Columns | Mar 12
|
Bob
Cook
A classical music purist is going to hate this. A school in England is using Mozart's music to punish students who have misbehaved.
Students who are serving detentions are required to sit and listen to Mozart's concertos or symphonies as a form of punishment, and according to the school...
Columns | Mar 12
|
David
Soknacki
Huh?
The city found an extra $105 million? Just where did it look? Under some office plants? Was it left behind in a bag on the subway? Maybe between the cushions on a sofa?
No, city staff explained that the windfall was due to higher than expected returns on the city's investments, and...
Columns | Mar 12
|
David
Nickle
The appropriate thing to do when someone slaps a pie in your face, I'm told, is to smack your lips, roll your eyes and say, "Boston Cream - my favourite."
So in that spirit, may I say: "Toronto Cheese - my favourite," after the wily David Miller lured me along with the...
Columns | Mar 11
|
Joe
Cooper
Long-time readers will know that I've made comparisons between the amalgamated cities of Toronto and Indianapolis, Indiana in past columns.
Back in 1969 the Republican majority amalgamated Indianapolis' downtown core with its suburbs, saying that it would bring about greater financial...
Columns | Mar 09
|
Jacque
Newman
Dear UrbanAnimal,
Our eight-year-old cat, Danny, refuses to come out from under the bed. This started when my husband and I were having our home renovated and we were forced to live on the second floor for two months until the work was completed.
Danny has always been a calm cat, but the...
Columns | Mar 05
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Dick
Singer
A thing I have learned during my passage through life is that one never need dwell on personal shortcomings! This is due to the fact someone or a group is just waiting in the wings to keep you up-to-date on your personal milestones, physical flaws.
You doubt this? Try gaining weight as an adult...
Columns | Mar 05
|
Eric
Vellend
I didn't try sushi until the ripe, old age of 19. It was a California roll served as an exotic appetizer at the long-gone Amsterdam on John Street.
Fast-forward 20 years. Sushi is now available at supermarkets, sporting events and food courts, and there is a Japanese restaurant (or five) on...
Columns | Mar 05
|
Joe
Cooper
There has been a lot of talk lately about restricting politicians' powers through such measures as term limits and eliminating their local newsletters.
Often politicians' newsletters are targeted as being taxpayer-subsidized propaganda that favours incumbents and presents only their...
Columns | Mar 05
|
David
Nickle
It says something about the slow decline of political discourse in this town that when I watched the tape of Paula Fletcher shrieking a call-out to boisterous constituents at Monday night's budget meeting, my first reaction was to wonder what the fuss was about.
I've been watching city...
Columns | Mar 04
|
Bob
Cook
What do you call a bunch of women drinking alcohol with plenty of ice? You call them Canada's Olympic gold medal hockey team.
Yes, the ruckus caused by the women's hockey team celebrating on the ice has been wild.
I mean the audacity of young women swilling beer and champagne after...
Columns | Mar 04
|
Jamie
Wayne
O, Canada, it turns out we also know how to sit on guard for thee. As in, parked in front of the tube.
Mounds and mounds of fresh statistics continue to pour in every day and from everything I've seen so far, the Winter Olympic TV viewing numbers are absolutely mind-boggling.
Among the...
Columns | Mar 02
|
Lorraine
Houston
This column's adoptable pets feature two gold medalists.
In the cat category we introduce Midnight with her petite physique and winning personality, and for dogs we have Johnny on the podium for his agility potential and handsome good looks.
Midnight, three years old, and...
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