[PHOTO] Green Gables House circa 1966, seen at the Ryerson Image Centre

Yesterday, I linked to a National Observer report about an exciting new exhibit at the Ryerson Image Centre, of a cache of old New York Times photos acquired by that museum of photography and put on exhibit. The Faraway Nearby is indeed a good exhibit--I stopped by last night. My attention was caught particularly by a photograph taken of Green Gables House in 1966, long before the house had acquired its accretion of ersatz farm buildings and vast parking lots. The contrast with some of the photos I have been sharing--in particular, with yesterday's photo post--is enlightening.

[PHOTO] CN Tower in red and blue, from the AGO

The rear staircase of the Art Gallery of Ontario, extending five stories above Grange Park and overlooking the skyline of downtown Toronto, offers dramatic vistas.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Centauri Dreams considers the idea of uploading a digital "Golden Record" into the memory of New Horizons.


• Crooked Timber takes a look at American legal writer (and judge) Richard Posner's embrace of pragmatism. What does it mean?


• D-Brief notes the rapid melting of the glaciers that feed the major rivers of Asia.


• The Dragon's Gaze links to a paper considering ways to detect planets in orbit of red giants.


• The LRB Blog considers the potential for political tumult in Saudi Arabia, in the wake of arrests and rumours.


• The Map Room Blog links to a new gravity map of Mars, revealing the crust of that world to be less dense and more variable than thought.


• The NYR Daily looks at the South China Sea dispute in the wake of Indonesia's newly restated claims.


• Roads and Kingdoms looks at Philadelphia's seasonal cookie--spiced wafer--wars.


• Drew Rowsome is a big fan of the movie adaptation of It.


• Window on Eurasia suggests that, for want of better options, the Donbas republics' people might return to Ukraine.

[URBAN NOTE] Five links: Toronto affordable housing, public art, Montréal flag, co-housing, Islands

• Building two thousand affordable housing units in Toronto is a nice step forward. Will there be more steps? The Toronto Star reports.


• This charming bit of improvised art down at Humber Bay Park reminds me that I really need to head down there. From the Toronto Star.


• Montréal has stopped representing genocidal General Amherst on its flag, replacing it with a native pine tree. The National Post reports.


• Emily Macrae at Torontoist suggests co-housing, drawn from a Québec model, is something Toronto might want to look into.


• Richard Longley at NOW Toronto explores the Toronto Islands. Do they have a future? What will they need?

[NEWS] Five links about Amazon: HQ2 in Canada, US cities, Amazon Prime, monopolies, CamperForce

• Canadian cities could host Amazon's HQ2, but at considerable cost. Affordable housing, say, would be an issue.


• Conor Sen argues that Amazon's HQ2 augurs an age of corporate diffusion beyond the largest centres.
• Amazon Prime, Kaleigh Rogers notes, is hugely important for remote communities like those in the North. If it goes ...


• Stacy Mitchell notes how, after Whole Foods, Amazon seems set to monopolize the whole infrastructure of commerce.


• Is Jessica Bruder's story of CamperForce, Amazon's RV-living army of elderly workers, a cheering story of triumph over adversity or a scary take on the future of work? I'm not sure.