[PHOTO] Greenery behind the plywood, Spadina and Baldwin

The building on the southern corner of Spadina Avenue and Baldwin Street is abandoned, hidden behind thick sheaves of plywood that offer a surface to graffiti; the "Rob Ford for Ex-Mayor" poster I'd shared is glued to that plywood surface.

Wandering about this area last week with Mark on his visit, though, we found a door ajar on the plywood sheath. I popped inside and saw untrammeled green and bright sunlight inside.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Acts of Minor Treason's Andrew Barton wonders why Oregon doesn't have a state sales tax. Yes, it makes things ridiculously cheap for the Canadian (and other) traveller, but how are common goods financed?


• James Bow reflects on the Columbia Icefields, a glacier in Alberta's Rocky Mountains that's in accelerating retreat. I'm glad I got to see it back in 1993.


• A poster at Crasstalk points out that a skyscraper in Detroit just sold for five million dollars US, about the price of a nice condo in Manhattan.


• Daniel Drezner wonders whether Gmail's new feature letting users know if their accounts are being attacked by state agencies might become a status symbol.


• Eastern approaches argues that BBC coverage of racism in Poland and Ukraine on the eve of the Euro 2012 cup is badly overblown and unrepresentative, at least of Poland.


• Francesca Elston writes about how she makes different social media networks work for her benefit.


• Geocurrents notes speculation in Guyana about Russia's forgiveness of some Guyanese debt to new Russian investments in the South American country's mining sector.


• At Halfway Down the Danube, Douglas Muir contrasts and compares the Israeli and Palestinian agricultural sectors. Briefly, Israel enjoys so many benefits (good soil, water, capital) that the Israeli agricultural sector dominates Palestinian shelves.


• Supernova Condensate imagines what the universe would look like to creatures which saw the radio wave segment of the electromagnetic spectrum.
  
• Torontoist and Livejournal's toronto community both note that Mayor Rob Ford did successfully do away with the 5 cent surcharge for plastic bags, only to have city council proceed to ban bags altogether.

[META] Vacation note

For the next week--until Thursday the 14th, at the earliest--I'll be on a break from text posts, as I'll be in New York City for my cousin's wedding.

What does this mean? Well, you're likely to see any number of New York City photo posts, among other NYC-related things.

Ciao!