March 2015 is six days away for whatever that may be worth. The unremitting cold of this February has spooked people with the the spectre of a never-ending winter. Another record has been broken today as a 43-year-old temperature mark falls. At 5 a .m. the temperature hit – 20.1 C at Pearson International Airport, breaking the previous record for February 23 of – 19.4 C (1972). But is the failure of even the slightest warming break through the deep winter weeks that has been the most wearing on people. Weather
It’s Birdman as Best Picture at Oscar 2015
by •
Yonge subway down as substation hit by flood
by •
Commuters were massively inconvenienced Monday morning as the Yonge subway was shut down between Bloor and Union stations. An electrical substation forced the shut down when it was hit by a flood. The service has resumed about 9 a.m. Toronto Star TTC Official Tweets Photo via Twitter by Carl Hanske, 680 News.
Oscars host spices up night with strip to gotchies
by •
Neil Patrick Harris thrilled (or otherwise) the world with appearance reminiscent of The Birdman by coming out in his “Y-Fronts” as they are called in the UK. Here in Canada the appropriate slang might be gotchies or tighty whities, as they were definitely not boxer shorts. MailOnline
Red Carpet tattlers on Theory of Everything Hot
by •
One theory has it that it’s a lot of fun to swan about Hollywood and walk the Red Carpet on behalf of CTV. Enjoy gang. Send mail. Tweet, lol. Everyone else be prepared to stay up late for this event, keeping in mind that at 1 a.m. on deserted Bayview Ave., it is only 10 p.m. in Hollywood. National Post Oscar 2015 Twitter All other leads Birdman and Boyhood
Boston begs silly people to stop being loons
by •
Terrorist “casting call” for shopping mall killers
by •
An outlandish video of a man with his face fully wrapped in a scarf appears to be a “casting call” for radicalized persons in Canada to stage some sort of shopping mall atrocity like the one committed in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013. In the video the man asks: “What if such an attack was to occur in the Mall of America in Minnesota, or the West Edmonton Mall in Canada?” The video is purportedly issued by the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab. The RCMP have said they have no sense that such an elaborate attack is possible much less planned. As we know, such cries for ISIL-type killing parties have generated a handful of usually lone individuals. They are dangerous but usually not very well organized. The video seems to be an advertisement or casting call to such misfits as much as anything else. However it underlines the concern about the means by which people are radicalized, or perhaps more precisely co-opted into such bloodthirsty behavior. Terrorism specialists have recently tried to focus on the best way to detect such radicalization before it goes too far.
Rinks open, rinks closed — don’t get confused
by •
Some outdoor skating rinks across Toronto are closing this week, but a bunch of other rinks are remaining open. Don’t get confused. The 29 rinks that are still available right through March Break are open with the assistance of two corporate donors Green for Life and MLSE. But there are 23 other rinks which are going to close for lack of municipal funds to maintain them. Rinks staying open. Rinks closing
“Mother” Angela Merkel meets Il Papa Francesco
by •
German Chancellor Angela (Mother) Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday in Rome and of course they got along just fine. Merkel and Francis are hard-headed leaders who have a common interest in the future of Europe. Incidentally she is known in Germany as “Mutti” or mother and in the Pope’s native Argentina he is Papa Francesco. Merkel visited Rome for a few hours specifically to meet the pontiff and spoke with him privately in his library for 45 minutes, unusually long for a private papal audience.
Bill O’Reilly faces questions about “war combat”
by •
Bill O’Reilly is said to be scheduled to appear on Howard Kurtz’s media program Media Buzz tomorrow morning on Fox News to try to put to rest allegations that he inflated stories about his reporting career. The complaints centre on O’Reilly’s use of the terms “war zone” and his repeated assertions that he had “seen combat” in places like the Falklands War in 1982. His colleagues from that period recall that O’Reilly, and most other reporters, were forced to cover the war from their hotels in Buenos Aires. Many of O’Reilly’s references to the period are phrased as “in Argentina, in the Falklands.” Kurtz’s program is seen at 11 a.m. Sunday on Fox. Associated Press Bill O’Reilly Twitter comments Erik Wemple blog
Saddened Mayor Tory visits memorial for Elijah
by •
A very sad looking Mayor Tory has visited the memorial for Elijah Marsh on Neptune Drive in North York. The little boy froze on the street Thursday morning after letting himself out of the apartment building where his grandmother lived. Mr. Tory placed flowers on the memorial. He has also asked Toronto Housing Corporation to examine security and related procedures around their properties. In Elijah’s case, the lad was able to let himself out of the unlocked door to his grandmother’s apartment and then open external doors that would normally permit that from the inside.
Icy road warning in South Bayview Saturday
by •
Police are warning area motorists to watch out for very icy conditions. The ongoing snow and delayed sanding are responsible. In particular the Bayview extension is said to be slippery. Tweets from Toronto Police Operations say there is dangerous ice on Broadview Ave. at the top of Pottery Rd. and on Bayivew at Rosedale Valley Rd. The eastbound Leaside Bridge is closed because of a collision at Overlea and there is a water main break at Thorncliffe Park Drive and Overlea Blvd. Toronto Police Operations on Twitter