7 Comments September 10, 2015 at 4:35 pm

Extra, Extra: Goodwill Grenade, Yoga for Sluggers, and a National Newspaper’s Bid to Curb Abusive Online Comments

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not to miss.

Photo by Ahmed Syed from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

The National Post has changed its online comment system in an attempt to curb hateful anonymous trolling. Beginning today, commenters will be required to log in through their Facebook accounts in order to share article feedback, the logic being that the added accountability will discourage potential commenters from posting sexist, misogynistic, and racist personal attacks. As Editor-in-Chief Anne Marie Owens explained in a note to readers released today, “With Facebook comments, we believe we can create a more civil place for readers to talk about important issues,” which is as diplomatic a decree of “Peace out, haters” as we’ve ever seen.

This week has been unusually rife with threats of explosives. Following yesterday’s bomb hoax on the West Lakeshore GO line, a potential grenade was removed from a Goodwill store today after being found among some donations. Toronto Fire’s Hazardous Materials Unit was brought into the Islington store location to identify the item, which may or not be real, deactivated, or a toy.
Joga is more than just a spectacular song by Bjork—it’s also the name of the new yoga-based workout that’s slowly making its way through Toronto’s community of professional athletes. The locally-developed yoga practice for jocks (get it? jock yoga) claims Blue Jays superstar José Bautista as its most high-profile devotee, with the Toronto Argonauts and Canada’s men’s basketball team among its other followers. Namasté, baby.
From today’s edition of 12:36, Toronto’s new lunchtime tabloid newsletter: Locals easily annoyed by Hollywood’s annual invasion of Toronto can take refuge in a Toronto Life story about the spending habits of artist/DJ/actor Ulysses Catellanos. The 47-year-old member of the creative underclass, whose annual income fluctuates between $15,000 and $45,000, shared details of what he bought in a recent week. Most of it was weed. (Want more 12:36? Subscribe to it now.)