Archive for November, 2007
Books About Toronto
contact November 30th, 2007
No. I’m not calling you a dummy or anything but this book is so great for people traveling to Toronto for the very first time AND for people who really are newbies to this great Canadian City. It’s a fun, very thorough guide about Toronto and the surrounding areas you might want to visit. From the view atop the CN Tower to its electric nightlife to it’s global cuisine, Toronto offers its visitors an unforgettable travel experience. And with Niagara Falls and Stratford just quick trips away, there’s no shortage of things to see and do. With this friendly guide, you’ll plan a vacation that’s perfect for you.
This is a down-to-earth trip planner comes with very handy Post-it flags for you to mark your favorite pages! Priced at a bargain basement price of $11 (plus some change), you’ll get your money’s worth and more with all of its 336 pages.
The Fun Advertising Minds of Toronto
contact November 29th, 2007
Tagline: Energizer. It would never run out on you.
Created by the advertising agency: TBWA, Toronto, Canada; Creative Director: Joe Amaral; Art Director: Pete Ross; Copywriter: Allan Topol; Photographer: Adam Rankin
Published: November 2007
- information , news , photos , toronto , trivia
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Toronto’s Best Bars: Sky Bar
contact November 28th, 2007
In Queen’s Quay you’ll find this funky outdoor roof patio (part of the massive Guvernment entertainment complex). While the entertainment complex attracts all types, the Sky Bar is reported to be a magnet for the sexiest and most sophisticated of this great city. If this is your thing you’ll be happy to be cavorting with dashing Armani suit sporting men with cute decked out Versace babes on the cushy couches. The dance floor can be compared to a postage stamp and sadly the place is only open in summer, but then with such trendy drinks and DJs spinning cool club tunes, it’s worth the wait through winter.
Sky Bar
Government 132 Queens Quay East
Toronto (Yonge St & Lake Shore Blvd E) Canada
Telephone: 416.869.0045
Funny Restaurant Names: C’est What?
contact November 27th, 2007
C’est What is a showcase for the diverse and vibrant global influences proliferating in Toronto.
Fresh meals unifying local culinary traditions are served alongside all natural craft brewed beers, award winning wines, and hand picked premium spirits. Original favorites include; the Lamburger, Falafel, Mango Chicken Salad, Moroccan Stew, Porter Beef Ribs, and the Tourtière. Their daily specials include home cooked soups, sandwiches, noodles, and curries.
Entrées are priced between $7 and $14. Opening hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., seven days a week.
C’est What
7 Front Street East
Toronto ON Canada
M5E 1B5
Telephone: 416-867-9499
A Seaton Dream Bed and Breakfast
contact November 26th, 2007
Located on a quiet street just minutes from Toronto’s major tourist attractions (CN tower, Eaton Centre, Royal Ontraio Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Convention Centre, Chinatown, Little Italy), A Seaton Dream Bed and Breakfast is tranquility right smack in the middle of a bustling city. The decor of this b&b has been carefully planned to ensure that you feel welcomed and relaxed and above all, comfortable. All the newly renovated suites have private ensuite bathrooms. Whether you are enjoying the Garden Patio, spending some much needed chill time in the Sauna, drifting off to sleep on the luxurious mattresses, or savouring a yummilicous hot breakfast, this place will make you feel at home every minute of your stay. If you are looking for a reasonably priced B&B that is luxurious yet casual, then this is the place. Whether your trip is for business or pleasure all of our rooms are equipped with high speed internet connections …so bring your laptop! We also have a safe in each bedroom for storage of passport and valuables.
Toronto Bed and Breakfast
243 Seaton Street • Toronto • Ontario • Canada M5A 2T5
Tel:(416) 929-3363 • Fax:(416) 929-8786 • Toll Free:1-866-878-8898
Website: Seaton Dream
Don’t Hate Toronto: A Brief History of Urbanophobia
contact November 25th, 2007
From The Toronto Star:
The prejudice of city-hating seems to be deeper, more persistent and more poisonous to progress in Canada than anywhere else in the world. That’s going to spell trouble in a century experts say will be defined by cities.
This week brought another sample of the disdain leaders in senior levels of government have for cities.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities on Tuesday warned that close to 80 per cent of the nation’s urban infrastructure, including roads and bridges, water and waste-removal systems, and transit are past their service life. The tab for replacing it is a staggering $123 billion.Yet pleas for help from the weakest level of government are almost always greeted by sophistry or condescension. This time the rebuffs came from the top tier of the federal government.
First up was Prime Minister Stephen Harper: He boasted of his government’s $33 billion infrastructure program, which actually goes to provinces, not cities, and in any case works out to a paltry annual $4.7 billion over seven years.
Next came Lawrence Cannon, Harper’s minister of transport and infrastructure, who passed the buck: “I call upon the cities to go and sit down with the provinces,” he said.And finally Jim Flaherty reminded cities of their comparatively trifling place in the universe: “We’re not in the pothole business in the Government of Canada,” said Harper’s finance minister, adding that the cities should stop “whining.”
North America is unique in its traditional denigration of cities.
The phenomenon is especially pronounced in Canada, where the urban centres, in which roughly 80 per cent of Canadians live — the country’s largest voting block — are powerless creatures of the provinces, with no constitutional standing and very limited spending powers, despite the massive downloading on to them in recent years of social-service and other responsibilities.
Almost wholly reliant for revenue on the property tax — one of the most regressive forms of taxation — municipalities are routinely depicted as feckless authors of their own misfortune whenever finding themselves staring into the fiscal abyss, even after, in Toronto’s case, accounting firm KPMG concluded in a study this year that the city is an able steward of its finances.
Toronto just lacks the money to do all that’s asked of it, a story that is repeated in scores of communities across the country.
“Many political leaders just don’t like cities,” says Richard Florida, the renowned U.S. urbanologist recently tapped to help launch the Prosperity Centre at Toronto’s Rotman School of Business. “They ofx ten think they can mobilize rural and suburban voters by running against cities.”
It might be that Western civilization traces its roots to city-states like Athens and Florence.
But suspicion of cities is as old as the Scriptures, where the Christian regard of urban life begins in Genesis with God’s wrath in destroying Babylon, Sodom and Gomorrah.
And in a New World that rejected much of the old, Henry David Thoreau despaired of the stress puppies in Boston and Philadelphia and retired to his Walden cabin far from “the desperate city.”
Even Lewis Mumford, one of the greatest urbanologists of the 20th century, worried about forces of alienation at work in cities grown too large.
“Democracy, in any active sense,” Mumford said in the 1960s, “begins and ends in communities small enough for their members to meet face to face.”
In the early days of modern neo-conservatism, prominent U.S. commentator George Gilder, appalled by the costly social-work burden cities had taken upon themselves beginning in the 1960s, described cities as “parasites,” ignoring the multitude of studies showing that national prosperity is tied to the rising affluence of urban dwellers.
More recently, the neo-conservative agenda has made room for an attack on progressive voters and U.S. cities teeming with Democrats.
“New Yorkers don’t really see themselves as part of the rest of America,” said American pundit Ann Coulter. “Americans understand that Manhattan is the Soviet Union.”
On a more sorrowful note, Joe Clark acknowledged that the easiest way to unite Canadians is to invoke their hatred of Toronto.
It helps when a nation’s capital is also its principal city. That way, federal politicians and mandarins get a daily experience of failing transit systems, decrepit schools and abandoned factories in wait need of creative redevelopment.
Outside Canada, great cities are regarded as national treasures, the face that countries show the world. Principal cities like Rome, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur, and even “sub-national” centres such as Shanghai, St. Petersburg and Edinburgh, are adequately funded by national governments.
Outside Canada, senior governments partner with cities in what are regarded as national projects.
Paris has funded a stunning makeover of the Charles de Gaulle airport in a successful bid to share European gateway status with Heathrow, Frankfurt and Amsterdam’s Schipol.
With Britain’s enthusiastic support, London is attempting to outmuscle New York as the world capital of finance.
Washington, whose ambivalence toward cities contrasts with Ottawa’s resolute disregard for them, financed Boston’s “Big Dig,” one of the largest U.S. urban-renewal megaprojects in American history.
And to help spur tourism in the gritty industrial city of Bilbao, Madrid footed much of the bill for Canadian expat Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao museum.
Outside Canada, cities have authority to collect local retail and income taxes, and they share in regional taxes. All that applies to U.S. cities, as well, which also have long been permitted to engage in debt-financing by issuing tax-free municipal bonds. Canadian cities, by contrast, are in a fiscal straitjacket, forbidden from running deficits, much less issuing and managing debt.
Yet Canadian cities have rarely been blessed with a confluence of conditions favourable to their future prospects — and to Canada’s.
The nation’s public finances are more sound than that of any G-8 country, enabling Canada to invest heavily in social as well as physical infrastructure to a degree not seen before.
Canadian cities consistently rank among the most liveable in the world. Canada’s receptivity to immigrants and America’s contrasting post-9/11 xenophobia is directing an unprecedented share of the world’s talent to Canada.
The strengthened loonie makes recruiting large numbers of leading scientists, academics, software engineers and corporate administrators away from strong-currency jurisdictions possible for the first time in decades.
These people want to live in cities. “Places that bring together diverse talent accelerate the local rate of economic development,” Florida writes on his blog (www.creativeclass.typepad.com).
“When large numbers of entrepreneurs, financiers, engineers, designers and other smart, creative people are constantly bumping into one another inside and outside of work, business ideas are more quickly formed, sharpened, executed, and — if successful —expanded.”
Globalization and the information age are accentuating the importance of cities, Thomas Courchene, director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University and one of Canada’s foremost public-policy experts, writes in a landmark June report for the Institute for Research on Public Policy, Global Futures for Canada’s Global Cities.
Courchene describes a “virtuous circle” by which global city regions can take “actions that make them attractive to human capital, which, in turn, allows them to become magnets for attracting knowledge-based industries.
“Evidence suggests that privileging Canada’s `hub cities’ will propel them and their hinterlands forward economically.”
Yet Canadian cities are starved of the cash to fund such a renaissance.
“The international evidence on our global city regions’ fiscal weakness is striking,” Courchene warns.
“Cities like Stockholm, Berlin, Vienna and Helsinki spend twice as much and Copenhagen and Amsterdam three times as much per capita (on infrastructure, social services and cultural amenities) as Toronto does.
“This suggests that there is ample scope for decentralization in Canada to go beyond devolution of money and power from Ottawa to the provinces.”
Bottom line: It’s time Canada’s communities were funded directly by Ottawa, which is projecting $26 billion in excess funds over the next six years.
Cities should also be given the capital-raising tools common to cities elsewhere in the world.
It would help immensely if mayors like Toronto’s David Miller had quasi-premier status, with complete control over the city bureaucracy and all-important budget that New York’s Michael Bloomberg wields.
It would seem obvious that municipalities have unrivalled competence in understanding and dealing with the multitude of issues in their jurisdictions.
In the prolonged absence of visionary leadership from Ottawa or provincial capitals, “on urban planning, environment, transportation, education, refugee settlement, public health and many other policies the true innovators in Canada and the U.S. have been mayors,” says Florida.
It’s time to withhold political support from leaders who don’t grasp that urbanity will shape this century even more than the last one.
We have nothing to lose but elected representatives who take our votes for granted, impeding municipal and national progress and inviting our civic deterioration.
[source]
Fred Flintstone & pedal powered cars beware
contact November 24th, 2007
From Spacing Toronto:
“Today the driver of the artwork titled “Shared Propulsion Car” — arrested on Queen Street on October 25th — appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to operating an unsafe vehicle. The car, pictured here on Queen, is on display at Mercer Union (37 Lisgar Street) until December 8th. The rest of the story from Mercer Union:
On October 25th Toronto Police arrested the driver of Shared Propulsion Car, an artwork by the 2007 Sobey Award winner Michel de Broin, on Queen Street West. A trial date has been set for April 3rd, 2008.
The revolutionary vehicle consists of a 1986 Buick Regal body stripped of its engine, suspension, transmission and electrical system, and propelled by the energy of its passengers. The vehicle retains the illusion of the mass-produced luxury automobile, but is now reduced to a shell, with a top speed of 15km per hour. This unique car requires no…..”
More Photos of Toronto
contact November 23rd, 2007
How can one NOT be enamoured by photos of Toronto? Check out the website Toronto Area Photoblogs, featuring Toronto’s best and the brightest in the world of photography.
“Hot” Plans for Affordable Housing
contact November 22nd, 2007
From Eye Weekly:
With the vote on Toronto’s new “revenue tools” out of the way, the city can finally start concentrating on other issues. A big one that didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserved during the provincial election — though many have deemed it a crisis — is affordable housing. Today, the city released a framework called Housing Opportunities Toronto (HOT), with the goal to develop a 10-year blueprint for meeting Toronto’s affordable housing needs. The public have been invited to comment on this document so that, much like the with city’s recent climate change plan, everyone will have the opportunity to make sure that city council ultimately approves a framework that works.
It’s wonderful to see the city finally pull together a plan on this issue. Some of you might recall that over a year ago, the Wellesley Institute released it’s own 10-year Blueprint to End Homelessness in Toronto. The idea was to push all three levels of government to at least adopt a similar strategy by showing how it could be done — including how governments could afford it. The Institute offers a…
Eye Weekly
contact November 21st, 2007
Just arrived in Toronto and feel a bit lost as to what to do? Just grab the excellent resource Eye Weekly. It’s probably the best free paper with all of the happenings around town. With a variety of arts and entertainment listings, you would be insane if you couldn’t find something just for you.
Toronto Zoo
contact November 20th, 2007
You didn’t know? Yes, Toronto has a zoo. It’s called the Toronto Zoo. It’s a perfect day outing with the kids.
The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in the north eastern part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word ‘Metropolitan’ was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were merged to form the present-day City of Toronto. The zoo is located near the Rouge River. It is one of the day use areas of Rouge Park, one of Canada’s largest urban natural environment parks, and is open every day except Christmas day.
Encompassing 287 hectares (710 acres), the Toronto Zoo is one of the largest in the world. It is divided into four zoogeographic regions with numerous indoor pavilions and outdoor exhibits. The zoo is home to over 5,000 animals representing over 460 distinct species.
The zoo is accessible from Highway 401 (2 km away), or by TTC buses from Don Mills or Kennedy station. There was at one point a proposed extension of the TTC’s Scarborough Rapid Transit line, which might have stopped at the zoo, but the plan was dropped because of the low demand and the high cost of running the Scarborough RT’s linear induction motor-driven vehicles.
The evolution of the Toronto Zoo begins back in 1888 with the opening of the Riverdale Zoo. The old zoo was converted into an urban farm called Riverdale Farm. The Riverdale Zoo was a typical example of a zoo during this time, with animals displayed as curiosities in dark cages and cramped enclosures.
It wasn’t until 1963 when a private citizen’s brief to build a new zoo was introduced. In 1966, eleven citizens met at City Hall to form the Metropolitan Toronto Zoological Society. In 1967, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto approved the Rouge Park site in Scarborough for a new zoo. The following year, a Feasibility Study on the new zoo was submitted by architect Raymond Moriyama. Construction of the new zoo began in 1970. On August 15, 1974 the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo was open to the public. The zoo increased from 3 to nearly 300 hectares and is now one of the largest in the world. The Zoo introduced some innovative designs to enhance not only the public’s viewing experience but also the animals’ living comfort. Animals were displayed in naturalized environments and grouped according to their zoogeographic region.
In 1976, the Zoo opened the Canadian Domain Ride, a monorail that travelled into the Zoo’s Canadian Domain area, located in the Rouge Valley. The ride ceased operations in July 1994 after an accident. The monorail has since been dismantled and replaced by the Zoomobile, a tractor-pulled ride.
Between 1980 and 1983 several new exhibits were added to the Zoo, including Gaur, a children’s zoo (Littlefootland), a new indoor habitat for African Elephants and Snow Leopards.
In 1985, Qinn Qinn and Shayan - a pair of Giant Pandas, on loan for three months from the Peoples’ Republic of China were displayed at the Zoo. The Zoo broke all previous attendance records, as thousands of visitors came to see these rare animals. Over the years, the Zoo has presented other rare or unusual animals, including: Golden Monkeys (1986), Koalas (1988 and again in 1996), and White Lions (1995).
In 1998, with the amalgamation of the Metro Municipalities, the Zoo was officially renamed the Toronto Zoo. That same year, the Zoo opened the Africa Savannah exhibit, the largest expansion in its history. In 2000, the Zoo opened the Gorilla Rainforest, the world’s largest indoor habitat for Lowland Gorillas. The zoo’s ‘Splash Island’, an educationally-themed waterpark, opened in 2002. This was followed by an open-air theatre in 2003 and the ‘Kid’s Zoo’ in 2004 featuring exhibits geared to guests 10 and under.
The SARS crisis in 2003 had a devastating effect on the tourism industry in Toronto, including the Zoo. The Zoo’s attendance is slowly recovering from the after-effects of these events.
On August 21, 2007, the Tundra Exhibit was closed for expansion and renovations.
[photo and info from wikipedia]
Gift Ideas: Toronto Travel Books
contact November 19th, 2007
The holidays are rolling around the corner. And fast. Don’t get into the last minute scramble of gift buying, because you know what happens then? You get something for someone and it is so totally inappropriate for them because you simply got fed up with the grumpy crowd, and you bought any ole thing so you could escape. Sound familiar?
Sorry to remind you of sad remembrances of things past but how about getting your loved one a trip to Toronto? Give them a travel book and they’ll then wonder why you’ve given that to them for Christmas. Then the lightbulb moment will turn on (hopefully) and you then have to plan your wonderful trip to the largest city in Canada. Here are some suggestions:
1. Lonely Planet Toronto
2. Fodor’s Toronto
3. Top 10 Toronto
Photos of Toronto
contact November 18th, 2007
There are lovely and fun photos at Flickr of Toronto frontward, backward and sideways, whatever THAT means. I guess I mean you’ll find everything under the sun on these great photos of my favorite Canadian city.
Hidden Gem Restaurants: Le Petit Déjeuner
contact November 17th, 2007
In French, “Le Petit Dejeuner” means breakfast, so it would be very understandable to see that this retro-y, organic bohemian chic establishment thrives on the 1st meal of the day crowd (but do also check out their dinners!). Their weekend brunches are not to be missed and you will not regret having to wait in the long queue for it. It’s a great reward to get the lovely food, from Chef Johan Maes (trained with Michelin star chefs in France), to your mouth after your stomach’s been growling for a while. Grab some apple pancakes, eggs benedict, paninis and more at this hidden gem in Toronto.
Le Petit Dejeuner
191 King St. E. (at Jarvis St.)
416-703-1560