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......

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. A sense of nostalgia for peaceful times affected the valentine cards that were available. Top sellers......

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. While the main attraction......

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. We didn't make the last one up. There were people who believed that goaltender Johnny Bower had patrolled the net since the dawn of man, which wasn't far off......

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!" Facebook declares breastfeeding pictures to be "obscene content." It's cleverly following the example of Livejournal in caving to uptight moralistic fuckwits. Dalton McGuinty promises to freeze taxes. Again. Despite all the new-spending promises he's made in......

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......

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. The "new amusement area" touted in 1937 proved significant, as it......

Who's up for a trip through time? While an H.G. Wells-style contraption or fourth dimension-smashing telephone box are not available in the consumer market, there are simpler methods of going back through time. All that's required are a date and the arcane knowledge of knowing how to load a microfilm reader. Toronto has a rich newspaper history, with no fewer than three dailies at a time battling for the city's readers. This series of......

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. Western International Hotels traced its roots to the early 1930s, when......

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. Toronto's pre-war (World War II) apartment blocks seem almost frozen in time with their solid brick walls and Art......

SECOND BOER WAR (1899-1902) 8,300 served 252 wounded 277 dead WORLD WAR I (1914-1918) 619,636 served 172,950 wounded 66,655 dead WORLD WAR II (1939-1945) 1,081,865 served 53,145 wounded 46,777 dead KOREA (1950-1953) 26,791 served 1,042 wounded 516 dead PERSIAN GULF (1991) 4,500 served AFGHANISTAN (2001 to present) 15,000 served 43 dead PEACE SUPPORT OPERATIONS 125,000+ served Hundreds wounded 114 dead For a list of Toronto's Remembrance Day events, click here. Photo by TorontoStreet from......

Yesterday, the wrecking ball had its way with the last vestiges of the landmark Inn On The Park. Once run as an upscale Four Seasons hotel, then as a Holiday Inn, and finally as the bland Don Mills Hotel, the demolition was viewed by many as another of Toronto's development tragedies despite having fallen into disrepair. The renowned modernist architect behind the Inn On The Park is familiar for his buildings but less so......

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......

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......