I was sitting in the drive-thru at the McDonald’s on Rymal Road and Upper James St South in Hamilton a few nights ago and I found myself drawn towards a large advertisement set up on the wall between the two drive-thru windows. (see below) The ad wasn’t radical in any way- it showed some French fries, a pop and ice cubes and a Big Mac along with a few menu items in graphic type fonts.
I was a bit confounded because at first, I couldn’t understand what was drawing me into the advertisement- then I remembered a well worn paperback book I have called Media Sexploitation by Wilson Bryan Key, sitting on a book shelf somewhere back home. That book is all about subliminal advertising and its photo section showing examples of ‘hidden words and symbols found in ice cubes’ has stayed with me. So I studied the McDonald’s ad again, this time paying special attention to the ice cubes and that’s when I saw it: “Sex”.
We’ve copied and enhanced a portion of the advertisement to help illustrate where the word “SEX” can be found. The left side of the image is unaltered and ‘as found’- this ad was much larger than can be shown here in our post and the ice cubes were easier to “read”. CP
Did you know? Subliminal advertising is banned in the UK and Australia but is legal for use anywhere except television and radio in the USA and Canada.
I turned to my 15 year old son- (the reason for the McDonald’s visit in the first place was to buy him an after- Summer Hockey root beer) and asked him if he could see the words “Sex” in the ice cubes. It didn’t take long for him to get excited because he saw it immediately.
That’s when the drive-thru line was getting ready to move ahead and I jumped out of the car, grabbed my iPhone and took the photograph you see above.
“On January 27 2007, viewers watching the Food Network’s Iron Chef America may have noticed a brief flash of red that appeared for a split second towards the end of a show when the challengers’ entries were being assessed and two men raised their glasses. What had audiences seen but barely been aware of – all but invisible to the naked eye? A McDonald’s logo that popped up for a single frame together with the hamburger giant’s slogan, ‘I’m lovin’ it.’ Following the revelation, accusations of subliminal advertising were met with claims that it was a “technical error” by the television network, but skeptics unsurprisingly weren’t convinced. How could such a thing occur accidentally? A McDonald’s spokesman said: “We don’t do subliminal advertising.” Sure, just an accidental glitch – a supersized one. ”
So you be the judge- these drive-thru advertisements are probably found in most Southern Ontario McDonald’s drive-thrus and you can take a look for yourself. We’d love to hear back from you on what you find. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker
The music collective GANFUNKEL released the 5-song-EP Fighting Music with Music following the successful 2013 release of Machine Coincident Jazz. The former album produced one song that reached #1 on jazz radio charts, 2 songs that reached #2, and one song that reached #3.
Ganfunkel listing on SOMA FM charts.
Ganfunkel is California-based and led by Simcoe native Rik Ganju. Personnel on Fighting Music with Music have recorded and toured with Esperanza Spalding, the Kronos Quartet, John McLaughlin, Terry Riley, Bela Fleck, Wayne Shorter and Zakir Hussain.
Ganfunkel’s sound is influenced by rock, jazz, funk and Indian classical music. Standing out on the new album is Stars Fell on Daniel featuring tabla maestro Salar Nader, and the legendary George Brooks on saxophone.
“The success of Machine Coincident Jazz validated our belief that multi-genre music has an audience that doesn’t want to be confined by traditional categories, “ says Ganju. “People are open to many styles of music depending on their mood. And just as film music evolves from minute to minute, our sound changes texture as the mood of the tune allows.”
Ganfunkel albums are available today on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and most major music download sites, and music videos can be found by searching on Ganfunkel at Vimeo.com
Ganju’s experiments with multi-genre music stretch back to the mid-2000s when he collaborated with Jarrod Barker on many avant-garde experiments.
Jarrod Barker
The track listing for Fighting Music with Music:
Chunky Town (featuring Kai Eckhardt and Dana Hawkins)
Shot in a Gambling House
Stars Fell on Daniel (featuring Salar Nader and George Brooks)
That Feel on Flesh (featuring Kai Eckhardt and Dana Hawkins)
It takes strength to usher in change and there’s strength in numbers.
For those who are not aware of Monsanto or its global influence, I would like to provide you with some background information before explaining just why it is important to stand against the corporation and its actions.
Monsanto is an international agricultural corporation which is based out of the United States. It originated in 1901 and has functioned mainly as a pesticide corporation but as of recently it has been implementing genetically engineered seeds. These seeds, which are being sold and grow in many parts of the world, do not have the ability to reproduce, thereby forcing farmers to purchase a new set of seeds from the company each season. In many situations, the farmers have no choice but to continue paying into the corporation because no other seeds are available in their area. Monsanto is also the leader producer (and creator) of the herbicide “Glyphosate” (a herbicide which is used specifically to kill weeds around the GM crops but leave the crops un-harmed. This is made possible through the genetic tampering of the seeds which makes them resistant to the herbicide).
Monsanto has been adamantly rejecting many accusations that have been coming their way in more recent years. In fact, they go out of their way to address the international conversation that has been taking place about their “terminator” seeds and their inability to reproduce (provide seeds that can then be planted the following season). They claim in a statement on their website that “Monsanto has never commercialized a biotech trait that resulted in sterile – or “terminator” – seeds” (Monsanto Website). The website is littered with fabricated stories, pictures of smiling farmers and claims that Monsanto has their best interests at heart. The truth is many farmers are struggling to make the expensive purchases of Monsanto seeds and herbicide. Debt is rising in rural areas around the world (India taking one of the hardest hits, with thousands of farmer suicides being said to be associated with debt owed to Monsanto and their inability to support themselves) and a countless number of individuals are suffering because of the negative side effects. Monsanto has a huge stake in the worlds production of seeds and is already working on spreading their patents to broccoli and eggplant despite international disagreement.
This is why we march. The global March Against Monsanto is a worldwide call of action aimed at informing the public of the long term health, environmental, and financial effects of genetically modified foods. Last years globalized day of action took place with over 2 million people took to the streets to express their opinions and attempt to reclaim the food systems. We march for seed freedom (because seeds are a source of life, and corporations should not have the ability to patent life), for the labeling of GMO foods, to promote organic and sustainable alternatives, to demand the accountability of those responsible for corruption, and to further the scientific research around GMOs. *name withheld on request
Raise your hand if you want to build a Lego robot arm.
San Francisco, CA, The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book (No Starch Press, June 2014, 396 pp., $34.95, ISBN 9781593275327) is the latest No Starch Press book to tackle the LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics system. This second edition of the best-selling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book remains the ultimate beginner’s guide to this powerful kit for anyone who wants to start making their own robots. http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zpuf5li32jp78bt80j96lr32hkugv7u2d0q5lpag
Author Laurens Valk brings his robotics expertise to bear as he teaches readers the techniques essential to successful robot building. Valk has been building MINDSTORMS robots for years and was even recruited by the LEGO Group to test and develop this new generation of LEGO MINDSTORMS. The depth of his knowledge comes through on every page.
The first full-color MINDSTORMS book from any major publisher, The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book features all new content that takes readers from gearing and fundamental mechanics through advanced programming techniques as they build these six robots:
The EXPLOR3R, a wheeled vehicle that uses sensors to navigate around a room and follow lines
– The FORMULA EV3 RACE CAR, a streamlined remote-controlled race car legged walking creature that adapts its behavior to its surroundings
– SK3TCHBOT, a robot that lets you play games on the EV3 screen
-The SNATCH3R, a robotic arm that can autonomously find, grab, lift, and move an infrared beacon
– LAVA R3X, a humanoid robot that walks and talks
Valk rounds out the fundamentals with more than 150 building and programming challenges that encourage readers to discover the countless possibilities of the EV3 kit and to start inventing robots of their own.
About the Author
Laurens Valk is a member of the MINDSTORMS Community Partners, a select group of MINDSTORMS enthusiasts who help test and develop new MINDSTORMS products. One of his robot designs is featured on the EV3 packaging as a bonus project. His previous work, the best-selling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book, introduced more than 50,000 beginners worldwide to the powerful world of LEGO
MINDSTORMS robotics. He blogs about robots at robotsquare.com. http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zd3clg63cmhkarcqv9pht1e936tdk1htdcus1rs8
SAN JOSE, CA – ILOOK, an over-the-top (OTT) pay-TV platform for YouTube channels, is announcing its launch today. The platform instantly converts YouTube channels into mobile TVapps that behave like television networks. Through this easy-to-use technology, anyone—amateur or celebrity personality—can now have their own TV network without the traditional barriers and regulations.
Whether you create your own workout instruction videos, like to cover Katy Perry songs or are already a YouTube sensation, you can now transform your channel into its own mobile TVapp for free!
To create a TVapp, users simply log in to their YouTube channel from www.ilook.tv. Once logged in, ILOOK automatically generates a mobile app and submits it to supported app stores where it becomes available for download by television viewers. TVapp video is viewable on the mobile screen, as well as any TV screen that is connected to the Internet via AppleTV, Chromecast or Xbox, allowing viewers to watch on the big screen or small.
ILOOK also offers advanced features that enable video syndication and monetization. Video owners can export videos into TVapps that they do not own, TVapp owners can import videos from video owners, and for a fee anyone can have their videos inserted across all TVapps as TV commercials. This gives everyday video makers the same exact revenue opportunities as larger media organizations—a unique offering for consumers.
Unlike traditional pay-TV services that exclude long-tail content, ILOOK extends the pay-TV business model to include long-tail video and monetizes it by creating a TV marketplace for video aggregators, video owners and advertisers. Owners of long-tail video are now able to monetize like traditional TV networks with TV commercials, subscriptions and pay-per-view. They can also attract attention like traditional TV networks by co-locating on the same mobile screens with cable channel apps like CNN and MTV.
Following the actions of major TV networks who have recently published their cable channels as TVapps, it’s expected that thousands of YouTube channels will soon follow suit and cover the same narrowly defined interests that are currently covered by over 18,000 print magazines. Special interest and long-tail TVapps, like affinity print magazines before them, will command CPMs [cost per impression- http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/cpm/ CP ] that are four to eight times higher than CPMs for more broadly focused TV networks.
Peter Redford- CEO of iLOOK
Peter Redford, CEO of ILOOK stated “Owners of long-tail YouTube channels are now able to attract attention and monetize like traditional TV networks, by co-locating on the same mobile screens with cable channel apps like CNN and MTV. We’re deeply excited to launch and bring these capabilities into the entertainment market.”
Television has been slowly moving away from an appointment format and into the anywhere, anytime arena. ILOOK is spearheading this movement by giving anyone and everyone the ability to become part of this groundbreaking movement in television history. What are you waiting for—it’s time to TVapp your talents for everyone to see!
ILOOK Corporation was founded in 2009 by Peter Redford, Ngoc Do and Jacek Minko and is based in Silicon Valley, California. The company provides the world’s first OTT (over-the-top) pay-TV platform for YouTube channels. The platform instantly converts YouTube channels into mobile apps that appear on the mobile screen alongsideTV network apps like CNN and MTV. YouTube channels effectively become TV networks, monetized by pay-per-view, subscriptions and commercials. http://www.ilook.tv/
CNBC’s half-hour primetime series “Secret Lives of the Super Rich,” premiered Tuesday, June 10th at 10PM & hour episodes began airing each Tuesday for four consecutive weeks.
Reported by CNBC’s Robert Frank and featuring New York City super broker Dolly Lenz, “Secret Lives of the Super Rich” unlocks the mansion gates and gives you rare access to a world inhabited by the wealthiest people on the planet. Here’s a sneak peek courtesy of The Silo: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000236913.
Dolly Lenz
In the first episode, we met a man who’s taken his lifelong Lamborghini obsession from land to water. Also, “Secret Lives of the Super Rich” gets a rare invite on a luxury safari where there’s no shortage of wild life, or champagne. And, an exclusive look inside a Star Trek mega-mansion that may have you wondering if it’s actually the Starship Enterprise (video: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101735785 also see Star Trek Home Theater profiled here at the Silo: https://www.thesilo.ca/beam-me-up-35000000-usd-home-theater-for-sale-in-boca-raton/)
“Do it for the love of it. Ignore the scary things you read about book publishing industry. In fact, don’t read news at all. They will only distract you from writing. Hole up and create.” Ksenia Anske
For aspiring writers- I thought very hard about what to write, and decided to settle on a little advice for aspiring writers. Because if you’re one of those hopefuls, you might get scared too easily and give up. The world of book publishing is changing. It looks frightening. The big publishers are fighting for survival, buying off little companies, merging, you name it. Why? Because big companies like Amazon made it possible for anyone to publish a book.
And the world of indie books is growing. I can imagine any starting writer look at this, get the scare of her life and run and hide, and give up on her dream. Because how can you possibly make it? Moreover, how can you possibly make a living? It’s harder than ever to get through to agents. It’s very intimidating to try to self-publish, with all these scary things to be done: finding an editor, a book cover designer, a text formatter, figuring out how the online uploading tools work, promoting your book once it’s published. If you have any kind of embonpoint in any part of your body, metaphorically speaking, it’s enough to lose it, and your brains too. Just by reading this you’re probably already getting scared. There is no way you will make it, is there? There is.
Let’s for a second imagine that none of this exists. Let’s think that writing a book is something you always wanted to do. Not to make a lot of money. Not to become rich and famous. Not to flaunt it into your former classmates faces at your high school reunion. None of it. Let’s imagine you simply always wanted to write a book because you have a story to tell. It’s bursting out of you. You can’t help it. Like a chronic tosspot with this irresistible draw toward alcohol, you simply can’t hold yourself back. May I say something to you? I might not have enough credibility, or clout, or whatever you want to call it. I have only started writing full time 2 years ago and have self-published only 4 novels so far, but I’ve
Ksenia Anske
been never happier in my life. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw a doctor. I started writing for therapy, and never in the million years did I think anyone would be interested in reading my writing. But people do! People read my books! Can you imagine? I still can’t. I still pinch myself. It’s a miracle. There is a lesson I learned from it, and I keep shouting it at every corner. I want to shout it here, to you, so that you will hear me. It’s very simple. You can do the same.
Don’t be intimidated by the amount of books already published (I know I am, still). Don’t worry about making a living (I know I am, still). Don’t even think about wether or not anyone will read your books (I think about it, too). That doesn’t really matter. What matters is, while you write your book, you get a high which no other drug can give you. You are so happy. When you hold your finished book in your hands, the only other experience that can be compared to it is maybe that of holding your child in your hands for the first time. It is your child. It’s your story. You did it. Funny enough, if you write it for yourself, you’re more likely to find readers. If you forget about the business of book writing and think about the art of book writing, you will produce something extraordinary.
The Writers Retreat inspired by the garden retreats of two literary greats – Virginia Woolf and George Bernard Shaw – whose properties are under the care of the Trust. – See more at: http://www.scottsofthrapstonblog.co.uk/2012/06/a-magical-connection/#sthash.xvVzvEtp.dpuf
Know what it is? You will make yourself a little happier, and with that you will make people around you a little happier, and with that you will make the world around you a little happier. Now, imagine what happens when you write your second book, and your third, and your fourth. Do it for the love of it. Ignore the scary things you read about book publishing industry. In fact, don’t read news at all. They will only distract you from writing. Hole up and create. Pour your everything into it, do it so well, that people will want to see what the deal is about. It’s what happened to me, still happening. It’s what will happen to you. So go ahead, write that book. You know you want to. You know you can. I know you can. The rest will happen on its own. For the Silo, Ksenia Anske.
The Grand River watershed was 85 per cent forest 200 years ago. However, tree cover dropped to just five per cent by 1900 as land was cleared for farming and urban areas. Today, the tree cover has rebounded to about 19 per cent. Environment Canada suggests a healthy watershed needs a tree cover of about 30 per cent.
New forests are rising on old farm fields in Mapleton Township in an effort to improve water quality in streams feeding Conestogo Lake reservoir. About 70,000 trees are being planted this year and next on two parcels of land totalling 40 hectares (100 acres) on the north side of the reservoir.
The GRCA is planting a variety of species that are native to the area, including spruce, tamarack, white pine, bur oak, silver maple and cottonwood. In addition to the new forests, the GRCA will also do some reshaping of the landscape to create some seasonal wetlands that will also help improve water quality and provide additional habitat.
As the trees grow in coming years, the areas will quickly become home to a variety of animals, such as deer and wild turkeys. Later, as the forests mature, it’s expected that several bird species including scarlet tanagers, ovenbirds and great horned owls will take up residence. A 12 hectare parcel near Wellington Road 10 and Concession Road Five has been planted this year. The second parcel of 28 hectares is near Concession Road 5 and Sideroad 15. About 18 hectares has been planted this year and the rest will be planted in 2015. The land was acquired by the GRCA when it built the reservoir in the 1950s. It has been leased to farmers since then.
These two parcels of land were prone to erosion which sent a lot of sediment down the streams into the reservoir, explained Ron Wu-Winter, watershed forester with the GRCA. In addition, the sediment also carried nutrients – phosphorous and nitrates – which are found in manure and commercial fertilizers. The nutrients would spur algae and plant growth in the reservoir, resulting in lower water quality.
The northwestern part of the Grand River watershed contains some of the best farmland in Ontario. As a result, the forest cover is some of the lowest in the watershed. Forest cover is estimated at 15 per cent or less. A healthy watershed should have forest cover of about 30 per cent. Trees help raise water quality in several ways. They soak up nutrients in the soil, so reduce the volume that runs off the surface into a watercourse. Trees along a stream shade it, keeping it cooler in summer which is good for some coldwater fish species.
The total cost of the project is about $150,000. About $50,000 was contributed by the Grand River Conservation Foundation. It is also supported by the Trees Ontario Foundation which is contributing $65,000. For the Silo, Dave Schultz.
Tree Facts
* Across the entire watershed, the GRCA will plant about 400,000 trees this year, including 95,000 on its own land and 300,000 in partnership with private land owners.
* The GRCA operates a nursery near Burford, in Brant County, where it grows more than 150,000 trees a years from 60 different species.
* Since it was created in 1934, the GRCA has planted more than 27 million trees on both private land and its own land.
* The Grand River watershed was 85 per cent forest 200 years ago. However, tree cover dropped to just five per cent by 1900 as land was cleared for farming and urban areas. Today, the tree cover has rebounded to about 19 per cent. Environment Canada suggests a healthy watershed needs a tree cover of about 30 per cent.
* To learn more about the GRCA’s tree planting program, go to the Tree Planting section of the GRCA website. The GRCA helps private landowners develop planting plans, plant the trees and find grants to offset costs.
According to a 2011 Swedish study couples in which one partner commutes a long way to work (more than 45 mins.) are 40% more likely to divorce than couples who don’t have to travel so far for their jobs. More: http://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:415050
Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario and candidate in Guelph, wants to get you home faster and will be honest about how to do it.
“Our great grandparents invested in Niagara Falls to power our homes and businesses. Our grandparents invested in 400 series highways to move the goods we produce. Those investments have powered Ontario’s economy,” says Schreiner. “Our generation must invest in the transit infrastructure needed to move our economy forward in the 21st century.”
The average daily commute time in the GTHA is 80 minutes long. That’s the equivalent of eight 40-hour work weeks every year — or about seven years in a working lifetime. Gridlock costs us $6 billion a year and will cost more than double that by the end of the decade.
“We can fix gridlock for less than it costs,” says Tim Grant, Green Party Transportation Critic and candidate in Trinity-Spadina. “It mystifies me that the other parties promise the moon but can’t tell us where the money is coming from, as if we’re children who believe in the tooth fairy.” The Green Party is willing to say how much it will cost and where the money is going to come from. We propose a combination of province-wide and urban-focused mechanisms (including a gas tax, congestion charges, commercial parking levies, and land value capture) to produce the revenue necessary — $3 billion a year — to build and operate the public transit and transportation infrastructure we need.
“For $250 a year for each person in Ontario, we can solve a lot of problems,” says Scheriner. “We can save people months stuck in traffic. We can lower costs for businesses trying to get goods to market. We can help employees take the jobs they want because they know they can get to work.”
The Green Party is committed to bringing better transit to Ontario, and honesty, integrity, and good public policy to Queen’s Park. For the Silo, Candice Lepage.
EDMONTON, AB – May, 2014 – Cold beverages won’t be getting warm anytime soon in the Pelican ProGear™ 20QT Elite Cooler. Perfect for use while fishing, boating, camping or hanging out on the beach, the newest Pelican ProGear Elite Cooler holds up to 21 U.S. liquid quarts (18.9 liters). Additional tailgate and picnic friendly features include a stainless steel lock protector that doubles as a bottle opener, four integrated cup holders in the lid and an extra-wide pickup handle for easy team and individual carrying.
Like all Pelican ProGear Elite Coolers, the 20QT is built tough to exacting military standards and is engineered with rugged polymer
exterior walls. Its extra-thick polyurethane foam core works with secure Press & Pull latches and a freezer-grade o-ring to deliver extreme ice retention.
“The new Pelican ProGear 20QT Elite Cooler now gives tailgaters, golfers and beachgoers another reason to enjoy the fresh air. With Pelican core DNA built in and extreme ice-retention, this cooler is as tough and dependable as Pelican cases used by professionals who work in extreme environments around the globe,” said Stephan Corti, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales – Pelican Products, Inc. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an extended fishing trip or hunting adventure, this new portable cooler is designed to protect and keep your food and drinks cold for the duration.”
The cooler is available in either Marine White or Outdoor Tan and has an MSRP of CAD$274.98. Manufactured in the company’s South Deerfield, Massachusetts facility, the Pelican ProGear 20QT Elite Cooler (along with the 35QT, 45QT, 65QT, 95QT, 150QT and 250QT models) can be purchased through their authorized Pelican Dealer network. All Pelican ProGear Elite Coolers are backed by an industry leading lifetime guarantee of excellence.
The Pelican ProGear brand includes rugged, protective consumer products designed to allow users to transport and protect all that they value, regardless of environmental conditions. The line is presented to consumers via www.PelicanProGear.ca.
About Pelican Products
Pelican Products, Inc. is the global leader in design and manufacture of both high-performance protective case solutions and advanced
portable lighting systems. Their products are used by professionals in the most demanding markets including fire safety, law enforcement,
defense / military, aerospace, entertainment, industrial and consumer. Pelican products are designed and built to last a lifetime.
The company operates in 19 countries, with 28 offices and six manufacturing facilities across the globe. For more information,
visit www.Pelican.com or www.behrmancap.com.
‘Star Trek Mansion,’ Featuring Acoustic Innovations’ Most Celebrated Home Theater Design, Now on Market for $35M Featuring Award-Winning Theater Modeled on Bridge of Starship Enterprise, Home is Most Expensive Ever to Hit Boca Raton Market. Photograph: Andy Frame
BOCA RATON, Fla.– May 2014 — The “Star Trek Mansion” in Boca Raton, Florida, is now on the market for a cool $35 million, featuring a much-buzzed-about home theater designed by Acoustic Innovations. Created to model the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprise, the theater is the focal point of the 27,000-square-foot home owned by Marc Bell, managing partner of Marc Bell Capital Partners LLC in Boca Raton. Last year, Acoustic Innovations designed a smaller theater in the home to resemble a military encampment, creating the mood for game enthusiasts to play “Call of Duty” and other Xbox games.
“Acoustic Innovations and Jay Miller did a fantastic job of taking our Star Trek theater vision and turning it into reality. If you can dream it, Jay can build it,” said Bell. “Acoustic Innovations’ attention to detail for every aspect of the project — from the advanced A/V technology to the quality and comfort of the chairs — meant that we were able to create a home theater experience that exceeds anything you’ll find in a commercial movie theater. We’re looking forward to working with Jay and his team on the Star Trek theater and home 2.0, wherever that may
be.”
Winner of a Gold award and Best Architecture award from the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) in 2007, the
1,400-square-foot Star Trek entertainment space includes the theater, a bar, and a “ready room” filled with Bell’s collection of props, models,
and drawings from the Star Trek television series, as well as Star Trek and Star Wars movies. Modeled to recreate the bridge from the Enterprise, circa “Star Trek: Next Generation,” the theater even includes motion-activated air-lock doors that “whoosh” when opening and closing.
When the theater was originally completed in 2007, it featured the most advanced high-definition cinema A/V system available. Since then it has undergone three major technology upgrades to keep it on the leading edge, including 3D projection capabilities. In addition to the functional and aesthetic design and d-cor, Acoustic Innovations designed the acoustics both inside and outside the theater, as well as for the “Call of Duty” video game room.
The “Call of Duty” video game room. Get some!
“It’s incredibly exciting to work with Marc on a project, because he is always open to an interesting idea,” said Jay Miller, president, Acoustic Innovations. “A collaborative effort is extremely important on every job we do, and for this project Marc and I clicked very early on how to execute the Star Trek bridge. Now that the house is up for sale, it’s amazing and gratifying to see how the theater has gone viral in the online press; in fact, I’ve not seen anything like it in my 23 years as a specialty theater designer.”
For two decades Acoustic Innovations has been the source for personal theaters, theater seating, fiberoptic ceilings, acoustical panels, and residential noise control solutions. Over this time we have pioneered many of the materials and design specifications used today. Our staff has completed thousands of personal theaters throughout the world and has developed processes to ensure delivery of the ultimate client satisfaction. At every level of cost we blend the science of acoustics with the art of aesthetics. More information is available at http://www.acousticinnovations.com.
“The treaty maps and related curriculum materials distributed in our schools across Ontario will help provide our students with greater knowledge and a stronger appreciation of contemporary and traditional First Nation traditions, cultures, and perspectives.” Liz Sandals Minister of Education
Ontario is sending a First Nations and Treaties map to every elementary and high school in the province as a first step towards raising awareness about treaties. The map will help teach students about the significance of treaties and the shared history of First Nations and non-Aboriginal Ontarians.
In partnership with First Nation leaders, new school curriculum about treaties is being developed to give students a better understanding of First Nation communities, cultures and perspectives. Ontario will also be working with First Nation partners to look for other opportunities to raise awareness and to better understand different perspectives on treaties and related issues.
Working with First Nations is part of the government’s plan that is creating jobs for today and tomorrow and focuses on Ontario’s greatest strengths — its people and strategic partnerships.
Quick Facts
A treaty is a negotiated agreement that sets out the rights, responsibilities and relationships of Aboriginal people and the Crown, including the federal and provincial governments.
First Nations and Treaties is the first detailed map of treaties that the Ontario government has published since the 1940s.
Prior to contact with Europeans, First Nations were distinct, independent nations. The treaties they made with the Crown reflect a mutual commitment to working together on areas of common interest and mutual benefit.
Ontario is covered by 46 treaties and other agreements such as land purchases by the Crown signed between 1781 and 1930.
Quotes
David Zimmer
“Treaties are the foundation of the relationship between First Nation communities
and their neighbours. By working together, we are able to better understand one
another – our views, our beliefs, and the treaties without which our province would
not exist.” David Zimmer Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
“The treaty maps and related curriculum materials distributed in our schools across
Ontario will help provide our students with greater knowledge and a stronger
appreciation of contemporary and traditional First Nation traditions, cultures, and
perspectives.” Liz Sandals Minister of Education
“In the Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry I noted that one initiative on which virtually everyone agreed was the importance of teaching Ontarians about treaties and Aboriginal people. This treaties map and the Ontario curriculum introduced since the Inquiry are important steps on the road to reconciliation and wider recognition that we are all treaty people.” The Honourable Sidney B. Linden Commissioner
Chief Thomas Bressette
“The province of Ontario exists as it does because First Nations and settlers made treaties in the past. Those treaties remain vital agreements today. A better understanding of those treaties through education, public awareness and discussion is fundamental to a more prosperous tomorrow for all Ontarians.” Chief Tom Bressette Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation
Ontario is expanding and enhancing its Student Nutrition Program so that 56,000 more children and youth will get the nutritional boost they need to succeed at school.
The province is making an initial investment of $32 million over the next three years as part of its five year plan to enhance the Student Nutrition Program. Under the new plan, 340 new breakfast programs will be established in elementary and secondary schools that need it most across Ontario. The program will also be expanded to on-reserve First Nations schools, beginning in northern Ontario.
The Student Nutrition Program provides nutritious breakfasts, snacks and lunches to support healthy development so school children are better prepared to learn.
Expanding the Student Nutrition Program is part of Ontario’s plan to break down barriers for low income Ontarians and address the effects of poverty. By promoting student success, it is also part of the government’s economic plan that is creating jobs for today and tomorrow by focussing on Ontario’s greatest strength – its people and strategic partnerships.
QUICK FACTS
* During the 2012-13 school year, over 695,000 school-age children and youth
benefited from more than 4,200 breakfast, lunch and snack programs.
* Eligible schools are identified based upon socioeconomic data and academic
performance.
* The Healthy Kids Panel Report “No Time to Wait” highlighted the importance of
school nutrition programs.
“Nutritious snacks and meals are critical to the success of every child. We want Ontario’s children to reach their full potential, and this investment is one more way we are helping our children succeed.”
— Teresa Piruzza, Minister of Children and Youth Services
“Expanding the nutrition program is an important Ontario initiative to help our students excel. It is critical that our children benefit from a healthy lifestyle and are offered every opportunity to be at their best.”
— Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance
James W. Graham’s new book — Victura: the Kennedys, a Sailboat, and the Sea –offers new insights into the dynamics and magic of the Kennedy family and their intense relationship with sailing and the sea. Many families sail together, but the foot sloop purchased in 1932 shortly s move to Hyannis Port, stands apart.
Throughout their brief lives, Joe Jr., Jack and Bobby spent long hours on Victura, competing in countless races every summer. They were joined by their younger brother Teddy when he grew old enough. Joe Jr. and Jack ranked among the best collegiate sailors in New England, driven by their father Joseph P. Kennedy who insisted that winning was essential. Among their sisters, Eunice emerged as a gifted sailor and fierce competitor, the equal of any of her brothers.
Tracking their story beginning in 1932 when Jack was 15 and continuing today in an identical family boat of the same name, readers will learn to admire the Kennedys for what Victura taught them about life, family, leadership, determination, winning, and dealing with tragedies.
Celebrating the sailboat’s deep influence on Jack, Bobby, Ethel, Ted, Eunice and other Kennedys, it offers a new way of experiencing their intimate sibling relationships and growth as an extended family. Kennedys credit young Jack’s sailing with helping him survive the sinking of his PT boat in the Pacific. Life magazine photos of Jack and Jackie on Victura’s bow helped define the winning Kennedy brand in the 1950s. Jack doodled sketches of Victura in Oval Office meetings, and his love of seafaring probably played a role in his decision to put a man on the moon, an enterprise he referred to as “space-faring.”
The notion of “Space-fairing” developed by JFK came about as a result of his sailing experiences and love for adventure. CP
When the Kennedy siblings married, sailing connected them with their children and nephews and nieces. Sailing was an everyday event, even in dangerous weather and in the darkness of night. The sport influenced how they celebrated and observed happy events, managed grief, and grew close to one another.
Ted loved Victura as much as any of them. In the years following the untimely deaths of his three older brothers, Ted sailed with his children and the children of his lost brothers as crew. He also sailed past the shoals of personal shortcomings and an ebbing career to become known as the “Lion of the Senate,” helping fulfill patriarch Joe Sr.’s desire that his children pursue careers in public service rather than in business.
Rich with colorful and intimate anecdotes, the book features author interviews with family members, including children of Ted, Robert and Ethel Kennedy. Victura is a story of redemption, strong family bonds, character, sport, tragedy, the power of metaphor and the influence of a little boat on the lives of great men and women.
In Victura, James W. Graham charts the progress of America’s signature twentieth century family dynasty, in a narrative both stunningly original and deeply gripping. This true tale of one small sailboat is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the impressive story of the Kennedys. For the Silo, Jim and Lynda O’Connor, and Paul Krupin.
Victura The Kennedys, a Sailboat, and the Sea James W. Graham
ForeEdge, an imprint of the University Press of New England
$29.95 cloth 978-1-61168-411-7
$22.99 ebook 978-1-61168-599-2
Official publication date: April 1, 2014
280 pp., 28 illus., 6 x 9″
James W. Graham, a communications and public affairs professional for a major-brand retailer, was a senior adviser to former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and the Illinois House of Representatives. He races and cruises his sailboat Venturous out of Wilmette Harbor, north of Chicago.
What People Are Saying
“This wonderfully-written book takes a well-worn subject — the Kennedys — and gives it as fresh a gust as the sailors on the sturdy, little Victura themselves must have felt a thousand times off the Nantucket shore. In going to sea on board the Victura, Joe, Jack, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy entered their metaphor of quest, braced themselves for the unknown, and left their country, in the end, with an imperishable poignancy in its heart.”
— Richard D. Mahoney, author, Sons and Brothers
“The Kennedys saw the world and nature as a magical place, full of mystery and adventure. They especially enjoyed challenges and the freedom of activities like sailing, skiing, river running, climbing and just being outside. Two thirds of the surface of planet earth is liquid: the sea is vital to life — a huge source of both pleasure and fear — and a great teacher. Victura, a small wooden sailboat, became
the center of adventure, companionship and love for this remarkable family. Author Graham knows the sea, sailing and the Kennedys. Sail on Victura, to new horizons.”
— Jim Whittaker, first American to summit Mt. Everest, former CEO of REI, author of Life on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond.
“Victura is more than Graham recounting the sailing experiences of the Kennedys. In this well-researched but warmly written book, Graham sometimes goes several pages describing an election, or a Kennedy family intrigue, and then gracefully brings the
story back to the sea, showing how, in best and worst of times, the family pulled together around sailing.”
— Rich Evans, book review, SAILING magazine, March 2014
Olivier Perret (Executive Chef), Fisun Ercan (Barbounya & Su), Alexandre Gosselin (Chez Victoire), Christophe Morel (Chocolatier), Antonio Park (Park), Matthieu Saunier (Osco) and Olivier Potier (Pastry Chef). Click here
Brief – An exceptional event at Sofitel Montreal’s Renoir restaurant which organized a special evening combining gastronomy, entertainment and generosity to benefit the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and The Cedars Cancer Institute, on January 22nd 2014.
Our Executive Chef, Olivier Perret, who was touched by cancer, gathered his Montreal Chef friends who each prepared a dish as part of the 6-course gourmet menu served that night: Fisun Ercan (Barbounya & Su), Alexandre Gosselin (Chez Victoire), Christophe Morel (Chocolatier), Antonio Park (Park), Matthieu Saunier (Osco) and Olivier Potier (Pastry Chef). See Supplemental below for menu listing CP
The success of that evening was due, for the most part, to the participation of our guests of honour, Ms. Mitsou Gélinas, spokesperson for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, Mr. Andrew Carter, spokesperson for The Cedars Cancer Institute, Ms. Heidi Hollinger, Canadian photographer and Ms. Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Quebec singer.
Many sponsors also took part in the event, including Moët & Chandon, Ogilvy, Maison Birks, Porter Airlines and Pro-Staging, as well as generous donators who contributed prizes for the raffle and auction: Atout France, Club Med, and Air Canada Rouge.
We would also like to thank the Azrieli Foundation for their generous donation, as well as our Sofitel Ambassadors whose fantastic work and involvement to this cause were instrumental in the success of this evening.
All the profits from this event as well as the money raised by the silent auction, more than 27,000$, will be donated to the two foundations.
A registered charity, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation has a mission to fund research and innovation, support women affected by the disease and their families, and promote their interests, as well as making breast health a priority through education and awareness initiatives. In the past five years, the Foundation has granted more than $17 million for the fight against breast cancer.
Situated in Montreal, Quebec, The Cedars Cancer Institute is a hospital-based charity whose mission is to provide comprehensive cancer-care and funding to patients and health care professionals at the McGill University Health Centre specifically adult sites the Royal Victoria Hospital and Montreal General Hospital and, through its Sarah Cook Fund to Pediatric Oncology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. For the Silo, Stéphanie Segoura
From left to right: Mitsou Gélinas (spokesperson for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation), Andrew Carter, (spokesperson for the Cedars Cancer Institute), Francine Cléroux (Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation), Sharon Azrieli Perez (Soprano), Stephanie Segoura (Sofitel Montreal General Manager) and Jeff Shamie (President of The Cedars Cancer Institute).From left to right: Olivier Potier (Pastry Chef), Christophe Morel (Chocolatier), Fisun Ercan (Barbounya & Su), Olivier Perret (Renoir), Alexandre Gosselin (Chez Victoire), Matthieu Saunier (Osco), Heidi Hollinger (Canadian photographer), Gabrielle Destroismaisons (Quebec singer) and the Chefs joined by Armelle Tardy-Joubert (President Atout France in Canada)
Supplemental- Menu as served-
Sofitel, World Class Hotels & French Elegance
Sofitel is the only French luxury hotel brand with a presence on five continents with 120 addresses, in almost 40 countries (more than 30,000 rooms). Sofitel offers contemporary hotels and resorts adapted to today’s more demanding and more versatile consumers who expect and appreciate beauty, quality and excellence. Whether situated in the heart of a major city like Paris, London, New York, Shanghai or Beijing, or nestled away in a country landscape in Morocco, Egypt, French Polynesia or Thailand, each Sofitel property offers a genuine experience of the French “art de vivre”.
Sofitel Legend and & Sofitel So are two labels that come to enrich Sofitel Luxury hotels. Sofitel Legend hotels are iconic and mythical; they are often centuries-old listed heritage buildings: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam and Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan.
Sofitel So hotels are new « boutique hotels » characterized by a stylish focus on contemporary design by famous architects and/or embellished by international celebrities from the world of fashion, design or art: Sofitel So Mauritius Bel Ombre, Sofitel So Bangkok and Sofitel So Singapore (2013). Discover Sofitel on www.sofitel.com
François Dallegret, L’IntroConversoMAtic, 1963. photo collage and drawing. Dimensions variable. Photo: François Dallegret
In 2014 McMaster Museum of Art presented GOD & CO: François Dallegret Beyond the Bubble. An exhibition organized by the Architectural Association, London UK
François Dallegret trained as an architect at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the late 1950s. He moved to North America; first to New York and then Montreal in 1964. Dallegret has since and continues to slip between disciplines, working as an artist, entrepreneur, theoretical architect (before the term was in general use), industrial and graphic designer, writer and social commentator.
Although his work over the past fifty years has been firmly planted within the possibilities offered by contemporary technologies—his 1964 drawing of a personal, wrap-around electronic communicator l’intro conversomatic has become a commonplace reality in the current world of smart phones & “pads”—Dallegret can be seen been in the context of 19th century idealism; the engineer as artist, the inventor as philosopher and so on. And while his work carries the sense of wonder of the modern age, manifest in the pure beauty of the object, it is also tempered by the realities of social, economic and cultural issues, and often framed with a quixotic sense of humour and irony.
GOD & CO offers a unique view into Dallegret’s work and activities, a de facto retrospective that engages his active thoughts. Organized by the Architectural Association School of Architecture (UK), it opened in London in late 2011 and has subsequently been presented in Paris and Zurich. This was the first presentation In Canada.
The 2014 exhibition was accompanied by a 384-page illustrated publication with texts by Alessandra Ponte, Laurent Stalder and Thomas Weaver. For the Silo- RoseAnne Prevec.
Haldimand do not need an auditor general’s report to tell them that ASD services are in disarray. Our government should be commended for spending $182 million dollars on Autism treatment, however I have yet to meet a single Canadian family satisfied with their services. In 2007 there was thankfully, no wait list for Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI). Braydon spent two years working 24 hours a week, one-on-one with IBI therapists from Haldimand-Norfolk R.E.A.C.H. Essentially my toddler had a part-time job and after two years our family was unable to keep up the pace of it. Over $100,000 was spent on Braydon’s Autism Services, but now we were left to fend for ourselves.
Last week National Service Dogs for Children with Autism (NSD) asked a very interesting question on their Facebook page. Has the government considered Service Dogs? In 2012 my son was granted a Certified Autism Service Dog. Before that time, our only options for treatments were pharmaceuticals or privately funded and enormously expensive traditional therapies that were not effective at tracking results. Today, Braydon attends J.L. Mitchener Public School in Cayuga where he is thriving socially and academically. His service dog ‘NSD Whoopi’ attends school with him each and every day. Last month at Braydon’s Parent-Teacher interview I was told that my son was easy to integrate with his peers and all the students seemed to behave better when he and Whoopi were in the classroom. I have a very different little boy than I did a year ago, and the change in my son brings a flood of welcome respite to our home.
$30,000 might seem like an excessive amount of money for a Certified Autism Service Dog, however consider a Service Dog has a working life of 8-10 years. This means for some families like us; desperate for an alternative to treating our son’s autism with medication would receive 24 hour a day, 7 days a week support for 10 years for only $30,000! How much of the $182 million dollars spent on Autism Treatment this year was allocated to this alternative? Zero dollars!!! Incredibly National Service Dogs for Children with Autism provided us this option at absolutely no costs to us either. It is the generosity of the staff and volunteers at NSD and the support of our families and friends right here in Haldimand that brought accessibility for our family to our community. As a result, all of us are able to embrace a much higher quality of life than most families affected by Autism are able to experience.
So…let’s talk about making Certified Autism Service Dogs an available treatment alternative to more families. For the Silo, Jenny Tansley.
Olivia has been the favourite name for girls since 2008, followed by the same
second, third and fourth place names from last year — Emma, Sophia and Ava. Emily joins the ranks to round out the top five. For boys, Ethan, Jacob and Lucas once again took spots two through four, with Benjamin coming in at five.
Ontario gives parents up to one year to register their newborn’s birth online.
Through the easy-to-use 4-in-1 Newborn Bundle<http://www.ontario.ca/government/register-your-newborn-baby>, they can register their child’s birth and apply for their birth certificate, social insurance number and Canada child benefits, including the Ontario child benefit, in one easy step. Birth certificates ordered online are guaranteed to be mailed within 15 business days or they’re free.
Making it easier for families to access important government services when and where they need them is part of the Ontario government’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.
QUOTES
“Parents can register their newly named babies online from the comfort of their own homes. By making it more convenient for families to access our services, we are helping new parents focus on what’s really important.”
— John Milloy, Minister of Government Services
QUICK FACTS
§ More than 99.5 per cent of birth certificates ordered online have been delivered on time.
§ The Ontario Registrar General compiles annual lists of given baby names from registered births in the province for the previous year.
§ ServiceOntario’s 4-in-1 Newborn Bundle was the first of its kind in Canada when it launched in 2007. Since then, more than 720,000 newborns have been registered in Ontario using the service.
§ The Ontario child
benefit<http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/financialhelp/ocb/index.aspx>
provides up to $1,210 per child per year for nearly one million children to support Ontario families.
——————-
Olivia et Liam sont les prénoms les plus populaires pour les filles et pour les
garçons nés en Ontario, et ce, pour la deuxième année de suite.
Olivia est le prénom préféré pour les petites filles depuis 2008. En deuxième,
troisième et quatrième place, il est suivi par les mêmes prénoms que l’an dernier,
soit Emma, Sophia et Ava. Emily s’ajoute à ce palmarès et figure en cinquième place.
Pour les garçons, ce sont les prénoms Ethan, Jacob et Lucas qui l’emportent encore
une fois, en deuxième, troisième et quatrième place respectivement. Ils sont suivis
de Benjamin, qui se classe au cinquième rang.
L’Ontario donne jusqu’à un an aux parents pour enregistrer la naissance de leur enfant par Internet. Grâce au Service d’enregistrement des
nouveau-nés<http://www.ontario.ca/fr/gouvernement/enregistrement-de-votre-nouveaune>,
facile à utiliser, ils peuvent enregistrer la naissance de leur enfant, demander un
extrait de naissance, un numéro d’assurance sociale et leurs prestations pour
enfants du gouvernement fédéral, le tout en une seule étape toute simple. Les
extraits de naissance commandés en ligne sont postés dans les 15 jours ouvrables suivant la commande, et le tout est garanti. En cas de retard, l’extrait de naissance est gratuit.
Offrir aux familles un accès plus facile aux services gouvernementaux au moment et à l’endroit où ils en ont besoin fait partie du plan du gouvernement en matière d’économie visant à investir dans la population, à bâtir une infrastructure moderne et à soutenir un climat d’affaires dynamique et innovateur dans l’ensemble de
l’Ontario.
CITATION
« Les parents peuvent enregistrer en ligne leur bébé avec son prénom sans avoir à sortir de la maison. En facilitant l’accès à nos services pour les familles, nous aidons les nouveaux parents à se concentrer sur ce qui compte vraiment. »
– John Milloy, ministre des Services gouvernementaux.
FAITS EN BREF
§ Plus de 99,5 % des extraits de naissance commandés en ligne ont été livrés à temps.
§ Le registraire général de l’Ontario compile des listes annuelles des prénoms à partir des naissances inscrites dans la province au cours de l’année précédente.
§ Le Service d’enregistrement des
nouveau-nés<http://www.ontario.ca/fr/gouvernement/enregistrement-de-votre-nouveaune>
4 en 1 de ServiceOntario a été le premier du genre au Canada lors de son lancement, en 2007. Depuis, plus de 720 000 nouveau-nés ont été enregistrés en Ontario à l’aide de ce service.
§ La Prestation ontarienne pour
enfants<http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/French/topics/financialhelp/ocb/index.aspx>
verse jusqu’à 1 210 $ par enfant, par année à près d’un million d’enfants pour
soutenir les familles ontariennes.
The moment we become parents we use our sense of touch to communicate with our brand new baby. I will never forget that first moment in my each of my babies lives, when they started to experience and explore the world completely independently of me. The first thing I did was reach out to my newborn and without exchanging a single sound, we were instantly familiar to each other.
The research that outlines the benefits of touch and infant massage is extensive. Any expert will go on and on about how there is a fancy chemical reaction going on in my brain (central nervous system) that releases a feel-good hormone (serotonin) that counters stress hormones (cortisol) and that is why I feel that connection with my newborn. What I actually experience in those first moments of my child’s new life is nothing short of magical.
This is not meant to imitate the many hundreds of articles that are already out there that outline the benefits of Pediatric Massage Therapy, but there is a little Massage Therapist inside me that cannot encourage you enough to explore it. Children ages 0-99 can benefit from Registered Massage Therapy, but in the mean time treatment can start at home or even heart beats after birth.
Just a few of the types of baby massages. image: yogawiz.com
After spending much time looking for a nursery rhyme that could incorporate a meaningful massage into its singsong format, I decided to write my own for you to try:
Bedtime Butterfly Kisses
Belinda the beautiful butterfly was bouncing on a breeze
Gracefully she glided to give my shoulder a squeeze
“How do you do?” Belinda sung so sweet.
“May I rest here while my heart slows a beat?”
She stopped but a moment before she began to explore
Hugging my arm she looked way down to the floor.
Three times she wandered from shoulder to finger
But I liked her so I indulged, and hoped she would linger.
Perched in my hand, she started stroking my palm
It tickled before I realized it made me feel calm.
She drew circles and hearts with her nose on my skin
Before she giggled and climbed back up to my chin.
With a fluttering kiss to my cheek she gently rubbed my head
And then softly she whispered, “Baby, time for bed.”
Though my eyelids are heavy I try to protest
To forget Belinda when I wake I’d deeply regret
Belinda’s wings push the air across my sleepy face
Like angel kisses made out of the most delicate lace
“Rest well little one,” She sings, “And think not of sorrow.
If you go to sleep now I can come back tomorrow.”
You can be creative and pretend your own hand is a butterfly. I used an inexpensive IKEA (Gulleplutt .99$ CP) finger puppet. Don’t let you imagination stop there. As your child grows out of silly rhymes consider getting creative and making an imaginary pizza on your kiddo’s back, belly or palm. What about planting a garden and watching it grow?
I can give you more research that indicates why it is important to perform these treatments at the same time each day, in a calm space with a warm blanket and yadda yadda, but experience has taught me that even when my son or daughter is in middle of their wildest meltdown behavioral state; a nurturing touch with loving intent is the only cure. For the Silo, Jenny Tansley.
Man I gotta thank you guys for the recommendation for House of Cards. I am hooked. I am into this shit. This is some of the best long form television that I’ve seen and you know? Long form television is changing the game. This series! I mean shit you’ve got David Fincher and Joel Schumacher directing these television episodes. Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright; holy shit you know? Not to mention all the great people on HBO…I mean, long form television has…..there was a time when film actors wouldn’t dream of condescending to doing television and now long form television is the shit and this House of Cards shit is the shit. It is better than Homeland though I recommend The Newsroom although I don’t think it’s available on Netflix but The Newsroom is a helluva series. Wow.
*this letter to the Silo was transcribed from a reader Skype call we received. Skype us anytime We are: thesiloteam on Skype
Has Toronto’s Mayor finally cracked? (In the truest sense of the word of course) CP
Dear Silo, i don’t know what your position on him is, but let me tell you rob ford is trending at the very top of the internet right at this moment, his most recent, startling comments to the press about eating pussy are on the you tube homepage on the very top. [See below to view video CP]
jon stewart on the daily show spent about five minutes on those comments in his opening monologue and pleaded with him to step down, and that’s just the U.S. this is global, and i guess as someone who lived there for so long i have a strong opinion that he should step aside at this point.
the entire city council, including his own inner circle, voted to restrict his power as mayor. they are doing everything but throwing him out, which they cannot do. they are even testifying to the police about him. his own people.
Is it funny to satire the mentally deranged? Are there any boundaries when it comes to the entertainment industry? In a free society the answer is clear: if you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch it.
Google regularly receives requests from governments and courts around the world to hand over our users’ data. When we receive government requests for users’ personal information, we follow a strict process to help protect against unnecessary intrusion.
Since 2010, we have regularly updated the Google Transparency Report with details about these requests. As the first company to release the numbers, as well as details of how we respond, we’ve been working hard for more transparency.
The latest update to the Google Transparency Report is out today, showing that requests from governments around the world for user information have increased 106% since we launched the report.
“Requests from governments around the world for user information have increased 106% since we launched the report. It’s a startling fact that everyone who uses the Internet should know about.” Derek Slater for Google Inc.
It’s a startling fact that everyone who uses the Internet should know about: We deserve the same protection online and offline.
It’s important for law enforcement agencies to pursue illegal activity and keep the public safe. We’re a law-abiding company, and we don’t want our services to be used in harmful ways.
But laws that control government access to user information should also protect you against overly broad requests for your personal information.
Share the Google Transparency Report, and help the Internet community stay empowered and informed.
A long time ago, in 1977, Star Wars started its quick and never-ending ascent to the top of the science fiction film genre. How many people alive when the original Star Wars: A New Hope was released thought that our children (and for some, grandchildren) would still be wanting to be Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker for Halloween? It is a rare child in Canada who has not owned a lightsaber.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Shakespeare.
There are people who look forward to watching or reading Shakespeare about as much as they look forward to car repairs. Shakespeare can be seen as highbrow art which does not make sense. Why would someone watch a movie or play in an almost different language?
This is where Driftwood Theatre Group brilliantly played their hand. Using a book by Ian Doescher called, “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars,” Driftwood brought Star Wars geeks to play with Shakespeare lovers.
Everyone on both sides of the fence was blown away (no pun intended, poor Alderaan and Death Star).
Lines from Star Wars plays were eagerly anticipated, by some who were on the edge of their seats (One thing’s for certain, we’ll all be a lot thinner). But when those infamous lines were said, it had dramatic and, yes, Shakespearean flair (One thing is certain, we shall thinner be).
And there was laughter – from everyone!
There were also famous lines from Shakespeare plays which made Shakespeare lovers happy, (I bite my thumb at you, sir! Alas, poor stormtrooper, I never knew thee. Friends. Rebels, Starfighters, lend me your ears!)
It was also the formidable acting in the show which raised the play to mountainous heights. It was performed as a reading, with all actors reading directly from the book. It was enticing, enthralling, and highly entertaining. Dion Johnstone, who played a fantastic Han Solo, withheld laughter to the point where he looked like he would lose it, but never really did.
This play was a fundraiser for Driftwood Theatre. The evening included the reading, a silent auction, costume contest (sad point of the night, there were very few people in costume – it is Halloween time, people!).
The highlight of the night, for very lucky people, was the auctioning off of 3 walk-on role, Rebel, Imperial, or Interesting Creatures in the play. We (yes, I was a lucky one) were able to say such lines as, “UTINI!” and “This is a consular ship…” and, “Why aren’t you at your post?” I was Jawa #2 and the Innkeeper at Mos Eisley.
It was a truly incredible experience, watching Star Wars and Shakespeare geeks unite for 3 hours of Shakespeare/Star Wars bliss. For the Silo, Stephanie MacDonald. @mytimeatlast
Ontario is moving forward to help promote the good things that are grown, harvested and processed in Ontario with today’s passage of the Local Food Act, 2013. The new legislation is part of a strategy http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/about/localfood.htm to build Ontario’s economy by making more local food available in markets, schools, cafeterias, grocery stores and restaurants. This will create jobs and expand the province’s agri-food sector.
The new legislation — the first of its kind in Canada — will increase local food awareness, and boost sales by setting local food goals and targets in consultation with sector partners. The act will also create a non-refundable tax credit of 25 per cent for farmers who donate their surplus harvest to eligible community food programs such as food banks, and proclaim a Local Food Week that will take place annually, beginning the first Monday in June. Building a stronger agri-food industry is part of the government’s economic plan to support a dynamic and innovative business climate, invest in people and invest in infrastructure.
QUOTES
“The Local Food Act will benefit people by making the connection between buying local and helping grow an important Ontario industry. If we increase demand to homegrown food, we will create jobs and boost the agri-food sector’s contributions to our economy. It’s an important and historic step forward and I thank everyone who helped support this legislation.” — Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario and Minister of Agriculture and Food
“The Local Food Act will serve as a constant reminder of the bounty of Ontario. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is happy to see that it will target food literacy, local food use and will help farmers attend to the needs of others through a community food donation tax credit.” — Mark Wales, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
“By raising the profile of local food, the Local Food Act will provide Ontario food and beverage processors with an opportunity to further develop local food systems and market development strategies. Ontario consumers are demanding high quality food and drink, and our processors are willing and able to deliver. ” — Steve Peters, Alliance of Ontario Food Processors
QUICK FACTS
The Local Food Act will also require the government to produce an annual local food report on its activities to support local food. The province’s agri-food sector contributes approximately $34 billion to the economy and supports more than 740,000 jobs across Ontario. The province’s farmers produce more than 200 commodities, including fruits, vegetables, livestock, dairy, poultry, grains and oilseeds. Food processors in Ontario purchase about two-thirds of the food that is produced on the province’s farms.
Ontario’s Local Food Fund is part of a $30 million investment from the province to create jobs and support innovative local food projects over the next three years (2013-2016).
Have you ever noticed how experts constantly refer to Autism as a ‘learning disability’? I contemplate this term as I watch my nine-year-old son Braydon, effortlessly scale my counter tops to filch the salt and vinegar chips I hid in top shelf. In fact, Braydon’s problem solving skills exceed that of his ‘neurotypical’ sister.
What would I change in my son’s treatment if I considered my son to have a communication disability rather then a learning disability? Is this just a title or is it maybe a new perspective?
I am not an expert but here is what I do know. Individuals who are visually or hearing impaired are considered to have a communication disability.
There are so many reasons why the sensory processing centers in the brains of certain individuals do not receive the input messages from their eyes or ears (or both like Helen Keller). Autism looks much the same to me. The sound of my voice competes with all the other sensory information that Braydon is so sensitive to.
The ticking of the clock, the air is too warm or too cold, his seat is too hard or too soft, the bathroom door is about to open and he is going to run away to close it. These things make up only a fraction of the information coming at my son at all the same intensity! Braydon’s moderate-severe Autism means that unlike those of us that experts consider ‘neurotypical’, he has no way to filter this information except to create an ‘output’ to counter it. Experts call this behavior ‘stimming’. I realize this all sounds confusing, but my point is that High Functioning Autism, like Blindness or Deafness comes down to being a sensory processing issue rather then an inability to learn as the term ‘learning disability’ seems to suggest.
Braydon and Whoopi
Perhaps this is the reason why a Certified Autism Service Dog has proven to be such an asset to our quality of life? Service Dogs for the blind and hearing impaired are fairly common. Is a service dog for a person with Autism a truly enormous stretch? Trust me, it is a natural progression.
If perforated dots on a piece of paper can give a child who is born without the sense of sight an opportunity to read a book, or a computer can give Carly Fleichman, a girl with asphyxia and Autism the opportunity to find her voice, in theory my son could be able to learn the skills he is going to need to become a contributing member to his community. Just look at all the things Dr. Temple Grandin was able to accomplish!
My goals suddenly look much different. Instead of trying to convince my son to learn, perhaps I need only to teach him how to communicate. For the Silo, Jenny Tansley.
Dear Silo, A news broadcast by CBC Canada http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace tonight [October 4, 2013] shined a negative light on the veterinary profession. The segment took a dog with a hidden camera to ten Toronto veterinarians to see what health recommendations were
suggested in the first check-up. According to the show’s host, the veterinarians all provided various recommendations that did not align. The host also “surveyed” the ten veterinarians asking them various questions about vaccinations, exams and medication. They made several anecdotal statements based on the ten veterinarians they questioned, calling the data “black and white.” Nothing is “black and white,”
as the report suggests.
Trupanion disagrees with the statements and overall accusations made against the veterinary profession in this news broadcast. This is not what we have seen in our 15 years of experience with veterinarians. We have hundreds of thousands of pet health claims that contradict this newscast and much evidence of the incredible value pet owners receive from the work done by veterinarians who have treated, healed and in some cases, saved their beloved pet.
CBC Marketplace compared the veterinarians’ recommendations to the opinions of an outspoken California-based researcher, who is a critic of vaccinations, and declared them facts. They surveyed and evaluated only ten veterinarians out of 12,500 currently in small animal practice in Canada. This is .08% of the general veterinarian population. The real story should be about the other 99.92% of the population, the veterinarians that serve nearly 10 million pets each year. We know them as an extremely honorable and trustworthy group of people. We expect there will
be an outrage from pet owners who have had generations of pets lovingly, competently and compassionately cared for by their family veterinarian, who charged only a fraction of what an MD would charge for the same procedures. Veterinarians have long subsidized the high quality of care pets receive in North America and it is unfair for CBC to attack the most trusted professionals. The data cited is narrowly
constructed to advance a negative point of view.
The average salary of a veterinarian was $82,040 in May 2010 according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook<http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm>. The average debt of new veterinary graduates is $150,000 (JAVMA September 15, 2008). They use medicine and equipment that costs the same used in human medicine. Often acting as the ultimate safety net for the care of pets in disadvantaged circumstances, many discount their salaries and pull from their own wallets to pay those costs for their patients.
It’s disheartening to see this respected and trusted profession criticized through a sensationalized news story by the media that fails to display tangible evidence that back their statements. We support veterinarians across the world and stand by their practices as they continue to maintain the health and wellness of our four-legged family members. Darryl Rawlings, Trupanion CEO.
But why do we continue to feed government? Why would we participate in any political or economic system that is not serving our best interests?
Government is basically unproductive and can only give what it takes. Bigger government takes more and gives less.
The fruits of our labour are controlled, confiscated, and redistributed through taxation, inflation, interest, and government spending. There is also a systemic shortage of official currency, which leads to a shortage of paid employment, and the jobs that are available might be completely unproductive. We are forced to compete for currency that is systemically scarce, even though there are plenty of worthwhile activities that can be done and there are plenty of people who are willing and able to do productive work.
There seems to be an increasing level of dissatisfaction with government and the political process, but there certainly isn’t a consensus in defining the problem or offering a solution that will sufficiently address all of our concerns or satisfy everyone. This poses a challenge, but it also presents us with an opportunity to carefully examine the form and function of government, and explore a full range of possible alternatives.
If we have freedom of choice and a free market then we should be able to individually select the goods and services that we wish to purchase from a variety of producers and providers, who should be able to compete for customers based on the quality and price of their products and services. All products and services, including government programs and services, should be able to compete in a free market.
Trade and exchange should be voluntary and mutually beneficial. We should not be forced to pay for anything that we don’t want or don’t use, and we should not have to do business with anyone who consistently offers poor quality goods and services or who does not pay their legitimate debts.
If we have economic freedom then we should be able to negotiate agreeable prices, accept or refuse any form of payment, control the allocation of our credit, and use any method or medium of exchange. We should not be compelled to use a systemically scarce currency that is created as interest-bearing debt.
If the purpose of an economic system is to facilitate the production and exchange of goods and services then it should be possible to create numerous ways to serve this purpose, with various concurrent systems operating in any location. This would give us more control over our time, labour, skills, and resources.
If government is a provider of services then it should compete for customers based on the quality and price of any services that it is actually willing and able to provide, including education, health care, and defence. If government services were the best ones available then we would presumably choose to use them. Our wealth should not be confiscated and redistributed to pay for anything that we don’t want or don’t use.
We can already seek membership in various communities, organizations or other groups, based on our own political, religious, social, recreational, or business interests. If we have freedom of association and political freedom then we should even be able to choose a apolitical system and type of government, without having to move to a different place, and without imposing or choice on anyone else. This would give us the option to hire people to manage our affairs and make decisions on our behalf, but we would not be represented or lead without imposing our consent.
Any imposed political system or government is a method of control. Political freedom does not exist if an individual is forced to accept the decisions of any other individual or group, even if it calls itself a majority.
Imposed political systems and territorial governments with their restrictive geopolitical boundaries can be replaced with a variety of voluntary communities, mutual benefit associations, and autonomous protective groups, with overlapping membership in any location. Multiple communities can exist in any geographic region, without any imposed territorial monopolies for the provision of services.
Individual participation in any economic or political system should be entirely voluntary, based on choice and consent, rather than coercion and compulsion. No person is an island, but everyone should essentially be able to individually decide how he or she would like to organize and manage his or her economic and political activities.
Government is a human invention that has changed over time and will continue to change, but the direction of this change will be determined by the way we think and the choices we make.
Diverse methods and arrangements can co-exist simultaneously in any location to facilitate the production, provision, distribution, and exchange of goods and services, for the mutual benefit of all voluntary participants, at their own risk and expense. James Clayton
Note- boldfacing was not indicated in the original submitted letter to the Silo.
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (French, 1841-1919) and RICHARD GUINO (French, 1890-1973) Grande Vénus victorieuse (Large Venus Victorious), 1914-15 Original plaster 71 inches (180.3 cm) high Published by Vollard, Paris THE RENOIR COLLECTION With her weight rested on her right hip, holding a drape in her left hand and the golden apple in her right, this standing female nude is said to be the culmination of Renoir’s sculptural works. Transforming paradox into perfection, Renoir marries contradictory attributes to personify his idea of female quintessence. Vénus victorieuse the Woman is majestic yet simple, engaged and yet isolated, familiar but also obscure. With this sculpture, Renoir redefines classical theme and form to portray the eternal beauty of Woman – a leitmotiv apparent in much of his work. LITERATURE: P. Haesaerts, Renoir Sculptor, New York, 1947, p. 24, no. 6, illustrations of another cast pls. XIV-XXI. NOTE: This original foundry plaster is not copyright protected. images :ha.com
The collection is an intimate glimpse inside the personal and professional life of the master painter through a trove of important documents, including his marriage certificate, photographs and letters written to Renoir from friends and contemporaries such as Monet, Manet, and Rodin. The collection also features a selection of original sculptural plaster maquettes created at Renoir’s estate in Cagnes, France, in the twilight of his career. Battling severe arthritis, Renoir collaborated with a young and able-handed artist, Richard Guino, at his dealer Ambroise Vollard’s suggestion.
This museum-level collection is superb in its completeness and reveals volumes about the man and his art,” said Brian Roughton, Managing Director of Fine Art at Heritage Auctions. “It touches every corner of his life and represents the last time this collection will appear assembled ever again. In addition to the personal letters and objects, we’re also thrilled to have the opportunity to offer 20 carefully collected original plaster maquettes.”
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (French, 1841-1919) Médaillon de Coco Piece Mold & Original Plaster of Relief, 1907 Original plaster 8-1/2 inches (21.6 cm) (relief diameter) 11-1/2 inches (29.2 cm) (diameter with borders) Published by Hodebert, Paris & Flechtheim, Berlin THE RENOIR COLLECTION Renoir’s first sculptural work, this medallion and the bust of his youngest son, Claude “Coco” Renoir are the only two sculptures Renoir executed entirely with his own hands. The work was intended to decorate the fireplace in the dining room of Les Collettes at Cagnes, where it was displayed once finished. Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000. LITERATURE: P. Haesaerts, Renoir Sculptor, New York, 1947, p. 19, no. 1, illustration of another cast pl. III.
Renoir’s pince-nez, spectacles popular in the 19th century supported without earpieces by pinching the bridge of the nose, in a hinged leather case with royal purple velvet lining. Estimate: $1,000 – $1,500. Artist Unknown:. Condition Report*: 4.25 x 1.5 inches
