Hey, we feel good about our money in 2013

Cliff Shmiff, you might say. According to a poll Canadians have put aside the babble about the U.S. financial abyss and say they feel good about their money in 2013. The survey was done by Harris/Decima and shows collectively some   70 percent of us feel generally positive about their current financial situation, an increase of 6 per cent from a year ago. Canadians are also confident about achieving their future financial goals – a trend that was most prevalent among those who have met with an advisor in the last year. National Post 

Toronto digs out of first snow of the season

National Post 

4 Click Video Pick for December 26, 2012

The Four Pick today, going clockwise, marks the opening of the Beijing to Guangzhou high-speed rail line which slices the 2,298 km route in half. It now takes about eight hours to travel the distance, all being well. Next, the Open Mic series tests Japanese public opinion on U.S. gun laws. Stand clear because these folks don’t old back.  Below that, going clockwise, the news conference in which previously conjoined twins Allison and Amelia meet the press in Philadelphia. Finally, from Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls YouTube Channel, a feature on Jessica, a 15-year-old smart girl who is a glass blower. 

Minister asks aboriginal chief to end hunger strike

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has expressed concern for the health of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11 to bring attention to aboriginal issues. In a letter released Tuesday, Duncan urged Spence to end her hunger strike and said his office has made attempts to set up a meeting with her but received no response.  Spence says she will starve herself to death if Prime Minister Harper negogiates with her. This is about the not very well understood issue of  “aboriginal treaty rights”. CBC

Memories of the Days With Juliet blog

This wonderful picture from April shows South Bayview dad Leo and daughter Juliet taking a stroll past Passion Fruit. We publish the picture because it is just great, but also because it’s been a long time since there have been any new postings to the enjoyable blog known as Days With Juliet, published by Juliet’s mom, Elise. Parents are, heaven knows, pretty busy so it’s not always possible to keep a blog up to date. But it would be nice for all those who know Juliet to see how she is coming along these many months later. 

Snow expected across Toronto through tomorrow

Toronto is expected to get an accumulation of snow which might total 10 cm by Thursday morning. The snow is expected to fall later in the day (Wednesday).  

Trying to make paper books sell better

Retailer Indigo Books has responded to the challenge of selling paper books in the day of the Kobo and Kindle with brave talk this Christmas season. “I don’t believe anybody believes that the physical format is ever going to go away and we’ve put a lot of effort into making some truly unique, beautiful books,” is a quote in the linked story from Bahram Olfati, vice president of trade books at Indigo Books and Music Inc. CP24

Residents elect “trustee” to Mt. Pleasant board

An ad hoc group of residents  living in proximity to Mt. Pleasant Cemetery has elected Margot Boyd  to act as a trustee of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC) at a meeting attended by about 20 persons on Dec. 18. The election is not recognized by the cemetery board. The action is part of the running battle based on the insistence by some Torontonians that the cemetery is really an Ontario Crown Corporation and subject to public review. The cemetery board says however that its status was converted to that of a simple corporation in 1871 and has followed the Ontario Corporations Act since it came into being in 1907. Story by Justin Skinner 

Sporting Life malicious attacks on fur garments

Police have released a video picture of a woman they suspect may have been involved in the malicious damage to coats at several Toronto businesses. On December 10, 2012, we posted news about damage to fur trimmed coats running to $45,000  at the Sporting Life store at 2665 Yonge Street (between Blythwood Rd. and Sheldrake Blvd.)  On December 21, 2012, an attack occurred on fur-trimmed coats at Holt Renfrew  The woman (inset) was captured on video at HR. Several other shops have also complained about someone  smearing fur garments with petroleum jelly. Police say they believe these incidents are connected. The Vaseline or similar jelly renders the garment unusable. Police said the suspect walks into the store and pretends to browse. She surreptitiously dips her hand into a jar of jelly hidden in her bag and touches the garments. The damage goes unnoticed until the next customer handles the merchandise. “She’s not wiping a ton of the stuff on the jackets,”  Toronto Police Staff- Sgt. Shawn Meloche told the Toronto Star.. “But it’s enough to completely ruin the product.”

Sing Tao picks up Sunnybrook OB/Gyne story

Interest in the OB/Gyne Style video produced by maternity staff at Sunnybrook Hospital has spread around the world.  The international publication Sing Tao Daily has picked up the story. It recounts how the Toronto organization Empower Birth has complained that the video is offensive. OB/Gyne Style is a take-off of Psy’s Gangnam Style mega-hit and was first posted on the hospital’s YouTube channel but has since been pulled down. Others, however, have re-posted the video saying that it is all in good fun and that to repress it is an attack on free speech.  Sing Tao is read throughout the Far East including South Korea where there are many Mandarin speakers. Comment of readers both on YouTube and in the Toronto Star, which broke the story, has been running largely in favour of the video. A comment from Steve_YYZ ran as follows: “You can’t make everybody happy….. But it seems that all it takes is ONE person without a sense of humour to complain and the hospital bends over backwards to take the video down. I mean, geez…. 90,000 views and one noted complaint mentioned in this article. Truly we’re now living in a pablum, tasteless world where life is expected to be plain vanilla only.” Video is three posts down.

Two videos for your Christmas Eve

Expired

Final day for Stuff-A-Bin contributions

This is the final day for the Stuff A Bin drive at Tremblett’s Valu Mart on Bayview Ave. The  idea is that public spirited shoppers make a contribution of food and toys to help make this Christmas a happy one for those with less than us. You’ll find helpful volunteers like the lady inset ready to give you a Daily Bread collection bag. While getting your own things, pick up a few extra items and fill the bag. On leaving, you place the bag in the large storage bin provided by All-Canadian Storage, one of the sponsors of the drive.  It’s the first annual Stuff A Bin collection of food and toys for needy folks in our area.. All food collected will be donated to the local food bank and the toys will be distributed by local firefighters. See you at Tremblett’s.