Results tagged “davemeslin”

Remember The NeverEnding Story? That 1984 film about some kid who gets lost in a magic book and ends up having an excellent adventure involving a giant, flying, luckdragon?

Believe it or not, music videos still exist. Sound Tracks trolls the internet to find the best and the worst of local artists' new singles and the good, bad, or otherwise noteworthy visuals that accompany them.

Ever wonder what distinguishes a good bicycle rack from a bad one? Or what the optimal buffer is between a bike lane and a parked car? If so, then last week's Bike Summit was the place for you, as active transportation activists, transportation planners, urban infrastructure experts, and assorted cycling gurus came together to consider these and other such questions. Organized by the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT), the second annual conference was a day-long extravaganza devoted to everything on two wheels.

On May 29, 2008, the Toronto Cyclists Union was launched. And much as he had done to kick off his earlier group, founder Dave Meslin called on his Torontopian indie-rock buddies to put on a show at the Bloor.

"My friends, my fellow mushrooms....For all of our lives they've been keeping us in the dark! They've been feeding us bullshit!" A political career was born earlier this week, and it belongs to one Marvin Mushroom. Marvin proved himself a fearsome candidate: quick-witted, righteously indignant, born speech-maker. Marvin was campaigning, of course, for mushrooms to feature prominently on the assembled voters' pizza, and he drew a hearty round of applause after making his case.

Things of which we are fans: cycling advocacy, dancehall-laced DJ sets, jokes about benzodiazepine, tipsy city councillors. Last night we were lucky to find all of these in the very same room, at the first annual Toronto Bike Awards, hosted by the Toronto Cyclists Union. The Gladstone Hotel’s ballroom was standing-room only, packed with die-hard cyclists and the people who love them. While the City of Toronto has distributed Bicycle Friendly Business Awards for many years, this was the first time that a full evening’s worth of partying was devoted to recognizing the individuals and organizations that are working to continuously improve the state of cycling in our city. In addition to the City’s awards, the Cyclists Union inaugurated their own Golden Spoke Awards: one each for the outstanding city councillor, volunteer, and cycling advocate of the year. The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) and I Bike T.O. gave out their own awards as well—proof of the breadth and depth of cycling activism in the city.

The above "Obey Spray" illustration is one of a series of Madvertisements (also featuring products such as "Empowermints" and conditions such as "Excessive Patriotism Disorder") by media tigress Carly Stasko, originally published in the January/February 2002 issue of This Magazine. Look familiar? Says Stasko of the "Obay" campaign for Ontario colleges, they're "so similar that I'm wondering if we just had the same idea or if they have riffed off of my original." (We think it's probably the former, but it wouldn't at all surprise us if someone at Smith Roberts had a subscription to This and has been storing the Madvertisements in his or her unconscious for years.) The photo, by the way, is a young Dave Meslin.

Architecture in Toronto has been getting a lot of attention lately. Some of the coverage has even been positive. The Toronto Archives and the Friends of the Archives of Ontario are capitalizing on the trend, presenting a lecture series (PDF) in coming weeks to be hosted by the Star's architecture critic and urban affairs columnist, Christopher Hume.

It's a gloomy time of year to be a cyclist, but Dave Meslin and the Toronto Cyclists Union are still finding time for projects in between their slushy commutes. The group is about to launch its own magazine, and they're looking for a name.

SEPT. 28, 2006: Torontoist publishes "Two Peas In A Pod," a poorly considered article making fun of Eye and Now for both deeming Nuit Blanche significant enough to feature on their covers the same week.

Kincardine-born, Mississauga-bred, Toronto-based, and Berlin-bound, Joel Gibb is the musical and managerial head of The Hidden Cameras, the fantastic and always well-populated music collective whose members have included Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), Reg Vermue (Gentlemen Reg), Laura Barrett, Maggie MacDonald (Republic of Safety), Dave Meslin (founder of the Toronto Public Space Committee), Bob Wiseman, Steve Kado (founder of Blocks Recording Club, member of Barcelona Pavilion and Ninja High School), Ohad Benchetrit (Do Make Say Think), Don Kerr (The Rheostatics), and many, many others.

The first time Torontoist encountered Dave Meslin was at the August 2004 Trampoline Hall at the AGO's Walker Court. Ostensibly speaking about "Drinking Games," Mez instead develivered a speech about his first experiences with alcohol, the hegemony of mixed drinks, and the backwardness of the cup half-empty, half-full metaphor. It was one of the most spectacular things we have ever heard.

It's been over a year since local über-activist Dave Meslin took his grass roots political activism to the next level by co-ordinating the City Idol competition.

A little less than two years ago, Dave Meslin sat before the Toronto Public Space Committee and said, "Harmonization could be the best or the worst thing we have ever seen." Riding high on a series of victories for public space in Toronto, the radically optimistic committee sincerely believed that harmonization might spell the end of advertising on street furniture. As this fateful day has approached, however, it is clear the proposal is leaning toward "the worst."

Somewhere, Dave Meslin is weeping with joy. Today marks the launch of Rami Tabello's IllegalSigns.ca: an incredibly ambitious project that, through its comprehensive analysis of billboard advertising in Toronto, ties together a number of the loose ends of the broader public space movement. What Tabello has found – and has the hard evidence to back up – is that "half the billboards in Toronto are illegal." They have "thus far identified 350 illegal billboards," and estimate that "there are an additional 1500 illegal billboards in this town that we have not yet discovered."

Dave Meslin, organizer of City Idol and Whorunsthistown.to is partnering up with the St. Lawrence Centre and CityTV to cram all 38 mayoral candidates onto the St. Lawrence Theatre stage tonight from 7:30-9:30. The panel will be moderated by CityTV's Anne Mroczkowski.

Artist, Santa Cruz organizer, co-founder of Three Gut Records, Eye Weekly art director and woman-about-town Tyler Clark Burke launches her newest – and most ambitious – project today: The Few Bricks Short A House Project. Tyler wants to buy a house, and has enlisted some of her friends to help her do it. Starting today, you can bid on a variety of items or services donated by Toronto artists, photographers, musicians, and writers - as well as her mom. 40% of the profits will go to the donor, 40% will go to Tyler, and the remaining 20% will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.

Have you looked at City Council lately? Rob Ford? Denzil Minnan-Wong?! Frances Nunziata?!! Surely there must be better people out there, people that won't make us roll our eyes everytime we watch council by debating the merits of peanuts in city vending machines, or name calling fellow councillors.

While Torontoist was busy at the back of the uTOpia launch making marshmallow towers and Libeskind-inspired "crystals," great panellists were chatting about the city. The newly launched Rabble Book Lounge recorded one of the panels (Discussing Public Space with Darren O'Donnell, Dave Meslin, Heather MacLean and Adam Vaughan). You can get it here.