Results tagged “worldwar”

This past weekend was the 91st anniversary of the end of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a four-day offensive in World War I in which the Canadian Corps, with help from the British army, seized a German stronghold on the Western Front. Marking the first time that such large numbers of Canadians fought together as a single unit, the battle has since achieved near mythical status (justified or not) as a key point in the development of Canadian identity.

Marjorie Chan's A Nanking Winter is a show about the 1937 genocide of the citizens of Nanking committed by the Japanese army. The atrocity, which claimed the lives of at least 300,000 Chinese, is an often-overlooked tragedy, and Chan's story focuses on a young woman named Irene who has written a book exposing the truth about the massacre. Chan's play is inspired by Iris Chang and her book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, which was a best seller in 1997. Chang suffered from depression and, in 2004, she took her own life. The first act of A Nanking Winter is set in the home of Irene and her Japanese husband on the eve of her Rape of Nanking-esque book's release. She is visited by her flighty sister, her publisher, Julia, and a mysterious guest that Julia brings along. The second act thrusts the action back into the past and explores the lives of two women, both named Mei, struggling to survive in the middle of the Nanking massacre.

While some may scoff at modern rituals surrounding Valentine's Day, simple expressions of love and sentimentality held a deeper meaning in Toronto towards the end of World War II. Tucked amidst the newspaper coverage of the Yalta Conference this week in 1945 were stories on how Torontonians expressed their admiration towards each other and loved ones fighting overseas.

Reg Hartt, everyone's favourite dude with a movie theatre in his basement, is promoting the new(ish) film version of off-Broadway tittilator Naked Boys Singing by screening a mini Queer Film Festival at the Cineforum over the next few weeks. Each Thursday night for the next four weeks, he'll screen Naked Boys (which is exactly what it sounds like) at 9, with a different gay movie as a lead-in at 7.

In some households, hockey is a key element during the Christmas break. Skates under the tree. That long-desired California Golden Seals sweater from Santa. Fans that cannot be pulled away from the TV during holiday games and tournaments. Christmas songs recorded by a favourite player.

Hannah Moscovitch's play East of Berlin is familiar territory for Tarragon's extra space. Remember Rosa Laborde's Léo, which was remounted last season? Well, here's another show in the same space that's set in South America, has political subject matter, spans the life of its main character, and features only two other actors, a man and a woman, both of whom he has sex with. This may be a bit of a tangent, but Torontoist...

This weekend, Toronto will be a rockin' city, as the 2007 World Rock Paper Scissors Championships cut into town.

Toronto factory worker finds World War II-era hand grenade in a box of used clothing. The bomb squad was called in. If Torontoist had found the grenade, though, you know we would be all like, "Hey! Free hand grenade!"

As mentioned in last week's ad, the Canadian National Exhibition took a break during World War II. Once the war was over, the existing buildings were modernized to prepare for the Ex's return. "From acting as a depot through which passed thousands of young Canadians to the theatres of war," noted a Toronto Telegram editorial, "it now reverts to its role as the window through which the world may glimpse the peacetime strength and wealth of the country in all its amazing variety."

The Canadian National Exhibition opens this week, bringing with it nearly 130 years of tradition, from its beginnings as an industrial showcase to its current role as a signal that summer is drawing to a close. Today's pair of ads provide a glimpse of what the Ex was like on the cusp of World War II, before it was closed for wartime activities.

Who's up for a trip through time?

Downtown Toronto experienced a hotel boom during the first half of the 1970s as modern skyscrapers and buildings like the new City Hall changed the face of the core. Among those that made their debut: the Sheraton Centre (1972), the Holiday Inn on Chestnut (1972), the Chelsea (1975), the Harbour Castle (1975) and, opening its doors 32-years ago this week, the Hotel Toronto.

This week, the biggest news in movies is that Warner Bros. has decided to stop all advance promotional screenings of its films in Canada, in attempt to stem the flow of pirated movies from Canada. Yo ho ho! Unfortunately, they’ve likely decided that Canada is a hotbed of disgusting movie pirates on some pretty wonky data. Though apparently there’s no law against recording movies in a theatre onto a camcorder in Canada, which is kind of crazy.

One of Canada's last World War One veterans dies at age 107. This leaves only two remaining Great War veterans, the last of whom to pass on is eligible for a state funeral, but neither are interested. Torontoist applauds their humility, because come on—we would totally be about a state funeral. With Gord Downie singing soulful hymns in the background! And Wayne Gretzky would give a tearful speech about what we meant to hockey! And Rick Mercer would—actually we're not sure what Rick Mercer would do, but we're sure it would be respectfully entertaining.

There's a certain charm in Toronto's pre-war lowrise apartment buildings, usually consisting of three to five stories with characteristics of the era like high ceilings, wood floors and crown moldings. Though a trend only recently back in fashion, it was also a time when buildings had names like The Gloucester Mansions, The Manhattan and the LaVerne.

After much righteous chest-thumping over fiscal responsibility and respect for the taxpayers, council barely decided to give itself a 9% pay raise. The vote passed 22-21, and the three interim councillors who won't be running in November's election, all voted in favour of the increase. Councillors' salaries have now been bumped up to $95,000 and the Mayor's salary will be hiked to $160,000. Jane Pitfield has vowed to make this a campaign issue so we won't be seeing the end of this anytime soon.

Billionaire Kenneth Thomson, Canada's richest person, has died at age 82. He was ranked ninth on the Forbes magazine list of the world's wealthiest individuals with an estimated fortune of $19.6 billion.

This mid-week ushers in the Toronto Italian Film Festival at the Bloor Cinema. In its eigth year, the festival seems to get better every year, with a nice diversity of films to check out. This year, they are featuring a "De Sica Trilogy:" three generations of De Sica filmmakers. This includes Multi-Award winner Vittorio De Sica, son Christian De Sica and grandson Brando De Sica with a Canadian film premier. Christian De Sica was involved in some of the biggest grossing comedies ever to come out of Italy.

Well, we’ve already mentioned the Australian Film Festival today, but, of course, there’s still space for our little round up of cinema’s new releases and indie and rep film for the week.

Toronto artist Nina Levitt mixes media and messages in Little Breeze, a video/audio installation about the role lesser known female spies played during World War II. Levitt's work will include video installation, vintage suitcases with built-in speakers, and a bathroom audio installation. Tonight, the artist and U of T prof gives a talk at the Doris McCarthy Gallery on the University of Toronto's Scarborough Campus. For the public transit challenged, or the school bus enthusiast among ye, there's a free shuttle that departs Richmond 401 at 6pm sharp. The show itself is at 7 pm. See the work here.