Happy Hallowe'en!

Although maybe not for the low man on the totem pole......

I'd Love A Parade!

But I'd like someone else to pay for it!

Toronto has just elected a right leaning (okay, right falling over) mayor and there has been a lot of hand wringing about the types of spending cuts to be enacted.

One of them is whether city taxes should continue to be used to fund various community parades.

Most new city councillors won't touch this one with a ten foot pole.

My lonely position is that I'd prefer to have my taxes used for police, sewer, garbage collection, water, fire halls, etc. But that's just me. Apparently.

If someone wants to have a parade, great. But why should I have to pay for it?

Supporters say Urban, you are very short sighted - these parades generate substantial economic benefits for the city. Thus funding is a good investment.

Well here's an idea.

Parade organizers actually go to all the recipients of these fantastic benefits and say, invest a little in our parade and you will make a bundle.

Let's do the math.

Pride Parade
Government funding; ~$500,000.
Benefits that this parade brings in; ~100 million dollars.
Let's say the benefactors (restaurants, hotels, bars, taxi's, retailers, the arts, etc. etc. etc.) number ~10,000.

So....you go to each benefactor (or a business association) and say, for a $50 sponsorship, you will receive $10,000 in additional revenue.

A no brainer. Every business in the world would make that investment.

Carabana
Funding; ~$500,000.
Benefits; ~300 million dollars.
Let's say there are more benefactors (because Carabana is all over the city. Say ~20,000.

So....a $25 sponsorship will earn you $15,000 in additional revenue. Even a better deal!

So.....no need for me to fund your parade


Or Yours


Or Yours
Problem solved.

You just need to get off your be-hinds and get some corporate sponsors. Is that really such a radical idea?

Oops - Apology.

As part of the usual extensive research done for this rant, I discovered that one parade is way ahead of me.

The Toronto St Paddy's Day parade receives no government funding of any type. They, the crazy idiots, rely solely on corporate sponsors.

Way to go you drunken leprechauns! Oops, another apology.


{Ed note: the opinions expressed here are obviously whacko!]

Five Years - For This?

As discussed in a previous post, Bloor street has been undergoing an 18 month revitalization project. For the last five years.

[See "Call Before You Dig"for a reminder.]

And this is what we'd been waiting for?

This?

Who says the city doesn't spend taxpayer money wisely!

At least Harry has taken down his sign....

Hey, That's My Move!

Or at least, That's my office. Or former office building, anyway.

Today's Condo Section features the building I used to call home for 16 years - unil we got kicked out to Calgary - 111 St. Clair Ave West. It's now being converted into - what else - condos.

At least they are saving the entire building, interior artwork and all.

So that's more than can be said about some other current developments.

And there I am/were/was.

Cog in the wheel?

Nonsense!

I was....uhhhhhh....a valued contributor, a key part of.......

Wait, rewind....rewind.

I used to have to drag my carcass out of bed at 5:45 A.M. for 16 years.

And take crap from just about anybody and everybody.

My office was a shoebox that I had to lick clean every night.

Of course, some of you would think that's luxury.

Okay, too much Monty Python.

[See "Four Yorkshiremen" for a refresher.]

Well, I guess the experience was somewhere between the two.

Don't matter - no going back now. So now on to new challenges, new accomplishments. Tackle things retired guys now have the time to do.

.....ZZZZZZZZZZ.......

Field Of Dreams?

No. Wall Of Library

Okay, enough with the artsy attempts. Back to condo bashing!

IQ Test Needed Before Staying?

They also had signs;

"Please lift toilet lid before using."

"Please turn on water before taking shower. And before calling us again. Then turn water off after."

But Does She Walk The Talk?

Well, Yes, She Does

Not Bad.....

....for an attempt to preserve the façade of these older buildings.

This is an entire row of turn of the (last) century buildings and they are condo'ing one section.

And they are even trying and get the new condo section to blend in the with "old" (~five years old) section.

This building's ground floor coincidentally also happens to be my favourite lunch place, Spiga's, back when I was part of the working world. Hot veal sandwich.....mmmmm.....

And some more heritage'ish buildings in the same neighbourhood.

I went to an all candidates debate for my ward this week. To a person, I look like a piker when it comes to being pissed about the lack of heritage preservation in this city.

Guys are railing against conflicting architectural styles and about maintenance costs of early timber frame construction versus later brick & block. These guys are good.

Guess I better keep my yap shut for fear of sounding like a doofus.

[Ed. note: Ha. How's that workin' for ya?]

I'm Going To Set The Busines World On Its Ear.....

....with this entire tree of low hanging fruit!

If only I had found this several years ago.....

And the colours everywhere else down here are coming along nicely as well.

But some of the green is still hanging in. Like these ground cover ivies.

What's that? Boring?

Same old, same old?


You want arty?! I'll give you arty!

Lawren Harris isn't the only guy around here who can dish out arty!

Okay, so it's a little dark. And the telephone lines kinda run through the middle. And I've got some red glare thing going on at the bottom.

But where I come from, baby, that's arty!

Your Neighbourhood

My Neighbourhood

For those not in the know, the first picture is part of my bank's national advertising campaign.

The second picture is from a bank in my neighborhood.

And for those not in the know about my neighbourhood, see "Same Neighbourhood But Worlds Away".

Reference to the other neighbourhood in that post can be found at "It's A Beautiful Day In My Their Neighbourhood".

Horse Already Gone

I suppose for the City Of Toronto to remind people to "call before you dig" after a previously posted disaster [see "Call Before You Dig" could be called chutzpah.

But I prefer to call it utter incompetence. Utter, mind blowing incompetence.

And, they had the gall to post this in the very same mall where the original mess occurred.

Come to think of it, to everyone but them, this is really a daily reminder of their utter, mind blowing incompetence. [Did I mention utter, mind blowing incompetence?]

And you wonder why some people think a change is required at good old City Hall.

Gee, we have civic elections in two weeks.

Hey! Look At Me!

No, Look At Me!


Don't Forget About Me!
Some really take showboating seriously.

And I like it. Keep it up, guys!

What The....?

As I was enjoying the view of the construction site for the condo being built across the street, my jaw dropped as I saw something familiar in the background.

What was it?

That!!

After a while, you get used to recognizing telltale shapes.

Shades of downtown Calgary!

We have a rough camper right in our own shi-shi neighbourhood.

Hey, that's not too shabby.

Maybe he can stay.

But if you or I ever tried that in a public park.......

You Go, Girls!

Wow, two words I never thought I'd see in the same sentence; "Yorkville" & "Run". Or even walk quickly.

They held the inaugural "Yorkville Charity Run" and give the girls credit.

No one turned an ankle in their three inch, Jimmy Chu heels or spilled a latte around the two block course. [Okay, it was 5k.]

When your event is sponsored by the likes of Aston Martin, The Four Seasons Hotel, Damn Heels and Ferrari Maserati, you know you're going to be pulling down some serious cash.

Oo la la...maybe I was a little hasty in poo pooing this event.

Looks like "Yorkville" and "Spandex" are two very good words to be in the same sentence.

And they convinced almost 500 Yorkvillites to strap 'em on, too.

But in a sign of our changing, and accepting, times, a summary of the race participants listed 278 females, 224 males and 2 unknown.

Easy to tell; where they wearing Jimmy Chu's or Oxfords?

Curse Of The White Hats

Things had been pretty quiet at the new condo site across the street.

Until all the white hats showed up.

As a former white hat, all the other coloured hats loved it when we showed up to help. Especially if there were lots of us.

Coloured Hat: "Good morning."
White Hat 1: "Shouldn't you be wearing double hearing protection?"
White Hat 2: "No, triple."

You get the idea.

It looks like Yellow Hat on the right is trying to sneak into the Johnny On The Spot without anyone seeing him.

Perhaps the meeting is to congratulate themselves for the fine job they have done securing the gaping two story hole in the background.

What securing, you ask?

Come on - they have yellow tape all along the back side.

See?

This is one crazy construction site. Crazy meaning unsafe.

I've been watching that hole for a while, as workers scamper around the site, carrying buckets and tools, cutting around that corner.

Some of them don't seem to be paying attention to the yellow tape!

Obviously, they need to put up some red tape.

Yup, She Just Screams Elegance And Sophistication

Next time a hostess tells me, "Now Jim, this is going to be a fairly elegant and sophisticated event.", I'll tell her, "Don't worry, I know just who to bring...."