#street art t.o.

[redmcc]

[thiswasinevitableid]

Could you do an Indruck (or OT4 because you got me into the whole pairing :) ) NSFW ghost prompt? Go nuts, I just love your writing and I trust your creative vision.

Here you go! I went with the OT4. And I’m so glad you like that pairing!

The kitchen box is half-unpacked when there’s a knock on the door. Duck figures it’s the take-out he ordered, so he’s surprised to see a tall guy in nice jeans and short-sleeved dress shirt decorated with Jackalopes. Unless the Thai place uses male supermodels as delivery boys, this isn’t his Pad Thai. 

“Uh, hey, what can I do for you?”

“I’m your downstairs neighbor, so I wanted to come up and introduce myself. I hope I’m not interrupting dinner.”

“Nope, still waitin on it. Nice to meet you, name’s Duck.” He holds out his hand and Mr. Gorgeous shakes it. 

“Joseph. Oh, um, here” he produces a small greeting card with a sea monster on it, “welcome to the neighborhood.” His pocket rings, and so he excuses himself, hurrying down the stairs with his phone to his ear. The card contains a gift certificate to the coffee shop on the corner. 

They don’t cross paths again right away. It’s more that Duck will move Joe’s packages into the main hall rather than leave them on a rainy porch, and Joe delivers Pinecone the cat back to him after she slips out the door and down the stairs while Duck wrestles his keys. 

As it warms up, they use the pool around the same time each day (which is how Duck learns Joe’s had top surgery, same as him), and start talking more in the lobby when they see each other. He learns Joseph works for the FBI in the UP, the agreement being he can make X-files jokes as long as Joe gets to make Smokey the Bear references in return. The way Joseph laughs, water streaming down his honest-to-god defined abs as he pulls himself onto the edge of the pool, makes Duck glad he’s never seen a boyfriend coming or going from the other mans apartment. 

Tonight, he’s done helping Joe get all his groceries up the stairs in one go, and decides to go for it. 

“Hey, uh, Joe? You doin’ anythin tomorrow night?”

“No.” He studies Duck’s body language and gives an encouraging smile. 

“In that case; wanna get dinner?”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

“I think this building is haunted.”

Duck, head still resting on Joe’s chest after jacking him off as thanks for an excellent blowjob, laughs, “That’s some interestin pillow talk you got there.”

“Are you that surprised?”

“No, you fuckin nerd.” He nips his collarbone, shifting so they’re each on their sides, facing one another, “for real though, why do you think we got ghosts runnin’ around?”

“At first I thought I was imagining it, or that I felt like I was being watched because the cases studies I was reading put the suggestion in my head. Then things started moving around the apartment, and now and then I swear I hear people whispering. I tracked the sound one day and it was coming from the wall that looks out onto the street. No one was down there, and if it were the result of an echo or strange acoustics, I’d notice it more.”

“Huh.” Duck pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

“Still, I’m not ready to say for certain that it’s haunted. That kind of thing requires concrete evidence that I just don’t have. Sorry, shouldn’t talk shop when I have a, um, guest.” He wiggles back into Duck’s space, kissing him gently, and Duck forgets what they were talking about.

---------------------------------------------

He knows Ouija Boards are a dodgy investigation tool at the best of times, but today he came home to find all his laundry folded when he had, much to his chagrin, had to leave it in the bag in a rush to get to work. 

No one has a key to his place. Which means whoever did that had another way in. 

He clears his throat, “If there is a ghost or other supernatural entity in the apartment with me, I wanted to say thank you for putting my clothes away.”

Nothing but his own creeping humiliation, then a slight chill across his face. The planchette moves

U.R. W.E.L.C.O.M.E

“HAH!” He whoops, “I was right! My apartment is haunted. Okay, um, spirit, do you have a name?”

B.A.R.C.L.A.Y

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Barclay. You’ve been spending a lot of time around me.”

Y.E.A.H S.O.R.R.Y

“You don’t need to apologize, I don’t mind it. You’re not malevolent, and if this was your apartment when you died, I can’t very well get mad at you for hanging around. Are you able to become visible?”

YES

“Is there, um, a reason you’ve never materialized around me?”

D.I.D.N.T W.A.N.T T.O S.C.A.R.E Y.O.U

“You won’t, I’m a professional. And I’m curious about the person I’m sharing my home with.”

The planchette trembles, unsure of it’s direction at first. 

S.H.Y

That explanation never occurred to him. 

“That’s alright. If you ever change your mind, know you don’t have to hide on my behalf.”

------------------------------------------------------------------

“Barclay, even I can tell that was an invitation to interact with him. What more are you waiting for?” Indrid cocks his head. 

“Maybe he’s just trying to appease me because he’s scared of ghosts?”

“Those ‘paranormal romances’ on his shelf suggest otherwise.” Indrid touches Barclay’s cheek. They’re in the wall, their shared nature meaning they can see, hear, and touch each other without trying, “dearest, you’re clearly fond of him, and he’s eager to meet you.”

Barclay’s beard scratches his palm, “Yeah, I know. I’m just...I like to take things slow and, uh, I guess this is no exception.”

Indrid chuckles, dryly adds “Yes, I recall how long after propositioning you it took for you to practically bang down my door.”

“Okay, hot little art punk who literally asked me if I wanted to see what his tongue piercing felt like on my dick is the exception.” He kisses Indrid’s cheek before drifting away. 

Indrid floats up into his former apartment, now occupied by Duck Newton. He spends most of his days on the couch while Duck is off at work, watching T.V or reading or, increasingly, playing with Pinecone, the only being he’s materialized for in some time. He’s been content to never alert Duck to his existence, but yesterday he overheard him remaining skeptical at the idea of the building being haunted, much to Joseph’s disgruntlement. Indrid’s as well; Barclay isn’t the only one who finds Joseph attractive and charming. 

So he thinks Duck deserves some low-stakes haunting of his own. 

---------------------------------------

Duck’s having a hell of a week. The hinges on his cabinets must be going, because they keep falling open, his router keeps getting unplugged (probably by Pinecone), and no matter how he insulates, there’s a chill in the living room. 

Worst off all, when he pulled the fridge away from the wall to see if it was to blame for the cold spot, it revealed a hole into the wall that is just big enough for Pinecone to get into. Which she did, last night, and will not come out no matter what he tries. 

When he walks into the living room after work, his brain stalls out. The good news is, Pinecone is no longer in the wall. 

The bad news is she’s floating at a fixed point four feet about the floor. 

His cat notices him, mrrps, and lands on the floor. All Joe’s talk of ghosts suddenly feels very real and points at one conclusion.

“Holy shit” he picks up the black and brown ball of fluff, “my cat’s fuckin’ possessed.”

“Not quite” the voice in his ear is quiet, lilting.

“JESUSFUCK.” He spins to face an invisible interloper, Pinecone firmly in his arms. 

A smile, and only a smile, appears a fear inches above his eyeline, “Do you still doubt the building is haunted?”

“Wh--motherfucker, you’re Joe’s ghost and you decided to talk to me? To what, make a point?”

“Yes and no. Yes in that I wanted you to stop doubting my existence. No in that Barclay is the former resident of Josephs’ dwelling. I am a former resident of this one.”

The implications of there being a ghost dedicated to his apartment hit him like a train, “Have you just been hangin around me since I moved in, watchin my every move?”

The smile wavers, “Nono, nothing so alarming. I usually come here when you’re at work, or spend time with Barclay in the spaces between walls and worlds. That’s, ah, not to say I haven’t been in the armchair while you were watching T.V on the couch, but in my defense you have very interesting taste in documentaries.” The ghost notices Duck’s alarm, and the smile fades from view, “I apologize. It was rude of me to be in your space without permission. Space is a much more malleable thing when you’re a ghost, but that is no excuse.”

“I mean, yeah, it’s fuckin creepy.”

Pinecone jumps from his grasp, winds herself in a circle around what must be ghostly legs. 

“But uh, my cat likes you. And she can be skittish. I, uh, worry about her gettin lonely on days when I work late. So you can hang around when I’m out. But other’n that we gotta play by vampire rules; you don’t come into my space unless invited. Deal?”

The smile flickers back into view, “Deal.”

---------------------------------------------------------

Joseph, all too aware of his own perfectionist nature, tries to avoid jealousy. It only ever serves to poison him against others and his own fragile inner being. 

But lord almighty is he jealous that Duck got a verbal, physical visit from his specter, Indrid, while Barclay doesn’t so much as whisper in Joseph’s vicinity.  It had been hard to be envious in the moment, because he was too excited by the news, to the point that he climbed into Ducks lap and started kissing him because all his adrenaline needed an outlet. 

Then Duck had frozen, asking if he thought the ghosts would watch them hook-up. Joseph pointed out that Indrid had promised to only visit when invited and Barclay was polite, so odds were good they were truly alone. He kept the fact that Duck’s suggestion made him instantly hard to himself.

(Duck picked up on it anyway, if the jokes about Ghost and the supremely satisfying make-out session were anything to go by).

He’s making fried rice for dinner, is mid-way through chopping green onions when his phone buzzes. A glance over his shoulder reveals it’s not a work call or an emergency. Suddenly, something cold and strong grips his right hand and there is, without a doubt, a human frame pressed to his back. He can’t move his hand, follows the line of his knife and sees the next chop would have caught his finger.  

“Barclay?”

“Yeah. Sorry I, uh, just didn’t want you cutting a finger off.” The hold on him disappears as that baritone drips down his spine. 

Joseph turns just as Barclay comes into view; he’s taller than Joseph, a rare thing given he’s six-foot, with shaggy brown hair and a short, coppery beard. Full lips and brown eyes round out the face that is straight from Joseph’s fantasies.

“Wow. Um, I mean, thank you for saving me a trip to the emergency room.”

“No problem.”

Drawing on years of training, he tries to keep the other man talking, “Were you just passing through?”

“Kinda. This is gonna sound weird but, uh, I loved cooking when I was alive. Sometimes I like to be close by when you’re cooking so I can get some of the sensations again.”

Joseph steps to the side, gesturing to the cutting board, “Do you...want to help me make dinner? If you can interact with my body, you should be able to prepare veggies no problem.”

Barclay hesitantly steps to the counter, shakes his head when Joseph offers the knife, “I have to dematerialize first. Being visible and being solid take so much energy that I can only do one or the other.”

“Fascinating. Just, um, I hope I get to see your face again.”

Barclay disappears, and a half-second later an invisible hand squeezes his arm, “Think I can manage that.”

Barclay joins him for dinner regularly after that. Duck recovers fairly quickly to Joseph’s spectral assistant, especially when Barclay makes him french onion soup. Joseph suspects Duck is also getting used to ghosts in general, since more than once he’s knocked on the door and walked in to find the ranger conversing with Indrid (though Indrid insists on remaining dematerialized). 

Tonight it’s just him and Barclay, and Joseph is busy sticking his foot in his mouth.

“I’m sorry, that’s a rude question-”

Barclay chuckles, “Not really, it’s kinda the first thing everyone wants to know about ghosts, right? Why we’re here? Short answer is, uh” he sighs, “I had a heart condition but not the time or money to get it checked out. Fucking thing failed me one Sunday morning at that was it. Poor Indrid found me. We had a casual thing going and he had a key to my place. Came to check on me when he heard me hit the ground.”

“Oh Barclay, that sounds awful for you both.”

“Yeah, death isn’t my fave.” Barclay lays down, disappearing so his head can rest properly in Joseph’s lap. The agent feels around until he finds soft hair, petting it as Barclay continues his story.

“At first I thought my unfinished business might have to do with Indrid. But when he died pretty soon after, I kinda figured it was more that when I died, the direction I went was the ‘become a ghost’ one and not, like, the ‘rest in peace’ one.”

“Do you wish you could move on? Because I have access to a lot of classified occult information.”

The head under his hand turns, the direction of the motion suggesting Barclay is looking up at him, “Gotta be honest, lately being a ghost has gotten way more interesting.”

------------------------------------------------

It takes two drawers before Duck finds where he put the AAA batteries. The package is already open, and when he gets to the living room his Carbon Monoxide detector is floating, back removed as fresh batteries click into place.

“Damn, ‘Drid, the thing just started beepin about it’s low battery.”

“Such things cannot be delayed. Trust me.”

“....Oh fuck, is that what got you?”

The detector slips back onto it’s wall mount, “Yes. I, I was always so careful, trying to prepare for every possible disaster. When Barclay died I, ah, I found it harder to do daily tasks. One of those was replacing the batteries in this” a plastic tap, “the low-power beep kept bothering me, so I detached it, planning to fix it in the morning. Then the next morning, and the next, and so on. Well, I put it off one too many times. A mundane, pointless death if there ever was one.”

Duck sets the battery package on the table, opening his arms. Cold fingers cling to the back of his shirt as Indrid hugs him. Duck does his best to soothe the ghost, rocking them subtly in a way that works wonders on his living friends. 

“Thank you” spectral eyelashes flutter against his neck as Indrid burrows against him. They say nothing else, staying in the embrace until Pinecone pads over and demands dinner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Duck just means to drop off the books he borrowed from Joe, finds the door unlocked and figures the other man is home, probably cooking or yelling at a bigfoot hunting show.  When he doesn’t see him in the living room, he pokes his head down the hall. 

It takes a moment for his brain to process what he’s seeing. By the time it does, he’s already backing out the door. 

Okay, he just walked in on his sorta-boyfriend getting railed by a ghost, face buried against the bed, moaning while a cock he couldn’t see spread his ass open over and over again. That’s fine, that’s completely fine and not hot at all, he’s just taking his pants off in his living room for unrelated reasons. 

“Ah, Duck?” 

“Fuck!” He looks around, trying to work out where Indrid is and how much he can see.

The couch cushions shift, “I apologize, I thought you were out running errands.”

“S’okay” He pulls his hand out of his boxers, “I, uh, I was just, uh, tryin to, uh…”

The ghost waits patiently for him to come to the truth.

Duck sighs, slumps down on what he’s pretty sure is a free spot, “Walked in on Joe and Barclay.”

“I see. Does it bother you?”

“No. I, uh, kinda got the sense they were into each other, and we ain’t exclusive.”

The smile appears next to him, invisible fingers tracing up his arm “Does it do something else to you?” 

“Indrid, please I already got the weirdest fuckin boner right now.”

“And I am offering to help. I know I often joke about sharing Barclay’s taste in men but…” a light, chilly kiss on his cheek, “I share Joseph’s as well. I would very much like the chance to show you what I mean.” The fingers and lips teasing his skin cease their touches; space to refuse that Duck appreciates. 

“You know what? Fuck it” Duck works his pants the rest of the way off, throws his boxers after them, “get on your knees, sugar, and show me what you mean.”

“Ooh, I get a pet name!” Indrid claps, excited, rests his hands on Duck’s knees after he spreads them. Duck tracks his position by his smile, is unprepared for how strange it feels when it dives between his thighs. He’s used to Joe, all hot breath and enthusiastic precision. This is like the time an ex tried using an ice cube but way, way better, the chill heightening the sensations rather than numbing them. 

It’s also teasing, and he grunts, tipping his hips up, “‘Drid, please.”

“Patience, sweetheart, I haven’t done anything like this in years, I intend to take my time.”  A playful tongue drags up his dick. 

“Sugar, I’ll let you do this every day for a week, figure out how to give a ghost a fuckin hand job, anythin, but if I don’t cum soon I’m gonna combust. So get that cute little mouth where it belongs and suck my dick.”

The smile sharpens, “Make me.”

He threads his fingers into Indrid’s hair, shoving him forward. The ghost moans, tongue working across his folds in rapid swipes. Curious, he tugs on the soft strands and a messy purr vibrates up his dick.

“Someone like it rough?”

He feels the responding nod. Tightens his grip, “Then fuckin suck it like I told you too, sugar.”

Cold lips envelope his dick, Indrid moaning as he sucks. One hand rubs what his mouth can’t attend to, but the other leaves Duck’s knee right before Indrid’s whimpers grow shorter.

“That’s it, get off while I fuck your face, fuck, Joe’s really onto somethin with this paranormal shit, you’re so good sugar, fuckme that’s good. C’mon” he jerks his hips, orgasm building mercifully fast, “make me cum, like that, right fuckin there ohfuck.” He cums, feet scuffing on the rug. Indrid’s moan turns to a gasp as he pulls away, cum making a damp spot on the ground. 

Duck pets his hair, “Sure showed me.”

Indrid snickers, turns to press his face to kiss his palm.

“‘Drid? You, uh, you don’t have to, but could I see you? All of you?”

His hands cradle air as a man forms before him; lanky and bony, hair dyed silver with black roots showing, pierced ears and lip, tattoos coating the arms that stick out from a white tank-top. He bites his lip, awaiting judgement as Duck sinks off the couch to sit with him. 

“Not gonna lie, sugar, mighty peeved you kept usin my pens and didn’t even let me see this face everyday as payment.”

Indrid blinks, then laughs, loud and relieved, “I’m glad you approve; I am not everyone’s type.”

“Sure as hell are mine.” Duck puts his hand through his knee, frowns, “wish I could hold you and see you at the same time. Be that as it may, know you’re always runnin cold. You, uh, wanna join me for a little afternoon nap?”

“Of course” he fades away, and takes Ducks’ hand.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Duck’s never seen Joe this excited which, given that they went to a “Cryptids in Film” exhibit last weekend, is saying something. 

“Ready?” His boyfriend tightens the strap-on harness, sporting Duck’s favorite of his dicks. 

“You know it, darlin.”

Joe climbs onto the bed, makes a suave roll onto his back and pats his thighs, “Then come here. I want to see as much of you as possible while I fuck you.”

“You’re the boss, handsome.” He sinks down with a groan, slowly rocking his hips to get warmed up. 

Joe gropes his ass, growling, “Lord, look at this. Your ass is incredible, Duck, just like the rest of you.”

He dips down to kiss him in reply, messing up that dark hair and leaving a hickey on his collarbone. A chill runs up his spine and he shudders; two days ago, after the two ghosts and two humans hashed out who was dating who and what that meant, Joe admitted to a fantasy in which he and Duck were rudely interrupted by two horny paranormal entities. 

Duck kisses the corner of his mouth, grinds down with a whine, “c’mon Joe, know you can go harder than that.”

“The angle isn’t to my advantage.”

“Well then” purrs a voice from their right, “let’s remedy that.”

Duck’s pulled sideways, the momentum enough to reverse their positions and pop the toy loose.

“Now, pet, you are going to start fucking him again, and I’m going to fuck you to insure the pace is the perfect one for my dear Duck.”

The strap-on slides back in, Duck arching when it does. Joe’s hips snap forward, propelled by something other than the strength of his muscles. 

“AHlord, Indrid, yes. Is, is that good?” His blue eyes focus on Duck, who pulls him down into a kiss, panting as Indrid uses Joe to fuck him hard and fast. Then Joe’s head whips up and sideways, an invisible cock forcing it’s way into his mouth to muffle his moans.

“Fuck, that’s it babe, get me hard so I can fuck you when Indrid’s had his fill.”

“That may take some time. Never fear, I have other plans for my pet.” 

Joe squeaks, and Duck watches the muscles of his ass flex in new ways as black silicone appears and retreats from view over and over. From under him, Duck has a singularly good view of his lips stretching to accommodate Barclay, who’s busy demanding he look him in the eye when he takes his cock. He runs a loving hand up Joe’s chest, strokes the cheek not bulging with the head of a thick cock. 

“Fuck that’s hot.” His body agrees, but in spite of his boyfriends’ joint efforts and the obscene view making him wetter by the second, his orgasm eludes him. 

“J-joe, ‘Drid, please I, I’m real fuckin close but I need more pressure or, fuck, or friction or somethingfuck, hell fuckin yeah that’s it.” He pumps his hips, Barclay having freed Joe to bury his face in Ducks’ neck and put strip of the harness holding the toy where Duck can rub off on it. 

“That’s it, like that Joe, ‘Drid, fuckfuckfuckfuck” He gasps, eyes rolling back in his head as the orgasm shoots through him. It’s perfect, made more so by the knowledge that Indrid will let him bask in the aftershocks. 

Joe, however, is in for something very different. Duck is still getting his vision back when the harness takes an unceremonious flight off the bed. As he sits up, the plug takes the same journey, and he knows Joe will insist on cleaning it even more thoroughly than usual now that it’s been on the rug. 

His boyfriend is on his knees, lowering with incremental bursts of effort and jerks of his hips. When he stops with a moan, it looks as though his ass is hovering in mid-air. Phantom indentations press into his hips. 

“Very good pet” Indrid’s voice is turning breathy, “no, lean back so Barclay can fuck you raw while I make short work of this tight” Joe jolts up as Indrid bucks his hips, “little” another jolt, “ass” a final jolt before Joe tips backwards, opening his legs. 

Duck watches, mesmerized, as Joe is spread open, feet lifting off the blanket as more indents appear beneath his knees. The agent, usually so articulate, does nothing but moan at the invisible intrusion. 

“Fuckin-A, I’ll never get tired of this babe, you’re fucking dripping for me and it’s so fucking hot, how much of a fucking needy, dirty guy you are.”

Joe reaches one hand forward, trying to run his fingers up Barclay’s chest. The other extends towards Duck, and the ranger crawls so he can take it, kissing it as the indents of Indrid’s arms wrap around Joe’s lower belly. 

“I’d hold tight, dearest.”

“Why-”

Duck’s answer comes in the form of a yelp from Joe. To anyone else, it would look like the agent is trying and failing to wrestle the air. His back arches, making every sinful line of his body tense, while his hands claw at the bed and Duck’s arm and his legs bounce uselessly in the air. 

Duck peers around, careful not to bonk his head into Barclay. From here Joe is on full display, both holes stretching and twitching to take what they’re given. He wishes it was easier for him to get hard again; all he can think about is sitting on Joe’s face while the others fuck him like this, catch this sobbing moans in his skin while he’s reduced to nothing but a plaything for the paranormal. 

“Damn, darlin, you’re takin it like a champ. Maybe next time I’ll film it for ya, so you can see how fuckin hot you look getting fucked to pieces on some ghost dick.”

A louder sob of pleasure, and as he goes to soothe him with kisses Barclay grunts, “Don’t you fucking pull away, don’t care if you just came you’re fucking taking it all.”

“Do hurry up with him, Barclay. Ah, perfect, thank you.” With that, the forces bouncing Joe in the air come only from beneath him, Indrid pumping mercilessly into his ass and punching little “ah, aah, ahnns” out of him. He’s so blissed out that Duck can’t help himself, steadies his face in his hands so he can kiss him while Indrid cums with a high cry. 

There’s an “oof” as Indrid rolls Joe’s head into Duck’s lap. A hand turns Duck by his chin so he can get a kiss before Indrid becomes visible. Barclay appears at Joe’s feet, does his best to lay parallel to him and then disappears.

“You always did like to spoon immediately after.” Indrid says fondly, drifting to sit beside Duck. 

“Mhmmm” comes the rumbly reply.

“You okay, darlin?” Duck brushes the hair from Joe’s face as blue eyes flutter open. 

“Never better. Oh!” He sits up abruptly, Duck is more used to his boyfriend’s post-orgasm bursts of inspiration than the other two and thus doesn’t jump in surprise, “I found a potentially useful book at work the other day…”

---------------------------------------------

“So, uh, how long do we have?” Barclay brushes lint from his shirt, stepping outside the chalk pattern on the floor somewhat hesitantly. 

“As long as the candle burns. Which is why I bought one that can stay lit for at least ten hours.” He offers his hand and his fully visible, touchable boyfriend takes it. Indrid, having more trust in occult processes, practically leapt over the chalk a moment ago to kiss him and Duck. Joseph draws Barclay into his arms, “which is all to say: we have plenty of time for date night.”

[disappearinginq]

My New Favorite Everything

This goes back to my ranting about female characters just being male characters played by women, especially when it comes to action scenes or action packed storylines/genres. 

Last night on the Rookie, two female police officers got into a fight with two much larger meth heads. One was a seasoned officer, the other was a first year rookie. The two women are both around 5′5″ - raging guy was easily over 6 foot. The rookie gets her ass handed to her, and the more seasoned officer took both culprits out. And the following conversation is something I will love the writers forever for: 

 Officer: Yeah, you’re probably really good with paperwork. But you can’t fight.  Rookie: I can fight. I’ve gone toe to toe with plenty of suspects and won.  Officer: Not that one.  Rookie: He’s huge! Officer: And yet I took him and his buddy. [chuckles] You want to hit me right now, don’t you? Yeah, I can see it in your eyes. Someone a little more your size. Well. Come on.   Rookie: What?  Officer: Hit me. That’s an order.  [Rookie takes half assed swing and is easily blocked] Officer: Hey. Do it for real. Come for me like that tweaker came for you! Now.  [Rookie charges into her linebacker style, like we see every action character do in every fight sequence not involving ninjas and is easily thrown to the ground by officer in a classic self-defense move taught to women and smaller fighters in classes] Stay down, and get used to that position. Because in case you didn’t know, you are not a 6′2″ 180 pound man. Now Tim might be a good T.O, but he can’t teach you how to fight like a girl. We get a higher show of force, especially from men. So guess what, sweetheart? You are always going to be tested, and when you are alone against a desperate suspect, and you are between them and freedom, your thoughts can never be ‘Oh my, he’s bigger than me!’ [helps Rookie up] Look here. If you’re going to survive these streets as a 5′6″ woman, and one of color no less, you better learn what these boys don’t know how to teach. 

Part of why this subject is kind of a touchy subject for me is I used to be a military police officer - but I am also 5′8″ and far from ‘dainty’ - I have been doing hard, heavy manual labor all my life, and I am just bigger than most women. As in, even if I weighed 70lbs less than I do, I still couldn’t fit into most women’s clothes because I can’t move my arms without tearing the shoulders like Bruce Banner’s Hulk, I have to shop in men’s shoes because women’s shoes don’t come in my size, and I have to wear rings and hats meant for men, too. I could do a lot of the moves that my male counterparts were taught. But I also worked with women 5′5″ and under and partially related to pixies, and there wasn’t a hope in hell that they could do even our most basic restraint holds, and they were always at the mercy of bigger suspects. And rather than teach them how to do it another way, the Navy just decided ‘well...we’ll just partner people up, big and little, and hope for the best’ [spoiler alert: it did not end well for anyone involved]. 

When I came back from the military, I went back to my old karate studio, and the instructors asked me to give three or four young ladies about to head off to college some helpful advice. Want to know what the biggest surprise was for them?  Punching people hurts.  It does. You’re colliding tiny, fragile bones in one of the most sensitive areas of your body at high rate of speed and force into the hardest part of someone else’s - where you can hit teeth, foreheads, necks (because no matter who you are, in real life, you’re gonna miss what you’re aiming at sometimes). If you don’t keep your wrist straight, you break it. If you don’t hit with your first two knuckles  [which should be aligned with your wrist to make one long straight line from knuckles to elbow] instead of your last two knuckles, you’re going to break them. If you miss and hit someone much harder than a human being, you’re going to break a lot. And a lot of times, even if you are in a fight, you don’t actually want to hurt someone. Or yourself. It’s a natural thing. So you don’t throw a punch hard enough to knock someone out, or even really to stun them. People have a hangup like there’s some sort of etiquette to a fight - there isn’t. So what’s the most useful piece of Fight Advice I can give? 

Make peace with the fact you’re not getting out of any fight unscathed. It’s going to hurt. The object of a fight is to hurt the other guy worse, by any means necessary. This means eyes, hair, groin, soft targets that we can gouge and claw and kick at, or, learning a style of self-defense/martial arts that doesn’t depend on you always being the same size or bigger than your attacker. 

This bullshit that’s going on about ‘anything you can do, I can do too’ is great for most things - self-defense isn’t one of them, and I want women to be safe and confident in their ability to keep themselves that way. And this is the first show I have ever seen that point blank says ‘you cannot do what they do - we must be different, because our world is different’ and then immediately show you how. 

Tl;dr? Go watch the Rookie for it’s accurate portrayal of action sequences and women’s fighting styles/self defense. 

[the6ixhq]

PRIDE TORONTO;

Through the month of June, Toronto proudly decks itself out in rainbows galore and honours our booming population of LGBTQ2+ residents through events, concerts, fundraisers, and parties galore ! This colourful celebration culminates the third weekend of the month with the PRIDE FESTIVAL, taking place at CHURCH & WELLESLEY, dubbed Toronto’s Gay Village, or just “The Village” by locals. Enjoy a weekend packed with art markets, dance parties, and parades, all showcasing the beautiful, diverse community of people that have chosen to make Toronto their home ! 

DATE: FRIDAY, JUNE 21ST - SUNDAY, JUNE 23 TIME: 12 AM - 2 AM DAILY LOCATION: CHURCH & WELLESLEY  DRESS CODE: There is no official pride dress code, so -- no shoes, no shirt, full service! Want to go topless? Go ahead! Feel comfortable covered in head-to-toe rainbow get-up? For sure! No matter what you choose to wear, make it colourful, and make it yours ! 

SCHEDULE & OOC INFORMATION; 

FRIDAY:

7:00 PM: Street Fair opens* enjoy artisan goods from queer creators around the church & wellesley area. find beautiful art, unique threads, and other goodies lining the streets, all alongside their talented LGBTQ2+ vendors! support your community creators daily friday through sunday! 

7:00 PM: Electric Circus (dance party) kicking off the pride party is the electric circus -- a neon dance party featuring classic anthems, pop, house music, and enough pleather to cover the state of Texas. 

8:00 PM: Trans March begins toronto’s trans march is officially one of the largest, most exciting pride events in the world. stand in solidarity with your trans, non binary, and genderfluid siblings as we take on the streets of toronto, led by this year’s trans ambassador -- gigi gorgeous. 

10:00 PM: Dance Floor Makeout (dance party)  dance the rest of the night away at the dance floor makeout party, located right at the intersection of church and wellesley. lose yourself as toronto turns itself into an outdoor dance club, featuring some of the best local DJs. 

SATURDAY: 

10:00 AM: Family Pride celebrate the strength & uniqueness of lgbtq2+ families and children at family pride! welcome to a fun-filled, rainbow covered fun fair, featuring games, crafts, face painting, story time, and extra special (kid friendly) performances! 12:00 PM: Street Fair opens* 2:00 PM: Dyke March begins unleash your inner dyke goddess during t.o.’s annual dyke march, an especially poignant event as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the stonewall riots. follow us through the streets of downtown toronto as we honour the strength, diversity, and passion of the dyke identity. 

6:00 PM: Drag Ball watch some fantastic queer talent not only from toronto, but from the international drag scene. This year, Brooke Lynn Hytes headlines alongside her favourite sisters, and DJ Kitty Glitter closes out the night!  6:00 PM: Dirty Disco (dance party) join dr. trance for our twentieth year of the dirty disco, bridging the gap between old and new. this year’s vision? ‘destroying racial and sexual orientation boundaries and creating one nation under the house of groove’.

SUNDAY: 

12:00 PM: Blockorama ( stage show & dance party ) welcome to the largest & longest running stage in t.o. pride history. enjoy performances curated by local artist/activist group blackness yes! at a fully accessible stage with asl interpretation.  12:00 PM: Street Fair opens*

2:00 PM: Pride March begins stand loud and proud with more than 200 groups marching together in toronto’s pride parade, one of the largest in north america! overflowing with performers, beautiful floats, and thousands of marchers, this yearly romp celebrates and commemorates the journey of our lgbtq2+ neighbours!  3:00 PM: Final Play (stage show & dance party)  once the parade dies down at yonge and dundas square, stick around for a fierce line-up of live acts, drag, and other international headliners. 

3:00 PM - CLOSE: Last Dance (dance party)  it’s your last chance to dance the day away in the heart of toronto’s pride festivities! consider the last dance a ‘greatest hits’ of local DJs and musicians, all blasting big room beats, Pride anthems, and nu disco until the wee hours of the morning! 

Hello friends ! 

I am so, so, so excited to be starting our first event ! Pride is a festival I hold near & dear to my heart, and it’s so fun to bring it to life here on the dash ! As always, the 6IX’s events are non-mandatory. If you do not wish to participate, simply continue on with your normal threads!  For those who wish to attend the festival,  this event will be lasting for ONE WEEK. From today (Friday, June 21st) until next Friday, June 28th. Plots/threads started within this time frame may be continued past the 28th, but please continue tagging as an event post / dating your threads so other members are aware. 

With the start of this event, we encourage you all to reach out to a member you’ve yet to write with! Events are an ideal way to encourage all combinations of characters, so be creative! 

Playlists, edits, and outfit posts are all encouraged! Most importantly, remember to have fun!  EVENT TAG: #6ixpride

[astrogeoguy]

Jupiter at Peak Planet, a Late-night Lunar X, and Mars and Mercury Hang Out in the West!

(Above: At this first quarter, a feature called the Lunar X will be visible in strong binoculars and small telescopes. For a few hours, the illuminated rims of the craters Parbach, la Caille, and Blanchinus will form a small, but very obvious X-shape located at moon coordinates 2° East and 24° South. This image was taken by Jerry Lodigruss, NASA APOD for March 11, 2009)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of June 9th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me, and we’ll tour the Universe together! 

Public Astro-Events

Taking advantage of the moon and other bright objects in the sky this week, the RASC Toronto Centre astronomers will hold their free monthly public City Sky Star Party in Bayview Village Park (steps from the Bayview subway station), starting around 8 pm on the first clear weeknight this week (Mon through Thu only). You don’t need to be an RASC member, or own any equipment, to join them – looks are free! Check here for details, and check the banner on their website home page or Facebook page for the GO or NO-GO decision around 5 pm each day. 

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

To celebrate the best views of Jupiter for 2019, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory will hold a free public Jupiter-viewing session on top of the Arboretum Parking Structure on Monday or Tuesday (whichever night is clear first). Viewing runs from 10 pm to midnight, and details are here. Follow @yorkobservatory on social media for the GO/no-GO notices. Usual parking fees will apply. 

Weather permitting, on Tuesday, June 11 from 9 to 10:30 pm, astronomers from RASC – Mississauga will hold a free public star party at the Riverwood Conservancy, 4300 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga. Details are here. 

On Wednesday evening from 7 to 9 pm at the Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning at McMaster University, Dr. Sarah M Hörst from Johns Hopkins University will present a free lecture entitled Titan: Ingredients for Life. Details and registration are here. 

On Thursday, June 13, starting at 7 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present their planetarium show Grand Tour of the Cosmos. Tickets and details are here. 

On Friday evening from 7:30 to 10 pm at the Hamilton Spectator building, the Hamilton astronomers will present a free public talk by Brian McNamera entitled 1919-2019: A Century of Black Holes. Details are here. 

On Friday, June 14 from 8 to 11 pm, adults can enjoy some suds with their science at Astronomy on Tap T.O. at the Great Hall on Queen Street West, a free event hosted by the U of T’s Dunlap Institute. Talks, trivia, contest giveaways, and more! Details are here. 

The Annual General Assembly of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be held at York University this weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be devoted to free, fun, hands-on activities for space-enthusiasts of all ages. View the sun safely (weather permitting), spend some time in an inflatable planetarium, make your own comet or create some messy moon craters, and make some space art and crafts. Details are here. 

The next RASC Lecture Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, June 15. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page. 

The Moon and Planets

Both the moon and Jupiter will be dominating our night skies this week, worldwide. Here are the Skylights! 

The moon will tempt you to view it throughout this week. Sunday evening will feature the nearly half-illuminated moon tucked a palm’s width below the stars that form the eastern, back half of Leo (the Lion). Hours later, at 2 am Eastern Time on Monday morning, the moon will officially reach its First Quarter phase. At that time, it will be positioned 90 degrees away from the sun. 

The term expresses that the moon has completed the first quarter of its orbit around Earth since the previous New Moon. The relative positions of the Earth, sun, and moon cause us to see the moon half-illuminated - on its eastern side. At first quarter, the moon always rises around noon and sets near midnight, so it is also visible in the afternoon daytime sky, too. The evenings around first quarter are the best times to see the lunar terrain while it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight.

 At this first quarter, a feature called the Lunar X will be visible in strong binoculars and small telescopes. For a few hours, the illuminated rims of the craters Parbach, la Caille, and Blanchinus will form a small, but very obvious X-shape located at moon coordinates 2° East and 24° South. That point is on the terminator (the pole-to-pole line that divides the lit and dark hemispheres) and about one third of the way up from the southern pole of the moon. The “X” should start to develop around midnight on Sunday. 

From Monday through Thursday, the moon will pass head-to-foot through the large constellation of Virgo (the Maiden). Every night, our natural satellite will fill up with light and set later as it swings wider from the sun. On Thursday and Friday, the nearly full moon will cross Libra (the Scales). 

On the weekend, the moon will hop past Jupiter, landing on Jupiter’s upper right on Saturday and then dropping to Jupiter’s lower left on Sunday. On both nights, notice the relative positions of the two objects while they are over the eastern horizon, and compare that to the way they look hours later. Earth’s rotation causes constellations and planets to flip by 180 degrees as they cross the sky from east to west. The June full moon will occur in the wee hours of next Monday, so the moon will look full on Sunday evening, too. 

This is a big week for Jupiter – literally! On Monday, June 10, Earth’s faster orbit will pass Jupiter on the inside track, causing Jupiter to be positioned exactly opposite the sun in our sky, worldwide. Planets at opposition always rise at sunset, and remain visible all night long. On Monday, Jupiter will also be closer to Earth than on any other date this year – only 640.9 million km, or 4.284 Astronomical Units from us. (1 A.U. is the average sun-Earth separation.) The planet’s light will be taking 36 light-minutes to reach us – meaning that we are seeing Jupiter more than half an hour in the past! 

Jupiter will also shine at its brightest (visual magnitude -2.6) for 2019, and its apparent disk diameter will max-out at 46 arc-seconds. (That’s 2.5% of the full moon’s diameter.) Don’t worry if your skies are cloudy on June 10. Jupiter will be about as good for a week surrounding that date, and then it will slowly start to shrink in size and brightness. We’ll be enjoying Jupiter through our telescopes all summer long! 

(Above: Starting late on Tuesday evening, observers in the Americas can see the black shadows of two of Jupiter’s moons on Jupiter at the same time! At 11:29 pm EDT, Ganymede’s shadow will join Io’s shadow already in transit. The two shadows will cross Jupiter for 64 minutes until Io’s shadow moves off the planet at 12:33 am. This image shows Jupiter at midnight EDT.)

Around opposition, Jupiter’ moons are more visible, too. From time to time, the small, round black shadows cast by Jupiter’s four Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) Jupiter’s disk. Starting late on Tuesday evening, observers in the Americas can see two of those shadows on Jupiter at the same time! At 11:29 pm EDT, Ganymede’s shadow will join Io’s shadow already in transit. The two shadows will cross Jupiter for 64 minutes until Io’s shadow moves off the planet at 12:33 am. Ganymede’s shadow will continue to transit the northern polar region of Jupiter until 1:50 am EDT. 

Due to Jupiter’s rapid 10-hour rotation period, the Great Red Spot (or GRS) is only observable from Earth every 2nd or 3rd night, and only during a predictable three-hour window. The GRS will be easiest to see using a medium-sized, or larger, aperture telescope on an evening of good seeing (steady air). If you’d like to see the Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be crossing the planet after midnight tonight (Sunday). More GRS viewing opportunities occur in the hours surrounding 9:45 pm EDT on Monday evening, 11:15 pm EDT on Wednesday, and 1 am EDT on Saturday.

(Above: Jupiter will reach peak visibility for 2019 on June 10, when it reaches opposition. Jupiter and dimmer Saturn (at lower left) will spend the next several months in the southern evening sky, on opposite sides of the Milky Way, as shown here for midnight this week.)  

Yellowish Saturn will be rising in the east-southeast a little before 11 pm local time this week. Its position in the sky is just to the left (east) of the stars that form the teapot-shaped constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Saturn is quite a bit dimmer than Jupiter. To find it, look about 2.5 fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter. Dust off your telescope - because even a small one will show its rings and several of its brighter moons!

(Above: The ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune are both in the eastern pre-dawn sky among the stars of Aries and Aquarius, respectively, as shown here at 4:30 am local time.)  

Distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will rise before 2 am local time. After mid-June, Neptune will become part of the evening sky. Brighter, blue-green Uranus is rising at about 3 am local time, and is sitting among the stars of Aries (the Ram). 

Last to rise is our bright, next-door neighbour Venus. She is sitting low in the east-northeastern pre-dawn sky this week, creeping ever-closer to the rising sun. Venus will shine with a steady, unmoving light - unlike airplanes.

(Above: Mercury and Mars are situated low in the western sky after sunset this week, as shown here for 10 pm local time on Friday. Mercury will be drawing closer to Mars all week.)  

Mars and Mercury are hanging out just above the northwestern horizon after sunset this week. Mercury will become easier to spot every night because it is climbing away from the sun and brightening. The best time to look for it falls between 9:45 and 10:15 pm local time. Mercury is heading directly towards dimmer Mars. Tonight, Mars will be about a palm’s width to the upper left of Mercury. By Sunday, that will reduce to a finger’s width! And next week, those two planets will “kiss”!  

The Big Dipper as a Sky Tool

If you missed last week’s information about measuring the sky using the Big Dipper asterism, I posted it here. 

Satellites

There are no visible Iridium Flares predicted for the GTA this week. The ISS (International Space Station) will not be visible over the GTA this week. 

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[thebestintoronto]

10 things to do in Toronto while social distancing

I intended to create a blog post about exactly how we can still appreciate Toronto without endangering any person. There are lots of points to do in Toronto while social distancing so I put together a shortlist of feasible tasks to appreciate in the 6, the huge smoke, TO-- Toronto.

With 2.9 M people staying in Toronto as well as practically 6 M including the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), this is Canada's greatest city. That is a big population to maintain indoors. There will come a time when you will certainly have the ability to travel once again and see. In the meantime, you can see several of its leading attractions online.

For a few of you living in the location, you can access the outdoor tips on your bike or by walking (staying clear of public transportation). I hope you are able to delight in the spring climate as well as support local services. For those who have an automobile, you can try a few of these activities from the security of your automobile.

Online Campout at the Toronto Zoo

If you weren't to camp exterior on this May Vacation (Memorial Day for you Americans), you can see the virtual campout at the Toronto Zoo and share the experience. The online stream includes real-time pet communication at Bush Camp, videos plus hanging out at the campfire with songs, tales!

The Zoo has actually likewise introduced that as quickly as it obtains the proceed, it plans on presenting drive-through gos to. "The plan is to have people stay in their lorries-- begin in the car park and actually drive with our front entryway as well as make use of the strolling paths and also zoo mobile route to get a behind-the-scene one-of-a-kind experience," said Toronto Zoo CEO Dolf DeJong recently.

Ripley's Fish tank in the house

Explore Ripley's Aquarium in your home as well as learn everything about the fantastic pets of our world waters! Make use of the once a week calendar to meet the Aquarium team instructors, who will certainly be your guide to live feedings, academic encounters, storytime, and a lot more! Scroll a bit a lot more and also uncover downloadable animal activities and also crafts!

You can also see different cams in the Ripley's Aquarium. They include a Shark Camera, Rainbow Coral Reef Camera, Ray Bay Camera and the Jelly Fish Camera. I will certainly admit seeing those Jelly Fish drift backwards and forwards in those containers is enchanting. We have actually loved our journeys to Ripley's Fish tank in Toronto.

Library Curbside pick-up

The Toronto Public Library (TPL) has actually just announced that quickly they'll be processing curbside pickup as well as additionally permitting returns. Numerous have actually made use of the library's Digital Library Card and ebook offerings while branches have actually been closed. This is a fantastic idea as some people favor the real offer and have a publication in hand.

Cookie Trend in Toronto

Cookie Distribution-- Desserts for the pleasant. No question the listing put together by TOBlog is one not to miss out on. Who wouldn't want chef delivery in a time of social distancing? This would certainly make nearly any person delighted, do not you think? Depending on what you're looking for, Craig's Cookies is one of the very best in the city (according to a TO insider), as is Butter Baker. Le dolci has EXCELLENT DIY cookie sets (Friday's Only) for distribution. Searching for a means to provide a wonderful treat for Front-line workers? Place an order!

Take a Food Trip in a Box

Think of checking out among the best grocery store in Toronto-- St. Lawrence Market right from residence. The Culinary Adventure Co. lately introduced Food Excursion in a Box-- a curated culinary box that's delivered right to your door. The rewards transform every week but expect to receive something tasty featured on their food trips, including components for home cooking. As a benefit, package likewise consists of a $25 gift certificate for a future Culinary Adventure Co. food experience.

Growing up in Montreal, I expanded accustomed to having a big variety of food choices. There is no doubt you can choose from any type of number of take-out alternatives in Toronto: Chinatown, Korean Town, Little Italy, Greek Town, Little Portugal, Little India ... the checklist goes on and on. There are many means to sustain local companies and satisfy your demand for delicious food. Shipment or get methods will certainly differ so consult the eatery (or bar) of your choice.

Quiet Road Campaign

In order to encourage social distancing while city roads remain reasonably traffic cost-free, the city of Toronto will be installing 57 kilometres of "peaceful streets" beginning May 14. Although not entirely near to web traffic (' locals' can drive), it will certainly give more walking as well as cycling locations to decrease walkway congestion. The ActiveTO initiative will certainly present throughout the city (you can find a complete checklist here) yet few a notable roads include:

Kensington Market (location that surrounds Nassau Ave., Spadina Ave, Augusta Ave. and Dundas St. W.).

Lakeshore Dr./ Lake Promenade (First Ave. to Forty 2nd St.).

High Park Ave. (Bloor St. W. to Annette St.).

Secord Ave./ Eastdale Ave./ Lumsden Ave./ Main St./ Hamstead Ave./ West Lake Ave. (Dawes Rd. to Oak Park Ave.).

Visit an incredible gallery essentially.

One of the many things to do in Toronto while social distancing consist of tasks #atHome. Take out your tablet as well as send it to your TV display so you can see masterworks in big strong photos. There are several ways to see exhibitions in galleries across the world online and there is no scarcity of offerings in Toronto. I have a couple of recommendations for sees to our world class museums.

The AGO-- obtain your art repair by checking out the AGO with its on-line collection. Check out #agofromhome hashtag on all their social channels.

The Ask ROM anything series gives understanding into the numerous collections at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Bata Show Museums-- Download and install printable shoe prints as well as make your very own colour combination of traditional footwear or tune-in to their Instagram Live video clips). Also check out their 'males in heels' exhibit on Google's Art & Culture web pages.

The Aga Khan Museum provides a remarkable quantity of on the internet web content weekly. Under the #museumwithoutwalls hashtag, you will find 3D-tours, spotify playlists, and also watch and also listen performances.

Gogh-by-Car.

The world's initial Drive-In Immersive Art Exhibit! After over 2 million people visiting the Paris display, Canadians will certainly be able to see the Immersive Vincent van Gogh exhibit this summer. Throughout a 10-day period (June 18-28, 2020), art patrons will certainly have the ability to safely experience the brand-new Immersive Vincent van Gogh exhibition from the convenience of their automobiles. Although those tickets are nearly sold out, you can protect walk-through tickets online. Once they have the ability to open up to walk-through website traffic, there are timed entryways so you can secure your spot. you'll have an opportunity to go to the exhibit via to September 30, 2020.

Situated in the huge Toronto Star stockroom, the exhibit will certainly permit people to drive their cars and trucks in as well as see the estimates of Van Gogh's the majority of legendary jobs.

Be submersed in 600,000 cubic feet of magnificent projection animating the masters' body of work and also illuminating the mind of the genius. Stray through large estimates that highlight brushstroke, information, and colour as you have never experienced them.

Go To Parks and also Open Spaces.

Physical activity is very crucial in keeping emotionally and also literally healthy and balanced. You require to take into consideration another thing to do in Toronto while social distancing-- getting outside! You are still permitted to visit parks if you adhere to these guidelines: (1) No more than 5 individuals can congregate at one time as well as (2) they need to be from the same family. Stay 2 meters apart. Do not utilize any one of the play area devices or facilities. You are permitted to walk or bike in parks buy you can not tarry.

I just recently checked out a terrific blog post by Lauren at Ontario Hiking with a list of the Leading 10 Toronto Hiking Trails: The Very Best Places to Hike in Toronto. I have actually visited several of these parks but had no concept of others. I love the Map of Trails and also pointers on which are less complicated or more tough. Lauren additionally has more web content regarding Toronto on her other site Justin And also Lauren.

Study future outings.

Have you put in the time for more information about your city? In some cases site visitors or vacationers understand more about the history and the attractions of a city than its locals. When points open up, you may want to discover new places to consume, unwind, have a cocktail or check out an eco-friendly room you have actually never ever know about.

Reviewing blog sites with excellent content about Toronto as well as the GTA can be practical in planning future journeys to Toronto. Though you can locate 'what to do in TO' posts from larger blogs (BlogTO, Narcity, etc.), right here are a few recommendations from some citizens that I follow:.

The Interested Animal-- From rooftop outdoor patios to the most effective food excursions, you will constantly find existing, hip, as well as quick information on the Toronto Food scene.

Parenting to Go-- Nothing entertains me greater than to see what shenanigans Yashy and also her family depend on. An urban-dwelling family members, they constantly have fantastic intel on household living in T.O. Her Instagram stories are priceless.

Traveling Mitch-- Chris has a 99-page detailed Overview to Toronto for where to eat and also what to do in city. It's an e-book that you can buy for a very sensible rate, the insight from a neighborhood is valuable. I bought the ebook and also found a few gems that had actually not gotten on my radar but they are now.

As pointed out above Ontario Hiking and also Justin Plus Lauren will give great information on the GTA as well as bordering location. If you are seeking suggestions on vegan options, they are the best pair!

Lastly, you can also locate a variety of blog posts concerning Toronto right here on DownshiftingPRO.com. I have recommendations on the most effective Thrift Shops in Kensington Market, a fun day at Ripley's Aquarium, sees to the AGO, as well as The ROM.

The post “ 10 things to do in Toronto while social distancing “ was published first on DownShiftingPRO

Vitamin Therapy Toronto - The IV Lounge

[shannrussell-blog1]

Toronto has a lot of names. The ‘Foodie City’, ‘the Baby New York’, ‘T.O’ (T as in Toronto and O for Ontario), are just a handful of them. I never categorise a complete city experience into one label, I certainly do see why Toronto is the city you come to, to eat… or get an entree of the Big Apple, but served up on a friendly plate.

With a population of nearly 2.8 million, it’s a sizeable city. I must admit, when I first arrived last month, I was a little, let’s say, confused. Sure, I had come from New York (and we seem to have a special talent for comparing every city to NYC after living there), but I was surprised at how spread out Toronto is.

“People leave the city to do things, actually”, a new friend said, when I was looking for Toronto’s ‘Manhattan equivalent.’ The penny dropped.

Welcome to Toronto, the baby New York.

Toronto’s lively neighbourhoods & nooks

Alright, this is where the action happens. Just like New York (sorry, I can’t help myself), you can pick where you hang out, according to what you feel like doing (or eating).

I’m smack-bang in between ‘Little Portugal’ and ‘Little Italy’, which could easily be mistaken for the ‘burbs. But, wandering around the main streets and you’ll find coffee shops, bars and boutiques a-plenty.

Explore the coffee shops, boutiques and bars in the city. 

West Queen West

My two favourite spots so far are West Queen West and Chinatown. Follow two main thoroughfares, Queen Street and King Street, which connect the two areas.

Having an affinity for street art, which both neighbourhoods are known for, I enjoy tackling sections of these two main streets, stopping in the various eateries and shops along the way.

Explore the streets and check out the street art along the way. 

Chinatown

In Chinatown, Graffiti Alley is worth a look (especially if you’re familiar with and love Melbourne’s laneways). Slightly north is the Kensington Markets – the famous and colourfully quirky area that attracts both tourists and local weekend market-goers.

Distillery District

St. Lawrence Market, further east in Toronto’s trendy Distillery District (a spectacle in itself with its 19th Century whiskey distillery buildings), is another Saturday activity, as it’s shut on Sunday. Meander at your ‘market-pace’ around the 100+ vendors, bakers, butchers, artists and collectors.

While the quaint Distillery District has enough indie restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, outdoor sculptors and music performances to keep you occupied, you’re in for a special treat if you visit in November or December – as this is when Toronto’s Christmas Markets is on. Picture a big Christmas tree, fairy lights, mulled wine, sweets, carols and, most probably, snow.

Again, there’s plenty of opportunities for more food eating, but that’s okay!

Wander through the old distillery district to see what it has to offer. 

Where else should you visit?

If you’ve got time, visit the world’s tallest free-standing structure in the western hemisphere – the CN Tower.

And, if it’s warm enough, head to the Toronto Islands which is only a short ferry ride from downtown Toronto.

The CN Tower is an iconic landmark to visit in Toronto. 

Poutine, pancakes & coffee

You can literally eat your way around the world without leaving Toronto… Latin American, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, Polish as well as many Canadian-themed dishes.

Get ready to eat more than you should (but it’ll be worth it) consuming triple-stacked pancakes, sweet Canadian bacon or poutine – french fries, cheese curds, brown gravy and usually some delicious meat.

And yes, it’s as good as it sounds. Forget the calories.

Toronto is known for its food, so sample as much as you can!

Enjoy some craft beer tasting

Brunch is also religion here, as is craft beer tasting. Check out Bellwoods Brewery, Kensington Brewing Company and Junction Craft Brewing.

If you’re stuck in food choice paralysis, Blog TO is a great resource for finding somewhere to dine.

Daily brunch is not to be missed during your visit. 

Organising your trip to Toronto

Life in Canada is pretty darn close to home, culture-wise. You don’t need to worry about vaccinations or learning the basics of a new language.

Organising and planning a trip here is fairly straightforward. 

Transport to and from the airport

When you’re booking your flight, keep in mind there are two airports. If you’re travelling from Australia, you’ll most likely arrive at Pearson International Airport. Jump in an Uber to the city, which should only be around CAD$24 vs. a $55 taxi.

However, if you’re connecting in North America, you might land at Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto Island. Walk 10 minutes in the underground tunnel and you’ll come out in downtown Toronto.

Getting around the city – Uber Pool and the Subway system

Getting around the city depends on two things: the weather and where you want to go. I use Uber pool most of the time, but there is an underground subway system, Toronto Transit Commission, and something locals call ‘the trolley’, which is like Melbourne’s tram system. Visit TTC for more information.

But given that Toronto’s public transport is notoriously poor, many Torontonians ride their bike. And yes… that’s in sunshine, rain, hail or snow.

Ride, walk or use ride-sharing services when getting around the city. 

Booking accommodation – where should you stay?

As for pre-booking your accommodation, don’t assume that you need to be right in the city’s downtown (near the water). Remember, the outer neighbourhoods are where it’s at. I’d suggest looking for AirBnb’s around Chinatown, Little Portugal, and King West Village. I spent most of my time in the Chinatown district. It’s always best to book a week or two earlier, especially during the warmer months.

Packing for the weather

The last part of your preparation, and probably the most important part, is packing for the weather. The summer sits at a perfect mid-twenties, but as soon as we get closer to November, it gets chilly… and I mean bone-aching kind of cold. Rug up, Aussies.

Pack your warm down jacket, a beanie and a scarf to keep yourself warm. 

What gear to bring to Toronto

Thermals

Thick socks

Gloves

A scarf or /shoes

Daypack for sightseeing

It’s cold here, particularly in winter! So pack accordingly. 

Visas and getting there

As for the visa, Australians can enter Canada (and stay for up to six months) on something they’ve recently introduced called an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA).

You can apply for your eTA through the Government of Canada website. As for the currency, they take Canadian dollars, which is virtually one for one with the Australian dollar.

  What’s your favourite city in Canada? 

The post The Essential Guide to Visiting Toronto appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[thousandoaksba]

Things to do in Thousand Oaks – Why Our Storage Unit Experts Love T.O.

Thousand Oaks has something for everyone, according to the storage unit experts at Hollywood Storage Center of Thousand Oaks. Whether you’re a lover of all things outdoors, or would rather be inside shopping for that perfect outfit, there’s hardly a personality type that wouldn’t be satisfied with all our beautiful community has to offer. Let us share some of our top picks with you.

For Nature Lovers

Get ready for some serious hiking, because Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks boasts more than 27 miles of hiking trails. Within the park’s 1,765 acres, you’ll enjoy more than 250 plant species and are likely to cross paths with one of the 37 species of mammals, 70 bird species, or 22 species of amphibians and reptiles. In addition to hiking, you’ll find nature lovers out mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking, and even camping in the park.

For Art Lovers

With their new location in the Oaks Mall, the California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (CMATO) is transformed and expanded. Exhibitions run the gamut from single-artists collections such as the current Ansel Adams exhibit, to new media art that includes works from genres such as digital art, videogame art, net art and bio art. One new media collection titled Strings: Data and the Self, explored the manner in which data increasingly determines our behavior, our interactions and our overall relationship to the Self. Art exhibits change every two to three months, keeping local art lovers coming back for more.

For Family Folks

If you have kids with lots of energy, we’ve got the place for you. DojoBoom is great for kids, but equally as fun for adventurous parents. You’ll find a grid with more than 60 trampolines, but there’s so much more in the 50,000-square-foot indoor park! Conquer the Ninja Obstacle Course, compete in Extreme Dodgeball, sail through the air on the Trapeze, and launch into a massive Foam Pit. You can even try out your Cirque du Soleil skills with the Aerial Silks.

For Music Lovers

Those with a passion for music will be able to find plenty of entertainment by regularly checking in at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The Plaza features the largest performing arts center between Los Angeles and San Francisco. In addition to notable performers such as Colbie Caillat, Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes and Chris Daughtry, classical music and jazz & blues performers regularly grace the plaza’s stages.

For Brew Masters

Dude! Do we have some killer beer for you! Swing by The Dudes’ Brewing Company in the Janss Marketplace. With 24 beers always on tap, including favorites like CalifornIPA, Grandma’s Pecan English Style Brown and Blood Orange Amber, you’re sure to find something to your liking. If you need any further reason to make a trip to Dudes, the microbrewery also hosts weekly trivia nights, monthly comedy shows and Yoga & Beer mornings!

For Shop-a-holics

We don’t mean to leave you guys out, but we’re really digging a couple of great women’s clothing stores in Thousand Oaks right now. First, check out Wildflower! This relatively new clothing and accessory store not only has a great selection of styles, it also has really good prices! Follow them on Instagram and stay abreast on the latest inventory. Next, head over to Blush. The Thousand Oaks location is one of the three Blush boutiques featuring some of the hottest designers, as well as their own brand. Check out the Blush Blog to keep up with the styles they’re featuring.

For Foodies

You want it, Thousand Oaks has it! It’s hard to pick our favorites, but here are some we’ve visited lately and would definitely go back for seconds. Moqueca Brazilian Restaurant is delightfully unique. First timers can’t go wrong selecting one of their signature dishes of seafood in a clay pot with vegetables and spices. Bazille is located inside Nordstrom, which feels a little odd when headed out to eat, but trust us that Bazille’s menu is a foodie’s fantasy. Badass Tacos isn’t fancy; it’s more like a fast food joint. But, when the craving hits for authentic street tacos (we know it happens), this is the place for you. Marcello Ristorante is tucked into a small strip mall, but inside the atmosphere is very nice, the service is excellent and the food is superb.

And you know what else our beautiful town has the best of? If you said storage facilities, you’re right because Hollywood Storage Center offers the friendliest, cleanest and most convenient storage units in the Conejo Valley! What else do you love about Thousand Oaks? Share with us below!

from thousand oaks ca https://www.hollywoodstoragecenter.com/blog/things-to-do-in-thousand-oaks-why-our-storage-unit-experts-love-t-o/

[gtharris]

Street Art #gt #t.o. (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnuVP_hB2AS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1u03t7g5ra9j9

[audiofixationnews]

#OverloadMondays: Hip Hop Council Announced + Comebacks + New Music

Here’s some overload for your Monday blues. Check out what went down this past week, March 5th-11th.

Singles

Joey Bada$$ had a great 2017 and continues to kill 2018. With an album on the way, the Brooklyn rapper dropped a new freestyle “King of The Jungle” to salute Notorious B.I.G. who’s anniversary just passed. Filled with some top-notch bars, listen to the two-minute freestyle above.

As it’s a new week, R-Mean keeps #MeanMondays going with “Makaveli,” Chris Rivers continues on with his #BarzdayWednesday with “New Frieza,” GodBodyWati releases his third #WatiWednesdays banger with “Forgive Me,” and Don Q drops fire on his #DonTalkWednesdays with “King’s Dead.”

Forever M.C. keeps the music coming. From “Terminally Ill” and “King Kong,” to now their latest banger “Piranhas.”

We’ve heard new music from Bishop Nehru x Lion Babe x Kaytranada, MadeinTYO x Harry Fraud, and Deshun.

Fetty Was takes his turn on SZA’s “The Weekend” with his latest joint “The Presidential Suite."

More artists delivered new music such as Buddy x A$AP, Sango x Smino, KYLE, Murs x Fashawn x Prof., and Lucki.

Anderson .Paak returns with a new single this week. While we wait for an actually project from the man, listen to “’Til It’s Over” via Apple Music.

Gearing up for the release of his fourth album on March 16th, take a listen to Bun B’s first single, “Knowwhatimsayin.”

MED and Guilty Simpson have linked together for a collab project. They have released the project’s first single, “Face Down,” which was produced by Black Milk.

Let’s not forget the new music from King Louie, Sir Michael Rocks, and GASHI.

 Visuals

Hip Hop journalist, and now rising MC, Rob Markman has released a visual treatment to “Believe Me” which followed up to the letter to his teenage self that he posted via Instagram. A HHNH premiere, Rob shares with them the inspiration behind the song, working with his son, and future plans.

"So at the end of the year I decided to write my 15-year-old self a letter and post it on Instagram. When I did that, I knew I wanted to write a song with that same inspiration. That’s how “Believe Me” was born. It’s really a dope exercise for anyone; with all that you’ve learned in life what would you tell your 15-year-old self?”

With his son playing his younger self, watch above as Rob Markman brings the letter to life and just let it inspire your soul. 

Taylor Bennett, Phora, Trae Tha Truth, and Skippa Da Flippa x Sauce Walka were just some artists we’ve gotten new visuals from.

Check out Big K.R.I.T.’s Tiny Desk concert at the NPR offices.

This past week marked the anniversary of Notorious B.I.G’s death (March 9th). As we spent the day reminiscing and blasting his classics, New York rapper Stro dropped a freestyle over Biggie’s “Steal & Rob.” As his style is often compared to that of the ‘90s MCs, the freestyle is a perfect tribute. Watch as Stro pays his respect.

We’ve also gotten new videos from Rich The Kid, Kooly High, Blac Youngsta and Safaree, which features a cameo from Charlamagne Tha God.

Off their upcoming PRhyme 2, PRhyme have dropped another single. Stream “Flirt” featuring 2 Chainz, via Spotify or Apple.

And then Raz Simone, YFN Lucci x Skeet Blak, Kid Ink, and Chris Brown also dropped new visuals.

Fresh off dropping Stabbed and Shot with .38 Spesh, Benny the Butcher has released a visual treatment for his new solo joint, “Man Of The Kitchen.”

Shortly after dropping his sophomore album, Memories Don’t Die, Tory Lanez drops a visual treatment for the Future-assisted track “Real Thing.”

Let’s not forget the new visual treatments from Khary, Curren$y, Backwood Jones x Shawnna, and Tobi Lou x Smino. 

Projects

Apple | TIDAL | Spotify | YouTube 

At the end of his last album, Everybody, it was implied that Logic would be releasing one more album and it would be his last. He went on to confirm the implication was true. Well, now it looks like he’s giving closure to his older projects before he makes his big exit. Last year, Logic did promise he would be releasing a follow up to his 2016 Bobby Tarantino. Coming in at 13-tracks strong, Bobby Tarantino II features the likes of 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Young Sinatra - pick your poison above.

March starting to look a lot like February with these releases now, sheesh. DJ Premier and Royce 5’9” - that’s PRhyme to you - deliver PRHYME 2 a week early. While it’s not exactly released, NPR has released the album to be streamed in its entirety. It will still be released to everywhere on March 16th. Serving as their collaborative debut album, the 15-track album features the likes of Big K.R.I.T., Chavis Chandler, 2 Chainz, Dave East and plenty more. Listen to it via NPR.

Arin Ray dropped Platinum Fire this week. Serving as his debut album, the Cincinnati singer first came on the scene back in 2012 on The X-Factor which led him to work with big names like Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, John Legend and more. The 14-track album features the likes of Ty Dolla $ign, DRAM, SiR, Terrace Martin, and Childish Major. Definitely worth a listen, so pick your poison: Apple, TIDAL, Spotify, SoundCloud.

Killy makes his debut with Surrender Your Soul. The 11-track tape has production from the likes of 1mind, Y2K, and Wondagurl, the Toronto rapper has a unique energy to which he puts his all into his new project. Surrender Your Soul premiered on The FADER, and can be streamed via Apple, Spotify, and SoundCloud.

Page Kennedy delivered Straight Bars 2, as a follow up to his Straight Bars he dropped in August. Kennedy drops some serious heat over instrumentals from Jay-Z, Kanye, The Lox, Mobb Deep and plenty more. Take a listen via SoundCloud.

YFN Lucci dropped Ray Ray From Summerhill. Extensive yet a great listen, the 20-track features the likes of Meek Mill, Dreezy, T.I. and more. It’s a raw project that gives you an inside glimpse into YFN Lucci’s world. Pick your poison: Apple, TIDAL or Spotify.

Don Mykel released his 5-track EP 2ERO PATI3NCE. The Harlem rapper has been quiet since his last EP drop in September, but now he’s back. Recruiting production from the Dunk Rock, Mike Kuz, the 25th Hour, and Scott Farlee, stream 2ERO PATI3NCE via Apple Music.

Toronto singer Anders released his sophomore project, Twos, this week. The tape followed that of his 669 debut he dropped last year. The 8-track EP features production from the likes of LUCA (who’s a regular collaborator), FrancisGotHeat, Business Boi, and many more. Take a listen via SoundCloud. 

03 Greedo has finally dropped his debut project under Alamo Records, titled The Wolf of Trap Street. The 21-track tape features the likes of Yhung T.O, PnB Rock, OMB Peezy, and more. Pick your poison and take a listen: Apple, TIDAL, Spotify. 

Lil Yase delivers Winner’s Circle earlier than its set release date. Featuring the likes of Drakeo The Ruler, Lil Pete, J. Stalin, Mont and more. Stream via Apple Music.

Brain Fresco dropped his latest project, Love Scars. The 15-track project features the likes of KAMI, Chance the Rapper, Twista, Vic Mensa, and several more. Love Scars deserves a spin, as Brain Fresco is consistent and beyond talented - pick your poison: Apple + Spotify.

Here’s a project I missed last week: Blu has stepped out of the booth and behind the boards on his newest project The DS Dumb Style. Blu recruited the likes of Homebody Sandman, Nova, Blame One, ScienZe, and more for his tape. Check it out via BandCamp.

We also got projects from Jeremih and Lil Yachty. 

Coming soon...

Keri Wilson has announced that she is gearing up to make a comeback in eight years. She teamed up with IfOnly to launch an auction that will allow fans to bid on a chance to get a tour of her studio and listen to her untitled third studio album. Starting off at $2500, the money will be going towards the Keri Hilson Foundation that benefits women and children through education, arts, health and fitness.

Drake announced during a Toronto Raptors versus Houston Rockets game that he is working on a new album for Toronto: “I love each and every one of you, I’m happy to be home. I’m working on this new album for the city.” Since last year, he concluded his More Life with “I’ll be back 2018 to give you the summary.” Looks like he’s a man of his word. We shall see.

MED and Guilty Simpson have teamed up on a new collab project, Loyalty. Set to release March 16th, scroll up to hear the project’s first single. Coming in at 10 tracks, and only two features from Blu and J. Mitchell, pre-order Loyalty via iTunes.

Also set to release this Friday, March 16th: Curren$y, Back at Burnies; Bishop Nehru, Elevators: Act I & II; Jacquees, This Time I’m Serious; MURS, A Strange Journey Into the Unimaginable; PRhyme, PRHYME 2; Saweetie, High Maintenance; Rich Homie Quan, Rich As In Spirit.

After releasing the first visual offering (above) from his upcoming debut, Khary is gearing up for his new and first album, Captain, which is set to release April 6th.

With the recent reveal of the official tracklist for Rich The Kid’s upcoming The World Is Yours. With features from Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Khalid, Rick Ross, Bryson Tiller, and more, Rick followed up to say that the tracklist was incomplete and it was missing features from Kanye West, Frank Ocean and Migos. The World Is Yours is set to release March 23rd.

Back in August, SZA hinted that there existed a deluxe edition of her debut Ctrl. Now she has confirmed via Twitter that there are actually six bonus tracks that could be added to make this deluxe edition.

Check This

The OG legends, Eric B and Rakim, are planning to be in a city near you! What started off as a simply tweet, “it’s time to show you,” they have announced that they will be going on tour. Kicking off in Boston on April 8th, Eric B and Rakim will close out their 18-date tour in San Francisco on May 3rd. Check the tour dates here and stay plugged for more updates. 

While we’re on the old school tip, let’s talk about Q-Tip! The Tribe member has now been appointed lead advisor of the John F. Kennedy Center’s Hip Hop Culture Council, to which he says “reflects the creative, social, and intellectual wealth of the Hip Hop community.”

“The members are the embodiment of what we stand for and all that we aspire to achieve with the Hip Hop Culture program” - Q-Tip 

The council members include legendary Hip Hop contributors like Questlove, Common, Grant Hill, LL Cool J, Bobbito Garcia, Black Thought, 9th Wonder, and several more. It is said that starting in the Spring, these members will be able to “create, experiment, develop, and produce work at the Center.” Check out more information, and the rest of the council members over at Medium.com

In honor of Phife Dawg, the Billionaire Boys Club teamed up with A Tribe Called Quest and Sony Music to create a special collected called The Space Program capsule. The collaborative capsule will include a collection of products and accessories from shirts, hats, hoodies, and more. Also going in is a hoodie with the words “FOR MALIK” in honor of Phife. The Space Program capsule collection drops this Tuesday (March 13th) at the BBC flagship store, webstore and Tribe’s website as well.

Genius has began a new weekly talk show, For The Record, that’s hosted by Rob Markman. First up, Genius has Lil Yatchy over to discuss his latest release, Lil Boat 2, and more. Check it out. 

Only six weeks after releasing their sophomore album, Migos have officially earned their second Platinum record. What took Culture five months, Culture II has now gone platinum in less than six weeks with its single “Stir Fry” as the NBA All Star Weekend’s official song.

Post Malone has earned himself a huge feat as well. His “Psycho” single, featuring Ty Dolla $ign, debuted No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards took place last night and many great things happened. From Eminem and Kehlani performing together, to Cardi announcing her debut album will finally be arriving in April (let’s hope), to Chance The Rapper being honored with the Innovator Award. Check out XXL’s list of winners. 

Stay Plugged

That sums up this past week in Hip Hop. Come back next week for more.

[jammixes-blog]

Facing The Mirror

What kind of mirror, do you use, when looking at yourself? And, how do you look at yourself, with what?

Your ego is the reflection you want, for yourself, while interacting with others.

Human beings are defined by what they do, think, and fell, not what they look like, appear to think or feel.

You should never criticize or judge someone you don’t know personally, especially if they never wronged you. Unless, you are ready for them to do the same with you.

Those who call others “crazy”, with no proofs or for no rational reason, try to hide their own insanity.

For those who like to talk behind my back: Talk to my behind, from now on, my back took enough stress from evil idiots. You can call my ass “crazy”, anytime, it doesn’t care.

My priority is the challenge in front of me, not the dirt trying to slow me down, from behind.

Gossip is the hobby of idle idiots or losers, to the detriment of people who are too busy doing something worthwhile, to waste time on such trash.

When you don’t understand something, it is wise to admit that you don’t understand. Discarding it as “crazy” or “weird” makes you wrong and ignorant, at best.

When you don’t understand something, give it the benefit of the doubt, first. Otherwise, you are burning your bridges of intelligence, wisdom, and good energies.

Injustice breeds anger.

In martial arts, you do not touch or antagonize someone who tapped three times on the tatami... Enough is enough, is enough. you bow gracefully and shake hands.

Do you know how many sexual predators are on YouTube, trying to get to children? Hundreds of thousands. Apparently, according to BBC.com, this morning, YouTube’s extension to protect kids doesn’t work... Welcome to a new age of bullying, where you and your loved ones, including children, can be targeted any time, by criminals, with no protection or police force to defend you. Just food for thought, I sincerely hope it never happens to you. Do you feel the same way, about me and my loved ones?

I am paranoid? Not often. Cautious? As much as I can. Unless something is 100% clear, I take no chances. Think and do what you want, and I’ll keep doing what I want and what I feel is right. But, I will never make assumptions or try to speculate on what I don’t understand or know. When in doubt, I try to shut up and learn.

To my understanding, having studied Law and Sociology, there is no standard behaviour, in society. The social contract that binds us all is about not doing anything criminal, illegal, or harmful to anyone. That’s it. The rest is beyond’s anyone’s judgement, criticism, or right to voyeurism.

Shall we get rid of privacy? Isn’t it better if we are all exposed to everyone, at all times? Wouldn’t it be fun if I can follow you home with my friends and look at you, from your front door, very naturally? Not only for your pleasure, since we are a bigger number, but for everyone’s entertainment. By the way, you whistle in a weird way, when you shower, or when you meditate in bed, we all think that you are crazy. We don’t know you personally, it’s not important, but we are watching you, having fun, it’s better than a sitcom or reality tv. But, please, ignore us, otherwise you look even crazier. You might be nicely surprised to discover that the executives of all the Silicon Valley internet companies are completely cuckoo, Check for yourself, look at them live, in their privacy, you’ll have plenty of fun voyeuristic moments.

The new trend, in 2017, for human beings, is to be the paparazzis of each others, out of self-entitlement, since it is illegal and criminal.

Silicon Valley is regulated by nothing. It literally gets away with intent to manslaughter, murder, robbery, bullying, and tax evasion, any time. That’s because they rely on your lethargy and immature thrill with cheap entertainment, while they are raping you for everything you have: money, reputation, and all the datas you create, on the internet, to make astronomical profits, on your blind and unconscious ass.

I am not warning you, the Good Geniuses of the internet have, for the last couple of years. I am just echoing their urgent concern. Be serious and thorough, read the evil Terms of Agreement and Privacy clauses of the social media platforms you use. Basically, you have no rights over what you do there, furthermore, a whole new parallel economy is being built, while enslaving you, creating money, profits, and value, from your everything in your life. Obviously, you have no right or getting a single cent, from being sold like a bag of sugar, while being increasingly controlled. You are being bullied, unconsciously, to become a standard robot, devoid of any sense of legality or ethics. You are being brainwashed to perceive bullying, the lack of privacy, and the existence of Silicon Valley as the new Rule of Law. I don’t know about you, but I’m not caving in easily.

Social Media platforms have a moral obligation towards all human beings. And, since they’re pretty evil, and won’t do anything about it, it’s the duty of all people to push for immediate regulations of all internet traffic and handling of personal datas. Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple should never be able to change their Terms of Agreement and Privacy Clauses, at will, the way they see fit, to make more profits, and escape criminal behaviour. They’ve been stealing everybody’s datas, by making themselves the legitimate owners of everything anyone does, on the web. It is so bad, that at any point in time, they can effectively, within a few hours, make all mainstream banking disappear, and just take all the money every person who used the internet has. It has become that bad. It’s not fiction, it’s the sad reality most of you don’t want to face, thinking that it won’t happen today or tomorrow. What about your kids? Are you leaving them a legacy of decency, privacy, and security? So far, you are not, you are being lazy and blind. If you think that it will only happen to others, in the future, you are being “crazy”... soon enough, thanks to Silicon Valley, everyone will be able to watch you and fuck with you and your family, for a cheap laugh. The next step: get up on your feet, put a pause on your new voyeuristic tendencies, and start acting responsibly and maturely, for once, in a long time. No human being should be at the mercy of Silicon Valley and Social Media platforms. You are skeptical? Look at kids in China and the North of Europe, at 5, they are already being taught to research all datas they can find on their parents, as well as programming. We should not want that, unless it’s being done with minimal ethics and regulations. That’s my 1 Rupee, from 1974. There is no way I am wrong, so, don’t even try to discredit me for this, do your research. You’ll be pretty “surprised”, hopefully, you’ll open your eyes, for the first time in a long time, to face the real “Reality”, and stop being “crazy” or complacent about it.

Because a handful of low-scum criminals decided to fuck with me, through social media, doesn’t give anyone legitimacy to think it’s ok. Bullying me won’t work, on the long run, so, my family has to be blackmailed, for your entertainment and cash. Honestly: Fuck You. I should be defended by every decent, fair, compassionate, and Good human being. It is evil to accept such a deal, on my ass, and, especially, on that of my parents, brother, family, and best friends. If you are in doubt, let me do that to you, with my people. Otherwise, this inhuman torture should stop, NOW. I shouldn’t have to hear, daily, people talking about me and Dad, behind my back, as if I’m a commodity. It must be very bad, since I am not made aware of what is happening. This, in itself, towards a 43 years-old sane, good, and compassionate person should never happen. It has been a torture for me, distracting me from creating my art, jeopardizing my flawless 18 years career in Advertising, for which I sacrificed everything, and worked very hard, just for you to fuck with me, all day long, treating me like an object, with no right to defend myself, know what’s happening, or react to the tons of fucked up energies I have to feel, all the time. It’s disrespectful, criminal, illegal, and wrong, to subject a human being to such an ordeal. I have no respect for the people who think it’s ok. Tell me what’s going on in details, and then, we are on the level and I will square your shit down, myself. Otherwise, you are being as evil as the platforms raping you. How the hell can you assume a human being can be that unconscious, for a year? Shame on you, you are CRAZY. You caused me a lot of distress and bad vibes. If you can’t be honest towards me, in my face, then, you are very unfair. My hell is paved with your good intentions, keeping me in the dark, for no good reason, is the worst help you can provide. If you know me well, your honesty would lift me up, not bring me down. I am not scared to fight or shut any idiot up, legally, or otherwise. So, who are helping? Definitely not me, since my life keeps getting more depressing and worse. Thank you, from the bottom of my ass.

I’ve always been a mystery to everyone, because I wanted, it’s my protection. I’ve always made sure that no one, including my parents, know my next step or how I really feel or think. I’ve confused every person who tried to “understand” me, on purpose. I am unpredictable, by choice, in a calculated way, and I will keep on being me, that way. So, the evil idiots, who call me “crazy”, on the street, or in my best T.O’s friend’s place, as I was leaving, last night, are in for a surprise. I’ve always been nice and tolerant, with everyone, but, with these idiots, my tactics will single them out, and make them regret being so mean, for no reason, towards someone they don’t really know. This is where I am the one playing with you, letting you think you have a shred of control over me. Get real, just be Good, don’t fuck with other human beings or think it’s right to bully them, if you can’t help them...the way they ask you to.

If you can’t help, in an effective way, get out of the way.

[astrogeoguy]

A Full Sap Moon as the Sun Brings Spring, plus Morning Planet Parade and Evening Zodiacal Light!

(Above: This paddy-green aurora was captured on February 8, 2019 by talented Canadian astrophotographer Alan Dyer. His image galleries are at https://amazingsky.net/.)

Hello, St. Patrick’s Day Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of March 17th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event, visit DiscoveryPlanitarium.com and request me. We’ll tour the Universe together!

(Above: This terrific image of Alnitak and the Horsehead Nebula (at left) and the Orion Nebula (at right) by Adrian Aberdeen of Toronto was taken in March, 2019. The remarkable aspect of the photo was that he collected the photons through a tracking telescope set up on his downtown Toronto apartment balcony!)

Public Astro-Events

On Sunday, March 17 at 6 pm at Burdock, 1184 Bloor Street West, the Solar System Social will feature Dr. Sara Mazrouei, who will talk about the moon, and Elias Fernando Solorzano, an engineer at MDA Space Missions. Tickets and details are here. 

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

On Tuesday, March 19 at 2 pm, Toronto Public Library’s Albert Campbell Branch will present a free public talk entitled Being an Astronaut Candidate. Details are here. 

On Friday, March 22 from 8 to 11 pm, adults can enjoy some suds with their science at Astronomy on Tap T.O. at the Great Hall on Queen Street West, a free event hosted by the U of T’s Dunlap Institute. Talks, trivia, contest giveaways, and more! Details are here. 

On Saturday, March 23, starting at 6:15 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present their planetarium show The Life and Death of Stars. Tickets and details are here. 

Saturday, March 9 marked the opening of a six-month exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum entitled The Moon: A Voyage through Time. The museum will feature installations of art, culture, history, and science pertaining to the moon. A public talk, The Moon: Mirror of Faith, Science, and the Arts will be delivered by Dr. Christiane Gruber on Saturday at 2:00pm. Details are here. 

Happy Vernal Equinox!

Two few minutes before 6 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, our northern Spring, also known as the Vernal Equinox, officially begins! Here’s why… 

(Above: At the moment of the Vernal Equinox on Wednesday, March 20, the sun’s path along the Ecliptic (yellow plane) will carry it across the Celestial Equator (blue plane), leaving the sun to spend the next 6 months in the northern half of the sky and delivering increased daylight hours and radiant heat on the Earth’s northern hemisphere.)

The Celestial Equator is an imaginary circle around the sky that sits directly above the Earth’s equator. It divides the sky into two bowls - the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Meanwhile, as Earth orbits around the sun, the sun appears to travel eastward through the distant stars, tracing out another circle called the ecliptic. Due to the 23.5° tilt of the Earth’s axis of rotation, the Celestial Equator and the Ecliptic are tipped with respect to each other. Think of them as two hula hoops with the same centre, Earth - but one is tilted so that they intersect at only two spots. (The motion of the sun that I’ve referring to above is the one that causes new stars to appear each season, and is NOT the one that carries the sun across the sky every day. The first case is due to the Earth’s year-long orbit and the second motion is due to the Earth’s daily rotation.) 

The sun’s eastward motion along the ecliptic circle covers about one degree per day. At the precise moment of the Vernal Equinox, the sun is “stepping over” the equator (where the hula hoops cross) and its apparent motion is carrying it into the northern half of the sky. Six months from now, on the Autumnal Equinox, it will again cross the equator heading into the southern half of the sky. 

This produces two interesting effects. Firstly, for the next six months, the sun will spend the majority of each day in our northern hemisphere sky, overhead of the lucky folks in North America, Europe, and Asia! More daily sun time means warmer air and longer daylight hours! At the same time, folks in the Southern hemisphere have to accept shorter, colder days and longer nights (Warmly dressed astronomers don’t mind long winter nights!). Secondly, on the day of the equinoxes, we experience about 12 hours each of daytime and night-time (it varies by latitude). This is where the word equinox (Latin for equal night) comes from. 

The times around the equinoxes also offer better chances to see the aurorae at high northern and southern latitudes. Just as two bar magnets lined up with their poles in the same direction repel one another strongly, the Earth’s magnetic field repels the sun’s field. At the equinoxes, the Earth’s axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the sun, so the two “magnets” aren’t as parallel, reducing Earth’s ability to deflect the sun’s field and the charged particles that trigger aurorae in our upper atmosphere.��

The Moon and Planets

For most of this week, the moon will remain in view in the evening sky. On Sunday night, it will be a bright gibbous (more than half-illuminated) orb between Cancer (the Crab) and Leo (the Lion). On Monday night, the moon will land less than two finger widths to the left of Leo’s brightest star, Regulus. 

(Above: On Monday evening the orbital motion of the moon will place it 2 degrees to the upper left of Leo’s brightest star, Regulus, as shown here for 9 pm EDT.)

On Wednesday night the moon will reach its full phase. Although technically it occurs a few hours past the equinox, this is the final full moon of winter. The March full moon, known as the Worm Moon, Crow Moon, Sap Moon or Lenten Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Leo or Virgo (the Maiden). Full moons always rise in the east as the sun sets, and set in the west at sunrise. When fully illuminated, the moon’s geology is enhanced, especially the contrast between the ancient cratered highlands and the younger, darker, smoother maria. 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landings by humans. 

After Wednesday, the moon will begin to rise in late evening and wane in phase. From Thursday to Sunday, it will traverse the stars of Virgo and then Libra (the Scales). 

Mars will continue to be an easy planet to see every evening this week, but only for a couple of hours after dusk. By midnight, Mars will set in the west. Once the sky has darkened, look for Mars’ medium-bright, reddish pinpoint of light less than halfway up the western sky. Mars has been slowly shrinking in size and brightness as we increase our distance from it little-by-little. Distant Uranus is situated two fist diameters below Mars – but it’s too low for observing nowadays. 

(Above: This week, Mars will continue to gleam as an ever-diminishing, reddish pinpoint located about halfway up the western sky after dusk, as shown here at 9 pm local time.)

The eastern pre-dawn sky continues to host a spectacular parade of three bright planets. Bright Jupiter will rise first, at about 2:30 am local time. By 7 am, it should still be visible in the southern sky. Yellowish Saturn, will rise at about 4:30 am local time and will become lost in the southeastern twilight before 7 am. 

Our sister planet Venus, now markedly closer to the sun, is starting to become engulfed in the dawn twilight. Look for Venus’ as a bright beacon sitting quite low in the east-southeastern dawn sky from 6 am local time until sunrise. In a telescope, Venus will exhibit a gibbous (more than half-illuminated) phase. If you have trouble seeing Saturn, search about midway between Jupiter and Venus.

(Above: The eastern pre-dawn sky continues to deliver a parade of bright planets, starting with Jupiter, then Saturn, and then Venus, as shown here at 6:30 am local time. Venus’ orbit, shown in red, is swinging the bright planet lower, towards the sun.)

The Brightest Stars

During full moon periods, only the brightest stars can still be spotted with unaided eyes. At this time of year, most of those stars are the ones that form the Winter Hexagon asterism. Start by finding the extremely bright star Sirius sitting low in the southern evening sky at 9 pm local time. From there, look for bluish Rigel sitting 2.5 fist diameters to Sirius’ upper right, then look well above Rigel for warm-tinted Aldebaran, and continue to Aldebaran’s upper left to reach yellowish Capella at the top of the asterism. Now descend on the hexagon’s left side. The bright matched pair of stars Castor and Pollux is three fist diameters to the lower left of Capella. Finally, bright white Procyon is well below those twins – roughly between them and Sirius. 

The only other bright star is Regulus in Leo. That white star sits about 3.7 fit diameters to the left (east ) of Procyon.

(Above: the full moonlight generally overwhelms all but the brightest stars. The Winter Hexagon composed of the bright stars Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Castor, Pollus, and Procyon will be visible on mid-March evenings, including Wednesday’s Full Sap Moon. The point marked ASP is the point of the sky opposite the sun. The moon is always fully illuminated when it’s near that location. The sky is shown here for 10 pm local time, )  

Evening Zodiacal Light

For about half an hour after dusk between today and the new moon on April 5, look west-southwest for a broad wedge of faint light rising from the horizon and centered on the ecliptic. This is the zodiacal light - reflected sunlight from interplanetary particles of matter concentrated in the plane of the solar system. The glow will be centred on the horizon directly below Mars. Try to observe from a location without light pollution, and don't confuse the zodiacal light with the brighter Milky Way to the northwest. I posted an image of it here. 

Pointing at Polaris

If you missed last week’s information about Polaris, the North Star, I posted it with sky charts here.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[bretkelly-blog1]

All by @rodgerjames aka Beck ( Cartoon illustration, stickers, street art, toys and design • Toronto. Joker. Biker. Dad. •)

1) "We're Gonna B Okay"

2) "Don't Forget to Be Human". Its so easy to get involved with what is happening our phones these days that we do forget to be human.

3) New collaboration with @urbanninjasquadron "Jolly good times out in the street! "

4) Looks like Porky Pig as an officer

5) A Tiger

6) A Streetcar that says I ♥️ T.O

7) Purple Mouse

8) That looks like a Rubiks Cube holding a Gameboy

9) I have no idea.. a coffee and a donut saying "yip yap" ?

10) A bug dressed up as Where's Waldo...

____________

[tyleroakley-obsessed]

You’ve seen everything on Netflix and scrolling through Instagram is only going to bring you so much joy. If you’re as sick of staying inside as I am, grab your sunscreen, mask, and a water bottle and hit the great outdoors. Ed Note: Some of these photos were taken pre-covid, so imagine that everyone is masked up and more than six feet apart from others.  Shelby Farms Park Here are thirteen things to do to outside in Memphis: 1. Go On A Bike Ride Memphis has 60+ miles of bike trails and lanes, including multiple protected greenways—meaning they’re paved and separate from streets. There are Explore Bike Share stations all around town if you don’t have your own bike. Craig Thompson Some of our favorite places to bike in Memphis: Shelby Farms Greenline, a 10.65 mile protected path from East Memphis to Shelby Farms/Cordova. Shelby Farms Park has several multi-use trails; they also offer bike rentals. Big River Crossing, back and forth across the Mississippi River. Wolf River Greenway, a series of protected paths in multiple locations in the city—see the open sections on the website. The Wolf River Greenway will eventually be a 26-mile connected path from Mud Island to Germantown. Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park has multiple trails. Collierville Greenbelt System has multiple trails. Stanky Creek Trail (for mountain biking). The City of Memphis has list of additional bike routes, too. 2. Go To The Park Memphis and the suburbs are full of great parks to stretch your legs, soak up the sun, and let the kids run around. There are the best known parks, like Overton Park in midtown, Shelby Farms in East Memphis/Cordova, Audubon Park in East Memphis, and Tom Lee Park downtown. Check out the full networks of Memphis River Parks on their website. A few others to check out: Chickasaw Heritage Park downtown, T.O. Fuller State Park south of downtown, Cameron Brown Park in Germantown, Greenbelt Park on Mud Island, and MLK Park in South Memphis. Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms Park 3. Sit On A Patio It’s basically a religion in Memphis. Check out the guide to more than 100 patios in Memphis, downtown, Germantown, East Memphis, and more. Keep in mind that hours, capacity, and dining policies are changing constantly in 2020—call ahead before going out. Please be aware of the risks of dining out, even on a patio. Please wear a mask when not eating or drinking and tip to your servers. Consider getting food to-go instead, and then making your own patio dining experience at home or at one of the parks listed above, at least for now. 4. Conquer the Obstacles at GoApe Treetop Adventure Course Aren’t afraid of heights? Want to get in some exercise in the treetops…like, way up in the treetops? GoApe Treetop Adventure at Shelby Farms is open, though they require face coverings and full-finger gloves. Read about my GoApe experience in Must Love Heights. GoApe also offers axe throwing, with masks and gloves. Both activities are for folks 10 and up. Allen Gillespie. This man should be wearing a mask and gloves. 5. Watch The Sunset and Mighty Lights Catch a beautiful, colorful sunset in Memphis is downtown on the banks of the Mississippi River. Take your pick of downtown riverside parks, especially Tom Lee Park, the River Garden at Mississippi River Park, or anywhere along the Bluff. If you’re downtown, be sure to stick around to watch the Mighty Lights on the bridges. Another place to spot the sunset in Memphis is at Shelby Farms Park on Hyde Lake. Andrea Zucker 6. Visit Shelby Forest Meeman Shelby Forest State Park is just a few minutes north of downtown and has plenty to do outdoors, from hiking to biking to canoeing. Read the guide to Shelby Forest and don’t forget to grab a cheeseburger to-go at the Shelby Forest General Store. Alex Shansky 7. See The Bison At Shelby Farms Bison or buffalo? Which is correct? Discuss with your friends after you see them in person at Shelby Farms. There’s a 50-acre habitat in the middle of the park with about 15 buffalo/bison. Each spring, you can see baby bison, too. Baxter Buck 8. Go to a farmer’s market Memphis and the Mid-South have plenty of outdoor farmers markets; some are seasonal and some are year-round. Check out the 2020 Memphis Farmers Market Guide. Be sure to follow all market guidelines, including physical distancing and mask-wearing, no contact payment options and “traffic” flow through the markets vendors. Pretend the adult is wearing a mask. 9. Visit The Dixon or the Memphis Botanic Garden See what’s in bloom this season and take advantage of the creative gardens we have in Memphis. The Dixon Gallery & Gardens has 17 acres of gardens and several shady, picturesque paths. While it’s a beautiful place year-round, April brings the annual tulip bloom. The Memphis Botanic Garden features 96 acres of lush flowers, plants, trees, water features, and more. You can truly spend a few hours exploring the grounds. I discover something new each time. Some areas, like the Japanese bridge and My Big Backyard children’s play area are closed due to COVID. Follow all posted guidelines for safety and physical distancing during your visits. Memphis Botanic Garden. Andrea Zucker 10. Take A Public Art or Mural Tour Memphis is full of bright murals, interesting sculptures, and plenty of public art that you can check out. You could even try to find all the I Love Memphis murals (and post a photo on social media with the #ILoveMemphis hashtag!) Here are a couple of handy mural and public art guides: Guide To The I Love Memphis Murals 7 Memphis Murals You Have to See 6 Downtown Murals: The Artery Alley Project Craig Thompson 11. Take A South Main Walking Tour South Main has a walking tour collection of street art, historic architecture, and fun facts. You can download a printable copy of this tour on the GoSouthMain website, and you can also access it on a smartphone at GoSouthMain.com/Tour. Bring your mask even if you don’t plan on going inside—if you’re near others or have to run in somewhere, you’ll be prepared. Historic 409 S. Main in downtown Memphis. Alex Shansky 12. Walk or bike across the Big River Crossing Make your way across the Mississippi River for unparalleled views. Get details here. 13. Canoe or Kayak on the Mississippi or the Ghost Rivers On the Mississippi? What?! Yes, y’all! I know it’s important to have a healthy respect for the Big Muddy, but we have a downright phobia in this town. Put on a life vest and let the pros help you overcome the fear by kayaking the in the inlet by Mud Island River Park; there’s a launch from the River Garden. Several outfitters will guide you on tours on the Mississippi and the absolutely gorgeous, underrated Wolf River, too. The latter has turned out to be one of my favorite things to do, ever. Read the full guide to kayaking here. Alan Spearman I know there are probably 50 more ideas for enjoying the outdoors in Memphis. Which ones would you add? How many of these have you done? Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout https://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

https://ilovememphisblog.com/2020/07/12-ways-to-enjoy-the-outdoors-in-memphis/

[hazard0ne]

Feeling all kinds of emotions today! 

I can’t believe its all over - I’m so proud of the team. 

Kat, Caitlyn, Michael, Porter, Morgana, Martina and myself set about organising the Ajo Street Art Happening almost immediately after my return from Tucson, Arizona in September last year. We had meeting every few weeks to plan, strategise and discuss ideas for the event - these meetings took place around 6pm local time (AZ) and would mean I would be joining the meetings online at 2am in Barcelona, which was always amusing!

This project was so much more than I could have wished for. It was one of those things where around half way into my stay in Ajo, amidst the chaos, paint and hard work, I realised that I was experiencing something very, very special and reminded myself to savour every single moment.

And so I did!

I’m feeling the post festival blues in the same way as I do when Glastonbury is over every year. I have made some truly wonderful friends who I know I will stay in contact with and we’re already talking about the next event.

I have accomplished my goal of painting a huge mural in the Arizona-Mexico border town of Ajo and I have gained such insight to life on the border and life on the Tohono O’odham reservation. I feel so privileged to have experienced the things I have and to have had the conversations I did. 

All the artists and collaborators were at Ajo Street Art Happening for the same reason, we all connected over our love of creating and producing artwork. We were all ages, all levels, all backgrounds and yet all the same. 

One of the artists, 17 years old, was from the T.O reservation, he told me how he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, perhaps open a print store to help fund his art on the side, he had chosen to leave the reservation and come to school in Ajo because he knew it would brighten his opportunities. I couldn’t be more impressed. Another thing that hit hard was that one of the amazing aerosol artists came through from Mexico, but because of the border restrictions we never knew if he would be sure to turn up until he did. Whilst remaining brilliant company he was under so much pressure to finish in time to leave Ajo before the restriction on him being in the U.S closed. Its just so bizarre, when all weekend Ajo was unusually busy with Americans driving down to Rocky Point in Mexico to spend Spring Break.

Thank you for funding this. I have new friends, new opportunities, new connections, new experiences and new sunburn. But seriously, I’m inspired! 

Thank you. 

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

THE MAN UNDER THE UNIFORM: Part 1: Young Art Curry: The first 25 years

(Volume 24-01)

By Bob Gordon

General Sir Arthur Currie. The Canadian Corps’ first and only Canadian commander. The first full general in the Canadian Army (1919). Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (Britain); Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and Croix de guerre (France); Knight of the Order of the Crown and Croix de Guerre (Belgium); Distinguished Service Medal (United States).

A century later, the accolades still echo. Royal Military Academy Sandhurst instructor Christopher Pugsley describes Currie as “perhaps the most brilliant corps commander of the war,” who led “the most effective fighting formation among the British armies on the Western Front, superior in performance to its vaunted Australian contemporary in terms of organisation, tactical efficiency and staying power.”

This “most effective fighting formation,” the Canadian Corps, first took to the gas-soaked fields of the Ypres salient in April 1915. During the last hundred days, they spent three months at the sharp end as the shock troops of the Empire. Their route from novice to master of the arts of Ares was once seen as a simple, linear progression with the Canadian forces consistently and persistently growing in combat effectiveness. More recently, the variability, inconsistency and irregularity of change have been emphasized. Evolutionary dead ends, explored and abandoned, have been identified. Periods of sudden and revolutionary change (January to April 1917) are also evident. Today, historians concur the march to the final Hundred Days Offensive was anything but straight for the Canadian Corps.

Its leader, General Sir Arthur Currie, the man under the uniform, has never been granted a similar, measured reappraisal. In the immediate wake of the Great War, former Minister of Militia Sam Hughes slagged Currie, all but branding him a vainglorious butcher. Initially, much attention was directed at dismissing these accusations as baseless. More recent analyses have focused on his achievements as he progressed from brigadier to corps commander. The narrow focus has been on his military career, and one such assessment is even subtitled “A Military Biography.” Moreover, as was once the case with the corps itself, they suggest an unvarying and inexorable rate of ascent: A career simply destined to greatness.

From whence this apparent military genius arose has remained unexplored or, like an elephant in the room, been politely ignored. Was he a failed land developer and embezzler? A frustrated lawyer? A dedicated militia officer and daring entrepreneur? A chance confluence of man and circumstance? Was he all of the above or none of the above?

This series will tack this way, exploring Currie’s civilian life from his youth in Ontario through his financial coming of age in Victoria. This portrait of Currie to age 40 in 1914, when his military, as opposed to militia, career commenced will provide a lens through which his military biography will be reinterpreted. Currie was hardly wet behind the ears when he went to war. He was approaching 40. He was on the verge of retiring from the militia. He was a self-made man of considerable influence socially, politically and financially, precarious as the latter may have been by 1914. These life experiences were foundational to Currie’s success with the Canadian Corps.

According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography: “Arthur Currie’s paternal grandparents, John Corrigan and Jane Garner, a Roman Catholic and an Anglican, fled religious intolerance in Ireland to farm in Adelaide Township, Upper Canada. Upon their arrival in 1838, the Corrigans changed their name to Curry and became Methodists ... The elder son, William Garner Curry, married Jane Patterson in 1868.” William Curry was relatively affluent and held numerous local government positions. Born from this union on December 5, 1875, on the family farm near Napperton, six kilometres west of Strathroy, in Adelaide Township, was William Arthur Curry. He would not change his name to Currie until he was a militiaman and, reportedly, tired of the jokes about spicy food that were told at his expense in the mess and orderly room.

Curry began his education in a one-room schoolhouse in Napperton, Ontario. Apparently a promising student, he moved on to Strathroy Collegiate at the age of 14. On October 23, 1891, 15-year-old Arthur’s father, William, unexpectedly died from an “inflammation of the bowels” at the age of 46. The [Strathroy] Age, describing William Curry as “well known” with “numerous friends,” noted that “the funeral on Sunday last was one of the largest ever seen in the township, 165 rigs being in the procession.” Not surprising, considering that William had served as a township councillor, school board trustee, was deputy reeve at the time and owned a 300-acre farm.

In the wake of this tragic event Curry left Strathroy Collegiate and entered the Model School, earning a 3rd Class Teaching Certificate. His biographers imply that this abandonment of his dream of becoming a lawyer was necessitated by strained financial conditions following his father’s death.

However, circumstantial evidence tends to undermine this assertion. The Currys were a reasonably affluent family and they seem to have remained financially stable and secure following William’s death. Crystal Loyst, Museum Collections and Research Coordinator at the Museum Strathroy-Caradoc, has stated that, “As for the farm, the original plot was divided into two – William Currie [an older brother of Arthur’s] lived on the west half of the west half of lot 15 con 5 SER and his brother T.O. Currie lived on the east half of the west half of lot 15 Con 5 (by the map, however other records state Lot 14) … Arthur’s cousin Harold owned the property next door.” Under these conditions, it is difficult to see penury driving Arthur out of school.

Regardless, leave he did, only to discover positions for a novice pedagog with a 3rd Class Teaching Certificate were few and far between. By November 1892, he had returned to the Collegiate hoping to achieve his honours and qualify for admission to a university.

As treasurer of the Strathroy Collegiate Institute Literary Society he took an active role in debates as both a disputant and a judge. In November 1892 he failed to demonstrate that “The Indian in North America has suffered more injustice than the Negro.” Four months later, Curry decided against the resolution, “War has caused more destruction and misery to the human race than intemperance.” A story published in his hometown newspaper, The Age Dispatch, on February 27, 1930, headlined “Sir Arthur Retreated Like a Good Soldier,” affirmed his debating prowess. It details his youthful determination to finish his arguments leading him to depart the podium, but circumambulate the room at a slow march, spitting out arguments, before resuming his seat.

Other schoolmates’ reminiscences, published in the Age Dispatch on April 17, 1919, affirm young Curry’s energetic and independent disposition. The article describes him as “the recognized star of the large class of which he was a member,” taking note of both his wit and pugilistic prowess. Proof of the former is provided by the pleasure he took, in later life, as Principal of McGill University, sharing a dram with an economics professor on the faculty by the name of Stephen Leacock. Coincidentally, as a young student teacher Leacock had done a brief placement at Strathroy Collegiate and taught Curry in the early 1890s.

Between Curry’s grades and his extracurricular activities, biographer, and former subordinate on the staff of the Canadian Corps, Hugh Urquhart asserts that the principal regarded his attaining “honours” as a given. Regardless, in May of 1894, weeks shy of graduation, Arthur Curry dropped out and headed west to Vancouver Island. Purportedly, the rather rash decision was precipitated by a dispute with a teacher. Contradicting himself, Urquhart then asserts that it was a premeditated excursion with a total of six young men participating. What is clear is that enough planning was required for Curry to have secured the $25 train fare.

While the timing of Curry’s exodus may have been impetuous, it was hardly Quixotic: he left with a well-defined destination. In Victoria he had arrangements to stay with a maternal great-aunt, Mrs. Orlando Warner, and her husband, a master shipwright from Pugwash, Nova Scotia. He promptly settled into their large house on Alston Street, overlooking the harbour.  The welcome was warm enough that Curry remained for 16 months while he qualified for a BC teaching certificate at which point he took a position teaching in Sydney that paid $60/month. The local trustees were impressed with his abilities, noting particularly his classroom management along with his students’ deportment and discipline.

As soon as possible, upon securing a job at Victoria Boys’ Central School, he returned to the city. One year later he moved to Victoria High School. This apparently lateral move was actually a step up for Curry as the high school had a more prestigious reputation and drew its students from the most affluent and influential families in Victoria. Curry would remain there into a fourth school year. It was during this period that he began spelling his name Currie.

In the winter of 1899–1900, Currie’s teaching career was interrupted by a prolonged illness. Apparently, Currie used the down time to contemplate his future. Probably with an eye to marrying, he left teaching, concluding it offered prestige but not pounds sterling. In the spring of 1900, presumably capitalizing on connections made with students’ parents, Currie reinvented himself as an insurance salesman joining Matson and Coles, a prominent Victoria firm.

Liberal Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier claimed the new century for Canada: “As the 19th century was that of the United States, so I think the 20th century shall be filled by Canada.” Currie, a life-long Liberal, set out to personify this dictum in the century’s first dozen years.

 Next month: Currie’s affluence, influence and profile all grow exponentially. Ascending to the top of Victoria society, Currie is staring into a financial abyss when European rivalries and violence erupt into global war in the summer of 1914.