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East Side Story
Why the Danforth neighbourhood is becoming Toronto’s newest hotspot.
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Jeremy Smith
By Julia Chanter Great ideas frequently come from academics in fine research institutions, but rarely are such ideas as entertaining and innovative as the Driftwood Theatre Company. The idea took root when Jeremy Smith asked himself a question that haunts many scholars during theatre history lectures at Queen’s University: what on earth am I going to do this summer? Jeremy came up with the following solution: get some friends together, produce A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Kingston’s City Park, and see what happens. With the help of a few of his fellow students and a single microphone, he successfully produced Shakespeare’s comedy for local critics of all ages. Remarkably, the…
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Jennifer Brewer
By Canaan Chu Singer-songwriter Jennifer Brewer performs regularly at The Old Nick, a bar steps from Broadview station. Every Tuesday night, Brewer hosts an open stage, where she plays a selection of her songs before inviting others to perform. The stage, at the front of the bar, can be seen through the restaurant windows so passersby, too, can watch the show. Brewer doesn’t mind if the audience inside is eating while she plays, or even if they’re only half listening to her performance, because she enjoys the bar’s casual atmosphere. However, there is no lack of enthusiasm for music at The Old Nick, especially from the people who work there.…
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Dear John
Why the toilet is hub of literary activity By Naoko Asano At the intersection of public and private space is that muddy area known as the public bathroom. This space accommodates the performance of a very private biological function but is also an open gathering place for strangers. Because of this weird convergence of public and private, public bathrooms are particularly well suited to a unique form of art: graffiti. It’s the stuff found scrawled all over the stall or elsewhere on bathroom walls — confessional rants, political diatribes, jokes, gibberish, doodles, phone numbers — and after a quick survey of the public bathrooms in cafés, restaurants and bars along…
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The Capitalization of Death
How the funeral industry profits from grief By Cynthia Lessard “I think we should make a guest list,” my mother said. We were sitting in our customary seats next to each other, she on the faded sofa and I on the matching loveseat, separated by a coffee table where we usually place our drinks. “You girls will be there obviously. Colleen, Shar, Peggy. I don’t know about Phil. My brother Terry definitely not…” “A guest list?” I asked. “Should I hire a bouncer too?” We laughed, both fans of black humour. The event we were planning was her funeral. My mother (my best friend) was diagnosed with stage two breast…
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Keeping it Wheel: Life in the Bike Lane
By Rachel Horner Cycling in Toronto has exploded as the choice alternative to motorized transit. Although getting around by bike has always been the perfect compliment to an eco-friendly, economical, and healthy lifestyle, it is only since the wild fluctuation of gas prices that motorists have sat up and taken notice of the bicycle and the increasing number of cyclists on the city’s roads. When I was a child, I’d spend every waking moment on my bike. When puberty struck, the bicycle became a source of social awkwardness and a hindrance to looking cool. The echoes of the taunts about my helmet haunted me from bike rack to door step.…
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The Jon Dore Magazine Interview
By Jason Rhyno Aside from his wonderfully wicked humour, what we love about Jon Dore is that he has fully staffed The Jon Dore Television Show with his friends and fellow comedians. The award-winning, Gemini-nominated show is equal parts satirical shock and sheer honesty, and the fact that he makes a point of hiring and working with his friends is, to steal a line from Jon, “rad to the boner.” Did you study comedy? I took a kindergarten stand-up comedy class when I was five. I did a TV Broadcasting course at Algonquin College in Ottawa. That’s around the same time I started doing stand-up. How old are you now?…
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A Spoonful of Honey Helps the Medicine Go Down
By Jenna Simpson Natural health clinics. Herbal dispensaries. The Carrot Common. Push-pin boards overflowing with flyers for alternative therapies. Even the most casual passerby walking along the Danforth can't ignore the indications of a vibrant alternative health community. On the Danforth, conventional and alternative medicines coexist peacefully. Roger Lewis, manager and master herbalist at Thuna's Wholistic Dispensary, says they receive many patients referred by medical doctors. "That's the kind of doctor that we like to work with. That's not the kind of doctor we want to steal a patient from. We're not pretending to be medical experts—we're herbalists." He emphasizes that a balance between Western and alternative health practices benefits…
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Crafting Memories
Kids go off-line for hands-on fun at the Orange Hippo Arts Studio By Bonita Mok Paint, glitter, and an R2-D2 cake Kids are covered in glue and glitter as they sit around a long table set up at the back of the small room. Their colourful spaceships and airplanes, momentarily forgotten in favour of pizza and an R2-D2 cake, lie scattered on tables decorated with old paint and marker stains. It’s Liam Byrne’s sixth birthday. Rather than celebrating at Chuck E. Cheese’s or an arcade, he’s creating art at the Orange Hippo Arts Studio. “I think in this age of video games and computer-based entertainment, it’s particularly important to have…
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A Place to Write OM About
An interview with Chantel Simmons about the Danforth and its connection to her first novel, Stuck in Downward Dog By Katharine Watts Katharine Watts: Why did you choose the Danforth as one of the major settings in Stuck in Downward Dog? Chantel Simmons: I thought it was an interesting place to set it because of the juxtaposition of people who are striving to be perfect in a fake way in other areas, like Avenue Road or Yorkville, with people on the Danforth who are doing things for themselves from the inside out. KW: What is your personal connection to the Danforth? CS: I used to live on Dearbourne, right behind…
