The rat

It rains on the first day of the hunt. No bother, we say, hit the concrete with one umbrella, no map. The buzz had begun a few days earlier, word was Banksy had been in town.

The proof was sketched across town on buildings and in back alleys, markings of a graffiti artist gone mainstream. There’s a film to promote, so we wondered if it was all a stunt to cause a film-frenzy, but the local experts say the works are real and the papers believe them.

A black and white blur Jamie saw through the window of a cab turns out to be nothing more than a street-side tag by a local author. One down. We walk up and into Chinatown, tramp through back alleys until we find the Rat.

It looks just like the photo we saw of it on the web, but we grin and snap another. Simulacrum. Then its down the Rogers Centre, where we walk in circles and find nothing.

The next day I meet Hali to search through Trinity Bellwoods. We walk the park’s perimeter; see nothing. Strike two runs into a patio, we give up and grab a beer.

After our failure, of course, the blogosphere gives up on the code of ethics its been holding on to in the morning and Torontoist publishes each art pieces location.

It’s up now, the hunt is over: time to head out and find them.

Culture Consume Soup.

Who says consuming is a bad thing? Other than Al Gore, David Suzuki, Karl Marx, Jane Jacobs, The Yes Men, Naomi Klein, Ralph Nader and the rest of those crazy activists over the years. In an effort to consume more of the right things, here's a list of some of the stuff I'm into this week.

Banksy: The man behind the mask has been revealed. Does that take away from the mystique of the work? Maybe a bit. Does it make it any less cool to look at? Nope.

Augusten Burroughs' Running With Scissors. Burroughs' writing style will pull you in. I couldn't put this book down all week.

The Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum closed last Sunday, but the Gagosian will have his work included in an exhibit thats open until August 22. Now if I could only afford to buy My Lonesome Cowboy (above) to put in my home.

It's 1994 again. Mary-Kate O is hardly in this film, which may be a good thing, and may be a bad thing. Either way, the film is great, and Method Man rules.

I know all the hype this week is about Batman. And I know no one from the cast of Hellboy II has recently died, but this movie is seriously worth checking out. Blood, guts and comics. Can't go wrong.

Club Monaco. Bow-ties, vests, suspenders, and blazers in a classic black and white. What more could one ask for? Colour? Casual wear? The return of Joe Mimran? Pish-posh.