Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 104

Travel News: Air Canada Makes Up with Musicians

Travel News:
Air Canada Revises Policy on Musical Instruments


Tales of musicians, their travels and their instruments don't always have a happy ending, sad to say. Air Canada has been on the receiving end of a number of high profile complaints including Hamilton musician Stephen Fearing (Blackie & the Rodeo Kings) and his 2014 Twitter war over a lost (temporarily, luckily) guitar and Bryan Adams' recent inquiries over black magic marker on his guitar last summer.

Still, it looks like the airline is getting the message and recently came out with revised guidelines for instruments.

• You can view the full guidelines here.

The important points are as follows:

• Instruments that otherwise meet the guidelines for carry-on luggage can be brought in the cabin and stored in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you.
• String instruments (e.g. guitars, violins and violas) can be carried on board - even if their dimensions slightly exceed the carry-on size limits.
• The airline now offers a 50% discount off any fare, including the lowest available one, to customers who would like to purchase a seat to accommodate their musical instrument in the same cabin that they are booked in.
• If you’re traveling with a musical instrument as carry-on, you will now be invited to board the plane during pre-boarding in advance of general boarding so you’ll have a little more time to store your precious possession in an overhead bin close to your seat. If you need help with this, a flight attendants will be happy to assist.

This looks to be one of the more liberal policies anywhere in the world. In contrast, US carriers were only just mandated to allow musicians to carry smaller instruments - including guitars - in the cabin as checked luggage. Qantas doesn't allow any guitars in the cabin and beware of Lufthansa, where musical instruments need pre-registration and where extra fees apply.

A parody of the bad old days - https://youtu.be/oY-IkxbjdVA But those days are over musical friends!

Travel News: Ocean By H10 Hotels Earns Nine Prestigious Industry Awards And International Certifications For 2015

From a media release:

Ocean By H10 Hotels Earns Nine Prestigious Industry Awards
And International Certifications For 2015

Riviera Maya, MEXICO (Oct. 26, 2015) -- Ocean By H10 Hotels, with all-inclusive resorts in the Riviera Maya and Riviera Cancun (Mexico), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), and Varadero and Cayo Santa Maria (Cuba), has been presented with seven 2015 hotel and travel industry awards, including the Apple Vacations Golden Apple Award, Hotels.com rating of 4 or more out of 5, the RCI Gold Crown® Resort designation, TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence, Trip Advisor® Eco Leaders Gold, Expedia® Top Three Hotels in Riviera Maya, Zoover Holiday Reviews Certificate of Excellence.  International Certifications bestowed upon Ocean By H10 Hotels resorts this year also include the European Travelife Gold Sustainability in Tourism Certificate and designation as ISO 9001:2008 Certified by the world's largest developer of international standards.

"We are extremely proud of our Mexico and Dominican Republic resorts which continue to earn these prestigious awards and honors each and every year," said David Muñoz, Director of Marketing for Ocean by H10 Hotels.  "These recognitions, each with their vigorous requirements, evaluations and standards, serve as benchmarks for us to continue to raise the bar more and more on what we provide for our guests and how we are seen as a company."

Pristine beaches, close proximity to gateway airports, a la carte restaurants and a unique "all-inclusive 24 hours" identity characterize the Ocean by H10 Hotels brand.  The company's 320-room Ocean Maya Royale (Couples Only) in Riviera Maya, Mexico, the 591-room Ocean Coral & Turquesa Resort in Riviera Cancun, Mexico, and 570-room Ocean Blue & Sand Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, complete the Ocean by H10 portfolio.

• For information on Ocean by H10 Hotels or to make a reservation, go to www.oceanhotels.net or call 1-888-531-8927 FREE from within the U.S. and Canada.

About Ocean by H10
Ocean by H10 Hotels was founded in 2007 as a joint venture between Spain-based H10 Hotels and Vacances Air Transat, a leading Canadian tour operator and charter carrier. The company currently operates resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, where two new hotels will open in the coming months: the 470-room Ocean Vista Azul in Varadero on Nov. 1, 2015 and the 800-room Ocean Casa del Mar on Dec. 15, 2015 in Cayo Santa Maria, which serve as a complement to the current 420-room Ocean Varadero El Patriarca in Varaderoand the H10 Habana Panorama, a 320-room urban hotel in Havana.

Soundstreams presents ELECTRIC MESSIAH December 7 and 8 2015 at Drake Hotel Toronto

From a media release:

Soundstreams presents 
ELECTRIC MESSIAH
Part of the Ear Candy series
December 7 and 8, 2015 at 8:00 pm, Drake Hotel Underground

Handel goes Underground: A stripped down, surround-sound electro-improv Messiah for today’s Toronto.

• Get tickets

Tuesday, November 3 // Toronto – Soundstreams presents the first concert from our newest series dedicated to musical exploration, Ear Candy. Electric Messiah, running December 7 and 8 at the Drake Hotel Underground, is a new holiday tradition that takes Handel’s masterpiece apart and puts it back together again, reconnecting Toronto audiences to the music of the season in a way that is surprising, fresh, and fun.

“This type of Messiah has never been done in Toronto before,” says Kyle Brenders, Ear Candy curator and Soundstreams Artistic Associate. “Musically, we’re hoping the feel will be something like a mashup of Handel, Bjork, and Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey—but you’ll have to come to find out! We’ll also celebrate Messiah as a community experience, and are excited to push audience immersion further outside of a conventional concert hall.”

Composed in three weeks in the late summer of 1741, Messiah was originally written for modest vocals and instrumentation, only later becoming the huge annual spectacle we are familiar with today. Stripping Handel’s music back down to its barest essentials, Electric Messiah enables four singers, accompanied by guitar and electronics, to explore a selection of the work’s most popular movements through the lens of their own unique styles and cultural backgrounds. Featuring South Indian sound poet Gabriel Dharmoo, improvisation specialist and minister’s daughter Christine Duncan, Finnish-Canadian opera singer Carla Huhtanen, and Maliseet musician Jeremy Dutcher, Electric Messiah celebrates a truly Torontonian array of contemporary music talents. As a narrative through line, turntable artist SlowPitch Sound will also weave his magic throughout, mixing in Messiah old and new in humorous and poignant response to the other performers.

Staged in the intimate, cabaret-style Underground of Toronto’s iconic Drake Hotel, in collaboration with dramaturg Ashlie Corcoran (The Ugly One, Tarragon Theatre and Theatre Smash, The Gay Heritage Project, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre) and lighting designer Patrick Lavender (It Comes in Waves, bluemouth inc and Necessary Angel Theatre Company), Electric Messiah is an interactive, surround-sound experience that will never be the same twice.

Ear Candy is supported by NOW Magazine and Sovereign State.


Electric Messiah
December 7 and 8, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Drake Hotel Underground, 1150 Queen Street West

Featuring: 
Gabriel Dharmoo, vocals; Christine Duncan, vocals; Jeremy Dutcher, vocals; Carla Huhtanen, vocals; John Gzowski, guitar; Doug Van Nort, electronics; Electroacoustic Orchestra of York University; SlowPitch Sound, resident DJ.
In collaboration with curator Kyle Brenders, dramaturg Ashlie Corcoran, and lighting designer Patrick Lavender.

• Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door ($25 if you buy both Ear Candy concerts together), and are available at soundstreams.ca.
• Make a night of it: audience members receive a 15% discount on dining at the Drake before the show (food only) with an Electric Messiah ticket.

EAR CANDY: UP NEXT
Electric Counterpoint
March 19, 2016 at 8:00 pm
The Theatre Centre Incubator, 1115 Queen Street West
Featuring: Matt Smith aka Prince Nifty; Brandon Valdivia aka Mas Aya; and Dan Morphy. Resident DJ, SlowPitch Sound.

Soundstreams also offers a Mainstage Concert Series, as well as Salon 21, a free performance and discussion series at the Gardiner Museum.

Sleuthing and Solid Entertainment: Sherlock Holmes in Toronto to November 8 2015

Sleuthing and Solid Entertainment:
Sherlock Holmes
a new theatrical adaptation
with an original script by Greg Kramer

• Sherlock Holmes will be staged at The Ed Mirvish Theatre to Nov. 8 with performances Tuesday - Friday evenings at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. 
• On sale now, tickets range from $39.95 to $119.95 and are available online at www.mirvish.com and by phone at 1-800-461-3333 FREE.

TORONTO - The ornate David Mirvish Theatre adds to the moody atmosphere of Victorian London as portrayed in this new Canadian interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, starring David Arquette with James Maslow and Renee Olstead.

The trouble with any contemporary interpretation of Sherlock Holmes is that it first haa to fight off the spectre of other pop culture Sherlocks the audience is so familiar with; Benedict Cumerbatch and his functionally dysfunctional Holmes and Robert Downey Jr.'s more action hero take on the eccentric detective. It may take a few minutes to warm up to this comedic interpretation by David Arquette as written by Canadian playwright Greg Kramer but once you leave the comparisons behind there's much to like about his production.

David Arquette's stage version is effete on the surface, shrewd underneath, but don't expect a serious characterization of a highly realistic persona, at least for the most part. The play's rapid fire action and line delivery as the complicated murder plot unfolds give him little time to flesh out the iconic detective until the second half when Holmes has his dark night of doubt and druggie excess. Here Arquette does manage to inject a little gravitas in what is otherwise a strictly comic role in a zany, madcap mode.

The supporting cast is deep on talent, in particular James Maslow (Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush) as Dr. Watson. A real chemistry developed between his Watson and Arquette's Holmes.  Renee Olstead (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) fulfills her role admirably as the luminous lady in distress - who is really not so much of either, as is typical in the Holmesian cannon. Also worthy of special mention was Toronto actor Kyle Gatehouse as Moriarty - a dandy dressed in red with an appropriately demonic presence. Patrick Costello does a nice job with the hammy role of the clueless Inspector Lestrade and it was nice to see Canadian stage fixture Barbara Gordon lending her considerable talents to the role of Mrs. Hudson, Holmes' long suffering landlady. There are a whole raft of other supporting characters to flesh out the plot that escalates from a body found on the docks to touch on the opium trade.

The show delivers solid entertainment; there were guffaws from the audience and plenty of amusing moments. Production designer James Lavoie works magic with an economy of props, featuring a set up of ladders, scaffolding, screens and curtains that create various scenarios in a moody, foggy London atmosphere. Gorgeous steampunk costumes by Diane Sobers are beautifully detailed and add a great deal to the production overall. It's a fun, enjoyable evening of theatre.

Sherlock Holmes is on stage in Toronto until November 8, after which it kicks off a multi-city tour in the United States with stops in Washington, DC and Chicago, and other locales planned into 2016.

OMNI Television Brings Canadians its First Original,Chinese Crime Drama Blood and Water Beginning November 8 2015

From a media release:

OMNI Television Brings Canadians its First Original, Chinese
Crime Drama Blood and Water, Beginning November 8, 2015

TORONTO - Canada’s first trilingual (English, Cantonese, Mandarin) crime drama will be premiering on November 8 on OMNI. It’s called Blood and Water and is about Charles, the son of a prominent real estate developer being found ritualistically buried and the cop assigned to the case who will be forced to tear his family apart and reveal long held secrets in order to solve the murder of their troubled middle son.

• This half-hour, eight-part crime drama premieres with two back-to-back episodes Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, and will air regularly Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OMNI Television (check local listings) with episodes airing next day on www.OMNITV.ca.

While race relations is a subject that the public and media often dance around, Blood and Water is the show to change this, and delve into a discussion that has only had the surface scratched. Blood and Water will expose audiences to a grittier side of characters that have long been made two-dimensional.

Two of these characters are Paul (Charles’ brother) and Teresa (Charles’ girlfriend) played by Simu Liu and Loretta Yu respectively. Simu and Loretta are a tale as old as time. Boy meets girl at audition – they don’t fall in love – they continuously meet at auditions – and then land roles together in Blood and Water and become the best of friends.



“We are so proud to be the first Canadian broadcaster to bring a home-grown mainstream Chinese crime drama series to our audiences,” said Colette Watson, Vice President of Television & Broadcast Operations, Rogers. “With a complex storyline and well-developed characters, Blood and Water is a drama that will resonate not only with language audiences, but with all Canadians. We believe so much in the appeal of this series that development is already underway on Season 2.”

In the premiere episode, after Jo is hit with an unexpected diagnosis of cancer, she is given the assignment of lead detective in a complicated homicide. The drug addicted son of a prominent family has turned up dead and ritualistically buried in the endowment lands. With everything at stake, the pressure is on for Jo to quickly solve the crime and make the department look good in this high profile case, before the clock runs out.

New York City Premiere: Dead and Breathing at the National Black Theater October 28 to November 23 2015

From a media release:


Dead and Breathing
a new play by Chisa Hutchinson
directed by Jonathan McCrory

October 28 to November 23, 2015
National Black Theater - New York City

Previews: Wednesday - Saturday: 7:30pm / Saturday 2:00 & Sunday: 4:00pm
OPENING NIGHT GALA Monday, November 2, 2015
Thursday - Saturday & Monday: 7:30pm; Saturday: 2:00pm & Sunday: 4:00pm

• Get Tickets

NEW YORK CITY- Cranky old broad, Carolyn Whitlock, has been in hospice for far too long and just wants to die already.  When she tries to convince a loud, oversharing, and very Christian nurse to assist her suicide, she has to work harder than she ever has in her privileged life to end it. Through surprising humor and persistent questioning, Dead and Breathing investigates morality, mortality and the intense tug-of-war between the right to die with dignity and the idea of life as a gift. The play stars Lizan Mitchell and Nikki Walker.

Art Toronto: Canada's international contemporary art fair October 23 to 26, 2015 in Toronto

With material from a release:

Art Toronto
Canada's international fair for contemporary art
October 23 to 26, 2015 - opening reception October 22
Metro Convention Centre - Toronto

Works from the Nikola Rukaj Gallery (Toronto) incl artist William PerehudoffArt Toronto is back downtown, representing over 70 galleries at what has become one of the most important access points to the Canadian art market. Founded in 2000, the fair is now in its 16th year. Art Toronto presents important artwork from leading Canadian and international galleries combined with PLATFORM, an engaging series of lectures and panel discussions from prominent art world figures, curated projects, an extensive VIP Program, and top-tier cultural offerings throughout the city.

What I love about it is that it gives you a kind of snapshot of contemporary art and art practices, with a great representation of Canadian galleries from coast to coast along with a sprinkling of galleries from Europe, New York City, L.A., Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

Works from Zemack Contemporary Art (Tel Aviv)The best news is for collectors, who can sample from a truly dizzying range of contemporary art and artists. This is a unique time in art history when 'contemporary art', even as a term applied only to painting and sculpture, can mean just about anything - representational art using traditional techniques - and, as I'm happy to note as a still now and then fine art model, plenty of figurative work too - abstracts, conceptual pieces, installations and more.
Mark Lang 'Transmission' - Galerie Bellefeuille (Mtl) Pierre-Francois Ouellette art contemporain Works from the Loch Gallery (Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg)One of the special features of this year's show is FOCUS: LATIN AMERICA, including a curatorial project put together by Mexico City and Berlin-based independent curator Abaseh Mirvali and featuring works by Eduardo Basualdo (ARG), Matías Duville (ARG), Max Gómez Canle (ARG), Catalina León (ARG), Mateo López (COL) and Milena Muzquiz (MX).

I had the chance to speak to Abaseh for a few minutes about the work of Eduardo Basualdo, an artist she is very excited about. The piece pictured above is on loan from a Canadian collector and ties in with his frequent theme of examining mental spaces and emphasizing the viewer's experience of the art work, meant to gently question your relationship to your surroundings. Eduardo has several shows in Europe at the moment, including a piece at the Venice Bienniale.

FOCUS: LATIN AMERICA also includes from from eight additional galleries based in Latin America and/or featuring the work of Latin American artists.

Eduardo BasualdoOther features this year:
• As always, the RBC Painting Competition finalists and their work;
• Another returning feature is the MoCCA Benefit, which sees a prominent Canadian artist donate their work in support of MoCCA. This year it's Douglas Coupland's archival inkjet print ($2,500 each).
• Naturally, tours, talks and other educational features;
• A wine bar;


• SOLO - 12 booths that each focus on the work of a single artist;

Artist Jim Holyoak at Galerie Donald Browne (Mtl)• VERGE & VERGE VIDEO - featuring the work of emerging artists.

In an interactive feature, artist Ricardo Mazal's 'Bhutan Abstractions' invites visitors to write your thoughts or prayers on his iPad - as you write, your words will instantly merge with his video of a traditional Bhutanese prayer flag.

Slate Fine Art (Calgary)I also highly recommend the VIP experience where you'll sit in a chic lounge and where RBC has sponsored a display focusing on the work of Canadian women artists.


Here's a peak at how last year's extravaganza was put together:

New Release: Nyimpa: A collection of poems by Kwame Stephens

New Release:
Nyimpa: A collection of poems
by Kwame Stephens

• Buy the paperback
• Buy the Kindle version

"Nyimpa" which means "human" in Kwame's mother tongue of Fanti as spoken in Ghana - is a collection of over forty poems. These poems present a holistic view of life and the complexity of perspective as modern African/North American man. The poems span over twenty years of his work, some written as recently as this year (2015).


The are five chapters in Nyimpad:
• Nyame - The Fanti people of Ghana say you don't teach a child about Nyame (God).
• Abofra - The birth of a child (abofra) is a time of joy.
• Nyonko - A true friend (nyonko) - is always a blessing in our lives.
• Mbesiafo (women) -  mothers, sisters, friends and more are the salt of the earth.​​
• ​Mbanyinfo (men) - brother, friends and lovers -  teachers us lessons of the soul.​​

Much of Kwame's work has a musical quality about it, as if the poems should be sung. They examine and celebrate the five themes he outlines - a couple of excerpts:

from Angels All Around
...I see angels all around youand they are happy peoplejoyful people, loving peopleGod has opened my eyesand I see angels all around you
from Still Waters (2003)
He leads me beside still waterswhere the river slows and the water calms
He leads me to placeswhere there are no other voicesbut mine and his own so I can hearlisten and feed my soul
He leads me to quiet places

Michael Tilson Thomas & the San Francisco Symphony Release New Recording of Beethoven featuring Emmanuel Ax (SFS Media - November 13 2015)

From a media release:

MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY RELEASE
NEW RECORDING OF BEETHOVEN’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 FEATURING EMANUEL AX AND MASS IN C MAJOR ON SFS MEDIA NOVEMBER 13, 2015

• Pre-order now on iTunes.com
• Find out more

SAN FRANCISCO, October 13, 2015 – Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will release a live recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 featuring Emanuel Ax and Mass in C major on the Orchestra’s Grammy Award-winning SFS Media Label on Friday, November 13, 2015. This is the fifth all-Beethoven album released by MTT and the SFS. Of this journey through Beethoven’s music, MTT states, “In our performances we have been exploring a lyrical, transparent approach to the music. This gives us an opportunity to hear the remarkable qualities of the players of the San Francisco Symphony.” The recording will be available as a hybrid SACD compatible with conventional CD players, and as a digital download — including as high-resolution 24-bit downloads — and on all major streaming services. The album is available for pre-order starting today on iTunes with Mastered for iTunes audio quality at iTunes.com. Piano Concerto No. 3 was recorded in 96kHz/24-bit audio September 26-28, 2013 and Mass in C major was recorded in PCM 192kHz/24-bit audio January 15-18, 2014, both in Davies Symphony Hall.

On recording with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, Emanuel Ax shared, “I have known MTT for 40 years now since we first played together. I’m a total fan of his mind, and his musical approach. I feel very privileged to be part of a recording project with this orchestra and with Michael.”

Beethoven wrote Mass in C major in 1808, and later described it as “especially close to my heart.” MTT says of this work, “Mass in C unfolds in a way that says, ‘Please come inside and we’ll spend time together listening to something beautiful.' It’s enveloping and comforting. The soloists – Joelle Harvey, Kelley O’Connor, William Burden and Shenyang – are all lyric voices who can float phrases in a way that I’m sure Beethoven must have been imagining when he wrote them.”

This new recording joins four previous SFS Media recordings of Beethoven’s music by MTT and the San Francisco Symphony, and a Keeping Score documentary and concert of the composer’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica, available on DVD and Blu-ray. Of their recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Piano Concerto No. 4 with Emanuel Ax in 2011, Donald Rosenberg wrote in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “Tilson Thomas leads a forceful, nuanced account of Beethoven's Fifth that shows his San Francisco Symphony to be in prime health. But the highlight of the disc is the performance of the Fourth Piano Concerto with Ax at his most crystalline and poetic. The relationships between piano and orchestra are beautifully defined, the music's grace, drama and joy bountifully conveyed.” MTT and the SFS also recorded and released Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Leonore Overture No. 3. Beethoven recordings featuring the Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Symphony Chorus include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and his Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II and Symphony No. 2. Of MTT and the SFS’s Beethoven exploration, Blair Sanderson wrote on All Music.com, “Michael Tilson Thomas's super audio recordings of Beethoven's symphonies with the San Francisco Symphony deserve attention for their superb musicianship and extraordinary sound quality.” (Image of Emmanuel Ax by Maurice Jerry Beznos)

A frequent guest soloist and longtime friend of the San Francisco Symphony, Emanuel Ax made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1979, performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto under conductor Walter Weller. In 1992, during the San Francisco Symphony’s Beethoven Festival, Ax performed the complete cycle of Beethoven’s five piano concertos within a two-week span. Those performances were the only previous time Ax played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the SFS.

Soprano Joélle Harvey, a native of Bolivar, New York, first appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in 2009, singing the role of Leila in the semi-staged production of Iolanthe. Her most recent appearances with the SFS were during the Orchestra’s 2015 Beethoven Festival, in which she performed Missa solemnis and the role of Marzelline in a concert setting of Fidelio. Prior to that she performed the role of Solveig in the SFS’s January 2013 semi-staged production of Peer Gynt. Tenor William Burden made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2012, and can be heard on the SFS Media recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Mezzo soprano Kelley O’Connor made her SFS debut in 2008 in Haydn’s Mass in Time of War. Her most recent appearances were in this recording’s Mass in C performances in January 2014. She returns to perform with MTT and the SFS in June 2016, in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. Born in Tianjin, China, bass-baritone Shenyang made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2011, and most recently performed with MTT and the Orchestra in the June 2015 semi-staged production of Missa solemnis.

One of America’s most distinguished choruses, the 156-member San Francisco Symphony Chorus is known for its precision, power, and versatility. Led by Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin, the Chorus performs more than twenty concerts each season and is comprised of 32 professional and 124 volunteer members. Recordings featuring the SFS Chorus have won a total of eight Grammy awards, including three for Best Choral Performance. They were featured on the SFS Media’s recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with MTT and the SFS, which won three 2010 Grammys, including the award for Best Choral Performance.

The San Francisco Symphony is widely considered to be among the most artistically adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the US. Led by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, the SFS presents more than 220 concerts annually, and reaches an audience of nearly 600,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall, through its multifaceted education and community programs, and a global audience through its media initiatives, national, and international tours.

A Love Letter to Downtown Toronto #Toronto

A Love Letter to
Downtown Toronto

Toronto, I do love you. Here are some pics taken over the last year or so, usually taken while I've been walking to or from Union Station, to or from various events and work assignments in the city - including three views from the rooftop lounge of the Thompson Hotel.

Looking east from the Thompson Hotel Toronto rooftop lounge.

A moody Toronto skyline in the rain.
Beautiful Toronto by night - with the rooftop vanishing pool of the Thompson Hotel in the foreground.
A condo's eye view of downtown from Bay & Bloor
Interesting geometry as seen from the GO station
Queen Street West

University Avenue


Shimmering TD Tower