Results tagged “tibet”

Film Friday: The The

We become unreasonably annoyed when bands release self-titled (non-debut) albums. With the obvious exception of Beatles-biting Weezer-style colour-coding, this approach strikes us as lazy and uncreative—at best, a misguided attempted at minimalism. We feel the same way about the title of the new Star Trek movie (i.e. "Star Trek"). "Fast & Furious," however, seems to breach through to a new level of demented beauty; following on The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the streamlined title of the new one has become a discussion point in and of itself, with most reviews making sure to allude to it. Certainly that's the only thing about the movie that interests us. Well, that and that it's the fifth feature from director Justin Lin, whose 2002 debut Better Luck Tomorrow (sort of like Goodfellas set in a high school) once marked him as one of the most promising American filmmakers of the early part of the decade. Too bad what happened.

The latest census stats show conclusively that the poor are either getting poorer, or that they're not. The Star toes the OCAP line, rambling about free trade and crappy jobs, while the Post weighs in for the plutocrats by observing that family incomes have actually grown across the board, and that the income stats are misleading anyway. As Torontoist likes to say, you load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.

news_april14.jpgThe Toronto Sun reports that Toronto has now gone 26 consecutive days without a murder, a streak unseen since the summer of 2006. A spokesman for the Toronto Association of Thugs expressed frustration at the dry spell, saying that their group was on track with shootings and stabbings but that their efforts were being stymied by effective medical services.

Copper theft in Toronto has reached record levels. Thieves just can't get enough of that golden-brown stuff. You can do anything with it—sell it for four dollars per pound, or...well, actually that's pretty much all a copper thief can do with copper, come to think.

Mayor David Miller unveiled a YouTube video asking Canadians to sign an online petition urging Ottawa to ban all handguns in Canada. While most handguns are already illegal, the gesture would serve a powerful symbolic purpose by pushing the blame for Toronto gun violence onto the feds.

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.

TTC workers may opt for a work-to-rule or slowdown campaign rather than an out-and-out strike—moves which could include actions such as refusing to collect fares, adhering to rules of the road, and not wearing uniforms. Union President Bob Kinnear's comments indicate that they'd prefer the less drastic action so as not to antagonize the public. Hmmmm, let's see...empty pier...tearful relatives waving goodbye from the wharf...yep, sorry, Bob, that ship has definitely sailed.

Over a thousand demonstrators marched through downtown Toronto Sunday in an emotional protest to demand freedom for Tibet and to draw attention to recent crackdowns by Chinese forces that have reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 100 Tibetans. With international attention focused on China and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing organizers called for Canadian politicians to boycott the opening ceremonies.

Man stabs himself with katana. People may wonder how such a ridiculous accident came to occur, and our response is "he lived in Scarborough, what else is there to do?"

2008_03_21_seal2.jpgOne of the four cattle that escaped on the QEW yesterday morning was shot by police after making a suicidal charge at armed officers. Friends of the dead steer were baffled, saying that he had his whole life ahead of him and was looking forward to weeks of close confinement before having a bolt fired through his forehead.

Four federal byelections are being held today, including two in the Toronto ridings of Willowdale and Toronto Centre. The Liberals are considered to have the edge locally, where the Conservative "We Loathe Toronto" campaign of the last two years hasn't been as well-received as hoped. Happy St. Paddy's Day and remember to get voting before you get drinking.

The jury deliberating on the Lisa Posluns case was withheld some very gruesome evidence on the history of accused rapist/murderer Nelson DeJesus. The Star has the details here, and the Sun doesn't get left behind either.

What a perfect confluence of events we have today! C.R.A.Z.Y., the Quebec smash with $600,000 worth of ridiculously good music, opens. And CBC Arts bounces back, with a good piece on how the film got made. Even further, another guy known for stellar soundtracks opens his movie to dismal reviews, proving that you can't rely on music alone. When we saw Jean-Marc Vallée's story of love, family and Patsy Cline at TIFF, we loved it. Then we walked out of the theatre to hear a smarmy critic remark, 'At first I thought it was going to be kind of a Ma Vie En Rose thing, but it really fell apart.' Not so, we thought, but what were we to do, beyond glare at the guy for his loud dismissal. C.R.A.Z.Y., already Canada's nominee for Best Foreign Film, is encompassing, funny and georgeously shot.

Torontoist just returned from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and was feeling very establishmenty, having been confronted by a flag-waving gaggle of Free Tibet soul-seekers walking out the Front Street entrance. Wearing a tie (and not ie. a string of prayer beads and a lovey attitude), your TO-ist was apparently mistaken for one of the hundreds of businessmen trapped inside the MTCC listening to the Prime Minister.

1