fourONEsixSTYLE

shades of high park
Originally uploaded by 416style

Lately I’ve been spending a fair bit of time along the banks of Grenadier Pond in High Park taking video and snapping photos. Sunset by the pond is stunning. Milky mauve shades stretch across the water and dim as yellow leaves gather at the glowing shore. This latest favourite still photo I’ve captured reveals a fishing platform jutting out over the pond, a little slice of paradise among the giant trees that burst with autumn colour.

I’ve been captivated by woodblock prints for sometime and finally made my way to the ROM Friday night to see their exhibit Drama & Desire: Japanese Paintings from the Floating World. This is the last weekend the exceptional collection is on display. While the pieces are predominantly from the early period, before colour technologies blossomed, it is a great starting point to learn about the art and history of Edo.

Before there was Tokyo, there was Edo, a scintillating place for artists, actors and musicians to celebrate life, sex and nature, oooh, and clothing, beautiful clothing. While in Tokyo I’d once seen a portrait, a slice of Edo, of several women floating around in a boat, drinking sake in lavish kimonos, celebrating the arrival of cherry blossoms and the changing seasons while monkeys performed and musicians played. If only I could be transported back in time to enjoy this rich and poetic culture.

This exhibit showed some screens and scrolls with similar scenes, women in colourful garbs fishing, lounging and smoking, with always a bit of nature peaking out of the background reminding you where the people were; beside each piece, a charming tale to help bring the art to life.

I’ll admit I was a bit dismayed that the ukiyo-e collection at the ROM, on loan from Boston, was missing some of the great masterpieces I’d expected. There were limited pieces from Hiroshige and Hokusai and only one true landscape piece, Hokusai’s Li Bai Admiring A Waterfall. It’s his prints that always strike me the most. While he’s well-known for The Great Wave, it’s his pieces with one solitary individual in the throws of nature that I’m especially drawn to, those that make you reflect on the power within yourself and aware of the delicate balance mankind shares with his surroundings.

in ueno…
Originally uploaded by 416style.

I may have missed the little jam in High Park this weekend but it doesn’t mean I haven’t spent time appreciating the cherry blossom trees in bloom, donated to Toronto by the Japanese government in the 50s. For me it’s the real sign of summer coming and there’s almost no better way to appreciate the nature than spending time under the boughs of this beautiful tree, except maybe how I spent some time today, playing and petting a newborn squirrel who came to visit me and my shoe.

You can’t blame the little guy for wanting to head south to warmer weather, especially when it wasn’t his intention to hitch a ride to Toronto in the back of a truck anyway. Problem is no one will take him. If it were any other animal it wouldn’t be an issue, but for this smelly stowaway going back to Cali is not so easy. A one-way ticket could cost as much as US$6,000.

Though he appears friendly, the Toronto Wildlife Centre can’t release the skunk because he could spread disease, but getting him across the border might be a huge problem too. Let’s hope some big-hearted Torontonians come to his rescue. Anyone headed to Lalaland?

(photo: fieldsbh)

Few of us ever take the time to indulge in a nice long bath let alone with a group of close friends, so I welcomed the opportunity when I got an email telling me to come to Body Blitz for a day of girlfriend fun at the ladies-only water spa. The spa had opened over a year ago in a converted old brick industrial building on Adelaide West at Portland and had generated a serious amount of buzz since it was the only one of its kind in Canada. I’d given several friends gift certificates to Body Blitz since I thought it would be a fantastic present but hadn’t gone to check it out yet myself.

Staff greeted my friends and I by taking tea orders then leading us through the spa with recommendations on how to get the most from our day in the therapeutic waters. We were to follow a circuit through warm, hot and cold pools filled with fresh and salt water, as well as one with green tea. In between we could hop into a lush steam room and sauna or hang out poolside on comfy leather loungers.

We lingered for hours, moving around the giant pool divided up by a stonewall with salt water waterfall. All around we were surrounded by natural elements of rock, wood and subtle lighting. Although it’s all indoors, the illusion of being in nature is fulfilled. It’s the best way I can think of to feel like you’re getting away while still being in the city - no need to travel several hours to dip your feet in salt water when you can find it right here in Toronto.

Post bath time several friends indulged further with massages, body scrubs and mud treatments. Had I known that the price (about 40 dollars) for “the waters” was included in any one of the treatments I would’ve slipped away for some shiatsu. Instead I did a few more circuits soaking up the benefits of the different pools and then kicked back all wrapped up in a toasty bathrobe. It’s one of the best days I’ve spent in awhile and a great way to unwind after the holiday.

Reports came in throughout the week of the damage done to some streets and highways since last Friday’s tornado touched down in the surrounding areas of Toronto. We didn’t know what to expect that night, but the storm passed quickly, and most of us were lucky to get a good start to the weekend on a boat cruise out on Lake Ontario.

Since I hadn’t seen any images until now, the severity had somehow escaped me. This amazing image, which looks like it was created for a Hollywood disaster flick, was taken by a meterology student in the area of Fergus, Ontario. It turns out it was a pretty rough storm, but one we will recover from.

Now, watching the news at the office, we are all in horror as hurricane Katrina pounds through Louisiana and Alabama. I’ve never seen anything quite this bad. We hope that all those involved stay safe with their loved ones.

sunnyside arch
Originally uploaded by 416style.

Nothing makes my summer like a Sunnyside party, and the first of this season is tomorrow night (Friday). You can expect great house music all night long and a terrific vibe at the Pavilion, one of Toronto’s best venues. Beside the beach, the charming courtyard is sure to fill up with a mix of beautiful people all there to get their boogie on. We can thank Gani of Milk and Natalie of RNB who have teamed up to bring us the best (one night) event of the summer.