The Intrepid

MicCalvinalowi[c]z

2011-08-28T14:20:00.003-04:00

I've always been a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes, so much so that I have wallpaper watercolours of Bill Waterson's dynamic-duo for my home desktop, my work computer, and my phone. And of course, I own almost all of the books. (I'm missing a few of the compilations, though I'd love to get my hands on the Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Only 1440 pages!)

My love for all things Calvin and Hobbes started in 1993, the same year I started grade four at a new school. At my previous school, X-Men comics had been all the rage, but in the quiet suburbs of Etobicoke, kids couldn't get enough of Waterson's spikey-haired kid and his stuffed tiger. It wasn't long before I fell under the same spell. Thankfully, the school librarian was doing her job, and the library was fully stocked with all the books and compilations.

My first Calvin and Hobbes book (which I still have, though it's a little dog-eared) was Yukon-Ho!. The title's derived from a story in which Calvin decides to run away from home and move to the Yukon, as its the only place where you can "yell and cuss," and "where life can have real meaning." Perhaps a new slogan for the Yukon tourism board?

The poster pictured above was made for me in 1994 by a very kind and talented uncle. Unfortunately, there are two spelling mistakes in the comic. First, my last name is missing a "c" in the title, and second, "delight" is spelled incorrectly in the third last panel.

Bonus points if you can figure out where the tree in the last panel comes from. (Hint: the children's story also features stuffed animals.)

Photo by Stephen M.

How Do Arenas Changeover from Ice Rink to Basketball Court?

2011-04-19T02:40:00.000-04:00

In late-March, I spent the night at the Air Canada Centre with Torontoist photographers Chris Drost and Miles Story, to research how the arena pulls off its ice-to-court conversions. You can read my full article on the process at Torontoist.

To date, this is easily the most ambitious thing I've ever produced for the site (or for any site, for that matter). Coordinating with MLSE took more than a month; on the day of, I was at the ACC for almost 12 hours (8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.); and after I transcribed all of my interviews and notes from the night I had about 10,000 words worth of material. Yet somehow, I managed to pack it into a 1,500 word article. (Chris and Miles also took around 60,000 photos, which they compiled into the two minute video above. Amazing, amazing work.)

Anyway, I thought I'd use the opportunity here to talk about a few of the more interesting things that never made it into the article.

How Logos are Painted on the Ice

Contrary to popular belief, most of the logos at the Air Canada Centre—like the big maple leaf at centre ice—aren't painted on anymore. Like most other NHL arenas, the ACC uses a company called Jet Ice, which creates large vinyl mesh logos that can just be slapped down, and ripped out as necessary. Only a few of the ads and some of the special event logos are still painted.

Housekeeping

After every game, the ACC employs a separate outsourced cleanup crew to work its way through the stands picking up trash, sweeping, and moping. Cleaning up after the fans takes almost as long as the conversion process.

Conversions at Maple Leaf Gardens

Back in the day, the Gardens just used to use plywood instead of frictionless ice deck when it converted to concerts. Wood sticks to ice, which made converting easier, as the entire deck didn't have to be down before forklifts could drive on it. The downside was, if it was down for too long, any trapped air between the pieces would start to chew through the ice, leaving giant holes that would need to be repaired.

How Other Arenas Do It

Unlike the ACC, which has a dedicated crew, some arenas in the States just pick people up off the street to do conversions. At 10 p.m., they'll open the doors and take the first 60 people who show up.

At the SkyDome, reportedly, baseball conversions take almost 24 hours.

Video by Chris Drost and Miles Story.

Books Ngram Viewer: Communism vs. Capitalism

2010-12-17T10:11:00.007-05:00

The nifty tool that you see pictured above is the Books Ngram Viewer. Using Google's massive collection of scanned books (at Google's estimate about ten per cent of everything that's ever been published) the service lets users track and compare the popularity of words or phrases over time.

The comparison I ran shows the rise and fall of the words "capitalism" and "communism" between the years 1860 and 2008. It's interesting to note that the explosion of the word "capitalism" doesn't occur until the 1930s, and in the late 1950s and early 60s "communism" almost manage to overtake "capitalism," before sliding into obscurity. It also seems that as of 2000, both words are in steep decline. I guess now that capitalism's won there's less of a need to talk about it. (At least until 2008 and that whole financial meltdown thingy.)

Screenshot from the Books Ngram Viewer.

Why I Should Write Less

2010-12-03T21:47:00.003-05:00

Last month, I didn't write a single thing for The Intrepid. Yet, somehow—possibly as a reward for my sloth—this blog received a record 20,000 pages views.

So, what's driving traffic here? Well...mostly my then and now photos and some articles about Toronto's fascination with TTC fantasy maps. In November, these topics alone accounted for approximately twenty per cent of site traffic.

The Internet Gods have spoken: no more writing! It's time to sit back and just watch the hits just roll in. (Expect for maybe this stuff.)

Photo by pierre pouliquin.

Omar for Mayor

2010-10-21T21:22:00.005-04:00

That's right, despite the fact that he's probably never been to Toronto (or even Canada for that matter), I'm endorsing Baltimore's infamous stickup artist, Omar Little, for mayor.

Unlike the current frontrunners, Omar has the qualities and background we need in a mayor, including a strict code of respect for taxpayers, a fundraising strategy which capitalizes on alternative and unconventional revenue sources, patience, and the ability to lead diverse groups. Finally, his "Omar Comin'" policing strategy would eliminate the need for most of Toronto's police force, leading to enormous savings.

Compared to his competition, this cheese stands alone.

Screenshot from The Wire.

Let’s Go Drink at the Amsterdam Brewery

2010-10-14T00:24:00.005-04:00

The Amsterdam Brewery, located just north of Lake Shore Boulevard West on Bathurst Street, isn’t the finest microbrewery in the world, but their suds are decent, award winning, and more than reasonably priced.

But the brewery’s best deal is probably its tour, which really isn’t a tour, just a lot of beer for ten dollars. (The brewery used to offer full tours of its facility, until they were scaled back due to health and safety concerns.)

Now, ten bucks gets you eight (officially) to ten reasonably-sized samples of a variety of Amsterdam’s beers. Each sample works out to about a third of a bottle. So, for ten dollars, you get equivalent of three beers. Of course, it’s much cheaper to buy the same beer from the Beer Store, but compared to a bar or a restaurant, it’s a pretty good deal. Oh, yeah, I think they also tell you something about the brewing process. Frankly, it's a little hard to remember.

Photo by Paul Henman.

Romeo and Juliet Ride the Rails in High Park for the Last Time

2010-09-05T17:00:00.003-04:00

Last night, I went to see Canadian Stage's second last production of Romeo and Juliet, which has been running all summer long as part of TD's Dream in High Park series.

The cast is superb. I always find Romeo to be a bit of a whiny creep, but at least in this production he's offset by an equally neurotic Juliet. The two lovers are both overshadowed though by their counterparts, Mercutio and the Nurse, who tend to steal the show whenever they're on stage.

The only let down is the setting. From what I understand, the players are part of a travelling Romeo and Juliet production that's stuck in a Verona train station (how ironic). When tensions between the actors flare after yet another series of train delays, the station manager suggests that they kill time with a quick performance. I can only assume that we, the audience, are also trapped in this train station, watching this Improv Everywhere-style show.

Here's a thought. Instead of having a play-within-a-play in a modern train station, which robs the production of its emotional impact and adds absolutely nothing, why not set it in sixteenth century Verona? For further commentary on this problem read The Onion article entitled "Unconventional Director Sets Shakespeare Play In Time, Place Shakespeare Intended."

Perhaps the best part of the production is the surprise ending. Spoiler alert! At the end of the play, after Romeo and Juliet have both kicked the bucket, the entire cast breaks into a Slumdog Millionaire-style Bollywood musical number. The dance sequence doesn't really fit, but it's a nice touch that helps to lighten the mood after the play's gloomy end.

Photo by Chris Gallow.

Informed Tea Partiers

2010-09-02T16:28:00.006-04:00

In my last post, I argued that there is no overarching tea party philosophy, and that videos like New Left Media's, which tend to focus on the most incoherent attendees, are somewhat dishonest.

As the videos above demonstrate, not all Tea Partiers are mindless, uninformed Fox News zombies. Many of these protesters have complex and reasoned ideological positions that they are more than willing to critically reassess.

So, why then, are these people following the Palins and Becks of the world?

I suspect that they're not really interested in Palin or Beck, or any of the other right-wing demagogues, but have shrewdly decided to tag along, as ideologically, there's room in the growing movement for their key policy points.

Videos first spotted on Andrew Sullivan's blog.

Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally

2010-08-31T22:36:00.009-04:00

Chase Whiteside (interviewer) and Erick Stoll (cameraman) of New Left Media talk to a handful of the tens of thousands of Americans that gathered at the Lincoln Memorial this past weekend for Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally.

I have mixed feelings about New Left Media's ongoing exposé of tea party events. While Whiteside excels at getting tea partiers, birthers, and Palin supporters, etc...to reveal the inherent contradictions within their philosophies, the interviews are just snapshots that really don't do the movement justice.

Some tea partiers subscribe to libertarianism, others to Bush-brand neo-conservatism, and many are just scared by the current economic climate. There is no monolithic tea party philosophy. These videos often portray partiers as a homogeneous group of racists, fear mongers, and idiots, which simply isn't true.

Video from New Left Media.

Rob Ford's Tele-Town Hall Meeting = Rob Ford Love-in

2010-08-29T13:10:00.005-04:00

So, I got a call a few days ago from my good buddy Councillor Rob Ford, and he was all like "Steve, you should totally participate in my tele-town hall meeting. It's going to be bitchin'. We'll blast Mayor Miller for like an hour and then I'll promise to cut costs while somehow building a bajillion subway lines."

Frankly, it was an offer I couldn't refuse.

Ford's tele-town hall meetings are exactly what one would expect. Most of the people calling in just want to gush all over him and tell him how awesome he is for taking on Miller and the Toronto Star, and the rest ask vague questions about cutting taxes, ending government waste, and ummm...cutting taxes. Ford's answers are just as bad. Callers are cut off after they ask their questions, so there's no back and forth dialogue, which gives Ford a full license to just wander through his talking points on autopilot.

This led to some miscommunication in the session I was listening in on. When one woman called to complain about illegal ads, Ford flipped the topic around and spent most of the time talking about how he's going to clean up graffiti downtown. I guess Ford doesn't have any talking points about illegal ads. I wonder if he considers any advertising illegal?

While listening to Ford ramble on for more than an hour can be boring and repetitive, the session did provide an interesting glimpse into both the candidate and his supporters. If you get the chance—apparently Ford plans to contact everyone in the city—I'd listen in.

Photo by Shaun Merritt.

Toronto Ranked 14th in Meaningless List

2010-08-22T15:17:00.002-04:00

August is a pretty lazy, hazy month with not much going on. So to fill space, news organizations start to turn to low brow content like lists and rankings. Just a few days ago, Newsweek compiled a list of the world's best countries. Not to be outdone, Foreign Policy has released a list of the world's top global cities. As lists go, this one is pretty lazy. Foreign Policy claims to have measured "how much sway a city has beyond its borders—its influence and integration with global markets, culture, and innovation," but its methodology is never revealed, and in the end, the piece really doesn't have all that much to say.

Here's FP's effortless entry on Toronto—overall we're ranked 14th.

About half of Toronto's citizens are foreign-born. As the city ages—about one-fifth of locals are 60 or older—Toronto is likely to become more dependent on its immigrant community to revitalize its workforce.

Yawn.

Photo by paul (dex).

How Toronto Earned the Moniker "The Big Smoke"

2010-08-19T22:49:00.005-04:00

Toronto's shoreline. Top photo: ca. 1912. Bottom photo: March 2, 1904.

In his book, Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names, Alan Rayburn suggests that the name was bestowed on Toronto in 1975 by Maclean's writer Allan Fotheringham, after he'd heard Australian aboriginals apply the term to their cities. Fotheringham felt that the phrase suited Toronto, as it had a "big reputation, little to show for it."

Rayburn doesn't explain how it caught on though, and the photos above make it hard not to think about the nickname literally.

Both photos are from the City of Toronto Archives. Background information from Torontoist.

Canada Better Than the US, But Not as Good as Australia, Says Newsweek

2010-08-19T14:27:00.011-04:00

In an attempt to prove that it's still relevant, Newsweek, which was recently purchased by audio tycoon Sidney Harman for a dollar (yes, you're reading that correctly), has just published a list ranking the world's best countries. Of course, since this is 2010, the list comes in the form of a neato infographic.

So, how does Canada fair? Okay, I guess. We're ranked 7th overall, which is better than the US (11th), but not as good as Australia (4th). The top prize went to Finland because it's Scandinavian, and Scandinavian countries always win these things.

Screenshot from Newsweek.com.

I'm an Obama Hatin' Right-Wing Deficit Hawk

2010-08-15T13:30:00.003-04:00

Or at least that's how some U.S. conservatives are interpreting my work.

In late 2008, on what must have been a particularly boring day, I decided to research the costs associated with operating the White House. My findings were mildly interesting, so I turned them into an article. The post proved popular, though I quickly discovered that most of the traffic was coming from people searching for the costs of Air Force One. So, to help these wayward internet travellers, I put together a post about the expenses associated with the President's tricked out Boeing 747-200B.

After Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009, the traffic coming to my site through these articles took a sharp turn to the right. All of a sudden, my posts were being used by conservative commenters on dozens of sites, as examples of Obama's deficit spending and general mismanagement.

So, why do deficit hawks, budget busters, and Obama haters love these posts so much? Well, without the full context, the numbers look like great examples of wasteful spending. Both the White House and Air Force One cost a lot of money, $1.5 billion and $280 million a year, respectively. To the average American making $47,000 a year, these figures probably look unreasonable. However, it's intellectually dishonest to cite them without context.

First of all, there's more to the White House expenditures than just Obama's living expenses. The White House assumes many of the other costs associated with the Executive Branch, including the NSC, Camp David, the Secret Service, and yes, even Air Force One. Second, most of the commenters using these figures seem to be conveniently ignoring the fact that the data comes from Bush's time in office, not Obama's.

The costs associated with the White House today are similar to what they were under Bush, so Obama shouldn't be singled out. In fact, most of the increased costs over the last decade are directly related to the security measures that Bush implemented. So, if you're going to bemoan the price tag of the White House, you should be looking to President 43, and not 44.

Photo by Steve Rhodes.

Michaëlle Jean is the World's Hottest Head of State

2010-08-15T12:15:00.012-04:00

Yes, in a bizarre upset that seems to conveniently ignore the fact that Michaëlle Jean only represents Canada's head of state—Queen Elizabeth II—our Governor General has captured the top spot on the extremely scientific Hottest Heads of State blog. Feminists everywhere rejoice!

By comparison, Stephen Harper, who is also not Canada's head of state, but somehow on the list, now ranks 92nd, down thirty-one spots from last year. (He must be spending too much time with his cat, Scratches.)

Unfortunately, Jean won't be able to enjoy this honour long, as she'll be stepping down in October 2010 to be replaced by David Lloyd Johnston, some cranky looking old white guy.

The photo above is Michaëlle Jean's official government portrait.

Homers at Hanlan's

2010-08-10T00:50:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Hanlan's Point circa 1928, back before the western part of Toronto Island became home to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and a ~~summertime sausage fest~~ nude beach. The image above, which merges a 1928 photo of the Point's old baseball stadium (ca. 1928) with a modern view of Toronto's skyline, comes from Alden Cudanin's website, Toronto Before. Cudanin is a whiz at producing these kinds of historical mash-ups, and while I was impressed by his Armories remix, I think this one might be his best to date.

The stadium featured in the photo was built for the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club in 1909, destroyed by a fire, rebuilt, destroyed again, and then, just for the hell of it, rebuilt again. In 1914, Babe Ruth, the sultan of swat, hit his first professional home run at the stadium—a fact that's repeated ad nauseam in almost every history of the island ever written. Finally, in the 1920s, the Leafs moved to a new stadium on the mainland, and in 1937 the diamond was demolished to make room for the new island airport.

Photo mash-up by Alden Cudanin.

Ego Tripping: Part Two

2010-07-31T17:40:00.001-04:00

At long last, after four hundred and fifty-one lazy, redundant, self-congratulatory, bizarre, and occasionally interesting posts, The Intrepid has finally made it to the big time. Now, if you search "the intrepid" in Google, this site appears on the first page of results. Hot damn! Of course, if I had just picked a name that was, you know, not used by a travel company, an aircraft carrier, a car, a spy, and about a bajillion charities and foundations, this site probably would have appeared higher in the Google rankings sooner.

Photo by Mr Magoo ICU.

Titanic II

2010-07-31T16:48:00.003-04:00

About fucking time!

The trailer above is from Asylum Production's mockbuster "Titanic II." The tagline: "100 years later, lightning strikes twice." Brilliant.

Steve Pakin Talks with Mike Harris

2010-07-30T18:10:00.004-04:00

All this week, TVO's The Agenda with Steve Pakin has featured interviews with former Ontario Premier Mike Harris. Harris doesn't reveal anything stunning, but the interviews are still worth listening to (don't bother with the video versions).

Screenshot from The Agenda with Steve Pakin.

A Clear Message for Democrats for the 2010 Midterms

2010-07-30T16:27:00.009-04:00

This week, on the Slate Political Gabfest, John Dickerson, American political correspondent extraordinaire, argued that the Democrat's best strategy for the fall is to send the message that they want to provide unemployment benefits and let the tax breaks that rich derive from the Bush tax cuts expire.

Dickerson:

The cleanest, clearest political winner would be if Democrats could say 'look, Republicans want to keep taxes low on the rich—families that make over $250,000—but they won't vote to extend unemployment benefits.' So, that makes them looks mean. People want unemployment benefits to be extended, and also it revs up the Democratic base. And we've said this a million times before, but it's important to repeat, this election is not about the entire country, it's not even about all voters, it's about voters in the bases of these two parties. A clean argument that says 'these Republicans want to feed the wealthy and the fat cats at the detriment of the people who are looking and looking for jobs and just can't find one—the hard working middle class Americans'—is a nice tidy argument.

This is a strong message that as Dickerson argues, is clear, concise, and supported by lots of evidence. But only if Democrats have the backbone to raise wealthy American's taxes (those making more than $250,000 a year). If they don't, then the whole argument becomes muddled. By letting the tax breaks that the rich enjoy expire, Democrats can argue that they're at least somewhat serious about deficit reduction, as the plan would bring in more than $800 billion over the next ten years, and would offset the cost of extended unemployment benefits. The problem is that the party's divided, as many of the Democrats up for re-election this fall come from America's wealthiest districts.

Photo from Nancy Pelosi's Flickr stream.

Sending the Bacon Back

2010-07-29T00:24:00.008-04:00

Last week, I threw my health to the wind and went to St. Lawrence Market to try Carousel Bakery's world famous peameal bacon sandwich. Frankly, I was kind of disappointed. For those who who haven't seen it before, this heart attack in a bun is pretty much just a stack of unsmoked back bacon rolled in cornmeal on, well...a bun. The bacon was tender and the bun was soft, as you'd expect, but overall the sandwich was bland, as peameal bacon doesn't have much of taste to it (or at least I don't think it does).

Well, that's one de facto Canadian dish down. Next up: beaver tails.

Photo by .michael.newman.

TTC Gum Redux

2010-07-29T00:09:00.003-04:00

The TTC has started switching some of its "Keep the TTC gum-free" post-it note PSAs with these fairly standard posters. I guess replacing all those missing pads of paper was proving too difficult.

Note: the wad of gum in the poster has one hell of a big shadow.

Photo by Stephen M.

Swiss Chalet Standoff

2010-07-24T14:03:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, I happened to rollerblading near The Queensway and Kipling Avenue when I heard about the hostage situation at the intersection's Swiss Chalet. So, in my capacity as a pseudo-journalist for Torontoist, I decided to check out what was going on, and I happened to snag this photo (see above) of gunman Terrance McBurnie's arrest.

More photos after the break.

The Queensway and Kipling Avenue after police erected a barrier to block traffic.

The CBC getting ready to cover the action.

Citytv and Newstalk 1010 interviewing a bystander.

The Toronto Star's photographers position themselves. I highly recommend checking out their excellent photo essay.

A police sniper running to take position.

The National Post's reporter decides to take a nap.

The gawkers and journalists behind the police line at The Queensway and Stock Avenue.

A policeman talking to reporters after McBurnie was taken into custody.

Photos by Stephen M.

NMA News: Is Palin Gunning for 2012?

2010-07-24T09:36:00.004-04:00

Ummm...wow!

The Taiwanese based NMA News gives its take on the bear shooting, beauty pageant winning, cleavage sporting, and word inventing phenomenon that is Sarah Palin. The same agency was also responsible for this amazing video piece on the iPhone and Antennagate.

Video by NMA News.

Worst. Trend Piece. Ever.

2010-07-18T17:10:00.007-04:00

No, sadly, this is not an Onion parody piece. Over the last week, news organizations around the interwebs have been reporting on the dangers of i-dosing, the new and terrifying way kids are using MP3s to get high.

The video above comes from Oklahoma News 9, the brilliant on-the-ground news organization that broke the story. What's absolutely amazing is that News 9 is able to conclude that digital drugs are widespread, a threat, and possibly a gateway to nastier stuff, and all by just talking to a few random students and educators at one school, and by searching YouTube.

Seriously, wow. That's some pretty impressive journalism. Most organizations would have look at reports or do some kind research before making claims like this. Not Oklahoma News 9 though, they're that good.

The news sites that were hoping to spin a few more scare pieces out of this "trend" are no doubt disappointed by NPR's new interview with Helane Wahbeh, an assistant professor at Oregon Health and Science University who's done studies on so-called digital drugs. According to Wahbeh, there's not enough evidence to show that sound can alter states the way chemical drugs do.

Via Wired and Time Magazine.