Meryl Streep Was Here

In Toronto, giving a talk at the Royal Ontario Museum in early October, only I didn't hear about it until about 4 p.m. on the day it was happening. Apparently I probably wouldn't have gotten a ticket anyway, because there weren't that many to be had, they were only $50 a piece and they sold out in about 60 seconds. But still...if only I had known.

The day I heard about it, I was checking out the ROM website (here's the link: http://www.rom.on.ca/index.php) before signing up for a seminar I wanted to attend (which took place today, but I'll tell you all about that tomorrow). So I figured it would be best if I became a member of the ROM, in order to get advance notice of all the special events and exhibits they've got going on there. It turns out that general admission costs $22 a visit, or $28 if you want to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit currently in situ. But for $90, you can buy an annual membership. So of course that's what I did, because really, a little bit of history and culture in life is a good thing and surely I can squeeze in at least 4 visits to the museum over the next 12 months to make the membership worth my while.

Here are a few photos from my first visit today, some shots of what is known as the Crystal, as designed by Michael Lee-Chin. I took one photo when I arrived at 9 a.m. this morning and two more as I was leaving at 5:30. This addition has been pretty controversial, given that the pointy triangular shape is quite a contrast to the sedate, ornate stone facade of the original architecture but me, I like it.