"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

"No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in. ... I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things".

- Ernest Hemingway -

Then he added, "Blessed Virgin, pray for the death of this fish. Wonderful though he is."

Abstractionism is a powerful thing. I once remember, as a child, visiting an art gallery for a school field trip. The tour guide was a rather tedious middle-aged lady, and I eventually found myself fooling around with some friends instead of paying her any attention. Taking a moment from her less than engaging droning, she called me out in frustration. She said, hey you! what does the red represent in this painting. I responded with something to the effect of "danger?" In a terse and condescending fashion, she immediately shot down my proposition and scolded me for not paying attention. I can safely blame her, and many others like her, for ruining my interest in art early on in my life.

Why an artist would ever want to limit the meaning of their art is beyond me. Some of the greatest artists that have graced the earth have been staunch believers in abstractionism, as am I. They provide their audience the freedom to interpret their work in their own personal way. From Luis Bunuel to Kanye West, they place no definite meanings to their work. Their work may mean one thing to them, but I am beyond grateful that they understand their work can mean a myriad of things to others.

This is the way I approached The Old Man and the Sea. Looking into the mind of this old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, was a fascinating experience. I can only be thankful to Hemingway for making the statement above and not choosing to limit the scope of what his contemporary novella symbolized. It makes art a lot more accessible, and thankfully a lot more relatable.

Queen Street West / Music & Book Shops

Queen Street West, being the creative community it is, obviously has its share of lovely little music shops. This would in fact be one of the better places to track down that older vinyl record you've been searching for or those newer vinyl and compact disc selections you couldn't find at HMV.

"Rotate This" is your vinyl-obsessive music retail shop, offering independent artists from a variety of differnt genres.

Some of their top sellers lately have been Ariel Pink, Flying Lotus, LCD Soundsystem, and Male Bonding, but they definitely have all your older favourites as well. It's a laid back and personal shopping experience, one and a half blocks west of Bathurst.

"Slinky Music" is everyone's favourite music store. They carry the finest MOOG equipment along with an amazing vinyl and compact disc selection.


Old Techno, Funk, Hip-Hop, Soul, and Disco records. Be sure not to miss the $1 clearance bins as well.

Crystal Castles, Flying Lotus, wait... Rusko and Kode 9. Haha, yea. Just from the albums they display on their store front, you know you've come to the right place to get your hands on your favourite dubstep releases as well.

"Cosmos West Records" is known to be one of the best spots for DJ's to find some of the rarest vinyl releases out there. Prices here are known to be a little high here, but there's a price you have to pay for quality, right? The likes of Madlib and MF Doom have been seen here, so it's definitely a shop you should check out.

"Neurotica" has been around these parts for a long time, and has gained a loyal following. It's your music consignment spot.

A fit staff to help you find your obscurest music desires. Definitely stop by for rare vinyl, tapes, videos, and compact discs.

But don't limit your record search to just music shops. There are a lot of vintage shops that sell random odds and ends like Amelia.

They often have a box of under-priced vinyl just waiting to be played again. I mean just look at Mr. Billy Joel sitting there.

Though a little aged, I'm sure there are many people out there who want you "Just The Way You Are." Haha. While you're there, don't forget to browse through some of the old books they have lying around as well.

Speaking of books, "Type Books" is one of Toronto's most interesting book stores, with a great selection of artsy books to serve the community around it well.

Definitely stop by if you're looking for something interesting to read. I'm sure the staff will be helpful to you.

Queen Street West really has stuff for any creatively driven person. A lot more Queen Street West coverage to come. Come by the blog whenever you have the chance.

The LOOKBOOK.nu Lookbook by American Apparel

So yesterday night, a package arrived for me.
I opened it up and found this. :)

It's the latest little collaboration Yuri Lee's awesome site, lookbook.nu has worked on. This is the American Apparel lookbook.

It was such an obvious yet perfect collaboration pair. AA is a staple on the site, with good reason. So, I took one of the lookbooks and opened it up to find this...

A handwritten note from Michelle. I must admit that Michelle has really changed my view of American Apparel. I've always been cool with the culture AA supported, their well-styled basics, and solid Made In L.A. quality. But to be honest, AA is a mall store. It's not your local independently owned boutique or cultural hang-out hub. I always thought AA was simply too big to retain an intimate connection to their consumer. But Michelle has totally changed that opinion... in a way.

She personally approached me via e-mail after reading one of my blogposts where I shortly recounted my disappointment of not being able to find a LOOKBOOK.nu lookbook in Yorkville. She took the time to casually address some of the other things I wrote about in my post, and then went on to apologize for the Yorkville location not being informed about this collaboration. She then asked if she could fix this problem, and even offered to send it to me.

When I replied, I thanked her and mentioned a friend had the same experience. Michelle was lovely enough to send an additional lookbook for my friend, and I didn't even ask her to. (Mandy, if you're reading this I messaged you about this already :) ) I must say, this customer service is the best I've ever experienced. It's renewed my faith in American Apparel's ability to keep leveled and personal with their customers.

This was one more reason I have grown to love American Apparel. And yes, the fact that Dov Charney is Canadian was already on that list of reasons, haha. But before I end this post I want to say... NOOOO...

Thank YOU Michelle! :)

*did i mention Michelle used to work up here in Toronto at Get Outside and later at Goodfoot... uhhh how much coolness is in that fact alone? much, very much.