toronto of the future

Mark, does this mean that they're actually going to build the fucker in this decade? 'Cause I've only lived here since '93, and that lot has to have been sitting there, undeveloped, for at least a decade.

C/D: Watching old shot-in-Toronto music videos just to count landmarks that are, in fact, no longer there.

(nb. i basically live on this corner)

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=60615&cdate=20060109&ctime=211027

ok, maybe not.

that picture is horrifying. although 'dundas square' is already horrifying enough. part if me thinks fuck it - may as well go completely over-the-top. it's not like there is a quality design/architectural theme at that corner to uphold. it will at least be consistent with the 3 other corners already loaded with giant videotrons and other crap. i mean, how often do you hang out at yonge and dundas anyway? (although i wait there for a streetcar home EVERY WORKING DAY. ACK!)

i wish "Rockwell Jeans" was still there :(

xp

The "metropolis complex" is hideous though -- all those lights and ads will kill the "openness" of the area.

I spend my lunch breaks there sometimes.

* where business dealings to this point has been limited to stumbling in at 2:30am to steal pop from their unguarded fridge.

i should point out - being in europe until march will make this very easy for me

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_27228.aspx

shots fired, nobody hit. but holy shit if this didn't happen on my doorstep, and the report puts the guy running east past my building about 5 minutes before i got home from work. just went out for a look and the Panzarotti Pizza on Yonge and Alexander and the Marriot are surrounded by yellow police tape, though the patio of the sushi place next door is full of unconcerned diners. there's still cruisers everywhere, and i overheard a cop say "i think he's a suspect...," which sounds like they don't have a whole lot yet. this after two shootings on tuesday.

well we can all look forward to even more of this as long as Harper keeps squeaking into office.
i live in chinatown and over the last 3 years the area has gotten worse and worse at an alarming rate.

it's funny to see how news coverage is starting to treat gunplay more and more like a common occurance. if you hadn't posted that link i would have not even heard about this!

Everyone's shooting each other in Toronto lately! I can think of probably 10 incidents I've heard about in the last month.. which is a lot for us I think!

The complex linked above is built now: congratulations, we're in the future! It's not nearly as gaudy as the picture imagined but I think they haven't got all their screens up yet/all the building inside finished? The AMC is pretty decent, as is the Future Shop.

As if Dundas Square and the re-faced Eaton Centre aren't gaudy enough.

This doesn't seem out of place with what's there already.

I feel the same way. If we want way too freaking pretty, we can go to High Park. When I go to the Eaton Centre, it's because I was to indulge my inner consumer.

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v254/224/57/516053577/n516053577_471958_3330.jpg

so they caught the shithead.

Coke is a hell of a drug! I'm not surprised they caught this guy.. now can we concentrate a little more on all the monsters shooting people up on Driftwood, Finch, Sheppard??

This probably isn't the right thread to be posting this to, but I couldn't find one which dealt specifically with municipal politics, and it wasn't really worth starting a new one. But is anyone in and around T.O. following the Adam Giambrone train wreck? I never liked the guy and think that his ambition far outstrips his talents, but what a way to crash and burn.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/763124--emotional-adam-giambrone-admits-to-multiple-affairs?bn=1

http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/f6/f6/bf48b49d465e838a378df72154c7.jpeg

quiddities etc.

If I hadn't just moved out of Toronto, I'd wait all night in the rain to vote against this guy.

So what's the Appalachian Trail of Canada?

I find it pretty upsetting.. as an exclusive TTC rider I was considering voting for him in the hopes we might get more attention paid to the transit system.. but I can't endorse this cheating BS.

One website has more of what they claim to be his texts, some of which are pretty fucking lulzy:

The Secret Giambrone Text Messages
BREAKING NEWS

Thanks to the very groundbreaking investigative reporting by the Toronto Star, Torontonians awoke today to a real life front page political scandal! It turns out, according to the trustworthy and credible newspaper, city councillor, mayoral candidate and chair of the TTC Adam Giambrone had cheated on his girlfriend.

Kristen Lucas the jilted 19-year lover claims to have maintained a sexual relationship with the councillor for over a year; she claims she was unceremoniously dumped when Mr. Giambrone announced his candidacy of Mayor and required his real life girlfriend as a political prop. In a classy move, Lucas released several private text messages to the Toronto Star to verify the relationship. The Star however chose to print only a select few. We at the Canadian Enthusiast have been lucky enough to obtain, from an unnamed source, several of the unprinted text messages sent by Mr. Giambrone to Ms. Lucas. I am certain you will find them truly shocking.

December 16, 2008 (11:05 pm) - Had a good time last nite. Nice to meet u - Adam

December 22, 2008 (4:22 pm) – We still on for later? If you need help with your Arabic homework just let me know. Adam G

January 4, 2009 (7:47 pm) - Be there soon. Taking my car…the better way. LMAO!

February 3, 2009 (6:12 pm) - FYI - Rob Ford is really fat.

February 27, 2009 (7:26 pm) - Just took a great nap. Back to work! C U 2 Nite! Addy.

March 12, 2009 (11:05 pm) U should read some of David’s (Miller) poetry. He is amazing.

April 27, 2009 (9:34 pm) - Just stopped to get a coffee, car is running outside. I’ll be there in about 7 min.

May 10, 2009 (8:42 am) – Spending Mother’s Day with my elderly parents who live near by. Stop by your place later tonight? A-One!

July 12, 2009 (8:21 pm) - Negotiations with the City’s Union have broken off. Looks like I have the night free. Wanna do sumthing?

July 16, 2009 (11:15 am) – I swear to God Howard Moscoe doesn’t own a tie. Seriously.

July 27, 2009 (6:37 pm) - Press conference, Mayor is killing it! I’m in the crowd. Look for me on CityTV @ 11.

August 12, 2009 (1:13 pm) - Adam Vaughn smells like wet wool.

August 29, 2009 (10:57 am) - Gawd some days I wish this was car city, but that is not what DM wants. I must trust him.

September 25, 2009 (4:21 pm) - I’ll be l8t getting there..have to take the subway (political reasons)

October 8, 2009 (3:17 pm) - Paging patient Lucas. Dr. Giambrone calling. Your needed on my office couch for a thorough analysis.

October 9, 2009 (5:56 am) - On CP24 Breakfast with Ann Rohmer watch for me!

October 9, 2009 (2:35 pm) - DM came into my office and sat right down on the couch! OMG all I could think of was last night.

November 1, 2009 (6:53 pm) - Hey don’t tell anyone what I told you last night about the TTC ticket prices, K? Yer the Best!! A – Bomb

November 1, 2009 (6:55 pm) - BTW, I’d like to raise your fares. LOL A-Plus.

November 3, 2009 (3:24 pm) - Sex l8tr? My office? A- OK!

November 3, 2009 (3:26 pm) - No fare increase to ride the Giambrone rocket tonight!

December 27, 2009 (11:55 pm) - 911! I am running for mayor.

December 27, 2009 (11:56 pm) - You know I have a girlfriend, right?

December 28, 2009 (12:03 am) – No? Whoops. I guess we were so busy getting hot and heavy I forgot to mention it. C U L8tr BB

http://www.thecanadianenthusiast.com/2010/02/secret-giambrone-text-messages.html

...Biggest disappoint is his misuse of "your" in that doctor text.. not to mention calling his car The Better Way and saying he needs to use the subway for political reasons! FFS!

The fact I take transit every day is the primary reason I would never consider voting for him. He's never shown any interest in improving the sorry state of the TTC, and has used the chairmanship merely as a springboard to what he thought were going to be bigger and better things. I'm generally pro-labour, but he's let the union get way out of control and refused to publicly rebuke them even when they pulled that stunt where they walked out unannounced at midnight on a Friday night, stranding thousands of people who had taken transit out that night and expected to take it home as well. I understand that the are major issues with regards to they system being chronically underfunded, but why wasn't he petitioning the province and the feds for the TTC's fair share instead of just mugging for every camera he could get his giant head in front of? And with regards to customer service, and the entire organizational culture of the TTC, to affect any real change, direction must come from the top, and he couldn't care any less. And even when called on his dismal record as head of the transit commission, he tried to pass the blame off on the General Manager, painting himself as some sort of mere figurehead who isn't responsible for the day-to-day operations. The guy's a tool and deserved to get crushed in the election this fall.

In actual fact, I don't actually care what he does in his personal life. There were already enough reasons to not vote for him. I do feel bad for his girlfriend, with all this playing out on the front pages, but he brought it on himself. It's just a pity that others have to suffer too.

I feel bad for his girlfriend too.. she works at Queen's Park IIRC and it has to be a hard week for her to go in, knowing everyone knows her business all of a sudden!

Looks like we don't have a chance to vote or not vote anymore.. it's being reported on Twitter that he just issued a press release dropping out of the Mayoral race.

pretty sure those text messages are satire. They are funny, in any case. Are there actually any reasonable candidates for Mayor this time around? Looking less and less likely.

Satire? Oh dear.. Forgive me. Stuck at work and didn't investigate the site thoroughly.. gah.

Everyone running for mayor is uninspiring IMO.. Hopefully someone a little more liberal will throw his hat in.. But more likely everyone is too scared of their own skeletons now that Giambrone was outed!

uninspiring or worse. But, hey! Remember 2003? Now THERE was an election with some real crazies in it. Jakobek, where are you now?

This is the saddest crop of candidates in my lifetime. The frontrunner is responsible for wasting $1 Billion of taxpayer money, but somehow that's less interesting than groupie sex on a couch at city hall.

in 2003 my dad ran for mayor (he has mental illness issues) and got about 1500 votes or something surprising! think it was because we have a funny last name.

please to excuse my use of the word "crazies". There were some interesting events in the 2003 election, though. Certainly more entertaining than what's going on now, anyway.

don't worry about it.. Actually your use of the word crazies reminded me that my dad ran.. Something I tried to block out, it was a weird time :)

Is he running again? Because so far, there's nobody I can get behind.

considering our last name is d 1 c k $ that is a pretty funny accidental joke. but no, I don't think he is!

Oh I have been feeling down about the Adam Giambrone thing all week. what a shame.
Really wish I could watch this race from up close but I am in BC - I'd take this election over the Olympics any day.

im not gonna comment cuz i know this dude personally but OY

this is horrible.

Ditto. Amazed that Smitherman + Pantalone finished behind Ford. People are angry because...traffic sometimes gets bogged down by street festivals? So am I, sometimes. So what.

I'm kind of in shock. Over half of the popular vote?? In the world's most diverse city? Can someone in Toronto explain since I personally know no one who likes Ford? Also, I don't understand the unpopularity of Pantalone (or Miller for that matter). He seemed like the most sensible guy in the debate I watched. Is it just a tax issue?

brutal

sundar: yes. people care more about the pennies they don't have in their or wallet than anything else.

don't know how that "or" got in there.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm especially disappointed because Pantalone was the best choice and I reluctantly voted for Smitherman to head off Ford. It looks like it might not have even mattered if every single Pantalone voter had done the same.

what might have made a difference is if the 50% of the city that fucking sat at home had a fucking brain.

Welcome to your new home, Torontonians: Wasilla, Ontario.

Ugh, just ugh.

On the cover of the Star it said Ford: 47%, Smitherman 36%, and Pantalone 12%. I don't know if Pantalone dropping out would have turned the tide ultimately, but what can you do now :(

Reactionary politics at its worst. Incumbent A sucks, so we'll vote for B because he's the most anti-A. See past elections where (A, B) = (Rae, Harris) or (Martin, Harper).

Ford is a dolt, and Smitherman made a comment about Canada's policy during the Holocaust a couple of months ago that offended me personally and convinced me that he might be even dumber than Ford, so I'm not sure who I would have voted for here. I probably would have stayed home, actually.

I thought about the breakdown too, but I think it's dreaming (and mathematically very unlikely) that the Pantalone vote would have broken 3 or 4 to 1 Smitherman's way. Sadly, Ford won resoundingly.

"yes. people care more about the pennies they don't have in their wallet than anything else."

Bingo. Small-minded quasi libertarianism. Just wait until their new garbage-pickup bills start coming in.

RIP toronto

Bags packed, gonna ride my bike out of town before it's illegal to do so.

ya i watched a debate where Smithers made a joke about Joe Pants' height and i started to wonder – if Toronto was going to have an offensive idiot for mayor one way or the other, why not make it the tea party guy so we can *all* hate his guts in a few years instead of the liberal guy.

So along with Bluto, we get the brother/campaign manager. Colorful sister and mother to follow.

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/tdgh-sep/Billy%20Carter.jpg

You've probably already seen this old clip: http://torontoist.com/2008/03/the_excoriation.php. No one comes out of it well, including John Barber, who's writing I used to like. But man, 4 years of that voice is not something I look forward to.

Incumbent A sucks, so we'll vote for B because he's the most anti-A. See past elections where (A, B) = (Rae, Harris) or (Martin, Harper).

See, I don't think Miller created a massive debt while simultaneously alienating labour like Rae or was corrupt like Martin. Quite the opposite on both counts. I tend to agree with the Star here:

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/880076--face-it-torontonians-miller-time-was-good

That said, while I didn't think Smitherman was terrible, his campaign and debating style did leave something to be desired, yes.

Also, Toronto's election was so much more compelling than Windsor's that it's ridiculous.

people are tired of wasteful spending GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE am i not making myself clear PUT YOUR FUCKING HELMET ON sorry, what was the question? anyway BYE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHJGR4i7fhw

h8rs need to recognize its all u can eat time @ the victory buffet & rob ford is one hungry drunk racist

srsly luv this dude so much - cruisin miami beach blitzed outta his mind getting lifted dreaming of killing cyclists with his own meaty hands... bet this dude could str8 murder a butter chicken too.

also just the fact that every damm day hes gonna pimp outta the mayoral suites spit on a homeless protester like "get a job or at least a decent defensive line, buddy" then hop into the volvo suv & listen to sports talk radio for seven hours... amazing

hope he personally fires all the city councillors puts the vidz of it on youtube

never really thought abt it like that before

See, I don't think Miller created a massive debt while simultaneously alienating labour like Rae or was corrupt like Martin. Quite the opposite on both counts. I tend to agree with the Star here:

And yet he still managed to alienate labour and the centre-right.

That's a strange editorial you linked to, Sund4r:

Ten years ago, Toronto was a laughing stock as the city that had to call in the army to get rid of a snowfall. Today, the city is recognized around the world as a leader in the effort to address the issues of air and water pollution and global warming.

Um, apples and oranges?

But there’s no question that Toronto under Miller’s leadership passes the Ronald Reagan test — it’s a much better place than it was when he was elected.

Hmmm I didn't expect THAT to be the big finish!

i know it's off topic, but wtf, are people out there seriously still bringing up that army/snow thing?! it's as if no-one was actually in the city during those days. at the time i was only living two blocks from where i worked (waterfront to front st) and there was so much snow that it was literally not possible to walk to work, you know, without snowshoes - which city dwellers don't tend to have on hand. there was a LOT of snow, and yes, the army helping out seemed really ridiculous despite also actually fixing a huge problem, so at the time a little bit of ribbing from the rest of the country seemed apropos - but omfg, a decade later people should drop it already and not talk about it as some huge, actual fiasco.

that radio interview is quite depressing - glad to see it has more than 15K extra hits since yesterday though.

didn't the army *have* to be called in because Lastman had already blown the snow removal budget? (i'm asking - can't remember details so well)

ah fuck.. just deleted my whole response by accident. in short - don't think so? think it actually happened because of multiple storms bringing several record snowfalls in a short period of time and predictions for more on the way - new snow coming faster than it could be removed by usual means. might have depended upon where people were in the city, but from my experience, all the concerns about the mobility of seniors, emergency vehicles etc. seemed totally legit. so it just doesn't seem like a real monumentally foolish action that deserves this kind of mythical status. more like the "laughing stock" mockery was totally predictable under any circumstances (bar entirely snow buried buildings and white wolves roaming the streets) and was based on simple opportunity and regional preconceptions. believe that the army also helped out in quebec during the ice storm only the year or two beforehand, so i guess lastman just figured if it worked once... not to defend that guy (ultimately) just saying!

on my phone so too lazy to link but story breaking about ford team creating a fake pro-smitherman anti-ford account who pushed oxycontin guy to release his tape...shameful. these tactics now running our city?

i just looked up the story. why am i not surprised the Sun was helping him out here. if it was the star doing this for Smitherman everyone would be howling at the moon about it.

And yet he still managed to alienate labour and the centre-right.

Has there been a better mayor for labour?? Miller moved towards more balanced budgets while still generally doing some good for public employees AFAICT, not an easy balancing act. TBH, I actually think the social contract was an OK idea too but my point was that Rae increased govt spending (or at least the govt deficit) while also imposing austerity measures on provincial employees, something of a 'worst of both worlds' scenario.

Anyone who's not right-wing is going to alienate the right, aren't they? I could say that I feel alienated by every conservative politican from the past 20 years.

Ten years ago, Toronto was a laughing stock as the city that had to call in the army to get rid of a snowfall. Today, the city is recognized around the world as a leader in the effort to address the issues of air and water pollution and global warming.

Um, apples and oranges?

You're probably right here. (I didn't live in Toronto at the time of the snowstorm.)

The fake Twitter account story fwiw: http://torontoist.com/2010/10/rob_fords_team_created_a_fake_twitter_account_and_this_is_it.php

That's kind of a brilliant tactic, I have to admit.

And yet he still managed to alienate labour and the centre-right.

Rethinking this, maybe your point was just that he pissed off people on both sides of the spectrum and they swung all the way around to Ford in reaction, regardless of whether Miller was actually making good, albeit unpopular, decisions. You're probably right if so.

This is all pretty hilarious. These days I don't feel so bad having to sit through mildly batshit Montreal politics.

i know right

Way to go!

The “War on the Car” may be over, but the War on the City has only just begun.

After mere hours on the job, Toronto’s newest mayor can already claim to have done more damage to this city than most chief magistrates manage in an entire career.

No doubt they were cheering in Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York as Ford announced he had killed Transit City — though that remains to be seen — but they are the ones who will bear the brunt of his shortsightedness in the years and decades ahead. Indeed, unless council turns out to be exceptionally strong, Ford’s foolishness will set Toronto back immeasurably.

With Ford at the helm, Toronto is set to become Buffalo North, a fate that most likely would please His Worship; after all, the traffic there hums along ever so nicely.

The irony, of course, is that this one-note mayor who rode the “gravy train” to office, along with a promise to “end the waste at city hall,” will now preside over the squandering, among other things, of a $8.1 billion mass transit plan that would have brought mobility to thousands who now spend their lives waiting for the bus to arrive.

Be careful what you wish for, they say, and Torontonians will have four years to discover the truth of these words.

But even before Ford assumed office Wednesday morning, he had made it clear he would do everything in his power to halt progress. Then came the appointment of North Toronto Councillor Karen Stintz to the all-important position of TTC chair. With that one move, he signaled this isn’t a role he takes seriously.

The platitudinous Stintz immediately switched on the “customer service” tape and began mouthing the now-familiar Fordian refrains about getting our house in order, respect the taxpayer, etc.

But if respect for taxpayers really were the issue, why is Ford in such a rush to throw billions out the window? Even he must know by now that you don’t undo a decade of planning and bickering with the provincial and federal governments — who are, let’s not forget, paying the Transit City bill. They’ll be spending money that comes from the same taxpayers Ford is so anxious to protect.

Ford’s real intention, however, is to rid the roads of streetcars, which, along with bikes and pedestrians, are the main combatants in the aforementioned War on Cars.

“Streets,” Ford has declared, “are for cars, trucks and buses.”

That’s why subways are preferred; they’re out of sight and out of mind. Too bad they cost three to five times as much as the LRTs of Transit City. Too bad the four boring machines bought at a cost of $54 million to tunnel beneath Eglinton aren’t big enough for subways. Too bad a deal has been signed with Bombardier to provide 182 LRVs. And what about those expropriated properties?

And so it goes. Waste piled upon waste.

But the most curious aspect of all is that none of this matters to Ford supporters. For them, he is not politician so much as an enabler. He’s the one who makes it okay to give in to feelings our mothers disapproved of. He’s the one who promises to enshrine selfishness as a civic right. Already Ford has said that road rage forms the basis of his transit policy.

We won’t have to fret about political correctness any more; those days are officially over. The fact that Ford is also the one who scoffs loudest at those who imagine Toronto actually could be a great city. Those days are over, too.

i love how this baby huey motherfucker gets voted in on a platform of spending restraint and the first thing he wants to do is bloat the cost of our transit plan threefold!

anyway - i don't see council ok'ing this kind of idiocy.

To paraphrase Rosemary's Baby: "2010--Year One!"

RIP

Well, that was nice city we had, once.

And again, I ask: "WTF, Toronto"?

(Baby Huey motherfucker!)

As someone living and working on Eglinton I am so very sad about transit city being threatened. Wrote a polite letter urging him to reconcile..

call him. he doesn't do reading - but apparently he will call people back.

I'm not much of a speaker. :(

yeah, almost starting to forget now that i'm a suburbanite, but that bus across Eglinton (the 32?) was and probably still is pretty untenable during busy times. when my little Julia was still a baby in a strap on carrier, actually bruised up one of her feet in the crush getting back to the Allen from the Yonge side.

this guy is horrible.

Aww, that's terrible! Allen-Yonge is exactly where I need to go and I find it's faster to go down to St Clair, catch the streetcar (right of way!) across & come back up :P

ha! St Clair across was under construction most of the time i lived there, but you're so otm. if i was coming back west from the Yonge subway line, if i was tired or it was cold i was quite likely to ride through Eg station and route all the way south to come back up the other side rather than deal with the bus across. you know something is wrong when that seems easier!

i took the 32 every day in high school

thug life

Today, Don Cherry (apparently, Joe the Plumber was unavailable); tomorrow, wolves and helicopters.

A lot of my friends left MTL for TO over the past 12 months so I have to admit to some schadenfreude here. (Though I have no idea if TO cuty council will actually let Ford/Cherry etc. get away with their boneheaded fucking agenda.)

*city council

I've got to admit, streetcars are pretty stupid. The only good thing is that they hold more people than a bus and they don't lurch around quite so much, but that's it.

I never liked the subway in Toronto. It's useless for you if you live/work in that big central rectangle of TO that has High Park to the West, Spadina to the East, the water to the south, and Bloor to the north (although equally unwieldy if you want go north of Bloor). You're still going to have to take a bus down Ossington and then a streetcar over to etc. etc. etc. or the Spadina streetcar and then etc. etc.

In MTL at least the metro is vaguely planned around areas where the highest density is (although that changes as it increasingly becomes a property development puppet for condos in Laval and south shore).

to has like the crappiest public transportation

i used to love streetcars until some tracks on mccaul caused me to fly off my bike and break my ribs in september, now i'm not so hot on them

ppl in toronto are kind of OBSESSED with the ttc tho is the thing

It has a pretty huge impact on most of those people's lives tho.

Goddam subway fire this morning makes the second time in a week I've been over an hour late to work because the TTC was out.

its also redonc expensive

those day passes are such a scam

and the stops are like a million miles apart

Were obsessed with the TTC because so many people depend on it, yet it's in terrible fucking shape and is in dire need of being fixed, and assholes like this are seriously exacerbating the problem. I don't think there's anyone in toronto who would jump to the defense of the TTC.

Jesus Christ, I long for a world where Don Cherry would be publicly executed.

thats the 2nd ilx post this morning 2 call for the public execution of some1. ilx in revolutionary mood.

srsly support this tho comrades

Haha, where is the other one? (I don't know if it's a coincidence that I'm currently finishing up editing an essay largely about Jacques Louis David and revolutionary propaganda).

irish politics thread, i know enough abt this cherry guy to say theyre vaguely comparable figures too

to has like the crappiest public transportation

I mean, it's better than Buffalo's or Windsor's but if you're only comparing to fairly major cities that actually try, you may be on to something...

(I've never actually tried public transit in Detroit.)

Btw, wtf, I was back in Toronto this fall after a long enough while... Has the city gotten much dirtier or is my memory sanitized?

funny you say that - i have wondered the same thing when back in my old neighbourhood after a year+ out here. asking myself if it really always looked so grubby.

(I've never actually tried public transit in Detroit.)

Here's a tip: don't. Trust me on this one.

I'm looking at this piddly NOW cover with Rob Ford, and I'm amazed (and not so amazed) that they'd be dumb enough to take the bait and turn it into a story. A sense of humour is one thing I've never associated with NOW. To be charitable, it's the kind of thing my grade 6 students would find funny; to be less charitable, I'd have to go down a grade or three for that to be true.

h8rs need to recognize its all u can eat time @ the victory buffet & rob ford is one hungry drunk racist

― if you had this display name you'd have been finested by now (Lamp), Friday, 29 October 2010 02:18 (5 months ago) Bookmark

ha aha ha ha ha

anyways. we should lock this thread for 3.5 years.

i cannot believe it, but Rob Ford is even dumber than i thought. what a fucking stupid baby-huey mother fucker.

it's a no-brainer and i hope council (ie his "right-wing" toadies) grow the balls to overturn this.

Holy fuck, this fucking guy.

What the fuck is wrong with him?

"baby-huey mother fucker"

Gotta be more to it than stupidity, but maybe not.

ignorance? arrogance?
all under the stupidity umbrella imho.

he told the province he needed all applicants to provide a photo of themselves 'in costume' & their measurements and when the province sd that wasnt going to happen he refused the nurses out of spite

lol

His cottage is in HUNTSVILLE. Honestly dude, drive a couple hours FROM the cottage TO the parade, make a polite appearance and then go back up to Blue Lights and couchtime. >:P

seriously tho - who would want him there. let baby huey drink it up in his huntsville cottage the fuck away from decent people.

i mean - a *real* mayor would be there - but that, he is not. he's a repulsive doofus who has long ago alienated the gay community. let him hang out with his rich, white, straight family and friends.

And his gimp outfit.

I am loving this photo gallery

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityoftoronto

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly28xdxYMo1qzrdrno1_400.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6634966323_9f6b1fe2fc_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6634938799_09d3429965_z.jpg

wow

those are some amazing pictures. Sadly just looking at Ford makes me angry. >:|

(vomits)

seeing how many people have favourited the deranged images, as opposed to the normal ones is pretty lol

I only just noticed that that man is CARRYING A RABBIT IN A BABY CARRIAGE.

ALONG WITH A SIGN SAYING "NO PHOTOS"!

From this moment forward, I will no longer make fun of American politics.

finally #1 in a poll that includes American options, non health care edition:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/food-markets/

Look at this amazing archive of photos of Toronto of the past I found yesterday:
http://wholemap.com/historic/toronto.php?neighbourhood

oh nice! The Toronto Archives has a searchable database of photos too. Ahh, but I see they link to that site as a source, very good.

new islands? http://www.thestar.com/news/transportation/article/1156248--island-life-coming-to-humber

oooh, that would be lovely. can they build another big island for housing? I'm sure the existing waiting list is about 200 years.. :P

this is one thing i always tell people is amazing about Toronto - the food. no one ever seems to think of it - but T. is such a multicultural city and the food is just so varied with a lot of quality farmland nearby. might not be alot of super-high end, world-renowned places to eat - but who cares when there are so many quality options.

been following this all morning:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1251163--what-s-at-stake-for-mayor-rob-ford-in-conflict-of-interest-case

it's just amazing how dense Ford is coming across. he seems to have a literal interpretation of "conflict of interest"...
someone suggested that playing dumb might be his best defense - that if he doesn't even understand the basics of council conduct and transparency that he might be let off the hook (because he didn't knowingly break the rules). it's amazing, but sort of makes sense... "if he's a dimwit, you must acquit!"

This is just the shadenfreude I need for my move back to Toronto next week.

Meanwhile RUSH and teh Blue Jayes are goign nerserk

i don't think i've ever posted this here before, but I've been keeping a blog of emails i've been sending to our good Mayor. here's the latest:
http://thankyouforyourfeedback.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/a-slow-clap-sir-for-your-brave-testimony/

"I DECLARE THE SEAT OF THE RESPONDENT, ROBERT FORD, ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL, VACANT"!!!

We were talking about it here: Everyone you pass seems to wanna say hello: brand new all purpose all season TORONTO thread

I wouldn't have ever voted for him but this has to be the slightest reason to evict a democratically elected leader from office that I can think of, at least in this country.

mandatory minimum! he was clearly guilty and if a lesser punishment was permitted he probably would have gotten off easier.

Hm, this suggested that there were other possible options?: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/11/23/rob-ford-conflict-interest-finding216.html

huh - didn't know about the 3rd option, about the amount being too small. the other two are essentially reason to find him not guilty tho; that he either a) had no idea whatsoever or B) had a very good reason

Option 3 was the one I meant, really. That might actually have been too generous though!

yup. Ford had made a stink in council a few years earlier about 1/3 of that amount involving some other councilor - so the "to small" argument would never have flown in the first place, due to Fords very own words! lol

Oh the sweet kiss of schadenfreude, how I've missed you.

Tremblay and Ford out!! What a good month for canadian cities.

Rob Ford crack-smoking tape!

By which I mean http://gawker.com/for-sale-a-video-of-toronto-mayor-rob-ford-smoking-cra-507736569?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Wow!

It's actually incredible that the Rob Ford saga could actually reach a new peak of SMDHness but there it goes.

being reported by the star now! i'm still not sure... this could go either way.

i mean he is smoking crack but he's also saying what we all wanted to say about trudeau but were afraid to say

Love that Gawker said "Pierre Trudeau" but Toronto Star reports "no, no.. Justin."

Honestly I am not really surprised by this, he's always seemed like my Dad's shifty friends (70s Scarborough white trash party kid) and this is a route a few of them went down too.

xpost: we all want to call justin trudeau a fag??????

Love that Gawker said "Pierre Trudeau" but Toronto Star reports "no, no.. Justin."

Honestly I am not really surprised by this, he's always seemed like my Dad's shifty friends (70s Scarborough white trash party kid) and this is a route a few of them went down too.

― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Friday, May 17, 2013 8:28 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

a few of them became mayor?!

There is no one Rob Ford, there are many.

Well my Dad ran for mayor, so zing's on you bro! :) Got about 2K votes but I think it was due to our funny last name. Democracy!
His mannerisms, speech, it's hard to describe how he reminds me of everyone but I met many Ford types as a child.

your last name is Democracy? how did he not win??

No, his last name is D 1 c k $ and apparently 2000 people thought that was funny enough to vote for (he did not campaign or speak to press so unlikely anyone voted because of his unknown "views")

"We'll double do it for ya."

Just rumours, I guess, but this would be pretty sad. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/16/iconic-honest-eds-store-quietly-put-up-for-sale/ "> http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/16/iconic-honest-eds-store-quietly-put-up-for-sale/ . (re: last line of the article) Brad Lamb is way more of an eyesore than all of Honest Ed's signage.

More importantly, what about SonicBoom? Suspect Video?

Heard that on the radio this morning. I lived a couple of blocks south in the mid-'80s; my roommate and I shot some super-8 footage of the insane throng at Bathurst and Bloor the time Mr. T was in town (at Honest Ed's invite, I think, but I don't remember). For some reason, I doubt that I've actually been in the store ten times in my life.

I live a few blocks west. Have bought the occasional crappy item there, which usually broke on first use. But the signage will be missed. And where will people go to buy busts of Elvis?

meanwhile in yonge and dundas square... http://unexpectedentertainment.net/reporter-asks-a-man-whats-your-name-she-immediately-regrets-it/