Archive for the ‘ Pictures ’ Category
guardian garage
Posted on May 29th, 2025 – Comments Off on guardian garage Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures
god garden
Posted on May 16th, 2025 – Comments Off on god garden Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures
Old Empire
Posted on May 8th, 2025 – Comments Off on Old EmpireI remember walking by Empire Office Equipment many years ago when its Queen West storefront displayed quaint and dusty office hardware that had been stacked there, seemingly, for convenience rather than for display. The grimy windows and murky interior made it hard to see inside but it appeared to be packed with nicotine-infused business furniture and apparatus that weren’t modern even at that time.
The place didn’t ever look open to casual foot traffic or, for that matter, ever actually open at all. Posted business hours were nowhere to be found and given the stuff perennially piled up against the front door it now seems appropriate that all that remains today is found in an alley at the back.
well now
Posted on May 7th, 2025 – Comments Off on well now Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures
no loitering
Posted on April 13th, 2025 – Comments Off on no loitering
If it wasn’t for bureaucracy this city would be no fun at all.
Alias: Deniable Plausibility
Posted on April 1st, 2025 – Comments Off on Alias: Deniable PlausibilityIn my search for spies and espionage in Toronto I came across something called Deniable Activity. It’s basically a pricey LARP whose latest event was described as, “a covert operation in Toronto to oppose a Chinese-Russian paramilitary unit and discover a leak within the Blackline organization.“
The “Blackline organization” is an obvious take on Blackline Simulations, the company behind Deniable Activity. Blackline seems to specialize more in military simulations and the Deniable event appears to have been their first espionage-themed outing. It sounds like they put some effort into it, although calling the first installment “The Compromise” seems a little derivative, maybe even like someone caved during planning. Still …
We’ve been able to include vehicle pursuits, helicopter trips, installing audio and video surveillance, clandestine entry into residences, and simulated gun fights in a number of events.
https://www.deniable.ca/frequently-asked-questions
The fact that this event exists got me to thinking … what if a simulated urban spy adventure was infiltrated by actual spies and hijacked for nefarious purposes (until the good guys figured out what was going on and thwarted it). You’re welcome, Hollywood.
There are some event photos available online and kudos to the organizers for location selections. Ultimately, the event seems fun albeit a little contrived. Not sure how much it costs per person and prices aren’t otherwise broadly mentioned but a 6 hour “Covert Entry and Surveillance for Teams” event is listed at a starting price of $3,500.
Deniable appears to be headquartered in a squat, industrial, red brick building in northern York (a.k.a. Toronto), although this is somewhat questionable since the listed address of “51 Vine Road” seems to be a little farther north.
That’s all the information I have regarding the target at this time.
thaw
Posted on March 18th, 2025 – Comments Off on thaw
Coming in from the cold at Coronation Park.
Something new(ish)
Posted on March 9th, 2025 – Comments Off on Something new(ish)I usually scan the major daily headlines once a day or so, a habit I’ve had for years of which I’m sure there exist examples here on TCL.
Based on this, I was surprised to see one such daily running modern warfare scenarios between Canada and the U.S. “Haven’t seen this before,” I thought to myself at the time.
Upon further reflection, maybe I have.
It’s something I’d stumbled on a few years ago, a nearly decade-old comic series named “We Stand On Guard” which took much the same tone, albeit set ninety-nine years into the future (as of this year).
Spoiler alert: a good number of the rebellious Canadian “heroes” die and ostensibly take a large part of the water-deprived U.S. civilian population with them. Hooray!
Long story short, the artwork is great but the tale is bleak.
Sunday on Saturday (summer in winter edition)
Posted on March 1st, 2025 – Comments Off on Sunday on Saturday (summer in winter edition)It’s still a bit too chilly out there for aquatic hijinks but I’m sure I’ll soon be complaining about the heat and humidity, something that I suspect is (at least) a century-old Toronto tradition.
In the meantime, there’s plenty more of the following sort of thing over at archive.org
... with pictures
... with sounds
... with videos
... with opinions
... that's shorter
... that's longer
