Alyson's Profile | Typepad

This is Alyson's Typepad Profile.

Join Typepad and start following Alyson's activity

Join Now!

Already a member? Sign In

Alyson

Recent Activity

Laughter in the face of death: the trench newspaper, The Wipers Times

So much has been written on World War I, more so now that the 100th anniversary of the war is upon us at the end of July. But, it's not often that humour and the Great War are discussed together. The Wipers Times is the best-known of the trench newspapers... Continue reading

Posted Jul 28, 2014 at Arts & Culture

8

"Nothing is so beautiful as Spring...

When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush" - Gerard Manley Hopkins We'll wait a while longer for shoots of any sort, I'm afraid. In the meantime, why not plan your garden, even it's just in your head? The library has hundreds of books for gardeners, would-be gardeners... Continue reading

Posted Mar 13, 2014 at North York Central Library Blog

0

A Walking Tour of Haunted Toronto

Back in July this blog posted information about summer NEAT tours (Newcomers Explore and Appreciate Toronto). Neat Tours are back, this time with a free tour especially for newcomers of haunted Toronto and just in time for Halloween. Walkers will learn about the history and hauntings of famous Toronto buildings:... Continue reading

Posted Oct 23, 2013 at New to Canada

0

2013 Toronto Book Award Nominee - Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes

Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee is a finalist for this year's Toronto Book Award. The first of many 'extremes' Al-Solaylee chronicles in his memoir concerns his parents' widely divergent backgrounds: his mother was an illiterate shepherdess who married at age fourteen and had eleven children by her... Continue reading

Posted Oct 3, 2013 at The Buzz...About Books

2

The Toronto International Film Festival

"We have a mission statement: to transform the way people see the world through film." - Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, TIFF Films from 70 countries are being screened at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. You can see the world and stay in town. The TIFF website has a full... Continue reading

Posted Sep 11, 2013 at New to Canada

0

NEAT Walking Tours of Toronto

Guess what? It might not rain this weekend! And even if it does, why not explore the city by taking a free walking tour of some of Toronto's oldest and prettiest neighbourhoods. NEAT (Newcomers Explore and Appreciate Toronto) walking tours are a fun and free way to explore Toronto, learn... Continue reading

Posted Jul 10, 2013 at New to Canada

0

Photographing Devastation: Ruin Porn?

Once I built a tower to the sun, Brick and rivet and lime. Once I built a tower, now it's done. Buddy, can you spare a dime? - E. Y. Harburg It's been reported recently that the city of Detroit might have to declare itself bankrupt. It's almost impossible to... Continue reading

Posted Jun 11, 2013 at Arts & Culture

8

Ever Heard of a Tool Library?

Now that Spring has finally arrived, many people are busy cleaning up their gardens, tuning up their bicycles and doing projects around the house. There's an expression, "the right tool for the right job." If you have a lot of jobs to do around the house and don't have the... Continue reading

Posted Apr 18, 2013 at New to Canada

2

Funny Lady Fran Lebowitz

Last Friday I thumbed my nose at the weather and trudged through the snow to hear professional wit, Fran Lebowitz at Massey Hall. She was herself - deadpan, funny, frank and unafraid of swimming against the tide of popular opinion. No one was disappointed. She's often compared to Dorothy Parker,... Continue reading

Posted Feb 15, 2013 at Arts & Culture

4

Fun And Free Things To Do Over The Holidays

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, there are lots of activities going on over the next few weeks when children are out of school and shops and businesses close for a couple of days, and many of them are free. Naturally, the library is a great place to come (Toronto... Continue reading

Posted Dec 15, 2012 at New to Canada

2

Remembrance Day is November 11th

Many countries honour their war dead with ceremonies and acts of remembrance. Each year on November 11th Canadians wear poppies and gather at war memorials to remember those who have died serving the country in wars or on peace-keeping missions. At 11:00 a.m. people stop and observe two minutes of... Continue reading

Posted Nov 8, 2012 at New to Canada

1

Children's Author Tomi Ungerer: Still Subversive After All These Years

"I have the fullest respect for a piece of white paper which I then shall rape with my drawings and my writing." from Far Out Isn't Far Enough Outside librarian circles, the name Tomi Ungerer may not be very familiar. Children's librarians know him as a writer of both fame... Continue reading

Posted Oct 4, 2012 at Arts & Culture

2

Register for adult ESL classes at the library and much more!

The new school year starts next week and not just for children, but also for many newcomers to Canada. Different branches of Toronto Public Library offer free ESL classes (English as a Second Language) for adults (aged 18 and up) which are taught by TESL-certified ESL instructors. There are classes... Continue reading

Posted Sep 1, 2012 at New to Canada

42

Maureen "....And some with a fountain pen" has to be among the best last lines of songs in history. I think I like the version of Pretty Boy Floyd Melanie sang the best (and I don't mean she of the Spice Girls for those of you who are too young to have heard of Melanie). Thanks for the comment.

Commented Jul 17, 2012 on Woody Guthrie 1912 - 1967. Is This Land Made For You and Me? at Arts & Culture

1 reply

Many thanks for spotting the booboo, Jennifer. All fixed now. I was in too much of a hurry to get it up on WG's birthday.

Commented Jul 17, 2012 on Woody Guthrie 1912 - 1967. Is This Land Made For You and Me? at Arts & Culture

1 reply

Woody Guthrie 1912 - 1967. Is This Land Made For You and Me?

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie would have been 100 years old today. Despite his death 45 yeas ago, his songs still resonate. In fact, some seem as if they were written only yesterday. Guthrie wrote This Land is Your Land in 1940 as a response to Irving Berlin's God Bless America. Guthrie... Continue reading

Posted Jul 14, 2012 at Arts & Culture

4

A New Look for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

To celebrate his 80th birthday Sir Peter Blake has modernised his iconic album cover with new faces. It's a patriotic collage, a bit safer than the original perhaps - no Karl Marx, no Lenny Bruce. I mean, good grief, it's got Delia "how to cook an egg" Smith and Vidal... Continue reading

Posted Apr 4, 2012 at Arts & Culture

0

Cryptic Crossword Puzzles: a primer of sorts

I recently learned that The Guardian has a blog for lovers of cryptic crossword puzzles. At last I have found some help solving English cryptic crosswords! I've loved cryptic crossword puzzles for years, but often find the English puzzles too difficult. And by difficult, I mean impossible. Of course there... Continue reading

Posted Jan 31, 2012 at North York Central Library Blog

1

Zaha Hadid: The Lady Gaga of Architecture

Zaha Hadid is having a very good year. Last October she was named the Stirling Prize winner for her design of the Maxxi Art Centre in Rome. And two weeks ago, she won again, this time for the Evelyn Grace Academy in London. Not bad for an architect whose buildings... Continue reading

Posted Oct 24, 2011 at Arts & Culture

3

A Painter's Interpretation of September 11th

Now that Lucian Freud is gone, you could argue that Gerhard Richter is the greatest living painter. Hard to pigeonhole, Richter has developed a diverse range of styles from the figurative to the abstract. Four years after the World Trade Center buildings fell, Richter produced September which is housed now... Continue reading

Posted Sep 7, 2011 at Arts & Culture

4

Checkpoint Charlie would be 50 years old today

On August 13, 1961 the German Democratic Republic began building the Berlin Wall, or in Orwellian Newspeak der Antifaschistischer Schutzwall (Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart). It was designed to stop the flood of East German emigres by cutting off West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany. A few... Continue reading

Posted Aug 13, 2011 at Arts & Culture

1

Art at the Library - the Harold Town Frieze

When you enter the atrium to the North York Central Library from the south, look up and you'll see a glorious frieze of 15 tiles created by a Canadian icon, Harold Town. The frieze was re-installed here from its original location outside the Gladys Allison Library, the "old" North York... Continue reading

Posted Jul 29, 2011 at North York Central Library Blog

2

News Reels: The Printed Press On Film

The burgeoning scandal surrounding The Dirty Digger (was there ever a more appropriate nickname?) and his News Of The World has done newspapers and the people who work for them no favours. And it makes me miss my father who died earlier this year. He was an old-fashioned newspaperman who... Continue reading

Posted Jul 13, 2011 at Arts & Culture

2

You've surely heard by now that the International Indian Film Academy is holding its awards ceremony here in Toronto from June 23rd to 25th. This is a very big deal. The IIFA holds its awards ceremony in a different city each year. Upwards of 700,000 million people world-wide watch the... Continue reading

Posted Jun 8, 2011 at Arts & Culture

0

"The ukulele is the thinking man's violin."

Krusty says so, and he's hardly ever wrong. If you're a thinking man or woman, why not come to our Ukulele Night and play your uke with other like-minded people? When: June 9th, 2011 7:30 p.m Where: North York Central Library auditorium Playing level: everyone from beginners to George Formbyesque... Continue reading

Posted May 19, 2011 at North York Central Library Blog

3

More...

Subscribe to Alyson’s Recent Activity