Five Rob Ford-inspired Halloween costumes that your hipster friends haven’t thought of yet

1:13 pm

Rob Ford has been the mayor of Toronto for close to three years now, and in that time he’s been lambasted, lampooned and ridiculed by the best of them. So if you’re looking to have a little fun at the mayor’s expense this Halloween, you’re going to need to be original. In short, it’s time to step up your Rob Ford costume game.

The days of buying an XXXL suit off the rack at a second-hand store, filling it with pillows and painting your face burst-capillary red are over. Not to worry though, I’ve got you covered. Here are five great Rob Ford costume ideas that will make you the hit of any martini-sipping lefty shindig.

1. The Missing iPhone

This is arguably the key piece in a long, embarrassing saga that’s brought international attention to the city, so why not dress as the alleged missing alleged iPhone that allegedly contains an alleged video of the mayor allegedly smoking what allegedly looks like crack? It’s a terrifying apparition that might end any number of careers should it some day appear, and it’s surely caused more than a few terrified sleepless nights for the mayor (allegedly). If you really want to go the extra mile, only show your costume to Toronto Star reporters, then disappear forever!

2. The Ghost of LRT

All but murdered by Rob Ford and the 24-20 council vote, there is perhaps no sadder spectre in Toronto than the Light Rail Transit system that might have been. For added spookiness, wear this costume while roaming Scarborough, Sheppard East or Finch West — better yet, haunt city councillor Gord Perks.

3. The Mayor’s Revolving Staff

Since his press secretary George Christopoulos and his deputy, Isaac Ransom, resigned from their posts in the mayor’s office in May, there’s been what might politely be called “some turnover” in the mayor’s office. So why not dress up as the constantly changing face of Ford’s staff? You could make a series of strategic wardrobe changes or even build yourself a rotating mask. Much like in real life, your friends will have fun trying to guess which of your many guises is controlling the mayor’s communications at any given moment.

4. The Stack of Unanswered Freedom of Information Requests

An earthly monster borne out of irony, with no regard for legislated timelines! While the mayor publicly espouses openness and transparency, a terrifying presence grows behind closed doors at city hall: a seemingly endless pile of FOI requests from frustrated Toronto Star, Toronto Sun and Globe and Mail reporters seeking access to city records. Partygoers will cower in your shadow as they wonder if you’re a symbol of the mayor’s disdain for the media or a wasteful drain on city resources created by journalists with a vendetta. No one knows for sure…

5. Toronto’s Rapidly Shrinking Dignity

This one might require some ingenuity, but if you can pull off a costume that somehow illustrates how increasingly embarrassed Torontonians are of our mayor, people will admire your pluck. And if you’re up to the task of getting a little creative, there’s a rich thematic vein to be mined here as the mayor’s term trods along. You might also consider dressing up as “The Vanishing Respect We Get from The Rest of Canada,” or even “The Growing Support for Any Future Centrist Candidate.”

In addition to coming up with great Halloween costumes, Ben Johnson writes about beer over on Ben’s Beer Blog. You can follow him on twitter: @Ben_T_Johnson .

Illustrations by Paul Aihoshi.

First Draught: Amsterdam Autumn Hop Harvest Ale, a beer for the fluctuating temperatures of fall

11:09 am

The weather moves gradually from summer to autumn. One day it rains and the wind blows; the next it’s sunny and too hot for a jacket. In terms of beer, it’s an abrupt jump from the warm weather lagers and pale ales to the quite wintry porters and stouts. I feel we need a beer to stand in between.

Earlier in October I considered pumpkin beer for this role. The best ones are tasty enough, but the most convincing mark against pumpkin beer as a standard-bearer for harvest season is that they are necessarily made from last year’s pumpkins. The new class of harvest ales, brewed with freshly-picked “wet” hops, seem like a more appropriate option.

Amsterdam goes as far as stating that the Cascade hops for its Autumn Hop Harvest Ale are picked just four hours before being put to use. Since the farm they are grown on — Clear Valley Hops, near Collingwood — is a two-hour drive from Amsterdam’s Leaside facility, the brewing starts before the hops arrive.

In a tulip glass, this harvest ale pours a bright gold with hints of copper in the deepest parts. The aroma is the calling-card of West Coast hops: pine resin, lemon, grapefruit peel and touches of grass and tangerine. Naturally, the flavour continues on the bitter theme with a brass section of white grapefruit pith supported by sweet barley malt on percussion.

It’s faint, but there’s a dry, stony minerality at the core of the bitterness that reminds me of certain Ontario white wines (this might eventually become how we recognize Ontario-grown hops).

Even more than usual, it’s important to drink this hoppy ale when it is as fresh as possible and to keep it away from natural light. The LCBO has an ample supply, and bottles are also available from the Amsterdam retail stores at 45 Esandar Dr. and 245 Queen’s Quay West.

Amsterdam Autumn Hop Harvest Ale, $4.75 for a 500 ml bottle, LCBO #337261

In addition to covering beer, new restaurants and food trucks for Post City, David Ort writes about food and drink for several Toronto publications including his own site, Food With Legs. He is also the author of the upcoming Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook. For more of his thoughts on food, beer and life in general, follow him on Twitter or get in touch at [email protected].

Five must-see films from the Nicolas Winding Refn retrospective at TIFF Bell Lightbox

5:27 pm

Even though he has made less than 10 features over the last 17 years, the films of Danish writer and director Nicolas Winding Refn are instantly recognizable, visually compelling and effectively unnerving. While technically savvy and refined, Refn has embraced seedy environments and a gritty template to create his dark dramas, all of which have flawed, brooding and wandering male figures at their centres.

These are not easy to watch, but Refn’s memorable films — and Refn himself — are coming to TIFF Bell Lightbox with a retrospective dating from the mid-90s through to his latest 2013 offering.

Here are the top picks from the two week event.

Pusher

Pusher is the first in a thematic trilogy for Refn, and the film made his name known in film circles around the world. All three films will be shown during the retrospective, but the first entry into the series is arguably the best. Set in Copenhagen, Pusher follows Frank, a peon dealer who falls into debt with a powerful drug lord and has little time to pay up. Delving into the dirty and nasty depths of Denmark, Refn’s debut is tense and uncomfortable — and unforgettable.
Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.

Bronson

Refn’s biopic of Michael Peterson — a violent and maniacal British prisoner who would become known as Charles Bronson — stars a brilliant Tom Hardy in the titular role. Typically stylized and bloody, Bronson tackles themes of isolation, ambition and popularity. Once again, Refn balances narrative tenuously with form, and keeps you on edge instantly — the opening scene is especially intimidating.
Oct. 27, 6 p.m.

Valhalla Rising

This gruesome and beautifully eerie Medieval tale is atmospheric and heavy on metaphor — and of course, blood and death, too. Mads Mikkelsen is a mute warrior who escapes enslavement and wanders the countryside for salvation. Whatever sense of direct narrative that exists in the beginning gives way by the second act, as the protagonist’s journey is all about the sights and sounds of a dangerous and unpredictable word. This is best watched after dark.
Oct. 27, 9 p.m.

Drive

Perhaps Refn’s most iconic — and possibly most accessible — film, Drive pairs the director with Ryan Gosling for a perfect match. This is the first time the two ever teamed up, and Gosling delivers a memorable performance as an unnamed stuntman/getaway driver who gets unwittingly involved in the dangerous matters of a neighbour. Quiet, contemplative and brutally violent, Gosling is a great fit for Refn’s style. It’s a delicate and clever balance for Refn as he combines his cerebral, heavily affected technique with action and thrills. Featuring a star-studded cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman, Drive is a great gateway for Refn’s films — and it will still leave you floored.
Oct. 29, 9:30 p.m.

Only God Forgives

Gosling and Refn team up again, taking what they did in Drive to a new level. Gosling is a drug smuggler in Bangkok who is driven by his mother to seek his slain brother’s killer. That’s about as far as the narrative goes in this challengingly slow and gripping art house drama. Refn proves divisive and confrontational with the film, one that once again offers up some brutally realistic violence. It’s a fight to not only stomach the blood, but to mentally contort oneself around the storytelling.
Nov. 5, 8:45 p.m.

With Blood on His Hands: The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Oct. 23 – Nov. 5

Drink This: Osteria dei Ganzi’s Negroni Sbagliato

4:33 pm

From the outside, Osteria dei Ganzi doesn’t quite look like your average spot to grab dinner. The Italian restaurant is housed in a historical mansion commissioned by the Gooderham family in 1891. Inside, comestibles include charcuterie boards (with the likes of capicola and Parmesan), asparagus-studded pizza and a decadent take on tiramisu.

Drinks poured at the white marble bar are also in keeping with the Italian angle. Ganzi’s Negroni Sbagliato (which means “wrong Negroni” in Italian) switches out the traditional gin, replacing it with Prosecco. Campari still makes the cut, and it’s matched with sweet vermouth and orange oils.

A thin, dehydrated round of orange finishes off the $12 cocktail, making for a lighter and more accessible (read: less bitter) take on the Italian classic.

Osteria dei Ganzi, 504 Jarvis St., 647-348-6520

Karolyne Ellacott is a features editor at Post City Magazines. She pedals around town in heels, eating sandwiches and drinking cocktails. She writes about that, and about about other stuff too. She is also on Twitter.

For more must-try Toronto cocktails, check out our Pinterest page

Chef Tip: an easier way to peel boiled eggs

10:43 am

Boiling eggs is one of the first things that any aspiring cook learns in the kitchen, but peeling the eggs afterward can be tedious. Chef Nick auf der Mauer of Porchetta & Co. has a trick to speed up the process.

Before cooling the cooked eggs under cold water, auf der Mauer cracks the shells first.

“It will be much easier to peel the shells off,” he says, “because the water will get in between the shell and the egg and start to do the work for you.”

Every week, we reveal a quick kitchen tip from a Toronto chef to help make cooking at home a little bit easier. Chef Tip appears on Wednesdays.

Hungry for a comeback: Steven Page debuts The Illegal Eater, his new food show

4:32 pm

Food is providing the bridge back to pop stardom for Steven Page. The musician is on the phone to talk about The Illegal Eater, his hip new travel and food show on the national channel Travel + Escape, in which the former Barenaked Lady explores different cities’ buzzy underground food scenes.

The guy’s always been a nut about food, hitting restaurants with vigour at each tour stop of his world-famous band and seeking out the underground food scene in cities across the globe. But c’mon, it’s Steven Page!

The last time many people heard from him was 2009 after he was arrested in Syracuse on a cocaine-related drug charge, which was subsequently reduced to a misdemeanour then dropped.

He has released a number of solo albums in addition to working with Toronto-based Art of Time Ensemble, but nothing seems to have resonated with audiences the way BNL did.

Now, however, the 43-year-old has once again found his groove, returning to the spotlight.

Food may be the fuel behind Page’s comeback, but before we can launch into his new TV program, it’s our civic duty to find out what’s up with one of Canada’s most beloved bands.

“We don’t talk,” Page says of his former bandmates, Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart and Kevin Hearn. “I don’t think it’s uncordial — we only wish good things for each other — but we’re not pals. It’s like what you’d find at the end of a long marriage: there’s mutual respect there and the sting might be gone, but now we’ve lived a bunch of years apart from each other. We’re split. And we’re pretty happy about where things are.”

Page, one of the founders of Barenaked Ladies, which came to life in 1988, is known for a lot of things — some good, some bad — but he undoubtedly ranks as one of Canada’s iconic musicians. After all, his band not only filled the gap between Justin Bieber and Rush, reintroducing the Canadian sound to American audiences, but he helped spawn interest in a little channel called MuchMusic in the process.

All of which makes both the tabloid headlines and the ensuing discussion of his bipolar disorder so hard to stomach.

Where did our wacky novelty singer-songwriter disappear to? And who’s the dark, tortured artist who took his place?

Today, what Page is banking on, and what his producers at Travel + Escape seem to sense, is that audiences are ready to get their friend back: the busker. The rapper. The ham.

“I’ve always been a big food person, as you’ve seen in my fluctuating weight over the past 25 years,” says Page, whose show tracks the artist on underground food missions in cities such as Toronto, L.A. and Chicago. Meeting chefs and exploring restaurants, tasting far-out, exotic cuisine and dining with a who’s who of culinary experts, Page is now competing with Gordon Ramsay. He says he’s hungry for new ideas.

“We talk to a chef and he says, ‘This is where you want to go!’ In terms of food culture, the excitement is there.”

“The idea of being able to put together a show based on what I’ve been doing already for so many years — investigating the food culture of different cities — seemed like a nice way to celebrate what I’ve learned and what I love.”

Page’s first love, of course, has always been music, and most of us know him for feel-good ear worms like “One Week” and “If I Had $1,000,000.” But Page says that, during the years he spent on the tour bus, both as a rock star and as a struggling musician, he’d always seek out interesting food choices.

Now, with pop-up restaurants, food trucks and underground dining becoming the foodie’s preferred meal of choice — not to mention the influx of celebrity chefs — Page thinks the culture at large has caught up with his tastes.

“I got into sites like Chowhound, but it seems a little bland now, and you end up with reader polls where [places like] McDonald’s win best hamburger. Part of the fun of the show is meeting people on the ground in the city,” says Page.

“We talk to a chef somewhere, and he says, ‘This is where you want to go!’ In terms of food culture, the excitement is there.”

The show is jammed with food like an overstuffed bowl of ramen. Whether Page is in Los Angeles with his buddy Jason Priestley tasting Indian food or rummaging across South Carolina in pursuit of “guerilla cuisine,” (which, we can assure you, is not hamburger patties made from gorillas), the program practically comes equipped with exotic tastes.

Page is a polygamist when it comes to eating, devouring meats and fish and vegetables at an equally feverish rate.

In one episode, Page is on the hunt for balut (a.k.a. fertilized duck embryo) in New Orleans.

In another, he’s at an underground seafood broil in Brooklyn. Each episode is a foodie’s travel paradise, and what brings all of the amazing dishes together — the pop-up restaurants and the bacon, the rock star chefs and Chinese-Venezuelan food — beyond the curious recipes and exotic locales, is the tone of the program. And that’s what’s so quintessentially Page.

The funny thing about Page — perhaps the thing that first made us fall in love with his band — is how funny he is.

Unfortunately, because his last few years have been crowded with serious discussion and the dissolution of his group, Page knows that his fans have had to re-address him.

However, he insinuates he’s still that same goofy guy you saw singing on Speakers’ Corner. And he’s happy to use his travel show to remind audiences he’s still the same nerd you love.

“The show’s full of laughs and that’s a big part of me — I know people might have wondered if that was gone. It’s not! I mean, I hope that’s refreshing. I think people are sick of hearing about the tragic side,” says Page, who has addressed his bipolar disorder in the past and says he wanted to be part of the mental health discussion but that he doesn’t want his health to continue being the defining part of his life (or career).

“I feel like I can pull off this TV show and that it’s a nice way of not having to make it about any more of the scandalous, troublesome parts of my life. I’m having a great time travelling and growing. I’m loving life.”

Now, Page is older, wiser, a bit bruised, and dusting off the remains of his long-broken relationship with his BNL brethren. But he’s back on his feet, and he’s hungry.

This is the first step on what he perceives to be a long, and fruitful, comeback tour.

“I wonder if this is my third act of a Shakespeare play or, better, my third act in a movie. I’m just glad it’s no longer a bit where I die this painful death,” says Page.

“The only way that I’d die now is if I was attacked by a blowfish.”

The Illegal Eater premieres Oct. 22 at 9 p.m. on Travel + Escape

Theatre Review: Yukonstyle at Berkeley Street Theatre

4:00 pm

Sarah Berthiaume’s expansive and chilling drama Yukonstyle, currently having its English language premiere at Berkeley Street Theatre until Oct. 27, delves into a host of raw social issues that really hit home. And when I say “home,” I mean Canada.

The most intensely Canadian play you are likely to see, Yukonstyle is not sentimental or didactic; it is a deep gaze into the soul of Canada. And it’s not just for Canadians. It’s being staged this year not only in Montreal and Toronto, but also in Paris, Brussels, Innsbruck and Heidelberg.

Berthiaume takes us to the Yukon, where she plausibly assembles four characters: Garin, whose native mother disappeared from Vancouver in the ’80s when he was two; his amiable but enigmatic French-Canadian father, Pops; his boisterous female roommate, Yuko; and the white Anglo Kate, a forlorn, rootless, rebellious 17-year-old who dresses like a “Harajuku girl” (Gothic Lolita style) and who has hitchhiked into Yuko and Garin’s world. The contrasts shown in their four perspectives demonstrate misunderstandings that have been grinding in Canada’s machinery for centuries.

The action begins with Garin and Yuko entertaining themselves with a guitar and a TV as the news gives perturbing details of the unfolding Robert Pickton trial.

Garin is furious when Yuko protectively brings Kate into their home to stay “as long as she wants.” Kate stakes out the couch, raids the fridge, whines for beer and, unaware that the fuming Garin is half-native, confidently blathers about what “a guy on the bus told me about Indians.”

As Garin silently struggles with disturbing questions about Pickton’s many victims, Kate, who is “into serial killers,” pontificates about their methods and supposed motives with a tone more appropriate for celebrity gossip.

The portrayal of the ignorant white person showing up uninvited and spouting hurtful drivel is not a straw dog; it is not difficult to sympathize with Kate, who is to some degree an everyman character, neither worldly nor malicious but merely ill-informed and self-indulgent. Sometimes what makes you cringe about things she says is remembering that you said similar things in your youth. The commitment of this outstanding cast is exemplified by Kate Corbett (playing Kate), who broke her arm offstage during a preview performance and continued the show without interruption.

Yuko, played by the versatile Grace Lynn Kung (Kim’s Convenience, InSecurity), convincingly captures the spirit of someone who has broken away from Japan’s conformities and has become seemingly un-Japanese, outspoken and rowdy, but still responsible and caring. As is often observed, it is the conduct of the immigrant that best demonstrates “Canadian values.”

Pops is played superbly by Francois Klanfer, and Ryan Cunningham packs in the complexities of Garin like an overheated pressure cooker.

Interweaving multiple perspectives, issues and implications, the material demands a lot of the audience’s attention, and occasionally the presentation adds even more strain (a TV report competing with dialogue, or three characters giving a harried narration of passing weeks). But this is not light entertainment, and concentration is rewarded. Aspects of the play that I didn’t get at first gradually began to make sense over the course of the 95-minute performance and into the next day as I thought about it.

Under the direction of Ted Witzel, the lighting (Bonnie Beecher) and set (Gillian Gallow, also costume designer) — which whisk us convincingly to numerous settings — would be worthy of a separate review, so you’ll just have to see for yourself.

Packed with Canadian context but devoid of cliché, Yukonstyle would be compelling fiction, yet much of the content is taken from too-soon-forgotten news reports and too-readily-dismissed police investigations.

This play is an insightful consideration of fundamentally Canadian concerns. Sarah Berthiaume, not yet 30, is going to be a name long remembered in English and French theatre, and probably not just in Canada.

Evan Andrew Mackay is a Toronto playwright and humorist who writes about culture and social justice.

How sweet it is

4:44 pm

With Halloween only a couple of weeks away, we got to thinking about artificial sweeteners and whether they’re better or worse for us than the real stuff (sucrose or granulated sugar). So we consulted Toronto-based naturopathic doctor and best-selling author of The Carb Sensitivity Program, Dr. Natasha Turner, about the matter. Here’s what she had to say.

I’ve read that artificial sweeteners need only be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, by the U.S. FDA before they’re approved for human consumption, but this seems blurry to me …
Yes. Well, I can tell you that they are certainly not without risks, and there is a link between neurotoxicity or, you know, brain cancer, in certain sweeteners. Plus, there is also a link between saccharin (which is one type of sweetener) and bladder cancer. I mean, overall, I don’t recommend them very much because there is also a direct link between the use of artificial sweeteners and increased body weight and obesity.…

Before we get into that, I want to know if artificial sweeteners actually have any benefits.
Well, there’s this one popular type called xylitol, and I know that it’s been proven to benefit your oral and dental health. Are there any other ones that are totally fine? [There’s also] stevia, which [based on my research] does not have any negative impacts on the body like refined sugar does. It’s considered a natural sweetener (which doesn’t cause a spike in blood glucose levels). Coconut sweeteners are good as well. These, for example, won’t raise insulin.

Well, what happens when our insulin levels are raised?
[Raised insulin level] is what we call a negative input impact that happens after we consume sugar and artificial sweeteners, and those sugars, like honey and maple syrup, for instance, specifically raise insulin, and insulin is the only hormone that tells the body to store energy and fat. The other ones I mentioned — xylitol, stevia and coconut sweeteners — don’t seem to have that impact.

So there is a definite link between consuming artificial sweeteners and weight gain?
Yes! That’s why I started my Carb Sensitivity Program, [which encourages patients] to do away with artificial sweeteners because they are directly linked to people who have a damaged metabolism, and [people] who can’t process carbohydrates or sugars very well. Drinks, some yogourts and some ice creams are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. The texture is different, it’s not as thick, so you end up eating more because your body doesn’t get the signal that it’s full.

And which artificial sweeteners would you recommend we stay away from?
I don’t recommend aspartame ever, nor do I recommend Splenda. Also, I don’t recommend Superose [liquid] sweetener at all.

Why stay away from those specifically?
Those are the artificial sweeteners that are the most prevalent in the market, and they’re all linked to neurotoxicity (which is what happens when toxins alter the normal activity of our nervous system). And then there are specific risks with the different sweeteners, too. [For instance,] I know that saccharin is linked to bladder cancer. And I know that aspartame is linked to headaches and brain tumours.

And what about children, should they not consume them either?
I have a really great study that shows the following: if you look at people who are consuming artificial sweeteners today and if we follow up with those same people 10 (or eight) years later, the group [consuming] the artificial sweetener products, versus the regular products, are the ones more overweight. So if we start feeding our kids artificial sweeteners, they’ll be even more prone to weight gain as adults. This is linked to the current epidemic of high childhood obesity rates. Also, in my last book, I talked about the problem with obesity and pregnancy and how, if the mother’s insulin levels are high from eating artificial sweeteners, the baby is born with the same imbalance, and that sets the child up for a lifetime of obesity even though the baby’s blood sugars are normal at birth.

Film centre celebrates 25 years

4:35 pm

With the red carpet rolled up and Toronto reflecting proudly on another successful Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the business of film continues in our city and right here in Ward 25.

You can find some of the best from the next generation of Canadian film makers, composers, screenwriters and actors learning the craft at the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), on the historic Windfields Estate donated by E. P. Taylor.

Celebrated Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison founded the centre in 1988 with the dream of creating a Canadian version of the American Film Institute — a place for Canadian filmmakers to gather and discuss the art.

Twenty-five years later, it has become the largest institution for advanced film, television and new media training in Canada and continues to grow. Last year, the CFC launched the Slaight Family Music Lab, with support from North York’s own Gary Slaight, adding another key part of the filmmaking process to the centre.

This year three CFC feature films premiered at TIFF, dozens more created by CFC alumni screened, and one alumnus, Jonathan Sousa, was named a rising star.

There is more to the centre’s success than accolades — there is economic impact. Seventy-five per cent of CFC alumni live, work and build businesses in Ontario. A study of its economic impact found it generated $114.7 million in GDP for the Ontario economy and created 2,000 full-time jobs.

That’s why I’m happy to congratulate the Canadian Film Centre on a very successful outing at TIFF and on its 25th anniversary.

Toronto’s Everything to do With Sex Show brings out all sorts of people — including prudes

4:23 pm

The tag line for the 2013 Everything to Do With Sex Show urged visitors to “let it all hang out,” which is a wonderful, if cheeky, way to espouse the event’s fun-loving, shameless, let-your-hair-down nature.

Unfortunately, the “let it all hang out” moments seemed few and far between at an exhibition that was more about shilling than thrilling.

Those who expected a mesmerizing sexual spectacle were in for a disappointment. Most of what your entry fee got you was the right to be targeted by hawkers of sex toys, porn videos, lingerie and a seemingly endless variety of sex paraphernalia.

I give full credit to all the booth-occupying merchants, who boasted a boundless enthusiasm for their products and went out of their way to make even the most timid of visitors comfortable. But despite a few intriguing items for sale (the sex card games looked quite fun and the $15 edible underwear seemed downright practical compared to the pricey food fare available), the lack of show was evident.

The demonstrations that were on hand were certainly popular, but they were lacking engagement and participation. Many observers were eager to witness someone take the challenge of riding the straddle vibrator, but few dared to give it a spin. Likewise for the whip showcases and the dominatrix corner. More common were the smatters of nervous laughter from those who were bold enough to attend but still wished to keep a safe distance.

At one point on the main stage of the exhibition, the show’s emcee seemed visibly agitated by the buttoned-down crowd as he repeatedly and determinedly urged spectators to vocally respond to the Latex, Leather and Lace Fashion Show they were watching. In general, this was a crowd that was primarily in attendance for the spectacle rather than being a part of the goings-on.

All in all, this year’s Everything to Do With Sex show offered some revealing (pun intended) insight into not only the intriguing — if underwhelming — annual showcase, but also into Toronto’s embrace (or lack thereof) of unabashed sexuality.

All hail the googlies: Toronto’s wide-eyed street critters are a real hit

11:40 am

A garbage can with fangs and bulging eyes. A morose parking meter with a handlebar moustache. A seemingly demented bike rack that looks like it could use some dental work. Yes, for anyone making their journey home after a late night recently, the city may have seemed a confounding and disturbing place. In the light of day, however, one may notice that the creatures popping up around the downtown core are more amusing than frightful.

These little street monsters are the work of one Aiden Glynn, a local animator who has turned the streets of Toronto into his own personal canvas.

Glynn grew up in Milton, Ont., and his father was an animator who encouraged his son to cultivate his own artistic talents (he attended Sheridan College for animation). Glynn also drew inspiration for his street art by following the work of artists such as Banksy.

When asked what inspired his street monsters, Glynn explains that, in his line of work, he is accustomed to drawing cartoons all day, so seeing faces and personalities in inanimate objects isn’t much of a stretch.

He writes in his blog: “It’s so funny to see that by adding eyes and teeth to an object it instantly gives them so much character.”

Glynn started off three years ago by Photoshopping his street art ideas onto pictures from around the city, and he received so much feedback telling him to take his vision to the streets that he decided to start making his Photoshopped pieces a reality.

Some of his best-known outdoor projects downtown have included Nintendo-themed foam and stick-on animations, as well as strategically placed speech bubbles, but Glynn claims that his most recent project, his “street monsters,” is his favourite.

Up to this point, Glynn has stuck to using materials that are less permanent than, say, spray paint, so he hasn’t gotten much negative feedback on his monsters, yet.

“Some people want to know why a 30-year-old guy is making characters around the city, but for the most part, people seem to like them,” he says.

We do too.

Ecks and the City: chocolate yoga is downward delicious

12:23 pm

There are so many different types of yoga now offered in Toronto that it was only a matter of time before yoga instructors decided, or needed, to think of themes for students. I’ve seen postings for “Yoga for Couples,” “Acro-Yoga,” and “Yoga Noir” (yoga in the pitch-black.)

But what really caught my attention was “Chocolate Yoga.” Sure, Halloween may be nigh, but I pretty much think of chocolate every single day of the year. So naturally, I had to look into this. Would I get a chocolate treat after doing my dancer pose? How does this work? Yoga and chocolate are my two passions, so this yoga class seemed too good to be true.

Chocolate Yoga was founded by Alexandra Leikermoser, otherwise known in Toronto as Yogagurl, and the founder of Yogagurl studio.

“I was always snacking in between classes on raw chocolate and all my students were like, ‘How come I don’t get any of that?’ So I started bringing extra to class and sharing with the students,” she says.

Chocolate and yoga may seem to go together as well as eating a Big Mac and then going for a run, but that’s not, in fact, true. Raw chocolate is a superfood, which means it’s actually healthy for you, because it’s made up of natural cacao, instead of sugar. In fact, there is no sugar or dairy in it.

“It has all the benefits without that addictive feeling. You get energized without that sugar high,” Leikermoser says.

Like me (and most women I know), she has loved chocolate all her life. It has only been recently, when almost all health food stores now offer raw chocolate, when she began to hold Chocolate Yoga classes.

“As soon as you say the word ‘chocolate,’ people are interested. That’s the hook.” She laughs.

It certainly hooked me. Leikermoser had just returned from Maui when we meet (where she also teaches yoga on paddleboards; what can’t you do with yoga?) for my chocolate yoga lesson. We first start with a tasting of chocolates, and I learn about the history of raw chocolate. (Did you know cacao is a fruit? Or, how about the fact that chocolate was once used as currency?) But I will admit, I’m wary at first. Should I really be eating chocolate before a yoga class at 9 a.m.? It feels so … odd, like drinking a bottle of Coke at 9 a.m.

“The point of the chocolate tasting is to get people to slow down, to actually feel the chocolate on their tongues and feel how it melts. I want my students to be tuned in and be mindful of their feelings in their body, and that includes the chocolate texture on their tongue.”

The chocolate, rather the RAW chocolate, is delicious, and I find I only need a bite or two. I enjoy my chocolate, of course, but I don’t feel like I’ve had anything heavy.

“Sometimes instead of having coffee in the morning, I’ll just have a piece of raw chocolate and it gives me the energy I need. Or I’ll put raw chocolate chips on my cereal,” she says.

I don’t feel guilty, anymore, about eating chocolate at 9 a.m. before doing the class. It’s healthy! Leikermoser eats it for breakfast!

“There’s so much guilt for women around chocolate. But this is nourishment, a microcosm of life, to enjoy and have pleasure,” she says.

I take her word on that. Next, I’m asked to lie on a mat, before we start our actual yoga practice, in the shavasana position (in which you lie out on the ground, arms and legs out, and you simply relax with your eyes shut), and Leikermoser tells me to inhale chocolate-scented aromatherapy oil. It smells like, well, chocolate. She leads me through yoga poses — this is where it becomes a yoga class — and I find I’m smiling. This is new for me. Usually, I’m grimacing.

Leikermoser also offers chocolate meditation because often, if she’s doing a corporate team-building class, for example, many employees don’t really want to see their co-workers in spandex. (Why not? Kidding.)

I ask her to guide me through a short chocolate mediation because, hey, wouldn’t you want to try that, too? In a supersoothing voice, she tells me I’m in a forest. She tells me I’m walking down a path. She tells me I can hear birds. She tells me I see a chocolate tree. I almost fall asleep I’m so relaxed. I feel rested, yet energized after the chocolate yoga session. After the class, many leave knowing that, if they substitute a little piece of raw chocolate for a junk food snack, there’s nothing to worry about. In fact, they end up leaving excited about it. I’m happy to know this exists. And, mostly, not only did I nourish my body, mind and spirit by doing chocolate yoga, I also made my palate very happy.

Now, for the next 30 seconds, I’m going to enjoy my daily piece of raw chocolate. Hey, it’s good for me, so leave me be.

Post City Magazines’ columnist Rebecca Eckler is the author of Knocked Up, Wiped!, and her latest books, How to Raise a Boyfriend and The Lucky Sperm Club.

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