At the Pug Awards, Thomson expressed her desire to bury hydro lines and aesthetically improve the public realm - not sure if this is part of her platform, though.

Rob Ford was completely out of his element at the Pug Talks, and would default to his customary one-toned sermon about cutting taxes and reining in spending (alongside the occasional reminder that he had experience running a multimillion dollar business and was always willing to stand up for the...

Many said developing countries devote great swathes of land to growing commodity crops for export rather than staple crops, which helps to streamline those economies into money-making machines, yet is of little benefit towards feeding the local populations. I see no detriment in promoting...

I hope they reinstall that Tim Burton-inspired iron fencing behind Church of the Redeemer that was ripped out for the renovations.

The elevations I saw a little while ago indeed showed a considerably less dramatic version of the Ritz building's sloping roof.

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but the new Longo's at Yonge and Bloor (well, Bloor and Park Rd, really) has a sign in front saying it's opening on March 3 (tomorrow).

I guess I was somewhat off when I said "randomly" undulating balconies (rather than a predictable wave pattern), but otherwise it's more or less as I pictured it. The roof should slope off into a Ritz-like peak, albeit more subtle.

Your friend could potentially be my next-door neighbour. If that's the case, I hope the dinner party I'm hosting tonight doesn't make too much noise ;)

Although I'm on the N/E corner, my bedroom does in fact face the X site. In any case, I too am not looking forward to the construction hassles of Couture going up, although I relish the thought of it blocking the rest of my view of the Rogers Building (that brand of garish PoMo just doesn't do...

I live on the N/E corner of Bloor Walk and the noise never really bothered me in the mornings (then again, I sleep like a rock, so I may be lucky in that respect). What bothered me more was all the dust brought up by excavation and construction, not to mention the demolition of the previous...

I attended a Bloor East Neighbourhood Association (BENA) annual meeting this evening, and while the "keynote" speaker was Kyle Rae, the community planning manager for downtown (Al Rezoski) was also there to spot Kyle and field questions. I came down and chatted with Al (incidentally, a very...

Yumm ... my girlfriend and I made headcheese just a few weekends ago. The problem is finding a stockpot big enough to hold a head!

I don't think it's as bad, but the Bay & Davenport intersection is also pretty hostile to pedestrians.

I'm being cautiously optimistic, but perhaps they're holding off on replacing the paving directly in front of the building until the city contractors finish up the N-W corner of Bloor and Church. Otherwise, the north sidewalk would be completely blocked off to pedestrian access. It appears that...

This one made me do a double-take, since at first glance it looked like a laptop ad!

I hate to digress and open up a can of worms, but I have to contest this rather broad statement. Killing animals per se for food consumption does not constitute cruelty. There certainly are ethical methods of raising and slaughtering livestock, and I think there's an increasing public awareness...

I'm not going to take a side on this issue, but here is an interesting article some might like to read about the Michelin Guide, containing an exhaustive look into the job description of a Michelin inspector. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/23/091123fa_fact_colapinto

I'd like to add the BBQ pork bun and an additional positive testimonial to this pick.

I was just thinking the same thing after having read fiendishlibrarian's post. I admire his/her fierce advocacy for improving our public realm, and while I certainly stand behind many of those ideas, others border on the absurdly draconian. Removing postboxes and newspaper kiosks? I think I...

My girlfriend dressed up as a 1940s RCAF officer this past Hallowe'en, and with a simple swap of the insignia she could have passed for that token collector instead.