Do blondes really have more fun?

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Today, I am on a mission to find out if the old adage is true and blondes really do have more fun.

I can name a number of gorgeous brunettes — Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Selena Gomez — and I’m proud to be on the brunette team. Yet, the truth is, I’ve always thought blondes get more attention. Men always seem to turn their heads when a blonde walks by, don’t they?

I was about to find out.

I visit Michael Suba, the owner of two Continental Hair locations, one on Avenue Road in Yorkville and one in Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre in North Toronto.

He specializes in “medical wigs” but says they are coming back in style as an accessory (He was around in the ’70s when everyone was wild for wigs). Suba has more than a thousand wigs on hand, made of the highest quality (i.e., real) hair.

The blonde wig I select sells for a whopping $2,900, and he says it is probably made up of hair from a half of dozen women.

But it’s not as easy as throwing on a wig and walking out of Continental Hair. As Suba says about a good wig, “The good wigs are never spotted.”

From left, Eckler checks out Michael Suba’s work in the salon, a young hipster checks out Eckler, and the red carpet awaits the divine Ms. E during film festival in Yorkville

I look at the wig, especially the scalp area, and it looks like a real scalp. A stylist helps put it on, after sewing clips into the inside cap, and then she fusses, giving the wig a trim and style. I’m now blonde.

What I notice immediately is that I actually like it. I feel good being a blonde. I’m not sure if it is because the wig looks so real, but I feel happier and lighter.

Before I leave Continental Hair, to see what life as a blonde is like, I ask Suba if he thinks men are more attracted to blondes.

“It’s funny. I married a blonde, but I’ve always been attracted to brunettes,” he says. And, for the record, he doesn’t think blondes have more fun. We shall see. He does say, “Hair should be fun. It’s like the new accessory, like a handbag or jewellery.”

I need to wear sunglasses, because my eyebrows are so dark and it did look odd, but there was no time to bleach my eyebrows. But it was during the film festival, and that just adds to the allure

. I should have rented a Ford Escalade; that would have completed the starlet package I was working on.

I decide to strut down Yorkville anyway.

I don’t even feel my new hair, it’s so natural. Even when the wind blows, I don’t feel the need to hold down my hair like I would a hat, and that surprises me.

I’m not sure if it’s the wig that I love that gives me confidence, and that’s what people notice, but people do crane their necks to have a look. Men do give me the googly eyes, and no I’m not bragging.

Maybe its because I’m paying more attention to random men than I do as a brunette? Uh oh.

What is also interesting is that other blonde women are checking me out (no, not in that way).

But it makes me wonder if blondes, like brunettes, have an unspoken bond? Sisters in platinum solidarity? I soon realize that blondes are checking out my hair, possibly to see what shade my hair is and if it looks as processed or as natural as theirs. They must be pondering that age-old question: Is she a real blonde? Sheesh, this is a competitive bunch.

I find myself really digging the blonde team. Not the looks (although that’s nice, too), but I really feel like a happier and less cynical person. Is it the wig or playing dress up? I’m not sure. But my step is lighter, I laugh more, and I can’t seem to get this smile off my face.

I have lunch on the patio at One where I can people watch, and I can see if people are watching me.

Again, I notice that people do that one-second-too-long look. But I’m enjoying it. (My lunch date is annoyed that people aren’t noticing him! Ha!)

Later I send a photo of my blonde self to a friend: who immediately writes back, “This is more real looking than I anticipated. Still, I laughed out loud to the point where I sprayed my computer screen with the contents of my mouth. But this is a quality freaking wig my friend. It looks real!” (She’s a brunette.)

Then I go to pick up my daughter at school, and the shock on her face is priceless.

“You look like Hannah Montana,” she gushes. (From a seven-year-old, I think that’s a compliment.)

Even the nanny is shocked. And, believe me, she’s seen it all.

When she sees me walk in, her jaw drops.

I come back downstairs after taking the wig off only to learn that she had thought I’d actually dyed my hair. It looked that authentic.

Before I go to a film festival cocktail party that night, I try on my little black dress that is my go-to party dress. It doesn’t look right.

I look more like a mourner and not a sexy brunette vixen.

At that moment, I miss my natural roots, which seem to match with dark clothes. As a blonde, I feel like I need to wear colour to match my new “sunny” disposition. I wear red.

I go to the party, but, truthfully, I’m tired and don’t feel all that fun, even as a blonde. And, I don’t think more men talk to me. But later, when my boyfriend comes over, and I put on a sexy little nightie and call myself “Candy,” we do have a lot of fun.

I blame my new sexed-up personality on being blonde. So, yes, blondes may have more fun, but maybe only if they’re brunettes just experimenting for a day.

(P.S. I didn’t hear one blonde joke all day!)

Sweet, rich and Italian

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3:04 pm

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Zucca’s cornmeal pudding

Andrew Milne-Allan’s carrot-top may have dimmed slightly in the three decades that he’s been producing superlative edible Italiana in Toronto, but his cooking has not. And nor has his commitment to the craft. Most chefs of his age and stature would have passed off the nightly grind to a sous-chef long ago, but go to Zucca and you can see the string-bean carrot-top in the kitchen — every night. Which explains why Zucca is still delectable after 15 years.

For dessert, his cornmeal pudding with lemon curd and blueberry is irresistible. Add the suave and attentive service to that offering, inhale deeply and swoon.

Zucca is located at 2150 Yonge St., 416-488-5774.

Campagnolo’s caramel budino

How is it possible to have one of the best dinners in town at a schleppy-looking little resto, barely nicer than a diner with dimmers? Because chef Craig Harding learned to cook like an artist from his Italian grandma.

The breadbasket is fabulous warm, cheesy gougère pastry and house-made baguette. Harding’s burrata is a killer combo of fresh mozzarella and cream with roasted grapes.

Save room for dessert, because the salted caramel budino is the most exciting pudding in town.

Campagnolo is located at 832 Dundas St. W., 416-364-4785.

Pizzeria Libretto’s lemon panna cotta

Those who do not wait well will eschew the hottest pizzeria in town, for it does not take reservations. You will wait … for pizza baked in the 900-degree wood- burning oven that was built for them by a third-generation pizza oven maker in Naples. The house that pizza built is noisy and often frantic, but the crust is always crisp and the toppings impeccable.

For dessert, avoid the heavy cannoli and swoon on quivery, creamy lemon panna cotta.

Pizzeria Libretto is located at 1288 Dundas St. W., 416-534-1200.

L’Unita’s bambolini

Every restaurant has its own character, and L’unità’s is a special combo of a commitment to excellence in food and service and a fierce avoidance of formality. They make you feel like a cherished neighbour in their tasteful home — exposed brick, antique mirrors, Italian ad posters and Venetian chandeliers. Dining inexpensively here is a great bet on pizza or pasta, always done credibly; they also have their risotto under control. For dessert the ultra-crisp, ungreasy bambolini — an Italian doughnut that will ensure you never darken Timmy’s door again.

L’unità is located at 134 Avenue Rd., 416-964-8686.

Some residents upset over size of new home

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A home being constructed on Vesta Drive will be the subject of a rehearing at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) next month. A number of neighbours and the local councillor say it’s simply too big for the area. The lawyer for the owner says his client is being singled out because of the height of her home for which a variance is not required.

Mario Angelucci, acting director for the city’s building department, said they’ve received numerous complaints about the home. After receiving orders to comply, the owner applied for additional variances at the Toronto and East York Committee of Adjustment. The rehearing at the OMB will deal with variances that were denied and overturned at the first hearing.

Resident Mary Spring questions how the house was allowed to be built. “I know some people are hoping to see the whole mess torn down, but I don’t know if that’s feasible,” Spring said. “Certainly I’d like to see it lowered, lowered to the height of the other two [adjacent] houses.”

The owner’s lawyer, Dennis Wood, said she is currently within her permit. The biggest variance she is requesting, a higher floor space index, would fill a void within the existing structure, not add any mass. “I think what happened was that this was the first house [on this part of the street] … that was built to the full height limit that was allowed by the city bylaw and I think it surprised people.”

Coun. Joe Mihevc, however, believes the home represents overdevelopment for the neighbourhood. “It’s too big for the lot size,” he said. “It is bigger by far than any house in the area.”

For Mihevc, homes start to enter this territory when the basement is elevated such that a “third” floor is more like a fourth floor and the floor space index exceeds 0.8 lot coverage.

“We are actually undertaking a planning review of the area to ensure that we put in place additional controls to make sure that these kind of developments don’t happen,” he said.

Legal action threatened over councillor’s tweet

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Local councillor Josh Matlow said he was in disbelief when he recently received a letter from a lawyer writing on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79, regarding a tweet he made.

The offending words were posted online during a City of Toronto: Community Development and Recreation Committee meeting where CUPE Local 79 president Ann Dembinski addressed the councillors in opposition to proposed service cuts.

According to Matlow’s account, he asked her what reasonable concessions — without getting into specifics — her union might be willing to entertain to help address the budget gap.

The lawyer’s letter and the local councillor agree that Dembinski then responded that she was not going to negotiate publicly.

Matlow then tweeted: “CUPE lobbies councillors to protect services but don’t seem open to making reasonable concessions to help w/a solution. Not good enough.”

Within the hour, the local councillor said he received a letter from a lawyer representing CUPE Local 79 and Dembinski.

“Your description of Ms. Dembinski’s response to your question is unfair, inaccurate and misleading.… It is arguably defamatory and libellous,” said the letter from J. James Nyman.

If a retraction and apology were not immediately forthcoming, the letter stated, further steps would be pursued.

“To receive a letter from their lawyers, threatening me with potential action if I didn’t publicly apologize, I thought was outrageous,” Matlow said. “Our elected representatives should feel comfortable asking tough but honest questions.”

Matlow said he didn’t intend to apologize for voicing his opinion.

A media spokesperson for CUPE Local 79 said Dembinski is not commenting on the letter and could not comment on whether further action would be taken.

Proposed place of worship goes to council

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Town of Markham staff have recommended the approval of an application to build a cantilevered two-storey place of worship at Steeles Avenue and Laureleaf Road, but local councillors are confident it will not be approved.

Concerns that the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism’s primary use of the facility would be for commercial Tai Chi health and wellness classes previously sparked a bylaw investigation at the applicant’s Dickson Hill Road location that has yet to conclude. The staff report, slated to go to Town of Markham Council late last month, recommended approval with the condition that Tai Chi classes, for which a fee is allowed to be charged, be limited to an accessory use. However, local councillors remain opposed to the plans.

According to Coun. Howard Shore, residents have asserted that the applicant’s revenue is derived primarily from Tai Chi classes. “If council deems this to be a commercial operation, then it is not zoned accordingly, and should be denied. I believe this will be denied,” he said.

Adam Brown, counsel for the institute, was approached by Mayor Frank Scarpitti and Coun. Valerie Burke in a meeting where the idea of another location was suggested. Brown confirmed that should the application be turned down, his client would exercise their right to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.

According to Burke, the proposed place of worship is not consistent with the neighbourhood. “They’re trying to squeeze the building in there; it’s cantilevered to accommodate parking. I feel that isn’t compatible,” she said. “It’s a square peg in a round hole.”

Additional concerns of traffic congestion and building design from Bayview Glen residents have also been raised.

“It’s just not consistent with the official plan to protect the unique character of the neighbourhood,” said Toinette Bezant of the Bayview Glen Residents Association. “They are proposing a stilt form, which we have never seen anywhere, let alone in Markham.”

Talks underway about York Mills condo plan

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Area homeowners are currently in talks to bring down the height of a 12-storey condo building with ground floor retail and commercial uses proposed at 4155 Yonge St., across from Auberge du Pommier. After presenting homeowners with alternate designs, Ire-Yonge Developers Inc. is now considering a counter offer from homeowners.

Jason Pantalone, director of land acquisitions and development at National Homes, said the developer should know within a month or so whether the various stakeholders will be able to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement or whether they will proceed with the original application.

“We’ve shown them [residents] a number of drawings that indicated a reduction in height,” he said.

Doug Farley of the Yonge Ridge Homeowners’ Association said he has seen 10- and 11-storey options. Residents have come back with a counter offer that reflects what they’re willing to accept at the site. Farley didn’t want to discuss the details because the developer is still deciding.

“I believe that our offer will be seriously considered,” he said. “If they’re going to go to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board), this would not be slam dunk. There are lots of challenges to that property.”

Concerns include the height — that it would block sightlines and create privacy issues for neighbours — density, the size of footprint, parking, traffic and more. Local councillor Jaye Robinson believes that the two working group meetings held to date on this application have led to progress. On the issue of traffic, she has spoken with local businesses and condo boards as well as with parking enforcement and the transportation department. Area commercial operations that are using William Carson Crescent to receive delivery trucks will now do so between midnight and 5 a.m.

Farley, however, said, based on past experiences, he was skeptical of this solution as a long-term fix.

New owners, new plans near Bathurst Manor

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The new owners of a 5.3-acre parcel of land located at 175 Goddard St., near Overbrook Place and Maxwell Street (north-west of Bathurst and Sheppard), have applied for a zoning bylaw amendment and a draft plan of subdivision to build 66 semi-detached dwellings. At a recent public meeting, local councillor James Pasternak says some of the roughly 100 residents who attended expressed concerns about the compatibility of constructing semi-detached dwellings in a neighbourhood characterized by single-family homes.

“I do have some of the same concerns about semis in a single-family detached neighbourhood,” he said. “At the same time, I don’t want that vacant parcel of land to sit barren, so we have to find some kind of middle ground.”

Pasternak said he plans to continue working with the owners and residents toward this and would like to see some sort of Section 37 of the City of Toronto Planning Act — for securing community benefits from developers — contribution earmarked for area community centres and parks.

The property originally had approvals in place to build 34 single-family homes. But planning consultant to the owners, Michael Goldberg, said that, after doing due diligence, it was determined that the parcel of land could handle more housing.

“The City of Toronto Official Plan has policies that guide development for sites such as this one and including for a change of housing type, from singles to semis,” he said of compatibility concerns. The owners are currently considering what they heard at the meeting.

Resident Mitchell Bernick, who supported the previously approved application for single detached homes, is unhappy with the new proposal. He cited compatibility and density as the biggest issues. Bernick also pointed to the application to add residential units to Bathurst Manor, only blocks away.

“We kind of feel pinched between this [latest] development becoming higher density than was originally proposed to us,” Bernick said. “It doesn’t transition well, there’s no multi-unit homes within that established part of the neighbourhood.”

Drabinsky considers taking appeal to top court

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Last month the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a 2009 fraud conviction that sentenced local theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky to jail. Although the more recent ruling reduced the sentence term from seven years to five years, Drabinsky’s lawyer Edward Greenspan said they are considering filing another appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada. “He’s looking very, very carefully at the judgment of the courts as to whether such grounds exist,” said Greenspan, regarding Drabinsky. “Until we file an application, he cannot get bail.”

According to court documents, the fraud conviction followed claims that Drabinsky manipulated financial statements and thus inflated profits for his company, Livent — run with partner Myron Gotlieb — which declared bankruptcy in 1998.

Greenspan said the first step is to file an application for a leave to appeal, so the court can assess whether the grounds for an appeal exist.

The Ontario Court of Appeal reduced Drabinsky’s sentence because the 2009 judge failed, according to the court judgment, “to take into account the absence of any evidence of the actual financial loss occasioned by the frauds.”

More than 30 years of life-changing surgeries

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More than 657 children from 101 countries have received specialized medical and surgical assistance thanks to local residents Gina and Paul Godfrey. And, with their inaugural Walk for the Children at the Toronto Zoo this month, the Godfreys are hoping even more children in need will be supported.

The family-oriented walk is just one of a handful of events that support the Herbie Fund at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), an organization that the Godfreys founded in 1979. The fund was established in response to the plight of Herbie Quinones, a seven-month-old baby from Brooklyn, New York, who was a born with a birth defect that caused his esophagus and windpipe to be jammed so close together it was difficult for him to breathe while eating. The Godfreys had read Herbie’s story in the Toronto Star, and Gina recalls being outraged because SickKids was offering an innovative procedure that could heal him, but Herbie’s family could not afford the flight to Toronto for the surgery.

“I thought it was ridiculous in 1979 that a child was denied surgery,” says Gina.

Upon hearing of the family’s dilemma, the Godfreys initiated a fundraising campaign to bring Herbie to SickKids and eventually raised the $17,000 needed to get Herbie the treatment he so desperately needed. When Blue Cross caught wind of the Godfreys’ fundraising efforts, the organization ended up paying for Herbie’s surgery, and the additional monies were used to create the foundation for what would become The Herbie Fund.

“The first couple of years was us going on the phone and asking people, ‘Can you help us out?’ ” recalls Gina. In 1983, the fund held its first Mistletoe Ball, a successful annual black-tie event that targets mostly a corporate crowd. The fund also has a community-driven Herbie Day, which celebrated with a BBQ at SickKids this year, but Gina says, “We felt we needed another event. We wanted something grassroots,” and so Walk for the Children was created. “I knew some people at the zoo, and they were more than happy to help. It’s both educational and fun. I call it ‘edu-tainment.’ ”

The walk will wend its way through the zoo and has a dozen schools involved. An estimated 600 people will stroll through its Indo-Malaya and African exhibits on Oct. 23. Passports will be given out and allow participants to collect stamps along the route at designated stations to receive a gift bag at the end of the walk. There will also be a stop at the African Savanna picnic site for lunch, entertainment and activities. As for how much money the event is expected to raise, Gina says, “In an ideal world? — $100,000.”

When asked about the origins of her passionate commitment to serving others, Gina reveals, “My mother said I always brought in stray animals. When something’s not fair, I want to do something about it. Animals and children don’t have their own advocate. That’s why the Walk for the Children was such a perfect match.”

The Post salutes Gina and Paul Godfrey for their efforts to ensure that children have access to life-changing medical treatments.

Bringing life-saving medicine to the world’s poorest

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Dr. Peter Singer’s first foray into the ethical issues surrounding medicine was a paper he was assigned by high school teacher Doug Blaikie when Singer was attending Upper Canada College. He wrote about the questions raised around the issue of using human research subjects. Now he believes one of the most significant ethical questions of our time is the inequity of global health.

“What makes it right that a woman in a developing country is more than 100 times as likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than my wife? What makes it right that a child in the developing world is more than 10 times as likely to die under five than my own kids?” he asks.

It’s this injustice that has driven Singer to devote himself to delivering the medicine, science and technology we may sometimes take for granted in Canada to some of the world’s poorest nations.

Singer is working toward this goal as the CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, a non-profit dedicated to using innovation to address health issues in developing countries. He is also co-author of the recently-released book The Grandest Challenge: Taking Life-Saving Science from Lab to Village.

“All ‘innovation’ really means is that tomorrow will be a better day than today,” he says.

Grand Challenges Canada has set out five targets it would like to tackle over five years. One of the five targets is to enable people, or “rising stars,” to test out their ideas on how to address health issues — to see if the ideas could work.

The program has already seen results. A doctor in Tanzania noticed that smelly socks attract mosquitoes. To reduce the incidence of malaria, he created boxes that are placed outside of huts and lure mosquitoes with the scent and then kill them with insecticide.

The doctor was able to put his idea into action with a grant from Grand Challenges.

Another slightly more controversial method for dealing with malaria that Singer has worked on with scientists is the genetic modification of mosquitoes. “That’s the grandest challenge — solving those huge inequities by taking science from lab to village,” he says.

Of all the people he has encountered, one of the stories that has affected Singer most comes from his co-author and long-time colleague, Dr. Abdallah Daar.

“Abdallah grew up in East Africa, in Tanzania, and his sister died of malaria, and malaria is one of the key things that we can do something about,” he says.

For Singer, the ultimate goal is to ensure that no matter where kids are born they are afforded the same opportunities that he had.

Right now, the odds are stacked against kids in developing countries. Once they survive childbirth, he says, they still face malnourishment, which causes irreversible harm to the brain. In fact, he believes this may be why developing countries struggle to catch up to the developing world.

But in spite of all the challenges, Singer remains optimistic.

“There’s a lot of hope for a better future,” he says.

The Post salutes Dr. Peter Singer for his efforts to ensure that the world’s poorest have equal access to life-saving medicine.

Local volunteer helps to curb hunger

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With the holiday season upon us, that can only mean one thing: time to gobble turkey and feast on Halloween candy in good company. But for some, the feasts are few and far between, and local food bank volunteers, like Richmond Hill’s Yasir Taki, continue to help curb hunger in their community. After moving to Canada from Iraq, Taki found friendship and a sense of belonging at the United Muslim Women of Canada’s (UMWC) Food Bank in Richmond Hill, which sparked a lifelong commitment to packaging and delivering food items to families in need across the GTA.

Now, almost 20 years later, Taki remains an avid volunteer but says that the food bank is in dire need of help.

“We need a lot of help from young volunteers, we have a lot from older generations, but that doesn’t help us to move forward. We need to move forward,” Taki says. Because the UMWC Food Bank relies on donations, they can only afford to keep their doors open once a month where food items and necessities are delivered straight to the home of the family.

“Sometimes I work with a family for one month, other times it’s three months,” Taki says. “Every family is different.”

After a family’s need has been approved by the food bank, volunteers shop at a grocery store, package the items and then deliver them to the family’s front door. Getting up close and personal with a family in need in the GTA is surprising and difficult, says Taki.

“In our Iraq community, we don’t have something like this, so I like to help out as much as I can,” he says. “I delivered to a family for quite some time, and once they told me they needed a specific type of food, which the food bank didn’t have,” Taki recalls. He says the food bank needs more resources to cater to a family’s specific needs.

Over the years, Taki has seen many friends and fellow volunteers leave the food bank, whether work took over or they just lost interest, somehow life got in the way. But Taki has always managed, despite juggling his full-time day job.

“There is no better feeling in the world than to see the smile on the faces of people I deliver food to,” Taki says. “I believe it’s the one thing everyone can do to make a difference in the world.”

To get involved or get help from the UMWC Food Bank, visit 155 East Beaver Creek Rd. in Richmond Hill, or call 416-704-4999.

Save Pimachiowin Aki

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Few places on our planet have been untouched by modern humans. Our natural world has been fragmented by ever-expanding towns and cities, criss-crossed with roads and pipelines and pockmarked by infrastructure used to drill, frack and strip-mine.

The need to supply food, fibre, fuels, shelter and fresh water to more than six billion people is driving the wholesale conversion of our ecosystems. Researchers have discovered that farmland and pasture now cover 40 per cent of Earth’s land surface. The environmental consequences have been severe in some regions, resulting in the loss of wildlife habitat and degraded water quality.

Canada’s rugged and inaccessible terrain, small population and relatively recent history of development have spared us from the scale and intensity of land-use change that many other regions have experienced. A review of the state of Canada’s forests and woodlands by Global Forest Watch Canada found that about half of Canada’s forests are still intact. Most are found in the greenbelt of northern boreal forest.

One of the largest areas of untouched boreal wilderness left in the world straddles Eastern Manitoba and Northern Ontario. The local Anishinabe First Nation calls this 43,000-square-kilometre region Pimachiowin Aki, which means “the land that gives life.”

Pimachiowin Aki has remained more or less unchanged for some 5,000 years. It is the very absence of clear-cuts, mines, hydroelectric dams and other industrial infrastructure, along with the region’s rich cultural landscape, that makes Pimachiowin Aki so exceptional, and it is for this reason that First Nations communities want to protect it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As Sophia Rabliauskas, a Pimachiowin Aki spokesperson, says: “As First Nations, we already know the value of this land.… Now we want our neighbours, people who live in cities and people around the world to understand just how important it is.”

Fortunately, the Manitoba government has listened and is working with First Nations to protect the area for its unparalleled ecological and cultural richness. However, obtaining international recognition for Pimachiowin Aki is no easy task. The Manitoba government has had to make difficult decisions to sustain the ecological integrity of the region. Most notably, they decided to reroute a planned multi-billion dollar hydro transmission line away from the area.

Many environmental groups and scientists, including the David Suzuki Foundation, support the government’s difficult decision. We believe Pimachiowin Aki must be protected as a special place where rivers run wild, caribou roam unfettered by industrial development and the centuries-old values of its indigenous peoples are honoured and respected.

Post City Magazines’ environmental columnist, David Suzuki, is the host of the CBC’s The Nature of Things. David is also the author of more than 30 books on ecology.