Jamie Bradburn

Matt Elliott: What Doug Ford’s ritzy new Science Centre is really costing us and our kids The Ford government’s current cost estimate for the new Ontario Science Centre is much higher — for a building with a smaller footprint than the old location.

My @thestar.com column this week: there’s no science that can make sense of Doug Ford’s decision to move the Science Centre.

The new facility will cost more and deliver less — and waste a whole bunch of time that parents and kids will never get back.

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

The "new" version of the Mel's Rockpile theme sounds like "hey AI, can you compose something similar but not the same that you think can pass for music written in the late 1970s?"

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world YouTube

The randomness of the music substitutions is epitomized by season 3's Mel's Rockpile/Richard Harris skit. In the new version, the background music has been replaced, while "MacArthur Park" is intact!

Here's how it originally sounded, in the syndicated cut (go to 11:22).

youtu.be/A3JkapWZlMI?...

Sampling Amazon Prime's addition of SCTV. Nice to see original episodes (with some cuts)...but wow, is the new substitute opening theme music used for all seasons gawdawful.

I'm going to guess the music rights budget was extremely tight, even for pieces composed for the show?

Nova Scotia budget cuts – Archives and Museums matter This last week, the Nova Scotia government announced that it would be closing twelve of its twenty-eight museums. Almost half of its museums will be shuttered. The government justified this by talk…

Archives and Museums Matter -
gilliandr.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/n...

Side research find: a report on the growth of "incovenience stores" in the late 1970s - grocery stores lacking typical customer service features. We're talking the early days of No Frills, alongside competitors like Steinberg's Valdi and Dominion's Thrift.

Toronto Star, Jan 24, 1979 #TOHistory

Side research find: the state of the Toronto Star's website just over a quarter-of-a-century ago.

Toronto Star, May 2, 2000 #TOHistory

The most writing I ever saw in a book was a copy of John Lydon's autobiography I once noticed in a Little Free Library, where a previous owner wrote a lengthy essay about not being a poseur.

Bonus Features: Inside the Opening of the Ontario Science Centre Before diving into this post, check out my TVO article about the opening of the Ontario Science Centre in 1969. Globe and Mail, April 28, 1965. In his notes on the project written in January 1965, …

3) Here are a few bonus features for the piece on the opening of the Ontario Science Centre, including press coverage, promotional materials, and more!

jamiebradburnwriting.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/b...

"The original centre was conceived as an instrument for discovery. Its terraces, bridges and ravine setting turned science into a spatial experience. The new building promises a different kind of education: It is a maze of spin and broken promises."

Inside the last hours of the Ontario Science Centre | TVO Today When news of the sudden closure broke on Friday afternoon, I immediately headed over for one last chance to experience the place that enriched my childhood — and the life of this city.

2) Then, as a bookend, a story I wrote about its last day of operation in 2024, which I rushed over to see when the news broke.

You know what else broke that day?

My heart.

www.tvo.org/article/insi...

‘Please touch everything’: Inside the opening of the Ontario Science Centre | TVO Today Fifty years ago, it changed the way we see museums. TVO.org looks back on how the Ontario Science Centre came to be.

1) Since it's in the news again, 2 stories I wrote for TVO @therundowntvo.bsky.social about the Ontario Science Centre.

First, a look at its opening in 1969. Didja know a name used during its development was the "Centennial Centre of Science and Technology"?

www.tvo.org/article/plea...

How a convention in Chatham helped spark the American Civil War | TVO Today John Brown held a meeting to discuss liberating slaves via a guerrilla war — just before his infamous raid on Harpers Ferry.

NEW! For TVO @therundowntvo.bsky.social I look at a convention convened by American abolitionist John Brown in Chatham in 1858 that served as a prelude to his raid on Harpers Ferry the following year - one of the events on the road to the Civil War #BHM #cdnhistory

www.tvo.org/article/how-...

YouTube video by Marcello “MR Marcello” Felici Gene Pitney It Hurts To Be In Love

2) But it turned out the session wasn't wasted.

The solution?

Switch out the lead vocals.

"It Hurts to Be in Love" turned into a hit for Gene Pitney...and you can still hear Sedaka's backing vocals!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlN-...

YouTube video by Lance The Scorpion Neil Sedaka - "It Hurts To Be In Love" [demo version] (1964)

1) In 1964 Neil Sedaka recorded "It Hurts to Be in Love," but his record label (RCA Victor) rejected it because it wasn't recorded in their studios (as his contract with them stipulated).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=stzl...

How a convention in Chatham helped spark the American Civil War | TVO Today John Brown held a meeting to discuss liberating slaves via a guerrilla war — just before his infamous raid on Harpers Ferry.

NEW! For TVO @therundowntvo.bsky.social I look at a convention convened by American abolitionist John Brown in Chatham in 1858 that served as a prelude to his raid on Harpers Ferry the following year - one of the events on the road to the Civil War #BHM #cdnhistory

www.tvo.org/article/how-...

Every time Louisa and I drive by the Ontario Science Centre, our hearts break that much more.

I am so tired of populists who destroy things that enrich our lives and communities.

Okonomi House on Charles Street is always delicious comfort food.

February 23: Only You Can Keep Toronto Clean. Only You. It's not a lot to ask.

The Curio Emporeum offers some mid-1980s tips on how to keep Toronto clean when it comes to taking care of your garbage. Plus a look at the city's street-cleaning efforts around that time. #TOHistory

jbscurioemporium.substack.com/p/february-2...

60 years ago, the Bloor-Danforth Line opened. Here’s a look back at the confusion and chaos The opening of the TTC's Bloor-Danforth line was consumed by familiar debates over car culture, streetcars vs. subways, and whether the suburbs should fund transit

NEW! Today marks the 60th anniversary of the ceremonial opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway (now Line 2). For Toronto Today @torontotoday.ca I look at its origins and how its first few days went.

Guest-starring a Shelbyville idea... #TOHistory

www.torontotoday.ca/local/histor...

The clown is watching you (Yonge Street)

Just noticed BANQ has revamped their interface - finding it so much easier now to view and download research files. #cdnhistory

60 years ago, the Bloor-Danforth Line opened. Here’s a look back at the confusion and chaos The opening of the TTC's Bloor-Danforth line was consumed by familiar debates over car culture, streetcars vs. subways, and whether the suburbs should fund transit

NEW! Today marks the 60th anniversary of the ceremonial opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway (now Line 2). For Toronto Today @torontotoday.ca I look at its origins and how its first few days went.

Guest-starring a Shelbyville idea... #TOHistory

www.torontotoday.ca/local/histor...

Our authors: Jamie Bradburn Jamie Bradburn is a Toronto-based writer/researcher, specializing in the heritage of his city. His work for Torontoist has earned a National Magazine Award and two Heritage Toronto Awards. Jamie's articles: Toronto Subway Dorothy Dworkin Great Fire of Toronto (1904)

The Canadian Encyclopedia seeks out local experts, like Jamie Bradburn @jbcurio.bsky.social, who has contributed many of our articles on Toronto-based topics, among others.

February 23: Only You Can Keep Toronto Clean. Only You. It's not a lot to ask.

The Curio Emporeum offers some mid-1980s tips on how to keep Toronto clean when it comes to taking care of your garbage. Plus a look at the city's street-cleaning efforts around that time. #TOHistory

jbscurioemporium.substack.com/p/february-2...

Congrats!!!

Hands up who at this point has officially had it with Toronto's winter of 2026.

Side research find: an 1859 editorial about rowdyism in Chatham, Canada West.

Chatham Tri-Weekly Planet, December 6, 1859. #cdnhistory

Side research find: back in 1947, Labatt was doing its part to attract American tourists to Canada.

Saturday Night, February 8, 1947 #cdnhistory