news
Newsstand: January 29, 2010
Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist.
Renowned recluse and author of Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, has died at the age of ninety-one. The literary legend passed away on Wednesday of natural causes in his home in Cornish, N.H., where he lived in self-imposed isolation alongside a safe full of unpublished manuscripts. In honour of the famous hermit, Torontoist is taking a nod from Holden Caulfield and having a silent “F—- you” to all the morons and phonies out there.
Speaking of phonies, City Councillor Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) says staff members who hold City-issued credit cards, called PCards, are abusing the system. Staff charged $8.5 million to the program last year, including unapproved expenses like catered staff lunches, out-of-town meals, and fax machines, a report by the auditor general found. Yet Ford’s bid to get a complete list of card-carrying staff members was turned down, which is like you footing the bill every time your sister feels she “deserves” a new pair of boots.
In addition to tiptoeing across crosswalks, Torontonians on city streets need to keep their eyes peeled for another potential danger. Four women had their purse stolen in the past two days, two of whom were robbed within minutes of each other. Police say the incidents don’t reflect a spike in purse snatchings, but really, what next? Giant shards of glass falling from the sky? Well, actually, yes.
The glass-shattering wind came as a bitter shock after days of unseasonably balmy weather. No more, now that the City has announced an extreme cold weather alert. This morning will supposedly be the second-coldest this season (the coldest being on January 2), and temperatures aren’t expected to climb back to normal until Tuesday. Aaaahhh, that’s more like the winter we know and love.
An editorial in the National Post reveals its less-than-flattering views of Women’s Studies programs in Canadian universities, and it’s about as subtle as Adam Giambrone’s rumoured run for mayor. It slams Women’s Studies courses as “radical feminism,” and the cause of destructive social initiatives such as employment equity, diversity training, and universal daycare. Now, we usually love the Post, so we’ll just say, “What the commenters said.”
And while you’re giving the Post your own two cents, why not send them a dictionary while you’re at it. Apparently marijuana dealers need to “grow-up” and Adam Giambrone’s no “DiNiro.”
Five years shy of its one-hundredth birthday, the historic Shaw Street School is getting a re-birth. It has been sold by the TDSB to the non-profit organization Artscape. The school, located just north of Queen Street West, will be christened the Artscape Shaw Street Centre and will provide affordable non-residential condos and arts studios. In two years when arts groups finally move in, they will be expected to collaborate with neighbouring schools, creating the first interpretive dance to Justin Bieber.
Next Sunday, men across the country will gather together to hug, cry, and watch other men slap one another’s rear end—which makes it a little obvious why a Toronto-based dating website for gay men wants to play its ad during this year’s Super Bowl. The commercial for ManCrunch.com is still waiting for approval from CBS, which eschewed the ban on “advocacy” commercials after accepting a pro-life ad featuring Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother reaching out to football fans in between body painting and keg stands.