Entries from Torontoist tagged with 'toronto'
April 13, 2008
Following demonstrations on February 10 and March 15, Anonymous once again occupied the sidewalks across from 696 Yonge Street on Saturday. This time, however, the windowshades of Scientology’s Toronto outlet were drawn, its ground-level offices apparently vacant; with the exception of one lonely camera jockey, Hubbard’s loyal army of hyper-vigilant paparazzi were conspicuously absent. Maybe they called their day on account of rain. By noon, April showers had made smeary messes of one or......
Continue Reading "Fair Game For Scientology"March 14, 2008
With temperatures finally floating above zero, tonight's the tonight to dance and drink away the dregs of winter. And tomorrow morning? Head to the Gladstone Hotel for hangover brunch at noon... then start the party all over again with Shameless Magazine. The glossy for "girls who get it" is fêting the launch of the latest issue at the Gladstone Ballroom from 1—4 p.m. Saturday, March 15, with a something-for-everyone celebration. Star performers include Emma......
Continue Reading "Shameless Shindig"March 14, 2008
If you're interested in pursuing a career in crime here in Canada, it looks like your best bet is to pack up and move to Regina. According to an article published in Maclean's, Regina (aka "The Other Other Queen City") has the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous city in Canada, followed closely by Saskatoon and Winnipeg. The rankings, based on per-capita crime rates published by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, paint......
Continue Reading "Crime Me A River"March 14, 2008
NDP charges Liberals "deceptive" over nuclear energy plans. Apparently the nuclear energy commitments the provincial government has made require almost four times the nuclear energy generation capability that their promised plant could deliver, unless the plant itself was four times larger than the Darlington plant. This is all part of the current clever government plan to get ahead of everybody else and be massively involved in the next energy crisis when the world runs out......
Continue Reading "More Nukes For Ontario, More Afghanistan For Canada, More Money For Municipalities"March 13, 2008
Not content to let America have all the schadenfreude fun, Ashley Madison—Toronto-based online dating company intended for people looking to cheat on their spouses, whose slogan is "when monogamy becomes monotony" and who is responsible for TV ads like these—took out a full-page ad in today's New York Post. Addressed to Eliot Spitzer, the now–former New York Governor who was caught hiring prostitutes, the open letter (at right) slicks a thick coat of sleaze onto......
Continue Reading "Ashley Madison Beats Eliot Spitzer To Death"March 13, 2008
Photo by Caesar Sebastian. Justice brings their gigantic glowing cross and their hot electro-house beats to the city on Monday. While the Sound Academy (ex-The Docks) is usually an awkward place to see music, it's well suited for this show. There will be plenty of space for people to "D.A.N.C.E." and the duo has a sound large enough to match the venue. They'll be joined by fellow Parisian Busy P and Fancy at the......
Continue Reading "The Rump Shaker: March 13–19"March 13, 2008
Wild Toronto is a bi-weekly comic strip about the animals and plants that make a living in our city. Rosemary Mosco makes the comics, and would love to hear your suggestions (in the comments!) on wildlife to be profiled.......
Continue Reading "Wild Toronto: Nighthawk"March 13, 2008
Photo by Jonathan Goldsbie. According to a December 2004 article in the Globe, Mike Harris is (or at least was at the time) the chairman of video advertising company Onestop; he got on board "in return for an equity stake" in the business. Presuming that he still has that stake (and why wouldn't he? he may be evil, but he's not stupid), Harris became a richer man two weeks ago, when the Toronto Transit......
Continue Reading "Just A Chump To The Left, And Onestop To The Right?"March 13, 2008
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......
Continue Reading "Rhymes With Spadina"March 13, 2008
Plagued by complaints, the City of Toronto has finally gotten around to ticketing some homeowners who don't clear the snow in front of their property. A city spokesperson said they prefer not to send out inspectors in the winter because it's so difficult to get around. Anxious to cement a reputation for self-serving indifference to the public interest, more than 99% of TTC workers have voted more to reject their most recent contract offer.......
Continue Reading "Homeowners Not Clearing Ice, TTC Not Playing Nice, Spitzer Is Paying Price"March 12, 2008
We at Reel Toronto usually wait until we have the whole darned movie so we can delight you with screencaps galore. That said, a couple of new TO-shot movies have recently revealed themselves to the world in trailer form and we couldn't wait any longer to share.......
Continue Reading "Reel Toronto Special Trailer Edition: Hulk and The Love Guru"March 12, 2008
It’s almost time for the Toronto International Film Festival for Children, Sprockets (it runs this year from April 12th to 18th) and the complete line-up of films has been announced. Once again this year all film journalists will find it impossible to mention the festival without bringing up Mike Myers (after all, it’s was one of the best SNL sketches ever, really) but far more relevantly, this year Sprockets features 68 films from 26......
Continue Reading "Sprockets Announces Complete Line-up"March 12, 2008
One of the biggest complaints that Toronto hip hop artists have is that they are ignored by local media, and, for the most part, they're right. Drop the Needle hopes to help remedy this by checking in with some of the city's finest artists each month to see what's up. Photo by Mark Kasumovic. Since 1997, PHATT al has been dropping records and rocking crowds in Toronto. Back then, he was part of Tallisman's crew......
Continue Reading "Drop the Needle: PHATT al"March 12, 2008
Speculation has been swirling in Toronto's literary community over the authorship of The Calling, a new recent crime fiction novel, penned by a prominent and highly-regarded writer under the alter-ego of Inger Ash Wolfe. First, Maclean's guessed the author was Jane Urquhart, who denied the rumour. Then, citing as evidence a handful of anonymous leaflets distributed to publishers, The Star pointed the finger at Michael Redhill, one of Torontoist's favourite authors. He coyly side-stepped the......
Continue Reading "The Mystery Of The Mystery Writer"March 12, 2008
Toronto principal in controversial controversy over explicit poems he wrote and posted to his website. This is of course the first recorded case ever of somebody getting in trouble for something they wrote on the Internet, and the scandal has sent shock waves through the online community. "Wait, somebody actually reads this shit?" said Patrick Metzger. "Dammit, I better re-emphasize that my erotic snuff story about Geri Halliwell is purely a work of fiction!"......
Continue Reading "Principal In Trouble Over Principles, Don't Drink The Juice, and Who Wants To Be a Fireman?"March 11, 2008
Hope is a cruel thing for a sports fan: no matter how bleak the situation, as long as there's a straw in sight we'll happily clutch at it. Case in point: Leafs Nation, of which we're proud, occasionally defiant members. We've been flip-flopping over the Leafs all season long. A few weeks ago we'd written them off, then watched as the team put together an impressive run (which included comprehensive victories over the Ottawa......
Continue Reading "It's the Hard-Knock Life for Us"March 11, 2008
Panel from Emily Pohl-Weary and Willow Dawson's Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate #4, courtesy of Willow Dawson. Ten weeks of fantastic, free writing workshops have just been announced as part of the Parkdale Street Writers program. Coordinated by the multi-talented poet, YA author, and Kiss Machine founder Emily Pohl-Weary, the workshops start April 1 and are led by some kick-ass local writers and artists, including Mariko Tamaki, Willow Dawson, and Kristyn Dunnion. You don’t have......
Continue Reading "LitTO: March 11–19"March 11, 2008
Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. This is my last Campaign Confidential before E-day, yet I'm hesitant to pen any "final thoughts" knowing how much can happen in the final week of a campaign. It's been a bit of a strange campaign. On the......
Continue Reading "Campaign Confidential: Tindal's Index"March 11, 2008
Today's ad features your stereotypical 1950s architectural professional: trenchcoat, tie, hat (preferably a fedora), and a fistful of building plans. The building this dapper construction supervisor is depicted next to would quickly become one of St. Clair Avenue's architectural landmarks. Pigott Construction was based in Hamilton, where company president Joseph Pigott contributed heavily to the community as a president or board member of institutions such as McMaster University and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.......
Continue Reading "Vintage Toronto Ads: An Imperial Construction"March 11, 2008
Toronto's extensive work on the silver screen reveals that, while we have the chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow, the disguise doesn't always hold up to scrutiny. Reel Toronto revels in digging up and displaying the films that attempt to mask, hide, or—in rare cases—proudly display our city. Take our word for it: the film is a comedy...more or less. American Psycho is one of those movies. By all......
Continue Reading "Reel Toronto: American Psycho"March 11, 2008
Gas prices in Toronto are at $1.09 or more a litre today, reflecting all-time record oil prices of over US$108 per barrel. For all our driving readers, it might cheer you up to consider that it's still cheaper to fill up your car with gas than say, orange juice or Diet Pepsi. By the way, if you do decide to go with orange juice, remember that the pulp-free kind is less likely to gum up......
Continue Reading "Gas Going Up, Government Getting Green, Governor Good As Gone"March 10, 2008
Torontoist is ahead of the game for previewing some of the best music choices this week (Queen West fire benefit, Forest City Lovers' CD release) but Musicologist will give you one more recommendation—just for kicks. When UK’s Field Music announced a (begrudged) break last year, who knew David Brewis would be in Toronto playing a show under a different name and clean ethos so quickly? School of Language and their debut LP Sea From Shore......
Continue Reading "Musicologist: March 10–16"March 10, 2008
Perfectly timed to provide a Caribbean reprieve from a harsh winter comes another time capsule from Toronto's hidden history of soul and reggae music. Innocent Youths, a hard-to-find 1977 reggae album by Earth, Roots and Water, is the latest album reissued by Light in the Attic Records in its Jamaica to Toronto series, which unearths the unjustifiably over-looked musical contributions of the city's Caribbean immigrants over the years.......
Continue Reading "Underground Sounds from Toronto's Jamaican Expats"March 10, 2008
You've got less than three weeks to prepare yourself for Earth Hour on Saturday, March 29. That's when people around the world are being encouraged to turn off their lights for one hour to raise awareness about global warming. Toronto was the first Canadian city to sign up for the international event late last year, and has since been joined by most other GTA municipalities, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and many more—close to 50 cities......
Continue Reading "The Nelly Furtado Hour of Darkness"March 10, 2008
So, you may have noticed it snowed this weekend. If you don't believe us, go check out the Toronto Star's website, where nine out of ten local stories are about the snow, people dealing with the snow, and celebrities talking about the snow. Notably absent among them: the probable cause for all of this snow. Rare meteor lands somewhere near Georgian Bay. This would as opposed to the common, everyday type of meteor that......
Continue Reading "It Snowed Some More, Rare Meteor Lands, and Clinton Loves Potential Clinton/Obama Ticket"March 9, 2008
Hundreds of people braved the year's worst storm to march along Bloor and Yonge on International Women's Day, Saturday. This year the march marked the 100th anniversary of a demonstration by 15,000 immigrant women in New York to draw attention to working conditions and child labour. The theme of the march was "The Rising of the Women is the Rising of us All!"......
Continue Reading "PhotoTO: Women March up a Storm"March 9, 2008
Can’t get to Florida for Spring Break this year? Don’t fret, for with a few accessories, you can enjoy a Florida vacation in the comfort of your Toronto home. Sun, sea and surf are the essential elements. Add some Jimmy Buffet and break out the Coors Light—you’re on vacation! Illustration by Kevin McBride.......
Continue Reading "Illustration Sunday: Spring Break "March 7, 2008
Once a week, Vandalist features the best street art and graffiti from around Toronto. You should contribute. Artist Unknown (Hecho?)IN AN ALLEY SOUTH OF DUNDAS, NEAR DUNDAS AND HURONPHOTO BY SOPWITH.......
Continue Reading "Vandalist: Hecho En Toronto"March 7, 2008
Award-winning Canadian comedy troupe The Imponderables are at it again. In this spoof of the movie The Bourne Ultimatum, the famous red-and-white striped bespectacled Waldo must piece together clues of his half-remembered past. Bourne Parody on FunnyOrDie.com Just like one of the classic children's books, see how many familiar Toronto landmarks you can spot in the video. You can catch The Imponderables live at the Rivoli this Tuesday, March 11th, at 9 p.m. Also make......
Continue Reading "Where's Waldo? in Toronto"March 7, 2008
City councillor, unintentional humourist, and Torontoist favourite Councillor Rob Ford has grabbed himself some headlines again. He refuses to apologize for his comments on Wednesday, "the Oriental people, they're slowly taking over...they're hard, hard workers," because his sweeping generalization was intended as "a compliment." However, a spokesperson for the Canadian Council of Lazy Asians has said that the remarks were "deeply offensive." A devout Sikh man has lost his bid to overturn the law......
Continue Reading "Ford Never Sorry, Sikh Refused Constitutional Right To Brain Injury, UN Must Not Be On Crack"