Frozen in Time - I

Frozen in Time

The 10th annual Icefest held in Village of Yorkville Park, at Cumberland Street & Bellair Street.

The site was transformed into a showcase of incredible ice sculptures. Live ice carving demonstrations were given for the entire family to enjoy. In 2015, Bloor-Yorkville brought the past back to life in ice with a “Frozen in Time” ancient Egyptian-inspired showcase of striking carvings. From King Tut, to two Pharaohs, an Anubis, an Iris with a Clock and Egyptian Gods, crafted from an astonishing 20,000 lbs. of ice.

This is an all ages, family friendly, free. All people had to do was wear warm clothes, and bring a hearty winter spirit, and don’t forget a camera to capture the moments in ice forever!

Here you can find dozen of images of this Frozen in Time Icefest. Enjoy!

The IceFest represents one among many festivals dedicated the visual art form, namely ice carving. Sizes of carved frozen water range from small decorations to entire fashionable Scandinavian resorts. One such opportunity to transform natural raw material into thought provoking ice art is celebrated during the winters of Groenland, a part go the kingdom of Denmark. Indeed, hotels in Scandinavia have been entirely carved of ice. Along similar lines, Quebec and Ontario below zero temperatures remain conducive to inspire this way of producing art.

Egyptian Ice Figures.

An Ice Camel, Egypt Tourism.

Blachere.

Innoclean.inc.

Starbucks.

Ice Kids.

Sassafraz. The heart of Yorkville.

Incredible India.

A nice horse.

Whole Foods.

Price of Being Purebred

The Price of Being Purebred

Too much inbreeding has left many dogs walking basket cases

Bad genes plague every species, but most harmful traits are naturally selected out instead of being passed from generation to generation. This has not been defined by what looks good, as loosely defined by breed-specific dog clubs and the American Kernel Club. By breeding for external traits or idiosyncrasies, such as long or blunt faces, large or short sloping hips, or an odd eye color, consumers have unwittingly caused a proliferation of genetic disorders and undermined the genetic integrity of the dog species.

The origin of the domesticated dog is the subject of much debate. We do know that early humans kept the pups of wild animals, jackals, coyotes, and wolves as pets. But as these canines were domesticated, it was discovered that some were better than others at guarding, hauling, and herding. Human began breeding selectively for these desirable traits. Only then were “breeds” created. But as dogs of similar genetic compositions were bred over and over again, the gene pool became depleted, leaving behind hundreds of inheritable diseases and disorders: a deadly legacy that could be affecting your favorite canine.

Today, Americans own more than 30 million purebred dogs. As many as one in four of these purebreds are afflicted with genetic disorders that not only cause discomfort for dogs and distress for owners, but at worst can lead to disease and death. Great Danes suffer from heart defects, collies are prone to deafness, toy poodles often experience epilepsy, and Labrador retrievers have a high risk of dwarfism. In all, more than 300 genetic abnormalities have been found in dogs.

Your dog can sit, but can it stand? Bad posture may land a dog in the doghouse in your view.. But in some cases your dog's posture may indicate real problems. A dog that's down in front, for instance, may have a neuromuscular disorder and need to see a vet. Photo by Elena. Monument to a dog in the Central Park, New York.

The problem is that the characteristics judges and clubs have deemed prize-winning are often detrimental to the animals' health. To demand huge heads on bulldogs can require that they be born unnaturally through cesarean section. The wrinkled skin on shar-peis can make them prone to rashes.

To make matters worse, the best way to produce puppies with a specific external quality is to mate two dogs with that quality. Since the closest resemblances are found in families, dogs are often inbred, the mating of fathers and daughters or brothers and sisters being common practice.

Breeders also practice “line breeding”, in which grandparents mate their grandchildren, or cousins with each other. Both inbreeding and line breeding increase the likelihood of reproducing a desirable external trait. They also increase the likelihood of reproducing genetic disease.

The problem intensifies with overbreeding. Often a single desirable male, or even a set of desirable parents will produce many litters. If it is later determined that the male or the parents, have a genetic disease, it will have already been widely dispersed in the offspring. While early humans based the value of a dog on its ability to perform traditional tasks efficiently, today's dogs are evaluated on appearance alone. Because of inbreeding, line breeding, and overbreeding, many dogs can no longer even perform traditional tasks.

Who is to blame? Veterinarians and animal behaviorists with the Human Society say, it in the culture. The culture that regards dogs as commodities and recognizes purebreds as superior to missed breds.

Times Square

Times Square

The most famous square in the world Times Square is the the heart of New York. Originally known as Long Acre (also Longacre) Square after London’s carriage district, this square served as the early site for William H. Vanderbilt’s American Horse Exchange. 

In the late 1880s, Long Acre Square consisted of a large open space surrounded by drab apartments. Soon, however, the neighborhood began to change. Electricity, in the form of theater advertisements and street lights, transformed public space into a safer, more inviting environment. Likewise, the construction of New York’s first rapid transit system, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), gave New Yorkers unprecedented mobility in the city.

All the pictures illustrating this text have been taken by Elena.

Times Square in its glorious hour.

The Square.

Big Fat Hit. Rotten.

Granny's Rental and other pubs.

Skycrapers.

Broadway and Times Square.

Imposant New York.

Bank of America.

7th Avenue

The Lion King.

Times Square Fun Home.

A hand over our heads.

Hershey's, GrayLine and other needful things.

M&M Pub.

The Lion King once again.

H&M.

Times Square screens.

The most famous street in the world.

The Year of the Flood

The Year of the Flood

By Margaret Atwood

Then he started bringing a woman – an Asian Fusion body type with a foreign accent. He said she wanted to familiarize herself with Scales because ReJoov had picked us as one of their primer test venues, and she'd be explaining a new product to us – the BlyssPluss pill, which would solve every known problem connected with sex. We had been awarded the privilege of introducing it to our clients. This woman had a ReJoov executive title – Senior VP Satisfaction Enhancement – though her rel job was Glenn's main plank.

I could tell she'd been one of us: a girl for rent, of one kind or another. It was obvious if you knew the signs. She was acting all the time, giving nothing away about herself. I<d watch them onscreen: I was curious because Glenn was such a cold fish, but he could have sex all right, just like a human being. The girl had more moves than an octopus, and her plankwork was astonishing. Glenn acted like she was the first, last, and only girl on the planet. Mordis used too watch them too, and he said Scales would pay this girl top dollar. But I told him he couldn't afford her: she was way out of his price range.

The two of them had pet names for each other. She'd call him Crake, he'd call her Oryx. The other girls found it strange – the two of them being lovey-dovey – because it was so out of character for Glenn. But I thought it was kind of nice.

“That Russian or something?” Crimson Petal asked me. “Oryx and Crake?”

The Year of the Flood. Photo by Elena. Three Barbies.

“I guess,” I said. They were extinct animal names – every Gardener had to memorize a ton of those – but if I said it the girl would wonder why I knew.

The first time Glenn came to Scales I recognized him right away, but of course he didn't recognize me, in by Biofilm Bodysuit and with green sequins all over my face, and I didn't let on. Mordis told us not to forge personal bonds with the customers, because if they wanted a relationship they could get one elsewhere. He said that Scales customers didn't care about your life history, they just wanted epidermis and fantasy. They wanted to be carried away to Never-Never Land, where they could have sinful experiences they'd never, never be able to have at home. Dragon ladies winding around them, snake women slithering over them. So we should save our private emotional crap for people who actually cared about us, like the other Scalies.

One night Glenn arranged an evening of extra-special treatment – for an extra-special guest, he said. He ordered up the feather room with the green bedspread, plus the most powerful Scales and Tails martinis - “kicktails,” they called them – plus two Scalies, me and Crimson Petal, Mordis picked us because Glenn said this extra-special guest preferred the slender body type.

“Does he want the schoolgirl sailor suit thing?” I asked; sometimes that's what “slender body type” meant. “Do I need to bring my skipping rope?” If so I'd have to change, because right then I was in full glitter.

Insurance

Insurance

When people think about finance and financial institutions, their minds most often focus on banks, but insurance companies are also financial business entitities and insurance comprises a large part of finance. For example, in Canada, some of the largest insurance companies include Standard Life, Manulife Financial, Sunlife and Industrial Alliance, all handling billions of dollars, some on a yearly basis.

Also, mergers and acquisitions are typical in the insurance industry. On a more practical note, insurance is known to most people as, more often than not, mandatory, car insurance; home insurance and life insurance. For instance, when a new homeowner buys a house, he or she must not only ensure the mortgage (provided there is a mortgage on the house) with a corresponding life insurance, but also insure the house and its contents. Typically, standard home insurance includes coverage for civil liability, as well as the property and the contents.

The contents are valued by the insured, but it remains advisable to keep receipts and/or photographs of valuables, jewelery, furniture, electronics, designer handbags and other expensive items in case a claim must be filed. By the same token, standard insurance clauses include theft, fire and water damage, but as with all contracts reading the fine print may save one a lot of time and money in the long run. Additional coverage may be purchased if desired, which is usually discussed with the insurance broker or sales agent at the time of purchase. Interestingly, a person with a criminal record may be denied life or home insurance. Similarly, and naturally, a falsely filed insurance claim is a serious criminal offense and in addition to being prosecuted under the law precludes one from getting insurance in the future.

Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs (Kin Hubbard, an American cartoonist). Illustration: ©  Pizza Pasta. New York. Photo by Elena.

Alternatively, life insurance quotes differ significantly based on the amount insured. Of course, similar to mortgages, pesonal income from employment and other sources, as well as, total wealth and assets are taken into account when calculating the amount available to the insured person.

The premium is the amount paid at regular intervals (usually bi-weekly, monthly or annually) by the insured on the policy (the insuranc contract). Along these lines, the beneficiary is the person to whom the funds (the amount of the insurance to be paid in the case of death of the person’s whose life is insured) will go to, after the insured person’s death; but, the beneficiary may also be the insured’s estate. Moreover, insurance coverage may also be joint, such as in spousal or family contracts, or in cases of business partnerships. Finallly, the term annual premium should not be confused with annuity, which is a different contract an individual may enter into with an insurance company, which guarantees him or her an income in case of disability, or simply represents a form of income under several conditions and in exchange for payment.