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. 

Break-in at Eglinton accident prevention charity

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There has been a break-in at the charity known as Parachute, 36 Eglinton Avenue West. Someone broke into the premises between 1946 hours and 1950 hours on Sunday, August 18, 2013 and took a quantity of computer equipment. Parachute is an organization that in recent years created a home for a number of other bodies which are dedicated to reducing accidents in the workplace. 

34 CNE sickness cases, food samples analysed

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The Toronto Health Department has held a late afternoon news conference related to the gastrointestinal sickness outbreak at the CNE. Dr. Lisa Berger, associate medical officer of health, said there have been 34 reports of sickness which are believed to part of this incident. She said the health department cannot name the cause of the illness because it is in the process of sending food samples from the Epic Burger concession to provincial health labs to analyse them. The Epic Burger stand, vendors of the Cronut Burger, has been closed by the CNE. Dr. Berger said the results will take a few days.  She said she expected Epic Burgers to stay closed until there was something definitive from the tests. 

South Bayview east sidewalks pocked with repairs

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The sidewalk and gutter repairs and replacements announced yesterday are well underway this Wednesday, August 21, 2013. This morning, all the way from Moore to above Parkhurst Aves. the sidewalk on the east side was pocked by ripped out sections. These are being repaired with real speed. On each of the surfaces of new concrete you see a natural gas valve cover protruding above the surface. These utilities were installed after the gargantuan job of summer 2010 that replaced all the wide walks of South Bayview. But its a little like painting the Golden Gate Bridge — the job is never over.

Editor asks about Bulldog story on Oink Oink

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The estimable Bree Rody-Mantha, News Editor at the Post City Magazines, writes to ask about sourcing on a story that said the toy store Oink Oink on Eglinton Ave. West would close for reasons related to the construction of the Eglinton LRT. There will be a station built at Avenue Road which will dislocate a lot of business at or near this intersection it would seem certain. When the South Bayview Bulldog broke the story of Oink Oink’s closing, staff uniformly said they thought the LRT was the reason. As noted then, Montreal-based Oink Oink intends to open elsewhere in Toronto. It would seem that only time will tell if the building which now accommodates Oink Oink is not impacted in any way by this construction. 

Cronut Burger Hell leaves dozens ghastly sick

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Call it Cronut Burger Hell. It appears that the common element in the many cases of intestinal sickness at the CNE last night is the outrageous Cronut Burger.  Toronto public health officials are now on the scene at the Epic Burger concession  at the Ex to confirm the source of the nasty bug. Stories are said to be coming in from all over southern Ontario. Chris Parnell blacked out on the 401, according to CP24. Mothers had to deal with children who just had to have a Cronut Burger and other crises. The Cronut Burger is a melange of maple bacon jam, cinnamon sugar, Cronut bun (whatever that is) beef patty and processed cheese. You have to be asking for trouble. 

Many questions await the release of Canadians

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Loubiani and  Greyson

The on-going incarceration of two Canadians in Egypt has raised many questions. And it now seems that filmmaker John Greyson and Dr. Tarek Loubani, from London, Ont., are facing another two weeks in jail in Cairo. The federal government has said that it is disappointed that their detention will continue. Their friends and relatives say there is no reason whatsoever for the Cairo police to suspect the two of anything illegal. It must be understood however that nerves are raw in the Arab country. Have the police concocted their concerns about Greyson and Loubiani or are they merely mistaken? Do the two Canadians have political sympathies, despite their humanitarian aims, that might give sensitive Egyptian army bosses a reason to be wary. These are all fair questions in the context of the jailing of the Canadians and in no way reflect badly on them personally. It seems impossible in all the circumstances that Greyson and Loubiani will not be sent home in due course. At that time they may answer all the questions reporters will have for them.  We hope that’s soon.