Wikipedia is doing it:

(and causing quite the uproar on Twitter, I might add)

Reddit, Craigslist, Boing-Boing, WordPress, and thousands of other smaller sites are also doing it.

And so am I, even though I’m Canadian.

The Stop Online Piracy Act might be an American bill, but it has very, very bad consequences for everyone, everywhere. Essentially, SOPA would allow intellectual property owners (Hollywood, essentially) to more or less destroy any site (homeland or foreign) they have a copyright claim against.

And then there’s PIPA, SOPA’s little sister, which seeks to make websites – not users – responsible for pirated content.

“Internet policy shouldn’t be set by Hollywood.” – Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder

What does this mean, exactly?

It means say goodbye to a free, open internet.

Right now, if I upload copyrighted content to YouTube, I’m held accountable. With PIPA, YouTube becomes accountable for what *I* uploaded. Doesn’t seem fair, does it? And while the big sites – Facebook, YouTube, etc – have the means to deal with these kinds of copyright claims, many smaller sites don’t.

And under SOPA, if a torrent site hosted in a foreign country is offering movie downloads, the production company can (among other things) demand Google remove them from the search index, demand financing to the site in question is pulled, and tell ISP’s to block the site.

Yeah, as in Rogers/AOL/Insert-ISP-Here can decide what YOU, as a consumer, and as an internet user, are ALLOWED TO SEE AND ACCESS.

Sounds pretty big brother-ish, right?

What’s worse is the consequences this can have beyond torrent sites or streaming video content. Those pushing this bill through are claiming it’s only aimed at these sites that are pirating software, movies, and creative content.

What they’re NOT telling you is that the bill can – and very likely will, if passed – extend beyond those boundaries and start affecting us, as internet users, and start affecting “the little guy.” Basically ANY site the powers-that-be decide infringes on a copyright can be pulled – and just because I’m Canadian doesn’t mean I’m untouchable – that’s the problem, actually. This bill would be essentially be granting the American Government control over foreign hosted content, and, according to Google, “turn the internet into a police state”.

I have to agree.

What I am disappointed with, however, is that Google chose to only blackout on the American site. Though we as foreigners don’t have a direct say in this – I mean, I don’t have an American representative I can contact – but if passed it WILL be affecting us (and our daily internet habits). People – all people, whether American or not – need to be aware of how bad this bill really is. It’s going to allow the American government extraordinary – and worse, loosely defined – power to control the content and information available to us online.

It will essentially, and effectively, kill the internet.

Overly dramatic? Maybe, but maybe not.

I’d rather not find out.

I’m only just scraping the surface of this entire issue – for a more in-depth (but still easy to follow) look at the issue, check out this Gizmodo post, visit Wikipedia’s Q&A about why they’re blacked out, or checkout the SOPA Blackout page.

And, of course – consider joining the blackout and showing your support via Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.

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I love s’mores. In fact, it must be a hereditary thing – my mom, dad, and sister all love them too.

Or it’s because they’re just so damn good. I mean, ooey, gooey, marshmallows with a toasted brown top and melty chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers? Oh my god, yum.

Either way, when I polled my friends to get cupcake suggestions for our New Years’ party (I’m the “cupcake lady”, it’s pretty much expected I show up to parties with cupcakes – I suspect I’d be sent home if I ever came without them ;) a number of them suggested s’more cupcakes.

Okay, I said, sounds interesting!

And delicious.

Interestingly delicious.

The delicious s'more cupcakes in all their glory.

Afterall, how can taking someting like a s’more and turning it into a cupcake be a bad idea? I started thinking about it. Graham cracker crust, chocolate marshmallow cake, and marshmallow icing – sounds delish.

And they were.

I’m not always one to toot my own horn, but OH MY GOD they were so. good. And I think the fact that the 20 s’more cupcakes I brought to the party were eaten in under 30 minutes is a testament to that.

So of course, I have to (and was even asked to!) share the recipe.

There’s three parts to it – the graham cracker crust, the actual cupcake, and the marshmallow icing.

The best part is, it’s a fairly simple recipe to make.

Recipe: S’more Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Crust // 10 minutes at 325° // makes 21 crusts

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1.5 cup graham crumbs
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Mix the sugar and graham crumbs in a bowl, then melt the butter in the microwave (or on the stove!) and add it to the dry mix.

Stir until totally combined.

Next, spoon a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into the cupcake pan (I managed to fill 21), and press it down into the bottom so it’s firm.

I didn’t use cupcake wrappers to bake these in, but you probably could if you really wanted to.

Oh, and I used a shot glass to pack in the crumb mix, which worked pretty well.

Once they’re pressed into cup form, use your fingers to press the crumbs into the edges of the pan.

Pop them into the oven at 325° for ~10 minutes, until they are a little more solid (and a little less crumbly). I heard they’re supposed to be “golden brown” but honestly, I couldn’t see a difference… so about 10 minutes seemed to work for me.

Let them cool completely before filling them.

S’more Cupcakes // 20 minutes at 350° // makes 21 cupcakes with crusts

• The graham cracker crusts from the above step
• Your favourite chocolate cake recipe
• Large marshmallows

I don’t have a “favourite” chocolate cake recipe yet (typically I try new ones most times when I bake – so if you have one you love, let me know! ;) so use whichever recipe you love for the cupcakes. And, I have to be honest – I was lazy and just went with a box mix for these (thanks Betty Crocker!), but they turned out awesome anyway… so you can even go with a box mix if you’re lazy like me.

Spoon a bit of the batter into each graham cracker crust, and then place a large marshmallow into each cup.

Use the remainder of the batter to cover the marshmallows and fill the cups.

Pop them into the oven for ~20 minutes at 350°. Most of the marshmallow will melt away into the cupcake (which makes them really tasty, PS), but some will float all melted to the top and crust over in golden brown toasted marshmallow goodness.

Baking...

To remove, I used a knife to “carve” the edges of the cupcake out of the pan and then gently lifted them out. Flipping the pan (like I did with the first one) only got one cupcake out, and made a MESS with the graham crumbs. Carving them out worked much better – they will stick a little more than usual at the top because of the marshmallow stickyness, so be gentle to avoid ripping the cupcake.

Set them aside to cool, and prep your marshmallow icing.

...baked!

Buttercream & Marshmallow Icing // makes 3.5 (ish) cups

• 1 cup solid white vegetable shortening
• 3 tbsp water (then to thin out to “medium” consistency, I added 3 tsp and 1 tbsp of water after mixing)
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1 tbsp meringue powder
• 2 jars of marshmallow fluff (approximately 1 3/4 cups) OR 1 jar and 1 cup (this last one was what I used)

The above recipe is the modified version of the Wilton Butercream Icing recipe I use for decorator icing, only I’ve removed the flavouring and replaced it with a ton of marshmallow fluff instead. I used the second marshmallow part – 1 jar of fluff and 1 cup (ish) of melted marshmallows, but this was largely because I decided I needed more fluff in the recipe (since it didn’t taste enough like marshmallows, and, uh, marshmallow icing should TASTE like marshmallows!) and the stores were closed by this point… so I improvised.

I’d recommend using 2 jars of fluff (approximatly 2 cups), because the melted marshmallow was very challenging to mix into the icing and had small chunks of crystalized marshmallow/icing that kept getting stuck in the icing tip – but it TASTED great. Not overpoweringly marshmallow, but you could tell a hint of the flavour was there.

I actually might even try modifying this recipe to have more marshmallow fluff next time – I’m thinking an equal amount of fluff and icing sugar, so 3/4 cup shortening, 2 1/4 tbsp water, 3 cups icing sugar, 3/4 tbsp meringue powder, and 3 cups of marshmallow fluff (so I really need to find a place that sells larger jars!) to make it even more marshmallow flavoured.

Finally, after icing the cupcakes, I cut a bunch of the large marshmallows in half and dipped one end into melted chocolate and let them harden (in the fridge to speed it up).

Then stuck them into the icing for decoration. Simple, right? But cute!

The final product:

Look pretty good, right?

The combination of chocolate, marshmallows, and the graham cracker crust really made them s’more like.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did – I’ll be making them again, and likely soon.

Part of Sweets For a Saturday #51 & Sweet Treat Thursday .

"Survive a New Year" -- 52 Week Challenge 2011, Week 1

Accepted a freelance blogging position with The Toronto Star for the “Speak Your Mind” site during the 2011 Provincial election
Bought a Kindle, which on its own is not that exciting but it’s meant I’ve started reading a TON again; including (almost every) lunch break.
Curbed my spending habits and have been successfully budgeting (and mostly sticking to it) for three months now
Decorated (and baked!) 100 cupcakes and a bride’s cake – my first wedding order!
Edited, scripted, and shot my first corporate marketing video for a client
Forced into getting a new car (hi Ol’ Red!) when mine died while driving on the 401 – which was terrifying, to say the least
Got my butt moving (literally) by joining Booty Camp Fitness – life changing, and I’m still going! I love it.
Have been successfully budgeting (and mostly sticking to it) for three months and counting
Improved my life in a number of ways (might sound like a cop-out, but it’s true!)
Joined an awesome and empowering women’s group in Toronto
Kissed the Blarney Stone! {Feb 27, 2011} – a bucket list item
Launched a new website design (you’re looking at it!)
Made new friends with similar hobbies thanks to meetup.com :)
Navigated my way through Ireland alone – including very, VERY narrowly making my bus to Dublin
Organized and ran a charity event {Dec 10, 2011: Help-Portrait}
Published a tutorial on photojojo.com
Quality time spent with three generations of ladies during the Royal wedding
Revamped my eating habits and feel healthier and better every day
Started a new full-time writing job
Travelled out onto – and saw up close – the ocean for the first time I can remember
Understood why so many people love traveling along – after doing it myself for the first time {Feb. 26-Mar 2: Cork & Dublin, Ireland}
Visited Stonehenge {Feb 24, 2011} – another bucket list item
Whale Watched in Boston {Oct 9, 2011}
eXplored another country (overseas) for the first time {Feb 17-Mar 3: England, Paris, & Ireland} (x is a hard letter, okay? ;)
Yoga’d my way through my first (and second, and third… etc!) Hot Yoga classes. I’ve always wanted to try it, but was nervous (and for no reason) – Hot Yoga is awesome.
Zapped 12 lbs – 8 more to go to reach my goal weight :)

All in all, 2011 was a good year for me. It started off looking like it might have been otherwise, but in the end – I’d say it was a good one. One of the better years, actually. I have a lot on the go right now and am proud of (and happy to be!) where I am… and am very excited to see what 2012 might hold (you know, besides the end of the world on December 21 ;)

What were your major accomplishments and highlights this year? I’d love to hear them.

Why mess with a good thing?

But this time, we were there with a mission – a messing with a good thing mission (mistake #1) – because you see, Tim Hortons recently released a whack of specialty drinks in an effort to compete with Starbucks, class it up, take more of our money.

We ordered the same thing (yeah, yeah, we’re a lot alike, okay?) – a large earl grey tea latte with a shot of vanilla. Not hard to make, ordered at other coffee joints by me – and others, I’m sure – numerous times without problem. We knew we were rolling the dice a little with the shot of vanilla, but figured hey, we’ll give it a whirl.

What we got was not even a latte.

Three times.

Store #1, Employee #1: We waited a good 5 minutes for our order to be taken – because the person in front of us was telling the employee he made her drink wrong. We both assumed she was being demanding – she was giving him attitude, at least (mistake #2). As it turns out, he just was an idiot who didn’t know a) what he was doing b) how to listen to a customer or c) how to ask for help.

Tea Latte #1 = Tea with french vanilla cappachino dumped in it.

Store #1, Employee #2: We go through the drive-thru, explain the order is wrong, ask them to fix it. The (very friendly) employee explores the problem, tells us the original employee put the french vanilla capp in, apologizes, hands us the “fixed” lattes. Happy, we leave and don’t bother checking our order (mistake #3).

Tea Latte #2 = Tea with a SHOT OF ESPRESSO IN IT.

I wish I was kidding. We both tasted it a few times, yeah, there was DEF a coffee flavour in our… tea.

Did I mention both times, there was no milk?

Last time I checked, steamed milk is the point of a latte.

Already long gone from that store, we stopped at ANOTHER Tim Hortons. Well aware the chances of us getting the drinks replaced at a different location (since they’re franchised) were slim, we resolved to buy another if they could make it correctly.

Store #2, Employee #3: Doesn’t know how to make a latte, doesn’t know how to work the machine, and isn’t even sure the machine is set up yet. Face palm.

We give up. Not  huge deal, but $6 and a LOT of time wasted.

Actually, we also gave up and bought a medium hot chocolate and coffee instead at the final location – so in reality we spent almost $10 for something that normally would cost half that.

The worst part is, irritated, I tweeted, Facebooked, and emailed Tim Hortons about it – I wanted to know a) if they make their lattes differently from the rest of the world, and b) if they would please refresh their employees on how to, uh, make their new specialty drinks before launching them.

No reply.

This is not my first attempt at contacting Tim Hortons customer service online – I had an issue with Cold Stone Creamery in the summer and they were less-than-available (and helpful) then too.

Tsk, tsk Tim Hortons.

I love ya, I’ve always supported ya, but this is getting ridiculous. Maybe if you cared about your customers a little more,  you wouldn’t have to launch gross lasagnas and unavailable, potentially non-existent speciality coffees to retain and gain customers.

So, on that note… I had originally been planning on reviewing the new lattes and giving away a Tims card so a reader could try ‘em out; but since they can’t seem to get their act together I’m giving away a $10 Starbucks card instead — so you can enjoy a REAL latte.

Here’s how you can win: CONTEST CLOSED! See below for the winner announcement :) Thanks to all who participated!

1. {1 entry} Leave me a comment (with your email address in the “email” box – don’t worry, it won’t be public!) telling me what your favorite Starbucks drink is (aka what you’d buy with the Starbucks card! :) and make sure you’re subscribed to my blog via RSS by clicking here and adding my blog to your favourite RSS feed reader (be sure to mention you’re subscribed/if you just subscribed in your comment!).

That’s it! You get one entry for completing the two above steps.

For extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each entry, with a link to where you posted if applicable):

1. {1 entry} Tweet the following: “I want to win a $10 @Starbucks Card from @misslau so I can get a delicious drink! You can enter too: http://bit.ly/uy4mRZ” by copy and pasting or by clicking here.
2. {1 entry} “Like” The View From Here’s Facebook Page
3. {1 entry} Follow me on Twitter (@misslau) – leave your twitter name for this one.
4. {2 entries} Post about the giveaway on your blog, tumblr, etc with a link back to my site – leave two comments for this one! :)
5. {1 entry} Become a follower of my blog by clicking “Join this site” on the Google Friend Connect to the right  - since GFC is most likely being killed soon, I decided this could be an “extra” entry this time.

In order to win via extra entry, you still must complete the basic entry by following me and commenting  :)

The contest will close next month on Friday, January 13th at 11:59PM EST. I’ll be announcing the lucky Starbucks card winner shortly after.

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Congrats to Sarah, my fellow news junkie and boot camp enthusiast of sarahmillar.com

Enjoy your extra hot latte, Sarah!

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I recently baked for my very first wedding – 100 cupcakes and a bride’s cake (for cutting) to be exact – scary, I know.

My friend Vikki’s sister was getting married, and in the summer she asked me to make a World of Warcraft themed cake for the engagement party.

"Cake cutting", taken by the ever-talented Laura Dittmann

It was a huge hit: simple flavours (chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing) but some WOW themed decorations, including a giant purple skeleton guy (it was an action figure) – sorry WOW lovers, I forget the guys name.

Anyway, while at the engagement party (I also played photographer), her mom mentioned something about wedding cupcakes to me. I thought nothing of it, until at the end of the event, Vikki approaches me and goes “Oh, by the way — you’re doing the wedding cupcakes too!”.

Of course, I was flattered they thought I was that good – but also terrified. I’d already agreed to do wedding cupcakes for my childhood friend (who is getting married next summer), but like – that was a WHOLE YEAR away. Lots of time to panic, relax, panic, and relax before it had to be done.

Alyson and Josh were getting married on October 29, and it was almost SEPTEMBER.

Insert panic attack.

The next month or so was filled with me fretting over the number of cupcakes to bake (how many do you need for 140 guests when there’s also desert and a chocolate fountain?), flavours (the bride eventually settled on the same chocolate recipe I used for the engagement cake, and red velvet), and most importantly… what they should look like!

In the end, it took me (and my “team” of helpers who pitched in here and there – thanks mom and boyfriend! ;) approximately 15 hours across three days to do them all.

The two different styles of cupcakes I settled on.

I had the foresight to bake some of the cupcakes (namely the red velvet cupcakes, since they’re so time consuming!) a few days in advance and freeze them (thank god), which really helped with the “OH MY GOD I HAVE TO ICE HOW MANY” freak out I had at 7pm on Friday night when I got home from work.

The Boy ever-so-wonderfully was forced into took on the daunting task of making seven batches of Wilton decorator icing.

Yeah, seven. That’s 21 cups of buttercream icing. Made with 84 cups of icing sugar and 7 cups of shortening, as well as other assorted things (like meringue power and vanilla flavour). That’s a LOT of stuff.

I’m glad he likes me.

I discovered he is also WAY BETTER at mixing the buttercream icing than me – it was sooo creamy, perfectly fluffy, and easy to work with… I told him he could be IcingMaker!(TM) from now on, though he didn’t seem to love that idea.

Icing disaster!

He also makes a bigger mess than me, though, so maybe it’s for the best ;)

After much baking, cursing, baking, cursing, and dropping a freshly iced, perfect cupcake on the floor top-down (my dog narrowly missed on mowing down on the mess of chocolate crumbs and icing – I’m just too quick for her ;) – I finally finished them all.

All 105 of them.

All the cupcakes in all their glory.

That’s a lot of wedding cupcakes! They actually only ordered 100 cupcakes, but I had 5 “just in case” extras:

just in case… I drop one when setting up
just in case… a few get unfix-ably damaged en route
just in case… I get hungry on the way to the reception hall

You get the idea.

Now that the cupcakes were finished, it was time for the daunting task of tackling the bride’s cake – a small, 6″ round cake that was strictly for the purpose of cutting for pictures.

The Bride's Cake - love the toppers she chose!

It took forEVER to bake (like, probably almost 2 hours) because I made it super thick (instead of doing two layers, since I only had one 6″ round pan – and it was TALL)

I piped a ton of spirals, swirls, and dots in white overtop of the white icing (I’ve never used fondant to cover a cake – just cupcakes – and wasn’t about to experiment on this one! It’s on my list to play with it before my next wedding in August 2012!). I also added some roses, green leaves, and silver balls as an accent.

Phew.

It was a lot of work, icing the cake – it didn’t help that I seriously smudged part of my icing design at one point and I had to scrape it all off, re-ice/touch up the side, and then repipe the designs – and by this point, it was like 3 a.m. and I was TIRED. And my hand was, like, all iced out from the wedding cupcakes.

But, in the end I got it all done – and they looked awesome (if I do say so myself ;)

According to my friend, aka sister of the bride — they were also a huge “hit” at the wedding – literally.

Smush! Photo by the ever-talented Laura Dittmann

And, of course, I took a bazillion more photos – my favourite of which are here:

Congrats Alyson & Josh!

Untitled by Martinho on Flickr

Things have gotten interesting over at the Occupy Toronto camp in the last day or so– really interesting, in fact – especially for a political nerd like me. I love politics and law, and I especially love everything about constitutional law – I took a bunch of law-related classes in my undergrad (and actually had, for all purposes, intended to go to law school – I sort of “fell” into multimedia, journalism, and communications before writing the LSAT) and I took a few constitutional law classes as well.

I even have a t-shirt from my Political Science department that has a sports-jersey style to it:

NOTWITHSTANDING
33

Hilarious, right? If you got that, you’re as big of a nerd as I am.

Anyway, like I said – things are getting interesting. Specifically, in relation to legal developments surrounding the Occupy Toronto movement – and I’ll be watching the court system over the coming days very, very closely.

Untitled by -- brian cameron -- on Flickr

Yesterday morning, Mayor Rob Ford and the City of Toronto delivered eviction notices to the Occupy Toronto protesters (who have set up a tent city and have been camping in St. James Park downtown for the past 31 days) – basically saying “vacate the park by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, please and thank you”. Well, that didn’t sit too well with the protesters – who thus planned a party (I wish I was kidding) and said “well, we’re not listening to the law, and we’re not leaving”. I’ve heard they’ve since removed (and burned) all eviction notices and have replaced them with signs reading something to the effect of, “The Charter is our permit!”

Now, I believe in the right to assemble and protest as much as the next person – but setting up a camp in public space does not sit well with me. The city wants the Occupy Toronto protest out for a number of reasons – bylaw violations, disrupting the neighbourhood residents enjoyment of the park, the effect on local businesses in the area… you get the idea.

Technically, the Occupy Toronto protest has been violating a number of city (park-related) by-laws since the occupation of St. James Park began over 30 days ago, including 608-3 conduct, 608-7 encroachment, 608-9 access, 608-10 campfires and barbecues, 608-13 camping and lodging, and 608-14 tents and structures.

To expand a list of the specific bylaws they’re violating (according to my interpretation) click here.

Basically, what happened next was this: while most protesters were planning a party (I wish I was kidding) and meeting to discuss “what now?”, a small group went to the courts to get an injunction – based on a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge – and succeeded.

The occupiers are arguing that evicting them from St. James Park (and other occupy movements across Canada from their respective locations) is a violation of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which outlines our fundamental freedoms as Canadian citizens in section two:

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

(a) freedom of conscience and religion;

(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

(d) freedom of association.

Justice David Brown granted them a stay of eviction, meaning a) the City and police may not forcibly remove the protesters, tents, or other structures, and b) the protesters may not grow their operations by adding more bodies, tents, or structures.

The hearing is scheduled for Friday, when the Occupy Toronto lawyer and city lawyer will present their cases to the courts, and the Justice Brown has promised a decision by suppertime Saturday.

So, the question remains: is there really a valid Charter challenge here? And whose rights supersede whose? Do bylaws trump the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or does the Charter trump the law?

Personally, I don’t think there’s a real Charter challenge, nor do I think the Charter trumps these particular bylaws.

Section one of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is very clear:

1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

And, in my opinion – the bylaws outlined above are such reasonable limits. No one is telling the Occupy Toronto protesters they may not protest, and no one is saying they may not protest IN St. James Park – they are simply being told they can’t LIVE in the park.

As a sidebar, in other cities, there’s been issues with protesters overdosing on drugs (in fact, there was a non-fatal incident of a similar nature in Toronto) and in Vancouver, someone actually died at the protest. With the harsh Canadian winter fast approaching, it’s no wonder people are concerned about the well-being of the protesters on top of the other aforementioned issues.

But, on the flip side – it seems in Vancouver a group of homeless activitists won the right to sleep/camp in parks in 2008, though I’m unclear as to whether or not that is still the case.

Also, in terms of the American protests and their evictions – I’ve seen numerous tent cities set up in the USA, particularly across from the White House, and they’ve been there for decades (presumably) without issue. So, do they have some sort of special consideration, or permit – or does the government turn a blind eye? Or are they arrested, and then return to continue the protest? If anyone has any insight into this, I’d love to hear it.

Untitled by Martinho on Flickr

What makes me nervous about this is the fact it’s a challenge to the Charter – while I agree it’s time the protesters stop camping in St. James Park and look at other options, I also don’t like the fact it’s come this far. A successful Charter challenge by Occupy Toronto would open a whole other can of worms in terms of bylaws, citizen rights, and whether laws of the Charter – in other similar and non similar instances – supersede City laws.

One thing is for sure – like I said earlier – I’ll be watching very closely as this unfolds in the coming days.

Click “read more” below to see the Toronto Municipal Code Parks by-law as it pertains to this protest.

Toronto Municipal Code: Chapter 608 PARKS

Conduct.

A. While in a park, no person shall:

(1) Indulge in riotous, boisterous, violent, threatening, or illegal conduct or use

profane or abusive language;

(2) Cast, throw or in any way propel any object in a manner that may or does

endanger or cause injury or damage to a person or property;

(3) Create a nuisance by loitering, spying, accosting, frightening, annoying or

otherwise disturbing other persons; or

1. Create a nuisance or in any way interfere with the use and enjoyment of the park by other persons.

§ 608-7. Encroachment.

Unless authorized by permit, no person shall encroach upon or take possession of a park

by any means whatsoever, including the construction, installation or maintenance of a

fence or structure, the dumping or storage of materials or plantings, or planting,

cultivating, grooming or landscaping.

§ 608-9. Access.

A. Unless authorized by a parks access agreement, no person shall access or occupy a

park for non-recreational uses, or to access an adjacent property.

B. Unless authorized by permit, no person shall use, enter or gather in a park between

the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.

§ 608-10. Campfires and barbecues.

While in a park, no person shall:

A. Light, build or stoke an open fire or bonfire unless authorized by permit;

B. Use any portable barbeques unless authorized by permit or where posted to allow the

use;

C. Use fuel other than charcoal or briquettes in permanently fixed barbeques; or

D. Leave a barbecue or campfire without extinguishing the fire and ensuring that the

embers are cold.

§ 608-11. Organized gatherings, special events, festivals and picnics.

While in a park, no person shall:

A. Unless authorized by permit, hold a picnic, organized gathering or special event for

more than 25 persons;

B. Interfere with a picnic, organized gathering or special event authorized by permit; or

C. Move park furniture from an area to another area to accommodate their picnic,

organized gathering or special event.

§ 608-13. Camping and lodging.

Unless authorized by permit, no person shall dwell, camp or lodge in a park.

§ 608-14. Tents and structures.

Unless authorized by permit, no person shall place, install, attach or erect a temporary or

permanent tent, structure or shelter at, in or to a park.

Okay, maybe the cupcake costume was more of a surprise than the year I was Hannah Montana (because, come on, a Hannah Montana costume is way easier to put together ;) And yes, I most certainly did force nicely ask The Boy to dress up as a baker for me so we could be ubervom cute together.

My cupcake costume in all it's glory.

Basically, I doctored the heck out of some Value Village scores – including turning the bottom skirt part of a little girl’s dress (yup, all class) into a poofy, icing looking top. What? It was much easier than sewing one from scratch… especially considering I had to call in the troops (Hi Sister!) every 30 seconds (seriously) to unjam the sewing machine for me.

I also hot glued rolled up pipe cleaners all over it, because what’s a cupcake without sprinkles?

And, of course, I needed an icing “peak” – complete with a cherry on top – which (I swear) is what that funny looking thing on my head is.

I think it turned out pretty well – and these cute heels I stole inherited from my mom were a dead match with my small-children’s-dress-turned-shirt. Score.

I also made cupcakes to bring to my friend’s Halloween party (and devoured a few) which led to an, ahem, much later realization that I was, indeed, a Cannibal Cupcake. The horror.

I had baked for a wedding earlier that weekend (more on that later), and had leftover purple, green, and white (a TON of white) icing, which led to these little guys:

How cute, right? I can’t decide if I like the Mummy or Monster better – but when I see all the little Mummies together I just love it.

They were a huge hit, too.

Oh, and finally – what would a Halloween post be without a pumpkin?

Nothing, that’s what.

Too bad it wasn’t a cupcake pumpkin – which I JUST thought of right this second… maybe next year. Someone remind me, okay? ;)

So, what exactly is Help-Portrait?

Help-Portrait is, in essence, a way for us photographers and volunteers alike to donate their time and give back to those less fortunate in our community by doing what we do best: making people feel beautiful, and capturing that moment on film. As photographers, we usually take photos; but this event is all about giving them. Giving them to orphans, single moms and dads, underprivileged families, the elderly, and anyone else who might not otherwise be able to have a professional portrait taken.

Help-Portrait is a worldwide event, and, on December 10th a huge number of communities will be taking part. And, thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers, I’m proud to say for the first time, Durham Region is on that list.

I’m thrilled to be involved as the group’s marketing and sponsorship lead; meaning I have the daunting task of raising the money we need to go ahead (approximately $2,000) and getting the word out to the community.

We have a solid core group of volunteers, but of course – can always use more hands.

If you’re local to the GTA, and are interested in getting involved (or you work for, or know, a company who may be interested in sponsoring us) please get in touch with me or join up with our local group.

And, for those of you who are visiting from other communities – consider checking the global list on the Help-Portrait site to see if there is an event running near you. We can always use more helping hands on these sort of events.

In the past, the portraits have strictly been given to participants – never shared online, in portfolios, or anywhere – but they’re looking at changing that this year (with photo releases, of course) and additionally allowing participants to, if they choose, become the photographer. The folk over at Help-Portrait did a mini event this past weekend, and the stories and photos shared on their blog are truly touching.

We’re still ironing out the final details of the Durham event (and which, if any, new aspects we’ll adopt in our virgin year) but so far I’m so impressed with the diverse group of people in Durham who have pulled together to make this happen: a number of photographers, a project manager, a few technical people, folk from the Salvation Army (who are graciously donating the most important thing – our space/location for this event), a graphic designer, and volunteer coordinator.

Together, we’re making this a reality and I’m so excited.

A Santa Claus Parade float leaving the Old Eaton Stables ~1925

One of the sales staff was in the midst of regaling the other participants with stories about how employees have felt “nuzzling” while working, heard whispering voices, and even the distant clomping of horse hooves in the now-metropolitan building.

No, I wasn’t privy to an off-the-wall conversation during store hours – I had signed on to do a “ghost investigation” of the allegedly haunted building with the Paranormal Investigation Society of Toronto.     The organization runs a number of investigations at haunted sites all across North America.

Organizers explained to us newcomers – myself, my sister, and three ladies from out-of-town – that core members of this group are interested in finding answers to unexplained phenomenon, whether scientific or otherworldly.

Using various types of ghost-busting equipment you see the professionals using on TV:

• electromagnetic field readers (EMFs), which measure the electromagnetic activity in the air – ie, if it changes, your needle jumps, and that could be a sign of something else’s presence (we had K-II meters). These are the same type I used the previous weekend in Salem, MA with The Boy (but more on my Boston trip in another post :)
• four area cameras
• digital thermometers
• Ouiji board
• tarot cards
• a ghost box,which scans radio stations at a very quick frequency – the idea here is that ghosts can “talk” through it and you can pick up words and phrases
• electronic voice phenomena recorders (uh, a special digital recorder to record creepy otherworldly voices)
• a laser grid – you fire it, it makes crisscrossing lasers, and disruptions will block/move the light

Afterwards, they mainly left us to our own devices to borrow their equipment and conduct our own investigation, guiding us as needed. While the group doesn’t have any upcoming events listed at the moment, I do know they have some in the works they are planning on posting soon, including an overnight trip to an old hotel in Orangeville.

Armed with my trusty Maglight (they turned off all the lights during the investigation), Canon T2i (perfect for catching ghosts with), and a pen and notepad; my sister and I took off to begin our investigation.

At her request, we started with the Ouija board – I played for about 30 seconds before getting thoroughly creeped out and quitting.

I hate Ouija boards.

Next, we got to play with the ghost box – which honestly was probably one of the coolest points. We listened to the frequencies, and heard quite a few creepy whispers – including the name “Emily” and “Em” repeated by a raspy male voice and fluttery, quiet female voice. Turns out, the group before us also heard “Emily” a number of times.

The ghost box, and our notepad of things we heard coming through the static. Ghosts, or really creepy sounding radio announcers?

Coincidence? Rigged tool?

Either way, a shiver went down my spine when I found that out.

We played with Tarot cards – you ask a question to the ghosts out loud, draw a card, and write down which it is. The organizers planned to do a reading based on the drawn cards later. The weird thing here was that on the first page 7 people drew the same 2 cards, my sister included. I was the odd one out – I guess I just don’t have that “ghostly” connection, haha.

Kait recording her tarot card answers - please note the creepy mirror behind her.

The creepiest part of THIS one? The darkened changing room with a giant mirror. Did I mention I ALSO hate mirrors? This stems from thinking I saw shadowy figures in the mirror at my grandmother’s house when younger, and my older cousins then regaling me with stories of evil demons haunting the house.

Yeah, that would stick with a 7 year old!

Needless to say, I never saw the horror movie “Mirrors”!

Next was the best part – it was time to play with the EMF readers and digital thermometers in the costume room. We got mostly level 1′s (low), but in certain areas – like near a purple dress near the front – it did spike to a 3. Near the back corner of the shop, we were getting a flickering 2-3 by a duck hand thing; and it spiked to 4 a few times. The first time was when the subway went by underground (keep in mind this is a top floor of a building), so I’m not sure if the electrical spike from the subway had something to do with it or not – but it did keep flicking to 4 well after the roaring and shaking of the train had passed.

I took a few photos in the costumed area, but none showed anything interesting (besides the drool-worthy costumes, that is! ;) – not even the highly controversial orbs, which I thought I would get a lot of considering the amount of dust in that place!

Something interesting to note – every time our EMF would raise, the digital thermometer would drop – and drop steadily. The lowest it reached in that room was 67.9°F – though I never felt a temperature change personally. And, when the EMF frequency dropped to a 1, the thermometer would do a 180 and start to rise drastically back to “normal” (our starting temperature in that room was around 79°F I believe)

It was steadily dropping while in the back when the level spiked to 4 – we watched it drop for quite some time (it eventually hit 67.9°F), going up slightly every time the level faded to a 1. By the time it hit it’s lowest point, we decided to move on to another area. I’m fairly confident had we stayed, it would have continued to drop.

Scanning for electromagnetic fields - this was when we were getting the spikes to level 4 (out of 5)

Next, we continued our EMF/digital thermometer investigation in the back room – a large, blue, mostly empty room housing a few costumes that had seen a significant amount of activity by other groups (and in the past, as well).

Here’s where things get interesting. The EMF stayed mostly a 1, except for one major “hot spot” where it would spike to 5. It did flicker a little here, and move a bit, but we could typically find it again.

It is possible it could have been some sort of electrical interference, but we checked all our electronics (cameras, phones, lights) and nothing caused a spike. A quick visual investigation told us there were no obvious wires or poles potentially housing wires nearby.

The temperature remained steady, though I did feel a cold creeping up my legs while holding this EMF for the shot – and there were certainly no doors, windows, or drafts nearby. I had not been cold earlier in this room while we were setting up and getting instructions.

The EMF is spiked to 5 - the highest level of electromagnetic activity readable by the K-II.

I handed the K-II off to my sister, who did the same move around, lose the spot, find it again thing I had just been doing. Once she hit the sweet spot, I made her stand there with her arm in the air like an idiot for a good 5 minutes while I tried to get a good angle showing the 5 lit up lights (they were flicking) and her as well.

While this was going on, once we got a steady red she started to complain she was cold. Very cold. I felt absolutely fine and I was only standing a few feet away. Imagination? A draft? Or something otherworldly? I wasn’t positive either of us were actually feeling cold while holding the meter lit to red, but once I got home and looked through my photos I began to wonder.

Level 5 EMF, odd looking green dot to the right of Kait's hand

If you look to the right of Kait’s hand, there’s a small-ish, green-ish, round spot in the photo. The room was dark, other than the lights on the K-II and my flash, so there was no other light pollution. We had our flashlights turned off. Typically, dust spots in a photo – and after going to Burning Man, I’ve seen a LOT of them – are white. Not green.

As far as I can recall, there was no sequined dressed (and even if there were, would it not make more than one reflection?) or anything else reflective nearby. The green light was thus not angled at anything reflective, and the K-II is not angled in a way it could be creating that dot without a reflective surface in my opinion… and even if it WERE, would there not be other coloured dots as well?

Now, I am not saying this is necessarily anything spooky or evidence of a ghost – but it certainly is curious, and given the fact this photo was taken at the EXACT moment she was complaining of being cold (you can even see her lips slightly parted) it makes me wonder.

And, FWIW, I have other photos taken from a similar angle before, and after, this one – and neither has that mysterious, glowing dot:

Post investigation in this room, we conducted a “seance” in the room – basically forming a circle, and asking the spirits present to light op the K-II in response to questions. It worked – as much as one can assume, at least. To say the very least, it was certainly interesting. The K-II would mostly rest at level 1, occasionally flicking to level 2, and when we asked a question the light would sometimes flick to level 3 in a positive response. A few things to come out of this – the spirit was a man, named Dick (or Richard – which, I should mention, is a name two other groups heard come through the ghost box) and was the original owner of Theatrix (back when it was the Old Eaton Stables).

Two members of the group say they heard a distinct, ghostly whisper coming from the back corner of the room (vacant) while this was going on. Sadly, no one was recording an EVP during this so we won’t ever know what – if anything – was said.

I can’t remember much else that we asked during this part – I was quite tired and half asleep by this time as it was nearly 2 a.m. (and, uh, Oktoberfest was the night before!) but I do recall it was interesting, and a little eerie.

So – was contact really made? I remain partly skeptical, but there was definitely some sort of presence in that room. Not heavy, but it was there. And with the various things that happened - and there were  many – I have trouble believeing it was all a coincidence, or could be explained away 100% by science… and I’ll definitely be back on another investigation with this group (though in a different location) to see what happens there.

I should also note – a group went thought Theatrix two weekends before (on Oct 1) and did not have nearly as much activity as we did.

As for that elusive green dot – was it a reflection? Ghost? Dust?

I’ll let you be the judge – I’d love to hear your thoughts/opinions in the comments.

More traffic lights were added, the speed limit was lowered – but the “highway” moniker was kept. Now, York Region is building a bunch of junk (okay, not junk – bus lanes, bike lanes, highrises, etc) along Highway 7, and officials think the word “highway” doesn’t match anymore.

So they’re holding a contest to rename it.

It’s going to cost more than $250,000.

Yes, a quarter of a million to rename a small piece of a long highway that runs through Richmond Hill, Markham, and Vaughan – but will still be called “Highway 7” in other areas.

And, honestly – who actually thinks people will refer to Highway 7– sorry, [INSERT NEW NAME HERE] as it’s new name? The Skydome became the Rogers Center in 2005, and really, who calls it the “Rogers Center” besides newscasters, sports officials and, uh, Rogers?

According to news reports, a few contenders include Avenue 7, Gridlock Way, and Bottleneck Boulevard.

Wait, Avenue 7?

Yes, there’s a good idea – lets waste TWO HUNDERD AND FIFTY THOUSAND dollars to change the word “highway” to “avenue”.

Face palm.

Oh, and did I mention it’s already been dubbed “York Regional Road 7″ by the region?

Double face palm.

So, why is this (apparently) a good idea?

Well, according to some guy who swims in hundred dollar bills Steven Kemp, director of traffic management with York Region, “Highway 7 will not be the road that people use to travel through the region. It’s the place that people will go.”

Which, obviously, warrants spending $250,000 on a name change.

Guess I’ll need to buy new road maps.