According to Uni-watch.com, this may be the new Toronto Blue Jays' logo in the near future:

It's a throwback to the old style, but has a more sleeker feel to it.

This is what it looks like at the moment:

Pretty sweet making of video of a Daft Punk helmet mould. Wish I had this guy's skill.

Thanks to Plasticpals for the link!

Source

^-- where the music came from.

Tracklist

Alphabeat - Boyfriend

Alphabeat - Fascination

Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars

Black Eyed Peas - Gotta Feeling

Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

Capsule - Can I Have A Word

Chromeo - Momma's Boy

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Daft Punk - Aerodynamic

Daft Punk - Around The World

Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix)

Deadmau5 - Right This Second

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed

ELO - Mr. Blue Sky

Girls Aloud - Biology

Gorillaz - Dare

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

Gwen Stefani - What You Waitin For (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)

Housse de Racket - Oh Yeah

Justice - DVNO

Justice - Phantom Part II

Katy Perry - One Of The Boys

Ke$ha - Take It Off

Kylie Minogue - Wow

Lady Gaga - Alejandro

Linkin Park - Crawling

Madonna - Hung Up

Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette - Boys and Girls

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Nero - Me and You

One Republic - All The Right Moves (Danger Remix)

One-T - Magic Key

Ratatat - Shempi

Solange - I Decided (Freemasons Remix)

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You

The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

The Killers - Losing Touch

The Who - Baba O'Riley (SebastiAn Remix)

Yelle - Que Veux Tu (Madeon Remix)

Made with FL Studio & Ableton Live, played on a Novation Launchpad & Novation Zero SL MKII.

Fellow Canadians will recognize Rogers.  It's the Internet/Phone/TV/Media conglomerate  that has a huge grasp on everything telecoms in this country.  It's trying to expand out again:  it has now applied to become a bank; the company states that it has "no plans to become a full-service deposit-taking financial institution," but would like "to pursue a niche credit card opportunity."  Other companies like PC, ESSO, Petro Canada, etc. have done this before as well, but coming from such a huge company like Rogers.. it's a little scary.. it's like it's trying to insert itself into all aspects of everyday life..
 
Link

Rogers Communications has applied to become a bank under the federal Bank Act.

The telecom company filed papers to the Minister of Finance over the weekend asking to become a national banking institution, a Rogers spokesperson confirmed to CTVNews.ca Tuesday.

If approved, the proposed "Rogers Bank" will focus mainly on credit, payment and charge card services. The institution's head office would be located in Toronto.

The company, however, stressed that it has no interest in becoming a full-fledged bank.

"We have no plans to become a full-service deposit-taking financial institution," Rogers Public Affairs Manager Carly Suppa said in an emailed statement.

"The license, if granted, would give us the flexibility to pursue a niche credit card opportunity to our customers should this make sense at a future date," she wrote.

Suppa noted that Rogers' application could take more than a year to go through.

A spokesperson at the OSFI, the national agency that processes bank applications, couldn't confirm Rogers' submission but said the amount of time it takes to process applications will vary.

"There's really no average time. It depends on the amount of work we're dealing with when the application is filed," said OSFI Communications Officer Leonie Roux.

I know this is somewhat of an old topic to bring up; I recently watched a video about Caster Semenya (the South African  middle-distance runner who won gold in the women's 800 m race at the 2009 World Championships), and it got me thinking about whether or not she should be allowed to participate in a women's only sports competition.  
 
In the video, the scientists that ran tests on Caster say that she has a higher amount of testosterone than normal women do, which give her an "unfair" advantage in athletic competitions.  While I agree that this does give her some advantage, she did not acquire these levels through artificial means; she was born this way.  While the IAAF may try to convince themselves and others that other athletes in competitions do not have any advantages over each other, they are misleading themselves:  everyone has certain differences in their genetic makeup as well as physical manifestations that allow them to do certain things better than other people.  Some people have larger lungs... some people are genetically programmed to have a different amount of slow-twitch to fast-twitch muscle ratio, and some are taller than others... hell even some sexual characteristics in some people are expressed more in some people than others... some have XY, some have XXY, and some even have XYY, etc (there ARE varying degrees of maleness and femaleness).  When it comes to the expression of our genetic information, our phenotypes (such as eye colour, skin colour, and ratio of hormones) are  expressed on a varying scale.  Caster is just on the extreme end of the spectrum.
 
To exclude her from participating in her sport just because she's an anomoly, however, is to do her an injustice.  Athletes with extreme characteristics are celebrated in other sports (eg. Shaq and Yao Ming), so why shouldn't she be also?  She IS a woman - she does have female body parts - her hormones are just in a different ratio than normal.  If she is to be excluded solely on the basis of her testosterone levels, should we have tiered competitions amongst athletes based on hormone levels now?  Athletes are more than just the sum of their parts.
 
In any case, Caster's courage and bravery in facing her critics (criticizing over her sexuality/gender, ffs - can you imagine what it'd be like to have people ask you.. are you a guy or a girl?) head-on while remaining true to herself and her community is to be commended.  To her critics, she asks, "If someone was born the way she was born, or he was born, are you going to go and blame him, or are you going to blame God?  Who's fault is that?  Nobody's."  For someone that young to have that kind of confidence is inspiring; she didn't ask to be put into the spotlight like this... she just wanted to be the best athlete that she could be.
 
The IAAF did, in the end, clear her to return to competition, after she was withdrawn from competition.  Recently she won silver in the 2011 World Championships, and dedicated her medal to Nelson Mandela.

Ever since the Blue Jays won the World Series more than once back in the 90's when I was just a kid, I can't remember the last time I truly followed the team on their quest to win the title again... that's because ever since then, the team has been stricken with poor pitching and batting output, as well as poor management.  These days though, wow... it really does feel like they're coming out of left field..
 
Ever since Bautista started lighting up his at-bats, almost everyone on the team started to be able to swing.  Now we got batters who can actually hit... giving our pitchers some breathing room... Johnson, Lawrie, Bautista, Thames, Encarnacion, Arencibia... almost everyone on the team can swing!  I'm not saying they will be able to win the World Series this year, but they're starting to look more and more like a team who can actually become a contender, if not in this year, then the next!  I think the managers and owners know this as well, as there have been more press and promotions to help try to raise some hype and excitement about the team's successes and potential.
 
Anyone else out there a Blue Jays fan?  What are your thoughts and opinions on the team developments as of late?  I wonder if we'll ever see the Skydome (yes, not the Rogers Centre -_-) be packed to near capacity again on regular non-opening games.
 
I really just hope that management is going to be smart and try to hold on to the guys on the team right now that are really shining.  Please, please, please, don't make the same mistakes that other Toronto sports teams have done in the past T_T.  More TV coverage would be nice too.. not everyone has cable T_T.

  As seen on Rorie-tv xD

I was really shocked and saddened by this news.  No matter what political views people had, everyone could agree that Jack was a stand-up guy in a sea of wishy-washy politicians.  I loved his passion and the way how he represented himself as a man for the little guy.  RIP Jack.  Condolences to his family.  
 
His final letter to Canadians echos just the way Jack was:  a passionate, optimistic, and caring man who wanted nothing but the best for his people.
 

Jack Layton, MP, Député
Toronto – Danforth
Leader of the Official Opposition/Chef de l'Opposition officielle
Leader, New Democratic Party/Chef, Nouveau Parti démocratique

August 20, 2011
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton