Archive for the ‘ B Sides ’ Category
Oh my freakin’ God, you guys…
Posted on May 25th, 2010 – 6 CommentsNo, I’m sorry, but the fireworks at Ontario Place suck serious donkey balls. So much so that even my photos of them suck.
I’m usually not a sucker for fireworks anyway, but when I went to see them last year at Ashbirdge’s Bay I accidentally stumbled on a spot that literally knocked my lid off. I mean, I’m sure they look great from the beach; the reason I know is because I heard the mighty cheers that arose from there with every new volley of thunder. I do not exaggerate when I say it sounded like a rock concert or a horde of vikings, and I was sitting entirely elsewhere.
TCL Flickr pool
Posted on May 25th, 2010 – Be the first to comment
untitled (@ Toronto Islands) by go ask alice i think she will know
Sugary sleepy fishes and other image problems
Posted on May 24th, 2010 – 4 CommentsDoesn’t it seem like the west end is always getting new stuff?
Like just the other day they got new pay shitters. On top of the novelty of $0.25, self-cleaning toilets, residents get the added bonus of getting to watch tourists peepee dance as they hunt for change.
On the east end alls we got now is scrub brush, mounds of dirt, and a bunch of factories.
Kinda ironic considering this section of town predates the west end. And over there they’ve got the Island Airport which Porter Airlines has nicened up considerably (so far, it seems, not abusing their monopoly), the Music Garden, not to mention the Harbourfront Centre and all the artsy shit it barfs up on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Queen of beer and explosions
Posted on May 24th, 2010 – 2 CommentsIf ever there was a doubt that Canada is still under the British monarchic yoke, you need look no further than up. Well, today anyway. Those explosions happening overhead aren’t even for a living Queen, they’re for Victoria who kicked the bucket at the turn of the last century.
But I don’t wanna get down on old Vickie. For a dusty old monarch she and her kids have barely flexed their muscles in Canada, and if it wasn’t for her we’d all be at work today. Plus the old gal was kind enough to lend her name to the standard Canadian unit of beer, the two-fer (as in, “Happy May two-fer weekend!”), which also goes swimmingly with this time of year.
So thanks for the day off, Vics! We’ll be doing it up for you proper today, not like those crappy fireworks at Ontario Place last night (above).
Didn’t even include the token black guy
Posted on May 23rd, 2010 – 4 Comments
How do you make the Toronto mayoral race interesting?
Well, I dunno if I have a definitive answer to that, but there’s a bunch of stuff you can do to prevent it from being less relevant.
I mean, the first televised debate earlier this week on local all-news CP24 was mangled pretty good. Judging by the reaction from the few remaining media outlets not owned by Rogers Communications, I wasn’t the only one underwhelmed by the ADD spectacle. This was made more acute by the fact CP24 is owned by Citytv which is owned by CTVglobemedia, a Rogers joint. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rogers already owns a controlling interest in Toronto City Life. Monopolistic issues aside, none of these organizations is exactly new to this type of thing, so their combined wisdom really should’ve produced something a bit more substantial.
When I stop counting
Posted on May 22nd, 2010 – Be the first to commentAfter welcoming Amber Dawn to the fold I decided I wouldn’t count anymore. I have every confidence that you can do that yourself, dear reader. :)
Besides, I wouldn’t assign a number to Matthew Del Biondi; he’s a little too much of himself to be categorized in that manner.
As a weekly feature contributor Matt will be giving us the video lowdown on Toronto’s social, arts, and party scenes, not necessarily in that order. Perhaps this isn’t an adequate description. To be honest, I didn’t ask him to elaborate, mostly because I like to be surprised.
In fact, I don’t really know much about Mr. Biondi. Mr. Del Biondi? Judging by his last name I’d guess he’s Italian. Judging by his MySpace account I’d say he’s an artist. Judging by his YouTube channel I’d surmise he’s a bit of a social butterfly with something to say. And judging by the initial email he sent me in which he mentioned seeing a TCL advert hanging in a local supermarket, he must live within a few blocks. Or he comes down here to buy groceries. :)
In any event, I’m very pleased to welcome Matt to the TCL team! I’ve been assured that what he has in store for TCL will be something different, but just like you I’ll have to be patient to find out exactly what that is. If involves “Life” in the “City” of “Toronto”, as I’m sure it will, it’ll be right up my alley.
So welcome, Matt! Super glad to have you with us. :D
Congee, nai cha, and me
Posted on May 20th, 2010 – 12 CommentsAha! I finally figured out why the smell of frying food conjures up such strong feelings of summer. And it isn’t all funnel cakes either.
The whole synesthetic experience must’ve started when I was still doing my ex-pat thing overseas. It was on the tropical island of Taiwan where winter temperatures hardly dipped below 10 Celsius (50 Fahrenheit), and the summers we non-stop steam baths regularly hitting 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), that I first made the association. After a few years of that, the link between summer heat and fried food musta just burned into my brain, I guess.
The fried food part of the equation is my favourite Taiwanese breakfast, usually eaten in small roadside shops surrounded by greasy steam and greasier customers.
The three most common meals at such establishment are, as I recall, lobogau, diced fried daikon (giant white radish), congee, a cold soup consisting of rice, some kind of shredded meat, and a variety of veggie / nut toppings, and dan bing, which I’ll be discussing here and the only thing that I actually enjoyed in the mornings. (Fried radish — gross!)
The name dan bing comes from the Mandarin words “ji dan” (chicken eggs), and “bing” (platter or plate – or ice if mispronounced). It’s usually accompanied by “nai cha”, literally “milk tea”, but with whitener being used instead of real milk — for a variety of reasons. Incidentally, this is also the secret ingredient in Tea Shop 168’s milk teas, unsurprisingly since this is also a Taiwanese company. (With tapioca in the milk tea — buble milk tea — it’s called “jinju nai cha”.)
Dan bing is super easy to make:
... with pictures
... with sounds
... with videos
... with opinions
... that's shorter
... that's longer
