Toad Lane Summer 2016

Things are good in the house. We’re still having bi-weekly potlucks, although attendance has dropped off a bit. We did some major work on the backyard. Check it out!

 

 

I’m [Tristan] going to try to make more regular updates to this blog, maybe change its name.  Any suggestions for a better blog name?

Advertisement

Toad Lane Reunion – Success!

Thanks to everyone who came out for a wonderful day of sharing food and stories. And, for all of you who missed it, we made you a film!

Interested in Living at Toad Lane?

We are now taking applications, both for summer sublets and fall occupancies!

Toad Lane Reunion Get-Together

Greetings Toads of the past 20 years! We (the current Toads) would like to officially invite you all to the 20th anniversary gathering of Toad Lane that we will be hosting at your former home!

 

WHEN: March 22 at 3:00pm until March 23 at 3:00pm

WHAT: A chance to catch up with past housemates and gather across generations to reminisce and celebrate 20 years since Toad Lane’s creation in 1994 as a vegetarian (and in 2008 a vegan) co-op/collective house.

DATES: Saturday, March 22nd and Sunday, March 23rd 2014

LOCATION: Toad Lane, 429 Brunswick Ave

GUESTS: Past and current Toad Lane residents. Partners and children welcome too! To be able to comfortably accommodate everyone, we are not extending the invite further e.g. Tony from 397 Huron in 99’.

DO I NEED TO RSVP? – To help us in making arrangements, please RSVP here:
http://www.helpersignup.com/viewsheet.php?type=2&sheet=1e422e128aa8595d59d9335708aa41bd

**Please invite your past housemates from Toad Lane to this fb event or have them e-mail us at 429brunswick@gmail.com**

WORKING SCHEDULE:

Saturday

3pm – We’ll give tours of the house. Come see what has and hasn’t changed! Your artwork may still be on the wall! Let’s have coffee and tea, and we’ll have some other ongoing activities.

4pm – Introductions (potentially with recorded videos from those unable to make it), followed by a slide show of pictures from over the years

5pm – chill time

5:30pm – a vegan dinner (menu coming soon!)

7:30pm – storytelling. Share your favourite stories from Toad Lane!

Sunday

10:30am – vegan brunch at Toad Lane

1pm
– ice skating at Jean Sibelius Park (the park just 20 metres north! Pending weather.)
or
– alternative neighbourhood walk (potentially)
or
– rest and relaxation

ACCESSIBILITY:

Housing
– We have room for up to 10 people to sleep at Toad Lane for Friday and/or Saturday evening. We will also check with our friends and neighbouring co-opers for more space.

Childcare
– Either ourselves and/or experienced and vouched for friends of ours will be providing childcare

In advance, please let us know your housing and childcare needs, as well as any dietary restrictions. We will do our best to accommodate any specific access related requests (communicated in advance). Unfortunately, as you may recall, Toad Lane is not wheel chair accessible.

SUGGESTIONS:

– If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute with some rad skills please let us know at 429brunswick@gmail.com.

RSVP REQUEST :
– To help us in making arrangements, please RSVP here:
http://www.helpersignup.com/viewsheet.php?type=2&sheet=1e422e128aa8595d59d9335708aa41bd

Looking forward!
Lots of Toad love!

Nuit Blanche: “Cinema Zizek” at Toad Lane

On Saturday night I did not go out to explore the Nuit Blanche. Instead, I stayed home, had some friends over, and watched the livestream of Zizek’s talk on our house projector.

In a lot of ways, it was an ideal experience – the self created, cinematic Zizek. If we had tried to attend the seminar in person, we probably would have waited in line for hours, gotten sick (I was feeling under the weather already), and not gotten in anyway. (Toronto Media Co-op has published a scathing critique of the event). At home we watched Zizek from our own comfy chairs, new shag carpet, beer and wine in hand.

The talk was intense, better than a lot of Zizek talks I’ve seen on youtube. Although, as usual, there is a lot of repetition from someone who is constantly speaking, rarely getting a chance to think about something new.

I like the direction Zizek is going in politically. He is emphasizing the hardness of the contemporary problem, and I think some of his formulations are useful for critiquing the dominant “progressive” ideologies and exposing the reality of their reactionary attributes. “No genocide without poetry”, “No revolution without secret police”, these are hard things to hear, but if we don’t reflect on the role of meaning-constitution in violence, or the role of disciplinary violence in revolutionary transformation, I think we are lost. These are some of the first things we should think of today.

I’ve been thinking about another formulation lately, a formulation which is simply stating something which already gets play in the media: No social media without self-imposed ideological censorship. We live and work on the internet, and it appears the freest place. But in reality, there are very strict rules which everyone obeys which articulate what you are allowed to talk about on the internet, for reasons of security. The internet is the new Greek agora – the open place where we are in public. But not in public to each other as a public – our internet lives are known only to our friends, and to the secret police. This is a tragic dynamic – a dynamic where we must worry about everything we say ending up in a court, or, and it amounts to the same thing, into the hands of an interrogator.

I remember as a child asking my godmother why the Soviet Union was “bad”. Her response was that over there the government could put a listening device in your home and spy on you and put you in jail if you said things against the government. Surely here the level of criticism which is allowed may be higher – but don’t we all own this spying device? Don’t we all use it, freely? Aren’t I using it, right now, to express myself to you?

The lesson of the false freedom of the internet is to develop human relations, networks not based on social media. Only in physical presence with each other do we feel truly at home.

And perhaps, next year, to go out on Nuit Blanche.

 

Another year gone by

I haven’t posted anything to the blog in too long, so I’m going to write something despite not having a single idea prepared. What has happened in the last year? Recently I hosted a fundraiser for the kalandia youth centre in Palestine and raised 500$! See videos on my youtube site. Pot luck has been going. I’d like to say “going strong”, but we’re still doing it only every other week – maybe next year we can kick it back up to weekly. In sad news, Ketan is moving out! Ketan has lived at Toad Lane for five years, and has made immeasurable contributions to the house both as a social community, and also the built space through his ingenious construction and renovation projects. In other sad news, I’m gone for the summer, but I’ll be back in the fall.

 

Socialist Utopia Dinners

We’ve started a new tradition at Toad Lane – communal dinners on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. People sign up in advance on a whiteboard (usually two people per day), and food is cooked and served to everyone, even leaving some for housemates unable to make it for dinner.

Originally we had tried to figure a system of everyone paying precisely the same amount, but in the interest of simplicity and equity we have instead instituted the principle of “socialist utopia” – everyone gives according to their means and ability, and eats according to their need. All forms of contribution are valued – financial, cooking, and cleaning. So far the system is working out well and is engendering a great deal of house participation – it gives a space outside of formal house meetings for us to plan and debrief events and projects.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Socialist Utopia dinners is that we’ve been able to solve, almost by accident, Campus Co-op’s never ending meal-plan troubles: there is no need for complex meal plans, kitchen staff and industrial food production: people can simply cook for each other and the same thing, only better, happens – and for less cash to boot.

 

Toad Lane Theme: 2010-2011

We’ve just had a house meeting where we have updated our theme, and even changed it’s name! The new theme will appear under the “Charter” tab, but for safekeeping we are putting the 2010-2011 theme here in a post, in case people want to compare the differences over the years:
1. What is your house’s theme?

Friendly Vegans for Social Justice

2. Briefly describe this theme:

Veganism is a form of nonviolent direct action which takes seriously the interests of animals to avoid the suffering inherent in their exploitation. It looks forward to a future where liberation struggles such as anti-racism and anti-sexism are realized, but also where the underlying principles of justice are applied consistently to other patterns of oppression. We oppose speciesism, which is the assignment of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species.

Veganism also has demonstrated health and environmental benefits, which contribute to its role in social justice. We do not endorse forms of veganism based on celebrity trends, weight-loss fads, or personal purity. Veganism doesn’t mean you should fit a stereotype.

What does it mean to live in our house? Members of the house are expected to abstain from bringing “new” animal exploitation products into the house. The question of “old” leather and wool, or dumpster-recovered items is less a question of ethics, but more a debate of strategy and consistency, open at this time.

Veganism is about social justice.

3. What is the history and evolution behind this theme?

Toad Lane has been a student cooperative since the early 1970s. In the mid-nineties, Toad Lane was acquired by CCRI. Around this time, it became a vegetarian house. Activism was a long-standing tradition, evident in the newspaper articles featuring its residents, hundreds of books about social issues in the library, and dozens of pieces of artwork in every corner of the house. We have evolved into a vibrant vegan community, hosting potlucks, fundraisers, and other events. While we disagree with one another on many things, we are always willing engage each other (especially over tea and fair trade vegan chocolate cookies!).

B) What has been accomplished?

This year, we have succeeded in increasing our potluck outreach within the CCRI community, both via posters and personal invitation. We’ve hosted several “Theme House Open Houses” where we have endeavoured to spread the idea of “theme houses” within CCRI. We have also hosted various theme-related events, including presentations by residential school survivors, a gathering place for activists. We also hosted a fundraiser for Haiti, and are hosting a conference entitled “Free Food: Perceptions, Choice and Progress in the Liberation of our Food Supply”. We also fielded a contestant for the Kensington Market Chili Cook-Off, who sadly failed to place.

4. What does your house hope to accomplish within the household over the coming year?

Begin the Canadian Centre for Excellence in Legumology

S

Continue to improve our rooftop garden

Art Party

Communal Food Purchasing

Improve the spelling and grammar of our house members

A Cook-Off

5. What does your house hope to accomplish beyond the household over the coming year?

Friendly Vegans for Social Justice is a link to many other social and ecological justice issues. We hope to extend our philosophy of non-harming through cooperation within the house, and through outreach beyond our house to other co-op members, and the community at large.

-Reach out to the community and open up our doors as a place for public forum on various topics.

-Start a series of cross talks to get different activists talking about each other about synergy

-start a social enterprise in the house – invest in an industrial oven to bake bread OR start a brewery OR a soup company

-start trade economy beyond the house, inspired by the no-buy holiday stockings which were done in the past

6. In what ways does your house plan to reach out to other houses in the coop community?

We will support other theme houses in their infancy. We will also spread the word about our good work and our events in a friendly manner through posters, facebook, but not the intranet.

7. What key values are central to your theme?

1. Friendliness

2. Veganism

3. Social Justice

Also, “non-harming”, “living a low-impact lifestyle”, “cooperation”, “developing a healthy relationship with our food supply” and “fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.

8. In what ways do these key values support one or more of the Roshdale 7 principles of cooperation?

Education, training, and information (“fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.)
Cooperation among cooperatives (Friendliness, “fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.)
Concern for community ( “cooperation”, “developing a healthy relationship with our food supply”, “fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.)

9. If your home has previously been a theme house, what helpful advice can your house offer to coop houses which are similarly planning to become future theme houses?

We recommend an intentional community based on principles or values that translate to tangible activities which are better worked upon cooperatively than individually.

10. Synopsis

Toad Lane has been a student cooperative since the early 1970s, and a part of CCRI since the 1990s. Activism has been a long-standing tradition, evident in the newspaper articles featuring its residents, hundreds of books about social issues in the library, and dozens of pieces of artwork in every corner of the house. We have evolved into a vibrant vegan community, hosting weekly potlucks, fundraisers, and frequent informal discussions about social justice.

Veganism is a form of nonviolent direct action which takes seriously the interests of animals to avoid the suffering inherent in their exploitation. It looks forward to a future where liberation struggles such as anti-racism and anti-sexism are realized, but also where the underlying principles of justice are applied consistently to other patterns of oppression. We oppose speciesism, which is the assignment of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species.

Veganism also has demonstrated health and environmental benefits, which contribute to its role in social justice. We do not endorse forms of veganism based on celebrity trends, weight-loss fads, or personal purity. Veganism doesn’t mean you should fit a stereotype.

What does it mean to live in our house?

We do not have a meal plan, but sometimes we make meals collectively.
We host open vegan potlucks every thursday attended by 10-30 people.
Cleanliness and weekly house chores are taken seriously and we strive to continually improve our home with art, plants, and renovation projects.
We regularly host couch surfers and use our house as meeting place for community groups.
House meetings are held on a monthly basis, and often involve communally prepared food.
We are very LGBTQ positive.
Members of the house are expected to abstain from bringing new animal exploitation products into the house. The question of old leather and wool, or dumpster-recovered items is less a question of ethics, but more a debate of strategy and consistency, open at this time.

Mardi c’est diner en francais!

Just by chance, this year every member of Toad Lane has some ability to converse in French. We therefore hatched the idea of becoming a French Immersion house. This, however, failed. Instead, we’ve decided to have French Immersion dinners every Tuesday at 7pm. These are entirely distinct from the Vegan pot luck (although they are also vegan, since they are in this vegan house).

Today we had our first French Immersion dinner, and although I was nervous no one would attend, we had a good turnout and it was a success. The president of CCRI even showed up, a Francophone himself.

Sometimes difficulty with verb tenses made expressing ourselves difficult, and it was apparent that we were working at different levels skill at expression, but I think on the whole everyone was able to express themselves and understand others. Hopefully by continuing to practice our French we will at least be able to re-attain previous competences in the French language which we may have lost, and depending on how often we can get Francophones to attend, really improve our French aswell.

Fall 2010 – New People, New Weekly Events

It’s been too long since our last post. Things have been going well in the house (although the G20 was a difficult period with our house being raided). The fall is treating us well – and I think I can safely say that our three new housemates are all happy to have moved into the toad lane domain.

This year is the year of events! We are planning fundraisers, another conference – and our week now has 4 repeating events!

Mondays: 9:16 Noise Band Practice: “We’re Getting the Band back Together”. A new housemate started a jam night at a previous residence every Sunday at 8:16pm – and held it every Sunday for 9 months. We’re trying a similar project here. The night is a musical safe space – so bring your instruments and your insecurities and we’ll make some sounds together!

Tuesdays/Mardi: 6:30pm Diner en Francais – nous avons decide que, parce que par chance tous les membres de Toad Lane parlent Francais, la maison sera une maison d’immersion francaise de lundi a mecredi (main non pas durant le band-practice). Le diner sur mardi sera ouvert aux francophone et aux anglophone a tous ceux qui voudraient pratiquer. Meme si vous parlez tres peux le francais, si vous etes prete a essaiyer de vous s’exprimer en Francais et d’ecouter les autres en Francais – vous etes bienvenues! Le diner sera pot-luck, et vegetalian, mais la politique vegetalien n’est pas the but primaire de cette evenement.

(French pot luck dinner – just randomly it turns out that our entire house speaks French – so we’ve decided to be an immersion house mondays to Wednesdays – and host a French pot luck dinner on tuesdays at 6:30pm. You don’t have to speak much french, or even be able to read the above invitation in French – you just have to be willing to learn, to attempt to express yourself in french, and attempt to understand others!)

Wednesday – “Yuppy Wednesday” and Crazy Strings at the Silver Dollar. 3$ cover, 10$ pitchers, and bluegrass music!

Thursday – Good ‘ol vegan pot-luck night! 8pm – bring your friend, bring your politics, leave your animal food at home!