A Good and Lovely Zombie Prom at Lula Lounge

Filed in Music
October 31, 2009
good lovelies lula loungeA couple of weeks ago, I was driving home from work and listening to CBC's Here and Now, when host Matt Galloway put on a track by a trio called the Good Lovelies.

I was instantly grabbed by their infectious three-part harmony and the sly wit of their lyrics. I wrote the band's name on my wrist and resolved to look them up when I got home. An hour or so later I had paid for and downloaded their album and scoured their website for tour dates in Toronto. Sure enough, there was one - an event called Zombie Prom at the Lula Lounge.

The Fight to Save a Local Post Office

Filed in City
October 27, 2009
Toronto Post OfficeA recent decision by Canada Post Corporation to ring the death knell for the Junction's postal outlet was met with a rallying cry apparently heard as far as Ottawa.

I learned about the threat on Oct. 10th while out walking my dog, when I bumped into local BIA executive director Anna-Louise Richardson. Wielding a clipboard and petition, she was clearly on a mission as she explained Canada Post wanted to close the neighbourhood postal outlet in the Grand Bargain convenience store at 2938 Dundas Street West.

Franchisee Stinginess Makes Promotion a Strikeout at Some Pizza Pizza Locations

Filed in City
October 25, 2009
pizza pizza strikeout promotionSince 2006, Pizza Pizza has partnered with the Toronto Blue Jays to offer fans free pizza. As a sponsor, Pizza Pizza allows fans to redeem their ticket for a free slice of pizza on Mondays when Toronto Blue Jays pitchers combine for 7 strikeouts on either Friday or Sunday games. (The Toronto Raptors operate a similar promotion in which 100 points equals a free slice.)

But it seems that not all Pizza Pizza franchisees are on board with the promotion. In fact, some have been known to go to extreme lengths to avoid handing out those prized free slices.

Body Worlds Returns to Toronto, This Time with More Heart

Filed in Arts
October 9, 2009
Body Worlds TorontoWhen Gunther Von Hagens' Body Worlds came to town in 2005 almost half a million of us went to see it at the Science Centre, and 32,000 alone over the marathon 61-hour final weekend. Visitors were amazed by the full-body plastinates on display, each of them created using the body of a deceased human being who had donated their remains to Von Hagens' Institute for Plastination (IfP).

The process goes like this: the body is dissected and processed so that previously living flesh is replaced with a polymer. After this, the preserved "body" is manipulated into an imaginative pose to reveal elements of our human nature, physicality, or to demonstrate how our internal structures work.

Kid Koala's The Slew is like Rap Rock Stew

Filed in Music
October 4, 2009
the slew torontoKid Koala hit up Toronto in style last night, bringing The Slew - Six Turntables meets the Ex-Wolfmother Rhythm Section to The Mod Club.

There was a full moon, Nuit Blanche was revving up and I couldn't think of a better way to kick off such an auspicious evening.

Four years in the making, The Slew is Kid Koala's most ambitious project to date. Originally a documentary soundtrack project undertaken with Seattle turntablist Dynomite D, after the film collapsed the two DJs approached Wolfmother members Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, and together they laboured in the studio to bring seventy minutes of hard rock scratching, guitar licks and big meaty beats to fruition as The Slew.

Say No to the Soy Milk Surcharge. 50 Local Cafes that Won't Charge Extra for Those Who Don't Do Cow

Filed in Eat & Drink
September 24, 2009
Soy surchargeDoes it make sense to charge someone 50 cents extra just for soy milk?

Like many new graduates, I was working as a barista in Starbucks waiting for my first reporting gig to show up. My gainfully employed friends, many of whom had dietary restrictions, would come visit and order those sugary-sweet drinks with soy or lactose-free milk. I went against company policy each and every time and refused to charge them the extra coin for soy.