blogTO | Posts by Derek

Ai Weiwei at Nathan Phillips Square

Derek Flack — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:52:40 EDT

Photo by John Tavares in the blogTO Flickr pool

Even in the quiet moments

Derek Flack — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:47:16 EDT

Photo by ~EvidencE~ in the blogTO Flickr pool

10 local wines to try this summer in Toronto

Derek Flack — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:18:15 EDT

Ontario wines have now long outlived the bad reputation that they had a decade ago for being overly priced and decidedly vegetal in character. Pair that with the growing push toward locally sourced products, and you now see a far more pronounced Ontario presence on wine lists at Toronto restaurants. I suspect, however, that not everybody's been won over. And, in fairness, there's still a lot of crap out there at shudder-worthy prices. But if you know a few wineries to look for, there's a lot to like about drinking local(ish) wine this summer.

Here's a list of some of my recommendations, based mostly on taste but also to some extent on availability. It's completely subjective, of course, but a good place to start if you're looking to try out wines made in Toronto's proverbial backyard. If you're a fan, it's probably worth considering a trip to visit the wineries themselves.

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Porsche 911

Derek Flack — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:43:22 EDT

Photo by jonathantphotos in the blogTO Flickr pool

Luminato brings world's largest disco ball to Toronto

Derek Flack — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:44:49 EDT

On paper it sounds a bit gimmicky or a repeat of U2's stage antics back in the late '90s, but Michel de Broin's giant disco ball (a.k.a. "One Thousand Speculations"), which is lifted above David Pecaut Square each night of the festival, is actually a stunning sight. Almost eight metres in diameter, the ball features 1000 mirrors which fashion a spectacular light show during performances at the Luminato hub.

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The Best Used Bike Shops in Toronto

Derek Flack — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:17:41 EDT

The best used bike shops in Toronto offer a useful alternative to fending for yourself on Craigslist. While there's certainly some premium involved in buying from a store rather than some dude in sweatpants, you tend to get what you pay for. If you know a whole lot about bike maintenance, it probably makes sense to skip the middle man. For those of us, however, who prefer to ride rather than tinker, it's nice to know that your potential bike has been tuned and inspected by someone who knows what they're doing. As an added bonus, many of these shops will stand behind the bikes they sell in the event that you encounter problems post-purchase.

Toronto's used bike shops are typically geared to the commuter cyclist, though there are some exceptions where you'll find higher end single speed/fixie conversions of vintage steel framed rides. Because stock turns over quickly during the summer months, you'll want to check in at your shop(s) of choice on a regular basis if you have something specific in mind.

Here are the best used bike shops in Toronto.

See also:

The best bike stores in Toronto
The best bike repair shops in Toronto

30 photos of naked people riding bikes around Toronto

Derek Flack — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:39:18 EDT

The World Naked Bike Ride rolled through Toronto on Saturday, bringing with it a hefty dose of skin and the usual curious glances from those who encountered the caravan of nudists. Officially positioned as a protest against oil dependency, the event — which takes place in cities around the world — is also meant to foster positive body images. I mean how can you not admire the balls on these people putting themselves out there like that? It's genuinely refreshing — no puns required.

The group of 100+ cyclists gathered at Coronation Park before winding downtown to Yonge and Dundas, hitting up Queen West and Yorkville along the way. It was a gorgeous day for a clothes-free ride, and the joviality of the group was contagious. On the flip side, there were a few BIXI bikes under naked bums, so cue the chorus of "ewwwws" now.

See how it all played out in this slideshow of the event.

Warning: in case it's not clear, by clicking this link you're about to see naked people. Possibly NSFW.

Photos by Jesse Milns

10 bird's eye views of Toronto on Instagram

Derek Flack — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:00:12 EDT

In the 19th century one of the dominant cartographic techniques was known as the bird's eye map, which prefigured Google's satellite views in allowing readers to look down upon their city as if flying in an air balloon. Even as technology has made such perspectives ubiquitous, our collective fascination with aerial views of our cities has yet to diminish. There's something about the scale one perceives at a position of height that just seems to make everything seem unfamiliar and interesting. By way of example, we asked our Instagram followers to label their favourite aerial(ish) shots of Toronto with the hashtag #birdseyeTO. The resulting gallery offers a stunning look at our fair city. Lead pic by stilez.

Check out all the photos in our bird's eye stream.

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Victory Soya Mills

Derek Flack — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:18:14 EDT

Photo by Vik Pahwa in the blogTO Flickr pool

Rainbows, skin, and streetcar

Derek Flack — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:48:01 EDT

Photo by rollingspoke in the blogTO Flickr pool

Concrete and graffiti

Derek Flack — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:57:27 EDT

Photo by Ben Roffelsen in the blogTO Flickr pool

The photos of the week: June 8-14

Derek Flack — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:29:46 EDT

The photos of the week collect each of the editor-selected photos of the day into one post for a contest to be decided by our readers. Sponsored by Posterjack, the photographer whose image receives the most votes will be awarded with a voucher code for a 24"x36" poster print of their work.

All the rules and fine-print can be found in the original announcement post on the blogTO Flickr page. One thing to add, however, is that the voting period ends at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, after which the winner will be contacted with the good news.

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Meat Locker

Derek Flack — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:37:14 EDT

Photo by Neil Ta in the blogTO Flickr pool

5 restaurants with cheap wine in Toronto

Derek Flack — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:26:18 EDT

Cheap wine lists in Toronto are not something you'll find in abundance, but with a little digging there are deals to be had various restaurants around the city. Truth be told, if you're really looking to save on wine costs, it's best to take advantage of a free corkage deal — of which there are plenty to choose from. That said, sometimes one wants to choose from a restaurant's list, which often feature wines that aren't stocked by the LCBO. In such instances, the restaurants below are a good bet. While I'd say that only one has a truly cheap list altogether, the others offer weekly specials that are worth taking advantage of.

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Toronto streetcar snippet

Derek Flack — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:24:36 EDT

Photo by Guo Gareth in the blogTO Flickr pool