just some updates for the week

Hi, I'm just updating how my week was and plans for the next week.

Saturday, I made my first ever trip to Taste of the Danforth, the big yearly Greek festival happening in Toronto on Danforth Avenue. There was cheap food, I imagine not as many people as expected due to the rain, yet nonetheless, it was a struggle making my way through all the crowds of people, especially with umbrellas clashing.

Sunday, I ended my hibernation from the Toronto Poetry scene, when I attended WordJam at the Free Times Cafe. Yes, people could see in my hibernation, I'd grown a beard.

Events I'm excited for this week are Dream Theater on Friday at the amphitheatre, as well as Next Tuesday's Poetry Hoedown, as part of the Art Bar series. It's an event where country lyrics are read as poetry. I know what I want to read on the open mic portion, if I get a chance to do so. I have not decided if I will attend either the Toronto Poetry Slam or Bam! the Toronto Youth Slam.

Youth Slam

On Wednesday I was a judge at the second monthly Toronto Youth Slam, put on by the Toronto Poetry Project. Truth is... was the feature and was great as always. I was not sure what to expect. I expected a lot of teen angst from the 12-19 year-olds, but was surprised by a lot of the maturity of the work. These kids may not be ready to contend for big championships now, but a chance to hone their skills will help them develop and help the art of spoken word in general. Also a big thanks goes to Yehuda Fisher for hosting. He has committed a lot of time and energy to spoken word in the last year.

It was funny. One contestant, who was about 12 or 13 went on a tirade about how someone was ugly and stupid and had a big butt and I sat there thinking, "how do I score this? She's 12." Then at the end she explained these were things she'd say to herself in the mirror before going to school and trying to be one of the most popular girls. It was a brilliant way to turn it around and I gave her a 9.7.