Double Feature at The Bait Shop – Beauty and the Beast and TENS
358 Dufferin Street, Suite 117
Toronto, Ontario, M6K 1Z8

Saturday January 30th
Doors at 7pm, vids start at 9pm.
Cash Bar
Open session on the mini ramp
(note 751 afterparty for those inclined…)

Toronto's PFL stopped in at the Casbah in Hamilton Thursday. Oh, the carnage!

The Pillow Fight League only gets better. I missed #36 at the Mod Club and decided to make the trek to Hamilton to catch Fight #37.

This was the first match ever to be hosted in Hamilton and the PFL didn’t dissapoint. The Casbah turned out to be a perfect venue. Judging by screams and enthusiasm from the crowd some new fans were converted.

Don’t worry Hamilton has hijacked the PFL. The next Toronto match promises to be an exciting new chapter. (One that involves SATURDAY NIGHTS instead of weeknights!).

PFL 39 – NEW DAY RISING!

Saturday Feb. 27, 2010
$12 in advance, $15 at door
Doors 9 pm, fights 10 pm

GZA rocked the house with Pro Tools and Liquid Swords at the Sound Academy on January 25th, 2010.

Despite a deep set of opening acts and the usual mild mannered Toronto crowd GZA, rocked the Sound Academy. Opening for GZA (and what a difficult task that must have been!!!) were The WILDcore, Skratch Bastid, and Shing Shing Regime.

The WILDcore started the evening and were an interesting mix of live instruments, some DJing and MC’s. Glad that they were not the horrible rap metal of the 90’s. They seemed to blend break beats and mixed them with interesting pop/rock/even pop punk edginess.

Skratch Bastid’s set was an impressive showcase of turntablism. Like a good DJ he stirred the ground and built up the momentum.

Shing Shing Regime held their own. I’m sure these guys will continue to make Ontario proud with solid Hip Hop.

Of course the headliner came correct. MC Gary Grice aka The Genius aka The GZA… Delivered, period…

GZA @ Sound Academy
Doors Open at 8pm
19+
11 Polson Street
$20 – Ticketmaster

“Today’s changes, although difficult, are necessary to align our operations with the economic and regulatory realities of our industry,” says Leslie Sole, CEO, Rogers Media Television. Today’s press release adds fuel to the fire that the consolidation of media outlets has not only reduced real “choice” but has resulted in fewer jobs. (Some would argue consolidation has meant less quality too!) It seems the bulk of job losses are related to markets outside of Toronto. It is likely that some CityTV Toronto on-air personalities, writers, producers, editors and camera people are affected by this announcement.

Love it or hate it CityTV’s new home is Yonge and Dundas Square. Hoping that this “rationalization” doesn’t further erode what was once one of Toronto’s best stations. My condolences to those that have lost their jobs in these uncertain times.

Canada has said that it will match charitable donations for the relief effort up to C$50 million. The department of Foreign Affairs and International trade has listed ways citizens can help contribute to the relief effort.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is an awesome photographer. Both “The Earth From Above” and his latest “6 Billion Others” project are amazing.

With an aging demographic and well established rights for elderly persons and those with mobility problems it’s hard to believe such a fight was so difficult. Paul DiSalvo had to wait a year and a half to have his condo to equipped with an accessibility ramp.

Why the condo was built without some form of accessibility in the first place? An entirely valid question. Too often simple design features like a wheelchair ramp are omitted or simply excluded from the plans. This often means expensive retrofitting for relatively inexpensive enhancements that add value. Unfortunately the dwellers of the condo will get tapped for the Halton Condominium Corporation’s damages/fees. Sad since the condo corporation’s board were not doing them any favours by fighting such an easy accommodation and for so long. Wouldn’t take a genius to come up with the cost benefit of accommodation (of a legal requirement) versus a year and a half of legal fees, damages and a ramp! Whoa!!!

At the end of the day whether or not one or many residents need a wheelchair ramp everyone benefits. Who knows whether a resident will eventually need one due to health or have a relative or visitor that would require it? Such a feature only enhances the value of the property and improves the quality of life of the people who use it. The more that employers, businesses, transit authorities and the general public are mindful of these issues the more we stand to gain.

A simple example of commuter/consumer courtesy that can save time and effort for everyone. Good to see that the ridership seems to be working to make this work. The TTC are tasking fewer staff to maintain this improved service than when this experiment started a few weeks ago. Costs down and service increased. At least we have one TTC story to smile about.

The “take down” escalated when the dart didn’t seem to work. When the doe didn’t calm down it was then shot with a Taser stun gun. Whoa! The Police didn’t kill the deer but it is being monitored before being released back into the wild.

Despite the taser, it seems that the TSX, the doe and others financial types on Bay Street will survive.