Car Modern 2011

It is a nice combination of art and busking - chalk in the streets. These chalk artists draw large tableaus on the sidewalks with high pedestrian traffic, here today and gone tomorrow - sooner if it rains. This tiger seems to come alive as it forms take shape and people stop and stare at the work.

Santa brought the gift of a light commute to the City and even though people are coming downtown in droves to check out Boxing Week sales in Toronto the drive around the highways is very light - enjoy it while you can because payback is a bitch, especially when it includes extreme winter weather. Watching everyone walking outside of the Eaton Centre and into the pedestrian priority intersection at Yonge and Dundas I noticed some interesting things that tend to happen around this vibrant location.
The first interesting thing is that usually there is someone busking and it could include Silver Elvis, Batman, the drummer guys or the chalk drawing people. If you can't remember what you want to buy, take a quick look around - I think there is a bit of advertising in the area (it's Times Square Junior, the cold edition).
You can also find companies taking advantage of the large concentration of people passing by this point that they give away samples of their products and, of course, everyone loves free stuff so it's marketing at it's best. You become used to passing a crowd and grabbing a free sample that they hand out: chocolate bars, spaghetti, gum, ice cream (mmm, from skinny cow) - you name it and some great, kind company has given it out. Then there are the guys that use this hook to get you to stop and make donations. The guy who was giving out cereal bars, you grab it and he won't let go, then he makes the pitch. He got rid of his cereal bars and he now uses Tootsie Rolls, not the small ones either, he uses the honking big bars, almost a foot long bar of temptation. You reach for it and damn it, he won't drop his iron grip on the Tootsie Roll.
There are also the history guys. They hold up history brochures and not the small brochures but the really big 8x10 brochures (today it looks like CDs), I mean it looks like great reading, and ask if you want one. Gosh, they are smiling at you, everything looks so friendly and inviting. Again you grab for the stuff and they won't let go. While you both stand in the street holding onto the brochure, feeling uncomfortable, he makes the pitch.
If you are hungry for street food there are usually two hot dog stands on Dundas, just to the west of the intersection - but no french fries. If you want street fries you have to go to Queen Street West at City Hall or over to Front Street at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

At Yonge-Dundas Square they continue handing out free stuff and putting on concerts. Occasionally you see beautiful girls in fashion shows.
Plenty of people are around to pass out religious information, heck some people even scare the crap out of you and every now and then just yell out stuff as you pass by. Cripes they are trying to give you a heart attack so you can think of god and go to heaven and just before you die, or the ambulance arrives, they slip you the religious brochure. You are too weak to refuse so you are an easy customer. Sometimes they don't have anything to give you but stand at the intersection, like a small island in a river of humanity, with a sign held high above their head saying things like the end of the world is coming. So get that shopping in before the end of times and think about saving the returns until after the Boxing Week Sales have stopped because the lineups are long - maybe that's why the highways are empty.

"Trick yourself into thinking it's Friday." No, it's really not working. But I felt happier when they gave me the cute little cupcakes.

A group of young dancers got together to form a flash mob just outside the Eaton Centre on November 23, 2010. They numbered around twenty and danced to celebrate the launch of a perfume from Nada. The mob quickly gathers from bystanders who are part of the existing crowd, does some type of action or dance and then moves on once the small performance is over. Mobs are done to protest, promote or just have fun.
Across the street a group of Toronto bicycle police gather in Yonge-Dundas Square. At first I thought they were the flash mob, then I thought that they were on the lookout for flashers, but nothing made sense.
I also found a Flash Mob website where you can publicize your mob event.

Big, bad Bonhomme, spokes rep for the Quebec Winter Carnival, was hanging in the heart of Toronto. He was giving hugs and chatting up Torontonians as he talked about his upcoming festival January 28 to February 13, 2011.

The good folks at the North Pole are finishing off the latest toys and Santa is gone off cookies and milk in anticipation of all the treats he gets on Christmas Eve. Around Toronto we see that the traditional signs of the holiday season are starting to go appear. Santa and his Reindeer are in the Eaton Centre near Sears, a large evergreen has show up in Nathan Phillips Square and in Yonge-Dundas Square there is a large silver ball tree from the magical silver ball forest.

Justin Timberlake shills for Sony VAIO - his bud thinks he kills the media monster, but it comes back slightly smaller and hangs out at the Toronto Eaton Centre. I think that might be a camera on it's foot - going for the upskirt so be careful out there people.

The gift that keeps hugging returns to Toronto as girls were giving out free hugs outside the Eaton Centre. The group was from the Me to We Academy.

People gathered by the hundreds in Allan Gardens preparing for the protest rally and march through the streets of Toronto. This really was a protest of many faces as so many groups and individuals wanted to get word out for various causes - there were even some protesting grannies. The official protest site - Queen's Park, was vacant beside for the large contingent of media patiently waiting for protesters, any protesters.
At one corner of Allan Gardens police were checking bags of the people entering the park, elsewhere along the sidewalks surrounding the park other people just walked in a joined the growing crowds. Some groups had to remove the poles holding large banners because the police were worried that the poles would become weapons. People were painting banners and distributing protest signs.
Starting early in the day the rally was supposed to start at 2:30pm but it took quite a long time to get rolling. The march hit Carlton Street around 4:00pm and walked west towards Yonge Street. The protest was led by women and the trans-gendered. The yellow and red banners mark the start of the march along Carlton Street.






They were hoping to get to Yonge-Dundas Square but the police stopped the protest march on College Street. The Toronto Eaton Centre was quickly shut down and evacuated when they thought the protest was heading that way. A lot of the protesters headed back to the park after the march and set up a tent city. Some will join tomorrow's round of protests where plans are to head down to the security fence and return to the park afterwards. Some protesters have said that they will remain at the fence and try to take down some of it.

A job fair at the Toronto Eaton Centre H&M store had people lined up around the corner waiting for their chance to get in and submit their application. I was kind of surprised to see so many people out looking for a job but students will soon be getting out of school and they will want to get into the perfect place.

My favourite characters from the Reitmans television commercials, where Haute Couture scores 0 and Reitmans scores 1, were in the Eaton Centre on Saturday, May 29 mixing with fans and taking funny pictures.

The commercials are funny because of the Haute Couture excess and the commentary and scoring by Armand and Albert. Here is a picture of me with the duo taken by Joe Fresh.