#Toronto open-top bus

[uglyandtraveling]

Toronto City Sightseeing Bus: The Way to Explore the City

Explore Toronto’s top attractions with the City Sightseeing Bus! Hop on and off at iconic landmarks like CN Tower, Casa Loma, and more. Discover the city with ease!

[crossbackpoke-check]

Why I Am Not Coming In To Work Today [abridged], Jess Zimmerman

part one | part two

[something-bout-the-weather]

I Missed You / Matty Healy x Reader

Hey! This is some cute fluff about Matty being clingy on the tour bus after not seeing you for a while. Thank you to the anon for requesting and inspiring this one! Enjoy ❤️

Matty and his band, The 1975, have been travelling all over America touring their latest album and show for the past two months now. You would have done anything to be on tour with them too. You wouldn’t even mind sleeping in the tour bus bunks, if it meant you got to see Matty. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, you’ve not been able to travel with them and haven’t seen Matty since you said a tearful goodbye to him at London Heathrow Airport.

That is, until this weekend. Having managed to meet all your deadlines at work, your boss has given you the next week off. As soon as you got the news, you rang Matty and excitedly booked flights to Toronto, which was their next tour stop.

So, that’s why you find yourself on a Sunday afternoon searching for your suitcase on the baggage carousel at Toronto International Airport. You’ve never wanted your bag to appear quicker because you know waiting in a car park outside, in the tour bus, is Matty and you have missed him more than words can say.

The sight of your bright red suitcase brings a massive smile to your face as you quickly grab it and practically run to where you know the tour bus is waiting.

Standing outside the tour bus door, like a mirage on the horizon, is Matty. He is dressed in a pair of baggy joggers and a top that says ‘Ratty Healy’ which immediately makes you giggle. His unruly curls fly everywhere as he starts running towards you. You instantly let go of your suitcase, not caring where it lands, and run right into his open arms.

“Hey baby,” Matty mumbles into your hair, “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” you say looking up at him before your gaze falls to his lips. You can’t help but pull him into a passionate kiss.

The pair of you seemingly forget you are out in public for all to see, until George’s voice shouts “Oi, lovebirds get inside the bus we are on a schedule!” making the two of you abruptly pull away from one another.

“Jesus Daniels! You could have just given me a minute to get some action,” Matty replies, before placing a hand on the small of your back and guiding you towards the tour bus.

You spend the next hour catching up with the rest of the band. Matty won’t let you leave his side and it is clear how much he missed you. His hand has been intertwined with yours from the minute you sat down at the tour bus table and his thumb keeps gently caressing the back of your hand. It is lovely to catch up with the guys and hear them talk about the shows they’ve had so far and just be back in Matty and the bands company.

Before Ross can start another story, Matty turns to face you and asks, “Darling, would you like a tour of your home for the next few days?”

“Yes please,” you say before raising to your feet.

Holding out his hand for you to take, he guides you towards the stairs in the back corner of the bus and begins leading you up them before saying, “So, you’ve already seen where we cook, eat and hang out most of the time, but there is a lot more to this house on wheels.”

As you reach the top of the stairs, you are greeted with a corridor. Along it are twelve bunks that the band and their crew have been living in for the last few weeks. You don’t know how they manage to sleep in such a small bunk but you are going to have to get used to it for a few days.

“Here’s my bunk,” Matty says pointing towards one of the twelve bunks. On the wall in his bunk is a picture of you which he took before he left for America.

“Why, of all the pictures of me did you pick that one Matty?” you ask.

“Because, my love, you look beautiful in and it made it feel like you were here somehow!” He says before kissing your forehead.

“Well, where’s my bunk for the next few days?” you question.

“This one,” Matty says pointing to the bunk under his, “But, you aren’t sleeping in there tonight.”

“Why not?” you ask confused

“You’re going to share with me! I’ve missed you too much and I’m sure we can both squeeze into my bunk,” he replies.

“I’m not convinced we will Matty, but if you insist,” you say defeatedly before a yawn escapes your lips, your tiredness taking you by surprise.

“Are you sleepy love?” Matty asks concerned.

“Very sleepy," you say through another yawn.

“How about we delay the rest of the bus tour and test out if we can both fit in my bunk?” He suggests.

“Only if you’re sure we won’t break it,” you reply.

Matty gently lifts you into the bunk before climbing in after you and squeezing in beside you. You feel his arms wrap around you as he says, “Get some sleep baby, I love you so much.”

You don’t have the chance to reply before sleep takes over and you relax into Matty’s warm embrace.

The bunks may be a tight squeeze but the pair of you will make it work for the next few days. Well, you’ll have to because Matty is reluctant to leave your side and honestly, you’re enjoying clingy Matty.

[asunsetgrace16]

☀︎ ▴ ｔｈｅ ｋｉｄｄｏｓ ▴ ☀︎

main masterlist ⎥ au masterlist ⎥ navigation

I felt it was necessary to more formally introduce you all to the offspring of the Fantilli clan and a little about how I imagine their lives to play out.

ᴛʜᴇᴏ ᴀᴅᴀᴍ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: August 6, 2031

he has brown eyes and auburn blond hair

Theo has an easy smile and a kind heart, always wearing his heart on his sleeve

he is a protector, always looking out for his little siblings and standing up for kids. He also was always a natural born leader, even when he was little and playing with his siblings. It translated into his hockey

he inherited his dad and Uncle Adam's hockey skills, in addition to being quite the academic. He thrived in math and the sciences and quickly became a star center on the ice

he was torn between entering the OHL draft and college hockey, but in the end it was entirely his decision to make

Theo committed to Boston University to play on the Men's hockey team in 2048 and entered as a Biology major and a highly touted NHL prospect

at BU, he met Lana Thomas-Lu in their freshman year General Chemistry class. Theo's teammates went overboard with the chemistry puns after they got together

Theo went on to get drafted in the 2049 NHL draft, 2nd overall to the Calgary Flames, where he spent his entire 20-year career

Theo and Lana stayed together and got married in 2055

Theo and Lana have 3 kids - Lucy, Arabella, and James, and still reside in Calgary where Lana works as a Lab Tech and Theo joined the Flames organization as executive to the GM

ᴄᴏʟᴛᴏɴ ɢɪᴜʟɪᴀɴᴏ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: September 19, 2033

he is 4 minutes and 56 seconds older than Caroline

he has light brown hair and his eyes are blue

Colton has the devilishly handsome looks and is more guarded than Theo

he has the most spunk out of his siblings, he thrives on adrenaline

he played hockey early on before transitioning into football, which earned him a scholarship to Yale and took a Sports Medicine degree

Colton played college football for 5 years before leaving the team to finish his degree, deciding not to enter the NFL draft. Instead, he turned his sights towards opening a sports medicine clinic

he quickly became known through the sports world, seeing dozens of professional athletes, including his big brother Theo and twin sister Caroline

he met his eventual wife Melanie as a kid, they were thick as thieves until high school when they grew apart. They rekindled their relationship at Yale, coincidentally, and have been together since sophomore year

they got married in 2060, and have made a home and built Colton's business in Toronto. Mel is a high school teacher for biology, chemistry, physics, and English

they have 4 kids- Mack, Jill, Alex, and Poppy

ᴄᴀʀᴏʟɪɴᴇ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: September 19, 2033

Caroline had dark brown hair and blue eyes

she has the same personality as Madelyn, but she is all Luca's athleticism

she is quiet, preferring reading to parties. She was a whiz in the classroom, graduating at the top of her class along with Colton, and Theo before them

Caroline is known as the gentle one of her siblings, kind and pure-hearted and sweet, a complete 180 from her on-ice fierceness

Caroline played hockey from the time she could walk, honing her skill with hours of practice with Theo, her dad, and Uncle Adam.

She committed to the University of Michigan Women's hockey team when she gratuated high school, with aspirations of making the PWHL

she played for UMich for her freshman year in 2051-52, before signing with PWHL Minnesota, where she was drafted in 2052. She played for Minnesota for 8 years before being traded to Toronto in 2060 in free agency. She retired in 2068 after a shoulder injury

Caroline met Francisco "Cisco" Hernandez during her time in Minnesota. They met during her rookie year and got together in 2053. Cisco is a sergeant detective. They still live in Toronto

they got married in 2058, opting to elope with Theo and Lana as witnesses, and both of their parents were in attendance. They threw a party after getting back from their honeymoon

Caroline and Cisco decided to not have kids, instead being the doting aunt and uncle

ᴅᴀᴘʜɴᴇ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ꜰᴀɴᴛɪʟʟɪ

Born: July 2, 2037

she got Madelyn's red hair and Luca's brown to create an auburn similar to Theo's, and Luca's brown eyes

Daphne is the most relaxed, go-with-the-flow of her family, and just as driven and determined

she was also an athlete, playing high school volleyball and basketball and she was on the Track team in the 4 x 400m relay, 1500m, triple jump, long jump, and discus. She runs half-marathons regularly and has dreams of running the Boston Marathon

like her siblings, Daphne is a brilliant student, and the most all-around student of the four. She excelled in all her classes, and decided to pursue her passion for learning

her primary interests are around history and languages, with the majority of her books being historical fiction

she is a big foodie, always experimenting with fusion flavours and hosting dinner parties

Daphne plays the piano and has a beautiful singing voice

she met Jake in 2055 during her first year at Harvard. He was in his sophomore year of a business degree and they shared a music elective. They got together the following year

Daphne is now an accredited professor with PhD's in three different fields - History, Archeology, and Languages and Linguistics. She teaches 20th Century History at Harvard and Jake is an accountant

they adopted two kids, 3 year old Caleb in 2068 and 4 year old Jamie in 2070

[missguomeiyun]

❆ SEATTLE (ep44): unexpected sleepover at SEA

Now that we are confirmed to be staying overnight at the Seattle airport. .. We went around looking for more food.

Beecher’s Homemade Cheese shop.

I forgot which terminal this was located in bcos DL & I walked around a LOT. Good thing we didn’t check in anything, so we had all our belongings!

I have never heard of Beecher’s before but it’s basically an artisan cheese shop that sells a variety of cheese. Their location here also has actual menu items that feature their cheese/incorporates their cheese in some way. I was pretty excited to try it actually.

You know how most airport shops are quite small, this Beecher’s took up quite a big space. They had these large photographs on display on their wall & they were like. .. I don’t know.. 24 x 36in?

Cheeses!

Saw some interesting ones but didn’t buy any. Prices were steep!

One of their latest items at the time: the Breadzel

Looks . .. alright. Kinda dry, if you asked me.

Their menu~

We got the Mac n Cheese. It was SO CHEESY (& creamy)!!! Almost. .. artificially cheesy lol it’s so hard to describe. You know the cheetos cheese. .. the ‘fake’ cheese powder stuff that’s like. .. over the top? But you know it’s not real cheese. This was ‘real’ cheese but it was sooooo cheesy like the cheetos products haha it was so weird! I didn’t care for the macaroni much but . . overall, it was just okay.

Found a spot in the corner at Terminal A, near Gate 20 to spend the night. ..

Literally had this whole terminal to ourselves. ..

The time didn’t go by slow, which was surprising. I was catching up on my diary/travel journal so I don’t forget details for this blog post LOL I also called my family, DL called hers as well. We both did our own things for the rest of the evening, & discussed the idea that Edmonton should send Seattle a guide on how to deal with snow at the airport. ..

We took turns taking 2-3 hr naps in our corner for the entire night. DL was able to nap but I couldn’t so when it was my turn to ‘nap’, I just rested my eyes but my mind was fully awake. It was very quiet. ..

& THEN MORNING CAME~

We went over to Terminal B for McDs. When we were doing our rounds last night, we realized that the airport only has 2 places open 24 hrs. One was McD’s & the other is a cafe called Mocha Cafe. Both were in Terminal B.

Admiring some McD’s wall art lol

Okay. .. 0830h: we were actually in front of Gate B21. Someone from the Air Canada desk told us that Gate B21 was gonna be used for another flight & that our flight got relocated to .. . yup, you got it! Back to A20. So we had to travel back here lol just can’t seem to leave A20.

More things. ..

 Our air craft (the one that’s coming from Toronto) is delayed coming in bcos they were slow/delayed on the boarding (when leaving Toronto) so the wait continues.. .

& then we got another boarding pass???

Yeah I don’t know. Things got so “messy” here =(  but basically, what happened was: they said they over-booked. So some passengers from our ‘original’ flight got taken off, & we were 2 of the unlucky ones. We got boarding passes for the next flight, which supposedly was like leaving an hr after this one. I mean. .. not that we had an option to refuse anyway but. .. what the heck! It’s an extra hr!

Hope (the Air Canada desk agent) found us in the crowd sometime shortly after & booked us back onto the original flight........ ?!?!?! Yes.

Our “FINAL” boarding pass: AC8090, departing 1030h.

** putting this picture here bcos Air Canada offered us free check-in of luggage due to limited space on air craft so both DL & I checked our carry-on in.

1010: okay so, departure time was scheduled for 1030h & it’s 20mins away but we haven’t started boarding yet. In fact, there was no air craft around that pulled up at the gate...... omg

1030h: we took an airport bus from gate A20 to a remote place on the take-off ground lol it was nearly a 5-min ride & we were like.. . “where are we going?” & then once the bus stopped, we continued to wait inside the bus.

1100h: boarding the Air Canada Express plane!

I’ve never been on one of these. It was super tiny o.O The air craft looked like a jet, honestly. I can see why they offered free check-in service bcos our carry-on suitcases would not fit on the overhead compartment =/

1125h: air craft warmed up & we are ready to go!

1135: OFFICIALLY IN THE AIR! :D honestly wasn’t 100% confident that we were even gonna make it/land in/arrive at Vancouver. .. but we finally left the Seattle airport haha

1208h (YVR time): we landed safely despite being a very bumpy ride. It was kinda scary! I guess smaller air crafts aren’t very stable compared to larger ones. Anyway, we arrived & the scenery looked exactly the same as Seattle.

Again, we landed on a random part of the airport...

This temporary gate was set up & it was quite a distance away from the ‘building’ =S

We went thru customs, picked up our checked bags & then headed to the Skytrain station

Yup. .. SNOW!!!!

MORE SNOW!

But yeah, we took the Skytrain from the airport to the Downtown core, specifically the Yaletown Roundhouse station.

[thegrassisaalwaysgreener]

Our First Cruise

            Every other year, we get to spend March Break with Henrik. Naturally, we thought we would do a big trip with him. I have to say, travelling during March break is not my cup of tea but it is what it is. We had planned to go on a cruise with my parents so spent many hours sorting out which cruise line and where we wanted to go. My parents had been on several cruises before and had enjoyed them. We decided on the Norwegian Dawn as it was a happy medium for us all. The price was decent, the stops had something for all of us and the dates worked with when we wanted to travel.

            We surprised Henrik with the cruise cleverly as a Christmas gift. He was SO excited. He couldn’t stop talking about it. The cruise left from Fort Lauderdale on Saturday March 12, 2023. The weather in Hamilton/Toronto had been super dodgey and mum was worried we wouldn’t be able to fly out. She almost drove down to Florida! Luckily, we were able to fly out on an early morning flight out of Pearson. We did however, feel very nervous about getting to the cruise terminal on time. Luckily, we had booked everything through Norwegian, so they had to ensure we made it onto the cruise. We took Norwegian bus to the terminal and waited in the very long line to check into the boat. I had no idea what a production this was!!

Since we were so late to board, we were unable to go to our room before the safety briefing (which may have been the most useless thing I have ever heard). Having everyone at a muster point outside where you can’t hear any of the safety announcements seemed silly. We were finally able to make it to our joining rooms and check them out. We booked windowed rooms since it was Henrik, Mikes and my first cruise and I was worried about getting seasick. The room was quite small but big enough for the 3 of us. Henrik had a twin bed that folded down over top of our bed and he just loved it!

            Once we checked out our room, we made our way to the main pool deck to see what there was to eat. Unfortunately, there was no food available, which was not ideal since we hadn’t eaten since the morning and it was about 4 pm. Burgers and fries came out eventually so we enjoyed them along with a beverage while we explored the ship a bit. I had no idea how big the ships were!

            We explored the ship, swam in the pool, signed Henrik up for the kid’s club (thank goodness they had this!!) and enjoyed some bevvies before our first dinner. Since you had to book several of the restaurants in advance, we had dinner at the buffet that was surprisingly better than I thought. We had prime rib, veggies and potatoes.  

March 13, 2023- Sea Day

            Since our first day on board was a ship day, we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in before we took a lap or two around the deck before our breakfast. The breakfast at the main dining room was quite good! We had eggs and smoked salmon along with fruit and pastries. Henrik was just in his glory ordering whatever he wanted! Since we had an at sea day, we made sure Henrik got into the kid’s club for the day which he was nervous about at first and then was obsessed. The kid’s club was open during the day and then closed during mealtimes. While Henrik was at the kid’s club (with a fanny pack with an airtag in it just to be sure), Mike and I wandered around the boat and hung out by the pool and on the loungers with my parents.  We picked Henrik up after kid’s club and enjoyed ice cream and hung out by the pool. It was such a lovely afternoon. We all had dinner together before dropping Henrik off at the kid’s club again for another couple of hours. Mum and Kelly went to bed while Mike and I went to the karaoke show (which was hilarious).  We picked Henrik up 2 hours after his bedtime (What a party animal) to get a good night’s sleep before a big day in Cozumel.

March 14, 2023- Cozumel

            We tried to book as many excursions as we could ahead of time (which I highly suggest as the customer service desk has bizarre hours and is difficult). Kelly was going on a tour of Chichén Itzá. While Mike, Henrik, Mum and I were going to a beach front water park resort in Cozumel. The resort was called Playa Mia Grand Beach Park. t had an amazing inflatable waterpark along with waterslides and pools. It was approx. $80 per adult and $40 per child. We all had a blast playing on the beach, jumping around the inflatable water activities/obstacle courses and enjoying traditional Mexican food (which even mum enjoyed!). The water slides weren’t very busy which was extra fun for us. We spent the whole day at the beach and headed back to the port.

            We all freshened up after our long day and caught up with Kelly who had a less than fab day of history. Unfortunately, he did not get to enjoy the history of Chichén Itzá.  long enough due to the distance they had to travel and those on the trip with limited mobility. We all had dinner together (pasta, fish and dessert of course) before dropping Henrik off at the kid’s club. Mike and I enjoyed some drinks at Gatsby’s champagne bar while Kelly hung out in the cigar lounge before heading to the other wine bar. The wine bar was having some sort of singles event that was fun to people watch at. Mike and I went to the 90s night at the “club” for a little bit before picking up a very sweaty Henrik at 11 pm!! He had the best time at kid’s club which was amazing to hear.

March 15, 2023- Roatan

            Buffet breakfast are what dreams are made of when you have kiddos. It is so great to a) not have to cook anything and b) that there is always something they will eat! Luckily, Henrik’s taste buds are maturing so he is quite agreeable to trying lots of new things. We had booked a private tour of Roatan for the day which we were all really excited for. We would be learning about chocolate, going to a sanctuary and the beach as well.

Roatan is an island of the northern coast of Honduras and is the largest of the Bay Islands. It approximately 77 km long and 8 km wide with a population of 110, 000. It is known for its barrier reef (the 2nd largest in the world) along with conservation and institute for Marine Science.

Once we disembarked from the boat, we had a hard time finding the pick-up spot for our driver, but we managed to make it work. Our driver/tour guide Charlotte was a woman born and raised in Roatan (which was super surprising as she had such an interesting accent). She gave us a history lesson on the island. Our first stop was AJ’s Monkeys and Sloths where we got to take turns snuggling guinea pigs, sloths and beautiful birds. The sloths were just so precious! We each got to hug them and they were so sweet and cuddly. After hanging out with the birds (and even holding them so bravely!), we went into an enclosure with sweet white-faced monkeys. They jumped all around us and played with us- it was so fun. Henrik was very brave and enjoyed playing/seeing all of the animals.

            After our time was up at AJs, we made our way into town, we visited the The Roatan Chocolate Factory where we learned how to make chocolate. It was such a neat process! I had not idea how many cocoa beans were in one cocoa plant and how much was needed to make chocolate. We enjoyed many taste tests which we all loved. Charlotte brought us near the more touristy west end of the island which was a bit nicer but far busier. She dropped us off at a restaurant that allowed us to use their beach if we ate which was something we had already planned to do. Many of the other beaches were far more expensive so we were happy to enjoy lunch in a covered little bar area and still have access to the beautiful Roatan beach. The water was so crystal-clear blue- it was so crazy! We all enjoyed various tacos and burgers along with the fun beach bar vibe.

            Once our time was up, Charlotte took us back to the cruise terminal where we played some card games before our dinner. We booked our a la carte dinner for today (teppanyaki) which we were very excited about. While it was a bit pricey (that is the one thing about cruise ships, lots of hidden fees I have found), it was delicious! We shared the table with a lovely family from the states (the mum was also a nurse!). Henrik loved watching the chefs cook our food and the show they put on.

            Henrik got to head back to kids club after dinner while Mike and I people watched the big dance party and enjoyed a beautiful evening outside.

March 16, 2023- Belize

            After another delicious breaky (mimosas, eggs bene, fruit and pancakes for Henrik), we headed to the amazing poolside loungers that Kelly had gone and prepped for us ahead of time. We were on Harvest Caye, Belize which was owned by the Norwegian Cruise line. The island was well maintained but we had to pay for anything we ate or drank which was kind of annoying. Since it was a full beach/pool day, we wore our matching bathing suits which the boys just LOVED (haha!). We spent the whole day swimming in the pool, going into the ocean and wandering around the small island. We ended up going back to the ship for the buffet lunch since the menu at the resort was less than appealing.

            There was a little trolley from the cruise ship to the main entrance to the island so we took that back after lunch and continued to enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and hot weather. We took photos in front of the ‘Belize’ sign (as was a tradition at each stop) before Henrik and I enjoyed a fresh coconut. While we enjoyed our time in "Belize" it would've been great to be in another part of the country in order to really get an idea of the culture and people. Guess that just means we will have to visit again!

            There were so many fun activities to do so in the evening, we played shuffleboard after our dinner at the irish pub- O’Sheehan’s. Henrik loved the done up hot dog and desserts before his nightly trip to kid’s club. As a side note, we ended up going in line for kid’s club 30 mins (minimum) before it opened as there were only a certain amount of spot and we didn’t want a sourfaced munchkin. Once Henrik was at Kids club, Mum, Mike, Kelly and I went to the comedy show which was highly inappropriate but so funny. The comedian’s name has escaped me (and my notes apparently) but he was ridiculously funny. Mike and I enjoyed a few more bevvys at the bar while watching another show before picking Henrik up and heading to bed.

March 17, 2023- Costa Maya

            Our last stop on the cruise was Costa Maya Mexico. There weren’t a ton of activities or excursions that we thought we would like at this spot so we decided to stay close to the cruise ship and enjoy a beach day. While the sand wasn’t nearly as nice as the sand in Roatan, the area had a swim up bar, restaurant and dolphins in the area. We hung out drinking fancy slurpee drinks (for mum and Henrik) along with some beers for the rest of us. Henrik, Mike and I went on a bit of a mission to explore the rest of the area which was FILLED with tourists. We saw some flamingoes and bought some souvenirs at the shops before taking our photo outside of the ‘Costa Maya’ sign and heading back to our room to read and chill. The boys went out to enjoy some games while I walked some laps and had a green beer at O’Sheehans in celebration of St. Pattys Day

            Henrik had his dinner at the buffet with Mum and Kelly and Mike and I enjoyed a steak dinner once we dropped him off at kid’s club. We checked out the casino and then met our parents at the theater for the Cirque show (which was amazing). The parents headed to bed, and we went up to the mojito bar on the upper level and watched/danced with everyone at the white party. It was super fun and was basically like a club in the middle of the ocean under the beautiful sky.

March 18, 2023-Sea Day

            Sadly, it was our last full day on the cruise but it was a beautiful sea day. We spent the day swimming, playing games and enjoying numerous bevvies (mainly Aperol spritz for me and ice cream/smoothies for Henrik). We got lots of shopping done (including a new stuffy for Henrik) before heading to the buffet for a delicious surf and turf dinner. Sadly, the kids club was full when we arrived so Henrik hung out with us as we wandered around the casino and checked out the final show  of the trip. After putting Henrik to bed, Mike and I went out for one last adventure finding the “secret” hot tub which was in an area that super windy and crazy but fun.

[via-rail-offical]

The Missing Canadian Public Transit Links #2: Sheppard West (TTC 1) - Sheppard-Young (TTC 1,4)

The Context

TTC line 1 is one of the most stupid subway lines in the world, forming a big U around the city, with minimal connections across the city, provided by Line 2, the 512 streetcar, various busses, and Line 5 if it ever feels like opening.

(ignore the crudly drawn on line 5 and 6)

Both stations serve as hubs with several busses, notably they share the 958 express bus, with only three stops between the two.

However with both the 512 streetcar and the 958 express bus you have to ascend to the surface, which feels bad even if it's not that much slower. It's also clear the 958 express bus is a well used route, seeing 5 busses an hour off-peak and 7 busses an hour on-peak

The History

This connection frequently gets discussed in conversations about future plans for the TTC, however other projects get prioritized. A basic history of the link is as follows:

2002: TTC line 4 opens

2009: The TTC officially considers extending line 4 to allow an easy connection to the Wilson yard, it is dropped due to cost and lack of interest

2010: As a part of the "Transit City" plan the TTC line 6 Finch LRT is shown as connecting to Finch Station just north of this link, is included in the environmental review as an underground section, but is officially dropped prior to the construction of the line.

2013: The links are listed in Toronto's "Feeling Congested?" report as an unfunded future project both as the subway link and the lrt link.

2020: The links once again appear on a list by the TTC as a potential link, with Line 4 getting a "Moderate" priority and Line 6 getting a high priority

How might the link be built

Subway

A subway link along Sheppard is, in my opinion, the best option in this case. On top of providing more capacity at more predictable frequency, the line would also have the advantage of connecting the young section of line 1 to the Wilson yard, where all trains for lines 1 and 4 are maintained. This would allow trains to end service without traveling most of the highly congested line 1 and allow trains to start on the young side of line 1 (the more busy side). If we wanted to kill both birds with one stone, the subway could also parallel line one from Sheppard west though Downsview park (connecting to GO) and ending at Finch west providing a connection with line 6, negating the use of the Finch link. I think this would be the most optimal option.

Light Rail

Unfortunately this is the most likely option to be built as Ontario has learned nothing from the issues building light rail tunnels (O Train line 1 and TTC line 5 core). As well as not providing the important link to the Wilson yard from the Young side of line 1 the frequencies of this line will be unpredictable due to the fact that line 6 runs at grade west of Finch West station.

Conclusion

It should be built as a subway but it won't be and I still don't know how to tumbl

[preconstruction-info]

🏡 Explore the future of living at Terra Barrie! 🌿 Discover pre-construction opportunities that redefine urban living. Your dream home awaits in the heart of Barrie, blending modern design with natural beauty. 🏞️ Don't miss out on this exclusive chance to be a part of something extraordinary! 🔗 Check out the details: [http://dlvr.it/T17gl8 #TerraBarrie #PreConstructionHomes #BarrieLiving #DreamHome #RealEstateInvesting #ModernLiving #NewBeginnings #HomeBuyers #PropertyInvestment #UrbanOasis #LuxuryLiving #FutureHome #NatureInCity #ExclusiveLiving #InvestInYourFuture #RealEstateDreams #HomeSweetHome #DreamsComeTrue #BarrieRealEstate #NewHomeJourney #PreConstructionOpportunity #CityLife #HomeGoals #InvestWisely #YourNewHome #HomeBuyingJourney #PropertyDreams

[homeleaderrealty2]

Pickering City Centre Condos

Discover Pickering City Centre Condos

Welcome to Pickering City Centre Condos, where urban living meets suburban charm. Nestled at Kingston Rd & Liverpool Rd, Pickering, this exciting new condo development by CentreCourt Developments Inc. is set to redefine the way you experience life in this thriving community.

A Vision for Pickering's Future

At Pickering City Centre Condos, we have a bold vision: to create a pre-construction master-planned community right in the heart of downtown Pickering. Our goal is simple yet transformative—to turn this area into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. How do we plan to achieve this? By seamlessly integrating municipal infrastructure, retail services, and residential development.

What to Expect

Picture this: three striking residential towers, a planned hotel, an arts center, an outdoor ice rink, a combined senior and youth center, and an expanded central library—all part of Pickering City Centre Condos' grand plan. But that's not all.

Retail Therapy at Your Doorstep

Imagine having the Pickering Town Centre right at your doorstep. This bustling shopping mall boasts a remarkable lineup of over 200 stores, including popular brands, making it a one-stop-shop for all your needs. Whether you're looking for fashion, electronics, or just a cozy café to unwind, you'll find it here.

Walkability

One of the standout features of Pickering City Centre Condos is its exceptional walkability. With a top-notch Walk Score of 89, you can accomplish most errands comfortably on foot. Say goodbye to long commutes and hello to a lifestyle that encourages exploration and connection.

Family-Friendly Living

For families, this is an ideal location. You'll be delighted to discover esteemed educational institutions within a stone's throw from the condos. Education is within reach for your little ones. Plus, you're just a short walk away from the Pickering GO Train Station, providing quick access to downtown Toronto in under an hour. Convenience at its best!

Easy Commutes

The Pickering Parkway Terminal, located conveniently near the condos, serves as a regional transportation hub. Whether you need to travel locally or regionally, you'll find the transportation options you need. Local bus stops are also strategically placed throughout the neighborhood, making your daily commute a breeze.

Conclusion

Pickering City Centre Condos isn't just a place to live; it's a lifestyle. A visionary development that combines the best of urban living with the comfort of suburban tranquility. From retail therapy to easy commutes and family-friendly amenities, everything you need is right here.

So, are you ready to be a part of the future of Pickering? Stay tuned for updates and exciting developments as we embark on this remarkable journey together. We can't wait to welcome you to Pickering City Centre Condos, your new home sweet home.

Unlocking the Charm of Pickering City Centre Condos

Welcome to the vibrant world of Pickering City Centre Condos, where convenience, style, and investment potential seamlessly merge. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into what makes these condos an irresistible choice for both individuals and families. So, fasten your seatbelts, and let's explore the charm of Pickering City Centre Condos!

Perfect Location for Motorists

Quick Access to Major Highways

For those who cherish the freedom of the open road, Pickering City Centre Condos offer an enviable location. With easy access to major highways, including Highway 401 and Highway 407, your commute becomes a breeze. Imagine reaching downtown Toronto in just a little over 30 minutes by car. It's the kind of convenience that adds more hours to your day and less stress to your life.

Investor-Friendly Opportunity

CentreCourt Developments: A Trusted Name

When it comes to real estate development, trust matters. CentreCourt Developments is a name that exudes trust and reliability. They've built a reputation for offering investors well-designed units that meet top-notch standards. Their commitment to excellence is evident in every project they undertake.

A Closer Look at Pickering City Centre Condos

The Allure of a Walkable Community

What if you could live in a community where everything you need is just a stroll away? Pickering City Centre Condos offer precisely that. The walkability factor here is exceptional, with a multitude of amenities and services within easy reach. Whether it's shopping, dining, or entertainment, you're just steps away from it all.

Convenient Transit Access

Short Distance to Pickering GO Train Station

For those who prefer public transit, the Pickering GO Train Station is a short walk from the condos. This means you can leave the car behind and enjoy a stress-free journey into downtown Toronto in under an hour. It's the perfect blend of suburban tranquility and urban connectivity.

A Wealth of Amenities

Experience Luxury Living

Pickering City Centre Condos aren't just about location and convenience; they're also about indulgence. Step inside, and you'll discover a world of amenities designed to elevate your lifestyle. From state-of-the-art fitness centers to relaxing outdoor spaces, there's something for everyone. It's not just a home; it's a lifestyle upgrade.

Investing in Your Future

A Promising Investment Opportunity

Investing in a property is not just about a place to live; it's also about securing your financial future. Pickering City Centre Condos shine brightly on this front. With CentreCourt Developments' track record of delivering investor-friendly units, you can trust that your investment is in capable hands. These condos are thoughtfully designed to appeal to both residents and investors alike.

Conclusion: A High-Quality Living Experience

In summary, Pickering City Centre Condos offer a high-quality living experience that combines the best of urban convenience and suburban comfort. It's more than just a place to live; it's a place to thrive. Whether you're looking for an easy commute, a walkable community, or a promising investment, these condos check all the boxes.

So, are you ready to embrace the charm of Pickering City Centre Condos? Your dream lifestyle awaits. Take the next step and discover how these condos can transform your life. It's not just a home; it's a future filled with endless possibilities.

[msbarrows]

Finally went on my first walk since getting back from Toronto two weeks ago (walk #63). Been meaning to do it for a while, but between bugs, fire smoke, rain, and random foot pain days, this was one of the first where everything was okay enough to get me out the door.

Yes, I am 100% missing being able to walk until tired and then hop a bus back. Also being able to do things like window shop like walking.

The walk also gave me the chance to use a new purse I bought online just before coming back north (and arrived just a couple days after I did).

There's an old leather purse of mine (bought in the early 90s) that I loved for years and used long past the stage where it was looking merely distressed from wear, and all the way into it looking sad and badly worn. I've held onto it for years with the hope of at some point taking it to a leather worker and getting them to replicate it for me. It's basically a cylindrical leather bucket that zips together at the top end, and has a strap that can be used as a shoulder strap from the top, or from the side as a sling bag. The strap is fixed to one side of the top and the base of the bag, running through a ring at the other side of the top.

For a few years now I've also done occasional web searches trying to find something like it. While looking up something completely unrelated on Amazon, a very similar bag for men turned up in my results, so of course I grabbed one. It's not bad; it's got more compartments and stuff than my old bag did. The layout is very different though; the strap and all openings are along one side of the cylinder, it just has a snap holding the 'top' to where the side strap attaches rather than the strap running through a ring at that corner. It also includes an exterior pocket (yay!) whose opening is unfortunately just a little too short to easily use for my phone (boo). It's also got more internal pockets (1 zippered + two open mouthed, all inset in the sides) than the old bag (1 zippered), which is nice. It's also only about 2/3 the capacity of the old purse. Overall I'm happy with it...

...but I still want to take my old purse to a leather worker and have it used as the pattern for a new bag. Just... maybe a new bag with some additional features, like an exterior side-accessible pocket big enough for my phone, wallet, bus pass, and keys, and maybe some better interior organization, including a central padded pocket big enough for an 11" tablet.

[terrahillsposts]

Why Living in Toronto's Forest Hill Neighbourhood Is A Great Idea

The Timberland Slope area as seen today in Toronto, comes from a profound history beginning back in 1860. The main home inherent the Backwoods Slope region was situated on top of the slope inside the woods, but while the slope actually exists today, the timberland doesn't.

ALSO VISIT:-Terra Cotta Warriors

In 1923, the Woods Slope region was formally consolidated as a town. Further advancements occurred all through the 1920's and 30's, and the southern portion of Woodland Slope was finished improvement by 1940. Most of improvements in the northern portion of Backwoods Slope were industry and rail lines.

In 1957, Woods Slope authoritatively joined the City of Toronto. This area and Swansea Town were two of the last free towns to be attached with Toronto. The area is presently addressed by a seal that shows a deer scratched in the stone window crown on the forward looking peak over the entry to a station.

Today, the Woods Slope area is one of Toronto's esteemed areas. It's notable for it's tenderly inclining slopes, winding streets, enormous block and stone homes, roomy parcels, and numerous wonderful normal parks. A construction regulation that has been continued in the neighborhood since the 1920's is that all homes are expected to have a tree planted at the front of every property. This has worked superbly to assist with upgrading it's standing as one of Toronto's three most restrictive and wealthy networks!

The houses presented here are a portion of Toronto's best land, and the genuine neighbouthood is isolated into lower and upper parts of Backwoods Slope. The lower part offers glorious block and stone chateaus that were worked in the prior 1900's, the vast majority of which are effectively worth more than 1,000,000 bucks each. The upper part offers present day bequests worked somewhere in the range of 1940 and 1960. These houses are as yet promoted towards the prosperous, however are regularly more affordable than the manors found in the lower part of Woods Slope. You can likewise track down various extravagance townhouse high rises, situated on the western side of Backwoods Slope. Concerning styles, well the greater part of the bequest in Backwoods Slope is Tudor or Georgian design, but there is likewise all that from French Frontier with earthenware tiles to English country estates with clearing yards!

In 2007, the normal deal cost (not asking cost) for a southern Timberland Slope bequest was $4.3 million Canadian dollars. An as of late sold home included:

a 10,000 square foot home

six rooms

six washrooms

finished part

creator kitchen

individual library

pecan, cherry and oak framing

soundproof amusement room

practice room with spa

To assist you with envisioning a sticker price for the houses situated in southern Timberland Slope, this enormous Toronto domain with every one of the above highlights, sold for $5.5 million Canadian dollars.

Shopping is helpful for occupants, since there're two shopping locale to browse. The fundamental shopping area is situated on the crossing point of Spadina Street and Lonsdale Street, which caters towards the princely Toronto home. The other close by shopping region is situated on Eglinton West Town, and offers many fine eateries, as well as food stores to suit each taste and spending plan.

Instructive open doors are accessible to all Woods Slope inhabitants. There's numerous extraordinary close by rudimentary and optional state funded schools, as well as two of Toronto's best non-public schools found locally inside Woodland Slope! For school and college understudies, there's a couple of choices found right in Toronto, you'll need to glance around to find the best for you relying upon your major.

Transportation is effectively available to the general population. This region is strategically placed between various bus stations, and even better, the transport administration associates with Toronto's metro lines. This permits very fast transportation to any place you should be in Toronto!

Aeriol Nicols is a Land and Home loan Dealer in the More noteworthy Toronto Region. She has some expertise in the offer of extraordinary properties, for example, Lofts, Victorian and Georgian style homes. Aeriol likewise works with experienced land financial backers to assemble their pay delivering portfolio. Aeriol has helped many families throughout the years to put resources into Toronto and York Locale Land.

[gameguides]

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Snowy Toronto World 1

Welcome to our Scott Pilgrim vs The World Snowy Toronto World 1 guide. This guide will show you all the secrets in the Frozen Suburbs and Shopping District of World 1 including tips for defeating the enemies and a boss battle guide for Ramona’s first evil ex-boyfriend Matthew Patel.#ScottPilgrimvsTheWorld

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Snowy Toronto World 1

All the secrets in the Frozen Suburbs and Shopping District of World 1 including tips for defeating the enemies and a boss battle guide for Ramona’s first evil ex-boyfriend Matthew Patel. World 1: Snowy Toronto - Don’t be late for the big show! Frozen Suburbs

As you run through the Toronto streets, you’ll be constantly ambushed and attacked by thugs. These enemies all basically function the same way. They’ll punch, kick and throw things at you. You’ll need to do the same to them to advance. If you’re brand new to the game, consider reading our Starter Guide for tips and tricks to get the most out of your playthrough!

As you continue going further up the street, keep a look out for the massive pothole in front of house 25! Falling in isn’t certain death but does knock out a significant amount of health. You can also use it to your advantage by knocking enemies into it to take them out for good. To get across the pothole, just stick to the sidewalk in the background. Stick to the sidewalk because there’s a bus stop at the end of the block. You’ll know it’s coming when you see “!!!” Anytime you see those exclamations, make sure to get out of the street because that bus ain’t gonna stop for you!

Brawl your way through the park and exit on the other side. After crossing the street, and fending off some dogs, you’ll come across a shed with a little star on top of the doorway. There’s also a cat next to it. You’ll be ambushed by enemies as you get closer to the shed, but you can avoid them all if you reach the doors and walk into the shed when they open.

The Subspace Highway is a small bonus area where you can get some coins. In this section, you’ll need to hit the flying piggy banks as you move forward. The group (flock?) of piggy banks only passes by twice, so try to get as many as you can. To exit the highway, just walk out of frame off the right side of the screen, and you’ll be taken back to Toronto. As you make your way back to the street, you’ll be ambushed by more thugs. Defeat them and keep heading right to reach the next area. Shopping District

You’ll still have to fight enemies in this area, but at least you’ll find safe haven in the various shops nearby. You can buy upgrades at the shops and restaurants that do all stat buffs. These buffs do stack up, so you can increase your abilities by grabbing multiple items. The only things you can buy multiple of in one level are snacks. You’ll know it’s a snack as it will give you the prompt of taking the item “To Go.” You can only buy one snack at a time. Depending on how much money you’ve got, you should certainly buy one snack from Delicious Cup and at least one food item from either Dee’s Tex Mex or the Sushi Bar.

After leaving the shopping district, you’ll need to avoid one more incoming bus as you make your way into the tunnel. There’s two ways to go: street or sidewalk; continue forward until you’re stopped by “!!!” and an enemy ambush. Stay on the sidewalk until the sound of the cars rushing by ends. That’s when it’s safe for you to jump down to the street below. After defeating the enemies on the street, keep heading forward to reach the end of the tunnel.

Wallace’s Mystery Shop is located at street level, just left from the center of the tunnel. The entrance to the shop is accessed by approaching the section of wall with a star graffiti on it. If this is your first time playing, all the items inside will be too expensive to purchase, but be aware that it’s here and you can return to the shop at another time.

After defeating the enemies at the end of the tunnel, continue heading onto the snowy field until you reach the random door at the end. This door is a one-way journey to the boss, so if there was something you wanted earlier at the shopping district that you can now afford, run back there and buy it now. Then, run back here and go through the door.

Stepping through the random door transports you to another Subspace Highway. Stay near the center and jump on the dark blocks to hit the flying piggy banks that fly by. They only pass by once. Pick up all the coins you got from the piggy banks before smashing the money blocks. The dark blocks rarely, if ever, have any money inside, so you can ignore breaking those. Focus on smashing the four money blocks instead, then exit the area on the right. Matthew Patel Boss Battle

It’s time to fight Ramona’s first evil Ex. Matthew has several tricks up his sleeves. He’s mostly a brawler, which you know how to handle. Just watch out for the fire balls he unleashes from his hands. Try to pin him by the edge of the screen to get plenty of cheap and easy shots on him.

After a few beatings, Matthew will engulf himself in a column of light and become untouchable. To get him out of there, you’ll need to defeat his four “Demon Hipster Chicks.” These chicks fly circles around Matthew and will damage you if you even bump into them. They won’t actively attack you though, so take your time. Line yourself up so that you can jump and hit them while they go around. Each one only takes a couple of hits to defeat.

Once the four demon hipster chicks are defeated Matthew becomes punchable again. Continue fighting as you were before. Try to bring the two of you to the edge of the foreground and keep fighting on that side of the screen. You want to do this because two of the chicks return, and this time, they randomly shoot fireballs onto the floor. However, if you stay fighting at the edge of the foreground, none of the fireballs they throw can hit you. Keep brawling against Matthew until you defeat him and complete the level.

Read the full article

[lordeemailarchive]

meet you by the piano?

(25/04/2022) (Solar Institute Bulletin No. 13) (From Minneapolis)

Hello hello hello. Writing this backstage after soundcheck in Minneapolis. Am firmly entrenched in the rhythms of tour life— wake up at 11am, do some work or drink a tea in bed or go to the gym, then drift in to soundcheck in another beautiful venue with columns and gilt and a cloud-painted ceiling. Sit alone for a while after that, steam voice, do some skincare, embroider or read, soon start to feel show night momentum build all around. Walkie-talkies buzzing to each other, house music going on, Remi’s set wafting up the stairs. Sitting in glam, being transformed somehow from someone with eye bags and active acne to… something shiny. In to the band to sing, then to the stage, in the wings, that feeling of waiting in the wings so imprinted from childhood, always the same open feeling, giving oneself over to what’s about to happen. Which always feels like it’s over in a second, blink and I’m running back down the hall to my room, where I’ll leave the gears on the floor in a pile, and head to the bathroom to wash the glittery paint from my face.

Since I last wrote, we’ve played two shows in Boston, two in New York, one in Philadelphia, and two in Chicago. I’m sorry about Uncasville and D.C. Felt the throat thing start to scratch and then open out to a full searing burn, heard notes that were easy to sing the night before disappear. Was reminded of the Sylvia Plath poem — “And now you try / Your handful of notes; / The clear vowels rise like balloons.” If only. But we’ll come to you in August, and you know now we’re gonna make those shows psychotically special to say thankyou for your patience. Now I’m feeling tip top good, there are eight shows left on this crazy run, I’m gonna be a sad girl when it ends. Some recent Lauren pictures I love: (NB: PUT SOME RADIO CITY PICS ON INSTAGRAM TOO)

Especially loving her pictures of you guys.

Other things… Eating a lot of Fishwife sardines (much to the chagrin of my entire tour bus), ordering expensive underwear in the middle of the night, sending txts with invisible ink, trying to resist microtrends but looking up miniskirts, feeling my body getting tour strong, feeling comfortable under the lights. Listening to new Empress Of and Chelsea Jade and this amazing Pa Salieu song that I missed somehow in 2020. Read Sea of Tranquility and Time Is A Mother and now rereading a favourite Lucia Berlin collection that made me realise I really gotta go to New Mexico. Dying to see this. Staying up til 3am writing a maybe amazing early Drake style monologue in the hotel room in Toronto, adding new songs to the setlist on the fly, putting stuff in the calendar for six months from now. Plotting, scheming. Loving you.

Music, by Antonina Leonardovna Rzhevskaya

1:01am in the bus leaving Chicago

Beautiful letter by C. Getting annihilated by your letters to me. I’m thinking I should put a box at the merch desk or something to collect your notes??? I fully treasure each one and hate to think of missing any…

Daily routine of a setlist deviator

Your little rat in custom Prada, can you believe it, it’s all too much.

E xxxxxxo

(source: received this email)

[oldmanlenz]

Mun stole this because it looked fun to fill in, so here it is-

Full Name: Billy Lenz

(Note: the name 'Billy' is actually a nickname for William, however I don't want to be 100% accurate in here with identities. Plus I feel like Billy doesn't identify with the actual William name, if you call him that he'd become inconsolable, no doubt in my mind he'd become aggressive too.)

Nicknames: Billy, Bill, Bee, mr. Lenz, mr. Billy, the old Moaner, old man, senior citizen

Place of birth: Good old Toronto, he was born there and he will never get out, not that he wants to. It's unspecified as to exactly where, city/hospital-wise he was born, or if he was born in a hospital at all, the old man can't recall, he's unsure if he even lived in Toronto already back then or if his family moved.

Current location: Toronto. He'll most likely never be able to leave Canada in general, long bus rides stress him out and airplanes scare the shit out of him, he would definitely end up vomiting multiple times on an airplane.

Sexual/romantic orientation: gay gay homosexual gay

Preferred pronouns: he/him and it/it's, mainly. He doesn't care much really, people assumed he was a woman on the phone multiple times too due to his voice impressions.

Sex: yes

Gender: manly man with horrible lifestyle choices

One personality trait they’re proud of having: Close to none. This man is quite ashamed of most things he's ended up becoming.

Defining gestures (i.e. lip twitching, keeping eyes on the ground, etc.): Often fiddles and fidgets with his own (sometimes very shaky) hands, twirls the cord of the telephone when using it to speak to someone else, often holding onto his own gut, tugging/pulling at his own skin(usually from his hands or neck) rather harshly, or gripping tightly at his own sweater(usually when nervous).

(He doesn't exactly have a gentle grip no matter how hard he tries, so he sometimes ends up hurting himself on accident by either squeezing his stomach too hard or have what little fingernails he still has dig too deeply into the skin.)

Speaking style (i.e. fast, loud, stuttering, etc.): A lot of times he just talks gibberish(especially over the phone), and another noticeable thing in his speaking is his stuttering in most sentences he manages to get out of his mouth. Other few times he talks so fast it can come off as gibberish to others.

He's not always a loud talker, he doesn't scream much nowdays since it hurts his ears(when he was younger he was not in a lucid state half the time, so, while screaming did hurt and stress him, he physically was unable to force himself to stop, which stressed him further), but he usually still raises his voice over the phone. Other than that, he keeps his voice on a moderate level, sometimes a bit too hushed.

Insecurities: A lot, going from physical, to social, to delusional.

Positive traits: He's very accepting of things, especially more 'modern' terms and such, even when he doesn't fully understand them, he welcomes it. Besides that, he's quite clever too, despite how out of control he used to be, he was and still is able to find out some kind of way to weasel around what he does.

Negative traits: He's got...maybe a bit too many, his impulsivity being one of the top ones, since he still sometimes acts on impulse without properly thinking about what he gets himself into. He's always been a tad egocentric/selfish as well, over the years it went from being a more reasonable sort of self-centered thinking, mostly due to him being homeless and resorting to breaking into people's attics to get warm back then, to a slightly more childlike one now, choosing to continue to break into people's houses for shits and gigs(and if he gets caught he panics, like a child who just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, then gets mad), he just finds this to be entertaining and a fun way to 'conversate' to other individuals, since his people skills are awful.

Other people’s opinions of them: Either the classic "great uncle George there has been smoking from the wrong pipe again", to getting called a pervert over the phone, the usual. To absolutely no one's surprise the guy almost always comes off as creepy or 'not all there' even when he's genuinely trying to socialize properly.

Three words to describe them: Libido. Attic. Rat.

One major turning point in their life: The day he finally broke down and knew/planned to kill both his parents, that action alone is sort of what ended up spiraling into him being completely unable to control himself. Along with that, the day Agnes escaped from the basement of their house and (finally) got away from him, he felt betrayed and abandoned(in his mind he had this delusional belief that his sister was the only person he could trust and understand him), even if he Knew he had hurt her.

If they could time travel, when would they go? He'd go get some good waffles at the very first waffle house ever opened in 1955 so he'd be the first customer to step foot inside that building.

Ideal romantic partner: Literally anyone with enough patience to deal with him and his breakdowns, and responsible enough to take care of him and keep him under control.

Favourite way to waste time: He was nicknamed The Moaner over the phone for a reason, and that reason just so happens to be his favourite hobby.

Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen? One out of three things, most likely. He either starts drawing on it, writing whatever comes to mind, or he begins to eat the paper and nibble on the pencil.

View on home and family? In the past? Disastrous and terrifying. Right now? Still somewhat disastrous but with some more stability and...best part of all: HE gets to control his own life! Finally! Plus, Billy now has three lovely kitties to take care of🥰

Any secret stashes? He has a big stash of plushies and dolls in his attic, half of which he stole from homes all around his neighborhood, because he thinks he deserves toys more than actual children.

How do they express themselves? It depends. Sometimes the old man might just throw a snowball in your face just to tell you "good morning" with a shit-eating grin on his face, other times he might creep into your house and leave you an anonymous written letter on your dining table, other times he just wants to have a laugh or rub one out so he calls you on the phone from inside your own house before beginning his usual conversation about female genitalia and big boy manly male genitalia.

He's grown smarter from his previous experiences with breaking and entering too, now he purposefully breaks into people's attics with a telephone(or takes one from inside the house), plugs it in, and if he does get the police involved again, to avoid getting tracked he just leaves and either leaves the telephone in there too or he takes it with himself.

What did they want to be when they grew up? He only wanted to be away from his mother, fear and anger took up any space for a dream job in his mind back in the day.

What do you like most about them? I don't....know honestly, everything I suppose? I find the idea of an anonymous, perverted character like this, having reached old age and still being able to keep up his harassing calls, to be stupidly entertaining and interesting since I like to dig deep into his personality.

One or more plots you’re dying to have: Nothing special right now, to be frank. Buuut I wish I could dig deeper on how he met his partner and how their first few interactions were like.

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, BC, Canada - June 30, 1980 (Part-1)

Ratty wrote: It's quite complicated, as originally the tour was set up with a break early on, to allow one of the band time off for personal events. Before the tour circumstances with the band member changed and the break was not needed. But it was too late to change everything. So we did have a break after Oakland and resumed in Memphis. There was a second break in the tour which was after the show in Toronto. And the tour re-started in Milwaukee - definitely no show at that time in Rochester.

(x)

This is the first show of The Game tour, which would turn out to be Queen's longest tour of North America. Since it is their current single, Play The Game is most likely performed for the first time at this show. It would be played at virtually every show through 1982.

'The Game' album is also released today. Freddie Mercury would later state it was his favourite Queen album.

Freddie's image has changed greatly, as he has grown a moustache. Many fans would react negatively to this transition to the macho gay look of the time, particularly evidenced by the razors thrown onto the stage at many shows over the next few months. On some nights Freddie would often ask audiences what they thought of his new look, usually receiving a mixed response, after which he'd pledge in one way or another to keep the moustache as it is.

Roger Taylor reflected on this period in a 2011 Sun interview: "He had some great-looking girlfriends and we were all jealous. Then he grew the moustache which represented the gay look. We got more publicity out of him growing that than if we'd all ridden naked down Oxford Street on an open-top bus."

Freddie has, however, entered a golden period for his voice. From late 1979 to 1982 he would be at the peak of his powers in concert, using his voice to great extents on most nights, singing creatively and passionately. Songs like Now I'm Here and Somebody To Love would become building blocks for his stage persona, something which he would master by 1986. He began smoking during this period though, and its effects would take its toll on his voice by 1984. In the meantime, this is Freddie Mercury in his prime.

The band have once again upgraded their lighting rig, giving their show startling visuals. The "Queen Rocks Montreal" official DVD release (filmed at the Montreal Forum in 1981) contains phenomenal footage of the lighting rig at the beginning of the show. This rig was known as both "Fly Swatters" (a bootleg of the Chicago area show would adopt this title), and the "Bic razor" rig. It was the first moving lighting rig ever assembled.

According to a review of the show from the July 2 Vancouver Sun, Brian May started Rock It in the wrong key, prompting Freddie to motion to Brian lower the key to where it should be (this would happen again in Montreal '82, the first show of their next North American tour). The review contends that the band were very under-rehearsed.

The photos were taken by Laurel Axam and Mark van Manen respectively.

With the success of The Game album on this side of the Atlantic, Queen have chosen to focus on their newer material in concert. Like the Jazz tour, old songs are dropped to make room for new ones, and no old songs would be revived. With the exception of half of Keep Yourself Alive, it turns out they would never play any of their oldest material here again. These were the initial signs of Queen moving away from being a rock band to becoming more of a pop band, a paradigm shift which would ultimately bring them much international success.

It can be argued that the Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites The Dust 45s were mostly bought by singles buyers rather than long-time Queen fans, and that these were the bulk of the fans who turned up at the concerts on this tour. Many fans felt alienated by the band, as they felt Queen were no longer treading new musical ground as they had done with their string of eclectic and innovative albums in the 70s. That said, most of the world (particularly Europe and South America) would embrace the more singles-oriented Queen.

For now, 1980 would be Queen's commercial peak in North America (The Game would hit #1 in September), and the band were surely enjoying it to the fullest.

Fan Stories

“I love your site and just wanted to help a little, I was at the 1980 show in Vancouver/Canada for the Game tour and there was no support band at all. I didn't know that was the first show of that tour, it was by far the best concert I've ever seen by any rock band, I'm a huge Queen fan and couldn't take my eyes off Freddie for the whole show. He came running out at the start, wearing his black leather jacket and tights, singing Jailhouse Rock. At the end of the show when Freddie was standing there and singing We Are The Champions, some guy at the front of the stage jumped up on the stage beside Freddie (you could see it startled him at first understandably) and you could see the security guys started coming out until Freddie put his arm around the guy and finished the song that way. Then the guy jumped back down into the crowd and no harm done. The best ten bucks I ever spent. I miss Freddie alot. Thank you for this great site.” - Ray Scott

Part-2

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Star, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

Page 1: Christina Aguilera at 40 -- she talks about child stardom, learning to love her body, and what she wants her daughter Summer to know

Page 2: Contents, Renee Zellweger, Phoebe Dynevor and James McAvoy at the BAFTAs in London

Page 3: Mariska Hargitay and Law & Order: SVU co-star Ice-T take a selfie during a break from shooting the cop drama in NYC, Heather Graham at the beach in Mexico, stepping into the America's Got Talent studio Sofia Vergara elevated her casual cropped jeans with strappy platform sandals in L.A., Jason Momoa cutting a rug with an unidentified partner ahead of filming a scene for his upcoming fantasy film Slumberland in Toronto

Page 4: Colton Underwood comes out -- saying he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been, the former Bachelor clarifies his orientation

Page 5: Lena Dunham is no stranger to controversy, so it comes as no surprise that her foray into fashion design has also come under fire as she partnered with a plus-size label to create the capsule collection 11 Honore x Lena Dunham, but the kicky line quickly came under fire as critics are calling it tone-deaf, mediocre and not inclusive at all since its largest size is a 26 and some are even going so far to call Lena a grifter who gained weight in order to make money off the plus-size community but Lena, who underwent a hysterectomy at 31, has pointed to early menopause as the cause of her straight-up gut -- while Lena refuses to be intimidated by bullies, she is listening to the complaints about sizes and is planning to address it

* Once a cautionary tale of the perils of child stardom, at age 40 Macaulay Culkin is a father himself as he and girlfriend Brenda Song welcomed a son, Dakota -- he's finally overcome his demons and Brenda has been a huge influence on his life and helped him get back on the straight and narrow and he's even pursuing acting again, shooting season 10 of American Horror Story; his life has taken such a positive turn

* A year after announcing her split from Jay Cutler, Kristin Cavallari is seeing the upside of divorce, saying it's made her a better mom in some ways because she has her kids half the time now so when she has them for her week, she is so incredibly present with her kids Camden, Jaxon and Saylor and she is not distracted by her phone or anything else; she is with them -- Jay and Kristin each have the kids 182.5 days a year and court papers also revealed that her ex is allowed two phone calls and two FaceTime or Skype calls a week and vice versa so now every moment is precious and if someone is having a temper tantrum or something, she remains calm because she knows that she is losing them in a few days

Page 6: Gwen Stefani is widely thought to have had some help in the nips and tucks department, and as her wedding to Blake Shelton approaches, he is starting to object to her constant tweaking of her face -- she's always messing with it by getting more fillers and Botox and Blake is afraid of what he'll see at the altar and he's freaking out at Gwen's increasingly extreme beauty routine which is becoming increasingly over-the-top; Gwen can barely move her face to smile at him anymore and it looks weird -- while he frets, he's trying to reassure his wife-to-be because Blake thinks she's beautiful just the way she is

* As an executive producer on the long-running Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay has tasked the writers to come up with more storylines featuring one of her favorite characters: defense attorney Trevor Langan, played by none other than her husband Peter Hermann -- Mariska and Peter originally met and fell in love when Peter guest-starred on the show and she loves to keep that magic alive by bringing him back to play Trevor but the trouble is he is busy with his own gigs as a series regular on Younger and his recurring role on Blue Bloods and Peter loves working with his wife, but he has his own acting career apart from Mariska -- still, he may soon have his day in court because Peter understands how Mariska feels and is trying to work his schedule to allow him some guest spots in the near future

Page 8: Star Shots -- Lenny Kravitz with a guitar flaunted his well-sculpted midsection during a stroll on the beach, Suki Waterhouse with her on-the-go grub on the set in Liverpool

Page 9: Louisa Jacobson and Taissa Farmiga and Denee Benton on the set of The Gilded Age in NYC, Conan O'Brien sipped on a soda at lunch in L.A., Katy Perry in the American Idol bathroom

Page 10: Kate Hudson with mom Goldie Hawn and kids Ryder and Rani, Kate Hudson twirled solo modeling in a pal's swimwear collection, Jude Law's daughter Iris Law who will make her acting debut in Danny Boyle's upcoming Sex Pistols biopic makes a call in London

Page 12: Kelly Osbourne handed out items at a food distribution event as the Islamic Center for Southern California, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the gym, despite a no-social warning a cheeky Nicole Kidman shared a pic from the set of Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos in which she portrays Lucille Ball

Page 13: Anabella Sciorra and Donnie Wahlberg gloved up for a Blue Bloods scene in NYC, Heidi Klum and husband Tom Kaulitz started their morning during a walk on the beach in L.A.

Page 14: Travis Barker showed off his body art stepping off a Hollywood tour bus shirtless after filming a music video, a cheerful Britney Spears gave a fun look into her wardrobe in a pink floral frock, Scott Disick and Amelia Hamlin color-coordinated for a walk near the beach in Miami

Page 16: Lamar Odom and Aaron Carter put up their dukes to promote their Celebrity Boxing Match in Philadelphia, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and husband Nick Jonas at the BAFTAs in London, Ellen DeGeneres on the phone during a stroll in her main hood of Montecito

Page 18: Normal or Not? A denim-on-denim clad Jay Leno scratched an itch while filming a project in Los Angeles -- not normal, dressed in a Siggi sweatshirt Katie Holmes picked up some seasonal blooms on Manhattan's Upper East Side -- normal, Kate Beckinsale multitasked during a car ride by applying undereye patches -- not normal

Page 19: Gavin Rossdale appeared to be pleased with his Kitson purchase by doing a little dance after leaving the popular L.A. store -- not normal

Page 20: Fashion -- stars wow in statement-making capes -- Gisele Bundchen, Charlize Theron, Zoey Deutch

Page 21: Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning

Page 24: Justin Bieber: How Love Saved Me -- the formerly troubled pop singer gives praise for wife Hailey Bieber

Page 25: Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles' romance has already cooled and the pair are giving each other space -- turns out Olivia and Harry don't actually have much in common -- the two jetted to London after wrapping Don't Worry Darling, but they were soon waylaid by their respective responsibilities as Olivia has been spending time with her kids Otis and Daisy while her ex Jason Sudeikis shoots Ted Lasso while Harry, who was spooked by how quickly intense things got, is gearing up for his role in My Policeman -- for now, the two have decided to reassess things when they're back in L.A., which leaves the window open for Jason, whose strategy was to let her and Harry fizzle out, then see where she is at, and it's going according to plan

* Jennifer Lopez calls off her relationship with Alex Rodriguez

* Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher are better than ever after overcoming a rough patch, one that had their inner circle convinced they were headed for divorce -- Mike had a serious roving eye that made Carrie anxious and she would treat him like he was Mr. Underwood and tensions between the two were at an all-time high when the pandemic hit, forcing the two into extra one-on-one time, but as it turns out, their new routine is just what they needed because they set boundaries, divided up tasks and put time aside for fun things and they prioritized romance, which has made all the difference -- Carrie and Mike are re-committed to their marriage and they've been through so much so much and neither wants to throw it away

Page 26: Cover Story -- Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's model kid -- Shiloh Jolie-Pitt the gorgeous teen is ready for her close up, but Brad and Angie are at odds about Shiloh's new passion -- Shiloh's been experimenting with girlier styles lately, including growing out her hair and she's at the age where she's starting to change things up -- Brad isn't thrilled about Shiloh's modeling dreams and idea of her walking into the lion's den gives him cause for concern -- Angelina began modeling at 16, just one year older than Shiloh and Shiloh knows that's what set her mom on her path to fame and Shiloh is constantly asking Angie about the pros and cons of the modeling world

Page 29: Model Kids -- these celeb offspring also know how to strike a pose -- Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie, Amelia Hamlin, Lily-Rose Depp, Brooklyn Beckham, Paris Jackson, Kendall Jenner, Corinne Foxx, Ireland Baldwin, Margaret Qualley, Kaia Gerber, Leni Klum, Patrick Schwarzenegger

Page 30: Prince William and Prince Harry: Behind Closed Doors -- the estranged princes are forced to reckon with their rift as the royal family gathers for Prince Philip's funeral

Page 32: High Anxiety -- it's not so simple for celebs who struggle with panic attacks -- Emma Stone, Stephen Colbert, Amanda Seyfried

Page 33: Hugh Grant, Ryan Reynolds, Ariana Grande

Page 36: Beauty -- nail it -- self-care essentials to score the perfect at-home manicure and pedicure -- Kaley Cuoco

Page 38: Style -- cute cases -- step up your tech, and fashion, game this season with a trendy cellphone cover -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Page 40: Entertainment

Page 48: Parting Shot -- Corey Feldman embraced wife Courtney Anne Mitchell as the two ventured out for a romantic outing in L.A.