This year's Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) Toronto is up at the end of the month and the city's Mr. Everywhere Mark Strong was kind enough to answer a few questions about traveling to Toronto. Some info on Mark: Mark Strong is the co-host of G98.7 FM's morning show Mark And Jem In The Morning, the in arena host of the Toronto Raptors and the in stadium host of Toronto's Argonauts. He's also the host of NBA XL. Mark's previous endeavors have included being the live voice of The Juno Awards (Canada's music awards) and Canada’s Walk of Fame. He was the warm-up talent for TV's Deal or No Deal (with host Howie Mandel), Are You Smarter than a Canadian 5th Grader (with host Collin Mochrie) and … [Read more...]
Author Shawn Micallef Discusses Engaging with the City of Toronto for Travelers
In anticipation of the 1,000+ attendees of this year's Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) to be held in Toronto at the end of the month, I thought I'd touch base with the remarkable Shawn Micallef in search of advice for those traveling to the city. Some background on Shawn: Shawn Micallef is a senior editor and co-owner of the independent, Jane Jacobs Prize–winning magazine Spacing, and the author of Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto and co-author of Full Frontal T.O.: Exploring Toronto’s Architectural Vernacular. He currently writes a Friday column in the Toronto Star about the city, is completing a book in the Coach House Books Exploded Views Series, The Trouble with … [Read more...]
The Next Chapter: Windsor – Toronto – TBEX – Peterborough
I'm currently writing you amidst piles of my possessions. I'm downsizing. Again. I arrived in North America from Asia with two suitcases and two carry-ons and I've decided to drop back down to one suitcase and two carry-ons. I tend to find the process of collecting my items and my thoughts in anticipation of a change of locations as though I'm preparing for a little death. I make peace with my present life, I appreciate those around me and I get ready for a new chapter. In roughly two and a half weeks I'll board a plane and arrive in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange). The conference offers a venue for bloggers, writers, new media content creators … [Read more...]
Working Class Kids: Early 90s Skinhead Portraits
The following is Part II of a two part series of portraits found in a box under the stairs in my parents’ basement. All shots were taken with a Canon AE-1. I originally developed a number of these by hand. Part I, Antisocial: Early 90s Hardcore Portraits may be found here. I had a radio show entitled Hold Your Ground, that I believe began in roughly 1993 and lasted for approximately 7 years. I played punk, hardcore, oi!, streetpunk, seminal punk and anything of the corresponding lineages. The show won a couple of awards, I was featured in George Marshall's Skinhead Nation, and I met a lot of great people because of it. Here are some of … [Read more...]
Antisocial: Early 90s Hardcore Portraits
Spending some time in my hometown of Windsor, Ontario, Canada is eliciting some serious nostalgia. The following is Part I of a two part series of portraits found in a box under the stairs in my parents' basement. Part II, Working Class Kids: Early 90s Skinhead Portraits may be found here. All shots were taken with a Canon AE-1. The last photo was the only not taken by me (and I have no idea who did, but it was with my Canon). I originally developed a number of these by hand. I grew up listening to punk, hardcore, oi!, streetpunk, seminal punk....I lived in a house with three brothers, two of them being record geeks who listened to the above incessantly. … [Read more...]