Nice look at real Montreal pizza, all dressed.
Updates from March, 2011 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Many people took to the streets Saturday afternoon in a demo against the upcoming Quebec budget, which promises to tighten everyone’s belt a notch or two. The Gazette describes the demo merely as a protest against tuition hikes and says ten people were arrested.
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Japanese folks here are having a hard time reaching family and friends back home; folks from here are sending in reports of their experiences of the quake. Red Cross link or the Humanitarian Coalition for direct donation.
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Ice and snow, both under foot and falling from above, have always been dangerous in Montreal, especially when temperatures are fluctuating. Sidewalks have been an especially treacherous mix of ice and water over the last couple of days, and chunks of ice have been dropping off rooftops too. And then there are the potholes.
Prediction: At some point in the next week, snow will have retreated enough to expose the usual flotsam and jetsam of the winter, and there will be items about how filthy and disgusting the city is. Happens every year, except during exceptionally mild and snowless winters like last year’s.
Incidentally, on Thursday I heard a gull shrieking, the first of the season. Heard a few since. They’re back, a sure sign of spring in these parts.
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John W
Oooh – that’s one thing I don’t miss about Montreal. A friend calls it the ‘doggie poo thaw’.
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Andy Riga looks in detail at the promised Train de l’ouest and finds a lot of spots where the promises don’t exactly jive with budgets and needs. More background on his blog.
Also in Saturday’s Gazette, a look back at the history of the Glen yards as part of the mostly forgotten story of the railway’s role in building this city.
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Michèle Ouimet on a recent report on Montreal’s image in world media: from far off we’re a fascinating multicultural mecca, but the closer you get, the more you see of our crumbling infrastructure and corrupt government. More on the Influence Communication report that digested three years’ worth of media mentions of the city.
I also suss out media mentions for this blog, and think their impression is correct. But it makes sense. If you’re from another continent and are pondering a tour of North America, looking at cities to visit, you’re not likely to inquire into their governance – what you want is the cultural and entertainment stuff, the gastronomy, the strip clubs, the fun. Of course folks living here have to cope with issues of how their tax money is spent and what their politicians are doing with their time, but unless you’re a journalist or academic studying these issues, it’s not your concern if you’re on vacation.
In addition, the report writers found that local journos don’t tread lightly on municipal issues – nor should they, it being their job to push past PR spin and official obfuscation to get to the facts.
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Looking at quake footage has inspired the Gazette to ponder whether Montreal could have a serious earthquake and what would happen as a result. The answer seems to be that some stuff would collapse. We’re in the western Quebec seismic zone and get quakes in the 4 range from time to time; last summer we felt a 5.0 quake radiating from near the Ontario border and back in 1732 there was a quake estimated at 5.8, so it could happen, but it doesn’t sound like an immediate threat. Remember we’re talking about geological time, so prediction’s practically impossible: the answer is a resounding “maybe, sometime.”
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Mathieu
Turcot would definitely collapse
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naftee
The Gazette article says that Montreal is “on an active fault line”. Where are the people in charge of research? Montreal’s in the middle of a tectonic plate, far away from any fault lines. Sometimes the Gazette doesn’t read at all like a major paper for a big Canadian city.
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Kate
They’re not doing science, they’re not even doing popular science. “Fault line” is catchier than “seismic zone”, right?
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walkerp
It would be interesting to see how all the old apartments would hold up in a real earthquake here. I suspect the wood frames would actually be flexible enough that the buildings would stay up, but the brick work would be a disaster.
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A.J.
walkerp, maybe, but as anyone who’s played Angry Birds can tell you, it’s not the wood but the big stone slabs (like terrazzo hallways,concrete over wood etc) that’ll get ya….
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Kate
The Gazette’s now rolled that story into a more alarmist piece about both Vancouver and Montreal being at risk. We’re no more at risk than we were two days ago.
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Ian
The Gazette is one of the most poorly written papers for any major city in North America, it’s hardly surprising that they get even basic science wrong.
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Mohawk-Lady
Does it make anyone feel better that Bruce Power Plant wants to send 16 Nuclear Steam Generators through the St. Lawrence Seaway? That would be interesting to see in case of a Natural Disaster. Oh I forgot to mention Bruce Power Plant have 63 old nuclear steam generators they plan to send to Sweden all of this risk just to save them storage space. Of coarse BP owner said there is Zero Risk of the containers opening up. Mother Nature doesn’t hear his words.
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Neath 00:46 on 2011/03/13 Permalink
Connie’s in The Point makes an amazing pizza but I have never seen it on any of these lists.
Tux 15:51 on 2011/03/14 Permalink
My personal favourite is Tasty Food on Decarie. Best delivery pizza I’ve ever had, hands down.