Toronto Homes: the Entry

Upon hearing that I would be driving from Calgary to Toronto with a friend who was moving east, my grandmother told me that she would envy my experience of fall colors. Autumn in Alberta is lovely, but we do miss out almost entirely on the reds of the fall spectrum, including maples.

Another rarity in Alberta that is plentiful here: brick. Here on the Canadian Shield brick is handy and buildings are all the more beautiful for it. Even new suburbs feel less sterile here, more homey and substantial for being only partially covered in aluminum siding.

I can't resist a few posts counting the many ways I love the classic homes I'm seeing on my daily jogs through my temporary home neighborhood. To begin, doorways framed in stone:





Bonus points if the door isn't standard rectangular:



No bonus points if your beautifully framed door is excessively cluttered with wreath, planters, and lamps:


Aww, who am I kidding? I can't stay mad at you.

Another Toronto Pride Surprise: Me to We!

On Pride Sunday in Toronto, I happened to be wearing a new favorite piece of clothing: a t-shirt from Me to We [Responsible Style]:

Me to We [Responsible Style] produces ethical clothing for the socially conscious consumer. Not only are their garments ethically produced from organic cotton and bamboo, but a whopping 50% of their profits go to their charity partner, Free the Children.

And the shirt? Wonderfully soft, lovely color, and a fantastic fit, even for somewhat-freakishly-long-torsoed me. There are many other tempting styles on the website; I'll be making another order soon. They also do custom printing.

The delightful surprise? Some of the staff of Free the Children were out enjoying the festivities, and recognized my shirt! A great way to meet some very nice people. Here I am with Elysia Blake, Lauren Roach, Megan Barton and Jon Macindoe:


A pleasure to meet some of the people behind a great organization.

Toronto Pride: A Real Lesbian Hero!

I ran across this girl in a beer garden on Pride Sunday in Toronto:


Her name is Poonam, and yes, her T-shirt does say "G.I. Julia, Real Lesbian Hero"! A friend of hers had the shirts custom-made for a fund raiser where they were all cheering on their friend Julia:


Mmmm hmmm! She does look like a Lesbian Hero, doesn't she? Dani Campbell ain't got nothing on that gal!

Needless to say, I need to get my hands on one of these shirts. More on this story as it develops.

Toronto Pride 2008

I am in Toronto to perform at Homo Night in Canada, a fantastic fund raiser. It's a lovely venue and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun, just as it was last year. Perhaps even some Pride shenanigans will ensue.

But right now I'm on an unfamiliar little bed and I can't sleep. There is a lack of shenanigans, and an abundance of humidity.

lacrosse moonings, beer coffins, broken windows and immigration

A Chicago Heights man had a coffin custom-made to resemble a huge can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

Oh, you may think it’s not classy, but I think it’s just as nice as those coffins custom-made to look like import beers.


DENVER — An inmate in handcuffs and shackles was seriously injured when he jumped through a closed window in a third-floor courtroom where he was facing assault charges.

A police official says it’s not clear whether the man was trying to escape, commit suicide, or assault the window.


A special immigration unit created to track alleged human rights violators from foreign nations is continuing to aggressively pursue individuals who seek refuge in the U.S., according to Senior U.S. Homeland Security official Julie Myers.
"Our goal is to make sure the United States is not a safe haven for human rights violators," Myers said.

"Except ours."


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Thirteen members of a high school lacrosse team have been disciplined for baring their bottoms to display the question: "Will You Go To The Prom With Me? Yes or No?" on their backsides, revealing during a game. Carolyn Campbell accepted the invitation by patting the back of the player who displayed the word "Yes."

The girl said that the method of communication is naughtily amusing at a football game, but frustratingly slow and kind of awkward when they go out for dinner.

Second Life

I have been offered a gig in Second Life. A fellow comic who does a lot of gigs in SL is doing a Second Life Pride Show and invited me to perform. He cautioned me that this would be an 'building' show, useful mostly for experience and paying next to nothing, particularly if one converts the virtual payment to real dollars.

And so I have discovered that in the world of Second Life, where reality is malleable and one can assume whatever guise one wishes, at least two things remain steadfast and true:

1. Comedians don't make money
2. I can only get niche shows.

Any avatar suggestions?

Arlan and I did LAX and all I got was a gigantic coffee

I got into LA last night, a stopover before a road trip to Dinah Shore tonight. The bonus: I met up with the lovely Arlan Hamilton, blogger celebrity extraordinaire. She was keen to meet me, but then, she's keen to meet 10,000 people this month so I'm not that special. Visit her site and help her on her quest!

In search of wifi, we ended up at McDonald's, and I ended up with an iced coffee almost as big as I am.

I'm sure LA is lovely, and I promise not to judge this or any city by its airport area, which is of course a mess of freeways and hotels and little else.