These photos, of a garden constructed atop a bus shelter on Greenwood Avenue between Gerrard and Dundas, were recently uploaded to one of the Facebook groups of the Toronto Public Space Committee's Guerrilla Gardeners. More after the fold.... [continue]

Sarah Lazarovic—curator of the garage-based Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada—is painting a portrait of a Torontonian every day. Each Monday, we'll feature one of those portraits here. Suggestions for subjects welcome. The strange, sad story of Albert Fulton took an even stranger turn on Saturday, when the Wychwood Park resident and former Neighbourhood Watch chief, charged with ten counts of mischief, disappeared. He was last seen driving his Daewoo Lanus.... [continue]

Mr. Stickman has the toughest job in Toronto: keeping you safe. In a day's work, he gets smushed, crushed, beheaded, befingered, mangled, strangled, thrown, blown, ground, and crowned. And unlike the relatively delicate spokesmodels who calmly remind you to mind the gap or not to trespass, Mr. Stickman is willing to give the extra effort and actually demonstrate the consequences of not following the rules. Wherever danger lurks, Mr. Stickman plies his educational trade. He... [continue]

It's hard to argue with Slate's declaration that the Random House Dictionary contains the best definition of velleity: 1. volition in its weakest form2. a mere wish, unaccompanied by an effort to obtain it. That is precisely the definition that comes to mind when gazing at this sign guarding a driveway leading to the LCBO store on Yonge Street north of Davisville Avenue. The driveway joins two small parking lots, one that serves the... [continue]

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention that they deserve. Dan BY NICK MERZETTI... [continue]

Sarah Lazarovic—curator of the garage-based Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada—is painting a portrait of a Torontonian every day. Each Monday, we'll feature one of those portraits here. Suggestions for subjects welcome. While Basil Song might have a lock on the most mellifluous moniker for a realtor (does he conduct an herbaceous barbershop quartet in his free time?), Gon Y. Lee wins points for sheer volume. It feels like his face adorns every empty shop front... [continue]

At Friday's Jays-Yankees game, Alex Rodriguez got hit where it hurts when a pack of Jays fans—one who looks conspicuously like Seann William Scott—teased him with photos of Madonna. (Cynthia Rodriguez had just filed for divorce, her lawyer saying that she was "emotionally cheated" on by her husband with the singer.) Unfortunately, Rodriguez struck back by exploiting the Jay's only weakness: getting many runs scored against them. Toronto Public Health wants kids and teenagers to... [continue]

Continuing a popular series from earlier this year, Illustration Sunday will explore some interesting local buildings over the next few weeks. Completed in 1897, this building on the southwest corner of Queen and Sherbourne started out as a hotel. Cited for its "design value as a representative example of a late 19th century corner hotel," the Kormann House is included in the Toronto Heritage Property Inventory. Though vacant for the past few years, this... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]

A day after Google called out Bell for throttling BitTorrent traffic, and a few days before Rogers releases the iPhone in Canada to significant customer dissatisfaction (the latest news is that Apple won't even be selling iPhones from their own retail stores because of Apple's dissatisfaction with Rogers' pricing plans), Bell and Telus have decided to up the ante, lower the telecom bar, and infuriate their customers even more. Canwest is reporting that in... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]

They could be the next big thing, if only they could get a gig. This humorous online series follows Matt and Jay—Nirvana the Band—and their ongoing efforts to break into Toronto's music scene. Five episodes and various extras are currently online, with a sixth episode presumably in the works. First the Rivoli, then the world! Illustration by Kevin McBride.... [continue]

Photo by Martin Reis. More are in his Guaranteed Bike Lane set. Sometimes the Internet isn't enough to protect Toronto's bike lanes from the drivers that treat the space between the thick white line and the curb as their territory. Last Thursday, members of Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC)—Rick Conroy (pictured at left; coordinator of the Toronto Cyclists Union), Derek Chadbourne (at right; owner of the Bike Joint, whose birthday the Gardiner ride... [continue]

Photo of Ben Stein by Patrick Metzger. Just so you know, Torontoist did not ask Ben Stein to say "Bueller? Bueller?" for the tape recorder, and we'll go to the grave regretting that failure of courage. Nevertheless, we spent an interesting 20 minutes with the monotone lawyer/writer/economist/actor/game-show host when he was in town last week promoting his documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed which opens in Toronto this Friday. The film argues that scientists willing... [continue]

After a quiet vacation in the country, returning to Toronto can be quite a shock. Despite all of the smog and noise, the city possesses a beauty of its own. For example, the heartwarming feeling brought on by pedestrians teaming up to tongue-lash a red-light-runner. It's great to be back home! Illustration by Kevin McBride.... [continue]

Eight people face 101 charges in an ATM scam which allegedly involved placing equipment on bank machines to steal customer PINs and data. Hey, you know what the real scam is? Paying service charges to get my own money out of the bank! Am I right, folks? Huh? Am I right? Thanks, you've been a great audience. CBC is reportedly considering using the Stompin' Tom Connors classic tune "The Hockey Game" as the new... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]

The approach to Trinity-Bellwoods on Tuesday night evoked a brain reel of pop-culture iconography: Morpheus triumphantly addressing a sweaty, gyrating crowd of robocracy-epoch survivalists; Eric Cartman's hippie drill on a crusade against jam-fests everywhere. Close enough to the Garrison Creek ravine near the park's center, the imagery assumes a vaguely post-apocalyptic quality; considering the circle's recent history, the dancing, percussive multitude brought together by Drummers In Exile must get the whole flight-of-humanity thing on... [continue]

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention that they deserve. .. the end of a long summer day! BY RDSTOKER... [continue]