JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

last week's scribblings

2012-01-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, hobnob with American authors in the Telegram's revamped book section!
What preservation and planning issues are raised by the demolition of 81 Wellesley Street East?
In Historicist, overcome stammering at a speech therapy school run by a future Toronto mayor.

vintage toronto daily mail ad of the day

2012-01-22T23:48:00.000-05:00

At first I laughed at the absurdity of this ad’s claims: turning into a misanthropic wretch because of an ill-fitting shirt. Then I remembered I’ve been guilty of yelling in anger or cursing my physical shape whenever a shirt that fit well on its first wearing shrank after being washed. This is especially true if the shirt cost more than my usual apparel budget. There have been times where I’ve been ultra-paranoid about purchasing clothes out of fear they would shrink by 50% or, if it was a type of garment I knew was prone to a water-induced diet, remain in an enlarged state suitable for a clown costume.

In other words, the man in the ad deserves his moment of cheerfulness.

Source: the Toronto Daily Mail, January 23, 1892

last week's scribblings

2012-01-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, Eaton's celebrates its 100th anniversary...and the column celebrates its fifth.
A second batch of Toronto bookstores from the past.
The athletes' village for the 2015 Pan Am games will come in on time and on budget...or so we're repeatedly assured by the province.

On OpenFile:

Past Pieces of Toronto goes dancing at Palace Pier.

vintage toronto world ad of the day

2012-01-16T14:38:00.002-05:00

How to turn a nice sketch of a turn-of-the-century gentleman into a depiction of a hideous victim of venereal disease: assign the printer to randomly drop ink over a second copy and switch his fancy tie into a bow tie.

The victim in today's ad looks not so much like a tragic sufferer of syphilis, but more like an Edwardian conception of a zombie or a gentleman whose portrait was painted by Basil Hallward.

Source: the Toronto World, May 21, 1902.

last week's scribblings

2012-01-09T11:11:00.001-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, enjoy a bottle of clean, rich Pabst Blue Ribbon beer from a century ago.
Browse through the pages of several of Toronto's bookstores of the past.
In Historicist, who was Captain Toronto and why did Maclean's feature him?

join the international tacky poetry society of toronto

2012-01-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

There once was an ad
Whose opening was mad
And celebrated poetry so bad
It made us kinda sad
But not as much as Vlad
Who tried to write a poem about plaid
While sprawled in his pad
Next to his sleeping dad
For a recent literature grad
He did not think his prose was so rad.

Source: Now, March 30, 1989.

famous dead poets adopting rural ontario roads department

2012-01-04T21:25:00.001-05:00

Do not go gentle down that good road...

Photo taken on Royal Oak Road, west of Little Britain, September 14, 2011.

vintage better homes and gardens ad of the day (with a message to jessie)

2012-01-03T16:13:00.000-05:00

With the backlog of material sitting here, it takes a while before I get around to thoroughly browsing magazines I've picked up on a whim because they could be useful for future research or a tossed-off blog post. When I finally get around to reading them, the notes previous readers left behind jump out at me.

Such is the case with today's feature presentation, taken from an early 1950s issue of Better Homes & Gardens I purchased in Herkimer, NY during a roadtrip to Boston last spring. I was walking off lunch from a nearby diner (a massive Denver omelette, accompanied by biscuits served with gravy that didn't resemble wallpaper paste) along the town's definitely-seen-better-days main street when I stopped in a quirky antique shop. Unlike similar establishments, the prices weren't going to break the bank—the magazine was one of several items I purchased for a buck apiece. Took a quick flip, saw its potential, tossed it in the trunk, and rediscovered it on New Year's Day.

The back cover featured a typical period detergent ad...but what's the upside-down message handwritten near the bottom right corner?

Was the writer preparing a rough draft of a letter or card intended for Jessie? Or was the magazine a gift delivered by a friend or neighbour of Jessie's to provide a distraction from the sorrowful event?

Hopefully this friendly present of lifestyle tips eased Jessie's mind for a little while.

Source: Better Homes & Gardens, August 1953

last week's scribblings

2012-01-02T23:26:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, the dapper 1890s debt collector.
Brighter days ahead for the Toronto Reference Library.

On OpenFile Toronto:

In Past Pieces of Toronto, a look at the Odeon Hyland.

photo du jour

2012-01-01T21:24:00.000-05:00

Construction continues on the ground level of the Toronto Reference Library. Coming during 2012: a new browsery, expanded gallery space, and a branch of Balzac's.

Also coming in 2012: a return to regular posting on this site.

Photo taken December 28, 2011.

last week's scribblings

2011-12-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, it's fun for adults on the opening bill at the Odeon York.
Villain of 2011: Sun Media. Reaction from the "little paper that grew." Good thing I didn't apply for that comment page editor's job...
In Historicist, a Christmas Eve streetcar tragedy from a century ago.

On Heritage Toronto:

As the Raptors return to the court, a look back at Toronto's first major league hoops squad, the Huskies.

on christmas morning a century ago

2011-12-25T09:00:00.018-05:00

Dear readers: may you have better luck finding what you wanted under the Christmas tree than these people did a century ago (I already have).

Unlike Bobby, little Jamie would have been happier receiving a well-illustrated "Lives of Great Men" (or "Lives of Great Hockey Players" or "Lives of Great B-Movie Character Actors") than a pair of skates that might kill my ankles.

Source: the Globe, December 25, 1911

holiday thoughts from the flaneur, 1911

2011-12-24T15:05:00.000-05:00

H.H. Wiltshire, aka The Flaneur, was one of the first columnists to appear in Toronto newspapers. According to historian Paul Rutherford in his book A Victorian Authority: the daily press in late nineteenth century Canada, Wiltshire's Saturday morning musings in the Mail and Mail and Empire "might roam over the woeful condition of France or Ireland, the arts world, Toronto civic politics, displaying a Conservative bias but not in any strident fashion." As Wiltshire's nom de plume implies, his columns read like the thoughts of a man carefully observing his surroundings as he wanders the city and wire reports. Wiltshire readily interacted with his readers, answering their general questions or debating their opinions.

Here's how Wiltshire greeted his readers during his holiday column a century ago:

To all my happy readers I wish a Happy Christmas and a good New Year. For them, "may good digestion wait on appetite and health on both," as the familiar toast has it, and may there be neither headaches nor heartaches through the holiday season. No doubt most of us would celebrate with greater zest if it were a white Christmas, and I have heard many friends bewail the fact that we are not to have real old-fashioned Christmas weather in Toronto. The sad truth seems to be that a Christmas of mud and slush is just as typical if December weather in this part of the country as one of ice and snow drifts could be. But if ever there is a time of year when the spirit should defy the weather, it ought to be forgiving others their trespasses against us, and rejoicing to think that they should forgive ours against them. As Tiny Tim said, "God bless us every one."

Before moving to other topics of the day, Wiltshire expressed his thoughts on seasonal gift-giving:

There are many of us I hope who will be able to look back to the celebration of Christmas in 1911, and in the ten years or so that preceded it, and smile to think of the foolish excesses in the matter of gift making that marred them for many people. The tyranny of the Christmas present presses heavily in this country and in the United States, and if we do not rise against it it may yet crush the sweetness out of the day for all but the ultra prosperous. We have seen how the American people revolted and established a "safe and sane" manner of observing their great national holiday, and it ought to be no harder to bring about a return to the simplicity of earlier Christmases. To my mind, the gift making should be confined to children, and those who believe in Santa Claus and his reindeers. Too often among grown up people Christmas giving degenerates into a mere exchange of cheques for equal amounts. Posterity will build monuments to the man or woman who rescues us from this monster of conventionality.

The Flaneur's opinions were originally expressed in the December 23, 1911 edition of the Mail and Empire.

last week's scribblings

2011-12-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

Hero of 2011: City Hall Deputants.
There came a time when Neil Young introduced Toronto to Rust Never Sleeps.
Gift-giving tips from the past.

On OpenFile Toronto:

Past Pieces of Toronto catches a few innings at Maple Leaf Stadium.

last week's scribblings

2011-12-13T12:09:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

Historical hints on how to carve a holiday turkey.
Have you signed up for Dial-a-Thermos yet?
Toronto unveils some of its plans for the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812.
Historicist looks back at the sometimes seedy world of the Ford Hotel.

On OpenFile Toronto:

Past Pieces of Toronto goes browsing at the Albert Britnell Book Shop.

snapshots of a man getting down to work

2011-12-08T23:59:00.001-05:00

An all-too-familiar pattern of settling into a fine day of work.

More about Gluyas Williams in an American Heritage profile.

Source: The Telegram, May 28, 1928

last week's scribblings

2011-12-06T21:10:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, a family sets out for adventure galore at Yorkdale.
As Maple Leaf Gardens reopens to the public, a photo journey through the building's past.
Yes Virginia, Toronto had opium dens.

vintage national lampoon ad of the day

2011-12-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

"Flee." - Dave Marsh, summarizing the discography of Chase in the 1979 edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide.

All three of Chase's records were bestowed with the guide's lowest rating on a five star scale, which wasn't a star but a square, defined as "worthless: records that need never (or should never) have been created. Reserved for the most bathetic bathwater."

Was Chase's style of jazz-rock fusion deserving of snarky scorn? A YouTube search came up with a ltelevision performance that lives up to their horny billing.

The group's career was cut short when leader Bill Chase and three other members were killed in a plane crash in 1974.

Source: National Lampoon, May 1972

last week's scribblings

2011-11-30T13:03:00.001-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, got the aluminum munchies?
As Occupy Toronto moved out of St. James Park, a look at the site's evolving landscape.
Historicist looks at the birth of the Toronto Coach Terminal.

On OpenFile Toronto:

In Past Pieces of Toronto, Sam the Record Man.

dining with peter lorre

2011-11-27T13:50:00.003-05:00

Peter Lorre at dinner , between 1955 and 1964. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 3429 (Alexandra Studio).

One of the joys of digging through the treasure chest of photos uploaded by the City of Toronto Archives is finding unusual pictures that end up distracting me from what I’m supposed to be searching for. Take the shot above, found while seeking "dinner" photos.

The scene: a nice restaurant, somewhere in Toronto during the late 1950s or early 1960s (any historic culinary experts good at identifying it?). Actor Peter Lorre is being interviewed by writer Frank Rasky. Lorre holds a sausage, which resembles the breakfast variety despite the picture being taken at dinner, in his fork. He gives it an odd glance. Is Lorre:

Pondering his next answer?
Discovering there's something wrong with the sausage?
Illustrating a point to amuse the interviewer?
Demonstrating a dining technique director Fritz Lang left on the cutting room floor after shooting M?
Simply preparing his next bite?

last week's scribblings

2011-11-23T12:36:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

Are four city museums being targeted for closure when the city budget comes down?
In Vintage Toronto Ads, it's a PoP Shoppe grand opening!
The Royal Ontario Museum reveals the secrets of the Maya.
The Blue Jays unveil a retro-style look for 2012.

notes from the santa claus parade (1918 edition)

2011-11-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

While there will be a lot of happy faces at today's Santa Claus Parade today in Toronto, I suspect they may not match the joy expressed along the procession route in 1918. That year's parade rounded out a week that began with the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. Despite the other celebrations and parades that week, Torontonians weren't too pooped to watch Santa make his journey through the city. And a journey it was: back then, the route began at Yonge and Eglinton and made its way south until it reached Eaton's Toyland at the corner of Albert and James (an intersection that survived the construction of the Eaton Centre).

The Toronto Daily News provided detailed same-day coverage of the parade:

Source: the Toronto Daily News, November 16, 1918.

last week's scribblings

2011-11-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, Auntie Nuke wants you!
Advertisements from the Victory Loan campaign of 1918 - have you done your patriotic duty and bought one yet?
In Historicist, Toronto celebrated the end of World War I in an "orgy of joy"

last week's scribblings

2011-11-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, the story of Charles Fothergill
A sneak preview of this year's Santa Claus Parade

On OpenFile Toronto:

A new column on "Past Pieces of Toronto" begins with a look at the Uptown Theatre

last week's scribblings

2011-11-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, Halloween-inspired bargains at Stitches
Visits to two local cemeteries: St John's Norway and Mount Pleasant
A look at The Toronto Project, a new online civic history initiative
Historicist ventures out to Potter's Field, Toronto's first non-denominational cemetery

countdown to halloween: the peanuts book of pumpkin carols (5)

2011-10-31T11:47:00.000-04:00

A ghost costume seems odd for Snoopy - were his World War I flying ace goggles being repaired? Also don't recall "gooey stuff in our hair" being a part of Halloween ritual, unless (a) it refers to coloured hairspray being applied too liberally, (b) liquid latex or face putty application went wrong, or (c) it was habit for kids to stick their chewed-up Chiclets or Double Bubble in a friend's hair.

A little Peanuts happy dance is a fine way to welcome Halloween. Fingers crossed rain stays away for trick-o-treaters or anyone planning to hit Toronto's Halloween hotspots tonight. One piece of advice: Church Street is fantastic for observing the creativity people put into their costumes (like last year's Lego people and Barbie in a box) in a party-like atmosphere, but is not recommended for the claustrophobic once half the city descends upon the closed-off stretch.

countdown to halloween: the peanuts book of pumpkin carols (4)

2011-10-26T09:33:00.000-04:00

Have you sent the Great Pumpkin a card (or ecard) yet? Time's a-wastin'! Get to it! Now! No delay!

Judging from the glint in his eyes, it looks like Snoopy knows what Linus is getting from the Great Pumpkin this year, doesn't it? It probably won't be Bing Crosby warbling this ode to the monarch of the pumpkin patch.

last week's scribblings

2011-10-25T12:20:00.001-04:00

On Torontoist:

A walk down the Humber River highlights the long-term effects of Hurricane Hazel
In Vintage Toronto Ads, stylish 70s condo living in the wild western edge of Etobicoke
How did Toronto's newspapers cover Gadhafi's assumption of power in Libya back in 1969?

countdown to halloween: the peanuts book of pumpkin carols (3)

2011-10-22T01:42:00.000-04:00

While out in the pumpkin patch, you can play fun games involving a dash of romance with other vegetables growing nearby. Take this suggestion from the "Hallow-e'en" chapter of Mary E. Blain's 1909 guide to merriment, Games For All Occasions:

PULLED KALE
All are blindfolded and go out singly or hand-in-hand to garden. Groping about they pull up first stalk of kale or head of cabbage. If stalk comes up easily the sweetheart will be easy to win; if the reverse, hard to win. The shape of the stump will hint at figure of prospective wife or husband. Its length will suggest age. If much soil clings to it, life-partner will be rich; if not, poor. Finally, the stump is carried home and hung over door, first person outside of family who passed under it will bear a name whose initial is same as that of sweetheart.

Even with the change of season, it's not the same without the chestnuts roasting on an open fire. I'd suggest roasting pumpkin seeds, but the wrath of the Great Pumpkin might fall on me. Maybe this carol should have been sent back to its original writer, Mel Torme, for revisions.

Also of note: Charlie Brown is depicted in a clown costume, not a hole-riddled sheet. While he hoped this would lead to fewer rocks in his sack while trick-or-treating, the good ol' Charlie Brown luck reared its head again.

To be continued...

countdown to halloween: the peanuts book of pumpkin carols (2)

2011-10-21T00:06:00.000-04:00

Several days before Halloween, Snoopy and Woodstock tested the lone tree in the pumpkin patch to see if it would support them in case they dressed up like bats or vampires. The odds of those costumes being their final choice was low: every year, the World War I flying ace was on the prowl for root beer and the dastardly Red Baron.

The Great Pumpkin that Linus carved wasn't as comfy as Snoopy's doghouse, but it was good enough for a quick nap. As he drifted off, the beagle wondered who would warble this carol better: Fred Astaire or Frank Sinatra?

To be continued...

countdown to halloween: the peanuts book of pumpkin carols (1)

2011-10-20T01:02:00.000-04:00

While recently cleaning around my desk, I found a booklet that fits the season: a collection of Halloween carols courtesy of the Peanuts gang. Published by Hallmark, possibly in the late 1960s, it provides a perfect accompaniment to your annual viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. While the booklet may not make you sing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" like the special does...

...it offers a pumpkin-laced spin on a variety of Christmas carols and songs. The fear of diehard believers in the Great Pumpkin like Linus that Halloween was becoming a "forgotten holiday" proved groundless, though the universe still doesn't resound with pumpkin carols.

Based on the picture, it's day 12 of Sally showering her "sweet babboo" with holiday gifts. It's possible that these aren't really bats, but members of Woodstock's Beagle Scout troop costumed by Ms. Brown. Out of all of the carols in the booklet, this one is the most likely candidate for an elementary school teacher stumbling upon it and deciding it would be an adorable choice for the class Halloween skit.

To be continued...

last week's scribblings

2011-10-18T22:20:00.000-04:00

Source: Toronto Illustrated 1893 (Toronto: Consolidated Printing, 1893)

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, have you tried this new sensational soup?
A gallery featuring a Toronto icon, the Gooderham Building (aka the Flatiron)
In Historicist, a look at one of the Toronto Sun's most infamous columns, McKenzie Porter's guide to proper body hygiene

On OpenFile Toronto:

A look back at the Dominion Coal silos in North Toronto, which are now commemorated with a historical plaque

spicy pickle chips

2011-10-13T23:55:00.003-04:00

Take one purveyor of tasty hipster pickles. Combine with a venerable Detroit snack food manufacturer. Use one of Motown's finest food destinations as a backdrop for testing the new concoction.

Result: splitting a bag of McClure's Spicy Pickle chips with your partner-in-crime on a warm Canadian Thanksgiving weekend morning while walking by rows of beautiful potted plants.

Photo taken October 8, 2011

UPDATE OCT 15/11: You can purchase both flavours at Scheffler's Deli at St. Lawrence Market ($1.59/bag). We tried the Garlic Pickle flavour and while tasty, they lacked the zestyness of the Spicy Pickle chips. Worth a try once you've finished going through all the cheese and meat samples.

last week's scribblings

2011-10-12T14:11:00.001-04:00

On Torontoist:

Nuit Blanche wrapup
In Vintage Toronto Ads, how Bobby Orr didn't become the Tim Horton of pizza
In honour of the provincial election, a gallery of old campaign ads

open file posts

2011-10-12T12:39:00.003-04:00

Pieces I've written for OpenFile Toronto:

Past Pieces of Toronto: Palace Pier (Jan 13/12)

Past Pieces of Toronto: The Odeon Hyland (Dec 30/11)

Past Pieces of Toronto: Maple Leaf Stadium (Dec 16/11)

Past Pieces of Toronto: Albert Britnell Book Shop (Dec 5/11)

Past Pieces of Toronto: Sam the Record Man (Nov 21/11)

Past Pieces of Toronto: The Uptown Theatre (Nov 4/11)

A Decade Later, The Dominon Coal Silos Memorialized (Oct 11/11)

last week's scribblings

2011-10-03T21:57:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

A guide to museums operated by the City of Toronto
Margaret Haile, the first woman to run for provincial office
Wanna try some Powley's Liquified Ozone?
Some contributions to the Nuit Blanche preview...
...and a few more contributions to the Nuit Blanche live blog

renowned editors of canadian newspapers: john ross robertson

2011-09-28T08:30:00.008-04:00

Philanthropist. Amateur sport advocate. Municipal political kingmaker. Populist conservative publisher. Collector. Historian. Imperialist. Just a few of the terms that could be applied to the many passions of John Ross Robertson. Nearly a century after his death, legacies such as the Hospital for Sick Children and the public utilities he campaigned for continue to affect the lives of Torontonians.

The profile touches upon Robertson's contributions to the preservation of Toronto's past. The collection of pictures he donated to the Toronto Public Library remains a key part of the Baldwin Room Canadian Historical Picture Collection. He also published six volumes of Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto, which collected historical sketches originally published in the Telegram. A sample of the introduction to the first volume, published in 1894:

One hundred years ago Chippewas in their wigwams were the only inhabitants to welcome the first white man, who with axe in hand hewed from forest trees a primitive log cabin on a half acre, now covered by palatial marts of business, valued in the millions. The rise, the progress, the development and material advancement of such a place should interest all who claim Toronto as a residence, whether as sturdy pioneers from the motherland, or as native-born descendants of those whose strong arms turned the forest trees into homes, or, like the Egyptians of old, fashioned the clay into the conventional red brick which to-day stands as a memorial of the early days of the closing century. The effort of the publisher in this volume is to give a readable and reliable history of the old houses and historic spots in the former town of York, with a glimpse at many of the familiar forms and faces of those who have aided in upbuilding Toronto.

Though dotted with errors, the series provides an interesting look at Toronto's development from John Graves Simcoe to the eve of World War I. Robertson edited a number of other historical works, including the diary of Simcoe's wife Elizabeth.

John Ross Robertson and William Findlay Maclean, between 1916 and 1918. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 657.

The picture above, taken during Robertson's last years, depicts him with another long-time populist Toronto newspaper publisher who the producers of Renowned Editors of Canadian Newspapers decided didn't merit such a designation, William Findlay Maclean of the Toronto World. Hard to say if Maclean would have deserved space had there been any, though before the World ceased publishing in 1921 it served as a training ground for later influential journalistic figures like Joseph Atkinson, Hector Charlesworth, and John Bayne Maclean.

Robertson is buried in the Necropolis in Cabbagetown, the same cemetery as one-time boss/publishing and political rival George Brown, who Robertson once called "the most notable charlatan this country has ever known."

last week's scribblings

2011-09-27T23:48:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

Vintage Toronto Ads mixes a 1970s CBC musical and Monty Python.
Are the Blue Jays returning to a classic look?

last week's scribblings

2011-09-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

The first edition of the Festival of Festivals (which evolved into TIFF)
Vintage Toronto Ads demonstrates how mimes can increase business productivity
A short look at the long debate over separate school funding
Historicist celebrates the TTC's 90th anniversary by looking back at its beginnings

On Heritage Toronto:

The tale of the Loblaw Groceterias building at Bathurst and Lake Shore

vintage toronto sun letter of the day

2011-09-12T01:06:00.000-04:00

Monty Python's Flying Circus has offended plenty of people over the years. Sometimes, as in this letter, one's outrage at the show could easily be a sketch from the show. All that's missing from this letter is a "Dear Sir" salutation rendered in pompous tones.

I emailed my sister to figure out which anti-Scottish skit was the breaking point for Mr. Cameron. Her guess was the spotlight on the great poet Ewan McTeagle. Other good candidates: kamikaze Scotsmen, or the blancmanges who turned innocents into Scots.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cameron was so wrapped up in finding outrages against the Scottish that he may have failed to notice the English didn't come off so hot either in various Python skits.

Fifteen years later, would Mr. Cameron have written another letter about CBC's continuing prejudice after watching this Kids In The Hall skit?

Source: The Toronto Sun, February 22, 1974

last week's scribblings

2011-09-12T00:37:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

Thirty years ago, who had the right of way: a bus or a car?
Two minutes of modernism

foods men like (5)

2011-09-06T23:27:00.001-04:00

Back for a final go-round after a summer hiatus...

For a page featuring two recipes beginning with the letter S and a baseball player adorned in S emblems, you'd think the illustrator would have included foods that started with S. Unless the that apple in his glove is a spartan, or the cupcake/muffin on the table is strawberry-chocolate flavoured, there is a distinct lack of S-foods. There is the possibility the connection lies in a theme of sweetly-flavoured items men can enjoy. "Sweet" begins with "S"!

My father was a man of many talents. Cooking was not among them. It wasn't that he was bad at it, just that he rarely did so. Usually we'd go out if Mom wasn't around for dinner, but occasionally he made his lone specialty, spaghetti. He prepared it classic 20th century North American household style: boil a pot of water, add pasta, drain, toss with jarred sauce. While all of us showered our spaghetti with a sprinkle of Kraft's finest green-tinned parmesan, Dad added to his plate crushed hot peppers from a Club House spice jar that may have predated man's first steps on the moon. It was a tasty treat for kids which seemed extra special when he made it.

Whenever we ate pasta, the odds were good Dad would quote a key line from a late 1960s Alka-Seltzer commercial. Based on the blooper reel above, Dad delivered his mock Italian accent with more conviction and fewer faulty stoves.

In a book devoted to manly foods, a steak recipe was inevitable. This one tosses in a bevy of manly ingredients: beer, chili sauce, strong mustard, and Tabasco sauce. Though the tomatoes vinaigrette recipe includes wimpy lettuce, the leaves are only there as garnish to briefly distract a manly diner from thick pieces of bloody-red tomatoes. A slab of meat and chunky vegetables equal a primal meal fit for a mighty hunter, even if the hunt now consists of comparing specials in the weekly supermarket flyers.

The remaining recipes here are anything but primal, relying on processed short cuts (Bisquick for the cake, instant "Potato Buds" for the soup) to make life easier.

The final batch of recipes. After overindulging on weiner schnitzel, the test kitchen said "enough!" Left with no suggestions to fill out the last three letters of the alphabet, the editors panicked. While finding dishes for Y (yams, yogurt) and Z (ziti, zucchini) wouldn't be difficult, X posed a problem. Finally, after an exhaustive six-hour meeting where the notion of "Xanthan Gum Delight" was repeatedly rejected, the editors devised a cop-out solution: readers could decide what special meals beginning with X, Y and Z were foods men liked.

Our journey ends with the back cover. Remember to make up for lost time by preparing food the man in your life will enjoy...or anyone, regardless of gender, will savour on a special occasion.

One lingering question: did Betty Crocker Kitchens prepare the logical companion volume to this tome, Foods Women Like?

FIN

last week's scribblings

2011-09-06T22:05:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

Vintage Toronto Ads spotlights a previous visit to the CNE by Glen Campbell
Doug Ford wasn't the first suburban Toronto politician with visions of monorails dancing through his head
Historicist looks at the extension of Church Street in the early 1930s

last week's scribblings

2011-08-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

Jack Layton's city council career
Vintage Toronto Ads spotlights the shower soldiers dreamed of during World War II
Besides Jack Layton, who else has lay in state at City Hall?

renowned editors of canadian newspapers: george mccullagh

2011-08-25T10:14:00.000-04:00

Discovered deep in the stacks of the University of Guelph's library: a pamphlet published by the Thomson newspaper chain circa 1959 spotlighting major editors of the past.

This particular profile glosses over the darker edges of George McCullagh's life: depression, an early battle with the bottle, the political naivete demonstrated in his radio broadcasts, the misadventure of the Leadership League, a thirst for power, and the exact nature of his death (heart attack or suicide?). Whatever your verdict of him is, McCullagh packed an awful lot into 47 years before flaming out.

LINK: An old Historicist piece surveying McCullagh's life.

last week's scribblings

2011-08-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

In Vintage Toronto Ads, a 1950s housewife gets too excited about Nescafé
From 1967, suggestions on how to improve the CNE
Tweeting Toronto's history, plaque by plaque
In Historicist, the short saga of the Lord Simcoe Hotel

renowned editors of canadian daily newspapers: george brown

2011-08-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

Discovered deep in the stacks of the University of Guelph's library: a pamphlet published by the Thomson newspaper chain circa 1959 spotlighting major editors of the past.

1959 was a key year for scholars of George Brown, as the first half of J.M.S. Careless's biography Brown of the Globe was published (volume two followed four years later). During the 1960s the founding publisher of the Globe was honoured with a postage stamp to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth and a new college that still bears his name.

LINK: An old Historicist piece about the circumstances of Brown's demise.

renowned editors of canadian daily newspapers: j.e. atkinson

2011-08-16T10:07:00.000-04:00

Discovered deep in the stacks of the University of Guelph's library: a pamphlet published by the Thomson newspaper chain circa 1959 spotlighting major editors of the past. The selection of honorees covers Canada from coast to coast throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, from the pre-Confederation career of Joseph Howe to several figures who died during the early 1950s. This series of Toronto-related excerpts begins with a profile of Joseph "Holy Joe" Atkinson, the crusading editor who shaped the Star.

Here's the front cover of the booklet...

Four more editors of the past to come...

this week's scribblings

2011-08-12T19:17:00.000-04:00

On Torontoist:

Visiting Mies van der Rohe-designed apartments and townhouses in Detroit's Lafayette Park neighbourhood
In Vintage Toronto Ads, a monastic-themed restaurant? Oh brother...
A look back at the Yonge Street Riot of 1992
How did Torontonians react when the stock market crashed in 1929?

a modest proposal for fixing toronto's finances

2011-07-29T09:03:00.003-04:00

From the nearly 24 hours of deputations in front of Toronto City Council's Executive Committee at City Hall (which ended shortly before this post was written), one of the first clips to receive media play was a satirical jab by North York taxpayer Mary Hynes at how far some people could implement suggestions from KPMG in the Core Service Review.

We first heard her speech last night on As It Happens while driving little Haruki across the city to weekend kitty daycare. There was a momentary risk of driving off the elevated section of the Gardiner Expressway while we laughed. It is reassuring to see that the antics of the Mayor and his allies are starting to rouse Torontonians out of their stupor and prove we're not just the anonymous "taxpayers" he claims to respect.

Priceless bit: note stony expression on Mayor Ford's face when Councillor Adam Vaughan asks Ms. Hynes if she is Margaret Atwood. - JB

jos. a. bank clothiers proudly presents the herb tarlek collection

2011-07-18T11:04:00.001-04:00

This window was an attention-grabber - several fellow bypassers marvelled in disbelief at the fashions on display. As I placed my camera back in its case, a couple stopped for a second, exchanged stares, then uttered in unison "Herb Tarlek!"

Photo taken along Boylston Street in Boston on June 11, 2011 - JB

does toronto's mayor know about this?

2011-07-15T08:15:00.002-04:00

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has made battling graffiti/graffiti-style art one of his priorities during his reign of uncompetence. This week, Mr. Ford suggested that the good citizens of our city should call 911 if they spot anyone "causing graffiti" (which led to the #new911calls hashtag on Twitter). Though the message above was photographed before Mr. Ford urged Torontonians to tie up emergency phone lines, the words seem like even more of a dare.

Can Mr. Ford and his cadre on City Council up the ante by sending Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti out with a camera to document taggers in action? Set aside funds once allocated to useless things like child care and trees to create a crack anti-graffiti black ops squad?

Keep trying Rob. Keep trying.

Photo taken June 30, 2011 - JB

road safety in detroit, 1929

2011-07-11T23:15:00.002-04:00

Any Detroit historians know where, despite the fuzzy background of the picture, this grim sign was placed to keep "autoists" safe and sound?

Source: The Evening Telegram, February 26, 1929. - JB

postcard from france, 1975

2011-07-08T08:43:00.001-04:00

One of the joys of buying used books is finding mementos left by previous owners. A greeting from the author. A note hoping the recipient enjoys the gift they received. Recipes for upside-down cake. Business cards for neo-Nazi organizations. A bookmark from a long-gone bookstore. Photographs from over a century ago.

And postcards such as one found in copy of Spadina: A Story of Old Toronto, a study of the residents and neighbours of the various homes that lent their name to one of downtown's main arteries. A postcard of a French chateau sent to friends or family who resided near the home profiled in the book.

The writer had a wonderful time in France visiting old acquaintances and soaking up the local lifestyle...

"I think Canada is an idea in the mind of God" - now there's a quotable line.

We also learned that 35 years after the postcard was written, the ink smudged as if it was laid down 35 seconds ago. - JB

you gotta have art

2011-07-05T11:54:00.001-04:00

This is a friendly public service announcement to those in the world who find any kind of art, fine or not, unworthy of public support. Perhaps the cold-hearted, controversy-seeking executives of Sun Media (whose coverage of a play about a terrorism suspect assisted the federal government's last-minute decision to pull funding for Summerworks and whose TV channel went off the deep end its in attack on arts funding) had parents who determined that "you gotta have art" was a dangerous message to impart onto their budding shapers of public opinion.

Based on the song "Heart" from the musical Damn Yankees, the "You Gotta Have Art" campaign was a Detroit television staple in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marvelling at the Diego Rivera frescos on your way into the Detroit Institute of Arts might make you dance too.

amherstburg needs flour and peas!

2011-06-16T23:43:00.001-04:00

Another odd item about my hometown discovered while researching an unrelated topic...

Source: Upper Canada Gazette, May 17, 1797 - JB

foods men like (4)

2011-05-10T09:44:00.001-04:00

New England Clam Chowder: once upon a time I liked ready-to-serve canned versions whose texture was similar to wallpaper paste. Along with my taste for most tinned soups, this liking went by the wayside (Manhattan-style seems better suited for long-term preservation in the cupboard). Condensed versions were usually suspect thanks to the transparent gelatinous blobs that never mixed well with milk. These days I make my own with a little help from Better than Bouillon's clam base.

Noodles Romanoff: synonymous with Noodle Roni in my mind. Fancy mac n' cheese-ish side dish. Haven't eaten Noodle Roni or its relatives Lipton Noodles & Sauce/Knorr Sidekicks in years - either my tastebuds changed, the recipes changed, or my organs finally recognized there was nothing remotely natural in these products.

Onion Rings: for sheer size, unless a restaurant is gunning for a spot in the Guinness book, no onion rings will ever top those Dad and I shared at the Holiday Inn French Quarter in Perrysburg, Ohio thirty years ago. We're not talking slightly thicker than usual - these rings were at least 2" high, which created a challenge for little me to slide them into my mouth. Either the largest onions that arrived in that week's shipment were used for our meal, or the restaurant was involved in secret government development of mutant vegetables.

Me football player. Me like giant chunk of pork. Me eat with big fork. Me like even if pork chunk not recipes beside it, or me am eating giant pork hock.

Foodies take note: May 20 is National Quiche Lorraine Day. You can decide if quiche a dish for a real man, or if a hearty reuben sandwich is a more masculine meal.

Apart from the shape and using fresh potatoes instead of McCain's, there's nothing "raw" about the raw fries. Seems the author was trying to raise the ruggedness quotient after the quiche recipe.

To be continued... - JB

there is the swong, how about the swing?

2011-04-29T14:03:00.001-04:00

BBC election coverage, 1970

Monty Python skit, 1970

Given some of the swings predicted for Monday night's election, shouldn't one of the broadcasters following the results resurrect BBC's swingometer?

impressions of st. lawrence market, 1942

2011-04-15T12:05:00.001-04:00

Illustrated by Betty Maw. Originally appeared in the April 1942 issue of The Canadian Forum. - JB

dad's sporting life

2011-04-04T11:36:00.001-04:00

Back in the mid-1960s, Dad played hockey in a recreational league in Leaside. He seemed to have enjoyed it, though I did wonder why I had never seen him strap on a pair of skates. He occasionally talked about the experience, including stories of other players who'd had a cup of coffee in the NHL. But one story stuck out. The way I remember him telling me the tale, someone in the league got their hands on a pair of skates Detroit Red Wings star Alex Delvecchio left behind at Maple Leaf Gardens. The future Hall-of-Famer's skates were passed around either Dad's team or the league and whoever was able to fit into them gave them a go.

True? Hard to say. Dad was full of tall tales that proved to have a grain of truth in them. Or my memory is fractured for having paid half-attention to them rather than etching them in full detail on my brain.

Not sure what the trophy that Dad is holding in this picture from early 1963 was awarded for. It might related to his lifeguard duties at the Leaside Memorial Gardens...

...while this certificate definitely is. Luckily he never had to use his training on Amy and I during the many hours all of us spent in the water.

Dad and Granddad posing by a car, summer 1961.

***

Ten years. Gone by so fast. - JB

take a real good look in the mirror of your mind

2011-03-28T15:22:00.001-04:00

"Mirror of Your Mind" appears to have been a syndicated piece of filler that tackled the tough social (and social perception) issues of the day.

Source: Weston Times, January 3, 1969 - JB

food this man likes (or a simple soup for an average workday)

2011-03-25T12:22:00.001-04:00

When you have nine-to-five schedules, making a tasty, healthy homemade dinner can feel like the worst chore in the world, especially if it's been a rocky day at the office or a busy night looms ahead. The eating out option is fine occasionally, but your waistline and wallet will complain if you do it too often. You want something speedy yet nourishing.

That's when cookbooks like Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express have come to our rescue. After successfully testing a few recipes while we borrowed it from the library, we knew we had to have our own copy...which would up under the Christmas tree. Organized by season (a structure we've ignored), the cover promises that any of the four hundred plus recipes inside take twenty minutes or less to whip up. Of the dishes we have tried, Bittman's Lemony Red Lentil Soup with Cilantro has made the most return appearances on our table.

Cook a chopped onion in olive oil in a saucepan until soft; add one cup of red lentils and four cups chicken broth and bring to a boil; continue simmering until the lentils are soft. Puree a handful of cilantro with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt; set aside. If you like, puree half the lentils until almost smooth; return them to the pan. Add about two tablespoons of lemon juice or more to taste. Stir in the cilantro puree, adjust the seasonings, and serve with crusty bread or a mound of rice in the center.

The beauty of Bittman's book is that because many of the measurements in the recipes are imprecise, there's plenty of leeway to adjust each ingredient to match your taste and encourage experimentation. As far as this recipe goes, our main adjustments are:

Drop the extra olive oil added with the cilantro
Add the cilantro at the end of the cooking process and puree it within the soup with a hand blender instead of doing so on its own - JB

foods men like (3)

2011-03-23T14:06:00.001-04:00

Note that the meal pictured, a footlong sub loaded with lettuce, tomato and cheese, is not accompanied by a recipes on these pages. Perhaps a hearty sub was considered a manlier dish in 1970 than a cold vegetable soup favoured by the likes of Lisa Simpson?

Also impressive: that the sub does not appear to have been crushed while stuffed in the businessman's suitcase. Maybe subs were all he carried in that particular suitcase (the papers on the side were coupons for his favourite sub shops)...which reminds me of a story I read the other night. During the first decades of the 20th Century, the president of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team was a colourful local politician named August "Garry" Herrmann. According to Donald Dewey and Nicholas Acocella's book The Ball Clubs:

Even for a business renowned for its outsized personages, the new Cincinnati boss seemed like a character out of Dick Tracy. Called a "walking delicatessen" by some, he seldom ventured anywhere without an ample supply of sausages that he would munch on whenever the opportunity presented itself. One more than one occasion, he bolted from a public function because of some mixup that had left sausages unavailable.

If Herrmann was around today, I imagine his primary sausage supplier would flaunt their association with him, or a reporter would accompany him during one of his emergency runs for meat links.

Gazpacho? A cooling, tasty treat, especially in the summer.

Hash browns, home fries, rosti, whatever you want to call them - unless you burn them or toss the wrong seasoning in, it's hard to screw up a comforting side of fried potatoes. My preference is either thinly shredded and cake-like or lightly pan-fried with herbs.

While the illustrator takes a break, consider these recipes. The one dish I might frown at is the jelly omelet, unless a savoury preserve like red pepper jelly was used.

Two ends of the culinary cost spectrum: the stereotypical businessman's feast/fancy night out meal and a comfort food whose prepacked form offers cheap eats. The professor chooses neither and goes for a smiling fish (which, we can assure, is not tainted with Joker toxin).

One of the rare times I've eaten a steak and lobster combo happened at La Castile in Mississauga. Back in the days when vendors of my former employer could indulge their clients with a holiday treat, one of our printers sprung for a Christmas season meal. With price as no object, I went to town. After a large appetizer of Oysters Rockefeller, the steak and lobster was placed in front of me. My eyes bulged as I determined that excess was the restaurant's forte - the lobster must have been several pounds, and the steak wasn't a puny cut.

Somehow I downed the entire meal, with a suspicion that never again would I wolf down such a hefty crustacean unless a financial windfall came my way. I needed all the energy from the meal to battle a snowstorm that hit during our meal...slowly but safely I drove some co-workers back along Dundas to drop them off downtown.

Kraft Dinner was often the lunch waiting for me when I came home from morning Kindergarten. Sometimes sliced hot dogs were added. Ketchup was never part of the equation. As time rolled on, I discovered that Kraft was my least favourite brand of mac n' cheese due to its inability to stay creamy for very long. Catelli, one-shot brands with cartoon characters or cavemen...any other brand that had a stronger, cheesier, saltier taste and the ability to stay creamy was tops in my books. Then came President's Choice Deluxe White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese and, except for the occasional box of Spirals, Kraft was permanently left in the dust. By university, it was an occasional treat - never did succumb to the KD diet that the two guys in the above video enjoy.

These days, it's handy to keep at least one box around the house for emergency situations or for comfort food while sick (when it acts like chicken soup).

To be continued... - JB

words of advice to pedestrians on a busy sunday afternoon in kensington market

2011-03-23T09:23:00.001-04:00

Photo taken on Augusta Avenue, March 20, 2011. - JB

there's no point in taking these signs down now

2011-03-22T17:53:00.002-04:00

Found on King-Vaughan Road a week ago, these signs would have been leftover from the Vaughan federal by-election back in November. Given the reaction of the opposition parties to today's federal budget, this supporter of the current Minister of State for Seniors may as well leave them up. Though not officially declared, it's all-but-certain now that Canada is heading into a full federal election campaign by the end of this week.

Picture taken March 14, 2011 - JB

foods men like (2)

2011-03-14T10:46:00.001-04:00

No illustrations to accompany today's first batch of recipes.

Though stroganoff has many elements I like in a dish (saucy beef, mushrooms, a bed of egg noodles), it's never been a dish that's tempted me to order it in a restaurant or make it on my own. Possible reasons:

1) One of my favourite dishes as a kind was Mom's sauerbraten (aka "steak and noodles"), which is a distant cousin. Main differences: instead of mushrooms and sour cream, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce were key ingredients.

2) Any Noodle Roni/Lipton Noodles & Sauce sidedish marketed as stroganoff tended to be crappy (Romanoff noodles on the other hand...).

3) Seeing students down mass quantities of stroganoff at Creelman Hall during my university daze.

Blue cheese dressing? Back in the early 1980s, Malibu's Le Grand Cochon restaurant served up a tasty, extra-creamy version...and plenty of it!

Sample some chocolate cake prepared by the chefs of Crowded House.

Nine out of ten doctors agree: digestion of fried chicken will be aided if the whole bird is surrounded by a ring of cherry tomatoes or red jujubes as it is being carved (the tenth suffered an acid reflux just by thinking about the potentially clogged arteries resulting from this dish).

The non-illustrated chili sounds like a classic rendition of the comfort dish. This recipe isn't far removed from what Mom used to serve my family in the winter, accompanied by mounds of hot buttered toast. Forty years on, you might add some cilantro or spice it up with a dash of chipotle powder, ground ancho or other dried chilies. If you want to eliminate meat altogether, we've had great luck with a hearty sweet potato and black bean chili from Eating Well magazine.

All of these dishes sound tempting: date bars are another dessert Mom makes that warm my tummy, eggs benny are a brunch staple, and it's rare that I will turn my nose at a fish dish. Betty is on to something.

If you like eggs Benedict, feast your eyes on the version served up at Reservoir in Montreal, which is sided with the thickest, meatiest hunk of bacon I have ever been served.

To be continued...

foods men like (1)

2011-03-09T14:20:00.001-05:00

One of the highlights of going to the Elora Festival's book sale every spring is surfing through the tables of formerly-loved (or never-used-despite-all-good-intentions) cookbooks. For as little as a quarter, dedicated browsers will find flip past every Better Homes & Gardens cooking guide ever published to find recipe books ranging from local women's institutes to collections of Len Deighton's swingin' Sixties cookstrips.

It was at one Elora sale that I discovered Betty Crocker's vision of the diet a North American male should enjoy, complete with the cutesy illustration style beloved of book designers and board game makers circa 1970.

It's interesting to contrast the cartoony style used by artist Murray Tinkelman in this book and the work he has done for clients like the New York Times.

We'll keep the table of contents under wraps, so that every dish comes as a surprise (this series needs an element of suspense to keep readers coming back for more...). If you're ready, let's dive into the secrets of male eating known only to Ms. Crocker.

The recipes start with a scene inspired by the recent mission to the moon:

In space, no one can hear you eat pie.

In space, no one, other than mission control, can hear you complain when you discover that the chef back in Houston decided to pay you back for playfully tossing them into the low-gravity simulated and made you blueberry pie—deep dish style and apple cobbler. When you return to Earth, you'll fix his wagon but good...if the hallucinations of rainbows trailing shooting stars ever wear off.

To be continued...

the vampire king of kensington

2011-02-12T14:24:00.000-05:00

It was a serene winter Friday afternoon. Bellevue Square Park was quiet, perhaps the quietest I've ever seen. Perhaps it was due to my visit happening on a workday. Maybe regular visitors were seeking refuge from the snowy landscape in one of Kensington Market's shops and eateries.

Or maybe people were afraid of the recent change in one of the park's landmarks.

At first it was the odd bird or two found drained of all of their blood. Then larger urban animals were discovered in the same state. You might think a raccoon is a nuisance, but nobody wants to see one, or any other creature, drained of their life fluids for no apparent reason.

All of the deceased animals were found within the immediate vicinity of the Al Waxman statue on the west side of the park. Was there a secret ritual going on at night under the noses of the residents around the square?

It was after the third report of foul play that investigators noticed something odd about the statue's head. They noticed a thin stream of what appeared to be dried paint applied in a manner similar to blood dripping from the lips. A sample was sent to a lab, which discovered the shocking truth.

The stream wasn't paint.

The investigators went back to the crime scene. One swore he noticed that the statue's smile seemed more malevolent...but maybe he'd been up for too long working on the case. He returned that night determined to see what really went on after dark.

The red glow from the statue's eyes was the last thing he ever saw.

Top photo taken January 28, 2011. Bottom photo taken August 2, 2007. - JB

one person who'd like to be a vidal sassoon user but can't be speaks out

2011-02-11T23:51:00.000-05:00

The last in a series of testimonials from famous, semi-famous, and not-at-all-famous users of Vidal Sassoon products which, unlike the others, was printed all by its lone self. Guess the non-user had to be isolated to strengthen the punchline.

Not that we mean any disrespect to Mr. Holder, whose half-century artistic career has encompassed acting, choreography and painting. He may be best known for two roles: James Bond villain Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die, and the white-suited 7UP pitchman who extolled the virtues of the non-cola during the 1970s and 1980s.

Holder didn't see doing commercials for as a comedown. "I'm no snob," he noted in a 1975 interview with People magazine. "The commercial is an art form unto itself. After all, you are seducing people."

View all of the ads we've found in this series.

Source: a 1985 issue of Rolling Stone (forgot to note the date) - JB

two users of vidal sassoon products speak out (3)

2011-02-10T13:08:00.001-05:00

Two more testimonials from famous, semi-famous, and not-at-all-famous users of Vidal Sassoon products. We wonder if the police officer was teased by his colleagues for his puffy do.

More to come...

Source: a 1985 issue of Rolling Stone (forgot to note the date) - JB

two users of vidal sassoon products speak out (2)

2011-02-09T12:40:00.000-05:00

More testimonials from famous, semi-famous, and not-at-all-famous users of Vidal Sassoon products. Today's testifiers: a member of Woody Allen's stock company (who appears ready for a day at the country club) and a gold-medal Olympic gymnast.

Source: a 1985 issue of Rolling Stone (forgot to note the date) - JB

two users of vidal sassoon products speak out (1)

2011-02-08T01:47:00.000-05:00

One in a series of testimonials from famous, semi-famous, and not-at-all-famous users of Vidal Sassoon products. One presumes Warhol was amazed by the artful way the spray kept his wigs in place.

As for Animotion, their lasting legacy is a tune that was used for years as the theme music for CITY-TV's Fashion Television.

More of this campaign to come...

Source: a 1985 issue of Rolling Stone (forgot to note the date) - JB

the more things change, the more they stay the same department

2011-02-04T11:50:00.001-05:00

In light of the current kerfuffle over Bell's pursuit of usage based billing (UBB) for the internet, here's a story I stumbled upon while researching something else that shows protests in Toronto against Bell's practices aren't new.

Source: The Globe and Mail, August 22, 1957 - JB

visit us, you'll really like us

2011-02-03T12:11:00.001-05:00

When watching late-night reruns of SCTV on Windsor’s CBC outlet during our teens, Amy and I expected that most of our laughs would come from the fake ads on the Canadian comedy classic, not the real ones during commercial breaks. One exception was Woody Pontiac, located across the border in Hamtramck (a suburb of Detroit surrounded on all but one side by the city of Detroit). Their pitchman was dealer Woodrow W. Woody (1908-2002), an elderly gentleman whose on-air demeanour came from an earlier era. Mr. Woody wasn’t a hard sell salesman, nor did he use gimmicks like flying around in a cape (hi Mel Farr!). No, Mr. Woody reached out to potential customers by stressing his long involvement in the car business as a genial, slightly doddering old man whose eyes were fixed on a teleprompter might do.

We imitated his exit lines for years afterward. The cheerful reassurance we’d like his dealership. The quaintness of seeing any TV pitchman from the late 1980s/early 1990s say to viewers “so long, be seeing you.” A wave goodbye to the audience that grew increasingly rubbery. Missing from this clip is an exit line he added on during his last few years on the air—“drive carefully please.”

Woody opened his Pontiac dealership in 1940. As an article in Ward’s Dealer Business noted, it wasn’t an easy start:

He applied for the Pontiac franchise in Hamtramck in 1939. At first the automaker turned him down. The Pontiac zone manager didn't expect a person of Lebanese descent to be able to thrive in downtown Hamtramck, which at the time had the highest concentrated Polish population outside of Poland.

"I said I'm dating a Polish girl and if you give me the franchise, I'll marry her," recalls Mr. Woody, who has been married to Anna for more than 50 years. "The guy started laughing and said, 'Boy, if you want it that bad, you can have it.'"

So, in January of 1940, Woody Pontiac Sales opened and sold 200 cars in its first year, advertising vehicles for $25 above cost. The next year he sold 700 to become the second-largest Pontiac dealer in Michigan.

Woody remained in the auto business until 2000, when the 92-year-old closed the lot. Even though he wasn’t personally selling cars at that point, he continued to come into the dealership five days a week to greet customers (I wonder if anyone asked him to imitate his ads on their way out of the lot office). The dealership stood vacant until it was demolished in 2009. Woody Plaza, which includes a Michigan Department of Human Services office, opened on the site last year.

Back then, we felt we were watching a semi-senile old geezer. After rediscovering Woody's ads, I find his awkwardness and soft sell approach charming in an age of tightly crafted, merciless pitchery. - JB

romance comic department

2011-02-01T10:27:00.002-05:00

In the midst of winter cleaning at the Warehouse, we've uncovered a treasure trove of romance comics from the 1960s and 1970s. Here's one of the gems we found.

After a near-death experience with a perfectly spherical boulder that charged at you on an idyllic cliffside beach, what pair of stiffly-drawn young lovers can't resist a touch of in-law humour?

John and his unnamed lover soon returned to the picnic, where everyone had a good laugh as if it was the closing minute of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. When the lovebirds wandered off to change their clothes, the in-laws had a quiet conversation...

MOTHER: I told you not to buy a boulder from the Acme catalogue!
FATHER: But it was the only one I could afford! SMERSH's boulders cost too much!
MOTHER: (sighs) I knew I should have brought the arsenic.

None of the major comic book databases have a clue as to who the uncredited writer and artist of this one-page filler were.

Source: Just Married #102, October 1974 - JB

the bridge to summer is the ambassador bridge (and tales of a christmas crossing)

2011-01-24T16:27:00.001-05:00

The golden gateway for several generations of snowbirds...

***

I rarely use the Ambassador Bridge whenever I visit the Detroit area these days. The view is nice, and it makes more sense to use it to head to certain destinations, but I like to line the pockets of the Detroit International Bridge Company as little as possible (it was nice to see, if only briefly, the president of DIBC taken away in handcuffs for contempt of court after the company refused to comply with a court order to demolish various structures that never should have been built). Currently cars coming from the south on the American side have to follow a long, looping detour that seems designed to tempt you into buying gas from the DIBC before returning to Canada than serve as a practical detour around construction and the remains of a bait shop on 23rd Street. My most recent trip across the bridge was over Christmas, when I packed several family members into the car for a daytrip to Ann Arbor.

The border guards at Detroit usually don't give us a hassle. While they ask the required questions and type in our passport info, they also chat like normal human beings: bad jokes, recommendations on what to buy at Zingerman's Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, etc. This approach could serve as an more effective tactic than straight-on interrogation, since the guard relaxes the occupants of the vehicle, which could lead to more information about one's activities slipping into the conversation. On this trip, we quickly realized we weren't dealing with a friendly guard the moment he opened his mouth. He didn't ask where we were going; he asked where we were trying to go.

Ooookay...

When he asked the purpose of the trip, I said "shopping." Without a trace of warmth in his voice, he snarked down something along the lines of "what, no clothes or food in Canada?" My response was to outline some of the places we were going and things we intended to purchase that weren't available at home. I bit my tongue hard, trying to prevent myself from expressing a thought that was better left unsaid in his presence: "to help your tanking economy!" He then stalled for awhile in the booth, in a way that Mom felt was more an attempt to intimidate us than perform normal document processing. After we were free to go, we let loose the thoughts we couldn't say in front of the dude.

***

And where did we head as soon as we got through? From the bridge, it was a quick hop onto I-94, which led us to our big feast of the day: sandwiches at Zingerman's.

Ad source: The Globe and Mail, December 19, 1970 - JB

vintage comics interview ad of the day

2011-01-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

More about Northguard.

Source: Comics Interview #12, June 1984 - JB

CONN!!! (come on and buy some crap from us! you know that you want to!)

2011-01-20T13:48:00.001-05:00

Over thirty years later, Conn used many of the same selling points that Mr. Sousa stands by when they produced a short promotional film called Mr. B Natural. Forty years after that, Conn's efforts to promote the fruits of their quality craftsmanship provided the material for one of the funniest segments of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

With a tagline like "cultivate your musical bump" this ad cries out for MST3K-style riffing and/or groan-inducing double entendres from hecklers at the back of the town square or orchestra hall.

Ad source: Photoplay, November 1923 - JB

you are so beautiful

2011-01-18T21:40:00.000-05:00

Montreal, November 14, 2010 - JB

notice to the owner of a bicycle parked in the annex

2011-01-18T13:49:00.002-05:00

Taken during a New Year's Day 2011 walk in the Annex (don't remember exactly which street). - JB

the current news cycle is making hardened newsboys a little wild eyed

2011-01-12T10:44:00.002-05:00

A man dragged a few blocks under a streetcar. A stoned mentally ill man in a police standoff for a couple of hours. A TTC fare hike that vanished as quickly as it was proposed. Two bomb scares by the local CSIS office caused by the same person (who left his keys in the ignition). A police officer killed by a stolen snow plow.

All this (and a story or two we're probably forgetting) since yesterday morning in Toronto.

No wonder this newsboy looks frazzled.

But, as a man on the bus this morning (either Eglinton East or Lawrence East, don't remember which one I hopped on), proclaimed, "smile, it's Wednesday!"

Illustration taken from the June 25, 1859 edition of the Toronto Weekly Message - JB

warehouse dessert department

2011-01-04T11:42:00.002-05:00

One of many recipes from corporate test kitchens discovered amid a slow sweep over the holidays through the Warehouse's collection of magazines that were never returned to the publisher. The item that sets this jello-marshmallow mold apart from all others? Chopped bits of angel food cake for a heavenly touch!

Source: Canadian Living, May 1983 - JB

rewinding through 2010

2010-12-31T11:18:00.003-05:00

...or an excuse to revisit some of this year's scribblings.

Historicist: Icy Discrimination (Torontoist, March 6)
Bonus Features (Blog, March 18)

The story of a discriminatory ice rink in North Toronto garnered a lot of positive feedback, including an email of thanks from the niece of one of those involved in the story.

Roncesvalles Construction Sucks (Torontoist, January 25)

Though the streetcar has returned, the bump-outs have debuted, and two-way traffic is back, Roncesvalles isn't out of the woods yet when it comes to construction chaos. More work to come in the spring.

Historicist: Measures of War (Torontoist, June 27)
Historicist: Kill Bill 99 (Torontoist, July 10)
Your G20 Stories (Blog, October 19)

Pieces written during, about, and inspired by G20 weekend.

The Empire Strikes Back (Heritage Toronto, July 28)

The first of a series of Toronto newspaper histories that should continue through 2011. - JB

how deep is snow in metric?

2010-12-19T12:58:00.002-05:00

Part of a series of spots from the mid-1970s, around the time Canada began its switch to metric measurement. Can't say that this message made an impression in the Windsor area during my childhood - apart from the local CBC television station, everyone continued to measure snow in inches and feet. Even now, I still convert to the old system in my mind whenever I listen to the weather.

vintage street & smith college football ad

2010-12-14T16:02:00.001-05:00

It's cleaning time at the Warehouse. Among the scraps of paper we found were ads clipped out of college football yearbooks tossed out long ago. Most concerned "handicapping" services for die-hard sports gamblers.

We figure Baystate knew their target audience. Much like Scoreline Man, the guy boring his lady friend in the tub with the latest spreads on the Bears-Packers game looks like a stereotypical example of a man who'd use a sports handicapping service. He's an average guy with a slight paunch, receding hairline and a taste for cheap wine and cigars. What average Joe wants to endure high-pressure tactics from phone bookies? If the advertised relaxed approach pays the promised high dividends, maybe you too can use those winnings to treat your wife/partner/girlfriend/hired companion to a weekend of relaxing in a hotel jacuzzi.

Just don't bore her with two hours of conversations centred around point spreads, OK?

Source: Street & Smith 1983 College Football Yearbook - JB

one fine weekend of dining in montreal (1)

2010-12-08T10:36:00.002-05:00

Rather than wrack my brain in an attempt to start this post off by waxing poetic about all things Montreal, I’m going to cut to the chase: Sarah and I recently spent a weekend there and made our stomachs very happy.

Disclaimer: Two Montreal food staples we didn’t have or barely sampled on this trip: smoked meat (almost got into line at Schwartz’s, but decided to keep my rough pattern of indulging in their famous sandwiches on every other trip to the city…and I wasn’t really in a smoked meat mood this time around) and bagels (did have one as a morning snack on Saturday, was going to bring a bag home but determined we had enough stuff to lug onto the train).

One related amusement: posters around the core for a musical about Schwartz’s. Hey readers: which Toronto culinary landmark deserves a song-and-dance ode?

Day 1

After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we headed north into the Plateau to find dinner. I wanted to see what was new and/or interesting looking along St. Denis. Our backup plan if we found nothing to tempt our growly stomachs was an Indian restaurant near Sherbrooke we enjoyed last year despite an ongoing bout of tummy troubles I battled on that trip—Sarah reminded me that I felt that I’d enjoy the spot even more with a clean bill of health. We walked as far as Rachel then looped back via side streets to Duluth, where we hit the row of bring-your-own-wine restaurants east of St. Denis. We settled on Eduardo, a cheap, dark and cozy eatery serving up old school red sauce Italian. After the long train ride, it was a comforting meal. Here’s what we ate—apologies for lack of photographic evidence:

Me: Escargots in garlic butter atop mushrooms, piping hot and loaded with buttery goodness. Main was spaghetti in meat sauce, which lacked the overwhelming taste of tomato paste sometimes found at cheap pasta joints.
Sarah: A salad with large slices of various veggies, followed by spinach and cheese cannelloni.
Both: baskets of hamburger bun-like white bread toasted and made tasty via a dusting of herbs.

We noted that out of an increasingly-filled restaurant, only one other couple didn’t bring a bottle of vino to share over dinner. We gazed admiringly at dishes in front of the wine drinkers, especially those loaded with veggies.

On our way back to the hotel, we made our first stop of the trip at Suite 88 Chocolatier on St. Denis. The last time we visited it appeared to have closed/moved, but it was back in full operation. After dithering over the tempting array of choices, I settled on a dark chocolate bar with cayenne chili. The cashier warned us about the heat level but I was prepared, having sampled the same flavour there in gelato form a few years back. I enjoyed the mix of potent burn and fine chocolate, while Sarah found it a tad too spicy.

Day 2

For brunch, we were going to try Aux Vivres, a vegan restaurant on St. Laurent whose colourful online menu drew us in. The walk along the Main proved longer than we expected and further than our growling stomachs could handle, so we stopped at Duluth and settled on what had been planned to be our Sunday morning dining spot, Reservoir.

It seemed like one of those restaurants that are full regardless of time of day. We snagged seats at the bar, which gave us a prime view of the kitchen. Feeling fatigued and cranky, it took me awhile to settle into the vibe of the place as I took my time contemplated the printed menu and the bill of fare on the chalkboard to the side of us. Sarah, though, felt immediately at ease on the swivelling metal stools, amongst the mussed-hair and French-language newspapers.

The only disappointing note came at the start with an order of beignets maison. The stiff texture was reminiscent of a yeasty sugar twist left to linger too long at a neighbourhood donut shop. The accompanying sauce, made from caramelized pineapple and madras curry, compensated in the flavour department. I would have been happy to order a solo bowl of pureed fruity goodness.

Our mains more than compensated for the appetizer. Sarah ordered an omelette with spinach puree, whole Parisian mushrooms and cheddar. The texture was unlike any omelette we’d ever encountered: creamy. It was as if my Mom’s scrambled eggs had been wielded together. The whole mushrooms pleased the fungus fiend in Sarah. That the only coffee beverages served were those espresso-based also pleased her, as did the tall stainless steel tumblers of water repeatedly filled by the woman behind the bar. Sarah thought these basic things were the makings of a perfect bruncheon.

I ordered eggs Benedict with leeks and bacon in hollandaise sauce. Neither of us had ever received a piece of bacon so thick and meaty. If not orgasmic, it was pretty darn close. Despite the large quantity, we secretly wished it were part of an unending ribbon of a food we normally stay away from. We could have eaten that bacon forever. Each smoky bite was precious. The long strands of leek were nicely caramelized, the hollandaise creamy but not overwhelming.

We stared at the other dishes pushed onto the kitchen ledge and pondered their degree of tastiness. We looked at each other and knew we’d made a good dining choice.

Coming in part 2: bistros and bineries. - JB, SO

nix-no-never-not

2010-12-02T10:33:00.001-05:00

While searching though back issues of the Toronto News for holiday-related material for an upcoming Historicist column, I stumbled upon a cartoon that seemed to fall into the genre of strips/one-offs whose plot was built around getting one of the characters to say the title in the final panel. You be the judge as to whether this style of humour still cuts the mustard a century on.

The same page of the News found the gruff old Scot on the left passing judgement on the quality of pipes found at Toronto branches of United Cigar Stores. This stereotypical depiction appeared in the retailer's advertising of the period, with different captions under his satisifed visage to suit the ad copy.

News stories on the same page:

A bedroom fire at 69 DeGrassi Street destroyed a $20 feather mattress belonging to a Mrs. Dowling.
Windsor dry goods merchant Joseph Appelbe won a partial appeal of a judicial dismissal of an injunction against the Erie Tobacco Company to cease the "obnoxious odors" eminating fom their factory. The new judgement ruled that the injunction go into effect six months later, so that Erie Tobacco could fix the problem.
Federal Minister of Finance W.S. Fielding returned to work after a bout of illness (referred to as "facial trouble"). A date for the resumption of reciprocity negotiations with the United States had yet to be established. The deal he reached was a key factor in the defeat of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's government the following September.
The state treasurer of New York gave away $500 worth of gold to his office staff, orderlies, and elevator operators at the government offices in Albany.
Words of wisdom: "If a man's conversation is heavy it's safe to bet that his words carry but little weight."

Source: The Toronto News, December 23, 1910. - JB

on those days full of bad news and bumbling misadventures...

2010-11-30T11:08:00.001-05:00

...sometimes you have to relax and let the cares of the world melt away.

Gingerbread man from Sittler's Home Baking, Conestogo, Ontario. Glass bowl from Libbey Factory Outlet, Toledo, Ohio. Milk from Tremblett's Valu-Mart, Toronto, Ontario, made foamy by a frother from IKEA. - JB

vintage woman's day ad of the day

2010-11-29T10:45:00.001-05:00

This may be the grossest depiction of cake frosting we have ever encountered in a family-friendly setting. That sweet talker Betty Crocker is going to have to prepare the greatest sales pitch of her life to convince us that the greyish goop isn't a secret storehouse of toxic chemicals erupting like lava from the cake, the remnants of someone's failed attempt to digest this dessert, or a leftover sample from a toy company's quest to create a new line of novelty fake doggie doo.

Considering that the ad boasts that the cake doesn't require icing, perhaps Betty purposely instructed the photographer or paste-up artist to present a slice with frosting in an unflattering light.

Source: Woman's Day, March 1950. - JB

point pelee

2010-11-15T12:57:00.001-05:00

From circa 1978, an ad spotlighting the annual monarch butterfly migration through Point Pelee. Note slightly-creepy soundtrack that sounds vaguely like chirping wildlife. - JB

pumpkin burlesque

2010-11-04T11:59:00.001-04:00

TORONTO: Residents of historic Cabbagetown had the rare opportunity to witness a performance by the Folies des Citrouilles on Sunday night. Presented at the corner of Sackville and Winchester, the show provided a enjoyable evening for afficianados of vegetable variety shows. The star attraction threw the troupe's two burlesque dancers in the spotlight, as they slinkily danced their way out of heavy-duty work clothes to the strains of "I've Got You Under My Skin." The evening also included the comedy stylings of Acorn & Squash, and a stirring rendition of "Follow the Drinking Gourd."- Warehouse News Service

do the oxydol sparkle dance!

2010-11-03T09:24:00.001-04:00

WARNING: Health authorities in your jurasdiction caution that prolonged exposure to "Oxydol sparkle" will cause extreme expansion of cranial and facial structures. Other side effects include paralysis of the facial muscles resulting in a permanent open smile and the mutation of the epidermis into tissue resembling a line drawing.

Source: The Telegram, June 24, 1947. - JB

vintage eerie ad of the day

2010-10-29T16:34:00.001-04:00

Can you name the movies that inspired these interpretations of classic monsters (at least two seem to be drawn from Abbott & Costello movies...)?

Source: Eerie #11, September 1967 - JB

welcome to rob ford country

2010-10-28T08:24:00.001-04:00

So here we are, just a little over a month before Rob Ford officially assumes the duties of Mayor of Toronto. Based on the numbers from Monday night, there were slightly more people walking around Tuesday with long faces (or nursing hangovers) than those giddy at the prospect of derailing the gravy train (and nursing hangovers). The results capped a campaign where anger reigned supreme and both candidates and voters did their best to imitate the Incredible Hulk.

***

I admit it. I drew a line to connect the two stumps of arrow next to Joe Pantalone's name. Not my ideal candidate, but as the sort-of-stand-in for the outgoing administration, I could live with myself if I voted for him.
Neither Ford nor George Smitherman were enticing prospects. The only thing I discerned all along from the former provincial cabinet minister's campaign was that he was running for mayor just to become mayor. Give Ford credit: his policies were unpalatable, but there was no question about where he stood. Smitherman's vagueness allowed him to swing toward the right side of the spectrum when Ford gained momentum, then swing back toward the middle when he became the anointed lead for the anyone-but-Ford brigade...though Smitherman's swings weren't as wild, or bizarre, as Rocco Rossi's.

The notion that voting for Smitherman was a must-do in order to prevent a Ford victory sealed my decision. I've never been impressed with strategic voting and its tendency to backfire (remember Buzz Hargrove's attempts to corral votes in certain directions?). The concept encourages negativity as voters are directed to vote for someone just to prevent a more odious candidate from winning rather than cast a ballot for anyone more aligned with your belief system or who serves as a lesser evil than the designated lesser evil. It's human nature that we don't like being told what we should do, which affected my decision and may have swayed other angry voters to the Ford camp (I admit being one who relished insulting Ford for being a buffoon without thinking about the boomerang effect).

While David Miller made missteps, he was nowhere near the anti-christ figure he was made out to be in some circles (hello Toronto Star!). I still admire his positive energy and sense of care for the city. While driving through Leslieville on Saturday, I noticed Miller on the sidewalk outside Bonjour Brioche. I almost yelled out the window something praiseworthy, like "the city's going to miss you" or "thanks for seven great years."

***

I sat down at my computer just before CBC Radio started its coverage at 8 on election night. Besides natural curiosity over how the night would unfold, I intended to help supply the Torontoist live feed with anything interesting that floated across the airwaves. Within twelve minutes of the polls closing Ford was declared the victor.

It hadn't been a good day generally (for election- and non-election related reasons), but hearing Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Anne Levy sound oh-so-smug as her paper's poster boy cruised to victory was more than I could take. I got up and yelled at the radio "Oh, f@*k off, Levy!" (possibly with more unprintable words), then rushed over to turn it off. Had the window been open, it might have been the end of my long-time waker-upper.

Sensing I needed to cool down and get some air to regain perspective, I decided it wasn't worth getting any angrier by sending off more missives. I closed my email, tossed on a pair of pants, flipped the radio back on (luckily Levy had moved on) and waited a few minutes before heading out for a stroll down Bayview with Sarah. We pondered the consequences of the vote and tried to find silver linings amid the gloom that most of our acquaintances reported as they heard the results. The street was quiet, with only a few souls walking or dining. Televisions in bars were fixed on football. Mannequins in store windows offered no comment on the night's proceedings. The walk provided the calming atmosphere I needed to come back to Earth.

***

So far, we’ve learned that interviews with our new mayor and football practice don't mix, streetcars aren’t going to disappear anytime soon, and rumours are floating of nepotism among candidates for the new executive committee. Opponents and pundits are slowly recovering from their shock to figure out how to ride out the next four years. Should progressives tone down the insults that didn't work during the campaign and find respectful, constructive ways to reach out to and understand the anger of voters who chose Ford? Should they find every means possible to convincingly counter the inevitable gaffes that so far have increased Ford's appeal? Pray our new mayor commits a snafu so bad that council turfs him? Embrace the quasi-apocalyptic visions predicted during the campaign and wait to rebuild the city after 2014? Keep fighting the good fight at grassroots/community level? Flee to Calgary?

Life rolls along. We'll survive, one way or another. - JB

election sign department

2010-10-25T12:57:00.001-04:00

My habit of madly snapping election signs subsided this year, partly because few raised by eyebrows in terms of design or uniqueness (or the headscratchers flew under my radar). Out of the signs I took pictures, this one from Peterborough wins the pun category. Despite historic associations with this candidate's last name, it's safe to assume there won't be any rebellions if he is elected.

Photo taken October 10, 2010 - JB

just a friendly reminder...

2010-10-25T08:06:00.001-04:00

Based on an ad that appeared during the 1969 North York municipal election campaign. - JB

vintage fightin' marines ad of the day

2010-10-20T11:04:00.001-04:00

Was this the product that inspired a certain Lyle Lanley to embark on a career of promoting the construction of monorails (and fleece unsuspecting communities across North America)?

Source: Fightin' Marines #45, January 1962. - JB

your g20 stories

2010-10-19T11:34:00.001-04:00

Not long after the G20 summit, a wall was set aside in Kensington Market for anyone to relate their thoughts and memories about the events of the last weekend in June. Whether you were in or near the chaos downtown or at home glued to a blackberry or radio, it would be hard not to have a story related to the craziness that ensued.

Here's ours.

Scene: Roncesvalles Village. I was working frantically in Sarah's kitchen on that weekend's installment of Historicist, fretting that I needed to write a perfect piece on the War Measures Act in light of the high-traffic that Torontoist expected to receive from readers updating themselves on summit-related events. My frantic mood wasn't helped by a week where fatigue and other factors had hit me hard. Auntie Gladys's radio was tuned to CBC so that we could hear if anything was going down to the east of us. The plan was to finish the article, rest a bit, then drive over to a friend's barbecue party north of St. Clair. My biggest worry wasn't being caught in any G20-related chaos, but determining where between Roncesvalles and our destination soccer-loving drivers would screw up traffic to express their national pride to all.

As the chaos downtown unfolded, we were glued to the radio and each of our computers. Updates were relayed between the kitchen and the living room. Work on the article continued sporiadically as each new tidbit floated across the airwaves or Twitter.

Windows were smashed along Yonge Street and Queen West. Police cars burned. Public transit screeching to a halt.

We were so caught up in the drama that we delayed our departure to the evening's soiree.

The highlight of the drive to the barbecue had nothing to do with the G20. While waiting for a left turn light at St. Clair and Dufferin, a lone man in colorful garb stood at the southwest corner...no, make that "slowly flailed at the southwest corner." He waved his arms in the air with motions that were feeble enough to suggest that he really wanted to show the world his joy and enthusiasm, but the body wasn't quite willing to. We figured this was his way of celebrating Ghana's victory.

At the party, the day's events weren't far from most people's minds. Updates were tracked on mobile devices.

The Historicist column was finished by Sunday morning. As we continued to keep tabs via radio, web, passenger pigeon, etcetera, I joked about heading downtown that afternoon to see what was happening. Sarah sternly advised me not to let my curiousity (and semi-conscious desire to be in the middle of the action) overwhelm me...which proved a smart decision for my personal well-being in light of what went down on Queen Street.

Still, I couldn't resist driving by affected areas on my way home. The only incident I witnessed was the raid on a student residence just off of Spadina Crescent—I knew something was up when I saw a long line of news vans parked along the east side of Spadina as I headed south from Bloor Street. Heading west along College, I noticed one guy kneeling on the ground while talking to police, though I passed by too quickly to determine if handcuffs were involved. While waiting at stop lights along Yonge Street, I watched pedestrians stare at the smashed and/or boarded up windows.

Our sympathies varied during the weekend. During Saturday's smash-a-thon, we admired how restrained law enforcement was while the anarchist fringe had a smashing good time on the town (I wondered how many of those involved had ties to Guelph). This ebbed as the first reports of conditions in the detention facilities came in, and evaporated when the forces dropped their reserve on Sunday and went after anyone in the way. The fiasco many had predicted had come to pass and we weren't feeling good about it.

Several months on, the fallout from that weekend occasionally bubbles up in the headlines. Outstanding charges, though dwindling, remain. Lawsuits have been filed. Lingering jokes about the cost to recreate the comforts of Muskoka for dignitaries. Egg that hasn't slid off the faces of the mayor and police chief.

Thanks federal government. Thank you. - JB

bonus features: who'd make a better north york controller than mel lastman? NOOOBODY!

2010-10-13T11:07:00.001-04:00

Before reading this post, check out the related article on Torontoist.

From the November 19, 1969 edition of the Enterprise (a community paper in Willowdale) comes this map of the proposed "Lastman Loop" commuter rail system. The accompanying article was titled "Lastman a-go-go," either as a nod to the times or a reference to GO Transit.

Another version of Mel's pitch for the youth vote, from the same edition of the Enterprise. This one features a more formally posed Mel than the ad I chose for the column. Perhaps this ad was meant to reassure voters that the showman was serious about seeking office and that this wasn't yet another publicity stunt.

From the December 2, 1969 edition of the Toronto Star, a picture of Mel and his wife Marilyn that seems at odds with a man who has just won an election. His face says either that the responsibilities which lay ahead in his new post were just starting to sink in, or he was reminded of his threat to sue National Jewish Digest publisher Sidney Stern for defamation during the campaign (a front page article published days before the election criticized Lastman's business practices and his move into politics). - JB

favourite movie scenes department

2010-10-08T10:38:00.001-04:00

While sorting through mounds of childhood stuff at home over Labour Day weekend, I came across a stray card from O-Pee-Chee's Raiders of the Lost Ark trading card set featuring one of my favourite scenes from the movie.

The back of the accurately sums up the action on screen.

I saw Raiders during its first run at the theatre (whatever name it was operating under that point) in Fort Malden Mall. Given that a year earlier I had run screaming out the Capitol in Windsor when Chevy Chase became Benji in Oh! Heavenly Dog, it's a testament to see how far I'd come in a year when I took in the melting Nazi scene with no problems (other than the dude with the medallion burned into his hand looked like Dad, a resemblance which his high school students reminded him about for the next year or two). From then on, Dad had few worries about taking me to a theatre to see anything that wasn't Muppets, Disney or child-centric.

The Raiders card set was one of the first non-sports series I collected, along with Topps's tribute to Superman II. I collected few non-sports series, as gaps in the set broke up the flow of the storyline printed on the back and you couldn't sort them into teams beyond heroes and villains.

Sorting was a large part of card collecting for me—I'd sit in my room or basement for hours in imitation of Dad sorting out his newspaper and magazine clippings before taking them to his classroom. I chose a sport for that day (baseball, football or hockey), then loosened the rubber bands holding each set together and sort the cards by team. Within a month or two I'd grow bored of that order and place the cards back into their respective sets. The cards weren't a future investment but something to read and play with. Dad encouraged my collecting, partly out of memories of the collection he had as a child that my grandmother got rid of for not being an educational tool. I continued this cycle of sorting into my early teens, when my interest flagged. I tried to pick up a new pack or two of cards once a year to maintain a sense of continuity in case I ever produced any offspring who shared my interest, but even that trailed off. The investor mentality the hobby veered toward alienated me, as the product became treated like a precious commodity to be preserved beneath twelve layers of protective material. My collection was worn but well-loved, which is more valuable than the latest glossy-coated, uniform swatch-embedded piece of cardboard.

The collection is still intact, but probably not for much longer as I slowly clean out my remaining stuff from Mom's. My suspicion is that I'll keep everything up to the cusp of my teens and toss out everything after that (if you'd like to make an offer for mass quantities of worthless sports cards circa 1990, talk to me after Christmas). The Raiders of the Lost Ark set will be one of the keepers, as Indy doesn't deserve a visit to a snake-filled landfill site. - JB