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Yes, WE live in paradise, but...Elsewhere... >
Toronto, environs, Ottawa & the Ontario Outback |
| Great clubs, great food, and a year-round entertainment carousel of comedy, drama, music and more. And cheap to get to from the coast now that HMY is running. Includes Stratford and Niagara-on-the-Lake. |
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A feast for sore eyes *
If not a cure for crass commercialism and box-office banality, this annual extravaganza is at least a blissful reprieve, RICK GROEN writes. And he, for one, is grateful
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A genre in a time warp *
The weird thing about sci-fi fans gathered in Toronto for their world convention is how focused they are on the past -- odd for a group famous for changing the present by predicting the future
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A mad king on Broadway *
Ticket sales have been brisk as an acclaimed Stratford production transfers to New York, with Christopher Plummer in the role of a lifetime, SIMON HOUPT writes.
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A photo a day keeps the mundane away *
All of the shows on today's agenda are about accumulation, about art in aggregate.
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A rest stop fit for a monarch *
Visitors are flocking to the southern tip of mainland Canada to view swarms of butterflies on their annual migration south
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A rhapsody for Guelph's motherlode of jazz *
Like the nightly prowls of the fetish-club connoisseur, an ongoing music column easily degenerates into a priapic search for novel contortions: Would I write this week about the deliberately dumb rock -- maybe meta-dumb rock -- being pimped out to market by that shrewd Andrew W. K. (Sept. 7 in Toronto at Lee's Palace )?
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A rich debate on themes of ancient Greece *
The best thing to emerge from Stratford's 50th-season celebrations last year was the new Studio Theatre, a 260-seat black box squeezed into the back of the Avon Theatre and ready, in its smallness, for experimentation mercifully free of the commercial imperatives that drive the rest of the festival. This season, the centrepiece of the Studio playbill is the intriguing House of Atreus series, Agamemnon, Electra and The Flies, which opened Friday and Saturday.
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AGO cuts staff, blames tourism *
Museum attributes 25 per cent drop in admission to SARS, Iraq war and Sept. 11
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Almost five years later, where's the review? *
Here's an interesting piece of history. In March, 2000, the Ontario government set up its Five Year Review Committee to review the workings of the Ontario Securities Commission and the regulation of securities issues in the province.
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Art: Following footsteps *
Artists explore the idea of putting your best foot forward, SARAH MILROY writes
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Asian 'Loblaws' set to expand IN GTA *
Is it "sometimes referred to as the 'Loblaws' of Asian grocery stores?" Vancouver-based T & T Supermarket Inc. has announced it will open its first downtown Toronto store on city-owned waterfront property this fall.
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Aylmer meat got B grade in last audit *
But food-safety check showed major flaws
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BC PC Technology Systems, Toronto (Anne Garber review) *****
One of the services I have long needed when I visit Toronto is a reliable computer shop with a friendly, helpful and knowledgeable owner. That's where Bob Bagheri comes in.
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Becky Johnson -- new works and recent biography *
One of evalu8.org's writers is also a first-rate performer.
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Bedbugs: coming soon to a single-family home near you *
This week, the University of Toronto released a research bulletin by urban entomologist Tim Myles confirming that local homeless shelters are infested with bedbugs ...
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Beef recall ordered in Ontario *
A recall notice has been issued on all beef and beef products from a meat-packing plant in southern Ontario, following suspicions the company had not followed proper inspection procedures.
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Bringing down the wall *
1001 Queen St. W. is poised for a redesign that will transform it into a pioneering model for mental health care, writes SARAH MILROY. Instead of building a hospital, they want to build a neighbourhood.
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Brother says Diana feared for her life *
The late Diana, Princess of Wales, believed her phone was bugged and that she was being spied on before her death, her brother said at a press conference Wednesday.
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Can't Judge a Book by its Cover: Authors' fest gets a new jacket *
The International Festival of Authors will be launched tonight in Toronto with a lavish party at Harbourfront Centre's Premiere Dance Theatre, proof positive that it has survived the summer cataclysm of founder Greg Gatenby's ouster. His successor, long-time festival manager Geoffrey Taylor, has cobbled together a 2003 festival that, like some literary fable, contains elements programmed by Gatenby and others by Taylor, with nobody able to tell which is which.
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Carbon Computing, Toronto (Anne Garber review) ****
Easy to shop, good after-sales support, this Toronto-based computer store is recommended with four stars.
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Computation (Anne Garber review) ****
Features lot of bargains on hard drives, monitors, keyboards and printers. AND housecalls!
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Dack's Factory Outlet, Toronto (Anne Garber review) ****
A throwback to the Golden Era of Bargains (it's been going for more than 50 years), this outlet offers super deals on footwear.
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Dead Sea Scrolls 'belong to all civilizations' *
Ottawa exhibition of more than 100 artifacts from Jerusalem's Israel Museum goes to the roots of Western history.
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Deal for charity match could be done by today *
The proposed golf event to boost Toronto in the wake of SARS is inching closer toward reality.
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Diana at her very best *
A new exhibit showcases the princess's childhood teddy bear, her pearl-laden wedding train and the outfits she wore on her anti-landmine tours. As GAYLE MacDONALD writes, all that's missing is even the tiniest hint of scandal.
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Dreams Factory Outlet, Toronto (Anne Garber review) ****
The luxury of extravagant bedding, linens and bathroom accessories without busting open the piggy bank? Here's the place . . .
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Everything but the bellboy *
Who needs Williams-Sonoma when chic hotels are selling their guests not just the sheets on their beds but the beds themselves. It brings a whole new meaning to the term 'boutique hotel'
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Exhibition explores not-so-fine art of gift-giving *
Some of these works make you wonder what they have to do with giving a present, SARAH MILROY writes.
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Fifty Canadian travel highlights *
Here's a starter list of some of the places you'll want to add to your must-do Canadian tour.
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Hoping for a Rubik's renaissance *
A contingent of 'cubists' has descended upon Toronto to compete -- and to rekindle interest in a fad
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Ideas whose time are here *
Nobody knows yet what any of the great minds of this week's IdeaCity will talk about, but that's the genius of this event, RAY CONLOGUE writes
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Iron Cobra news for April, 2005 *
News from our favourite Toronto-based improv group.
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Joy Fielding: Lost in celluloid dreams *
Best-selling author and one-time actress Joy Fielding tells SANDRA MARTIN about her latest novel, a mystery set against the drama of Toronto's film festival
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Knit-picking in Toronto *
If they use high-lanolin, natural wool, could this be a solution for the leaky condo? New craft fair in Toronto runs December 1, 2007.
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Loblaw back at the table *
Venerable stadium may yet become a giant supermarket.
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Mad skillz with duct tape *
Winnipeg's Robert Butler takes the Red Green approach to reinventing images
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Mau's grand design goes deeper *
The acclaimed designer's Massive Change exhibition ambitiously looks to redefine every one of our organizational endeavours, SARAH MILROY writes.
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Michael the muse *
The gloved one is the inspiration for a show by a group of emerging artists that has become an underground sensation in Toronto, SARAH MILROY writes
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News from Trampoline Hall -- Improv classes *
Trampoline Hall host Misha Glouberman occasionally teaches classes on various subjects. This series starts October 25, 2006, in Toronto.
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Niagara Falls Reservations *
Another useful booking engine. . .
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O'Brien pokes fun at Globe *
Conan O'Brien doesn't kick off his week of shows from Toronto until next Tuesday, but already he's taking gentle shots at some pillars of Canadian culture, including The Globe and Mail.
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Ottawa: Capital appeal *
The Globe's KIM LUNMAN ventures beyond Ottawa's reputation for tulips and museums to take in the city's sophisticated shopping and dining options, including where to get the best burger and how to find the capital's 'it' spot
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Outlet mall trying to sell its makeover *
The 47-year-old Mississauga mainstay is sprucing itself up to compete in a world of big boxes and power centres
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Publisher to bring Hogwarts magic to Hogtown *
Raincoast Books is bringing Hogwarts to Hogtown.
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Seeing behind the quirks *
The mentally ill on Toronto's downtown streets trust Gordon Singer for one simple reason: He's been there.
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Shelter from the swarm *
Galen Weston Jr. is creating a brand-new hot spot where Toronto's most fabulously interesting people can hobnob away from the irksome masses, writes GAYLE MacDONALD
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Something out of (almost) nothing *
The works in the exhibition Stretch seem spare to the point of invisibility, writes, SARAH MILROY but they reward patient looking
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Stratford Festival: Trojan gallop falters at last hurdles ** 1/2
Irregularly revived, Troilus and Cressida is widely considered a difficult play. Comparing the corruption of war with that of love, Shakespeare begins with romance and comedy before proceeding to a bitter satire from which the occasional note of real tragedy must also arise.
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Super Bargain Warehouse (Toronto) ****
Rather than listing what they HAVE, it might almost be far simpler to list what they don't carry.
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The art that refreshes *
SARAH MILROY sees the strongest of the current shows on water
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The Beguiling (Toronto comic book store) *****
This unique lose-yourself-in-time collection of comix, alternative comic art, illustration books and fringe culture is worth discovering for anyone with an appreciation of graphic novels and new illustrative skill.
Toronto, ON
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The deco and the decadent *
Although it leaves some thorny questions hanging, a new exhibit captures art deco's drop-dead elegance, SARAH MILROY writes
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The Medical Spot (Toronto) *** 1/2
This great resource for children of aging parents is a thriving Toronto business.
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The next Trampoline Hall *
A Toronto event you won't want to miss. Always a sell-out, so get your tickets ASAP.
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The sound of a Canadian identity *
Two exhibits set out to document the relationship between music and art in Canada, but end up doing much more, writes SARAH MILROY
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The Windy City's idea should blow our way *
Toronto's new Mayor David Miller went to Chicago recently to meet with Mayor Richard Daley, to discuss waterfront revitalization and other civic lessons to be gleaned from the Windy City.
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This is major-league stuff: Snow and wind lash shivering Ontario *
Residents across Southern Ontario will face a treacherous commute today as the region is expected to get its largest snowfall since 1999 -- when former mayor Mel Lastman called in the army to help clear Toronto's sidewalks and streets.
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TIFF unveils rich lode of docs *
With filmmaker Michael Moore's anti-war documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 joining the $100-million club on the weekend -- a record for a documentary in North American box office -- 2004 is undeniably the year of the Super Doc.
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Toronto stinks, literally: Smog alert expected to stay in effect today *
Provincial power demands spiked yesterday as residents of Southwestern Ontario suffered through their third smog alert of the year.
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Toronto's Fashionista secrets *
"Great sunglasses," said the woman behind the counter at my neighbourhood French patisserie. It was a recent Saturday morning and I was wearing my new shades.
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Toronto's PR is tops. . . *
. . .at hyping Toronto (or as we like to call it, "Tee-Zero"). And a propos of looking at the city "from the outside in" (as they claim to have done) we wonder if they talked to anyone who DOESN'T live in Toronto to determine why they hate it so much! (Just asking.)
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Toronto's SummerWorks Theatre Festival, 2007 *
August 2 -- 12, 2007, Toronto, Ontario.
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Torontonians happier, study suggests *
Torontonians, it should cheer you up to know: You are happier than Montrealers!
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Trampoline Hall announces new concept in comedy lectures *
In its inimitable fashion, Toronto's Trampoline Hall has announced that it will sell tickets in December, but that it will not have a corresponding show in that month!
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Trampoline Hall January event *
All lecturers guaranteed under 16 years old (curator, too)!
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Two feet in the past *
Portraitist Kirsten Johnson has turned a white tube sock and a Stanfield's grey woolly into the subjects of an intriguing suite of paintings that quietly celebrate the comforts of childhood
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U.S. storm hits Ontario, Quebec *
A major storm from Oklahoma has brought dangerous winter conditions to millions of people living in southwestern Ontario, with forecasters predicting that the situation will get substantially worse before it starts to improve.
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U.S. storm poised to hammer Ontario *
The precursor to a major storm from Oklahoma has brought dangerous winter conditions to millions of people living in southwestern Ontario, with forecasters predicting that the situation will get substantially worse before it starts to improve.
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Secondary Sites:
A bridge too far *
Toronto's new mayor faces big fights and bigger lawsuits if he blocks expansion of the city's island airport. We wish him well, say DAVID CROMBIE and JANE JACOBS.
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Animation festival gets funding reprieve *
The Ottawa International Animation Festival has gotten a reprieve from its possible demise after Telefilm Canada decided to reinstate its annual funding for at least for one more year.
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Art that's ready for takeoff *
There's great art at Terminal 1. But where are the Canadians? asks SARAH MILROY.
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Aylmer owner has troubled history *
Records reveal financial, legal problems
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Bonnie gets the Star treatment *
Vanity Fair has pushed the envelope of cattiness with its latest profile of Canadian-born celebrity magazine editor Bonnie Fuller.
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Book fair heavy on Franco-Ontarian authors *
Few things are as invisible as a French-language book fair in Toronto...
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Call for Ontario eye-exam referrals criticized *
It is unrealistic to require Ontarians with sight-threatening diseases to get a referral from their doctor before the province's health plan will cover their eye treatments, the Ontario Association of Optometrists said yesterday.
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Carrying a torch for black culture *
For a white Canadian provincial coming round, slow and late as a turning snail, to appreciate black American culture, there was no greater revelation than the early-1990s appearance of a collection by a writer named Greg Tate called Flyboy in the Buttermilk.
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Colville's unspoken truths *
Eerie and ominous, even the 82-year-old artist's newest works can leave viewers feeling unsettled, SHAWNA RICHER writes.
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Cupcake Day at the Knit Cafe, Toronto ***** 
On December 13th, the Knit Café (in partnership with the City of Craft) will be
hosting "Cupcake Day."
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Don't make me schmooze before my Pretox *
Leah McLaren unearths the pre-festival preening rituals of the rich and fabulous.
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Dwarf-tossing: Ontario MLA sweats the small stuff *
The organizer of a dwarf-tossing contest vowed the show would go on Thursday even as an angry Ontario politician made an 11th-hour bid to stop the event.
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Earth to Frisco: Hendeles beat you by 13 years *
Hype is as American as violence and cherry pie, if one may paraphrase H. Rap Brown's most famous apothegm. Which perhaps explains why an exhibition of 200 photographs by Diane Arbus set to open in San Francisco next month is already being freighted with descriptives like "the most significant Arbus show in more than 30 years," and "the first utterly authoritative retrospective done with the co-operation of her family."
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Estelle Klein dead at 74: She was 'the queen mother of Canadian folk music' *
Estelle Klein, doyenne of the highly political Toronto folk music scene for many years, was capable of great kindness to those she favoured, and vitriolic wrath to those with whom she had fallen out.
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Finned invader hits Lake Ontario *
Plant-eating grass carp can destroy aquatic environments, scientists say.
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Foster Walker review *
What a great find: The good news is that you can shop there, too!
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Fringe festival dance group on the limp *
The fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists (fFIDA) is in deep crisis: Unless $20,000 is raised by the end of October, it may not be able to continue.
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Grid Failure: Ontario warned of possible future rolling blackouts *
Power returned to much of Ontario on Friday following the worst blackout in North American history, but electricity suppliers warned of rolling outages over the weekend, urging private citizens and industries to use electricity sparingly.
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Happy hit with a nice sharp edge *
It's rare that you see a musical as interesting as Happy End on the stage of the Shaw Festival's Royal George Theatre, where tidily produced entertainments tend toward the insipid. But then Happy End is a work with an unusual history.
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Hockey and music: the score stands at one all *
A centre in Parry Sound, Ont., containing both the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame and an impressive concert hall for playing classical music is the latest in a list of strange compromises in Canadian culture
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Home at last -- and not just for the holidays *
Have you ever come home to a place you've never been before?
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Honest Ed Mirvish, 92 *
Honest Ed Mirvish, the man who invented the discount store in Canada, died early Wednesday morning at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. He was 92
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How perfect do we want to be? *
In seeking immortality and other godlike attributes, we risk our very humanity, says ethicist MARGARET SOMERVILLE.
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Illnesses traced to Aylmer meat plant *
Some people in the Windsor, Ont., area who ate meat processed by a slaughterhouse that the province shut last week have reported stomach ailments, the official directing the investigation into Aylmer Meat Packers Inc. says.
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Isabel to drench Ontario, Quebec *
The weakened remnants of Hurricane Isabel will still cause very heavy rain and extremely high winds when they strike Canada, weather experts said Wednesday.
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Jeremy Deller: Taking it from the street *
SARAH MILROY talks to Jeremy Deller about his brand of folk art.
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Kitchen Stuff Plus Clearance Outlet (Anne Garber review) ****
a huge assortment of ornaments and other chatchkas start at $1. At Dufferin.
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Latest on blackout in Eastern North America *
The biggest power failure in history affects millions in Eastern Canada and the U.S.
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Libraries need to mind their own business *
They should leave feng shui and grief counselling to others, and expand on what they do best -- the collection and dissemination of information.
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Man dead in collapse of Toronto theatre *
The collapse of a Toronto theatre on Monday has left at least one person dead and 14 others injured.
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McGregor Socks Factory Outlet Store, Toronto (Anne Garber review) ****
Crazy about socks? Here's your new favourite place to buy 'em in Toronto.
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Meat-packer procedures questioned *
Search warrants served to Aylmer's plant and to Oxford Deadstock Removal Inc.
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OCAD's flights of fancy *
The Sharp Centre for Design is an exhilarating civic space raised high on nine-storey legs, LISA ROCHON says
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Old Man attends Queen's *
With his deeply furrowed brow, unsure expression and black shroud, the arrival of an old man in a cap is one of the most spectacular recent art events to take place at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.
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Ontario mum on beef hazard alert *
Few details released about shutdown, recall at Aylmer, ON, slaughterhouse
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Ontario Premier declares state of emergency *
Ontario residents face several days before full power is restored to the province's massive electricity grid, Premier Ernie Eves warned late last night.
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Opera, in the key of jazz *
The talents of musician D.D. Jackson and poet/playwright George Elliott Clarke were married to create the jazz opera Québécité, MARK MILLER writes
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OPP begins Aylmer meat probe *
Consumers warned to avoid products
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Ottawa: Traffic snarls, looting reported *
Ottawa activates emergency measures plan to cope with the blackout chaos
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Passengers and crew survive Air France crash in Toronto *
All passengers and crew -- some 309 persons -- on board an Air France plane that burst into flames after overshooting a runway at Pearson International are said to have survived.
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Police charge man who posed as MD *
Members of Sri Lankan community urged to come forward if they dealt with accused
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Police expect more arrests in UCC porn case *
Police say the arrest of an Upper Canada College teaching assistant is the first of many they expect to make, thanks to information they received after a major investigation by authorities in California.
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President Clinton Launches tuition-free Online Education for Africa *
President Bill Clinton will serve as keynote speaker for the gala launch of Professeurs pour la liberté (PPL) on October 18, 2005.
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SARS plan enlists Woods *
Is Tiger Woods coming to Toronto for a star-studded golf exhibition to benefit the city's SARS-ravaged tourism industry?
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Scratch one from Leafs' worry list *
On a growing list of Pat Quinn's player worries, from Nik Antropov's shoulder to Bryan McCabe's knee to whether or not Gary Roberts's problems go beyond a sore groin muscle, one name that was prominent on this list a year ago has been scratched.
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Security video in stolen art case released *
Toronto police released security video tapes Friday showing three “individuals of interest” at the Art Gallery of Ontario the day several ivory portraits worth $1.5-million were stolen.
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Special honour for Orr *
Who says you can't have a meaningful hockey moment in July? They held one yesterday in Parry Sound, Ont., where family, friends and politicians aplenty gathered to present hometown hero Bobby Orr with his latest, arguably finest, honour -- his very own Hall of Fame.
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Tattoo-parlour customers warned of hepatitis risk *
Health inspectors have shut down an east-end tattoo parlour and warned former customers to contact Toronto Public Health, as they could have been exposed to HIV or hepatitis B or C.
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The apprenticeship of Eddie Greenspan *
About to turn 60, he's tired of being dismissed as a legal lightweight. Yes, court antics have him in the news again, KIRK MAKIN reports, but 'Fast Eddie' claims it was no stunt. He's done with grandstanding.
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The human condition hurts: We'd be fools not to better it *
If we can cure disease and slow down aging, it would be unethical not to, says transhumanist JAMES HUGHES.
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These artists know how to rock *
Contemporary music is inspiring artists to explore the relationship between song and art, SARAH MILROY writes. Put another dime in the jukebox, baby.
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Time simply stood still when lights went out *
Like an eerie motif from a science fiction movie, the historic clock at Toronto's Union Station stopped dead the minute the lights went out. The time: 16:13 -- and the train station's clock stayed at that time for hours and hours after the power failed.
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Toronto & SARS: Deserted by tourists, King is a lonely street *
Restaurant and hotel business drying up as visitors steer clear of theatre district
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Toronto plans crackdown on blue-box scavengers *
Bloggers uniformly denounce Toronto's latest tax-grab, calling it an opportunity to punish the poor, off-the-radar street-pioneers and resourceful crafters, alike.
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Toronto the not-so-good: Guns, gangs and race *
Yesterday, I opened my morning papers to read yet another dreadful story about gunplay in Toronto.
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UCC yearbook photo sullies school's image *
Jest angers parents at Bishop Strachan
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Vacations on two wheels *
For Ontario cycling fans, destinations abound
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Welcome to Canada's gay high school *
Despite this country's reputation for tolerance, young people still face discrimination for being gay, writes ALANNA MITCHELL. When school life becomes so hostile they can't face it any more, Toronto's Triangle program offers an educational refuge.
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Will the roving Magnetic North become a fixture? *
Does Canada need a national theatre festival? For the organizers of Magnetic North, the new festival that opened in Ottawa last week, the answer is obviously a yes, and a showcase of current Canadian theatre as well as a host of panels and talks has been duly mounted. For the rest of us, the answer will have to wait not merely until the festival closes next weekend but until next year and the year after that as the annual event, which will move from city to city across the country, does or doesn't establish itself as a cultural necessity.
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XS Cargo, Toronto (Anne Garber review) ***
This is a born-in-Edmonton no-frills discount chain that stocks its shelves with imperfect items, factory seconds and reconditioned stock, much of it under warranty.
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