Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Address: 55 St. Clair Avenue West Date: April 2019 Website: www.naturalplasticity.com
Toronto has a big plastic problem. Actually, the whole world does. Right now on St. Clair West there are larger than life plastic replicas of water bottles and disposable cups. These almost 30 foot tall replicas have been touring the world to make people think before they use single-use plastics.
Natural Plasticity's Bottle Project has placed a giant water bottle and straw at 2 St Clair West and a giant cup with a green straw at 55 St. Clair West. The green straw and cup look like they would hold a summer Starbuck's drink.
We were already aware of how much plastic pollution is created in our city every day. You don't have to go far to find discarded garbage in the streets. There is still hope. A lot of places in the city are using paper straws which is great. We also bring our own reusable cups for coffee and thermoses for water when we are out and about. Brita filtered water for when we are at home.
The Bottle Project will be on display until May 1st. Take a look at the big inflatable plastic and then see how you can reduce the amount of waste that you create. Think before you drink.
This location is near St. Clair subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.
Uber 5000 is a graffiti artist who calls Toronto home. One building which is covered in his characters is a Pizza Pizza on Kingston Road. We took a walk one day and visited this pizza place and some other art in the area.
One character that seems to appear on almost everything Uber 5000 has done is the little yellow chick. The Pizza Pizza is no exception as we counted at least a couple of dozen.
Cats are also a favourite. This cat above looks to be riding a red magic carpet along the wall.
Another cat is holding a ghetto blaster and wearing a chain that is part of the building's gas piping.
The back of the building is filled with a giant green octopus.
In a doorway on the side of the building are more yellow chicks and a city of Toronto logo. This makes us think the artwork was commissioned by the city.
We enjoyed the playful and colourful display but we needed to get on our way. We headed further west on Kingston Road.
We hadn't gone too far when we noticed a swan painted up on a rooftop. From the tag we determined this was from an artist called Half Decent. Not half bad we thought.
We walked another block or so and came to Scarborough Road. Here there was a nice mural of a brown bear beside a waterfall. It was on the wall of Dashwood & Dashwood law firm.
The wall faces the patio area of a small restaurant called The Loop.
Around the side of The Loop was more artwork. This time it was a toucan balancing a beer on his beak and suggesting it would be a lovely day for a Guinness. We looked behind us and were surprised by what we saw.
Uber 5000 had struck again. The utility box on the corner was covered with the same cats and chicks from the Pizza Pizza building. Thanks again Uber 5000.
People born in the Year of the Pig are said to be thoughtful, polite, reliable, courageous and ready to help others. They can also be naive, and self-indulgent. 2019 is the Year of the Pig according to the Chinese zodiac. To celebrate here are 10 of our favourite swine encounters. Oink Oink.
1 )Hawaiian Pigs
Dan's Green House is located in the town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui, in Hawaii. They have exotic plants and rare birds as well as mini pigs. We got a chance to spend some time with these two little guys. Aren't they just the cutest?
2) Babirusa
Speaking of cute, we are sorry but babirusa are just the opposite. They have long legs, weird curvy tusks and look like all of their hair just fell out. They are only found on a few islands in Indonesia and are unforgettable. We saw this pair at the Toronto Zoo.
3) CNE Pigs
When the Canadian National Exhibition comes to Toronto at the end of each summer so does "The Farm". You can experience the sights and smells of livestock. There are always lots of pigs and usually one big sow who spends her day constantly feeding her litter of piglets.
4) Miss Piggy
In Queens, New York the Museum of the Moving Image has a Jim Henson Exhibition. Miss Piggy is one of our favourite Muppets and favourite pigs. Here she is in her wedding gown ready for her big day.
5) Miss Piggy
This Miss Piggy is a crashed freight plane. It can be found in Churchill, Manitoba still sitting where it crashed in 1979. Miss Piggy the Muppet made her debut in 1974. We have read that the plane is named after Miss Piggy because it was overloaded or it once carried a cargo of pigs.
We think it should be called Miss Piggy because of its flat snout.
By the way Miss Piggy, your engine is way over here. Also watch out for polar bears hiding amongst the rocks and wreckage.
6) Red River Hog
The red river hog is a colourful African pig. We like its whiskers and red coat. It turns out that we have a fondness for animals with red coloured fur.
7) Tamworth Pigs
Based on our previously professed love of red furred anuimals you can see why we like Tamworth pigs. They are one of the oldest breeds of pigs. You can also see the curly little tail in the photo above that makes pigs even more appealing. These pigs are from Toronto's Riverdale Farm.
8) Pig Pot at the ROM
This pig shaped vessel was at the Royal Ontario Museum. We imagine it could be filled with some sort of liquid which could then be poured out of the spout in the snout. We didn't make note of what was listed as its intended purpose and often the museum uncovers artifacts whose purpose is only assumed.
9 )Pigman at the Campbell House
We took this photo of the Campbell House Museum in Toronto. The Campbell House was built in 1822 and was actually moved to where it sits today. Looking at our photo later we noticed something odd.
There was a well dressed pig man on the grounds. We hope he was there for an event or promotion at the museum.
10 )Warthogs
We took a trip to Africa and encountered many wild warthogs. We watched them come and go at a waterhole in Greater Kruger in South Africa. We also watched them mow the lawn in Zimbabwe beside the mighty Zambezi River.
Because warthogs have such short necks they usually have to kneel down on their front legs to eat grass. In the video below, various African animals eat beside a waterhole until the warthogs come and take over.
That is our list of favourite pigs. We took part in some celebrations at the Scarborough Town Centre for the Chinese New Year. You can celebrate and enjoy pigs all year long.
Since the passing of Bob Einstein we have been watching a lot of Super Dave clips online. One of our favourites is when Super Dave plays piano on top of a bus to help get rid of profanity on the highway. Knowing that the show filmed in Scarborough and Markham, Ontario we thought "We could find that place. It couldn't be that hard?" So we put a couch on our car and gave it a try.
We noticed Westney Road on a sign behind Super Dave when he and Fuji arrive after being introduced by Mike Walden.
In this picture you can see the stop sign where Super Dave's tour bus was parked. The tour bus is parked facing oncoming traffic and headed north. The idea is that Super Dave is going to go on a week long tour singing songs from the top of the bus. He has everything he needs. On the roof of the bus is some patio furniture, a barbeque an exercise bike and a piano.
Super straps himself onto his piano bench and asks Fuji to put on his favourite song. That song is Roger Miller's King Of The Road. It isn't long before we see the bus drive past the pond in the photo above.
"Trailer For Sale Or Rent. Rooms To Let Fifty Cents."
The bus heads up the road and Super Dave is really enjoying himself singing along. He is having sensational fun.
"I'm A Man Of Means. By No Means, King Of The Road."
Now no matter how many times Super Dave gets hurt doing something, we still find it incredibly funny. Westney Road goes under a train bridge. Super Dave's bus is just tall enough to make it. Unfortunately someone singing and playing piano on top of that bus won't fit through the tunnel. A sign on the bridge states that it is 3.4 metres tall. That is about 11 foot 2 inches. A coach bus can be between 10 and 11 feet high or even more. You do the math..
Super Dave, his patio furniture, his barbeque, exercise bike and piano all get crushed against the bridge and fall into the road. We know this is the right bridge as it has the 1911 date on it like in the video. It is also a safe bet that this is one of, if not the oldest bridge in the area.
We also determined that Super Dave was travelling north when he hit the bridge as we checked both sides. The photo above is of the opposite side. The deterioration of the bridge has continued but it is obvious to us that the south side is where the Super One collided. There is also far too much graffiti inside the bridge and sadly none of it was even Super Dave related.
This last photo was taken while standing where Super Dave lay crushed in the road. He clears a piano key out of his throat and changes his song to "On The Road Again". Thanks for the ride Super, it was hilarious. Map of Our World King Of The Road
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