Toronto's urban street furniture collection of late has been messily schizophrenic and oft-criticized, but final prototypes from the Coordinated Street Furniture Program have just been unveiled, with installation slated for 2009. The furniture plan involved a private Request For Proposals (RFP) from three advertising conglomerates, who pitched their designs last year in the hopes of securing the lucrative 20-year monopoly with the City of Toronto. The covenant was awarded to Astral Media, much to... [continue]

There are two camps when it comes to the postering of utility poles: those who love it (and think it's a quirk of a vibrant community) and those who hate it (and attempt to legislate against it). Yet, for the latter crowd, it's still not difficult to find charm in this tiny painting tucked away in a downtown alley known as Alexander Place. It was posted mere steps from this anonymous notice—both examples of... [continue]

Photo by wili_hybrid. There is little more dreadful for a parent than unintentionally hurting one's own child. There is little more traumatic for a child than having something they dearly want taken away from them. A Toronto psychologist is under fire for recommending controversial treatments which some believe cause just that. A heartbreaking NPR documentary released this week tells the story of two families struggling with the gender identities of their children. "Bradley" is... [continue]

After six successful years on the Oxygen network south of the border, flawless Toronto septuagenarian sexpert Sue Johanson is ending her TV call-in show Talk Sex. The show was the most popular late-night draw for the network, receiving 100,000 attempted phone calls per episode, but the 77-year-old registered nurse, lecturer, and sex therapist felt it had become tiresome working the 11 p.m.–1 a.m. time slot for more than three decades. Talk Sex began airing... [continue]

No, it's not a printing error—all 815,000 copies of Metro across the country really are pink today. The stunt is in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and the ad-supported free daily is donating 5% of today's national advertising revenue to the CBCF (what that amount actually is remains undisclosed, but editions of Metro are also published in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Montréal, and Halifax). Corporate sponsors are crucial to the Canadian Breast... [continue]

Photo by Marc Lostracco. In upcoming months, Toronto's summer temperatures will once again strain the power grid, and the demand for more power means more power generation—and consequently, more pollution. For Ontario customers wishing to utilize renewable energy sources, there are currently only two options: expensively retrofit your property to generate some of its own electricity, or sign up with Bullfrog Power. For many condo owners and apartment dwellers, neither of those options have... [continue]

Now, normally our coverage of anything Rogers is best downed with a tall glass of Haterade, but Toronto's technophiles and status-hungry business execs have reason to give thanks today to the Evil Empire, for the most anticipated gadget of the last gazillion years is to finally land in our fair city: Apple's iPhone. In a curt press release this morning, Rogers announced that a deal had been conclusively inked with Apple and the device... [continue]

Those who frequent the strip of downtown parkettes stretching from Dundonald to Charles Streets have been wondering what happened to the mysterious monument to "Barney." In autumn, the memorial stone went missing after having been damaged, but has now been reinstated onto its concrete base just off Gloucester Street in the Norman Jewison Parkette. But what's the story behind this odd little commemoration? It's actually a drinking fountain for dogs—not a grave marker—and was... [continue]

No, those aren't Tibetan prayer flags strung up at Yonge and Carlton—it's Toronto Hydro airing their dirty laundry for all to see, and if our own observations are any indicator, the windblown apparel is attracting a lot of mystified attention from pedestrians below. The stunt is a reminder that they're giving out free clotheslines at Costco, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot for two more weekends. The campaign is targeting clothes dryers because the average dryer... [continue]

Haydain Neale has been making slow, but steady progress following his devastating vehicle accident back in August, according to music insider Larry LeBlanc. The musician and lead singer of Toronto-based jacksoul suffered serious brain injuries after a car made an unsafe turn and collided with Neale's Vespa scooter at Eglinton Avenue and Kennedy Road. The band had performed just a week earlier at the My Mississauga summer festival to support their June album mySOUL,... [continue]

Alert the Commissioner—the Good Night Bandit has struck again! Some downtown residents awoke to a less unsightly landscape this morning, thanks to this anonymous do-gooder, who collected much of the detritus left behind after the disappearance of the trash-ridden snowbanks. As if to underscore the benevolent message left by this stealthy stranger, a used condom lay on the sidewalk directly below this sign. Litterbugs: sleep with one eye open, for the Good Night Bandit... [continue]

The Ontario Provincial Police Association has asked the O.P.P. to phase out the state-trooper-style hats which have been a signature of the official garb since 1997. Apparently, the flat, wide brims fare more like a Frisbee when working by passing highway traffic or during a windy day. Extending well beyond the ears, the unwieldy topper also bumps around the cruisers in annoying ways. Basically, too much untimely slapstick for such a dignified uniform. Though... [continue]

There's been much debate in recent days over whether or not the TTC should remodel its crumbling, 50s-era "bathroom tile" subway stations (since now they can). A vocal proponent of the renovation plan has been TTC Commissioner and Councillor Sandra Bussin, who thinks that the common masses aren't design-savvy enough to hold an opinion of much weight. "I come from an art background," she says, justifying her critical authority on the currently "boring" subway... [continue]

Jarvis Street, circa 1910. (City of Toronto Archives) Torontonians should be ashamed at what happened to Jarvis Street. The city's first paved road was once the grandest tree-lined boulevard around, bracketed by the mansions of some of Toronto's wealthiest movers and shakers. Then, in the 1940s, the stately Jarvis boulevard was transformed: trees were pulled down and sidewalks ripped up to make way for the automobile. Jarvis Street was turned from a gorgeous historical... [continue]

A characteristic of spending any good length of time on the internet is desensitization—one's tolerance levels for graphic horror are escalated with repeated exposure to lemon parties, tubgirls, a certain .cx domain, and the indelicate contents of 1 cup. Nothing, however, prepared us for this eyeball-searing, nightmare-inducing, yet totally brilliant commercial created by local ad agency Zig, Toronto. It should be safe for work, but fair warning to those at overzealous nanny workplaces: you... [continue]

Photo by David Spigolon. Just over a decade ago in the basement of a SoHo café, playwright Eve Ensler began performing a series of moving and celebratory monologues dealing with the shame many women have over their physiology and sexuality. Since then, The Vagina Monologues has evolved to legendary fame, so far staged in 120 countries and translated into 45 languages. Ensler's success also inspired her to create V-Day, a non-profit, worldwide movement opposing... [continue]

Since January 2006, quirky black-and-white brushstroke illustrations have graced the back page of the The New York Times Magazine. The work is that of Toronto-based designer and OCAD teacher Bob Hambly, who just completed his 500th illustration—a bus—for the prestigious Sunday newspaper supplement. "Even after twelve years, I still get that little pang in my stomach each time a new story is sent to me," he says. "I feel a great sense of responsibility for... [continue]

Image: Cicada Design/Diamond + Schmitt Architects If you seem to be noticing Ryerson everywhere these days, you're not imagining it. Though it's been around since 1948 and been granting degrees since 1971, it's only during the last few years that the university has embarked on a massive expansion plan and branding campaign, drastically raising its physical and academic profile. Devoid of any real charm for decades (save for the 1852 partial façade of the... [continue]

With Rogers' plan to move Citytv, OMNI Television, and the Fan 590 to the southeast corner of Dundas Square, those familiar with the current streetfront studios on Queen Street have wondered if the former Olympic Spirit building will be opened up in a similar way. Though merely an preliminary concept rendering, Rogers and Quadrangle Architects seem to have grand designs for the space, currently dubbed Rogers Television City, as evident in this image supplementing... [continue]

Photo by sevennine from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. In the 1996 Canadian movie Kissed, a young female mortician discovers the joys of necrophilia. That same year, David Cronenberg made Crash, wherein a group of omnisexual urbanites eroticize car accidents. In Léolo, a 12-year-old boy masturbates with a chunk of liver, later served to his family for dinner. This spring's Young People Fucking is, well, called Young People Fucking. Canadians have traditionally been somewhat blasé... [continue]