[MUSIC[ Kygo and Whitney Houston, “Higher Love”

I have recently found last year’s version of this Steve Winwood classic song, and I am caught by how suited this critical but hopeful song is for this year.

“Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair
We will walk the line
And try to see
Falling behind in what could be

[VIDEO] The streets of Toronto, as seen by drone

CBC Toronto shared the below video at their Instagram account.

View this post on Instagram

Here's what the streets of Toronto look like after public health officials asked people to practice social distancing and stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic. • • • 🎥: Sue Reid/CBC #cbctoronto #cbcto #covid19 #coronavirus #toronto #selfisolate #socialdistancing #stateofemergency

A post shared by CBC Toronto (@cbctoronto) on Mar 25, 2020 at 5:30pm PDT

[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links

• Urban Toronto looked at indigenous uses being proposed for the West Don Lands, here.
• That Toronto has become a major hub for Shopify is a significant economic factor. Global News reports.
• There will be an emergency exercise held at Union Station. Global News reports.
• Transit Toronto notes the opening of a new York Regional Transit bus hub at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
• Transit Toronto shared video of a recent TTC public art project, “A Streetcar Called Toronto”, here.
• Venerable Toronto movie rental store Videoflicks will be closing. blogTO reports.
• The Evergreen Brickworks in the Don Valley will be hosting a winter village this season. blogTO reports.

[PHOTO] Leonard Cohen, “Happens to the Heart”

Pitchfork, among others, notes the release of a video for a new Leonard Cohen song, “Happens to the Heart” off of the posthumous album Thanks for the Dance. Both song and video are beautiful; recommended.

[VIDEO] Crossing the Bloor Viaduct, facing south

[VIDEO] Fountain lights changing colour, Yonge-Eglinton Centre

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait reports suggestions the bizarre happenings at Boyajian’s Star could be explained by an evaporating exomoon.
• Centauri Dreams looks at how the crowdsourced evScope telescope is being used to support the Lucy mission to the Jupiter Trojans.
• The Crux explains the phenomenon of misophobia.
• D-Brief shares suggestions that an asteroid collision a half-billion years ago released clouds of dust that, reaching Earth, triggered the mid-Ordovician ice age.
• Dangerous Minds shares video of a perhaps underwhelming meeting of William Burroughs with Francis Bacon.
• io9 makes the case for more near-future space exploration movies like Ad Astra.
• Joe. My. God. notes a Trump retweeting of the lie that Ilham Omar celebrated on 9/11.
• JSTOR Daily notes how fire could destroy the stressed rainforest of the Amazon.
• Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes how few judges in the US have been impeached.
• The LRB Blog looks at how the already tenuous position of Haitians in the Bahamas has been worsened by Dorian.
• The Map Room Blog looks at the importance of the integrity of official maps in the era of Trump.
• Marginal Revolution looks at the political importance of marriage ceremonies in Lebanon and Gaza.
• Drew Rowsome interviews the Zakar Twins on the occasion of their new play Pray the Gay Away, playing in Toronto in October.
• The Russian Demographic Blog shares statistics on birthrates in the different provinces of the Russian Empire circa 1906.
• Starts With A Bang’s Ethan Siegel reports on the first experiment done on the photoelectric effect, revealing quantum mechanics.
• Window on Eurasia looks at growing anti-Chinese sentiments in Central Asia.
• Arnold Zwicky looks at “The Hurtful Dog”, a Cyanide and Happiness cartoon.

[VIDEO] Walking across the last crossing at Yonge and Eglinton in the pouring rain

Walking home from work an hour ago, I was drenched by the rain. Yonge and Eglinton saw the rain dancing off the pavement.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Toronto Coach Terminal, food banks, dogs, TTC, parties

• Tanya Mok at blogTO shares a vintage short film from 1970 at the Toronto Coach Terminal, “Depot.”
• The shortages of food in Toronto food banks are terrible. CBC Toronto reports.
• Dogs will be free to swim in select City of Toronto swimming pools this weekend. CBC Toronto reports.
• I will have to look for these TTC floor stickers installed at St. George station. blogTO reports.
• Richard Trapunski leads a roundtable discussion at NOW Toronto about the challenges facing party promoters in a gentrifying Toronto.

[VIDEO] Humber River flowing, north of the Humber Bay Arch Bridge