TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2010
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I consider a human soul without education like marble in the quarry, which shows none of its inherent beauties till the skill of the polisher fetches out the colours, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot, and vein that runs through the body of it.”
- Joseph Addison (The Spectator, No. 215, Nov. 5, 1711)
Hey Sixteeners, I’m back in Toronto and we are in the midst of heat wave in this city. Due to the weather, there was a power outage yesterday. Although it is very hot and humid, the record temperature has not been broken. Toronto recorded its highest recorded temperature in July of 1936. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, a peak of 41.1° C was recorded in Toronto on the 10th of July, 1936.
“The 1936 heat wave killed 780 Canadians - 376 males and 404 females, most of whom were elderly and infants. A year earlier there were only 42 heat-related deaths. In July 1936, there were another 400 indirect casualties including several drownings. Ontario had the greatest - number of deaths - nearly 600 persons - and in Toronto over 225 succumbed to the heat. Heat-related deaths in Manitoba exceeded 70.”
- From the Canadian Encyclopedia
LEFTOVERS FROM MY VISIT TO CLEVELAND
Not surprisingly, there was little interest in the World Cup in Cleveland. There were no flags on cars as in Toronto. It’s not multicultural and has a much smaller population than Toronto. As I have already mentioned, Cleveland does not have a subway and public transit is not great. The car rules there. Downtown Cleveland looked clean to me. I did not notice much litter on the streets.
On our return from Cleveland, we stopped at Niagara-on-the-Lake, the most beautiful and delightful small town in Ontario. The Shaw Festival was in full swing and we attended a play at my favourite theatre there - The Courthouse. The Courthouse is the smallest of the three theatres at Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the most intimate. We saw "The Cherry Orchard" by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. I enjoyed it immensely.
SPORTS
Major league baseball’s first All-Star game took place on this day in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The American League All-Stars won the game by a score of 4-2 before a crowd of 47,595. The time of the game was 2 hours and 5 minutes. Babe Ruth played right field for the American League and Lou Gehrig played first base.
- Joanne