Eat this Minute: ‘The Pile’ at Parkdale’s Tennessee Tavern

12:58 pm

This quirky new Grant van Gameren haunt offers up a smorgasbord of eastern European fare.

What a find
When Parkdale’s scruffy watering hole by the name of The Tennessee came on the market, there were only two options.

“It was either going to become another really bad bar,” says co-owner Alec Colyer, “or we could take it and do something a little more fun with it.” Colyer, along with partners in crime Grant van Gameren and Max Rimaldi, opted to snap the space up, transforming it into an eastern Euro tavern that has little to do with Tennessee.

Inside, the cavernous space acts as a backdrop to a hodgepodge of antique curiosities, reaching from a collection of wall crucifixes to a gigantic birdcage to a gorgeous wooden bar that lived a former life as a Polish steel workers’ bar in Buffalo, New York.

Authenticity be damned
“The great thing about being Canadian, being a tavern and being an easygoing place in Parkdale is that we don’t have to be true to any country or region or style,” says Colyer, who skipped over to Tennessee after managing Bar Isabel for years.

Although Colyer, van Gameren and Rimaldi all have ties to Europe (Lithuania and Poland), there was never any desire to do an entirely authentic eatery. “The style of food that comes out of the Balkans and Poland are very different,” says Colyer. Picking and choosing regional favourites excited the team, making for a far more dynamic menu. And although there was no doubt that there’d be cabbage rolls and perogies anchoring the offerings, a carnivore’s dream platter was another must.

That pile though
Charmingly dubbed “the pile,” the Tennessee Platter boasts a heaving mass of meat that skips from region to region ($42.95).
In the kitchen is Brett Howson, who hopped into the tavern thanks to his enthusiasm. “Brett was really interested in exploring a style of food that none of the chefs in the city are playing with,” Colyer says.

The platter begins with schnitzel, six-ounce veal cutlets that are dried out overnight, pounded until super thin, dredged in spices, egg yolk and flour and finished with bread crumbs. Next up, the smoked pork loin is brined and cured, smoked and then sliced per order. The Hungarian-style debrecyna sausage isn’t made in house. After many a gruelling testing session, they settled on the Sikorski’s version of the paprika-spiced pork links.

“I ate endless amounts of sausages,” Howson says and laughs. He notes that the smoke levels on the Sikorski ones are what cemented the love. Finally, the house made ćevapi (which are found across the Balkans) are caseless sausages made with a ground beef mix from local producers.

Lest we forget, pickles, carrot salad and hard-boiled eggs are also housed on the platter.

Tennessee Tavern, 1554 Queen St. W., 416-535-7777

Thornhill mom-and-pop shop fights back

2:22 pm

A new campaign initiated by the Ontario Korean Businessmen’s Association (OKBA) kicked off at Bros. Convenience store in Thornhill last month. The Save Our Stores campaign is hoping to rally support for independent convenience stores while protesting several concerns in time for the 2018 provincial elections.

The OKBA hopes to send a message to the Liberal, NDP and PC parties to consider amending current policies it believes are detrimental to the association’s businesses, including the spread of contraband tobacco, skyrocketing electricity bills and increased minimum wage.

According to Don Cha, the general manager of the OKBA, over 500 convenience stores in the OKBA have closed down since 2009.

“I’ve been lobbying [the province] for the last four to five years,” said Cha. “They seem to be listening, but they’re not doing anything.”

Bros. Convenience store has been running for the last 15 years. Hak Yong Kim, who owns the store with his wife, Rusia Seo, said that his main challenge has been with contraband tobacco.

“We have put our life savings into this business, and we are about to lose everything.”

“My cigarette sales went down more than 40 per cent compared to seven years ago because people are buying illegal contraband tobacco,” he wrote in an email to Post City. “When customers stop coming to stores like mine to buy cigarettes, we also lose sales on other products.”

Hak Yong and his wife work 12 to 14 hours every day and don’t have any other employees. According to him, he may not be able to hold on for much longer.

“We have put our life savings in this business, and we are about to lose everything,” he wrote.

A statement from the Ontario Ministry of Finance issued to Post City indicated that they are taking measures to tackle the OKBA’s concerns.

“When it comes to small businesses, such as convenience stores, we have taken a number of steps to improve economic opportunity and competitiveness,” wrote Jessica Martin, a spokesperson for the ministry, “To combat contraband tobacco, our government, along with the OPP, established a dedicated enforcement team to tackle organized crime.”

However, Cha doesn’t feel these are sufficient long-term solutions.

“I know there is a bill to control contraband tobacco, but they’re not moving fast enough,” said Cha. “Whoever comes into power next year, I want them to pay attention to us.”

Of sonic avatars and planetary orbits

11:02 am

As the front person for Metric, Emily Haines has toured the world, playing the band’s big rock tunes in big rock venues. But there are many facets to this multi-dimensional artist, and once in a while, like a solar eclipse, we get a chance to get a look at another side through her Soft Skeleton project.

On Sept. 15, the Toronto artist releases Choir of the Mind, her second solo album on Last Gang Records, the follow-up to 2006’s critically acclaimed Knives Don’t Have Your Back.

It does appear that her solo projects tend to follow an intense period of work with Metric — in this case, at the tail end of a long album cycle for their 2015 release Pagans in Vegas in addition to her work on the latest Broken Social Scene record Hug of Thunder — when Haines has the opportunity to take stock and look back at the path taken.

As she explains, it’s never that simple.

“I wish that it could be as concrete and sound like I had control of it,” she says, on the phone while strolling through Trinity Bellwoods Park in the city’s west end.

“But it really did feel like all these things lined up like a planetary orbit to have me back in Toronto.”

Choir of the Mind has lyrical similarities to her previous work with themes around empowering women and exploring her own place in the world by revisiting the past. But it is far from Haines just using songwriting as a vehicle to work out her stuff, so to speak. There is intent.

“The songs have to be of value to whomever might listen to them, you know?” she says. “It’s not just for me to hash through stuff and slap a ‘deal with it’ sticker on it. I’m looking for where the threads are that will actually resonate with the people that have come along with us through time.”

Sonically, Haines was interested in pursuing something a bit more abstract — the ideal expression of herself as a sound.

“Because this album is so non-commercial, there is absolutely no pressure to accomplish anything in that spectrum, so I can just play around with being that sound,” she explains.

“In the studio, normally I’d hear things like countermelodies, arrangements, things to develop a song, like, ‘OK, that’s the guitar, that’s going to be the string section or the horn section.’ But I was, like, ‘Fuck it, I’m just going to sing this right now.’ And that was the best risk.”

The result is this ethereal blend of vocal layers that provides texture to her poetic songs and combines to provide a beautiful and emotional wallop.

In the studio, the songs were composed by Haines on a grand piano that dates back to 1850, gifted to the musician by the folks at Paul Hahn Pianos in Rosedale.

“Our control room at the studio was just transformed by the engineer, me and this gorgeous piano,” she says.

“It was like, how could this thing even be standing, it should have deteriorated from that time, like as old as Canada, give or take a few years.”

Haines will embark on a tour kicking off at a festival in Joshua Tree, Calif., including a Dec. 5 date at the venerable Massey Hall that will surely sell out if it hasn’t already.

In the meantime, she is already set to return to the studio to work on the next Metric album. And the cycle continues.

North York football star comes home to play for Argos

12:55 pm

For some people, it can take years of schooling and soul-searching to figure out what direction they want their life to go in. But in the case of J’Micheal Deane, offensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts, he knew from an early age that football was his calling.

Deane began his career in Toronto at Newtonbrook Secondary School in North York where he was a four-year starter and a member of the Ontario Varsity Football League’s Metro Toronto Wildcats.

Deane then played football at Michigan State before being drafted to the CFL, first playing for the Calgary Stampeders, then the Ottawa Redblacks and eventually being signed to the Argos this year.

Although he recalls playing football in middle school, it wasn’t until his time at Newtonbrook that his ultimate path began to take shape. He not only attributes that time with helping to shape his overall career trajectory, but also to strengthening his resolve and getting his priorities straight — namely, improving his grades.

“In high school, I wasn’t the best student, so I had to go to summer school. I had tutors. I had to do everything I could to get my grades up,” he says, adding that you can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have the grades to go with it, achieving your goals becomes that much more difficult. He had help on that front, however.

“During my time in high school I had great mentors,” he says, citing his principal at the time as someone who was particularly encouraging.

“Basically, in my 10th grade, the principal at that time, Mr. Jim Spyropoulos, he saw me and would not let me get away with anything because he knew that if I just kept my head on straight that I could get a scholarship.”

And he did, eventually earning a scholarship with Michigan State.

Deane is currently enjoying being part of the Toronto Argonauts as an offensive lineman.

“We have a really good team here and finally got ourselves a new home in the former Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School. Everything on the up and up with the Argos,” he says.

“When I meet people on the street, and someone asks if I’m an Argo and they’re impressed, that feels great,” says Deane who has played seven games with the Argos this year. Playing football hasn’t only been a career for Deane, but also a significant learning experience. He notes that the game has had a huge impact on his life and who he is today.

“In a 60-minute game, you’re dealing with adversity the whole time, and that makes other things in life seem more miniscule,” he explains. “Sometimes I’m having a hard time, and then I think back to really tough times on the field or particularly tough practices and draw on those moments to get through other times that feel difficult. Football teaches you perseverance.”

When he’s not playing or practising, Deane likes to read and also dabbles in cooking. Although he doesn’t have any signature dishes, he is comfortable in the kitchen. “I like to say I can cook everything. If you give me a recipe I can cook anything.”

He does have some words of wisdom for anyone eyeing a career in professional sports.

“For anyone passionate about a career in sports, you’re going to sacrifice a lot and miss a lot. Being a football player is a life of sacrifice, but at the end of the day, it’s all worth it,” he says.

“I wouldn’t want to start all over. I’ve learned so much.”

Old rivalries emerge in Thornhill council

4:16 pm

alan shefman yonge steeles — Councillor Alan Shefman

A recent development approval process in Thornhill has turned into an online feud between a councillor and a once-and-future opponent representing differing views on development in the area.

Ward 5 councillor Alan Shefman and Beverley Glen Ratepayers Association president Josh Martow — who ran against Shefman in 2014 and lost — took part in a public Facebook discussion on the Thornhill Stays Connected group.

In June, Vaughan City Council approved a proposal for townhomes north of Dufferin Street and Centre Street, which Martow rallied for, over a low- to mid-rise condo with a ring road, including a traffic light, which Shefman initially approved.

“[Shefman] went on the record at the council meeting saying that much more density is needed in the community, specifically pointing out that Centre and Dufferin is a great location for higher density,” said Martow. “The residents disagree.”

Meanwhile, Shefman has been in favour of further development, pushing for lower density options.

“Why does Martow keep repeating the totally ridiculous lie that I am supporting highrise and high density at the intersection?” Shefman asked. “My record is very clear, not through untrue comments, but through action.”

The spat came to a head on the Facebook group where Martow thanked everyone who had signed the petition and emailed the city.

Shefman pointed out that ultimately he voted for the townhome plan: “Huh? How about some honesty here. It was my vote that resulted in the approval for the townhouse proposal,” he said.

Martow responded that Shefman only supported that plan after his first choice was deferred,

“Councillor Shefman was claiming to have fought for townhomes, when in reality he was council’s strongest voice for condos,” said Martow.

Martow has received mixed support and criticism from some members of the group. He has been accused of “fishing for votes” — alluding to his expected 2018 council run — and of pushing a NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude toward further development.

Ward 4 councillor Sandra Yeung Racco downplayed the chasm between Shefman and Martow as a difference of opinion, albeit with an election right around the corner.

“I guess [Martow] is trying to position himself in the public as a fighter,” said Yeung Racco. “And councillor Shefman is doing his job. I’m sure there’s some friction.”

How They Met: The cameraman and the television host

4:24 pm

HGTV Canada’s Cheryl Torrenueva has a new show with co-host Roger Morin called Reno, Set, Go! in which the pair renovate Toronto homes in 36 hours for deserving families as a surprise for one family member. Off-screen, she teams up with her husband Michael Rosas, who she met on the set of another home reno show, naturally. Here she tells us how they met.

How they met
We met 13 years ago while filming the pilot episode of my very first television show, Rooms That Rock for HGTV Canada. We were both in other relationships at the time, too, so we weren’t really looking for new love. Michael was one of the cameramen on the show, and the one thing that always stuck out in my mind was that he was really nice. What I always laugh at is the fact that he only worked on the pilot and then decided to move on to another show, which was Restaurant Makeover, and I didn’t end up seeing him again for four years. Cut to four years later where we were both single, and I was sharing an apartment with my friend Joy who was working at a television production company (where Michael also worked), and Joy and I decided to meet after work at an industry party for drinks. Once I arrived, I noticed Michael, and of course we greeted each other with open arms, and I was thinking, “Wow, blast from the past.” The whole group decided to go out for dinner after the party, and Michael ended up sitting beside me for the entire night. He made me laugh the whole time, so that’s why I like to tell him that he had me at “ha ha.” We saw each other a few more times at work events, and a month later he asked me out.

The first date
We decided to meet in Little Italy at a restaurant called Olivia’s. The streets were packed because of the soccer game. I remember walking there thinking, “I hope he shows up.” Then finally looking through a sea of rambunctious soccer fans, I saw this handsome man dressed in all black with these cool white dress shoes. Michael loves his fashion, so I was pretty impressed. The patio at Olivia’s was so gorgeous that evening, and we had the most amazing time eating great food and laughing all through the night.

The courtship
Since we both worked in the television industry, we tried to keep our courtship a secret for a whole year. Although I feel like most of our co-workers and friends knew but were just playing along. Michael moved on to be a creative director and producer, while I continued on building my brand and TV career.

The proposal
Michael proposed to me in St. Lucia, and I had no idea that we were going to even get married. We were already vacationing, and he had booked a night at the Ladera resort, where you get the best views of the Piton mountains, where each room only has three walls. For anyone else, that would be heaven, right? But for me, I have a fear of bugs at night, so I was in full panic mode while still loving this amazing experience. He called me over to the balcony and suggested that we take a quick picture while the sun was setting with the view of the mountains behind (that’s the director of photography speaking), and I ran over all flustered thinking, “OK, let’s just get this done!” As I was posing for the picture, he walked over to me and went down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was in total shock, pure confusion and that turned into a waterfall of tears! Happy tears of course! I said yes immediately, and I’m scared to watch the video because I’m sure I was not even speaking in clear sentences.

The wedding
I knew that I wanted to feel the tropical vibe of Cartagena, where Michael had taken me for one of my birthdays, at our wedding. Bringing the old-world Colombian charm to Toronto was going to be hard, so we had a very small wedding in Cartagena instead, just immediate family and a few friends. We got married at the Casablanca B & B by the pool, and the party continued on the rooftop. We stayed in Colombia for our honeymoon and visited the island of Baru.

Secret to success
I think the advantage that we have is that, because our worlds have always been intertwined through working together, having the same social circles and being creative people allows us to be involved in everything that’s going on at all times.

Reno, Set, Go! airs Wednesdays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. on HGTV Canada.

Fashion: Make a statement!

11:34 am

A) Eye of a tiger
Thomas Sabo, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, $319
“These are absolutely beautiful. They have a real deco vibe to them and the tiger’s eye is really pretty.”

B) Hoop and holler
Biko, ilovebiko.com, $69
“These are the kind of earrings that make you fall in love with the whole idea of statement earrings. If you’re going to have one pair…”

C) Disco ballin’
Milli, 231 Avenue Rd., $395
“This is a total a salute to Studio 54! They’re what go-go girls would wear. Maxed out glam done in a playful way.”

D) Setting sail
Room 2046, room2046.com, $387
“To me, they look like pirate ships sailing through space. They have that wonderful handmade feel — a nod to the art-to-wear movement.”

E) Blue rain
Archives, 1275 Bay St., $330
“They used to call them shoulder dusters because they practically touched your shoulders. Very modern with a great sense of movement. Wow.”

F) Light as a…
Mark Lash, 9033 Leslie St., $11,600
“Stunning. A real tribute to Mark Lash’s design talent — a fine piece of jewellery that has a great feel of originality to it.”

G) Fit for Nefertiti
SurondStudio, etsy.com, $35
“These make a big whopping statement. They look Egyptian and are leather, which makes them light and easy to wear.”

H) The pom in your pom
Hayley Elsaesser, 695 Queen St. W., $16
“So much fun! An ode to cheerleaders everywhere. A young spirit. If Iris Apfel put them on, they’d work.”

I) Fanning out
Dean Davidson, deandavidson.ca, $325
“Dean is one of our true treasures — what a brilliant Canadian artist. These fans are ultimately romantic.”

J) Linking up
Jenny Bird, jenny-bird.ca, $85
“I really, really love Jenny Bird. She has a very cool sensibility. We all love our chains, and these give you that edgy feeling without looking cheesy.”

K) Ear exotica
Secrett, 162 Cumberland St., $9,125
“This to me is exotica: eastern glamour that I am always a sucker for. Mandarin garnets and peridots … spectacular.”

L) Tasselonomy
AuthenticPeaces, etsy.com, $60
“I see a lot of these tassel earrings, and these ones look tribal in a really elegant way. They look very delicate and bold at the same time.”

Traffic report drawing community criticism in Richmond Hill

10:15 am

A motion to go forward with the Yonge Street and Bernard Key Development Area (Yonge/Bernard KDA) was passed by Richmond Hill Town Council on July 10, by a 6–2 vote. A traffic report by the town’s hired consultant, Urban Planning Inc., also maps seven new street networks to be constructed for the KDA, many of which will go through residential neighbourhoods.

The primary purpose of the new street networks is to create more access to main roads and divert traffic from congested areas. According to Ward 2 councillor Tom Muench, the traffic on Yonge Street and Bernard Avenue is already so congested that it can take some residents anywhere between 10 and 25 minutes to leave their subdivision. He referred to Yorkland Street, a street he said is used by approximately 12,000 homeowners, as an example of poor planning.

“The new road network … slices the Loblaws plaza and transfers traffic from Yonge Street, and west of Yonge, to Yorkland,” said Muench. “By our own transportation report, Yorkland is nearing capacity, and now the consultant is recommending this road network.”

Deputy Mayor Vito Spatafora, chair of York Region Transportation Services, said that Yorkland is just one of many solutions council has planned.

“We’re looking at the broader scope of transit and transportation,” said Spatafora. “One of the things we are pushing for is a bridge over Elgin Mills and the CN tracks. That will help. By diffusing it to Yorkland and diffusing it to other streets, you’re trying to reduce the concentration on a single road.”

Hedy Waters, 71, has lived on Elmpark Court since 1989. Her house faces Yorkland. She said watching vehicles come through Yorkland to turn on Elgin Mills [Road East] is already “quite chaotic.”

“Tom Muench was around talking about all the development on the other side of Yonge Street and how they want to divert all the traffic to this side of Yonge Street, which makes no sense to me at all,” said Waters. “We already have too much traffic.”

Over 700 residents have written letters and signed petitions against the proposal, which is also being challenged by developers, according to Meunch. The Yonge/Bernard KDI goes to the Ontario Municipal Board on Aug. 14*. If approved, it will be drafted into a secondary plan with opportunities for public input.

*(Since publication, the OMB hearing for the Yonge/Bernard KDI has been postponed to Tuesday, October 10.)

Miranda Mulholland launches Sawdust City Music Festival

1:57 pm

In recent years, the Muskoka musical tradition seemed to amount to the consumption of discounted Molson Canadian tall cans and another set of Kim Mitchell down at the venerable Kee to Bala. But tireless artistic explorer Miranda Mulholland is set to change all that with the launch of the Sawdust City Music Festival in Gravenhurst, Aug. 4 to 6.

Turns out Mulholland, who performs with Soulpepper as well as the duo Harrow Fair and a few other musical projects, has deep roots in the official “gateway to Muskoka.”

“My great-great-grandfather Charles Mickle was actually the mayor, twice, and he had a large sawmill up there, and that was how Gravenhurst became known as Sawdust City,” she explains. “He was very supportive of the arts and decided to put an opera house on the main street. People thought he was crazy, and they called it Mickle’s Folly. But 150 years later, it’s still there, and it has some of the best acoustics in Canada.”

The festival runs over a long weekend with venues scattered throughout town, including at the somewhat new Sawdust City Brewery and the Gravenhurst summer music barge.

The Saturday evening concert features headliners Jim Cuddy Band and Harrow Fair and will take place at the Opera House. Other artists participating in the festival include surf guitar band C&C Surf Factory (featuring Blue Rodeo guitarist Colin Cripps), along with Abigail Lapell, NQ Arbuckle, Benjamin Hermann, Justin Rutledge and more.

“Gravenhurst has been a little overlooked,” says Mulholland. “It’s billed as the gateway to Muskoka, and people tend to shop by the highway and take off to their cottages. It’s gong to be amazing to put the spotlight on Gravenhurst.”

To that end, Mulholland supplied us with her top five local spots to check out while in town for the festival:

Curry’s Music. “My last time there I bought an old cookbook, violin strings, some vinyl and I think I bought a dress. They have everything in there. It’s amazing.”

The Bakery. “They make these Chelsea buns, and they are the most delicious thing on the whole planet. My cousin used to swim over in the morning and swim back with them in a bag.”

Peter’s Players. “It’s an intimate venue, and they get really big acts like Ron Sexsmith and Joel Plaskett.”

The Segwun. “It’s a steamship, very famous. The Segwun is what Gravenhurst is known for and what we have on our beautiful poster.

Oar and Paddle. “I love that place. One of the best restaurants in Muskoka by far.”

Dogs deserve more from Toronto

1:40 pm

I like dogs. I have one. And, keep this between you and me, there has been more than one occasion when I’ve let the old girl off leash.

Especially after an ultimate Frisbee game at Sunnybrook Park when she plays around with the other dogs and mooches snacks from teammates.

It happens.

In my neighbourhood, we have a Facebook chat group, and with increasing regularity someone posts about a dog and a leash. Mayhem ensues. Good for nothing dog owners should be arrested, publicly flogged and, gasp, licensed!

Others say chill out. Everything is better with a dog. And pooch people pay taxes, too, gosh darn it.

I get the sentiment.

The parks are very crowded, and dogs get in the way, cause accidents, scare little kids, trip the elderly. All dogs are not created equal. Some dogs are just not as graceful, patient and loving as mine. Ahem.

maybe it’s beginning to become a problem, even as we honour our four-legged friends with fountains down at Berczy Park and have entire festivals dedicated to their betterment.

This month, we took to the streets to collect stories of heated encounters between the have-dogs and the have-nots and tried to piece together some idea of where it all went wrong or if it even did.

It’s a lot to take in. There are some seriously angry people out there. There are even dog parks that are notorious because of the number of fist fights that break out. We even heard one story of someone who was chased by a drunken dog owner looking to knock his canine-loving block off.

This just cannot stand. So, where do we begin?

First, there is a shortage of areas for dogs. For instance, the folks near Ramsden Park woke up one morning to find out their off-leash zone was going to be shut down. Seems a little harsh, if you and your pooch’s daily recreational routine has vanished overnight.

Thornhill has only one dog park and Richmond Hill is home to just two. The shortage contributes to dogs being off leash in non-designated areas.

In addition, perhaps we could relax some of the strict rules in areas that are, you know, empty. One confrontation of note involved a person who had his dog off leash at a school field. The only other people were 50 yards away. But there was still a problem.

If everyone simply exercised good judgment, there would never be an issue. But when has that ever happened?

There are over 200,000 dogs in Toronto and less than 60 off-leash parks. It’s time for solutions, not complaints.

Remembering the godfather of zombie filmmaking

10:48 am

More than a decade ago, we found out that George A. Romero was filming one of his now-iconic zombie flicks at a suburban shopping mall in Thornhill. For some, it was like the GTA had finally made it. He was that important.

Apparently, the late, great filmmaker, born in the Bronx, was quite fond of Toronto as well, and he had made his permanent home here since 2004, with his wife Suzanne Desrocher, and took up Canadian citizenship in 2009. And it was here that he passed away of cancer last month.

After graduating from university in 1960, Romero began his career shooting commercials and short films, including an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood.

His career-defining film, Night of the Living Dead, came with his first kick at the movie can in 1968. But he didn’t establish his now legendary Dead series right away. Instead, he opted to follow up his first film with the romantic comedy There’s Always Vanilla.

He returned to complete his Dead trilogy with Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985), cementing his status as cinematic legend. He continued to explore the gory landscape, often with a side of social commentary to boot. In addition, he inspired countess filmmakers along the way.

In 2009, Romero premiered Survival of the Dead at the Toronto International Film Festival. In an interview with Post City at the time, he tackled the question of whether or not you had to have a screw loose to make such movies.

“None of us horror filmmakers — Wes Craven, John Carpenter — there’s not a weird guy in the bunch,” he said.

“It’s funny, man, people expect that I walk around in a cape and fangs and sleep in a coffin or something, and whenever I do a photo shoot for a magazine, they always want to do it in a cemetery.”

Romero had been working on a new film, Road of the Dead. A memorial was held at Mount Pleasant Cemetery on July 24 to honour the acclaimed director who inspired (and scared the pants off of) so many.

Midtowner brings home the basketball world cup

10:51 am

The U19 men’s national basketball team achieved a goal that Canada has been itching for since, well, the beginning of basketball. Although it was a Canadian who invented the sport, Canadians have yet to make their mark on the world stage. Until July 9, that is, when our U19 team beat Italy 79–60 to win the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Cairo. They beat the two-time reigning champs, United States, 99–87 in the semis. Half of the players hail from Toronto or the GTA, including Danilo Djuricic and R. J. Barrett. Barrett led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds and was named tournament MVP. This could be the beginning of many top Canadian finishes as these boys join the ranks of local NBA stars such as Tristan Thompson and Andrew Wiggins.

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