Category: Uncategorized

I just learned that the Stanley Cup had been won yesterday, ending the hockey season.

Sandy Zwyer rightly observes that this news would have drawn favourable comment from our old friend Ben Viccari. Since Ben’s not here to do the job, here’s a link for you to follow.
I am particularly pleased to see reference to the way residential school experiences echo down through generations. The damage wasn’t just to those who were sent to the schools. The kids they raised, and their kids, were affected adversely. The disaster continues right to this day. It’s amazing to me that so few non-native people grasp this fact.
[Sorry about the stupid CBC ad and use of Flash]

My neighbour Lisa was on her way back home by the time I hit the street, but she gave me a tip. The pair of adult swans in the pond at Woodbine Park have 3 young ones at the moment. I had my iPod Touch in my pocket.
Most of the people with dogs in the park were using leashes, but not one old dude. His animal was free to lunge at the swans, as other unleashed dogs have been seen to do. One even got a defending swan by the leg. It’s not the fault of the dogs, but perhaps their owners should be neutered.

From the left, writers (and readers): Lisa Moore, Sheila Heti, Miranda Hill, Claire Messud

There are Luminato events going on all over town this week but Danica and I only made it to one… a gala reading at the Toronto Public Library’s Appel Salon near Yonge and Bloor.
It was a well-attended event, introduced by programme director Tina Srebotnjak and hosted by writer Michael Redhill. Women in the audience outnumbered the men by about ten to one, in my estimation. Just as well. I think the kind of everyday minutiae that figured in so many of the readings would appeal more to female readers. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the evening. Claire Messud’s work seemed strongest to me. I liked Sheila Heti’s sense of humour, too (although I had to check with Danica to be sure she was joking).

This sort of thing impresses me. I mean, they had to remember a lot of steps to do this so well, and in shared tights? Well, it’s genius, that’s all.

International artist and famous Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei has provided Toronto with a foretaste of his major show, coming to the AGO in August. There are twelve bronze sculptures mounted in City Hall’s courtyard reflecting pool. They represent the animal figures of the Chinese zodiac but they are also a political reminder of The Opium Wars, which are a historical dark stain on European relations with the Chinese. The twelve heads are inspired by sculptures that were looted by the British and French when they burned down the Chinese Emperor’s summer palace in 1860.

Of course, everyone goes immediately to their own sign… Danica was born in the Year of the Horse. More pictures below…

John Robert Colombo has shared his discovery of a remarkable site by an equally remarkable man. Paul Gilbert has made himself an expert on Russia’s Romanovs.
Of particular interest to me was the Toronto connection to the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. She escaped Russia when Bolsheviks assassinated most of the Russian Imperial family in 1918. Her first refuge was Denmark, but postwar dangers forced her to seek asylum in Canada. Fascinating tale. As it happened, she died in a tiny apartment above a beauty salon at 716 Gerrard Street East… a few blocks from the first house Danica and I bought. [See map below] We walked by that little building many, many times, oblivious to its history.

Toward the end, she says that the World Cup and the Olympics are great events. Come on. Really?

A friend is considering one of these but Canadian Tire is asking $429.99 CAD (web price). The same cycle sells for $259.00 US at Walmart in the States right now. That’s about a $170 difference. Granted, Canadian Tire says they’ll assemble it for you “free”, but that’s a HUGE assembly charge built in, if that’s the reason.
There was a recent Canadian Tire sale on these, briefly bringing the cost down to $329.99. More reasonable, but our friend missed the sale… and there would still have been a $70 spread built in to cover that “free” assembly. That difference would easily cover the cost of a helmet and lights.
Note: the Meridian Adult Trike above is single speed.

Danica and Kathleen pose in the back yard before heading off to a block party on friend Neda’s street. Don’t they look terrific?