The start of work to replace the Yonge Street water main will probably see a bit more traffic on Bayview Ave. in the months to come. The project began today and is not going to be finished until May of 2014. There are stages to the Yonge Street work but it will take place generally between Finch and Sheppard Ave. Bayview is suggested by the city as an alternate along with a number of other streets.
Comic book sensations, Hulk wrestles the Mayor!
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Comic book powerhouse DC Comics recreates its series “Justice League of America” into something called “Justice League Canada” next spring according to writer and artist Jeff Lemire, of Toronto. This story, which seems to be stunning news for those who follow such things, comes out of the sprawling Fan Expo Canada at the convention centre where it is underway this week. The daunting nature of the “”fan culture” now roiling around the Front Street halls includes things as strange as an arm-wrestling contest between Hulk Hogan and Mayor Ford later Friday. Please, Leaside moms and dads, get in the game. Comic Book Resources
Liberal leader talks pot use and pot policy
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Unexpected as it is, the narrower issue of marijuana has become a focus of Justin Trudeau’s apparent strategy against Stephen Harper. Today Mr. Trudeau admitted having used pot “five or six” times in total including once a couple of years ago while he was an MP. He has called for the legalization of the drug and his stand sets out an interesting contrast not only in policy, but in the political perceptions as to how these matters really play with Canadians who vote. Time will tell. The embedded Sun News video is informative. Picture at the right is Mr. Trudeau with some supporters doing yoga positions.
Fun with water in Louisiana and Taiwan
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Here are a couple of videos if you like playing in water but be careful. Right, flooding caused by Typhoon Trami in Taiwan has created extreme runoff. On the left, the on-going underwater sinkhole in Louisiana that seems to be swallowing up Assumption Parish was at it again yesterday. This time it gulped down a bunch of trees. Very visual
Statue of Jack Layton unveiled on waterfront
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A bronze statue of Jack Layton riding a tandem bicycle has been unveiled at the Toronto Island ferry dock, which has been re-named the Jack Layton Terminal. Visitors may now hop on the front seat of the statue and have a picture taken with the late NDP leader.. Left above is the scene moments after the unveiling. At right is the mock up of the statue. Mr. Layton’s widow, Olivia Chow, spoke at the ceremony saying among other things, “Now Jack has got your back.”
CNE food complaints now close to 100
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The latest count of those complaining about food sickness at the CNE this week is closing in on 100, public health officials have said Thursday. Laboratories are said to be still working at analyzing food samples from the Ex.
Stamp for Man of Steel recalls human creators
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The issuance of a stamp by Canada Post to honour the comic book figure Superman is an occasion to recall the careers of the Canadian and U.S. creators of the much-loved Man of Steel. The stamp (at right) will be on display at Fan Expo Canada now on at the Metro Convention Centre. The creators of Superman were two shy artists, Joseph “Joe” Shuster (right) and Jerry Siegel (left). They are seen in an undated picture aping the assertive arms akimbo stance of their fictional character (centre). Joe Shuster was born in Toronto in 1914 of immigrant parents. In his early years he spent his spare time scrounging Bathurst St. and other locales in the garment district to help his poor parents make a living. He delivered the Toronto Star and when it came time, many years later, he modelled “Metropolis” and “The Daily Planet” after his hometown and the Star. His rendering of the Planet building bore a distinct resemblance to the 20s-era skyscraper occupied by the Star on King St West. Shuster used to tell of using anything he could find as drawing paper. His greatest strike was rolls of discarded wallpaper that kept him in paper for years. When he was nine, the family moved to Cleveland where Shuster met Siegel in high school. His life-long collaborator was to say: “When Joe and I met it was like the right chemicals coming together”. Siegel was the story teller and script writer, Shuster the artist. They broke in at the fledgling DC comics and in 1938 the first Superman publication came out. The success of Superman was bittersweet for the two artists because they had sold their rights to the Man of Steel to the publisher and in later life they fought legals battles to be able to profit from their work. In 1975 they were each granted a life pension of $20,000 a year. Shuster died in 1992 in California.
Firemen on carpet for tweeting South Park drivel
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Two Toronto firefighters have been suspended by their employer because they tweeted offensive remarks about women, according to a story in the National Post. The suspensions are confirmed by the the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters Association. The story does not say if the tweets occurred on paid time or when the men were off duty. One of the tweets seems insulting, another has violent language. All are the work of apparently juvenile minds. According to the Post one read: “Reject a woman and she will never let it go. One of the many defects of their kind. Also weak arms.” Another tweet from the same account read: “I’d never let a woman kick my ass. If she tried something I’d be like Hey! you get your b—- ass back in the kitchen and make me some pie.” According to the Post, the second firefighter tweeted: “would swat her in the back of the head been considered abuse or a way to reset the brain?” Alert readers have noted that the line about getting back in the kitchen is taken almost verbatim from a South Park sequence. See it here.
RBC follows BMO in raising mortgage rates
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From Global News: Interest rates on new home loans are heading higher for borrowers at the country’s big banks, moves that will likely help ease policy makers’ concerns in Ottawa who have resorted to tightening lending rules to cool the market. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest home-loan lender, said Wednesday it is increasing interest on most new mortgages by 20 basis points, a hike that follows Bank of Montreal’s own rate bump on Tuesday.
Statue of Jack Layton on a tandem bicycle
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There will be an unveiling of a bronze statue of the late Jack Layton on the Toronto waterfront Thursday, August 22, 2013. It will portray the former NDP leader in life size on the back seat of a tandem bicycle. Those inclined may sit on the front seat and have their photos taken with the statue. The statue is a gift from the Ontario Labour Federation and coincides with the city’s renaming of the Toronto Island Ferry Terminal as the “Jack Layton Ferry Terminal.”
Consider volunteering at the Holland Bloorview
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Lise Quirin, of Leaside, has written to remind us of the need for qualified volunteers at the Holland Bloorview Hospital on Kilgour Road. Ms Quirin is the director of volunteer services for the rehabilitation hospital. Her responsibility is to administer the finding of suitable recruits to support staff members in enabling children and young adults with disabilities. As the website notes, all programs require volunteers to be at least 16 years of age or older. However, 15 year olds with Bronze Cross and Bronze Medallion for particular Aquatics programs may also be eligible. Retirees may find this work rewarding too. There are many exciting opportunities offered seven days a week including Bloorview School, Centre for the Arts, hospital reception, summer camps, therapeutic playroom and recreation activities, swimming and more. Family members of current or past Holland Bloorview clients can volunteer as Family Leaders. In this role they help in a variety of capacities to share their experiences with the hospital and with other families. Visit the site to learn more.
“Dynamic pricing” similar to growing mushrooms
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| Always in the dark |
There is an old metaphor that many businesses treat their customers like mushrooms by keeping them in the dark and feeding them manure. So when Tom Anselmi, the chef operating officer of MLSE says the “pricing details” of the club’s so-called dynamic pricing “have yet to be finalized” one really has to smile. Of course the details haven’t been finalized. They never will be. The Leafs will make up more reasons to raise or lower the price of a game than the Toronto Star has stories. You will never know anything except the price. Buying a ticket will be even more of a chump’s game than it has ever been. The categories that have been established — super premium, premium plus, premium, regular and preseason — are just names. Any whim on the part of the Leafs will move a game from one category into another. It is an inevitable outcome of business. Demand far exceeds supply and there is no competition or alternative apart from staying away.It mirrors an attempt by Coca Cola about 15 years ago to install vending machines that would automatically raise prices for its drinks in hot weather. The hotter it got, the higher the price. At the time the president of Coke was quoted as saying it was “fair” that the Coke should increase in price with the level of the mercury. The plan didn’t work because Coca Cola has competition.