Fall 2019

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Edward Brain

Here are some pictures I have taken over the course of autumn this year:

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Liberal Minority in the 43rd Canadian General Election

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Edward Brain

On October 21st, 2019 the 43rd Federal election was held in Canada.  The result was a victory for the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau, who received enough support to gain a minority Government, despite having a majority in the last election.

There were 338 seats being contested, with 170 seats required to form a majority Government.

The Liberals faced stiff competition from the Conservatives led by Andrew Scheer.  At dissolution, the Liberals had 177 seats, the Conservatives 95, the NDP 39, the Bloc Québécois 10, the Greens 2, and the People’s Party of Canada 1.   Continue reading →

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2019 World Series

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Edward Brain

The 2019 World Series, 115th series, is set to start tonight in Houston.  Let’s look into the series:

The series features National League (NL) Pennant winners the Washington Nationals facing off against the American League (AL) Pennant winners the Houston Astros. Continue reading →

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Christine Goerke reigns over Turandot: Live in HD from The Met Opera

Posted on October 12, 2019 by Edward Brain

Today I attended the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcast of Puccini’s final opera, Turandot.  The performance starred Christine Goerke (Turandot), Yusif Eyvazov (Calàf), Eleonora Buratto (Liù), and James Morris (Timur.)   Met Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted.  The production is by Franco Zeffirelli and this season’s run of Turandot (and La Boheme) are dedicated to his memoery as he passed away earlier this year.

The production is Mr. Zeffirelli’s lavish production which I have reviewed before.  The production, while lavish, also helps to take us away from our world and into Turandot’s realm.  And it allows the opera, not the director’s take on the opera, to take the lead and be the centre of attention. Continue reading →

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2019 League Championship Series

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Edward Brain

The 2019 Divisional Series have now been completed and the Amercian League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS) are now set.

Let’s look at the two series: Continue reading →

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Turandot at the COC

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Edward Brain

The Four Seasons Centre.

I attended the October 3th, 2019 performance of the Robert Wilson production of Turandot at the Canadian Opera Company (COC.)  Ther performance was well worth attending.

The performance starred Tamara Wilson (Turandot), Sergey Skorokhodov (Calaf), David Leigh (Timur), Joyce El-khoury (Liu), Adrian Timpau (Ping), Julius Ahn (Pang), and Joseph Hu (Pong).  The COC Orchestra was lead by Maestro Carlo Rizzi. Continue reading →

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Baseball Wild Card Games

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Edward Brain

The Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season has now been completed, and the 10 postseason teams have now all qualified.

The postseason opens tonight, with the National League Wild Gard Game.

In the first round, the one game Wild Card Games (WCG), we see the following match-ups: Continue reading →

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Second Opinion on Reserve Funds

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Edward Brain

Gerry Hyman has another article for the Toronto Star.  Let’s discuss some of the questions:

QUESTION:  Our board has received a reserve fund study which, if implemented, will bankrupt our corporation. We directors believe that the numbers in the study are out of whack. Is the board obligated to follow the recommendations of the study?

Continue reading →

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Limits need to be placed on Condo Directors

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Edward Brain

Gerry Hyman has another article for the Toronto Star.  Let’s look at some of the questions:

QUESTION:  The president of our corporation is also the vice-president. secretary and treasurer. He is impossible to work with and is making poor decisions. How do we remove him? Our problem is that no other owner wants the difficult job. Can we hire a property manager to deal with bookkeeping and other matters?

Continue reading →

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Toronto’s old Articulated Streetcars are Retired

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Edward Brain

September 2nd, 2019 marked the final day of service for the Toronto Transit Commission’s Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV.)

The cars, based on the shorter Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV), were longer and could therefore hold more passengers.  They entered service in 1988, nine years after the CLRV. Continue reading →

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