I'm trying to figure out at what point in the distant past I went from owning some Robert Crumb work (because it felt like I should as a snobby comic fan) to genuinely feeling icky and gross after reading much of it.

Today's visit to the Curio Emporium looks at that time I might have gotten carried away using a Penguin Classics cover generator to create a range of Toronto history titles. jbscurioemporium.substack.com/p/january-6-...

Today's visit to the Curio Emporium looks at that time I might have gotten carried away using a Penguin Classics cover generator to create a range of Toronto history titles. jbscurioemporium.substack.com/p/january-6-...

After a couple of days of reviving the Curio Emporium on Blogger, I'm finding a few drawbacks. So, as an experiment - and to make it easier to subscribe - I'm testing out a Substack version. Here's the introductory post. jbscurioemporium.substack.com/p/coming-soon

After a couple of days of reviving the Curio Emporium on Blogger, I'm finding a few drawbacks. So, as an experiment - and to make it easier to subscribe - I'm testing out a Substack version. Here's the introductory post. jbscurioemporium.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Today's visit to the Curio Emporium tells the classic story of a European immigrant making it in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. It's the tale of "How the Wiener Won Its Way"! (And don't forget how digestible they are!) jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

Today on the Curio Emporium: in this divided age, it may be hard to think of famous living people who are "unknockables" - those who are generally beloved or near-universally respected. Here's are people Esquire magazine felt were unknockable in 1966... jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

So apparently I've discovered that Blogger (the old-yet-still-functioning platform my blog has been on for 20 yrs) does not have an email subscription function, just a very old RSS function. I guess the question is: do I stay on and hope for a slow traffic build, or do I start over somewhere else?

ICYMI Spacing's use of retail - and especially our famous subway buttons - was featured in the TMU Review of Journalism, with quotes from @matthewblackett.bsky.social reviewofjournalism.ca/how-to-survi...

It’s the first Sunday of 2026, and it’s not a bad afternoon for a stroll along the Danforth - care to come along for my first Bluesky walk of the new year? I can’t promise. It’ll be a musical experience, but we’ll see.

Today's visit to the Curio Emporium looks at famous people who Esquire magazine thought were "unknockables" (near-universally beloved) in 1966. Featuring artwork by the great Jack Davis! jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

Today's visit to the Curio Emporium allows you to test your knowledge of late 1950s American public service announcement campaigns. Guest starring Smokey the Bear! jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

Today's visit to the Curio Emporium allows you to test your knowledge of late 1950s American public service announcement campaigns. Guest starring Smokey the Bear! jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

New year, new additions to my map of little free libraries in the east end of Toronto (for this project: roughly Broadview to Woodbine, O'Connor to the lake) -- now over 100 identified! www.google.com/maps/d/edit?...

Today's trip to the Curio Emporium has only happy thoughts about a late 19th century Brantford-based stove range. #ontariohistory jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

Some failed campaigns never fade away (Bayview Avenue)

There was once no better way to spend an afternoon than lunch at the Mandarin followed by a matinee at the Famous Players (then Cineplex) Canada Square. RIP to the Yonge-Eglinton of my heart.

Today's trip to the Curio Emporium has only happy thoughts about a late 19th century Brantford-based stove range. #ontariohistory jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

Just saw a posting where it suggested that instead of being paid per piece or a salary, one would be paid out of a "revenue-sharing opportunity." Is it just me, or does that sound like it's covering up something sketchy, or an excuse to underpay the writer?

Two days into 2026 and not only am I writing the most that I have since being hit by the flu in December, but I'm having the most fun doing so in awhile. Maybe enforced rest was good for a creative recharge?

One of my first New Year's resolutions: resurrecting my two decade old blog after being dead for the past year-and-a-half as a daily outpost for odds and ends I've collected over the years that might gather dust on my computer. jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

I'm also resurrecting Tales of Toronto, starting the year off with a piece I wrote about pioneering supermarket chain Knob Hill Farms food terminals. #TOHistory jamiebradburnwriting.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/p...

One of my first New Year's resolutions: resurrecting my two decade old blog after being dead for the past year-and-a-half as a daily outpost for odds and ends I've collected over the years that might gather dust on my computer. jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...

The Globe's front page cartoon on New Year's Day 1926 was...kinda morbid as far as these sorts of things go? While it was normal to see the old year die in cartoons, it usually didn't look this painful. I've also included the paper's front page general message. #TOHistory #newyearsday

My final newsletter of 2025 is out, looking back at the year gone by and feeling...hopeful about 2026? Also, some tales of New Year's in Toronto a century ago. #TOHistory open.substack.com/pub/jamiebra...

New Year's front page cartoon, Chicago Tribune, January 1, 1926.

A New Year's cartoon from the December 31, 1925 Buffalo Evening News that tries to sum up the first quarter of the 20th century. How would Father Time react to the first quarter of the 21st century? #newyears

My final newsletter of 2025 is out, looking back at the year gone by and feeling...hopeful about 2026? Also, some tales of New Year's in Toronto a century ago. #TOHistory open.substack.com/pub/jamiebra...

From the January 1, 1926 Globe, one writer's view on how Torontonians celebrated #newyears, whether they were rich, working class, or lonely. #TOHistory

New on our blog, a look at the newly digitized Peel County council minutes, by-laws, and reports, including mention of the Fenians: peelarchivesblog.com/2025/12/29/n... #cdnhist

Alas, no Non-Fiction Blvd…

If I’m going to have an unplanned week in the city, I’m going to treat myself to some Tropical Joe’s jerk chicken at Gerrard Square - it always makes me happy.

For the first time in ages, a "thread o'stuff"...

For the first time in ages, a "thread o'stuff"...

1) Since I'm stuck at home thanks to this storm instead of hitting the road to visit family (soon!!!), I figure I'd do something I haven't done on here for eons - a thread o' stuff from my research/side find/lazy newspaper browsing inbox. So join me while I write as I please...

Former Grande Ballroom in Detroit. Reopened as a rock venue in 1966, it birthed the MC5 and the Stooges & hosted the likes of The Who, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. It closed in 1972, unoccupied since. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places, no plaque. historicdetroit.org/buildings/gr...

Last night I took what was (probably, unless I change my mind tonight) my last Toronto BlueSky walk of 2025. There will be plenty more in the new year. Weather permittting, I hope to get in at least one more in another locale before this year ends. Come along for the stroll!

The snow has stopped for the moment, the sidewalk plows are out, and I’m feeling the healthiest that I have been in two weeks. Which feels like a good excuse for the long-delayed second trek to see the seasonal wonders of the PATH and more. Please feel free to join me for a stroll…

Holiday Toronto history reading: over on The Downtown Cinema, Eric Veillette begins a look at Yonge Street's Cinema 2000 and its issues with one of Russ Meyer's flicks #TOHistory thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/cinema-200...

Admit I'm stunned there are still a (tiny) handful of Sears stores operating. The way Edward Lampert destroyed this retail icon over two decades is anger inducing. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/b...

A quick after hours walk through the Distillery revealed an assortment of snowmen with mixed expressions after dealing with the holiday crowds.

Toronto's waterfront, 1951, a few years before construction of the Gardiner Expressway began. This might be one of the best photos I've seen that shows how Maple Leaf Stadium (in the foreground) fit into the landscape. The Sphere, November 17, 1951 #TOHistory

I sometimes forget that Hurricane Hazel's impacts in the modern GTA went beyond the tragedies we know about. Quite stunned by these photos (the top two) of the flooding in Holland Marsh that were published in the British magazine The Sphere's October 30, 1954 edition

The tangled story of the American real estate tycoon who stripped the Hudson's Bay Company for parts, the eccentric Chinese billionaire who lobbed a half-baked Hail Mary bid and the Canadian plutocrats who hatched their own backroom deal

When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.

Hot off the press, it's this year's Xmas edition of my newsletter. jamiebradburn.substack.com/p/45-the-chr...

Difficult to think of a more authentically Christian deed for this season.

Hot off the press, it's this year's Xmas edition of my newsletter. jamiebradburn.substack.com/p/45-the-chr...

I do appreciate our Christmas tree this year.

Odd finds while recovering from the flu: that time Aquaman chased a seal to Niagara Falls. More Fun Comics #107 Jan-Feb 1946, written by Joe Samachson, drawn by Louis Cazeneuve