I would be very surprised to learn that Tressie McMillan Cottom has any influence over editorial policy at the New York Times. I can't blame her for publishing her insightful commentary on that platform. If the biases we see in the NYT were to appear in her columns, that would be another story.
State of California invested modestly in my education and it paid off incredibly well for them because I made a lot more money and paid a lot more taxes than I would have otherwise.
Fun neighbourhoods? MINE! Mine is fun. We got the High Park, the Roncesvalles Ave with fun shops for the kids and the grownups, good collection of restaurants, a proper ice cream shop, and when you get to the bottom, the lake is right there.
The funnest way to explore all the good neighborhoods is just hop on a streetcar. Pick a direction and go. Chinatown, Kensington Market, Little Italy, Koreatown (that’s on the subway line) the Beaches (overrated IMO but people seem to like it), West Queen West, the Danforth (also on the subway line and you get to ride over the Don Valley), Harbourfront, I could go on..
The zoo is great but it’s way the fuck out on the eastern border of the city and will take hours if you’re not driving.
I would totally meet you guys at Medieval Times, it’s not too far from where I live.
I love this quote in particular: “If people gave up playing sports because they thought they were going to lose, we wouldn’t have a sports industry,” they said. “I love playing against people that are faster and stronger because that’s how I get better.”
Another example I love to go to is the open weight class judo competition. Even among cis women, the expectation is that a skilled featherweight can still take down a heavyweight due to the rules within the sport. The movie "Yawara, a Fashionable Judo Girl" is about that exact scenario - a tiny little slip of a thing who only does judo at the Olympic level because her grandfather has trained her to do so since she was little manages to take down her friendly rival, the heavyweight class from Canada, despite the Canadian weighing three times as much.
Existing sports have weight classes for these kind of reasons. A trans woman who has been on puberty blockers since adolescence and stayed relatively petite should be able to compete in the same weight class as cis women. (I know such an Olympic style trans weight lifter. She's shorter than I am and competes in the 132 lb weight class. But because she's trans, she is cut out of half the competitions.)
Anyway, roller derby is definitely one of those "anything goes" sports where skill, teamwork, and sheer endurance are the most important qualities, not necessarily raw strength or a specific body type. (Super tall? Guess what you're easier to knock off balance then. Super heavyweight? Guess what, you're probably slower and exhaust faster - it's hard to stay bulky in that sport for long.) I'm glad the roller derby girls are taking a stand for inclusiveness.
For people with small kids going to Toronto there is actually a small island off the shore of downtown with a small amusement park, biking and a beach you can go to. We really enjoyed it.
“Matt Maddock who is pretty sure the Gonzaga men’s basketball team was IMMIGRANT VADERS”
only showed Twitter responses to Matt Maddock from Michigan from Maxwell White and Mallory McMorrow. Almost all M names. And what else starts with M????
Some of those intersections in the Conde Nast Traveler article don't actually intersect. I would check out the Royal York (mainly for the history, although it is located near Union Station and the various stadia), the King Edward (near Old Toronto and the St. Lawrence Market), and the Gladstone House (in West Queen West, near the Drake).
The Broadview looks nice, but Leslieville is actually going to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the city, and there isn't much else to do in the East End. Both traffic and transit in the city are terrible right now.
The fun neighborhoods right now are going to be West Queen West, Dundas West, Ossington, and Kensington Market. They're all actually pretty close to each other.
King St. west of Spadina is going to be a nightmare of hooting yuppies and people who drove in from Markham on the weekends, and Queen & Spadina boasts the most dangerous McDonald's in Canada after about 1am.
Of course, there are fun museums (the ROM and the AGO, for example, although the AGO staff just went on strike, so who knows). And if you wanted to see an exhibition about food and social status in the 1820s, you could also visit historic Campbell House at Queen & University (blatant self-plug).
Toronto hotels - didn’t see an active thread so I may be duplicating things other folks have said.
Hotel X takes its name from the ‘Exhibition’ (Ex, get it?) grounds that it’s situated on. It’s definitely close to Medieval Times. It’s big and clean and new and not really near anything else other than the enormous conference centre nearby on the Ex grounds whence it gets most of its business. One day in and out - probably a good bet. A week? You’ll be taking cabs/rideshare/renting.
Someone mentioned the old railroad hotels. The Royal York (Fairmont) is it, for sure. Right in the heart of downtown (central business district), very convenient public transit, easy to get to from YYZ and YTZ. It’s old and elegant and I’ve drank here a fair bit but never stayed. Suspect it’s typical of old hotels in that they’re slightly tired and overpriced but lovely. The King Edward (Omni) is nearby and similar. People say the high tea is great. I’ve only been there …. Later in the day, for beer in an old hotel (see above).
The big chains are all represented. And if you stay in one or another it’s based mostly on cost, the other stuff you might want to do, whether you’re walking, transit or whatever, and where you collect points. Of note - The Westin on the harbourfront is a nice place to look out over the harbour from - but a bit of a hike from the stuff you might want to see. (Although the nearest cool thing is a Banksy that’s been preserved and is showcased in one of the office towers).
If you’re taking transit the subway is pretty good and most of the big chains are on the subway. For downtown purposes there are basically two subway lines - E-W and N-S - impossible to get lost as Toronto is a grid. But if you’re a walker then for the big chains you might want to think about where you’re going next. Art gallery, museum, university(s), hipster areas, food areas, markets, neighborhoods - there’s a fair bit within a 30 minute walk of - as a reference point - the King and Bay Area, which is the core of the central business district and 5-10 minutes from every major hotel chain. And - the five towers designed by Mies van der Rohe are right there. Toronto fell all over itself to tear down old buildings in the middle of the last century but there’s lots of great public art and architecture hidden away here and there. As well as the big dramatic buildings themselves.
And as for food - all the foods of the world - and a lot of very boring chain food. But that’s a whole other thread unless folks want to chip in here.
Anyway - huge city - you could write a book about it and I’m sure many have tried. Have fun.
Nifty new nest news (birds shall have their vengeance)! At the click, chirp chirp: https://open.substack.com/pub/martiniambassador/p/niche-nests
Fun neighbourhoods: the Junction, Ossington, Queen West, the Danforth, Roncasvalles. I'm sure fellow Torontonians can add to the list.
My birthday is in May too, can I come to Medieval Times
I was in a gazebo and a hummingbird got caught in a spider web and fell on the table in front of me.
I gently picked it up, zero weight, pulled the silk off it.
It sat in my hand for a moment and off it went. I felt like Cinderella
So much PRO GAHD CONTENT! Many people are saying!
I would be very surprised to learn that Tressie McMillan Cottom has any influence over editorial policy at the New York Times. I can't blame her for publishing her insightful commentary on that platform. If the biases we see in the NYT were to appear in her columns, that would be another story.
A house finch decided to set up a nest in (fortunately) one of my charcoal starters hanging on my porch : https://substack.com/profile/964381-bruce/note/c-52745939
State of California invested modestly in my education and it paid off incredibly well for them because I made a lot more money and paid a lot more taxes than I would have otherwise.
There is some kind of homespun Passion of the Christ parade going up my street right now and it’s kind of adorable.
WAAAHT, you’re coming to Toronto!? *happy dance*
Fun neighbourhoods? MINE! Mine is fun. We got the High Park, the Roncesvalles Ave with fun shops for the kids and the grownups, good collection of restaurants, a proper ice cream shop, and when you get to the bottom, the lake is right there.
The funnest way to explore all the good neighborhoods is just hop on a streetcar. Pick a direction and go. Chinatown, Kensington Market, Little Italy, Koreatown (that’s on the subway line) the Beaches (overrated IMO but people seem to like it), West Queen West, the Danforth (also on the subway line and you get to ride over the Don Valley), Harbourfront, I could go on..
The zoo is great but it’s way the fuck out on the eastern border of the city and will take hours if you’re not driving.
I would totally meet you guys at Medieval Times, it’s not too far from where I live.
I love this quote in particular: “If people gave up playing sports because they thought they were going to lose, we wouldn’t have a sports industry,” they said. “I love playing against people that are faster and stronger because that’s how I get better.”
Another example I love to go to is the open weight class judo competition. Even among cis women, the expectation is that a skilled featherweight can still take down a heavyweight due to the rules within the sport. The movie "Yawara, a Fashionable Judo Girl" is about that exact scenario - a tiny little slip of a thing who only does judo at the Olympic level because her grandfather has trained her to do so since she was little manages to take down her friendly rival, the heavyweight class from Canada, despite the Canadian weighing three times as much.
Existing sports have weight classes for these kind of reasons. A trans woman who has been on puberty blockers since adolescence and stayed relatively petite should be able to compete in the same weight class as cis women. (I know such an Olympic style trans weight lifter. She's shorter than I am and competes in the 132 lb weight class. But because she's trans, she is cut out of half the competitions.)
Anyway, roller derby is definitely one of those "anything goes" sports where skill, teamwork, and sheer endurance are the most important qualities, not necessarily raw strength or a specific body type. (Super tall? Guess what you're easier to knock off balance then. Super heavyweight? Guess what, you're probably slower and exhaust faster - it's hard to stay bulky in that sport for long.) I'm glad the roller derby girls are taking a stand for inclusiveness.
For people with small kids going to Toronto there is actually a small island off the shore of downtown with a small amusement park, biking and a beach you can go to. We really enjoyed it.
i love hummingbirds, that is all
I don’t know folks the article about,
“Matt Maddock who is pretty sure the Gonzaga men’s basketball team was IMMIGRANT VADERS”
only showed Twitter responses to Matt Maddock from Michigan from Maxwell White and Mallory McMorrow. Almost all M names. And what else starts with M????
MEXICO!!!
Wake up sheeple!!
Some of those intersections in the Conde Nast Traveler article don't actually intersect. I would check out the Royal York (mainly for the history, although it is located near Union Station and the various stadia), the King Edward (near Old Toronto and the St. Lawrence Market), and the Gladstone House (in West Queen West, near the Drake).
The Broadview looks nice, but Leslieville is actually going to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the city, and there isn't much else to do in the East End. Both traffic and transit in the city are terrible right now.
The fun neighborhoods right now are going to be West Queen West, Dundas West, Ossington, and Kensington Market. They're all actually pretty close to each other.
King St. west of Spadina is going to be a nightmare of hooting yuppies and people who drove in from Markham on the weekends, and Queen & Spadina boasts the most dangerous McDonald's in Canada after about 1am.
Of course, there are fun museums (the ROM and the AGO, for example, although the AGO staff just went on strike, so who knows). And if you wanted to see an exhibition about food and social status in the 1820s, you could also visit historic Campbell House at Queen & University (blatant self-plug).
Toronto hotels - didn’t see an active thread so I may be duplicating things other folks have said.
Hotel X takes its name from the ‘Exhibition’ (Ex, get it?) grounds that it’s situated on. It’s definitely close to Medieval Times. It’s big and clean and new and not really near anything else other than the enormous conference centre nearby on the Ex grounds whence it gets most of its business. One day in and out - probably a good bet. A week? You’ll be taking cabs/rideshare/renting.
Someone mentioned the old railroad hotels. The Royal York (Fairmont) is it, for sure. Right in the heart of downtown (central business district), very convenient public transit, easy to get to from YYZ and YTZ. It’s old and elegant and I’ve drank here a fair bit but never stayed. Suspect it’s typical of old hotels in that they’re slightly tired and overpriced but lovely. The King Edward (Omni) is nearby and similar. People say the high tea is great. I’ve only been there …. Later in the day, for beer in an old hotel (see above).
The big chains are all represented. And if you stay in one or another it’s based mostly on cost, the other stuff you might want to do, whether you’re walking, transit or whatever, and where you collect points. Of note - The Westin on the harbourfront is a nice place to look out over the harbour from - but a bit of a hike from the stuff you might want to see. (Although the nearest cool thing is a Banksy that’s been preserved and is showcased in one of the office towers).
If you’re taking transit the subway is pretty good and most of the big chains are on the subway. For downtown purposes there are basically two subway lines - E-W and N-S - impossible to get lost as Toronto is a grid. But if you’re a walker then for the big chains you might want to think about where you’re going next. Art gallery, museum, university(s), hipster areas, food areas, markets, neighborhoods - there’s a fair bit within a 30 minute walk of - as a reference point - the King and Bay Area, which is the core of the central business district and 5-10 minutes from every major hotel chain. And - the five towers designed by Mies van der Rohe are right there. Toronto fell all over itself to tear down old buildings in the middle of the last century but there’s lots of great public art and architecture hidden away here and there. As well as the big dramatic buildings themselves.
And as for food - all the foods of the world - and a lot of very boring chain food. But that’s a whole other thread unless folks want to chip in here.
Anyway - huge city - you could write a book about it and I’m sure many have tried. Have fun.
: )