Plea-se Tell Me

Who is Mrs. Nixon, anyway?

UPDATE: it’s about the Royal Bank vs. the Tarsands or something.

Quote of the Day!

“I don’t know what I’d do if I was laid off right now.  I’d probably kill myself.  I mean, my rent is $700!”

– part of an overheard conversation, this afternoon, between two clerks at American Apparel

This Is Not Sidewalk Art

I recently walked past this Pepsi advertisement PAINTED ON THE SIDEWALK on Wellesly Street.

Is no place communal territory anymore?  Must I be inundated with ads even as I stare at my feet, meandering around the city?

Funny thing is, I actually thought this Pespi Word Play Campaign was cool – until now.

Coups, Plagues, and . . . Garbage? Oh My!

San Francisco Chronicle travel writer Larry Habegger recently listed Toronto at the #1 spot on his list of places around the world that should be on avoided for travel.  Toronto earned this distinction because of the garbage strike that is currently in its third week, resulting in “mounds of trash throughout the city that is known for its cleanliness.”

Rounding out the other top 5 places on the world travel advisory: Honduras (military coup), Mexico (Dengue Fever outbreak), North Africa (Bubonic Plague outbreak), and Thailand (military rule).

Larry must really not like garbage!

(photo from [daily dose of imagery])

Strange Marketing Angle

As seen yesterday, just south of the Eaton Centre:

I’m not sure if this is better than the ‘Bad’ bus, or worse . . .

Look Classy, Get Wasted

Last night I was exposed to your new Toronto summer patio cocktail: the Suspicious Package.

Ingredients = white wine (5 oz) + vodka (1 oz)

If you increase the vodka:wine ratio, you can change the name to a Letter Bomb.  In this case, you have to try to pick ingredients that start with A and Z (i.e. Absolute + white Zinfandel).

Shout out to my friend Kristina, who I believe invented this.  According to the guy I was talking to about this drink last night, the reason this is a great cocktail is because white wine gets your buzz on fast and when you drink vodka you think you’re fine for a while and then all of a sudden it hits you like a truck later on.  Mixing the two gives you a perfect and constant inebriation!

Torontarazzi

Spotted (Monday 9 p.m.): Adam Giambrone, on the patio at Cafe Diplomatico, enjoying the Victoria Day holiday.

I ♥ Toronto pseudo-celebrities.

The NY Times Does Toronto

In yesterday’s Sunday edition of the New York Times, an article appeared fawning over the city of Toronto.

The featured journalist, Danny Lee, makes a few suspect claims (streetcars trolleys run like clockwork??), and he seems to be so enamoured with the West End (West Queen West/College/Ossington) that almost all his recommendations take you there.  Otherwise, it’s a pretty glowing review of our beloved city.  The only thing is, who is reading this?  I might guess that most people reading the Sunday NY Times would be more interested in cocktails in Yorkville than at Sweaty Betty’s.  But I digress.

What it all comes down to is that TZero is actually a great, interesting, diverse city that can be an attractive destination for people even from one of the greatest, most interesting and most diverse cities in the whole world.

It’s Always Sunny On Dundas

A little bar recently opened up around the corner from my house called Opera Bob’s Public House.  This is definitely going to be my new local for the summer.

Drinks are cheap, there’s a tight little pub grub menu, and the bartender/owner we had was both interesting and funny (and it was his first shift ever bartending!)  When asked by my roommate what the patrons have been like, the guy told us that it’s neither the Ossington hipsters nor the Dundas crazies.  Sounds good to me!

They play sports on the tvs, which will include UFC once they get the go-ahead from the pay-per-view people.  The front window rolls up like a garage door, and it’s nearly directly across the street from Trinity Bellwoods Park, so it’ll be a great place to get a BEvERage following an intense tennis match or a lazy day in the sun.

This place kind of reminds me of the bar from the FX tv show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, mostly because it’s owned by 4 dudes and the one serving us was pretty hilarious.  If you haven’t seen this show yet, here’s a clip.  For some reason, embedding of these previews has been disabled, so you’ll have to click on the url . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=donmqQgum7I

Opera Bob’s Public House is located at 1112 Dundas Street West.  It’s open daily, from 5pm – 2am.

Okay, Okay, Blue Jays, Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are the #1 team in the entire MLB.  Their record stands at 12-5 and they have won all five of their series so far this year.

Let’s Play Ball!