Author: avery

Toronto Patio Guide

CeiliPatio

It’s super hot and humid in Toronto today… perfect weather for skipping out on work a little early and hitting a patio.  Check out blogTO’s Patio Guide (there’s a website and also an app for iOS and Android). So many patios for such a short season!

I love Allen’s (classic), House on Parliament (great food and great vibe) and the Ceili Cottage (it’s at the end of my street – doesn’t get more convenient than that). And if you’ve never been to Roof Lounge at the Park Hyatt, it’s a must. The views of the city are breathtaking.

Last summer we checked out Against the Grain, by Sugar Beach. I love the idea of a lakeside patio, and it’s certainly gorgeous… but I couldn’t get into the vibe.  This year I want to check out the Drake Sky Yard, Papillon on the Park (I’ve been inside, but never on the patio) and my pal Jenny told me that F’Amelia in Cabbagetown is a lovely resto.

What’s your favourite patio in the city?

(image of Ceili Cottage patio via blogTO)

A Print Edition of Covet Garden

covetgarden

Do you know Covet Garden, the monthly online magazine showcasing cool people in their homes (that aren’t done up by decorators – these are real people in their real environments)?  My company Camp Tech regularly advertises in the magazine, and they’ve featured my amazing RMT Michelle in an issue.  I really do love Covet Garden!

So of course I was super excited to hear they’re going to do a special print edition, called Covet Garden Home, which will be available this winter.

To make sure you get your copy, contribute to their IndieGoGo campaign.  A $30 contribution gets you a copy of Covet Garden Home, delivered to your door.  I’ve already contributed, and really think you should too.

We’re in California This Week

sandiego

Ian and I flew to San Diego yesterday, so I could attend An Event Apart – The Design Conference for People Who Make Websites.  Ian’s exploring the city and going on brewery tours while I’m at the conference.  Later this week we’re g0ing to Palm Springs, to flake out in the dessert.  Soooooooo good.

PS – this is my 700th blog post.  Wowee zowee.

Could You Go A Year Without The Internet?

paulmiller

We’re going on vacation next week (more on that later).  I’ve found that whenever people go on vacation, they talk about “unplugging” – often literally.  They try to leave their computer, or their cell phone or other devices, behind. I guess they’re trying to leave their email and the stress of their jobs behind.  But when I travel, I NEVER want to be unconnected.  Sure, call me an internet addict (it might even be true).  But if I’m addicted to the internet, I’m not sure I want a cure. I honestly love how the internet connects me to friends and family, and provides me with entertainment and thoughtful discussion.

That’s why I found this so interesting – tech journalist Paul Miller went an entire year without the internet.  He “thought it was making me unproductive. I thought it lacked meaning. I thought it was ‘corrupting my soul.’ ”

The results were surprising.  A year is a very long time – I’m sure Miller’s experiment would be much different if he had only gone without internet for a week or a month. At first, he thought it would be easy, and he’d have lots of time to write and read. But then he started filling that time playing video games and feeling a bit bored, depressed, and listless.  He realized that the internet wasn’t causing problems in him – those problems were there all along.  His feelings of loneliness, boredom, depression, isolation… they didn’t disappear when the internet disappeared.  Miller said that without the internet, he “felt out of sync with the flow of life”.  In the end, to respond to his own theory that internet was making him unproductive and that it lacked meaning, he says, “I was wrong.”

I encourage you to watch the 15 minute film entitled Finding Paul Miller, and read his piece.  And then ask yourself if you could do what he did.  I’m not sure I would want to, to be honest.  Fascinating.

[image of Paul Miller by Michael B. Shane via The Verge]

Take 10 minutes and watch this.

THIS IS WATER – By David Foster Wallace from The Glossary on Vimeo.

You’ve probably seen this shared already – it’s been around social media and blogs a lot of in the last 2 days. I really do think you should watch it though; all 9 minutes.

“Education has nothing to do with knowledge and everything to do with awareness.”  Yes.

PS – I’ve never read anything by David Foster Wallace.  I think that should change.

 

I’m Really Loving This Song Right Now

It already made its round of the blog world last week, but I can’t help sharing this video for “We The Common” by Thao and the Get Down Stay Down.  Everyone loves the video because it features Ira Glass and John Hodgman, but I honestly really really love the song.  That infectious “ooooh ah ooooh” chorus is perfect for a sunny spring day like today.