Earth

Molds Pose Serious Health Risks Whether In Home Or Business

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Ottawa, Ontario – To increase awareness against molds and their health impacts, Mold Busters has created a scholarship program which caters to select Canadian students. Molds are harmful organisms which grow as a result of water damage or excess humidity within the home or office. Whether it’s in the home or business, molds pose serious health risks and can spread fast, causing damage to the walls and furniture. Incidence of molds when not properly taken care of can consume the entire building and cause damaging health risks.

Describing the company, Mold Buster’s spokesperson said: “Mold and indoor air quality (IAQ) awareness is at an all-time high. Across Ottawa, Montreal and other larger cities, people are realizing that exposure to poor IAQ may be triggering recurring physical symptoms, such as sneezing, coughing, skin irritation and other allergies. It’s time to take action against indoor air pollutants like mold, asbestos and VOCs. We are Mold Busters, a reputable mold inspection and mold remediation company that offers comprehensive testing and removal services in cities all over Ontario and Quebec.”

The Ottawa-based mold removal company, Mold Busters, launched the biannual writing contest, an Environment Scholarship Program (https://www.bustmold.com/mold-busters-scholarship), for Canadian college and university students in a bid to raise awareness regarding the harmful effects of mold and of poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Students from any program in all Canadian post-secondary institutions are encouraged to submit an expository essay to qualify for the scholarship. The essays subject is based on mold, asbestos, or other indoor air pollutants. Participating students should explore causes and effects of air pollution on building structures and human health, and can also discuss the various remediation techniques and practical prevention tips.

Mold Busters since its establishment in 2005 has been concerned with the testing and removal of molds and other air pollutants from the indoor living environment thereby ensuring that the indoor environment is both healthy and safe for habitation. The company is certified by the National Association of Mold Professionals (NAMP) and operates in strict adherence to the IICRC remediation guidelines. Services offered by Mold Busters include inspection of homes in Ottawa and other neighboring cities as far as Montreal with the mission to provide fast and accurate information which will aid timely decision in combating incidence of mold. Additionally, Mold Busters offers testing services and a variety of remediation services including mold remediation, asbestos removal, ozone cleaning, and attic insulation removal.

Supplemental- Mold In Workplace Buildings- Ontario Ministry of Labour

 

Reviews

World First Magnet Operated Coin From Canada Mint

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OTTAWA, June, 2018 / CNW/ – The Mint continues to tap in to its creativity and innovation to further unleash the potential of coin manufacturing and transform the coin collecting experience.  Such is the case with the 2018 $50 Fine Silver Coin – Antique Carousel and several other head-turning coins in the June 2018 numismatic catalogue.

In a world-first, the Mint’s Research & Development team has meticulously created a 6 oz. silver coin featuring a miniature, functional carousel that rotates with the help of a magnet.  This timeless attraction at countless Canadian carnivals and fairs is the crowning piece of artist Calder Moore’s design, selectively plated in gold, much like the gilded carousels of the past.  Even the horses move up and down on this dazzling creation which is limited to a world-wide mintage of only 1,000.

Another impressive 3D design element can be found on the 2018 $200 Pure Gold Coin – 30th Anniversary of the Silver Maple Leaf.  This 1 oz. gold coin is enhanced by a “high intricacy casting” of a silver maple leaf that literally pops from its reverse proof surface.  In another Mint-first, we have launched the 2018 $250 Fine Silver Coin – Maple Leaf Forever: a one kilo 99.99% pure silver coin, our largest convex coin to date, featuring the artwork of senior Mint engraver Stan Witten.

Finally, two new coin sets stand out as memorable additions to an exciting line-up of classic and unique numismatic products.  The 2018 Fine Silver 3-Coin Set – Beneath Thy Shining Skies features a complex design by artist Rebecca Yanovskaya. Two rectangular coins flank a maple-leaf shaped centrepiece to compose a panoramic tableau that links scenery and famous Canadian landmarks to illustrate the story of our nation and its people.

History takes centre stage on a four-coin set celebrating the “Colonial Currency of the Atlantic Provinces”.  Struck with dies mimicking the wear of well-circulated coins and hand finished with an antique patina, these icons of early Canadian numismatic history are beautifully reproduced in 99.99% pure silver.  In order to bring out the elegant features of each period design, each coin is larger in diameter than its original.

Other collectibles available this month include:

  • The 2018 $20 Fine Silver Coin – First World War Allied Forces: Canada, the first coin in a new series commemorating the contribution of the major Allied forces that brought fighting to an end with the Armistice of November 11, 1918. The design featuring the Canadian cavalry is the work of artist Pandora Young;
  • The $100 Fine Silver Coin – Keepers of Parliament: The Unicorn, the first of a series of 10 oz. silver coins, designed by Patrick Bélanger and showcasing stonework figures watching over the front doors of Parliament;
  • The 2018 $30 Fine Silver Coin – Fireworks at the Falls, featuring a Tony Bianco colour illustration of the natural landmark, with a hidden nighttime fireworks scene only visible under black light;
  • The 2018 $500 Pure Gold Coin – Predators of the Wild, an impressive 5 oz. designed by Emily Damstra;
  • The 2018 $30 Fine Silver Coin – Zentangle® Art: The Great Horned Owl, designed by Jori Van Der Linde;
  • The 2018 $30 Fine Silver Coin – Canadian Canopy: The Maple Leaf, designed by Emily Damstra;
  • The 2018 $20 Fine Silver Coin Frozen in Ice – Scimitar Sabretooth Cat, designed by Glen Loates;
  • The 2018 $3 Fine Silver Coin – The Thirteen Teachings from Grandmother Moon: Strawberry Moon, designed by Frank Polson; and,
  • The crystal-enhanced 2018 $5 Fine Silver Coin – Birthstones: July, featuring a mandala-inspired ruby design by artist Pandora Young.

Mintages, pricing and full background information on each product can be found on the “Shop” tab of www.mint.ca. Coin images can be viewed here.

All of these products can be ordered directly from the Mint at 1-800-267-1871 in Canada,
1-800-268-6468 in the US, or online at www.mint.ca.  Please mention The Silo when contacting. The coins are also available at the Royal Canadian Mint’s boutiques in Ottawa and Winnipeg, as well as through our global network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets.

About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified corporation, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale.

 

Fashion

Chelsea Taylor Jewelry Designed With Wild Animal Prints

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The brief: Wild animal prints have come roaring back onto the fashion scene for the past few years. From handbags and shoes to diaper bags and bed linens, this hot, fun and funky trend seems like it’s here to stay. This trend has also extended into the jewelry world with the dark colored prints and animal-shaped jewelry pieces.

This Chelsea Taylor ring is elegant,moody and made of semi-precious stones. #affordable

Chelsea Taylor leads the pack with a collections of rings, bracelets, and earrings, perfectly designed and crafted to complete your ensemble. How can you enjoy this fun trend and bring out your wild side? E-A-S-Y.  By incorporating Chelsea Taylor’s animal inspired pieces into your wardrobe.

Each jewelry piece is designed with perfectly placed Swarovski crystals in various sorts of colors, creating elaborate patterns and designs fit for every occasion. Chelsea Taylor Jewelry is being worn by celebrities such as Debra Messing, Miss Jay Alexander from Project Runway, Jill Zarin from Real Housewives of NY, Tinsley Mortimer and many more.

Inspired by the booming animal print designs showing up seemingly everywhere- another fine CT semi-precious ring. You might have seen Snookie wearing one like this on Jersey Shore.

 

More About Chelsea Taylor: Chelsea Taylor is all about big and bold, simple and sweet, statement and layering pieces, enamels, floral, retro 70’s and 80’s looks, animal motifs, and more. Everything is customizable and available in up to 19 different shades. Certain colors available, olivine, amethyst, blacks hematite, fuchsia, peach, topaz, smoky brown, and more, for particular pieces retail at about $200 usd. In addition to the website, the collection can be found in The Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas’ Bellagio, MGM, and retail jewelers / boutiques throughout the country.  For the Silo, Belagio Dubois. 

Gaming

Fortnite Is Wake-Up Call For Companies On Verge Of Video Game Ad Buy

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Pong, Mario, Doom, The Sims, Minecraft and … Fortnite? The hallowed halls of video game history are packed with products that became a cultural phenomenon – and it’s looking like Fortnite will soon be able to stake such a claim. The co-op survival game that takes place in a “sandbox” universe recorded a record 3.4 million concurrent users in February 2018.  [ If you’re one of the 3.4 million and want to leave us a video comment or video of your Fortnite character please use our Video Uplink button at the end of this article.] The game, which is free to play, also allows users to purchase a semi-annual “Battle Pass” that runs less than $10 and provides access to additional items. This low-cost approach is apparently working, as reports show Epic Games earned nearly $300 million in April 2018 alone. Further, in-game “microtransactions” that allows players to use minimal amounts of real-world money for in-game goodies is helping add to Epic’s well, epic payday.

So, let’s recap: A game that’s free to play plus $10 usd occasional optional investment and microtransactions gives us hundreds of millions of dollars each month. You know what else makes that kind of money? Hollywood movies, major league sporting events and social media platforms – and those things are plastered with advertisements. According to Ken Wisnefski, CEO of digital marketing firm WebiMax, advertisers who want to get ahead of the coming eSports curve and start reaching gamers where they reside need to start paying attention to the preferences of this sector.

“Fortnite has really taken the world by storm. I think the new microtransaction process is a concept that shows how high volume and low cost can have a huge impact. It’s growth and notoriety is amazing,” said Wisnefski. “A few years ago, Pokemon Go was all the rage; I am curious to see if Fortnite continues to show this sort of traction.”

Want to make money through Fortnite? Here’s what Wisnefski has to tell companies on the verge of investing in video game ad buy.

‘Go’ along for the ride: According to Wisnefski, we haven’t seen a video game with such mass appeal since 2016’s “Pokemon Go,” which drew 10 million people to download the app in one week. An advertising analysis also notes that some businesses were given the opportunity to turn their stores into a “Pokestop” and, of course, increase foot traffic and hopefully sales as a result.

Shadow of a doubt: Still skeptical about sinking money into video game advertising efforts? Then take one look at “Ninja,” a 26-year-old Fortnite player who is reportedly raking in $500,000 per month for streaming his live game feed on the “Twitch” website. Wisnefski says it merely makes sense for relevant brands to jump on an opportunity to get their product in front of potential customers – namely as a “medium rectangle” or 15-second spot before one of Ninja’s streams.

Risk and Reward: Soft drink and snack food companies – we’re looking at you, Mountain Dew and Doritos – have for years pandered to gamers. As well they should, says Wisnefski, noting that some sectors are “very viable for this sort of opportunity.” If you’re a small to medium-sized company, however, guidance from a digital marketing company may be in order. “Big companies have the ability to absorb some losses to see larger gains; smaller companies can’t afford to take that sort of risk,” said Wisnefski.

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Culture

Interesting Book On Trade And Civilization Prehistory To Early Modern Era

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This book provides the first global analysis of the relationship between trade and civilization from the beginning of civilization around 3000 BC including the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade, Near Eastern family traders of the Bronze Age, and the Medieval Hanseatic League, it examines the role of the individual merchant, the products of trade, the role of the state, and the technical conditions for the land and sea transport that created diverging systems of trade and developed global trade networks.

Trade networks, however, were not durable. The contributors discuss the establishment and decline of great trading network systems, and how they related to the expansion of civilization, and to different forms of social and economic exploitation. Case studies focus on local conditions as well as global networks until sixteenth century when the whole globe was finally connected by trade.

Trade and Civilization results from a three-step academic venture. The idea for this book originated in two Swedish interdisciplinary conferences on Global Histories held in 2011 and 2012, where a number of central research themes were identified and discussed. It inspired three editors to propose a carefully prepared international follow-up conference on the theme of trade and civilization that should lead to (this) a book.

Click here to continue reading full book text in PDF.  For the Silo, Christian Christiansen. 

Art

Dance Healing Immigrant Victims Of War Prejudice And Sexual Exploitation

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Study after study has shown that arts education nurtures students’ creativity and problem-solving skills, competencies that are critical for success in a 21st Century world, but how does dance and movement facilitate healing and transform at-risk youth?

14 year old DTC dancing participants Richard Rutherford Danny Guerrero
14 year old DTC dancing participants Richard Rutherford Danny Guerrero

New York’s Battery Dance launched its Dancing to Connect programs in 2006. Since that time, the program has spread to 6 continents, 50 countries, 100 cities, and 1,000 schools. A powerful new documentary by Wilderness Films follows six dancers from the dance company from India to Eastern Europe to the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East as they support vulnerable youth helping them to express themselves through movement. The film focuses on the struggles, frustrations, resilience and ultimate transformation of the students and their dance teachers.

Producer Cornelia Ravenal says that as a trauma survivor she understood the power of art to “heal and transform.” Ravenal along with husband partner Mikael Södersten collaborated with Battery Dance Founder Jonathan Hollander to create the documentary because she believed this was a story that had to be told. As global populations continue to grow, migration and increasing social and cultural diversity are reshaping classrooms worldwide. Solutions for integrating and uniting peoples from diverse cultural backgrounds are now sought by schools and communities all over the globe. Hollander believes that “no divide has been too great for the art of dance, the primacy of movement, the common humanity, and expression, to span.”

Read the Full Article

Battery Dance performs on the world’s stages, teaches, presents, and advocates for the field of dance. The Company is dedicated to the pursuit of artistic excellence and the availability of the Arts to everyone. Battery Dance has produced over 100 original dance works choreographed by its founder and artistic director Jonathan Hollander, in collaboration with a diverse array of composers and designers, and its cast of outstanding dancers.

CMRubinWorld launched in 2010 to explore what kind of education would prepare students to succeed in a rapidly changing globalized world. Its award-winning series, The Global Search for Education, is a celebrated trailblazer in the renaissance of the 21st century, and occupies a special place in the pulse of key issues facing every nation and the collective future of all children. It connects today’s top thought leaders with a diverse global audience of parents, students and educators. Its highly readable platform allows for discourse concerning our highest ideals and the sustainable solutions we must engineer to achieve them. C. M. Rubin has produced over 700 interviews and articles discussing an expansive array of topics under a singular vision: when it comes to the world of children, there is always more work to be done. For the Silo, David Wine. 

Earth

Ontario To Citizenry: Fight Lyme Disease, Protect Yourself From Ticks & Mosquitoes

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Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is reminding all Ontarians to protect themselves and their families against Ticks, Lyme disease and West Nile virus this summer.

Dr. David Williams is asking people to take simple measures to avoid being bitten by blacklegged ticks that can carry Lyme disease. If not identified and treated early, infection can lead to recurring arthritis, neurological problems, numbness and paralysis.

Reducing exposure to ticks is the best defense against Lyme disease. You can protect yourself and family by:

  • Wearing closed-toe shoes, long-sleeved shirts and pants
  • Pulling your socks over your pant legs to prevent ticks from crawling up your legs
  • Wearing light-coloured clothing to spot ticks more easily
  • Using insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin on clothing as well as on exposed skin, following the instructions carefully
  • Showering or bathing within two hours of being outdoors to remove ticks that can be on your skin but not yet attached
  • Doing a daily full body check for ticks. Young blacklegged ticks can be as small as a poppy seed, so look carefully. Check children and pets for ticks as well.

West Nile Virus Mosquito TransmissionDr. Williams is also reminding Ontarians to protect themselves from mosquito bites to reduce their risk of getting infected with West Nile virus. Simple precautions to take include:

  • Using insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin on clothing as well as on exposed skin, following instructions carefully.
  • Wearing light-coloured clothing, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants
  • Making sure screen doors and windows are in good repair to keep mosquitoes outside
  • Eliminating mosquito breeding sites around your home by emptying standing water in flowerpots and birdbaths on a regular basis, and getting rid of compost and dense, overgrown shrubbery.

Tick Removal TweezersMost people who catch West Nile virus will experience fever, head and body aches, a mild rash and swollen lymph glands. More serious symptoms include encephalitis (swelling of the brain), difficulty swallowing and confusion. Adults 50 years of age and older and people with underlying medical conditions and/or weaker immune systems are at greater risk.

If you or a family member are experiencing serious symptoms and health effects, or have concerns about any symptoms, contact your health care provider right away.

QUOTES

“Ontarians should definitely enjoy all the province has to offer outdoors this summer. However, they should keep in mind that while outdoors, they can be exposed to Lyme disease and West Nile virus. Taking the necessary precautions to prevent tick and mosquito bites is the best defense against these diseases.”

— Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Interim Chief Medical Officer of Health

“As a public health physician, I know that Lyme disease is a serious issue. Our government is committed to protecting Ontarians from Lyme disease and other diseases carried by ticks and mosquitoes. It’s important that all Ontarians take these simple steps to protect themselves while enjoying the outdoors this summer.”

— Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

QUICK FACTS

  • Risk areas for Lyme disease in Ontario include: Thousand Islands National Park area (prior to 2013, known as the St. Lawrence Islands National Park), Long Point Provincial Park, Rondeau Provincial Park, Point Pelee National Park, Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, Wainfleet Bog Conservation Area, Turkey Point Provincial Park, Pinery Provincial Park, Rouge Valley, and locations in the Rainy River region of Northwestern Ontario.
  • If you have visited Lyme disease risk areas and are exhibiting symptoms, let your doctor know. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics if diagnosed and treated early.
  • West Nile virus has been reported in different parts of Ontario – cities as well as rural areas. Contact your local public health unit to find out when and where you are most at risk to exposure to West Nile virus.

LEARN MORE

 

Culture

Saddle Up With Your 200 New BFFs In New Advice Book

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Women’s Studies scholar Becca Anderson has gathered the wisdom from a chorus of fabulous femmes for this one-of-a-kind advice book. From housewives to Hollywood starlets, from standup comedians to startup entrepreneurs, from feminists to Facebook queens, these badass women offer unvarnished and unabashed opinions about love, life, word, men, and sex and share their very frank and forthright thinking on the wild world of relationships.

This delightfully dishy gathering of gal pals is like having a heart-to-heart with 200 of your closest friends. Garrulous girls and loquacious ladies from every walk of life unleash their wicked wit in this humorous and enlightening compilation and tell it like it is.

Badass Women Give The Best Advice Book
Price: $15.95 usd
ISBN-13: 978-1633536937

Topics include What the World Needs Now, Love Hurts, Lost Love, and Are Men Really Necessary and cover sex, personal ads, blind dates, break ups, weddings, and the prerequisites for the perfect kiss.

Sidebars include quizzes, love and sex bucket lists and topics like “Size Really Does Matter,” and “Cry Me a River, The Weepiest Romantic Movies Ever.”

Wait, there’s more–true tales about wild women of yore that entertain as much as they enlighten.

From Anais Nin to Lily Tomlin, from Amy Bloom to Dorothy Allison, from Drew Barrymore to Chrissy Teigan and beyond, there’s no shortage of sass, sarcasm, or sizzle and a few shocks along the way!  For the Silo, Brenda Knight. 

What people are saying about Badass Women Give the Best Advice:

These bold bon mots are a solid roadmap for living a full love. I, for one, will be taking to heart all the advice from these very wise and wild women–silver screen queens, comediennes and brilliants writers. You actually can get what you want, provided you listen very closely.
Nina Lesowitz, author of The Party Girl Cookbook

“Sometimes we women need quotes and pick-me-ups to get motivated or to have our spirits lifted. Badass Women Give the Best Advice is a book for and about women (no men allowed!). This is not a book that you read once and put away. It’s good as a conversation starter or to refer to when you want to feel big on girl power. Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of love, sensuality, and beauty is just one of the women we learn about in this book. There’s also quick rundowns on writer Simone de Beauvoir, advocate Amelia Bloomer, and much more. So fun!”
Heck of a Bunch Blog

Culture

Explore The Evolution And Creation Of America’s Music On Giant IMAX Screen

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America’s Musical Journey follows singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc as he traces the roots of American music and explores the great musical cities- places like New Orleans, Chicago, Nashville, Miami, New York City and more- where such electrifying art forms as jazz, the blues, country, soul and rock and roll were born.

In America’s musical cities, every chord, every riff, every bang of a drum tells a story. In America’s Musical Journey these stories come together to create a soundtrack for the American experience—a soundtrack that showcases the nation’s diversity and its collision of cultures, culminating in a unique blend of sound, music and innovation unlike anywhere else in the world. Click here to read full PDF release.

Aloe Blacc
Singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc tracing the roots of American music.

“There’s something exciting that happens when different cultures come together as they have in America. One of the things that happens is incredible creativity.”

Aloe Blacc US Consulate Toronto
Aloe Blacc- one of the stars of America’s Musical Journey- performing live this month at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.

America's Musical Journey IMAX

America’s Musical Journey is a MacGillivray Freeman Film produced in association with Brand USA and presented by Expedia.

Director: Greg MacGillivray
Producer: Shaun MacGillivray
Executive Producer: Tom Garzilli
Writer: Stephen Judson
Music By: Steve Wood
Editors: Stephen Judson, Jason Paul and Victoria McGinnis
Director of Cinematography: Brad Ohlund
Aerial Cinematographer: Ron Goodman
Production Manager: Meghan MacGillivray
Production Manager: Kathy Almon
Visual Effects: Alan Markowitz

Click Me!
Culture

Groundbreaking Design For Sanctuary For Abused Animals In Mississippi

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Carroll County, MS – In Defense of Animals has unveiled brand-new, state-of-the-art facilities to care for the Deep South’s most abused animals at Hope Animal Sanctuary in Carroll County, Mississippi. The organization has rescued and rehabilitated animals in Mississippi since 1993, and this weekend it revealed a cutting-edge sanctuary that will support animals and the local community for many years to come. Members of the public joined canine, feline, and barnyard animal residents at a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, May 12, to celebrate and unveil the major face-lift.

“Hope Animal Sanctuary has rescued and rehabilitated thousands of Mississippi’s castoff animals in its 25 years, and these brand new facilities offer new hope to thousands more,” said In Defense of Animals President Dr. Marilyn Kroplick. “Animals find refuge at Hope Animal Sanctuary when they are beaten, blinded, burned, sick, starved, or simply forgotten, and now they will get the top-notch care they deserve in cutting-edge facilities. We are very proud of our quarter-century of work here in the Deep South and thank our generous supporters who have made it happen – their love and compassion is literally written on the bricks.”

Carroll County is a region devoid of animal shelters and other vital animal control services, making In Defense of Animals’ ongoing work beyond critical. The charity’s Hope Animal Sanctuary has rescued, provided refuge, and fought for justice for abused animals in rural Mississippi since 1993. It gives temporary sanctuary to dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, pigs, and horses. Last year, Hope Animal Sanctuary staff placed 700 dogs and cats in forever homes.

Tiny House interior Sharon Stone Operations Director Hope Animal Sanctuary

Dr. Kroplick cut the ribbon to reveal a new operations center that houses a calming cattery and state-of-the-art veterinary rooms, and will also serve as a welcome and education center for visitors. Traditional dog-kennels have been entirely reinvented as a groundbreaking community of 20 “tiny houses” that encircle the operations center to accommodate groups of rescued dogs and cats.

The cozy community homes are a breakthrough innovation that revolutionizes the way dogs and cats are sheltered. The tiny houses are thoughtfully designed for animals’ comfort first, allowing the occupants to live in a home-like setting while they wait for their loving new guardians. Specially developed to be warm in winter and cool in summer, each tiny house is nestled around a cul de sac and scenic walking path, complete with a covered porch perfect for afternoon napping. Each tiny house has a soft grassy dog run for furry friends to enjoy the play they have been deprived of for so long.

Dog enjoys dog run at Hope Animal Sanctuary

Veterinarians at Mississippi State Veterinary College gave the seal of approval to the novel renovation plans which were developed with a specialized animal sanctuary architect.

Dr. Kroplick paid tribute to several Mississippi animal advocates who have made animal rescue their life’s work.

“The animals and people of Mississippi are incredibly lucky to have animal angel Doll Stanley, a fearless campaigner who founded Hope Animal Sanctuary and has rescued literally thousands of animals during her 25 years service in Mississippi,” said Dr. Marilyn Kroplick. “We owe huge thanks to Stanley and also to Hope Animal Sanctuary’s Debbie Clark, Sharon Stone, and their fearless team who do the hard work, day in, day out, to get mistreated animals into loving homes. It is thanks to these folks’ unfaltering dedication to the animals we stand here today and our work will continue.”

The “Doll House” was unveiled in honor of Hope Animal Sanctuary founder and Mississippi Justice for Animals campaigner Doll Stanley. The founder of In Defense of Animals was also honored by the dedication of the “Dr. Katz Cattery” bearing his name.

In Defense of Animals also paid a touching tribute to the passionate animal advocates who helped rebuild Hope Animal Sanctuary. “We thank all the compassionate, generous In Defense of Animals supporters from around the world who have donated to make the Hope Animal Sanctuary rebuild happen. We especially pay tribute to the memory of Odette Grosz, New Orleans’ “grand dame of animal rights,” for this desperately-needed sanctuary rebuild would not have been possible had she not remembered the animals in her will.”

In Defense of Animals has invested $650,000 to construct the new buildings at Hope Animal Sanctuary that will allow the charity to continue to rescue and give shelter to thousands of homeless and abused animals for many years to come.

Hope Animal Sanctuary receives no government funding, so community residents and businesses are encouraged to support this vital community service by dedicating a memory lane pathway brick or sponsoring a dog run or dog house, all of which can be inscribed to recognize your commitment to serving the most abused animals in the Deep South.

For more information, please visit www.idausa.org/givehope

Earth

Canadian Garden Days Is Annual Event Celebrating Vital Role Of Gardening

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'Garden Days' - June 13, 14 & 15 - are the ideal time to see what lies beyond your nearest public garden's gate. Photo: Tara Nolan
‘Garden Days’ – are the ideal time to see what lies beyond your nearest public garden’s gate.
Photo: Tara Nolan

DO YOU LIVE ON CANADA’S BEST GARDEN STREET? Canada is a country made up of neighbourhoods, and in many are streets where neighbours take pride in making their gardens – and even city-owned medians – as pretty as possible through their collaborative ‘green thumbed’ efforts.

As part of this year’s Garden Days program, being held across the country from June 16 to 24, the Canadian Garden Council invites you to register your Garden Days activity. Let us know why your street is the prettiest in the country and how it contributes to your, and the neighborhood’s, quality of life. All Canadian gardens, garden centres, horticultural and plant societies, garden clubs, schools, garden-related businesses and communities are invited to organize Garden Days activities or events – between June 16 and 24 – to celebrate public gardens and home gardening.

Twelve garden gnomes have escaped from The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island! Might they be among the dahlias? Help find them during 'Garden Days', June 13, 14 & 15
The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island.

Garden Days is organized by the Canadian Garden Council, and begins with National Garden Day on the Friday before Father’s Day, Garden Days is a three-day celebration of gardens and gardening across Canada.  The program’s objective is to draw attention to Canada’s garden culture, history and innovations and to underscore the importance of public and private gardens, the values of home gardening and the promotion of environmental stewardship. Garden Days is a joyful, country-wide celebration of the role of gardens in our communities and in our lives. To find a Garden Days activity near you visit:  http://www.gardendays.ca and click on the ‘Activity’ button. For the Silo, Courtney Charette.

Garden Days is sponsored by: Scott’s, Miracle-Gro, bullfrogpower and supported by Communities in Bloom and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association.

Follow Garden Days on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/CanadasGardens  and join in the conversation at #GardenDaysCanada

Earth

Into The Depths Is How Far Down Companies Drill For Oil

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Have you ever wondered how far down companies have to drill for oil? It’s quite staggering!

Over the years, companies have had to go further and further into the earth in order to find Earth’s remaining oil and today we are deeper than ever.

In this piece, we’ll be looking at the Z-44 Chayvo Well, the deepest on the planet, and we show you comparisons so you can see clearly just how amazing this feat is.

We’ll also show you the depth of this well in comparison to the earth’s core. How close does this drill actually get?

And finally, we’ll outline just how much it costs to pull off the deepest ever oil extraction. For the Silo, Rose Baldwin and fuelfighter.co.uk
drilling for oil infographic

Earth

All Parties Support Ontario Greenbelt And Recognize Immense Values

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Last week, a video was released showing Ontario’s PC Party leader Doug Ford promising to open up a “big chunk” of the Greenbelt to allow development on its protected areas, an idea he attributed to the “biggest developers in this country.”   

Our Executive Director, Tim Gray responded in the news that this would have severe consequences and allow land speculators to build massive subdivisions, at immense profits, on farms, forests and natural areas currently protected in the Greenbelt.

Watch Tim Gray’s interview on CTV news.

Ontario’s PC Party leader Doug Ford later reversed his position. This is consistent with polls that suggest more than 89 per cent of Ontarians support the protection of the Greenbelt. Ontarians like you.

The good news is that now all parties support the Greenbelt and recognize its immense values. Thank you for your help in securing the future of farmland, forests and water systems in Ontario. 

Over the last few months, many of you signed petitions supporting expansion of the Greenbelt. Your voice matters now more than ever. We encourage you to ask candidates questions on their views during the upcoming provincial and municipal elections.

It’s time to set the record straight.

The Greenbelt does not constrain housing supply or cause high house prices. In fact, municipal data shows that there is enough land available to provide for housing development within existing Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area urban boundaries until 2031.

The best way to address housing prices and supply in our region is by directing growth to existing urban areas, limiting sprawl, and building different kinds of affordable homes close to transit.

Read our latest blog highlighting 7 facts about the Greenbelt and what really impacts housing prices in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. 

Thank you,

Susan Lloyd Swail
Livable Communities, Senior Manager

Art

Surreal Aspects Of All Expressed In Artwork

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Many have been humbled simply standing in a darkened field and looking to the stars. Indeed the great thinkers of the many generations that have come and gone are regarded as giants when in fact they were merely humans dropped to their knees by the wonder that is the universe all around us. There is as much wonder in a blade of grass as there is in a cosmic nebula, as much mystery in a drop of water as in the dark matter we yet fail to comprehend.

James Hart Dyke is based in Brighton, England nestled between the water and the south downs. In his studio he works largely on commissions. Last November Hart Dyke traveled to Patagonia and is now painting mountain landscapes from this trip for an exhibition in London at the end of the year. Landscapes are his life’s work and his love for the art form has infused his life and career with adventure and physicality as he climbs and hikes the places he later paints. “Enduring the landscape in some way, I find that combination of painting and physicality very exciting…it’s what my painting is about, really,” he says. Hart Dyke has been embedded with British forces in war zones on commission from the UK military. In Baghdad he painted while two soldiers stood guard. This tradition of bringing artists along to paint is long standing and important to the regiments of the UK. The work created is kept in the collections of the individual regiments and displayed in the mess hall, documenting the history of each for the soldiers to witness. The tradition dates back before photography when artists were the only window to a visual representation of the action of the battlefield.
Artists’ representations of war convey more than just the actual imagery of what is going on before them. The emotions of the situation are infused into the work, as well. Hart Dyke has had an unusual career. His work has led him to a position as artist in residence for the British Secret Intelligence Service as well as to work for the Royal Family. For the British Secret Intelligence Service, Hart Dyke helped to commemorate the centenary by documenting things in paint. As an artist he was able to venture where photographers could not go due to the highly sensitive nature of the work done there. His paintings from this series are quite surreal, a nod to the rather unusual nature of the work the British Secret Intelligence Service does. Hart Dyke studied architecture which he is still passionate about despite eventually moving to painting. His entrance into the painting world began with commissioned paintings of buildings. In reality, Hart Dyke began painting at the age of eight and despite his foray into architecture he never truly gave it up. There was inevitability to his career as a painter. Because of the physical nature of his process, art has become in a very real sense James Hart Dyke’s sport. To hear more about this, James Hart Dyke’s unusual career, and about the tradition of artists on the battlefield, listen to the complete interview.
Kambui Olujimi recently exhibited work titled Red Shift. The title refers to celestial bodies in space that cannot be seen because of shifts in the spectrum of light. Through this lens, Olujimi contemplated the mythology of whiteness as an unseen force. Olujimi describes how the mythological space of whiteness plays out in the physical world through policy, allocation of resources, and myriad other ways. He references descriptions of mass shooters as “lone shooters” in a way that removes them from the space of violence pervasive in the US. Presidential assassins are another example. These two groups of predominantly white men are somehow isolated, removed from the larger conversation about violence in the US creating a Red Shift that in a sense conceals them from the rest of the data.
For the exhibition, Olujimi created collages from news imagery of the alt-right coupled with drawings. Olujimi’s current project centers on fragmentation of identity. His love of films informs this work. In particular he references the accidental announcement of La La Land for Best Picture in 2017 when in fact the film Moonlight claimed that title. His concept deconstructs and reassembles that moment, elongating it and examining the feeling of elation followed by crushing deflation. “A lot of my work is around these things that I call inevitabilities…I’m interested in bringing those inevitabilities out of the space of the implicit. Once you give them shape and weight and gravity and start to manifest them in some way, the incongruities and absurdities, the surreal aspects all become very evident and we are able to become more critical of them in that space.” It is these gaps, these “moments of silence” that inform Olujimi’s work. To hear more about this powerful art, listen to the complete interview.  For the Silo, Brainard Carey. 
Featured image- Mercy Doesn’t Grow On Trees, 2016 Wood, glass, hair, gold leaf, ratchet straps 150 x 48 x 30 inches
Culture

Our Vintage Computer Was Used In The Thing Prequel

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Computer display in John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi classic The Thing,

Getting Into Hollywood Accidentally…When I conceived the idea of a computer and technology museum around 25 years ago I didn’t concern myself with things like revenue models and how the place would be funded. Instead, I just worried about getting the coolest (and oldest) pieces of technology I could in order to have the best displays possible and appeal to the widest range of people.
Fortunately, I still think like that. However, the reality of having to pay bills for storage and electricity and all of the other things that come with running a proper business (and make no mistake, a museum is a business) means that on top of having some of the greatest technology pieces in the world to look at I must find ways of making money along the way.

A couple of years ago a production company called me asking for some early computers to use in a documentary about the origins of the internet that was going to run on the Discovery Channel (or was it the History Channel?) The guy was such a quick talker that I never really got a chance to get concrete information on what the show was going to be called or when it was going to air. To this day, I still don’t know if it ever did.

Then the CBC called. They were looking for an older computer running DOS with WordPerfect, the de facto standard in word processing – in 1989. An upcoming episode of “The Fifth Estate” required a computer recreation from the 80’s and they wanted to know if I could help. I missed the initial call and by the time I had gotten back to them, they had located something locally. It was at this time, however, I started thinking differently about our collection.

Some time had passed, and then the television show “Design By Decade” called. They needed some pictures of machines from the 90’s (and yes, in terms of computers, these are now quite ancient) and then Wired magazine asked for pictures as well. People writing Wikipedia articles were asking for permission to use some of our unique photos of machines to enhance their submissions. I started to think that we were really onto something.

When I first heard about a remake of 1982’s “The Thing” I never knew I would have something to do with it. A production designer called about putting computers from that time period into the 2011 remake. The only unfortunate part, because of the nature of the film, was that they would require purchasing the computers, not just renting them. “I can’t very well rent them from you and potentially return them with fake blood on them now can I?” I recall her saying. I had to agree. In the end, none of our computers actually made it into the film but I did my part as a consultant and helped steer the production in the right direction.

Earlier this year (2012), someone from Cineflix Media called. I recognized the name from the American Pickers and Canadian Pickers shows I somehow ended up addicted to. They required a recreation of a 70’s something office with computers and related materials. Dubbed as the “world’s most heroic airborne combat missions” it seemed like the furthest subject matter from computers I could think of, but hey, everyone needs to have an office, right? Getting paid for renting out our equipment was a real bonus, plus we got to be part of something cool. Now I found myself thinking about what the television and movie houses might want and have started acquiring those machines. Typewriters and old cell phones are now filling the nooks and crannies of our storage units.

Most recently a Toronto production company called, producing a film called “Public Service”. A short film that will make its rounds in the film festivals next year, it stars Gil Bellows (“Ally McBeal”) and Sheila McCarthy (“Little Mosque on the Prairie”). The majority of the film takes place in a government office in the mid 70’s and required some hard to find computers. A large one that normally sits in storage because it’s too big for even us to display was used during filming. We are excited to see how it all turned out, but we now feel like we’re pros at renting our stuff out to production companies.

We are presently working on expanding our website to included film and television production rentals as part of our service offering. It has not only become a nice revenue stream for the museum but it’s also exciting being involved in television and film. From the CRT screen, to the LCD screen, to the Silver screen we go!    For the Silo, Syd Bolton. 

 

 

Art

STRUTT Was Largest Wearable Art Show In Canada

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"Inflation". From the 2013 show. Eclectic. Radical. Awesome.
“Inflation”. From the 2013 show. Eclectic. Radical. Awesome.

The Niagara Artists Centre’s (NAC) 2014 STRUTT Wearable Art Show was outlandish, bizarre and like nothing you’d ever seen before. STRUTT took place on November 22, 2014 at the WS Tyler Factory in St. Catharines, ON. Doors opened at 8 p.m. for the first edition of the Niagara Exotic Bazaar and the runway show began at 9 p.m. The show showcased over 40 pieces of wearable art performed by acrobats, aerialists and break-dancers to a live musical score performed by Chiac hip-hopper sensations, Radio Radio. The runway show will also include the debut performance of the mini trip-hopera, Unstrung, featuring music by Paradise Animals, contemporary hip-hop dance troupe Bboyizm, and remarkable masks created by local artist, Clelia Scala. The event website is www.struttwearableartshow.ca.

“We pack a whack of WTF into this thing. We don’t care who you are, or where you’re from, you come to STRUTT and you’ll get your head spun,” says NAC’s Minister of Energy, Minds, and Resources, Stephen Remus. “The artists make fantastic work, the performers tear it up, and we turn the factory into a hedonist’s palace. I don’t think it can be doubted, STRUTT’s the single annual occasion where Niagara genuinely surprises itself.”

STRUTT was a surreal party scene where the absurd is commonplace. As Doug Herod of the St. Catharines Standard reflects, “STRUTT rocks! STRUTT is a wearable art show, but that description doesn’t do it justice. It’s music, it’s entertainment, it’s theatre — and a lot of fun.”

And a few more designs from last year.
And a few more designs from last year.

In addition to the runway show, STRUTT  included the Niagara Exotic Bazaar, a showcase of all that’s weird and wonderful and originating in Niagara, from wine to designer clothing to glassware. The Niagara Exotic Bazzar was sponsored by Shannon Passero and co-presented by NAC and the Garden City Food Co-op.

This one from 2013 is called: "What goes around".
This one from 2013 is called: “What goes around”.

 

Culture

Study Reveals Cost Of Cannabis And Industry Growth Worldwide

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2018 Weed Index Study reveals the cost of marijuana and highlights the number of grow and head shops in 120 cities around the world:

  • With a total of 156, Los Angeles, USA has the most headshops.
  • Madrid, Spain has the largest amount of growshops, with a total of 68.
  • Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis, at 32.66 USD per gram, while Quito, Ecuador has the least expensive marijuana, at 1.34 USD per gram.
  • Based on the average US marijuana tax rates currently implemented, New York City could generate the highest potential tax revenue by legalising weed, with 156.40 million USD per year. New York City also has the highest consumption rate of cannabis, at 77.44 metric tons per year.

 

Berlin, Germany, 20/04/2018 – ABCD, a data-driven media campaign outlet, has released new data which reveals the number of marijuana head and growshops in 120 cities around the world. This research, which builds on the 2018 Cannabis Price Index released earlier this year, reveals which locations around the world are ready to embrace cannabis legalisation. The aim of the study is to illustrate the continuous need for legislative reform on cannabis use around the world, and to determine if there are any lessons to be learned from those cities at the forefront of marijuana legalization. By including extra data on the number of head and growshops in each city, this new research can be utilized to indicate which cities are prepared for an imminent cannabis reform, while also highlighting which cities are in opposition of marijuana legalisation.

 

The initial study began by selecting 120 cities across the world, including locations where cannabis is currently legal, illegal and partially legal, and where marijuana consumption data is available. Then, they looked into the price of weed per gram in each city. To calculate how much potential tax a city could make by legalising weed, ABCD investigated how much tax is paid on the most popular brand of cigarettes, as this offers the closest comparison. They then looked at what percentage marijuana is currently taxed in cities where it’s already legalised in the US.

ABCD decided to conduct the extra research in order to to further the discussion around the medical and recreational use of cannabis, and the potential industry and business opportunities that would follow legalisation. By identifying the number of headshops as well as growshops, this study serves as an indicator to a city’s existing cannabis infrastructure and willingness to accept such reform on a larger scale. As an indicating factor, the more head shops and grow shops a city has, the more positive their state’s and general public’s attitude towards the cannabis-related industry is likely to be.

The table below reveals a sample of the results for the 13 US cities featured in the study:

 

# City Legality Price per gram, US$ Total possible tax collection, if taxed at cigarette level, mil US$ Total possible tax collection, if taxed at average US marijuana taxes, mil US$ Total consumption in metric tons Headshops Growshops
1 Washington, DC Partial 18.08 47.51 20.96 6.18 20 8
2 Chicago Partial 11.46 119.61 52.77 24.54 91 10
3 Philadelphia Partial 11.30 68.37 30.16 14.22 41 3
4 Boston Legal 11.01 28.59 12.61 6.10 49 4
5 New York Partial 10.76 354.48 156.40 77.44 59 7
6 Dallas Partial 10.03 51.01 22.5 11.95 80 6
7 Houston Partial 10.03 89.13 39.32 20.89 125 14
8 Phoenix Partial 9.35 58.26 25.71 14.65 72 9
9 Miami Partial 9.27 16.24 7.16 4.12 67 25
10 San Francisco Legal 9.27 30.94 13.65 7.85 61 3
11 Los Angeles Legal 8.14 124.88 55.10 36.06 153 46
12 Denver Legal 7.79 20.53 9.06 6.20 61 21
13 Seattle Legal 7.58 20.59 9.08 6.39 46 10

 

The table below shows the top 10 most and least expensive cities for cannabis:

 

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities Top 10 Least Expensive Cities
# City Country Legality Price per gram, US$ # City Country Legality Price per gram, US$
1 Tokyo Japan Illegal 32.66 1 Quito Ecuador Partial 1.34
2 Seoul South Korea Illegal 32.44 2 Bogota Colombia Partial 2.20
3 Kyoto Japan Illegal 29.65 3 Asuncion Paraguay Partial 2.22
4 Hong Kong China Illegal 27.48 4 Jakarta Indonesia Illegal 3.79
5 Bangkok Thailand Partial 24.81 5 Panama City Panama Illegal 3.85
6 Dublin Ireland Illegal 21.63 6 Johannesburg South Africa Illegal 4.01
7 Tallinn Estonia Partial 20.98 7 Montevideo Uruguay Legal 4.15
8 Shanghai China Illegal 20.82 8 Astana Kazakhstan Illegal 4.22
9 Beijing China Illegal 20.52 9 Antwerp Belgium Partial 4.29
10 Oslo Norway Partial 19.14 10 New Delhi India Partial 4.38

 

The table Below shows the top 10 cities with the most growshops:

 

# City Country Legality Growshops
1 Madrid Spain Partial 68
2 Buenos Aires Argentina Partial 48
3 Los Angeles USA Legal 46
4 Toronto Canada Partial 37
5 Melbourne Australia Partial 31
6 Miami USA Partial 25
7 London UK Illegal 23
8 Barcelona Spain Partial 23
9 Denver USA Legal 21
10 Berlin Germany Partial 20

 

The table Below shows the top 10 cities with the most headshops:

 

# City Country Legality Headshops
1 Los Angeles USA Legal 156
2 Houston USA Partial 125
3 Chicago USA Partial 91
4 Dallas USA Partial 80
5 Phoenix USA Partial 72
6 Miami USA Partial 67
7 San Francisco USA Legal 61
8 Denver USA Legal 61
9 New York USA Partial 59
10 Boston USA Legal 49

 

The table below shows the top 10 cities who could generate the most potential tax by legalising cannabis, if taxed at the same rate as the most popular cigarette brand:

 

# City Country Legality Price per gram, US$ % of cigarette tax Possible tax revenue, mil US$
1 Cairo Egypt Illegal 16.15 73.13 384.87
2 New York USA Partial 10.76 42.54 354.48
3 London UK Illegal 9.20 82.16 237.35
4 Sydney Australia Partial 10.79 56.76 138.36
5 Karachi Pakistan Illegal 5.32 60.7 135.48
6 Melbourne Australia Partial 10.84 56.76 132.75
7 Moscow Russia Partial 11.84 47.63 128.97
8 Toronto Canada Partial 7.82 69.8 124.15
9 Chicago USA Partial 11.46 42.54 119.61
10 Berlin Germany Partial 13.53 72.9 114.77

N.B. % of cigarette tax refers to the tax percentage on the most popular brand. Possible tax revenue refers to the total possible tax collection per year, if taxed at cigarette level. For a full explanation of how the study was conducted, please see the methodology at the bottom of the press release.

 

The table below shows the top 10 cities who could generate the most potential tax by legalising cannabis, if taxed at the average US marijuana tax rate:

 

# City Country Legality Price per gram, US$ Possible tax revenue, mil US$
1 New York USA Partial 10.76 156.4
2 Cairo Egypt Illegal 16.15 98.78
3 London UK Illegal 9.20 54.22
4 Chicago USA Partial 11.46 52.77
5 Moscow Russia Partial 11.84 50.82
6 Sydney Australia Partial 10.79 45.75
7 Melbourne Australia Partial 10.84 43.9
8 Karachi Pakistan Illegal 5.32 41.89
9 Houston USA Partial 10.03 39.32
10 Toronto Canada Partial 7.82 33.38

N.B. Possible tax revenue refers to the total possible tax collection per year, if taxed at average US marijuana tax rate.

 

The table below shows the top 10 cities with the highest and lowest consumption of cannabis, per year:

 

Highest Consumers of Cannabis Lowest Consumers of Cannabis
# City Country Legality Price per gram, US$ Total consumption, metric tons # City Country Legality Price per gram, US$ Total consumption, metric tons
1 New York USA Partial 10.76 77.44 1 Singapore Singapore Illegal 14.01 0.02
2 Karachi Pakistan Illegal 5.32 41.95 2 Santo Domingo Dominican Rep. Illegal 6.93 0.16
3 New Delhi India Partial 4.38 38.26 3 Kyoto Japan Illegal 29.65 0.24
4 Los Angeles USA Legal 8.14 36.06 4 Thessaloniki Greece Partial 13.49 0.29
5 Cairo Egypt Illegal 16.15 32.59 5 Luxembourg City Luxembourg Partial 7.26 0.32
6 Mumbai India Partial 4.57 32.38 6 Panama City Panama Illegal 3.85 0.37
7 London UK Illegal 9.20 31.4 7 Reykjavik Iceland Illegal 15.92 0.44
8 Chicago USA Partial 11.46 24.54 8 Asuncion Paraguay Partial 2.22 0.46
9 Moscow Russia Partial 11.84 22.87 9 Colombo Sri Lanka Illegal 9.12 0.59
10 Toronto Canada Partial 7.82 22.75 10 Manila Philippines Illegal 5.24 0.6

N.B. Total consumption is calculated per annum.

 

Further findings:

 

  • Shanghai, China has a large population of 24.15 million, has however no headshops or growshops in the city, underlining a resistance against cannabis reform.
  • On average, the status of legality (e.g. Legal, Partial or Illegal) coincides with the amount of headshops and growshops found in each city. The favourable the laws, the better the cannabis infrastructure
  • New York City, USA has the highest consumption rate of cannabis, at 77.44 metric tons per year.
  • Boston, USA has the most expensive cannabis of all the cities where it’s legal, at 11.01 USD, while Montevideo, Uruguay has the least expensive at 4.15 USD.
  • While Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis of all cities where it’s illegal, at 32.66 USD, Jakarta, Indonesia has the least expensive at 3.79 USD, despite being classed as a Group 1 drug with harsh sentences such as life imprisonment and the death penalty.
  • For cities where cannabis is partially legal, Bangkok, Thailand has the most expensive at 24.81 USD, while Quito, Ecuador has the least expensive at 1.34 USD.
  • Bulgaria has the highest tax rates for the most popular brand of cigarettes, at 82.65%, while Paraguay has the lowest, with rates of 16%.
  • Cairo, Egypt would gain the most revenue in tax if they were to legalise cannabis and tax it as the same rate as cigarettes, at 384.87 million USD. Singapore, Singapore would gain the least, at 0.14 million USD, due in part to the city’s low consumption of marijuana at 0.02 metric tons per annum.
  • Based on the average US marijuana tax rates currently implemented, New York City could generate the highest potential tax revenue by legalising weed, with 156.4 million USD per year. Singapore, Singapore would gain the least, at 0.04 million USD.

 

Source for data and graphics- http://weedindex.io 

 

 

The full results of the 2018 Cannabis Price Index:

 

# City Country Legality Price per gram, US$ Taxes of cigarettes, % of the most sold brand Total possible tax collection, if taxed at cigarette level, mil US$ Total possible tax collection, if taxed at average US marijuana taxes, mil US$ Total Consumption in metric tons
1 Tokyo Japan Illegal 32.66 64.36 32.14 9.37 1.53
2 Seoul South Korea Illegal 32.44 61.99 31.61 9.57 1.57
3 Kyoto Japan Illegal 29.65 64.36 4.64 1.35 0.24
4 Hong Kong China Illegal 27.48 44.43 19.72 8.33 1.62
5 Bangkok Thailand Partial 24.81 73.13 99.11 25.44 5.46
6 Dublin Ireland Illegal 21.63 77.80 29.31 7.07 1.74
7 Tallinn Estonia Partial 20.98 77.24 22.13 5.38 1.37
8 Shanghai China Illegal 20.82 44.43 49.12 20.75 5.31
9 Beijing China Illegal 20.52 44.43 43.10 18.21 4.73
10 Oslo Norway Partial 19.14 68.83 19.28 5.26 1.46
11 Washington, DC USA Partial 18.08 42.54 47.51 20.96 6.18
12 Cairo Egypt Illegal 16.15 73.13 384.87 98.78 32.59
13 Reykjavik Iceland Illegal 15.92 56.40 3.97 1.32 0.44
14 Belfast Ireland Illegal 15.81 77.80 13.55 3.27 1.10
15 Minsk Belarus Illegal 15.80 51.15 9.08 3.33 1.12
16 Athens Greece Partial 14.95 79.95 7.42 1.74 0.62
17 Auckland New Zealand Partial 14.77 77.34 106.03 25.73 9.28
18 Munich Germany Partial 14.56 72.90 50.90 13.10 4.80
19 Helsinki Finland Partial 14.42 81.53 27.12 6.24 2.31
20 Singapore Singapore Illegal 14.01 66.23 0.14 0.04 0.02
21 Berlin Germany Partial 13.53 72.90 114.77 29.55 11.64
22 Stuttgart Germany Partial 13.50 72.90 20.20 5.20 2.05
23 Thessaloniki Greece Partial 13.49 79.95 3.17 0.75 0.29
24 Stockholm Sweden Illegal 13.20 68.84 15.06 4.11 1.66
25 Vienna Austria Partial 12.87 74.00 59.21 15.02 6.22
26 Copenhagen Denmark Partial 12.47 74.75 20.65 5.18 2.22
27 Moscow Russia Partial 11.84 47.63 128.97 50.82 22.87
28 Hamburg Germany Partial 11.64 72.90 50.16 12.92 5.91
29 Chicago USA Partial 11.46 42.54 119.61 52.77 24.54
30 Philadelphia USA Partial 11.30 42.54 68.37 30.16 14.22
31 Bucharest Romania Partial 11.18 75.41 17.23 4.29 2.04
32 Cologne Germany Partial 11.14 72.90 28.51 7.34 3.51
33 Geneva Switzerland Partial 11.12 61.20 5.90 1.81 0.87
34 Boston USA Legal 11.01 42.54 28.59 12.61 6.10
35 Adelaide Australia Partial 10.91 56.76 41.60 13.75 6.72
36 Istanbul Turkey Partial 10.87 82.13 21.79 4.98 2.44
37 Melbourne Australia Partial 10.84 56.76 132.75 43.90 21.58
38 Sydney Australia Partial 10.79 56.76 138.36 45.75 22.59
39 New York USA Partial 10.76 42.54 354.48 156.40 77.44
40 Düsseldorf Germany Partial 10.70 72.90 15.82 4.07 2.03
41 Brisbane Australia Partial 10.63 56.76 66.88 22.12 11.09
42 Hanover Germany Partial 10.51 72.90 13.46 3.47 1.76
43 Prague Czech Rep. Partial 10.47 77.42 63.95 15.50 7.89
44 Frankfurt Germany Partial 10.29 72.90 18.06 4.65 2.41
45 Wellington New Zealand Partial 10.11 77.34 19.53 4.74 2.50
46 Dallas USA Partial 10.03 42.54 51.01 22.50 11.95
47 Houston USA Partial 10.03 42.54 89.13 39.32 20.89
48 Vilnius Lithuania Illegal 10.00 75.76 5.20 1.29 0.69
49 Zurich Switzerland Partial 9.71 61.20 10.33 3.17 1.74
50 Montpellier France Illegal 9.70 80.30 12.21 2.85 1.57
51 Canberra Australia Partial 9.65 56.76 10.96 3.63 2.00
52 Zagreb Croatia Partial 9.43 75.26 24.35 6.07 3.43
53 Nice France Illegal 9.40 80.30 15.80 3.69 2.09
54 Phoenix USA Partial 9.35 42.54 58.26 25.71 14.65
55 Paris France Illegal 9.30 80.30 102.25 23.90 13.69
56 Miami USA Partial 9.27 42.54 16.24 7.16 4.12
57 San Francisco USA Legal 9.27 42.54 30.94 13.65 7.85
58 London UK Illegal 9.20 82.16 237.35 54.22 31.40
59 Colombo Sri Lanka Illegal 9.12 73.78 3.98 1.01 0.59
60 Riga Latvia Illegal 9.00 76.89 10.23 2.50 1.48
61 Bratislava Slovakia Illegal 8.92 81.54 7.24 1.67 1.00
62 Milan Italy Partial 8.85 75.68 46.06 11.42 6.88
63 Varna Bulgaria Illegal 8.83 82.65 4.84 1.10 0.66
64 Marseille France Illegal 8.69 80.30 36.23 8.47 5.19
65 Glasgow UK Illegal 8.65 82.16 15.21 3.47 2.14
66 Toulouse France Illegal 8.62 80.30 18.67 4.36 2.70
67 Birmingham UK Illegal 8.58 82.16 27.73 6.34 3.93
68 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Illegal 8.54 55.36 6.61 2.24 1.40
69 Monterrey Mexico Partial 8.45 65.87 4.17 1.19 0.75
70 Edinburgh UK Illegal 8.41 82.16 12.22 2.79 1.77
71 Lisbon Portugal Partial 8.36 74.51 4.69 1.18 0.75
72 Strasbourg France Illegal 8.35 80.30 11.13 2.60 1.66
73 Warsaw Poland Partial 8.31 80.29 29.27 6.84 4.39
74 Lyon France Illegal 8.20 80.30 19.45 4.55 2.95
75 Los Angeles USA Legal 8.14 42.54 124.88 55.10 36.06
76 Liverpool UK Illegal 7.94 82.16 10.86 2.48 1.67
77 Amsterdam Netherlands Partial 7.89 73.40 20.94 5.35 3.61
78 Manchester UK Illegal 7.88 82.16 58.99 13.48 9.11
79 Rome Italy Partial 7.86 75.68 88.16 21.86 14.82
80 Toronto Canada Partial 7.82 69.80 124.15 33.38 22.75
81 Denver USA Legal 7.79 42.54 20.53 9.06 6.20
82 Naples Italy Partial 7.75 75.68 29.82 7.40 5.08
83 Leeds UK Illegal 7.67 82.16 16.93 3.87 2.69
84 Seattle USA Legal 7.58 42.54 20.59 9.08 6.39
85 Madrid Spain Partial 7.47 78.09 93.40 22.45 16.01
86 Calgary Canada Partial 7.30 69.80 52.23 14.05 10.25
87 Luxembourg City Luxembourg Partial 7.26 70.24 1.62 0.43 0.32
88 San Jose Costa Rica Partial 7.23 69.76 7.84 2.11 1.56
89 Buenos Aires Argentina Partial 7.13 69.84 25.32 6.81 5.09
90 Brussels Belgium Partial 7.09 75.92 15.50 3.83 2.88
91 Santo Domingo Dominican Rep. Illegal 6.93 58.87 0.67 0.21 0.16
92 Graz Austria Partial 6.84 74.00 4.81 1.22 0.95
93 Budapest Hungary Illegal 6.74 77.26 7.70 1.87 1.48
94 Sofia Bulgaria Illegal 6.66 82.65 12.83 2.91 2.33
95 Ottawa Canada Partial 6.62 69.80 35.43 9.53 7.67
96 Vancouver Canada Partial 6.40 69.80 23.44 6.30 5.25
97 Sao Paulo Brazil Partial 6.38 64.94 68.55 19.81 16.55
98 Rotterdam Netherlands Partial 6.33 73.40 12.75 3.26 2.74
99 Ljubljana Slovenia Partial 6.32 80.41 3.43 0.80 0.67
100 Barcelona Spain Partial 6.23 78.09 39.59 9.51 8.14
101 Montreal Canada Partial 6.15 69.80 60.52 16.27 14.10
102 Kiev Ukraine Partial 6.00 74.78 14.73 3.70 3.28
103 Abuja Nigeria Illegal 5.88 20.63 7.40 6.73 6.10
104 Lima Peru Partial 5.88 37.83 12.28 6.09 5.52
105 Mexico City Mexico Partial 5.87 65.87 22.58 6.43 5.84
106 Cape Town South Africa Illegal 5.82 48.80 2.47 0.95 0.87
107 Karachi Pakistan Illegal 5.32 60.70 135.48 41.89 41.95
108 Manila Philippines Illegal 5.24 74.27 2.32 0.59 0.60
109 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Partial 5.11 64.94 28.82 8.33 8.69
110 Mumbai India Partial 4.57 60.39 89.38 27.78 32.38
111 New Delhi India Partial 4.38 60.39 101.20 31.45 38.26
112 Antwerp Belgium Partial 4.29 75.92 4.10 1.01 1.26
113 Astana Kazakhstan Illegal 4.22 39.29 1.78 0.85 1.07
114 Montevideo Uruguay Legal 4.15 66.75 19.54 5.50 7.06
115 Johannesburg South Africa Illegal 4.01 48.80 3.76 1.45 1.92
116 Panama City Panama Illegal 3.85 56.52 0.81 0.27 0.37
117 Jakarta Indonesia Illegal 3.79 53.40 1.92 0.68 0.95
118 Asuncion Paraguay Partial 2.22 16.00 0.16 0.19 0.46
119 Bogota Colombia Partial 2.20 49.44 15.80 6.00 14.53
120 Quito Ecuador Partial 1.34 70.39 0.56 0.15 0.60

 

Methodology

 

Selection of the cities:

To select the cities for the study, Seedo first looked at the top and bottom cannabis consuming countries around the world. Then they analysed nations where marijuana is partially or completely legal, as well as illegal, and selected the final list of 120 cities in order to best offer a representative comparison of the global cannabis price.

 

Data:

 

  • Price per gram, US$ – Crowdsourced city-level surveys adjusted to World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

 

  • Taxes on Cigarettes, % of the most sold brand – Taxes as a percentage of the retail price of the most sold brand (total tax). Source: Appendix 2 of the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2015.

 

  • Annual possible tax collection is calculated in the following way:

 

  • Total_Possible_Tax=Population_City*Prevalence*Avg_Consumption_year_gr*price*tax_level, where:
  • Population: latest available local population data sources.
  • Annual Prevalence (percentage of population, having used weed in the year). Source: World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
  • Average Consumption of weed per year in grams (people who consumed weed at least once in the previous year).
  • Estimation, with the assumption, that one use of weed on average means one joint.
  • One joint is assumed to have 0.66 grams of weed as in the paper of Mariani, Brooks, Haney and Levin (2010).
  • The distribution of use during the year is assumed to be the same as in Zhao and Harris (2004), where the yearly usage varies from once or twice a year to everyday.

 

  • Total Consumption in Tons

 

  • Consumption=Population*Prevalence*Consumption_year_gr
  • Population: latest available local population data sources.
  • Annual Prevalence (percentage of population, having used weed in the year). Source: World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
  • Average Consumption of weed per year in grams (people who consumed weed at least once in the previous year).
  • Estimation, with the assumption, that one use of weed on average means one joint.
  • One joint is assumed to have 0.66 grams of weed as in the paper of Mariani, Brooks, Haney and Levin (2010).
  • The distribution of use during the year is assumed to be the same as in Zhao and Harris (2004), where the yearly usage varies from once or twice a year to everyday.

 

  • US tax level – Average tax level in the states of US where weed is legal: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Includes retail sales taxes, state taxes, local taxes and excise taxes.
  • Growshops – Sourced via Google Maps Listings 2018
  • Headshops – Sourced via Google Maps Data Listings 2018
  • Legality
    • Legal, if possession and selling for recreational and medical use is legal.
    • Illegal, if possession and selling for recreational and medical use is illegal.
    • Partial, if
      • Possession of small amounts is decriminalised (criminal penalties lessened, fines and regulated permits may still apply)
      • OR medicinal use legal
      • OR possession is legal, selling illegal
      • OR scientific use legal
      • OR usage allowed in restricted areas (e.g. homes or coffee shops)
      • OR local laws may apply to legality (e.g. illegal at federal level, legal at state level)

 

 

First quote: Based on New York City Council’s free lunch initiative which began in September 2017, with 1.1 million public school children, at a cost of $1.75 per child per day.

Earth

Ontario Law Protects Bees By Reducing Neonicotinoid Corn And Soybean Crops

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On July 1, 2015, Ontario was the first jurisdiction in North America to protect bees and other pollinators through new rules to reduce the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seeds by 80 per cent.

Over the years, Ontario beekeepers have experienced unusually high over-winter losses of honey bees, reaching 58 per cent following the winter of 2013-14. image: naturalblaze.com
Over the years, Ontario beekeepers have experienced unusually high over-winter losses of honey bees, reaching 58 per cent following the winter of 2013-14. image: naturalblaze.com

To support this goal, new requirements were put in place for the sale and use of neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed that will help ensure treated seed is only used when there is evidence of a pest problem. Reducing neonicotinoid use in these two crops presents the greatest potential to reduce pollinator exposure to the neurotoxic insecticide.

Pollinators, including bees, birds and butterflies, play a crucial role in agriculture and our ecosystem. The level of over-winter losses considered to be acceptable and sustainable by most apiculturists is 15 per cent.

 

The new rules are one part of Ontario’s strategy to improve pollinator health. The province will also develop a pollinator health action plan in consultation with the public and experts to address other stressors that affect pollinators.

Ensuring a strong and healthy agricultural sector is part of the government’s economic plan for Ontario. The four part plan is building Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.

A flowering tobacco plant. Close to 100 per cent of corn seed and 60 per cent of soybean seed sold in Ontario is treated with neonicotinoid insecticides.
A flowering tobacco plant. Close to 100 per cent of corn seed and 60 per cent of soybean seed sold in Ontario is treated with neonicotinoid insecticides.

QUOTES

“Much of the food we eat and the vibrancy of Ontario’s natural habitats depend on a healthy pollinator population. Our government is taking necessary action to protect these vitally important species and the ecosystems they support from the effects of neurotoxic neonicotinoids.”

— Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change

“Farmers are environmental stewards of their land and this regulation will enable our province’s farmers to strengthen their approach to protecting their crops. To have a significant impact on improving pollinator health, over the coming months, we collectively need to focus on three additional contributors: habitat and nutrition, disease and pests as well as weather and climate change.”

— Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

 “Farmers care about the health of pollinators. That’s why the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)  has worked closely with the Government of Ontario to have these new regulatory requirements work for the province’s farmers. The OFA supports the need for a complete pollinator policy.  The OFA will continue to work with the government toward the successful implementation of this regulation, keeping the concerns of farmers top of mind as part of a pollinator strategy.”

  • Don McCabe, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

 “Friends of the Earth is pleased and impressed by Ontario’s leadership in finalizing this first permanent reduction in the use of neonicotinoids in Canada. With its new pesticide regulation, Ontario is delivering important benefits for nature including honey bees, native bees and other vulnerable species.”

  • Beatrice Olivastri, Chief Executive Officer, Friends of the Earth Canada

“Doctors are delighted Ontario will be North America’s first jurisdiction to introduce regulatory restrictions on bee-killing neonic pesticides. Assuming Ontario hits its target of an 80% reduction by 2017, this will be the most important pollinator-protection policy on the continent — and a major contributor to food security.”

  • Gideon Forman, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

 

QUICK FACTS

 

  • There are more than 400 pollinator species in Ontario and bees are the most common pollinator.
  • Bees and other pollinators are responsible for pollinating roughly 13 per cent of agricultural crops in Ontario (crops worth about $897 million), and support $26 million annually in honey production.
  • The province conducted a comprehensive, two-stage consultation process with the public and stakeholders to develop its neonicotinoid regulatory requirements.
  • Neonicotinoid-treated seeds are widely used in agriculture. Close to 100 per cent of corn seed and 60 per cent of soybean seed sold in the province is treated with neonicotinoid insecticides.

 

LEARN MORE

 

Learn more about the new regulatory requirements to protect pollinators

Learn about the importance of protecting bees and other pollinators

Supplemental- New York Times: Bee death may be linked to Tobacco ringspot virus

Politics

Funding Announced To Help Ontarians Save Energy And Money In Homes And Businesses

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I’m sure we all read the distressing poll that about a third of Canadians still don’t believe the threat of climate change is real.  Even more illuminating: only 30 per cent even know we are taking action in Ontario to fight climate change.

This is the reason why Canada and Ontario are working together to take action on climate change and find clean solutions to help homeowners and families save money, reduce energy waste, create jobs and support healthy communities.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, announced a federal investment of up to $100 million to help the people of Ontario make energy efficient retrofits to their homes – including apartments, townhouses and low-income housing – and businesses.

This funding will support the province’s GreenON Rebates program, which helps cover the cost of eco-friendly retrofits across the province. This investment is supported by the Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund.

GreenON Rebates will assist property owners make energy efficient changes like installing better insulation, high-efficiency ventilation systems and heat pumps, and other devices to save energy and reduce costs.

This is an opportunity for us here in Haldimand-Norfolk to take action and do our part in fighting the climante change. We can take advantage of receiving some of our own tax dollars back by improving our houses and businesses while saving money in the long run at the same time.

As part of its Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), Ontario in investing up to $1.7 billion over the coming years into GreenON to support a wide range of programs, including rebates and programs to help families, business and farmers make environmentally friendly changes. The CCAP is a five-year action plan that is making life more affordable for people across the province and making Ontario a leader in the global fight against climate change. Revenues from Ontario’s carbon market, which puts a cap on the carbon pollution businesses can emit, are funding this action plan.

The Government of Canada’s Low-Carbon Economy Leadership Fund provides $1.4 billion to provinces and territories that have adopted the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF), to deliver on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s announcement is part of the almost $420 million Ontario is receiving through the Leadership Fund.

Did you Know:

  • Through GreenON, property owners are currently eligible for rebates up to $7,200 in savings on new insulation; $5,000 in savings on replacement windows; $5,800 in savings on some air source heat pumps; and $20,000 in savings on installation of some certified ground source heat pumps.
  • In January, Ontario became part of the second-largest carbon market in the world, which forms the backbone of Ontario’s strategy to cut greenhouse gas pollution to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, 37 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050.
  • Ontario’s carbon market has generation approximately $2.4 billion in revenue to improve schools, hospitals, transit and other projects like new bike lanes that are building a greener, more energy efficient province.
  • Ontario has committed up to $1.7 billion over three years to support a wide range of programs under the Green Ontario Fund (GreenON).

 

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Politics

Tinkering Won’t Fix Crisis In Ontario Corrections And Jails

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In December of 2015, I toured the aging Thunder Bay District Jail. The nearly century-old jail had recently been the scene of a riot that led to a correctional officer being taken hostage – 70 inmates took control of the upper floor for a period of 20 hours.

In Ontario, assaults on correctional officers and other staff have more than doubled over the past seven years.

Last year, a report by the Independent Advisor on Corrections Reform described shocking abuse and disorder in Ontario’s detention centres – centres that are overcrowded and violent.

After violent incidents, inmates are often held in solitary confinement without access to rehab programs, and lockdowns are often the only recourse because of short staffing.

Much of the violence in Ontario’s detention centres is derived from smuggled weapons and drugs – but officers are restricted in their ability to conduct searches.

Front-line officers tell us they feel they are in danger – they are outnumbered, and they have little recourse when they’re attacked.

Ontario’s probation and parole system is a joke — that’s exactly what criminals have called it. Our probation and parole officers are not to blame. In many cases, they are actively discouraged from checking up on criminals by making house visits because of insufficient resources. Offenders are often left to self-report but, obviously, very few do.

Over 45,000 former inmates are out on parole or probation being forced to self-report. And 60 per cent of these individuals are deemed medium to high risk, that’s 27,000 individuals free to roam  our province.

How can this out of touch government make the claim that our communities are safe?

Why did this current government allow this to happen? That’s the question that needs to be asked.

The present provincial government recently introduced Bill 6, to supposedly deal with the issue. But this government has a history of producing incomplete, skeletal and poorly-thought-out legislation, and Bill 6 is no exception.  The Correctional Services Transformation Act is supposed to be a thorough overhaul of a broken correctional system, but it has the same deficiencies as most other legislation of late.

Obviously, the Liberals are inclined to think more bureaucracy is a solution to every problem, but more paper-pushing isn’t going to solve that problem.

Minor tinkering isn’t going to fix the crisis in corrections. The government must take serious and thorough action.

Has this government decided that the needs and wants of incarcerated criminals are more important than the rights of correctional officers and the order and safety of our detention centres are secondary to making criminals feel comfortable. Obviously, this legislation – Bill 6 — must be compliant with the written portion of our Constitution and our common-law traditions. But it must be said corrections officers and all prison staff have rights as well.

As my colleague MPP Rick Nichols, our critic for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services has been saying, there has been a crisis in corrections for years in the making. Now with an election looming, the Liberals want us to believe — with Bill 6 — they’re experiencing a deathbed conversion. For the Silo, Toby Barrett, MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk. 

 

 

 

 

Culture

Port Dover Hosts Biggest Single Day Biker Event In Canada

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Before you contemplate the pictures above lets flash-back to Friday 13th, 1984, when Chris Simons, a local biker, and a few of his buddies met in the “ZOO,” a local watering hole, to shoot the breeze and have a few cold ones. They agreed to meet every Fri. 13th and pass the idea on to friends. And so it began.

Friday the 13th in Port Dover,ON

Many local people, including the Municipal Council, feared the 1% of potentially violent bikers invading Norfolk County (as opposed to the 99% of peaceful riders), but as it grew into the biggest money making event the Kinsmen had ever seen, the need for some organization became evident.

The word went out to “LEAVE YOUR COLOURS AND ATTITUDES AT HOME,” otherwise the Council threatened to shut it down. The Kinsmen knew the bikers would continue to come and numbers would soar. The Coffin Bike and even Santa Claus were soon regular attendees as well as the Motor Maids (6000 strong nation-wide) and the Christian Riders.

HOG (Harley Owners Group) and BRO (Bikers Rights Organization) were present. By 1999 the OPP reported 12 outlaw biker clubs present in Port Dover, including Satan’s Choice, Hells Angels, Outlaws, Nomads, Para-Dice Riders, Red Devils, Piston Pushers, and even Banditos. Still, no violence erupted and over 100 police were brought in to maintain order.

As word spread Port Dover became THE place to be on Friday The 13th. Bikes were showing up from Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and B.C., as well as Americans from as far away as Florida. Even several Brits put their bike on a ship and came over.

Tim Hortons Drive-Thru soon was a walk-through. Yard Sales were common; seniors sold food to pay for a wheelchair-van. Pop, water and Freezies were sold from many local yards and eateries. Bars and beer gardens struggled to meet the demand in the summer months.

Big name bands were soon playing, like Steppenwolf, Colin James, Blue Rodeo, Dry County, Tragically Hip and local favourites. As the 20th century came to a close over 100,000 people were attending in the summer months.

As crowds swelled to over 150,000 in a town of 4,500, businesses placed “WELCOME BIKERS” signs in their storefronts and traffic backed up to Simcoe in the West and Cayuga in the East. Lodgings were booked-up for a year in advance and campgrounds swelled to full capacity quickly. Some businesses closed for the day like law offices, pharmacies, hardware stores and banks, though they stocked their debit machines full and went to work with the service clubs.

In 2009 The Port Dover Board of Trade, Kinsmen and the Lions partnered to run this massive event. The Kinsmen now handle bookings for 100 vendors in Powell Park and the Harbor Front, and run a 1,200 capacity beer garden. They monitor about 1200 campers in Kinsmen Park and Doverwood School, as well as selling souvenirs, including over 1,000 t-shirts. Shuttles are provided to haul campers to the action downtown.

Over the years the Kinsmen Club recruited many others to help, like Minor Softball and Hockey, Hard ball, Jr. Hockey, Figure Skating, Soccer, Maureen Dodds Art Foundation, Alzheimers, Big Brothers, High School Council (the Port Dover High School was closed a few years ago) Scouts K. of  C., and the Harbor Museum. Other Kin Clubs came on board as did “Support our School.” At one point 26 other groups assisted the Kinsmen with everybody getting a share of the pie. It’s well known that bikers come back to visit Port Dover even when it’s not Fri. 13, as can be witnessed on any good weekend throughout the summer. The welcome mat is out so come visit us on Friday, September 13th, 2013 and every Friday the 13th to follow.   For the Silo……Yours in Kin: Life Member Dave C.

Culture

Our Cashless World Of Alternative Payments

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The payments world has long been governed by the world’s great financial institutions. Banks and states have dominated the world’s spending habits, regulating transactions and payment methods.

The last decade has seen a shift away from the great institutions having total control over the financial landscape, and it’s been largely down to the digital revolution. Recent years have seen growing partnerships with the technology industry. Tech has sought more innovative ways for the financial industry to operate, and a greater freedom for consumers to spend their money.

Find current trends and what the future has in store for spending in this interesting infographic below from our friends at moneyguru.com.  At the time of posting 1 British Pound = $1.42 US and $1.79 CDN.

Alternative Spending Methods for Cashless World

Fashion

Canadian Designed Silk And Lace Dresses For Modern, Outgoing Women

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Artemis Silk Dress

Vasiliki is the high-end fashion brand that’s set to hit wardrobes in time for summer. Combining luxury fabrics, classic designs that have a modern twist, and style that’s perfect for the modern, outgoing woman, Vasiliki is bringing its unique style mixture of edgy sophistication right to fashionistas through its newly launched online store.

Blending vintage inspiration and regal romance with confident, modern designs, Vasiliki has successfully created a brand that’s timeless and contemporary. Embracing the trend for female empowerment, every design from the premium brand is designed to demonstrate confidence and let the wearer show off their individual style. The playful details and elegant silhouettes result in dresses that are wearable yet have an avant-garde quality that will delight fashion fans.

Sahar Zohair

Sahar Zohair, Founder and Designer of Vasiliki, said, “I have been designing and selling dresses since I was ten. The only difference is that then I was selling to myself, so they had to be perfect, and now I am offering these dresses to women who are like me: feminine, strong, and always appreciating beauty. These dresses are designed and made with a genuine passion and love. As a result, a vital component of my brand is emotion, emotions that are timeless and priceless, and this is what makes the Summer & Resort Collection 2018 unique.

“The first collection will encompass six designs in silks, custom printed silks, and laces ranging from $395cdn to $595cdn. These designs are inspired by the latest trends for unique cuts and silhouettes while maintaining a timeless and classic vibe. They’re soft yet striking and will give wearers a confidence boost whenever they’re slipped on.”

Highlights of the very first collection from Vasiliki include the Selene Silk Dress, which gives asymmetric Edwardian ruffles a delicate, contemporary update for a look that exudes femininity and independence, and the vintage, highly wearable Hestia Lace Dress that beautifully combines stunning silks and exquisite lace for timeless elegance. The luxury dresses designed for the Summer & Resort Collection are made from high-end materials, lovingly crafted, and effortlessly showcase individuality.

Selene Silk Dress

The sensational collection is available to view online now and will start delivering May 2018. Based in Canada, the brand will ship nationally as well as to the USA and UK, with plans already in the pipeline to reach a global audience. For the Silo, Charlotte Malone.

Gaming

Powerful Mac Gamer External Graphics Solution

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Sonnet Technologies recently announced the eGFX Breakaway™ Box 650, the latest and most capable model in the company’s series of Thunderbolt™ 3 to PCI Express® (PCIe®) eGPU expansion chassis for professional graphics and gaming applications.

Sonnet eGFX Breakaway graphics card box

The Breakaway Box 650 is designed and qualified specifically for large, power-hungry video graphics processing unit (GPU) cards, including the AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 and overclocked NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 10 series-based cards. The AMD-approved Breakaway Box 650 is equipped with a 650-watt power supply, which provides ample power for GPU cards with high transient peak power requirements.

“With the introduction of AMD’s Radeon Pro and RX Vega Series cards, we have experienced a high demand for an eGPU chassis capable of supporting the higher standards of these GPU cards,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. “The eGFX Breakaway Box 650 meets the demand, enabling users to tap the compute power of even the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 and Radeon Pro WX 9100 cards while still providing up to 87 watts of upstream Power Delivery to support popular notebook computers.”

 

The eGFX Breakaway Box 650 provides a single slot for connecting any size Thunderbolt-compatible GPU card, and features enough room for many high-performance water-cooled cards — making it ideal for professionals and gamers who need to run bandwidth-intensive graphics applications on their eGFX-compatible notebook, all-in-one, or other small-form-factor computers. The unit is equipped with a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 port that enables data transfers up to 2750 MB/s, and supports all Thunderbolt-compatible GPU cards — such as AMD Radeon R9, RX, RX Vega, and Pro WX models; and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9 and 10 series, Titan X and Xp, V, and Quadro® models. In addition, the Breakaway Box 650 includes two eight-pin auxiliary power connectors and provides 87 watts of upstream power (Power Delivery), useful for powering and charging a connected notebook computer that supports Thunderbolt 3 charging.

The eGFX Breakaway Box 650 (part number GPU-650W-TB3) is available now from Sonnet Technologies and its dealers at an MSRP of $449 usd.        Featured image via egpu.io 

About Sonnet Technologies

Sonnet Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of Thunderbolt™ 3 to PCIe® card expansion systems; external graphics (eGFX) solutions for pro users and gamers; pro media readers; docks and adapters; and network, storage, and other interface cards for pro users in the audio, video, and broadcast industries. Sonnet’s Thunderbolt expansion products enable the use of pro audio I/O and DSP cards, pro video capture and transcoding cards, GPU cards, network and storage interface cards, and other high-performance PCIe cards with Thunderbolt technology-enabled computers. For 30 years Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market innovative and award-winning products that enhance the performance and connectivity of Mac®, Windows®, and other industry-standard computers. 

Art

Finding Value In The Folk Art Of Maud Lewis

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Occasionally I will have a Maud Lewis painting displayed for sale in my shop, and it is sometimes interesting to get people’s reactions to a $6,000 painting that at first glance looks like their 12 year old niece painted it. “My goodness will you look at that,” and some covered up snickering, pretty well expresses their complete disbelief that something so simple could possibly be worth so much money.

Sometimes I give a brief description of the circumstances of her simple Nova Scotia life, and add fuel to the fire by informing them that while she was alive she sold paintings for 12 to 15 dollars from her tiny house by the side of the road. I then suggest it is probably simplest to think in terms of supply and demand. The supply of these paintings has stopped since her death in 1970, and there are many more people wanting them than there are paintings available. This of course skirts the main issue: how could anything like this be desirable in the first place? To find the answer you have to go a lot deeper.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for some people—I include myself in this group—great value is placed on anything that manages to capture, or in some way manifest, beauty. I do not mean “pretty picture” beauty here. I mean creations that celebrate existence, or connect to a greater truth. I mean something that has energy.

This energy can be found in the works of trained and untrained artists alike. The real value in truly great works of art is in experiencing them, and in doing so being educated and transformed by them. Understanding beauty is our salvation. Money really just confuses the issue. Put in relative terms: $4 million for a Tom Thompson and $6,000 for a Maud Lewis—the Lewis is still cheap. For the Silo, Phil Ross.

 

 

Culture

Wild Horses And Burros Spared From Slaughter

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WASHINGTON, DC- In Defense of Animals welcomes the decision made by appropriations leaders in Congress in the United States to reject budget language that would have led to the mass slaughter of North America’s imperiled wild horses and burros and the reintroduction of equine slaughterhouses in the US.

“For the love of  North America’s heritage, for the respect of wild horses and burros, we are thrilled that Congress has rejected this sick horse slaughter plans,” said Marilyn Kroplick M.D. President of In Defense of Animals. “In America, Congress has sent an important message that it will not have the blood of sentient beings on its hands. This is a victory for animal advocates and the majority of  North Americans who want solutions, not slaughter.”

In its 2018 spending request, the Trump Administration asked to authorize the killing and sale to slaughter of tens of thousands of captive wild horses and burros and the destruction of up to 50,000 free-roaming equines the BLM claims are “excess” on public lands. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and his pro-slaughter allies actively pushed the killing plan, aiming to reduce the number of wild horses to 27,000, the same number that triggered the passage of the 1971 Wild Horses and Burros Act to prevent their extinction.

The Administration also proposed funding inspections for equine slaughter in the US, a step that would bring back the days of horse meat markets and threaten the US food supply with unregulated contaminants.

Advocates and animal welfare groups pushed back hard. Thousands of In Defense of Animals supporters and other advocates jammed Congressional phone lines with calls and sent tens of thousands of emails to maintain federal protections for these heritage animals. In Defense of Animals and nearly 100 civic organizations presented a Unified Statement (read full PDF click here) outlining principles and recommendations for humane, cost-effective, on-range management of America’s wild horses and burros.

In response to constituent pressures and the united voices of advocates, the Senate chose to keep protections in place. The language released today for the Omnibus spending bill for 2018 contains no language authorizing horse slaughter or wild equine killing. The Omnibus budget is scheduled to be put to a vote soon.

But the fight is far from over. The Trump Administration’s FY 2019 budget request again calls for Congress to approve “unlimited sales” and mass killing of wild horses and burros in holding facilities and on the range.

“The battle is won, but the fight is far from over,” said Kroplick. “We will never back down or stop fighting for wild horses to remain on public lands.”   For the Silo, Charlotte Roe.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of fighting for animals, people and the environment through education, campaigns and hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi.

IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS • 3010 KERNER BLVD. • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • 415-448-0048

Culture

Coco Avant Chanel Is An Outstanding French Bio Pic

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I used to watch more foreign films. In my idealistic twenties I guess. But lately I’ve gotten lazy, and when I sit down for a movie the last thing I want to do is read subtitles. I do make some exceptions however. This is fortunate, for there are some truly exceptional films out there not made in English. And really, after five or ten minutes I completely forget I’m reading anyway.

A few years ago, I caught two incredible French films on Netflix Canada that I still highly recommend. The first is 2010’s Les Emotifs Anonymes (Romantics Anonymous), a genuinely delightful romantic comedy that follows the formula to some extent, but also transcends it with the originality of its script and the utterly captivating performances of its leads.

The formula I’m referring to is this: two attractive people meet, there is instant chemistry, and then numerous obstacles appear to twist and turn the plot and thwart their progress in realizing their love. The difference here is that the male and female protagonists look like real people, and the principle obstacles at play are their near crippling anxiety disorders.

How refreshing it is to watch a female lead (the luminous Isabelle Carre) who is truly “pretty as a picture,” but with imperfect hair and very-little-to-no makeup, make sparks and then run away from a co-star (Benoit Poelvoorde), who looks like the quintessential everyman, and, simultaneously, like a quirky and charming French gentleman.

This is a laugh out loud comedy that may have you, by the end, falling in love with one or both of these marvelous, messed up characters and doing some deep, warm smiling in the process, something I value most highly.

The second film, Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel), goes back to 2009 and stars French beauty Audrey Tautou (Amelie, Dirty Pretty Things) as the now iconic Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.

In this outstanding bio-pic we watch Chanel transform from a smart but bitter young woman in late 19th century France who must overcome obstacles of her own—in this case gender and poverty, two major impediments to success and independence at that time—to realize her dream of something greater. We watch that dream, vague at first, take greater definition and clarity until Chanel is revealed as the creative and business genius whose name would become a household word and whose designs would literally revolutionize women’s fashion in the west.

Gone are the restrictive corsets http://www.marquise.de/en/themes/korsett/korsett.shtml and meringue-y feathers and frills; Chanel was inspired to make clothes for women that were simple, elegant, modern and, perhaps most revolutionary of all, comfortable to wear. Tautou herself, as Chanel, becomes more compelling and beautiful as her character gradually realizes her destiny. And I would be remiss not to mention another dynamite performance by Benoit Poelvoorde, whose demeanor is so different in this film that I didn’t even recognize him as the same actor. Of course he has a mustache here as well—devious disguise.

This story solidifies Chanel’s stature as the woman who changed the direction of western fashion and created couture. How many artists have such a profound effect on their culture, let alone in their own lifetimes? Chanel continued to work until her death in 1971. Both films can be found by searching their English names on Netflix or, if you’re lucky, at your local video store. For the Silo, Alan Gibson.

Supplemental: If you enjoy foreign, kooky, and subtitled films, spend a few minutes at Backyard Asia. There’s some solid trailer action and a bunch of info stuff CP  http://backyard-asia.blogspot.ca/2011_01_01_archive.html

Sci-Tech

Vinyl Records Reconstruct History Of Moog Synthesizer

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One of the early (but not earliest) analog modular Moog synthesizers.
One of the early (but not earliest) analog modular Moog synthesizers.

Original vinyl recordings of popular music provide a rich source of data to supplement other historical research. Vintage recordings and associated liner notes provide details about the chronologic, geographic, biographic, and artistic elements that contribute to an understanding of music, music technology, and popular culture of the time.

Information derived from a study of vinyl music recordings can fortify and supplement their forms of research in popular culture, artists, and music.

[Did you know that many early recordings of the Moog synthesizer went uncredited? The Beatles used a modular Moog synthesizer for featured tracks on their Abbey Road LP]

Dr. Robert "Bob" Moog- designer and architect of mainstream synthesizers.
Dr. Robert “Bob” Moog- designer and architect of mainstream synthesizers.

 

Click here to read the rest of Thom Holme’s essay on your device.

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