who are you...

A couple of weekends ago, I headed into Toronto with my fellow Who Grrls, Elizabeth, Ann & Carly, and took in a screening of the new documentary, Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Who Grrls are a special bunch of ladies who share a love for one of the greatest rock bands ever. It's always great to spend time with them.

I like documentaries as much as the next person. And I am a big fan of The Who, although probably not quite as much as the previously mentioned Who Grrls. So I went into the movie expecting an enjoyable experience, but nothing earth shattering. What I got was an incredible, two hour look into how The Who became one of the biggest bands not only of their generation but of rock history . The film was full of exclusive and rare footage intermingled with interviews with the band and other key people in their history. This movie comes out in DVD form on November 5. If you are a Who fan or simply a music fan, buy this DVD! The movie is truly excellent and offers a fascinating glimpse into the development of an incredible and historically important rock band. And for the loyal Who fan, the DVD promises to be full of exciting bonus footage!

After we left the screening at the historic Elgin Theatre, we made our way to the Park Hyatt Hotel at Bloor & Avenue Road. The Hyatt has a lovely little bar on the 18th Floor called The Roof Lounge. It's a cozy room that serves excellent albeit expensive martinis & tapas. They have a small terrace with an incredible view of the city. Definitely a great place to go as a treat.

Here are some pics from the Hyatt terrace.

Aww, the ROM Crystal. This image depicts what I can't stand about the Crystal. On its own it would be a beautiful and striking piece of architecture. Instead, it crashes into an incredibly gorgeous old and historic building, destroying its beauty.

The ever-changing, condo-overloaded, Toronto skyline.

One of the things I love about Toronto is the trees. Here is the back view of Queen's Park, highlighting the lushly forested park behind the Legislature.

The ROM Crystal

almost as beautiful...

So I'm still a bit bummed about missing Blue Rodeo's series of guerrilla concerts throughout downtown Toronto on Tuesday. Then I checked my You Tube subscriptions and found this piece of footage from the concert outside of the ROM, steps from my office. It broke my heart to watch it. I so should have been there!



I especially love what Jim says about The Crystal. ;)

There is also footage of them performing "C'mon" outside of the Eaton Centre. Check out the Starfish Entertains page for more!

I'm listening to the new album, Small Miracles, as I write this. And it is fantastic! Blue Rodeo fans will not be disappointed.

And I will lay off Blue Rodeo as a topic for a while. Promise.

bad timing...

I've been battling a stupid cold for about a month now. Just when I start to feel better, it gets worse again. After a long night of coughing and sleeplessness I woke up with a fever and decided it was best to stay home from work today. Nothing pisses me off more than staying home sick. I just hate being home alone, unable to get anything done, while surrounded by so much stuff to do. Our house is an endless project. Reorganizing, redecorating, general tidying. You get the picture.

Well today was probably the worst day I could have spent away from the office. Not because I would be farther behind in my work, but because Blue Rodeo was playing a bunch of impromptu concerts around downtown Toronto today to promote the release of their new album Small Miracles tomorrow. Given the location of my office it was fairly likely that I would be near one of these surprise locations. A little after 4pm today, they performed a set at the south west corner of Bloor St. W. and Avenue Rd. in front of the ROM. That's approximately a one minute walk from my office. And I missed it.

At least I have the new album to look forward to. And I will be getting up early tomorrow morning to download it so that I can listen to it on the way into work, and at work, and on the way home from work...

...in the sky with diamonds...

I work next door to the Royal Ontario Museum. We are really very lucky to have such a fantastic museum. If ever in Toronto, it's a must visit destination.

The museum is a gorgeous stone building dating from the early 1910's that was expanded in the 1920's and 30's. In the past few years, the ROM has been undergoing a major expansion with the addition of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. I have watched this thing being constructed from day one and since that day, I have been torn as to how I feel about it. That's why this article from the CBC caught my eye. I am all for modern architecture but I also believe in the preservation of history. I understand why the ROM needed to expand. I just don't get why they choose such a contradictory and intrusive design to accompany the stately original building. I have spent the last few years walking by this construction site several times a day and waffling about how I feel about the new addition. With the building almost complete I can honestly say, I don't like it. Honestly, I find it offensive. Call me a traditionalist, I don't care. I still love the ROM, but I don't have to like the crystal.