Things seem to finally be back in full swing after the holidays in the Toronto arts community. A few artist talks take place this week among a slew of openings that I'm sure blogTO's own Tanja Tiziana Burdi will tackle in this week's Gallery Space.

The first artist talk, given by Guillermo Gomez Pena, is tonight, Tuesday, January 9 at 7 pm @ Vtape, 401 Richmond St, in Suite 452 (free). Part of the on-going exhibition The Symptom or the Cure? that ends this Saturday, the 13th, Guillermo Gomez Pena's video works such as Declaration of Poetic Disobedience (see clip still above) critique current globalization practices.

For this Wednesday and Thursday, January 10 and 11, Simon Frank will be at the Koffler Gallery in North York for a Creation Performance of his environmental installation, Sketch for New Forest, between the hours of 10-4 pm. Frank will also be giving an Artist Talk during the Reception on Thursday at 7 pm. The Koffler Gallery is part of Koffler Centre of the Arts located @ the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre, 4588 Bathurst Street.

I'd like to thank Ryerson student of journalism drop-out Kate Jackson (not her real name) for reminding us that the news isn't always "empirical truth" in her recent article, "Confessions of a Teenage Fabulist" for Maisonneuve. If it wasn't for her insightful article on the machinations of deception I would have never guessed that journalists sometimes flub, that the news is sometimes fabricated and that college students sometimes cheat and plagiarize their way through school, and even - gasp! - get away with it!

As a current student with a straight A average in academic courses, which I work my tail off for, I have no sympathy for Kate Jackson's journey into disillusionment, when the bubble bust and the fourth estate lost the "aura of authority" because she had gotten away with drinking through school and making it up on the fly. Somehow Jackson's assertion that she dropped out on "principle" rings a little hollow for me.

I'd like to think that those who cheat eventually get caught, but I've known many to purloin for themselves long and successful careers. Miss Jackson appears to be another who has escaped retribution unscathed. By remaining anonymous, Jackson exposes Ryerson to shoulder the burden of responsibility for her fakery. And all honest Ryerson journalism grads will now have to defend their honour in lieu of Miss Jackson's soul-bearing confession.

One point seems to be lost on Miss Jackson: just because deception is easy to get away, doesn't mean it is unavoidable if you are willing.

(photo credit: Christopher Woo)

True Story: I was walking at the foot of Bay Street, when I noticed hordes of people pointing up to the sky. What was it? Dare-Devils? Eco-protestors? Terrorists?

I looked up but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then it hit me: the tourists were pointing up at the the CN Tower.

I had officially lived in Toronto long enough to no longer see the CN Tower without really looking. Can one therefore get as much mileage out of this city's attractions as the person visiting with fresh eyes?

We were on the last leg of our CityPass touristy tour. We had already visited the ROM, Casa Loma, the Ontario Science Centre, the AGO, and the Toronto Zoo. We had accomplished this (exhausting) feat in nine days.

We had planned to visit the CN Tower at the end of our tour, a big mistake as the latter part of our sightseeing was overcast and foggy. Too late to go back in time for a clearer day now.

Photo: Outside Dupont Station

Sometimes wheatpaste removal attempts only enhance a piece, rather than, er, subtract.

True Story: We were visiting the Toronto Zoo with some friends native to Guyana. Looking at the tapir (pictured below) in the Indomalaya outdoor exhibit, Simon said, "We used to hunt these back home. Only they were a different colour. More red."

"Let me guess," I quipped, "They taste like chicken."

Simon gestured at the piggish animal and looked back at me like the idiot I was, "No, they taste like ham."

This marked day five of our in CityPass touristy tour. Unfortunately, I hadn't learned of the free admission Boxing Day special until after Tanja's post. General admission is normally $19 for ages 13-64, $13 for seniors, and $11 for kids; but as a family pass only costs $130 (they also have bargain individual, senior, student, etc. passes), we only have to go three times within a year and it's more than paid for itself.

I had just taken the above picture and was about to go for a second when a security guard interrupted me, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. You can't take any pictures".

Bewildered, I exclaimed, "I can't take a picture of a didactic? Really? What is the reasoning behind..."

Sensing I wanted to pursue a theoretical discussion behind the machinations of the AGO's draconian policies, the guard made certain I understood the law of the land before briskly making his getaway.

And that was the highlight of our visit to the AGO on day four of our CityPass touristy tour.