You windy rathole!

Toronto music critics agree

robswizzle — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:02:08 +0000

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook, Uncategorized Tagged: Beck, best, David Comes to Life, Feist, Fucked Up, list critics, Metals, music, Rob Elliott, Sea Change, swizzle studio, top ten, toronto, you windy rathole

New Year’s Eve in my neighbourhood

robswizzle — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:16:40 +0000

We walked home from Parkdale along the surprisingly quiet streets. There were a few clusters of people ringing in the new year though.

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook Tagged: 2011, happy, Junction, New Year's Eve, Polish Hall, Rob Elliott, Roncesvalles, Sketchbook, toronto

Boy on a ledge

robswizzle — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:41:45 +0000

I wonder who this hopeful Portuguese boy in a 1980s suit is? Do I pass him everyday in my neighbourhood? Someone picked up the smashed and water-damaged little portrait and placed it neatly on the weathered sill of an abandoned storefront, where it smiled at the street for days.

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook, Uncategorized Tagged: Davenport, frame, Rob Elliott, school portrait, Sketchbook, store, swizzle, toronto

Typographic Cornucopia on St. Clair

robswizzle — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:06:01 +0000

Lovers of 1970s typefaces should ride the streetcar to the Dairy Freeze at St. Clair West and Caledonia Road. Dairy Freeze’s pillar sign successfully mixes curlicues and san-serif fonts, an orange-and-yellow colour scheme, and an incandescent bulb arrow. Grab a milkshake and bask in its boldness.

Filed under: Sketchbook Tagged: 1970s, Dairy Freeze, restaurant, Rob Elliott, sign, Sketchbook, St. Clair, swizzle, toronto

Nuit Blanche 2011 – most provocative art projects

robswizzle — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:49:20 +0000

Couldn’t find the art at this year’s Nuit Blanche? Maybe you just didn’t know where to look.

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook Tagged: 2011, art, crowds, Nuit Blanche, Rob Elliott, swizzle, toronto, you windy rathole

Sex club gutted

robswizzle — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:20:20 +0000

There’s bedbugs, and then there’s bed bugs.

Queen Street West sex club Wicked was throwing out a heap of vinyl furniture on Tuesday night. I never get too close to garbage furniture in this bedbug-infested town, but there was something extra “ewwww” about Wicked’s cast-offs.

Filed under: Sketchbook Tagged: bed, couch, divan, furniture, garbage, pink, queen street, Rob Elliott, sex club, Sketchbook, swizzle, vinyl, Wicked, you windy rathole

Word on the Street

robswizzle — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:32:39 +0000

Last Sunday, Queen’s Park was packed with books and the bookish for the annual Word on the Street book fair. Here’s a page of observations for your reading enjoyment (click the image to see it larger).

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook, Uncategorized Tagged: 2011, book fair, book signing, King Edward VII, libertarian, Queen's Park, reading, Rob Elliott, Sketchbook, swizzle, toronto, TVO, Word on the Street

Backyard hydro

robswizzle — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:01:23 +0000

Before there were community consultations, before there were activists, before there were NIMBYS, Toronto operated in a looser fashion. If my observations are correct, the unspoken agreement went as follows: The City, utilities and companies built where they saw fit. In return, City Hall turned blind eye to residents building house additions any way they saw fit.

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook, Uncategorized Tagged: City Hall, Dupont, houses, Hydro, hydro corridor, NIMBY, right of way, Rob Elliott, Sketchbook, swizzle, toronto, west end, you windy rathole

Getting Ready For Game Seven

robswizzle — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:51:25 +0000

This installment takes me to my hometown of Vancouver, where the city prepares itself for the final Stanley Cup match against the Boston Bruins. (Click on the image to see it large!).

Filed under: Musings, Sketchbook, Uncategorized Tagged: Boston, Bruins, Canucks, Christy Clark, Cyclone Taylor, Green Men, Lions Gate Bridge, riot, Rob Elliott, Sketchbook, Vancouver, you windy rathole

Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade Quiz

robswizzle — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 01:59:52 +0000

There was a lot of surprises at this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. See if you can separate the real sights from the blarney (click the quiz to see it bigger!).

Filed under: Sketchbook, Uncategorized Tagged: Belfast, Delorean, Guinness, Hillbilly, Hillbillys Clan 24, Irish dancers, J.G. Farrell, mascots, parade, Rob Elliott, Shriner, Sketchbook, snake, St. Patrick, toronto, Troubles, U2, unicorn