All quiet on Queen Street

Usually I ride along Dundas on my way to school, since it has less traffic than Queen. But doing the same bike ride twice a day, every day can get boring, so I’ve taken Queen a couple of times the past few days. It struck me how many businesses have closed along Queen West just in the last couple of months. There are papered up businesses on every block, sometimes more than one.

My hairdresser used to be on Queen West, but had to move because the rent was too much. I’m guessing that’s what’s happening to everyone else too. It’s really too bad. Shuttered businesses always give me a little pang in my heart, because I imagine someone’s dream, hard work and investment going out the window. (Don’t get me started on perpetually empty restaurants, either. I’ll cry my eyes out.) When it’s an awesome business, it’s even worse. Last time I went by, the Just Us cafe had a sign in the window saying they’d be back. That sign has now been replaced by a ‘for lease’ sign. Just Us was a fair trade coffee place with friendly staff, delicious drinks and the best sour cherry pie I’ve ever eaten.

I love Toronto, but I’m wondering how much longer it will be until everyone but the richest of the rich are priced out of the city (commerically and residentially).

I love Craigslist

Craigslist is the best. Sometimes, it can be very useful and practical (finding apartments, used gear, yard sale listings, etc.). Sometimes it is full of utter randomness and hilarity.

Today I stumbled on an ad called “Help Me Get Revenge.” You should probably click and read the whole thing in its awesome entirety. But if you don’t, the gist of it is that this girl is pissed at her sister for installing a keylogger on her computer and finding out personal info. She wants to get back at her sister. She is willing to pay someone $50 simply for coming up with a way to do this. So if you’re good at cooking up schemes, you could be in the money.

The internet is SO GOOD.

Can’t win ‘em all

This morning I decided to stay in bed instead of going to my 10 am class. I hadn’t slept at all and was just falling asleep when my alarm went off at 8 am. I felt justified in not getting up. And then I felt even more justified when I got a text message at 10:20 informing me that our first two classes had been cancelled (meaning I don’t have class until 6 pm tonight). Skipping school was the best idea ever today! I would have been incredibly pissed off if I had shown up at 10 am after no sleep, only to find out I had 8 hours to kill. Instead, I stayed in my cozy bed for three and a half more hours and got some much-needed laundry done.

The laundromat, though, is where things went wrong. The first washing machine ate my money. Then the detergent I had just purchased, which was supposed to be “Vanilla and Lavender” scented, made my clothes smell exactly like Vicks cough drops. Sexy.

This girl loves Lars and the Real Girl

After two late nights in the studio, I decided to spend my Saturday relaxing on the couch. I got myself a can of Pringles Extreme Dill Pickle (oops, sorry diet!) and Lars and the Real Girl.

I really wanted to see the movie, but I was also a little skeptical. A movie about a man who has a doll for a girlfriend could have gone terribly wrong. Luckily, it didn’t.

It does require the viewer to suspend his/her disbelief a bit. Lars (Ryan Gosling) orders his “Real Doll”, Bianca, and treats her like a real person, right down to thinking she’s talking to him and bringing her all over town. Somehow, the all townspeople play along with it – they even start bringing Bianca to events on their own. That’s not the most logical scenario, but hey, it’s a movie. A really cute, heartwarming movie.

Instead of being cheesy or poking fun, it ends up being a lovely tear-jerker about alienation, mental illness, compassion and fear of connection/disconnection. There’s one scene where Lars brings Bianca to a house party and towards the end of the night, someone puts “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” (aka Possibly the Greatest Love Song of all Time) on the record player. The camera pans over to the host’s husband wheeling Bianca around on the dancefloor, while Lars dances, smiling, by himself—with his arms up, as though he’s dancing with someone else. PERFECT. I almost lost it, but managed to fight off the tears for another half hour or so.

Anyway, rent it. And if you’re in Toronto, you should rent it from West Side Stories. It’s a new movie store at Dundas and Dufferin that specializes in LGBT movies and women in film, and I can’t believe I’m so lucky that they opened up around the corner from me. Their selection is incredible and is carefully curated for maximum awesomeness. Every time I go there, I see 50 movies I need to watch. If you’re as bored with Blockbuster as I am, you should check it out. Plus, they have monthly movie nights and they’re starting an L Word night when the new (and last, *tear*) season starts. Oh, and they’ve also been nice enough to be a drop-off location for Knitivism. Hurray!

TTC Strike aka Eff Off TTC

We were sitting in the studio at school last night when someone said that the TTC was on strike. “They are not. Quit lying,” I said repeatedly. I couldn’t believe they would have gone on strike with such short notice. But they did.

What a bunch of bullshit. They have used up the very last drop of goodwill I had towards them (I promise, I did have some). Goodbye 48 hours strike notice – instead of allowing people to be somewhat prepared, they blindsided us. They stranded thousands of people at midnight. On a Friday. When people are out drinking and relying on the TTC to be their DD. Then there are the people who work early in the morning and would have gone to bed with no knowledge of the strike. Surprise! Find a new way to work Saturday morning! Then there are stories like this, that make the whole thing truly despicable:

I’m totally for cycling and walking due to the strike but last night was a night from Hell for this Deaf woman and her friend with Cerebral Palsy. here’s the thing, if I had KNOWN there was going to be a strike, I would’ve been prepared in term of bringing money and somehow finding a way to get brought back to High Park from Queen street. The fact that I had no idea this shit was happening was terrible for me and my friend. I can’t use a phone ’cause I can’t hear and people were refusing to make phone calls for me ’cause they were on it bitching to their family/friends about not being able to get home. My friend who rely on a walker to get around were forced to beg for money so she can get a cab home.

(Via Stillepost) Way to go, TTC.

Yesterday was one of the only days in April that I didn’t ride my bike. I was at the recording studio at school until 1am. I was lucky – one of my group members had a car and kindly drove the rest of us home (to complete opposite ends of the city, too). If no one had a car though, I would have been screwed. I would have been stranded at Queen and Sherbourne at 1 am (if you don’t know Queen and Sherbourne, it’s not a safe place to be at 1 am. It was recently featured in an article about “trouble spots” in the city). I can only imagine how many people were stuck in even worse situations.

In case you’re wondering, here’s the deal the TTC voted to reject. You’ve got it made if you think you can pass on a deal like that. I don’t begrudge drivers and mechanics making the wage they do currently. Booth collectors are another story. If I were a driver I’d be pissed that they make the same amount. My mom works in a high school with kids with special needs, learning disabilities and behavioural issues. She runs her ass off. She helps kids all through her lunch hour and co-ordinates a free lunch program, which she buys groceries for on her own time and supervises during her lunch. She doesn’t ever get paid for any of this extra stuff. She makes literally half (or less) of what TTC booth collectors make. The more I type and think about this, the angrier it makes me.

3% a year on top of $26.00 an hour isn’t good enough? One year, my mom and her colleagues had a raise negotiated into their contract – but with a cut in hours, so that they were actually making LESS after their raise came into effect. So fuck you TTC, and your rejection of a 3% a year pay raise. You want to be treated better than other transit employees in the vicinity? Then when are we as riders going to be brought in line with every other goddamn city with a time-based transfer, so that people don’t have to pay a double fare in order to be allowed to run an errand on the way to their final stop? I have to stop now; I think my head might blow up soon.

Ladyfest Applications available

Applications for Ladyfest Toronto 2008 are now up on the website. The festival is happening September 18-21 and will feature music, visual art, film, workshops and spoken word. If you do any of those things, apply! (Bands have to be at least 50% female.) It’s going to be great – we have excellent venues again this year, including St. Stephen’s church (acoustics=amazing). Can’t wait!

Vote for Sarah’s video! Do it! Now!

My friend Sarah’s video has been added into rotation at MuchMusic, which is massively huge and awesome – especially since she’s been working her ass off, doing everything independently. So it would be very lovely of you if you requested her video on Much.

You can watch the video here.

Then go here to email Much.

After that, text the number 538 to 10101 to vote for her on PunchMuch.

Finally, revel in the fact that I love you lots. Thank you thank you!

Best Pizza in the Universe

Last night after Everyone’s a DJ, we stopped in a Massimo’s for pizza. I had heard raves about the place, but I was still not prepared for the absolute amazingness I encountered. I got a slice of Margherita and it was THE BEST EVER. It tasted like heaven. It was piping hot, fresh and greasy. It was so greasy it made the paper plate underneath it transparent. Not even a little bit transparent – so full transparent that I could see the wood grain of the table through it. Mmmmmmmm.

Your Daily Dose of Bureaucratic Stupidity

Did you know it’s illegal to have a raffle or 50/50 draw as a fundraiser unless you’re a registered charity? Watch out mom’s bowling league! The AGCO might be coming after you!

According to the Xtra story, the AGCO put the kibosh on a fundraiser for the AIDS Committee of Toronto. The story also mentions a 50/50 draw that was supposed to benefit a man with $10,000 in medical expenses, and another for a man who had liver cancer. Both of these are illegal. The law means that you can’t have a 50/50 or a raffle to raise money for individuals.

The complete and utter stupidity of this blows my mind. I’ve entered tons of fundraising raffles over the years, and I’m guessing only about half were for registered charities. That doesn’t mean the rest weren’t worthwhile causes.

And what did the AGCO rep say to accusations of homophobia? (The fundraising events in question were all connected to the gay community.)

“We want to focus our resources on the places that could be most problematic,” she says. “The ones that have the most problems tend to be visited more often. It doesn’t matter if it’s a gay bar or a reggae bar.”

Is it just me, or did she dig herself out of a homophobic hole, into a homophobic AND racist hole? As a spokesperson, that puts her just about on par with this guy.

Odds and Ends

-Yesterday on my way home I was stopped at a red light on my bike. Another cyclist was behind me. Some dude walking with a couple of his friends looked at us and did sort of a double take and said, “What the fuck? Ridin’ a bike, eh?” somewhat incredulously. Really? If you’re surprised at the sight of people riding bikes in Toronto, you need to get out more or do drugs less.

-Every week Eye has this one page photo feature where they go to an event and take pictures of people and run them with their names underneath. It’s like the Vice Dos and Don’ts without the terribly mean captions. I’ve often wondered what my chances were of ever appearing in said feature. I figured not good. Say they show 15 people each week. Then take into consideration the multiple millions of people in the city. Well, this week I was in it! Except it’s the back of my head (with no name obviously). This is what we call a Carly Moment. My hair looked nice, at least.

-Check out these Boing Boing links for maximum happiness:
Waltzing Cupcakes
Super Mario Theme played by a remote controlled car on wine bottles