Synthesis

One (1) Saw the AGO’s ‘Jack Chambers: Light, Spirit, Time, Place and Life’and the McMichael Gallery’s ‘Jack Chambers: the light from the darkness, silver paintings and film work.’

If you're a fan of photography, painting and Canadian art history, try and make at least one of these. P.S. The AGO show is more comprehensive.

Photo Credit: The Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art

Two(2) Having heard BCorporation Method’s Adam Lowry speak this fall, I'm more aware of the decisions that go into designing a green product, and a non green product. Here's what I learned about dish detergent this month... Bought Palmolive detergent (seems to be constantly on sale), which literally poured out and was used up super fast. Bought Clorox Greenworks dish detergent next, which had a smaller cap hole, thicker consistency than the Palmolive product and lasted at least 4x as long.

Discovered that Method home cleaning products are sold at Canadian Tire stores in Canada. Photo Credit: SB C+D

Three (3) Gifted World War Z (the novel obvs) this Christmas to a favourite teen. One of the decade’s top memes: Zombies! for sure; replete with themes of the powerless state/anarchy, chaos, moral anomie, scarcity and emerging tribal communities. Zombie culture that passed through my universe since 2002:

• 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, movie), 2002
• Shawn of the Dead (UK movie) 2004
• World War Z (Max Brooks novel) 2006
• Black Sheep (New Zealand Comedy Horror film) 2007
• 28 Weeks Later, 2007
• Zombieland, 2009
• Walking Dead (TV series) 2010
• Now Science Falls to the Zombie Meme (Forbes) Nov '11
• World War Z (movie/Brad Pitt) December 2012

Photo Credit: Aaron the Artist

Four (4) Saw Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters at Toronto’s The Factory Theatre. Directed by Ken Gass. Still relevant till relevant 25 years after the first performance.

Five (5) Read Michael Lewis’* Vanity Fair** article It’s the Economy, Dummkopf! An excerpt: "The German word for “shit” performs a vast number of bizarre linguistic duties... The first thing Gutenberg sought to publish, after the Bible, was a laxative timetable he called a 'Purgation-Calendar'.

*author of MoneyBall | **September 2011 issue

Six (6) Happy 2012!!

Photo credit starshipnivan.com

Conversations

One (1) A series of films at this year’s ImagineNATIVE film festival was a stark reminder of the challenges faced by those living in our isolated, marginalized communities.  Michelle Derosier’s The Life You Want tells the story of Doris, a young mother living in Ontario’s northern fly-in community of Fort Hope and battling addiction to Oxycodone. 

Other films in the series were Shifting Shelter 4, Ivan Sen's heartwrenching documentary that follows 4 Australian First Nations youth over a 20 year period, and Delia Gunn’s Déboires:

Photo Credit nsi-canada.ca

Two (2) I participated inThe Business of (Better) Business, an inspiring collaborative brainstorm session on November 3rd, held at The Department and co-hosted by Hypenotic and Toronto's B Lab hub (at MaRS Centre for Impact Investing).

Participants included Eric Ryan founder of BCorp and soap manufacturer Method, Petra Kassun-Mutch, owner of BCorp Fifth Town artisanal cheese manufacturer (located in Ontario’s Prince Edward County), and CBC journalist Mary Weins. 

Some solutions discussed? The inclusion of a Gross National Happiness Indicator in addition to Canada's monthly  economic indicator reports, and as an alternative to Rob Ford's Great Toronto Fire Sale, transform Toronto Hydro into a cooperatively owned entity. Photo Credit: SB C+D

Three (3) A dedicated group of healthcare professionals shared stories about service delivery challenges and strategic initiatives at the Healthcare Efficiency Conference I attended in September at the Four Season’s Hotel in Toronto. 

Noteworthy about Providence Healthcare’s patient flow redesign Time To Shine initiative, is the project design, which facilitates stakeholder feedback loops with an overall focus on collaboration and communication.

The ‘Leveraging Technology For a More Efficient Supply Chain’ panel discussed new approaches to supply chain management and procurement, and the importance of establishing metrics against which to measure performance. 

Four (4) Saw MUSÉE D'ART CONTEMPORAIN DE MONTRÉAL'S The Work Ahead of Us. Fabulous. See it if you can. A fave was video Rites by Jacnythe Carrier. Shown here, work by Numa Amuz.Photo Credit: SB C+D.

 

Jacynthe Carrier - Images Instantanées from MANIF D'ART on Vimeo. 

Scary Euro Photo Credit: SB C+D

Mobility + Innovation

One (1) The BMW Guggenheim Lab project launched this summer with the theme Confronting Comfort, exploring “notions of individual and collective comfort and the urgent need for environmental and social responsibility.“

The interactive game hopes to illustrate "how your comfort in the bath or on the john may eventually become the discomfort of somebody in Brooklyn or the Bronx when the result gets dumped in the river." -Kristian Korman of ZUS (Zone Urbain Sensibles).

Would be great to see conclusions posted online as each Lab Team passes the programming stick to the next Lab Team member. And there’s the Audi Urban Future Initiative.

Two (2) Chevrolet recently joined the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) to participate in FleetWise EV300, TAF's initiative to "encourage commercial vehicle fleets in the GTA to work collaboratively to purchase, drive, charge, evaluate and promote at least 300 plug-in electric vehicles by 2012. Fleet managers from across the GTA were given the opportunity to test drive award-winning electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt."

Three (3) A year ago, the Coalition for Action on Innovation in Canada (CAIC) published a call-to-action report to spur innovation and R&D in Canada.
Tim Dramin, SiG National Executive Director asks if the Federal Review response to the report due this fall, will include social innovation as part of its working definition of “innovation … at a time when social innovation is building global momentum as a necessary lever for substantive and positive social change".

Four (4) Don't miss Videosphere: A New Generation at the Albright Knox Gallery in Buffalo until October 9th. Shown here, still from Peter Sarikisian's Extruded Video Engine #5.

Photo Credit: SB C+D

Energy | Urban Planning

One (1) Was inspired by Architect Francis Kéré, recently in Toronto speaking at the Goethe Institute's Ecology.Design.Synergy lecture series. Kere brought his architectural education back to his village in Burkina Faso where he began to build sustainable buildings from local materials and labour. Kere's 'Bricks for the Gando School' foundation continues to develop buildings that meet the demands of both rainy season and a hot climate.

Two (2) A colleague referenced Partners in Project Green the other day, a partnership initiative between the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). The Eco-Business Zone project focuses on energy and waste management issues and green space improvements, employee health and productivity, and the creation of green jobs in Canada’s largest employment area. Image Source.

Three (3) Also inspired by John Paul Morgan at TreeHouse Talks this June. JP founded Toronto based Morgan Solar to find a solution to making solar energy significantly less expensive. He’s on the brink of bringing his teams' innovation to market.

Four (4) Videosphere: A New Generation at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery to October 9, 2011

Photo Credit: SB C+D

Five (5) Suzy Lake: Political Poetics, at CONTACT 2011

Photo Credit: SB C+D

Design: Value and Performance

One (1) PUMA, the world's third-largest sportswear brand after Nike and Adidas, has put a pricetag its environmental impact. CEO Jochen Zeitz: "The business implications of failing to address nature in decision-making is clear – since ecosystem services are vital to the performance of most companies, integrating the true cost for these services in the future could have significant impacts on corporate bottom lines." Photography: Alexandra Winkler/REUTERS

Puma is owned by PPR , the luxury retail group who owns a stable of high end brands including Gucci and Yves St. Laurent. Of note: PPR acquired Volcom the "youth against establishment" brand this spring. Photography: Jennifer Lopez, Launch of Gucci's New Children's Collection

Two (2) I had the pleasure of hearing Jon Kolko speak at U of T recently, on The Magic of Design (also the title of his new book, natch). Of particular resonance: his thoughts on the role of empathy, sensemaking/ interpretation and constraint shifting in innovative design. On the role cultural organization plays in facilitating: support flow, be playful, permit rule breaking, and move forward with ‘just enough’.

Three (3) Canadian Robert Lepage discusses interactive and projection technology with Jian Ghomeshi, and their ability to trigger actions and act as extensions of a performance's energy. Commissioned by NY’s Metropolitan Opera Lepage's Ex Machina is creating a much anticipated new production of Wagner’s Der Ring, opening in 2012.

Four (4) Peter Wilkins’ Contact Festival series Loop at Toronto’s Textile Museum is an examination of built environments and how “pattern languages” relate to urban planning and public space. Working with photography and the moving image, figure and ground are transposed into geometric patterns through repetition and reflection. The clip below is from an earlier show at The Rooms. Photography: S.Brown

Five (5) Bowie and Montreal’s La La La Human Steps, 2008

Making: Tools, Materials & Craft

One (1) On tools.

Google Maps API and HTML5 get a workout in Arcade Fire’s interactive wildernessdowntown.com. Yes its old news, but pretty cool. From Mashable

Some months later and Dreamworks has combined Jack Black with same (minus Gmaps), for a hefty $400K a day price tag.

Two (2) On materials.

Solar Ivy is a solar energy product that draws inspiration from ivy growing on a building. Coming to Canada soon.

Eben Bayer from Ecovative: mushrooms as the next plastic. Styrofoam accounts for 20% of all landfill, and is an oil product.

Three (3) AS Byatt on craft “…making things, making things well, is better than a utopian attempt to reform society.” And“Maker” is the medieval word for a poet? Most interesting.

Four (4) On poetry.

Andrew Whiteman Talks Poetry. Crushing just a little. Love poetry.

Living Cities

Agglomeration is my new favorite word.

One (1) Jane’s Walk is coming up on Saturday May 7^th & Sunday May 8^th. Walkability = a measurement of an area's pedestrian friendline. Built environments that facilitate walking (to stores, work, school etc.) have higher real estate values, promote healthier lifestyles and have higher levels of social cohesion. Stop in at Show & Tell Gallery when you're outwalking. Shown here: Tessar Lo, Maps. Jane’s Walk iphone app

Two (2) The Apr 14^th Town Hall Who Cares About 17 Million Voters, moderated by Metro Morning’s Matt Galloway was inspiring and interesting, outlining opportunities for city-building innovation & triple bottom line considerations where development is concerned.

Three (3) OCADU & MaRS are continually curating fabulous talks. On Apr 7th: Reclaiming the City: The Architect/Planner as Eco-Urbanist. Stephan Lanz from Berlin 21 discussed their role in Berlin's revitalization, and approach to sustainable development projects & initiatives. And from architect and urban planner Graeme Stewart, Toronto's Tower Renewal project.

Four (4) Toronto's Creative Capital Initiative is gathering input to the city's culture plan, which will be presented to the Economic Development Committee on May 4th. Themes of note from the March 28th session: zoning, space use, support local, consideration of neighbourhoods further from the downtown core.

Leah Sandals covered the youth session in Youth speak up at culture planning talks.

Five (5) In some Brazilian cities, up to 30 percent of people live in slums, or favelas. Rio has nearly 300 favelas.

WASTE LAND Official Trailer from Almega Projects on Vimeo.

An emotional screening in Complexo do Alemão from Pierre-anthony Canovas on Vimeo.

Big Data, Visualization, Cartography + Geolocation

One (1) Fantastic presentations on Aesthetics & Visualization from OCADU’s sLab last week, by Sara Diamond, Patricio Davila and Gabe Sawhney. Fabulous references and information.

Numerous sites demonstrate data visualization possibilities, including highly accessible Socialcollider.net. Here’s a representation of @verredeleau over a week:

Some more examples of data, visualized...

Tracking Objects in Trash|Track:

Hans Rosling on global social and economic trends -- SUPER interesting.

"Visual Poetry06 was Boris Müller's

theme for a annual international German literature festival, and consisted of visualizations of the poetry texts themselves.

On visualizing relationships, patterns etc... here's an inspiring clip from Marion Bantjes' TED talk. Marion Bantjes, I Wonder is at OCADU until June 5th.

Two (2) Cartography. At the Art Gallery of Peterborough until June... Shown here: Toronto Island, Rowena Dykins

Dykins chose the ecological term, ‘RIPARIAN’, as her exhibition title. Riparian is an scientific term used to describe a zone or area found in nature which functions, as an interface between land and water to illuminate a kind of 'spiritual transmutation' made possible through the contemplation of 'the beautiful' or ‘the sublime’ found both in nature and in art.

and MICKY RENDERS: FINDING JOY

Renders holds a degree in biology from the University of Geulph, Ontario. FINDING JOY, extends the artist’s exploration of colour’s potential…. Colour has the power to evoke psychological, physiological and symbolic effects: colour as light, colour as emotion, colour as temperature…energy…atmosphere…space. Colour embodies the fullness of existence.

Curated by Carla Garnet

Three (3) Geolocation. BMW launched a $100 million venture fund in February that is aimed at developing “individual mobility solutions” through a startup incubator. BMW is interested in financing solutions related to any form of transportation ie car, bike, subway or walking. From @mashable

One (1) Did you know? “Coffee is the second most widely traded substance in the world - the first is oil. Clearing of habitat to plant sun-grown (robusta) coffee - as opposed to the better-tasting shade-grown Arabica, and heavy use of pesticides, has had a very negative impact on many birds." Yearoftheflood.com

By some estimates, we may already have lost almost half the songbirds that filled the skies only 40 years ago.

Awesome show today @sookyinlee! Share your bird story.

Two (2) On the consequences of our choices and objects as making statements about how we see ourselves … Saw Objectified at the Design Exchange this week.

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Three (3) An outpouring of creative responses to fundraising and concern for Japan including these:

Some unbelievable tsunami related art, including Alison Morel, shown here.

Quakebook

One Thousand Cranes For Japan

Four (4) I now have a crush on Jack Dorsey thanks to Vanity Fair’s April Issue.

"His optimism flows mostly from a St. Louis-bred spirit about our common life, democracy, and human potential. He claims his inventions all aim at the same goal: a society that works more efficiently and humanely.

In 2009 he co-founded Square, where he is now C.E.O. Square is a service that allows any individual or small business to easily accept payment by credit card... Just as Twitter made anyone a broadcaster or pundit or diarist, Square can make anyone a merchant."

On Jack Dorsey’s arm tattoo… “People who know what an integral is would generally not have tattoos. It sums up what makes Jack an interesting entrepreneur—his ability to blend ideas.”

Five (5) Wait, is this 1984?! Euphemisms for the Libyan Un-War From VanityFair.com

Photo Credit: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

Happenings: Sound Festivals, Food & Community

One (1) I heard Gordon Monagan speak at U of T last week, about his sound art installation work, where he mused on the architectural interaction between sound and space. One of Monagan’s most interesting installations was a piece at Kitchener’s 2009 Open Ears Festival, taking place this year, from April 27^th to May 1^st. The Open Ears Festival "is for people who play digital sticks and Halo, suspended electric guitars, turntables and accordions, jazz and violins and rainforests and pianos (and pianos that play themselves)..."

The annual Eklectics Electrics Festival is held on Monagan's farm, just outside of Meaford, Ontario. Each year the festival assembles an eclectic program of avant-garde and crossover musicians, as well as art installations, DJs, and films.

Two (2) At Scarborough high school Bendale Business and

Technical Institute, students plant and care for what may be Canada’s first school-based market garden. It proves the educational value of food and all the ways it can be worked into the curriculum. “There are so many schools that could be turning their lawns into fields of food,” says garden co-ordinator Ian Hepburn-Aley, a community food facilitator with FoodShare -- a non-profit organization that tackles food and hunger issues through grassroots projects and has helped 26 Toronto schools create food gardens. From “An edible education” by @thesaucylady | Jennifer Bain, Food Editor Toronto Star

Three (3) Happy Pi Day!! “If we really calculated it precisely enough… maybe we would crack some deep-seated secret of

the universe... Pi has infiltrated popular culture more than any other mathematical concept." Show here: Wanda's Pie in the Sky celebrates Pi Day by baking square versions of the popular dessert. Also from The Toronto Star.

Four (4) The YMCA Table Top project and Toronto's Brothers Dressler partnership: a unique approach to bring together YMCA communities that make up this national organization.

Women & Media: Happy IWD!

The Cooperative Development Foundation of Canada is hosting a Women's Day online fundraising auction this week. All proceeds of the auction go to the Foundation's Global Women's Fund, helping women become leaders in their co-operatives. Auction items include this wall hanging featuring traditional Arctic scenes, from the Arctic Coop.

Burner Magazine, a digital pop art magazine published quarterly, from Sarah Minicaci and Leah Stephenson -- a fave find. Art, poetry, writing. Don't miss it. Burnermag.com

And Covet Garden, brought to us by Lynda Felton, Jessica Reid and Rhonda Riche, "for folks who are curious about real spaces". Covetgarden.com

Creative Smarty Pants & Technology Geeks

One (1) #Tenacity. Stephen Velasco, 15 years old, has built a model of Toronto’s downtown core, in his bedroom. "The perspectives...interest me" he explains. "You can get an overlay of the area, a real feel for the density." Velasco used Google Maps and was encouraged through online forums. Reported by Carly Maga on Open File via @Spacing Toronto. Photo Credit: A close-up of the Financial District, from steveve#6's on Flickr.

Two (2) WebTV. Tights and Fights Episode 70 is now available, online. In this episode? Canadian Tire, and there's a Bieber mention too. Which is nice because it’s Justin's birthday today. You can participate in the lives of Tights and Fight's Torontonian super heros -- on Twitter using the hash tag #TightsandFights

Dramatic Comedy: Easy to Assemble. Set Location: Ikea. Distribution: web only.From a Popwatch interview with Illeana Douglas: "I was always obsessed with supermarkets and I had written a show about going to work in a celebrity supermarket, because in L.A., a lot of celebrities go to supermarkets .. It’s been a real playground for all of us. We’re constantly inspired by things that happen to [Ikea], or their philosophy, and it influences a lot of the work."

Four (4) Technology + Design = Wellbeing We Care Solar is getting design help through a Canadian student competition to bring innovation to their portable power generation pack. The 'solar suitcase' positively impacts healthcare in countries such as Nigeria. The contest seeks to teach students and their mentors about technology and development.

The YWCA recently launched their Safety Siren app, available on iphone. In addition to the siren, the app provides information on dating, social interaction, health etc. An SOS urgent email and phone call is sent when the user signals he/she is in an unsafe situation. Photo credit:http://smr.newswire.ca