Mmm...Veal Sandwich....

With eggplant and hot peppers.

When I used to live in this neighbourhood, this was my favourite Saturday lunch.

Of course, now that I'm retired, I didn't need to come down here on a madhouse Saturday....

...but, I got the goods.

What a place to feed off the energy of the crowd.

The St. Lawrence Market, in the old part of Toronto, is a sight/sound/smell emporium.

And oh, almost forgot - taste.

Whether you like seafood or farm food, there's lots and lots from which to choose.

Thems are some good size crabbies.

And lobster and muscles.

Even on a blustery late November day, people still flock outside to eat their veal sandwiches.

Hmmm...wish I hadn't eaten it all now, and could have another for lunch today.

Well......one way to solve that - git your boots on, Senior Jubilado!

Aother Great Idea...

...pet acupuncture.

What could possibly go wrong with this?

"Okay, hold still, Mr. Fluff, while I stick needles all over your body."

"Hey, hey, hey, settle down, little dude, your claws just scratched my eye out!"

What Could Possibly Go Wrong....

Oh yeah, that's the way to do it.

Rip all the railings off all the balconies.

All the way up the building....

But it's okay - they have taken all the necessary safety precautions.

A note taped to the inside of each balcony door.

Through the wonders of iPhone technology, I was able to actually see through the note and read the safety warning on the other side;

"Watch that first step. It's a doozy!"

Another One Bites The Dust

Now just a stone's throw from yesterday's post of the rugged coastline of magical Etobicoke is another hidden gem.

A "family style" seniors residence. Right on the lake.

Idyllic.

Or is it.....or why would I, dear reader, be wasting your valuable time. [Ed note: ...more than usual.]

What's that tucked behind the hydro pole....?

Ohhh...

Too idyllic to be true - any longer.

7 townhomes, soon to be sending their cedar decks, Gymboree Sets and screaming meemies down to the lapping waters of Lake Ontario.

I wonder if they'll be putting Granny Flats in for the soon-to-be-looking seniors?

However, on a brighter note, I hear there is now some room at St. James Park in Toronto.

BYOT (Tent).

Where In The World?

Very dramatic shot of sun coming up over the rugged coastline of....




...Etobicoke.

You thought maybe the high Arctic or a lonely outpost in Newfoundland?

Nope.

And to prove it, you can just see the TO skyline poking out to the right of those trees.

Couldn't see that from Inuvik. Or from Lard Tundering That's A Big Bay, Newfoundland.

Ah Ha! I Found The 1% !

....uhhhhh....is there any more room?

Lots of comments in the media lately from the 1% about what the 99% need to do to be successful.

However, be wary of advice from the successful.

They do not seek company.....

Most In Need Of New Marketing Strategy

Now The Globe & Mail?

Wow, looks like The Globe & Mail has now gone over to the dark side, too.

The Star I can imagine. Even expect.

But The Globe?

What am a I ranting about?

Oh...a little background...

A few days ago, Pat Martin, a NDP Member of Parliament from Winnipeg Centre was writing on Twitter and lost his mind.

He said the Conservative government was a "f------- disgrace" and was engaging in "jackboot s---." When someone criticized him, he told them to "f--- off."

So how did the media treat this? Censure? Condemnation?

Nope.

The Globe & Mail actually spun this to say "NDP profanity marks Parliament’s hastened decline under Tories."

I'm not taking sides here (ahem...) but essentially, Steven Harper is to blame for his potty mouth.

Wow! These spin masters are good. The Star should be taking notes.....

Whoa....Am I Going To The Wrong Pubs?

Nope....1/2 price wings, beers, sports and, well okay, salad.

And bartenders, discussing "Who's gets to ask him to leave?"

"....I did it last time."

Oh, Oh. Forgot The Bathrooms....

Hey, You've Got A Future With Occupy Toronto

But this is a sign somewhere else. Maybe their message is spreading.

Or maybe not.

Last night's 5pm news featured some reporters going to Occupy Toronto at 4am the previous night. They brought an infrared camera with them.

Using the heat seeking camera, they found that ~80% of the tents were actually empty. The reporter surmised that at night protesters were instead "occupying their parent's basements."

It was interesting the confrontations that ensued when they were approached by roving "marshals" with their dogs.

When informed by the marshals that they need to leave, the reporter asked "Are you evicting me from the park?"

"Uhhh...." was the marshal's reply.

Several more exchanges occurred when a reporter tried to enter an empty tent. The marshals said "You can't go in there, that's private." The reporter said, "First of all, this is an empty tent on public property. Like a hat on the sidewalk. And secondly, I thought you guys didn't believe in private property."

"Uhhh..."

It got nasty after that.

So I guess freedom is actually in the eye of the beholder.

Or as the saying goes;
"Trespassers Will Be Shot
Survivors Will Be Shot Again"

Good Thing No Grammar Inquiries Allowed

Made It To The Big Time

Hey, what's up with this Occupy Toronto thing?

Dunno.

So decided to check out their little, or actually not-so-little, encampment down at St. James Park.

Wow, rows of porta-potties, big huge tents (Yurts), library, medical centre, etc. makes this look like a mini-city.

And mainly funded by Big Labour.

Not sure of labour's connection to this, as likely many of the 1% employ their brothers and sisters.

But just so there are no hard feelings, later that night I decided to get behind the labour movement - literally.

That's me, "Made It To The Big Time!", standing behind the speaker's right shoulder.

Some fellows and I decided to join the fun, so hopped up on the speaker's stage.

Some explanations for the goings on;

The "chanting" is their "live mic".

Because they don't want to use amplification, people in front repeat what the speaker has said so people at the back can hear.

Since I was right behind the speakers (before the union guys came up) I was chanting too. I stopped when I found myself chanting "Capitalism sucks!".

The waving of their fingers is called "twinkling". And that means they like what the speaker said.

I didn't twinkle my fingers very much....

Stairway To......?

...Yonge & St. Clair.

I suspect that song wouldn't have been as much of a hit if I had been a member of Led Zepplin.

And Kiss is probably better off, too, as I thought their lyrics should be;

"I want to rock and roll all night,
And part of every day!"

Man, They Weren't Kidding

Earlier I had posted a Mea Cupla about a "new condo development!" on Yonge St.

The article referenced stated that not only were they;
"retaining full building shells from 606 to 618 Yonge rather than just façades"...

....but that the;
"face of a 1905 warehouse is being held up by an enormous, bridge-like structure so that it can remain in situ while the foundation for the 45-storey tower is poured."

Well I walked by there yeterday and boy, they were right!

That is one big, honking supporting struture holding up the wall.

Kudos to these guys.

Often what happenes before these heritage buildings can be saved is that one of those darn fire pops up.

I'm hoping I don't need to keep my fingers crossed for this one.

Or How About Just "Good Luck!"

This is the sage advice city planners are giving to U of T students (and me) as we try to navigate across the four lanes of University Avenue.

I walked down a few blocks to a real light.

Actually, I guess their reasoning is that there are over 70,000 students at U of T. Who's going to miss a couple. Besides, do you know how much traffic lights cost these days!

We've got a budget problem here, you know.

Life Is Good - On The Sunny Side Of The Street

....and warmer...

Oops....Don't Look Now

11-11-11-11 Lest We Forget

Attended the Remembrance Day ceremony at Old City Hall in Toronto this morning.

In spite of chilly temps and really blowing wind, man, there were a lot of people there. [This was as it was wrapping up.]

Got there just in time for the colour guard to pass by.

And who's that?

Could it be his worship, the mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford?

Why yes it is! Big smile!

Oops, just a second, looks like he saw a doughnut.

Actually, he is one of the most personable mayors I've seen in a long time.

They had to pause the proceedings for a while as so many people wanted to shake hands with him. And he was, of course, eager to oblige.

Anyway, in spite of what people may say or think, he gave an extremely moving speech.

And I was really surprized at the amount of applause and clapping he received afterwards. Maybe I read The Toronto Star too much.

So a very moving ceremony to remember and honour those who gave so much.

To end, the mayor recited a poem from The Battle of Kohima;

When You Go Home,
Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow,
We Gave Our Today.