MetaFilter posts tagged with Canada and toronto

Open Toronto

GuyZero — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:37:45 -0800

Toronto's Open Civic Data. The city of Toronto has released its data to the world via the new Open Toronto initiative: geographic data for a variety of civic divisions, lists of licensed business, public transit stops, routes & schedules, a SOAP-based geocoding API and more.

Afro-centric public school opening in Toronto

modernnomad — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:10:01 -0800

Despite a reputation as an effective multi-cultural city, Toronto continues to have difficulties successfully integrating its communities of African heritage. In response to significantly higher than average high school drop-out rates in those communities, some academics suggested the creation of "black-focused public schools" [PDF] as means of re-engaging black youth with education. Needless to say, this caused debate, controversy, and even anger, but the first afro-centric public elementary school will open this month.

Canadian Urbex

dunkadunc — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:13:52 -0800

The Vanishing Point: Urban Exploration in Canada Michael Cook's website documents his trips to the dark, musty and exciting places where most people don't go. Ontario Generating Station, Niagra Falls Toronto Power Company Hydroelectric Plant, Niagra Falls Storm Drains of Toronto Storm Drains of Hamilton Monarch Mine, British Columbia

John Brattain, Baseball Blogger, RIP (1965-2009)

christopher.taylor — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:08:45 -0800

People die and different folk celebrate and mourn in various ways. However, while it does seem as if everyone is blogging about baseball and boxing or UFC during these times that try men's souls'... not everyone can write about it for the CTV network. John will be missed by both Blue Jay and Expo fans and perhaps fight fans as well. Please take a moment of your time to click on some links, thank you.

No pals in Canada

bicyclefish — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:19:30 -0800

Bill Ayers, arriving in Toronto to lecture on inner-city education, has been denied entry to Canada. Ayers' supporters claim that the denial was politically motivated. In the run-up to his lecture, there had been at least some conservative protest aimed at denying him entry. However the problem is not without precedent.

Project Blinkenlights Toronto: Stereoscope

meikel — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:20:28 -0800

Remote control Toronto's City Hall by iPhone during Octobre 4th Nuit blanche. Project Blinkenlights will again transform a huge building into a computer display. This time 960 windows of Toronto's City Hall. Everybody can submit animations to be shown and there will be client programms for iPhone and OSX to receive the signal and interact with the installation. Watch the previous installations in Berlin [Mefi thread] and Paris [Mefi thread] on Google Video.

City of Montréal drops charges against graffiti artist... and then hires him

rssaddict — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:34:27 -0800

Montreal Graffiti/Street artist Roadsworth, who was arrested in 2005 and faced up to 250 000$ in fines, is back on the streets, this time with a permit and a commission. Interestingly, the title of the new piece (which stretches across multiple intersections on downtown Sainte-Catherine street) is "Défense d'Afficher", which means "No Postering". It seems as though he's commenting on the role of art and advertisement in public space, but maybe that's just my take. Thoughts? For a more in-depth discussion, read the Torontoist's article on graffiti), and for more examples, check out Vandalist, the same blog's photostream of T.O. street art, Streetsy, a great photoblog showing off various street art from around the world, and, of course, Flickr's STREETART pool.

Segregation in Toronto Schools

jjb — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:05:34 -0800

Toronto trustees have voted in favor of an 'Afrocentric' school. City staff endorsed the plan, while other groups in the city have not been so supportive.

The Highway of Heroes

PercussivePaul — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:21:42 -0800

The body of a Canadian soldier was transported from CFB Trenton to Toronto tonight via Highway 401, one of the busiest highways in North America. Along that 170km stretch of road, citizens gathered at the overpasses to wave flags and pay their respects as the motorcade passed by, as they have been doing since the summer. [Pics of a previous such event, found on a web forum.] Following an online petition, the government officially recognized this stretch of highway as officially designated the Highway of Heroes [pic] . The families appreciate the practice, but some people find the designation overly sentimental.

Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we gonna do "Stonehenge" tomorrow?

KokuRyu — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 20:29:07 -0800

White Stripes play Toronto YMCA The duo of Meg and Jack White snuck in through the back entrance of an auditorium at a downtown YMCA in Toronto at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday for the latest in a cross-country barrage of small secret shows as part of their Canadian tour. During the short set, Jack pulled four of the children up to the makeshift stage to sing and show off the masks the campers had been creating before the arrival of the rock stars. In recent weeks the band has played on a bus in Winnipeg, at a bowling alley in Saskatoon and in a youth centre in Edmonton.Previously.

From Jamaica To Toronto

The Card Cheat — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:43:14 -0800

Jackie Mittoo. Wayne McGhie and the Sounds Of Joy. Bob and Wisdom. The Mighty Pope. And many others. A free concert back in July and a series of reissues have begun to tell the story of the Toronto reggae, funk and soul scene of the 1950's, '60's and '70's.

DeLorean out of gas? Try the Toronto Archives....

orange swan — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 07:57:39 -0800

From Muddy York to the Toronto of today.... My search to discover the exact age of the house I recently bought led me to the fabulous Toronto Archives. Even if you don't have the good fortune to live in Toronto and so have the ability to visit the Archives to take a free tour and check out their massive holdings, they have a whack of stuff on line. Of their million photographs dating back to 1856, over 21,000 are online. Check out some of their virtual exhibits. I couldn't begin to give you an overview of the site or even the best of its many gems, but check out Chinatown's VE day victory parade, Bay and Wellington as it was after a huge fire in 1904, old advertisements, letters and postcards (including some from the disenchanted), snapshots of a, er, less politically sensitive time (thanks, Capn!), and — inevitably! — hockey artifacts. A friend of mine makes a hobby of Toronto's history, and after this search of mine, I better understand her interest. It’s fascinating to see what lies beneath the layers of time on a surface so familiar and loved.

"Massive terror attack averted"

loquax — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 07:54:43 -0800

Newsfilter: Canadian Police (led by the RCMP) have arrested at least 17 people that were plotting to "launch attacks against targets in Southern Ontario", apparently in large part by monitoring Internet co-ordination and communication. This days after the CSIS deputy director warned of "homegrown extremists" plotting "large scale attacks".

Working poverty in Canada

russilwvong — Mon, 01 May 2006 10:34:09 -0800

Maid for a Month. On February 1, Ontario raised its minimum wage from $7.45 to $7.75 per hour. Well-known Toronto Globe and Mail writer Jan Wong: "I thought the best way to tell the story of that 30-cent raise was to work — and live — at the bottom of the food chain. I would find a low-paying job, a low-rent apartment and, single-mom-like, take my boys with me for the month and see how we survived."

Marcel Dzama

jackdirt — Fri, 13 May 2005 07:33:33 -0800

My first impression of Marcel Dzama was in Toronto over two years ago at the Power Plant Gallery. Shortly after getting back from Toronto I came across this little Gem. Two years go by I move, and I forgot completely about this amazing artist. When BAM! he is featured on BECK's new album Guero.
One of the many reasons I love Marcel Dzama is because of the unique characters he has in his work. Also the fact that he uses root beer to paint his subtle earthy browns. If you are interested in his work then it is not too late to grab an original it will only set you back about $1500-1800. With his work on Beck's album and people like Drew Carey, Nicholas Cage, and Jim Carey snatching it up, It won't be long before it becomes unattainable.

Chill, Toronto

stonerose — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 16:30:24 -0800

Cool! Toronto's Deep Lake Water Cooling System was launched today. The system cuts electricity consumption in commercial buildings by 75 per cent by drawing near-freezing water through pipes extending five kilometres out into Lake Ontario. According to the city, the system will save enough power to service more than 100 Toronto office towers or 4,200 homes per year, and it will eliminate 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Here's a public television segment explaining the process. Seems like it makes a nice complement to the lakeshore windmill.

bleh

delmoi — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 23:01:32 -0800

Superbowl ad, online at ifilm Is it just me, or did the ads seriously suck this time?

Uptown Theatre Collapses

dobbs — Mon, 08 Dec 2003 11:58:55 -0800

At least one person is dead when Toronto theatre The Uptown (a frequent haunt of my childhood) collapses. The 2000 seat Uptown was built in 1920 and closed in September of this year, right after the Toronto International Film Festival, which regularly used the theatre for its screenings. Ignoring a Cinema Treasures' petition, and heartfelt articles from local media, Famous Players, the theatre's owners, decided to sell the building to a condo developer after losing a two year battle with The Ontario Human Rights Commission, who were insisting that the venue be made wheelchair-friendly. Oddly, as I was walking past the site last night, I considered contacting the demolition company about what was being done with the theatre's sign when it finally came down.

Adam and Steve, eh?

stonerose — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 21:16:13 -0800

Got a same-sex partner? Live in Ontario? Well, you can get married, says the province's highest court. In fact, if you live in Toronto, you can get married right now.

WHO lifts Toronto travel ban

alicesshoe — Tue, 29 Apr 2003 16:23:11 -0800

WHO lifts Toronto travel ban. And Health Canada Recommendations: Health Canada continues to strongly endorse travel into and throughout the GTA [Greater Toronto Area] as safe and encourages travellers to maintain their business and/or personal travel plans to the GTA.
That's just great. What, a week after banning all travel to Toronto because of SARS, it's on again?

That's bloody irresponsible, considering the damage it has done and will continue to do so to travel to Canada no less Toronto. [s'more inside]

''It's a bunch of bullshit

birdherder — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 20:57:46 -0800

''It's a bunch of bullshit," said Dr. Donald Low, one of Canada's leading infectious disease experts and a key member of the SARS containment team. ''It's inappropriate.'' The WHO added Toronto to the list of places to avoid due to the SARS breakout. This is certain to f'up T.O.'s economy if Ottawa can't get the WHO to retract the advisory. Are people blowing SARS out of proportion? Perphaps it is time to relax and look at things in perspective.

I hear diseased urine is delivered directly into the Great Lakes!

jon_kill — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:54:50 -0800

With an increase in the number of cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, Canada now poses more of a direct threat to the American way of life than all of the weapons in Iraq combined. As the relationship between these two North American real estate holders continues to deteriorate, are we Canadians to expect border closings and escalated hostility due to this?

Blame Canada! Blame Canada!

troutfishing — Mon, 10 Mar 2003 05:11:20 -0800

"Toronto flings garbage at Michigan" no no!... - US Courts Canadian Crud! ...Eh?, well, OK: Toronto trucks it's tons 'o trash across the border to dump in Michigan landfills, and some Yanks are eager to buy, although others..."It's so disgusting we don't even talk about it...Why can't they keep their garbage over there?" .....[''We need to put an end to this desecration of our beautiful state,'' fumed Representative Candice S. Miller, Republican of Michigan who also warned that terrorists or weapons of mass destruction could be concealed amidst the rotting food and used diapers.] ......"Relations between the United States and Canada have been souring for two years....Canada's wishy-washy stance on the Iraq crisis...has irked Washington" chides the Boston Globe, clearly piqued that Boston is not in a position to catapult cannisters of it's garbage and toxic waste northward at Canada, towards the "Great Concavity" of David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest". [other shades of "....Jest" loom as "...a reputed haven for terror groups." whispers the Globe...just like in Wallace's book!] .....Toronto can't find any Canadian communities willing to furnish an immense garbage pit, while "Michigan's underused landfills are famous for courting crud from outside the state's borders.": They approached Toronto with the deal. ["Ontario, meanwhile, accepts imports of toxic industrial sludge, low-level radioactive waste, and other dangerous refuse from Michigan and other US states."] Garbage is a protected "free trade" commodity under NAFTA and Michigan may need the 'trash jobs': NAFTA has spurred automakers to shift production away from the US and build new factories in Canada and Mexico. Canada's auto factories are 7% more productive than US ones and have lower health care costs. ["The growth of imports to the U.S. from these factories has contributed substantially to the growing U.S. trade deficit and the related job losses."]. So: Canada sends garbage and shiny new autos south: the US sends radioactive sludge, spittle, jobs and curses north.

Meanwhile, walk across the border and the murder rate per 100,000 (per year) drops from 42.6 (Detroit, USA) to 2.2 (Windsor, Canada): "Are Canadians somehow flinging all their fear and murderous rage into the US along with the garbage?" (asks the Daily Tabloid)

Henry Makow

son_of_minya — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 17:32:37 -0800

Henry Makow is the inventor of the board game Scruples, and the author of A Long Way to go for a Date. He received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto and taught at the University of Winnipeg. He now publishes his prolific writings online. He is also completely, utterly, deliciously insane.

drgonzo — Mon, 29 Apr 2002 11:48:19 -0800

What happened to sportsmanlike behaviour in hockey? Islander fans booed the Canadian national anthem hours after a memorial service for the Canuck soldiers who died at American hands. Fine, whatever, that type of behaviour is expected. They also harrassed Toronto fans in the parking lot outside the rink, including stealing their flags and setting the Maple Leaf ablaze. Now if this was Canadians burning the American flag...