Random Musings About Toronto

Homeless People. I thought Canada was supposed to be this caring, liberal country. I guess every big city has homelessness, but I was surprised to see so much of it, particularly in a city with such a harsh climate.

While I have my doubts about the majority of the "homeless" I see here in Cincy, Toronto's look different. There was this elderly woman who sat with her bags at a table in one of the underground malls. She looked like anyone's grandma. Hours later, sometime after 9pm, she was still sitting at the same table, sleeping. Then there was the scruffy elderly gent who put his bags - and clothes - aside, and decided to strut Church Street in his birthday suit.

Of course there were the usual suspects who sit at park benches and carry on animated conversations with themselves, but my buddy and his fellow P&Gers were aggressively accosted by one panhandler - an incident which disturbed the entire group.

More observations later.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 18, 2005 08:53 AM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

Toronto is a clean New York City. NOT! Think about that statement for a second and you'll realize just how ludicrous it is. I've heard that claim a number of times, including from a friend who grew up in Toronto. It's simply not true. Well, yes, I guess it's clean - but it's NOT NYC!~

Part of the charm of New York is its grit, energy and vibrancy. While Toronto to a lesser extent has energy and vibrancy, it doesn't have any grit. It's not rough around the edges, and doesn't have the specific something that makes New York New York.

Movie crews adding litter to the streets to make Toronto look like New York won't change that.

Toronto is a fraction of the size of NYC and it reminded me more of a smaller Chicago in both appearance and demeanor.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 18, 2005 09:09 AM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

For the record, I very much enjoyed my stay in Toronto. Much fun!

Eye contact a no-no! It was such a beautiful day, my friend and I decided to walk to downtown from Casa Loma - a considerable distance - mostly through residential neighborhoods. After 20 minutes or so of walking, we both noted that not only do people not say "hi" they don't even make eye contact.

After speculating about this oddity, we made it a game to see what became of casual, incidental eye contact, similar to what might occur on your own residential street here in Cincinnati. One older man did return the "hi" but looked very uncomfortable doing so, looking almost embarrassed to make eye contact.

It's interesting to pass a singular person on a sidewalk and see them act as if the other person isn't even there.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 18, 2005 09:10 AM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

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Originally posted by craig.:
Eye contact a no-no! It was such a beautiful day, my friend and I decided to walk to downtown from Casa Loma - a considerable distance - mostly through residential neighborhoods. After 20 minutes or so of walking, we both noted that not only do people not say "hi" they don't even make eye contact.

After speculating about this oddity, we made it a game to see what became of casual, incidental eye contact, similar to what might occur on your own residential street here in Cincinnati. One older man did return the "hi" but looked very uncomfortable doing so, looking almost embarrassed to make eye contact.

It's interesting to pass a singular person on a sidewalk and act as if the other person isn't even there.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What do you expect, they could tell from your arrogant strut that you were one of those hated American.

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Originally posted by travelinman:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by craig.:
Eye contact a no-no! It was such a beautiful day, my friend and I decided to walk to downtown from Casa Loma - a considerable distance - mostly through residential neighborhoods. After 20 minutes or so of walking, we both noted that not only do people not say "hi" they don't even make eye contact.

After speculating about this oddity, we made it a game to see what became of casual, incidental eye contact, similar to what might occur on your own residential street here in Cincinnati. One older man did return the "hi" but looked very uncomfortable doing so, looking almost embarrassed to make eye contact.

It's interesting to pass a singular person on a sidewalk and act as if the other person isn't even there.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What do you expect, they could tell from your arrogant strut that you were one of those hated American.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Which brings me to another observation. I was was one of like 5 people over 6 feet tall with light hair. Everyone else was short with dark hair.

After a while, we both questioned if there was something that set us apart, other than the fact we towered about 8 inches over the average citizen of Toronto.

Did I mention one motorist on Front Street saw us walking against the light and sped up to try to run us over while shouting lovely profanities? (We had more than ample time to cross before he gunned it.)

I only managed to give a quick flip of the bird, but am disappointed that I didn't think quick enough to turn around and kick the car as it went by.

You said it was a "liberal Country", maybe they are all just stuck up! LOL!

Or maybe they read some of your posts. [img]eek.gif[/img]

Actually, I've always heard that it was a freindly country but that sometimes their "french side" shows more. (dislike of Americans)

Toronto is an architectural abyss. I was very disappointed with the boxy, boring buildings that dominate the skyline. The numerous tenement-style apartment buildings didn't help much either. Some of the new stuff is nice, but overall I found the boxy skyline to be bland.

Y'know, even the CN Tower - while very cool - is made of concrete, and patched up numerous times at that! Up close it's not the most visually appealing structure around.

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Originally posted by craig.:
Eye contact a no-no! It was such a beautiful day, my friend and I decided to walk to downtown from Casa Loma - a considerable distance - mostly through residential neighborhoods. After 20 minutes or so of walking, we both noted that not only do people not say "hi" they don't even make eye contact.

After speculating about this oddity, we made it a game to see what became of casual, incidental eye contact, similar to what might occur on your own residential street here in Cincinnati. One older man did return the "hi" but looked very uncomfortable doing so, looking almost embarrassed to make eye contact.

It's interesting to pass a singular person on a sidewalk and see them act as if the other person isn't even there.

<font color="#FFFFAA"><font size="1">[ April 18, 2005 09:10 AM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font></font>

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This reminds me muchly of an anecdote from my company's downtown offices. A recent transfer from a technical center was stunned to realize that eye contact was noticeably lacking. He then made it a point to try to make eye contact with people, smile, and say "Hi!" to people he passed. He got virtually no response. One day he got on the elevator, looked at someone who LOOKED BACK, smiled and the guy SMILED BACK, and said "Hi!" and the guy said "Hi!" BACK.

It was the then-CEO of the company, a most beloved leader who later retired but was brought back for a while when his successor broke morale and drove stocks to a record low.

No tobaccy indoors! I don't care what gae thinks, no smoking in bars and restaurants really helped to make the trip pleasant. Not only were we more prone to enter a bar, we lingered longer. And we didn't leave smelling like a cigarette. Awesome.

An interesting byproduct of the smoking ban was watching the lunchtime crowd eating outdoors - puffing away - on a 52 degree day and the wind whipping off the water at 20 mph.

I have been to Toronto, Windsor, Niagara Falls (and quite a few little towns between Windsor and Niagara Falls) and even Montreal and I never experienced anything negative from anyone I met. Everyone was always friendly and in Montreal quite appreciative of my attempts to converse in French (with varying degrees of success) May have something to do with the idea that I respect the fact I am a visiting guest and don't try to swagger around like I own the place. Or it may be simply that some people can spot an arrogant poltroon on the spot and react accordingly. Go figure...

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 19, 2005 08:18 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font>

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Originally posted by G L:
I have been to Toronto, Windsor, Niagara Falls (and quite a few little towns between Windsor and Niagara Falls) and even Montreal and I never experienced anything negative from anyone I met. Everyone was always friendly and in Montreal quite appreciative of my attempts to converse in French (with varying degrees of success) May have something to do with the idea that I respect the fact I am a visiting guest and don't try to swagger around like I own the place. Or it may be simply that some people can spot an arrogant poltroon on the spot and react accordingly. Go figure...

<font color="#FFFFAA"><font size="1">[ April 19, 2005 08:18 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font></font>

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I spent a week in Windsor without incident. Never been to Montreal, so that's not part of the discussion.

In Toronto, we were pretty much passive spectators, so your theory would be pretty much invalid. Besides, my travel companion is someone who pretty much everyone likes and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. And he definitely has no swagger.

One funny story. We walk into a restaurant, and a patron calls my friend "gorgeous." My friend tries to return the compliment by calling the patron "very good looking, too." The patron responds, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID!" and gets upset.

The eye contact experiment was done on residential streets, where foot traffic was light. In other words, it was just us and a singular pedestrian walking in the opposite direction. At first we didn't make much of it, but then it happened again...then again...then again. Then we tried to be pleasant and say "hi."

I've always found that people I don't know (and don't want to know) tend to strike up conversations with me. So it was weird to consistently experience a number of people who feel uncomfortable making eye contact.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 19, 2005 09:17 AM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

I wear sunglasses 99% of the time so "eye contact" isn't really an issue with me. Some people I only know casually have no idea what my eyes even look like behind the shades. [img]cool.gif[/img]

I know what you mean about people striking up conversations when you don't necessarily want to interact. Happens to me a lot too.

Ethnic Diversity. This is one area where I didn't manage to overcompensate for the advance billing. Due to a wrong turn on the freeway and the inability to reenter, I drove on side streets from the western suburbs to downtown.

It seems Toronto is uniformly diverse throughout. Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese - you name it, it's there - and lot's of it. (Well, wait a minute - there aren't many black people.) If there's one thing that impressed me about Toronto is variety of the people. Which is why I was surprised the physical appearance of the city seemed so bland.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 20, 2005 02:02 PM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

Toronto is so clean. I'd heard this so many times, I probably overcompensated by thinking you could eat off the sidewalks. Let's just say that due to the reputation, when there was litter - I spotted it.

I will say the Gartiner Freeway out of downtown was lined with garbage, and lots of it.

No billboards! It's true! No billboards! I hate billboards, but y'know, they come in handy when you're stuck in traffic, the gas gauge is hovering just above "E" and you want to know if there's a gas station nearby.

Those blue highway signs that indicate the proximity of gas and food tended to be placed only at the exit, not before it.

Never thought I'd miss billboards and tall, unsightly signs.

I think they use Toronto for the city scenes for Metropolis in SmallVille.

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Originally posted by G L:
I think they use Toronto for the city scenes for Metropolis in SmallVille.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was told Ontario gives the film industry big subsidies. Not sure how big, but Toronto has become a hotbed for film production.

Started with the X-Files, that was filmed in Canada. SmallVille is filmed in Canada for all the outdoor shots. Production costs are lower and they can utilize just about any landscape they need for outdoor shots. (well nothing tropical) Ontario is more like an extension of US culture than any other part of Canada I have found. Go to Montreal and you have no doubt you are in a foreign country..

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Ontario is more like an extension of US culture than any other part of Canada

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I always heard the the western plains provinces were more like the US than Ontario.

How 'bout their attitudes towards pedestrians? Do pedestrians still cross the street just by pointing across it just before strutting across? I distinctly remember I nearly blew some woman away because I wasn't aware of that custom. [img]graemlins/shhh.gif[/img]

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Originally posted by LanDroid:
How 'bout their attitudes towards pedestrians? Do pedestrians still cross the street just by pointing across it just before strutting across? I distinctly remember I nearly blew some woman away because I wasn't aware of that custom. [img]graemlins/shhh.gif[/img]

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I did not see that, though I did see a number of signs requesting that pedestrians obey the signals. Please read my aforementioned story of almost being run over.

Everything you see on HGTV isn't worth seeing in person. Ok, I guess it was worth the trip, and I only went because my friend saw it on HGTV, but Casa Loma, while interesting, was showing signs of wear. It had limited historical value, and the venue was obviously underfunded. The third floor was some sad museum, part of which was devoted to...the Kiwanis.

HGTV featured the mansion because the wealthy owner built a system of tunnels to various buildings on the large piece of land. All but the tunnel to the garage and potting shed have been sealed off to visitors.

Casa Loma was interesting because it was built for ego at a time when most people lived in poverty. Walking through the place one had to wonder if the guy who built it (name escapes me already) got what he deserved when he lost it all. I got the sense he was borderline insane.

Casa Loma could really be a showplace, but the front yard is paved over as a parking lot, the hardwood floors need to be refinished, the original furniture was all auctioned off and they don't have the funds to repurchase, the chimneys have netting over them and are tied with straps.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 21, 2005 05:05 PM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

Toronto has a Carolinian climate. A highly educated, well-spoken young man spent a considerable amount of time explaining the complexities of Toronto weather, including the aforementioned tidbit. I couldn't help but notice that the locals are a bit sensitive about the weather. A tshirt in a gift shop addressed the perception and reality of Toronto weather, with the "perception" drawing depicting igloos surrounding the CN Tower.

Anyway, the young man told us Lake Ontario, while small, is deep and doesn't freeze. As a result, Toronto's weather is less extreme than Chicago, Minneapolis and Boston.

I did notice vineyard after vineyard, extending from Pennsylvania, through NY and into Ontario, which would indicate moderate temperatures. But I couldn't help but notice that the trees looked like Cincinnnati in early March, or that a beautiful day by Toronto standards seemed pretty damn chilly to me. Let's just say I didn't exactly feel like I was in the Carolinas. Not to mention that you can easily see Toronto from Buffalo and vice versa.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 22, 2005 03:14 PM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

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Originally posted by G L:
I wear sunglasses 99% of the time so "eye contact" isn't really an issue with me.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That must be weird on cloudy days. And at night. And at the dinner table. And during sex.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 28, 2005 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Captain Whizbang ]</font>

Some of Canada's Greatest Exports To America

Pamela Anderson
Trish Stratus
Natasha Henstridge
Neve Cambell
Elisha Cuthbert
Jennifer Tilley
Jillian Hennessey
Linda Evangalista

Find more here
CANADIANS


and here

CANADIANS


[img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

and the funniest, John Candy. He died way too young. 11 yrs now he has been gone.. [img]frown.gif[/img]

Yeah, there's a lot more on there too. Some I had no idea that they were born in Canada.


[img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

I know Michael J Fox and ofcourse Petah Jenniings.

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Originally posted by Lew:
Well, I'd also like to thank Canada for exporting their arctic air to us, so when we walk outside the door in January our breath freezes before we can exhale.

Well, GL doesn't have to worry about it, but for those of us who don't live in the tropics.....

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well it's not as bad here, but when one of those Arctic blasts sends your temps down to 10* we tend to have nights in the 30s. And 35* here feels like 10*...

And dont forget Canadian Bacon!

without it, there may have never been an eggMcMuffin!


[img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

I would love to see Niagara Falls again. Used to go every summer and now I haven't been there in 18 years. Can't believe it has been that long but it has. If you have never been, it is something everyone should see at least once. Words cannot describe the power of it standing up close. The parks there too are magnificent and the oldest museum in North America, the Niagara Falls Museum which hosts, in its eccentric assortment of collections, some of the barrels used to go over the falls by daredevils over the years. I have a lot of really nice memories of Niagara Falls.

Well, I'd also like to thank Canada for exporting their arctic air to us, so when we walk outside the door in January our breath freezes before we can exhale.

Well, GL doesn't have to worry about it, but for those of us who don't live in the tropics.....

Yonge Street. The myth is set in stone. There it was, set right into the sidewalk, just two blocks from my hotel - a map of Yonge Street, showing it stretching all the way from Toronto to the Minnesota border.

Our crack reporter, Lan, has debunked the myth, but deceitful Canadians perpetuate the lies, further reinforcing my belief the country has an inferiority complex.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 29, 2005 01:11 PM: Message edited by: Captain Whizbang ]</font>