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doingdathockey · 11 months

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Dubas' participation in this event said a lot about his leadership style. As he is also handling general manager duties on an interim basis through July, Dubas could have left this portion to the amateur scouting crew. Instead, he made time to travel from Toronto to Buffalo to be involved in a couple long days of draft prep in the midst of a chaotic time for not only Dubas, but also his family - wife Shannon, son Leo, and daughter Lennon.

"I think number one, it was important for me to be here with the staff, because I haven't worked with them the whole year," Dubas said. "So be here in support of them, get to meet people who I don't have as long a track record with.

"But, more importantly, just to get to see the process that the team goes through and learn the way that they go about it, so that I can try to be helpful and help the process as we go through the next few weeks before the draft in Nashville."

And it wasn't just that Dubas was there - it was that he was completely engaged. On Dubas' first day in Buffalo earlier this week, he got to Pittsburgh's suite bright and early before the rest of the crew arrived. Once they did, Dubas greeted everyone warmly, and made it clear right away that he was deferring to them in this process, and that it shouldn't be the other way around.

Dubas was focused and observant during every session, with each player getting his full attention, as he really only looked away to make notes. He was true to his word about not wanting to interrupt the flow, only asking follow-ups here and there. For example, when a forward mentioned that he had driven his line last season, Dubas said, "what exactly does driving a line mean to you?" And when another said he liked listening to podcasts, Dubas wanted to know which ones.

Dubas did have one specific question he asked at the end, which was some variation of: "if I was going to watch one game of you at your absolute best from this year, what game would you tell me to watch?" Some kids answered without much hesitation, but there was one prospect in particular who thought long and hard. And instead of pressuring him for a response, Dubas offered him the chance to think about it more, saying he could text him with his reply by the end of the day, with the two exchanging numbers.

It was clear that Dubas relishes this particular area of the draft process, saying, "I really enjoy this part of it. Enjoy getting to know the players and who they are, in case you draft the players, so you know the type of people that are coming into the organization. And also, I know it's only been a few days, but start to identify the types of people that we want to bring in that are going to become great Pittsburgh Penguins."

And speaking of great Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby was drafted by the organization all the way back in 2005, the year most of these kids were born. Having grown up watching him, they all possess so much admiration and respect for the captain, which definitely came across.

"I know there's no perfect people, but he's as close to perfect as it gets," one prospect said before wanting to know more about what sets Crosby apart from everyone else, as the Penguins gave the kids a chance to ask questions of their own at the end.

Dubas truly lived up to his stellar reputation as a leader who fosters collaborative relationships with everyone around him during his stop in Buffalo, leaving a great impression on the Penguins scouting staff, who appreciated having him around and getting the chance to have some good conversations.

"I think I speak for everybody that's here with the Penguins that we've enjoyed one, getting to know him, and two, learning from him," Pryor said. "Obviously extremely intelligent, and we can learn a lot from him. He's been really open asking us questions. We've been able to ask him questions as well and kind of pick his brain. So, anytime you get a chance to spend with him and get to know him and understand him and his path - he's been extremely successful and he's really intelligent, so it's always good to be able to pick his brain."

people gushing about dubas and sid… excellent

#honestly i’m so excited about next season #kyle dubas #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins

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allthecanadianpolitics · 1 year

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Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are considered LGBTQ tourism hotspots in Canada, and now two regional organizations are looking to add northwestern Ontario to that list.

Earlier this week, Superior Country and Tourism Thunder Bay announced the completion of a new tourism strategy aimed at making the region a more welcoming and sought-after destination for people in the LGBTQ community.

"This really came about as a way to improve our reputation for being an inclusive destination, which isn't just the ethically right thing to do, but it's also good for business," said Paul Pepe, manager of Tourism Thunder Bay.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #canada #ontario #thunder bay #lake superior #tourism #travel #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt+#lgbtq+

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genav0s · 6 months

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✶ . AVOS ◞ ‎ … ! is a five-member boy group formed by APRICUS CULTURE on january 9, 2014. the group was assembled through the 2013 survival show, GENERATION: AVOS, through which all five members were chosen for the final lineup. the show experienced immense success among the viewing public, breaking previous survival show ratings in favor of the 35 initial trainees.

the final lineup was decided by a 50/50 split of judge input as well as votes from the general public. announced in the final episode of the show, the five members: SANGHYUK, CARTER, IAN, ROMEO, and HWASEONG, had all done considerably well throughout the show's airing with carter in particular being ranked first throughout its duration.

the group made their official debut on january 9, 2014, with the mini-album, SENTIMENTAL, lead by the title track, BLUES OF SENTIMENTS. the debut project received praise as it was made public that the members were largely involved with the creation of the record. their reputation as a self-producing group would continue to be their most powerful draw. nicknamed the 'golden group', their famous midas touch success saw them quickly rise through the ranks becoming their label's most-profitable group, overtaking their successors, NYX and LETALIS in 2016.

much of their success has come wrought with controversy, often self-inflicted by the members themselves. interestingly, their scandals have never seemed to dent their reputation as a powerhouse group, frequently attributed to the pr genius of apricus culture and their hold over the news cycle.

after their record-breaking stadium world tour in 2020, avos entered a highly publicized hiatus in order to focus on solo activities while establishing their sub-label as part of their contract renewal negotiations. this sub-label, STUDIO AVOS, would become avos' main management firm for both group and solo activities as of 2021.

❝ that loneliness, for the most part forced upon me, was partly sought. ❞ ⸻ MEMBER PROFILES.

AHN SANGHYUK, better known by his stage name SANGHYUK, is a south korean singer and dancer. born to a single mother on july 9, 1992, sanghyuk was raised in yeosu, south korea alongside his older sister. he found a love for dance in middle school eventually joining an underground dance group in high school.

after graduating from high school, sanghyuk moved to seoul in pursuit of an engineering degree, using his dance experience to make money in order to alleviate his mother's financial burdens. he would be discovered by apricus culture training manager, YOO JOOEUN, who managed to convince him to sign on as a back-up dancer for soloists NINE and JIOH from 2011 to 2013. following the departure of a trainee who was scheduled to appear on the survival show, GENERATION: AVOS, sanghyuk earned a last minute spot while receiving vocal lessons in between filming.

despite having very little vocal training, sanghyuk was the third member chosen to debut in the show's final group: AVOS in december of 2013. currently, he is the LEADER, MAIN DANCER, and LEAD VOCALIST of the south korean boy group avos, which debuted under apricus culture in 2014. sanghyuk takes an active role in the writing of the group's music with credits attached to nearly 95% of the group's discography under the penname BRIGHT.

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE BASICSㅤ˒

STAGE NAME: SANGHYUK

BIRTH NAME: ahn sanghyuk

ALIASES: bright

DATE OF BIRTH: july 9, 1992

ZODIAC SIGN: cancer

PLACE OF BIRTH: yeosu, south korea

HOMETOWN: yeosu, south korea

ETHNICITY: south korean

NATIONALITY: south korean

LANGUAGES: korean

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE CAREERㅤ˒

OCCUPATION: idol, choreographer, songwriter

TRAINING PERIOD: n/a

YEARS ACTIVE: 2011 - present

LABEL: STUDIO AVOS

GROUP: AVOS

POSITION: leader, main dancer, lead vocalist

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE APPEARANCEㅤ˒

HEIGHT: 6’4” (193 cm)

TATTOOS: none

PIERCINGS: none

FACECLAIM: son hyunwoo

CARTER KIM, better known by his stage name CARTER, is a korean-canadian dancer and vocalist. carter was born in toronto, canada on october 15, 1993, to bradley kim, a museum director, and joyce kim, a hotel manager. from an early age, his parents did their best to raise both carter and his sister, cassandra, in the way they believed would best benefit the twins. though their parents were both second-generation korean-canadians, they made sure their children stayed in touch with their korean roots, spending summers in korea and celebrating traditional holidays.

while spending a summer in korea with their cousins, the siblings were introduced to k-pop groups and began growing a love for the industry. eventually, cassandra tricked carter into auditioning for GEMINI INC. in 2010. though both siblings passed the audition, carter was hesitant to accept the offer. after an ultimatum from his parents, carter decided to move to seoul with his sister in order to support her dreams though he was still skeptical.

after a few years of training, carter gained a reputation for his aptitude for both dancing and singing and was selected to take part in GENERATION: AVOS. while he considered it to be an honor, he notably struggled with the korean language and customs throughout the show especially after the departure of his sister from the label. despite this, he managed to rank first consistently throughout the show.

carter was the first member selected to debut in the show's final group: AVOS in december of 2013. currently, carter is the MAIN DANCER, LEAD VOCALIST, and CENTER of the south korean boy group avos, which debuted under APRICUS CULTURE in 2014. carter takes an active role in the production of avos' music with credits on a majority of the group's songs under the producer name MOOD:SUN.

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE BASICSㅤ˒

STAGE NAME: CARTER

BIRTH NAME: carter kim

KOREAN NAME: kim sunyeol

ALIASES: MOOD:SUN

DATE OF BIRTH: october 15, 1993

ZODIAC SIGN: libra

PLACE OF BIRTH: toronto, canada

HOMETOWN: toronto, canada

ETHNICITY: south korean

NATIONALITY: canadian

LANGUAGES: english, korean

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE CAREERㅤ˒

OCCUPATION: idol, producer

TRAINING PERIOD: three years

YEARS ACTIVE: 2013 - present

LABEL: STUDIO AVOS

GROUP: AVOS

POSITION: main dancer, lead vocalist, center

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE APPEARANCEㅤ˒

HEIGHT: 6’2” (189 cm)

TATTOOS: several scattered

PIERCINGS: none

FACECLAIM: kim jongin

MOON WONHYUK, better known by his stage name IAN, is a korean-american singer and actor. ian was born to his parents in the midst of his mother's medical residency in incheon, south korea on january 29, 1994. shortly after his birth, ian's father took up a position as chief of pediatric surgery at a hospital in singapore to better provide for the family. the moons suddenly moved to dallas, texas, around ian's seventh birthday for unknown reasons.

the sudden move became even stranger after he was adopted by his father's younger brother and his new wife in late 2003 when ian was nine years old. despite this, ian went on to excel both academically and socially in suburban dallas. his natural athleticism awarded him a scholarship to attend duke university to play basketball for the institution. unfortunately, after sustaining a career-threatening injury halfway through his first season with the university, ian forfeited his scholarship citing mental health. with his persuasion of his aunt, ian moved back to south korea to audition for APRICUS CULTURE, to satisfy his life-long interest in music.

after a photo of ian was leaked to the public as a trainee, he was added to the survival show's lineup. despite early popularity for his looks and magnetic personality, ian dropped to the near bottom of the rankings during the second half of the competition. after being saved from near elimination by a judge vote, ian just barely edged his way into the final lineup during the last two episodes.

ian was the the last member selected to debut in the show's final group: AVOS in december of 2013. currently, ian is the MAIN VOCALIST, SUB RAPPER, and VISUAL of the south korean boy group avos, which debuted under apricus culture in 2014. ian is the third most credited songwriter of the group and has sustained notoriety as a successful solo artist, actor, and brand ambassador for prada.

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE BASICSㅤ˒

STAGE NAME: IAN

BIRTH NAME: moon wonhyuk

LEGAL NAME: ian moon

DATE OF BIRTH: january 29, 1994

ZODIAC SIGN: aquarius

PLACE OF BIRTH: incheon, south korea

HOMETOWN: dallas, texas

ETHNICITY: south korean

NATIONALITY: american

LANGUAGES: english, korean

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE CAREERㅤ˒

OCCUPATION: idol, actor, songwriter, model

TRAINING PERIOD: one year

YEARS ACTIVE: 2013 - present

LABEL: STUDIO AVOS

GROUP: AVOS

POSITION: main vocalist, sub rapper, visual

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE APPEARANCEㅤ˒

HEIGHT: 6’2” (187 cm)

TATTOOS: three

PIERCINGS: both lobes

FACECLAIM: jeong yuno

SEONG JIOH, better known by his stage name ROMEO, is a south korean rapper, songwriter, composer, and television personality. he was born the sole child of his lawyer turned politician father and businesswoman mother in seoul, south korea on may 23, 1994. much of his childhood was spent in the public eye, especially after his father began pursuing politics when romeo was only four years old. his parents were exceptionally supportive of him both in private and publicly, despite the breakdown of their relationship that later ended in a highly publicized divorce in 2007.

romeo had always shown an inclination for music having received piano, cello, and violin lessons throughout his childhood and into his teenage years. through his parents' support, romeo decided to audition for several companies in 2008, eventually being signed to train at APRICUS CULTURE that same year. after several years of training, romeo was picked to appear on the survival show GENERATION: AVOS in 2013.

though initially struggling to gather fan support, romeo steadily rose through the rankings of the survival show before securing the fourth spot in the final group. currently, romeo is the MAIN RAPPER and FACE OF THE GROUP of the south korean boy group avos, which debuted under apricus culture in 2014. romeo is the group's most credited composer having received recognition for his work both for avos and other projects.

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE BASICSㅤ˒

STAGE NAME: ROMEO

BIRTH NAME: seong jioh

DATE OF BIRTH: may 23, 1994

ZODIAC SIGN: gemini

PLACE OF BIRTH: seoul, south korea

HOMETOWN: seoul, south korea

ETHNICITY: south korean

NATIONALITY: south korean

LANGUAGES: korean, japanese, english

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE CAREERㅤ˒

OCCUPATION: idol, composer, television personality

TRAINING PERIOD: six years

YEARS ACTIVE: 2013 - present

LABEL: STUDIO AVOS

GROUP: AVOS

POSITION: main rapper, face of the group

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE APPEARANCEㅤ˒

HEIGHT: 6’0” (183 cm)

TATTOOS: several scattered

PIERCINGS: left lobe

FACECLAIM: kim hanbin

EUN HWASEONG, better known by his stage name, HWASEONG, is a south korean rapper and songwriter. hwaseong was born to park yowon, a former idol who later became an actress, and oh hajun, a celebrity chef on december 16, 1995 in anyang, south korea. due to the controversy surrounding his scandalous conception, hwaseong's mother was forced out of her former group before eventually being redeemed in the public eye after marrying renowned comedian, lee jiseong in 1999.

a young hwaseong and his younger half-sister were exposed to the entertainment industry quite early. most notably, hwaseong made his public debut in 1999 with his parents after their marriage as part of a reality tv series. encouraged to explore his creative senses from a young age, hwaseong quickly picked up multiple instruments by the time he was 10 years old, landing him a spot in an international premier children's classical orchestra at just 11 years old.

his success with the children's orchestra caught the attention of APRICUS CULTURE creative director, JUN JAEHEE, who convinced his mother to allow him to join the company's training program in 2007. hwaseong easily managed to succeed within the rigorous training system, nabbing features on his senior labelmates' songs beginning in 2010.

eventually, he was chosen to appear on the survival show, GENERATION: AVOS in 2013 and became the second confirmed member to join the final lineup. currently, hwaseong is the LEAD RAPPER and SUB VOCALIST of the south korean boy group AVOS, which debuted under apricus culture in 2014. hwaseong is the group's primary songwriter under the penname PLUTO.

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE BASICSㅤ˒

STAGE NAME: HWASEONG

BIRTH NAME: oh seonghyeon

LEGAL NAME: eun hwaseong

ALIASES: PLUTO

DATE OF BIRTH: december 16, 1995

ZODIAC SIGN: sagittarius

PLACE OF BIRTH: anyang, south korea

HOMETOWN: seoul, south korea

ETHNICITY: south korean

NATIONALITY: south korean

LANGUAGES: korean, english

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE CAREERㅤ˒

OCCUPATION: idol, songwriter

TRAINING PERIOD: seven years

YEARS ACTIVE: 2014 - present

LABEL: STUDIO AVOS

GROUP: AVOS

POSITION: lead rapper, sub vocalist

✶ . ㅤ ╱ ㅤTHE APPEARANCEㅤ˒

HEIGHT: 6’1” (186 cm)

TATTOOS: two full sleeves

PIERCINGS: six total

FACECLAIM: jeon jeongguk

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thatrickmcginnis · 8 months

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We define celebrity by who we consider famous and interesting: for me early in my career John Cale (like John Waters and J.G. Ballard) was a celebrity, especially in my circle of friends and acquaintances. He had, after all, been one of the founding members of the Velvet Underground, and even if you ignored his career in avant garde music before then, or his work as a musician and producer afterward, that made him a very big deal. Cale arrived in Toronto in early 1987 for a gig at the Diamond Club, between records and with a very intimidating reputation for indifferent, even hostile encounters with the press that nearly rivaled that of his old bandmate, Lou Reed.

It was probably appropriate that my handful of portraits of John Cale, shot for Nerve magazine, should have been taken from a low angle, to underscore his uncompromising image (or at least my own rather abject approach to him as a photographer). To be frank, though, this was a simple function of my inexperience, and my new camera - a Mamiya C330 medium format camera, a beast of a TLR with a waist level viewfinder that meant my lens was always at least a couple of feet below my subject's face if they were standing. I had barely owned the camera for a month or two and so far my only working method was to hold it in one hand while my other hand held a flash off to the side. The flash and camera would be juggled awkwardly while I tried to focus and compose; when I wrote about this shoot on my old blog, I said that this made me "light stand, tripod and photographer, all in one."

Poverty - and cheapness, let's be honest - meant that I only shot one roll of John Cale and his guitarist, Chris Spedding, alone and together. I might also have been afraid to impose on Cale for longer than he seemed willing to tolerate me. As such my portraits are just variations on the same pose and background, shot with the hope that at least one would be composed and focused correctly. My ambitions were very basic back at the beginning of my career as a photographer. But I also managed to shoot two whole rolls of the concert later that night; I hadn't yet come to dislike concert photography yet, and achieving something like the legendary live pics I'd seen for years in various rock mags was still an ambition I felt it reasonable to achieve.

#portrait #john cale #chris spedding #photography #black and white #film photography #musician #portraiture #early work #mamiya c330 #some old pictures i took

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 9 months

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By: Rupa Subramanya and Ari Blaff

Published: Aug 3, 2023

Kike Ojo-Thompson, a diversity trainer in Toronto, was explaining to her class of 200 or so public school administrators that Canada is a much more racist country than the United States.

“Canada is a bastion of white supremacy and colonialism,” Thompson said to a sea of nodding heads squeezed into Zoom. “The racism we experience is far worse here than there.”

It was April 26, 2021, and Thompson was leading attendees through a session on systemic inequity.

Thompson acknowledged that this might be hard for Canadians to accept, explaining that Americans “have a fighting posture against, at least, the monarchy. Here we celebrate the monarchy, the very heart and soul and origins of the colonial structure.”

It was at that point that Richard Bilkszto, the principal of Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute and Adult Learning Centre, put his hand up. (Burnhamthorpe is a high school that caters mostly to students in their twenties who previously dropped out.) Bilkszto had trained in the United States, he was a devout progressive, and he was mystified by Thompson’s comments.

“I just wanted to make a comment about the Canada–U.S. thing, a little bit of a challenge to it,” Bilkszto offered.

Citing Canada’s public schools, tax regime, and socialized healthcare system, and no doubt drawing on his own experience teaching in a predominantly black high school in Buffalo, New York, he said: “We’re a far more just society.”

There was a momentary silence. None of the other attendees waded in.

Then Thompson, who is black, laced into Bilkszto, who is white.

“What I’m finding interesting is that, in the middle of this Covid disaster, where the inequities in this fair and equal healthcare system have been properly shown to all of us. . . you and your whiteness think that you can tell me what’s really going on with black people—like, is that what you’re doing, ’cause I think that’s what you’re doing, but I’m not sure, so I’m going to leave you space to tell me what you’re doing right now,” she said.

Bilkszto shut up.

That seemed like the end of that.

In fact, it was just the beginning of Bilkszto’s harrowing, two-year descent into an ordeal of public shaming and isolation that ended only when he took his life last month.

“He was distraught,” Michael Teper, a Toronto accountant and friend of Bilkszto, told The Free Press.

“It was not only his job that was taken away from him, but his reputation, because those very people were assassinating his character. They claimed he was a white supremacist, that he was a racist. They knew nothing about him. They knew nothing about what he stood for or what he believed. All they know about is what they believe.”

As the lawsuit that Richard Bilkszto filed against the Toronto District School Board, or TDSB, later noted, he was a 24-year veteran of Toronto public schools. He had been a teacher, a vice principal, and a principal. He was respected by his colleagues.

“Richard Bilkszto is an experienced, effective, and highly accomplished educational leader,” the Toronto District School Board’s supervisory officer, Karen Falconer, said in a 2015 appraisal of his work.

When Bilkszto announced his retirement in January 2019, Falconer said: “You have proven your excellence in equity, instruction, entrepreneurship, student engagement.” She called Bilkszto a “leader amongst leaders.”

Curtis Ennis, who was then a regional manager in the Ministry of Education, praised Bilkszto’s “brilliant service.”

Robert McManus, 60, a retired teacher who had been friends with Bilkszto since they’d met at Boy Scouts camp at age 11, said of Bilkszto: “He really listened. He really cared. If you had a problem, he was going to do his very best to help you. Obviously, these qualities went on to make him an amazing educator.”

After retiring, Bilkszto stayed on as a substitute principal, but he was eager to start thinking about the next phase of his life. He wanted to travel.

Then, in late August 2020, Superintendent Leila Girdhar-Hill reached out to Bilkszto. The district desperately needed a principal to run Burnhamthorpe.

Bilkszto said he’d love to do it, but he was tied up until late September.

“Later that evening,” according to the lawsuit, “Girdhar-Hill called Bilkszto to inform him that she had spoken with Executive Superintendent Uton Robinson. . . and they had both agreed Bilkszto was the right candidate for this position, given his unique qualifications [and] extensive experience in the Adult Education field.”

On September 21, Bilkszto started at Burnhamthorpe.

For the first several months everything went well, despite the pandemic and the lockdowns.

On April 25, 2021, Falconer, now interim Director of Education, said to Bilkszto, “How long are you saving us at Burnhamthorpe? It is such a relief to know you are there.”

Two days later, on April 27, 2021, Leila Girdhar-Hill, the superintendent, informed Bilkszto that Dan MacLean, the TDSB trustee for Burnhamthorpe, was “very impressed” with Bilkzsto, according to the lawsuit, and asked if he could return for the next school year.

Bilkszto agreed.

[ Richard with his mother, Alice, who is still alive at 94. When she heard about her son’s death, “it looked like someone had ripped her heart out,” a relative told The Free Press. (Photo courtesy of Jason Bilkszto) ]

As it turned out, on April 26, 2021, the day before Dan MacLean offered to extend Bilkszto’s contract by a year, Bilkszto had his confrontation on Zoom with Kike Ojo-Thompson, the founder and CEO of the KOJO Institute.

The Toronto District School Board had hired the KOJO Institute to provide four two-hour diversity, equity, and inclusion training sessions to its administrators—for nearly $61,000.

Thompson launched the KOJO Institute, a Toronto-based diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting shop, in 1998, and her clients include H&M, United Way, the Centers for Disease Control, and the University of Toronto, according to the firm’s website.

KOJO is part of a rapidly ballooning, global DEI marketplace—with companies big and small increasingly worried they’ll be accused of systemic racism, and a slew of diversity consultants eager to charge handsome fees to teach these companies’ employees how to avoid being racist. In 2020, companies spent $7.5 billion on DEI-related efforts. By 2026, that figure is expected to rise to $15.4 billion—despite growing concerns about the efficacy of such efforts.

KOJO’s first session with the TDSB took place April 19, 2021. Bilkszto attended that meeting, which was uneventful. (It’s unclear what attendees discussed at the first session.)

It was at the second session the following Monday, April 26, 2021, that Bilkszto suggested that maybe Canada was not “the bastion of white supremacy” Thompson had made it out to be—noting, for example, that public schools serving Canada’s poorest students are generally better funded than their equivalents in the United States.

“As white people, there’s a whole bunch going on that isn’t your personal experience,” Thompson said at the second session. “It will never be. You will never know it to be so. You will never know it to be so. So your job in this work, as white people, is to believe.”

No one in the Zoom meeting challenged any assumptions or thought to ask questions like: Who counts as white? Or black? Who should be believed? Who shouldn’t be? What about the many white and black people who don’t fit snugly into Thompson’s ideological compartments?

As she wrapped up the discussion, Thompson said: “I just want to thank everybody for a proper, thorough session today. We got into the weeds and got the weed whacker out apparently. It was hot today. It was good. It was really good.”

That day, Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini, the executive superintendent of education—who is black—took to Twitter to show her support for Thompson. “When faced with resistance to addressing Anti-Black racism, we can’t remain silent as it reinforces harm to Black students and families,” Petrazzini wrote. “Thank you @KOJOInstitute for modeling the discomfort administrators may need to experience in order to disrupt ABR,” or anti-black racism. (She has since deleted the tweet.)

The Petrazzini tweet “had a horrible effect on Richard,” according to Robert McManus, his longtime friend. It sent a message to the entire community of teachers and administrators, McManus said, that the school board approved of Bilkszto’s treatment—that he was guilty. (Petrazzini has since been promoted to director of education at another school district.)

It was at the third session on May 3, 2021—one week after Thompson’s public tongue-lashing of Bilkszto—that she decided to turn his “resistance” into a “teachable moment.”

“One of the ways that white supremacy is upheld, protected, reproduced, upkept, defended is through resistance,” Thompson explained—before laughing and going on to say: “I’m so lucky that we got perfect evidence, a wonderful example of resistance that you all got to bear witness to, so we’re going to talk about it, because, I mean, it doesn’t get better than this.” (Bilkszto’s attorney, Lisa Bildy, permitted The Free Press to listen to segments of the audio recordings of the training sessions.)

Other attendees joined the pile on.

One woman, who Thompson calls “Lisa” on the recording, talked about white “discomfort” with open-ended discussions about race.

Another woman, whose name is hard to make out on the recording, defended Thompson to the class while referring to Bilkszto as “the whiteness.”

She said to Thompson: “I believe I heard you say—I’m a black woman, I’m telling you this—yet the whiteness said, ‘No, this is what I’m telling you,’ and that’s often the posture.’ They don’t want to hear what you’re saying. . . ”

No one came to Bilkszto’s defense.

“I think there was some back-channel texting while it was going on, where they acknowledged this was wrong,” Anthony Furey told me, alluding to other people in the DEI training session. Furey met Bilkszto while Furey ran in the recent Toronto mayoral race. “But the problem is nobody had the balls or leadership to stand up and say this is wrong.”

On May 4, 2021, the day after the third session, Bilkszto filed for sick leave. He missed the fourth and final session, the next Monday, and filed a complaint with school officials saying that he’d been harassed.

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board looked into the matter. In August 2021, the board released its findings, stating that Thompson’s behavior was “abusive” and amounted to “workplace harassment.” Bilkszto was awarded seven weeks of lost pay.

But by then, Bilkszto was tainted goods.

Mike Ramsay, a friend of Bilkszto, told us: “His contracts were freezing up—and not a word from his former supervisors and colleagues. While he said some people were nice to him, for many others, he was not politically popular to be seen or be around.”

Richard Bilkszto was, above all, an educator, his friends and colleagues said. He didn��t have a partner or children. But he cared deeply about his students, and he was worried about the impact of the new identity-focused politics on the classroom, even though he was gay and, in an interview with The Free Press a few months before his death, voiced concern about transgender students being bullied.

“To me, being gay is a part of me,” Bilkszto said in the interview. “It’s not my identity. It’s not something I choose to put out there all the time. As a matter of fact, if people were having a conversation about, you know, ‘I don’t think there should be gay marriage,’ I’m not even offended by that if people are making rational arguments—as long as they’re not being homophobic.”

He added: “It’s about the whole cancelling and not allowing for free speech, free debate, and all those types of things. I’m a big free speech proponent.” Bilkszto said he thought Chris Rufo, the conservative activist who built his online following by spotlighting the excesses of wokeness, was spot on.

In his interview with The Free Press, Bilkszto sounded exasperated with the Toronto District School Board, saying that if he had kids he wouldn’t send them to the public schools. “It’s nothing about competence anymore,” he said. “It’s about your allegiance to the ideology.”

In April, Bilkszto sued the Toronto District School Board, citing Thompson’s “defamatory statements” and the unwillingness of administrators and other higher-ups at the TDSB to stand up for him—even though they had previously showered him with praise.

“Bilkszto has suffered and will continue to suffer damage to his character and reputation both personally and professionally,” the lawsuit states. “As well, Bilkszto has been subjected to embarrassment, scandal, ridicule, contempt, and severe emotional distress.”

The lawsuit offered the hope of redemption. But it apparently wasn’t enough.

On July 13, Bilkszto jumped from his 16th-floor apartment in Toronto, ending his life. He apparently left a note, but loved ones did not want to share its contents. He was 60.

[ Richard with his nephews Jason and Cody and niece Kate when they were children. “I miss my uncle. I don’t have him to ask for advice or guidance anymore. I feel like that’s been stolen from me,” Jason told The Free Press. (Photo courtesy of Jason Bilkszto) ]

“How can you not be allowed to slightly disagree with something without them tearing you apart for it?” Jason Bilkszto, Richard’s nephew, said in an interview with The Free Press. He was having trouble holding back his tears.

“I miss my uncle. I don’t have him to ask for advice or guidance anymore. I wasn’t done getting advice from him. I feel like that’s been stolen from me.”

The last time Jason saw his uncle was June 19. It was Richard’s birthday and Father’s Day weekend, and the whole family gathered at Richard’s 94-year-old mother’s house. Richard made lasagna and salad.

“He seemed okay,” Jason, a chef who runs his own catering business, said. “He didn’t seem too stressed out or anxious. I can’t really say we noticed anything in particular that raised any alarms or anything.”

Robert McManus last spoke to Bilkszto July 12—the day before he committed suicide. “It was absolutely clear he was not sleeping well as a result of all the stress,” McManus said. “He was a very optimistic person, so the vast majority of the time, when people would be speaking to him, he would be seen as doing well, but his friends knew that he struggled—he struggled with what had happened to him.”

McManus added: “Our last conversation ended with me inviting him over to my place for a dinner party on Saturday, and he said, ‘See you Saturday.’ ”

Jason Bilkszto recalled that, when his grandmother—Richard’s mother—heard about her son’s death, “it looked like someone had ripped her heart out.”

Jason said he thinks his uncle was worried about the stain on the family name. “Our last name is very unique and not common at all,” he said, “and everyone’s on social media these days. I do think that maybe he was worried about our name and it affecting the rest of the family, because it is so uncommon. That was probably weighing on him.”

The Free Press reached out to Kike Ojo-Thompson and several of her colleagues at the KOJO Institute. No one agreed to talk. When we visited the KOJO Institute’s office—in a sleek, two-story brick building—no one appeared to be there.

On July 27, Thompson released a statement on the KOJO Institute’s site saying: “This incident is being weaponized to discredit and suppress the work of everyone committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” She added that “[W]e will not be deterred from our work in building a better society for everyone.”

In the wake of Bilkszto’s death, Ari Goldkind, a Toronto attorney, said the DEI consultants—and all the businesses, nonprofits, and school districts that hire them—are now “on notice” that these training sessions “can have horrendous, real-world consequences.”

“There’s a real possibility here that, moving forward, the DEI training session becomes much more litigious, with attendees who feel put upon or hurt or maligned, dangerously maligned—meaning they’re ostracized or rendered unemployable—striking back in court,” Goldkind said. “That’s the lesson of this tragedy, that people are sick and tired of being isolated and cast out from polite society because they have the gall to ask a question or challenge the orthodoxy.”

It’s been two weeks since Bilkszto’s death, and his friends can’t believe he’s gone. Once upon a time, Robert McManus said, Bilkszto was the centrifugal force around which everyone in their circle revolved. He was the energetic one, the one who was always the most enthusiastic about whatever anyone else was up to.

And then he seemed lost, Michael Teper said. He’d gone to Mexico earlier this year to get away from the madness, but when he came back, Teper said, the madness was waiting for him.

McManus said: “It’s hard to imagine my life without him. I’m saddened that, in his moment of need, no one defended Richard.” Had it been someone else, McManus added, “he would never have sat silently by.”

Like any authoritarian regime, wokeness has a body count.

"There’s a real possibility here that, moving forward, the DEI training session becomes much more litigious"

Good. These fundamentalist cultists have been given undeserved, unearned, self-appointed free reign over society for far too long. If the DIE organizations themselves can't be sued into oblivion, then hopefully businesses can be financially discouraged from engaging these hate preachers in the first place, to subject their employees to this harassment, bullying, ideological domination and thought control.

In China, this exact kind of intimidation and coercion was a form of Mao-era torture called a struggle session.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session

Struggle sessions or denunciation rallies were violent public spectacles in Maoist China where people accused of being "class enemies" were publicly humiliated, accused, beaten and tortured by people with whom they were close. Usually conducted at the workplace, classrooms and auditoriums, "students were pitted against their teachers, friends and spouses were pressured to betray one another, [and] children were manipulated into exposing their parents". Staging, scripts and agitators were prearranged by the Maoists to incite crowd support. The aim was to instill a crusading spirit among the crowd to promote the Maoist thought reform. These rallies were most popular in the mass campaigns immediately before and after the establishment of the People's Republic of China and during the Cultural Revolution. The denunciation of prominent class enemies was often conducted in public squares and marked by large crowds of people who surrounded the kneeling victim, raised their fists, and shouted accusations of misdeeds.

The fantasists and fanatics can never be satisfied.

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courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme · 5 months

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Lion (2016, Garth Davis)

20/11/2023

Lion is a 2016 film directed by Garth Davis.

Based on the memoir A Long Way Home, the film tells the true story of Saroo Brierley who is played by Dev Patel. The cast also includes Rooney Mara, David Wenham and Nicole Kidman. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, taking 2nd place in the Audience Award.

Khandwa, central India, 1986 - Saroo, five years old, second son of a very poor family, who survives with his older brother Guddu by collecting waste metals, asks the other to be able to work at night in a station near their home village. In search of his brother, the child mistakenly boards a deserted train that leaves and does not stop, taking him to Calcutta, about 1600 kilometers away.

Lost in the chaotic metropolis, not speaking the local Bengali language, Saroo survives on the streets. Hosted by people of ill repute, he manages to escape, only to be noticed by a young employee who speaks his Hindi language and who takes him to a police station so that, by publishing his photo in the newspapers, someone can recognize him. Saroo leaves for Hobart in Tasmania, where he grows up and becomes an adult.

At the age of 27, Saroo is a university student in Melbourne, with numerous Indian friends and loved ones, but he has not forgotten his roots and his family, for which he feels a sense of guilt due to his disappearance. At his girlfriend's insistence, the young man begins researching through Google Earth, desperately searching for his home village based on his fading memories, until he recognizes from a satellite image what appears to be the starting station.

Filming began in January 2015 in Calcutta, India, and continued in mid-April, in Australia, in the cities of Melbourne and Hobart.

The film had its world premiere on 10 September 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival and subsequently at the London Film Festival and the Rome Film Festival. It was released in US cinemas on 25 November 2016 by The Weinstein Company, while distribution began in Australia on 19 January 2017, and in Italy it was released on 22 December 2016.

For the film Sia composed the song Never Give Up, released as a promotional single.

The score was composed by Dustin O'Happellon and Hauschka and was nominated for Best Original Score at the 2017 Oscars.

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sellurcar · 11 months

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Unlocking Top Cash for Your Used Car in Toronto: Essential Tips and Strategies

If you're looking to sell your used car in Toronto and maximize your earnings, there are several essential tips and strategies to consider.

Follow these steps to unlock top cash for your vehicle:

Research the Market: Begin by researching the current market value of your car. Online platforms and dealership listings can provide insights into similar makes, models, mileage, and conditions, helping you determine a realistic price range.

Clean and Detail Your Car: First impressions matter, so invest time in thoroughly cleaning and detailing your car. A well-maintained vehicle can command higher offers. Consider professional detailing or spend time cleaning the interior and exterior yourself.

Gather Maintenance Records: Having comprehensive maintenance records can boost the perceived value of your car. Gather records for regular servicing, repairs, and any significant upgrades or modifications you've made.

Make Necessary Repairs: Address minor issues or repairs before putting your car on the market. Simple fixes like replacing burnt-out bulbs, fixing windshield cracks, or repairing minor dents can enhance your car's appeal and value.

Take Quality Photos: Capture high-quality photos of your car from different angles, showcasing its best features. Good lighting and a clean background can make your listing more attractive to potential buyers.

Advertise Effectively: Utilize online platforms, local classifieds, and social media to reach a wide audience. Craft a compelling description highlighting key selling points such as low mileage, recent upgrades, or excellent fuel efficiency.

Be Transparent: Disclose any known issues or accidents your car has been involved in. Honesty builds trust and helps manage buyers' expectations, preventing potential complications down the line.

Consider Professional Car Buying Services: Explore reputable car buying services in Toronto that offer fair cash offers for used cars. These services often provide a streamlined selling process with minimal hassle.

Negotiate Wisely: Be prepared for negotiations and consider setting a reasonable price slightly higher than your desired outcome to allow room for bargaining. Remain firm on your minimum acceptable price but be open to reasonable offers.

Complete Proper Documentation: Ensure you have all necessary paperwork ready, including the vehicle's ownership documents, maintenance records, and a bill of sale. Having organized paperwork instills confidence in potential buyers.

By following these essential tips and strategies, you can increase your chances of unlocking top cash for your used car in Toronto. Remember, thorough preparation, effective marketing, and transparency will contribute to a successful and profitable car-selling experience.

Contact SellUrCar.ca now and get the best cash for cars in Toronto without any hustle.

#cash for cars toronto #sell your car in toronto

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patsmarketing · 11 months

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Why should you hire an SEO company?

Hiring an SEO company can provide several advantages and benefits for businesses. Here are some compelling reasons to consider hiring an SEO company:

Expertise and Knowledge: SEO companies are comprised of professionals who specialize in search engine optimization. They have extensive knowledge and experience in the field, staying up-to-date with the latest trends, algorithm updates, and best practices. By hiring an SEO company, you gain access to their expertise, allowing you to leverage their knowledge and skills for the benefit of your website and online presence.

Time and Resource Savings: SEO requires significant time and effort to implement effectively. By outsourcing your SEO efforts to a dedicated company, you can save valuable time and resources. Instead of trying to learn and manage SEO yourself, you can focus on your core business activities while the SEO company takes care of optimizing your website and driving organic traffic.

Customized Strategies: SEO companies can develop customized strategies tailored to your business and industry. They analyze your website, target audience, competitors, and goals to create an SEO plan that aligns with your specific needs. This personalized approach ensures that the SEO strategies implemented are designed to maximize results and deliver the best possible outcomes for your business.

Access to Tools and Technology: SEO companies often have access to advanced tools and technologies that can aid in comprehensive website analysis, keyword research, competitor analysis, and performance tracking. These tools provide valuable insights and data that help in optimizing your website and making data-driven decisions. By hiring an SEO company, you can benefit from their access to these tools without having to invest in them yourself.

Continuous Monitoring and Optimization: SEO is an ongoing process that requires consistent monitoring, analysis, and optimization. SEO companies continually track the performance of your website, identify areas for improvement, and make necessary adjustments to enhance rankings and visibility. They stay vigilant to changes in search engine algorithms and update strategies accordingly, ensuring your website remains competitive in search results.

Comprehensive SEO Services: SEO companies offer a range of services beyond just keyword optimization. They can provide assistance with technical SEO, on-page optimization, link building, content creation, local SEO, and more. By hiring an SEO company, you can benefit from a comprehensive approach to SEO that covers various aspects necessary for improving your website's visibility and driving organic traffic.

Measurable Results and ROI: A reputable SEO company will provide regular reports and insights into the progress and results of your SEO efforts. They can track key metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, and other performance indicators. By having access to measurable data, you can assess the effectiveness of your SEO campaigns and understand the return on investment (ROI) you're receiving from the SEO company's services.

It's important to note that not all SEO companies are the same, and it's essential to choose a reputable and trustworthy provider. Take the time to research and evaluate different companies, considering their experience, track record, client testimonials, and the strategies they employ. A reliable SEO company can be a valuable partner in helping you achieve your online marketing goals and drive sustainable growth for your business.

for more information, contact Pat's Marketing, a reliable SEO company in Toronto.

https://www.patsmarketing.ca/toronto-seo-consultant/

#SEO company Toronto #seo #toronto

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bignosebaby · 8 months

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hi! don't know if we can still send in questions, but I was wondering if you know what kind of careers you can get in conservation?

You can always send in questions!

There are a lot of different careers in conservation. Like, a LOT. Many jobs, especially at the entry level, may be tricky to find as many organizations rely on funding which means you see a lot of very specific jobs that are for specific periods of time as outlined by grants and funding. For example, I recently applied for a job that was hiring specifically for a set number of hours a week a a set hourly rate, for a period of 10 months. This is because when grants are given to organizations to hire people, they tend to be very specific as to how the grant money must be allocated. Some of these jobs are extendable, meaning if they get more funding they can keep the person in the position on for another grant period (usually doubling the original contract).

If you live near a zoo or conservation facility you would like to work for, I recommend checking their career page regularly or subscribing to receive hiring updates via emails. When it comes to conservation jobs getting a foot in the door is crucial so even being a janitor or doing grounds keeping for a reputable zoo is a great way to start networking, and start moving up into a job that you would prefer more. Similarly, working in any type of environmental role or conservation position is an asset. My goal is to work in ape conservation, but I will look for any environmental jobs that are comparable to the type of work I would like to do.

When it comes to what kind of careers you can get, there are a lot of fantastic options to set your sights on. Remember that many of these jobs require many years of experience, but even if you are not qualified knowing what kind of career you want to strive for can help create a path to your dream job. Different skills and experiences can help you become qualified for different rolls, but the single most common thing I see in job postings (especially permanent, salary rolls that pay well) is management skills. This is good news because this is a very transferable skill, meaning that you can become a skilled manager in any field and be qualified to move into a conservation roll. In general, if you have management, financial, or administrative skills and experience you can probably find a conservation job that wants you. Here's an incomplete list of some conservation careers I have seen:

In animal care/wildlife sciences: Veterinarians, Wildlife Health Technicians, Zookeepers, Reproductive Research Assistants, Nutrition Assistants, Conservation Stewards.

In facilities and infrastructure: Plumbers, Electricians, Carpenters, Mechanics, Gardeners, Material Collectors, Project Managers Exhibit Design Technicians.

In communications and guest experience: Event planning, Partnership & Event Associates, Marketing Associates, Education and Outreach facilitation, Fundraising, Advertising.

In administration and general management: Finance, Purchasing & Supply, Human Resources, Payroll, Technology, Safety & Security, First Aid.

Basically conservation is a very large expanse of many careers, and while it can be very competitive (last job I applied had over 100 applicants for one position) it's a small world where you can make connections with people and build on pretty much any skills or experience you bring to the table. If you have questions about specific career paths I would love to answer them, and I recommend checking out GoodWork.ca* and the websites of places you want to work such as the jobs page for the Toronto Zoo or Calgary Zoo, just for example. Even if there isn't anything you like or are qualified for, you can learn a lot.

*GoodWork is Canadian. If you know of a conservation job posting site for other countries such as the U.S., drop a comment!

#asks #conservation #careers

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skymattix · 3 months

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Manage your online presence with reputation management Toronto

Heighten your brand's reputation with the best online services of online reputation management Toronto. Our skilled team uses strategic methods to observe and enhance your online visibility, ensuring a positive image among your target audience.

#Online reputation management Toronto

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wttt-dirus-work · 1 year

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Ontario (Headcanon)

This is the first province, here we go!

Ontario, the home of the federal governement.

Here's the flag:

Ontario is the most populous province with 14,951,825 (2022). The country’s capital is Ottawa, and the province’s is Toronto (population of 2,731,571 in 2022), who’s the third most populous city in North America (without Mexico City) after New York City (8,804,190 in 2020) and Los Angeles (3,694,820 in 2020).

She’s younger than Québec in term of existence, since she appeared in 1790s, when the Province of Québec was ripped in half by the loyalists and farmers coming from the US after their Independence. She know New York by reputation, but it’s mainly Toronto and Buffalo who interact. She knows French and can speak it, but refuse most of the time, because her province is mostly English-speaking and the old rivalry between French/English speaker is still there. Yet, because of the Franco-Ontarien (French speaking people from Ontario), she will speak French when Québec is on her side to defend themselves against the hate towards her because the country parliament is in Ottawa.

(Here's the Franco-Ontarien flag)

The Franco-Ontariens are proud of their language despite Québécois looking at them like their lesser than them (mostly linked to the rivalry between Ontario and Québec, the kind of way New Jersey and New York hate each other but got each other back; many feds workers are from Québec since Ottawa and Gatineau are close). She can kind of see why Québec only speaks French with them, and will sometimes answer in French, but the communication is mostly in their native language since they can understand each other (Québec speaks French and Ontario answer in English).

There’s also the fact that people outside of Toronto hate Toronto, and people from Toronto hate everyone else. Some people compare them to “People who would like to live in NYC but can’t afford the rent”. Note: I do not know enough about Toronto people to say if it’s true, all I know is city people are colder than country people and in a “mind your own business” mindset, despite our friendliness. It’s also the most expensive place to live in the country, seconded by British Columbia.

She has cold winter and warmth summer, and the south of the province isn’t as cold as the rest, but the north can be freezing. She mainly lives in the south, with a cool body temperature (12°C/53°F in summer and around -20°C/-4°F in winter). Northern Ontario is a main source of metallic minerals. She leads in production of nickel, gold and silver, second to British Columbia for copper.

She doesn’t really have any friends, with part of the west wanting the Conservative Party as the majority that can’t happen because of the lack of population, and because of the old stereotypes of Ontarians thinking they are the centre of the universe (some of them do, like everywhere else). She’s one of the few ones going to the actual meetings with Cana, with Nunavut and Québec being the ones who’s never there. The former because of the inability to exit his Territory on road (and doesn’t really care about having a friendship with colleagues who can’t really differentiate him and Northwest Territory) and his hunting/fishing/living his best life; and the latter who doesn’t need Cana to help her managing her government.

Ontario is a loner, and sometime resent the Federal parliament to be in her province, but is resigned to her fate, kind of like California. She doesn’t really have good relationship with the rest of the provinces as stated before and is now used to it.

For the sport teams, she mainly root for the Maple Leafs and Blue Jays, and is always kind of happy having debate with BC (Canucks), Alberta (Flames and Oilers) and Québec (Habs) about who got the best hockey team, and she likes it because it gets them at least speaking together.

She’s the second biggest provinces (6’5), behind Québec (6’7), and fourth with the territories added to the mix, behind Nunavut (7’), Québec and Northwest Territory (6’6) (For the curious, Alaska is 6'10, Texas 6'3 and Cal 5'10). She’s white skinned with freckles, chestnut hair usually in a low bun under a Senators toque (beanie, a toque is a beanie guys), green eyes and glasses. She usually wear a beige vest, a Maple Leafs shirt, black sneakers, and pale skinny jeans. Don’t worry, if it cold enough she’ll get a winter coat and boots, but since she mainly lives in the south, she doesn’t really need to.

Fun fact about Ontario: She got four of the five Great Lake shared with the Midwest in her province, and her main sources of energy is from nuclear power (She’s salty about her government allowing the burial of radioactive nuclear waste in exchange of money). Despite being the most populous province, she got way less cases of Covid during the pandemic than Alberta/Saskatchewan.

Also, I think she would be kind of awkward in social interactions, because she’s not really close to any personifications, and despite living in the most populous areas, she got some kind of social anxiety.

Here she is, witness to yet another dispute between Cana and Alberta, both looking at her for her approval, and she tries to not support any of them, because both of their ideas are terrible.

Masterpost here

#wttt canada #wttt ontario #welcome to the statehouse #welcome to the table #headcanon #wtttsh #wttt #ben brainard #Dirus think

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mountphoenixrp · 7 months

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We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

Erik Elliott, a 22 year old son of Apep. He is the stage manager at Divine Twin's PAC.

FC NAME/GROUP: Choi Beomgyu / TXT CHARACTER NAME: Erik Elliott AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: October 28, 2000 PLACE OF BIRTH: Toronto, Ontario, Canada OCCUPATION: Stage manager at Divine Twin's HEIGHT: 180 cm DEFINING FEATURES: gray eyes, dark brown hair with a reddish tint if seen under the sunlight, porcelain complexion with cool undertone

PERSONALITY: Those who are acquainted with Erik describe him as well-mannered, caring, and inspiring. He has a knack for supporting and motivating others, making them feel like they are capable of anything. Excelling at adapting and self control, he finds it easy to communicate and make friends with people from all walks of life without being influenced by others’ opinions. He appears to always be a good listener and a reliable friend. He is passionate and serious at pursuing his interests, mostly in performing art, making him a capable singer and performer.

If one has the chance to get closer to Erik, they would pick up the intensity, sometimes borderline obsession underneath his friendly, harmless facade. When it comes to protecting what he deems his, whether belongings, friends, or ideas, Erik is exceptionally fierce and unyielding. Once he sets his eyes on something, he tends to mentally and physically dissect it, leaving no stones unturned. If he likes a dish, he will use all sources he could get to find out every ingredient and how to make it. When he’s interested in someone, he will not stop digging until he reaches the deepest, darkest side. Most of the information collected is for his own entertainment and benefits. It would take quite a lot to have a sneak peek of what he knows, what he thinks, and what his next move will be.

Erik sometimes becomes a victim to his own high expectations. When the outcomes of his doing do not match the ones in his head, it will take him longer than most to forgive himself. The tendency to keep his true thoughts and feelings a secret adds to the self-pressure, making him irritable, over-judgmental, and emotionally explosive at times. There is also this jealous streak that he strives to keep hidden, and when he decides to hold grudges, that probably would last a lifetime.

HISTORY: Trigger warning: mention of infidelity, mention of death

Erik Elliott, formerly known as Asher Elliott, is his mother’s secret weapon.

A reward Sarah gained after years of being Mike’s mistress, little Asher was a great threat to his reputation as a successful, well-respected businessman. Mike knew he should have known better than keeping the infidelity after his marriage, he could not help himself. And while he had his doubts about Sarah’s faithfulness, she got sufficient evidence to prove the opposite. Eventually, Mike agreed to pay generous child support in exchange for Sarah’s silence, repeatedly asking her to keep herself and the child as far away from his wife and son as possible.

Little did Mike know that what he suspected was right. Sarah had been seeing another man, the same reason for why she could not tell exactly who Asher’s father was. Since the mysterious man was quick to disappear from the crime scene, Mike and his lucrative business became the sole target of her revenge.

Asher was born on a new moon night in October. Like the darkness coating the city’s sky, he arrived in peace, calm and quiet. However, he quickly became as fussy as a colicky, hyper-sensitive child could be. Whenever his mother started to get comfortable with the thought that things were going well for him, Asher brought home a brand new problem. Despite that unpredictable temper, he had a brilliant mind. Right at the first day he went to school, Sarah constantly pushed her son to do his best, to always come out on top in every school subject and activities she made him participate in. Together with his surprising ability to focus on learning, as a result, Asher never failed to be among the most exceptional students of his school.

Her son’s excellence and great potential prompted Sarah to send him to London earlier than planned. To keep him stay under Mike’s radar, Asher celebrated his 11th birthday with a new name, Erik, and a new mission from his dear mother.

In tears and pent-up anger, she told him the whole story about the man who was supposed to be her husband and his father, Mike. She told him how Mike betrayed their years of love to marry a wealthier woman, that he should have been the heir of Mike’s fortune, and that it was the right time to start taking back what belonged to him.

Shortly before he left to attend this prestigious school in London as Sarah requested, Erik found out the truth.

Since he started to collect memories, Erik had already noticed how lights in a room tended to dim slightly when he entered, then got back to normal when he got out. Back then, the difference was too insignificant to draw anyone’s attention. Yet since he turned 10, there were constant inexplicable problems with the light system of his house. Lights kept going out, then coming back out of a sudden, without any telltale sign. Several calls to several mechanics all came fruitless, and Sarah had to give up in frustration. The same incident, though in less frequency, happened in Erik’s classroom.

At the tender age of 12, Erik left Toronto, bringing with him the petty triumph of being the only one to know the answer.

Despite the peaceful life with his great aunt and her dog in London, Erik did not escape the pressure from his mother. Ironically, his ‘rival’, his ‘half brother’, the reason why he had to cross the ocean without knowing when to come back, was also the best of a friend he had ever had. They took turns to be the best and second best at school, with Erik more often being the latter. Sarah was never happy with his results, even when he became the president of the performing art club.

Time spent at his best friend’s manor told Erik that his situation was not much brighter, but no matter what happened, his best friend always glowed. In the literal sense of the word. Despite him trying to absorb the other’s light, it only dimmed at best, which did not stop the friend from seeing clearly in the darkness he created. Erik was convinced that he, by following the lead of fate, had discovered another truth, and another lie of another mother. Another dirty secret buried so deep yet so shallowly, it never failed to make Erik laugh.

The bright side of the story came when his best friend’s mom, a woman Erik grew to cherish more than his own mother, left a letter that offered the answer he had been looking for.

Demigods, of course. Erik had always known both his friend and him belonged to something beyond human, but the revelation still came as a great surprise. Knowing his friend moved to a magical island called Mount Phoenix, he considered following suit. A few months after the funeral of his friend’s mother, the invitation to enroll sent by Phoenix University arrived as the final push he needed.

After a perfect lie crafted for his mother and great aunt, telling them he would move to the US for university, Erik packed his bags, and ran away from London, never wanting to look back.

PANTHEON: Egyptian CHILD OF: Apep POWERS:

Darkness Manipulation: Able to manipulate darkness and absorb sources of lights (lamps, candles, etc.), casting darkness into a room or a whole building. Duration of the power effect depends on his physical and mental conditions.

Night Vision: Able to see clearly in the dark

Darkness Empowerment: Able to gain supernatural strength and speed during the night

Shapeshifting: Able to shapeshift into a serpent, particularly an Egyptian cobra. This power has yet to be discovered.

STRENGTHS:

He is innately skillful at adapting to his surroundings, allowing him to quickly blend in and get along with others.

He excels in detecting lies and gathering information about whatever and whoever he’s interested in knowing.

He is a man of his word (even though he rarely makes promises)

He is a capable performer, and also shows minor talent in drawing and painting.

WEAKNESSES:

He usually sets incredibly high expectations for himself and others, leading to chronic stress and bursts of anger at times.

He’s prone to physical injury, which often takes a longer time than usual to recover.

He tends to get lethargic and physically weak during daytime.

#kpop rp #krp #txt #choi beomgyu #txt beomgyu #mp; welcome

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scrapcargta · 9 months

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The Importance of Properly Disposing of End-of-Life Vehicles

As the automotive landscape evolves and vehicles reach the end of their operational lives, the responsibility of disposing of these end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) becomes increasingly important. Proper disposal of ELVs goes beyond simply clearing out old cars; it's a vital step in safeguarding the environment, reducing hazards, and promoting sustainability. In this blog, we will explore the significance of properly disposing of end-of-life vehicles and the benefits it brings to both the environment and society.

Environmental Impact of Improper Disposal

Pollution Prevention: Neglecting proper disposal methods for ELVs can lead to hazardous chemicals and fluids, such as oil, coolant, and battery acids, seeping into the soil and waterways, causing pollution and harming ecosystems.

Air Quality: When ELVs are abandoned or dismantled haphazardly, they may release harmful substances into the air, contributing to air pollution and posing health risks to both humans and wildlife.

Land Contamination: Improper disposal of ELVs can lead to soil contamination, making land unsuitable for future use and affecting agriculture, urban development, and natural habitats.

Benefits of Proper ELV Disposal

Resource Recovery: ELVs are a valuable source of recyclable materials, such as metals and plastics. Proper disposal and recycling ensure that these resources are recovered, reducing the need for new raw materials and minimizing the associated environmental impact of resource extraction.

Energy Savings: Recycling materials from ELVs requires less energy than producing new materials from scratch. This leads to reduced energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions.

Economic Opportunities: Properly managed ELV disposal creates economic opportunities through recycling and repurposing. It supports industries that specialize in processing and recycling automotive components, contributing to job creation and economic growth.

Regulatory Compliance: Many regions have regulations in place for ELV disposal to prevent environmental harm. Proper disposal ensures compliance with these regulations, preventing legal repercussions.

Promoting Sustainability: By participating in proper ELV disposal practices, individuals and businesses contribute to a more sustainable future, emphasizing responsible resource management and reducing waste.

Steps for Proper ELV Disposal

Choose Reputable Disposal Services: Opt for certified scrap car removal services that adhere to environmental regulations and ethical practices.

Fluid Drainage and Removal: Ensure that all fluids, including oil, coolant, and gasoline, are properly drained and disposed of according to environmental guidelines.

Component Separation: Dismantle the vehicle to separate recyclable materials from non-recyclable ones.

Recycling and Repurposing: Collaborate with certified recycling facilities that specialize in processing ELVs to recover valuable materials and safely dispose of hazardous components.

The proper disposal of end-of-life vehicles is not only a matter of responsibility but also a crucial step in minimizing the environmental impact of the automotive industry. By adhering to regulated disposal practices, we can prevent pollution, conserve resources, and contribute to a more sustainable future. As consumers, businesses, and communities, it is our collective duty to ensure that end-of-life vehicles are managed with care and consideration for both our environment and the well-being of future generations.

Cash For Scrap Car GTA plays a pivotal role in promoting the importance of properly disposing of end-of-life vehicles in Toronto. Our dedicated service not only offers swift and reliable scrap car removal but also emphasizes responsible environmental practices. Our scrap car removal Toronto team understands the significance of ensuring that ELVs are handled with care to prevent pollution and promote resource recovery. By choosing Cash For Scrap Car GTA for your scrap car removal needs, you contribute to the proper disposal of vehicles while receiving fair compensation. Join us in safeguarding Toronto's environment through conscientious scrap car removal services.

To get more details, land on https://cashforscrapcargta.ca/

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