Monthly Archives: July 2020
AS TORONTO IS NORTH AMERICA’S #1 RACCOON CAPITAL, IT’S NOT SURPRISING WE HAD A VISITOR
<This little guy gave us the eye. It’s the second one this week. Photo by ROSS WINTER>
AN ENGINEER’S NAMESAKE, THE KEATING CHANNEL IS A WATERWAY MOST OF US HAVE NEVER SEEN
Named after engineer EDWARD HENRY KEATING (1844-1912), the waterway is a 1,000-metre-long connecfion between Ashbridges Bay, the Don River, the inner harbour and Lake Ontario.
<The Keating Channel looking east, Toronto Public Libraries, 1914>
Early on, the banks of the Channel were lined with industry, including the Toronto Shipyard Company, which built World War I vessels and freighters.
The elevated Gardiner Expressway, the Cherry Street drawbridge and the condo towers of the Distillery District add some urban ambience.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE OF WAITING FOR TAKEOFF – IN “PASSENGERS” BY JOHN SCHABEL
These days we’d all probably be wearing masks. In the 1990’s JOHN SCHABEL set up his camera, equipped with a telephoto lens, on overpasses near New York’s airports. Peering into the cabin windows of aircraft awaiting takeoff, he found miniature studies of human beings about to be catapulted into space. We’ve all been there.
A FEW OF TORONTO’S BRIDGES – IN THEIR OWN WAY THEY CAN BE BEAUTIFUL
“MY DARLING CLEMENTINES” – PEELED FOR BREAKFAST BY PHOTOGRAPHER, ROSS WINTER
<BELIEVE ME, IT’S NOT EASY TO DO.> 
Is there a market for this?
TORONTO’S TREES – SOME OF US TAKE 10.2-MILLION OF THEM FOR GRANTED
TORONTO’s 10.2 million trees occupy – surprisingly – only 20% of the urban landscape. Half of them are in excellent or good condition; countless others suffocate in concrete boxes along urban spillways and city streets.
A study, “Every Tree Counts”, tells us that “the structural value of our urban forest represents a staggering $7 billion. Furthermore, the environmental and social services provided by the urban forest greatly exceed the annual investment in its management.
The urban forest provides over $60 million annually in ecological services, including climate change and air pollution mitigation and energy conservation benefits, plus additional storm water management services.
”TORONTO plants about 84,000 trees every year. Approximately 54% of new trees in the city are regenerated naturally. The remaining 46% are planted. Spring and fall are spectacular seasons here, when our tree population looks its very best.
HALIFAX IS LOSING ITS MASCOT – ‘THEODORE TOO’ – THE TUGBOAT IS UP FOR SALE FOR $495.000.
Trust the coronavirus for cutting tourism revenue in Nova Scotia. Ambassadors Gray Line can no longer subsidize the tug boat’s daily tours around Halifax harbour and under the bridges. Normally it would seat 49, but with social distancing that number could drop to an estimated 12. The vessel was built in DAYSPRING, Nova Scotia, and is a replica of the title character in a CBC children’s television program between 1993 to 2001.
WOULDN’T IT BE NICE . . . IF WE ALL COULD JUST GET ALONG – A PAINTING BY ALEX DONIS, CALIFORNIA
ONE OF THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO’S PRIZED POSSESSIONS – ELVIS I AND II BY ANDY WARHOL
<‘Elvis I and II With Me’ , photo by Ross Winter>
<‘Elvis I and II With Hat’ by David Sky – http://www.seemsartless.com. A gift from the Women’s Committee Fund in 1966.
‘Elvis I and II’ is a silkscreen painting created by Andy Warhol in 1963-64. It’s worth upwards of $50-million, probably more.
The painting is likely based on a still from the 1960 film ‘Flaming Star’, starring Elvis Presley and Barbara Eden.
The Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, http://www.ago.ca
Toronto Savvy 