Archive for January, 2009

Toronto fights back after feeling the bite By Thomas Weresch A pestilence has hit the Danforth and other neighbourhoods in the city of Toronto. It shows no discrimination — it plagues all classes, genders and races; and its only concern is finding a warm, secluded...

Full Story

How to make your own chiengora By Andrew Steventon Fur doesn’t have to be inhumane. There is a product that is perfectly eco- and animal-friendly: chiengora – the generic name for wool made from pet hair. Chiengora gets its name from combining the French word...

Full Story

By Stan Byrne "Oh, I like that guy! He's been there for a while," says Kassa as he points to a plastic lizard puppet-head with a golf ball shoved in its mouth. It's freezing rain in mid-January and the temperature is hovering around negative 10 degrees. The camera I am using is dripping wet and I can see ice forming on the lens. Kassa, an installation artist living in south Riverdale, is gloveless and bouncing around his front yard showing me his handiwork. His enthusiasm for his art is so uplifting, I almost forget how cold and wet we are becoming. Almost.

Full Story

East York Firefighter Danielle Comolli Takes the Scenic Route to Her Dream Job By Karen Helm Ironically, after nine years of planning and re-planning her career, she happened upon what appears to be her life's work by chance. A neighbour suggested it to her. "I never thought I was going to be a firefighter," she says. But it instantly made sense. Having always valued physical fitness, it seemed like the perfect way to apply her strengths to a professional setting. And so, a year and a half after beginning the application process, she completed - and passed - her final round of tests. It turned out to be a self-defining moment. She had never imagined that a job would mean so much to her.

Full Story