[PHOTO] Thirteen photos of the sakura of Robarts Library by twilight

Yeesterday evening just before sunset I dashed down to the University of Toronto campus to see the sakura sheltered to the west of Robarts Library, on the University of Toronto campus. I wanted to see what they would look like under different light. I was pleasantly surprised by the effect of the late hour, pale pink blossoms in front of a periwinkle sky.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: #yongeandstrong, Bloordale, rental housing crisis, Green Line

• Toronto Life has a nice photo-heavy feature sharing the experiences of some of the witnesses and survivors of the North York van attack.


• NOW Toronto reports on the discontent of Bloordale residents with the latest proposal for development on the southwest corner of Bloor and Dufferin.


• Prices for rental housing continue to rise beyond the city of Toronto, in the wider GTA. CBC reports.


• The idea of a crisis of affordability for Toronto renters, with one-quarter having to pay half or more of their income in rent, is very real. The Toronto Star reports.


• Public consultation on the plan for a Green Line network of parks, extending from Bathurst Street up to Earlscourt Park, will close on Friday. Submissions can be made here.

[NEWS] Five LGBTQ links: Andrea Constand, Harry Styles, The Gay Cookbook, UCC homophobia, Brian Sims

• This older article notes the importance of the fact that Bill Cosby's leading accuser, Andrea Costand, is lesbian. Yahoo has it.


• This them.us article explores the phenomenon of queer women finding Harry Styles concerts to be enjoyable safe spaces.


• Atlas Obscura notes a remarkable book of the mid-1960s book, Lou Rand Hogan's The Gay Cookbook. In many ways, it was a precocious text.


• Cheri DiNovo's suggestion that the United Church of Canada make a formal apology for past homophobia appeals to me. (I was raised in that church, incidentally.) CBC reports.


• I quite liked this Queerty interview with out Pennsylvania legislator Brian Sims, covering everything from his opinions on Cynthia Nixon's run for New York state governor to his status as a sex symbol.

[NEWS] Five language links: English, French, Gaelic, Cantonese, Russian

• Despite Brexit, the English language is continuing to make inroads against French in the halls of the European Union. Politico Europe reports.


• The State of Louisiana has made a formal application to join the Organisation international de la francophonie.


• This article in The Scotsman noting how some African slaves taken to plantations in the Carolinas came to use Gaelic, not English, as their common language is fascinating. What other influences came unexpectedly from Gaelic Scotland to African America?


• Can Hong Kong use the Cantonese language to extend its influence deeper into China and elsewhere? The SCMP considers.


• This article/a> in New Eastern Europe makes interesting arguments about how, in the post-Soviet world, the Russian language now has multiple centres and multiple standards. I'm unconvinced about the political arguments, though.

[PHOTO] Twenty-nine photos from Michaelangelo (#metmichaelangelo) at the Met (#metmuseum)

After much too long, and having overcome computer issues among other things, I thought it was time for me to resume my NYC latergramming.

The Met's exhibition of Michaelangelo--Michaelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer--is superb, tracing his direct influences through to his immediate successors with a remarkable survey of the entirety of his sketches. Thank you, Paul, for suggesting this, and thank you, Alexander, for waiting outside until I finished. (It was crowded, and deservedly so.) What can be said but that Michaelangelo was a master?