Photo-therapy for addiction

February 26th 2018... a perfect day in Toronto. The sun was shining. It wasn't cold. No Arctic winds to chill the pedestrians strolling downtown. 

My morning clients cancelled. Deciding that  wasting this  precious day indoors, doing paperwork  is a heinous crime, 

 I strolled  to the bookshop.

I had a lovely time feeling the sun on my skin and reading the interesting posters plastered on the walls of Yonge street. I had a great time browsing the books at Indigo.  And here are photos of the books I would have liked to buy...but did NOT!

I have hoarded a ton of books at home, more than half of which are 'unread'. An incorrigible hoarder, running out of space,  it's is a   struggle, to not buy books and an even bigger struggle to not lug home, the free books. 

This is the first time I am trying this 'therapy', invented by 'ME'. ..taking  photos of books I would like to read and uploading them here. If the temptation to buy is irresistible, I may walk down again and buy the book I want. For now,  photographing 'the-books-I want-to-buy' seems to have 'cooled down the ardor to buy them'.

 I hope this therapy works for me. I would be cured of this book-buying-addiction with this zero-cost therapy! 

Who knows. I may start photographing the souvenirs I am tempted to buy when I travel and  save  space  and  money. I could also photograph the seashells I am tempted to pick, unusual stones, nests, sea-bricks, in fact photograph everything I think of lugging back to my home. My very own pin-interest.

How to spend cold rainy days at home in Toronto

February 17-20 2018 Long weekend....cold wet..rainy
Alone at home as husband in India....
Nothing on netflix could hold my attention this weekend...but I did manage to finish seeing '2 guns'.
Then discovered that old is gold! Watched  and still watching ALL episodes of ALL seasons of  REPUBLIC OF DOYLE on CBC TV.
This is just the sort of cosy show to watch on cold rainy days to lift one's spirits or just pass the time.

Republic of Doyle is funny...light and light-hearted...exciting. It has great characters...I loved the Doyle family and many of the recurring characters ...every one of them is lovable...even the villains are not too villainish(with a few exceptions of course).
The scenery of Newfoundland is nice. I liked the plots and the dialogues. The individual plots in each episode coupled with the longer threads running through the seasons were good. I loved the ending too. 
What I loved the most about the show is the empowered women and the treatment of women.  The way women have been depicted, is one reason people world over,  should watch this show.. especially people from patriarchal societies. The depiction of empowerment here is different.  the women here are feminine,yet empowered. I think I loved the character of Rose the most. I enjoyed the ladies who acted in single episodes too especially in negative roles. 
If you want a cosy crime series, with good looking actors, a show which is light-hearted and happy, with nothing too depressing, you should watch Republic of Doyle.

LIGHT FESTIVAL, DISTILLERY DISTRICT, TORONTO, FEBRUARY 2018

Art on the streets of Toronto's China Town

The three above are of a box on College and may be at the St.George intersection. The government invited artists to paint these (electricity related?) boxes all over downtown and the artists were supposed to paint something which represents that area I think. I suppose Keight Maclean's submission got selected for this university area.

Below are art work on walls on buildings off Spadina between College  and  Dundas. This is China town and the art is mostly Chinese themed. 

The four art works above are together(next to each other) on one wall. 

Cherry blossoms at High park, Toronto, May 5^th 2013

There are about a dozen or so Cherry Blossom Trees by the lake in High Park. They were in full bloom in the first week of May. On Sunday, May 5^th, there were several people, photographing and enjoying the Cherry Blossoms.

I enjoyed my time at High Park. But one thing at High Park bugged me:

People plucking the flowers from the trees….some were putting the cherry blossoms in their hair and posing for photos; some were pulling out the smaller branches of the cherry blossom tree and giving it to their kids. Why do people pluck these blossoms? Why can’t they leave them on the trees?

 I am not being racist here but none of the people who plucked the flowers were Caucasians…..the people plucking the flowers were either south east Asians(Indians like me and India’s neighbours) and Oriental looking people…people from far east maybe. Maybe Canadian parks need to post signs such as  “Please do not pluck the flowers”.  Since people do not have common sense enough or civic sense enough to leave the flowers alone, the government needs to invest in these signs.

What I love photographing in Toronto.

• The changing look of the trees in the different seasons...at the Don Valley,  High Park and so many other places.
• The waters in several places where the rivers are flowing....Don river, Humber river and so on
• The Toronto skyline from the island and also from the city
• The people of Toronto especially those kids in Goth style on Queen ..i.e. near teh stretch of Queen near Spadina. The stylish looking folks on   on Bloor street near Younge; and the homeless with interesting placards, the sex trade workers on the Younge street which runs south of Bloor .
• I also like photographing the designer shops decor on Bloor(west of Younge) which changes every season
• The scores of modern sculptures outside many buildings all over Toronto
• The interesting Graffiti on the downtown walls and the paintings
• The ads for plays, music gigs, film feastivals, the posters, the photoes, the witty graffiti lampooning the politicians...they are so creative!
• The interesting rocks and concrete and bricks smoothened by the Lake Ontario...on the shores
• the fog in fall when it makes the street lights and trees look eerie
• the icicles at the edge of roofs
• the historic buildings of brick and red stone in downtown Toronto
• the museums and whatever's inside
• the exhibition, the summer feastivals, the