The Making of a Medley
Newsstand: November 23, 2009
Transit City and Transit Cities
The Daily Photoist: November 23, 2009
Televisualist: A Kinder, Gentler Televisualist
Council voted 39-2 in support of the City's 2015 Expo Bid. The next step involves courting the Provincial and Federal governments for funding. Queen's Park and Ottawa are expected to foot a huge chunk of the bill, including $2.8 billion for cleaning up contaminated soil near the lakefront, and a possible $700 million deficit after the event.
The TTC is still running despite edicts from the union not to enforce fare collection it seems that pretty much everyone paid up. We certainly think this lady, and long-time TTC user did. The only thing that makes us sad is that the union is right, TTC operators are being picked on by bullies and jerks.
An underground DVD was used as a starting point for the investigation that eventually led to massive arrests earlier in the week. The DVD was found in a raid on a rival gang last September.
A judge has ruled in favour of an 85-year old woman who mistakenly gave up her pet cockatoo to the Humane Society. The Society refused to give the bird back to the woman citing the bird's condition. The Star writes this rather silly article which quotes Monty Python, cites Roe Vs. Wade and the Scopes Monkey Trial and refers to the case as "a victory for every average Joe and Jane who's gone up against the might of faceless bureaucracy."
The CBC has a little story which makes us wonder whether we have to rename the Hummingbird Centre, AGAIN. It seems that Hummingbird, the software company which has naming rights on that soon to be largely empty building on Front St. is going to be bought out by a US software company called Symphony Technology Group. Hmm, Symphony Technology Centre doesn't sound that bad actually.
The Post makes us laugh twice in one morning. The first is Jacob Richler's piece on Chinatown. [ed. note, the piece is now behind the Post's subscriber wall] He regales us with the reasons why he loves Chinatown, cheap food and even cheaper children's clothing. We're surprised he wasn't completely livid about all those tax-dodging cyclists all over the sidewalks on Spadina. He even shows off his human side with this line:
"I checked the pockets quickly for little folded-up scraps of paper reading, ''Help me! I'm stitching these for two cents a month at a political prisoner labour camp in Guandong!'' but found none and so forked over the $10 price without guilt."
Finally we think the Post should start a series called Wealthy, SUV driving suburbanites visit and make fun of Downtown Toronto neighbourhoods. Radio announcer Howard Glassman's piece on driving down Jarvis late at night can be the first. Glassman gets freaked out about prostitutes, homeless people and the motley crew of "people who seem to scurry in and out of hallways that you never notice in the daytime."
We wanted to give Glassman the benefit of the doubt until we read this:
The Petro Canada is well-lit and inviting, but once when I stopped for gas an aggressive homeless guy sort of yelled at me, so I'm always on alert. That was about three years ago. I haven't seen him since, but you can't be too careful.
Sort of yelled at you?! Howard, I'll "sorta yell" at you if it means you won't drive downtown anymore.
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You know, before I used to just make fun of the SUV people and feel slightly guilty for pre-judging them, not giving them a fair chance.
Hearing that they actually are just as awful as I like to think they are clears up things a lot.
Thank you, Torontoist.
But what does Fred think?
Let's defend Jarvis against the suburbanites! Hookers and junkies have rights too!!!
Come on! Jarvis is very, very, very dodgy at night. I lived there, right across the street from hooker Harvey's. All the pros on stroll on Jarvis, the traffic in Allan Gardens... It's a bad neighbourhood at night. Further, the homeless people in Toronto are cause for alarm. They're almost all either suffering from mental diseases, have substance addictions, or both. They're unstable, unpredictable, dangerous, and in such bad shape that they are disease risks.
That they exist is the fault of the de-institutionalisation movement and those advocates who gave them the power to refuse medication, treatment, and housing. Making fun of someone for highlighting the problems of the city is interesting. Nice to see how in touch with the concerns of real people y'all are. Does your behaviour match your rhetoric? Of course not. The only people in the area late at night are customers, Ryerson students, drunken young condo residents, and people with early AM jobs. You're avoiding the area too, so stop being so superior.
Actually I don't live too far from the area and the reason why I avoid the area is because I'm asleep. It doesn't excuse Mr. Glassman for being freaked out about 'the poor, the homeless, etc.'
I think its kind of useless to argue about Humble Howard's article. He was being self-effacing and trying to characterize the stereotypical 905 reaction. To defend against, or rally for an article that is in the same vein as something Dave Barry or Linwood Barclay would write is kinda silly. But that's just me.
He's freaked out by the the lowlife on Jarvis and you're freaked out by SUV driving suburbanites. I'm sure he would be as dismissive of your opinion as you are of his. And he says he drives a car - I guess we're all entitled to a little stereotyping to make our argument more on the side of good.