So remember a year ago all those rumours about oil being stored at sea? Well, now there’s so much of it out there that I’d think twice before swimming in any ocean for a while. One oil-watcher calls it “the largest and longest continuous glut of supply that I have seen in 30 years ofcontinue reading
Boston
The obvious solution to a garbage strike is to leave town. Well, actually we had our trip to Boston planned for at least two months. J. read in the NYT about a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition coming to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), and we realized we had a bit of time in late June, and,continue reading
Hell is other people (in Toronto)
I’m not sure how or when it happened, but at some point Toronto residents became the unhappiest and least pleasant people on the planet. What’s behind the transformation? Is it the sudden growth in population through the last two decades that has made the city so miserable, or the proliferation of Tim Horton’s (Toronto wascontinue reading
Stephen Maher for Press Gallery President, or something
From the Chronicle-Herald reporter’s affadavit to the Nova Scotia court today. Not only, as it turns out, an effective argument against a frivolous injunction against publication, but also a much-needed reminder for the often acquiescent pool of Canadian political reporters: In exercising the freedom of the press, The Halifax Herald Limited engages its reporters tocontinue reading
jailparty.com
I’m probably showing my age, but I’m relieved that the grownups have intervened and cancelled a planned rave in the old Don Jail. The new owner’s site had the wrong tone, and something like this was probably inevitable. More here and here.
The old jail could be used as a performance art venue, but in all decency it has to be in a context that works with themes around suffering and despair, both experienced by the inmates and by their victims, and by the people who worked in the building before it was a Doors Open curiosity.
The place has a dark history – not playfully Gothic dark, but really seriously dark, and I don’t think that’s registered with the people offering ‘ghost tours’. More below the fold.
Wait… a contracting economy is *bad*?
Missed this the other day, but it jibes nicely with the giddy excitement about the Canadian economy reporting a mere 5.4% (annualized) contraction in the first quarter of 2009. -5.4%, guys! Practically growing! Never mind that the outlook is not for growth for the rest of the year, but for continued, if not necessarily ascontinue reading
Relax already
Next casualty of the recession: spas. Any place whose doors I’ve darkened in the last ten years has been in touch over recent months; some highlights from this week: We’re writing to share some news about some incredible Limited Time Only Offers. …Serious Savings While Appointments Last! 50% OFF Selected Facials As a welcome back,continue reading
Time for some new rules
It’s time to set some new rules around use of the phrase “in this economy.” Rule number one: If the extra fee you’re talking about can be counted on your hands, “in this economy” does not apply. Example, courtesy the Star: Cathy Dernick’s eyes widen in surprise as she learns that come June 1, she’scontinue reading
H1N1: Let it come to you!
Several weeks after the first case of secondary transmission in Canada, and a few hundred hundred “mild” cases of flu later, the Ontario government issues new guidance for clinicians. Key changes: – health care workers now to wear N-95 mask and eye protection when examining all patients with influenza-like illness (ILI); last guidance (April 28)continue reading
Mixed messages
Who to believe? Yesterday, infectious disease expert Allison McGeer of Mount Sinai Hospital told the Canadian Press she is starting to “question the delusion that this was actually going to quiet down and we weren’t going to have a first wave” of cases as weather got warmer. Today, she tells CP24 the level of flucontinue reading