Margin Notes: Politeness, Signs, Conversation

Do Canadian children really need a book on how to be more polite, as found at a Queen Street West bookstore in Toronto, Ontario on 6-September-2010?

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Canadians, at least by American standards, are almost obscenely polite. I thought that it was a joke that they apologized to their furniture after bumping in to them, but then I observed it, and I've even done it myself. So, when I saw the above book in the window of the above book store as I watched the Labour Day Parade, my only thought was "Are you kidding?"

* * * * * *

I don't know what was going on Labour Day morning, but as I walked downtown to the parade I ran into some unproductive canine behavior. A small bulldog was noted trying to pick a fight with a Great Dane at High Park, which looked especially ridiculous as the Great Dane tried to ignore the other dog, and along Dundas Street West a man looked perplexed as he walked two large dogs that suddenly decided to fight each other on the sidewalk. They were still barking and going at it when I went out of earshot.

* * * * * *


A sign guiding bicyclists on an "indirect left turn" was noted at Dundas and Dupont in Toronto, Ontario on 30-August-2010

Farther northwest on Dundas Street West, I ran into the above sign guiding bicyclists that wished to cross Dundas from Dupont to Annette. The whole concept of an "indirect left turn" is rather fascinating--if what they suggest (staying to the right, and then joining cross traffic on another street) is "indirect," then what is the concept of going an extra block and making three right turns?

* * * * * *

That topic might seem a bit obscure, but I bet Ross Reynolds could guide a good conversation about it. The Conversation, a call-in show hosted by Reynolds on KUOW in Seattle, Washington, turned ten years old this week, and is still going strong as a noontime show. My congratulations to the Conversation team for creating ten years of excellent radio!

Margin Notes: Horses, Penguins, Superfreak

An equestrian police officer exercised his mount in Trinity-Bellwoods Park in Toronto, Ontario on 11-November-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Today was the day of the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto, Ontario. Last year, it snowed during the parade; this year, the forecast called for clearing skies and 15 degrees C, but instead we had cloudy skies and a somewhat chilly breeze. Just a few days earlier, it had been sunny when I captured equestrian police officers from Toronto practicing--perhaps for the parade--in Trinity-Bellwoods Park while walking to Rembrance Day ceremonies.

* * * * * *


An inflatable penguin drew attention to the linuxcaffe at Harbord and Grace in Toronto, Ontario on 15-November-2009

While walking back from the Santa Claus Parade today, I decided to walk down Harbord Street for the first time in many months and discovered the linuxcaffe near Harbord Park. It was pretty hard to miss with a large inflatable penguin out front--a nice touch that probably confuses everyone not familiar with the Linux operating system and its mascot.

* * * * * *

A nice touch on the radio this week came from KUOW in Seattle. When the authors of "SuperFreakonomics" were interviewed on The Conversation, the segment was introduced with Rick James' Super Freak. In all the book tours interviews I had heard, this was the first time I had heard that connection made.

* * * * * *

CBC Radio One most likely wants us to ignore a connection with one of its overnight programs. A largely-overlooked aspect of CBC Radio One's recent programming changes is that the overnight schedule now includes The World from Public Radio International at 1 am Tuesday through Saturday. While I'm sure the CBC would like to emphasize that the program is co-produced with the BBC for a North American audience, it is hard to miss that PRI is an American entity and the other co-producer is public station WGBH in Boston--the program's regular host is American Lisa Mullins (Marco Werman is currently substituting while Mullins is on sabbatical). For a network that has gone out of its way to avoid American programming, The World is a strange choice--is this the first foothold for public radio programming from the United States on the CBC?

* * * * * *


A final "faces on places" location within walking distance from my residence is at 20 Jerome Street, observed on 15-November-2009

It's all Canadian content as far as I know on Jerome Street in Toronto. In a recent post, you may recall that three "Faces on Places" locations were identified by Terry Murray within walking distance of Swansea, and I finally got around to walking by the third today. 20 Jerome Street features impressive terracotta tiles--and quite a few faces.