Halloween may look a little different this year. But the original point of Halloween was to celebrate the end of summer and the harvest, and ward off the evil spirits that may show up as the nights get longer. So we can still celebrate this year with a sugary night of sweets and fright (Mwahahaha). […]
I have been thinking a lot about potatoes recently. The Van Gogh painting "The Potato Eaters", the great famine that caused many people to leave Ireland for North America, and the one time some kid used potato as an insult. It is not just a vegetable, it is life, and how can life be seen […]
Most of us are spending a lot more time cooking these days. Maybe you already own a lot of cookbooks, and maybe you don't. But TPL is here to help! You can borrow thousands of digital cookbooks through Overdrive and if you don't already have a library card, right now you can get an […]
You may not listen to Justin Bieber a lot or at all by choice, but the words from his latest effort with Ed Sheeran are a go-to for being over everything that there is to be over. If cancel culture is not the top news maker of 2019 I will have to cancel whatever beats […]
Once upon a time I flew to Melbourne and learned a valuable lesson about art and life. I had been walking around for quite a while, aimlessly doing touristy things, and putting rather large blisters on my feet, when one day I went to the National Gallery of Victoria. Inside was a very well put […]
Recently I was granted permission to take a small group to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). At no additional cost to my branch I escorted a couple of families to the recent Indigenous exhibits and got to share what I knew about the materials and processes behind the art. Mainly that when you are […]
This might sound odd, but like many a person with a smart product I decided to save some space and sell off my old CD player with a built in radio. It was old and a little broken but still functional. I sold it for a buck fifty last summer. I did not notice the […]
I picked up “Toronto Street Art Strolls” by Nathalie Prézeau and found the elephants gracing the side of my former branch. This is familiar. I like this this book. I flipped through “Domestic Scenes: The Art of Ramiro Gomez” by Lawrence Weschler. I found “Sun Mad II” by Ester Hernãndez, 1981. This image is older […]
Nowadays, there are essentially two kinds of Irish. You might love Coronation Street. Equally possible, you might think that show is rubbish. Let's assume I am the later, but don't tell my Papa. Today, anyone can be Irish and I have come to this one conclusion after years of study and observations. Being Irish is […]
Everyone is super excited about the new AGO exhibit featuring renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. There is a rush on tickets, and I myself may not even get in. But I know a secret to viewing art. It is called patience. Never go to anything opening day. That is asking to be overheated, crowded, bored […]