>
My variations on a sculpture by Mark Di Suvero, which he donated to York University.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Why I love Hamilton
It’s a city trapped in time, its buildings slowly crumbling, while no one takes much notice. Literally falling apart in front of our eyes, bricks deteriorate onto the ground, yet no one cleans up or fixes anything. Every old peeling wall, fragmented sign, crumbling brick, its all so beautiful. It is the artwork of time, no one could have planned it or imagined it would look this way, but it happened, and every detail of it is exquisite.
It allows for different perspectives. Anyone might think that a manicured garden or well planned town is pretty, but Hamilton is raw and different and unique in every way. No matter what your forte is, you will find something that moves you. Open your eyes and try to see something different.
No matter how out of style you dress, as you as you walk down the street you will see at least 10 people that are dressed at least 20 times worse than you (although of course this is subjective). Nobody gives a shit.
We aren’t drowning in condominiums and trendy yuppies.
No matter where you want to go, you can get there in a relatively short amount of time. Big city feel, small town charm.
Uptown is separated from downtown by a large escarpment, making the meaning of the terms quite literal. I was actually quite surprised when I learned that the ‘downtown’ of a city isn’t defined by longitude.
Driving down a street you’ve gone done a hundred times before, and noticing for the first time an old, gothic building so tall and elaborate, that it must have been quite the spectacle in its day.
The sincere lack of Starbucks (and other corporate chains that fit into the Starbucks paradigm). It’s just not Hamilton’s style (nor is it economically realistic for the majority of its residents).
Lots of independent presses giving refreshing views and news.
The rant section in our weekly alternative.
Local foods. Surrounded by some of the most fertile land in the world, its easy to get fresh, local food. There are lots of farmers markets all around the city, and if you have a car you can visit the countless farms surrounding the city.
All the unique independent businesses and the genuine people that work there. A lot of these people love Hamilton, love their community, and are fighting the good fight against you-guessed-what. (Or if you didn’t guess, corporate monoculture).
The waterfalls. Thirty-seven of them in total. Some are celebrated and cherished by those who go to hike by them, some are hidden gems that are rarely seen. Wherever your driving, its always exciting to suddenly catch a glimpse of a waterfall. While riding my bike along the escarpment I’ve noticed several waterfalls that I hadn’t seen before, some you can just see by stopping on the sidewalk and looking over the edge, others by squinting through the woods. Even better than the sight of waterfalls is the powerful sound.
The beavers at the waterfront trail. They make the place so much more special and are always exciting to see. I’ve seen them many times swimming along the shore, walking on the land, climbing up the bank onto one of the islands (and even getting attacked by a goose that had claimed the island). Even if you don’t spot a beaver itself, you will certainly see evidence of them with stumps everywhere from trees they’ve cut down. I also love the deer (and am so tired of the people who don’t).
People that are enthusiastic about this city. Once your love for this place is in your veins, enthusiasm spreads. With all the crap people say about Hamilton, those who hold a special place in their heart for the city are quick to defend it. There are many great revitalization projects here, but the people who share this enthusiasm are the revitalization themselves.
The greenspaces. No matter where you are, there are almost always elements of nature, with mature trees and preserved natural areas abound. There are so many incredible hiking trails for walking, crosscountry skiing, horseback riding, snowshoeing, mountain biking, etc.
Discovering new things everyday, in a city you thought you knew.
I’m the kind of person who likes to walk around aimlessly, to wander and take pictures. I like everything to be raw, real, and different. This is my kind of place.
It allows for different perspectives. Anyone might think that a manicured garden or well planned town is pretty, but Hamilton is raw and different and unique in every way. No matter what your forte is, you will find something that moves you. Open your eyes and try to see something different.
No matter how out of style you dress, as you as you walk down the street you will see at least 10 people that are dressed at least 20 times worse than you (although of course this is subjective). Nobody gives a shit.
We aren’t drowning in condominiums and trendy yuppies.
No matter where you want to go, you can get there in a relatively short amount of time. Big city feel, small town charm.
Uptown is separated from downtown by a large escarpment, making the meaning of the terms quite literal. I was actually quite surprised when I learned that the ‘downtown’ of a city isn’t defined by longitude.
Driving down a street you’ve gone done a hundred times before, and noticing for the first time an old, gothic building so tall and elaborate, that it must have been quite the spectacle in its day.
The sincere lack of Starbucks (and other corporate chains that fit into the Starbucks paradigm). It’s just not Hamilton’s style (nor is it economically realistic for the majority of its residents).
Lots of independent presses giving refreshing views and news.
The rant section in our weekly alternative.
Local foods. Surrounded by some of the most fertile land in the world, its easy to get fresh, local food. There are lots of farmers markets all around the city, and if you have a car you can visit the countless farms surrounding the city.
All the unique independent businesses and the genuine people that work there. A lot of these people love Hamilton, love their community, and are fighting the good fight against you-guessed-what. (Or if you didn’t guess, corporate monoculture).
The waterfalls. Thirty-seven of them in total. Some are celebrated and cherished by those who go to hike by them, some are hidden gems that are rarely seen. Wherever your driving, its always exciting to suddenly catch a glimpse of a waterfall. While riding my bike along the escarpment I’ve noticed several waterfalls that I hadn’t seen before, some you can just see by stopping on the sidewalk and looking over the edge, others by squinting through the woods. Even better than the sight of waterfalls is the powerful sound.
The beavers at the waterfront trail. They make the place so much more special and are always exciting to see. I’ve seen them many times swimming along the shore, walking on the land, climbing up the bank onto one of the islands (and even getting attacked by a goose that had claimed the island). Even if you don’t spot a beaver itself, you will certainly see evidence of them with stumps everywhere from trees they’ve cut down. I also love the deer (and am so tired of the people who don’t).
People that are enthusiastic about this city. Once your love for this place is in your veins, enthusiasm spreads. With all the crap people say about Hamilton, those who hold a special place in their heart for the city are quick to defend it. There are many great revitalization projects here, but the people who share this enthusiasm are the revitalization themselves.
The greenspaces. No matter where you are, there are almost always elements of nature, with mature trees and preserved natural areas abound. There are so many incredible hiking trails for walking, crosscountry skiing, horseback riding, snowshoeing, mountain biking, etc.
Discovering new things everyday, in a city you thought you knew.
I’m the kind of person who likes to walk around aimlessly, to wander and take pictures. I like everything to be raw, real, and different. This is my kind of place.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Downtown Burlington
My Dad, stepmom and I walked downtown to go out for lunch on Friday. The neighbourhoods around downtown Burlington are well manicured and pleasant to walk through. We went to Mikado Japanese Cuisine, located on 415 Elizabeth Street in Village Square. We didn't walk through Village Square this time, but it is an interesting quaint brick walkway through a collection of shops and restaurants. Its transformative atmostphere is so different than the surrounding streets that it kind of makes me feel like I've somehow transcended to Disneyland.
Upon entering this small, bright and sunny restaurant, we were greeted by the friendly and quite humourous staff there. The menu was enourmous, well priced, and had a large section of lunch specials. I ordered the vegetarian lunch special, consisting of avacado and cucumber roll, and also came with miso soup, salad, vegetable dumplings, and two other peices of vegetable sushi. The meal was attractively presented in a bento box, all the food was well prepared and delicious, and there was a perfect amount of food. The miso soup had wonderful flavour and was a nice way to warm up and start the meal. The sushi was quite nice, and did not at all have a fishy taste. I would definately come back here, the food was great, the service friendly, and the prices were very reasonable.
Next we walked to A Different Drummer Bookstore, an independant bookstore located in an old house at 513 Locust Street. Its no surprise how well known this place is, considering it gives the epitome of 'bookstore' feel. The visual displays are a treat, showcasing attractively arranged books with a plethora of unique covers. There are three floors, the top one being a small nook, offering you plenty of titles to explore. There is also a sunroom where you can sit and browse through a book, and there used to be an old cat that would snuggle up with you, who sadly died this year. The staff are knowledgable and this selection is unique and extensive, and they can also order in books that they don't have in stock. Even if you aren't shopping for a book, I would suggest coming here just for the experience of it.
Upon entering this small, bright and sunny restaurant, we were greeted by the friendly and quite humourous staff there. The menu was enourmous, well priced, and had a large section of lunch specials. I ordered the vegetarian lunch special, consisting of avacado and cucumber roll, and also came with miso soup, salad, vegetable dumplings, and two other peices of vegetable sushi. The meal was attractively presented in a bento box, all the food was well prepared and delicious, and there was a perfect amount of food. The miso soup had wonderful flavour and was a nice way to warm up and start the meal. The sushi was quite nice, and did not at all have a fishy taste. I would definately come back here, the food was great, the service friendly, and the prices were very reasonable.
Next we walked to A Different Drummer Bookstore, an independant bookstore located in an old house at 513 Locust Street. Its no surprise how well known this place is, considering it gives the epitome of 'bookstore' feel. The visual displays are a treat, showcasing attractively arranged books with a plethora of unique covers. There are three floors, the top one being a small nook, offering you plenty of titles to explore. There is also a sunroom where you can sit and browse through a book, and there used to be an old cat that would snuggle up with you, who sadly died this year. The staff are knowledgable and this selection is unique and extensive, and they can also order in books that they don't have in stock. Even if you aren't shopping for a book, I would suggest coming here just for the experience of it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Pasta recipe
For the sauce:
melt margarine in a frying pan
add chopped onions, garlic, and crumbled tofu
peas (frozen or fresh), spinach
plain soymilk (be careful not to add too much)
parsley or whatever herb you want
cook everything together in frying pan, allow soymilk to reduce. Serve over pasta (preferably whole wheat). I used chow mein noodles in the picture.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Happy Inauguration Day!
Congratulations to Barack and Michelle Obama and to the people of the United States of America. Good winds are blowing in, and I hope they take out all the terrible things plaguing the states such as class division, overconsumption, bad foreign policy, etc. etc. etc. Watching the election made the excitement from the election come back, and I'm sincerely hoping that this will be a new era for the states and that the government will be able to make positive changes with support of the US population.
As a final farewell tribute to George W. Bush, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsGvrKRrDYM
As a final farewell tribute to George W. Bush, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsGvrKRrDYM
Monday, January 19, 2009
Affinity Vegetarin Restaurant
This is one of my favourite restaurants to go to in Hamilton, and offers authentic Chinese dining sure to please even the toughest carnivore. The menu is enourmous, and every thing that I've tried so far has been fabulous.
The oriental decor is classy, the waiters and waitresses are always very friendly and helpful, and the entire place is spotless. There is plenty of seating, a private feel, and a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere. I have come here for everything from a casual lunch with friends to a fancy celebratory dinner with family. This restaurant is really suited for anything and is large enough to accomodate big groups.
There are shelves with glass jars of loose leaf tea that you can buy to take home, as well as a variety of very unique tea pots and mugs for sale.
The menu features very fine quality Chinese food, and everything on the menu is vegetarian. Mostly everything is vegan, and items that contain milk or eggs are clearly marked. There is a wide variety of tea, bubble tea and smoothies to drink, and to be honest I have not noticed whether or not they serve alcohol. There are enough appetizers to choose from to make a meal out of, and a great dim sum menu. I've tried everything in the dim sum section and it is all great. Its a treat to find vegetarian dim sum, and their selection certaintly stands its ground against the options you would generally find containing meat. I frequently come here with my Mom, a dim sum lover who is not vegetarian, and she too loves the dim sum served here. There are many types of dishes, featuring convincing imitation chicken, beef and pork alternatives (made of tvp), tofu, noodles, vegetables and rice. There are so many different menu items, and most have the option of a medium sized portion for a cheaper price, a gesture sure to be appreciated by those with smaller appetites.
For $15.99 I had the white jade combination dinner, which started with the soup of the day (pumpkin and vegetable) shortly followed by a spring roll with dipping sauce. Next came an attractive rectangular dish squared off into sections, which included a salad with a delicious light dressing, soy nuggets, soy sauce for dipping, and purple rice (a blend of jasmine, brown and wild rice which takes on a purple colour and a hearty, nutty flavour. All of those items come with every combination dinner, and in the last section is your main dish of choice. I had the white jade on vegetables, which is a soft tofu on a seaweed crust drizzled with sauce, meant to imitate fish. It had very soft texture unlike I've ever experienced with tofu, and although I generally don't like meat imitations, this was completely delicious. Green tea and dessert also came with the combination dinner, the green tea having the nice flavour of good quality green tea. For dessert was an option of jelly or soy ice cream. I chose pistachio soy ice cream and it was flavoured with a nice amount of sweetness and had peices of chopped pistachio in it. They have a selection of 10 types of soy ice cream (100% vegan), and let me tell you, for a vegan this is VERY exciting! I've also tried the hazelnut and green tea flavours, and both were very rich and creamy and were basically the most delicious thing I've ever experienced.
Everything is reasonably priced, and regardless of your budget or appetite you should be able to find something right for you. They have lunch specials and offer take out as well.
*****/*****
Affinity is located on 87 John St. South in Hamilton ON. South of Main, a great location for both mountain and downtown folks alike. Also very close to the GO station, so I often come here straight off the bus from Toronto.
905-529-2498
Thai Spring Roll
The other night I had dinner at Thai Spring Roll, located at 525 Bloor St. West. The restaurant also has another location at 500 Queen St. West.
The menu is extensive, and had a section dedicated to Malaysian cuisine. I ordered the Malay curry, described as a blend of coconut milk and malaysian spice with vegetables, tomatoes and coriander. You choose between tofu and four types of meat, and each is individually priced which is nice for vegetarians so we don't have to pay the same price as you would for beef.
The sauce was fragrant, flavourful and slightly spicy, and came with triangles of tofu and different types of vegetables, including peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, carrots and bok choy. The dish also came with a bowl of rice.
The restaurant is in a great location to be paired with an afternoon of shopping or seeing a film at Bloor cinema, or to meet up with friends for dinner.
Friendly service, plenty of veg*n options.
Their website, www.ThaiSpringRoll.com features their full menu.
The menu is extensive, and had a section dedicated to Malaysian cuisine. I ordered the Malay curry, described as a blend of coconut milk and malaysian spice with vegetables, tomatoes and coriander. You choose between tofu and four types of meat, and each is individually priced which is nice for vegetarians so we don't have to pay the same price as you would for beef.
The sauce was fragrant, flavourful and slightly spicy, and came with triangles of tofu and different types of vegetables, including peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, carrots and bok choy. The dish also came with a bowl of rice.
The restaurant is in a great location to be paired with an afternoon of shopping or seeing a film at Bloor cinema, or to meet up with friends for dinner.
Friendly service, plenty of veg*n options.
Their website, www.ThaiSpringRoll.com features their full menu.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Cheat Neutral
Great idea...
Please check out the website and watch the video. You MUST watch the entire video.
http://www.cheatneutral.com/
Please check out the website and watch the video. You MUST watch the entire video.
http://www.cheatneutral.com/
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Recipe for Disaster
I saw this film tonight at Bloor Cinema. It's about a family in Finland that decides to give up fossil fuels for a year. This means no cars, planes, and switching to renewable energy (all easy enough, really), and not buying anything made out of or packaged in plastic. That was (in my opinion) the hard part. It seems easy enough to avoid plastic and not buy over packaged goods, but this family gave up all plastic altogether, which proved to be challenging when shopping for toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. There was a Q&A session with the filmmaker via Skype after the film was shown.
They made many changes in their lifestyle, not just for the one year but long term. It was the husband's idea and the wife wasn't as keen, but I liked how they involved the children in the project and were very open with the kids about climate change, doing it in a way that was fun for the kids and not stressful.
They were an example of actually making real changes in your life to reduce your carbon footprint (note that the film is focused on carbon and doesn't really discuss many other environmental issues).
Living in Toronto and getting around fine by bus and subway I personally have an enormous dislike for car culture and get annoyed when people just can't seem to live without cars. I understand that the infrastructure in many areas is so built around driving (which also makes for a very classist system) that it is difficult for people to live their lives without cars. When you're used to driving everywhere its hard to make the decision not to. But if someone took your car away, you would find alternatives, adjust, and do just fine. Yes, some people actually do need their car, but most people don't but aren't willing to make the personal sacrifice to give it up. Anyways, this film is aimed at middle class suburb dwellers, so if you think you can't do it, then watch this film and see people who are. Also, biodiesel itself has led to many environmental problems not discussed in this film, so please do reasearch on that yourself and note that the film maker carefully sourced his biodiesel.
They made many changes in their lifestyle, not just for the one year but long term. It was the husband's idea and the wife wasn't as keen, but I liked how they involved the children in the project and were very open with the kids about climate change, doing it in a way that was fun for the kids and not stressful.
They were an example of actually making real changes in your life to reduce your carbon footprint (note that the film is focused on carbon and doesn't really discuss many other environmental issues).
Living in Toronto and getting around fine by bus and subway I personally have an enormous dislike for car culture and get annoyed when people just can't seem to live without cars. I understand that the infrastructure in many areas is so built around driving (which also makes for a very classist system) that it is difficult for people to live their lives without cars. When you're used to driving everywhere its hard to make the decision not to. But if someone took your car away, you would find alternatives, adjust, and do just fine. Yes, some people actually do need their car, but most people don't but aren't willing to make the personal sacrifice to give it up. Anyways, this film is aimed at middle class suburb dwellers, so if you think you can't do it, then watch this film and see people who are. Also, biodiesel itself has led to many environmental problems not discussed in this film, so please do reasearch on that yourself and note that the film maker carefully sourced his biodiesel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)