Results tagged “craigslist”

Where's the heart of Toronto?

After passing the hat around Torontoist HQ all week, we just couldn't get up the funds to purchase the above Craigslist item of our dreams, not in this economy. So we officially—and ruefully—open it up to you, lucky reader: one ninety-gallon "custom built, Lord of the Rings inspired fish tank by a local artist i.e. my boyfriend."

During labour disputes, anger is the emotion you tend to hear about most. Amid stories of picketers delaying citizens who are dropping off their garbage and protests over dump-site locations, romance seems an unlikely sidebar for those on the frontline of the current city workers’ strike.

Thank you, Craigslist Missed Connections, for yet another gem: this time, an alleged Will Smith sighting in the Manulife Centre downtown. We can find absolutely nothing anywhere—by which we mean Google, Google News, and IMDB—to prove that Will Smith's presence here was more than a mirage, but who are we to argue with someone who claims the man they saw had a "face [that] looked like the face from the seven pounds poster"?

And so it goes.

If you have attended any institute of higher learning, it is inevitable that you've endured a lecture with an overeager student ready to voice their opinion every five seconds. While full engagement in class stimulates healthy debate and knowledge exchange, some people take it to extreme lengths. Whether it be incessant stories about obscure 16th century musical instruments illustrated in a textbook, the opportunity to turn a discussion on grammar into a stump speech for pet political causes, or allowing their enthusiasm to overwhelm the discussion at the expense of others, these students cause the rest of the class to shoot silent daggers from their eyes.

Take note, Mobile Moment: this is the kind of post that no amount of guerilla stickering will get you.

Today's Star has a great article about hipsters (thanks Mark Jull for sending it in), which quotes Stillepost, cites Vice's Gavin McInnes, and contests an Adbusters article declaring that "the hipster represents the end of Western civilization." As part of her argument defending those-who-ought-not-be-named, writer Sarah Barmak notes that "the way people communicate deep involvement—in social change, in discourse, in subculture—has gone from being a below-ground, analogue language of worn, spray-painted or stitched symbols to the daylight of blogs, message boards and other digital mouthpieces." So it seems only fitting that, just two days ago, a Craigslist Missed Connection posting popped up addressed to a certain female Star reporter, comparing her to Ninja Turtles reporter April O'Neil. Deep.

The legions of cyber Romeos and Juliets who are slaves to Craigslist's Missed Connections in the hopes of being wooed by a mystery someone can now declare their insta-infatuation via text message with MobileMoment.ca. The Toronto-based website, which had its soft launch Wednesday, hasn’t seen much action yet, but we’re pretty sure that the ability to gush about The Elevator Hottie or The Cute Cashier to all of Toronto in the hopes of scoring a date will take off quickly with the texting crowd.

In the barter section of Craigslist's Toronto classifieds, some people are content to trade a small pot of "slowly cooling American fiddleheads, marinating in Gay Lea salted butter" for one or two "nice rounded goblets" of Stella.

Spotted on Craigslist this week: a casting call for Keys to the VIP, because dreams do come true.

On Tuesday night, Craigslist's Missed Connections lurkers converged on the World's Biggest Bookstore at Yonge and Edward for the very first Craigslist Missed Connections Addicts Anonymous meeting. The event, like the corner of the classifieds site it celebrated, was founded on shyness and ambiguity: the store's management, employees, and customers had no idea that they were taking part in an event, leaving actual participants to people-watch with crossed fingers, taking down details for posts later that evening, or maybe, just maybe, as the post announcing the event suggested, mustering up enough courage to "go out on a limb and talk to the person."

Do you pore over missed connections as you pour your daily cup of joe? Consider Craigslists classifieds more essential literature than the New York Times Bestsellers list? Better still, are you in search of that elusive, mysterious character from the subway for whom you've professed your love for, time and time again? This week, those who still believe in love at first sight are welcome to shop for lovers and books, and perhaps make some missed connections from the past.

"Missed Connection posts are at an all-time high.

Photo by ariehsinger from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

A brief stint of Radiohead concert rumours spread like wildfires last week. Ticketmaster had announced that the band would play two shows on May 26 and 27 at the Air Canada Centre, but mentioned neither the date for the tickets to go on sale nor the price of the tickets themselves—the announcement was quickly removed from the site. This is not the first time Ticketmaster has announced a Radiohead show that did not exist, and most knew the ticket-selling mongrels were wrong, as both Greenplastic and W.A.S.T.E. (the two most reliable Radiohead news sources) announced a small batch of US dates to come in May with the remainder of (unannounced) North American dates to follow Radiohead’s summer tour of the UK and Europe. With accurate Canadian dates sure to be released any day now, Musicologist recommends relying on both Greenplastic and W.A.S.T.E. for pre-sale opportunities.

Photo by David Topping.

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.

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 no matter how much coldness there seems to be at street level, there’s just as much hope and optimism fueling city life.

Every two weeks, Torontoist looks to fill up all the square feet in your abode. Eschewing the Ikea catalogue, delve into the unique design shops, interesting sales, and easy do-it-yourself projects that can be found scattered throughout Toronto.

If you were one of the many Arcade Fire fans not lucky enough to grab tickets to one of the band's Massey Hall shows on May 15 and 16, we can but offer two paltry consolation prizes.

Facebook just added a new feature called Marketplace. Functioning a lot like Craigslist with more accountability, Marketplace lets you buy and sell, but also lets you see who, exactly, is doing the buying and selling (clicking a name takes you to their profile, if they've chosen to make it public, where you can all the usual things like see what friends you have in common). One of the best things about Marketplace is that it is network-specific: you can deal with only, for instance, the University of Toronto network, or your high school's network, or that huge-ass 500,000-strong city of Toronto network...or—and this is the real killer feature—you can narrow down your search by only looking at what your friends have for sale.

Although numerous studies link good health and good teeth, dentistry is not yet covered by OHIP (unless it requires dental surgery that takes place in a hospital). Rumours abound about places in the GTA that offer inexpensive and even free dentistry. It turns out that these inexpensive dental options actually exist—and Torontoist has looked them up for you.

While trolling Craigslist, we came across an intriguing apartment listing. Does your heart belong to the Annex -- home to sushiterias, frat houses, and highbrow cultural elite like Margaret Atwood and Adrienne Clarkson? Move to the neighbourhood, and you too could be closer to a Giller Prize win.

Kizmeet, the first site solely dedicated to finding missed connections, was launched in Toronto this week. The latest incarnation of the interwebs as cupid mixes serendipity and strategy: “With Kizmeet.com, you’ve already felt the spark –- you just need to find the person again.”

He's making a list, and checking it twice. He's going to let us know who's been naughty or nice. That's right -- Al Gore is coming to town.

If you’ve ever lived in one of Toronto’s older homes (like Casa Loma, pictured left) or apartments, you have probably wondered this: Why do the city's otherwise charming Victorian houses lack closets? The most frequently given "explanation" is that in olden times, homes were taxed by the room, and that closets were included in this count. Another legend offered up by amateur historians is that, back in the day, people only had a couple of changes of clothing, and that a peg on the wall was sufficient for their storage needs.

Jagshemash!

At left: Jennrock's sign says it best. (Photo by B-Mom Marta van Eerdewijk) Top right: the familiar set. Bottom right: stage door throngs in Buffalo.

Accordion Guy caught a Best Of Craigslist entry by someone ("Mary Fucking Sunshine") who just plain loves our city. Yipee! Hoorah! We share the sentiment, of course, but there are a few big holes in "Mary"'s pro-Toronto slant that need addressing. So, bear with us, and allow us to open up the debate. Read on.