The Taste of the Kingsway festival has been around for ten years but I don't think I ever went until today.  Sure, I made fun of it, but I never made the stroll to that part of Bloor Street to check it out. It's okay.  The kids got on a

Now that I've finally got used to calling the O'Keefe Centre the Hummingbird Centre, they're changing the name to the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. Hummingbird Centre, we had some good times together.  I'll never forget that Hip concert with Sam Roberts opening or Edward Scissorhands.  Memories...

I love to walk and sometimes I'll just walk the streets of Toronto.  There's so much character to this place, the buildings, the people, the parks and the sounds all add texture to the fabric of our city. I discovered Damon Schreiber's most recent photo project here and I'm so

I love this city.  They don't call me Toronto Mike for nothing.  I was born in the 416, I've lived every second of my life in the 416 and I very well may die in the 416, although I'm hoping not for a very long time. The City of Toronto

I didn't have to go into the office today because it's Simcoe Day.  At least that's what we call this holiday here in Toronto.  The question is, who the hell is this Simcoe guy? In a nutshell, and shamelessly copied and pasted from Wikipedia, John Graves Simcoe (February 25, 1752

In his entry We Need More Toronto Blogs, Accordion Guy calls out popular local blogs that focus too heavily on the local Toronto hipster crowd.  Accordion Guy writes that this demo is mostly white, under 30, and only attend events that take place in an area bounded by… Dupont on

I was just starting to wonder where the wasps are this summer.  Until this past weekend, I don't think I saw a single one in our backyard, and now I'm seeing them all over the place. Did they arrive late this year or is this their usual pattern?

The Toronto area has the second-lowest crime rate of all large urban regions in Canada, behind Quebec City, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada. One of the great myths about Toronto is that it's a dangerous, crime-ridden place.  Per capita, it doesn't get much safer.  Greater Toronto had

I once wrote that I like progress but dislike change.  I'm wondering if this isn't true of most Torontonians.  Over the past few months, three of our city's distinct signs have been threatened, garnering a great deal of press in the process. First there was the Sam the Record Man

According to this National Post blog entry, Zanta is leaving Toronto for Brampton.  Zanta is a rather polarizing local figure.  Some love him and many despise him.  I never minded the dude or his persona. Farewell, Zanta.  I'm sure you'll be back one day.

It ain't the Sam's Yonge Street facade, but it's noteworthy.  They're taking down the Citytv today, or maybe tomorrow.  You know that truck that appears to be bursting out of the side of the building on Queen and John. We saw this coming when Rogers announced Citytv was leaving the

Running in Etienne Brule Park this morning, I saw a number of inukshuk on the Humber River. I'm not sure who built them, but it was quite the sight on this Canada Day.  From good ol' Wikipedia, here's what they symbolize. An inuksuk is a stone landmark used as a

On Monday night, I was out sort of late.  It coulda been the Willie Nelson, coulda been the wine... all I know is I saw something I had never seen in this city.  It was the size of a big cat, and it looked like a hairy aardvark. A little

Someone once told me they disliked people, but loved crowds.  I always thought that was quite the paradox, but I have a better one.  I like progress, but I don't really like change. The Star reports that if Rogers Media Inc. gets approval to buy five Citytv television stations from

Sam the Record Man is closing at the end of the month, so it should come as no surprise that everything is for sale on June 27.  That happens to be my birthday, but as gifts go this one is awfully bitter. One of a kind memorabilia, Antiques, and Collectables

The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal designed crystal expansion of the ROM was officially unveiled to the public this weekend.  You've no doubt read and seen a great deal on this $270-million endeavour.  I recently spent eight months watching it grow. From August 2006 until quite recently I worked out of the

The Toronto Star has redesigned their Saturday Star.  The Saturday Star is the biggie and has always had the most sections, but is it too big? I counted 14 sections in yesterday's Star.  The first thing I do is sort the paper into two piles.  One pile I'll actually look

Last weekend I checked out Lambton House at 4066 Old Dundas Street, but never got inside.  Today, thanks to Doors Open Toronto, me and the kids checked the old girl out and took plenty of pictures.