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!

An Abundance of Wu-Tang Related Memorabilia!

This past weekend, I went to a ‘Book Blast’ being held at this vintage clothing store called Penny Arcade (owned by my friend Gerald’s sister.)  The book being launched was called Youth League, by John O. and according to the author’s website it “depicts an uncertain near future filled with portraits of desperation, violence, and an abundance of Wu-Tang related memorabilia.” 

Truthfully, it was more of a leaflet than a book, but it was cool anyway.  And, some of the characters were wearing some sweet professional sports jerseys!

Youth League was printed in a limited edition of 50 copies and it sold out.  Good thing I got my (signed) copy!

WWJD In Little Italy?

The photography place around the corner from my house, Ferreira Photo Studio, is displaying both of the following in their window at present:

The first photo shows Little Italy’s most important VIPs: their ancestors, Jesus, and Princess Diana.  The second photo is self-explanatory.

All Signs Point to Now (Magazine)

I used to skim my horoscope in NOW Toronto and kind of chuckle because I thought it was so abstract it couldn’t actually be applicable to my life.  Then this girl that I work with, Kristina, who is kind of a very spiritual person and also kind of into astrology, told me that Rob Brezsny’s Freewill Astrology is actually her favourite in any publication.  That lead me back to NOW, whence I discovered that these horoscopes are not abstract at all, but actually ultra-specific! (They are also very entertaining.)

As an example, here’s the version of mine from this week’s edition:

SCORPIO Oct 23 | Nov 21 After extensive analysis, I’ve concluded that you won’t serve any time in hell for the shock therapy you’ll unleash this week – with one caveat: The shock therapy must be motivated primarily by love, not a lust for power. My research also suggests that in dropping your bombshells you may even rack up some karmic credit, not karmic debt – if the things you destroy are truly beyond repair and certain to keep causing pain, and if you institute a plan for building a shiny new creation to replace what’s lost.

Check out Rob’s column in your physical version of NOW, or at the online edition.