Veteran actress Nichelle Nichols, best known for her role as Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, has passed away at 89.
Miss Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois on December 28, 1932 to Samuel Earl and Lishia Nichols. Her father was elected Mayor of Robbins in 1929.
Continue readingTony Dow, the actor famous for playing Wally Cleaver on the hit sitcom Leave It to Beaver, has passed away at the age of 77.
Mr. Dow was born Anthony Lee Dow in Hollywood, California on April 15th, 1945.
Long time owner, Chairman, and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Vince McMahon has announced his retirement.
Mr. McMahon, the son of Vincent J. McMahon, purchased the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) from his father in 1984. The company would drop the word “Wide” and become the World Wrestling Federation (WWF.)
Continue readingThe line-ups for the 2002 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles, California are set.
The game goes down on Tuesday July 19th, 2022 at Dodgers Stadium, making the National League the home team.
The line-ups are as follows:
American League
Elected starters
C: Alejandro Kirk (TOR)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)
2B: Jose Altuve (HOU)
3B: Rafael Devers (BOS)
SS: Tim Anderson (CWS)
OF: Aaron Judge (NYY)
OF: Mike Trout (LAA)
OF: Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (LAA)
Reserves
C: Jose Trevino (NYY)
1B: Luis Arraez (MIN)
2B: Andrés Giménez (CLE)
3B: José Ramírez (CLE)
SS: Xander Bogaerts (BOS)
SS: Corey Seager (TEX)
OF: Byron Buxton (MIN)
OF: Kyle Tucker (HOU)
OF: George Springer (TOR)
OF: Andrew Benintendi (KC)
OF: Julio Rodríguez (SEA)
DH: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
DH: Miguel Cabrera (DET)
DH: J.D. Martinez (BOS)+
Starting pitchers
LHP: Shane McClanahan (TB)
RHP: Justin Verlander (HOU)
RHP: Alek Manoah (TOR)
LHP: Nestor Cortes (NYY)
RHP: Gerrit Cole (NYY)
RHP: Shohei Ohtani (LAA)
RHP: Paul Blackburn (OAK)
LHP: Martín Pérez (TEX)
LHP: Framber Valdez (HOU)
Relievers
RHP: Clay Holmes (NYY)
RHP: Emmanuel Clase (CLE)
RHP: Jorge López (BAL)
LHP: Gregory Soto (DET)
National League
Elected starters
C: Willson Contreras (CHC)
1B: Paul Goldschmidt (STL)
2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA)
3B: Manny Machado (SD)
SS: Trea Turner (LAD)
OF: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL)
OF: Joc Pederson (SF)
OF: Mookie Betts (LAD)
DH: Bryce Harper (PHI)
Reserves
C: Travis d’Arnaud (ATL)
1B: Pete Alonso (NYM)
1B: C.J. Cron (COL)
1B: Albert Pujols (STL)
2B: Jeff McNeil (NYM)
3B: Nolan Arenado (STL)
SS: Dansby Swanson (ATL)
OF: Kyle Schwarber (PHI)
OF: Starling Marte (NYM)
OF: Ian Happ (CHC)
OF: Juan Soto (WSH)
DH: William Contreras (ATL)
DH: Garrett Cooper (MIA)
Starting pitchers
RHP: Sandy Alcantara (MIA)
RHP: Corbin Burnes (MIL)
RHP: Joe Musgrove (SD)
LHP: Max Fried (ATL)
RHP: Tony Gonsolin (LAD)
RHP: Luis Castillo (CIN)
LHP: Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
LHP: Carlos Rodón (SF)+
Relievers
LHP: Josh Hader (MIL)
RHP: Edwin Díaz (NYM)
RHP: Ryan Helsley (STL)
RHP: David Bednar (PIT)
LHP: Joe Mantiply (ARI)
Due to injuries, Corey Seager will start in the outfield in place of George Springer and William Contreras will start at DH in place of Bryce Harper.
Today marks the 155th birthday for the Dominion of Canada since Confederation on July 1st, 1867.
Confederation was created thanks to the hard work of many people, and helped to create the Canada we know today.
Continue readingOn June 15th and 16th, 2022, the VIA Historical Association (VHA) had two of its’ cars on display the at TRACCS Rail Event at the Toronto Maintenance Centre.
The VHA is a not-for-profit organization aimed at preserving equipment operated by VIA Rail Canada, the Crown Corporation that provides rail service across Canada.
On display were:
Continue readingOn June 2nd, 2022 the Province of Ontario held a general election for its 124 seats in the Provincial Legislature.
The Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) led by Premier Doug Ford won a second term in office while increasing their seat total to 83. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Andrea Horwath remain the Official Opposition despite losing seven seats (31 total seats), the Ontario Liberal Party (Liberals) led by Steven Del Duca increased their seat count from seven to eight, and the Green Party of Ontario (Green Party) led by Mike Schreiner won one seat (Mr. Schreiner as re-elected in Guelph.)
Overall, only 43.5% of eligible voters voted despite 10 days of advance polls (May 19th to 28th) and the polls being open for 12 hours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) on election day. Early indication is that this is the lowest recorded turnout in the Province’s history1. The PCs received only a slight increase in total votes from 2018 despite winning more seats. The Liberals won 5,000 more votes overall than the NDP despite winning only eight seats.
On election night, both Ms. Horwath and Mr. Del Duca announced that they would be resigning as party leaders.
Continue readingToday I dropped by a couple of locations as part of Doors Open Toronto 2022.
My first stop was at the Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) at the John St. Roundhouse, which is located near the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre (SkyDome.)
The John St. Roundhouse used to service locomotives owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and was part of their passenger yard that was located south of Union Station in the heart of Toronto. Eventually the property south of Union Station, which also saw the Canadian National Railways (CNR) yard was converted to other uses, including the Rogers Centre (SkyDome), the CN Tower, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Here are some pictures from there:
Continue readingSpring is in full bloom.
Following are some pictures I have taken this spring. I hope you enjoy!
For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, VIA Rail’s flagship train, The Canadian, is now back to two days per week.
The first first day of the resumption of the second departure of the westbound version of the train, #1, was today, May 4th, 2022.
I was able to get most of the consist of the train, which is as follows:
Continue reading
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