[PHOTO] Shakespeare, on red

[PHOTO] Three photos of Three Star Variety, 621 Bathurst Street

Three Star Variety (621 Bathurst Street) caught my eye as I was passing by with the building's colourful graffiti-style painted walls.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait investigates a mysterious streak on a photo of Messier 77. Asteroid, satellite, something else?


• Centauri Dreams reports on the latest attempt at a census estimate of brown dwarfs in the Milky Way Galaxy.


• Crooked Timber's John Quiggin considers the diminishing role of the pundit, displaced by the expert.


• D-Brief is one of many sources to note the deadly, ubiquitous perchlorates of Mars. Mars is dead for good reasons.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money links to a tweetstorm by one Kate Antonova arguing that the ideological labels of the long 19th century no longer speak to our issues.


• Language Hat notes how early Tsarist mappers were confused by confusing, often shared, placenames.


• The LRB Blog reports on the recovery of a Bloomsbury Wedgwood service features the images of notable women.


• Marginal Revolution shares opinions that Macron is overrated, not least in terms of the distinctiveness of some of his policies from those of Trump.


• Window on Eurasia argues that projected shrinkage of the workforce of Russia means either economic decline or controversial immigration.

[URBAN NOTE] Four links on mass transit in Toronto, from the Metrolinx to funding to King Street

• Steve Munro notes the appallingly bad official presentation of ridership data on the Union-Pearson Express.


• Edward Keenan notes that, though external funding news is good, Toronto needs to somehow find four billion dollars on its own. Where?


• Ben Spurr notes that the new King Street plan prioritizing transit will make exceptions for taxis at some times.


• Martin Regg Cohn notes that Metrolinx desperately needs to be insulated from political interference.

[NEWS] Four notes about water, from ferries to rubber ducks to climate change to melting Greenland

• blogTO observes that a former ferry from Halifax is coming to Lake Ontario, to connect mainland Toronto to Centre Island.


• Shawn Micallef notes in the Toronto Star how Toronto fell for the World's Largest Rubber Duck.


• Alex Bozikovic notes in The Globe and Mail how Toronto(and other cities) can prepare for climate change by trying to adapt to flooding, not prevent it altogether.


• CBC notes that the more sunshine Greenland gets, the faster its ice cap melts.