Heritage: Toronto the Warrior City

Paul Federico, an expert on military history and artifacts, spoke to the Swansea Historical Society in Toronto, Ontario on 3-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - In the modern era, thinking of Toronto (or even Canada as a whole) as a place of warriors seems rather bizarre. However, in his presentation to the monthly meeting of the Swansea Historical Society last night, Paul Federico made the case that Toronto has long been a city of warriors, dating back to pre-Colombian times.


Uniforms including silver leaf were amongst the artifacts brought by Paul Federico to Swansea Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario on 3-November-2010

That thesis might be a bit of a stretch even in Federico's eyes, but there are definitely some great stories in Toronto military history, and he told quite a number I had never heard before. The term "sedentary militia," for example, refers to those in the era of the war of 1812 that were assigned to stay and defend their local communities instead of being commanded on a campaign. He pointed out some of the ridiculous uniforms worn in that era as well, with ornamentation that actually made it easier for the other side to take aim. He also mentioned that during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the "English" troops actually included 1,500 Scots and 900 Irish amongst 4,800 total--and that John Graves Simcoe had been designated to lead the fight against Napoleon until he died prior to taking command. Imagine how that might have changed history, or at least the perception of Ontario's (er, Upper Canada's) first Lieutenant Governor.


Paul Federico held up material used by British troops to make socks in the nineteenth century while speaking to the Swansea Historical Society in Toronto, Ontario on 3-November-2010

Another interesting anecdote was that 350 local Mohawks had been sent to paddle up the Nile during the Mahdist Revolt of 1884, since they knew how to handle themselves on Ontario waterways--but they did not arrive in time to save Charles George Gordon. Probably my favorite story from Federico related to the blue laws that once so defined Toronto. As troops were not allowed to purchase alcohol in the city, they came up with the idea of sending out a dog with a money pouch, who was trained to go a specific store, where he would be outfitted with two kegs of ale and would then return to Fort York. The practice proved controversial, but was ultimately ruled legal since dogs had the "freedom of the city" and were allowed to carry alcohol, and certainly the practice improved troop morale.

Some stories went beyond the troops. After the United States captured Toronto in the War of 1812, they made the captured troops sign a parole document saying they would not fight for the next year before they were released. There were only 300 troops at Fort York at the time--yet 1300 people signed parole documents. It seems potential draftees from all around Toronto came into town to sign the documents in order to avoid being called up to military service for the next year.


A variety of World War I through 1990's artifacts and accouterments provided by Paul Federico were found in Swansea Town Hall on 3-November-2010

The future for military artifacts in Toronto may be quite bright. Currently, there are quite a number of things preserved, but they are located in scattered locations, mostly active or retiree posts of various kinds. However, the Stanley Barracks from "New Fort York," which has most recently been a vacant building on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, is slated to become a military museum under the care of the 32nd regiment as part of the construction of a new hotel. When that opens, it won't be necessary to find Paul Federico to learn about Toronto as a warrior city.

Politics: Rational Decisions

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Much has been made in the media of the substantial gains made by the Republican Party in yesterday's elections in the United States, with that party taking control of the House of Representatives by a comfortable margin, gaining a clear majority of governorships, and gaining six seats in the Senate (with two races technically uncalled). Yet, while there was a clear mood of discontent and desire for change, there also seemed in the results to be a tremendous reminder that all politics is local, as looking at most races revealed a lot of rational decisions by voters.

If the best one-sentence summary of the mood of the electorate was "we want government to work better," that led to a hard choice when the options were the party in power and the party that was in power until two years ago. When other choices were available, the voters often took them seriously. Lincoln Chafee, who has been heavily critical of the Republican party of which he once was a member as well as the Democratic Party, ran as an independent and won the governorship of Rhode Island. Chafee, once described as a moderate Republican, was supposed to be symbolic of the changes in that party as it seemed he had no future--yet voters decided he was actually the best person to run his home state. His political career was hardly over.

Yet, most states did not have a viable third-party, new-thinking alternative with the name recognition of Chafee. (Notably, Maine's Eliot Cutler lacked only name recognition and almost defeated Republican Paul LePage, but came up short.) In those cases, when it came down to a Democrat and Republican, it often came down to local issues and candidate quality, which is why Connecticut went all-Democratic at the Federal level, and Pennsylvania substantially Republican.

If there was a long-standing Democratic incumbent (like Representatives James Oberstar and John Spratt or Senator Russ Feingold), that person tended to be quite vulnerable to the discontent of the voters. But, if the alternative were perceived as somewhat fringe (such as Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, or Tom Tancredo) or simply not politically experienced enough (Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, and arguably even Dino Rossi), then the incumbent Democrat tended to be chosen anyway.

Much has been made of the rise of the TEA parties, but in the Senate, there were really only two TEA party victories, and neither of those may have had much to do with the TEA parties per se. Both Marco Rubio in Florida and Rand Paul in Kentucky are gifted politicians, whatever one thinks of their policy ideas, and would have been strong candidates in any year. Compare that with O'Donnell and Angle, who appear to have cost the Republicans easy-to-win seats, and the fact that Lisa Murkowski appears to have won a write-in campaign over the Sarah Palin-endorsed Republican nominee Joe Miller in Alaska, and it's not at all clear that the TEA parties made a big difference in general elections.

Instead, what I see is a country of discontented voters looking for fresh ideas that were moderate and productive in nature, and when they couldn't find that, trying to make a rational choice between the two main parties. In a year in which so much outside money was spent on the election, that's not a bad thing to observe.

Media: Quirks and Quarks 35th Anniversary

Ten scientists joined host Bob McDonald for the taping of the Quirks and Quarks 35th anniversary show at the Glenn Gould studio in Toronto, Ontario on 2-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - The first Canadian radio show that made it into my permanent listening habits was CBC Radio One's science show, Quirks and Quarks. The program, traditionally airing at noon on Saturday, is only a matter of months younger than I am. While I didn't discover it until 1993, it had been airing since 1975, meaning that it turns 35 this fall.


Host Bob McDonald introduced the 35th anniversary Quirks and Quarks taping to a live audience in Toronto, Ontario on 2-November-2010

Originally hosted by David Suzuki (its second host, Jay Ingram was in attendance), the program has been hosted for the last 19 seasons by Bob McDonald, whose enthusiasm for space and physics and propensity to use very simple props in television appearances has inspired considerable satire. To open the evening, McDonald asked questions based on this season's programming and gave away Quirks and Quarks t-shirts; a particularly smart couple sitting in front of me each won a shirt to go along with the "Corporate Ladder" puzzles given to each attendee.


Each attendee of the 35th anniversary taping of Quirks and Quarks received a "Corporate Ladder" puzzle seen on 2-November-2010

The audience of the show, and in particular this taping, tends to be quite educated and technology-savvy. Quirks and Quarks was the first CBC show to offer on-line streaming audio, MP3 downloads, and a podcast--I remember each. High-powered scientists fit right in the group--someone who turned out to be geneticist Marla Sokolowski actually spent some time with the general audience line trying to figure out where she should go as a guest on the show!


Geneticist Marla Sokolowski spoke with host Bob McDonald during the 35th anniversary show of Quirks and Quarks on 2-November-2010

The person that really stole the show, though, was Dr. Lee Smolin. The theme of the show was the greatest change or discovery in a variety of fields in the 35 years that Quirks and Quarks had been broadcasting. Smolin stated that for basic physics, the biggest surprise was that there had been no surprises in those 35 years--relativity theory had largely held up, and no unified theory had emerged. What resulted was a wonderful exchange between host McDonald questioning whether the field was progressing and Smolin talking about his excitement about experiments about to be run in supercolliders.


Lee Smolin and host Bob McDonald shared enthusiasm for physics in a great exchange during the 35th anniversary show of Quirks and Quarks on 2-November-2010

Quirks and Quarks may last another 35 years. In her introduction, Denise Donlon, Executive Director of English Radio Services, pointed out that the Australian science radio show on ABC, The Science Show, is equal in age with Quirks and Quarks, and she wants the CBC show to last longer. In any event, the 35th anniversary show itself will air on 13-November-2010.

Culture: Halloween in Roundhouse Park

The steam-powered miniature train at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre in Toronto, Ontario prepared to leave Don Station past a giant pumpkin on Halloween, 31-October-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Amongst the changing social expectations of suburbia in the 1990's, it was possible to put out a Jack o'Lantern and even decorate one's house and still have few or no local trick-or-treaters stop by, in particular if the weather was unseasonably cold or wet. On the other hand, one could simply leave the porch light on and get dozens of costumed youngsters. Therefore, it was not entirely predictable how many children would come to Roundhouse Park in Toronto, Ontario for a scary, after-dark train ride and treats.


The windows of Don Station in Toronto, Ontario were decorated with scary Halloween imagery on 31-October-2010

The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre was not going to be caught unprepared. Volunteer Bob Dickson led an extensive decoration of Roundhouse Park with holiday decorations. Halloween-themed music videos played inside Don Station, pumpkins of various sizes appeared along the tracks of the miniature railway, and a graveyard suddenly appeared in a desolate portion of the park.


A dancing skeleton entertained a child at Don Station in Toronto, Ontario on Halloween, 31-October-2010

For a day that started with snow showers, visitors to the park provided a reasonable stream of business for the miniature railway. A few came in costume and enjoyed the displays around the station, including a dancing skeleton that sang Halloween-themed music whenever anyone passed nearby.


A diesel-powered miniature railway train ran through the "graveyard" in Roundhouse Park set up for Halloween on 31-October-2010

The steam engine came out for the evening in the late afternoon, with cool temperatures allowing it to more visibly emit steam through the park. A few more children arrived in costume around dinnertime. When darkness came, though, the flow had stopped. This would be one of those nights without trick-or-treaters.


The miniature railway train sat amongst the ghosts and goblins in the graveyard of Roundhouse Park in Toronto, Ontario on 31-October-2010.

So, the gathered volunteers went to a backup plan--turning the evening into a night photo session. The steam train was posed amongst the various Halloween displays and in front of the light show put on by the CN Tower, with special attention paid to the graveyard.


The miniature railway train itself looked like a translucent ghost, as a timed exposure captured its departure from Don Station in Toronto, Ontario on 31-October-2010

Next year, with more publicity and likely a different plan, the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre will probably be again prepared for Halloween. For more coverage of this year, watch the TRHA web site.

Photos: Trip to California, October 2010

The city of San Francisco, California was partly obscured by clouds when viewed from the air on 18-October-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - A short update this week to my photo site features pictures from a recent trip to the state of California. The trip mostly offered the opportunity for aerial photographs across the landscape of the United States and Canada, but also a few shots on the ground in Roseville and Placerville, California on 18-21-October-2010.

Margin Notes: Halloween, Snow, Hawk, KPFA

The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre's miniature train paused in Roundhouse Park amongst gravestones and ghosts in the "graveyard" on 31-October-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - With no trick-or-treaters passing by after dark, the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre's run on Halloween night turned instead into a ghostly night photo session on the miniature railway. The train was posed at various decorated locations in the park, mostly notably a "graveyard" scene with headstones, ghosts, and artificial fog. More coverage of this event will be forthcoming in a future post.

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One of the first snow showers of the season brought snowflakes to the Halloween scene at Don Station in Toronto, Ontario on 31-October-2010

While the evening was cold and mostly sunny, today didn't start that way. I walked out of my residence into a snow storm, and the snow showers didn't subside until the afternoon, including the one captured above with the holiday decorations at Don Station in Toronto's Roundhouse Park.

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What may have been a red-tailed hawk flew high above the Don River in Toronto, Ontario on 27-October-2010

Just four days before, temperatures had been approaching twenty degrees, and I was treated to some wildlife I don't often see in the city as I spent time along the East Don River, including various woodpeckers and a chipmunk. The clear highlight was what appeared to be a red-tailed hawk which circled above the river for nearly a half-hour that day.

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Some might accuse the executives of Pacifica radio in the United States of being worse than hawks. The Pacifica network owns five stations across the country, and on Thursday announced plans to replace a quarter of paid staff at KPFA in Berkeley, California with volunteers, resulting in an outcry. Picketing is planned for this coming Thursday. The workers' perspective is covered here. KPFA has a long history of such disputes, and this blog will be watching this one.

Radio Pick: This Party Sucks

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's radio pick provides a preview of sorts to next week's election, but far more so into the sociology of political parties. Leave it to the documentary team from This American Life to look at both political parties and raise questions about how either is organized enough to mount a successful campaign in a 59-minute broadcast.

Listen to streaming media of This American Life "This Party Sucks"

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I don't normally pay much attention to interviews of actors, but two of them deserve honorable mention status this week.

Melissa Block's interview with Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actor who plays Lisbeth Salander in the movie versions of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, is worth listening to at a minimum for her description of putting the character to sleep and physically purging her. The featured aired on Friday's All Things Considered.

Listen to streaming media of All Things Considered "Noomi Rapace"

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Similarly, Scott Simon's interview with Sir Michael Caine was remarkable, if nothing else, for the story of how he met his wife. This feature aired this morning on Weekend Edition Saturday.

Listen to streaming media of Weekend Edition Saturday "Michael Caine"