A Week In La belle Province

We are off to Quebec City this week and will be enjoying Canyon Sainte-Anne and doing  some fun stuff.  Thanks to my Mom for the Aventure X Gift. There is a zip line and some pretty amazing scenery according to the website. I will take pictures too.
Thanks to Andrew (maybe) for organizing the Montreal party. We are really excited and curious about what surprises await us. Following that we are heading to Montreal for our Big Gay Stag & Stag party and Divers/Cite, Montreal's Gay Pride celebration.

Green Party Leader Biking to Montreal To Support AIDS Charity

Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner is raising funds for PWA (People With AIDS) Toronto by taking part in the 12th Annual Bike Rally. The ride takes these fearless fundraisers from Toronto to Montreal. I wish you well Mike. Please join me in supporting Mike by making a donation today.

This is timely considering the International AIDS Conference which took place in Vienna this year ended today, and of course once again our esteemed Prime Minister, Stephen Harper made the news, or didn't when he and his Health Minister were publicly (and rightly so) reprimanded by Dr. Julio Montaner, the Canadian head of the International AIDS Society.

From CBC.CA 

 In his closing address to the International AIDS Conference in Vienna on Friday, conference chief Dr. Julio Montaner slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
"I would also like to have a special word of recognition to the prime minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper … for demonstrating, yet again, their incredible ability to take credit where none is due."
Montaner, one of Canada's most prominent AIDS researchers, said the federal government is "punching well below its weight" in funding international efforts to fight the disease and isn't doing enough to protect Canadians from its spread.  Read the full story here.

Four Years and a New Look

If you come here often, and I hope you do. You will have noticed a few changes in the past few weeks.

the Daye. as it is now known began as The Word of The Daye or WOTD in July of 2006 with the announcement that it was to begin in October of 2006. Why three months to prepare? I can't say, although it seems strange now, I think I was trying to come up with a topic.

I am happy to report, however, that if you look at this you will see I not only DID post the next entry on October 1, 2006, I even made of a funky WOTD logo to go with the first WOTD, which for the record was; abrogate.

Since that initial WOTD this blog as morphed and become what you see today. For awhile there was regular POTD, or Place of The Daye posts with screenshots from Google Earth. There was the Southpark character  creator and there were various causes, holidays and things. One of the most viewed posts ever is the We Tour America Scam post, which still gets regular daily traffic. I guess that guy is still scamming America.

Sunday In The Park Dancers

This is a little video I shot of dancers performing a traditional African harvest dance (I forget which country) at Sunday In The Park a couple of weeks ago. I'm experimenting with shooting some video myself rather than having to call upon my professional talent.

A better camera or at least a tripod will certainly be employed next time, but I'm very, very happy with the video intro that David has created for me.

What do you think?

Rethink Alberta

 

RethinkAlberta.com

Sunday In The Park. Regent Park, Toronto

Actually, this year Sunday in the Park was held on Sunday July 11, 2010 at Lord Dufferin Public School near Parliament and Gerrard Streets on the downtown east side of Toronto.  This was the 19th year for the neighborhood event.

The event is a celebration of and for the vibrant community of Regent Park which is undergoing a beautiful and overdue revitalization. 

Sunday in the park featured a barbeque, raffles, entertainment, markets and our fun Green Party table. Toronto Centre candidate Ellen Michelson was there handing out frozen fruit pops and I assisted in making Green Party buttons for children and adults alike.

I asked Ellen about her thoughts on the event and Ellen said, "Sunday in the Park was a wonderful opportunity. We're eager to learn what's on people's minds, and we've found people are always eager to learn about the Green Party.  My own kids are grown now, but they still remember homemade fruit juice freeze pops, so I especially enjoyed giving frozen fruit juice pops to little ones on Sunday. Satisfying lives for individuals and families in strong local communities are top priority for the Green Party. It was so much fun to put our beliefs into practice on such a beautiful, breezy day. Thanks to the Toronto Christian Resource Centre for all the hard work in organizing such an excellent community event."

Animal Visuals

I thought this was a pretty interesting visual representation.

R.O.A.R. Makes Noise at Queen's Park

R.O.A.R. - Reform Ontario Animal Rights organized a protest at Queen's Park today to demand the Ontario government change the legislation governing the OSPCA (Ontario Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

On May 10, 2010 the OSPCA indefinitely shut the doors to its Newmarket head office and shelter due to a virulent strain of ringworm. All 350 animals in the shelter except the turtles would be euthanized. Due to public protest the mass killing was stopped but not before 102 animals were put down.

Better Bike Lanes On The Bloor St. Viaduct

The Toronto Cyclists Union and Toronto Transportation Services celebrated wider bike lanes on the Bloor St. Viaduct today. The viaduct, which is actually named the Prince Edward Viaduct carries about 50,000 vehicles daily and bicylce volume is in excess of 3400 on a typical summer day!  During rush hour peaks bike volume may be in excess of 300 bikes per hour!!! WOW, that's a lot of pedal power.

Bells On Bloor Video

Day Of Action: JULY 10, 2010 Queens Park

During the G20 Summit in Toronto on June 26 and 27, more than $1.2 billion was spent on a reported 20,000 police and security officers, a 5 metre fence, and new weapons designed to stifle dissent and silence public opposition.

Leaflet

Despite threats of new crowd dispersal weapons and dubious claims that police were granted extraordinary powers of search and arrest, over 25,000 people peacefully marched to question the legitimacy of the G20 and call on Canada to take action on the economy, jobs, public services, global poverty, climate change, Indigenous rights, migrant and undocumented workers’ rights, women’s rights, human rights, peace, inequality and social justice.

Under the pretext of stopping vandalism, the police descended upon peaceful protesters and confused passers-by with force that was disproportionate, arbitrary and excessive, and included raids, rubber bullets, tear gas and pre-emptive detentions. In total, more than 900 people were detained based on dubious charges, in the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.

Demonstrate your opposition to the excessive use of police force and the unprecedented curtailment of civil liberties. Demand an independent public inquiry. Join the Day of Action for Civil Liberties in towns and cities across Canada on July 10, 2010.

Queen’s Park, Toronto       Saturday, July 10 @ 1 p.m.          Mass demonstration & march

Community members and organisations in other regions are encouraged to organise their own local events on the same day, to pressure all levels of government to support civil liberties.

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Major Bike Lane Safety Improvements - Bloor Viaduct Celebration!!

Thanks to a collaboration between City transportation staff and local ward-based cycling advocates, some fantastic improvements have finally been made to the bike lanes on the Bloor Viaduct.

You are invited to join us to experience the wider and safer bike lanes and transition zones along the viaduct, and to celebrate these much needed improvements with Transportation staff, Ward 29 Bikes, and the Toronto Cyclists Union!

What: Celebration of this excellent infrastructure upgrade along one of the busiest stretches of roadway in Toronto! (with freezies to beat the heat)

Location: Grounds at the West side (eastbound) approach to the Viaduct, South side by Rosedale Heights School for the Arts. Look for the bright orange bike union tent!

Time: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM       Date: Thursday, July 8th

This is a great opportunity for us all to say thanks to the City for making these needed changes and improving conditions for all cyclists crossing this busy bridge – we hope to see you there!

An old narrow bike lane on the Bloor St. Viaduct.


An new WIDER bike lane with double white lines.
The black stripe is where the single white line used to be.

Queen Elizabeth II at Queen's Park Toronto