New Years Eve, Skating at Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, ON

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I spent my New Years Eve as I spent the rest of the year: Gliding about wildly, with just enough control to stay upright, having a heck of a good time.

Last year at about this time I wrote a set of guidelines for myself to follow over the -then- year ahead. I thought I'd ought to share them here, as a lot of what you've seen here is a result of me following my own advice.

I like to think I stayed mostly on track.

 

Say yes.

Follow through.

Be honest, always.

Empathise.

Be good to people.

Be good for people.

Socialize.

Forget anxiety.

Never apologise for others.

Slow down.

Be outside whenever possible.

Live in the present, as much as you do the future and past.

Enjoy what you can.

Do what you want.

Pursue the interesting.

Be more of a human being, and less of a brain in a vat.

Say yes: Mean yes.

Follow through.

Always.


You'll have to wait another year to see what I've proposed this time around!

A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow (Ontari-ari-ari-o!)

Give us a place to stand
And a place to grow,
And call this land Ontario.
A place to live
For you and me,
With hopes as high
As the tallest tree.

Give us a land of lakes
And a land of snow,
And we will build Ontario,
A place to stand,
A place to grow,
Ontari-ari-ari-o.

This is fantastic. Read more about A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow.

 

Watching: Canadian Landscape

Via So Sweaty

Change, Every Time.

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Why is there no word for the chemical reaction, that small joy triggered each & every time the seasons change?

Documentary: Hold Fast

Hold Fast from Moxie Marlinspike on Vimeo.

Stories of maniac sailors, anarchist castaways, and the voyage of the S/V Pestilence.

Move.

(This mood is going on up.)

Only One Way To Go About It

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"If you make up your mind to do something, there is only one way to go about it. Work out your own ideas on the general course you are going to follow and stick to them; stand on those basic ideas and assume responsibility for your actions. You may make mistakes, there may be details in your plan that could have been inproved upon relying upon someone else's advice, but basically it has to be your personal responsibility to conceive and carry out the project." Kodoku: Sailing Alone Across the Pacific - Kenichi Horie

I've been reading a lot about sailing lately. (Starting shortly after getting my first taste of sailing earlier this summer, and hopefully leading to more sailing in the near future.)

 

Day Trip: Toronto Islands, Toronto, ON

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It took me three attempts to finally get on a ferry & to the Toronto Islands. And then a 5k walk from one end to another, many many detours, Lake Ontario swimming, beaches, glorious green, ice cream, amusements, animals, bicycles, boats, boats & more boats.
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And the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. This is important. The oldest existing lighthouse on the Great Lakes (1808!) & the second oldest in all of Canada.

Still shocked that I made it home at all.

Throw off the Bowlines

Calm Down

Calmdown

Trip: Charleston & Myrtle Beach, SC

Mini-holiday, a quick jaunt to where it is warm, sunny & fresh produce abounds.

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It's been a wet, cold spring, and while I appreciate any day I can get outside, there is no substitute for heat, swimming in the ocean, jogging along the beach. Sun, sun, books & sun.

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A day trip to Historic Charleston, gorgeous streetscapes, long walking tours, taking photographs as fast as I can think. (I tell my parents that this is the sort of place I'm trying to help build & I think for the first time they fully understand what it is I do for a living.) Click.

Canadiana Winter Wear: Canadian Pacific Travel Posters

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Canadian Pacific has done more for the Canuck identity than I can even comprehend.

It has been snowing for a solid 24 hours, and, as they say, it doesn't show signs of stopping.

More than dreaming of a White Christmas, I'm hoping for a Ski-coloured Boxing Day at Kissing Bridge.

Listening to:

Cold Splinters continues to be a constant source of inspiration.

Farmers Market, Welland, Ontario

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I bought a bunch of leeks for soup, and a bushel of applies to make all sorts of things with.

What you are, what you have.

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Archaeologist Field Style, 1978

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Linotype

1920's Lady, Plaid Skirt & Tie

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Found in an Exteriors and Interiors of the 1920's plan book.

Bean Boots & Bismarck - Thames River, London, ON

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Music: Andrew Bird - Why? (Live at Cemetery Gates)

Niagara Wine Tour: Beautiful Ontario

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Took the long way home from Niagara to Toronto, stopped in at a few wineries along the way.

Ask me some time just how much I love Ontario.

Move It + Dom Pérignon + Field + Boat Shoes

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The Move

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The Celebration

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Field Trip

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Papa's Boat Shoes

 

The Day of the Triffids: British Post-Apocalyptic Apparel

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The Day of the Triffids, a 1981 BBC Miniseries based on John Wyndham's book of the same name combines two of favourite things: Post-apocalyptic dystopia and practical, well-made (and homemade) apparel. 

Lesson: At the collapse of human civilization, quality and durability are king.

(Also: Never turn your back on a giant, mobile, man-eating plant.)

The Stepford Wives: Coveralls & Georgian Manors

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I have a bad habit of watching movies from the perspective of the architecture. (For example: Up is actually about the integrity and durability of Victorian houses.)


I love the Georgian manors of The Stepford Wives (1975). Traditionally, the strict symmetry of Georgian buildings, be they simple log structures or ornate mansions, represented a modicum of order and control over what was perceived by early European settlers as a wild, harsh continent. 

 

(In reality, the New World had been inhabited for over 12,000 years prior to European contact, and although not obvious to the newcomers, the natural landscape had embraced the habits and impacts of humanity long before. But I digress.)

 

That symbolism of taming the 'unknown' was definitely lost in the 2004 remake.

 

Indecently, the last image in the series is the home of a female psychoanalyst who sympathizes with the creative, intelligent heroine’s fear of losing herself, is also a fantastic example of National Park Service Rustic. This "Parkitecture" was designed to harmonize with the natural environment.

 

I also like the women's coveralls that pepper the film.

 

And the robots, the terrifying Misogyny-born robots.

 

 

Music: Sienna, Rust, & Iron

I've been listening to this all day. Season inspired 8tracks mix, via Folkloric