I by Seth!

More under the Categories: Art/Toronto/Comics

Technorati Tags: Art Comics Toronto

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