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.
Daou unicycle or bicycle, Chengdu Bicycle Parts Factory #3
Living in North East Toronto, Canada is a very large community of Mainland Chinese, many who are recent immigrants. When they ship their lives half way across the world to Canada they bring with them some surprising gems. I picked up this Daou unicycle at a garage sale. It has a 12.5″ rear coaster wheel with back brake, and a skateboard truck up front. The seat is unicycle style, with a black steel handle in the front. Apart from the “Daou” label, under the seat there are two quality stickers from the Chengdu Zixingche Lingjian San Chang, or the Chengdu Bicycle Parts Factory #3. After a couple of key changes this contraption rides much like a unicycle (no left-right stability), but has anterior-posterior stability, allowing the rider to coast. You can pedal backwards to brake, which is good enough to skid the tire. This unicycle rides quite well, can travel at faster than walking speed and allows the rider to coast. Due to the small skateboard wheels up front it can endo if you hit a large sidewalk crack.
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.
This is my Toronto in one of its darkest moments. In this event the Canadian Charter of Rights was wantonly trounced by Toronto Police. Over 1,000 citizens were illegally detained, some for over 24 hrs, and then set free with no explanation. Yes, the fight will continue in the courts but the damage has already been done. Healing, if it occurs, will only start once a proper public inquiry has been completed. Who was responsible for this suspension of our right to protest? Frankly I doubt we will ever know.
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.
Bicycling instead of driving a car is not only healthy but is great for the environment. Unfortunately here in North America, specifically in Toronto, Canada, bicycling is relegated to tree kissing environmentalists and kids. This is too bad for everyone. An excellent video by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. shows what is working in Copenhagen, and what could work here in North America.
I have lived in Beijing, China for a couple of years and the bike culture there is pretty safe. This has degraded somewhat now as more people become wealthier and can afford cars. It’s sad to see China go backward on bicycles, but such us progress in the People’s Republic of China.
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.
Wu Yuren, husband of Canadian Karen Patterson and daughter Hannah
No doubt about it, I am Canadian, and for a short time, I lived in China. Thinking that the Rule of Law in Canada is interpreted the same in China would seem logical but incorrect. Just because there are laws on the books, decreed by the government, similar in both countries, is insufficient to take the Canadian view of law and apply it to the People’s Republic of China. A case in point is Karen Patterson’s Chinese husband, Wu Yuren, who offered moral support for a friend and ended up beaten up and detained, with little access to his family or lawyer. He is still detained. His case is a good lesson to both Chinese and foreigners that China’s legal system works differently from Canada.
