another goddam election

provincial election june 2022

here are candidates so far. can't promise i will keep this updated

davenport 

• incumbent ndp marit stiles @maritstiles
• liberal jerry levitan @jerrylevitan this fucker - when i asked if he lives in the riding, he hid my question so ppl wouldn't see that he refuses to answer!! LET ME GUESS YOU DON'T ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE RIDING DO YOU
• pc paul spence
• new blue mario bilusic @bilusicmario
• ontario party diti coutinho
• independent simon fogel @davenportfogel confirmed lives in the riding 
• communist jack copple
• libertarian venuto nunzio
• green karen stephenson
• independent nicholas alexander

st pauls

• incumbent - ndp jill andrew @jillslastword confirmed lives in the riding
• green ian lipton @ianlipton
• liberal nathan stall @nathanstall
• pc blake libfeld @stpaulspcs
• new blue yehuda goldberg @yehudag4mpp won't give a straight answer, typical politician
• ontario moderate party margarita sharapova
• populist ontario zoe alexandra
• ontario party christian ivanov mihaylov

uni-rose

• incumbent - ndp jessica bell @jessicabellto
• green dianne saxe @diannesaxe
• liberal andrea barrack @andreacbarrack confirmed lives in the riding 
• pc carl qiu @carlqiu
• new blue james leventakis @jamesleventakis
• stop the new sex-ed agenda john kanary

parkdale-high park

• incumbent - ndp buthila karpoche @bhutilakarpoche
• liberal karim bardeesy @kbardeesy
• pc monika frejlich @monikafrejlich
• new blue danielle height @newblueparkdale
• green patrick macklem
• the people oliver roberts
• communist gunes agduk @queerofclasswar does not live in the riding
• ontario party craig peskett

i retweet stuff from everyone with a twitter, mostly without comment

exceptions:

• i'm not rt-ing every single tweet in a thread
• if you rt yourself i'm not rt-ing that
• if all you do is rt i'm not rt-ing your rts - gotta be oc
• if you pull some shit light limiting who can reply to your tweets i will qt with sarcastic comments
• if you fucken tag me in your posts so my notifications are overrun with your bs gonna mute you

new exception:

• gonna call out politicians who don't live in the riding they think they wanna represent
• AND THOSE WHO HIDE MY QUESTIONS

faq

q: "why are you retreating people who are complete shitbags"

a: people should know who's running and who they're voting for. mad that a nazi is running in your neighbourhood? get out and vote for someone else. or just mute me, whatever.

blah blah "war on cars" blah blah etc.

here is a list of menaces on toronto roads, in order of menacingness:

1. taxis. why? the thing that causes the most problems in traffic is unpredictability. taxis are the least predictable of all. that guy on the sidewalk - could be a fare? swerve toward curb without signalling. not a fare? swerve back into traffic without signalling. there's a fare on the other side of the street, u-turn without signalling. maybe they'll run up the fare by driving super slow, maybe they'll zip around like a crazed lunatic so they can get the next fare. they're going places they've never been before, maybe they're lost, maybe the fare is giving them weird directions that don't even make sense. they're talking to dispatch, they're trapped in a car for 12 hours so they're edgy, they want a coffee, they need to pee, they want to talk on their mobile. who knows what they're doing or where they're going? they barely know themselves.

2. truckers. they'd rather be on the highway. they have a tough time accelerating and braking, and they don't like braking because braking = gas = money. like taxi drivers, they're trapped in a car for 12 hours, so they have all of those distractions. worst of all, they have crap visibility. they take nine lanes to turn a corner, and can't see if someone is right next to them. some of them seem to think that might = right, if there's a collision they're not the ones who are gonna lose, so look out!

3. bicycle couriers. they're crazy unpredictable like taxi drivers, and have the same dispatch/time = money distractions. and they're chippy about people getting in their way, with that whole "i'm a counter-culture free spirit earth saver" attitude when really they're mostly just assholes. fortunately, they rarely leave downtown.

4. people waiting for the ttc. where is the bus/streetcar? maybe if you stand in the middle of the road you will see it? maybe if you stand in the middle of a busy intersection you can hedge your bets as to whether you will catch this bus or that bus? maybe if you see your streetcar three blocks away, you should stand in the road to wait for it? and glare at any vehicles who pass the closed doors of the not-yet-stopped streetcar? there's the bus, maybe if you run into traffic you can catch it! again, unpredictable.

there are more menaces, obvs. but those are the top 4.

eta: i almost forgot one of the worst menaces!

5. fitness people. i was gonna say joggers (whoops they call themselves "runners" now, same diff), but today i watched some douche on rollerblades in traffic squeeze between cars and then cut in front of a truck as it started up when the light turned green. seriously? some people barely consider bicycles to be roadworthy vehicles. rollerskates and sneakers are definitely not roadworthy vehicles. jogging on queen st. w. between the streetcars and parked cars, blocking cyclists in a bike lane, stop it all. even those on the sidewalk can be a menace - with their ipods and general lack of awareness, they look up at the last moment to see the light might be changing - and of course, they just can't stop for even a second - so they randomly change direction to try to dart across the street on a yellow light. feh.

what is a cyclist?

ok we've got a lot of bicycles in our neighbourhood with bike lanes on davenport, christie, and soon to come on shaw. so here's a guide to the various kinds of cyclist stereotypes in the foothills and toronto at large.

convenience riders. yes i made that up. this is the largest group. they hate driving in traffic and don't want to pay for parking. or gas. they don't want to wait for a ttc bus that will never arrive. they just want to get to and from work without stressing out too much. they have a car, they know the rules of the road, they follow them for the most part.

• convenience rider subgroup a: doesn't really consider a bicycle to be a vehicle, so whatever. includes that twentysomething who just wants to look like a cute hipster in a magazine spread, and people like my neighbour who only ever rides his bicycle to take his dog to the park a half block on the way. he rides on the sidewalk, so? why do you care? he doesn't care.
• convenience rider subgroup b: students. they sleep in too late to walk to class, and they can't afford other methods of transportation. they aren't really awake yet (doesn't matter the time of day) and being on the young side, aren't fully aware that other people are separate beings with their own lives and places to go, as opposed to just random obstacles placed in their way by a game designer. not malicious, just clueless.
• convenience rider subgroup c: really only has a bicycle because they can't afford another mode of transportation or want to stay incognito/unlicensed, and doesn't care about anything either way. includes some sketchy types who are probably dealing weed, and people with milk crates who look in your recycling bin for beer bottles.
• convenience rider subgroup d: e-bike riders. really a mashup of a and c. don't consider their bike to be a vehicle. don't know any of the rules of the road, especially the one that says you're not allowed to use your e-bike in a bike lane unless you are pedalling. like subgroup c, they would totally be driving a car if they could afford it and/or didn't need a valid drivers' license with their real name on it.
• convenience rider subgroup e: tourist and bixi riders. they don't know where they're going! they don't know what the rules are! they will stand in the middle of the road and ask you where the cn tower is. we're supposed to put up with them because "it's good for the economy."

convenience riders - the largest group - are not in any way politicized. they just want to be left alone to get where they are going without being killed.

"cyclists." this is a minority group, sorry. these are people who say, "hi i'm a cyclist," or join cycling things, or put "bike" in their email handle.

• "cyclists" subgroup a: is a nervous nelly who gets super uptight about rules and thinks that the only way to earn the respect of drivers is to follow all rules to the letter, stepping off and walking if they need to cross in a pedestrian crosswalk, signalling lane changes, and stopping dead at every stop sign, even when turning right. they feel they are setting a good example, one you should follow. this is a verrry small minority.
• "cyclists" subgroup b: the activist. gets very us-vs-them-ish. they have banners on their bike that say "one less car" or making snide comments about how car drivers hate traffic but they "are" traffic, blithely forgetting that cyclists (and pedestrians for that matter) are also traffic. they can get pretty self-righteous about everything.
• "cyclists" subgroup c: are the enviro-types who like to make a big deal about how they are saving the earth and you are not. maybe they are an entrepreneur who runs an organic cloth diaper service with a cargo bike. something like that.
• "cyclists" subgroup d: fitness freaks. they've got the gear, the carbon-fibre frame, the lycra, they probably drove their bike to wherever it is that they are riding. these guys can be pretty obnoxious and self-righteous because they are so damn healthy. well good for you, bud. yeah maybe i'd be less crabby if i was as "active" as you are, but maybe i don't care.

it's mainly "cyclists" who get political about stuff. except for the fitness freak types.

finally:

couriers. these are really another subgroup of "cyclists," but they are so far to the extreme they deserve their own category. these are the crazy ones, the ones everyone loves to hate. they have a chip on their shoulder about their "rights," and think their "rights" trump everyone else's. they don't have much respect for other bike riders either, because they get in the way. they're a bit mad max. they say dumb things like "when i'm riding on the sidewalk, i plan for where pedestrians and adjust my speed/route accordingly. it's only when they react weirdly that there's a problem." which is another way of saying, "i like to think i am psychic, but i fail constantly." 

these are the ones rosie di manno wants to shoot.

fortunately, they are also a tiny minority, only existing downtown for the most part. stay away from downtown and you will never see them. i don't think i have ever seen a bike courier on davenport.

all yer neighbourhood issues, all in one place

so here's some stuff that's happening.

1. 1145 ossington ave, aka that giant pit being used for backhoe storage. currently zoned for light industrial (used to be a uniform laundry service). owner (dunpar developments) wants to build a bunch of townhouses on a private lane. 4 storeys, 121 units. city said, too many houses for that size of a lane. nothing decided yet.

city backgrounder 2007
article from inside toronto 2007
city backgrounder 2008
omb paper trial 2007-2013
city zoning application 2012

2. 840 dupont at, aka sobeys. currently zoned for sobeys. owner (?) wants to rezone for "mixed use development including office, retail, and residential uses." no word on how many storeys, how many units, what kind of retail, where they're going to park, blah blah.

city zoning application 2013

3. ossington 63 bus is maybe going to be rerouted to go up and around on winona, tyrrell, and alberta. yes, really! this would mean no more street parking and removing a bunch of speed bumps and a general traffic nightmare of busses trying to turn left on winona from davenport blocking a heap of traffic at a corner that's already a congested mess half the time. so far the staff report recommends NOT DOING SOMETHING THIS STUPID but the ttc board or whatever still has to make a decision (which is supposed to happen at a meeting next week)

ttc report

some of this is happening in ward 17, some in 19, some in 21. and the condos that have been under construction for the last 8 years at lansdowne & dupont (ward 18) have had signs on them saying "warning if you buy a condo your kids are gonna take a bus to get to school coz there's no room at the inn basically" or whatever.

ever driven west on dupont in the afternoon? it's a shitshow.

ever waited 25 minutes for a dupont bus that broke down two stops later? that'll be so much more fun with all the crowds of condo/townhome dwellers from all these new developments.

now that's what i call planning!

a google map of places to go in the neighbourhood

here you go:


View neighbourhood places in a larger map

new businesses in the neighbourhood

it's been 2 whole years since i posted, so i thought the time had come. ha. if you want more regular news, you gotta follow the twitter.

so, a few new places have come to davenport between bathurst and the tracks at caledonia. they are:

ossington pet food. this took over the old tom's spot near ossington when it closed following that shooting. used to be on ossington, just north of bloor.

the sovereign espresso bar took over tony ruprecht's old office near dufferin. good timing too, as pancho's bakery moved south to bloor.

chocosol traders do artisanal vegan gluten-free chocolate. they sell at farmers' markets as well as their own shop (minimum $20 purchase) and offer workshops.

kitch bar has mexican food, movie nights, and live music going into the wee hours. owned by the same people as starving artist.

toronto airsoft is like paintball without the paint, sort of.

theatrix costume house & school of makeup has everything from cheapie fangs to high-end costume garb.

riders has bicycle & skateboarding stuff of all kinds.

prestigious studio salon & spa is where fallone's used to be - not sure if the management changed or not?

salon coco is the current incarnation of salon ch, same management. currently closed till 20 november for renovations.

marin royal massage is a teeny tiny operation, but the lady knows what she's doing.

picea is a wood-fired neapolitan-style pizza joint.

patti rosati does interior design.

hungry eyes is a film & tv prodco, and explains why that she's the mayor poster has been up for years.

gabriella's is a kids' party place.

pc mechanix offers comupter sales & service.

we bid farewell to some places too - the aforementioned tom's and pancho's, rockabilly rock coffee parlour, willer's pharmacy, and the soon-to-close it looks like nutrition global (formerly etherea). masterpieces studio has also moved out of the hood.

and of course some businesses have been around a long time... alcoa, ernie's, the gem, faema, salto, new age tattoo, l & j cycle, sandalman, etc. three cheers for them for sticking around for so long!

asian mother looking for her son

"they should let us know who they are"

just posting this in case anyone else has seen her and is wondering what it's about... this woman knocked on our door at 10 o'clock on sunday night. she knocked on every door on delaware, actually. and dovercourt. she told one of our neighbours that she is going door to door across toronto, looking for her son. it's pretty clear she is suffering from some sort of mental illness (she told another of our neighbours that "they" had implanted a tooth in her cheek in order to track her by sattelite). what do you do when you meet someone like this? i got very protective of my home and said "go away" but now i wonder what else i could have done. but what?

i've posted the text below this image in case anyone is googling the contents of her letter. any comments on what to do would be appreciated (although we likely won't see her again)



anyway here is the text of her letter:

I have my human right and mother's right to know where's my son and keep my family

But they made the school worse than a jail. They cut all the connection between our family and our son. I asked the securities for my son's situation, but they said that they would not give me any information about my son. I even don't know whether my son had graduated or not.

I asked the police for my son's address, but they asked me stopping driving. I said: "No.” The police said: "You don't stop driving, your son doesn't want to see you:”, threatening me to obey. Canada is one of the modern country, should not be such underground and guilty. But they abusing their power and privilege to separate my family, forced me to live alone and work for TV, film companies, entertainment groups, and must trust them, they're making me a "blind believer". Their policy is hooligan and evil tyrant. Even though it seems they didn't put me into the Jail when I spoke out, but they keep controlling my son, he's not allowed to return home. It's not a mercy to me, it's another way of persecution.

They damaged my house, my car, my furniture, my violin, electronic piano, my vacuum machine..., many things at my home. Controlled my husband beating me crazily more than ten years, and made a fool of him. They emitted beaming pushing my incisors (my tooth) out, damaged my each tooth, it cost more than one thousand to do the fillings. And they had the dentist to drill a hole on my molar, I paid more than one hundred to small claim court to make a complaint, but they still played trick to me. The Judge said that I must pay five hundred dollars to the dentist as compensation. They knew that I'm a victim and it's truth.

They're makers. They said that they are not really that bad, if it is truth, they should end up this terrible criminal case fairly. let the truth to prove it. They should stop playing tricks to people said: "People who kept persecuting you are malicious, but not us." I don't agree with it, because there's only one group of authority to have this power. They should not force my son living alone for five years, and forced me to reveal this terrible criminal case to the public. It's another way of persecution. But I have to speak out, I can't let them grab my son away from me.

Maybe you said that there's the law in Canada: "A person is or over eighteen year said can live independently. "This is a terrible unreasonable law. It must be depending on what's happening on this family. They made so many guilty plots on my family, forced my son moving out, it's not my son's willing to leave his family. They used my son to force me to obey them.

Canada is not a kingdom country, they should not abusing their power to make superstition science or black energy. The policy must be reasonable, or they'll ruin their reputation. They asked people pretending they are not living in the world, they are making a fool of people, forcing people telling lie. I don't agree with this policy – “to ill-treat, people, force them to obey."

and the handwriting around the edge:

They also stopped my parent's immigration to Canada, for making this criminal case. Even forced my son moving out from our family, cut all the connection, threatened me to obey them. It's gross violation of the law, underground persecution to the mothers. They should let my mother come to Canada, end up this criminal case equitably. It's persecution, not the so called "big test."

Any policy they're carrying out, should let people understand the reason. We only support them reasonably. They should stop persecuting and separating our family. It's their responsibility to let my son come home.

They cancelled empires, but they're making scientific empire. They're like emperors. (Ill-treating people, forcing people to obey them) They're ruining human and their reputation. They've lost people's support. We should keep thinking by our own brains, don't become robots.

They can send ideas to people's brains by first person, at the same time, send agreement and happy mood to you. let you agree with these ideas happily. They should stop making a fool of people. only give benefit to people.