@ Tim: sorry to hear that, mate, I'm still looking forward to Brothers Bloom with a fierce passion.

And yes, saw the Friday 9 a.m. Che screening, mentioned it in the comments above.

@ Munzz. A fine idea. Here's my plan:

Thursday:

Soul Power at 6:30

Waltz with Bashir at 9

JCVD at Midnight

Friday:

Achilles and the Tortoise at 9

Delta at 2

C'est pas moi at 4:30

35 rums at 6:30

Derriere moi at 9

Detroit Metal City at midnight

Saturday:

Sauna at 12:30

Vinyan at 3:15

Flame & Citron at 6

Religuolous at 9

Deadgirl at midnight

Sunday:

It Might Get Loud at 10

Blood Trail at 12:45

Knitting at 2:45

The Ghost at 6:30

Zack and Miri at 9:15

Not Quite Hollywood at Midnight

Monday:

Still Walking at 9:15

White Night Wedding at 12:00

Ashes of Time at 3

Hurt Locker at 6

At the edge of the world at 9

Acolytes at midnight

Tuesday:

Wrestler at noon

Of Time and the City at 4

Brothers Bloom at 9

Burrowers at midnight

Wednesday:

Three Wise Men at 2

Medicine for Melancholy at 5:45

Tears for Sale at 9:15

Martyrs at midnight

Thursday:

Gamorrah at 9

Synechdoche at 12:15

Dungeon Masters at 3:15

Acne at 5

Me and Orson Welles at 9

Friday:

Che at 9

Tokyo Sonata at 2:15

Vacation at 6

American Swing at 9

Sexykiller at midnight

Saturday:

Chinese Restaurant at 9

Sky Crawlers at 12;15

Real Shaolin at 3:15

Secret of Moonacre at 6:30

Three Blind Mice at 9

Chocolate at midnight

Tim - you should have skipped The Brothers Bloom screening and checked out Burn After Reading. Best Coen Bros. comedy in my opinion.

My preliminary film list for now:

Everlasting Moments

The Paranoids

Il Divo

Edison & Leo

Slumdog Millionaire

Mothers & Daughters

$9.99

Firaaq

Medicine for Melancholy

Ashes of Time Redux

Deadgirl

Hooked

Passchendaele

Year Ago in Winter

Nuit de Chien

33 Scenes From Life

Still Walking

Acn?

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

24 City

Fifty Dead Men Walking

The Ghost

Tears for Sale

Zift

Me and Orson Welles

Gigantic

Barrage Contre le Pacifique

(That's just features. Then I'm going to see all the shorts too.)

That's great Sameer. Say, are you seeing any shorts at all? :P

I'm in box 41 - it's on, baby!

Thanks a lot Matt. I chose some of the films based on your recommendations. Hopefully I wont be disappointed.

Thanks for helping out dude.

1 Sameer Vasta

Aug 28th, 2008 at 10:00 am

I'm working during TIFF this year (the horror!) so I don't think I'll be able to catch more than 20 films. (I've seen a few already, thankfully.)

I'm really looking forward to catching a screening of the work in progress on New York I Love You.

The Shady on August 28, 2008

Dude, I can't believe you did that. I love it!

Veronica on August 28, 2008

WOW. i must say i tuned out after a bit when reading this… math was never my friend. but this is very cool. you have a mathematic brain.

Sameer Vasta said...

I'm absolutely in love with that Chanel Fall 06 piece. Wow.

August 28, 2008 8:11 AM

Sure it sounds nerdy, but the opera is some of the most fun you can have in the city if you just give it a try. I'm a huge fan of the COC; most people who think opera is boring really haven't given them a try.

Toby _ 2

I've done 85 in August so far. June and July were about 100.

Aug 27th, 2008

Angel

Sent almost 700, received almost 2000 (thanks to Twitter!) lol

Aug 27th, 2008

Jason Echols

10 tops…and most of them are to my wife.

Aug 27th, 2008

Michael JR

4 and that cost me 80 cents…

Aug 28th, 2008

Elgin

This last month was right around 1800. And I have an iPhone. I love texting with it.

Aug 28th, 2008

I love scramble crossings... we'll be all Tokyo indeed! They seem to work pretty well in Hong Kong and there's way more people/tourists.

Can't wait to see the post on blogTO!

"In theatre news, Mirvish Productions has scooped up two more larger venues. Their acquisition of the Canon and Panasonic theatres was approved despite an attempted legal injunction led by the rival company Dancap."

That sucks. I love that DanCap is trying to bring variety to musicals in Toronto. Mirvish is to afraid to let them in. They've been a monopoly for so long. Mirvish would never have the guts to produce "Avenue Q" or "Spring Awakening".

um... Sara, Spring Awakening is at the Canon in 2009.

And this is hardly "news", Jerrold. This is what, a week old?

And then I read the CBC story. Duh. :(

so explain to me why we are funding athletes to compete in olympics and won us nothing.. wouldn't the money better spent on covering the vehicle tax? so what do these olympic athletes, which are essentially lazy bums, contribute to my well being? so when they get an advertising endorsement contracts, do they share the money with me?

Sameer,

Not sure about that design choice, granted it looks pretty; but I have practical and privacy related questions over how much power it would need to operate and where my fingerprints are being stored!

For now, I'd settle for more of the un-sexy lockers the City already uses. We just need a few thousand more, at strategic locations!

I recollect the ambitious Councillor Heaps saying we would have several hundred more… not sure if meant in the next few years! (smile)

Comment by James - August 21, 2008 @ 6:54 pm

See the 3 white dots over where the detection wires are inserted in a loop in a road at an intersection and is filled with black tar? Those are Bicycle-Actuated Signals.

Check out http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/cyclometer/cyclometerApr_1996.htm#8

Comment by W. K. Lis - August 21, 2008 @ 8:18 pm

I will keep my eyes peeled for bicycle-actuated signals. Thanks for the link!

Comment by Karen Smith - August 22, 2008 @ 8:50 am

Lockers are NOT the way to go, expensive, most cities lease them

to a single user, probably easy to break into (if you could find

one to practice on).

Most municipalities have multi-million dollar car parks, parking ramps,

parking garages that are patrolled and out of the weather, yet

will not sacrifice a couple car spaces to park several dozen bikes

near the manned booths out of the weather. The cities would rather

toss away hundreds of thousands on locker "pods" and then say

"no one uses the expensive bike crap we bought, so shut and drive cars."

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~hause011/article/Bus_ride33.html

Comment by locker mocker - August 26, 2008 @ 1:02 pm

Never really thought about the privacy implications James. Good call. You do have to admit that they're pretty though. =)

Comment by Sameer Vasta - August 26, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

The TTC is a regulated monopoly. Noone is allowed to operate a public transit service in Toronto except the TTC.

These things go together. Either give the TTC a monopoly, and declare it a public service. Or do not declare it a public service - in which case, do not legally protect it as a monopoly.

What doesn't go together is the observation that unions are heavily regulated (although the nature of that regulation is badly mischaracterized), and the suggestion that free market economics should regulate union members' wages. Pick one.

Comment by Serge - August 26, 2008 @ 11:58 am

Serge, it could be argued the TTC is a natural monopoly. As New York experienced early in their transit development, having a multitude of private transit services operating was both confusing and costly.

Comment by Ben - August 26, 2008 @ 12:01 pm

I brought up the subject of TTC employee wages because there's the common misconception out there that TTC employees are paid far beyond a 'fair' wage for their work because of their union. I simply don't think that's true. Of course, push comes to shove, their wages should (and are) determined by the collective bargaining process.

Public services are allowed to be unionized, and outside of exceptional circumstances, are allowed to strike. I don't think being a public service should ever be seen as some sort of barrier to exercising the rights of labour.

Comment by Ian Milligan - August 26, 2008 @ 12:05 pm

Sorry to bring up comics and movies into this, but the Spider-Man mantra holds true to this debate.

"With great power, comes great responsibility."

I have a very strong opinion on the abuses of great power and the negligence of great responsibility on the part of the ATU 113 leadership, Bob Kinnear.

Bob Kinnear joined the TTC janitorial crew fresh out of high school, and years later somehow becomes the union head. I don't know him personally, but whatever his social skills, he has been able to dupe the ATU 113 members to vote him in as their leader twice, and he does ATU 113 an enormous disservice. Bob Kinnear is very far from qualified to be leading anything, especially a union thousands strong in membership, and as is obvious from the latest contract negotiations debacle, he is a total failure as a negotiator and communicator.

Bob Kinnear is single-handedly responsible for causing great damage to the TTC's public relations and public image, endangering the safety of his union members through his rash and reckless actions, and could also end up being single-handedly responsible for losing their right to strike altogether, because he has twice abused his power with both arrogance and carelessness, and so far, shockingly, has gotten away with it without turning his union on him. A legal right to strike is not a moral entitlement to hold a city hostage at random, that's irresponsible and in this case grossly dishonest: he lied to us! Furthermore, his actions are telling of his clear lack of understanding in what the impacts and scale of said impacts his decisions can result in.

I would bet a fair deal of money that if the ATU 113 re-elects Bob Kinnear as their leader in, and I believe they vote next year, that the union and TTC's public relations will worsen further. Bob Kinnear is Toronto's commuting public enemy #1. Even S.O.S.'s Ms.Smith isn't hated as much as Bob Kinnear.

Let me be very clear: the problem with the ATU 113 is not the union members (except the maintenance division, which I've heard was instrumental in provoking the last strike). I respect the operators for the work that they do, and generally find them to be polite, many seem to like their job.

However, I have so little respect for Bob Kinnear that it would have to be a negative number. ATU 113 would be better off with a crushed pop can than Bob Kinnear as leader, because it is better to make no decisions than bad decision, and Bob Kinnear makes bad and even dangerous decisions.

He has first broken the law with the wildcat strike in 2006, and someone has lied about the aftermath since there are conflicting stories between him and the TTC on who paid for the losses.

Then in 2008 he promoses 2 days' notice before a strike, and without warning then breaks his promise, while simultaneously trying to blame the public for his reckless abuses of power. That is not tolerable and absolutely will not be accepted, his leadership will not be respected by the general public. His refusal to resign and, on top of that, his stated intent to try and stay on as leader in the next vote adds insult to injury. Arrogance is not a leadership quality.

The fundamental problem is that the ATU 113 has lost sight of the fact that if they are going to be in any position of strength, they need the general public on their side. Bob Kinnear has gone to great efforts to make the public hate ATU 113, and has gone so far as to endanger their safety with less than an hour's notice of going on strike last April. Bob Kinnear has succeeded at his task, the public hates ATU 113.

ATU 113 can regain some of the public's confidence if they oust Bob Kinnear (hopefully the media makes a big deal of it, it is a big victory for everybody and a great day when Bob Kinnear's no longer in charge of ATU 113), and I think the city should make the ultimatum that if the ATU 113 wants to avoid essential service status, that they force Bob Kinnear from the union leadership, as he is guilty of abusing his power and breaking his word, forfeiting any entitlement he has to responsibility and power.

The problem is not that the TTC isn't an essential service. The problem is the worst union leadership the ATU 113 has ever had. The problem is Bob Kinnear. However, if the ATU 113 is going to stand behind such an atrocious leader, they should not be allowed to strike, as they cannot elect responsible leaders.

With great power, comes great responsibility, and it is ATU 113's responsibility to select responsible leadership, or they lose their great power to strike.

Comment by Karl Junkin - August 26, 2008 @ 12:12 pm

I don't know much about labor issues, so I may be way off-base here, but is there some way of making it possible to operate limited service while on strike?

I think a good compromise would be allowing workers to strike, but having a skeleton crew run things (like a subway train every 20mins instead of 3mins?) just to make sure the city doesn't shut down.

That could be totally impractical and possibly illegal, I don't know - just throwing a thought out there.

Comment by Sameer Vasta - August 26, 2008 @ 12:40 pm

Please Ritz, Albert's and Real Jerk - please stick to the Trini joints - the Jamaican places don't make a good roti at all (too wet and crappy roti skins)

Very inaccurate picture of roti. personally, vena's is on top. simple, not too spicy, filled with enough sauce, and filling...

gandhi is expensive, awkward tasting, and has poor service when busy

The best roti shop is "Baras Hut" in Missisauga, just east of Hurontario on Dundas. There's literally a lineup outside the shop on Saturday's for their doubles.

@jmsm: I have only been in the neighbourhood of Mother India the past six months, so I can't compare it to what it was like prior to that. But I love the spiciness of it. And I usually order it medium-to-hot. Depending on the selection of roti, some of them are better served spicy.

@Shawn: What do you mean by awkward tasting? I find Ghandi's (and Mother India's) rotis to be good value. They generally feed two. :)

I visted Mother India today and was pleasantly surprised. We've been going to Gandhi for tghe last 9 yeas or so, but though similar, I found M.I.'s spicing to be more to my taste (medium / spice for flavour rather than blow your head off). Thanks for the recommendation.

Sameer Vasta Says:

August 24th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

I've been addicted to the Olympics this year, which is strange seeing as how I usually dismiss the Olympics with a yawn. Part of the reason is because Canada (after the initial few days) seems to have outperformed the expectations of many.

It's also worth noting that Canada came in second place when it came to last-place finishes: http://itellstories.org/2008/08/25/olympic-last-place/

Jeff Says:

August 24th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

I remember watching the Atlanta Olympics regularly, but never bothered with Sydney, and was barely aware of the Athens games. I have to admit, I thought these games were awesome; the whole reason to own a PVR and a high def TV is for events like this. Really enjoyed it.

Bill W Says:

August 24th, 2008 at 6:39 pm

One one hand I am very proud of our athelete's performance in Beijing. One the other hand I am wondering why Canada's medal haul way below other G8 countries or major economies of the world. We are not even in the top 12 in terms of the number of medals and in 19th place if you count only gold medals. Definitely there is something wrong here.

Raul Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 4:12 pm

Mexico only won three medals (2 gold 1 bronze) and to be truthful, I felt awful but I felt a little less bad when Mexico had 1 medal and Canada had zero (first week).

Lack of funding is one of my beefs with competitive sports (having been a competitive volleyball player myself). The stories I've heard, I'll share some with you at BarCamp.

Brent Says:

August 27th, 2008 at 10:29 am

Canada was actually tied for 14th based on total number of medals, attaining the COC's stated goal of a top-16 finish.

@Bill W - I think Canada's emphasis right now is clearly on the Winter Olympics, where I believe we have always performed relatively better. I would love to see similar historic stats for the Winter Olympics. Darren? ;o)

I had an Australian friend visit me recently and used my bike to get around while I was at work. He loved it and said that compared to Sydney, Toronto was a cyclist's paradise. He even commented at how courteous motorists were to cyclists.

It's all relative.

did anyone notice that the NY times called the Globe and Mail a "Toronto Daily Newspaper" ???

You would think that they would do their research..........

T

Toronto is way better for bikes compared to Mexico City. There you go.

I grew up in Toronto and have been in New York for eight. I biked the trails behind Sunnybrook when I was 9 yrs old and I've circled Manhattan and been to Coney Island and back on two wheels. So I know the bike-ability of the two villes. I'm puzzled as well by the description of Toronto as "a city renowned as one of the most bicycle-friendly places in the world". New York has far more dedicated bike infrastructure, such as a signalized speedway on the west side of Manhattan that is mostly segregated from walkers, a growing number of proper bike lanes separated from traffic by parked cars (as opposed to the other way around), the awesome racing track known otherwise as Central Park, and even a full mountain biking trail facility. Toronto has no money, no vision and is a far cry from its days as "New York run by the Swiss". However, the old stereotypes endure, and the pleasant lowrise nature of Toronto makes biking on side streets there much friendlier than a death-defying ride on any midtown street in Manhattan. (Try shooting down 5th Ave sometime from Central Park to, say, 34th St. You'll be high on adrenaline for hours afterwards.) A distinct lack of Bronx drivers also improves the odds of getting maimed in Toronto. Bike theft, Igor aside, is still worse in New York as well - look at the fine print on any bike lock ("Guarantee not valid in New York")

Toronto also persists in having some sort of Portland or Euro-ish sheen to it when viewed with NY eyes ("Hey, they're sort of run down, but the beer is nice, and they have streetcars!")

So, yes, Toronto is somewhat friendlier by a function of geography and layout and its physical nature, but certainly not through any brilliant work by the city government. Montreal will have a bike sharing plan soon, DC already has one, and Chicago has a fantastic downtown bike station. Toronto has... some great bike racks? I wouldn't go much beyond that.

(PS - Americans are not familiar with the concept of nation-wide papers other than the shoddy USA Today, and they always refer to the Globe and even the Post as Toronto newspapers.)

It was page A7 of the New York City edition (not front page). Just now it was No. 2 "most read" story on line. The crack about the Globe and Mail as a "Toronto daily paper" does display ignorance; the full title is "a Toronto daily Car Advertiser."

Sameer Vasta said...

"The part of Matthew Brown to be played by Hayden Panettiere."

"I'd get behind that."

MB, I'm sure a lot of the young people of America would want to get "behind that." Ahem.

Oh sorry, this is a G-rated podcast, right?

MP, who are you going to be blogging your capsule reviews for? I haven't talked to Tim yet, but it might be neat to have your stuff up on blogTO as well. I'd talk to Tim if you're interested...

7:52 AM

Tederick said...

Heh, I just listened to the show last night and had the exact same "feedback" re: my positioning on Hayden pannetierre.

Uh... yeah.

The good news is, looks like Matthew Price and I will be doing at least one moviesTO for blogTO before the festival starts, along with my usual Midnight Madness (written) coverage. So it'll be a glorious return to the sandy shores of blogTO for me. :)

8:20 AM

Sameer Vasta said...

MamoviesTO? That's just awesome. Highlight of the festival already for me.

You should definitely try and convince Matt Price to share some of his written wisdom on blogTO. I'm going light on my coverage this year, so I'm sure it would be appreciated.

3:58 PM

Anonymous said...

Have you guys read this yet?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121936107614461929.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I didn't realize how much dough Sex and the City made overseas.

Ky in Boston

11:41 PM

Winston Smith Says:

March 25th, 2004 at 12:39 pm

Wouldn't it be better, noise avoidance-wise, to sit further back in the theatre?

The voices from the other patrons will be projected forward (as shown in the excellent diagram). Sitting behind everybody else would be better.

Darren Says:

March 25th, 2004 at 12:52 pm

Winston: True, and I've got a friend who always sits at the back row of the theatre for this reason. However, my ideal viewing position is pretty close to the front, so the positioning is always a compromise.

Additionally, I imagine that the cinema's sound design (such as it is) is optimized for the person sitting in the dead-centre of the theatre.

JohnB Says:

December 4th, 2006 at 12:11 pm

http://indexed.blogspot.com/

Tom Says:

May 1st, 2008 at 6:36 pm

I agree totally with this. I hate the packet crinklers more than the talkers, I think. When I went to see I Am Legend, two old women slowly and chattily entered. One was quite feeble, and I could hear them slowly progressing up the entry tunnel bit. I was gritting my teeth as they SLOWLY made their way to some seats near me.

Then they brought out the shopping bags with something to eat. Crinkle rustle rustle. Talk talk murmur. Did I really have it in myself to tell two old ladies to be quiet?

Then, they realised that they were watching a a guy wandering through a deserted city with an assault rifle.

Slowly they crinkled the bags bag into their handbags, got up, and talking the whole way left the cinema.

Sameer Vasta Says:

August 20th, 2008 at 6:07 pm

For me, it's not the sound level, but the commentary that bothers me. If someone is just making idle chatter, I can generally tune that out quite well. It's when they start making snide remarks or running commentary about the film on screen that I get super upset.

Nice chart, by the way.

Aaron Tait 4 days ago

So jealous. The show looks awesome.

Ryan West 3 days ago

It was pretty great. I wish I had this camera for the Coldplay concert as well, meh.

Sameer Vasta 5 minutes ago

Was a great concert! Can I ask you a silly question? Where can you buy a Mino here in Canada? Been looking to get one for a while...

1 Lara Kretler // Aug 18, 2008 at 4:36 pm

I stand corrected - a colleague just reminded me via Twitter that thank you cards are another great time to use postal mail. I guess I use it more than I realized.

2 Sameer Vasta // Aug 19, 2008 at 9:25 am

I must be stuck in the stone age, because I send at least 15-20 letters a month to people - thank you notes, just thinking of you letters, birthday cards, etc.

Something about the tangible nature of paper really appeals to me. I hope postal mail never disappears.

3 Richard Brennan // Aug 20, 2008 at 10:34 am

I always post thank-you notes to family, and I'm surprised that some media jobs still ask for application forms to be posted, not e-mailed.

However, most of my communication does take place via email, Facebook or blog comments.

I like your blog by the way, found it via Blogcatalog

4 larak // Aug 20, 2008 at 7:53 pm

Sameer, I love that you send so many letters and cards. You're inspiring me - I need to do more of that! There's nothing I love more than getting a letter or card in the mail. Especially with art or stickers all over the outside of the envelope.

Richard, thanks for visiting and for your kind words! Heading over to check out your blog now. Cheers.

1 Sameer Vasta // Aug 19, 2008 at 9:21 am

The CommonCraft videos are now standard parts of my web education arsenal. I use them in the majority of my presentations and workshops. Kudos to Lee and Saatchi, and thanks to you for reminding me that I'm craving ice cream. =)

2 Shane Haggerty // Aug 20, 2008 at 8:36 pm

Lara-

I love these Common Craft videos as well. I have been using them in my social media training I have been doing at work, as well as any time I do a presentation on social media.

3 Leo Bottary // Aug 21, 2008 at 4:32 pm

Love the videos! I want an ice cream now though!

Sameer Vasta said:

18/8/08 19:27

It's pretty close to your likeness. Not quite perfect though: you're even prettier in person. =)

I posted mine a few days ago too.

on 15 August, 2008 at 1:49 pm1 Sameer Vasta

This is pretty fascinating to me, as I'm a social/cultural anthro graduate who currently works in new media. A lot of the work I did in school was examining how online communities develop culture and how that's different from "real-world" communities.

I'll definitely sit down and watch the video this weekend. Thanks!

Style Rookie - The 12 year old fashion blogger

Vasta said...

Thanks for the link to what looks like a pretty awesome blog.

And congrats on being all done with school!

(See you on Sunday?)

August 15, 2008 2:45 PM

kokostiletto said...

woah that is cool! when i was 12 i was definetely not that ambitious!

August 18, 2008 12:02 AM

Melissa said...

lol yeah I know, and i think when i was 12 i was also not that in tune with everything around me especially fashion...

August 18, 2008 6:03 PM

GloriaC said...

these stylish kids just keep getting younger and younger...so much that they become...kids!

August 26, 2008 6:43 PM

Sameer Vasta said...

I think you'd make a wonderful grandma Sherren. (That's a compliment, I promise.)

I'll send my grandkids your way for some stories too, if that's okay. Everyone needs some fairy tales in their lives.

12:44 PM

Tourism Toronto has yet to convince us their logo isn't garbage.

The Skydome....yeah, I like that name.

$184 per ticket.

It happens to be the price for 4 people to go, eat at and park at an Argo game, get good seats, and get better entertainment then what they'll be getting tomorrow.

I don't know what's more pathetic about this exercise. That Rogers is getting shown for the corporate buffoons they are, or the further delving into irrelevance Citytv is doing in being the resident prostitute for this venture.

skydome 4 lyfe

Looks like I'll be going to this, courtesy of a friend (and comp tix).

Burrito God says that the ranking is as follows in terms of burrito goodness:

1) big fat / burrito boyz (depending on BG's mood that day).

3) a bunch of other ones.

4) The place at Bloor and Avenue, which angers Burrito God.

Yes I agree 100% with Ben. Lately, though, they changed the jalapenos at Big Fat Burrito, from fresh to canned. It does make a difference because of the vinegar in them. It's the only "but" that Big Fat has for me.

Hey Sameer, if you want you can sell your eternal soul to me for 8 bucks and I'll buy you the damn burrito.

My sister wants to know one thing and one thing only, are these free burritos full sized or are they little bite sized samples? She's walking there at lunch and doesn't want to waste her time.

Prince of Darkness: make that one free burrito a year, and you can have my soul and heart as well.

Sameer Vasta said...

Calderon can try and write it off as a misinterpretation of their intentions, but the fact remains that the photo is tasteless and offensive. There definitely needs to be some kind of apology.

August 12, 2008 10:44 PM

Aneez Kanji said...

When I went lived in a town which was 95% Caucasian, my friends called me 'Brown Guy', not because they are racist, but because my skin is brown and I was the only brown guy for miles around. The nickname sticks to this day and it never offends me because it is being said in kindness.

In my opinion this photo reflects poor judgment, but to call it racist is stretching a bit.

According to Jose Caderon (someone who was actually there at the time) it was taken with good intentions, however in today's ultra-hyper-supersensitive politically correct world, one can't even wear a scarf without offending someone.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/29/ray-scarf.html

If a Spanish team photo were to be taken outside with the athletes wearing touques (winter hat) for the Vancouver games would it deemed offensive or racist?

August 13, 2008 11:23 AM

Enough with best 'bagels' in Toronto, philistines! Whereof you know not, speak not.

i have to say for best dim sum, it is lee wah heen in the metropolitan hotel.. very pricey, but it is the best.. better than dynasty

ok Tim, why do u want to know where the best sex shop is???

10. The Best Cheap Lunch ($3 or less):

food court in T & T downtown

6. The Best Eggs Benedict: Mars Diner

7. The Best Chicken Wings: Duffs

11. The Best Jazz Bar: The Rex

13. The Best Barber Shop: Terminal Barber Shop

15. The Best Free WiFi Hot Spot: Urbana Cafe

17. The Best Used CD Store: Sonic Boom

20. The Best Sex Shop: Come As You Are

Amazing shot.

I saw a policeman say in his 30 years he'd never seen anything like it.

Comment by Alistair Morton - August 12, 2008 @ 5:22 pm

"…remember that weekend in two thousand and something where they had to close down the whole bloody 401 due to that propane explosion in Downsview?"

-Overheard at a Toronto area retirement home in 2045

Comment by Jason Paris - August 18, 2008 @ 4:03 pm

Sameer Vasta said, "Seeing the 401 completely empty is eerie."

I had to fly out on a business trip that afternoon and the sight of a totally vacant 401 from the air was exactly that.

Comment by Calvin Henry-Cotnam - August 18, 2008 @ 10:37 pm

While the 401 is the province's responsibility, the city is going to have to play its hand carefully with the Gardiner between the DVP and Jarvis - while I support the decommissioning of the Gardiner, there are options available to avoid creating another Allen and Eglinton, and that will be critical for the city. If it is not well-planned, the result will be traffic chaos similar to that observed in the Sunrise aftermath.

Comment by Karl Junkin - August 19, 2008 @ 4:59 pm

[...] a comparison to my photo post from last week, I thought I would share what Highway 401 looks like on a regular day. This scene [...]

Pingback by Metronauts » Gridlocked - August 21, 2008 @ 1:05 am

Andrae, thanks for making 416-ers like me understand what it's like out there in the 905. I think it really helps us better understand the full nature of the challenge, with a built form and lack of density that doesn't support public transit, cycling or walking. Will $200 a barrel oil increase pressure for change? How will citizens, planners and politicians react? It's going to be interesting times.

Comment by Mark Kuznicki - August 11, 2008 @ 12:32 pm

Many of the issues you bring up above are being addressed quite well by some of the 905 regions. Viva buses seem to be attracting a relatively high level of ridership in Vaughan, and a more concerted effort seems to be made in creating "neighborhoods" where residents can get to vital services (groceries, doctors, etc.) by walking.

Of course, their approach isn't perfect, but it would be worth talking to some of the urban planners in Vaughan to see what is working, what's not, and how they can share their learnings with the rest of the 905.

Comment by Sameer Vasta - August 12, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

The resident buildings of the 905 are also on the extreme. It's either high-rise condos or apartments, or low-density single-family homes. Sometimes you see townhouses, but never along an arterial road.

Where are the low-rise mixed-use buildings? Where are the duplexes, triplexes, or sixplexes? Why do most of the office buildings have parking lots which block access from the transit stops? Or even turn their backs to the arterial road?

Comment by W. K. Lis - August 18, 2008 @ 7:12 pm

This comment is how the 416 area is already helping the 905 area. The extension of the subway from Downsview Station to York U. and into Vaughn will really help public transit in both Vaughn and in Toronto. The MoveOntario 2020 plan includes extending the Yonge Subway up to Highway 7- near the Langstaff GO station. This will greatly help both the 905 area and the 416 areas as well.

When I was new to Toronto after moving here from Vancouver with a short stop in between in somewhere small without good transit, I went to a city hall meeting that is open to the public a ccouple of years ago. I heard a councillor, who I can't recall his name, make a deputation about extending the Bloor Line west to Sherway Gardens. As I got to know T.O. and the TTC better that deputation makes a lot of sense. A lot of the Mississauga Transit buses that presently use Islington Station could now travel up the little used Queensway to get to this proposed Sherway Gardens Station. It would free up Bloor St. of a lot of traffic so that it would help commerce flow. This extension would also have the subway cross the 427 highway. I think with Mississauga's huge population a lot more of them would choose public transit if they could get on the TTC that more conveniently.

Thanks for the new website for me to vent some ideas about Public Transit.

Comment by George S - August 19, 2008 @ 6:53 am

katherine

communitydivas

Sameer Vasta

Rayanne Langdon

communitydivas

Connie said...

I am very excited about this podcast and can't wait to interview people for our next episodes! Thank you for working on this with me.

Cheers,

Connie

11:11 PM

Sameer Vasta said...

Oh wow, looking forward to getting home and subscribing to this on iTunes! As someone who is working on internal community engagement with the Government right now, I'm sure this will be particularly relevant.

In fact, my colleague and I are running our own internal podcast here at work, discussing the social web and its place in the OPS. Might it be a good idea to cross-record sometime?

11:26 AM

Bargainista said...

Connie, Me too! Thank you.

Vasta, The iTunes feed should be available soon. We hope you'll find Community Divas relevant and we're open to suggestions. You're part of the community too. The cross-recording idea sounds interesting. Let's discuss it offline sometime soon.

Cheers,

Eden

10:08 PM

1 Chase Farmer

Aug 9th, 2008 at 7:26 pm

BandsInTown and SonicLiving both also do this as well for musical events. They are sites catered more towards the event experience than an all encompassing Last.fm. I have tried both and say that SonicLiving is a little bit better than BandsInTown but Last.fm has both of them beat.

2 Sameer Vasta

Aug 10th, 2008 at 7:21 am

I had no clue Last.fm had an iCal sync. Thanks for pointing it out, I live by my iCal.

Sameer Vastas last blog post..The Chad.

Sameer Vasta said...

Beautiful.

7:19 AM

Sameer Vasta said...

All Canadian telecommunications companies are dinosaurs, stuck in a revenue model that values immediate gain rather than customer retention and satisfaction. It's sad that none of them have learned that the way to make money is to have your customers "want" to use your services, instead of forcing them to do so and then gouging them.

August 8, 2008 1:53 PM

I can barely fit a 5'5 Vasta in my apartment, how am I going to fit a 12' snake?

Sammeer, maybe it's time to move to a bigger place.

One day you will wake up and say 'i feel so lonely, why didn't i buy that python when i had the chance'...

"For a mere $1.70 an inch" you say? That would be $20.40 for the entire snake! Unless you're counting cubic inches perhaps. At $250, it's more like $20.83 an inch.

Still, that's a lot of snake.

Haha, Roger whats going on with your math? :P

It's 12 foot which equals 144 inches at $250. 250 divided by 144 = 1.73611111 (which i took the liberty to round :P)

MEA CULPA. I misread your initial claim to be $1.70 a foot. So what I meant was more like close to $21 a foot!

Big crowds result in no where to sit, overflowing garbage cans and a dirty street. Chester Pape's second point and first part of his third are right on.

Use the bathroom before you leave home or good luck to you. Also, good luck to those parents who still insist on bringing their infants and toddlers and end up needing to change a diaper.

The idea and intention is fantastic but I also agree with some of the comments here: the food is not very good (and is not always greek) and can be expensive, nothing for kids to do, and random patios set up everywhere that end up feeling like little caged in chicken pens on cement - no trees or umbrellas for shade.

I would disagree with the comment made about the "venu" - I say keep it on the street: its accessible by subway, it brings us into urban areas where people meet each other face to face, eye to eye, as opposed to the suburbs where people only watch or judge each other through the windows of cars on roads and highways.

Thanks for the tip. I might have actually stumbled into the middle of this nightmare on the danforth if you hadn't warned me!

I loved the sign on Allen's last year: Closed due to taste of the danforth.

It looks like the weather might not be very cooperative this weekend. I wouldn't want to be there when the storm hits.

Sameer Vasta said...

It is totally possible to love your friend, no? I mean, it's probably not what the Lovely Apartments people expect, but love's love, right? =)

5:14 PM

Sameer Vasta said...

Today is one of those days where I'm welcoming the rain. I need a day where things can be cleansed and I have an excuse to stay indoors and write...

10:45 AM