Archive for the ‘ Dispatches ’ Category

The thousand word blog

Posted on November 24th, 2011 Be the first to comment

Well howdy, dear reader! Been a while, eh?

Thing is, I’ve not had much time to keep up TCL. Between my full time job, my nerd blog, my blurby pundit blog, my billion-dollar software project, an ever-hungry cat, and a girlfriend who’s Multiple Sclerosis tends to keep me busy, it’s kinda tough to write those long diatribes I used to dedicate untold hours to. Shame, cuz current stuff like Occupy Toronto is right up my alley.

But shit, I still loves me this city, I still have a camera, the internet connection’s still humming, and for some reason you keep coming back here.

So here’s the plan for the foreseeable future: at least a picture a day (it’s how TCL got its start and it seems reasonable), whatever comes off the Flickr feed, and if I happen to be inspired enough to spend the five minutes of the free time I have every day, perhaps I’ll work in some text. But that’s a definite maybe.

TCL is going back to basics — no more contributors, no more complicated topics, a simpler design; just Life in the City of Toronto in a thousand visual words (or less).

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay

Sugar delivery

Posted on October 27th, 2011 Be the first to comment
sugar, ship, sugar beach, corus quay, redpath, night, toronto, city, life, blog

Offloading sugar at the Redpath refinery, Sugar Beach, Corus Quay

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures

Lightning strikes

Posted on October 26th, 2011 Be the first to comment
lightning, art, corus quay, decoration, toronto, city, life, blog

Lightning bolt art at Corus Quay

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures

Jerry Agar speaks!

Posted on September 9th, 2011 10 Comments

Here’s a brief collection of some of Newstalk 1010’s resident loudmouth Jerry Agar’ quotes. I’m starting to see why he lost his job as a radio host in the states in 2009.

Jerry on who should make up Congress (he’s not being ironic here):

Just imagine a day in Washington D.C. when the new Congress shows up and it’s all new people. They don’t have any deals in place…they arrive in Washington not knowing what they’re doing. How good is that?!

… Continue Reading

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos

Thanks, Jack (part 2)

Posted on August 27th, 2011 Be the first to comment

Jack Layton, former Toronto Councillor and deputy mayor (and most recently leader of the NDP), lying in state at City Hall on Friday night was surrounded by an outpouring of support.

… Continue Reading

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures

Thanks, Jack (part 1)

Posted on August 27th, 2011 2 Comments

Sarah and I went to see Jack Layton on Friday evening as he lay in state at City Hall. The outpouring of support was impressive.

jack layton, memorial, city hall, nathan phillips square, toronto, city, life, blog

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures

Rob Ford on Day of Mourning for Layton. Kind of.

Posted on August 23rd, 2011 2 Comments

Here’s what the mayor’s office has to say about a national day of mourning for the recently departed Jack Layton:

Thank you for your email.

As I promised during the mayoralty election, I am dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city.

I will continue to work on behalf of the taxpayers to make sure you get the respect you deserve.

This note is to confirm that we have received your email and that we are looking into your matter.

Please feel free to follow up to check the status of your email.

Thanks again and have a great day.

Yours truly,
Mayor Rob Ford
City of Toronto

Brimming with commitment! Contextually insightful! Not an automated response at all!

But if you doubt these statements, perhaps enough people signing on to the petition might do the trick:

https://www.change.org/petitions/mr-harper-ndp-leader-jack-layton-deserves-a-national-day-of-mourning

 

 

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay

Minute Over Toronto

Posted on August 20th, 2011 Be the first to comment

A pleasant view from work.

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos

Make it illegal to read the Sun

Posted on August 19th, 2011 Be the first to comment

As a source of information, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Sun newspaper, a tabloid rag that panders to the lowest common denominator with a few blurby bits of print parading around on each page awash in seas of advertising. The vast majority of their content comes in off the wire via AP or Reuters, often to the point where you can read entire articles — verbatim — in other local papers.

The Sun “newspaper” carries skimpily-clad Sunshine Girls on the back page, features way more sports coverage than international news, and is filled to the brim with bright, colourful photos, eezee-to-read sentences, and sensationalist headlines up the wazoo.

Basically, if you want to have your news predigested and regurgitated for mindless consumption along with a heaping bowlful of red-blooded stereotype, the Sun is for you!

Normally, I wouldn’t give a toss about the Sun. Live and let exist to wipe my ass with, I say. But recently it’s become painfully clear that this “newspaper” is a reflection of the myocardial infarction we currently have sitting in Toronto’s mayoral chair, as well as his ruddy-faced lap dogs like Giorgio Mamolitti who whine like little girls whenever their precious feelings have been hurt by public opinion, contradictory free speech, or that terrible terrible thing we call a democracy (I’ll have to post his bitchings during the last marathon depositions on YouTube).

And to be honest, I’m getting fucking sick and tired of hearing clamoring idiots calling for myopic, one-dimensional, all-pennies-and-no-brains bullshit with which to fix this city’s problems with.

Most meat-headed partisans like to think they’re in the clear, the “he was voted in so he must have majority support” fallacy. Except that only 47% of the people who voted actually voted for Rob Ford. That means that less than half of the people who voted directly support His Rotundness. Moreover, only about half of Toronto actually voted, so the bellowing loudmouths milling around in Ford Nation account for only about 25% of Toronto. And guess what, most of downtown didn’t vote for Ford — the people who will be most affected by his actions are the ones who can’t stand him the most.

The other fact that Fordites continue to forget is that there are 44 councillors at City Hall which must approve stuff before any of Ford’s ridiculous plans can ever come to fruition. “But Ford is going to do blah blah blah…” Yeah, no he’s not, because he’s a bully and he can barely make friends with a fire hydrant let alone a thinking councillor.

Fordites also can’t seem to come to grips with the fact that their portly hero is full of shit.

… Continue Reading

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos, Why I'm Right

To straddle and protect

Posted on August 16th, 2011 1 Comment

toronto police services, police, cops, panorama, queen's quay, toronto, city, life, blog

Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Pictures