Queen’s Plate

On July 2nd I attended the Queen’s Plate horse race at Woodbine for the first time. While it was my work with Ontario Racing that brought me here, I’d say I’ll be back again. I certainly left wondering why I’ve never been before to this remarkable spectacle of sport, cultural tradition, fashion, gambling and entertainment.

How to Lose an Election

What do Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Lyndon Johnson all have in common? Yes, they were all U.S. Presidents. Also, they all lost elections at least once.

The Best Bond

This week, we learned that Sir Roger Moore passed away at age 89. Roger Moore starred in seven Bond films, starting with 1973’s Live and Let Die, a hugely successful reboot of the Bond series following the departure of Sean Connery in the title role. By the time For Your Eyes Only hit screens in 1981, Moore was at the top of his game. And so was Bond.

Cheering for the Enemy

I took my 9-year old son to Ottawa. To cheer for Pittsburgh.

Greenwood’s Goodbye

When I lived at 1870 Queen St East from 1999 to 2002, there was no trace left of old Greenwood Racetrack, which once graced the entire south-west block of Woodbine Ave and Queen. Its immense grandstand, the hundreds of stables, the oval track, and even the last remnants of the parking lot were bulldozed. Why? We only have to look at what took its place.

St. Elmsley’s Flowers

April. It was April in my 3rd year of school when I was hired for the summer as a landscaper at St. Michael’s College, at the University of Toronto. And, I unexpectedly learned a lesson about survival.

What Makes Rents Go Down? You Really Don’t Want to Know.

Ontario is now, once again, gripped by stories of skyrocketing apartment rents. Much like our fascination (or horror, depending if you are an owner or buyer) with rising house prices, every ten years or so Ontarians and Torontonians express outrage at rent increases.

The Greatest Hockey Player You Never Heard of

Yesterday was my first time visiting the Herbert Carnegie Arena in north Toronto. It was also the first time I heard of Herb Carnegie, one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

Pinelands Resort and the End of Summer

I’m pretty sure only the luckiest kids ever got to spend an entire summer working in Muskoka, Ontario. Because working at a lakeside resort as a student was the best summer job ever. And I got to do it.

Tim Hudak’s First Chapter Closes

It wasn’t meant to last forever.

I’m pretty sure that’s what 27-year old Tim Hudak thought the night he was first elected as the MPP for Niagara South on June 8, 1995, barely beating the Liberal front-runner by 1,000 votes. Over twenty years later, he announced his resignation today. He has delivered over two decades of exemplary service to Ontarians, and deserves a fond place in Ontario’s history books.