Saturday, March 28, 2015

Kitten with cone on head

This cute little kitten has a cone of shame to keep his teeth away from recent surgery stitches. It doesn't slow him down very much. The plastic protector reminds me of a Renaissance fashion when people wore those gigantic medieval collars
Time for some more cats and a few birds and bunnies after the jump.

Ryerson University students Freeze the Peas

Worried about the temperature of peas, Toronto students focused their social activism on the status of the lowly pod-less green peas and called for a blanket policy of freezing said peas. Shouting for colder storage methods while brandishing simple signs of protest, the marching students made a circle in the middle of the Yonge and Dundas Street pedestrian scramble intersection and pushed a cart laden with cans of vegetables across the roadway. Ryerson Engineering students seemed to be taking a leading role in organizing the demonstration.
The Ryerson's independent student newspaper, the Eyeopener, told us that the protest was "According to a flyer, the “Freeze the Peas” “movement,” a parody of the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU)’s “Freeze the Fees” campaign, aims to “pass a motion that makes peas more accessible to Ryerson students.” It also asks students to make a donation to the Good Food Centre, Ryerson’s student-run food bank, in order to “put the peas back into the hands of the students.”"
It was all fun until someone started eating the peas - oh, the horror. See more of the peaceful rally after the jump.

Hula Hoop world record attempt in Toronto

Cityline's host Tracey Moore, above, joined hundreds of hip shaking athletes who attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the largest hula hoop workout today in Yonge-Dundas Square. The event was undertaken with Danone Activa in partnership with Rogers Cityline and Chatelaine to highlight the 30-day challenge.
Beginning at 11 am on Friday, March 27, 2015, the participants signed up, grabbed a green and yellow hoop and tried to keep the rings rocking around their hips during a demonstration and pro performance that preceded the noon hour workout record attempt.
Drumming up interest across the road at the Toronto Eaton Centre

See more spinning circles after the jump.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

2015 Verizon IndyCar Season starts this weekend

The downtown streets of St. Pete, Florida will be filled with the sound of music powerful cars in the first race of the year at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  Previous series champion driver Will Power won the 2014 race on the 1.8 mile, temporary 14-turn street course. This is the street course which provided the first non-oval track in IndyCar history and which eventually led to the race in Toronto. 
The Honda Indy Toronto race will be here June 12-14, 2015, about a month earlier than usual due to the all invasive 2015 Pan Am and Para Pan Am games and one of 16 IndyCar races scheduled for this year. 
Charlie Johnstone of Honda Indy Toronto explains. "There was much speculation this past Fall about moving the event to another venue and another date. The truth is, there were in fact many long discussions in this regard. We kept an open mind and thoroughly evaluated all viable options. At the end of the day, the criteria really focused on the delivery of the best possible experience for our race fans, teams and drivers, festival goers, hospitality clients and sponsors. Consistently, the feedback from these key constituents was that to maintain the integrity of the event we must continue the heritage of racing inthe streets of Toronto. Accordingly, our only real viable option was to stay at Exhibition Place and move the date to June for 2015. Once again, we will present an outstanding line up of racing, including Verizon IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, USF2000, and Pro Mazda. Returning due to popular demand will be exotic car racing in the form of the Porsche GT3 Cup and Robby Gordon's SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks. We're even trying to get more racing on the track - if we can squeeze in more time – so stay tuned!"
Changes to series sponsorship this year include the loss of the Toronto Sun as the official newspaper of the race, probably having something to do with sale of the chain to Post Media, as the Toronto Star takes over that spot. I wonder if they will have Toronto Star Grid Girls?

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

PeTA against Shear Cruelty in Toronto

Freezing rain didn't deter the PeTA burlesque dancer from getting the message out; be “Go Wool Free, Be a Sweater Sweetie”. The display was setup at the corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets, just outside the Toronto Eaton Centre, and during the cold lunch hour on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 the music started and off came the clothes as curious locals and tourists passed by, absorbing the non-verbal protest.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hopes to end cruelty against all animals. This protest was to highlight the exploitation of sheep for their wool and to rally against using the “coats stolen off their backs” and instead use wool-free, ethically produced materials.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Is it summer in Toronto yet?

Just a couple of days into Spring and bam, the cold weather is back and now I want it to transition right into the warm days of summer. Skip Spring, we really don't need it anyway. We need fashion models, bikini contests and grid girls.




See more gorgeous scenery after the jump.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Winter Stations art installations in the Beach

Approximately 200 submissions were received in the inaugural international design competition to transform some of Toronto's east end lifeguard stations into public art. Located at the foot of Kew Gardens beyond the boardwalk in the sands of Kew Balmy Beach, the installations invites public interaction in an area often ignored in winter and spring unless you are walking a dog. The theme of this competition was Warmth, the size was unlimited and the desire was to add colour, movement and humour to the cold landscape.
The five winning Winter Stations entries were unveiled to the public this February and will stay in place until late March 2015. Ferris and Associates, Curio and RAW Design created the competition to bring more appreciation to our bleak winter landscapes in an otherwise well loved public setting.
"The goal with winter stations is to infuse colour and vibrancy back into the beach community, which is so lively in the summer months, but tends to slow down come winter," says Roland Rom Colthoff, Principal of RAW Design.
The winners were Driftwood Throne by Daniel Madeiros, Sling Swing by Ed Butler, Dan Wiltshire and Frances McGeown, Hot Box by Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft, Wing Back by Timothy Olson and Snow Cone by Lily Jeon and Diana Koncan. My favourite is Snow Cone.
"Although the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto is a summer long festival of colour and pageantry, this is not true of the winter months. This year we begin what we hope will become an expanded annual celebration of Toronto's winter landscape, focusing on the intersection between land and water. We are beginning with the Kew, Scarborough and Balmy Beaches located in the heart of the Beach community, broadly located south of Queen Street East, between Woodbine and Victoria Park Avenues. Located on the beach between the Leuty Lifeguard Station and the Balmy Beach Club are five evenly spaced metal life guard stands. These utilitarian structures are to be used as the armature or foundation for pieces of public art. The pieces are temporary installations and need to be able to withstand the rigours of Toronto winter weather."
Inside Hot Box

Posted by James Hamilton and Joe Hamilton. See more of the lifeguard stations after the jump.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Toronto Comicon 2015

Comics and cosplay filled the south hall of the Metro Convention Centre to bursting and spilled over into the entrance halls leading up to the spring Comicon.
Celebrity photo ops and autograph sessions could be purchased with Dickey Beer, Amber Benson, Grant Bowler, Chad Coleman, Tony Curran, Shannen Doherty, Terry Farrell, Karen Gillan, Graham Greene, Christopher Judge, Jaime Murray, Jesse Rath and J August Richards. Besides the stars you could try to walk between the aisles of comics and other merchandise looking for that perfect gift for the true fans.
Karli Woods
There were also plenty of artists displaying and selling their works in Artist Alley. But the best part is the community of fans that dress up in their favourite costumes and pose for photos from an appreciative audience.
Latex superheroes
A mob of Spidermans
Deadmau5 cosplay

Posted by Joe Hamilton and James Hamilton. See more cosplay after the jump.

Toronto Motorcycle Springshow 2015

Kim Coates from Sons of Anarchy is a big hit at this year's Springshow happening this weekend at the International Centre. Hundreds of eager fans of the hard core biker series crowded "Tig" around his booth and patiently waited for autographs and photos with the star - he has a great sense of humour. The star of over fifty films including The Last Boy Scout, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbour and Waterworld says that his guiltiest pleasure is chewing tobacco and his favourite Canadian Season is summer.
As motorcycle fans flooded the 5,000 free parking spaces started to use the adjacent GO Transit parking lot. The show runs March 21 to 22.
GATOR Custom Auto and Performance
Some of the fantastic show bikes

This show really says it's time to start the season. Meeting with riding groups and motorcycle sellers gives you the opportunity to check out gear that is right for you and to find people that you want to ride with. Friends always make the adventure and the lifestyle better. For those that ride as couples, don't forget to look for comfortable seats for those that have to hold onto the driver for dear life.
Posted by Joe Hamilton and James Hamilton. See more photos after the jump.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

NASCAR CTS 2015 stock car racing

The @MotoramaShow reminded me that the big V8s will soon be rumbling again when the cross Canada NCTS season opens in a couple of months. The series is presented by Mobil 1 and many of the drivers (photo at top), seven of their speed machines and the NASCAR Mobile Operations Centre showed up for the CME portion of Motorama Custom Car and Motorsports Expo at the Toronto International Centre. In the photo at top, from left to right, NCTS drivers: Erica Thiering, Joey McColm, Kevin Poitras, Anthony Simone, Mark Dilley, Dwayne Baker, Gary Klutt, J.F. Dumoulin and Andrew Ranger. The reigning champion going into the new season is L.P. Dumoulin.
In 2006 NASCAR took over the CASCAR Super Series and launched with the sponsorship of Canadian Tire. The automotive store sponsorship has been a great partnership for the series and sadly they will end that partnership at the end of 2015 and a new title sponsor search will be required.
Rookie Eria Thiering #87 car 
Jason Hathoway


The 2015 season begins in mid-May at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the season schedule follows after the jump.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

It's going to be a motorcycle and cosplay weekend


Booyah, forget winter, Toronto has the Motorcycle Springshow and the Toronto Comicon events coming to town.
The Toronto Comicon presented by Fan Expo starts this Friday, March 20 and runs till Sunday, March 22 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Celebrity bad girl Shannen Doherty will be one of the stars on hand for autograph sessions.
"COSTUMES! COSTUMES! COSTUMES! Fans dressing up in costumes, or cosplay as it is known, is a BIG part of Fan Expo weekend. Literally hundreds of amazing costumes are available for your viewing pleasure throughout the weekend. Don't be shy; get your photo taken with all your favourite characters or come dressed up yourself."
Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, is the Motorcycle Springshow at the Toronto International Centre. Featuring Sons of Anarchy star Kim Coates will meet fans and sign autographs.
"If you need help deciding which New Model 2015 Motorcycle is going to look great in your driveway this year, SPRINGSHOW 2015 is here to help. Opening this coming Saturday, March 21 at the International Centre, the SPRINGSHOW will have a huge selection of New Model motorcycles for showgoers to try on for size and speak to knowledgeable booth staff about all the bikes available, many at Special Show Pricing."

Doors Open

Scarborough Bluffs

Pride

Redball

Beaches

Graffiti

Lake Ontario

Nathan Phillips Square

Transportation