World traveller (by motorcycle) Peter Sever reports a best-in-the-world experience from within Canada. He and Hana are riding Newfoundland and he just emailed his enthusiastic praise to his long list of contacts.
This commercial, he assures us, is no exaggeration. “Please go”, he says. “Drive the village periphery with no schedule. Just explore.”

Peter included a photo of his own, so I’ll share it, too.

Archaeological Viking village at Iceberg Alley by Peter Sever

Longtime friends Blair and Louise Rossen invited us to attend the wedding of their son Paul in Milton on Monday.
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It was a BIG event with a rustic theme, set in a traditional Ontario farm/village that now serves special occasions. The weather was warm and the humidity was relieved by cooling breezes. It was a beautiful day for a lovely couple. Christy Colgan and Paul Rossen are officially Mr. and Mrs.
We’ve known Paul and his gorgeous sisters since they were babies. It was a wonderful thing to see them all so happy for Paul.

The good photos are Danica’s. I experimented with a new camera setting. Anyway, you really have to see the place for yourself. Many of the creatures use camouflage and don’t want to show up in a photo, even if the photographer knows what he is doing.
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Visiting family from Windsor Kathy and Paul, daughter Nicole and family friend Dana took Danica and me to the show. Daughter Kristie caught up with us later. They were mainly in town for a country music concert.
The entry process was a little chaotic and queue jumpers were not directed to the end of the line but everything got progressively better as we went on. In fact, we spent 2.5 hours inside and the time flew. Assessment: Well worth a visit although ticket prices are steep. Crowds do not interfere with viewing in most sections and, if they do, just wait until they thin out a bit. Generally, I thought the operation was pretty well managed.
To acquire your souvenir aquarium hockey puck, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

When the humidity lifts, there’s no better way to get downtown than along the bicycle paths beside the lake. Peter and I grabbed a coffee at the George Brown University building and went next door to lounge in the Muskoka chairs on Sugar Beach.
On the way to Sugar Beach, we stopped at Cherry Beach and watched the freighter come in, loaded with sugar from Jamaica. Our mixed-use waterfront offers plenty of activity to watch. Weekdays are best. No crowds. Ahhhh, retirement! 🙂

It’s not ALWAYS true, but most of the time, photos and videos put the centre of interest in the, ummm, centre. When I noticed how Youtube was making a clown of Leonard Cohen, I thought how old analogue TVs handled the situation.
Put the control button off to the side, Youtube. Take a chance on us … we’ll find it.

Burrard Street Bridge, Vancouver. Pastel on coloured paper. By Helen Andersen, signed “Andy”.
This one is freshly matted and now hangs in Danica’s office. In the 1960s Helen often used pastels for colour sketching. It afforded her a quick way to make colour notes for later paintings, but she also used pastel for finished compositions … especially ones with industrial themes.

http://vimeo.com/9733014
My friend Ian has a sister Eileen who is a great, natural curator of the internet. She sends marvellous stuff, this being one example. Thanks, Ian, for sharing your good fortune.

Ben was at the centre of many human connections, working as he did to unite diverse cultures under Canada’s flag. As longtime editor of Canadian Scene news and decade-long president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association, Ben strove to lead newcomers to our country into Canada’s political, artistic and business mainstream.
He’s still connecting people, even though he’s been gone for 4 years!

I first met Kash and Carlotta, owners of Il Gelato di Carlotta, and Ruth and John Robert Colombo through Ben, back when I was helping set up his web site. We all played different roles in Ben’s career and we remain in touch, enjoying his memory sweetly with delicious Italian treats. How appropriate. Ben’s father was Italian.
The timing is good, too. Ben used to celebrate Canada’s birthday as his own, which was actually one day later. He dressed in red and white and threw a party every year.

I’m posting this as a memory aid, because it’s becoming difficult to interpret the Pride Parade acronym for participants. LGBTTIQQ2SA stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual, Interested, Queer, Questioning, 2-Spirited and Allies.
Heterosexual Politicians were early supporters (except for one mayor), so H and a P should probably be added. The A for Allies would cover them, but it is needed for the Asexuals who are feeling left out.
NoJetsTO just emailed me saying they would be marching to express Pride in our Waterfront. N, J, T, O and perhaps W for Waterfront. So basically, it’s becoming a parade for anybody who is proud of anything.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as the Seinfeld bit went.
The funny thing is, some groups are banned from the parade.

Do you ever forward an item to someone without first reading, viewing or listening to it yourself? Apparently it’s common in our online world. Happens with with books, too.
I’ve had this book in storage and recall leafing through it 20 years ago. It’s about human habitation of North America from 200,000 years ago until the 1990s.
Obviously, most of that time covers the history of First Nations people, so I thought “I know who would like this book” … a woman I know in the Idle No More movement.
But then I realized that she was probably well aware the stories, while I was not. It’s me that should read it properly, not her.