Many design touches have been picked up from the flagship store now occupying Toronto’s former hockey shrine, including the orange floors, tile surfaces and even the two-storey cheese case. The old “big-box” look still applies to the outside of the Lakeshore Loblaws, but the inside does look better.

The corner of Leslie and Lakeshore needs all the help it can get. Physically close to the waterfront and parklands, it looks like neither. Newly installed streetcar barns have sealed the fate of the intersection. Car and transit dominated, the shopping mall zone looks suburban, not like part of the city and certainly not an inviting area to walk.

It’s not a guy, as I expected; not even a relative of the developer. The new street, created for townhouses off Edgewood, is named for Corinne Vince, a popular teacher at Corpus Christi school before it was demolished to make way for the residential street.

I learned this by reading a posting on the Orchard Park bulletin board, which says something for such boards and for taking time to see what’s on them.

Thanks, Brian Hickey and Paul Ogden

This just in from the I.M.P. Newswire …
Teacher Arrested At London Heathrow Airport – held in isolation.
A secondary school teacher was arrested today at London’s Heathrow International airport as he attempted to board an international flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a pair of compasses, a slide-rule and a calculator. Continue reading →

Monoprint in Black and Red. Signed. Approximately 9 inches wide by 12 inches tall
This is the first one of the year to get its new frame, but the third in a set of 3 that were part of the discovered cache of artworks.
The fun of free form monoprints like this is seeing different images in the shapes. Helen liked to use such techniques to break away from predictable compositions. Continue reading →

The urban forestry department bobbed branches from trees lining Coxwell. From a distance, I thought someone had marker-penned the smile but on closer inspection, the happy face was natural.

The show ends the first week of January, so Danica and I went with Ruth and John Robert Colombo to see how two Canadian artists stacked up against a famous Frenchman. Below, the distinguished Member of the Order of Canada poses with a sculpture outside the gallery.

The show was a big one, featuring over 130 Morrices and Lymans and a few Matisses. I am very glad I saw it, but came away with mixed feelings about the exhibit itself. For one thing, even though he was represented by only a few paintings and drawings, Matisse was clearly the much better painter. Continue reading →

For some years now, it has been our custom to celebrate New Year’s over dinner with friends.
Each year, our hostess preserves a Polish tradition by giving every guest a new pair of underpants to start the year fresh. This year she went further, including new socks.
When Ralph discovered the bonus, he exclaimed with delight, “Oh, it’s an outfit!”

This is the year we can finally remove Stephen Harper and his sad party from office. I hope we will manage it, so we can begin to repair the damage to parliamentary process, to Canada’s international reputation and to our lopsided, oil-driven economy.
No matter how we choose to replace the Conservatives, Ontario’s experience with the disastrous Mike Harris shows that damage repair will not be swift and may never be complete, but first we have to stop going in the wrong direction. Continue reading →

It’s almost time to design another book cover for John Robert Colombo, so naturally I was interested in an article about unusual library book covers …

These 4 examples were my faves. The subtitle on Dancing with Cats is too small to read, so here it is:

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BEST-SELLER Why Cats Paint

I love the picture on the National Rifle Association book. How idyllic! The little woman dutifully cleans and oils the family handgun while hubby (in the background) stares at a blank TV screen.
I like the Muskrat book because, well, it’s just so practical.
I know you want more, so here.