Posts by Nancy

Faces of Toronto: Carmen

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Our culture places so much importance on looking beautiful and appearing youthful that it's easy to forget the beauty found in our spirit. Carmen is nearly 100 years old, and still in good health with an active mind. Born and raised in Spain, she is the youngest of seven children and lost her only remaining sibling when her brother recently passed away at the age of 104.

World Press Photos

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An independent non-profit organization founded in the Netherlands in 1955, World Press Photo organizes the world's largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest. The prize-winning photographs are assembled into a traveling exhibition, which is visited by over two million people in more than 80 cities and 45 countries each year.

This year's winning image by Spencer Platt depicts a car filled with young, affluent Lebanese returning to their homes after several weeks of bombings in Beirut. It could be debated that it is not the most provacative of photojournalistic images, but it does remind the viewer that victims of war don't always fit into the usual historical view of war.

Danny Glover Off the Red Carpet

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Actor Danny Glover took some time away from the Toronto International Film Festival to speak with Rogers Centre concession workers at Tuesday night's game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. He is supporting the efforts of the workers to improve their working conditions by forming a union with an organization called UNITE HERE

Faces of Toronto: Lori

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As I stood in the rain during the memorial celebration for Ed Mirvish, a kind woman standing next to me adjusted her umbrella to cover the long lens of my camera. There was an immediate sense of warmness about her as we exchanged small talk during the performances. After the gospel singers finished their performance, we decided to escape the rain and get a coffee at a nearby corner restaurant.

Faces of Toronto: Mr. Schwartz

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A well-dressed man, whose suit caught my attention from half a block away, introduced himself as Mr. Schwartz. Proud of his youthful appearance, initially he wouldn't reveal his age but instead playfully suggested that I take a guess. I was off by more than a decade - he's a handsome 93 years old.

He and his 88-year old wife (originally from Poland) have been married for 57 years. They have no children because of several complications with the pregnancies. They moved to Toronto in the late 1940's after he was released from Auschwitz.

Faces of Toronto: Jenny

20070707_Jenny.jpgThis is Jenny. She's 20 years old. I found her while taking the long way home through Kensington Market. It was her ripped stockings that initially caught my attention.

Jenny has lived on the streets on and off for the last five years. A young beautiful girl, she was quickly welcomed into a life of sex and drugs. Her first boyfriend took her to Montreal and introduced her to heroin. They returned to Toronto and Jenny earned money working for an escort agency.

At the escort agency, she was well looked after. The man in charge of the agency was very respectful. If there was someone that she didn't feel comfortable around, he wouldn't send her out on the call.

I found Jenny sitting on some steps with a friend. I talked to both of them and learned that her friend has been clean for over a year and is now off the streets. But Jenny remains. She sleeps anywhere.

"I know it sounds fucked up", she confessed "but sometimes I sleep under a bridge." Her friend, likely noticing my concern, added "I have been on the streets long enough to know that I can't help people make changes. They must do it for themselves."
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