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By Gary Roberts, December 6, 2009

I think Keaton wins this one, paws down!

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By Gary Roberts, November 26, 2009

Keep your eye on Uganda. There’s something stirring in the halls of parliament over there. Something ugly, evil and hateful and it’s getting ready to uncoil its oily, scaly body and bare its venom-filled fangs at a minority segment of Ugandan society.

The potential passing of a new Anti-Homosexuality Bill which seeks to legislate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people is a serious issue and, for some, a very real threat to their existence. If passed, this bill will put people to death if they enter into a sexual relationship with a member of the same sex.

According to Wambi Michael, a blogger at rabble.ca:

The Ugandan government will put to death gay citizens repeatedly caught having sex and throw into jail those who touch each other in a “gay” way, if a new proposed bill becomes law.

David Bahati, Ndorwa County West minister of parliament, tabled the bill saying Uganda needed comprehensive legislation to prohibit any form of sexual relations between people of the same sex.

The bill, according to Bahati, seeks to plug gaps in the Ugandan constitution, and stipulate that marriage is between a man and a woman only. Other unions will not be recognized. And if same sex couples are married abroad, they face life imprisonment.

Even friends and family of LGBT people won’t be safe from this bill—it will give authorities the power to imprison these people for up to three years if they fail to report that they know a gay person.

The bill would even seek to punish Ugandan citizens who enter into a homosexual relationship while traveling abroad.

Blithely unaware of the irony associated with his job title, Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo says he is happy the bill is causing a lot of debate globally:

It is with joy we see that everyone is interested in what Uganda is doing, and it is an opportunity for Uganda to provide leadership where it matters most. So we are here to see a piece of legislation that will not only define what the country stands for, but actually provide leadership around the world.

Whoa, careful now, people—this slope to the Middle Ages is becoming more and more slippery!

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By Gary Roberts, November 15, 2009

Coffee at the Luna Cafe

There was a young 20-some-year-old girl sat opposite me yesterday, as I stopped for a coffee at the Luna Café at Argyle & Dovercourt. She was listening to her iPod while reading a magazine. Her eyes never remained still for long, though, on whatever article she was supposedly reading. She kept glancing furtively at what few patrons were in the coffee shop, including myself. It was a bit disconcerting to feel like I was being watched continuously, as I sat and read at my own table not too far from hers. It made me nervous to the extent that I found myself copying her by peeking in her direction a few times. Once or twice our gazes clashed and we looked away quickly, as if caught in an illegal act of some sort. It was beginning to irritate me and I had to make a conscious effort to focus on my reading and not look over at her table.

I wonder what she was thinking at the time? I wonder if she’s now writing a blog entry about the strange guy in the café who kept looking in her direction?

Whatever. It was all very weird.

Our visual fencing didn’t stop me from enjoying the last rays of the sun, however, as it streamed through the windows of the café. I’d discovered this place while on a bike ride a few months ago and had promised myself I’d return to sample the coffee. I was also looking for a bite to eat, but the waitress told me they’d sold out of pastries and the kitchen was closed (it was around 3:30 p.m.). My only option was a packet of small, soft cookies. Meh! I settled for the coffee only, which was very good; thick, dark, strong. It packed a punch!

I read for a while—revising for a class I’m taking—before making my way home after an hour-long stroll around the west end of the city. The day was glorious, for November, but I could feel a chill in the air whenever I was out of the sun’s rays.

As I left the café, I couldn’t help but risk one more glance at the gadfly by the window, whose eyes quickly darted away from mine as she pretended to go back to reading her magazine.

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By Gary Roberts, November 5, 2009

True Love Lies

I went to see the play True Love Lies, recently; a comedy about a husband, wife, son and daughter—and a former lover whose surprise return heralds chaos for all.

Canadian playwright and director Brad Fraser manages to weave a fast-paced plot in this Toronto production, now playing at the Factory Theatre at Bathurst and Adelaide.

On the surface, nothing seems out of place with this nuclear family. They’re content to live their lives cooking, working, laughing and loving, arguing every now and then or just spending time on the computer. Sounds normal, doesn’t it? Like lots of other families in most neighbourhoods in almost every North American city.

But the recipe for this marriage’s success is spoiled by the addition of an extra ingredient; enter into the mix the father’s former gay lover, back on the scene after living in New York. His return to former haunts has repercussions that turn the family’s comfortable world upside down as confessions are made and past lives revealed. Each family member has to come to terms with a sudden change in the dynamics and their relationship to one another.

That’s what this play is all about; the interaction on a personal level between individual family members, and an acceptance of the past as each moves forward into the future.

There are moments in the production when the acting can be a bit wooden. The deadpan delivery of some of the one-liners is a bit forced. On the other hand, those one-liners are witty enough to catch the audience off guard, so the occasional hamming it up is easy to forgive.

Overall, the play is a lot of fun; the dialogue and familial shenanigans make for a quick, cheeky and tragically funny experience.

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By Gary Roberts, October 21, 2009

Getting ready for the next exhibit in the Toronto Sculpture Garden

On my way to work today, I noticed what appear to be the beginnings of a fresh installment in the Toronto Sculpture Garden.

Nestled on the east side of La Maquette restaurant at Church and King Streets, just opposite the St. James Cathedral, this little al fresco gallery has served as home over the years to a number of artistic displays; such as an artist’s studio in the shape of a giant mushroom and, more recently, a 1970s-inspired Disco Fallout Shelter.

These structures have, over the last 12 months or so, both delighted and intrigued passers-by, as they make their way to the office or stroll around the city in hopes of discovering such gems in their role as tourists.

There’s a waterfall that flows down the side of the wall just through and to the left of the main entrance to the Sculpture Garden. It looks as if the way is being paved here (or boarded, to be more precise) for yet another sculpture; right now, there’s a wooden platform currently under construction directly beneath the waterfall.

According to the Sculpture Garden website, the soon-to-be-revealed piece of art is to be named Bear Hunt, a work by Dean Drever, a Haida artist who was born in Edmonton but who now lives in Toronto.

Drever’s piece will depict four orange bear figures as they move towards the wall, passing through the water, into the stonework, and whatever world lies beyond.

October 28 is the launch date for this new exhibit.

Update: And here are the bears!

Bear Hunt

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By Gary Roberts, October 1, 2009

Did you know that yesterday was International Blasphemy Day? For those of you who don’t know, IBD is a campaign seeking to establish September 30th as a day to promote free speech. By raising awareness, the campaign hopes to get people to show solidarity for the freedom to challenge, criticize, and satirize religion without fear of murder, litigation, or reprisal.

The event was created in reaction against those who would seek to take away the right to satirize and criticize a particular set of beliefs that have been given a privileged status over other beliefs. It is itself part of an ongoing campaign organized by the Center for Inquiry in its Campaign for Freedom of Expression, which began as a response to various United Nations bodies—including the UN’s Human Rights Council—having “…recently adopted resolutions condemning so-called ‘defamation’ of religion.”

According to the CFI:

These resolutions lend credibility to efforts to suppress dissent and criticism, especially in Islamic countries, but Western European countries are also debating laws that would criminalize religiously offensive statements. For example, Ireland recently enacted a new blasphemy law that prohibits publication of material “insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion.”

I find the whole idea of beliefs needing protection and rights abhorrent. Belief in your own particular version of a religion is a personal thing and shouldn’t intrude upon the human rights of others. If faith can’t stand firm in the face of criticism, then maybe one should be questioning the basis of that faith. Don’t put the onus (and the crime) on the people who don’t share those views.

Free speech is a right others have died for so that future generations could express themselves without fear of retribution. It is human beings—people, individuals who are locked away in cells, far from family and friends—who need rights, not ideologies based on dogma and revelation.

Richard Dawkins was in Toronto this week (the night before Blasphemy Day in fact) to give a reading from his latest book The Greatest Show on Earth. I attended the event with a couple of friends. At the Q&A at the end of the reading he was asked by a member of the audience as to his opinion on the recent Irish blasphemy law, to which he concluded after a longer reply; “blasphemy is a victimless crime.”

While I agree with him in principle on this, it’s unfortunate that the true victims of this “victimless crime” are the real flesh-and-blood people who find themselves on the receiving end of such archaic laws.

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By Gary Roberts, September 28, 2009

“Last weekend, I went to the Air Canada Centre to watch the game,” wrote Fred—our grammar instructor at Tuesday’s night class—who turned away from the blackboard to take stock of the expectant expressions on the faces of the students staring at his neatly scrawled words.

“Now, who can tell me: what’s the object of this sentence?”, he asked, as one eager student chirps up with “Baseball! It’s all about baseball!”

Blank looks notwithstanding, the Grammar for Editors and Writers class at George Brown College is actually (to me) an engaging subject. As nerdy as it may sound, it’s an interesting study of the English language, its many discrepancies and irregularities, and it’s ever-changing usage in everyday life.

In today’s fast-paced, wired and insanely jumbled world—where “rule of thumb” could actually be considered a valid writing style—it’s almost like grammar has become a raft in the middle of a heaving sea of Facebook status updates, cell phone text messages, instant messaging and hastily written emails, if u no wot i mean.

Call me a diehard, but I still prefer to take the time and effort to upper case the beginnings of my sentences, or punctuate where appropriate (and necessary!), and to spell correctly. I guess that’s why I’m enjoying Fred’s class so much.

Still, to err is to be human, so I’ve no doubt there’ll be mistakes here and there in the posts on this blog; hopefully, however, not as many as there were before I took this course.

So, bring it on, Fred. Tell me more about subordinate clauses and the proper use of parentheses. Make me think about where I should place my commas, semicolons and apostrophes—I’m in a subjunctive mood today!

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By Gary Roberts, September 16, 2009

Screenshot: OkTrends blog

As one who’s delved into this type of milieu before, I thought I’d post a link to an interesting analysis of keywords and phrases used by people dating online.

The tips and advice offered in the article are based on an analysis of more than 500,000 “first contacts” sent by users of OkCupid, the leading US dating website, and the results were published on OkTrends, the dating website’s official blog.

It’s interesting stuff (if you’re into trends and statistics) and it’s presented in an way that makes it easy to read and digest…

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By Gary Roberts, September 10, 2009

The intersection of Bay and King Streets in the downtown core of Toronto can be a busy and treacherous crossing for pedestrians. This is where the Go Train crowds gather as they make their way to work in the mornings, or as they head back to the train station on their way home at the end of the day. One of the city’s busiest intersections has to be Yonge and Dundas, but Bay and King can be pretty damn hairy at times, too.

That’s why—even with the benefit of lights—it’s best to always look where you’re going and check for errant traffic before stepping foot on that asphalt.

I noticed on my way to work this morning that the little fella below mustn’t have been following this piece of advice, and he obviously paid the price on the road at Bay and King for not doing so…

Street art, or road kill?

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By Gary Roberts, September 7, 2009

Keaton swats a fly down and Fatima gets ready to pounce

After having been fed during the winter months by an older gentleman  in his back yard, and then brought to the Homeless Cat Rescue in March, Fatima (formerly Elle-Bee) eventually found her way into our home to become the latest feline addition to our household on August 29, 2009.

The first few days were a bit tough on her, I think. The new home must’ve seemed incredibly large (it’s a 3-story row house) and filled with strange sights, sounds and smells.

Our other cat, Keaton, showed only a passing interest in Fatima at first, as he peered at her through the metal grill I’d placed over my office door. This was to be her new home for the first few days, just to get her used to where the litter pan was, and to give her a bit of privacy and alone time in order to familiarize herself with the new environment. She didn’t seem intimidated by Keaton, even though he’s almost twice her size. I suppose she was used to having other cats around during her stay at the cat rescue agency at Yonge & St. Clair, where we first spotted her.

We were told she was a fairly friendly and affectionate cat when she first arrived at the cat rescue. However, her personality started to change after a couple of months in the cat pen. I guess the longer she stayed there, the more depressed she became at not having the space and freedom to roam around and explore at will.

Now she has more than enough room to wander. She also seems to be getting along well with Keaton, to the point where they’ve started to play together and chase one another up and down the stairs.

To add to the excitement, yesterday a huge fly had the misfortune of getting in through the kitchen door and the scene suddenly shifted to the plains of the Serengeti, as two tiny lions stalked their prey. They finally cornered the fly against a window pane in the living room when Keaton swatted it to the floor, where it was quickly dispatched by Fatima.

All in all, she’s settling in nicely and is definitely warming to us. I’ve managed to give her a good brushing and she seemed to love that, as she rubbed against my legs and arched her back for a more vigorous scrubbing with the wire bristles of the brush. I ended up with a fair-sized hairball in my hand by the time I was done, so she obviously benefited from the grooming.

Fatima relaxing after feasting on flies