The federal government announced that it's going to give Ontario's 1,000 remaining tobacco farmers $300 million so the farmers can stop growing tobacco. The farmers are all very excited about being paid money to not farm tobacco, and plan to grow marijuana instead. The Ontario government claims it's fast-tracking a high-speed rail line from Union Station to Pearson Airport. The people who always insist that Toronto is a world-class city now say that Toronto......

Mookie Morris isn't the only local Canadian Idol contestant with a lawn-based cheering section. We spotted this sign for Sebastian Pigott on an east end street yesterday evening, mere minutes before he was voted off the island, or whatever it is that they do to eliminate false Idols. Sebastian's hunky full-colour signs put Mookie's single-colour quickies to shame, but a slick sign is obviously not enough to guarantee a win in a teenybopper popularity......

Election-style signs urging people to "Vote Mookie Canadian Idol" have started popping up on the lush and exclusive lawns of Rosedale in the last few days. If you're like us, you're probably thinking, "Who the hell is Mookie?" And why are so many Rosedalians admitting to watching lowbrow reality shows? Shouldn't they be taking their doses of reality schlock in secret shame like everybody else? The signs are part of Mookie Morris's Mom's campaign......

Each week, Torontoist examines the upcoming TV listings and makes note of programs that are entertaining, informative, and of quality. Or, alternately, none of those. The result: Televisualist.......

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......

Continuing a historic tradition of corporately sponsored holiday cheer, the 35-foot "Swarovski Crystal Wish Tree" was formally unveiled last night at the Eaton Centre. The star-studded event––a Children’s Wish Foundation fundraiser hosted by Justin Trudeau (yes, the Justin Trudeau)––drew a sizeable crowd of shoppers. Very few members of the audience seemed to actually know what they were lining up to see, though, as the tree was hidden by an enormous curtain for the better part......

Been looking for a way to gain fame and fortune by exploiting your kid's intelligence? Here's your chance: this Friday is the Toronto casting call for kids to be on Are You Smarter Than a Canadian 5th Grader, the Canadian version of Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (in case you couldn't tell). Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. at The Fairmont Royal York at 100 Front Street West. You can download the application......

He was a disaster with a ponytail mohawk, and somehow he made it to seventh place. We’re awesome, and for some reason we’re getting nowhere. Though Toronto consistently produces the greatest number of aspiring singers in the Canadian Idol auditions (and delivers the most top 22 finalists of any city), no Torontonian has made it to the top 10 finals since the first season. Voting largely depends on the contestants’ regional followings, and while Newfies......

What would Canadian Idol be without the genial, excitable, preternaturally tanned Ben Mulroney as host? Would the CTV karaoke juggernaut be any different with another host, perhaps one wearing a black tee, a nose ring and an equally expensive, but far more tousled, haircut? What if George Stroumboulopoulos was running the show? In an interview with fan site The Stroumboulopouli, the host of The Hour and CBC poster boy Stroumboulopoulos reflected on his career......

It's the week where the Canadian broadcasters announce their upcoming season (known as an "upfront" because advertisers are then able to buy commercial airtime ahead of time or "up front"), and ACTRA isn't very happy. The Canadian actors' union is angry that domestic networks are spending a record $688-million on foreign programming (2006) instead of investing in new Canadian dramatic programming. Currently, the most successful Canadian shows are expensive franchises like Canadian Idol, Entertainment......

Billed as being about "Film & Culture About People from Israel & Palestine," the Voices Forward Film Festival is particularly intriguing because the area is going through a cultural renaissance right now, with writers and directors rejecting the nationalism of the previous generations to tell their own stories. The fest not only unites filmmakers from that troubled region, but it also shows Toronto audiences that, hey, it's not all bombing and hatred in the Middle......

Starting September 1, the Hamilton television station known as CH will be rebranded as E! Entertainment Television. E! is an American entertainment and lifestyle cable broadcaster best known for its wildly successful E! True Hollywood Story series. CH corporate parent CanWest MediaWorks will license the E! trademark and manage Canadian content programming, including online, mobile, satellite radio and video-on-demand platforms. There are also CH-branded stations in Montreal, Victoria, Kelowna and Red Deer which are included......

Thousands of people came from far and wide to Dundas Square this weekend in an attempt to nab a spot on Canadian Idol. Instead of holding auditions in a private, indoor venue, as in previous years, producers decided that they would make it a concert event. They included performances by last year's winner Eva Avila, American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, and Vancouver pop-punk band Faber Drive. Toronto media darlings Michele Mandel from the Toronto......

Whoever booked the bands for the Wintercity Festival this year definitely earned their paycheque. Typically these free shows consist of bands that are either Canadian Idol runners-up or musicians you've never heard of. While there are still some bands listed that'll make you say "who??!" there are a number of great acts that will make it worth the trek to Nathan Phillips Square and freeze your ass off for. Just remember to wear your longjohns......

The Tories are taking a chainsaw to Status of Women Canada, closing three-quarters of the organization's regional offices, including Toronto's. Heritage Minister Bev Oda insisted that the budget cuts and office closings will streamline the department and make it more efficient. Just like a business! Because government should be run like a business! In other comedy news, the Liberal leadership convention started yesterday. Given the choice between Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy and......

Ok, so there are no obnoxious hosts (yes, we mean you Mulroney!) and we don't get to vote by cellphone, but in a way SOCAN's Echo Songwriting prize is kind of like Canadian Idol. The award relies on your votes to decide which of these five artists have written the "most innovative, creative and artistic songs created in the past year." The prize is $5000 which should pay rent and utilities for about six months.......

Well, that was short-lived. ABC has announced that there will be no more episodes of The One: Making A Music Star. The website states, "There are no plans for additional episodes. Thanks to all who participated in and supported The One!" This doesn't really come as much of a surprise, since the show has been plagued with issues since before it even aired, beginning with CBC viewers causing an uproar over pre-empting The National......

All this recent talk about the Docks losing their liquor license has everyone talking about noise complaints and the densification of the city. Living right in the heart of Downtown Toronto and near a sports club that thinks it's appropriate to open their large street facing windows and blare really terrible jock-rock at 1:00 am, Torontoist is pretty familiar with the noise complaint process. Most of the time the noise stops within an hour when......

Sorry George, but the reviews are in and the One just plain sucks. The ABC produced, CBC simulcasted Idol/Next Top Model/Big Brother mashup sucks so much that the National (which was actually bumped forward an hour) managed to get almost three times the number of viewers. The One just managed to pull 236,000 viewers compared to the National which pulled in a respectable 550,000+ viewers. Antonia Zerbisias goes on at length at the show's shortcomings.......

It could be one of two things the sound of CBC TV's ratings plummeting or it could be the sound of the the IQs of Canadian TV watchers reaching new lows. The CBC announced its fall lineup and it's a strange mixture of mainstream trends that the CBC resists (more reality tv, quiz shows) and giant national projects meant to unify Canadians in front of their TVs (Hockey: A People's History). The CBC will try......

Copyright isn't exactly a sexy topic, there's no blood, no one dies, there are no burnt out houses or flooded streets to get people riled up. Or is it? Bloggers were able to get a lot of people angry over Sam Bulte when she apparently cozied up to record industry bigwigs at a Drake Hotel fundraiser. And with the Junos (or the Canadian Idol reunion) coming up and the RIAA going crazy down south there's......

OMGOMGOMG! Canadian Idol is finally over! Lovely half-Asian singing sensation from Calgary, Melissa O’Neil, beat Newfie CanRocker Rex Goudie in a hideously long finale. Torontoist thinks Melissa deserves the trophy, much more so than prematurely balding, nerdy-waiter Ryan Malcolm (ew) of Season One and Kalan Porter, who is the Canadian >Clay Aiken. So, we heartily agree with the judges that Melissa is the best Idol ever. Dear Melissa, may you prosper! Aside, does anyone else......

Fact: New reports of Idol-judge incest have linked judge Paula A. with various American Idol contestants, including that Justin guy. Fact: Lengthy line-ups to get into Canadian Idol auditions and unruly media coverage are handcuffing the city. Fact: The lustful judges Farley Flex and Sass Jordan (pictured) are objects of desire for many young Canadians. Fact: Idol had to extend auditions in Toronto. Are we the only ones who see what's going on here?? Open......

A few weeks back we reported on a frightening new trend - Canadian Idol for professional subgroups. It began with Media Idol, but next up they'll have Food Service Idol, Accountants Idol, and the one we fear most, Plumbers Idol. But the Media Idol types had trouble enough putting together a decent ensemble, a tune and a little soft shoe in the hopes of winning big, and validating that unfortunate experience at the high school......

When Canadian society stumbles into an Abilene Paradox, we act contrary to what we actually want. By doing this, we defeat the very purposes of what we are trying to accomplish. It is a symptom of the inability to manage agreement - not the inability to manage conflict. An example of this is Canadian Idol. We all privately and individually agree about the revolting and degenerative nature of the Idol television series, and privately and......

Tommy Douglas may be CBC's Greatest Canadian but he wouldn't make the top three in his own province. Heck, with the popularity of Canadian Idol runner-up, Theresa Sokyrka , he might be bumped another spot. At No. 3 would be a certain folk singer who attended Aden Bowman high school and whose paintings have been exhibited in Saskatoon's Mendel Art Gallery. At No. 2, Floral, SK's Mr. Hockey. And topping the list would be the......