the bloordale press vol.2 issue 9

12
Every donation of reus- able clothing or household items, will help support the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy See back page for details... the BLOORDALE press Http://www.thebloordalepress.com OCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 9 Community News from Ward 18 C.P .R./C.N.R. R A I L W A Y DUPONT STREET DOVERCOURT ROAD LLBO ORDER ONLINE! PERTH SCHOOLYARD TALKS IN PROGRESS With over $200,000 available for funding, thanks to a grant from Maple Leaf Sports and En- tertainment (MLSE) and a fund- ing commitment from Council- lor Ana Bailão, the Perth Public Schoolyard has been slated for an upgrade. On September 20, the school’s principal, Janice Rob- inson and a team of schoolyard committee members met to dis- cuss what will actually happen to the desolate-looking space. e entire project has been bro- ken down into multiple phases, each with a list of goals and costs. Phase one, which took over most of the discussion includes a 150 metre track, a new asphalt play area, a pair of courts (basket- ball and ball hockey) and some decorative greenery all of which planned to be finished by the end of summer 2013. e track is set to sit just off of Perth Ave., on the east side of the schoolyard and aſter discussion it was decided that a clay surface would be best for maintenance and ultimately childrens safety. e asphalt play area will lay in the center of the track with an overlay of coloured acrylic line painting to allow a number a games to be played. e new courts, which have been proposed to include ball hockey and basketball are slated to rest on the northwest side of the property just off of Antler St.. ough not much of phase two was discussed, it was mentioned and agreed upon that the school- yard play field filling will be natu- ral grass as opposed to the earlier discussed artificial turf. Cost (ar- tificial turf would cost roughly double) and maintenance were a couple reasons for the decision. “We don’t need a million dollar schoolyard,” said one of the com- mittee members. ough Perth Public School has adequate funding for phase one, the schoolyard committee is hop- ing to raise another $100,000 over the next seven or eight months to help fund the entire project. see RAILPATH RUN page 2 I N S I D E HAIR STUDIO 911 NOW OPEN FOR STYLING An award winning hair stylists sets up his salon in Bloordale Page 3 NUIT BLANCHE NESTLES IN BLOORDALE Bloordale boasts three showings during Nuit Blanche Page 7 ST. CLARENS PARKETTE SLATED FOR REDESIGN e community has been called to voice their ideas Page 6 A committee met to discuss plans for a new schoolyard RAILPATH RUN FUNDRAISER A SUCCESS Participants ran to raise money for a local cause BY KEVIN C. SMITH [email protected] On Sunday, September 30, a group of intrepid individuals came out to participate in the first-ever Railpath Community Run on the West Toronto Railpath, taking the opportunity to enjoy Bloordale’s prizewinning strip of repurposed land while simultaneously raising money for e Stop Community Food Centre. Organizer Shazia McCormick estimated almost 70 people took part in each of two “waves,” the first for competitive runners and the second for more casual par- ticipants, raising approximately $5,000 for e Stop Community Food Centre with the donations of various corporate partners factored in. Participants met at a staging area at Ruskin Ave., one block north of the Wallace Ave. footbridge. Volunteers handed out food and drinks, and helped people pick up their kits or regis- ter for the race. is space will eventually be replaced with a 150 metre running track while a ball hockey court has been discussed to rest at the northwest side of the schoolyard property. Photo by Justin Millerson BY JUSTIN MILLERSON [email protected]

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The sixteenth installment of the Bloordale Press newspaper

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Page 1: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

Every donation of reus-able clothing or household items, will help support the Ontario Federation for

Cerebral Palsy

See back page for details...

theBLOORDALEpressHttp://www.thebloordalepress.comOCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 9

Community News from Ward 18

C.P.R./C.N.R. RAILWAY

DUPONT STREET

DOVERCOURT ROAD

LLBO

ORDER ONLINE!

PERTH SCHOOLYARD TALKS IN PROGRESS

With over $200,000 available for funding, thanks to a grant from Maple Leaf Sports and En-tertainment (MLSE) and a fund-ing commitment from Council-lor Ana Bailão, the Perth Public Schoolyard has been slated for an upgrade. On September 20, the school’s principal, Janice Rob-inson and a team of schoolyard committee members met to dis-cuss what will actually happen to the desolate-looking space.

The entire project has been bro-ken down into multiple phases, each with a list of goals and costs. Phase one, which took over most of the discussion includes a 150 metre track, a new asphalt play area, a pair of courts (basket-ball and ball hockey) and some decorative greenery all of which planned to be finished by the end of summer 2013.

The track is set to sit just off of Perth Ave., on the east side of the schoolyard and after discussion it was decided that a clay surface would be best for maintenance and ultimately childrens safety. The asphalt play area will lay in the

center of the track with an overlay of coloured acrylic line painting to allow a number a games to be played.

The new courts, which have been proposed to include ball hockey and basketball are slated to rest on the northwest side of the property just off of Antler St..

Though not much of phase two was discussed, it was mentioned and agreed upon that the school-yard play field filling will be natu-ral grass as opposed to the earlier discussed artificial turf. Cost (ar-tificial turf would cost roughly double) and maintenance were a couple reasons for the decision.

“We don’t need a million dollar schoolyard,” said one of the com-mittee members.

Though Perth Public School has adequate funding for phase one, the schoolyard committee is hop-ing to raise another $100,000 over the next seven or eight months to help fund the entire project.

see RAILPATH RUN page 2

I N S I D EHAIR STUDIO 911 NOW

OPEN FOR STYLING An award winning hair stylists sets up his salon in Bloordale

Page 3

NUIT BLANCHE NESTLES IN BLOORDALE

Bloordale boasts three showings during Nuit Blanche

Page 7

ST. CLARENS PARKETTE SLATED FOR REDESIGN The community has been called to voice their ideas

Page 6

A committee met to discuss plans for a new schoolyard

RAILPATH RUN FUNDRAISER A SUCCESS

Participants ran to raise money for a local cause

BY KEVIN C. [email protected]

On Sunday, September 30, a group of intrepid individuals came out to participate in the first-ever Railpath Community Run on the West Toronto Railpath, taking the opportunity to enjoy Bloordale’s prizewinning strip of repurposed land while simultaneously raising money for The Stop Community Food Centre.

Organizer Shazia McCormick estimated almost 70 people took part in each of two “waves,” the first for competitive runners and the second for more casual par-ticipants, raising approximately $5,000 for The Stop Community Food Centre with the donations of various corporate partners factored in. Participants met at a staging area at Ruskin Ave., one block north of the Wallace Ave. footbridge. Volunteers handed out food and drinks, and helped people pick up their kits or regis-ter for the race.

This space will eventually be replaced with a 150 metre running track while a ball hockey court has been discussed to rest at the northwest side of the schoolyard property. Photo by Justin Millerson

BY JUSTIN [email protected]

Page 2: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

02

News

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

BY KEVIN PUTNAMJunction Triangle Rail Committee

On a sunny Sunday in Perth Square Park, residents of the Junction Triangle gazed at the future of West Toronto: six-teen feet of ugly Pan Am Games legacy.

As part of the diesel Air Rail Link now under construction along the George-town South rail corridor, the govern-ment is installing five metre tall “noise walls” along the 23 kilometre route from Union Station to Pearson International Airport. Members of the Junction Tri-angle Rail Committee built a mock train wall (built with five air mattresses and some rope) identical in height to the noise barriers to demonstrate their massive size. The noise walls will be constructed within two years across West Toronto, including the Junction Triangle.

Area residents are pressing their cam-paign for electric trains directly on On-tario Premier Dalton McGuinty. The Premier remains unwilling to visit the neighbourhood or meet with residents to address their concerns.

THE TRAIN WALL HORROR SHOW: AIR LINK DIESEL TRAIN UPDATE

The event showcased Bloor-dale’s remarkable community spirit and organization, and par-ticipants came from both within the community and across the Greater Toronto Area to take part.

The event was also well at-tended by Bloordale’s political representatives, kicking off with a speech by Ward 18 Council-lor Ana Bailão around 9 a.m., in which she praised the “grass-roots” nature of the event.

“We all got together - other politicians in the area, the mem-bers of the community, and we pulled this together,” Bailão said. “We’re hoping that this is going to

be the first of many runs.”Davenport MPP Jonah Schein

was also at the event, wearing his volunteer t-shirt and helping to hand out snacks and drinks. He was later joined by MP Andrew Cash to distribute the shoe-tag medals that participants were giv-en upon completing the 45-min-ute time trial.

The first wave of runners were led from the staging area to the Rail Path around 9:15 a.m., where they ran for 45 minutes, trying to complete as many loops of the 2.1 km path as they could within the allotted time. Their time was logged at each kilometer by a sensor attached to their running bibs, with final scores being de-

termined by the last full kilome-ter completed once the time ran out.

The top three male runners were Jose Demetrio Tellez, completing 12 kilometers in 42 minutes and 40 seconds, Tim Ellis, completing 12 in 44 minutes 56 seconds, and Germain Kierdorf, completing 11 in 41 minutes 41 seconds. The top three female runners were Kim-berly Scratch, finishing 10 kilome-ters in 43 minutes and 47 seconds, Denae Penner finishing 10 in 44 minutes and 22 seconds, and Lynn Kobayashi, finishing 10 kilometers in an even 45 minutes.

All six winners were given framed photos taken on the rail path by local photographer Karen

Jones, and a selection of prizes donated by local businesses were raffled off after the race.

Sunday was a special day for Kobayashi as she was also representing Matthew House, a support organi-zation for refugees. Mat-thew House volunteers and former residents will be participating in the Scotia-bank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 14 to raise money for their orga-nization.

RAILPATH RUN from page 1

Community members voiced their displeasure in regards to a five metre tall wall being built along a 23 kilometre route from Pearson Airport to Union Station

Davenport Councillor Ana Bailão stands next to the towering Train Wall. Photo courtesy Vic Gredris

RICE & CHICKEN MEAL

$3.99Several participants ran on the West Toronto Railpath (a portion seen above); six walked away as winners. Photo courtesy Creative Commons

Page 3: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

An award winning hair stylist – who has dipped his hands in the hair of some of the world’s most fa-mous people – has decided to take a step back from the spotlight and make his mark among everyday people in Bloordale.

Britney Spears, James Brown and Mos Def are just a few notable names stylist Christopher Antho-ny has had as clients, but after be-ing in the high-end hair business for roughly 30 years, he decided it’s time to open his own hair studio and spread his knowledge.

“My thing [here in the new stu-dio] is teaching people to maintain and giving them back their power,” said Anthony, once voted as North American hairstylist of the year.

The new salon is called Hair Stu-dio 911 and is located at 1199 Bloor St. W. where former furniture and knick-knack shop, Ping Pong used to rest. If you walk by the place you will notice many things have changed since Ping Pong’s closure a couple months ago.

The visual concept of the salon resembles the decorative style of a salon in Anthony’s homeland, Guyana. This includes natural, un-stained hardwood flooring, sheers separating each hair station and what Anthony describes as more “air flow”.

“No one has brought this con-cept to North America,” he said.

“I wanted to create a new environ-ment where people can feel com-fortable.”

Anthony found the place through a friend and admits at first, he had no intention to set up shop in the neighbourhood.

He said, it wasn’t until he took a

good look at the neighbourhood’s developments and more impor-tantly the people when he started to warm up to the idea.

“[I realized] this is ground level, the beginning of something new here,” said Anthony.

Eventually he settled in and af-

ter a few weeks of redecorating, Anthony opened the door to cus-tomers around the beginning of September.

Aside from spreading his abili-ties and knowledge to personal hair dwellers, Anthony is inviting local artists to display their work

on his salon’s walls. At the begin-ning of each month, Anthony said he wants to host an art showing to give the opportunity for unnoticed work to be seen.

For more information about the salon, or if you want to book an ap-pointment, call 647-720-3623

03

New In Business

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

AWARD WINNING HAIR STYLIST OPENS HIS FIRST SALON IN BLOORDALE

Hair stylist Christopher Anthony has been in the business for 30 years serving everyone from celebrities to everyday people. Photo by Justin Millerson

Hair Stylist Christopher Anthony, after 30 years of success in his field, settles down and opens his very first hair salon to spread his accumulated knowledge to the masses

BY JUSTIN [email protected]

The salon’s setting is meant to capture an essence of Guyanese culture. Photo by Justin Millerson

Please email us a few recent photos of yourself (they don’t need to be professional) along with your contact information. We will proceed with the registration process from there if we choose to

work together, please email us at: [email protected]

We are currently selectively expanding our roster!

www.torontofilmextras.com

Page 4: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

For coffee shop owner, Lina Fonseca it’s the second go around in the spot located at 962 College St., just west of Dovercourt Rd.. She once owned the same place running a different coffee shop called Kubata.

Nine years ago, Fonseca sold Kubata and embarked to a small town near Vancouver, British Co-

lumbia where she eventually ran a restaurant for seven years. She said due to the long hours in the restau-rant business and a case of missing home, she returned to College St., buying Kubata back from the very person she sold it to.

“This was my home,” said Fon-seca, “my kids really wanted this place [back], they had a lot of memories here.”

The coffee shop is now called Aziza and with the change in

name Fonseca said, so comes a change in the community’s cul-ture since her last stay nine years ago.

“The neighbouhood is so dif-ferent, yet it’s so much the same,” she said. “People are more health-oriented, more organic.

This is the way Fonseca hopes to run her new coffee, “soup and sandwich” shop.

“Being in business for a long time, I’ve been able to recognize

what people want, but there are still a lot of adjustments to be made here,” she said.

Open since the beginning of September, Aziza has already made a number of adjustments to fit the neighbourhood’s needs. Fonseca said her menu used to resemble one from a standard restaurant, but noticed she wasn’t quite getting the reception she ex-pected. She said people may have been confused by the coffee shop

and restaurant fusion. She recently changed the menu

to feature more of a breakfast and lunch selection, something she believes makes more sense in a coffee shop.

Aziza also offers organic fair trade coffee to its customers as well as an assortment of baked goods.

Shop hours are everyday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the exception of Tuesday when Aziza is closed.

04

New In Business

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

Aziza owner, Lina Fonseca stands beside one of her employees in her new coffee shop. Photo by Justin Millerson

COFFEE SHOP OWNER RETURNS TO COLLEGE STREET AFTER NINE YEARS

BY JUSTIN [email protected]

Page 5: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

MPP JONAH SCHEIN416-535-3158

Thanksgiving weekend marked one year since the last provincial election in Ontario and the end of my first year as your local member of provincial parlia-ment.

 Despite the many challenges of learn-ing a new job, I feel very good about what we have accomplished over the last year.  I hope that you also feel good about your decision to elect me as your representative.

 My team in Davenport has partnered with our MP Andrew Cash to open two terrific community offices – one in the northern part of the riding on St. Clair, and one in the south on College St.  Our

offices now offer incredible services to our community, providing advocacy and support to individuals, and also space for meetings and community engagement.

 In my role as Environment Critic and Urban Transportation Critic, my staff and I have worked hard in opposition to keep the government accountable. Our hard work helped stop the govern-ment from cutting numerous environ-mental protections in their budget last spring.   Our pressure this fall helped to reverse the government’s decision to have a private company operate the new LRTs in Toronto. And of course, our of-fice has worked tirelessly to win clean, electric trains on the Air Rail Link, and modernize our regional train service. 

  Our NDP team at Queen’s Park has been incredibly successful in this mi-nority government. We brought fairness to the budget process by ending further corporate tax cuts and introducing a new surtax on the 1% of Ontarians that earn over $500 000 per year.  This new rev-enue helped us fund important services, like childcare and healthcare.  Our NDP team has emerged as a voice of reason at Queen’s Park, and remains the only voice that is putting the public interest first. 

 For too long, provincial governments in Ontario have neglected our city and as a result, Toronto faces great challenges.  I will continue to work with you in my new role as GTA Critic to make this a fairer, healthier, more prosperous city.

 I’ve learned a lot in the past year, and have had the chance to meet many of you already.  I know that with dedication and hard work we can have a provincial gov-ernment that reflects the best values of the people in Ontario. It is my privilege to work with you to meet this goal.

COUNCILLOR ANA BAILÃO 416-392-7012

Dear Neighbours, Throughout the summer I have kept you

informed about my work as chair of the Special Housing Working Group and I am pleased to provide this latest update.

As you may be aware, last March, the Special Working Group was given a daunt-ing task by City Council. We were asked to take a hard look at whether to sell Toronto Community Housing’s 619 single-family homes, which provide affordable housing to families and individuals; we were asked to find new revenue sources to help TCH tackle its $751 million repair backlog; and we were asked to determine whether ten-ants and non-profit organizations were in-terested in purchasing some of the homes - and what financial assistance might be re-quired. Finally, we were asked to determine how to re-engage the federal and provincial governments in funding affordable housing.

During the six months of independent

review and consultations leading up to this report, we had the opportunity to connect with over 600 individuals and organizations and, earlier this month, we released our re-port entitled Putting People First.

Putting People First proposes new part-nerships and innovative methods for To-ronto Community Housing to raise revenue while retaining 90% of its single-family homes. Of the 564 homes being retained, up to 100 would be sold to tenants - in partner-ship with non-profit groups and with finan-cial support from the City.

Regarding the repair backlog, Putting People First lays out two-year and five-year plans which will allow TCH to find savings and generate revenue from a variety of new sources, including mortgage refinancing, building energy retrofits, and maximizing existing property assets through infill devel-opment. These plans also provides us with time to engage our Federal and Provincial partners in a comprehensive “Campaign for Social Housing,” to recognize their respon-sibility in providing sustained funding for affordable housing.

Our goal was to balance the interests of

everyone - tenants, TCH and taxpayers, and of central importance was our concern for the families and individuals who will be affected by the sale of their home. That is why we recommended conditions be placed on the sale of any home, including provid-ing tenants with the option of moving into another single-family home in their neigh-bourhood or participating in a new afford-able home ownership program.

On October 9th, 2012, this report was presented to Executive Committee and re-ceived unanimous support.

If you recall, the proposal last spring was to sell all of the 619 homes was approved by Executive Committee. I believe we come a long way since then, towards a more sustain-able future for TCH and its residents, and we have more work still to do.

The report will next be presented to City Council later this month and I would like to thank the many hundreds of tenants and or-ganizations who were involved throughout this process. By working together, we can follow through on our commitment to make Toronto a better place in which to live, work and play.

MP ANDREW CASH 416-654-8048

Over the last couple of months I have heard from many Davenport residents who are concerned about a new charge on their monthly phone bill. Many telephone companies and some banks and utility companies are now charg-ing you two dollars a month to receive a paper bill in the mail.

So if you’ve been a loyal customer for years, and have always received a pa-per bill you may now be getting dinged an extra 2 bucks! That’s just not fair. And if you’ve opted for a paperless bill you are get-ting ripped off too. You are saving these companies millions but they have not passed these savings on to you.

And for all this ask your-self: has your telephone service improved?

These companies say paying your bills online is more convenient but that’s not true for anyone who doesn’t have access to the internet or who doesn’t feel comfortable banking online. These new “pay-to-pay” fees are unfair for all customers but they unfairly target seniors and others on fixed incomes.

If they were really serious about going green and getting rid of paper companies could pass the savings they make on to their customers. Instead they’ve discovered a nifty new way of having it both ways--raking in greater profits on the backs of seniors and not pass-ing savings on to paperless customers.

When was the last time you bought anything and were charged extra for the bill?This is why I am launching a new campaign calling on the Federal Government to pro-

hibit such ‘pay-to-pay’ fees and stop this rip-off of consumers. Do you think the fees are unfair? Please call us or write to share your story. Please feel free to share your concerns with me by calling my office at 416-654-8048 or emailing [email protected].

05

Letters from your political representatives

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

Page 6: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

06

News

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

BY AMBER [email protected]

St. Clarens Parkette (located at St Cla-rens Ave. and Dundas St. W.) is about to undergo a facelift, and community mem-bers are being asked to contribute ideas. The redesign that will transform the space into a more attractive area for community members started with a bright, colourful mural. Its unveiling happened earlier this month, and was intended to inspire more ideas about what the underused parkette could become.

José Ortega is the artist who was asked to design the brand new mural. It’s one in a series – more than five other similar ones can be found in the area. He says it’s part of building the neighbourhood’s brand, so that people in the area feel a connection to their neighbourhood and can walk down what he calls “colourful streets.”

“It’s all part of the beautification pro-cess; it all reinforces the same message of a greener, more natural space,” he said.

The mural shows children flying, as well as dogs and squirrels and lots of flowers. Ortega said he drew inspiration from the playground itself, and the children who use it.

Lubo Brezina, Chair of the Dundas West BIA – the main sponsor of the project – has lived by the parkette for eight years now, and says he has been disappointed by the lack of interest the space generates.

“I just had a thought that perhaps the

BIA could do something to revamp this place – to make it more user friendly, get people to actually stay there and use it,” he said.

With a $5,000 grant from the City of Toronto, the revamp has definitely start-ed. And Brezina said this space could be-come another area in the neighbourhood that people would want to spend time in.

“Dundas doesn’t have too much green space – it’s a pretty urban, built-up area, so any bit of green space is a welcome thing. We’re just excited about taking this little used place and hopefully making it a nice addition to the neighbourhood.”

The community meeting saw Council-lor Ana Bailão in attendance, as well as community members and Jutta Mason from CELOS (The Centre for Local Re-search into Public Space), who was an important part in the transformation of Dufferin Grove Park. Ideas that were heard at the meeting included making the parkette more visible from the street and redoing parts of the playground.

Brezina said all ideas have been taken into consideration, and that this is just the beginning of the project.

Ortega, who also lives in the area, said he has high hopes for what this project will achieve.

“I think with a little energy and brain-power [from] the Councillor’s office and the neighbours and the BIA, we can acti-vate the park and have it be another vital cornerstone in the neighbourhood.”

COMMUNITY INPUT BEING ASKED FOR LOCAL PARKETTE REDESIGN

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Jose Ortega’s mural brightens up the playground, and is meant to engage and energize children. Photos by Amber Daugherty

Page 7: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

The night was alive in Toronto on Saturday, September 29. From sunset to sunrise, thousands of people visited the over 150 art in-stallations spanning from St. Clair Ave. to Front St. and Roncesvalles Ave. to the Don Valley Pkwy., with a great number making a stop here in Bloordale to take in the three installations on display.

First stop was Dupont Projects at Futurespaces at 1444 Dupont St., where visitors were welcomed by a creative, “biomorphic” envi-ronment by local artist Cait Ma-cIntosh. Inspired by the design of origami, MacIntosh wanted to build an environment using “humble materials” that are ac-cessible and affordable.

Further into the space, a blank room is lit up by a video projec-tor, screening two artistic videos on the white wall. Produced by artists Jason Harvey and Natiea

Vinson respectively, the videos, while both a combination of moving picture and still image, were in stark contrast of one anoth-er. Harvey’s “My World HD” seemed more upbeat and humorous with a man dancing all over the world. Vinson’s untitled video had more of a morose tone to it, with Vin-son dressed in all black and in a mask, de-picting an elderly man crawling across sev-eral natural environments.

The next installation was entirely out-doors, along Bloor St. W. between Lansd-owne Ave. and Dufferin St. Glowing in the trees you found Shannon Partridge’s Nests; illuminated intricate pipe cleaner sculp-tures of nests belonging to various species of birds and insects. Below each nest, an informative place card detailed many facts

about the species the nests belonged to, includ-ing the Blue Jay, Bald-Faced Hornet, and East-ern Grey Squirrel.

To the disappointment of many art crawlers throughout the evening, the scheduled Ghost Jungle at Dufferin Grove Park never material-ized and was cancelled by the project producer at the last minute.

The last stop of the night was at the Robert Kananaj Gallery at 1267 Bloor St. W. for The Virtual Metropolis by Mike Parsons. Through-out the night, hundreds of visitors dropped by to take in the comic-book style displays by the award winning media artist, along with tak-ing a turn manoeuvring through the complex animated video game designed by Parsons and video game programmer Michael Peters. The game is planned to be released as a mobile ap-plication as well as a computer software ver-sion in 2013.

The sky was not necessarily the limit of this game, as any turn could take you into another level, ranging from cityscapes, industrial ar-eas, war zones, and even cool “warp” tunnels between levels. New and exciting places kept emerging, and one could be entertained for hours.

Despite being a part of a much larger project with the Built for ART installation at 401 Rich-mond St., which featured a collaboration of many celebrated artists, Parsons chose to also participate and support Bloordale. “We want-ed to try this area and see who comes”, said Parsons, who also explained that he is more of a “public’s artist”, not as much interested in a strict gallery setting. Parsons tears down the barriers between art and people, really enjoy-ing building relationships with the neighbour-hood and engaging with people who never bought art and who are not necessarily look-ing for art.

The Robert Kananaj Gallery was a natural choice of location, as Parsons was just wrap-ping up a month-long exhibit there.

“It’s great. [Kananaj] gives me the freedom to display what I want,” he said.

07

News/Art

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

THREE NUIT BLANCHE SHOWINGS IN BLOORDALEBY MELISSA [email protected]

The prized piece in Mike Parsons’ Nuit Blanche showing at the Robert Kananaj Gallery. Photos by Justin Millerson

Local artist Cait MacIntosh presented her “biomorphic” sculpture at 1444 Dupont St..

Made out of pipe cleaners, Shannon Partridge’s Nests were set up on Bloor St. between Lansdowne Ave. and Dufferin St.

Page 8: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

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Page 9: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

He calls himself the man with the dragon tattoo, the name fitting since he has a large dragon inked on his right arm extending to his chest. His real name, however, is Jason Ci-urluini and he had quite the story to tell.

Like many of us, he was faced by life’s trials and tribulations; five years ago he weighed roughly 300 pounds.

With struggles with substance

abuse, relationships and inevitably health, Ciurluini realized something had to change before his life would self destruct.

“I wanted to change my life, I was able to overcome a lot of substance abuse issues, weight issues and how I treated other people,” said the now lean, 168-pound Ciurluini.

But the road, he said, wasn’t at all smooth.

His original idea of fitness he said is a common misconception found among the fitness public – to be massive and to be strong, and that’s

what he became. To get “fit” he tried prescription medication and what he called street prescriptions, things he eventually realized were damag-ing his body and mind.

“I started going to the gym four or five hours a day using every type of performance enhancing drug. I be-came this huge giant, mixed martial arts style fighter,”said Ciurluini. “But I was more unhealthy than ever.”

He said it wasn’t until he started running and doing yoga, things he used to denounce and look down upon, he saw positive, healthier re-sults. This was Ciurluini’s epiphany moment. He said after this point his life would start to change.

“I realized it’s not about lifting 500 pounds over your head, it’s not about being the biggest, strongest guy at the gym, it’s about common sense fitness,” said Ciurluini who eventually began to preach and teach this idea.

After months of teaching free classes in High Park and eventually in his own home, Ciurluini decided to open a studio. He called it Dragon Fitness. He opened his first loca-tion near King and Bathurst streets, however he said things didn’t seem quite right.

“It really wasn’t us,” he said.About six months ago, thanks to

his team of instructors and support-ers, Ciurluini found a studio space tucked away in the Junction Trian-gle. Dragon Fitness now rests at 225 Sterling Rd. (Unit 19), found beside the Sterling Lofts.

“The Junction was more down to earth, more common sense [for us],” said Ciurluini while sitting in his new workout studio.

The studio offers many familiar exercises such as yoga, muay thai and meditation, but dispersed day-to-day is the “dragon” or “power dragon” workout. These are Ci-

urluini’s signature workouts and by testimony it’s effective.

The workout is designed to be an efficient way to build muscular endurance, core power and what Ciurluini calls “target strength”. This workout is to mirror the very routine that helped Ciurluini go through his 140-pound transformation.

“To teach fitness to people in a non-competitive environment is pretty cool,” he said.

For more information about the studio, visit: http://www.manwith-thedragontattoo.com

09

Health & Wellness

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

LOCAL WORKOUT STUDIO OWNER CHANGES HIS LIFE THROUGH FITNESS

BY JUSTIN [email protected]

BY DR. JENNIFER [email protected]

Sonia asks: Are there any natural approaches to depression?

The first week of October is Na-tional Mental Illness Awareness Week. And with shorter, darker days ahead, the rate of depres-sion increases. According to the Canadian Mental Health Asso-ciation (CMHA), all Canadians will be affected at some point in their life by mental illness – either personally (20 per cent of us) or through a family member, friend or colleague. About 8-10 per cent of adults will experience clinical depression, while another 5 per cent will experience anxiety. Men-tal health is a vital and integral part of your well-being. So I urge anyone who may be experiencing a disruption in mood that is nega-tively impacting his or her life to seek advice.

DIET: Managing blood sugar levels is key. Eat meals and snacks with adequate fibre and protein at regular intervals, and avoid refined sugar and high glycemic index foods wherever possible. There is also evidence that chemical addi-tives, preservatives, and dyes have negative effects on brain chem-istry. Choosing a whole, natural diet, selecting organic foods where possible, unearthing possible food allergies or sensitivities and mini-mizing exposure to chemicals, are all beneficial practices.

TOXICITY: Ruling out heavy metal toxicity can be key to im-proving treatment outcomes. Your ND can run tests to find out if you are affected. Fish oils, algae and grasses may be used in con-junction with other drainage and detoxification tools to help the body neutralize and reduce toxic burden. To ensure safety, seek the guidance and supervision of a li-

censed ND.HERBS: There are many won-

derful herbs in our repertory that act to significantly improve mild to moderate depression and anxiety when used appropriately.

LIFESTYLE: Your ND can also provide tools to better manage stress, help establish routine and improve your sleep quality – all factors in a comprehensive treat-ment approach.

NUTRACEUTICALS: A prom-ising area of treatment is the use of high dose Vitamin D and a custom amino acid formula. This protocol is particularly useful for those suf-fering from mild to moderate de-pression or anxiety. Again, make sure that you are working with a licensed ND who will know if there are any interactions between any supplements or herbs recom-mended and medications you may be on.

If you haven’t done so already,

getting assessed is a good idea. If you don’t already have a re-lationship with an ND or MD who might provide guidance, the CMHA offers resources:

http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/find-help.

Jennifer Baer, is your local Na-turopathic Doctor, trained chef

and Registered Holistic Nutri-tionist. She enthusiastically pro-motes wellness and prevention through a nutritious diet, positive attitude and active lifestyle. For more recipes and information about her training, programs and services, please visit:

http://www.drjenniferbaer.com

ASK YOUR BLOORDALE NUTRITIONIST AND NATUROPATH DR. JENNIFER BAER

Dr. Jennifer Baer, licensed nutritionist and naturopath.

Jason Ciurluini poses for a photo while filming a workout video in the Yukon Territory. Photo courtesy Dragon Fitness

Page 10: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

Art Gallery Guide

10 The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

The films in Man articulate Lewis’s con-tinuing aesthetic inves-tigations of the contem-porary city. The films also examine the history of film and its formal contributions to the de-piction of everyday life.

Man focuses on a tired homeless person and

the momentum of pe-destrian London. This dynamic – a tension between the stillness at the center of bustling activity – is a common feature of Lewis’s work. Lewis makes us wit-nesses to the variety of characters and vehicles that enter the film.

Hapax LegomenaIsabelle Cornaro, Julien Crépieux,

Aurélien Froment, Mark Geffriaud, Cyrille Maillot, Benoît Maire, Benoît-Marie Moriceau, Bruno Persat, Chloé Quenum, Raphaël Zarka

Curated by Yoann Gourmel and Élodie Royer

Hapax Legomena gathers the work of ten artists of the same generation to-gether for the first time in Canada. The exhibition draws its starting point from the process and narrative proposed by the artist and theoretician Hollis Frampton in his most celebrated film Hapax Legomena 1: (nostalgia). In the film, Frampton proposes a re-reading of his own work within an analytical

framework that mixes reminiscences, scripted narration and iconographic exercises. Similarly, this exhibition will be inscribed within the continuity of a theoretical and practical discussion initiated in 2006 amongst the curators and a constellation of artist peers. Their collaborations to date have taken the form of exhibitions, publications, con-ferences and performances.

This exhibition will gather fragments of these past collaborations, traces and souvenirs of past exhibitions along with new productions. Hapax Legomena — designating a form occurring only once — will trace the index of this continued collaboration, balancing between past history and future possibilities.

Nested Heartbeat com-forts the unpredictable animal instinct of care and talent. The “Nest” has roots of early becoming in nineties with Juan Car-los Noria, which becomes an prominent figure, pro-testing and releasing in-stant messages of disobe-dience towards anything limiting the freedom of expression to street art, catching the attention of young artists at the time. Stefan Thompson’s social enlightening and

environmentally friendly tuned started in Ottawa at the time of Juan’s mini mouvement. Jordan Seal discovers his roots of meaning and purpose linked to art, when he came across and met for the first time with Stefan Thompson on 2010. Uto-pian and purity within the process of art mak-ing entertain the notion of individual revolution to Jordan, as he observed Stefan, like Stefan did ear-lier through Juan.

loop Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by loop members Kelly Cade entitled My My, There There, and Sheryl Dudley, Skirting Damocles.

My My, There There echoes our relationship with the worlds we inhabit – the natural phenomenal world and the manufac-tured world we create. As the world bends, frag-ments, pixelates, becom-ing more and more a place where we are drawn away from ourselves, Cade looks to the natural world and its resilience and readiness to push its way

through, to regenerate, re-balance and calmly assert itself in the midst of all we’re creating.

Skirting Damocles pres-ents a suite of oil paintings on aluminum that posi-tion majestic ice giants within the technology for tracking and charting the arctic waters for safer pas-sage. Dudley’s paintings and photographs have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibi-tions in the United States and Canada. Her work can be found in many private collections on both sides of the border.

Daniel Faria Gallery

S E P T E M B E R 2 1 - O c t o b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 2

S E P T E M B E R 2 9 – o c t o b e r 2 1 , 2 0 1 2

LOOP GALLERY

OCTOBER 11 - NOVEMBER 03, 2012

1267 Bloor Street West

188 St Helens Avenue1

2

33 41 2

x

x

S E P T E M B E R 1 4 - O C T O B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 2

RK GALLERY

MERCER UNION

41286 BLOOR Street West

1273 Dundas Street West

x

x

Page 11: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9

11

Community Contributions

The Bloordale Press OCTOBER 2012

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? HATE WHAT YOU SEE? THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER? PROVE IT! SEND YOUR COMICS, SHORT STORIES, POEMS, PHOTOS-- JUST SEND US ANYTHING. NOW ACCEPT-

ING SUBMISSIONS AT [email protected]

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Page 12: The Bloordale Press Vol.2 Issue 9