Maps

This Seattle Tourist map was invaluable during our day trip to the States. However, even though we were equipped with highway and city maps, there were quirks in the road systems, you know one ways, highways cutting through the downtown core, that kind of thing. Life is like a road trip. We have our life planned to the detail, including what school we will attend, who we will marry, how many kids we would like to have and what ideal job we will land. Sometimes there are detours, which delay our destination arrival time. Usually, the detour is worthwhile and actually helps when we do finally arrive. Other times, we end up going in a completely opposite direction due to taking the wrong exit because we jump ahead. Thankfully, there is usually another exit that leads us back to our original destination.

We didn't find a particular store (according to the tourist map) and neither did we find a Vietnamese restaurant a local barrister recommended, but we did find this huge book store and a Cambodian Restaurant with excellent food at bargain prices. It was worth the diversions.

radio relaxation

Ah, it truly feels like a summer weekend. A relaxing weekend.

Yesterday, I hung out with a friend and her family pretty much most of the day. We explored the Farmer's Market (reminds me of Granville Island marketplace, but smaller). Afterwards, we had some great Vietnamese food. My friend, Wendy, came over to my place and we watched 15 Minutes and sipped cold water and ice tea. Then, we headed back to family's place to pick loads of rasberries and eat an amazing BBQ dinner with Korean short ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, soba beans and seaweed salad. Mmmm ... my mouth is still watering ...

I managed to get motivated to clean up my place (I love my vaccuum cleaner... my latest household gadget/toy). Just listened to CBC Radio 2's Tonic on the internet ... a jazz program (what great music to unwind to on a hot Sunday afternoon).

It was a weekend of indulgence in the most simplest pleasures. Good food, good music and good company. Who could ask for anything more?

Block Parents Look to Make a Comeback

What ever happened to block parents?

Well, they still are around ... but a lot less of them. According to an organizer who was interviewed on television, in the past decade, the number of households involved with this program has dropped by half. In 1968, the Block Parent program began in London, Ontario (who knew!)

People involved with the Block Parent programs (according to its website) could help children who are:

• bullied
  
• lost, hurt or ill
  
• caught in severe weather
  
• frightened by a stranger

In this age where it seems more people are out to harm kids (sexual predators, kidnappers, for instance), it seems there would be more need for this community-based program. The sense of being connected to neighbourhoods and communities is rare these days.

Mad about Maps and Google Lands Blogger a Dream Job!

Last night, I was watching the local news when I came across this story about this guy who is gaga over Google ... so much he created a blog featuring Google maps. Google got wind of this gig and got this guy on board with their company. In this blog, you can access maps that display the coffeeshops nearby in your neighbourhood and even illegal billboards in Toronto.

Font-focused feature film

After seeing the Hot Docs film Helvetica, I now notice how frequently this font is used around the city, like subway signs. It's so common, it's like air, says one of the graphic aesigners interviewed in the documentary. Throughout the film, city montages of street signs illustrate how so many companies use Helvetica.



In this 90-minute documentary, the film traces the origin (birthplace, if you will) and development the font Helvetica. Graphic designers who have designed other fonts are featured in this film, with their take on the featured font and the impact of Helvetica in the graphic design world and their explanation of why this font is so popular. The documentary was a delight to watch. It was definitely worth standing in line for more than an hour in the rush lineup. Ironically, a person was handing out flyers about a book that was "anti-Helvetica" or "pro-indie" fonts about to be released to people in the line for this film.



After the film was completed, the filmmaker made an appearance to answer questions. He also said the movie will be in Toronto theatres sometime in the future (before fall) for about a week. Also, there will be a DVD available of the film possibly in the fall.



Note: Ironically, I don't have Helvetica font on my computer at all! So I've used arial, which is a copycat font.

Wee bit o' Irish in town

Just when I think life is a bit ho-hum, I need not look further than the local transporation system for amusement and reminder of St. Patrick's Day.

I almost forgot it about this holiday until I happened to be at St. Patrick's station. Actually, the station name wasn't what triggered the holiday. On the subway platform was a guy holding two placards and a plastic bag. One of the signs read 'Bad Cop, No Donuts'. "I thought that was kinda funny," he bragged a thick Irish accent akin to Brad Pitt's in Snatch. The elderly lady standing on the subway platform listened politely. The guy asked if she knew where the protest was being held. He went on about how he was badly mistreated by cops and wanted to join the protest. "They had a boot on the back of my head," he recalled. He muttered more details, but I couldn't quite understand him.

"I'm from Ireland and I thought I would stop by St. Patrick Station since it was St. Patrick's Day," he explained to the elderly woman. The woman, who happened to be visiting from out-of-town, apologetically said she didn't know where the rally was and suggested maybe she knew where it was (as I happened to be standing beside her at that point). I hemmed and hawed, not sure what to say. After the affable Irish guy figured he couldn't pump any useful information from us, he said "God bless, lassie," and headed up out of the subway station to search for the rally somewhere in Toronto.

daylight savings

This Saturday evening, we get to turn our clocks one hour back for Daylight Savings. That's three weeks earlier than usual. I'm not sure I like that idea ... maybe that's because I just want that extra hour for those three weeks.

Fabulous Friday

Today was awesome.

First, it was my day off. Plus, I got to eat sushi with my friends and go see Bare Naked Ladies in concert. To top it off, David Suzuki made an appearance (as he was plugging his website and environmental campaign) during intermission. How amazing is that?

The photo above is my recent cooking inspiration result. I was inspired to whip up some strawberry shortcake after talking with my sister whom is taking cooking lessons. Actually, I had a bunch of really ripe strawberries and didn't know what to do with them and thought strawberry shortcake would be fun to try (thanks to allrecipies.com) It ended up a tad sweeter than I would have liked, but it still turned out well considering it was my first try.

More on the concert another day. Must go to sleep now.

oscar-crazed

Nominations were announced for oscars this morning. It seems Canadians are up for big categories, such as Deepa Mehta for her film Water in the Best Foreign Film, Paul Haggis for his original screenplay Letters from Iwo Jima, and Ryan Gosling for his performance in the independent film Half Nelson. Did you know Gosling was the first Canadian mouseketeer? (which I found in our library for one of our researchers!)

... to good dental health

With a new year, people usually make resolutions. I've given up on those. However, the fact a dentist friend of mine has sent some dental tools to help me become more efficient at maintaining good oral hiegene, I may resolve to take better care of my teeth and more specifically my gums. One of the tools sent in the package is completely new to me. It looks like a mini-christmas tree on a stick. Apparently, this tool is a good alternative to flossing, especially for those who have wide spaces between their gums/teeth (that would be me). It works quite well. It's kinda cool trying out these new dental gadgets (yes, I'm a geek). So, here's to good dental health!

Too much water?

A 28-year-old woman died when she drank too much water, reports the Globe and Mail.
The story says she was participating in a contest to drink as much water as she could in order to win the latest Nintendo game station, Wii. How badly did this woman want to win this game station? And, also, whose brilliant idea was this? You think there would be some kind of health considerations before setting up such a ridiculous competition.

surprise gift

Today, I got a gift delivered from a friend of a friend. It was inside a shoebox. And it was rather light. So when I finally opened the tightly taped box, inside, to my surprise, I found this ...



Funny thing is I remember telling my sister, who is also a good friend of this person who sent this gift to me, that I didn't really want to knit because it would reinforce the librarian stereotype!

I'm grateful for the gift and may try knitting again. Haven't picked up knitting needles since I was a kid. Should be interesting. Not sure what the first attempt/project will be. Perhaps a scarf would be a safe endeavour.

*ding* light bulb is Canadian!

Did you know that a Canadian invented the light bulb but then sold the patent to Thomas Edison? Just learned this watching Canada's greatest inventions hosted by Bob McDonald (host of Quirks and Quarks).

Reporter/host Mark Kelly chose the light bulb as being the most important Canadian invention ... (light bulb represents great ideas, as he put it) whereas Toronto at Six host Diana Swain chose insulin as the best invention.

The other Canadian invention that made it to the top three was the telephone.

What do you think is the best one?