[CAT] Shakespeare, half-asleep

[NEWS] Five Canadian politics links: Doug Ford, Kathleen Wynne, Canadian citizens, Three Percenters

• Doug Ford hired a crowd of actors to pretend to be supporters. Is this astroturfing a sign of American influence on Canadian politics? The Toronto Star reports.
• Andrew MacDougall at MacLean’s argues a question tossed off in passing by Doug Ford to Kathleen Wynne, asking where she lost her way, resonates at a deep level about her government. The article is ,a href=”https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/doug-ford-nails-kathleen-wynne-to-a-losing-way/”>here.
• Steve Paikin wonders about the extent to which an unvoiced homophobia may be contributing to the low popularity levels of a Kathleen Wynne who, herself, has not done much outright wrong. His TVO blog has it.
• NOW Toronto is entirely right to recommend people born Canadian citizens take witness, at least, of citizenship ceremonies for new Canadians. I can testify that it really is moving.
• The Three Percenters are the latest nativist social media-driven militia group in Canada, worthy of attention and concern. CBC reports.

[NEWS] Five space science links: Moon, Mars, Planet Nine, white dwarfs, black holes

• Quanta Magazine looks at the latest theories seeking to explain the origins of the Moon. (At the very least, the collision that did form the Moon may have ben much more violent than originally thought.)
• Mars may be smaller than Venus and Earth because, in the early solar system, much mass was directed away from its orbit by the gas and ice giants. Universe Today reports.
• Gizmodo notes the discovery of another Kuiper Belt object with a strange orbit pointing to the possibility of Planet Nine.
• The Gaia satellite has turned up evidence for nearly fourteen thousand white dwarfs within 100 parsecs of our sun, a huge increase in numbers. Universe Today reports.
• The work and the thinking that went into proving the idea of thousands of black holes in close orbit of Sagittarius A* at the heart of our galaxy is impressive. Universe Today reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Edmonton, Vancouver, St. George, Kanepi, Moscow

• The City of Edmonton is considering the idea of intentionally creating a beach for sun-seekers on the North Saskatchewan River after last year’s happy accident. Global News reports.
• There is controversy in Vancouver over the idea of investor immigrants gaining voting rights in the city. Global News reports</u..
• The Utah conurbation of St. George faces real problems of water scarcity. CityLab reports.
• The Estonian municipality of Kanepi has made the leaf of the cannabis plant its logo. CityLab reports.
• JSTOR Daily looks at the symbolism behind the vast and impressive Moscow subway system, here.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Anatolia, Massey Hall, T.J. Atwood, Inside Out, wooden tower

• I believe I have been to this Turkish-Canadian restaurant in the west end of Toronto. CBC reports on Anatolia Restaurant.
• The missing Bach and Beethoven windows of Massey Hall have been recovered, safely boxed away in a basement. The Toronto Star reports.
• I quite liked this article about this athlete, T.J. Atwood, practising his surfing off of the Scarborough Bluffs. The Toronto Star reports.
• Drew Rowsome reports on the upcoming Inside Out LGBT film festival here in Toronto, here.
• A 14-story wooden tower at the University of Toronto would certainly be an eye-catching addition to the downtown skyline. The Toronto Star reports.

[PHOTO] Twenty-three photos of the works of David Hockney at the Met (#hockney, @metmuseum)

The winter’s David Hockney exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, conveniently located next to the Michaelangelo show, covered everything there was to see, from his student art to his latest iPad art. I have to say that Hockney really only came into his own as an artist once he moved to North America in the mid-1960s, and came to enjoy the sunshine and the space of California (among others). Seeing notable works like A Bigger Splash, or his double portraits of couples, or some of his photo mosaics, was truly an experience to be appreciated. Michael Valinsky’s recent Them article does a great job outlining Hockney’s importance, not least as a queer artist out practically from the beginning of his career.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

[PHOTO] Ten photos of Trinity Bellwoods Park (#trinitybellwoods)

I took ten photos of Trinity Bellwoods Park early on the afternoon of the 10th of May, walking south from Dundas Street West south towards the cherry blossoms by Queen West, The park was vivifying, becoming ever greener almost with every step I took.

–

[ISL] Five islands links: Toronto Islands, South Georgia, Haida Gwaii, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia

• The Toronto Islands are open for business this year, hopefully without any hitches. (Let there not be unexpected flooding.) Global News reports.
• The sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia has been freed from rat infestations, helping native life recover. National Geographic reports.
• Killing invasive deer on Haida Gwaii is the task of recruited sharpshooters from New Zealand. MacLean’s reports.
• Controversy over a new museum to slavery on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe draws on all sorts of political and cultural and economic issues besetting the territory. The Atlantic reports.
• The exact language of the question to be asked of voters in the New Caledonia referendum on independence, coming this year, is a critical question. The Lowy Institute examines the issue.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Saint John, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Atlantic City, Cairo

• A Casavant pipe organ in a church in Saint John, New Brunswick, is up for sale, with an uncertain future. Will it be played again? CBC reports.
• Syrian refugees resettled in a Hamilton highrise tower have encountered bedbug-related nightmares. The Toronto Star reports.
• Radio Canada suggests that the substantial Francophone minority in Winnipeg–the largest such community in western Canada–may have helped the city attract investment from France and Québec, here.
• JSTOR Daily notes the disastrous experience of Atlantic City with casinos.
• Egypt is planning to deal with congestion and pollution in its capital city of Cairo by building a new capital city. The Guardian reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Twelve Toronto links

• Edward Keenan is entirely right to praise the idea of exploring the cherry blossoms of Toronto by foot. The Toronto Star has it.
• Mark Cullen noted last week the struggle to keep what may be the oldest tree in Toronto, a red soak more than three centuries old, alive, over at the Toronto Star.
• John Tory is quite right to note that Toronto needs to prepare for possible surges of refugees. CBC reports.
• A Scarborough mansion that has been abandoned for years has just sold for $C 3.8 million. The Toronto Star reports.
• The infamous Giraffe building on the northwest corner of Dundas West and Bloor may be set to disappear, finally, under a wave of new construction there. Toronto Life reports.
• blogTO makes the case that west-end Rogers Road is becoming the new centre of the Portuguese-Canadian community, here.
• Orfus Road, off Dufferin Street near Yorkdale, is a place to go for outlet stores and discounted merchandise. blogTO notes.
• The TTC has cancelled its weekend closures of parts of different subway routes after disputes with the union. The Toronto Star reports.
• By one metric, Toronto falls behind only New York City in the race for the Amazon HQ2. The Toronto Star reports.
• NOW Toronto tells the story of someone who grew marijuana in their backyard, here.
• An AI Weiwei show will be coming to Toronto in 2019. NOW Toronto reports.
• Peter Knegt profiles Toronto drag queen Sofonda Cox, over at CBC.