Category: Toronto

Let's all personally groom in a public place

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Tonight we saw the world premiere of Let’s All Hate Toronto (hot docs), a funny & quirky little documentary about Torontonians confusion as to why the rest of the country dislikes them. I read the blog kept by Rob Spence (aka Captain Canada) when he was travelling across the country holding Toronto Appreciation Days, much to the anger and dismay of Canadians everywhere. There was nothing groundbreaking or insightful about the documentary; it was just good fun.

Except for the really loud lady sitting behind us who, unless I’m mistaken, was cutting her fingernails during the film. Awesome.

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Why, why does our environment minister look just like Lester from Mississippi Burning? And why does he spout alarmist rhetoric like “meeting our Kyoto targets will put us in a recession”?

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All Quiet On The Western Front might be remade. It’s one of the few movies I’d look forward to a remake of…if it’s done right. All this talk about making it into a “big budget, sweeping Hollywood epic” smacks of Pearl Harbor, and nobody wants that.

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On the eve of the Toronto Raptor’s playoff series against New Jersey, I feel nervous. While confident that Toronto is the better team, should New Jersey pull off an upset, the psychological scarring that would result from losing to Vince Carter in the playoffs would be deep and long-lasting. Here’s hoping Bosh hangs a triple-double on them tomorrow, and that Kris Humphries or Joey Graham put sissyboy on his ass once or twice.

[tags]let’s all hate toronto, john baird, kyoto, recession, all quiet on the western front, toronto raptors, vince carter[/tags]

We have no room to stand, but we have a plan

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The apartment is now a disaster zone. It’s pretty small to begin with, so with all our possesions get crammed into piles of boxes — empty, unsorted, ready to go — it doesn’t leave much room for moving around. Duarte came by to get the printer tonight and I think he felt he’d stepped into early-90s Sarajevo. I’ve taken half the desk apart, all the bookcases have been emptied, the bathroom is all but cleaned out and the storage locker is bare, save for the electronics boxes. Tomorrow is the kitchen, Friday is clothing, Saturday is everything else, and Sunday is the electronics.

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Torontoist says: Happy Birthday, Camros (the organic food place across the street from me). If you live in the neighbourhood and vegan/organic is your cup of tea, you should give it a try. If it’s not but you like sweets, you should stop in and grab a brownie or a piece of carrot cake, courtesy of Sweets From The Earth. So good it hurts (eventually).

[tags]packing, moving, camros, sweets from the earth[/tags]

Ghosts Of Abu Ghraib

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We very stupidly bought tickets for a Hot Docs screening 36 hours before we move. I know, I know. We’re not the swiftest of cats sometimes. Anyhoo, we’re now selling those tickets so that we can stay home on Saturday night and pack our socks and frying pans. If anyone would like to buy our tickets (for a discount, natch) to the following screening please email me or leave a comment:

Ghosts Of Abu Ghraib (description)

Saturday April 21 @ 9:30

Bloor Cinema (Bloor & Bathurst) Isabel Bader Theatre (Charles & Bay)

Dang…I really wanted to see that one too. Any takers?

"Crack & hookers. That's how to keep reformed suburbanites out and prices low."

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Dropped off the paperwork & cheques at the lawyer’s office today, for which I expect we shall receive an impressive invoice. Monday we will have keys!

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I’m sorry…Ice Girls? Ice girls?!?!? Look, nobody deserves to get spit on, but…c’mon. There should be no bare midriffs on the ice.

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Great post on BlogTO about the shift, if only a slight one, toward Torontonians requiring less living space. Whether to save money or spare the environment, it seems like a few more people are foregoing the suburbs for the downtown.

The ever rising cost of housing in the city, along with increasing concern on how our lifestyle and choices affect the environment has got a lot of home buyers asking themselves, ‘how much space do I really need?’.

The National Post is running a three part series this week that examines the backlash against ‘living large’. People are coming back to the city by choice, and their leaving their white picket fences and second cars behind.

I’m of this mindset, obviously. For the last five years we’ve lived in a 650 square foot (it’s not like we have kids or a car to park) apartment downtown. My love for living downtown ruled out buying in the suburbs, and I never wanted to own a house (or a car) anyway. I grew up surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland, so living an hour from the city so that I could own a tiny patch of walled-in grass never appealed to me. We could’ve bought houses in mature, just-outside-the-core neighbourhoods like our friends CBGB and T-Bone did, I guess, but I like being right in the core…and I love my new view.

[tags]henrik lundqvist, blogto, toronto urbanation[/tags]

Well…it's not flesh-eating disease…

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It’s shingles.

Seriously.

Because, apparently, I’m 72. What the hell?

Sigh.

I’m staying home the rest of the week because my co-worker, who I sit next to and probably have the most contact with in the run of a day, has never had chicken pox (which is the virus that causes shingles) and there’s a chance I could give it to her. This sucks, because I have a very busy week of stuff that I was looking forward to, including tomorrow night’s Rheostatics concert, their penultimate show.

Frack.

This just seems weird to me. Not the shingles themselves; apparently it’s not at all uncommon. Anyone who’s had chicken pox can get shingles, but it’s usually triggered by something. Here’s WebMD’s list of typical triggers:

  • Have a weakened immune system (such as people with cancer or HIV)
  • Are over the age of 50
  • Have been ill
  • Are experiencing trauma
  • Are under significant stress

Cancer: nope; HIV: nope; over 50: nope; ill: nope; experiencing trauma: nope; under significant stresss: not that I’m aware of. Honestly, the best that I (or Nellie) could come up with is that my body might be rather weakened by the recent drastic shift in diet. Whether that’s it or not, I can’t ignore the fact that I’ve been sick more in the past three months than I had been in the past three years. Maybe that’s coincidence, but when you consider that we haven’t done a great job of adjusting our diets (I know we don’t get enough protein, for example), it seems to be something that I have to address. So, reluctantly, I think I shall have to start eating fish again. Temporarily, until I can adjust my eating habits enough to be vegetarian and be healthy about it.

Goddammit.

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OK, changing gears now: is it wrong that I want to eat Jesus?

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The proposed 60-story condo on the southeast corner of Yonge & Bloor has become a proposed 80-story condo. Any new development on that intersection would be an inprovement. As (city councillor) Kyle Rae put it, “I sorely would like to hide the Royal Bank building on the northeast corner. It’s brutal.”

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There’s so much stuff in the new Harry Rosen magazine that I want that my wallet has begun to glow, kind of like Frodo’s sword when there’s an orc nearby.

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I’m with Serge Savard: hockey should be banned from fighting. It has nothing to do with the game. No other pro sport allows it, let alone condones it. If you’re excited about watching two guys fight, there’s another sport called boxing which I believe would be right up your alley. If I’m watching hockey I prefer skill plays and hard bodychecks to pre-arranged fights and tough-guy posturing.

[tags]shingles, chocolate jesus, toronto condo, yonge and bloor, harry rosen, serge savard, hockey fighting[/tags]

Coinstar, Battlestar and my latest star

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Today wasn’t quite as nice a day as was forecast, so we stuck to doing some errands, cleaning and (in my case) watching more basketball. We traded in a bunch of loose change ($120 worth, in fact), picked up our tickets for the two documentaries we’ll see at this year’s Hot Docs (Let’s All Hate Toronto and Ghosts Of Abu Ghraib) just before we move, got some excellent snacks at Cobs Bread, picked up a few groceries and got home just in time for the opening tip of the Florida/Oregon game. Since I finished my case study yesterday I can now relax until the season finale of Battlestar Galactica tonight.

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Speaking of basketball, I’m doing quite well in my March Madness pool. I’m currently in 3rd, but I can take the $600 prize if Florida beats Georgetown in the final. If my calculations are correct there are also two other scenarios where I’d finish 2nd (for which I’d get $200) or tied for 2nd ($100).

I’m also doing well in my other (non-money) pools. I’m leading my NHL pool; some other guys got within half a point of me, but I’ve gotten some breathing room back, mainly by adding Jordan Staal to my lineup the other night. I’m starting to love that kid as much as Don Cherry does. In my NBA pool I’m only four points back from the leader, but I don’t think I can catch him. I probably could’ve if any of Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce or Dwayne Wade had been able to play a full season, mais c’est la vie. I’m just hoping to hang on to 2nd place.

[tags]hot docs, let’s all hate toronto, ghosts of abu ghraib, cobs bread, battlestar galactica, march madness, hockey pool, jordan staal, don cherry[/tags]

Bring the sked

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Travel plans for the fall* are coming together. We’re very excited.

.:.

Our schedule for the next little while is becoming very clear. I actually don’t like having this many plans; I prefer to stumble into each day and do whatever, but that’s not in the cards right now. This weekend I have a paper to write for my course. Next week we have a busy social calendar and then I’ll finish off as much of my course as I can before we take possession of our condo on the 9th. Around this time the NHL & NBA playoffs begin. We’ll be cleaning, painting, etc. for the next two weeks (and ignoring most of the Hot Docs festival) until our actual move-in; a few days after the move I go away on course for a week. No sooner do I return than the social activities of May (the Santé wine festival, a reunion in Niagara-on-the-Lake with some Dal alumni friends, Victoria day, GB’s birthday) begin. June is fairly light, though I disappear for another course toward the end, and nothing’s really planned for July or August. I suppose I should be using that time to do the giant integrative paper that’s due in the fall, since September (between an abbreviated film festival, another week away on course and two weeks of vacation) is a write-off.

*Yes, we plan this far in advance. Make fun of us all you want; it was taking our time with planning and research that made the Rockies trip our best vacation ever.

[tags]vacation, sante festival, dalhousie university[/tags]

Let's all hate polar bear cubs

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I don’t think it’s any secret that I like animals. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m an animal activist, especially when people who describe themselves as such claim it’s better to euthanize this polar bear cub than to raise him in a zoo. Now, I don’t think animals should be in zoos in the first place, but if the cub was born in a zoo and was rejected by his mother, I can only think it would be better off experiencing a life of some kind than to be put down because it’s not living the predictable life.

If the question were whether we should be going into the wild to adopt abandoned bear cubs, I’d say no, that’s disrupting the natural cycle. But, as I said, I also don’t think we should be putting animals in zoos, so until that practice ceases I don’t think we should be euthanizing healthy zoo-born animals just because, all other things being equal, they’d die in the wild.

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There’s a new crosswalk in the Annex. Why is this interesting (to me, anyway)? Because I (and many others) damn near died crossing the street there to get to the Dominion. I don’t get back up to that neighbourhood very much anymore, but at least on the few occasions when I do (like the occasional concert at Trinity/St. Paul’s, or when I want to trade some coins for cash) I won’t be muttering “This &%#$ intersection needs a crosswalk!” as I dodge Hyundais.

I expect a hallelujah from Duarte on this. Stanzi and T-Bone used to live over there too; I suspect they dodged cars there more than once. It’s like a Toronto rite of passage.

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Actually, one good reason to go back to that neighbourhood: the Hot Docs documentary festival. If you live in Toronto and you haven’t been, you owe it to yourself to go. I’m bummed that we won’t really have time to see many films this year as we’re moving right in the middle of the festival. Too bad; I really want to go see the reaction to Let’s All Hate Toronto.

[tags]knut, polar bear cub, annex crosswalk, hot docs, lets all hate toronto[/tags]

They look so innocent

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

As the reality that we’re moving in six weeks (!) sets in, I’ve begun thinking about what I’ll miss in this neighbourhood.

  • The Varsity theatre Hands down the best theatre in the city. Big, comfortable, great sound, good selection (not as indie as the Cumberland, not as mainstream as the Silver Cities), super-close and hardly any kids. The lack of good theatres downtown will make this loss even more painful. link
  • Fieramosca Obviously our favourite neighbourhood-y place. They know us there, and give us shit when we let 2 months go by without visiting. We’ll have to make special trips up here just to see them…and to have the delicious food, of course. link
  • M0851 The best clothing store around, on a quiet little street off the Bloor strip. Simple, well-made, understated clothing that I won’t see on GAP-clones. link
  • Whole Foods I don’t shop there for the organic produce (well, except for raspberries). I shop there for the ready-made salads, the corn-bread that’s almost as good as my mom’s, the Green & Black’s chocolate and the delicious little pakoras. link
  • Roy’s Square Jammed into this little alley around Yonge & Bloor are three of my favourite take-out restaurants — the Salad House, the Biryani House and Ritz Caribbean — as well as my main dry cleaner (shirts only; my suits go to Dove) and a whole bunch of other restaurants and shops that I don’t visit. link
  • The Dessert Lady The cappucino cinammon cookies, the espresso brownie bites, the pies, the mousse, the truffles…actually, yeah, it’s probably better than I move away from this one. link
  • Summerhill Granted, it’s not technically in my neighbourhood, but it’s a 20-minute stroll (or 1.5 subway stops) north and once I’m living south of here it won’t really make sense to pop up there like I can now. But between the ginormous LCBO, the Rebel House, and stores like All The Best Fine Foods, I might just spend the odd Saturday up there.
  • Hot Docs Again, this festival mainly takes place a few subway stops away from the neighbourhood — around Bloor & Bathurst — but since we have no intention of not participating, we’ll miss being able to zip home from a late-night screening in 5 minutes. link
  • Nick & Ralph These two funny old European men cut my hair and keep me entertained for half an hour every month or so. I’ll miss Nick teasing me about being some freak Maritimer who doesn’t like fish. link
  • Drunk guys stumbling out of the Brass Rail at 2AM Just kidding. I will miss them like I miss plantar warts. link

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While perusing Ron Shevlin’s blog this morning I clicked on this link, and proceeded to laugh my ass off. Jessica Hagy draws little graphs and Venn diagrams about life; it sounds weird, but they really are hilarious little bits of life. One of my favourites is on the right.

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Die Hard reference of the day: there’s a band called Nakatomi Plaza. I haven’t even heard their music, but I’m fairly certain they’re the best band ever to pick up instruments. You don’t pick a name like that unless you own.

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The Onion’s AV Club lists some of the more interesting movies coming out this year, and it looks to be a good’un. New work from David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, the Cohn Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ridley Scott, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Francis Ford Coppola, Kimberly Peirce, Michel Gondry, Neil Jordan, David Cronenberg, Ang Lee, Danny Boyle, Robert Zemeckis and Steven Soderbergh (even if it is Ocean’s Thirteen) make 2007 look pretty promising. Plus, as they say, Spider-Man 3 and the Simpsons movie.

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By the way, I just remembered that the title to my post where I talked about Me And You And Everyone We Know should have been “)) <> ((“. If you’ve seen the film you’ll understand why.

[tags]yonge and bloor, ron shevlin, indexed, jessica hagy, die hard, nakatomi plaza, onion av club, 2007 films, spider-man 3, simpsons movie[/tags]