This summer, after Portugal –> Italy –> Toronto –> Spain, I accidentally spent three weeks in Copenhagen and now all I think about is going back. This is just one of the really amazing people I met there. Tillykke med fødselsdagen, Taryn!

One year ago (though it honestly feels like a lifetime), some fellow urban explorer/photographer friends and I were lucky enough to climb one of Toronto’s most amazing high-rises—one that we had often dreamed of visiting but never thought possible until the opportunity suddenly presented itself. After that serendipitous day, a photo Tom Ryaboi took of [...]

Back from Copenhagen. Wrote about an independent culture house for asylum seekers and the selling of shares in Freetown Christiania. Filed both stories, seven photos, a video, and a work report. Ate terribly because the most mundane things cost a fortune in Denmark’s capital. Barely slept, but socialized plenty. Made new friends. Got lost every [...]

At a humble 16 floors, Aarhus Statsbiblioteket (state library) is one of the taller buildings in town. It’s proof that you don’t need to conquer a skyscraper to take in a great view, since the experience of height is relative to the buildings around the summit on which you stand. I use the term “summit” [...]

Welcome to the new and improved Pencilprism! This relaunch has been a long time in the making, and I must thank Olas Smith (logo) and especially Tom Ryaboi (migration, design, and all manner of technical hurdles) for their help in making my site what it is today. While there were inevitable sacrifices made in the [...]

A car passes a parking garage at King and Simcoe, Toronto.

Seen from across Roy Thomson Hall at King and Simcoe. September is here, which means things like chilly weather and moving and work and stress are starting to overlap, so naturally I\’ve gotten sick. I\’ve moved into a beautiful old house in Little Italy with two other Jens and a cat named Nin and a [...]

Can you feel it?

In Montreal, we clawed for the skies and not even gravity could deny us. It was my reaffirmation that only in our madness do we feel the most alive and clear-sighted.

I entered my second decade today. My first thought, although by no means an unfamiliar one, was that I\’m rapidly running out of time to blame my ignorance and flaws on my youth. Age makes too convenient a scapegoat for many things. This happens to be one of the reasons why I resent ageist people, [...]