Benjamin Boles
@benjaminboles.bsky.social
I cut hair and sometimes make music. Retired music journalist.
He/they
Toronto
https://on.soundcloud.com/z1Wx4
He/they
Toronto
https://on.soundcloud.com/z1Wx4
Got one of my cataracts operated on last week, and now one eye feels like high definition digital video and the other is 1970s film stock. Had to ask the eye doctor today if sex counts as “strenuous physical activity”, which was mildly embarrassing. Surgery was much less unpleasant than I feared.
September 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Got one of my cataracts operated on last week, and now one eye feels like high definition digital video and the other is 1970s film stock. Had to ask the eye doctor today if sex counts as “strenuous physical activity”, which was mildly embarrassing. Surgery was much less unpleasant than I feared.
If you’re as mad as me about this, here’s an email address you can contact. This sign is from the community centre itself, who seem to feel the fence is the only way to de-escalate tensions between the wealthy homeowners nearby and the people who hang out in the parkette.
August 29, 2025 at 1:16 AM
If you’re as mad as me about this, here’s an email address you can contact. This sign is from the community centre itself, who seem to feel the fence is the only way to de-escalate tensions between the wealthy homeowners nearby and the people who hang out in the parkette.
Some rich NIMBYs didn’t like seeing poor people hanging out in the parkette next to the community centre, so the city decided to put up fences so that no one can use it. I am furious. I am very curious how Olivia Chow and Gord Perks will explain this.
August 29, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Some rich NIMBYs didn’t like seeing poor people hanging out in the parkette next to the community centre, so the city decided to put up fences so that no one can use it. I am furious. I am very curious how Olivia Chow and Gord Perks will explain this.
I think my dog wants to check out the reggae party my neighbours are throwing in the alley behind their building. Toronto is a fun town sometimes
August 3, 2025 at 2:43 AM
I think my dog wants to check out the reggae party my neighbours are throwing in the alley behind their building. Toronto is a fun town sometimes
I was really struck by the quote in this section:
August 1, 2025 at 9:53 PM
I was really struck by the quote in this section:
First computer we owned loaded entire games off one of these. I think you could get 100kB per 30 minute tape.
July 21, 2025 at 5:24 AM
First computer we owned loaded entire games off one of these. I think you could get 100kB per 30 minute tape.
Just saw this tote bag for sale at the Bloor West street fest
#ProtectTheDolls
#ProtectTheDolls
July 20, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Just saw this tote bag for sale at the Bloor West street fest
#ProtectTheDolls
#ProtectTheDolls
I love how he ends his letter to Canada.
July 11, 2025 at 2:14 AM
I love how he ends his letter to Canada.
Clearly the tree should have been wearing brighter clothing
June 27, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Clearly the tree should have been wearing brighter clothing
I am always excited to see a homemade sound system. Something about big speaker boxes made out of unpainted wood makes me so happy.
June 11, 2025 at 7:28 PM
I am always excited to see a homemade sound system. Something about big speaker boxes made out of unpainted wood makes me so happy.
I think that’s the reality: incremental steps are not going to get us there. We should legalize midrise everywhere. There’s no reason buildings like mine shouldn’t be on any residential street
May 25, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I think that’s the reality: incremental steps are not going to get us there. We should legalize midrise everywhere. There’s no reason buildings like mine shouldn’t be on any residential street
Jedi battle in Parkdale
May 10, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Jedi battle in Parkdale
They probably don’t need signs like this in all-gender washrooms, but it’s still appreciated
May 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM
They probably don’t need signs like this in all-gender washrooms, but it’s still appreciated
Volunteering today at this event for frontline harm reduction workers that my partner is organizing. Venue fell through last minute, but they managed to figure out a solution
May 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Volunteering today at this event for frontline harm reduction workers that my partner is organizing. Venue fell through last minute, but they managed to figure out a solution
An old friend recently sent me this:
April 20, 2025 at 11:48 PM
An old friend recently sent me this:
Maybe it’s a good thing that Conservative voters are flying flags like this alongside campaign signs. Helpfully reminds Canadians that Pierre is the pro-Trump and anti-Canada candidate
April 15, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Maybe it’s a good thing that Conservative voters are flying flags like this alongside campaign signs. Helpfully reminds Canadians that Pierre is the pro-Trump and anti-Canada candidate
It always scares and impresses me to watch workers take down trees
March 27, 2025 at 7:54 PM
It always scares and impresses me to watch workers take down trees
The Littlest Hobo was a weird Canadian TV show about a dog that wandered the country helping strangers. I found an old photograph of me as a child with the dogs that played his role in the show (I’m the kid in the middle):
February 26, 2025 at 8:21 PM
The Littlest Hobo was a weird Canadian TV show about a dog that wandered the country helping strangers. I found an old photograph of me as a child with the dogs that played his role in the show (I’m the kid in the middle):
Some crazy icicles behind my work
February 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Some crazy icicles behind my work
Just saw my first cybertruck in real life. Like everyone says, it’s shocking how ugly they look in person. You can already see that the road salt is going to destroy the thing
February 12, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Just saw my first cybertruck in real life. Like everyone says, it’s shocking how ugly they look in person. You can already see that the road salt is going to destroy the thing
As I was leaving, I ran into a few people from my generation who I hadn’t seen for years. One of them commented that they still see my dad out at parties most weekends. There aren’t many music subcultures that are as cross-generational as this.
January 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM
As I was leaving, I ran into a few people from my generation who I hadn’t seen for years. One of them commented that they still see my dad out at parties most weekends. There aren’t many music subcultures that are as cross-generational as this.
Even back in the 90s, Theo Parrish’s DJ sets connected to earlier eras, more influenced by Ron Hardy’s work in 1980s Chicago than 90s rave culture. And Hardy wouldn’t have existed without what Frankie Knuckles was doing in the late 70s, which came out of David Mancuso’s earlier loft parties.
January 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Even back in the 90s, Theo Parrish’s DJ sets connected to earlier eras, more influenced by Ron Hardy’s work in 1980s Chicago than 90s rave culture. And Hardy wouldn’t have existed without what Frankie Knuckles was doing in the late 70s, which came out of David Mancuso’s earlier loft parties.
Detroit house legend Theo Parrish was DJing in Toronto last night, and I realized that I’ve been listening to him for 30 years. Which means more than half the people at this party weren’t alive when I bought my first record by him. Underground dance music seems to exist outside of trends
January 26, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Detroit house legend Theo Parrish was DJing in Toronto last night, and I realized that I’ve been listening to him for 30 years. Which means more than half the people at this party weren’t alive when I bought my first record by him. Underground dance music seems to exist outside of trends