Posted by David Hains on Monday, May 21, 2012
It's the Rob and Doug show on the May 24 weekend! Frankly, I'm a bit sad they aren't broadcasting this from their cottage, as it's perfect weather for it. They could report on the boat traffic and everything. Alas, we can't have it all, but we can dream.
1:07: The show begins and Rob promises more fun than a barrel of monkeys. While council's term has had a number of broken promises, this one has been kept.
1:08: Rob talks about the Blue Jays being on fire. Unfortunately, by the end of the show they trail the Mets 6-2.
1:10: We learn that Rob and Doug are monarchists and have portraits of the queen at home and work. No wonder the Fords get along so well with British-born, left-wing...
Posted by Jamie Bradburn on Friday, May 18, 2012
In an August 1967 article, the Globe and Mail’s Blaik Kirby set the scene for anyone curious about entering one of Yorkville’s oddest coffee houses. “The Mynah Bird is a fetid room in a former Victorian home, with a tiny triangular stage behind bars in one corner. There are two other rooms in reserve if needed. You enter through a hallway, passing the piranha and the caged mynah bird after which the place is named. Hanging rushes conceal the high ceiling. The walls are red flecked wallpaper. The lights are low, with candles on each table. One of the two friendly go-go girls ushers you to a seat, and soon reappears on the stage. She is slightly plump, with long dark hair and a pseudo-leopard...
Posted by Trevor Pritchard on Friday, May 18, 2012
Today in things you can't unsee: a nude painting of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is raising eyebrows—and hopefully nothing else—in an eastern Ontario city.
The oil-on-canvas painting, by artist Margaret Sutherland, depicts a nude PM reclining on a chaise longue, surrounded by a group of men and women in suits. One woman offers the PM a small tray holding what appears to be a Tim Hortons coffee. A dog rests comfortably at Harper's feet.
Titled "Emperor Haute Couture," it's been the source of some consternation in Sutherland's home town of Kingston, Ont., where she recently entered the painting in an annual art show held at the city's main library branch. From the Kingston Whig-Standard:
Not...
Posted by John Michael McGrath on Monday, May 14, 2012
Spend a few minutes to go through Torontostrife.tumblr.com today, which joins the proud lineage of Toronto tumblrs such as fmlistings.
It's pretty much all great, but this one about going to a Jays game made me laugh.
Also, if you haven't been startled by the "Jesus Saves" preacher at Yonge and Dundas, this is exactly how you feel afterwards:
Posted by John Michael McGrath on Monday, May 14, 2012
Today's meeting of the Executive Committee is discussing casinos and the proper placement thereof, and it's been a doozy so far. Advocates for a Woodbine site say that if a casino opens downtown or at Ontario Place, the jobs currently being paid for by the slots at Woodbine Racetrack would go up in smoke. And then we got this gem from Norm Kelly (Ward 40, Scarborough Agincourt):
Whoa. Cllr Kelly just asked if "the creative class" prefer a city which is pro-casino and pro-gay, or one that is anti-casino and anti-gay— NOW News (@NOWTorontoNews) May 14, 2012
Is anti-casino and pro-gay a possibility? Asking for a friend, because we seem to have pro-casino and anti-gay covered.
Meanwhile,...
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, May 14, 2012
Last week was the most enraging show yet, with David Menzies launching an unfortunate verbal assault on the principles of the Toronto Star, actions of Daniel Dale and the media in general. This week promises to be much more low-key, as the biggest items at council were Ford's lopsided loss on his OMB motion, the sportsmen show at the CNE grounds and a member's motion on food trucks.
1:07: And the show begins! Rob provides a recap of the week at council, including Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale High Park) saying a naughty word and the intense debate over the sportsmen show. Rob sounds very groggy today, as though he just awoke.
1:10: Doug says he doesn't really like Council...
Posted by Steve Kupferman on Saturday, May 12, 2012
At the top of your Saturday reading list is an article that actually went online closer to the middle of the week, but still bears a reading if you haven't seen it yet. For The Grid, David Sax writes about celebrity chef and Momofuku proprietor David Chang, who is planning on opening a giant multi-floor restaurant in downtown Toronto this summer. Sax's explanation of Chang's wide-reaching influence on the world culinary scene is one of the most cogent yet, making this great preparatory reading for anyone who doesn't know quite what to expect when Momofuku comes to town. Here's a pull quote to tempt you: "Chang," Sax writes, "has arguably had a greater influence over dining in Toronto in...
Posted by Steve Kupferman on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Welcome to another Saturday, filled with news. Like, for instance, the fact that Michael Rafferty, accused in the sexual assault and murder of eight-year-old Woodstock, Ont. resident Tori Stafford, was found guilty last night. Rafferty, who has now been convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault causing bodily harm, is expected to face sentencing on May 15.
On a significantly lighter note, Toronto is at the nexus of a "songbird superhighway" that will bring something like 50 million winged, feathered tourists—some from as far away as South America—through town over the course of the spring. Many of them will stop for a day or two and take advantage of local hospitality...
Posted by Jamie Bradburn on Friday, May 11, 2012
When you mention lower Bay station, images conjured include an abandoned subway platform used for film shoots, a TTC test lab, a Nuit Blanche installation venue or an occasional construction detour. But when the Bloor-Danforth line opened in February 1966, lower Bay was part of an experiment to allow riders to reach any destination without transferring lines. The wye, a triangular-shaped rail intersection that allowed interlining, proved highly contentious among TTC officials during its six months of regular service use.
The wye was among subway designer Norman Wilson’s recommendations when the Bloor-Danforth subway line was proposed in 1958. “The importance of this [wye] connection between...
Posted by John Michael McGrath on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
An interesting story from the Toronto Star today about a public school teacher who won a pretty hefty lottery prize. He seems to have spent it the way that so many people with new-found cash think they will, but don't: wisely. Craig Henshaw made some headlines back in 2010 after finding a weeks-old lottery ticket that turned out to be the winner for a $21 million jackpot. Quickly, he tells the Star, things changed for him:
Henshaw couldn’t even return to his cozy loft apartment after collecting his cheque. He spent the first few weeks living in a hotel, mainly in an attempt to duck the media and stalkers.
“Six hours after I won, some scam artist had already managed to get my credit card...
