Many years ago, the TTC launched the smart “Ride The Rocket” ad campaign, of which only the slogan and typewriter-like font still exist. The fast-paced and effective television commercials featured a quirky spokesperson chattering rapidly into a wide-angle lens about the pros of public transit, and the slick spots made the Commission look modern, exciting, [...]

There was a time in this fair city when home theatres did not run When the grand majestic steeples stood alone against the sun Long before the iPod and long before the radio When the brown dark piano entertained homes in Toronto (with apologies to Gordon Lightfoot) Founded in 1888, Whaley, Royce & Co. quickly [...]

The Missed Connections forum on Craigslist is usually a repository of “the urban equivalent of messages in a bottle.” It’s home to those wishing for a second chance at a serendipitous encounter and to cute, shy-person flirting, as nameless, faceless people share their private emotions in a very public way. The messages usually affirm that [...]

Canadian DMCA to be introduced to Parliament today? That’s what a lot of sources are saying, and the bill will likely be an abomination, essentially outlawing, among other things, freeware hacks for the iPod, automatic intellectual property rights for research purposes, making copies for your own personal use, and the above image. Al Gore rips [...]

Few companies inspire the kind of product lust that Apple does, and it's no secret that Mac users can be somewhat evangelical about the company from Cupertino. To many Apple fans in Canada, it's sheer torture that TV shows and movies aren't yet available in the Canadian iTunes Music Store, or that the iPhone is taking so damn long to cross the border. In the United States, the iPhone has been the must-have tech...

In our opinion, the time-travel short Hirsute was one of the strongest of the festival, particularly if we discount the almost unfairly good Madame Tutli-Putli. We recently talked with writer and director A.J. Bond (pictured above on the left and right) about the creation of the short, his inspirations, and the “Many Martys” theory. Today’s [...]

The funny-looking “keg” antennas have been appearing atop street lamps around the city since last year, and it looks like One Zone, Toronto Hydro’s plan to blanket the city with wireless internet, is bearing fruit. According to the Globe, the City-owned utility says that the network is already a resounding success—a significant achievement since similar [...]

Today Apple offered us a refresh of their entire iPod line, making us want to blindly toss our money at the company once again. One Torontonian, however, is getting some coin thrown her way—big time. Indie darling Leslie Feist has found her track “1234″ at the core of the new worldwide iPod nano television spot. [...]

When Torontoist was a wee tyke, we used to hate gym class. It made us feel flabby, unloved, and a little tired. Recess, on the other hand, was the greatest thing ever—every day! The jungle gym! Tag! Imaginary battles! Recess had it all. As we’ve gotten older and indulge ourselves in eating street meat and [...]

“Honest Ed” Mirvish dies at 92. As the man himself would say: He may be gone, but his bargains sure aren’t. Torontoist’s obituary for him can be found here. Details on the funeral are here. Toronto police board still making up its mind about whether or not to approve Tasers. Insert bad joke about “shocking” [...]

For his entry to Touch Up Toronto, Alden R. Cudanin sent us this photo of the south side of College just east of Bathurst from about 1920, doctored to include the now-ubiquitous iPod ads. Of course, back then, in addition to billboard advertising, Apple also targeted the ever-growing praxinoscope-owning demographic, their ads featuring shadowed men [...]