urbana coffee now, what's next?

The excitement over Urbana Coffee (above) is definitely well-deserved. From a service and useability point-of-view, I don't think Urbana can be beat.

Even better is the fact that Toronto is filled with great coffee shops waiting to be discovered. I hear there are lots of places for people who love the creme de la creme of coffee. First, there's Manic on College, which was featured in Maclean's for selling a $15 cup of coffee (from an exclusive lot, no less). Second, there's Ezra's Pound on Dupont, which I hear good things about. Finally, I also hear amazing things about Balzac's Coffee in the Distillery.

There were a lot of coffee fanatics at Torontoist and I'd love to hear their opinions on these fine establishments. Coffee royale!

victor's finds, part 3

Who doesn't love "We Are The World?" It's cheesy, it's sentimental, and now... it's back for your enjoyment care of Victor. He is the world. Isn't he?

i heart tina fey long time

And Amy Poehler, too, of course. Just watch the two in "Baby Mama," which looks smart, funny, and refreshingly free of the girly-princess-residue that stains everything since Sex and the City ended.

30 Rock just ended its season and I'm in Tina Fey withdrawal. I think I can watch "Mean Girls" again though as a fix since the loveliness of Rachel McAdams cancels out the mehness of Lindsay Lohan.

Dreamer time: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel McAdams, and SJP... all in one movie. Oh, and add Amy Sedaris. (And maybe Sarah Silverman?)

bad, place, bad #2

"Bad, Place, Bad" is a series on places I would not live in. Toronto is a renter's market and, at the moment, there are dozens of places opening up daily both good and bad. I like to keep the good ones to myself and share the bad ones.

Look out, bargain hunters! There is now the "least expensive room" available for just... $225!

The listing has the mysterious description of: "Special offer of a smaller room for exceptional students. Email for further details."

Now, the room is in North York, so we have to discount our expectations. However, $225 sounds like a closet space to me. Or at least, the small room with the water heater in it. Or maybe the room already has a person in it? My mind is spinning with ideas of what this room could look like...

Anyone else have any ideas?

little italy citizens complain about noise, crime

Sample complaint:

PERSON 1: It's too loud!
PERSON 2: WHAT?
PERSON 1: I said, it's too loud!!!
PERSON 2: NOOOO, I live here.
PERSON 1: WHAT?
PERSON 2: WHAT?
PERSON 1: I said... ah, never mind.
PERSON 2: Sorry, it's too loud!
PERSON 3: Me like pouting!

less aid to aids?

CBC is reporting that experts on AIDS are suggesting reducing the amount spent on combating the disease directly and instead focusing on external, indirect causes, such as cleaner water and better sanitation. AIDS activists counter by saying that progress will be lost.

Balance is the key in this issue. Money must go to prevention, education, treatment, and research of AIDS. However, if a large part could be solved by increasing the quality of life, then the money should go there--especially since an increased quality of life would also decrease other problems like malnutrition and the spread of malaria.

Alas, this argument works for any disease. If we all ate better, exercised more, drank more water, and controlled our stress levels, surely the cases of heart disease, stroke, and cancer would go down. But instead, we prefer to deal with a problem only when it's too late and funnel millions (billions?) of dollars in cures, when prevention would cost a fraction of that amount.

lazy and the city: the satc movie poster

Via Perez Hilton: The poster is lazy.

The pun is lousy.

What's with the photoshopped picture of SJP? Especially the TERRIBLE shadow behind her.

Tell me this is a fake.

Remember the better DVD covers? Or the posters that came out with her with a big flower? Or this picture from the book? Or this cute pic of SJP?

What the hell is wrong with New Line? Do they assume that since people will come anyway, they might as well dole out shit?

post 18 up at toist

Number 18 is on how to quit smoking. Who wants to buy me a drink at 20?

quick picks

Quick restaurant reviews:

Izakaya
Recommendation: Sector Perform.
Target: 2 - 3 times a year.

Well-prepared, tasty Japanese food for those wanting a change from the all-you-can-eat sushi circuit. Friendly service and a convenient location (Front and Church) are worth noting. Lacks the variety and rowdiness of an authentic izakaya. $40 for dinner for two. (Pictured.)


Ginger
Recommendation: Sector Perform.
Target: 12 - 15 times a year.

Quick, light Vietnamese and Thai food at an affordable price. The menu is tastier than similar items at Spring Rolls and you won't wait nearly as long to get eating. Decor is utilitarian, but clean. Note: Church and Wellesley location. $15 for dinner for two.


Kokyo Sushi
Recommendation: Sector Perform.
Target: 1 - 2 times a year.

Set near a sushi clusterfuck (Yonge and Alexander), it takes a lot to stand out from the pack. Kokyo Sushi has the standard menu with strong value (dinner included soup, seaweed salad, rolls and sushi, and a tempura platter) and the food is comparable to nearby sushi joints. Tempura was heavy on batter and the eel and fish were tasteless: perhaps, intentioned more as a way to use up supplies than to provide variety. $30 for dinner for two.

initiating: restaurant reviews

I eat a lot. Like a lot.

I love trying new restaurants and take pleasure in food. Again, a lot. (Think "When Harry Met Sally.") My reviews will be simple and to the point.

A brief gives a 25 word summary, including my rating and a target. (Targets refer to the times per year I'd go. Quality and popularity don't always go hand-in-hand.) And then, a longer review to expand on the dishes I tried and decor, service, and ambience of the restaurant. Finally, thoughts will provide a final take on the resto.

Here's a guide to the ratings:

SECTOR OUTPERFORM: Well-thought out and executed food, decor, service, and ambience. Must try.

SECTOR PERFORM: As expected food, decor, service, and ambience. Go if you're in the area.

SECTOR UNDERPERFORM: Poorly executed food, decor, service, and ambience. Avoid.

go, monkey, go!

Monkeys in the States control robots in Japan with their minds. Being able to transmit neural signals into robotic movement is a huge development. It has surgical uses, prosthetic uses, and just plain cool ESP uses. (Screw "Clap on, clap off." Just think it. Ooooh. How smooth would it be to be on a date and have the lights dim and the music turn up just by thinking it?)

So that's what Cloverfield is about.

all fun and games until someone gets staph in the eye

Stop having unprotected sex with random partners. (Geez, people are really trying to relive the 80's...) Nothing like MRSA to make you look fugly.

Photo by crossedeyebear.

scrabulous un-fabulous?

Scrabulous, a super-popular knock-off of Scrabble found on Facebook, is getting challenged (sorry, too tired to think of a more clever pun) for copyright infringement. No more free games of Scrabble for you, Facebookers.

Instead, do it the old fashioned way. Meet in person. Drink lots of booze. Try to sneak in words like "faboo" and "w00t."

torontoist is hiring.

Torontoist (and I) want you.

Are you awesome at selling ads? Or are you just plain awesome? Torontoist is looking for an advertising guru to sell ads; in addition, Torontoist is always looking to add new writers. So if you love the city and have a voice, suit up!

aussies warned not to travel to canada...

Or so says this CBC article. The dreaded Polar Bear Flu perhaps? Or maybe just the lack of sun?

media savvy, but dull

Via Perez Hilton, check out this video of Katie Holmes on the Late Show with David Letterman. Katie navigates the conversation to safe topics (of course, only because Dave lets her... Paris tried the same technique with no avail), and although she sounds content, she also sounds very, very dull. (It's like being forced to listen to the small-time chit chat on a commute via GO Transit--it's all linens, curtains, and contrite laughs over trivial things.) Meh.

no looking at the market today

Things are looking down, down, down!

i can look but i can't taste

Isn't that always the case?

pigeons eating barf off the cement

Saturday morning near my apartment. Lovely living in student ghetto, eh?

keynote + apple = smug

Off CNBC:

9: 15 AM PST: The event is opening with a new Happy New Year Mac vs. PC ad. Bad year for Microsoft. Great year for Apple. What have you got planned for the year, asks Mac. Says PC: copying everything you did in 2007. Ouch!

american gladiators meh

I finally caught the American Gladiators update as I always intended to watch it: while flipping channels randomly. I thought it was great for nostalgic purposes and I'm excited to see the new gladiators in action. However, I thought the Eliminator wasn't well-planned. Both the barrel roll and the handbike have no consequence if you fall off--this makes no sense since it takes more work to complete both. In fact, last night's winner completed the eliminator in 2 minutes (the fastest time to date) because she failed to complete--or really try--either. Where are the gladiators smashing in your head silly if you fall off?

Otherwise, it was fairly entertaining... unlike Dance War, which seemed promising but was boring. Come on. Hot people dancing off. How did ABC manage to make it such a snorefest?

mac-philes alert!

Steve Jobs is giving his keynote speech today. CNBC will be live blogging it. If you're a Mac-phile, go buy new underwear. Now.

when i think of poor, i think of... cibc?

To make up for the bad choice of investing in the American sub-prime market, CIBC sells stock worth $2.75 billion. CBC reports the bank will sell shares at a discount to investors and underwriters to boost the balance sheet.

Selling new stock counters the effect of the writedowns on the balance sheet. CIBC's Tier 1 capital ratio — a key measure of a bank's financial strength — would be 11.3 per cent, well above its 8.5 per cent target.   

First Enron, now this. Poor CIBC. Poor $3.3 billion net income CIBC.

religious ttc ad

Can anyone sponsor an ad?

trey parker and matt stone: power to them

Check out this old-ish interview with the two comic geniuses as they dish on their show. They get their show out within a week so the jokes never get stale (er, Family Guy) and they can tackle things topically. Part 1 on IGN. Part 2 on IGN.

The "nagger" episode is still one of the best that I've seen.

weight loss challenge #2: lose the clothes, lose the pounds

First results are in. I've "lost" 3.2 pounds. Changing from jeans to dress pants and not drinking water before weigh-ins sure helps. If I continue to strip and dehydrate, I can be 120 pounds in 9 weeks.

iphone may be announced...

Tomorrow, according to Bloomberg.

Yay. Now the Apple Store employees can be that much more smug.

whose fault is it?

Toronto was rocked by an accidental slaying in front of the Brass Rail strip club. Collateral damage is always tragic and frustrating because of how random it is. John O'Keefe was a regular at the Duke of Gloucester, a lovely, laid-back pub south of the Brass Rail, and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Two men had been ejected from the strip club and returned with a vendetta: O'Keefe was hit by a stray bullet on his way home that had been intended for the bouncer at the Brass Rail.

Some analysis is required for a crime like this. Is this a gun control issue? An urban crime issue? A young men and violence issue? Or just a random, but tragic crime?