Category Archive: Life
Jun 14
Rest in Peace, Nan
Long time readers of this blog will be familiar with the character of Nan. Part Joan Crawford, part Brothers Kray, she often acted as the mouthpiece for much of the family wisdom and inherited knowledge I’ve been subjected to. But most of the humor –to me– of this Nan character laid in how little she had in common …
May 06
FAT: Done. What’s Next?
It feels like I’ve been attending and complaining about FAT (Toronto’s Alternative Fashion Week) for years. Double checking that feeling against my blog archives, I’m surprised to learn that my memory is correct. My first mention of it is back in 2006 and now it’s, um, a different year. Also: Holy shit, I’ve kept this blog for …
Mar 30
My Article in Aggregation Magazine
I wrote a short article with five links about bespoke for Aggregation Magazine 05. My article is here, the issue is here and the magazine is here. It looks fine on a desktop but the magazine is optimized for the iPad. So, if you have an iPad, this is the time to use it for …
Feb 20
Workspace
I have my first sort of personal workspace in years. Like a lot of people, I dream of having an office but lack the space. For the moment, I’m quite happy to have my computer off a stool and my ass off the couch. Editing the book while bent over was playing riot with my …
Feb 14
Valentine’s Day (Quit Bitching You Lucky Single Pricks)
I never want to hear another single person complain about Valentine’s Day. You have no reason to complain. You’re single! If anything, you should be happy. Being single on Valentine’s Day is like being an atheist during Easter Mass. You have no obligations and tomorrow the chocolate goes on sale. No one is making you …
Jan 20
Dandy Antihumanism
“The redemption of objects is impossible except by virtue of becoming an object. As the work of art must destroy and alienate itself to become an absolute commodity, so the dandy-artist must become a living corpse, constantly tending toward another, a creature essentially nonhuman and antihuman.” –Giorgio Agamben
Jan 15
Smell of Lady Tears Turn Men Off
Female tears of grief reduce arousal in men. And not just because of the smeared makeup. Apparently, lady tears smell icky. Just a slight whiff turns men off. According to the study’s director, Noam Sobel: “We know that women tend to cry more during menstruation, when it’s not an effective time to conceive.” So ladies, …
Although Ryan Oakley began his career as a simple rake (drunk) he has since become Toronto’s most renowned flaneur (no car) and notorious dandy (overdresses). A misanthropic composer of psycho-geographical fictions (sci-fi), he is also a server of food, a tender of bar and a washer of dishes. While performing all these functions with efficiency and elegance (disdain and malice), he somehow finds the time to publicly criticize friends, strangers and cultural crap.
