Yesterday afternoon Minaz and I walked the Doris McCarthy Trail in the southeast part of Scarborough. It’s not a long trail but it’s a fun walk along the Bellamy Ravine as it empties into Lake Ontario at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs.
Yes. Scarborough is most likely the most scenic part of the city of Toronto.
Here are some photos we took. I hope you enjoy.
Many of you have noticed that I haven’t really blogged here since mid-summer. That’s because in what little time I do have I’ve been figuring out what to do with this little real estate of mine that I own on the Web.
For many years I’ve been creating content on the internet. Not as long as some people I know, but longer than most. I started with a Blogger site and soon moved over to WordPress.com. I’ve tried using Tumblr when I visited Africa and even had an active Flickr account for some time. I had a popular podcast called SMS for a few months which then morphed into a YouTube show. And during these crazy days I also had a hand in building a social media agency called THIRDOCEAN. Not to mention my earlier gig with Techvibes and my current experience with itbusiness. (Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, I’m currently “making waves” at Canada’s largest Search Marketing Agency, Catalyst, as their Digital Content Manager.)
Well, times have changed. And during that time my interests have changed. I have opinions outside the world of social media and Toronto’s tech start-up scene. I’m more interested in the wearables explosion that is currently happening (especially in Toronto). I’m also interested in telling you what I think about the Blue Jays off season pursuits of free agents and Neil Young’s latest musical experiment.
So what does future hold? I’ve no freaking clue. Honest. But we have to start moving. So, starting with this post you can now find me here at karimkanji.com (no more karimkanji.wordpress.com). The new website is not yet fully complete. and it may never be. and when it is done, don’t expect to be wowed. However, expect there to be content. Good content. About everything from living just inside Scarborough to what I think about Toronto’s current mayor.
You can also follow me on Twitter here -> @karimkanji. And please remember to bookmark this site.
So this happened yesterday (sort of):
“What happened?” you might be asking. Well, that’s my family in the cover image of the Twitter page of Toronto’s future mayor, John Tory. From left to right is my nephew Omar, niece Iman, Kahzmir (DS8) and my beautiful wife Minaz. Oh yeah, and beside her is Tory. 🙂
It’s kinda funny that they are on Tory’s page. Not that we don’t like him. He’s probably the most likeable guy running to be our mayor this October. He’s also smart, a dedicated public servant, and been successful in almost everything he has done in business.
Why is it funny? We probably would not have even thought of voting for Tory if he was running for the PC Party of Ontario. But as a mayoral candidate for the city of Toronto? Sure, why not?
The photo above and the one’s below were taken at the Taste of Lawrence Festival a few weeks ago in Scarborough.
And here’s the obligatory selfie….
I’ve spent most of my life living north of the 401. Even the past 8 years that I’ve lived south of the 401 I’m still close enough that if I listen very carefully, I can still hear the eastbound traffic.
That being the case, it’s near impossible for me to trek downtown to catch most of the festivals that Toronto has to offer. You see, Toronto’s festivals mostly take place downtown: Pride parade and events, NXNE, TIFF, Fringe Festival, Carnival/Caribana, Buskerfest, JFL42, Nuit Blanche and, until recently, the Toronto Jazz Festival.
And I’d like to thank the Shops at Don Mills for bringing “Toronto” to the “burbs”.
This year, Toronto’s Jazz Festival is returning and playing at the Shops’ Town Square. And Sunday’s afternoon performance by Montreal’s Lorraine Klaasen under a clear blue sky was amazing!
Backed by a four piece band, Klaasen sang numerous popular songs from her catalogue as well as songs from popular Southern African singers, including from her mom, Thandi Klaasen (one of South Africa’s most beloved singers).
If you didn’t know her (and I didn’t when I joined the hundreds of music fans on the green lawn in front of the stage) you would have thought you were listening to Soweto’s most popular music export. And while that’s partially true, Klaasen currently calls Montreal home. Just last year she won the Juno award for World Music Album of the year!
While I arrived late for her show, I enjoyed the last 5 songs of her set. Her songs kept everyone dancing (the people who braved the heat and sun)Â clapping and dancing in their chairs (the rest of us who didn’t want to drop from dehydration!). I would 100% recommend Lorraine Klaasen to anyone who is a fan of music.
Here’s a bit of her bio from her Wikipedia page:
Lorraine Klaasen was influenced by South Africa’s musical giants of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe, Dorothy Masuka, Sophie Mgcina and Busi Mhlongo, contemporaries and friends of her mother, Thandi Klaasen.
She launched her career at a very young age, accompanying her mother to live performances all over South Africa and neighboring states of Mozambique and Swaziland. Later she got into musical theater and toured across Europe, eventually arriving in Canada where she settled in Montreal.
Klaasen’s musical repertoire has been steadily infused with a blend of Quebec, Haitian and French African influences, along with several African languages (Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, Lingala) and her band musicians’ Caribbean roots to create an eclectic sound.
Lorraine Klaasen was nominated and subsequently won the 2013 Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year for her album Tribute to Miriam Makeba, released in 2012.
For more on this amazing singer check out her website at http://www.lorraineklaasen.com/
Klaasen and her mother were the favourite musicians of the late Nelson Mandela.
On Sunday I spent the afternoon like many Torontonians did: at a barbeque. However, this particular barbeque was interesting. Toronto Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow was the guest of honour. My friend (who also happens to be the dad of two of my other friends – META!) was hosting an afternoon barbeque in support of Madam Chow.
She was dressed in a simple, yet elegant, yellow summer dress. She didn’t talk too long but did promise to bring respect and vision to City Hall. What struck me most was that Madam Chow didn’t speak like a populist. She didn’t promise to spend money nor stop spending money. She actually talked about building a city where people could get to work on time; a city that was clean and where the air was breathable; a city that cared for it’s young and elderly; a city that we could be proud to call home no matter if we lived in north Etobicoke or near the bluffs in Scarborough.
And, I think, that’s the type of city and leader Torontonians want: a city builder. I don’t want someone to cut services. I don’t want a Mayor who feels they need to fight to get things done. I want a Mayor who wants to build a city: a place where we can be safe to live, work and play.
If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time or even if you scroll through the posts over the years, you will find that I have written about so many things. And most of the time, nothing in particular.
I’ve blogged about real estate, banking, social media, books and much more. I’ve even used this space to re-blog other blogs in the WordPress community. I also re-post articles that I’ve written in other spaces such as Catalyst (where I work) and itbusiness.
Recently, I’ve been itching to write about so much more: theatre I watch, places I visit, politics, music, and even podcasts I listen to. So I figured I’d rename the blog. The url is not changing – karimkanji.com (or karimkanji.wordpress.com). But I thought the title should.
So allow me to introduce you to “observations from just inside scarborough”. I live in Scarborough. Or, I should say, just inside Scarborough. Fred Patterson – co-host of The Humble and Fred Show – once asked me where I live. I replied, “Just inside Scarborough.” Why? You’d have to live just inside Scarborough to understand.
Well, that’s enough rambling.
Hope you enjoy the show!
On Tuesday night I had the opportunity to visit the Toronto Reference Library and listen to Randy Bachman tell stories like no one else can. But that is for another blog post. Today’s post – and photos – is from an amazing collection of photos, videos and posters which exhibit Toronto’s diverse and eclectic music scene from the 1960’s until today.
This jam is amplified. So just glide and let your backbone slide. Remember Maestro Fresh Wes from Scarborough? Now my favourite Canadian rap artist stars on Mr. D on CBC. Soon, he’ll be a guest on Toronto Mike’d with Mike Boon.
Toronto’s Broken Social Scene is perhaps the most influential musical collective and is headed up by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. The group has helped with the musical maturity of acts such as Metric, Leslie Feist, and The Stars. You can actually see the latest incarnation of Broken Social Scene this summer at the Field Trip outdoor concert festival.
Classic posters and hand bills in the gallery.
Yorkville was once home to future musical greats such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
Coffee, Beer and Mosh Pits runs in the TD Gallery of the Toronto Reference Library until the end of this month. Visit the website for more information
Cost: Free
March Break is finally upon us. That means two things.
First, the weather should be improving. I’m not holding my breath on this one. Second, parents (like yours truly) will be scrambling to figure out how to keep our kids occupied, engaged and alive.
Here are SEVEN ideas (as I type this at 12:55am) for you to try. You can thank me later.
Do you have anything else to suggest?
Here were some photos I took from around the house and neighbourhood during this past holiday’s ice storm. They called it #icestormTO.
This article was updated on Dec 1 2014.
This is my 14th submission in the Toronto Is Awesome series. I would love your comments, thoughts and future suggestions for this series.
Every year, since before time began, Uncle Neil and his friends have been putting on a concert to raise money and toys for children during Christmas. Tomorrow, Sunday December 8th, is their next event.
Last year I met Neil and had the chance to go to the Toy Mountain Concert. I was floored. There was toys (thousands of them) all over the place. From the floor to the ceiling. All over the place. And the place was packed with people of all ages. Especially children.
Neil and his friends are truly one of those groups of people that make Toronto Awesome!
Hope to see you at the concert on Dec 14 2014. Click on THIS LINK for details.
