Monthly Archives: March 2021

03.22.21
by

TORONTO’S EDWARD BURTYNSKY SHOWS US EARTH’S INDUSTRIALIZATION & EXTRACTION ON A GRAND SCALE

ANTHROPOCENE is a collaboration among award-winning photographer Edward Burtynsky & filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. <IMAGE ABOVE – Kevin Walsh/Earth Magazine.org>  The images make it clear what humankind has been up to for decades. They’re a wakeup call to the destruction caused by our species’ dominance, thus far anyway.<COAL MINE #1, North Rhine, Westphalia, GERMANY, 2015, © Edward Burtynsky, Flowers Gallery, London/Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto>. “I have always been concerned with showing how we affect the Earth in a big way. To this end, I seek out and photograph large-scale systems that leave lasting marks.” – from ‘Life in the Anthropocene’ by Edward Burtynsky.<Elephant Tusk Burn, Nairobi National Park, Kenya, film still, Anthropocene Films Inc. © 2018>. “How to convey, despite our brevity as a species, the magnitude of our impact? Anthropocene in a scientific and geological sense means that we are now everywhere, all the time, and even in the rocks—those dense, mysterious receptacles of the planet’s history.” – from ‘Our Embedded Signal’ by Jennifer Baichwal.<Dandora Landfill #3, Plastics Recycling, Nairobi, Kenya 2016. © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto>. “It’s hard not to marvel at the engineering ingenuity of the massive industrial sites we filmed, and equally hard to ignore the devastation they represent.” – from the essay ‘Evidence’ by Nicholas de Pencier.<Uralkali Potash Mine #2, Berezniki, RUSSIA, 2017, © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Flowers Gallery, London/ Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto><Carrara Marble Quarries, Cava di Canalgrande #2, Carrara, Italy, 2016. Mural, © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of the artist and Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto >The Art Gallery of Ontario-produced catalogue, Anthropocene, may still be available at shopAGO for $29.95; along with the 224-page Anthropocene art book published by Steidl.

03.21.21
by

OH YES, I REMEMBER IT WELL – FAMOUS PLAYERS’ IMPERIAL CINEMA ON YONGE ST., CA1960’S

The Imperial could seat about 3,000 movie-goers, and then it was sub-divided.  In the 1960’s while a Ryerson student, I had the privilege of a job there in uniform – which meant a lot of standing and holding a flashlight.  After a while I moved on to Loew’s, a block or so south.  Same job, similar uniform.  There I watched ‘Gypsy’ 27 times, ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane’, ‘Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte’, the Doris Day movies with Rock Hudson, and several other musicals and dramas over and over again.  That’s the life of an usher.

03.17.21
by

TORONTO IS STILL IN PARTIAL LOCKDOWN, BUT WE CAN SALUTE THE IRISH ON MARCH 17TH

In September/2017 Ross and I were in The Republic of Ireland and had plans to visit Northern Ireland when the skies opened up and we sampled an Irish deluge. We’ll go up north next time. My day was made when the tourism lady asked my name. When she heard my last name, Moore, she said “you’re one of us!” with a jolly good laugh. We went off to explore the capital and there was plenty there to explore.You can’t miss the Spire of Dublin, or the Monument of Light. Either one, it’s made of stainless steel, 121 meters tall, located on the site of the former Nelson’s Pillar on O’Connell Street in the heart of the city.Oscar Wilde’s childhood home, now restored and occupied by the American College Dublin.  There’s so much to do and see in Dublin, that once the pandemic ends, we’ll both be on our way there again.Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

03.14.21
by

REMEMBERING CHARLES THOMAS CONNORS, AN ALL-CANADIAN PATRIOT WHO LEFT US IN 2013

He’s gone now – but the legendary STOMPIN’ TOM CONNORS left behind 61 albums of Canadiana folk hits to remember him by.  What red-blooded Canadian hasn’t heard Bud The Spud, Sudbury Saturday Night, Canada Day, Up Canada Way – and his all-time gift to the National Hockey League – The Hockey Song.  Stompin’ Tom received the Order of Canada in 1996, and was put on a postage stamp in 2009. Stompin’ Tom was married to LENA WELSH on November 2, 1973.  The wedding was shown live on Elwood Glover’s CBC television show, followed by lunch, a screening of Connors’ concert film, and a party for 600.Born in SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick, he was adopted by a family in SKINNERS POND, Prince Edward Island, and lived there until he was fifteen – <PHOTO – Dorothy Steward> Stompin’ Tom was a regular performer at TORONTO’s Horseshoe Tavern on Queen Street West.