It was a good run

I got a nosebleed this morning. I don't think I've gotten a nosebleed since I was in the early part of high school or something. I used to get a lot of them and even got some acupuncture to treat them. I thought I was cured. Until today. Boo.

A discovery

Used bookstores are fun. I was looking specifically for two books in hardcover form. I was ready to buy them at whatever price from Indigo, but since they didn't have it, the sales person there recommended me to go to used bookstores instead. I don't really by a bunch of books so I didn't find the price she quoted for me to be overpriced, but she seemed to give off the vibe that I would be crazy to buy it at regular price.
Anyway, I went to a couple places to find the books and the prices are much cheaper for copies of books which are basically in mint condition.
I found one of the books that I wanted, but I'm still looking for the other one. I'm sure I'll find it at some point.
I also made an impulse buy and bought a book for $2.99. I know, I'm wild.
I'm hoping that maybe I can find a specific edition of a children's book that I love. Fingers crossed.
I feel like I'm now privy to a whole new world.
Sorry Chapters and Indigo. I think you've lost a customer.

Nuit Blanche

I had a great time at Nuit Blanche last night. Sure, I feel exhausted right now, but it was definitely worth it.
It made me very happy to see so many people out and about in the city. There was lots to see and do, but you never really know how the city's going to respond to stuff like this. I thought the weather was perfect as well. A little chilly, but once you started walking, it was okay. I could have used some mittens though.

Anyway, I can't really think straight right now, but some of the highlights of the night (in no particular order) include:

1. Stereoscope, 2008. The web write-up says that it was interactive, but I didn't know about that at the time. It was cool to see classic games like Pong, Snake and Tetris played out on the windows of City Hall. I usually like stuff with lights, so I'm not surprised that I liked this one. Also, it reminded me of when we projected our games of Tetris on the wall of our high school Yearbook office. That was fun.

2. Conversation #2, 2008. This was also cool. It looked like part of the
installation had fallen down, but since it's art - well,
you can't be completely sure. I liked the usage of different colour - there were a lot of Hardy Boys books in the blue section.



3. Waterfall, 2008. From far away, it really looked like a waterfall. Again, I like things that use pretty lighting, so I liked this one too.




4. House of Leaves, 2008. It looked cool from far away. The line was too long, so we looked from afar and then went on our merry way.


5. Stock Extravaganza, 2008. It's a garbage can. With music coming from it. With lights and a smoke machine inside. It's cool.

6. Cinematheque Ontario (Toronto International Film Festival Group) - The Art of Silent Comedy. I'd never seen a silent movie before. Well - clips here and there, but not a complete storyline. They are quite sweet. I liked the fact that there was a live pianist accompanying the piece. I wonder if he has seen the movie before. If I was playing, I would have interpreted some of the scenes differently, but I still enjoyed it. I really admire people who can play without a score. I would love to be an accompanist at a dance studio - that's a talent for sure.

*****************

Some blah moments (also in no particular order):

1. Into the Blue, 2008. I would assume that during the event it was more interesting as the lights would have been positioned properly, but when I walked by the installation during the day, it was just a blue plastic thing hanging in the air.

2. Fifteen Seconds, 2002. This installation was in Dundas Square and probably would have been more impressive if they turned out all of the lights there. Alas, the billboards and stuff made the area so bright that the spotlight didn't really have as great of an effect as it could have had.

3. Zombies in Condoland, 2008. The fact that a whole bunch of people were standing around not knowing if anything would actually happen was a little annoying. Finally, we figured out what was happening and it was kind of blah. I was expecting a lot more zombies, but maybe they only let a couple participate at a time because there was a long line up of people waiting to be zombie-fied. There were a couple participants who played their part extremely well. One was moonwalking for a bit, which was slightly entertaining.

I ended up going to bed at 5.30am and had to wake up again at 9.30am and be quite alert for the rest of the day. Now that I'm back home again I think my brain is giving up. I couldn't keep my eyes open on the streetcar ride on the way home. At least this time I didn't miss my stop (hey, I've only done it one before).
So yeah, a good night out. Can't wait for next year!

- picture courtesy of www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca

What's metro?

Since when did Dominion stores in the city become Metro? And why?
Seems like Metro is from Quebec. Interesting.

Liberty Village

I'm still discovering different parts of the city and I've come to one conclusion. I don't like Liberty Village.
The first time I went, although the streetcar ride made me think that it was a neat little area, I got disoriented when walking to my destination. I like to think that I don't get disoriented very easily. The brunch redeemed the experience though.
This time, I went to seek out an installation for Nuit Blanche that I knew had been set up a little earlier (I didn't think that I would have a chance to get out there during the actual event). Again, I got lost. Well - I don't think I got lost, I just couldn't find the thing. I walked the whole length of the street and all over the general vicinity and couldn't find anything that was similar. It's too bad because I was sort of excited to see it. I'm hoping that maybe they just didn't turn the waterfall on at that specific time that I was there, but I'm not so sure.
The area has so much potential to be cool. It's a little bit outside of the core, but seems to have a community feel - but something about it. I just don't like it.
So Liberty Village is at two strikes. I wonder if I should let the brunch cancel one of them out. Whatever. Two strikes.