Frank Gehry can only wait so long
Discover more from Twelve Thirty Six
The date was October 1, 2012, when plans were unveiled for Toronto’s Entertainment District to be transformed by three condo towers designed by Frank Gehry, who was 83 years old at the time. A decade later, they have plenty more plans to show for it, if not much else beyond rebranding these two skyscrapers.
Main character made of clay
The clay figure based on remains of a bound and gagged man found in a ditch near Kingston, Ontario, back in 1989 became a dramatic avatar when unveiled by the OPP. But such facial reconstructions have increased in frequency in the effort to solve cold cases: the RCMP maintains a gallery of work performed at the New York Academy of Art.
“I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.” Pope Francis apologized for conduct in the residential school system after a week of Vatican meetings with Indigenous delegates. Meanwhile, the name of John A. Macdonald keeps being removed from schools, even if one poll found these are unpopular moves.
The murdering of April Fools
It was 20 years ago today that an online joke about Paul Martin quitting as finance minister got the Canadian dollar dipping. Now it’s become harder to tell if a story from BlogTO about Ontario mandating a four-day work week is real or what. But when items without value can be sold, nothing really matters anymore:
Canada’s alt-weekly publisher filed for bankruptcy with $352 in total assets. Media Central will bring $2.25 million of liabilities to an April 14 proceeding. But the company says Georgia Straight and Now Magazine will continue operating. Now’s film writer, Norm Wilner, nonetheless left for a job at TIFF.
Finally, these nuts need a nap
Crunchy and Smoothie, the teddy bear mascots of Kraft Peanut Butter, were put through a lot in the past decade: a makeover in CGI style, a children’s book about pronouns, and comparisons to a 4chan meme. Kraft even sent them on the road to give out hugs. April Fool’s Day or not, you’d also be ready to retire:
