Brandon Steen, Painter

2020 was an awful year for everyone.  Besides the people we lost, society also had businesses go bankrupt and shut down, some of these places historical landmarks of the city.  Add to that the condo gentrification of the city, and Toronto has significantly changed from what it once was.  2020 has taught me not to take things for granted.  I’ve been wanting to paint city landmarks for years to preserve these places but procrastinated doing so because I’m lazy.  Thankfully I saw Brandon Steen on TV today being interviewed.  Brandon is a local artist who paints Toronto neighbourhoods better than anything I could do.  His photo realistic painting’s capture the uniqueness of the city, and feel much more recognizable than the more famous landmarks of the CN Tower, Skydome and City Hall.  Brandon has definitely inspired me to appreciate this city more than ever before.

Brandon Steen: www.steenart.ca

Toronto Raptors 2019 NBA Finals Champions Nike Locker Room T-Shirt

After an amazing run, the goal of being crowned NBA Champions has finally happened in Toronto.  I’m excited, the city is excited, and the country is excited.  Of course now comes the fun part of parties, parades, and wearing Championship merchandise.  My first piece of Championship merchandise is this Nike t-shirt; the official Toronto Raptors 2019 NBA Finals Champions t-shirt.  It’s a locker room shirt, meaning it’s the same version the team got to wear after beating the Golden State Warriors.  All Raptors merchandise is selling like crazy, with long lineups outside stores.

I wanted to post some pictures of this official t-shirt because unfortunately a lot of counterfeit merchandise has also been made throughout the year.  This shirt was made in Nicaragua, and comes with two stickers on the side; 1. NBA logo hologram and 2. Nike Official Locker Room.  The quality of the shirt is very good with a thick material and the screen printing is nice and clean.  My only complaints about the shirt is that it comes in white (which will eventually get dirty), and that the Nike swoosh is screen printed and not embroidered.  Other than that, this is an amazing collectable and one that I will be proud to wear for years.

Raptors:

www.raptors.com

Toronto Raptors 2019 NBA Champions!

I've been a Raptors fan since 1995, and finally after so many years I get to experience a Championship title again in Toronto.  I am so happy.  #WeTheNorth

Top Favorite: Shawarma

My favorite shawarma is from Family Shawarma & Falafel.  I’ve been coming to them for years because they offer the most delicious shawarmas in town.  Their chicken and meat is nicely seasoned (not very strong) and very flavourful.  For me they’re the perfect meal for late night and weekends when you’re hungry and want to eat cheap; two shawarmas are currently $7.95.  Here’s how I like to prepare mine: chicken, hummus, tahini, lettuce, extra tomatoes, turnip, garlic sauce and hot sauce; all nicely wrapped in a pita and then grilled for a minute.  My mouth keeps watering every time I think about it.

Name: Family Shawarma & Falafel

Address: 2778 Victoria Park Ave, North York

Phone: (416) 496-8010

Paul Moves Out

Title: Paul Moves Out

Writer: Michel Rabagliati

Artwork: Michel Rabagliati

Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly

For me there is an allure towards Canadian graphic novels.  There’s something in seeing and reading about content that only growing up in Canada you would know about, that I find alluring.  Seeing Toronto, or Queen Street, or Montreal in a book is so comforting.  I also like seeing brands like Tim Hortons, Molson, or Humpty Dumpty chips.  There’s this sense of sharing a common voice when you read a book that features those things.  So whenever I spot a book in the library that was made in Canada, I pick it up to read.  Paul Moves Out has exactly all the Canadian content that I like in a book.

The book is about a young man named Paul from Montreal who meets a girl named Lucie.  Eventually they develop a relationship and move in together.  That’s basically the story of the book, however it’s the small things that I find appealing in this book.  Not all relationships are as suspenseful as they show in Hollywood movies.  Most of the time, romance is as simple as staying home at night and sharing a wonderful dinner together.  This is what Paul Moves Out is all about, finding romance in the most basic parts of a relationship.  Once you find that special person in your life, the most meaningful parts will be how wonderful it was to have shared those moments together.

Drawn and Quarterly:

http://www.drawnandquarterly.com

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Moves-Out-Michel-Rabagliati/dp/1896597874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331656735&sr=8-1

Random Photography

I was cleaning up and deleting some files one day when I found these pictures.  I was going to delete them but then figured I might as well post them because I like them.  I took them last Fall around the city.

Toronto Toy Stores

I decided to make a list of toy stores in Toronto. This list should be helpful for anyone visiting the city, or who lives here and would like to know where other stores are located. This is a working project so the list should be updated from time to time. If you would like a store to be included please do not hesitate to pm me.

The Silver SnailSpecialty: Comics, Action Figures, Japanese Imports
Location: 367 Queen Street West
Phone: (416)593-0889
Website: www.silversnail.com

One Million ComixSpecialty: Comics, Anime, Action Figures
Location: 531 Yonge St.
Phone: 416-934-1615
Website: http://onemillioncomix.net

401 GamesSpecialty: Board games, Sports cards, Card games, Miniatures, Toys
Location: 401 Yonge Street
Phone: (416) 599-6446
Website: www.401games.ca

Planet XSpecialty: Action Figures, Comics
Locations & Phone: 2227 Queen Street E (416)-698-8950; 2879 St. Clair Ave. E. (416)-285-4421; 815 Major Mackenzie Dr. E. (Richmond Hill) (905)-883-9324
Website: http://eplanetx.com

KC Toys ShopSpecialty: Japanese Imports. Anime
Location: A web store, but you can do meet-ups
E-mail: sales@kctoysshop.com
Website: www.kctoysshop.com

Hairy TarantulaSpecialty: Toys, Comics, Anime, Card games, (depends on location)
Locations & Phone: 354 Yonge Street (416)596-8002; 6979 Yonge Street (647)430-1263;
2949 Dundas Street West (416)762-1303
Website: www.hairyt.com

Toys2 (Toy Square)Specialty: American and Japanese toys and collections; Hot Toys
Location: 3255 Highway 7 East, Unit 221 (Markham)
Phone: (905)470-0007
Website: www.toys2.net

Magic PonySpecialty: Designer Toys (Dunny)
Location: 680 Queen St West
Phone: (416)861-1684
Website: www.magic-pony.com

AnimeXtremeSpecialty: Anime and Japanese Imports
Location: 315 Spadina Ave. Unit H
Phone: (416)979-0399
Website: www.animextreme.ca

Medieval Times Toronto

I’ve always wanted to go to Medieval Times.  The first time I learned about it was when I saw the movie The Cable Guy.  In it there is a scene where Jim Carrey does battle with (that guy that used to be cool but is now a nerd) Matthew Broderick.  My first reaction to that scene was, ‘hey I want to do that!’  Unfortunately just like my dream to fight a monkey with a pocket knife, Medieval Times won’t allow me to battle a friend in knight armour.  While not a total disappointment, Medieval Times still gets a thumbs up from me because they still showcase other people fighting with swords.

I took advantage of a recent half price deal and went to a show with a couple of friends.  The show itself is very entertaining and educational.  I got to see horses (which didn’t smell from where I was sitting), a hawk that flew around, some kind of medieval sports tournament, and some awesome sword fights.  My favourite part from Medieval Times was that I got to see the entire show while eating chicken with my fingers.  The food isn’t anything special, but being able to watch a live show and be served by a friendly wait staff really made the trip enjoyable.  The show is very educational, exciting, and both adults and children will have fun.

Medieval Times:

http://www.medievaltimes.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8RAZhg5IeI

Toronto High Park Sakura Trees

Around this time last year I was watching the news at noon when I noticed that the weatherman was on location at some park.  I really love this part of the news because the weatherman visits many different places around the city and helps shine a light on these places so that people can get interested in visiting.  Well on that day it worked for me because the weatherman was at High Park, and was showing the cherry blossom trees at Hillside Gardens.  The trees bloom for only a limited number of days before the blossom goes away.  Unfortunately by the time I was available to go visit, it was too late because the blossoms had fallen.  So I was determined to visit the following year.

Well today was the day that I finally made it to High Park.  It was a perfect day because the weather was nice, the sun was shining and a scattered breeze allowed for the blossom petals to give a snow fall affect.  The advantage of visiting in the morning also allowed for better pictures because as the day wore on, more people started to arrive and the park seemed crowded.  While I’m not a professional photographer, or even have the right camera the beauty of the landscape still allowed me to take amazing pictures.  As far as I know the cherry trees (Somei-Yoshino) were a present from the citizens of Tokyo and they were first planted back in 1959.  While it is expected to rain this weekend and will cause most of the blossoms to fall off, I am grateful I was able to experience this natural beauty this year.

High Park:

http://www.highparktoronto.com/cherry-trees.php

Toronto Maple Leafs Exhibition Home Opener 2010 - Coke Zero Fans First

For a couple of years now Coca Cola has been offering hockey fans here in Toronto the chance to win free tickets to go watch a Maple Leafs exhibition game.  Canadians love their hockey and to go watch a Leafs game is like being able to go watch a baseball game at Fenway Park, a football (soccer) game in Santiago Bernabeu, or a basketball game at the Staples Center.  While I’m not a huge hockey fan, I have been following the boys in blue since the early 90’s when they had Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour.  So to finally have a chance to go watch the Leafs at the Air Canada Centre, and have gold seats/tickets made me feel overwhelmingly euphoric.

Ordinarily these tickets are very expensive to buy, despite the fact that the Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967.  A friend of mine once told me that parents put the names of their babies on a waiting list with hope’s that one day their kid (as an adult) will be able to buy season tickets.  Win or lose Toronto loves the Leafs.  So when I finally got to the ACC, despite it being the new home of the Leafs it wasn’t so much the building that made it all exciting but seeing all the fans and how much they love and support our team that made it special.

The inside of the ACC is very stylish and clean, and the staff was kind and courteous (maybe because it was the first game).  The seats were comfortable and the view was better than any television coverage can match.  My only complaint about my visit was how expensive food and beverage was, but I guess it’s no different from any other sports stadium I’ve been to.  Although the Leafs lost that night 5-0, I still had lots of fun and even got to see a fight up close and personal.  So here’s hoping the Leafs have a wonderful 2010-11 season this year, all-the-way! Go Leafs Go!

Toronto Maple Leafs:

http://mapleleafs.nhl.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAK5SEci9bA