John Roberts

12:10 pm

IN HIS LAST year of high school, future CNN anchor John Roberts would sneak over to the local pub, the only place he could get a beer at his young age. The pub piped in the University of Toronto student radio station. Roberts would be starting a science degree at U of T in September and thought radio would be a great way to get involved in the school.

“I ended up doing a show there and got involved in the operation of the station. That was a great entry into the world of broadcasting,” he says.

Today Roberts, 52, has moved on to become a major player in the news game as co-anchor of CNN’s flagship morning show American Morning alongside Kiran Chetry. The show has a hard-news focus, with a team of correspondents who deliver breaking news to early risers around the world each morning. It airs weekdays from 6-9 a.m. EST.

Roberts joined CNN in February 2006, but this past year was the most demanding, with the presidential election and all that comes with it.

“I was on the road for the first two months of last year, crisscrossing the country and going to all of the primary states,” he says.

“For a political junkie and a guy who loves to be out on the front lines, it was just about the most fun that I could ever imagine having.”

During President Obama’s inauguration in January, Roberts was on the press riser in front of the Capitol, about 100 feet from where Barack Obama took the oath of office. “It was an extraordinary vantage point to witness history from,” says Roberts.

And what does Roberts think of Obama’s first months as president? “He certainly has a lot of expectations that he has to live up to,” he says. “I think it’s impossible for any president to live up to all the expectations that have been thrust upon them.”

But there is no question that his term will provide amazing journalistic opportunities, which presents a mixed blessing, suggests Roberts.

“If I weren’t doing the morning show, I would love to be back [in the] front row at the White House watching this history unfold,” he says.

The CNN gig is only the latest for Roberts in a long broadcasting career that has ranged from interviewing Canadian musicians for MuchMusic to sitting down with world leaders at CBS and CNN. Now, he is returning to his hometown on March 12 to be inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week (CMW).

When Roberts returns to Canada for the induction, he will also be visiting his sister and his 95- year-old mother. And, of course, it will be a great opportunity to see the city again and catch up with old friends. One of these old friends, Neill Dixon, president of CMW, was the one who notified Roberts of his impending induction.

“He is probably at the pinnacle of his career,” Dixon says of Roberts. “He has gone from being a guy running around with a hand-held camera backstage with bands to now being an anchor with CNN. He is certainly a news icon and an inspiration to young broadcasters in Canada.”

Roberts’s record speaks for itself. He was embedded with the U.S. Marines during the war in Iraq; he has interviewed former presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, the late Yitzhak Rabin and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. As anchor, Roberts has covered the death of Pope John Paul II and the papal succession; the Atlanta Olympics bombing (“I stood on a roof for 11 hours, broadcasting, a lot of that time by myself…); the Oklahoma City bombing; the kidnap and murder of tourists in Uganda; and the fire at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas (“I just happened to be the standby anchor that day and I was on the air within moments”).

Roberts was also down in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina alongside colleague Anderson Cooper. In the early going, it looked like nothing much had happened, says Roberts. But as time went on, they began to realize the severity of the disaster. “We went out to the eastern part of the 7th Ward and found that it was under eight feet of water. So we kept out on one of the rescue boats that were going around trying to pull people out and saw just how serious the situation was.”

As a newsman, Roberts has seen the world. But it was here in Toronto that Roberts got his start. In his early days, he hosted a onehour heavy metal video show called The Power Hour on MuchMusic. Roberts remembers his time at the station with fondness, especially during its introduction.

“We sort of launched a crosscountry promotion blitz,” he says. “We were trying to turn it into a nation-wide phenomenon, so we went to every little town across the 10 provinces. And that, together with my time at the NewMusic, where we literally travelled the world tracing the socio-economic roots of music, just really gave me a broad experience.”

But Roberts — known then as J.D. Roberts — still dreamed about reading the news. It was during this time that he and his wife settled into a house on the edge of Forest Hill. “It was a lovely place to be as a young couple,” he says. “Her parents were kind of against the idea. They wanted us out in the suburbs, but I was in the city, and I really wanted to have the city experience.”

As Torontonians know, central to that experience is cultural diversity of the city. “To immerse yourself in a society like that, for a young person, was a really great experience,” Roberts says.

The couple used to go to Bloor Street to have Indian food and to Dufferin for Italian. Their neighbours would play bocce at Vermont Square where Roberts would also walk his dog.

Then, in 1989, Roberts ventured down to a CBS radio station in Miami. He returned to Canada in 1990 to co-host CTV’s morning show Canada AM, but his move down to CBS News in New York came soon after.

“I never thought that I would spend 14 years anywhere, but it went by in the blink of an eye,” he remembers. “Really, it was a series of tremendous opportunities to both see the world and cover the news from a position where I really had a first-class seat to history.”

While Roberts is flattered by the induction into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, the honour, which is voted on by industry executives, caught him by surprise. “I didn’t even know they were paying attention to me,” he says. “I was surprised and deeply honoured that I would even be considered. I left Canada permanently — or at least what I considered permanently — in 1992, and the fact that they were keeping their eye on me from afar really is pretty incredible.”

King of T.O.’s new deli is on the move

7:01 pm

ZANE CAPLANSKY HAS accidentally become the king of Toronto deli food. His smoked meat restaurant, Caplansky’s, which is holed up in the Monarch Tavern in Little Italy, is a throwback to the way Toronto used to be 50 years ago, with restaurants offering Jewish comfort food. And it is working.

Caplansky’s was named one of the best new restaurants in the city by Toronto’s top food critic, the Globe and Mail’s Joanne Kates.

“Caplansky is meshuga for smoked meat,” she penned in her review last March. “He’s got a bee in his bonnet to make the best smoked meat in the world.”

He was even “tweeted” by the grand pooh-bah of food critics Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine, who typed, matter of factly, “Caplansky’s smoked meat awesome.”

“The whole thing wasn’t strategic. I never set out to be a pioneer or start any movement,” says Caplansky. “It just happened organically, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Caplansky, who changed his name from Caplan to Caplansky when he opened for business, started serving his brisket 14 months ago, which he dry-cures for two weeks in a secret seasoning before smoking it for hours on end.

His smoked meat has garnered a following with people who love real deli food but don’t necessarily want to travel to North York to get it, and rave reviews have inspired the restaurateur to expand. This summer he will close up the Monarch Tavern location and open a much larger operation in a new location all his own on College Street.

The Caplansky family has been a part of Toronto’s food landscape for a long time. Caplansky’s greatgrandfather owned a kosher butcher shop across the street from his new location and his father was an original partner in Lime Rickey’s.

“My family has been in Toronto 100 years, my great-grandfather came in the late 1800s, so I feel an intensive and passionate love affair with this city,” he says. “I love the diversity and opportunity that Toronto has offered my family and generations of families who have been able to come here and build a life for themselves. To be able to give something back and create a place is a dream come true.”

“What happened was, when you make a 10-pound brisket, there is only so much one person can eat.”

Caplansky grew up as Zane Caplan in North York, son of legendary politician Elinor Caplan, who was an elected member of both the federal and provincial parliaments. He attended York Mills Collegiate Institute, then the University of Western Ontario, followed by George Brown.

His earliest memories are of his pappa taking him to Switzer’s Deli, just the two of them. Pappa was in the shmatte trade, a woman’s clothing manufacturer, and he used to hire his grandson to come in on Sundays and sharpen pencils, paying him a nickel for each pencil. Part of the job was to give out candies and talk to customers, and after a hard day’s work, they would go to the deli for corned beef sandwiches with French fries and cream soda. When Caplansky was a teen, he got together with a girl who introduced him to Schwartz’s Deli in her hometown of Montreal.

“When I tasted that smoked meat, it was really a life-changing experience,” he says. “Then, a few years ago, I had a friend come back from Montreal and asked him to bring me a sandwich. When he didn’t, I said ‘You know what? I am going to try and do this myself,’ and I set about trying to make smoked meat. From the very first time I did it, it was really good. I’ve refined the technique and the recipe since. But what happened was, when you make a 10-pound brisket, there is only so much one person can eat.

“I brought some into a restaurant I was managing at the time, and people who didn’t know deli said that they thought this was the best thing they had ever tasted and asked me for more and to buy some,” Caplansky explains. “This really encouraged me and made me think there was potential to serve this to the public.”

In the 1940s and ’50s, Kensington Market and College Street were a focal point of Jewish culture, and delis were abundant. Caplansky’s new location was once a deli called Smith’s, and Caplansky wants to make sure he captures that old-time feeling while maintaining his affordable and causal ambience.

He feels that, in tough financial times like these, there is nothing that makes people feel better than comfort food, and his vision came at the right time.

“My timing was impeccable by offering what really is classic comfort Jewish soul food,” says Caplansky.

With his new restaurant, Caplansky plans on expanding his offerings to include such items as an all-day Jewish breakfast, salami and eggs and a smoked meat hash as well as an eggs and onions plate.

Caplansky is going to offer beef bacon instead of pork and will make sure there are options for those who don’t eat red meat or are vegetarian.

“I really want my growth to be driven by my customers and not by my ego,” he explains.

Caplansky has also garnered quite the following with his blog on the life of a modern-day deli owner (blog.caplanskys.com). It is a funny and quirky account of his life behind the counter, and he doesn’t shy away from telling his customers the truth on the Internet, including his nerves before opening and that his first business plan estimated he would sell just two sandwiches a day.

But what really makes people come back to Caplansky’s time and time again is his attention to tradition and detail. Caplansky wants people to feel as comfortable in his deli as he felt in Switzer’s when he was a kid.

“One of my greatest pleasures is to have people come in and tell me their deli stories, the ones that they went to and loved,” he says.

“It gives me a lot of pleasure that I can help evoke these memories and help people remember these times of their lives that were special to them because my memories of my pappa at Switzer’s are the dearest of my heart, and he was a very special man to me. I get to relive that every day I go to work, and I feel his presence and that of my other grandparents.”

Metric’s new sonic assault sure to measure up

6:42 pm

“HELP, I’M ALIVE,” the opening track of Metric’s new album, Fantasies, reveals much: at once a killer track, an offbeat first single and perhaps a peek at the fragile makeup of the band that teetered on the brink of burnout a few short years ago. No surprise, it is also a huge hit with more to follow as the band gets reacquainted with its worldwide fan base after the album is released April 15.

In 2005, Metric was still being flown around the world to headline music festivals and attend awards shows. The Toronto-based band was four years into a relentless torrent of touring and promoting their breakthrough record, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now and the follow-up Live It Out, to the tune of 300 days a year.

“The pace at that point was just impossible to keep up. The touring just never stopped,” says Emily Haines, the band’s singer, keyboard player and chief lyricist. “On the one hand there was this amazing momentum. It was just incredible, three years after Live It Out was released, we were still being asked to headline festivals in places like San Paulo, Brazil. But we needed some time for other things in our lives.

“We didn’t want to have a life where we never see family, never hang out with friends, have love in your life,” Haines continues. “It just isn’t worth it.”

Enter the much-documented hiatus for the band: Haines would produce two solo efforts, under the moniker Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton, and travel to Argentina to write and relax. Jimmy Shaw established a neighbourhood recording studio for the band on Ossington Avenue in Toronto. The stellar rhythm section of bassist Joshua Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key worked the garagerock scene with their own band, Bang Lime.

“We took some time before making this record to reconnect with being human beings and give us something to write about,” says Haines. “That process, although there were times when it was unclear what the path was, we always felt like we were on the right track.”

That track led to the band’s reunion and a recording process that took a year and a half. In comparison, Live It Out took about 10 weeks.

“I did a lot of writing in Argentina. We also worked out of a farmhouse north of Seattle as well as our own studio in Toronto in the west end,” says Haines. “We did it at our own pace and took the time to develop the sound. It was a really cool process.”

The resulting effort is an atmospheric and lush recording, with more layers of sound, more synth and more production with less raw guitar edge than Live It Out. What remains: a band intent on taking their musicianship to greater heights as well as Haines’s honest, poetic songwriting.

In addition, after being courted by labels of every magnitude, Metric made the decision to go it alone on this recording with help from their friends at Last Gang Records distributing the disc in Canada, and Arts & Crafts handling the release in Mexico. “We decided that instead of getting tangled up in another company — their debts, goals, brand — we decided to just create our own team of people all over the world to release the album,” Haines explains.

For a full rundown of options, including limited edition vinyl, go to the band’s website at www.ilovemetric.com.

Great Canadian troubadour returns with another gem

Bruce Cockburn fans around the world rejoice for Bruce has come down from the mountain to offer up the first live solo album of his decades-long career. It will leave you reeling with delight.

Ten concerts were recorded for the album in May 2008. Slice O Life (True North Records) includes a few new tunes, as well as a number of Cockburn classics and some cool covers, including “Soul of a Man,” by Blind Willie Johnson. This is a must-have for any fan of Canadian music.

Joy to the world

6:27 pm

DECKED OUT IN a black skull and crossbones cardigan sweater, Joy Fielding, a world-renowned Toronto author, settles into a café seat a block from her new home in Yorkville to talk about her latest novel, Still Life.

“It centres on Casey Marshall, a woman who seems to have everything, and in fact does. She is hit by a car and ends up in a coma,” Fielding explains. “And that is the start of her discovery that everything she thought about her life is not true and that the accident was not an accident and someone wants her dead.”

Cue eerie music.

Fielding says Still Life was one of the most challenging books of her career.

“It was so confining. I had written myself into this corner where the main character can’t do anything,” says Fielding, throwing up her hands in feigned exasperation. “So the action had to happen at her bedside, her imagination and flashbacks.”

The plot twist plays to one of the most prominent themes in Fielding’s writings: the invisibility of women and the idea of women being trapped. “I’d been thinking about it off and on for a while,” says Fielding. “To me, this is the ultimate situation of being trapped.”

Despite the challenging premise, Fielding describes Still Life as a “gift.”

“It really was,” she says. “It essentially wrote itself. I really didn’t have to work it out.” Fielding has already finished her next book, Wild Zone, set in South Beach, due out next spring. “It is a departure for me,” Fielding explains. “It is about three men who bet casually at a bar, and it has rather deadly consequences.”

Cue eerie music … again.

The author, who has a penchant for golf and is a member of the Donalda Country Club in Toronto, is also set to travel to Ireland and Scotland this fall where her next book will be set.

Fielding was an aspiring actress before dedicating her life to the written word. While living in L.A., she auditioned for and got a small part in an episode of Gunsmoke.

“I played a rancher’s daughter who was struck mute when her brothers were massacred by Indians (they were called Indians back then),” says Fielding. “The father brought a pregnant Indian woman into our home, and I tried to kill her with scissors before delivering her baby and getting my voice back.” Explains a lot.

WHAT IS TORONTO SINGER AMANDA MARTINEZ READING?

“Ish and So few of Me, two books by Peter Reynolds that are the best books written for kids and adults alike. A tribute to allowing yourself the time and room to dream and create by relaxing. And The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman. A great summer read. The story will draw you in and suspend you in a world where the line between reality and fantasy is blurred.” Martinez’s new album, Amor, is out this fall. Catch her July 2 at the Toronto Jazz Festival

BOOKS FOR DAD

Finds for Father’s Day

MORDECAI RICHLER

by M. G. Vassanji
Acclaimed novelist meet acclaimed novelist. Toronto author M. G. Vassanji pens a wonderful biography of the one-and-only Mordecai Richler, another installment in Penguin’s Extraordinary Canadians series that sees notable Canadian writers, intellectuals and artists penning biographies. Others in this great series include Nino Ricci on Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Adrienne Clarkson on Norman Bethune.

TRUE PATRIOT LOVE

by Michael Ignatieff
The on-again, off-again Canadian with a Harvard pedigree publishes his first book since assuming the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. In this honest, new work, Ignatieff tells the story of his mother’s family, the Grants. Here, Ignatieff tells his ideas of what Canada was and what it should be. Looking to get to know this Canadian a bit better? Here’s your chance.

WHY YOUR WORLD IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT SMALLER

by Jeff Rubin
A popular guy these days, Rubin is the go-to economist of the moment. And in this groundbreaking new work, Rubin gives his assessment of the future of the global economy in a world where “cheap energy” is a thing of the past. Find out what subprime mortgages, Atlantic salmon, SUVs and globalization all have in common.

Kim Newport-Mimran

5:58 pm

SERVING STAFF HAVE never looked so good, and it’s all thanks to one woman. The stylish Pink Tartan riding pants adorning the waitresses at Cheval on this evening make the cool King Street West venue seem like an extension of the runway. The buzzing, in-the-know crowd is here for one reason: Pink Tartan’s founder and popular fashion designer, Kim Newport-Mimran. Of course, the elegant silver platters of red and white wine can’t hurt attendance, either.

After an hour of mingling at Pink Tartan’s Fashion Week after party, the humming of fashionista chatter changes tone as in walks the vibrant, fresh-faced Newport-Mimran. In between air kisses from friends and hollers of “Great show, Kim!” from admirers, the fashion guru happily bounces among fans, friends and the press.

Newport-Mimran, 40, co-founded Pink Tartan in 2002 alongside husband Joe Mimran, founder of Club Monaco and now owner and designer of frugal but fashionable clothing line Joe Fresh Style, found at Loblaws superstores.

For a company in only its sixth year, Pink Tartan has done incredibly well. The brand opened its New York showroom in 2004 and is now available at such high-end stores as Holt Renfrew, TNT and Andrew’s in Toronto, online at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, and Luxe Couture in Dubai and Soho Look in Seoul, South Korea.

Newport-Mimran started her professional fashion career following her completion of the fashion merchandising and manufacturing degree at George Brown College. For the next two years, she worked in the Hudson’s Bay buying department where she put her business skills into practice.

Climbing up the high-fashion ladder, she landed a job at Club Monaco in 1990, as the Canadian chain’s senior merchandise manager, where she remained for the next eight years. Next, she became senior manager for Caban until the company was sold and it was time for her to take the next step.

Newport-Mimran envisioned a company that could cater to busy but fashionable women on the go. She set out to provide women with fresh and fashionable attire without them having to spend too much time to achieve that look. With that, Pink Tartan was born. Today, the brand has remained true to its founder’s original vision. Pink Tartan is known for stylish attire that is easy to put together yet will still make you look and feel fantastic. As the woman herself has often said, she wants her customers to be able to throw on one of her pieces and walk out the door feeling great.

“I always had big dreams,” she says of where she now is. “You have to have big dreams and big goals.” She keeps an open mind to creativity and warns of stifling your own potential. “The moment you are not open to learning is the moment you cannot grow,” she says.

“I learn something new every day. Whether it’s the hard way or the easy way, it’s about learning and adapting.”

Evidence of her big dreams is in the company’s broad international presence. Being in both Asia and Europe twice a year and with monthly trips to the Big Apple, Newport-Mimran constantly exposes herself and her team to new visions.

But it hasn’t been all roses for Newport-Mimran. As with any entrepreneur, she has experienced her share of bumps.

“I learn something new every day,” she says. “Whether I’ve learned it the hard way or the easy way, it’s just about learning and adapting. This business is very competitive, it’s very fast, and it’s just about keeping your focus and keeping on top, to do the best that you can do.” Through it all, this modern working woman approaches stress in a way that would have made Maharishi proud.

“It’s balance and you have to take care of yourself,” she says of her stress-fighting technique. “You can’t take anything too seriously. You’ve just got to do your best. If you’re always worrying about ‘What if, what if…’” She trails off, to divulge the Mimran family secret to handling stress: “The Tale of Danny Thomas,” which her husband shared with his young bride years ago and which Newport-Mimran has since passed on to their seven-year-old daughter, Jacqueline.

One day a man named Danny Thomas is driving down a dirt road when he gets a flat tire. Stuck on the side of the road without a jack, he sees a farmhouse in the distance. As the man makes the long trek to this farmhouse his mind races: Will they even have a jack? Do I have money to pay for it?

“And on and on,” she narrates as if reading a bedtime story. By the time he has reached the farmhouse, he has worked himself into such a state that, when a sweet old lady opens the door, all he can do is yell at her and storm off before being helped. “So the moral of the story is he got himself so worked up before anything even happened,” she says. “We try not to ‘Danny Thomas’ in the house.”

Newport-Mimran’s recipe for success is this family rule combined with maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. In addition to daily workouts, “you have to eat well,” she says, sounding motherly. “If you’re not giving yourself nourishment properly, then you’re not going to be performing at your optimum.” She is a firm believer in the idea that whatever product you apply to your face you should also be able to ingest, and so comes another secret: rosehip oil.

“I swear by it. I was never sort of granola-y but was always sort of on the natural side. I don’t wear a lot of makeup and don’t use a lot of product, but I find that there are certain products that really work well for me, and rosehip oil is one of them.”

It’s clear that Newport-Mimran is not your stereotypical fashion executive. Indeed, her down-toearth personality brings a refreshing change to the often artificial world of fashion. Rather than being harsh and unforgiving as one may expect a top-line fashion designer to be (think Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada), she is quite the opposite: a lighthearted woman who oozes love and happiness in all that she does.

That attitude seems to breed success. “I love my job, I must say,” she gushes. “I love that it’s always changing, and I sort of thrive on change, and I find that very exciting, that nothing’s ever the same. I also just love retail, so I love product and seeing product from the idea stage into being fully executed.”

When she’s at home, the down-toearth Forest Hiller is sweet on summer strolls to the Village Chill with her daughter and adores the luxury of having What A Bagel just an arm’s length away for a quick tuna bagel. She’s not finicky about where she does her grocery shopping, either.

“I’m a Whole Foods shopper and Loblaws — it depends what I need. And I do Grocery Gateway, too. It’s wherever my necessity takes me. Whatever we’re out of.” Spoken like a true woman on the go.

And what’s the best thing about living in the Village? “It’s got a little bit of neighbourhood to it,” she says of her area of 10 years. “We walk over to Starbucks, because it’s there, and on a casual night, when I don’t feel like cooking, we go over to Sotto in the Village. And you know, it’s just the convenience of having the Village there. It’s so great. That’s where my bank is and all the stuff that we do.”

She and her husband could not be happier in their newly renovated home, which overlooks a gorgeous ravine, and she swears they will not be leaving the ’hood any time soon.

Meanwhile, plans for Pink Tartan are at the forefront of her mind: “We’re going to build the brand, build the team, and it will happen,” she says.

The simple tee has gone upscale; TV’s Tracy Moore finds out why

3:29 pm

1ST PLACE – PRETTY IN PINK

When it comes to luxury tees, Tracy loves her brights. She chose this pink number for its rosy colour, funky detailing and soft, comfortable fabric. “I love this one,” she says. “I’m a colour person. I would never just do basic black. I’ve gone through that period — been there, done that — now, I’m all about pink, green, blue. And I love the blinged-out wings on the back.” – $130
Where to get it: Canopy Blue, 2582 Yonge St., 416-483-2583

DO THE RIGHT THING

Line, Cashmere Crew Neck Tee, $89
“This one is supersoft. The cashmere feels so good, and I like the green.”
Where to get it: Canopy Blue, 2582 Yonge St., 416-483-2583

AMERICAN BEAUTY

House of the Gods, Blondie Tee, $89
“I’m not usually a fan of band tees, but I love Blondie. I like the neckline on this one, too.”
Where to get it: Hype Boutique, 31 Disera Dr., 905-731-0177

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Love Tanjane, Purple Rock Tee $115
“I like the mix of a funky pattern and a little bit of colour at the same time. It’s not boring.”
Where to get it: Shop NYLA, 1011 Yonge St., 416-924-3562

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S

Bailey 44 Temptress Tee, $149.50
“Paired with big, chunky jewellery and skinny jeans, this would work for work or even a club. Don’t do anything dainty, or it gets too grandma.”
Where to get it: Want Boutique, 9301 Bathurst St., 905-780-6444

Race fans, hold onto your hats!

1:15 pm

1ST PLACE – 1940S FAB

Linda Cloche, $175
“I like the classic shape,” says Cronenberg (pictured here in the winner). “It’s detailed, but not too costumey. And the blue is so pretty.” Thanks to Angelina Jolie vehicle Changeling, this classic hat’s got legs again. “There’s a reason she looks so good in that movie,” says Cronenberg.
Where to get it: Lilliput Hats, 462 College St., 416-536-593 or Holt Renfrew, 416-922-2333

VINTAGE VALUE

Patent Flower on Black & White, $32
This 1980s-era hat calls to mind days at the races. Think Julia Roberts. “I have issues with big flowers, but you sold me with Pretty Woman,” says Cronenberg.
Where to get it: Stella Luna, 1627 Queen St. W., 416-536-7300

ENORMOUSLY ELEGANT

Chapeau Savannah, $250
This massive brimmed number will share more than your face. “It’s neutral, but interesting. I see it and think beach!”
Where to get it: Big it Up, 58 Spadina Ave., 416-591-0864

SUPER SUN SHELTER

XL Monte ribbon striped, $75
This floppy wonder will travel and wear well but looks elegant. “You can hide your face in this hat … in a good way.”
Where to get it: Big it Up, Yorkdale and Vaughan Mills malls

MAD HATTER

Olive Branch, by Frank Olive, $169
Cronenberg loves the unusual Alice in Wonderland shape of this topper. “And the feathers. It’s intricate, but it doesn’t overpower.”
Where to get it: The Hat Box, 3501 Bathurst St., 416-787-5944

Birthplace of the comedy club still has its gems

2:33 pm

AN IMPROMPTU TRIP to New York City gave me the chance to check out a new comedy club, Comix, located in the trendy Meatpacking District.

Featured that night at the club were Glenn Wool, a Canadian who has spent most of his career working in the U.K., and Iliza Schlesinger, this year’s winner on Last Comic Standing.

There’s a lot of heat on Wool right now. Resembling an overgrown garden gnome, he shouts and rants about a lot of things both political and personal. His diatribes against religion were masterful — still, everything was delivered at the same level of intensity. Schlesinger left me cold. By the time she finished, I felt she was better at winning contests than stand-up comedy.

But the room! An expansive, tiered beauty full of slow curves and designer colours — not the NYC comedy club of yesteryear.

It takes me back to the glory days of the scene in the late ’70s. The club is really a New York City invention. In the late ’60s, Budd Friedman opened up the Improvisation in Hell’s Kitchen so his Broadway friends could drop by after shows. They started to entertain one another on the old upright piano. Comics started to trickle in. By the mid-’70s, the comics outnumbered the singers, and the comedy club was born.

The original Improv was a cramped, rickety place that only New Yorkers could have invented. Customers were stacked on top of one another until you couldn’t breathe. No designers were involved — the only decor was a truckload of bric-a-brac from who knows where. But it worked.

Soon, two clubs had opened on the Upper East Side with the same formula, each evolving into their own personalities. Catch A Rising Star became the hottest club for a long while due to its excellent booking policies and its even better bar scene.

The Comic Strip had a less frenzied scene. The crowds came from the boroughs, but it was where young comics went to try material for a “real” crowd. Eddie Murphy cut his teeth in this club. Of the three original NYC clubs, it’s the only one in business today. Then, in the ’80s, Caroline’s came along and changed the game.

Bouncing from locations in Chelsea and Seaport before its posh Broadway digs, the club was the first to book headliners instead of a hodgepodge of comics. It is still the best comedy club in NYC. But certainly not the only one.

Besides Caroline’s and Comix, there’s also Gotham in Chelsea, a swank and spacious room featuring mostly TVfriendly acts. Downtown, you might check out the Comedy Cellar, a cramped sweaty room in the Village that has the look and feel of a classic club. Stand-Up New York is a jewel box of a room on the Upper West Side that books smart, clean acts that haven’t conquered TV yet but probably will.

Avoid the temptation to go to Dangerfield’s on the East Side. The room is beautiful in a Tony Soprano kind of way: plush red leather banquettes, older wait staff. But the bookings are second rate. It’s a bit of a tourist trap. Same with Ha! in the theatre district.

Whatever your tastes, there’s always plenty happening in standup’s crucible, New York City.

Post City Magazines’ humour columnist, Mark Breslin, is the founder of Yuk Yuk’s comedy clubs and the author of several books, including Control Freaked.

The water’s edge

1:22 pm

WHEN ALANNA MITCHELL was asked to stop writing stories about science and the environment, she knew she had her fill of life in daily newspapers.

“Give me a break,” says Mitchell, as we chat in her East York, Toronto, home.

An award-winning reporter, Mitchell was named “best environmental reporter in the world,” by Reuters in 2000. Following a fellowship at Oxford University, Mitchell published her first book Dancing at the Dead Sea in 2004. Her latest, Sea Sick, goes a step further, examining the current state of oceans and the potential impacts on, well, life as we know it.

“I came to understand how dependent we are on the ocean and how we are messing it up,” says Mitchell, who travelled the world over the course of three and a half years, chronicling the latest oceanic research in areas such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the mouth of the Mississippi River.

“To me, there is a joy in understanding,” says Mitchell. “Not only what’s going wrong but what the implications are.”

Sea Sick is set to do for ocean health what books such as An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, did for climate change: namely, inspire change.

“It is the same pattern,” says Mitchell. “As with the early days of climate change, some of the debates are going to feel like that.”

Long story short: as the oceans go so goes most of the life on solid ground — namely, us. The more greenhouse gases we produce, the more the oceans are changing in ways we are only beginning to understand.

“The planet is telling us we are at the point of no return,” says Mitchell. “I think we should take the planet seriously on this one.”

Far from being preachy, Mitchell acts the role of interpreter filtering down technical, scientific information from disparate projects around the world into a unified whole that is at once informative and readable.

Although she, of course, hopes that some steps in the right direction come from the book’s publication, Mitchell steers clear of telling people what to do in their own lives.

“I wouldn’t dream of limiting it,” says Mitchell. “Each of us has a different way of grappling with this.”

Mitchell speaks May 7 at the Toronto Reference Library.

WHAT IS MENTALIST HAIM GOLDENBERG READING?

The Green Mile, by Stephen King — what is beautiful about this book is that it shows that you can find true magic and light in the most unsuspected places such as in the deathrow quarter of a prison. And Night, by Elie Wiesel — this unbelievable autobiography symbolized to me the complexity of the human mind.”

Haim Goldenberg is the creator and host of Goldmind, airing on TVTropolis.

DIET DIATRIBES

THE SKINNY

Louis J. Aronne
Dubbed “America’s top weight-loss specialist,” Dr. Aronne has some legitimate credibility, having worked in obesity research and treatment, as well as, as a weight control director at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. This book shows you his plan for how to get off the weight-loss, weight-gain cycle and more in this handy and realistic new book.

THE CORE BALANCE DIET

Marcelle Pick
Marcelle Pick, one of the cofounders of the Women to Women clinics in the United States, draws upon decades of patient and personal experience to solve the mystery of stubborn, frustrating weight gain in women. What it comes down to is biochemical imbalances, and this book shows how to self-diagnose and proceed with a plan that fits your physiology.

HORMONE DIET

Dr. Natasha Turner
Toronto’s own Dr. Natasha Turner, of Clear Medicine, lays out her plan to balance your life, one hormone at a time. But it is more than just a diet book. Along with advice for weight loss, Turner provides recommendations for an antiinflammatory detox, nutritional supplements, exercise, sleep, stress management, toxin-free skin care and natural hormone replacement. Bikini readiness reads

Sexed up Ayn Rand worth ticket

1:22 pm

RICK MILLER IS the latest in a long line of talented theatrical performers that elevate to a higher level — think Seanna McKenna at Stratford, Ben Carlson at Shaw and Ronnie Burkett’s puppetry. Handsome, talented and one of our most gifted comic performers in the country, Miller’s one-man shows — co-authored and developed with the talented director Daniel Brooks — have wowed not only Canada but theatre-goers around the world.

His Bigger Than Jesus is a masterpiece — witty, moving, powerful and deeply satisfying on an intellectual level. I went back to see it and experience it several times, gaining with each viewing. Now comes Hardsell in which Miller and Brooks have “taken on” our consumerist society. It is not as satisfying as their inspired Jesus collaboration, but how could it be?

Its co-creators are struggling to come to grips with “the nightmarish world of consumerism” that is so obvious a target one fears being drowned by easy irony and self-reverential condescension. Thank heavens Miller is too good an actor and Brooks is too smart a director to fall into that giant, seemingly inevitable trap. Running only about 80 minutes with no intermission, Hardsell can be gloriously enjoyable, occasionally obscene and obscure but mainly a real pleasure.

One-person shows can occasionally be boring or selfconscious, but that is impossible with Rick Miller, a brilliant performer, master of several languages and countless dialects (including “cartoon” — his MacHomer featured more than 50 Simpsons’ characters in a condensed version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth).

The mainstage at the Berkeley is empty when you walk in, except for a chair on each side and a huge red curtain draped across the back. Otherworldly music is played, the lights slowly come up, and there is Miller as the ultimate sold-his-soul-to-thedevil showman, “Arnie.”

With his face painted garishly, and dressed in a white suit, shirt, tie and shoes (with red socks, natch), clutching a black cane, he regales us almost non-stop for more than an hour.

There are many times when it’s simply too obvious, but when we get bang on impersonations of mythologist Joseph Campbell, James Brown, even a sexually promiscuous if very elderly Ayn Rand, it is non-stop laughs and brain candy for the audience.

When Miller cries out, “Selling crack to kids is good for the economy!” just before the play’s end epiphany that sees his vile character writhing on stage to a Radiohead tune with the lyrics “I don’t care if it hurts, / I want to have control, / I want a perfect body, / I want a perfect soul,” the audience is left wanting more. And what more could one ask for from a night at the theatre? This is well worth seeing, but be warned — it can truly mess up your brain.

Hardsell plays at CanStage’s Berkeley Theatre until May 9.

The great 2009 shade parade

12:57 pm

1ST PLACE – SEDUCTIVE STYLE

Emporio Armani, Model 9547, $200
“I love these,” Milman gushes as she takes her second, then third look at herself in these sexy, sunglasses-at-nightworthy Armani shades. “They are really stark, and fit amazingly — simple, clean, they would work with everything.… Very cool.”
Where to get it: Iris, 650 Sheppard Ave. E., 416-226-3937

OF KORS!

Michael Kors, MK S101, $240
“These are cool. I don’t own anything like them,” says Milman, of the sexy shades from über-designer Michael Kors.
Where to get it: Michael Kors, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 416-907-7871

DIOR, MON AMOUR

Christian Dior, Diorissima, $310
Statement shades from Dior look sweet on Milman. “I love the shade gradient and the white with silver. So nice.”
Where to get it: Iris, 650 Sheppard Ave. E., 416-226-3937

PRETTY PROJECT

Rudy Project, Sunflower, $220
“These are so sci-fi, I love it,” says Milman, of the unique and sporty shades from Rudy Project.
Where to get it: Kaltenbock Opticians, 1560 Yonge St., 416-921-2334

DOLCE DELICIOSO

Dolce & Gabbana, 3028, $191
These fresh and funky, slightly oversized round frames in rich purple were a hit. “Ooh, I like these,” says Milman.
Where to get it: Holt Renfrew, 50 Bloor St. W., 416-922-2333

Creating a city garden that inspires

12:00 am

I LOVE CITY gardens for their intensity.

Come late spring, I always attend some of the marvellous public tours of private gardens that take place in the downtown area. These tours always include some of the best gardens in an urban neighbourhood. I am fascinated by the creativity that designers and homeowners display when it comes to gardening in small spaces. The challenges bring out the best of our resourcefulness and creativity.

City dwellers have the unique opportunity to create a very personal environment in their outdoor space. Though urban spaces are generally small, it is possible to transform them into beautiful and intimate gardens for relaxing, entertaining or enjoying family activities. But this cannot be achieved without careful planning and some special considerations. A skillful design that fits the space can make a small garden appear much larger.

Upside, downside

In a small landscape, everything is up close and personal, from flowers and foliage to hard furnishings and structures. The focus is on detail, so plant selection is of utmost importance. Any plant that doesn’t fit, in size or colour, will stand out.

Space is at a premium: every plant is equally noticeable — overgrown shrubs, leggy annuals, spent flowers and thriving weeds are sure to catch the eye.

While small gardens demand careful attention, they also are easier to maintain than their suburban and rural counterparts.

Go for foliage

To make your city garden really work for you, choose annuals and perennials that have unusual and interesting leaves as well as flowers.

While there are many excellent flowering plants to choose from, truth is that there is no such thing as a perennial that blooms non-stop all season long. Gorgeous foliage will provide a constant feast for the eyes, even from the vantage point of your favourite garden lounger.

In a small space, opt for subtle colours, as very bright hues can be overpowering.

Create levels & rooms

As many interior designers will tell you, sometimes by dividing a space you can actually make it seem bigger.

Don’t be afraid to create a few distinct areas or little “rooms” within your small garden. Low hedges of boxwood or dwarf spirea are terrific to make “walls” defining the rooms and adding structure to the space. A change ingrade—asteportwoontoa different level — is also an effective way of dividing space to make it seem larger.

Create privacy

A common goal in an urban environment is to create privacy, often through screens or fences.

When choosing these permanent structures, think carefully about what will be most attractive as well as practical, as they will likely be visible from every vantage point. It is worth stretching the budget to get the effect that you want.

Solid screens and fences may offer the most privacy, but it is important that they are open enough to allow sunlight and air to penetrate. A garden with good air circulation is less susceptible to disease and moss and cools down more effectively in the heat of summer.

Soften boundaries

Often city gardens are surrounded by tall walls or neighbouring buildings that loom over the space. Mitigate this by planting a specimen tree or tall shrub. The greenery will act as a soft backdrop to your garden and make the forbidding walls seem to recede.

Grow vertical

Vertical gardening adds another dimension to a small yard and creates the illusion of more space by adding height and drawing the eye upward.

Vines and climbing plants can be trained to grow up trellises and arbours, as well as sheds, garages, walls and fences. There are many plant possibilities: for sun or shade, featuring colour, texture and often fragrance to beat the band!

Use every bit of space

Be creative with your use of space. Are there any areas of hidden space on your site?

A small pocket of soil at the base of the garage wall might be the spot for a vine-covered trellis. That ribbon of turf alongside the driveway might become home to a narrow flower bed. Is there enough light and good soil in the space between your house and your neighbour’s to plant a luscious shade garden?

If you have lawn at the front of the house, why not transform it into a front yard garden? Not only will you create an attractive and inviting introduction to your property, but you’ll also have additional planting space!

You can fill it with flowers, but don’t be afraid to plant vegetables there, too. You’ll have a feast for the eyes, as well as the table.

Block out city noise

In many small garden designs, I recommend the addition of a water feature such as a fountain or water-circulating bird bath.

The sound of trickling water helps to muffle noise from the street and, even better, attracts birds to your garden while providing a relaxing aural backdrop.

To avoid worries of mosquitoes and West Nile virus, try installing a bubbler (a rock with a hole drilled through it). The water comes up from a hidden pump, trickles over the stone and into the pebble-covered reservoir so you get the sound but no open water.

Excerpted for Post City Magazines from Mark Cullen’s new book: Canadian Garden Primer: An Organic approach.

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