Merry Christmas Everyone

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Some nice depictions of this time of the year are seen in the window of the State of the Art on South Bayview. There won’t be snow for us but we wish you a lot of fun in the rather mixed weather expected for Christmas Day. 

Recy’s Christmas Eve baby girl

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Customers of  Homefront will know associate Recy Carrion. Recy gave birth to a wonderful baby girl this morning at 5.55 am at Sunnybrook Hospital. Lian weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and everyone is doing fine. Recy sent this picture from her iPhone

TJX closes Stylesense to boost Marshalls

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TJX Canada will close its three Stylesense clothing stores in the Toronto area next month. TJX says it will focus on growing the Marshalls brand here in Canada. TJX recently opened a Marshalls and a Homesense at Eglinton Ave E and Brentcliffe Rd.. TJX, an American retail conglomerate which also owns Winners, says Marshalls has the long-term potential to grow into a 100 store chain in Canada. Global News

Writer builds case not to bury LRT east of Laird

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Globe and Mail writer Marcus Gee builds the case against burying the Eglinton LRT east of Laird as Mayor Ford has decided. Gee cites favourably the position of Ward 26 Councillor John Parker in this regard. Globe and Mail.

Fate of Sunnybrook store unknown in closings

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Rogers faces the inevitable. It will close 63 video stores.  The future of the huge Rogers Plus space  in the Sunntybrook Plaza (above) is a question mark so far.   CTV

What will Star do with high-brow properties

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The HDTV channels, which will now be 25 percent owned by the Torstar empire, sell a fine blend of niche entertainment. Much of it appeals to the intellect. All the channels are available only by subscription. The most broadly based of the quartet of HDTV signals is Oasis HD. It appears to be a family quality nature-oriented channel. The charming video from YouTube above, which is embedded on Oasis HD’s website, tells the story of a friendship between an elephant and a sheep. The channel eqed is proudly brainy. Eqed boasts the motto “Ït’s smart in here.”  HIFI is a highbrow music and arts service. Finally, radX features risk, adventure and danger. Some may wonder what a relentlessly populist media giant like Torstar might like do with these rather narrowly-defined properties. 

Torstar to acquire Blue Ant Media

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Torstar Corp. is to acquire a 25 percent stake in domestic broadcaster Blue Ant Media for $22.7 million. The deal marks a return to broadcasting for Torstar after it sold a minority stake in CTV, Canada’s top-rated broadcaster, to phone giant BCE.Blue Ant Media is led by Michael MacMillan, a former CEO of Alliance Atlantis Communications until he cashed out in 2007.MacMillan has since returned to broadcaster with his Blue Ant Media earlier this year acquiring a controlling interest in GlassBOX Television, and a minority interest in Quarto Communications. Also Wednesday, Blue Ant Media unveiled a deal to acquire Canadian broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV Inc. and its four premium high definition channels – Oasis HD, eqhd, radX and HIFI.Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Blue Ant Media will pick up an initial 29.9 per cent stake in High Fidelity HDTV, with the 70.1 percent stake to be acquired after the deal received regulatory approval from the CRTC.  U.S. private equity firm Providence Equity Capital Markets will help Blue Ant Media finance its High Fidelity HDTV acquisition.”We view the investment in Blue Ant Media as strategic, providing Torstar with the opportunity to further diversify our Canadian media asset base” David Holland, president and CEO of Torstar, said Wednesday.  Hollywood Reporter. 

“Days with Juliet” records joy of local family

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Faithful  South Bayview Bulldog reader Elise has begun a blog for friends and relatives recording the happy times of her Days with Juliet. This great picture of Elise, husband Leo and Juliet was taken a by a friend a couple of nights ago.

Rosedale Public School steel band on BT

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Rosedale Public School’s celebrated steel band made an appearance on Breakfast Television Wednesday morning. Felice Natividad sounds especially good on these instruments.

No tobogganing at Talbot Park this winter

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The annual family fun of tobogganing the hills of Howard Talbot Park (seen last year above) has had to be stopped for this winter only. The word comes Roger Macklin, General Supervisor of Parks Operations for this area of Toronto. It is for a good cause. The park has recently been re-sodded and the new turf needs to “breath” under the snow cover. Rough treatment impedes that and might cause some other difficulty with growth. Mr Macklin’s full letter may be read here. 

How we began a beautiful friendship with dogs

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What you knew by nature about your dog — and yourself — has been given a scientific table on which to sit.  International research into the evolution of wolves into dogs, and how dogs became man’s best friend, has found that it was apparently mean’t to be. Humans and wolves were made for each other. Both were highly social species who lived and hunted as family units. It’s theorized that as long as 33,000 years ago,  dogs and humans found it convenient to hunt together. Keep in mind life was perilous for both. Some scholars have suggested that early humans learned to hunt big game by watching, following, and stealing from wolves. It is also possible that wolves benefitted from following human hunters who with fire and spears were more profligate and efficient killers.

Globe asks if investors will stay with RIM

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With the stock driven down some 75% by strategic mistakes and tough competiton, the Globe and Mail is asking if investors will stay with Research in Motion until its new smartphones come on the market next year. Will investors stay on board for the RIM ‘transition’