We’ve seen our share of “ate my way through ____” blogs, but The Kimchi Diaries has a quiet humour that makes us think it’ll be worth the trip. Over the next year, three Koreatown residents plan to eat at every single restaurant on Bloor between Grace and Bathurst, giving each a rating out of five stars (actually, snowflakes from the K-town holiday sign). The first review is full of candid photos and includes comments like, “On the downside, A.J. didn’t get as much water as he wanted, Beth couldn’t find the light in the bathroom, and neither could Dan (nor could he find any toilet paper, which prompted an abrupt end to lunch).” We’re looking forward to future instalments (hopefully including a visit to Hodo Kwaja for some walnut cakes). And we’re guessing the gang will pack a little Charmin for next time ’round (perhaps a sponsorship opportunity?). Check out the blog [The Kimchi Diaries] »
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Toronto writer Alexandra Molotkow shares the secrets of her cybersexual education
I’m among the first generation to come of age on the Internet. By 13, I was an expert at chat room sex, spotting cyber-pervs and hiding my secret life from my parents
In 1997, when I was in Grade 6, my friends and I sat at the back of the classroom and talked about sex. We would speculate on what it felt like and place bets on how old we’d be when we finally lost our virginity. We would make fun of the way orgasms sounded in movies and imagine what celebrities’ sex lives involved. Later, at home, we’d reconvene on ICQ, one of the Internet’s first major instant messaging systems, which allowed us to have conversations we wouldn’t want our parents overhearing. That was what the Internet was to us: pretty much what a tree house would have been a few years earlier.
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Man Repeller Leandra Medine is coming to Holt Renfrew on November 8
Leandra Medine (Image: Supplied by Holt Renfrew)
Ladies, break out your harem pants and Jeffrey Campbell shoes, because the Man Repeller is coming to Holt Renfrew. Leandra Medine, of the wildly popular New York–based blog The Man Repeller, will be in town to host a party celebrating the launch of Holt Renfrew’s new blog, Holts Muse. Medine’s blog is famous for celebrating the style women love but that tends to—wait for it—repel men. Think pageboy cuts, boyfriend jeans, jodhpurs, maxi skirts—all the things designers trot down runways, but in real life tend to hide the T ’n’ A straight men lust after so much. Her November 8 visit from 1 to 2:30 p.m. will surely have the ladies busting out their finest full-length jumpsuits and shoulder pads, and we just hope the Bay Street bros on Bloor Street got their fill of sexy this Halloween (because for them, there’s nothing to see here).
Gwyneth Paltrow and Ruth Reichl rumoured to be heading up new food mag and Web site (respectively)
Gwyneth Paltrow at this year’s Oscars (Image: WEBN-TV)
Foodies woke up yesterday to the prospect of a pair of big new culinary publications headed by two very familiar names: Gwyneth Paltrow and Ruth Reichl. Paltrow, of course, has her hands in a plethora of pots—from music to blogging to the occasional acting gig—but rumour has it that she may be preparing to delve into the food magazine business, backed by the Hearst Corporation.
Designers versus bloggers: this edition’s showdown pits Jay “Strut” DeMaria against Wesley Badanjak
Left: Jay Strut, Right: Wesley Badanjak (Images: Strut, Spiro Georges Mandylor; Badanjak, supplied)
TODAY’S MATCHUP: Fame-hungry 20-year-old hipster bloggers who can’t write are the bane of Wesley Badanjak’s existence. The LOVAS designer has blacklisted many a young airhead from his shows—and he’s just getting warmed up. On the other side, we have Jay DeMaria, also known as “Jay Strut” of Satisfashion, who feels “entitled” to a front row seat (and will do anything to get one).
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Designers versus bloggers: this edition’s showdown pits Julio Reyes Cocka against Evan Biddell
Left: Julio Reyes Cocka, Right: Evan Biddell (Images: Supplied by participants)
TODAY’S MATCHUP: Julio Reyes Cocka of Fashionights has had a hard go of getting respect in this fickle industry, fighting near-daily battles to make Fashion Week ranks. His opponent? Beloved bad boy of Canadian fashion Evan Biddell, who wields his wit with withering precision. Take cover, because this will get messy.
Designers versus bloggers: this edition’s showdown pits Danielle Meder against Juma
Left: Danielle Meder, Right: Jamil and Alia of Juma (Images: Caitlin Cronenberg and Juma)
Yesterday’s introduction of our series Designers versus Bloggers led to an interesting criticism of what makes a “Toronto Social.” As far as we know, it is a back-breaking endeavour, not at all led by self-congratulation, to present oneself as a Toronto socialite. That said, the fame-positive bloggers merely make up one segment of the on-line divides. As blogger Danielle Meder puts it, they are the “queen bees” in what we see as fashion’s very own Mean Girls, which makes today’s pairing a collective Ms. Norbury.
TODAY’S MATCHUP: London-based (formerly Toronto) fashion illustrator and blogger Danielle Meder squares off with Jamil Juma of design house Juma.
Report: Tony Clement beats Stephen Harper on Twitter; most MPs are still pre-2002
Twitter awaits its time to shine on Parliament Hill (Image: scazon)
How do modern politics and social media mix? Not well, it seems. A new report by digital public affairs strategist and self-proclaimed “thought-leader” Mark Blevis looks at some of the main forms of social media and how they’re being used by politicians in Ottawa. The verdict isn’t great: few MPs have so much as a Twitter account, and most who do mainly use it to spam their followers with press releases. One exception to this rule is Tony Clement, something that won’t be a surprise to his legion of 10,638 followers.
Five things we learned from the Globe’s interview with Karen Stintz
Karen Stintz's new picture on the city Web site
Some gigs at city hall may be cushy, but explaining to angry urbanites why Transit City had to be killed isn’t one of them. Karen Stintz has her job cut out for her. Today’s Globe and Mail has an interview with her about Rob Ford’s plans for the TTC, keeping the subways clean and changes to the commission itself. Here’s what we learned.
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City of Toronto ad goes viral, hits CNN
“Cellphones? We want it! Computers from the pre-Internet age? We want it! TVs encased in mahogany? We want it!” It’s rare that a municipal ad campaign gets it right, but when it does, the world sits up and takes notice. That’s the case with Toronto’s “We Want It” Web ads, in which a burly pair of guys named Chuck and Vince implore viewers to recycle their used electronics.
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What’s the world saying about TIFF? A roundup of reading from near and far
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Local media types are gleefully running around the city today, shouting the greatness of the Toronto International Film Festival from the rooftops—well, rooftop patios. But it’s not just the local media that has its eyes trained on Hogtown. Journalists from around the world—particularly from Britain, a country with a number of flicks at TIFF—are watching the festival, judging it and giving their recommendations. Here, a short roundup of interesting TIFF-related reading from near and far.
Once more, with Nazis: Antonia Zerbisias versus Ezra Levant in Fox News North Shoutfest Part II
The Star's Antonia Zerbisias and the Sun's Ezra Levant
Is it possible that there are more important questions in the world than who financed the activist group behind a poorly written petition to stop Sun News TV from getting special treatment from the CRTC? Almost certainly. Nevertheless, over the past week, the Internet has convulsed with arguments over Fox News North and the Avaaz.org petition to which Margaret Atwood gave some publicity when she got into a tweet-off with David Akin and Stephen Taylor.
This week, the fight shifts, with Star columnist Antonia Zerbisias and Sun columnist Ezra Levant clawing at each other. The conflict started when Zerbisias recommended a blog post at Rabble.ca responding to Levant’s Sunday column in which he basically connects Avaaz to Nazi collaborators through George Soros. So we can already see this is going to be a classy argument between two genteel debaters.
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Strategist extraordinaire Warren Kinsella grabs a bucket, starts bailing out the SS Rocco Rossi
As Toronto’s mayoral campaign enters the home stretch, it’s looking worse and worse for Rocco Rossi‘s campaign. A Toronto Star poll last weekend showed Rossi polling at just five per cent, a plunge from earlier in the year, when Rossi was the presumptive anti-Smitherman candidate. Hoping to turn this around, the Rossi people announced this morning that Warren Kinsella—infamous strategist and communicator for the federal Liberals—is joining the campaign. David Rider of the Star started the rumour mill early this morning, and it was confirmed by the Rossi campaign (and Kinsella himself) shortly thereafter.
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Rob Ford endorsed by the blog that organized “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” contest
Targeting voters in the middle of the political spectrum might be the key to winning this year’s mayoral race. With five front runners, it’s nearly impossible for any of them to win a majority of votes, so even the leading candidate might want to try reaching across the aisle if he or she wants to garner more than 30 per cent.
Well that, or your supporters could just walk around calling David Miller and his allies on council “communists.” See video, left.
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