Posted on
May 21st, 2013
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Comments Off on Christopher Hume: bang on
Although I tend to lace my political analyses with a lot more profanity and not so subtle calls to action, I’m heartened to see that the mainstream media seem to be waking up to what’s happening — at least here in Canada.
Christopher Hume’s piece in the Toronto Star today, for example, demonstrates a willingness to no longer tip-toe around the issues. Although I wish I could quote the entire article, the last few-ish paragraphs sum it all up perfectly:
It was painful to watch our prime minister and chief environmental scofflaw, Boss Harper, squirm in New York last week as he tried to talk his way out of his antediluvian attitudes to climate change.
It was just as excruciating to witness Sheriff Ford’s efforts to deal with reports of a video of him apparently smoking crack. The man has yet to mount any defence beyond, “ridiculous.”
Through it all we remain so polite, deferential and glad to be of use, that a good many Torontonians lined up to denounce the media that did them the favour of revealing the mayor for what he is, an overgrown man-child who does what he wants, the city be damned.
Harper, by contrast, knows what he’s doing. He knows his actions are reckless, but to him ethics are a nicety leaders can’t afford.
Neither Harper nor Ford respect government, its institutions or the positions they hold. Both believe themselves exempt. To them, Canadians are gullible or too preoccupied with getting by to hold them responsible.
As bad as things may be, Canadians are terrified they could be worse.
I applaud you, Mr. Hume, for taking a stand against the blithe illegality and corruption of our various levels of government. Now we just need more people to do the same.
Filed under: Dispatches, Pictures
Posted on
May 24th, 2011
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Comments Off on Chris Hume’s Worstest Buildings #2: It would’ve been ugly even in the 70s
I get the impression that Chris had made up his mind about this “Worst Buildings of Toronto” selection a long time ago. The sore-thumb slab that Humie affectionately refers to as “condominiums”, however, doesn’t jump to mind when I think of Bloor and Lansdowne. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was out in that area; now I don’t care to remember.
“I don’t know what to say in its defense except that, I guess, that it provides housing for a large number of people”, is the only positive comment that the Chris offers. I would only add a voluminous barf sound of some sort to round off that review.
Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos
Posted on
May 23rd, 2011
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Comments Off on Chris Hume’s Worstest Buildings #3: A Breakfast For Dogs
Chris doesn’t pull many punches with his third-worst Toronto building, Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management. Among the building’s most admirable traits he includes the facts that it’s on a busy downtown corner, it’s above a Canadian Tire, and has a parking garage. To me, this does not a good building make. In fact, this would barely qualify as a worthy parking lot.
However, Humie’s commentary describing the building as “a dog’s breakfast” is a little unfair, only insomuch as Ryerson is known for acquiring existing locations, usually individual rooms within buildings like Chris’ other favourite, the Toronto Life Square building. What I mean is that Ryerson’s not 100% responsible for the shape of the building, though their lack of follow-up aesthetic is something we can collectively laugh at. Or weep.
Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos
Posted on
May 20th, 2011
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Comments Off on Chris Hume’s Worstest Buildings #4: Down and Dirty
Contentious is a good word to describe the Toronto Life Square Building, a.k.a. 10 Dundas East. Typical lamentations include descriptions like “ugly”, “awful”, “disappointing”, and “my grandmother wouldn’t take a crap on this thing, and she wears diapers!”
The fact that Chris Hume chose this particular building for the number five slot in his “Worst Buildings of Toronto” list is kinda like saying, “I don’t like Hitler”, or “that Bin Laden guy was a jerk” — most people would tend to agree.
For me, the Toronto Life building isn’t the affront on North American culture that some people insist it is, but its thin, crowded interior with its centerpiece of narrow escalators is a total letdown after walking under that massive facade. I don’t know that this building would’ve made my own top-five-worst list, but Toronto could certainly do a whole lot better.
Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos
Posted on
May 17th, 2011
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Comments Off on Chris Hume’s Bestest Buildings #3: Pointed Criticism
The Toronto Star’s Cristopher Hume continues his assault on modern sensibilities with his number three pick from his Toronto’s best/worst architecture list, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building that juts out from the northern end of the Royal Ontario Museum.
Chris took it upon himself to preempt our collective vitriol and disgust for this building by reassuring us that he’s well aware of just how much we hate it. He picked it nonetheless, pointing to its 21-century styling as the determining factor for his choice. Far be it for me to question his assertions about how all Canadians feel, but personally, I kinda dig this building. It’s an incredibly stark yet beautiful (especially in the right light), extension of the stalwartly historic ROM building, and I’ve yet to read about anyone taking an eye out on the thing, so I guess I’m the one lone Canadian that disagrees.
Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos
Posted on
May 12th, 2011
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2 Comments
A.K.A. The George Brown College Chef School, this is Hume’s second pick for his best buildings of Toronto list. I would’ve thought that, maybe, it had something to do with its association with Susur Lee, or maybe some kinda proud culinary tradition or some such junk, but instead Hume likes the building mostly because aspiring chefs can have their kitchen failures ogled by random pedestrians passing by outside — the front is all glass.
Personally, I think Chris is out to lunch with this pick. Maybe he’s simply bit off more than he can chew. Or, if you want, chalk it up to a difference in tastes.
Enough awful food-oriented punnery? Let’s watch the video:
Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos
Posted on
May 11th, 2011
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Comments Off on Chris Hume’s Bestest Buildings #5: Pointy Love
According to the Toronto Star’s Christopher Hume, everybody’s always asking him what the best and worst buildings in the city are. Plus, everybody loves a list. Who am I to argue with such hyperbole-free reasoning? Besides, I have my own faves, and although Chris’ picks would probably make my own Top-20 list, I’m not convinced everybody, everywhere, throughout all known time and dimensions, would agree with either of us. Still, Chris’ picks are a good place to start.
Here’s his #5 pick, the Pure Spirit building that marks the north-west corner of the Distillery District and which, as Mr. Hume so aptly points out, brought order and reason to an area of town that barely obeyed the laws of physics.
Filed under: Dispatches, Patrick Bay, Videos
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