Guerrilla art group hacks dozens of Astral info pillars. The city's new, redesigned info pillars that have been rapidly popping up around Toronto have made plenty of enemies: road users claim the large, flat sides block sight lines, pedestrians say their positioning blocks sidewalks, and many others are concerned about the large amount of space given over to advertisers. A team of artists, cARTographyTO, hacked into roughly 35 of the signs' ad spaces over the weekend and installed maps, artwork and other visual displays.
posted by netbros on Jul 10, 2012 - 50 comments

The history of Toronto in photos is 90 some odd posts linked to provide a thematically organized visual overview. The vast majority of the photographs featured derive from the Toronto Archives. Should you be interested in a less visually oriented take on Toronto history, there is also the Nostalgia Tripping series, which was designed to be a bit more about storytelling than just the photos.
posted by netbros on Dec 5, 2011 - 20 comments

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.
posted by GuyZero on Nov 3, 2009 - 30 comments

Late last night, a cyclist was killed in Toronto. "Ontario's former attorney general Michael Bryant ... will be charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death, a police source tells the Globe, after a collision left a 33-year-old cyclist dead." Accounts vary, but the sequence appears to be 1) Some collision and argument between the cyclist and the driver; 2) The cyclist grabs the driver's door and hangs on (or he may have been caught on the car accidentally) while the Saab convertible drives on; 3) The car drives into the opposite lane, across a construction zone, and the cyclist is battered against mailboxes and light posts; 4) The cyclist falls under the car's back wheels and is killed. [more inside]
posted by maudlin on Sep 1, 2009 - 574 comments

The Vanishing Point: Urban Exploration in Canada [more inside]
posted by dunkadunc on Jun 3, 2009 - 17 comments

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.
posted by orange swan on Jul 4, 2006 - 23 comments

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.
posted by jackdirt on May 13, 2005 - 16 comments

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.
posted by stonerose on Jun 10, 2003 - 41 comments

Well, that's it. We're done for. Ebola hits North America...maybe.
posted by ritualdevice on Feb 6, 2001 - 29 comments

First gay marriage legal, for now "The Ontario government will face a court battle if it refuses to register two marriages performed yesterday at a Toronto church in a ceremony billed as the world's first legal homosexual wedding since the Middle Ages."
posted by sylloge on Jan 15, 2001 - 11 comments