In January 2021 my colleague Naomi and I launched a new virtual Culture and Technology Book Club. We get together once a month to discuss books that explore how technology transforms our cultural, political and cultural lives. We've found a great deal of meaning and enjoyment through our conversations with fascinating people who've attended from […]
“… a friend criticizes you to your face and praises you behind your back. And as experience says, a real friend is a friend in all seasons. The others are just summertime friends.” – Eduardo Galeano, Children of the Days In 2011, July 30 was declared the International Day of Friendship by the General Assembly […]
The death of George Floyd in Minnesota on May 25, 2020, has spurred widespread movements to defund the police. There have been many protests against police violence in the United States, Canada, and across the globe. Toronto has seen a series of protests about Toronto police. Protesters are calling to defund the Toronto Police and […]
I first met Bernadette Gabay Dyer at Parliament Street Branch when she worked there as a Library Assistant. In my early days as a librarian, I observed Bernadette's fantastic storytimes. At the time I was unaware that her passion for storytelling went beyond her job. Along with being Toronto Public Library’s second-longest serving staff member, […]
Pleasure Activism, written and gathered by adrienne maree brown came onto my radar when it was promoted by the guest artist for an Artists in the Library event with Jim Munroe and the Multiversity Collective called “Seeing Utopias & Resisting Dystopias” at Oakwood Village Library and Arts Centre. The premise was intriguing, a claim that […]
On December 11, 2019 I hosted an introductory Photoshop Pattern Design workshop. The program was previously highlighted in this blog post which surveys a range of contemporary and modern artists whose work straddles pattern or textile design and art. Following the December session, I wanted to share some of the participants work. A friend who works […]
After watching Bong-Joon Ho’s award-winning Parasite (not yet available through the library) my boyfriend and I decided to check out some of his other films. First we watched The Host (2006) a horror movie about the horrendous results of human abuse of the environment, the film opens with an evil scientist pouring large amounts of […]
K with their finished prototype. Some of the most compelling applications of 3D printing are being developed in the medical community. Researchers such as Semaphore Research Cluster Director Matt Ratto at University of Toronto have used 3D printing to reduce the wait time for much needed prosthetics. Detailed 3D models of organ systems are now […]
Recently, I came across the limitless possibilities of pattern design while playing with a photo of a painting I made in Adobe Photoshop. A tiny piece of an image can make countless unique variations. At the Digital Innovation Hub, you can even print your design in colour up to 11"x 17" inches, so you could […]
What does our personal data say about who we are? We all generate massive amounts of data and it is nearly impossible to go "off grid" these days. Our data is tracked, stored, interpreted and monetized. Most often, we're not the ones benefiting from this knowledge production. Few of us have the ability to confidently […]