blogTO | Posts by Corina

blogTO | Posts by Corina http://www.blogto.com/ Toronto blog Copyright 2009 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:39:48 PST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Toronto Halloween Party Guide 2009 Halloween Party Toronto

Halloween Party Toronto

Looking for a Halloween party in Toronto this weekend? Saturday marks the return of my favourite annual holiday but the 31st isn't the only occasion to dress up and have some fun. As the list below attests, there are also plenty of Halloween parties to choose from on Devil's Night (Friday October 30th). Keep reading for my top picks as well as a long list of Halloween parties happening in Toronto in 2009.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2009/10/toronto_halloween_party_guide_2009 http://www.blogto.com/arts/2009/10/toronto_halloween_party_guide_2009 Arts Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:51:57 PDT Arts Corina 2009-10-26T10:51:57 Flowing Japanese Fabrics of Madama Butterfly Madama Butterfly is a relatively modern opera, set in Nagasaki in 1890. A deep tragedy of deception and betrayal, a young Geisha is married off to an American; and though deeply devoted to him, the American has no intention of being a husband to the girl.

Abandoned by husband and shunned by her people, Madama Butterfly is 'stuck by a pin, and mounted on a board.' Unable to overcome her dishonour, she is forced to commit jigai. This compelling story is one of the best I've seen on the COC stage, and we've got a pair of tickets to pass on to one lucky reader.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/theatre/2009/10/flowing_japanese_fabrics_of_madama_butterfly http://www.blogto.com/theatre/2009/10/flowing_japanese_fabrics_of_madama_butterfly Theatre Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:35:24 PDT Theatre Corina 2009-10-02T08:35:24 Nuit Blanche 2009 Guide Nuit Blanche is set to take over Toronto next Saturday October 3rd offering another dusk 'till dawn city-wide art crawl and an excellent excuse to stay up crazy late. To make the most of the evening, I've put together a guide with some of my top picks for this year's installment of the all night contemporary art thing.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2009/09/nuit_blanche_2009_guide http://www.blogto.com/arts/2009/09/nuit_blanche_2009_guide Arts Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:00:01 PDT Arts Corina 2009-09-18T21:00:01 Virgin Music Festival 2009 Day 2 The 2009 Virgin Music Festival in Toronto suffered somewhat from poor turnout on Day 1, and Day 2 got off to a similarly worrisome slow start.

But with the help of darlings Our Lady Peace, and the significant allure of Nine Inch Nails' last Canadian festival hurrah on the main stage later in the day, the festival's last day ramped up to an awesome high note.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/09/virgin_music_festival_2009_day_2 http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/09/virgin_music_festival_2009_day_2 Music Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:15:48 PDT Music Corina 2009-09-01T09:15:48 Virgin Music Festival 2009 Day 1 The Virgin Music Festival 2009 edition kicked off yesterday at the Molson Amphitheatre. Although the major concern over this year's festival has been the move to the downtown Toronto venue, it actually worked out 'ok'. Strange sound mixing issues continued to plague the performers, and there was a definite absence of a 'festival' vibe this year... but low attendance has thus far made this one of the easiest and most accessible Vfests I've been to so far!

Whether that will remain true for today's show, offering a more stacked line up headlined by NIN's last Canadian performance, remains to be seen.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/08/virgin_music_festival_2009_day_1 http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/08/virgin_music_festival_2009_day_1 Music Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:16:02 PDT Music Corina 2009-08-30T12:16:02 Virgin Music Festival Moves to Molson Amphitheatre After several weeks of dismal ticket sales and a slough of complaints from the fans, Virgin has made a rather significant change to the Ontario Virgin Music Festival. The festival will no longer be held at Burl's Creek Park, Orillia, and will instead move back downtown - to the Molson Amphitheatre for its two-day show on August 29th and 30th, 2009.

This is a MAJOR announcement, considering the big names associated with the festival and sponsor line ups. It also means a big change in tickets for fans, both in terms of price and access. Ultimately, it means that Virgin may be in its final throes of Festival management on this side of the pond. Read on to see just how this logistical shift is going to affect Vfest 2009 and your ticket.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/08/virgin_music_festival_moves_to_molson_amphitheatre http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/08/virgin_music_festival_moves_to_molson_amphitheatre Music Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:49:47 PDT Music Corina 2009-08-13T14:49:47 Umbrella Etiquette and Toronto's Splash Zones After yesterday's punishing downfalls and as Toronto deals with the throes of another wet and rainy summer season in general, I thought it might be time for a discussion of umbrella etiquette. I'm an umbrella user and fully appreciate the advantages of staying dry; but if people can't learn to handle their bumbershoots, then they deserve no less than a good soaking.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/08/umbrella_etiquette_and_torontos_splash_zones http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/08/umbrella_etiquette_and_torontos_splash_zones City Sun, 02 Aug 2009 08:39:39 PDT City Corina 2009-08-02T08:39:39 End the Strike Now Campaign People are becoming more vocal about the ongoing Toronto city union strike... especially online, where anonymity allows everyone to openly vent frustrations. Though many comments take the shape of rants, they also reveal the impact this strike is having on the everyday lives of Torontonians.

One citizen (who requests anonymity) has decided to channel some of this anger and frustration in the form of an informal petition to End the Strike Now. In Toronto's often lukewarm political environment, it's refreshing to see the reaction. From garbage in parks and swimming pools, to child care concerns, the End the Strike Now campaign is attempting to record the impact of the strike and the legitimate concerns of dissatisfied citizens.

Too bad it took such a stinking mess to evoke a response.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/07/end_the_strike_now_campaign http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/07/end_the_strike_now_campaign City Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:59:52 PDT City Corina 2009-07-23T08:59:52 Virgin Festival 2009: the Good News and the Bad News The Virgin Music Festival 2009 (the Ontario edition) announcement FINALLY dropped this morning, and thankfully the rumours were true... NIN will be headlining at this year's Vfest!

This year will also see appearances by Ben Harper & Relentless7, and the full line up boasts some impressive talent. But with the good news, comes the bad: an out-of-town (I mean WAY out-of-town) venue, and some interesting marketing tactics to monetize the event.

This year definitely promises to be an exciting new chapter in the Vfest saga and I've got all the line up, venue, ticketing and VIP details right here.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/07/virgin_festival_2009_the_good_news_and_the_bad_news http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/07/virgin_festival_2009_the_good_news_and_the_bad_news Music Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:18:33 PDT Music Corina 2009-07-14T10:18:33 Rock the Bells Music Festival 2009 Rock the Bells rolled into the Molson Amphitheater on Sunday, returning the urban music festival to an appropriately urban space. Having been relegated to Arrow Hall for the past two years, this hip hop heavyweight concert has been way off my radar - but I was thrilled to see it return with a massive line up this year.

Between meeting Tech N9ne, Krizz Kalico and K'naan, standing stage-side for Rza of the Wu-Tang, and seeing a spontaneous Blackstar reunion, this year's Rock the Bells turned out to be a seriously sweet ticket!

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/07/rock_the_bells_music_festival_2009 http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/07/rock_the_bells_music_festival_2009 Music Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:04:20 PDT Music Corina 2009-07-06T09:04:20 Toronto Garbage Strike: Smells like Summer If you were lucky enough to have missed the garbage strike in Toronto in 2002 (or any of the subsequent service disruptions since) don't worry - in this city it's becoming a regular tradition.

Only a few short years since the last strike, City workers have again walked off the job, shutting down services like summer camps and swimming pools, and suspending Toronto trash collection. Nothing says summer like a stinking city full of kids on summer vacation with nothing to do. And be prepared; after only one day, Torontonians have already begun to nominate street curbs, alleyways, and even parks as unofficial dumping grounds of choice.

I'm beginning to wonder if we should bother with trash collection at all... why not turn Toronto into one giant refuse pile? :P

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/06/toronto_garbage_strike_smells_like_summer http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/06/toronto_garbage_strike_smells_like_summer City Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:29:56 PDT City Corina 2009-06-23T01:29:56 NXNE Party Guide 2009 NXNE officially rolls into town this Wednesday for its 15th year, ready to transform small stages all over Toronto into the ultimate music, film and party conference. Based out of the new Hyatt Regency on King, NXNE includes over 500 bands at 50 venues, along with conference panels and film screenings - which can make the festival somewhat difficult to plan for!

It's going to be an awesome week of music-fueled madness, so we've hand-picked some of the best in our NXNE 2009 Party Guide. This will give you the inside track on NXNE 2009's hottest events, plus a small taste of what sort of coverage to expect from the blogTO team.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/06/nxne_party_guide_2009 http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/06/nxne_party_guide_2009 Music Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:46:00 PDT Music Corina 2009-06-14T09:46:00 FITC 2009: Creativity in A Can In its 8th year in Toronto, FITC ("Flash In The Can") wrapped up eariler this week and it proved to offer even more insight than I was expecting. Aside from all the amazing art and hip nerd parties, FITC is a highly technical developer and graphic design forum; however, FITC also brings in experts in the 'creative process' to the table.

While creativity is essentially everywhere at this conference - even the exhibitor booths were doodled on and decorated - the creative process itself can sometimes get lost amidst technical discussions on software and design integration. But this year FITC felt different to me - as though there was a deeper appreciation for the creative philosophy behind the project's execution. In particular, I was fascinated by Jason Theodor and Mikey Richardson's discussions of how to avoid falling in to stagnant thinking patterns, and how to tap into the true power of brainstorming and the creative process.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/tech/2009/04/fitc_2009_creativity_in_a_can http://www.blogto.com/tech/2009/04/fitc_2009_creativity_in_a_can Tech Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:40:08 PDT Tech Corina 2009-04-14T12:40:08 Fishbowl Life at Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is one of my favourite venues in the city, and has a great reputation for putting on original productions from new artists. Through the company's Young Creators Unit, a new generation of 25 and unders is able to launch their dreams into production. The latest of these accomplished writers/performers to hit the stage is Mark Shyzer, presenting his one-man comedy Fishbowl: A Concise. Expansive Theory of Everything.

A hilarious offering of 5 diverse character monologues, Fishbowl is set to wrap up a tidy first run tonight at Buddies'. Given that Mark's production is one of the first I've seen to emerge from the youth program, I was at first surprised by his aim of 'comedic sophistication' on the small stage. Though the show came off as a (very funny) stand up routine, Mark was kind enough to explain the process behind Fishbowl's evolution in his interview for blogTO.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/theatre/2009/04/fishbowl_life_at_buddies_in_bad_times http://www.blogto.com/theatre/2009/04/fishbowl_life_at_buddies_in_bad_times Theatre Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:32:19 PDT Theatre Corina 2009-04-12T11:32:19 Dimitri the Lover Exposes Himself

Infamous Toronto pick up artist and self-proclaimed ladies' man Dimitri 'the Lover' is probably one of the most contentious figures blogTO has ever exposed. Sexual predator to some, and seduction specialist to others, I think it's important for Toronto to familiarize themselves with the controversial tactics of Dimitri 'the Lover'.

Luckily, the notorious pick up artist and host of Toronto Real Men meetings has exposed both himself and his questionable tactics in a new documentary The Great Intoxication (at 11m30s in).

]]> http://www.blogto.com/tno/2009/03/dimitri_the_lover_exposes_himself http://www.blogto.com/tno/2009/03/dimitri_the_lover_exposes_himself TnO Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:17:24 PDT TnO Corina 2009-03-29T12:17:24