Tips about Toronto » trivia

My Favorite Movie Theatre: Bloor Cinema

contact — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:05:55 +0000

Bloor Cinema rules. It is a real, traditional, old school movie theatre for true movie buffs – showing classic favorite movies. If you’ve never been to an old theater and want to experience what your parents or grandparents experienced, check out Bloor. Its wonderful sticky floors, movie classics as well as more obscure gems, cheap tickets, squeeky seats, more than 800 seats, true movie house smells, gummy worms… will just make you sigh. In a good way. What is NOT to like about this place!? Tell me.

The Bloor Cinema is a host for gobs of film festivals, movie premieres, special gala events, classic films and Hollywood blockbusters. They showcase a variety of perspectives from across Canada and around the world: independent films, fascinating stories, important documentaries and sometimes just wild, unbridled entertainment.

This historic landmark should be a must-see item on your list when visiting Toronto, whether you go see a movie or not. LOVE this place.

Browsing tonight’s listing, I noticed that Ghost World (with Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi) is playing. Don’t miss that excellent film!

Bloor Cinema
506 Bloor Street West,
Toronto ON M5S1Y2 Canada
(416) 516-2331

Tips, Tools, Rebates to Live Green in Toronto

contact — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:06:23 +0000

Check out Live Green Toronto, a one-stop resource for living friendly and green in our favorite Canadian city. There you willl discover literally hundreds of extremely easy ways to contribute to a healthier, lovelier, greener planet. Get inspired. Get motivated. Get a rebate!

Live Green Toronto

Heritage Toronto Walks

contact — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:05:47 +0000

Discover Toronto’s rich and fascinating past by taking a walk. Hey, not only will you get that much needed exercise, you’ll be adding even more knowledge to that noggin of yours.

Today, the walk is through Bâby Point to learn about 10,000 Years of History, but the walk won’t take 10,000 years, rest assured. Explore some of Toronto’s First Nations and French history with this tour of the area named after the estate of James Bâby, an early French settler. Hear about the Seneca village of Teiaiagon, the Carrying Place trail and the first French fort in what is now Toronto. Tours will be offered in English and French. It all begins at 1:30pm today so if you can make it, you won’t regret the last minute plans. The walk will last approximately 2 to 2.5 hours. Meet at the southwest corner of Jane St and Bâby Point Rd/Annette St. You will end your walk near Old Mill Subway Station.

July 26 – 1:00pm – 3pm – you’ll find yourself in the footsteps of black Victorians. In the 19th century, Toronto was a centre of antislavery organizations and Black cultural and political activities. Hear about the men and women of the community as we visit some of the sites known to them. Meet at South St. Lawrence Market, 95 Front St E at Jarvis. End at Mackenzie House, 82 Bond St, S of Dundas St.

August through October

AUGUST
Lambton Mills (Aug 9 2008 – 1:30pm)
African-Canadian Women in Early Toronto (Aug 10 2008 – 1:00pm)
Cabbagetown People: Discoveries of Remarkable Lives (Aug 16 2008 – 1:30pm)
The Royal Alexandra Theatre and Its Neighbourhood (Aug 17 2008 – 11:00am)
Faces on Places: Gargoyles and Other Architectural Ornament (Aug 23 2008 – 1:30pm)
Edwards Gardens and Wilket Creek (Aug 24 2008 – 1:30pm)
Colourful Corktown (Aug 24 2008 – 1:30pm)

SEPTEMBER
Spadina: The Story of an Estate & Its Neighbourhood (Sep 6 2008 – 1:30pm)
The Guild Inn Gardens (Sep 7 2008 – 1:30pm)
Weston Side Story – All Around the Town (Sep 13 2008 – 1:00pm)
Yorkville (Sep 14 2008 – 11:00am)
Imagining Toronto’s Past – CANCELLED (Sep 20 2008 – 1:30pm)
Wellington Place Neighbourhood (Sep 21 2008 – 1:30pm)
Historic Moore Park (Sep 27 2008 – 1:30pm)
Fort York: 200 Years of Lakefront Development (Sep 28 2008 – 1:30pm)

OCTOBER
Exhibition Place: Ghostly Secrets Revealed (Oct 3 2008 – 7:00pm)
Swansea: The Country in the City (Oct 4 2008 – 1:30pm)
Thomson Pioneer Settlement (Oct 5 2008 – 1:30pm)

More information about Heritage Toronto Walks

[via]

Canadians Don’t Back Out

contact — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:08:08 +0000

From the globeandmail:

This week, Collected Wisdom is driving to the supermarket in its luxury Globe and Mail company car — a 1978 AMC Gremlin. But do we reverse into that parking space or drive forward into it?

THE QUESTION: Mississauga’s Tom Landre wondered why so many people back their cars into parking spots in parking lots. “More than a few times, I have been walking through a parking lot and been startled by a vehicle that had backed in and was suddenly moving forward toward me. If they had pulled in forward, then I, as a pedestrian, would have two signals for their departure. First the brake lights would come on and then the reversing lights.”

THE ANSWER: Well, we received a huge number of responses on this on. Many thanks to all who wrote in, but unfortunately we have room for only a few of the replies.

“I always try to park so that I can drive forward out of the space rather than backing out,” writes Barbara Pettit of Fergus, Ont. “When backing out, with all the vans, trucks and SUVs on both sides, it’s almost impossible to see if it’s safe to back out. If you drive out, you can see, with much less of your vehicle sticking out into the driving lane, whether something is coming.”

As for pedestrians, she says, although they may not have as much visual information about when a vehicle is about to drive out of a space as they do when one is about to back out, the driver has a much better chance of seeing the pedestrian.

John Reid of Mississauga says driving front-first out of a parking spot is safer for pedestrians because eye contact can be easily made between driver and pedestrian to ensure that both are aware of each other.

David Sword of Willowdale, Ont., adds that backing into parking spaces is far safer than backing out because “you are backing into an empty and known space that is clear of pedestrian and vehicle traffic.”

Peter J. Ogloff of New Westminster, B.C., says it is much easier to back into a tight parking space than to drive forward into it because when you are in reverse, your turning circle centres on the rear wheels, making for a better turn.

Meanwhile, “if Mr. Landre needs signals from a vehicle that it is pulling out of a parking space,” writes Cecil Bush of Toronto, “there should still be the two signals he seeks — one when the running lights come on as the vehicle is put in gear, and the other when the driver uses the turn signals to indicate whether he is turning left or right — although, admittedly, the latter is now seldom done.”

The final word, perhaps for owners of 1978 Gremlins, comes from Duncan Boyce of Toronto: “If your battery dies and you need a boost, it can be very problematic for battery cables to reach your car if the engine is not at the front of the parking spot.”

HELP WANTED

“Now that the football season is well under way,” writes David Bryant of Regina, “I was wondering why, in a country that has been metric for decades, the Canadian game is measured in yards and not metres.” The field being 110 yards long is ready-made for a very tidy conversion to almost exactly 100 metres.

“I was reading a book that mentioned that bell-bottom pants were long associated with the Royal Navy,” says John Manuel of Golden, B.C. He wonders if there was a functional reason for this.

Happy Canada Day!

contact — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:05:55 +0000

ok. I’m a day late. Sorry.

From pch.gc.ca:

Background

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty’s loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1st.

The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day.

There is no record of organized ceremonies after this first anniversary, except for the 50th anniversary of Confederation in 1917, at which time the new Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, under construction, was dedicated as a memorial to the Fathers of Confederation and to the valour of Canadians fighting in the First World War in Europe.

The next celebration was held in 1927 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation. It was highlighted by the laying of the cornerstone by the Governor General of the Confederation Building on Wellington Street and the inauguration of the Carillon in the Peace Tower.

Since 1958, the government has arranged for an annual observance of Canada’s national day with the Secretary of State of Canada in charge of the coordination. The format provided for a Trooping the Colours ceremony on the lawn of Parliament Hill in the afternoon, a sunset ceremony in the evening followed by a mass band concert and fireworks display.

Another highlight was Canada’s Centennial in 1967 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended the celebrations with Parliament Hill again being the backdrop for a large scale official ceremony.

The format changed in 1968 with the addition of multicultural and professional concerts held on Parliament Hill including a nationally televised show. Up until 1975, the focus of the celebrations, under the name “Festival Canada”, was held in the National Capital Region during the whole month of July and involved numerous cultural, artistic and sport activities, as well as municipalities and voluntary organizations. The celebration was cancelled in 1976 but was reactivated in 1977.

A new formula was developed in 1980 whereby the National Committee (the federal government organization charged with planning Canada’s Birthday celebrations) stressed and sponsored the development of local celebrations all across Canada. “Seed money” was distributed to promote popular and amateur activities organized by volunteer groups in hundreds of local communities. The same approach was also followed for the 1981 celebrations with the addition of fireworks displays in 15 major cities across the nation.

On October 27, 1982, July 1st which was known as “Dominion Day” became “Canada Day”.

Since 1985, Canada Day Committees are established in each province and territory to plan, organize and coordinate the Canada Day celebrations locally. Grants are provided by the Department to those committees.

tags: toronto canada canada day

Seen in Toronto

contact — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:07:09 +0000

From woostercollective!

Featured City: Toronto

contact — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:06:31 +0000

Make sure to head over to concierge where they’ve featured our favorite Canadian city of Toronto. Here’s what they say about Toronto in a nutshell:

“* It’s a chowhound’s paradise, with everything from Nigerian to Laotian, Moroccan to Azerbaijani food

* An architectural renaissance is transforming the skyline with additions by Daniel Libeskind and native son Frank Gehry

* Toronto has become one of the most ethnically diverse cities on the continent, with lively neighborhoods, festivals, and restaurants to match

* The Eaton Centre. It’s a big suburban-style mall with all the wrong kinds of shopping

* When to go to Toronto: May, June, September, October”

More here

Canadians Pay Less Taxes Than Americans

contact — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:06:43 +0000

From the economist:

“PAYING TAXES is, for most people, both unavoidable and irksome. But how much hard-earned pay is taken by governments varies considerably across the world. Among the rich countries of the OECD, Germans shell out the most, with a worker earning an average income giving 43% of their gross pay to the state, with nearly half of that going towards social security. Workers in Poland hand over nearly 25% of their wages to social security; whereas Australians pay nothing at all directly. Mexicans and South Koreans enjoy the lightest taxation by some way.”

See the chart

11,000 Video Camera Eyes Will Be Watching You

contact — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:06:15 +0000

From the star:

“Surveillance cameras make TTC riders feel safer and the plan to dramatically expand their numbers is okay with Ann Cavoukian, Ontario’s privacy commissioner.

“Installing 11,000 cameras on buses, streetcars, subway cars and in stations complies with privacy standards, Cavoukian said yesterday when she released the results of her investigation.

But the TTC must make some changes to ensure the network of seeing eyes is used only for legitimate purposes and never for voyeurism, as has happened in other cities, she said.

Cavoukian urged that the TTC:

Delete video data after three days unless it’s needed for a police investigation.
Conduct annual audits to make sure privacy rules are followed.
Test a privacy-enhancing technology, under development at University of Toronto, that automatically encrypts people’s images.
The recommendations are meant to balance the legitimate needs for transit system safety and passenger privacy, Cavoukian stated.

TTC chair Adam Giambrone endorsed her findings and said his staff will be coming back with a plan for implementing them.

Privacy International, the London-based organization whose complaint trigged Cavoukian’s investigation, was less pleased.

“It is clear … the Commissioner has given up the ghost of privacy and become resigned to the inevitability of video surveillance technology,” the group said on its website.

The group argues there is no public-interest justification for the $21 million security system….”

Continue

Toronto Power Company

contact — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:06:14 +0000

From vanishing point:

“Imagine a tunnel more than ten storeys underground, a hundred years old, bricklined, wet, and completely inaccessible save by descending through a narrow slit in its ceiling thirty feet above the floor, and then returning up the same rope you came down.

Now imagine that this tunnel flows into Niagara Falls, emerging behind the pummeling curtain of water that nearly everyone in North America journeys to see at some point in their lives.

This tunnel exists. In the autumn of 2004, thanks to the work of two people with the experience and equipment to make it happen, I had the chance to feel Niagara Falls.

Hydroelectric generating stations work by capturing the kinetic energy of falling water and converting it into mechanical energy using a turbine and then into electricity in a generator mounted at the other end of the turbine. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this technology had just begun to reach industrial maturity, and something of a race developed among competing private interests to capture the gravitational potential of the most spectacular water feature in Eastern North America, Niagara Falls….”

Continue

[Via]

Toronto could be debt-free by 2010

contact — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:05:52 +0000

From the National Post:

The City of Toronto, which has insisted for years it cannot escape a fiscal straightjacket created by the province, could be debt-free by 2010, according to an independent panel whose recommendations include tolling expressways, taxing parking lots, streamlining city operations, beefing up the mayor’s powers and studying the sale of assets including Toronto Hydro, the Toronto Parking Authority and Enwave.

Authored by six eminent Torontonians hand-selected by the Mayor, the report identifies up to $3.5-billion that could be squeezed out of city assets — either by selling them or finding other ways to extract more money from them — and urges council to axe $50-million in spending this year and $150-million in future years.

“Ultimately, if you could implement this and you had the will to implement this, you could get to a situation where Toronto is debt-free and [has] a balanced budget … within three years,” said panelist Paul Massara, the president of Genesis Capital Corporation, in a meeting with the National Post’s editorial board. “The question is, is there the political will?”

At the top of the panel’s wish list is fixing the “broken” …

Scenes of Toronto in Movies

contact — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:11:45 +0000

Milla Jovovich climbing down the wall of City Hall, helicopters and approaching zombies, and Toronto being nuked in Resident Evil – Apocalypse.

Brinks truck blowing up in Nathan Phillips Square in The Kidnapping of the President.

Train crashing through a wall of Union Station in Silver Streak.

Santa Claus with a gun pushing his way down an escalator in the Eaton Centre in Silent Partner.

Danny DeVito climbing over cars in traffic jam in Other People’s Money.

Claude Van Damme’s chase through the Zanzibar strip club and down Yonge Street in Maximum Risk.

Crowds rushing out of the University cinema in Strange Brew.

Racing car chase along University Avenue and Molson Indy in Driven.

Exploding bomb at Woodbine race track in Bait.

Geena Davis standing across from Honest Ed’s sign in The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Rock band Lighthouse playing at U of T in Frankenstein on Campus. Other bands that have had acting rolls include Rough Trade, Bare Naked Ladies, and The Tragically Hip.

Man alone in the world in the future shot at the new Science Centre, Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future.

Crowd outside of the CN tower in the climax of Canadian Bacon.

A TD bank tower containing a drug bank in Half Baked.

Casa Loma as the school for training the X-Men.

U of T in so many films like The Skulls, Superstar, Good Will Hunting, PCU and horror ones.

[Source: FIT]

How well do you know Canada? Play this game!

contact — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:08:48 +0000

Canada is big and most people outside of Canada do not know the geography very well. Especially……yup….Americans. That’s ok; all hope is not lost. Just learn more about it by playing this game. If you think you know Canada well, test your confidence about that with this fun geography game.

It quizzes you and you click on your answer. It’ll then tell you how close you were to it. (or how far depending on your attitude )

Play now

Quotes About Torontonians

contact — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:06:01 +0000

“I like Toronto; the people are really chill.” ~ Rihanna

How Many Languages are Spoken in Toronto?

contact — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 23:07:45 +0000

From World66:

Over 180 languages are spoken in Toronto! There are large numbers of people from China, India, Jamaica, Greek, The British Isles, The Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Somalia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Nigeria, Germany, Korea, etc.

The Gift of Glenn Gould

contact — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:09:19 +0000

For the longest time, I couldn’t listen to The Goldberg Variations without thinking about Hannibal (The Cannibal) Lechter from Silence of the Lambs – let alone eat fava beans.

It made me sad because I love this recording by Glenn Gould. Luckily, I did overcome it and disassociated the two. Finally. Yay.

My baggage aside, one of the best things you can do for your life, is to stop everything and JUST listen to beautiful music for a while. You don’t have to spend the entire day doing this; just spend some allotted time to step away from the chaos of life, and just…chill. And chilling with music rules. Some of you are so used to multi-tasking and always doing a million things at the same time. You know I’m talking about you. Your days are filled with a continuous string of tasks back to back to back sans cesse, if you know what I mean. Calm, serenity, quiet, peaceful – well, these words do not exist in your life’s vocabulary.

Cut it out!

Do yourself a favor and find great music, like Glenn Gould: The Complete Original Jacket Collection

So…..WHY am I writing about Glenn Gould on this Toronto blog? I thought you’d never ask. Glenn Gould was born in Toronto on September 25, 1932. Thought you’d like that bit of trivia.

About Glenn Gould: The Complete Original Jacket Collection
Each of the 60 single and 9 double CDs consists of the exact recordings as first issued on vinyl and looks like a miniaturised form of the original disc: the CDs are in cardboard slipcases in the original design, and the CD itself is designed to look like a LP.

Supplemented by two bonus CDs, the limited “Glenn Gould Complete Jacket Collection” comprises 80 CDs mounted in a high-quality display case with a booklet of more than 240 pages. This booklet contains a new, detailed essay by the German Gould specialist Michael Stegemann on Glenn Gould and the LP recording era along with texts and repertoire details to all recordings in the edition, plus a listing and depiction of the records with reissue dates for repertoire that has appeared before.

The bonus CDs include the last great interview that Glenn Gould gave the American journalist Tim Page in 1981 and an essay on Johann Sebastian Bach and the fugue that Gould recorded in 1972 for a bonus LP. They also feature a number of late recordings that never appeared on vinyl: fragments of the “Italian Album” and Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll in its orchestral version — Gould’s recording debut as conductor and his last recording of all, made on 8 September 1982 with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Another rarity is Gould’s own film music to George Roy Hill’s Slaughterhouse Five from 1972.

Nearly Half of Toronto Area Residents Are Immigrants

contact — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:07:25 +0000

From CBC:

The Toronto region has experienced substantial growth in its immigrant population over the last five years, according to new census data released Tuesday.

Statistics Canada released information from the 2006 census that gives a snapshot of people who came from other countries to live here. It reveals that most people moving to Canada are flocking to large urban centres, especially Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Demographic experts have predicted that Canada’s population growth will be almost entirely dependent on immigration by 2030 and communities that don’t attract new Canadians may see steady declines in population.

A shrinking population can have a host of economic and social consequences, including a fragile local economy starved for workers that, in turn, discourages much-needed investment. Business and school closures can result, and as the declining population ages the delivery of social services such as health care becomes strained.

Some communities find it difficult to attract immigrants because new Canadians tend to choose large cities where their families have already settled and where they can obtain the services they will need.

The latest census statistics show that immigrants make up 45.7 per cent of the Toronto area population. Five years earlier, immigrants represented 43.7 per cent of the population. In terms of recent immigration, the number of immigrants who lived in the region increased to 2,320,160 from 2,032,960 between 2001 and 2006.

During the same five-year period since the 2001 census, the overall population of Toronto region increased by 9.2 per cent — compared to a provincial gain of 6.6 per cent and a national growth rate of 5.4 per cent.

The immigration figures shows that about one out of every five Canadians was born in another country. In the Toronto region the ratio is almost one out of every two, while for Ontario, it’s more than one out of every four.

The national figures are skewed by the concentration of immigrants in the metropolitan regions of Toronto, Vancouver (39.6 per cent) and Montreal (20.6).

In terms of the country of origin for foreign-born people in the Toronto area, the highest proportion came from…

Celebs Born in Toronto

contact — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:06:00 +0000

Lots of celebrities were born in Canada, and in particular, in our great city of Toronto. I thought you’d like to see which celebs are from Toronto, so the next time you see them in-person (yeah, like when?) you can say, “Hey you Canuck!” They’d appreciate that, eh? Ok. Maybe not. Here they are, anyway, fyi:
Dave Foley (1963) – Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 1/4/1963
Mike Myers (1963) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 5/25/1963
Jim Carrey (1962) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 1/17/1962
Rick Moranis (1954) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 4/18/1954
John Candy (b. 1950 – d. 1994) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 10/31/1950
Lorne Michaels (1946) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 11/17/1946
Neil Young (1945) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 11/12/1945
Robbie Robertson (1944) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 7/5/1944
David Cronenberg (1943) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 3/15/1943
Christopher Plummer (1927) Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 12/13/1927

The Fun Advertising Minds of Toronto

contact — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:07:02 +0000

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

Toronto Trivia: City Size Comparison

contact — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:06:33 +0000

Toronto is the 5th-largest city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Interesting Transit Facts

contact — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:11:27 +0000

From : wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au/pu…nadian.htm

Toronto is far less dominated by cars and indeed is the best North American example of transit-oriented development (Kenworthy and Newman, 1994). From 1960 to 1990 there was a large growth of 127% in Metro Toronto’s transit use up to 350 trips per capita, which represents European levels of transit ridership.

Even Greater Toronto, which includes the lower density, more car-oriented suburbs of the region had 210 transit trips per capita in 1990, by far the biggest in North America and some 35% higher than the next best metropolitan region, New York.

The central city area (CBD) of Toronto has continued to grow in population over the past decades, adding some 20,000 new dwellings between 1975 and 1988 (Nowlan and Stewart, 1992), and Metro Toronto’s density increased by 13% between 1960 and 1990 (particularly along its transit lines).

Metro Toronto with its 2.3 million people. As a result, it has been able to revitalise the downtown area and to develop a density in Metro Toronto (41 persons per ha) that is closer to European levels than American. Even the greater Toronto area has a density of 26 persons per ha, which is almost double the average US and Australian metropolitan densities.

Metro Toronto’s 22 smaller sub-cities, together with a healthy downtown which has even managed to reduce parking supply per 1000 jobs by 11% between 1980 and 1990, provide the basis for a viable transit system.

Toronto’s new central city housing has reduced the morning peak by 100 cars for every 120 units built (Nowlan and Stewart, 1992). There are families living in the city centre in the European tradition, which of course greatly enhances the vitality and safety of the public spaces.

Recent trends in Toronto are threatening to take some of the gloss away from these gains for sustainability as large scale cuts in the transit system have been implemented causing reductions in patronage (Pucher, 1995).

A significant part of these problems are the many changes in urban governance which are being implemented in Toronto and other Canadian urban regions and which are pushing towards a model of fragmentation in urban government, the politics of local self-interest and harmful competition between municipalities. These changes are tending to favour auto-dependent land use and transportation planning (Raad and Kenworthy, 1998).

What??! Not My Toronto? Ok, It’s At Least #5

contact — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:06:02 +0000

From cbc:

Vancouver has been ranked the best place to live in the world for the fifth year in a row in a survey by the Economist magazine, while Toronto took fifth place out of 132 cities.

Top 10 cities Livability index (%)*

1. Vancouver 1.3
2. Melbourne 1.8
3. Vienna 2.3
4. Perth 2.5
5. Toronto 3.0
6. Adelaide 3.0
7. Sydney 3.2
8. Copenhagen 3.7
9. Geneva 3.9
10. Zurich 3.9
(*0% indicates exceptional quality of living and 100% indicates an intolerable one)

The two Canadian cities rank among the top five because they have low crime rates, little threat from instability or terrorism, and a highly developed transport and communications infrastructure, says the survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Vancouver scored a livability index of 1.3 per cent, with zero indicating exceptional quality of living and 100 indicating life there is intolerable or severely restricted.

A good transportation system helped Vancouver top the Economist’s list of the world’s most livable cities, again.A good transportation system helped Vancouver top the Economist’s list of the world’s most livable cities, again.
(Charlie Cho/CBC)

Toronto’s livability index was 3.0.

Australia also fared well in the survey, securing four spots among the top 10 cities.

Algiers came in at the bottom of the ranking. Nine cities, including Algiers, present the worst-case scenario in which most aspects of living quality are severely restricted, according to the survey.

The EIU’s livability ranking is part of the magazine’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.

The survey considered 40 individual factors in categories such as stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure.

Toronto’s Geography

contact — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:08:29 +0000

Toronto – the name derived from the Huron word for “fishing weir” – is on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario at Latitude 43 39 N, Longitude 79 23 W.

Located on a broad sloping plateau cut by numerous river valleys, Toronto covers 641 sq.km. and stretches 43 km from east to west and 21 km from north to south at its longest points. The perimeter is approximately 180 km. More stats:

* waterfront is 76.5 meters above sea level; shoreline stretches 43 km (as the crow flies) or 138 km if you factor in the bays and islands
* highest point is 209 m (at intersection of Steeles Ave West and Keele St)
* 307 km of rivers and creeks run through the city; all flow into Lake Ontario and are part of the Atlantic Ocean Drainage Basin
* most northerly point is the intersection of Steeles Ave E. and Pickering Town Line
* most southerly point is Lake Ontario’s shoreline at the border between Toronto and Mississauga
* most easterly point is the meeting of the Rouge River and shoreline of Lake Ontario
* most westerly point is the intersection of Steeles Ave W. and Albion Road
* Toronto is in plant hardiness zone 6, and on the eastern edge of the Carolinian Forest zone
* there are 1500 parks and 8,000 hectares of parklands – (ravines, valleys, woodlots, waterfront natural areas, parks and farmland), or 18.1 per cent of city’s area. There are also 187 km of bike paths, 7.8 km of pedestrian paths, and 3 million publicly owned trees.
* in geological terms Toronto sits atop sedimentary rock – part of the St Lawrence Platform geological zone (as is all of southern Ontario)

Statistic source: Land Information Toronto, Parks & Recreation, Natural Resources Canada

Toronto is Big

contact — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:05:59 +0000

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and home to over 5 million people. Thought you’d enjoy that bit of trivia.

Toronto Residents are SMART

contact — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:06:46 +0000

Toronto residents hold more university educations than in any other country, in the world, based on percentage of the population, and from a study by the OECD.

Snap!

Toronto Trivia – The Islands

contact — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:08:40 +0000

Did you know that the beautiful Toronto Islands protect Toronto’s natural harbour? Did you even KNOW that Toronto HAD any islands? The islands are comprised of park areas, nature reserves and protected wetlands, maintained by the Toronto’s Parks Department.

Private vehicles are not permitted on the Toronto islands.

[photo courtesy of wikipedia]

Tell me, What is the Capital of Canada?

contact — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:06:02 +0000

Uh huh. I know you might be thinking that this website is Toronto-centric, sooooooooo Toronto, right? Duh, the obvious? Do you take me for a fool, you may be thinking. Your final answer is Toronto, you say?

WRONG.

The Capital of Canada is…. drum roll here …. OTTAWA!

I felt like being a brat today.

That is all.

Louis Vuitton Graffiti

contact — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:07:04 +0000

This is from viewonfashion:

The Louis Vuitton ad campaign for the Stephen Sprouse collection is really amazing, and it´s a great branding tool too. All around the world, LV shops are using graffiti to promote this long-awaited collection which is already a big sales hit.

To promote the launch of the Louis Vuitton book that pays tribute to Stephen Sprouse, they´ve got legendary graffiti artist Skam to paint an LV mural in Toronto.

Gift from Canada: Coffee!

contact — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:07:31 +0000

Looking for a perfect Gift from Canada? How about a original 39 oz freshly sealed coffee for a low price! You get a large 1.1 kg tin can of fine grind coffee enough to make a month supply of coffee. Coffee comes directly from Tim Horton’s Warehouse. Tim Hortons Coffee! You’ve heard about the fantastic taste of Tim Hortons brand coffe – affectionately known as “Timmy’s”. Millions of cups of fresh brew are sold across Canada and in some US states on a daily basis. Most people say it’s better than Starbucks! It’s as fresh as can be! Each can contains 39 oz or 1.2 kilograms of Canada’s best fine ground coffee, made from 100% Arabica Beans and NO preservatives. For use in automatic filter drip coffee makers. BRAND NEW & HERMTICALLY SEALED TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS!! Each of these tins will brew approximately 24 full pots of coffee, or many more pots if you making smaller batches for 1-2 people. My wife drinks this brand EVERY morning with her breakfast. She just loves it. A fresh can of Famous Canadian Tim Hortons fine grind coffee. It is the huge 39oz = 1.1KG Giant Size = 2 pounds plus.

Get some coffee that’s better than Starbucks

Why Everybody Hates Toronto

contact — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:08:23 +0000

This is the book Toronto doesn’t want you to read! Tired of Hogtown’s constant preening, pretentiousness and pomposity? This book is for you. This book is also for hard-core Toronto fans – if they have the patience to read to the end (they aren’t known for their patience). “Why Everybody Hates Toronto” is based on survey data and exhaustive research (the author tires easily). “Why Everybody Hates Toronto” is an insightful, witty, informative and wonderful look at one of the world’s great cities. Soon to be a major best-seller! Warning: Despite the book’s flippant tone and very funny overall approach, the book also contains some surprising depth and insight concerning Toronto woes. It’s a content-rich, humorous, must-read for anyone who has ever lived in, visited, or thought of Toronto. Michael B. Davie has produced a first-rate book.

Why Everybody Hates Toronto