YEAH YEAH YEAH

Two weeks, I know I know. Far too long to have not posted anything. Lets just leave it at that and move along. Going to get back into the swing of things I hope. Lots going on. Once again working like a dog (multiple big launches coming up at the day job and some travel over the last few weeks and next week) and just way too tired to feel creative or inspired enough to write anything.

Which is silly of course, since writing/creating is like crack. You start and you can't stop. My trouble is just starting. I guess a better analogy would be exercise, except I can't image starting that. Best to stick to the crack.

Just got back from a trip to Toronto. We were in town for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, a yearly thing that the wife and I do. She worked at a couple big name galleries for many years before devoting herself full-time to not cleaning my house and watching Oprah. As you may or may not be aware the city of Toronto is in the middle of a municipal worker strike, and one of the things not happening right now is garbage collection.

I lived in Toronto back in 2002 the last time this happened and let me tell you this time the difference is like night and day. Sure there are some overflowing trash bins around, but for the most part the city was "normal". The local business associations in each neighbourhood have really stepped up and are doing lots of clean up themselves or hiring private contractors. The residents are showing far more civic pride as well. The last strike everybody just seemed to toss their garbage everywhere, but most residential areas are quite tidy.

It helps that Toronto has done a lot to divert waste over the last few years. Green bin recycling and backyard composters are far more prevalent now then they were 6 years ago. I also think it helps that very few folks support the union demands (especially in this economic climate) and they recognize that making a mess of the city only strengthens the unions bargaining position. The best thing to do is keep live as close to normal as possible as long as possible.

I won't get into the details of the strike, you can google it.

The art show was awesome, as it always is, and I attempted to do some shopping. I did manage to find a pair of Clark's sandals but could not find a pair of Simple sneakers. I drank lots of beer at a Patio in Kensington market and ate the best duck & noodle soup in the world at a little place on Spadina. All in all it was good times.

Neighbour news coming up soon I promise.