11 November 2006, early evening
I attended a small vigil last night. It was organized by a couple of people in DigIn. A few of the city councilors running in our ward were on hand to talk to people about their platforms. Simon Wookey was there at the start of the event, and I got to speak to him a fair bit before he headed off to get back to canvassing. Simon had prepared a speech for the event, but since it was a fairly small crowd, he opted instead to chat with anyone who wanted to talk to him. One of his volunteers passed on his speech for the event to me, which I’ve included below:
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Bloor and Lansdowne | Politics
9 November 2006, lunch time
Yesterday a small all candidates meeting was held at Dewson Public School. The two candidates that I was most interested in seeing, Simon Wookey and Adam Giambrone, were both in attendance. There are 6 candidates running in our ward, some clearly more capable than others. The turn out at the event was fairly small. I don’t think people are too interested in civic politics, which is stupid since it really effects you the most.
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[2] Bloor and Lansdowne | Politics
18 October 2006, lunch time
The fire alarm had been set off sometime in the evening where I lived. I arrived home to find people standing around outside. I chatted a bit, read a bit, and then decided to walk down Bloor and check out the shops where I live. There are a couple restaurants that looked promising, some Ethiopian places for example, but for the most part, from Lansdowne to Ossington that strip of Bloor is pretty sad. There are several boarded up shops on this part of Bloor, and those that aren’t boarded up just aren’t the sort of shop you pop into while walking down the road. There are lots of pubs and bars along this strip that might be cool. I’ll need to check them out next time I’m out with some people. Hanging out at a bar by yourself just isn’t that much fun. Some people in the area think Dufferin Mall sucked a lot of the life out of the strip. Not living in the area way back in the day, I can only imagine what it was like then. Zoinks has moved into the neighbourhood. It’s a used book and music shop. It has a pretty good selection of used books, but I am too used to paying bargain basement prices at U of T book sales. I don’t know if I can bring myself to pay $9 bucks for a beat up copy of Notes of a Native Son. (Actually, knowing me, I probably can.) I’m hoping more shops like it move into the area. I found a good Portages Chicken place right near the West most exit of Ossington Station. This was as far East as I walked; finding that shop made the whole trip worthwhile.
[1] Life | Bloor and Lansdowne
17 October 2006, the wee hours
I asked the people on the DigIn mailing list what used to be on the lot my condo was built on. The first response I got informed me that in recent years it was just an empty construction lot. Many years prior to that, it looks like there may have been a small factory here, as can be seen in the photo below.
The scary thing is, in the past 70 years, the area hasn’t changed that much. If anything, it looks worse for wear. The storage building on the right is very dilapidated now. The bridge is still pretty ugly. I’m not sure what you could do to liven it up.
Update: Here is a photo I took of the same strip of Bloor, which shows how little the area has changed.
[3] Life | Bloor and Lansdowne
12 July 2006, lunch time
new hood? when you moving there? why?
So, unless I manage to mess things up somehow, I should be moving to Bloor and Lansdowne in August or September. Why? Because I bought a condo there. Buying a condo is a lot of extra stress in my not so stressful life. I’ll be glad when everything is sorted.
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[12] Life | Bloor and Lansdowne
9 June 2006, lunch time
Same question I asked last year: anyone know anything about Bloor and Lansdowne. (Actually more like Dupont and Lansdowne now.) Once again, I am looking for places in the area. I get the feeling its moving on up, ever so slowly. All opinions welcome.
Update: I decided to move to the area, down by Bloor and Lansdowne.
Update: You can read about my experiences thus far in the Bloor and Lansdowne section of this site.
[22] Life | Bloor and Lansdowne
