Nothing much

[kathleen_dailey]

- The Imperial Pub has closed after 81 years. It's getting really difficult to find shabby, warm, welcoming dive bars in downtown Toronto (although there are literally dozens of chic designer showplaces offering $25-and-up-up-up cocktails). Like so many other former patrons, I'll miss the Imperial.

- And on the topic of nostalgia for old favourites: Much-missed restaurants. Of the venues listed in the article, I remember spending a lot of time (and money) at Lai Wah Heen, North 44 (a regular stop during the Toronto film festival), Hiro Sushi (around the corner from my condo at the time, and thus also a regular stop), Lee Garden, and Lime Rickey's--all at different times and for vastly different reasons. I can't say that many present-day restos are likely to linger long in my memory. I almost never eat out any more, and when I do it's always with an eye to the right-hand column of the menu. I still can't figure out how and why I had so much more disposable income 30-plus years ago--when I worked in the poverty-wage film and publishing sectors, with mortgage and business debt--than I do now. I'm not drinking those $25+ cocktails mentioned above, that's for sure.



- The weekend has been tediously filled with unexpected tasks and must-dos and gotta-haves, so I didn't accomplish much of what I'd planned to. But I'm determined to make it to the David Blackwood exhibition at the AGO before it disappears in May. That sounds like I have a lot of time to get there, but I've let AGO shows slip past me before, and I've resolved not to allow it this time. I'm eager to see whether an instance of "Vision of the Lost Party" is on display, and of course whether any mummers with cats are to be seen. One thing that gives me pause is the note that "we have designed two unique scent stations to accompany concepts and themes in the exhibition." Given Blackwood's typical "concepts and themes," the so-called scent designer's statement doesn't sound promising:

David Blackwood: Myth & Legend features two original mixed-media compositions of natural essences and synthetic aroma molecules inspired by Blackwood’s artistic practice and themes in his prints. Given the volume of natural materials in the compositions, these scents will change and evolve over time, offering a different experience to visitors over the duration of the exhibition. The scents strike a symbolic contrast between culture and nature, hot and cold, life and death, and bridging myth and realism. The purpose of these scents is to offer a sensory experience of the artworks that invites visitors to participate in meaning-making and deciphering both familiar and unfamiliar smells. Visitors are encouraged to reflect on their own subjective associations, lived experiences, and emotional responses to the scents.

Uh-huh. I'd be masked in any case, but this makes me think I should go back to double-masking while I'm at the show.



- I stumble whenever I see a mention (in a serious fic; crackfic and PWPs are always excepted) of Kirk and Spock "dating." The lightweight connotation of the word is jarring in the context of 23rd-century starship officers (one of whom is half alien) serving in senior command positions on a long-term interstellar assignment. I don't know what word I'd use instead, though. I just know I can't picture those two--especially those two--heading up to the ship's bowling alley to bowl a few frames and share sodas and veggie dogs on a Friday night.

- Paramount Developing “New Take” Star Trek Film. Not sure whether to file this under Sigh, here we go again or I don't even care any more or both:

According to the report, the new creatives [Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley] "have shown a knack for delivering scripts with new and fresh takes on existing IP while also adding a fun and lightness that differentiated them from other films in the franchise."

More than enough said, I think.