Photos: World Cup, York, and The Ex

After Spain won the World Cup on 11-July-2010, celebrations completely engulfed a streetcar on College Street in Toronto, Ontario

TORONTO, ONTARIO - With the Canadian National Exhibition closed for another year, this seemed as good a time as any to present the Heritage Toronto walk through the Exhibition Grounds that took place on 28-July-2010 in the update to my photo site. Also in this update are scenes related to the World Cup and a Heritage Toronto walk through central York on 10-July-2010.

Margin Notes: World Cup, Perks, Blog, Media

A car was decorated with many Spanish flags on Dundas Street West near the Humber River on 7-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Not that there weren't many Dutch fans and plenty of red, white, and blue striped flags on cars, but I have to say that the Spanish fans here really came out for their team, long before the final match yesterday. The most flags I saw on a single car before yesterday is pictured above, and I will not soon forget the Spanish flag draped across the hood of a red pizza delivery vehicle waiting for its next call at the local Pizzaiolo outlet as two Spanish-speaking individuals waxed its sides.

* * * * * *

Now that the World Cup is over, it would be nice if I could finally get K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" out of my head, particularly the World Cup duet version with Spaniard David Bisbal. Somehow, I suspect it's still going to take awhile.

* * * * * *

The World Cup helped Toronto get over its recent memories of violence during the G20 summit. Whatever one thinks about his politics, I have to give Ward 14 city councillor Gord Perks a lot of credit for the most thoughtful and surprisingly balanced views he presented on the event, in particular this essay presented in his weekly newsletter, and a subsequent follow-up. The world needs more politicians with communication skills like Perks, regardless of ideology.

* * * * * *


One might wonder if humans are even a thinking species considering what one did to this traffic cone on Dundas Street West in Toronto, Ontario observed on 1-July-2010

I suspect a G20 protester may have had something to do with the message on this traffic cone seen above near Dundas and Dufferin in Toronto, Ontario: "We are not the only species that can think." My question is whether the message was written by a human or a raccoon.

* * * * * *

The previous item seems like something that might be reported on CBC Radio One's evening news magazine As It Happens. Sometimes in the summer, the fill-in hosts really impact the quality of the show, but I have to say this week's team of Peter Armstrong and Chris Howden was absolutely first-rate. I've criticized Armstrong's work as an anchor of World Report, but he's great in an interviewing role. Perhaps when Michael Enright retires we can get him on the Sunday Edition?

* * * * * *

Speaking of radio people, it was quite nostalgic to have Lynn Neary fill in this weekend as host of Weekend All Things Considered on NPR (which, by the way, no longer stands for National Public Radio, but has become another acronym-turned-non-acronym that stands for nothing). I still consider Neary the quintessential host of the program, a role she held from 1984 to 1992.

Culture: World Cup Celebration, 2010

Spanish fans began their celebration at John and Wellington Street as a big-screen television showed their team reacting to their win in the FIFA World Cup on 11-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - As the FIFA World Cup Final moved to extra time today, I found my way to the outdoor viewing area the CBC had set up outside their headquarters at John and Wellington Streets here in Toronto. The crowd was well-mixed, though the Spanish fans seemed to be just a bit louder than the Dutch. A group of friends with one very clear fan of The Netherlands stood in front of me. A Canadian moment occurred when Spain scored what would prove to be the only goal of the match. One of her friends leaned over to her and said, "I'm sorry."


A group of Spanish fans walked Spadina Avenue in Toronto, Ontario after Spain's World Cup victory, chanting "España, España, whoo whoo whoo" on 11-July-2010

When Spain held on for the victory, the obvious thing to do was to walk over to College and Bathurst Streets where the main Spanish celebrations had occurred as the team had advanced in the World Cup. Within minutes, cars with sunroofs were already noted flying the Spanish flag in the streets. As I turned up Spadina Avenue, I walked for a time behind what appeared to be a Spanish family who chanted "España, España, whoo whoo whoo" and broke out into continuous cheering whenever a vehicle adorned with the Spanish flag passed by.


In what will likely be the iconic image from Spain's World Cup victory for Torontonians, fans danced on top of a TTC streetcar on College Street near Bathurst on 11-July-2010

Sure enough, by the time I reached College and Bathurst, abut the closest thing to a riot that ever occurs in Toronto was in progress. People adorned with Spanish flags were dancing on top of a TTC streetcar, on top of transit shelters, and on top of buildings. Besides flying yellow and red flags, fans blew into vuvuzelas, the controversial background horn of this World Cup. Like all World Cup celebrations here, it was all just good fun and peaceful. People dressed in the Dutch orange colors wandered past the heart of the Spanish celebration without incident. The worst damage appeared to be windshields that cracked when people slipped reaching the roofs of vehicles.


A Spanish fan blew into a vuvzela--the horn which may be the symbol of this World Cup--as he approached the heart of the celebration on 11-July-2010

For the second straight World Cup, my favorite moment in the aftermath of the final match came from a man of Chinese descent. While following the Spanish flags down Spadina Avenue through Chinatown, we came upon a Chinese man selling vegetables along the street. He had a stern look on his face, and seemed nonplussed as group approached. After the "España, España, whoo whoo whoo" chant, though, he vocalized a long, powerful "whooooo!" (probably the loudest noise I heard this day that didn't come from a vuvuzela) and smiled. He had the World Cup spirit after all.


The lineup of cars, many of them sporting Spanish flags, along College Street stretched as far as the eye could see near Ossington Avenue during the World Cup celebrations on 11-July-2010

As I walked home from the heart of the Spanish World Cup victory celebration, traffic--much of it consisting of vehicles with Spanish flags--backed up on College Street from where police had closed it at Grace Street all the way past Dovercourt, a distance of about a kilometer. This part of Toronto was coming to a halt, but considering that the World Cup final comes just once every four years, how could it not? "España, España, whoo whoo whoo!"

Culture: World Cup Celebration, 2006

College Street in Toronto's Little Italy was packed with people after Italy won the World Cup on 9-July-2006

TORONTO, ONTARIO - With the final two matches of the FIFA World Cup set for this weekend, it seems an appropriate time to look back to four years ago today, when Italy defeated France to win the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. I had recently moved to Toronto at the time, just in time to really experience the World Cup. My first residence was in the Little Italy neighbourhood, so I had become a fan as Italy advanced through the tournament. While I had chosen to watch the final match at an Italian restaurant closer to my present residence in the Kingsway area, after Italy had won, I knew I had to head for my old neighbourhood to join the celebration.


Even the chihuahuas wore the jerseys of Team Italia on the day of the World Cup final (9-July-2006) in Toronto's Little Italy

Approaching from the east at Bathurst Street, traffic was still moving on both College and Bathurst, and there were plenty of vehicles decorated with the Italian flag cruising the streets in celebration. The police had already closed College west of Bathurst by the time I arrived, and walking west into the heart of the neighbourhood, the crowds steadily grew.


A replica of the World Cup was making only very slow progress down College Street toward the celebration as it stopped to allow people to pose with it on 9-July-2006

In what can only be described as a Toronto moment, I soon passed an older Chinese man towing a replica of the World Cup (not the only one seen this day) on a wagon toward the celebration. He made only very slow progress, as people were constantly asking to pose with his artwork. When asked why he was such a fan of Italy, he just stated, "Chinese love Italians!" On this day, everyone loved Italians.


The CHIN building in the middle of Little Italy was decorated with probably the largest Italian flag on the day Italy won the World Cup, 9-July-2006

By the time I reached College and Clinton, the corner withe Cafe Diplomatico, the restaurant where I had eaten my first meal after moving to Toronto, it was difficult to move. The streets were packed with people in Italy's blue jerseys or wrapped in the green, white and red of the Italian flag. In classic Toronto fashion, there was no incipient crime, just a group of very happy people on the streets.


The intersection of College Street and Clinton Street in the heart of Little Italy was ground zero for celebrations in Toronto, Ontario after Italy won the World Cup on 9-July-2006

I stayed for probably only half an hour, having to go to work the next day. The celebration would go on for hours; the police did not even try to re-open College Street until late that night. Furthermore, Little Italy wasn't the only place for celebration--Toronto has multiple Italian areas. By all accounts, the Corso Italia was even more packed on St. Clair Avenue, and the party there went on even longer. It was truly a happy day and a popular 2006 World Cup victory in the multi-cultural city of Toronto.

Margin Notes: Flags, Inukshuks, Pride

A car displaying a Canadian flag, World Cup-style, was noted at Ontario Place in Toronto, Ontario on 4-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - The flags on vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area during the World Cup aren't all of nations playing in the World Cup. The same small flags have been mounted on vehicles in honour of Canada Day, as the above example at Ontario Place was just one of many plying the streets this long weekend.

* * * * * *


A German and a Spanish flag were flying from this vehicle noted passing near High Park in Toronto, Ontario on 4-July-2010

The most intriguing flags to me are on the vehicles sporting more than one. Do these represent mixed marriages between the nationalities? Simply fans of more than one team in a given family? Or just a Canadian conviction that everyone should win? Besides the German-Spanish combination seen above, there has been an Uruguay-Argentina combination minivan driving through my neighbourhood (always in the shadows) that I'm quite curious about.

* * * * * *


This inukshuk was located at the west end of Ontario Place in the public area along the bike path on 4-July-2010

Besides flags, the other symbol continuing to proliferate around Toronto is the inukshuk. There were a lot of them at Pearson Airport on a variety of signs in the customs area, but no photos are allowed in there. The latest inukshuk find? A fairly large one located east of Ontario Place, still on the grounds but in the public area between Lake Shore Boulevard and western gap into Toronto Harbour.

* * * * * *

It's not legal to be naked in that public space (though it's just across the water from a designated nude beach), but that wouldn't be true in Seattle. As noted before, there is no generic law against nudity in public parks in Seattle. Thus, with a proposed law banning guns in public parks in Seattle probably unconstitutional based on a recent Supreme Court ruling, it looks like it will remain legal to carry a firearm in Seattle parks while naked for the foreseeable future.

* * * * * *


A wolf painted up in rainbow colours was noted in Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto, Ontario on 1-July-2010

A public event likely involving nudity today in Toronto was the Pride Parade. Thanks to the controversy over the participation of the Queers Against Israeli Aparthied group there have been a few interesting signs around town this year, including "Take Back the Dyke 2010." Some signs of Pride Week were more subtle and unexpected, though, like the rainbow wolf seen in Trinity Bellwoods Park above.

Culture: World Cup Lessons?

TORONTO, ONTARIO - As the excitement builds toward the FIFA World Cup which begins in South Africa on Friday, the contrast with a certain sports event that took place earlier in the year in Vancouver, British Columbia which I am not allowed to mention by name is rather profound. I think those games of ancient origin need to take a few lessons from the World Cup.

First of all, despite the World Cup going on, I'm not anticipating any serious disruptions in my media habits. Sure, live broadcasts of the certain matches will air on certain radio and television networks preempting normal programming at times, but no network is disappearing from the Internet because of rights issues. My favorite news program is not going to disappear off my podcast feed or local public radio station because it might contain sports content, even when it doesn't.

I haven't heard any complaints about elitist ticket prices and procedures either. Sure, it helps when the games are played in stadiums seating tens of thousands of people, but I know a handful of people that traveled to the last World Cup in Germany and just moved about the country to attend games and never had any trouble getting in to a stadium until the quarter-finals--and frankly, the group matches are said to be more fun to watch anyway.

The World Cup really seems to be what that other thing is supposed to be--embracing the common fan, making the games accessible on a variety of levels, exploiting national pride to bring the world together, fostering ties amongst rivals from around the world, and hence bringing the human race a little closer together.

It's not like the World Cup isn't commercial. There are official sponsors, and plenty of promotion. The cup itself didn't just tour the world with K'naan singing "Wavin' Flag" for nothing. But, the World Cup doesn't pretend to be more important than everything else in each of those countries, and it doesn't go to extreme lengths to protect its brand. Frankly, it doesn't need to--people get excited enough about the tournament on its own merits. I suspect the other quadrennial event would find the same thing to be true.

Of course, maybe I just have a Toronto bias in my opinion. Being a city where people from all the participating nations openly display their flags throughout the tournament and enjoy the games together without serious conflict, maybe Toronto is just an unusually World Cup kind of place. After all, where else but Toronto would one find a person of joint Mexican-South African descent who would compose a song about the first match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa? Indeed, Amanda Martinez is traveling to South African with her family (from each country) to perform the song.

Still, even if my perspective is a bit warped, I think a certain international committee has some lessons to learn from this single-sport event.

Margin Notes: Inukshuks, Flags, Webs, Ladders

Inukshuks are everywhere! One was found at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario on 3-June-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - In the wake of those games held out in Vancouver earlier this year, Inukshuks seem to have proliferated. Used as a symbol of those games, the stone landmarks used by Arctic peoples have become the latest fad. Now, there's even one at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto, noted above.

* * * * * *


The World Cup is coming! A Brazilian flag was displayed on this vehicle parked on Windermere in Toronto, Ontario on 5-June-2010, a sight soon to become widespread in the city

A more mobile sight is set to take over Toronto. As the World Cup (of soccer) is set to begin on Friday, people have started to follow the tradition of showing their loyalties by displaying flags on their cars. I saw my first such "World Cup car," a fan of Brazil, during the annual walk through the Swansea neighbourhood of Toronto yesterday.

* * * * * *


A well-formed spider web was found near the coupler of a diesel locomotive at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre in Toronto, Ontario on 26-May-2010

Not everything moves. Some of the diesel locomotives at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre have remained in the same location for weeks on end, and as we prepared for the centre's opening at the end of May, one of my fellow volunteers came across the above nearly-perfect spider web near the coupler of the locomotive.

* * * * * *


An old LaFrance ladder truck was visible through the open door of Toronto Fire Station 422 on Jane Street on 1-June-2010

Another thing that may not have moved since I moved to Toronto is the above old LaFrance fire truck at Fire Station 422 on Jane Street near Dundas. The truck has been visible through the doors, and I have long waited for the doors to be opened so that the truck could be seen. On the evening of 1-June-2010, one door was open, affording the view seen above that revealed, amongst other things, that the truck has a flat tire. No fire fighters came out to greet me, so I couldn't get a closer tour or any additional information.