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Celebrating the Light

Burning --- Photo courtesy of LexnGer.

Wow. Another wonderful year at Kensington's Festival of Lights. Drums, dancing, lanterns, candles, and wonderful performances on rooftops and street corners.

We were joined by friends and then proceeded to lose them in the crowds of celebrants.

This year the market shops were open and the market filled with shoppers and observers, which does take away from the group celebration. But it was still the most wonderful, powerful and inspiring event of the season for me.

Thanks to our Solstice Posse who joined in making light and noise, and anyone we didn't find, but came out.

There are some wonderful photos on Flickr.com of the event (none are mine).

The best part? There is a little more light in every day from now on.

And with that, we hang up our hats.

Happy Solstice To All and To All A Good Feed.

It is finally here.  The day I talk about all year round.  The event I missed most of all!!!

It's time for the

Festival of Lights!!!

So here is the plan for this evening:

• Meet @ 5:30 in front of Oishi Kada (on the west side of Augusta between College & Oxford)
• Come with:
  • Hats, gloves, scarves, and layers, lots of layers.
  • A light sources - candle, lantern, glow sticks. (no flashlights please.)
  • A noise makers - drum, maraka, tamborine, pots & pans, spoons, a can & a stick.
• Share any extra light sources, noise makers and clothing layers with those who came unprepared.
• At 6pm, we start banging our drums and spreading light as we wind our way through Kensington watching fire eaters, jugglers, choirs, puppetiers, dancers, bands, and winter soltice stories  from across the world. (www.redpepperspectaclearts.org)
• Get really cold, silly and kind of punchy as we make our way to Bellevue Park.
• Watch some or all of the huge bonfire celebration and then...
• Go to House of Gourmet for a big feed of hot, yummy dinner.  (where we will meet any late comers, lost folk or stragglers left behind.)

Hope to see you there, or on route, or at dinner afterwards.

just look for the woman grinning ear to ear and trying not to giggle too much.

Happy Solstice To All and To All A Good Feed!!!

Triple Gingerbread Dudes

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Last night I succumbed to a Solstice Eve baking frenzy and filled our house with the smell of warm gingerbread.

Generally, I try and hold off any Xmas baking, shopping and decorating until after the Festival of Lights (tonight!!!!) which is the official start of the season in our house.

This year it is even more important to keep the holiday at bay, with so much work to accomplish before Jan 2nd

However, (here comes that justification) yesterday was very productive with JS's help, so while Ger cleaned up and did laundry, I whipped up a batch of Triple Gingerbread Dudes, Piggies and Ginger Bones.

<Recipe below the fold>

Woman Run Over By A Church

I Got Run Over By A Church

TORONTO, ON  December 19,2005 --- Yesterday, a Toronto woman was run over by a portable church while making her way through the Famous Players Paramount theatre on Richmond.  Ms. Clark was found badly shaken and pinned by the church atop a garbage can, unable to move . 

Ms. Clark, a strong supporter of Xmas, commented, "While I wasn't raised in an organised religion, I never thought they were actually out to get me."

The driver of the church, in this preach and push collision, proportedly said "Oh, God! Are you okay?"  (though no attempt has been made to corroborate the appropriateness of this use of the Lord's name.)

The church itself had a large plaque on it labeling it a "Portable Church" and was at the theatre as part of "The Meeting House" - a church for people who aren't into church, which holds weekly ministries on Sunday at the Famous Players Paramount

This accident occured as Ms. Clark made her way to theatre #14 to see "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" a movie many believe to be an allegory of the Christ myth. 

Ms. Clark's partner, Mr. Thorpe was seated comfortably in Theatre #14 at the time. However, he later commented "I guess they've stopped converting to keep their number up and have moved directly to eliminating non-believers."

No one was seriously hurt in the incident, but many popcorn were lost.

Deck the Halls with Stockings of Cynicism

  Deck the Halls with Stockings of Cynicism ---  Photo courtesy of Esther17.

This is perhaps the BEST christmas photo I have ever seen. One of those "I wish I had taken it" photos.

Alternative Titles:

"Have yourself a capitalist little Christmas."

"The True Meaning of Christmas"

"All I Want For Christmas"

Xmas Macro

Xmas Macro --- Photo courtesy of LexnGer.

Merry Xmas to me. And to you for that matter.

This snow flake photo is to commemorate my official decision on my Xmas present from Gerry. This year he'll be giving me the Canon S2IS. I'll have to pack it back up for him to do so, but hey, I wrap all the Xmas presents anyway.

I'm pretty happy with it. A few complaints, but we all know I'll have to be dead before I am complaint-free.

Besides, if it can take pictures like this of tiny little snow flakes stuck between the board of my deck, then how much more Macro can I want. (Okay, don't answer that... and don't ask me that either!)

I am happy with my camera. Now to figure out how to fix that bl***ping lens cap.

Your personality via your browser's autocomplete

After reading: My Name is Kate: Geeky Tuesday ... your personality via your browser's autocomplete.

I had to take the challenge. I mean, what the hell, I'm just sitting here all medicated anyway. So here we go:

accidentalhedonist.com
beachestoronto.com/
cafepress.com
damninteresting.com
enomaly.net/
flickr.com
gallery78.com/
habitatjam.com/
indochinethaicuisine.com/
johnsitaliancaffe.com
kcvi.limestone.on.ca/
laughingsquid.com
madhava.com
nbcumv.com
oasisoncollege.com/
parkdalelife.blogspot.com/
quietfish.com/notebook/
rainbowcinemas.ca
sankoreanrestaurant.com/
tamilmatrimony.com/articles/sikh.shtml
undergroundlondon.com/social/index.html
websurveyor.com
xthought.org/blog/
youloveyourpuppy.com
zed.cbc.ca/go?c=getInvolved

I wonder what that says about me.

Chasing off the darkness.

Unite to ignite the longest, darkest night at the
Festival of Lights 
in Kensington Market on December 21st.

Fire breathers, stilt walkers, giant puppets, choirs, dancers, drummers all join in a lantern-lit carnival parade through Kensington Market culminating in a huge burning-man-esque revel at Bellevue Square Park.

This is one of those wonderful community celebrations where you join in. No standing on the sidelines watching the light go by.  Wrap your self in colourful scarves and ribbons. Decorate yourself with bells and bangles and glow sticks.  Light your lanterns. Bang your drums. Bring your noise to chase off the demons and your light to chase of the darkness. Become a part of the celebration welcoming back the light. 

Meet us in Kensington Market at 6pm at the corner of Augusta and Oxford where the procession starts.  We'll become a part of an amazing event as we move through the market listening to the choirs, watching the vignettes on the rooftops, and keeping back the dark.

The procession ends with a fiery revel in Bellevue Square Park, and then we go for Chinese!  Warm up with tasty BBQ pork, steamed greens and Singapore vermicelli at House of Gourmet on Dundas.

For us, this is the start of the Christmas season and we'd love to have you be a part of it.

This is If you haven't been to the Festival of Lights - you must come, bang a drum.   If you have been, you know how great this is - so you must come!  Make sure you dress warmly!

6pm on December 21st at the corner of Augusta and Oxford.  See you there.

Shattered Interestingness

Shattered --- Photo courtesy of LexnGer.

So, while I lie in bed feeling crappy for the 3rd day in a row from some evil plague inflicted upon me by one of my friends, colleagues or acquaintances, I achieve "Interestingness". 

Now one might think this is because my voice has dropped an entire octive, but no, it's due to this (<- that) photo.  Yesterday, it was ranked 2nd in Flickr.com's Interestingness .

Pretty damned cool for someone who hasn't done more in the last couple of days than slept, sniffed and reached for those little blue pills.

Now... more important than me whining about yet another minor illness...

Does anyone know what the symbol I've framed is?

I imagine I've created something quite poetic like "shattered happiness". But more likely, it's mundate like "shattered dumpling". Sadly I'll never know unless someone tells me what that symbol means!

Red Cup

Red Cup --- Photo courtesy of LexnGer.

Have you seen Starbuck's promotional site - The Red Cup? It's pretty cool. Lots of little hints, facts and amusing bits.

Thanks to OneDegree.ca's Ken Schafer for pointing this one out.

The cookie quiz says I'm a Snickerdoodle - "With a distinguishing dash of cinnamon, the Snickerdoodle keeps us on our toes with a wink, a smile and often a biting wit. Remember, with its name alone, the Snickerdoodle is laughing at you. Just try asking for one with a straight face." 

But here's the thing, I've never seen, let alone had, a snickerdoodle... anyone know what they are?