Showing posts with label Toronto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 June 2025
Thursday, 6 March 2025
ON Rats
"ON Rats" was chosen because it is a bit more sophisticated than "OH Rats!" or "EEK Rats!" and it likely reminds you more of an essay by Montaigne than Mulcahy. But, the exclamatory titles are more appropriate and the point being made here is that there are now a lot of rats. If you have read my unflattering posts about Toronto you will know that I was not surprised to learn that Toronto has lots of them.
If I had acted more quickly I could have provided you with "Breaking News" which is now more valuable than the regular kind. I would have told you early on about the Ratscallions, if I had known that rats were going to become "a thing." The Ratscallions operate in Washington, which like Toronto, has many rats and again, I wasn't surprised to learn this. The advance news about the rapidly growing rat population in the D.C. area is from this article which begins with an Editor's warning: "This story contains descriptions and images of dogs hunting rats that could upset some readers.". Actually the title should be enough for you: ""Washington is Full of Rats: These Dogs Are Happy to Help With That: On Certain Nights, Behind Some of Your Favorite Restaurants, Roving Groups of Dog Owners Set Their Posse of Pooches Loose on Urban Rodents," Maur Judkis and Jabin Botsford, Washington Post, Sept. 13, 2024.
This is now old news so I will not develop this story further and simply provide sources for those of you who may have missed this development while spending too much time reading about the other rats in Washington. The major points are that the rat population is booming and increases in the number of people and the temperature are mainly responsible.
THE SOURCE which all the journalists depended upon is this one: "Increasing Rat Numbers in Cities Are Linked to Climate Warming, Urbanization, and Human Population," Science Advances, Jan. 31, 2025.
"Urban rats are commensal pests that thrive in cities by exploiting the resources accompanying large human populations. Identifying long-term trends in rat numbers and how they are shaped by environmental changes is critical for understanding their ecology, and projecting future vulnerabilities and mitigation needs."
The story was reported in Washington where obviously the Ratscallions have not been able cull sufficient numbers: "Urban Rats are Booming Around the World Due in Large Part to Rising Average Temperatures, According to an Analysis of 16 Cities Published Friday: The trend is most pronounced in Washington, D.C., followed by San Francisco, Toronto and New York," Washington Post, Jan. 31, 2025.
Boston has more than Brahmins and Bruins: "Boston's Warming Climate Leads to More Rats, Study Says," The Boston Globe, Feb. 18, 2025.
"A study published in the journal Science on Jan. 31, said biologists using Boston’s 311 call data estimated that between 2011 and 2021, the city’s rat population increased by 53 percent..."
Here is yet another reason to avoid Toronto: "Rats! Why Toronto’s Rat Population is Growing, and Will Likely Continue To Do So," By Alex Arsenych, Cp24.com, February 12, 2025.
It made the National news: "How Canada's Cities Got So Repulsively Ratty: Canadians Are in an All-out War with Rats For Dominion Over our Urban Centers: It's Time to Take Them Back," Jadine Ngan, Maceans, Dec. 9, 2025.
The problem is an International one: "Cat-sized Rats Are Attacking Our Cars," Rob Mayer, BBC, Feb.28, 2025. These rats are in Birmingham.
No, this does not give you an excuse to buy another cat. As you can see from the headline right above, these 21st century rats can be large. As well, if there are many of them, your cat may be outmatched. I recently was looking again at The Great War and Modern Memory and in it, found this passage:
"The famous rats also gave us constant trouble. They were big and black with wet, muddy hair….Their hunger, vigor, intelligence, and courage are recalled in numerous anecdotes. One officer notes from the Ypres Salient: “We are fairly plagued with rats. They have eaten nearly everything in the mess, including the table-cloth and the operations orders! We borrowed a large cat and shut it up at night to exterminate them, and found the place empty the next morning. The rats must have eaten it up, bones, fur, and all and dragged it to their holes.” p.49 The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell.
On a more positive note, there's always Alberta: "'Rat on Rats': Alberta Launches Campaign to Keep Province Rat-free," Steven Dyer, CTV News, Nov.5, 2024.
"For more than 70 years, Alberta has been designated rat-free by keeping rats from establishing a permanent population and dealing with any new infestations, the province said in a release."
The Bonus:
For additional, sophisticated "ON" posts, see, for example:
"ON Ophiology"
"ON Worms"
"ON Barfing"
Monday, 16 December 2024
The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada - 2024
London Isn't One of Them (Again)
Last year the G&M published a ranking of the "Most Livable Cities" in Canada, to help you determine in which city you would choose to live. Given that London did not appear among the "Top 100," I figured I would call that fact to your attention. It is typically the case that if one fairs poorly in a ranking, it is best to move on to a subject that is better rated. Since you probably did not read about London's poor ranking in what is left of the local news sources, have a look at this: "The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada" in MM. You will learn from it that the closest Livable City appears to be Middlesex Centre. If you would prefer to rely on the original analysis (a good idea) see: "Canada's Most Livable Cities: Explore Our Data-Driven Ranking of the Most Desirable Places to Live in the Country," Mahima Singh and Chen Wang, Globe and Mail, Nov. 25, 2023.
The News Is Not Good (for London)
The data have been crunched again by the same authors and the 2024 edition of "Canada's Most Livable Cities" will be found in the G&M, Dec.12. If you are headed to a convenience store for some beer, you still may be able to grab a copy if city officials didn't abscond with all of them. I will provide here, the top 10 nice big places to live in Canada.
Last year, I did not bother to say much about London since it was not among the 100 Most Livable Cities. This year, I dug a little deeper and found London buried among the 448 communities for which a number of variables were analyzed. Unfortunately London's rankings are not good and have gotten worse. Like I said earlier, you should look at the original article, where the methodology is explained. The article, by the way, was nominated for a Digital Publishing Award, (see, G&M, April 25, 2024.)
There are sub-rankings as well and the Top 20 are listed. Unfortunately London doesn't appear, but at least it does creep into the Top 100 in one category - as a place for Entrepreneurs. The bad news is that London did worse in all categories this year.
Sub-rankings
2024 2023
Full Ranking 168 139
For Young Professionals. 166 99
For Raising Kids. 129 116
For Midlife Transitions 254 196
For Midlife Transitions 254 196
For Retirement 306 152
For Newcomers 213 163
For Entrepreneurs 76 74
You should look at the original article and especially the comments. There are, for example, many who think their city deserves a higher spot than Winnipeg.
MM is London-based and I have lived here for many years. Although I don't think London is as "Livable" a place as it was fifty years ago, I would think that most people in most cities (even in the top 100) would say the same thing. And I still think it is likely better than say, Winnipeg.
(Readers of MM know how I rate Toronto and you will be able to tell from these titles: Toronto the Carbuncle and Toronto the Carbuncle (Update).)
MM is London-based and I have lived here for many years. Although I don't think London is as "Livable" a place as it was fifty years ago, I would think that most people in most cities (even in the top 100) would say the same thing. And I still think it is likely better than say, Winnipeg.
(Readers of MM know how I rate Toronto and you will be able to tell from these titles: Toronto the Carbuncle and Toronto the Carbuncle (Update).)
Friday, 2 February 2024
Beyond the Palewall (9)
This is another in a series about news items of which you should be aware. For those who prefer a table of contents: 1) The first story is about yet another Canadian apology and we may soon have offered one to every group that has been offended. I don't think the apologies are being done alphabetically, since the last one was to the Italians. For more about that, see my post "Apologizing Again", where you will learn there is even a book about such a subject: A Guilted Age: Apologies for the Past. If you feel traumatized by long ago events or feel guilty about something that happened in the last century, you should have a look. 2) This one is about children now allowed outside in Toronto. I have also dealt with this issue in an insightful piece about "Children and Risk." 3) This one will be useful since you probably don't have a local newspaper to read and 4) A very interesting piece about the shootings occurring outside of theatres in Canada where people supposedly don't have guns. Even more interesting are the comments posted by readers of the articles, who apparently are not thrilled with the current government or sold on the virtues or multiculturalism.
1) Apology Parity
“B.C. To Apologize For Historical Treatment of Doukhobor Sect,” Mike Hager, Globe and Mail, Jan. 31, 2024.
Back in the middle of the last century about 200 children were seized “ from their parents in southeastern British Columbia and sent to the New Denver residential school by the province after their sect, known as the Sons of Freedom, refused to send them to public school. The tiny group had broken away from Canada’s Doukhobor population, a religious group that settled in the region and Saskatchewan after they were banished from Russia in the late 19th century for their pacifist views, rejection of the Orthodox Church and refusal to participate in the military.”
They will now be getting an apology:
“B.C. Attorney-General Niki Sharma’s office confirmed a public apology to the survivors, who may number about 75, and their families will be made Thursday in Castlegar. A corresponding proposal for financial reparations is expected by the descendants of the Sons of Freedom community.”
B.C. Ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, says the "government’s apology needs to be “unconditional, clear and public.”
He said he has also communicated to the Attorney-General that the wider community needs to be compensated, as well as the individuals who were sent to the New Denver residential school and their progeny.
“Clearly there has been intergenerational trauma from the events that happened in the 1950s and I don’t think government should be seen to have the amount of compensation they pay reduced through their own delay,” he said in a phone interview.”
2) Children Allowed to Play Again: The Return of PLUCK
[There will be no image of children playing since it might be too disturbing for some.]
Playing Even Sanctioned by The Toronto Star
“'We Aren't Talking About Sending Them Into Busy Streets or Near Rough Water.' Canadian Paediatric Society Recommends Risky Play for Kids, Toronto Star, Jan. 25, 2024
"Unstructured outdoor play, in particular risky play, is essential for the physical, mental and social development of children, according to new recommendations from the Canadian Paediatric Society."
"We have to reframe how we view risk and understand that risk is a part of life and it's a part of our children's lives," said Dr. Suzanne Beno, a paediatric emergency medicine physician at SickKids, chair of the injury prevention committee of the
CPS, and author of the guidance document released Thursday.”
The new recommendations say children should be kept "as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible," and land on the heels of a tussle in Toronto over whether the city should be closing tobogganing hills that have served neighbourhoods for generations....
The city has closed 45 hills this year, due to concerns about hazards including trees, wading pools, stairs and benches. It maintains a list of toboggan runs it considers safe.
Risky play helps build physical and mental health and resilience among children and youth and can help prevent or manage conditions like obesity, anxiety and behavioural issues, according to the CPS."
For the actual CPS report see: "Healthy Childhood Development Through Outdoor Risky Play: Navigating the Balance with Injury Prevention.”
Playing No Longer Condemned by the CBC
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation imprimatur guarantees that a reasonable bit of playing should be allowed while wearing helmets.
"Pop the Bubble Wrap and let Kids Play Outdoors, Pediatricians Say:
Pediatricians Encourage Parents to Allow Children to Take Risks, Even if it Leads to Minor Cuts, Bruises," Amina Zafar · CBC News · Posted: Jan 25, 2024
"The group said opportunities for risky play fell over recent decades as unscheduled free play outside gave way to planned activities. Now, kids spend more time indoors, often on screens.
The 2022 Participaction report card gave Canadian children a grade of D overall for physical activity and a D– for active play.
"It's the move away from helicopter parenting, from over-parenting, over-scheduling and the recognition that it's probably healthy and good for kids to be kids and to be allowed to experience developmentally and age-appropriate challenges."
"There are four newspapers covering a county of about 150,000 people. On paper, we’re not a news desert by a long shot. But the reality is we’re a de facto news desert because our newspapers are zombies. Three of the four newspapers are owned by Gannett, which, according to the online staff directories of the Chambersburg Public Opinion, Greencastle Echo Pilot, and Waynesboro Record Herald, employs exactly two journalists across all three newsrooms, which sporadically cover local government. The Echo Pilot lists no staff at all. The fourth newspaper, the Mercersburg Journal, is print-only and owned by a local chain. It covers our borough council and other local events in our tiny town reasonably well, and local officials tend to be extremely aware that what they say and do could end up in the paper the following Wednesday. For me, that’s evidence that traditional dead-tree news remains essential, though I wonder how sustainable it is.”
3) News Deserts - Oases Shrinking
Weekly a writer for The Atlantic sends out a newsletter, “Up for Debate.” In a recent one he asked his readers to respond to this question: “What is the state of local journalism where you live, and how does it affect your community?” There were many replies, all lamenting the loss of local reporting. Here is one from close-by Pennsylvania and, with a change of newspaper names, it could probably have come from any province in Canada.
"There are four newspapers covering a county of about 150,000 people. On paper, we’re not a news desert by a long shot. But the reality is we’re a de facto news desert because our newspapers are zombies. Three of the four newspapers are owned by Gannett, which, according to the online staff directories of the Chambersburg Public Opinion, Greencastle Echo Pilot, and Waynesboro Record Herald, employs exactly two journalists across all three newsrooms, which sporadically cover local government. The Echo Pilot lists no staff at all. The fourth newspaper, the Mercersburg Journal, is print-only and owned by a local chain. It covers our borough council and other local events in our tiny town reasonably well, and local officials tend to be extremely aware that what they say and do could end up in the paper the following Wednesday. For me, that’s evidence that traditional dead-tree news remains essential, though I wonder how sustainable it is.”
This is a very important subject. For more about it see:
In Canada: Local News Research Project.
For the United States:
Northwestern University: The State of Local News Project.
University of North Carolina: Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media.
4) Shoot-Out at the Cineplex Corral
"Cineplex Pulls South Indian Film Following Drive-by Shootings at GTA Movie Theatres," Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press, Jan.30, 2024
TORONTO - Cineplex has cancelled screenings of a South Indian film following four drive-by shootings at theatres throughout the Greater Toronto Area the day it premiered.
Coming Soon To A Cinema Near You
"Cineplex Pulls South Indian film Screenings After Incidents of Threats, Intimidation and Talk of Turf War," Joe Castaldo, Globe and Mail, Jan.31, 2024.
"Movie exhibitors including Cineplex Inc. CGX-T -1.70% have pulled screenings of a South Indian-language film across Canada after individuals opened fire at four cinemas in the Greater Toronto Area last week, the latest incidents of intimidation related to Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam blockbusters.
Videos obtained by The Globe and Mail show a person in a hoodie shooting a gun multiple times through the passenger window of a vehicle at the entrances of Cineplex locations in Scarborough and Vaughan. In a separate video, the driver of the vehicle fires at a Cineplex in Brampton. York Cinemas, a theatre in Richmond Hill, Ont., was also hit by gunfire. The shootings shattered glass and left bullet holes in windows. According to York Regional Police, the incidents occurred in the early morning hours, when the theatres were closed….
Film distributors have contended that a turf war is being waged and that a group of individuals is trying to control the lucrative market for South Indian-language films in Canada, using vandalism and intimidation to pressure theatres and distributors to drop certain titles and ensure the films run in favoured cinemas.
In recent years, Telugu and Malayalam movies have been affected, too. The Globe has found more than 20 incidents at Cineplex locations, independent theatres and other chains such as Landmark Cinemas across Southern Ontario, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Surrey, B.C.
In December, noxious substances were sprayed inside three GTA Cineplex theatres, forcing audience members to evacuate.
The illustration above is the poster for the currently contentious film, Malaikottai Vaaliban. As far as I can determine, it is not necessarily the film that is problematic, but rather the issue of who gets to decide which South Asian films should be shown.
Friday, 19 January 2024
Toronto the Carbuncle (Update)
Toronto the "Gridlocked Carcass"
Almost five years ago, I wrote a post with the title at the top. Whenever I chance upon it, I think it a bit harsh. Perhaps not. A better one would be "Toronto the CARbuncle." There is an article in the Globe and Mail today, with the following title, and you should read it: "If Toronto Can't Improve its World-Class Traffic, It Will Decay Into a Gridlocked Carcass," by Andrew Clark. At least Toronto is "world-class" in something.
Here is the interesting part:
There are also other interesting comments. Mr. Clark notes that the transit problem is being ignored while "the mayor and the media squabble about a patch of pavement that is an embarrassing tribute to ugliness." He solves that problem for them by suggesting new names for Dundas Square, one of which is "William Hogarth Presents". For those who like illustrations, more than words, a link is provided.
TomTom, provider of GPS-based navigation systems, analyzed data from more than 600 million in-car navigation systems and smartphones to identify trends in 387 cities across 55 countries throughout 2023.
TomTom found that Toronto had the third-worst traffic in the world – not in Canada, not in North America, in the world. Only London and Dublin ranked higher. Think of a city with legendarily bad traffic. They all ranked lower (better) than Toronto. Los Angeles (233); New York (20); New Delhi (44); Vancouver (32). It took the average Toronto driver 29 minutes to travel 10 kilometres. Top runners can cover this distance faster. The pace would also be considered slow for most cyclists on a road bike. Drivers in Toronto spent 255 hours a year driving (98 of those caused by congestion). TomTom also offers real-time traffic analysis. As I write this, the average speed in Toronto is 16 kilometres an hour and there are 387 reported traffic jams spanning 371 kilometres.
There are also other interesting comments. Mr. Clark notes that the transit problem is being ignored while "the mayor and the media squabble about a patch of pavement that is an embarrassing tribute to ugliness." He solves that problem for them by suggesting new names for Dundas Square, one of which is "William Hogarth Presents". For those who like illustrations, more than words, a link is provided.
In the article, this question is raised: "Why should anyone outside Toronto care if no one in the city cares enough to do anything about it?" (The congestion, not "Dundas," who very few, even in Toronto, care about.) The answer to that question is found in "Toronto the Carbuncle." Those of us who live far outside of Toronto, in either direction, care simply because it stands in the way of those of us who are trying to get somewhere nicer. The only other reason used to be because we were trying to get to Pearson to go somewhere nicer, but no one wants to go there now and not just because of the traffic.
Source:
Apart from the article and my post which indicated congestion was a problem at the beginning of this century, see the : TOMTOM Traffic Index.
Apart from the article and my post which indicated congestion was a problem at the beginning of this century, see the : TOMTOM Traffic Index.
Thursday, 7 September 2023
OLDE POSTS ADDENDA
Fall is in the air, but the weather has not been bad enough to force me back inside. It is for that reason that my few readers have returned day-after-day only to see those same baby chicks staring from the top page of Mulcahy's Miscellany. I will now attempt to put them at the bottom of this post. All 45,000 of them are, by the way, still missing as far as I know.
I do, of course, come in in the evening, but by then it is usually "5 o'clock Somewhere" and I typically spend more time drinking than writing, or thinking about things about which to write. Perhaps tonight we should all have another Margarita while thinking about Jimmy Buffett.
With worse weather perhaps my productivity will increase. For now I will simply offer some updates to old posts. Although I generally leave the "Breaking News" to the many who claim to be offering only news that is breaking, even some of my obscure topics sometimes surface, although not on the first page or screen. Five are presented below and if you combine them with the originals you will have amassed a fair amount of information which you can use to impress those who read only the breaking news. While you are digesting what follows, I will try to work on some new subjects for the dreary days ahead.
BUTTER
It was late in August of last year that I wrote about BUTTER and told you about the sculptures that were still being carved from it at the Minnesota State Fair. You had already learned about butter sculptures (and palaces made from corn) in an earlier piece about the mysteriously named, “The Land of Cockaigne.” I am pleased to report that things are still rocking at the Fair in St.Paul and that the likeness of a new “Princess Kay of the Milky Way” has been produced from a 90-pound block of Grade AA Butter at this “agriculture Disneyland.” If you read the article below, you will also learn about “Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar,” where you can get a bucket full of them without depleting her inventory since she can make 44,000 cookies in 12 minutes.
“At Agriculture Disneyland, Butter Princesses Reign Supreme: Where Can You Find Dairy Royalty, Pork Chops on a Stick and Sen. Amy Klobuchar? The Minnesota State Fair,” Natalie. B. Compton, Washington Post, Sept. 2, 2023.
P.S. Some Canadian content is also provided. In addition to pork chops on a stick you can also get “Pizza-on-a Stick” which is made by Tino Lettieri who was raised in Canada and played for the Montreal Castors, the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Hamilton Steelers. “"Pizza-on-a-Stick" is one of my dearest friends — he was in my wedding,” Rick Born said of Tino’s Pizza-on-a-Stick founder Tino Lettieri. “He’s actually in the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, and his son plays for the Minnesota Wild.” (I continue to be amazed about what can be learned from MM.)
FINE PRINTING: MR. TOROSIAN AND LUMIERE PRESS
The relatively unknown Michael Torosian and his Lumiere Press are again profiled in an article in The Globe and Mail: “Printer Savant Pays Homage to Bygone Era of Publishing, Photography,” by Kate Taylor (July 19, 2023.) You can learn more about an earlier profile in the G&M by reading this post from MM in 2018. Mr. Torosian’s archive has been acquired by the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the U. of T. and he has published this book: Lumiere Press: Printer Savant & Other Stories and you can place an order for it here.
In the new article, Mr. Torosian is asked questions and here is one, along with the answer: “You trained as a photographer at what is now Toronto Metropolitan University but had no credentials in publishing. How did you start?”
When I came up in the seventies there were very few galleries, few museums showing photography. It was almost like an underground network where the language was passed on and studied through books rather than through exhibitions. Books were the medium of photography.
It was a matter of finding a way to do it that worked for me. Because the industrial method of trying to compete with big publishers is lunacy. I saw photographer after photographer attempt it and they would end up with a basement full of books they didn’t know what to do with." Lead type and the letterpress disappeared from commercial publishing in the late 1970s, but you don’t fetishize the old technology. You also use digital means to reproduce some photos. Why the letterpress?
It’s indisputable that the most beautiful way of getting words on paper is with lead type on a letterpress. The technology has been around for 500 years and nobody really figured out a way of making it better.
When I discovered it, it wasn’t totally antiquated yet, but it really wasn’t commercially viable for the big companies. Big printing plants, newspapers and book publishers were dumping all their equipment. What had been exorbitantly expensive equipment was being sold for just a bit over scrap value. So, I hit the sweet spot, the moment where I could scoop up all this stuff and set up my own shop."
YOSEF WOSK
Another person about whom more should be known is Dr. Wosk who lives in Vancouver. I mentioned him when I stumbled into a library named for him at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens, (see: Unexpected Libraries.) Recently Dr. Wosk won the “Freedom of the City Award”, which is the highest award given by Vancouver and “only in exceptional cases to individuals of the highest merit.” (see: Yosef Wosk.)
Just a few excerpts from this article will prove that Dr. Wosk (also a rabbi) is worth your attention.
“Yosef Wosk has a dream. The academic, philanthropist and scion of a famous Vancouver family envisions a conservatory in the back of his Shaughnessy heritage home that will house his extensive collection of art and books….
“I think of the house as an emanation of the spirit,” he says of the home, one of several heritage projects he’s undertaken over the years. He helped restore the B.C. Permanent Building, a temple bank from 1907, filled with stained glass, as well as the first highrises in the West End, the iconic four-building Beach Towers complex he co-owned for 40 years, built in the 60s by midcentury architect Charles Van Norman. He’s a curator, patron of the arts, author and poet. He’s also a major donor to heritage conservation, galleries and museums, and various charities. But lately he’s become more circumspect about the projects he’ll take on, and how he spends his time, which is growing more valuable….
His father, who died in 2002, was also a celebrated philanthropist whose namesake is the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, to which he contributed $3-million. The Wosks left Odessa, Ukraine, in 1928 with next to nothing, and settled in a Jewish community at the time on Parker Street, on the city’s east side, peddling refurbished pots and pans….
He is devoting his time to several volumes of writing and his immense, eclectic art collection. So far in his prolific career, he’s obtained two PhDs, a Masters in theology from Harvard, the Order of Canada, the Order of B.C., the Freedom of the City of Vancouver, several honorary doctorates and accolades too numerous to count. At one point, he received the key to the city of Medford, Mass., for his contributions to that city. He put his work and accomplishments into a curriculum vitae, which is 767 pages long and still not comprehensive…”
These excerpts are from: “Yosef Wosk, Academic, Philanthropist and Art Collector, is Building a Gallery in His Own Backyard,” Kerry Gold, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 21, 2022. Ms Gold also wrote about Wosk more than a decade ago: "A Home With 'Character in Every Corner'," Kerry Gold, The Globe and Mail, April 22, 2010.
Crikey! WORMS AGAIN: But in Australia, Not Africa.
Five years ago you were told about a gentleman who discovered a worm crossing his eyeball, and also that worms travelling in eye sockets had been spotted and written about by Mary Kingsley many years before in Travels in West Africa. See: "University of the Unusual (3); The Guinea Worm and Assorted Others.")
Here is a more recent headline about worms which have burrowed a little farther in: “She Was Depressed and Forgetful. It Was A Worm in Her Brain” Doctors in Australia Found a Three-inch Parasitic Worm in a Woman’s Brain During Surgery, After They Spent More Than a Year Trying to Find the Cause of Her Distress,” Amanda Holpuch, New York Times, Aug. 29, 2023. That’s the little fella, pictured above.
The explanation: "An MRI showed that she had a brain lesion and, in June 2022, doctors performed a biopsy.
The explanation: "An MRI showed that she had a brain lesion and, in June 2022, doctors performed a biopsy.
Inside the lesion, doctors found a “stringlike structure” and removed it. The structure was a red, live parasitic worm, about 3.15 inches long and .04 inches in diameter.
They determined that it was an Ophidascaris robertsi, a type of roundworm that is native to Australia and reproduces in a large snake, the carpet python, which takes its name from its intricate markings. The pythons shed the worm’s eggs in their feces. The eggs are then ingested by small mammals, and the worms can grow inside them….”
The patient in this case resided near a lake area inhabited by carpet pythons. Despite no direct snake contact, she often collected native vegetation, warrigal greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides), from around the lake to use in cooking. We hypothesized that she inadvertently consumed O. robertsi eggs either directly from the vegetation or indirectly by contamination of her hands or kitchen equipment."
Jersey Girls STILL Don't Have to Pump Gas!
Last year I pointed out that "Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas!" and that is still the case. At that time, I also indicated that there was only one other state down in "The Land of the Free" where you were not free to fill up your own car. Oregon was that state, but now you are allowed to serve yourself, although many stations are still required to offer full service as well. So, this recent headline is now correct: "There's Only One State Left Where It's Illegal to Pump Your Own Gas," Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, August 9, 2023. That state is New Jersey. CNN also reported about the change in Oregon: "Oregon Drivers Are Now Allowed to Pump Their Own Fuel After the State Lifted a Ban Dating Back to 1951," Andy Rose, Aug. 6, 2023.
If you are older you will remember that gas was always pumped for you and you were not allowed to do so yourself. If you are a youngster you will always have served yourself. This is one of the many benefits of progress. Those in New Jersey are not progressive in this respect since a poll recently revealed that most do not want stations to stop providing full service. I assume that if Canadians were polled on this issue, most would want to revert to the good old days and have an attendant serve them on the many cold and windy days, or the few truly hot ones.
I have run out of gas on this subject, but if you are now wondering why things changed, see my earlier post and these references:
NACS - "The History of Self-Fueling," Aug. 5, 2023
"First Gas Pump and Service Station," American Oil & Gas Historical Society.
"Filling Station Attendant," Wikipedia.
"Gasoline Stations," Mulcahy's Miscellany," Nov. 19, 2017
The Bonus:
There are a few full service stations in London. Here is Ron Kraft Auto Care, on Huron Street where you can go if you prefer to be served. What a concept. You will also find:
-"Gas attendants who serve you at the pump – stay in your vehicle in rain, snow or heat
-Mobile payment machine brought to your car window
-Wheelchair accessibility to accommodate all of our customers
-Auto propane & BBQ tank refills."
"Why have the smell of gas on your hands when we can pump it for you?
At Ron Kraft Auto Care, if you don’t want to leave your vehicle, no matter the weather, our attendant is right there to pump your gas for you. Just pay with the mobile payment machine brought right to your car window."
Monday, 8 August 2022
A Gumball Rally
From Toronto to Miami
Given the current emphasis on DIVERSITY and my tendency to be contrarian, I like to occasionally offer an entry about something other than books and libraries. It is for those reasons that I now present to you some information about wealthy (mostly) white guys driving very fast in very expensive, gas-guzzling vehicles. “The horror, the horror.”
Surprisingly, some of this information was taken from the staid Globe and Mail, which issues from Toronto the Good, but you likely averted your eyes from the horrifying headline below, which is one of the few in the last several months that wasn’t about an apology or Hockey Canada. Homogenised reading is not good for you and it is interesting to learn that other things are happening.
“We’re Absolutely Not Going to Stick to the Speed Limit: Gumball Rally Gets Ready to Peel Out of Toronto After Showing off Cars,” Mark Richardson, June 1, 2022. The subtitle is: About 100 Pricey Cars Will Depart Toronto Headed For Detroit En Route to Their Final Destination of Miami for the Gumball 3000 Rally.
If you are displeased by such antics, you should note that, like a walkathon, money is raised for charitable causes:
“We’re trying to break the speed record in every leg of the race – that’s our goal,” said TJ Rinomato, a Toronto-based investment manager, driving with his best friend Will Brereton in a 1,000-horsepower Chevrolet Hennessy ZL1 Camaro. “Every mile an hour over the speed limit, we hope to raise a thousand dollars for that.”
Admittedly, more fuel will be required at the rally than at the walkathon.
“I flew up to Buffalo,” said Danny Creighton, a Florida real-estate developer driving a Dodge Ram TRX with Canadian co-driver and drag racer David Schroeder. “But the new fuel tank I put in started to have a valve issue. It started to leak fuel, so I had to send my plane down to pick up the guys who custom-made the truck in (Fort) Lauderdale, (Fla.), fly [them] back up, fly back for additional parts, come back up. We spent $50,000 in jet fuel yesterday. Then I drove it into Canada.”
Creighton’s pickup truck is hardly stock – it has six wheels on three axles and makes 800 horsepower. The new fuel tank is a 378-litre unit, additional to the existing 105-litre tank. “So when all the Ferraris and Lamborghinis are pulling over every 150, 200 miles,” he said, “the Warlord is just going to keep going down the track, cruising at 140 – rrrrrrr!” Those are American miles an hour he’s talking about, or 225 kilometres an hour."
“I think we’re getting somewhere around five miles to the gallon,” he added. Just for the record, that’s 47 litres per 100 kilometres. For comparison, a Honda Civic consumes around seven litres per 100 kilometres.
The article also mentions that the celebrity, David Hasselholff is participating
and will drive a Pontiac Firebird and a Maserati. His luggage is travelling in a separate Cadillac Escalade.
Sources:
I am sure the “Readers Comments” about the G&M, article will have addressed all the issues you also are stewing about and that there were likely very few which weren’t critical. If you go to GUMBALL3000.com, you can learn all about it and buy a deluxe edition of the book: 20 Years on the Road (£265.00).
There is also a Wikipedia entry for “The Gumball Rally.”
Some cities along the way welcomed the Gumballers. Here is the Nashville press release: “The Gumball 3000 Rally is Back With a Spectacular Route from Toronto - Miami, The 22nd Annual Gumball 3000 Rally arrives with a festival of Supercars and Superstars in Nashville on Monday, May 30 to make it a Memorial Day to remember!
They made it:
“Gumball 3000 Rally Arrives in Miami With an All-star soccer Match,” iCrowdNewswire, June, 2.
"The epic Gumball 3000 has been back in action for 2022, with an iconic line up of supercars and superstars setting the pace across North America. The rally will conclude in an epic finale in Miami on 3rd June as more than 100 incredible cars cross the finish line at David Beckham's Inter Miami stadium.
From the 27 May – 3 June 2022 the 22nd Annual Rally has travelled from Toronto to Miami. Over 100 cars – from Bugatti’s to Batmobiles – and 200+ personalities have taken part in this wacky-races-style road trip, driving 3,000 miles in just 6 days.
To conclude in true Gumball style, the rally finish will coincide with the inaugural Gumball Goodwill Charity Soccer match, taking place at the DRV PNK stadium on 2nd June. Ignition Casino will be sponsoring the match, with all the proceeds being donated to charity."
Post Script:
The Gumball Rally is not a race. Real men race in The Cannonball Run, from N.Y. to CA. It is done surreptitiously. The last time I checked, they crossed the country in about 26 hours and averaged 174 (KPH). See my post about The Cannonball Run.
The Bonus:
I happen to be reading the very good memoir by Simcoe-born Bruce McCall. The sentences below are found on p.196 when McCall mentions his friend Brock Yates:
"Yates, an automotive journalist and the nearest thing to Hunter S. Thompson I ever knew, crashed through life at speed. Brock founded the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a flagrantly outlaw sprint from New York to Los Angeles that attracted every nutbar car maniac in America. There were no rules. Miraculously, nobody got killed. It was typical of Yates. He flicked an anarchic finger at convention everywhere he ran into it, earning such a reputation for aggression that his nickname was the Assassin."
How Did I Get Here, Bruce McCall.
McCall is an illustrator and writer whose work is often seen in the New Yorker.
Friday, 18 March 2022
Libraries As Cabinets of Curiosities
I have not said much about libraries lately, largely because there has not been much to say, especially about the university variety. The one in which I used to work is being emptied of books to make room for students and for other activities. There are many places to see active students on campus, but for books you may be better off going to the bookstore. Years ago the main library used to be full of both books and things and I think it was a more interesting place to visit, even for the students.
I thought about this at year's end and you will easily see why, from reading the headline and the few paragraphs provided:
"A Cabinet of Wonders Opens Wide: A Coco Chanel Ballet Slipper, Beethoven's Hair, Andy Warhol's Painted Ticket: Treasures at the New York Public Library Showcases Delights From Its Collections," NYT, Dec. 28, 2021. If you are not enticed by those objects, there are more:
"The exhibition, supported by a $12 million gift from the philanthropist Leonard Polonsky, is the culmination of more than three years of shopping the library’s epic closets, which hold more than 45 million manuscripts, rare books, prints, photographs, audio and film clips and other artifacts. Covering 4,000 years of history, it mixes big-ticket items (a Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio) and who-knew delights, like Andy Warhol’s painting of a Studio 54 ticket (inscribed “To Truman,” as in Capote).
Look through a display of the conductor Arturo Toscanini’s batons, suspended in space, and you catch a glimpse of a spotlighted case across the room holding “Political Prisoner,” a 1971 cedar sculpture by the African American artist Elizabeth Catlett. From the front, the figure — a woman with a Pan-African flag cut into her torso — looks exhilarated, regal. From behind, you see that her hands are chained.
The library, Kiely said, is really a “collections of collections,” whose own history is traced through the show. The core sections are heavy on treasures donated by the 19th-century philanthropist James Lenox, like an early 16th-century copper globe that includes one of the earliest cartographic representations of the Americas. (It’s also one of only two surviving Renaissance or medieval maps with the inscription “Here be dragons.”)
UC DAVIS - Wine
Some university libraries continue to collect and store and I was pleased that the Library at the University of California (Davis) is aspiring to be the "Greatest Wine Library in the World." The image above is from their "Amerine (Maynard) Wine Label Collection."
UC DAVIS - Food
To choose the proper food to go with the wine there is now the "Chef Martin Yan Legacy Archive" at UC Davis. The archive "will include World-renowned celebrity chef Martin Yan’s collection of nearly 3,000 cookbooks, his first wok, thousands of photographs and other media." As well, there was a monetary donation to digitize and preserve the collection." Lest you think that UC Davis is only concerned with eating and drinking, you should know that it also has a well-ranked School of Veterinary Medicine. The daughter of a neighbour of ours went to the Equine Performance and Rehabilitation Center after graduating from Guelph.
If you are interested in research collections related to food and drink, revisit my long FOOD HISTORY post where you will find menus, recipes, cookbooks, etc. some of which are housed in Canadian university libraries (e.g. UBC and Guelph.)
Some Canadian Content:
The Ubyssey (the student newspaper at UBC) often runs stories about "Hidden Treasures" and the picture above is from one of them. It is from the Chung Collection in one of the UBC Libraries:
In the basement of the Irving K. Barber (IKB) Learning Centre, tucked in a corner behind multiple glass doors and a security desk, is a dim backroom that is curiously colder than the rest of the building. This is the Chung Collection, just one small portion of UBC’s vast Rare Books collection. With more than 25,000 items in this room alone, the Chung Collection fits more than a century of Canadian history into its tightly packed drawers and display cases.The walls of the Chung Collection gallery are lined with Canadian Pacific Rail advertisements ranging 1924 to the mid-1950s, most of which are the work of Saskatchewan-born Peter Ewert. Ewert’s stylized paintings of iconic Canadian sites, like this one of Lake Louise, gave tourists an idyllic image of the Canadian adventure they could embark one with CP rail. This 1942 ad for the Chateau Lake Louise depicts bathers lounging lakeside, in the shadow of the blue-tinted mountains.
Post Script:
There may still be a few items of interest to be found in the few remaining libraries up at Western, most likely in the "Archives and Special Collections" in the D. B. Weldon Library. I recall there were displays, in massive cabinets, of the large "Jeffrey Stamp Collection", which still may be there and I did do a post about the "Gregory Clark Piscatorial Collection" which is in the Archives. See: Angling Books. Otherwise, you will now see mostly students when you visit the libraries, or empty spaces during the summer months.
The Bonus: Libraries as Kindergartens
The situation could be worse. In one of the libraries at the U of T, you might see mainly kids. Providing "childminding" and space for students are not bad things, but they can be provided by others. This is what is going on in Toronto according to College and Research Libraries News:"Time of one’s own: Piloting free childminding at the University of Toronto Libraries,"Jesse Carliner, Kyla Everall
Abstract
In March 2018, the University of Toronto (UT) Libraries opened its first family study space, which was very well received. In the years since the family study space opened, there has been a growth in research about student parents and how academic libraries can best serve them.In response to an increased awareness about the student parent population and their needs, the libraries piloted programming for student parents during the 2019-20 academic year, including free childminding sessions. We will discuss how we developed and launched the service, areas for improvement, and other considerations for libraries planning a similar program. Although in-person programming is currently paused at UT due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate further growth in services for student parents once we can resume regular operations."
Friday, 12 July 2019
Toronto the Carbuncle
New Nickname For Hogtown
I suppose it is okay to pick on TO since the citizens there are feeling so good about their NBA championship team. (Although I am not sure why. There are more local fish in Toronto's Ripley's Aquarium than there are Canadian players on the Raptors, some of whom were just purchased fresh this year and will be gone by the next one.) So I am suggesting as a new nickname, "Toronto the Carbuncle" rather than "Toronto the Pustule" since a carbuncle is bigger and worse than a pustule. It seems to me closer to the truth than "Toronto the Good".
The reason for this rant now is because I just ran across a rather grim assessment of Toronto offered at the turn of this century. Things have not gotten better, although I must confess that real estate prices have gone up. For involved historical and economic reasons the "Big Smoke" seems to be where many Canadians want to be and have to go since there are not many other urban options. Citizens from other countries are also flocking there and "Diversity" itself seems a big draw. For now.
In any case, the rather negative account below is provided by someone who was simply trying to bypass Toronto about twenty years ago. Things have not gotten better. Among the many reasons not to like Toronto is that it is a major obstacle for those who are simply trying to go someplace more desirable.
"I don't know what the upper limit of population for a functioning human society is, but I do know that Greater Toronto exceeded it long ago. The city is a whirl of people constantly crossing each other's paths, like neutrinos in a cyclotron. The pace and volume of traffic, the raw, wounded-looking land beneath the new subdivisions and shopping centers, and the general sense of noise and hurry made me feel thoroughly jangled, like a mouse caught in a bagpipe. We turned north on 404 well before the city center, trying to escape the worst of it, and maybe we did: but if so, I would not want to see the worst. The freeway ended and we found ourselves facing traffic lights. Cars shuffled and crushed between them; trucks roared and fumed. Everywhere there was new construction - new homes, new strip malls, new office buildings. This, John Hartig had told us, was the finest agricultural land in Ontario. This has not stopped people from paving it. Hundreds of thousands of acres of it. The property-rights people have clearly won the war here. They can go to bed and sleep well. I wonder what they are planning to eat."
from: Great Lakes Journey: A New Look at America's Freshwater Coast, William Ashworth, p.250. This "new look" was taken in 2000. The author had taken an earlier tour of the area in the 1980s and the result was: The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History.
Sources:
Toronto has so many nicknames there is an entry in Wikipedia for "Name of Toronto".
See also: "Top 8 Nicknames for the City of Toronto".
Post Script:
About the only positive economic economic news here in London is found in the real estate sector. Torontonians are selling their expensive properties to buy cheaper homes here. As a result more fine agricultural land is being paved over and there will soon be nothing but tarmac from Tillsonburg to Tilbury. It makes you wonder what we are planning to eat.
Not only is Toronto difficult to get through, it is a rather undesirable destination. I admit that I really don't know the city well and visit infrequently. When I do, I am disappointed. Given my harsh assessment I feel compelled to undertake some field research and will visit this summer. Although the lakefront will not yet be improved by "Sidewalk Labs", some scouts from New York have suggested a visit to the Sterling Road area. I am not overly optimistic: "In Toronto, An Industrial Stretch Has Its Breakout Moment," Michael Kaminer, NYT, July 5, 2019.
"Dismissed for decades as a postindustrial wasteland, Sterling Road, a zigzagging half-mile strip of old factories and warehouses, is getting a second life. Last summer, the North American debut of a splashy Banksy exhibition in an empty warehouse there drew a global spotlight. With the arrival of Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) last fall, Sterling Road is newly hip, its appeal broadening beyond the small cadre of tuned-in artists and bohemian types who for years have had it to themselves. The street’s cavernous structures have also quickly become hot real estate."
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