Results tagged “toronto”

Less than a month after Syrus and Randal's cheeky ode to the TTC was blowing up all over the place and receiving props from David Miller, another Toronto-anthem-in-the-making is circulating on YouTube and promising to elevate civic pride to crazy new heights. Flow 93.5 team member Ron Dias aka Ron D.'s "Toronto" video features him and apparent Dynasty fan Blake Carrington against a backdrop of familiar spots: Kennedy Station, Dundas Square, Queen West, and Kensington Market.

Sara and Marc take questions during their Toronto talk.

Photo of Amsterdam's Red Light District by Stuck in Customs.

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.

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.

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 a dark picture of the West as a crime-ridden, scary place where unsuspecting rubes from Toronto are lured into dark alleys and robbed of their vintage t-shirts. All of the cities in the top 10 (save Halifax at #10) are located in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

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 of readily refineable uranium.

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.

Photo by Caesar Sebastian.

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.

Photo by Jonathan Goldsbie.

Photo by David Spigolon.

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.

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.

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 countries in 15 languages, maintaining its position as one of the most amazing opportunities for children from ages as young as three to connect with the visual language of other cultures.

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.

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 question without firmly denying it. Finally, Quill & Quire suggested Linda Spalding as a candidate, but she too rebuffed the notion. Pseudonyms are common enough in crime fiction—from Franklin W. Dixon to John Ross MacDonald—but the real identity usually emerges eventually. In this case, the publisher denies that they'll ever reveal the secret. Is the secret a mystery-wrapped publicity stunt to generate pre-release buzz, or a genuine attempt to identify the book as a first-in-genre launch instead of a first-time-author? Either way, now that the book's in stores, is it worth the hype?

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 this shit?" said Patrick Metzger. "Dammit, I better re-emphasize that my erotic snuff story about Geri Halliwell is purely a work of fiction!"

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 Senators and the Boston Bruins). Suddenly, they were back in the thick of things—and hope, suddenly, sprung eternal once more.

Panel from Emily Pohl-Weary and Willow Dawson's Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate #4, courtesy of Willow Dawson.

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.

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.

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.

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 your engine.

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.

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.

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 across the country at last count.

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.

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!"

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!