The Bulldog

Tick-tock comrade clock please don’t let anyone in here

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When people scratch their heads and worry that the newly-announced time zone for North Korea just isolates the country, they don’t get it. Of course a weird what-the-heck-time-is-it-anyway clock isolates North Korea. That has been the purpose of the ruling family there since the place was tortured into existence by the Russians in 1945. (Another thing to thank the Russians for). North Korea cannot exist without being isolated. The idea of “normal relations” with anybody makes the little dictator want to strap people to the barrel of a cannon. Outside thoughts, money, business and capitalist aspirations would sweep him and his family away in a wink. Of course the tick-tock comrade clock will isolate them. You bet.

Danforth Dash Bed Race runs held in perfect weather

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Here we have one of many heats run Friday afternoon in the 9th annual Toronto East General Hospital Danforth Dash Bed Race. This one features the Argo cheerleader defeating the Argo Mascots.  There were at least 15 teams maybe more (see below) and it looked like the perennial champions Transit Workers team would take it again.  But the winning was in the running, so to speak and all participants seemed fully pumped. After the event, they could grab a nibble or  two at the Taste of the Danforth. Video: The South Bayview Bulldog

Opening day at Drink Juice Co at Manor and Bayview

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drink-550Sophia (left) and Nadia are feeling okay this Friday (August 7, 2015) as they open the doors to their shop on Manor Rd. right behind the Hollywood Gelato. It is called Drink Juice Co., just so there are no mistakes. The blends are all bottled up in the fridge and there is lots of taste-testing. Nice to take home (inset). When you’re done that, get Sophia and Nadia to tell you about their early days of planning business when they were classmates.

“Organic asparagus water” laughed out of Whole Foods

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In the U.S., $6 bottles of organic asparagus water have been laughed off the shelves by journalists and the public. One editor said: “Somewhere in L.A., Whole Foods executives are laughing at all of us.” All Whole Foods stores in the GTA said they did not sell the drink. For its part, Whole Foods says the product was sold only briefly in  California. Then it was removed.

 

Ontario to “look into” punishing charge for chopper flight

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chopperAmy Savill from Alberta was visiting relatives in Timmins when her water burst and baby Amelia was born two months premature. The little hospital in Timmins was not up to the job of looking after a three-pound preemie so an emergency flight was ordered from ORNGE air ambulance. They were taken to Sudbury where the baby and mom were delivered into safe hands. Now the government says that because the flight was from hospital to hospital there is a charge which might be as much as $30,000. If the trip had been from the home in which the woman was staying there would have been no charge. Late today, according to Paul Bliss, of CTV, the health ministry said it will look into the matter. Amy said she didn’t think she needed additional insurance because she was travelling in Canada.

Residents “frightened” by groups of speeding cyclists

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Palace Place resident Robin Clay shot this photograph from his window July 27 around 8:30 p.m. after two cyclists collided on the trail. Paramedics transported one cyclist to hospital. Many Humber Bay Shores and Mimico residents charge cyclist collisions happen routinely on the trail. They are asking the city to implement safety measures, such as signs or speed humps, to slow some cyclists down.

The linked story by reporter Tamara Shepherd records the concerns of residents near the Martin Goodman Trail where bikes, pedestrians and skateboards are supposed to share. The picture above taken by a local resident shows the result when two cyclists collided head-on at high speed. It is hard to imagine how careless they had to be to let this happen. But it did.  Etobicoke Guardian 

Hard-working “Canadian” horse now off endangered list

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The hardy Canadian breed of all-purpose horses has happily turned around a perilous trip to extinction and now numbers more than 6,000 registered animals. This means the breed is considered vulnerable but no longer endangered. The Canadian has its roots in the 1660s, when King Louis XIV sent shipments of Arabian, Barb and Andalusian horses from his royal stables to the colony of New France.  As history would have it, there was little to no new DNA introduced until a century later when the English took over the colony, allowing the Canadian to develop its versatile character. The breed had dwindled to fewer than 400 in the 1970s. In 2002, Parliament passed an act naming it “the national horse of Canada.” As you will hear in the CTV video below, the Canadian is a tireless master of many tasks. We like him.

“Boutique” leaders’ debate will be on your mobile device

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Politics and the mechanics of democracy will evolve tonight as Canada witnesses a new kind of leaders’ debate. The back and forth may not be new but the “boutique” nature of the exercise and its streaming presence to millions of computers and phones is a sharp change. Previous elections saw the CBC, CTV and Global own the debate process. The debates, usually no more than one in each official language, took place on television only. They happened late  in the campaign because parties didn’t want to be dealing with any possible gaffes during the final hours before voting. This all changed mainly because the Conservative’s insisted on something else. The process was opened up to smaller producers. The debate tonight (Thursday, August 6, 2015) is being produced by Maclean’s magazine, which is owned by Rogers. The debate has limited TV exposure but it will be streamed to vast numbers of voters on the Internet. Macleans has a page all ready to go.  It will also be seen  on Ctiy, OMNI-1, OMNI-2 and CPAC.  Macleans and Rogers will offer the streaming debate in five languages: English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi The debate will also be heard on radio — 680News,  570News, 680News.com, 1310News.com, News1130.com and News 957.com  There are more boutique type debates coming. The Globe and Mail and Google have a debate focused on the economy scheduled.