Uninhabited Spaces

Richard J. Kelly (September 1, 1944 - February 26, 2011) Today marks a year since my dad died. He has been with me every day in my thoughts and at least once a week I have dreamed about him. I am not sure if it is because he keeps visiting me at night or if it's because I have not let him go. It's been the biggest surprise of my life that I keep seeing him in my dreams. I can't believe how much he stays in my thoughts. I hope my dad knew how much I did love him, even though I only told him at the very end. That was a surprise too. I had a tough relationship with him for most of my life. He came into my life in 1978, when I was all of seven. He was "Richard" then. He was seeing my mother and all of a sudden we moved in with him from Ottawa to a hamlet called Breckenridge, 15 km north of Aylmer, Quebec. Dad was a car salesman and he travelled most days of the week so I did not see much of him outside of the weekends, although he was around more in the summ...

Today was Mark's birthday and so I treated him to dinner at La Societe , one of Toronto's most opulent French bistros. Opened last June, the restaurant evokes a Parisian bistro of the 1920s, with a stunning stained glass ceiling, beautiful milled wood details and brass ascents. The tile floor is absolutely gorgeous. We both opted for the prix fixe, beginning with an incredibly creamy and flavourful duck liver terrine. We also had the same main, a 24-hour slow-cooked flat iron steak. A recent butchery discovery, the flat iron steak comes from the cow's shoulder and is the second tenderest cut of beef. It was perfectly prepared and presented; a succulent medium rare with a gentle pepercorn sauce. For dessert I had the cherry clafoutis tart while Mark opted for the milk chocolate chantilly cream. Both were simply fantastic. Our only complaint was that the bistro is quite loud. It's a large space, and with all of the tile, wood, and high ceilings, it was tough to he...

We headed back over to the east side of the city on Sunday morning, with a trip to Riverside, a small neighbourhood within South Riverdale. A gentrified, bohemian strip of quaint boutiques, upscale furniture vendors, and hip cafes, Riverside is home to a great artists walk every summer. All that nice stuff aside, the real reason I wanted to go to this neighbourhood is that it is home to De Grassi Street, the setting of the excellent CBC shows " The Kids of Degrassi Street " (1979-1986), " Degrassi Junior High " (1987-1989), and " Degrassi High " (1989-1991). As stated on Wikipedia, "[m]uch like its predecessor, Degrassi High dealt with controversial issues ranging from AIDS, abortion, abuse, alcoholism, cheating, sex, death and suicide, dating, depression, bullying, gay rights, homophobia, racism, the environment, drugs, and eating disorders". I have to admit I was rather giddy to finally be able to go to De Grassi Street. It was a sort of p...

After putting it off for weeks we finally went to the eastern neighbourhood of St Lawrence Market on Saturday morning to take in the awesome food market. There are over 50 vendors selling meat, cheese, vegetables, and fruits. We were pleasantly surprised to see St. Urbain bagel shop, which makes the closest thing to a Montreal-style bagel I've had in Ontario. We ordered a half-dozen and devvoured one immediately. Mmmm. We then walked around the neighbourhood--specifically the Queen-Jarvis intersection, which is home to a great collection of design stores. It was a fun day out, even if the weather kept changing every five minutes.

Whitney Houston August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012 In September 2009 I noted on this blog how happy I was to see that Whitney Houston was releasing a new album, and I was hopeful that she would make a heroic comeback and show all of her imitators what the original diva could accomplish.  And this evening the sad, sad news that "The Voice" has been silenced. I had Ms. Houston's 1985 debut record on vinyl and I adored her instantly. My gooodness, could that stunning woman sing.  May she rest in peace. Here is one of my favourite moments of her incredible and inimitable talent, her performance at the 25 anniversary of Arista Records. This is how I will always remember her .