Ross...and I... and Nuit Blanche... and Diogenes Things...

Ross...and I... and Nuit Blanche...

He loved the city...He was enchanted by the sounds of the city... The old architecture, the new steel-glass highrisers... The lake... The Islands in Lake Ontario... The lake shore... the main street, the Yonge street rejuvenated him... He became young again... and Rossie played and giggled and ordered another drink... 

What's there not-to-like cried Ross so loud that even the homeless napping on the sidewalk looked at him... and then he walked to him and apologized...

No matter where we had dinner... later we walked on Yonge street, the main street of the city energized him... as we passed by Marche, one of his favourite crowded eating venues... 

"We must have the Monte Cristo...", he insisted... "It will help to digest...", he added... But I knew that he wanted to meet the bar-tender... Have few jokes with him and he craved for the brandy while leaking the white cream... floating in the cup... 

"After dinner you should have couple of digestives...", he entertained me...

Nuit Blanche was a downtown core contemporary art all-night-long festival... He loved the crowd, the energy... the sounds of the people... Once we met a group of former students... They called after me...! I looked around and could not recognize any one in the crowd... 

"Don't you remember me...? You were my favourite teacher...!" 

We got reacquainted and and Ross bubbled with joy... he loved the students... They made him younger... They always energized him...

Behind a building we heard bells and drums... went there... There was absolutely

nothing... no bells and no drums... just the toll of the bells and the beat of the drums... Ross looked around disappointed... was dismayed...

:Nothing to see...", he said.

"But lots to hear... This is how crowds are created ..." I jumped in... and indeed, there was a huge group of people anxiously waiting for something to happen... but they were disappointed like Ross...

But Ross was happy... "So this is the art of creating a crowd... and hoping that the crowd will evolve into a group of people in harmony... a society..."; he explained his discovery to the strangers next to him... 

Ross was never shy... and willingly shared his knowledge with everyone...

...And we walked... Suddenly Ross stopped and said... 

Ross and I sat in the middle of the street... and we became part of the artsy night...

"You know I always wanted to sit in the middle of Yonge street, but there is perpetual traffic... " and he suggested that we sit right there, in the middle of the street... I did not see any harm in it... So agreed...

We sat on the asphalt... crossed our legs and smiled... 

We were there for few minutes when not-so-shy lady approaches us....

"Are you part of the street art... old gentlemen...?" She inquired....

"Yes, of course..." Ross replied without any hesitation...

"What do you represent...?" the lady insisted...

"Liberated older men..." I improvised... and noticed that Ross's eyes sparkled...

"Oh..." The lady was surprised...

"...and if you want to be liberated, you may join us too..." I continued...

The not-so-shy lady left us in peace... and Ross giggled aloud... very loud... and attracted new observers to us...

He was content and ecstatic... "We became part of Nuit Blanche...", he whispered in my ear...

To avoid any incident... the police were around... some on horseback... others on bicycles... and others stationed to specific places on the road... I noticed that a young policeman was looking around, utterly bored... and very tense and serious... I mentioned that to Ross and said I am going to talk to him... and I approached him... "You looked bordered...", I said... He did not reply and looked at me surprised... "Smile and try to enjoy yourself...", I continued... "This is a very friendly, artsy crowd..." He continued to look at me... still confused... still surprised... a bit annoyed too... So Ross pulled me away and we continued...

Nuit Blanch was fun... and my fun was compounded since I was with Ross...

 China town residents donated clothing for this exhibit... depicting GLOBALIZATION...

Clothesline Canopy... Interesting contrast with the church...

Global Rainbow... The theme of the year... Cast over the downtown core...
The rainbow of hope... for peace and harmony...
Arts CAN create peace...

Screaming Booth... You can scream you heart out... and your frustrations too...
Ross loved this and screamed four times... and I had to pull him out of the booth...

                 ...and love...                                    ... and harmony...

***

... And Diogenes Things...

Davos, the World Forum...                                          Global Challenges The 2,500 world leaders - alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Bono - set to attend the 46th World Economic Forum next week have their slates full, from refugees and climate change to a bitter, disinvited North Korea. When the “world” disinvites a country, despite its obnoxious behaviour... democracy loses... this action reveals the diktat of the rulers and the iron rule of world establishment... High level who's who of the world leaders... are attending the forum.... Though this year's theme of "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution" aims to look ahead, participants will be saddled with present and more immediate concerns like Europe's migrant crisis and whether Beijing's destabilizing economic moves could trigger another global financial crisis. Previous Forums have demonstrated that the participants are there for social gathering and prestige and “how to manage” the global affairs and how to harness the peoples of the world... The 2,500 world leaders are there to find ways of channeling the discontent of the peoples and tame the “Fourth Industrial Revolution...” Oxfam: Richest 1% Own More Than the Rest Combined... . Fact: The world's 62 richest people - enough to fill one luxury bus - have more cash than the poorest 3.6 billion... . Fact: The wealthiest 1 percent own more than everyone else combined. . Fact: The average annual income of the poorest 10 percent has gone up by less than $3 over the last quarter century. Question:  Are the global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to socialize and feel good about themselves or to take action to eliminate extreme poverty? Past experience does not feel me with hope... ...And Saudi Arabia...                                   The friend of Western Democracies...

War of Words...  Will the Sword of the Saudies, polished with oil, Triumph Again...? It's two weeks after the Saudies executed an opposition cleric... Because he was opposed to the regime of discrimination and "Royal family" dictatorship... and now,   Activists and writers around the globe organized 120 events in 44 countries this week on behalf of a Palestinian refugee poet sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for blasphemy.  Ashraf Fayadh maintains his innocence, saying his poems are about "cultural and philosophical issues" and have been misinterpreted by religious extremists. The Berlin International Literature Festival organized the readings, and they're urging the U.K. and U.S. to have a word with their Gulf friends - but thus far the Saudis are refusing to comment... and their masters are refusing to act... .