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it’s been a while, but this past winter in toronto wasn’t the optimal time for capturing craziness. all of the crazies were too covered with snow.

i might as well start off a new season of random photo posts with a bang - photos of a house on crawford just north of queen. is this supposed to be decorative? is it designed to drive down the property values of the street? is it a way of punishing old toys? if anyone has some insight (aside from the obvious “they’re crazy”), please let me know.

this kind of brought to mind another house i came across late last summer, but it’s really not a fair comparison. i still have to ask though - how many wind chimey lawn ornamenty things does one balcony need?

a few weeks ago, i helped a speech-language pathology grad student with an experiment, which, i discovered belatedly, resembled a clockwork orange a bit too closely for my liking. in summary, i had the pleasure of enduring an hour in an MEG (without moving or dozing off, and while listening to and repeating nonsense words), and another 15 minutes in an MRI. the bonus? i was given a copy of the MRI.

so, for those of you who have wondered what my brain could possibly look like, or who just wanted proof that i do in fact have one, this is for you:

even better is that i can manipulate the MRI file and do all sorts of fun things, like finding out what i would look like without hair. the answer: very similar to destro from GI joe. i’ll leave deciding which one is which as an exercise.

this might be the best thing i’ve ever seen on queen street west…

a croquet player:

and his fancy bike chariot:

what’s especially funny is that he purchased parking tags for his bike…so i guess that makes it LEGAL.

i woke up on friday morning to discovery that someone had spray painted ad hoc bike lanes down queen street west. how awesome.

i got this letter the other day from the brick, about 4 months after buying a bed from them:

(click for a larger view)

how HELPFUL. i especially like the line about the proverbial cup of warm milk.

still more leftover (and overdue) photos. enjoy.

a message to dogs:

i’m SO glad i didn’t have to catch the northbound spadina streetcar anywhere that day:

anyone have any idea what a dart coon club is?

with a van like this, i’ve GOT to see this band. (note that i’ve seen it both in the danforth/broadview area, as well as queen west, so maybe it’s fate):

the second batch in my “catch up” series of photos. excitement! also note that my rss feed should be working better now, in case anyone actually cares.

i LOVE rollerblading, tambourining, cane-toting religious black santa. who doesn’t?

and i also LOVE the old standby: silver elvis. he’s seriously dedicated to his art.

only in toronto would you find a grassless school yard with astroturf in its place:

this is my favourite “store” in toronto - a literal hole in the wall at dundas and spadina that sells phone cards. note that it has no actual store, and behind the counter is simply a stairwell downwards. also note that it gets really really cold there in the winter.

okay okay, i get the message: it’s been too long since i’ve posted anything. thank you to all of you who’ve noticed. as you can imagine, i have about a zillion photos i’ve amassed over the next few months, so i’ll begin the process of sharing them now. consider this part one of many.

if there weren’t bikes near this sign, i’m not 100% sure i would’ve been able to decypher it:

who DOESN’T buy their examination tables from the sidewalk? $150 is a steal!

i’m sure there’s a terrific story to go along with this:

is ellen degeneres the new val kilmer? this is some of the finest graffiti i’ve ever seen:

tempting…but…no:

this was one of my favourite ad campaigns of all time. the artwork is made entirely of mentos!

there were a series of these signs around toronto, designed to promote a movie called something like love is hard work. there were a number of pretty great ones, but this was of course my favourite:

it’s amazing how many things are wrong with this sign:

it’s difficult for me to express just how happy i am that this calendar exists:

this sign, found outside of the building next to ours, serves as a reminder that things could always be worse: