The Ugly Canada Thread

[rousseau]

A link in the public realm thread goes to Toronto Star article about remaking King Street. At the bottom are photos of "success stories in other cities" (though curiously, the first one is of Queens Quay in Toronto).

First shot: The Queens Quay makeover in Toronto. It looks bland, grey and featureless, like an outer district of Moscow or something. It's not actually that bad in reality, but even so, Toronto's waterfront doesn't feel all that warm or inviting.



Then they show a shot of New York City.



And you have to say to yourself: Crikey, look at New York.

Think of the thousands of teenagers or twenty-somethings around the world at any given moment being told they can visit their cousins in Toronto or New York this summer, but not both. And think of any of them accidentally googling this page and looking at these two photos. Sometimes there's just no winning against New York.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Ooof! I just spit a mouthful of water all over my keyboard. You owe me one keyboard!

Anytime.

In all seriousness I still can't figure out what it is. Is it supposed to be Jesus' heart with thorns around it on fire like I've seen as a Catholic symbol before? From afar it literally looks like flaming poo.

Edit: Checked their website and still can't decipher it any better. Looks like a flaming rock turd.
http://www.promiseoflife.ca

[theman23]

Originally Posted by rousseau

A link in the public realm thread goes to Toronto Star article about remaking King Street. At the bottom are photos of "success stories in other cities" (though curiously, the first one is of Queens Quay in Toronto).

First shot: The Queens Quay makeover in Toronto. It looks bland, grey and featureless, like an outer district of Moscow or something. It's not actually that bad in reality, but even so, Toronto's waterfront doesn't feel all that warm or inviting.



Then they show a shot of New York City.



And you have to say to yourself: Crikey, look at New York.

Think of the thousands of teenagers or twenty-somethings around the world at any given moment being told they can visit their cousins in Toronto or New York this summer, but not both. And think of any of them accidentally googling this page and looking at these two photos. Sometimes there's just no winning against New York.

Comparing a winter shot of Queens Quay doesn't appear fair. That area is actually quite nice with the new streetscape they've built, and hopefully even nicer if the trees take.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by rousseau

To be honest, I've never given a second thought to the hydro poles in Toronto. I barely notice them because I'm so accustomed to them, but sure, I can see how they look ramshackle. I'll never forget being taken aback by how vehemently and at length a French friend once ranted about them as we strolled down Queen West on a beautiful summer's day. Here we were among the vibrant crowds and electric energy of what I thought was a fantastic urban street, and I even thought that he might perhaps acknowledge that, in spite of his being a Parisian, but nope, it was "third world" and "bizarre."*

Count me in as another who doesn't mind, even actively enjoys, Toronto's jangly frizz of wires and poles and overlapping signage. It is as if one of the US' bare-boned giants, St. Louis or Pittsburgh, had to suddenly absorb the human circumstance of a London, which I guess is what it kind of is.

There's something very 19th century about it, and in a good way.

[niwell]

I'm generally in the camp of someone who mostly doesn't notice, and generally doesn't mind the hydro poles and everything else here. I've gotten the internet equivalent of yelled at on urbantoronto for suggesting such a thing though, because they seem convinced that Toronto is the ugliest city in the world even when up against heavyweights like Lagos or Aleppo. And these are things that ruin our image internationally and make Toronto the laughing stock of the world (as if the vast majority of people notice or care about things like that).

This is why I don't really post on that site anymore.

[kool maudit]

Well, Lagos really can deliver an extra dose of the visual disarray that is so appealing in Kensington Market, but this gets a bit like Paracelsus' "the dose makes the poison" saying once you really get thinking of taking a walk.



(Maybe once the corner stores sell spirits you can lobby the TTC to let you ride on top. It seems like you'd need a gradualist approach there.)

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I even thought that he might perhaps acknowledge that, in spite of his being a Parisian

I laughed at this line. They can be such penises. But it's great, too.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

(Maybe once the corner stores sell spirits you can lobby the TTC to let you ride on top. It seems like you'd need a gradualist approach there.)

Lagos will (or is?) even be using old ttc subway cars! Even more like home.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Anytime.

In all seriousness I still can't figure out what it is. Is it supposed to be Jesus' heart with thorns around it on fire like I've seen as a Catholic symbol before? From afar it literally looks like flaming poo.

Edit: Checked their website and still can't decipher it any better. Looks like a flaming rock turd.
http://www.promiseoflife.ca

Now because you've clicked on it you'll be counted in their hits. Another potential convert!

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Anytime.

In all seriousness I still can't figure out what it is. Is it supposed to be Jesus' heart with thorns around it on fire like I've seen as a Catholic symbol before? From afar it literally looks like flaming poo.

Edit: Checked their website and still can't decipher it any better. Looks like a flaming rock turd.
http://www.promiseoflife.ca

freethinker

darwinfish

dailymail

Proud Jesus may have been smitten by God's angry wrath, but his poo will flame on forevermore.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

*In retrospect I shouldn't have been surprised. He and his girlfriend were inspired to come here by the great wilderness and snowy north, and couldn't have cared less about the relative merits of Canada's cities.

I've been there. Me and wife have showed people around a whole bunch of urbanistic delights, but what they really seem to love the most was snowmobiling, ice fishing, sugar shacks, the drive-through animal park with bisons and caribou at Parc Oméga in Montebello (which, incidentally, is owned by a Frenchman)...

I guess it's normal.

I mean, I live in Gatineau. If you take me here in Les Vosges in France:



Or here




... which one do you think will be the highlight of my trip?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

freethinker

darwinfish

dailymail

Proud Jesus may have been smitten by God's angry wrath, but his poo will flame on forevermore.

That's why I love keeping a foot in Anglo-Canada via SSP. None of my Québécois friends would get the Touchdown Jesus reference. But I did!

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

To be honest, I've never given a second thought to the hydro poles in Toronto. I barely notice them because I'm so accustomed to them, but sure, I can see how they look ramshackle. I'll never forget being taken aback by how vehemently and at length a French friend once ranted about them as we strolled down Queen West on a beautiful summer's day. Here we were among the vibrant crowds and electric energy of what I thought was a fantastic urban street, and I even thought that he might perhaps acknowledge that, in spite of his being a Parisian, but nope, it was "third world" and "bizarre."*

I also think it's human nature to judge things based on our own reference markers. That's what your Parisian friend was doing.

I mean, the first time I visited a tropical place I was quite young and found everything messy, not because of litter (I was in a pretty nice place), but because of the large "vegetation debris" all over the place like large leaves and bark fallen off palm trees, and such.

Of course, I didn't realize how messy late March and early April can be after the snowmelt, or even late October with a gazillion dead leaves littering every single sq cm of the ground.

[MolsonExport]

shawglobalnews

[O-tacular]

Someone please explain to me how this isn't a burning rock turd?

[SignalHillHiker]

Maybe it's the burnt bush?

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

shawglobalnews

Harper had several of these attack dogs.







And everyone's favourite...

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by rousseau

A link in the public realm thread goes to Toronto Star article about remaking King Street. At the bottom are photos of "success stories in other cities" (though curiously, the first one is of Queens Quay in Toronto).

First shot: The Queens Quay makeover in Toronto. It looks bland, grey and featureless, like an outer district of Moscow or something. It's not actually that bad in reality, but even so, Toronto's waterfront doesn't feel all that warm or inviting.



Then they show a shot of New York City.



And you have to say to yourself: Crikey, look at New York.

Think of the thousands of teenagers or twenty-somethings around the world at any given moment being told they can visit their cousins in Toronto or New York this summer, but not both. And think of any of them accidentally googling this page and looking at these two photos. Sometimes there's just no winning against New York.

You can't really compare two totally different streets, one in the summer and one from last years terrible winter. One with century old trees and one with saplings. they should come back in 60 years and do another comparison.

[IMG]Waterfront: Queen's Quay W Revitalization (City of Toronto, West 8 & DTAH) by drum118, on Flickr[/IMG]

[O-tacular]

To me it's more than the trees though. Those buildings look soulless. Yonge street is nice and I'm sure there are other awesome parts of Toronto but that area near the waterfront is sterile and bland. The highway cutting off the lakefront is probably the worst feature in the entire city.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

To me it's more than the trees though. Those buildings look soulless.

I was going to say the same thing. Even with mature trees fully leafed out as in summer, what I see in that picture of Toronto would still be so-so compared to the picture of NYC.

There are way better streetscapes in Toronto than that stretch of Queen's Quay, anyway...