blogTO | Posts by Roger

blogTO | Posts by Roger http://www.blogto.com/ Toronto blog Copyright 2008 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:54:56 PDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss New TTC Bus and Streetcar Shelters Finally Erected TTC bus and streetcar shelters finally got a facelift today.

About to get on the Queen streetcar just east of Landsdowne, I noticed a maintenance crew busily working at the spot previously occupied by a bus shelter that had been noticeably absent in recent weeks.

The new bus shelters are an extension of the TTC Next Train Arrival program announced last month that will bring us information such as when the next TTC vehicle is to arrive to the streets of Toronto. The displays on the new shelters will also feed us information on delays, helping us make decisions like "Should I wait for the next vehicle, take a cab or walk instead?"

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/10/new_ttc_bus_and_streetcar_shelters_finally_erected http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/10/new_ttc_bus_and_streetcar_shelters_finally_erected City Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:28:56 PDT City Roger Cullman 2008-10-09T00:28:56 Alison Moyet at CNE's Queen Elizabeth Theatre Alison Moyet (formerly of Yaz) kicked off her first solo tour of North America in 14 years at Toronto's newly renovated Queen Elizabeth Theatre last night.

After a successful world tour (Yazoo: Reconnected) that saw her reunited with her old bandmate Vince Clarke of Erasure, I was hoping for a more electric show. Instead we were treated to a handful of hits from her Yaz days (Don't Go, Situation, Only You) interspersed among some lesser-known songs from her solo career, accompanied by a five-piece band.

The crowd was made up of nostalgic couples in their late thirties and forties, most of them men. Not too unlike the Blondie show earlier this year. It was great to see the enthusiastic crowd cheer her on, even though they were sparse in number. The venue could have easily held 1,500 but the show was less than half sold.

I didn't know whether to cringe or laugh when a particularly enthusiastic guy in the front row stood up after each song and hollered in approval, only to sit down again with the rest of the audience until the end of the next song. And so on. The entire show. It's nostalgic acts like this that bring out the giddy fanboy in all of us.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/alison_moyet_at_cnes_queen_elizabeth_theatre http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/10/alison_moyet_at_cnes_queen_elizabeth_theatre Music Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:18:07 PDT Music Roger Cullman 2008-10-06T01:18:07 Eyesore Cinema: First Look Eyesore Cinema is a new specialty DVD rental and sales shop on the second floor of 801 Queen St. W. where the Songbird Music used to be.

Not to be confused with the other eyesore cinema, Eyesore Cinema (the video store) has been open just under six weeks. Other than one wall covered with movie posters, the decor in the place still lives up to the store name. To their credit, they've already got a killer selection of over 3,300 videos.

"The manager Daniel Hanna used to manage the old Suspect Video store that burned down at 619 Queen Street West," says Justin Lourenco, the helpful fellow behind the counter.

"We're hoping to be the video store for people who love movies. You come here because you don't want to go into a Blockbuster store. We carry more of the strange films. Newer horror, stuff from Japan, exploitation cinema and old Italian Giallo thrillers from the '60s and '70s."

]]> http://www.blogto.com/film/2008/10/eyesore_cinema_first_look http://www.blogto.com/film/2008/10/eyesore_cinema_first_look Film Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:00:00 PDT Film Roger Cullman 2008-10-04T01:00:00 Renegade Nuit Blanche Offers Art Alternatives Nuit Blanche is full of scheduled, overcrowded events. This year you can participate in a selection of interactive, renegade art that escaped the radar of the official guide.

"The idea started at last year's Nuit Blanche," says Stephanie Avery, the organizer of a collection of events taking place at the same time as official Nuit Blanche activities that are meant as a complement to the evening's regularly scheduled festivities.

"Last year I actually had an official installation in the show, says Avery. "Because I was contractually obliged to stay with my piece, I didn't get to see much of Nuit Blanche. Based on what I had heard, it wasn't nearly as interactive as the first year and the corporate presence sometimes overshadowed the art."

More...

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/renegade_nuit_blanche_offers_art_alternatives http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/renegade_nuit_blanche_offers_art_alternatives Arts Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:03:04 PDT Arts Roger Cullman 2008-10-04T00:03:04 Words and Music and the Art of Time The Art of Time Ensemble is at it again with their Words & Music program, kicking off their 10th anniversary season last night at Harbourfront Centre's Enwave Theatre. I was rather impressed with last season's America and The Black Angel, where Artistic Director Andrew Burashko explored the relationship between literature and music, and this new program continued in that tradition.

Introducing last night's show, CBC's Laurie Brown said that she always attends Art of Time Ensemble concerts because you never know what the hell you're going to see. While Burashko, in his opening comments, dedicated the evening's performance to Stephen Harper and the "fatcat elitist snobs."

Last time I caught an Art of Time Ensemble performance was when Barenaked Ladies' singer Steven Page covered his favourite artists. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of genres and arrangements given. Last night's program offered another eclectic selection of music inspired by literature and literature inspired by music.

More...

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/words_and_music_and_the_art_of_time http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/10/words_and_music_and_the_art_of_time Arts Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:34:27 PDT Arts Roger Cullman 2008-10-03T15:34:27 TTC Tickets No Good Anymore Adult TTC tickets are now officially no longer acceptable, as the transition to adopting TTC tokens for adult fares has come into effect as of midnight Sunday night.

This comes less than four months after a TTC collector sold fake tickets from booth.

This initiative is supposed to eliminate the losses (estimated at as much as $400,000 a month) that stem from counterfeiting TTC tickets, but what about the counterfeit TTC tokens? They still exist, although I'm sure they're harder to produce.

While I applaud the TTC for eliminating the adult tickets, I'd really like to see them make bigger moves with their fare process. Things like enabling the popular TTC Day Pass to be used in turnstiles like their Metropass. And adopting multi-ride swipe cards like they've had in New York City for years.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/ttc_tickets_no_good_anymore http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/ttc_tickets_no_good_anymore City Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:03:22 PDT City Roger Cullman 2008-09-29T00:03:22 MP3 Experiment Turns Into Balloon Scramble in Riverdale Park Update: [from Tim] It has come to our attention that there are inaccuracies with this post and that the author was actually late in arriving to the event. Our apologies. If anyone would like to submit to us an alternate review of the event we'd be happy to post it to the site

Improv Anywhere unleashed their MP3 Experiment in Riverdale Park today, which brought much colour and merriment on a Sunday afternoon, as well as dozens of stray balloons on the field.

Almost 300 turned out to take part in this mischievous endeavour that played out as more of a group game than a scene of chaos and joy in a public place, as was intended.

The idea was interesting, but in execution, it could've been much more. The voice on the free download got annoying fast, but the players involved didn't seem to mind and followed along to the silly instructions not too dissimilar from some drunken party Twister games, only more props and strangers were included.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/mp3_experiment_turns_into_balloon_scramble_in_riverdale_park http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/mp3_experiment_turns_into_balloon_scramble_in_riverdale_park City Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:06:23 PDT City Roger Cullman 2008-09-28T23:06:23 Best New Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song

CBC wants you to vote on the next Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) theme song, a contest open to songwriters and composers across Canada. You can already rate your favourite submission online among the many, many entries.

Some Toronto area bands who have entered include God Made Me Funky (GMMF) and The Shuffle Demons, who broke the Guiness World Record on May 30, 2004, for greatest number of sax players playing one song, when they gathered 930 saxophonists to simultaneously play the Hockey Night in Canada theme.

Ontario has 5661 submissions out of nearly 15,000 total entries. That's well above any other province, so there's a better-than-average chance of the winning submission coming from Toronto if there's any quality among the quantity of entries.

Among the more amusing entries is Hockey Scores (video above) by Logan Aube of Aurora, Ont. Currently with over 140,000 views and 94 pages of comments, it appears to be top contender.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2008/09/best_new_hockey_night_in_canada_theme_song http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2008/09/best_new_hockey_night_in_canada_theme_song Sports & Play Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:04 PDT Sports & Play Roger Cullman 2008-09-28T00:00:04 DVD Comes To Life in Sketch Comedy For Nerds PET3RS The Complete 3rd Season is actually live sketch comedy revue masquerading as a DVD, presented by the Approximately 3 Peters and directed by Andrew Currie.

Peter Gal, Pete Hill and Ian MacIntyre are back with more off-the-wall antics. Tonight you can catch the final performance of a month-long Saturdays at The Bad Dog Theatre.

Sketches include Too Drunk, which (if you'll excuse the pun) takes the piss out of urinating in public after boozing it up at a bar. Shitty Beards is an audience participatory commentary on the perils of growing facial hair. Particularly memorable was the sketch about a father having The Talk with his daughter. Skip the DVD rental tonight and watch the real thing.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/09/dvd_comes_to_life_in_sketch_comedy_for_nerds http://www.blogto.com/arts/2008/09/dvd_comes_to_life_in_sketch_comedy_for_nerds Arts Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:00:00 PDT Arts Roger Cullman 2008-09-27T07:00:00 Autorickshaw Delight Audience at Small World Music Festival Autorickshaw delighted the audience at the Small World Music Festival with a show in which east met west at Lula Lounge Thursday night with special guest Gordon Sheard.

I was already won over by the vocal sylings of Suba Sankaran, after hearing her in Retrocity and at the Kate Bush Tribute concert last month.

Hearing her with this Autorickshaw five-year-old ensemble with tabla player Ed Hanley, bassist Rich Brown and percussionist Debashis Sinha gave me a broader appreciation of her talents as both a vocalist, arranger and performer. Her voice reminds me a bit of Sheila Chandra.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/autorickshaw_delight_audience_at_small_world_music_festival http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/autorickshaw_delight_audience_at_small_world_music_festival Music Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:00:00 PDT Music Roger Cullman 2008-09-27T06:00:00 Do We Need Another Apple Retail Mall Store? Apple is opening another one of their retail stores in a Toronto mall this morning, branching north and east this time to Fairview Mall.

While hitting the malls again is probably a good move to further their brand, Toronto is still far behind other cities like New York, London and Tokyo which all have their own flagship store. Perhaps Toronto isn't enough of a world-class city in Apple's eyes to have opened a shop at Yonge and Bloor.

It appears that Apple is dragging their feet with the creation of Toronto's own flagship store. According to this map of future stores, Toronto will finally have one at 1 Bloor East by 2011. Don't hold your breath.

For the Mac faithful, an Apple store opening is a big event. Personally, I'd rather be entertained by Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in a shoe store.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/do_we_need_another_apple_retail_mall_store http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/do_we_need_another_apple_retail_mall_store City Sat, 27 Sep 2008 02:39:32 PDT City Roger Cullman 2008-09-27T02:39:32 Getting Intimate and Emotional With James James is back with a vengeance, having brought their '90s guitar pop sensibilities to a passionate, sold out crowd Tuesday night at The Phoenix.

If you're not a big fan of this Manchester, UK group you'll surely know their huge hit Laid from their album by the same name. It still gets radio airplay and pubs hopping after 14 years.

This tour, in support of James' first album in seven years brings them back to form, providing a much needed sing-along quality to songs on the airwaves and iPods of today. And the Toronto crowd didn't stand still, arms crossed the whole time like they're accustomed to. But this wasn't your average band. They knew their stuff and performed like true rock stars that they are.

Right from the first notes of Born of Frustration, it was an incredibly intimate show. Kind of like a jam night with your best friends. Only the house band had some huge, hummable hits in their repertoire. It was also an emotional show, both for the audience and the band, who applauded the crowd after a series of singalongs to some of their more popular songs, including Sometimes and Say Something.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/getting_intimate_and_emotional_with_james http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/getting_intimate_and_emotional_with_james Music Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:19:44 PDT Music Roger Cullman 2008-09-25T04:19:44 Take Over a Parking Spot For World Car-Free Day World Car-Free Day is upon us. What are you doing to celebrate? The World Carfree Network is helping spread the message about revitalizing our towns and cities to help create a sustainable future.

From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, Streets Are For People! will be celebrating with a meter party along Queen St. W. from Bathurst to Trinity Bellwoods Park. Join in and park your bike in a spot normally reserved for a car. Pay for a parking spot and then do whatever you choose with that space for the allotted time. What could you do with a six-foot by 12-foot parking space? The space is yours for only $2 an hour.

Other local participants will include Bells on Bloor, Bike Pirates, Samba Elegua, the Kensington Horns, the New Kings and Mr. Something Something.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/take_over_a_parking_spot_for_world_carfree_day http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/take_over_a_parking_spot_for_world_carfree_day City Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:22:06 PDT City Roger Cullman 2008-09-21T02:22:06 Pick Your Favourite Urban Fruit Not Far From the Tree will host a Toronto Tree Tour with Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Foresters (LEAF) and the Toronto Public Space Committee this afternoon (Saturday). It's an "edible tree tour" with a heritage apple tasting built into the walk.

Last month I joined Not Far From the Tree for an apricot-picking in the urban orchards of ward 21. The group is made up of volunteer gleaners who are sent in teams offer to pick fruit trees in the backyards of residential properties in Toronto, alleviating the burden of harvesting the fruit while sharing the bounty with the community.

In addition to apricots, they've picked pears, apples, elderberries and grapes. So far this year they have shared over 2,000 pounds of fruit that would have otherwise fed only the birds, worms and possibly raccoons in the neighbourhood.

So what's it like being a volunteer gleaner?

]]> http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2008/09/pick_your_favourite_urban_fruit http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2008/09/pick_your_favourite_urban_fruit Eat & Drink Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:00:00 PDT Eat & Drink Roger Cullman 2008-09-20T07:00:00 Pedal-Powered Dance Party Kicks Off Car-Free Day Mr. Something Something is playing a free concert today at the Conservation & Sustainability Fair that will be powered entirely by bikes.

You can help power the party by jumping on one of the bikes for five minutes during their set. Or bring your own bike. It all goes down at the Evergreen Brick Works (550 Bayview Ave.) in the Don Valley. Cycle, walk or take the free shuttle bus from Broadview subway station.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/pedalpowered_dance_party_kicks_off_carfree_day http://www.blogto.com/music/2008/09/pedalpowered_dance_party_kicks_off_carfree_day Music Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:00:00 PDT Music Roger Cullman 2008-09-20T06:00:00