the top 11 ideas...
1. I want to break out into song during morning rush hour on the TTC... coordinating with a number of people spread through out the subway car. Tons of people stuffed into one subway car, stone faced and (mostly) silent really bugs me! I want to be part of breaking the mood and giving them all an up-beat start to the day!
2. learn to tango. its so simple yet so complex. It takes guts and probably some time. then once you can, Tango on the corner of bay and King. all day, through the morning rush and into the afternoon exodus. tango like nobody is watching. I would love to tango.
3. Okay. Guy dressed up in Indiana Jones costume runs around the city and helps people. Old lady is having trouble crossing the street, who is going to help her? Obviously guy dressed up in Indiana Jones costume. What about that young woman with heavy textbooks? Guy in Indiana Jones costume is there. Did I mention that he has a sidekick that carries boombox which constantly plays Indiana Jones theme song? Well he does. That's it.
4. Find a homeless guy that is panhandling and for 2hours do a street fundraiser there on the street with him.
5. I would like to have a choir at my front door singing Xmas songs for me and my family in December. After that we can all have hot chocolate and sweets in my house!!!
6. Shoot guns. Not a rifle but a handgun with a decent kick.
7. go on a mini-pilgrimage walk. pilgrims used to walk across europe to various sacred and holy sites, often taking weeks or months to do so. and there's also the Hajj. so, for you, do something like take the subway west to High Park, get off, and start a very active, present, engaged mini-pilgrimage through the parks of central Toronto. walk from High Park down to the Gardiner Expressway, cross it and walk Sunnyside park east heading toward the CN tower. and walk through various parks, continuing on to the Don River Park or the Ashbridge's Bay Park or the Beaches Park. The POINT here would be to take much of a day with the thought of opening yourself up to the parkland that surrounds your city, to experience your city in a new way, to learn from it and allow yourself to be open to the beauty and challenge of a mini-pilgrimage.
8. I like the idea of communal art. I would like to buy a very very very large canvas and set it up in a park. There should be music playing. There should be a clown and a street performer (b-boy? contemporary dancer? mime?) present as part of the "background." There should be many pots of paint on the ground, art samples, and a big sign saying something along the lines of "Make art with us & feel good!" Strangers must meet, grab a paintbrush and contribute to the project. There should be snacks. This art project should be put somewhere where it can be shared. A gallery space, a home, an office. It could move around. It should inspire people to be spontaneous. --- This idea is important to me because it involves collaboration. It involves a large number of strangers and it could be a success or failure. Maybe this will help me think about what 'success' and 'failure' mean. It could be a sunny day or a rainy day, people may respond with interest or doubtful avoidance. I just want to see how people would respond. People intrigue me. --- Also: After art day is done I would like to eat cheese and drink white wine.
9. For a number of years now, I have dedicated my life and career to children. Leaving behind all of the fancy talk about anti-bias pedagogy, the slow school movement, and the politics of inclusive education, it is quite simply the fact that I can't imagine my life without children. So, here is what I propose. We recreate all of the wonderful things about childhood for a day. We do things that we loved doing as kids, we eat things that we loved eating as kids, and we laugh about things that we laughed about as kids. We play with Lego, we build a fort, we jump on a trampoline. We have fun.
10. Recite works of your own poetry in Dundas Square wearing a bunny costume.
11. 3 nights. 3 spots. all over downtown toronto, before it gets cold. from sunset to sunrise, sleeping on the streets - near, or around, or where you might find other people sleeping on the streets too. you could bring a blanket or two - enough to keep warm and healthy but nothing cushy (no camping tents) - and sleep on the sidewalk. I think this would actually be best done with a group of between 4 and 10 people. (Not sure if this is illegal/could get you arrested, but i dont think so..). Other additions to this could include: bringing a video camera and interviewing people, chatting to other people sleeping on the streets, bringing speakers and throwing an impromptu jam session, ordering a large pizza (to the street you're on) and sharing it with others, bringing board games and getting people to play them with you... Not really sure how to explain WHY I think something along these lines could be cool.... it's sort of a cross between spending time with/trying to build community with people that always get ignored and rarely get included/experiencing for yourself what it feels like to sleep on the streets/sort of participating in something larger, checking out a different lifestyle that's rarely coveted.....it could be a bunch of things. Then again, it might be stupid. I'll try to keep thinking, but anyway, there's a thought...
1. I want to break out into song during morning rush hour on the TTC... coordinating with a number of people spread through out the subway car. Tons of people stuffed into one subway car, stone faced and (mostly) silent really bugs me! I want to be part of breaking the mood and giving them all an up-beat start to the day!
2. learn to tango. its so simple yet so complex. It takes guts and probably some time. then once you can, Tango on the corner of bay and King. all day, through the morning rush and into the afternoon exodus. tango like nobody is watching. I would love to tango.
3. Okay. Guy dressed up in Indiana Jones costume runs around the city and helps people. Old lady is having trouble crossing the street, who is going to help her? Obviously guy dressed up in Indiana Jones costume. What about that young woman with heavy textbooks? Guy in Indiana Jones costume is there. Did I mention that he has a sidekick that carries boombox which constantly plays Indiana Jones theme song? Well he does. That's it.
4. Find a homeless guy that is panhandling and for 2hours do a street fundraiser there on the street with him.
5. I would like to have a choir at my front door singing Xmas songs for me and my family in December. After that we can all have hot chocolate and sweets in my house!!!
6. Shoot guns. Not a rifle but a handgun with a decent kick.
7. go on a mini-pilgrimage walk. pilgrims used to walk across europe to various sacred and holy sites, often taking weeks or months to do so. and there's also the Hajj. so, for you, do something like take the subway west to High Park, get off, and start a very active, present, engaged mini-pilgrimage through the parks of central Toronto. walk from High Park down to the Gardiner Expressway, cross it and walk Sunnyside park east heading toward the CN tower. and walk through various parks, continuing on to the Don River Park or the Ashbridge's Bay Park or the Beaches Park. The POINT here would be to take much of a day with the thought of opening yourself up to the parkland that surrounds your city, to experience your city in a new way, to learn from it and allow yourself to be open to the beauty and challenge of a mini-pilgrimage.
8. I like the idea of communal art. I would like to buy a very very very large canvas and set it up in a park. There should be music playing. There should be a clown and a street performer (b-boy? contemporary dancer? mime?) present as part of the "background." There should be many pots of paint on the ground, art samples, and a big sign saying something along the lines of "Make art with us & feel good!" Strangers must meet, grab a paintbrush and contribute to the project. There should be snacks. This art project should be put somewhere where it can be shared. A gallery space, a home, an office. It could move around. It should inspire people to be spontaneous. --- This idea is important to me because it involves collaboration. It involves a large number of strangers and it could be a success or failure. Maybe this will help me think about what 'success' and 'failure' mean. It could be a sunny day or a rainy day, people may respond with interest or doubtful avoidance. I just want to see how people would respond. People intrigue me. --- Also: After art day is done I would like to eat cheese and drink white wine.
9. For a number of years now, I have dedicated my life and career to children. Leaving behind all of the fancy talk about anti-bias pedagogy, the slow school movement, and the politics of inclusive education, it is quite simply the fact that I can't imagine my life without children. So, here is what I propose. We recreate all of the wonderful things about childhood for a day. We do things that we loved doing as kids, we eat things that we loved eating as kids, and we laugh about things that we laughed about as kids. We play with Lego, we build a fort, we jump on a trampoline. We have fun.
10. Recite works of your own poetry in Dundas Square wearing a bunny costume.
11. 3 nights. 3 spots. all over downtown toronto, before it gets cold. from sunset to sunrise, sleeping on the streets - near, or around, or where you might find other people sleeping on the streets too. you could bring a blanket or two - enough to keep warm and healthy but nothing cushy (no camping tents) - and sleep on the sidewalk. I think this would actually be best done with a group of between 4 and 10 people. (Not sure if this is illegal/could get you arrested, but i dont think so..). Other additions to this could include: bringing a video camera and interviewing people, chatting to other people sleeping on the streets, bringing speakers and throwing an impromptu jam session, ordering a large pizza (to the street you're on) and sharing it with others, bringing board games and getting people to play them with you... Not really sure how to explain WHY I think something along these lines could be cool.... it's sort of a cross between spending time with/trying to build community with people that always get ignored and rarely get included/experiencing for yourself what it feels like to sleep on the streets/sort of participating in something larger, checking out a different lifestyle that's rarely coveted.....it could be a bunch of things. Then again, it might be stupid. I'll try to keep thinking, but anyway, there's a thought...
