Month: July 2013

Danica and I walked over to the corner of Laing Street and Memory Lane (yes, really) today, to see the sorry remains of the tree said to have inspired “The Maple Leaf Forever” song.
Here’s my write-up from a while back.
Anyway, the tree really is history, now. The 150 year-old silver maple was clearly ready to go and it went as gracefully as it could. Had it fallen any other way, it could have taken out Maple Cottage or parked cars.
The attending policeman had a sense of occasion and brought a few branches and leaves out from behind his hazard tape, to let gathered citizens take them as souvenirs.

Danica and I have our gnarly bit of Maple Leaf Forever stick.

My brother Jack has contributed snapshots of two more Helen Andersen pieces, for inclusion in the database of her works. He has them at his home in Vancouver.
Left: What Canadian tourist in the tropics hasn’t been intrigued by lizards on palm trees and even in their rooms. Helen recorded her impressions, probably in Hawaii, in 1980. Watercolour.
Right: There are some reflections in the frame’s glass and a couple of flashbulb highlights in this photo, but it shows Helen’s lifelong fascination with the arts of other cultures. This little airbrush piece represents an African carving that she no doubt owned. Characteristically, the composition defies conventional practice. The subject is off-centre and looks out of the frame.

Danica joined me on this morning’s walk and we stopped to watch the swans in Woodbine Park. All three cygnets are growing up nicely, thanks in part to their father’s vigilance. He takes after unleashed dogs when they lunge. Mother sticks close to her young. Father sits farther off for a wider view of possible danger.

Why wouldn’t he? He says it reminds him of his childhood days in Bombay but it’s also pretty good for business. He and Carlotta just opened their new Gelato Di Carlotta store in Niagara On The Lake.
Illustration courtesy of a new font called Dark Ice Cream [via Smashing Magazine]

I think of gum chewing when I watch the animated gif [below] for a while. I placed it after the “Read More” break because it can be annoying and there’s no way to stop it (execpt by hitting “Read Less”).

Poor Old Toronto Ontario. A confused and confusing council has voted to toss the Scarborough Light Rail Transit plan, fully funded, environmentally approved and $85 million already spent. In its place, Scarborough dwellers are being offered the unfunded dream of a subway that would be much more costly and slow to build… if it ever gets built at all.
Is this really what the people of Scarborough want? Hard to believe.
Harder to believe: that the rest of Canada will want to pay the cost difference. But that’s what even the Mayor says. No federal funding, no subway. Can Ford get the money from Harper this way? He might get the promise of money, but Scarborough won’t ride far on political promises.
Provincial promises, same thing. Ford’s promise to keep a subway tax increase to $5 a household? Already being, um, restated.
As usual, P.O.T.O. is going nowhere fast.

Of various dawn shots I took on my walk today, this one appeals to me most. Lake Ontario at the foot of Kippendavie on a calm, muggy morning. It was early enough that bird songs and gull squawks were the dominant soundtrack. Very peaceful.
A grey-bearded man sleeping on a bench beside the boardwalk had a radio going inside his shopping cart. A talk show played quietly. I thought how pleasant it would be to wake up in the morning to the sound of lapping water and singing birds. Good choice of a place to bed down for the night, even if the bench boards were a bit hard. Was the talk show a wake-up call? A little, homey touch? A bit of comfort?

I saw a driver doing this today. I wondered about the erratic steering but then realized what was going on in the driver’s head. You can legally turn right on a red. Right? You’re supposed to stop first, but that’s a detail, so roll through at full speed. But don’t complete the turn. Instead, cross the side street and pretend you had been driving on it, toward the green light. You can make a right turn on a green light, right? Haha!!
The manoeuvre was repeated at the next intersection, defeating the red light rule again. I know that, in Toronto, red lights are meant to be interpreted. You can go through them, for example, if they are “fresh” reds that have not been red for too long. But the dipsy-doodle-on-through was a new one on me. I’ll have to watch out for more of that. I mean it. Watch out!

This one looks like it belongs on the CNE grounds… a new ride for the Ex?
I grumble about the smokestacks towering over our Eastern lakeshore, but it occurs to me that they are probably a good thing. Who’s going to build a thicket of glass tower condos in the midst of smokestack alley? At least the stacks are skinnier than condo towers, and spaced farther apart.

The Ashbridges Bay Pumping Station is one of my favourite pieces of waterfront whimsy. I hope it survives the upgrades that are coming. Apparently the structure is just over 40 years old. That surprises me. Certainly looks like 60s styling.

Pumping Station M was built in 1970, 5 years after Toronto City Hall was completed and belongs to the same “Flash Gordon” aesthetic.