history of winter olympic posters

 I loved flipping through this collection of old winter games posters at NBC sports. Cool to see the design evolution over so many decades... scary to see what the Calgary team put together in '88, but otherwise mostly classic design!

pickles! (and other grocery related thoughts)

Last night I did my second big grocery run since we've arrived in Toronto/Canada. I'm still amazed at how much I can buy for so little moolah, an how HUGE the items are. But frankly, when presented with two bottles of lemon juice (one miniscule and one giant) with a 60 cent price difference, how can you refuse the big-ass bottle?

In three years of grocery shopping in the UK I always sensed that my options were reduced, but I could never pinpoint why - the supermarkets were just as big, after all. I realized last night that this is because UK supermarkets have entire aisles dedicated to things like pre-packaged cakes, frozen potato products and prepared meals. By contrast, Canada has massive fresh produce sections, in-store delis and a much better meat selection.

What surprised me the most were the items that set my heart aflutter after a three year absence:
+ pierogis
+ the selection of healthy cereal
+ Asian goodies like rice crackers and sushi rice
+ real prawns (not shrimp!)
+ and delicious garlicky, dilly pickles! We polished off a giant bottle last week and have already started on a second.

other surprises:
+ popsicles. We Canucks must really like our frozen treats on a stick - the selection is huge!
+ Canada has majorly beefed up its cheese selection, definitely comparable to any in Europe.
+ the few items that are cheaper in the UK: dried apricots, chicken (when it goes on sale) and soba noodles!

[image via nataliedee.com]

in defense of Quatchi

Just in time for the opening ceremonies, my latest article is up at Curator magazine.

The sad irony has not been lost on me that we moved back to Canada just in time for the Olympics, only to set up camp 4,300 kilmetres away. We are experiencing the festivities vicariously through friends' facebook and twitter feeds, but today while watching the torch relay I got those first pangs of "oh shoot. We should have BEEN there."

Instead we're coming to the end of a two week stay-cation... one that involved lots of sitting in government service centres, unpacking and breaking down about 50 boxes, walking and street-car-ing all over this giant city to get our bearings, and even spending a night at the hospital (thank goodness we knew where it was - and we're both fine).

Beyond the convenience at the familiarity of living in a Canadian city again after three point five years abroad, I am really LOVING our little Queen East neighbourhood. There are no less than four independent coffee shops within five minutes' walk, a perfect balance of dodgy and trendy restaurants and wonderful conveniences like an open-late Korean supermarket and two 24 hour street cars just off our street. Can't wait to show you all soon!

avatar and the dreaded papyrus font

Last night Dean and I caught up with the rest of the world and saw Avatar. While waiting a month to see the show means we've already heard ALL OF YOU talking about the film, it also meant we could show up only 15 minutes beforehand and still get the best seats in the house (we even indulged in the popcorn/pop combo to mark the occasion).

I liked the movie, yes. It was beautiful, yes. The acting and writing were mediocre, yes, but the effects second to none. You've said it all before.

But in all your cinematic discourse, I'm shocked that only one of you mentioned the ridiculous font choice for the Na'vi subtitles! I'd all but forgotten that conversation, but maybe it is what prompted me to play a game on our cross-country road trip last week: counting how many tasteless usages of the Papyrus font I could spot on the drive (note: any use of the Papyrus font counts as tasteless - I have addressed the topic before). Average was five sightings/day, emblazoned on ads promoting everything from real estate to a pig farm. eeeek!

The debate we had with our friend Trevor when he mentioned it two weeks ago was whether the font choice was an ironic move by a cheeky animator (a wink-wink, only understood by those in the design world) or whether it was just chosen by someone who thought it looked 'earthy' and 'pretty'.

I have my own thoughts on the matter, but what do you guys think?

stuff!!!

As of three days ago, we live in Toronto! And as of a two hours ago, so does our stuff!

It's a monumental night: I have been dreaming of sleeping in my very own bed ever since we put it in storage three years ago. After years of British beds, guest beds, futons and air beds, tonight Dean and I get to curl up in our very own pillow-topped pocket-coiled mattress, and we are excited.

The drive out was smooth and fun, with stops in Winnipeg, Minnesota and Indiana. Receiving our belongings tonight was a bit more eventful—the police made an appearance after our moving truck had been blocking traffic on the street for nearly an hour :)

Toronto is crisp and bustling. We've been schlepping all over it, picking up essentials like drivers licenses, car insurance, new phones, warm coats, and long underwear.

Our home and our neighbourhood are as great as I'd hoped. Can't wait to share them with you all, as soon as all these boxes are unpacked!

Who is Mukmuk?

While doing some research for an upcoming article about the Olympic mascots I stumbled across this little teaser for the late-addition Olympic 'sidekick' Mukmuk, created by those heralds of cuteness at Meomi Design.

It had to be shared.

If you, like me, were confused by the sudden appearance of a fourth mascot, allow me to fill in some gaps. Mukmuk isn't an official mascot, just 'virtual' one (ie. another toy to buy, but won't be making a live appearances at a mall near you). He is a Vancouver Island marmot who, apparently, hopped a BC ferry to cheer on the Kokanee hockey team. Watch for more details in the near future!