Yesterday, I had dinner with a friend, Rebecca, that I hadn’t seen in ten years. Needless to say, there was a lot to catch up on. Other than the fact that it was absolutely brilliant to see her again, she mentioned something along the lines of, “Things have changed considerably over the past ten years, but what’s funny is that now I’m pretty much close to the same as I was in grade eight.”

Which got me thinking of how I’ve changed in the past ten years since eighth grade. Of course, change is inevitable, but Rebecca was right: despite all the new places and experiences, I think I’ve become the same person I was when I was fourteen — well, with a few added pounds.

In eighth grade, I was a boy who was unafraid to love, who gave his heart to his friends, and was committed to the happiness of the people around him. I didn’t completely lose this, but relationships and experiences have definitely influenced the way I see the world and the people around me — after all, this is a defining characteristic of growing up, as people say. However, I feel today like I felt ten years ago, with a sense of selfless affection for the people in my life, though perhaps with a larger sense of worldliness and less naiveté.

Most importantly, in eighth grade, I was a boy who was excited about the future; someone who had lofty goals and aspirations, who thought the world was my oyster. Such thoughts faded quickly through the years, but I think that optimism has returned. I not only have big dreams about the world and where I am going to be, but I now also feel comfortable and confident enough with myself to pursue new horizons.

As much as I’ve grown (about 80 lbs worth of growing, actually) in the past ten years, I’ve learned a lot recently from the person I used to be. And for that, I’m thankful.

Yesterday, Sakura Handa passed away from injuries she sustained in an automobile accident the day before. Today, a community mourns the loss of one of their cherished members and remembers the joy she brought us all.

I met Sakura on Flickr in May. She was a wonderful person online and offline, and she made a profound impact on how I viewed the world around me, and most importantly, how I viewed myself. I gave her my recipe for a chick pea curry; in return she gave me a perspective on the world filled with optimism and beauty. Not exactly a fair trade, but Sakura was selfless and generous like that.

Sakura, your love and light will be cherished. My prayers will accompany you on your way. I will miss you dearly, and I know for sure I won’t be the only one.

Click on the image above to access my favorite photos from Sakura’s Flickr photostream.

Two weeks ago, the Independent Online published a feature where seventeen prominent filmmakers — many of whom I admire as being my preferred directors of all time — listed their top ten favorite films.

I’ve always found it almost impossible to list my favorite films; there are just too many to include on the list. Yet, in an attempt to classify great films that have touched my life, I came up with an unordered list of my top fifteen: putting them in some kind of coherent order was much too difficult for today’s task.

So without further ado, my list of my fifteen favorite films as of July 13, 2005:

• Beauty and the Beast (Trousdale, 1991)
• Baraka (Fricke, 1992)
• Seven Samurai (Kurosawa, 1954)
• The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, 1994)
• Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993)
• Chinatown (Polanski, 1974)
• Edward Scissorhands (Burton, 1990)
• Ten (Kiarostami, 2002)
• The Usual Suspects (Singer, 1995)
• Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976)
• Garden State (Braff, 2004)
• The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, )
• Lost in Translation (Coppola, 2003)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry, 2004)
• The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001)

Of course, I haven’t included any films by some of my favorite directors such as Mike Nichols (The Graduate), Robert Rodriguez (Desperado), David Fincher (Fight Club), Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous), Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), Sidney Lumet (Serpico), Brad Bird (The Iron Giant), Clint Eastwood (Mystic River), Steven Soderbergh (Traffic), Francois Ozon (Huit femmes), Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse), and Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey). It was just too hard to narrow it all down. A top 50 might be a better project to take up next time.

When I first saw the result of the Toronto Branding Project I told you all quite some time ago (the logo below is the result), I was a little taken aback. What does an abstract-looking blue swash and an awkward font tell the world about our wonderful city? And why ‘unlimited’? It all seemed a little too corporate-Canada to me.

Then I learned the story behind Toronto Unlimited. For those of you who do get the chance, try and watch the brand launch video to get a feel for where the Branding Project was trying to go with the new look. If you don’t have the three minutes to consecrate to the video, at least browse through the posters of the launch campaign to understand the story behind the conception of Toronto as the “City of Imagination.”

Indeed, Toronto is a city where even the imagination can not constrain the individual. It is a city of the people, and thrives on the changing and evolving mosaic of its population. The Toronto Story says it well: “It is metropolitan, yet it feels as intimate as a village.” Which is why I think the new look and feel for Toronto is a fair representation: it is a celebration of the ideas and feelings of the city rather than its physical iconography.

Do check out the Toronto Unlimited website: not only does it have a simple, elegant design, but it is content-driven, much like how our city itself is driven by philosophies, principles, and culture. Toronto is truly a “City of Imagination,” and though it may take a lot of that imagination to understand and interpret the new Toronto brand, it is clear that the city is indeed limitless: Toronto Unlimited.

(And though I still do think the ‘Toronto’ font is awkward, I would love to know if anyone knows where I can download it. Any ideas?)