My delightful, hard working co-worker Drew and his charmingly lovely fiance Traci had a winter wedding recently. Not only does Drew work at the Toronto Reference Library, but he also got married here! Did you know you can rent out Library space for your wedding or other events? I crashed their wedding for the dancing […]
For the Record: An Idea of the North is our newest exhibit in the TD Gallery on the main floor of the Toronto Reference Library. This interactive mixed media exhibit focuses on the role of Soundsystems and DJs in the emergence of Toronto's hip hop music scene. The TD Gallery features free exhibits for Torontonians and visitors […]
Like Beyonce, my co-worker Melanie has hot sauce in her bag. Melanie is very generous with hers, which I appreciate as I am both devoted to my condiments and like my food spicy. If you like your food flavorful, then you'll likely enjoy these hot titles – they will burn you in a good way […]
Since Ontario Place's future has been in the news lately, I thought, why not do a quick visual tour of its history? These photographs are from the Toronto Public Library's Digital Archive, courtesy of the Toronto Star Photograph Archives, which is housed at the Toronto Reference Library. The vintage postcards are digital scans of items […]
If Martin Luther King hadn't been assassinated in 1968, then January 15 2019 would have been his 90th birthday. To honour his legacy I wanted to share some of his writings and speeches. How better to know a person than through their own words? 1968 Toronto Star Archives photo by Barry Philip. 20,000 mourners throng […]
All this talk of walls got me thinking about the one and only true wall, Pink Floyd's double album The Wall. If you were an angst filled teenager (or long haired rocker) in the late 1970s or early 1980s then Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, part 2 was very likely your anthem. Did you know […]
Whether you agree or don't agree with President Trump's views, talk of the wall (and more recently the fence) is reverberating in the United States right now. Donald Trump's idea is not new however, so I thought folks might be interested in some other walls. Adult Books on Walls: Walls: A History of Civilization in […]
My very clever (and even more charming) colleague Wendy recently tweeted about a new book Schadenfreude: The Joy of Another's Misfortune. It has three subject headings: Envy Humiliation Pleasure Mr Schadenfreude (with a bow to Roger Hargreaves) copyright Creative Commons/Flickr dullhunk I'm not unfamiliar with word as my husband Richard and his cousin […]
You would be pardoned for thinking the numbers in the blog title were related to the Kabbalah. But … in fact they're part of the promotion for the 2019 MYTORONTO calendar that Ve'ahavta has brought together with members of the local community. You can support the photographers by buying calendars or cards online (or in person) and you […]
You've likely heard about the new $10 dollar bill featuring entrepreneur Viola Desmond, the black Canadian woman from Nova Scotia who was a Canadian civil-rights pioneer and challenged race-based segregated seating at a cinema in 1949. She will be the first non-royal woman and black person featured on regular Canadian currency. As well, the back […]