Jiucai (garlic chives) in bloom, growing at our front doorstep, Sony H4, macro 4x zoom
This hardy Chinese herb seems to grow everywhere near our house in Toronto, Canada, self seeding without assistance. Jiucai is also called garlic chives. Put it into soup, stews, omelets, and jiaozi. You chop it down but leave the roots and it will grow back, multiple times in a season. Somehow this dainty little plant has moved to many sections of our backyard and have proliferated, but the most convenient is a clump near our front door. So handy yet tasty.
Something happened at my local Tandy Leather, Scarborough, Canada and the manager Ryan Wright was removed, the store taken over by head office. I’d like to get into contact with him and ask him what happened. Ryan is a very nice guy and I wish him well.
Ryan Wright, Mount Albert (just north of Newmarket), Ontario. Leather worker, blacksmith, archery, metal work and primitive arts and crafts, larper (live action role play) with Epoch Toronto.
Crime, especially juvenile crime, is widespread throughout Toronto, Canada. A swarming, while somewhat uncommon in my area of Toronto, does occur. This morning while at the local park for preschool kids, I talked to a ~70 year old Grandmother who was looking after her five year old grandson. She told me that yesterday September 18 2010 at around 7:30pm she was at the local park for older kids, some 50 meters away and was swarmed by a group of 6 Black kids, ranging from 6 to 14 years old. The incident left her feeling vulnerable, afraid and unsafe in her Glendower neighbourhood, where she has lived for the last 20 years. When I explained to her that I was also a victim of swarming by local Black kids, she was also surprised. Her reaction and remorse did not surprise me because I had the same feelings after my swarming.
This girl is a sticker on the road, but if you inadvertently run over her you were not paying attention to your driving. Pay more attention to the road.
Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Victor Rubilar's grand finale, juggling 5 soccer balls
Hot was the word of the day on Saturday Aug 28 2010, when we took in the Buskerfest in Toronto. It hit 32C and high humidity. There performers were sweating profusely, as was the audience. Arriving at about 12:45pm we took in the shows of Victor Rubilar from Argentina (juggling soccer balls), Mat Ricardo from the UK (balancing, juggling) and saw a couple of others. It was really crowded and we could not see much, which was to bad.
Mary Ward's front door archway, a nice piece of steel and glass.
Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School is a high school located in North Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, or TCDSB. These tips are primarily from a parent’s viewpoint and will cover uniform, student attitude, working with teacher adviser (TA) and a little on courses. I hope this helps new grade 9 students.
Afghan Kite Flying in Afghanistan. Here in Canada do not use glass covered or metal kite line. They are illegal and dangerous.
Kite flying is a favourite pastime of our family. It is so unfortunate that kite flying at Milliken Park, Toronto, Canada, a very large park near our house, has recently been banned. Kite flying is very kid and family friendly, but has been spoiled by people that come from different cultures. South East Asian (India, Pakistan) and Afghanistan kite flyers in their country use metal wire and glass coated flying line to cut the lines of competitors. They are importing and illegally using this type of line here in Toronto, Canada. They then leave the lines as garbage. Kids and adults using the park get cut up from these types of lines. It is certainly a safety hazard.
China News services such as Xinhua and China Daily are renown to bend news to favour China in all cases. These two news agencies are controlled directly by the Chinese government, so this should be unsurprising. How they treat foreign news depends on China’s relations with the countries concerned. I am happy to read that coverage of Toronto’s G20 riots were reported factually and very measured by both news agencies.
Xinhua photo of playful and peaceful Toronto G20 demonstrators
G20 vandal wanted by police for property damage in Toronto
Criminals should not get away with their crimes. G20 protesters and bystanders were treated badly by police, this is true. Still, those that smashed their way through Toronto need to be found and prosecuted. Please help police find and prosecute these criminals.
Just because our Charter of Rights and Freedoms were squashed by police during the Toronto G20 is not a reason for these criminals to go free. There is no “Get out of Jail Free” card here.
G20 vandal wanted by police for property damage in Toronto.
Sometimes you identify programs that are working well and help so many people. One of these is the summer sports day camps in Scarborough. This camp provides summer jobs for youth in addition to providing a fun day camp for about 250 elementary school kids. This year they even provide lunch. The kids remain active all summer, learn skills and are happy. The youth gain valuable experience in mentoring and coaching. The parents are happy because their kids are doing something other than sit on a computer for the summer. In all, it’s a win-win situation for all concerned. Sponsors include the Boys 2 Men Institute, the Cabbagetown Youth Centre and the Toronto District School Board.
