Shawn Micallef

@shawnmicallef.bsky.social

Local tosser Books author (New: Stroll!) Toronto Star column writer Spacing Magazine co-founder U of T instructor Trying to do it a bit different here than the last place. Links to books, etc: https://linktr.ee/shawnmicallef 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🤘🏼

El-Sayed: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. Because if there is one question of political philosophy that ought to animate us all, it's what would we do if we treated all our kids like they were all of our kids?"

Once on the old site a polemic writer from Calgary (you can guess which one, but keep it to yourself) mocked Toronto's tree bylaw and its urban tree advocates. She also had a bit of "of course Toronto has a tree bylaw" mocking. Classic. (Calgary has its own tree bylaws/permissions to cut).

Christopher Mims@mims.bsky.social · 3h ago

Planting trees in cities saves lives. A new study in Chicago estimates that planting 14,000 trees per year to increase shade would save 104 lives annually Conversely, eliminating urban trees increases deaths from heat agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

I worked in one years before and let me tell you your mother was right. Years before that, though, we did not get any kind of lettuce outside of the growing season. The only warm-weather fruit were bananas and oranges. I thought Kellogg's was Scottish!

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 14h ago

I asked my mom a few years ago why we are so much iceberg lettuce as kids (Ontario). “That’s all there was” she said. Surely there was specialty etc but mass working-to-middle class supermarkets….we’d probably be shocked to walk thru a 1982 A&P.

So at my wedding last month my dad made a speech about when I became a vegetarian in the late 90s and started making hummus. "we were from a meat and potatoes town". I think he actually said "What the fuck is hummus". Maybe he censored the f-bomb. Anyway, speech was funny & well received.

@jaysfanj.bsky.social · 4h ago

I remember the first time I added hummus to the grocery list (probably about 25 years ago, still living at home). My father left it out on the counter when he got home so he could say WHAT THE HELL IS THIS STUFF. 🤦🤣

As a suburban Portuguese family, we had to travel downtown to Augusta ("Agooshta" is what Portuguese people called Kensington Market) for fish, cheese, and many other things. I was in my 20s buying some used jeans at Courage My Love when I finally realized Agooshta=Kensington Market.

I asked my mom a few years ago why we are so much iceberg lettuce as kids (Ontario). “That’s all there was” she said. Surely there was specialty etc but mass working-to-middle class supermarkets….we’d probably be shocked to walk thru a 1982 A&P.

Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 15h ago

Food, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.

dorian

@doriantaylor.com

air travel is one of those experiences that has gotten monotonically worse over my entire lifetime

question though: has *anything* in the last 40+ years genuinely gotten *better*?

like, there's *more* stuff, sure, but is any of it *better*?

2:58 PM Aug 4, 2026

ICYMI over the long weekend, my column on the No Jets win. Inspired a bit by some Liberal MP taking an undeserved victory lap when they aren't covered in glory. That, and I don't totally trusts their long term sincerity on all this. It was the people's victory, no one else.

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 4d ago

🛩️ v 🏖️ People who aren’t used to winning, won. At the same time, people who often win lost for once. The losers are throwing tantrums. Winners should take the win to heart because it truly belongs to them & no one else. My column on this remarkable grassroots mobilization in @thestar.com

A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)

What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off

In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.

bloomberg.com

We had this - an 1985 Sunbird (same car but Pontiac badge). Mom had just got a job at GM so we bought a GM. I drove it into Uni. It died every few months. Walk to payphone & call CAA. For a year or so I couldn't get it into 1st gear (manual) so I plotted routes around Windsor w the least stops.

Sky Marchini@sky.skymarchini.net · yesterday

also, cheap stuff has actually gotten way better quality now. this is a 1985 chevy cavalier. 88hp engine (although it was fuel injected!), and basically no creature comforts [a/c was an option, same with an FM radio]. it would last you maybe 100k miles. It cost the equivalent of $27,000 today.

From Safe Parkside’s IG this morning. Correct to call out the local “progressive” councillor on this who did nothing for 20 years & actively opposed things like speed humps (for reasons). Betweeen him & Doug ford, not much difference on Parkside death strip.

Car crash in parksafeparkside A single vehicle crash on Parkside Drive this morning where a car somehow wrapped itself around a hydro pole causing a power outage. The driver and passenger appear to be okay. The power lines are hanging so low that trucks are clipping it as they drive by.
Police, fire and paramedics are on the scene now. A big thank you to Gord Perks 20 years of disregard and Doug Ford's absurd policies for making this possible!