Mr. Bush Visits Saskatoon.

This is the kind of post I'd like to do more of, one dealing with a current event the day it happens. However, I doubt the next one will be this ambitious.

Former US President George W. Bush came to Saskatoon today to speak before a paying audience at TCU Place, aka the Centennial Auditorium.





It will of course come as no surprise that there were both plenty of people who wanted to see Mr. Bush...



...and plenty who didn't. These were amongst the earliest arrivals, spouting the usual stuff about the September 11th attacks being an inside job, and also mentioning the Bilderberger Group.



This guy was probably the most odd of the protesters. He kept to himself, and kept telling people to read the Book of Revelation and that they were supporting Satan by attending Bush's talk. Not surprisingly at least a couple of times when I was in earshot people asked him to take off his mask. He refused.






As the crowd waiting to get in swelled, so did the number of protesters.





All this went on as traffic continued to pass on 22nd Street.



The protesters largely congregated on a block of Pacific Avenue set aside for them. This placed them across from TCU Place with 22nd Street in between.







These two women did protest on TCU property early on, but from what I could see were eventually asked by security to move.



The local media were of course out in force. Did I count as one of them for today? I'll leave that to the reader to decide.







External security was provided by both private security guards and members of the Saskatoon Police Service. I didn't see any of the members of the RCMP or US Secret Service involved in the operation.





The protesters were loud at times but otherwise didn't interfere with the proceedings, at least while I was there. Those waiting to get in largely ignored them.

Humour In Adversity.

On the afternoon of October 10th a vehicle crashed through the front window of Esteen For the Home, located in the College Park Mall.



Although the accident forced them to close up shop until further notice they did manage to find a humourous way to address their misfortune.

A Heads Up.

For some reason Blogger cuts off the right edge of pictures if they're above a certain size. So if the pictures look a bit off centre or otherwise odd click on them to get a correct view.

Failure.

The rage for condo-ising existing apartment buildings in Saskatoon in recent years has led to some odd choices.



This building on 9th Street and Clarence Avenue sat empty for years due to the ground around it being contaminated by a nearby gas station. So it was a surprise when work began to convert it into a condo in 2008. Unfortunately an explosion April 28 of this year brought that to a halt. There were already two units occupied at the time, but no one was hurt. It is suspected this was caused by arson. Here's the current appearence of the front of the building.



These poor plants sit dead in their pots, and the door is boarded up.



Damage is obvious on the Clarence Avenue side of the building.



A closer look shows the balcony railing of one apartment bent by the explosion.



As you can see from this notice from a property inspector the days of this building appear to be numbered. There is no sign any attempt is being made to repair the damage.

If anyone has more details about the history of this building and its problems please feel free to leave them in the comments section to this post.

Personnel Carrier.

An SUV used by the Canadian Forces recruiting office in Saskatoon, which is located on the corner of 22nd Street and 4th Avenue. This photo was taken on 22nd Street.

A Reminder.

When I see this sign on 8th Street it tends to remind me of the Human League. Phillip Adrian Wright was a member when the band had its commercial breakthrough with the single "Don't You Want Me?", as was vocalist Joanne Catherall, who remains a member to this day.

Metal Canvas.

These cabinets are found in various areas of Saskatoon. They contain control equipment for traffic lights. The ones in the downtown area, on Broadway, and in a few other places have been painted by local artists with the permission of the city. This one, located on 4th Avenue, features a portrait of the late Tommy Douglas, who in 1944 became the Premier of Saskatchewan as head of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party. The CCF thus became the first socialist party to form a government in North America.