Author: Bill

Unoccupied storefronts are at least looking better while preparations for new businesses are made. This fun poster even pays tribute to a famous Canadian.
There is some serious clean-up and construction going on inside quite a few places… an encouraging sign. Lazy Daisy Café is featuring some light, bright paintings by Gwynne Giles, a local artist with a studio on Upper Gerrard. I admire the way he has developed a distinctive style for himself.

Suppose you live in this splendidly different home on Coxwell Avenue. You can park your car under the tower because it’s up on stilts. What will your licence plate say?
Answer follows:

Today at the BMV (Books, Movies, Videos) store, I was intrigued by several Penguin classics that had blank covers on otherwise complete books. I have been privileged to do a few book covers for Ruth and John Robert Colombo (examples below), so I was curious.
Penguin’s idea was to let readers design their own covers and, if they wished, to send them in for online display. I am twigging to this some 6 years after the idea took shape, but no matter. The public has responded with some imaginative work and you can still view the gallery, here.

I applaud the art attacks on Astral advertising posters. Yes, I know that Astral has a 20 year contract with the City. Shame on you for that, former Mayor Miller. Yes, the protest posters are vandalism… “vandalism at its best”, as the link says.

MUCH better in the cool of the evening… nice breezes and everything looks more glamorous under the Canadian Tire work lamps that merchants favour on these occasions. The music was booming and the crowd provided its own entertainment, dancing in the street. Lots of fun. Professionals sang and danced on stage, too.

There were good crowds, block after block. I hope there was enough of a business boost business to give Little India the shot in the arm it needs.

Day One of the weekend street closing for the South Asian Festival. When I got home I was wringing wet with sweat. How these dancers performed so energetically and enthusiastically is beyond me, but they looked awfully good when I spotted them from afar. By the time I got in close, they had already stopped for a TV interview. I would like to have caught their act in a Quicktime movie but I wasn’t quick enough.

I planned to go back after dark (the Festival goes until at least 11:00 p.m.) but we have a guest staying over tonight. Maybe tomorrow evening I’ll go again.
[Update] A video of the dancers is now on YouTube and embedded below. Give them a big “Like”.

You know… the ones that claim that they want to “clean” your Windows computer remotely. Give them permission and they’ll clean you, alright. So I listen to the initial spiel (wasting their time) and then say, “I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. I don’t have a computer.” They hang up without another word.

The Festival of South Asia is set for Saturday and Sunday. Powerwashers were out in force this morning, taking back the sidewalks from the pigeons. Soon the street will fill with food stalls, dancers and musicians, henna painters and roasters of corn on the cob. Racks of brilliant saris will move in the breeze, embroidered cushion covers will sell for a song. Cool, cool clothing is here, invented for heat waves like the one we are having. Old fashioned Ontario carny games have made appearances in the past, too. I love the mix of cultures.

Local merchants and community groups are fighting urban blight that has been weighing down Gerrard East between Greenwood and Coxwell. What’s more, they are succeeding. Some storefronts present a dreary face to the street. Unwashed windows, grungy, empty interiors. One has been spruced up with a colourful quilt, each square contributed by locals. I was pleased to see that Ula’s Hair Salon had a square. I’ve been getting my hair cut there for a decade.

Thanks go out to William Shatner for his work on the national anthem and to John Robert Colombo for his information on Dominion Day.
Dominion Day not Canada Day
John prefers the original Dominion Day to the current Canada Day and gives his reasons by email:

The BNA Act, 1867, now incorporated into the Constitution Act, 1982, defines Canada as “One Dominion,” so the country is not a monarchy or a democracy and certainly not a republic, but a “dominion.” This word is regarded as Canada’s sole contribution to the language of government, but the term was earlier used in Australia and one of the U.S. States is known as “the Old Dominion.” The word is familiar from the Old Testament where it is used in the sense of an estate.

John, I hope you don’t mind my publishing your message. It probably won’t help your cause, as my readership consists of a tiny, though highly intelligent number of people. Until I read your statement, I was under the impression that, as a dominion, we were under the thumb of Britain. Indeed, a Google search reveals that the matter is still debated in some circles. Thank you for putting forth the historical reasons for keeping the original term. Are there another other dominions in the world at present, or are we the only one?

Rebecca Staton ventured south of her beloved High Park for this beauty, but not far south. The location is just across the Lakeshore Boulevard boundary at the bottom of the park. We are looking out at Lake Ontario.