Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree in the King Edward hotel.

Snow

It's gross out there today. This picture was taken on Queen street near much music earlier this year around the time of the film festival. Propaganda for one of the movies. The snow looked and felt remarkable real.

And there was even a guy on the roof sprinkling "snow" down so that it floated down in the breeze. It was a great effect.

Streetcars stuck

A picture from the summer. A protest on University Ave backed up all the streetcars on College. I count 6.

3 more waiting at McCaul.

Artsy Cafe

This is the hallway to the bathrooms in a little cafe Tonya and I found in Orillia just prior to getting engaged. That's right. We got engaged!

Parliament

There's something majestic about our parliament buildings. Gives me a shiver every time. Tonya and I watched a Chinese celebration taking place. Tonya wondered how many countries would allow the celebration of another country on the front steps of their parliament building. It's what makes Canada great. Though you wouldn't know it if you read the comments section of any newspaper article dealing with immigration. See Tonya's comment on a recent article in the globe and mail:

Swiss vote to ban minarets

The recent vote by the swiss public to ban muslim minarets is very disturbing to me. My initial reactions (not to say that I'm proud of it) was, "well, at least that's not happening here!". I read a very good article about this vote in the globe and mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/swiss-minaret-ban-emboldens-europes-extremists/article1383413/) and was feeling a bit better about the state of the world until I read the comments.

People always tell me not to read the comments, but I can't help it - they're right there! Some of these comments were absolutely disgusting in their attitude towards Muslims, but what really caused me to need to write about it was the number of "thumbs-up" vs "thumbs-down" these comments received. For example, the very first comment I read, was not a comment, but a message from the globe and mail saying that this users comment had been removed because it was abusive. However, before the editors had got to it, the comment had received 53 thumbs up and only 36 thumbs down. for an ABUSIVE comment.

Here is the comment that really got to me. This person sounds like they think they're being thoughtful, kind and rational. At the time of posting this, this comment had received 168 thumbs-up and 48 thumbs-down. (I checked, you can't vote more than once.)

"The chickens have come home to roost.

Western people in many countries are getting tired of having the welcome mat fouled by the often angry responses that arise every time a Muslim decides to protest accepted customs of their adopted country. The range of rejected and protested customs range form the minor to major issues. The scale ranges from wanting to wear a full covering hajib for a drivers license, wearing a nagib while playing sports, wanting time off during the work day to pray to Mecca to the more serious issues like rioting over a cartoon. In return there is little conciliation and certainly little public protest or condemnation when an atrocity is perpetuated by violent Muslims. The silence is deafening from Muslim communities when innocent people are killed in the name of jihad.For many Westerners, the milk of human kindness is slowly curdling and I for one, don't blame them."

Why must we feel so threatened by things that are different? And why can't we separate the acts of extremists from everyday people? Dress how you'd like to dress, worship how you'd like to worship, and take comfort in those things that bring you comfort. Do it without hurting other people.

Colour sunglasses

Really should have had this picture in colour rather than black and white. Tonya was right.

Sunglasses

Alas, we won't need our sunglasses for a while. I'm getting tired of biking home in the dark every day.

Xmas Tree

Tonya and I went for a real tree this year. The first real tree I've ever had. It smells...

Obama Cookies

A cafe in the byward market in Ottawa. I guess they're hoping more people will come in once they learn of President Obama's "unscheduled" stop to buy a cookie.

Wedding

A wedding that Tonya and I attended in Ottawa recently.

Old order Mennonites

A group of old order Mennonites watching a model air show.

TTC Outage

Yeesh. The TTC can't seem to catch a break. The day after fare hikes are announced, the Yonge-University line of the subway was closed from Bloor to Davisville. It appears the problem is located just outside our building where TTC workers were frantically working. It appears they are bracing the road from above. I wonder if they are getting ready to dig.
The star says the source of the problem was a contractor accidentally pierced a section of the tunnel using a road saw and that they are working hard to get the subway up and running by tomorrow morning.

Update: We just got a note from our building management stating the following:
"We are taking this opportunity to advise you of the current situation at the Jackes Avenue bridge and subway closure.
Enbridge Gas Distribution hired an independent contractor to perform work on the bridge earlier today in order to relocate one of their gas distribution lines. During this work the contractor cut through the bridge into the TTC subway tunnel. TTC subsequently ceased operations of the subway for safety reasons until the full extent of repairs can be assessed."

TTC

The poor TTC. Getting beat up for raising fares. Trying to fill in a $106M gap next year. The 25 cent increase it expected to bring in $45M. What are they supposed to do? They just can't win. Even with increasing ridership over the recession, they're losing money.

I was surprised to learn that the TTC provides the most rides per capita in North America yet it has one of the lowest subsidies among North American transit systems.
Apparently New York's transit system gets a US$1.71 subsidy per ride compared to CAN$ 0.59 per TTC ride. (A ride on NY subway is US$2).

I stumbled upon this fascinating report written in 1958 looking at the problem NY had with their transit system because they originally had a mandate to be self-sustaining.

"...The Authority is currently losing over $2,000,000 a month...the 15-cent fare cannot possible be continued...This imminent fare increase will accelerate the continuing downslide in riding of subways and buses. In fact, the drop in riding from the increase alone will be so sharp that it will immediately wipe out close to half the additional revenues the higher fare should bring in...[U]nder the rule of the self-sustaining fare, there will be another hike to 25 cents and then to 30 cents in a few more years, with even greater declines in riding."

Wave Deck

The city has done an amazing job with their new "wave decks" at harbourfront. They add just the right amount of danger and tripping hazard to a walk along the waterfront.

Sudbury Thanksgiving

It was cold in Sudbury over Thanksgiving. They said we might get snow. Jebus.

Old orders at the airshow

I attended a model airshow in St. Jacobs a couple of weeks ago. It's already in my calendar again for next year. A great way to spend the afternoon. There was a group of old order Mennonites checking out the action too. Tonya tells me they don't like having their picture taken. It's ok if you can't see their face...mostly because they don't know you're taking the shot...

Praying Mantis

We found this praying mantis on a storefront window just north of St. Clair on Yonge.

Me2:

U2 in concert at the Skydome (It's not called the Rogers Centre...I don't care what anyone says!) in Toronto.

This was my 3rd U2 show and they're older now but they still put on an amazing spectacle. Though by my estimate, they didn't run around as much as they did on the Elevation and Vertigo tours. Thanks to Tonya for getting me the ticket...

The giant cylindrical screen was actually made up of many smaller screens that were honeycombed together and could be expanded to 3 times its length sort of like a giant Chinese finger trap...

The coolest part was when they turned on the giant disco ball...

It was quite a sight seeing the skydome full with the roof open.

Zombie board meeting

I happened upon this "board meeting" in the park by our place...they're all wearing shirts and ties...

There was also a zombie march going on the same day...

Then the zombies and the skateboarders met up at city hall...and some of the zombies started riding skateboards...

One more on the beach

The last of the beach pictures with my cousin...

Handstand

Another picture of my cousin on the beach.

Beach Pose

My cousin joined my parents, Tonya and I on an outing to windy lake last weekend. She was demonstrating her gymnastics skill on the beach.

Chew Chew Diner

We found this diner on the way to Cabbage Town. We didn't have a chance to eat there but plan to return very soon.
PS. We refurbished the blog layout in anticipation of our 10000th hit.

Fish Timelapse

Fish Timelapse from Tilak Dutta on Vimeo.

A timelapse of my first fish cleaning experience with some small mouth bass. Give this a moment to load before playing.

$1 Hair Cut

I just had my hair cut for $1. The barbers are all grizzled Italian guys. They even used a straight razor at the end. The feeling of warm shaving cream on your face is awesome.

From Colin:

A guy stuck his head into a barbershop and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut?

The barber looked around the shop full of customers and said, 'About 2 hours. The guy left.

A few days later, the same guy stuck his head in the door and asked , How long before I can get a haircut?' The barber looked around at the shop and said, 'About 3 hours.'

The guy left.

A week later, the same guy stuck his head in the shop and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut?

The barber looked around the shop and said, 'About an hour and a half ...'

Again The guy left.

The barber turned to his friend and said, 'Hey, Bob, do me a favour. Follow that guy and see where he goes.

He keeps asking how long he has to wait for a haircut, but then he doesn't ever come back.'

A little while later, Bob returned to the shop, laughing hysterically.

The barber asked, 'So, where does that guy go when he leaves?'

Bob looked up, wiped the tears from his eyes and said, 'Your house!

Trees again

I couldn't stop taking pictures of these 3 trees.

Chipmunk

This chipmunk was all over the place. I decided to put out some nuts to get him on camera. I should have used a faster time lapse to capture his quick movements better.

Clouds at Head Lake

I left the camera running while we enjoyed a sunny afternoon at the lake.

Head Lake

I took this picture near a cottage we rented last week.

Apple Crisp

The Making of an Apple Crisp: A Timelapse from Tilak Dutta on Vimeo.

A demonstration of the apple parer used to make apple crisp.

Apple Parer

Can you believe someone would throw this away? I found it in the garbage!
Don't worry...I cleaned it extremely well before using.

Red Wheelbarrow

On our way back home from Sudbury, we decided to stop in Killarney for some fish and chips. We found this red wheelbarrow across the street.

More Clouds

I wish I could've taken a timelapse of these clouds. I think we were on the edge of a weather system. You could see the 2 layers of clouds moving independently. A cold front moving in under a warm front.

Curvy Desks

On our tour of the BC Legislature, we learned that these curves had to be introduced to accommodate the increasing numbers of MPPs. I wonder if they were careful to maintain a 2-sword length distance between the government and opposition benches as is tradition.

Diver's Den

So that's where my cell phone went!

Canada Day Timelapse

This was shot in the afternoon on Canada Day 2009.

Float Plane

While in Victoria we took a float plane tour of the island.

Clouds

I love looking at big fluffy white clouds while flying...

A harbour seal at Fisherman's Wharf

Sammy is a very smart seal He hangs out at fisherman's wharf all day. Tourists feed him continuously.

Reflection

This was shot near Royal Rhodes campus in Victoria.

Turtle and Catfish

We went on a hike to Rattle Snake Point on the Bruce trail near Milton last weekend. Mario took this amazing picture of a catfish eating the algae off a snapping turtle. The sun seemed to be illuminating the lake from below.

House Boats

Some house boats at Fisherman's Warf in Victoria.

Vader on Violin

I think he should have fashioned a bow out of his light sabre...

Bird Cage reflection

The lights on the parliament buildings are bright enough to be reflected off a nearby monument.

Bird Cage at night

Love the lights at night.

Bird Cage HDR

On our trip to Victoria, we stopped by to see the parliament buildings. They do a tour where some of the tour guides dress in period costumes. We heard the story about the architect who designed the building known as the bird cage:

Francis Rattenbury won the bid to build the parliament building at the age of 26 in 1893. He completed the construction only $400k over the original $500k budget.

It turns out Rattenbury had a rather scandalous personal life. He married Florence at the age of 31. But at the age of 56 he left his wife and married 27 year old Alma only to be murdered by his 18 year old chauffeur (Alma's secret lover) at the age of 68.

Where's Waldo?

We went to see the TSO the other day and Tonya spotted Michael Ignatieff. Can you find him?



I'll make it easier...he's standing with his wife in this picture...

Mutant feet

The mutants are among us...

Red Ball

The traveling red ball was at old city hall on Sunday. It will be on Elm Street tomorrow. It's full schedule is here.