Toronto Life articles from February 1999

Toronto Life archives from February 1999

Smooth talker (CBC morning radio host Andy Barrie inspires stong reactions in both fans and non-fans).
February 1, 1999... The Unofficial Depose Andy Barrie Web site opens with a simple if unpoetic declaration: "Andy Barrie is not a good host of Metro Morning." What follows is a list of indictments--presumably authored by the site's custodian, someone called...

Ain't got that swing (professional swing dancers at charity ball intimidate guests).
February 1, 1999... 'Tis the season for charity balls, but in an increasingly crowded field, it's essential to have a gimmick--say, a requirement that attendees wear garish, flesh-revealing South American getups (or at least be willing to be surrounded by people...

Perhaps you remember me from One tough cop? (Stephen Baldwin visits Toronto bar).
February 1, 1999... Our burg is generally known among Hollywood types as a big city where stars are free to wander unmolested--and even indulge in the occasional tantrum--without ending up as front-page tabloid fodder. (We do draw the line at turning a blind eye...

Betting racquet (Toronto's Cambridge Club hosts squash tournament).
February 1, 1999... Nothing warms the cockles of the heart like a good triumph-of-the-underdog story, even if it's set among the hounds of Bay Street. Who wouldn't be cheered by this holiday tale from The Cambridge Club? The exclusive boys-only gym, perched atop...

PETA is not amused (Toronto's Harry Rosen store displays a $27,000 overcoat made from endangered vicuna).
February 1, 1999... If you witnessed its arrival in late October (transported into the Harry Rosen on Bloor by a heavily insured courier) or approached its attendant security system (a Louvre-worthy setup on the store's second floor) or puzzled over the...

This issue (obituary for Jim Cormier).
February 1, 1999... WHEN HE was editor of The Globe and Mail, Richard Doyle argued that journalism isn't a profession. Professions have admission standards and strict codes of behaviour. Journalism has neither. In journalism a higher education is desirable but...

River midnight.
February 1, 1999... Into the mystic There's a stern expression on Lilian Nattel's tiny, intelligent face. She doesn't want to talk about a couple of things. The pressure of having her ambitious first novel, The River Midnight, compared to the work of Isabel...

Wealthy hooker: in which a young man seeking financial advice discovers that, as with sex, it's all about patience and timing.
February 1, 1999... In these days of open conversations about everything, including sexual habits, money remains a relatively taboo subject, even among family members. When you think about that, it's amazing. --David Chilton, The Wealthy Barber O'M...

Now, eye and the politics of yearning: one makes tons of money. The other doesn't ... one is authentic. The other is desperate.
February 1, 1999... EVERY THURSDAY around noon, just as the young and the restless start wondering what to do with the weekend, about 200,000 free newspapers appear in the cafes, movie theatres and record stores of Toronto, full of advice for those with time on...

Lastman factor: the taxi debate at city council make one thing clear: if you really want to get your way, make an appointment with Mel.
February 1, 1999... THIRTEEN MONTHS after amalgamation, city councillors, lobbyists and other plugged-in supplicants have come to understand that there are two ways of getting anything accomplished in the megacity. Method One--call it the official-channels...

Saddling the mad boar: a case study on the vicissitudes of fame. Starring the Barenaked Ladies.
February 1, 1999... Part I: The Flash Forward You are driving to a record store in the centre of Boston, where you are scheduled to play three songs from your new CD. Afterward, you will sign autographs and generally charm people with your amiable goofiness...

Four weddings and a folk dance festival (one afternoon at the North York Civic Centre).
February 1, 1999... NORTH YORK CIVIC CENTRE, home of the Barry Burton Wedding Gallery, looks like backstage at a production of Aida. Down the corridor from the gallery there is an impromptu amphitheatre (actually the old council chamber) with an ambitious slate of...

Lust for lofts: there's some serious wooing going on. With more than 50 loft conversions at various stages in the downtown area (of Toronto), developers are doing their best to catch our attention.
February 1, 1999... By Donna Lypchuk With files from Marion Lewis An attractive woman chats on her Amigo cell-phone while watching the snow gently blanket the industrial wasteland outside her giant, multipaned windows. Her footsteps echo as she strolls across...

Terminal man (Pearson International Airport's Terminal One was a youth hangout for a couple of friends).
February 1, 1999... To most people, the airline terminal opened by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson in 1964 was a gateway to fabulous destinations, but to my best friend and me, quietly availing ourselves of a certain Chevy Nova each night, the new terminal was...

Futile attraction: over the three years it took to make Sex, the life of porn star Annabel Chong, Gough Lewis saw his documentary subject elated, drunk, stoned, depressed, suicidal and enraged.
February 1, 1999... WHEN GOUGH LEWIS first saw Annabel Chong on the Jerry Springer show in the fall of 1995, he was unemployed and living at his mother's home in west Toronto. At twenty-nine, he was an art school dropout, an ex-punk band guitarist, a former street...

Leather and laces: the fetishes of Donato Mendoza.
February 1, 1999... As the youngest of twelve kids, Mendoza wore a lot of hand-me-downs--which explains his nostalgia for Christmas, when each child in the family was treated to a custom-tailored outfit. Today, he veers toward the kind of flamboyance that suits...

Case of Nick Di Donato: Exhibit A: the Left Bank. Exhibit B: the Rosewater Supper Club. Exhibit C: the Courthouse Market Grille. We find the defendent guilty of giving the people what they want.
February 1, 1999... Order! Order in the Courthouse! Your Honour, we ask that nine other restaurants, nightclubs and entertainment enterprises be taken into consideration. Mr. Di Donato has a record? Of unbroken commercial success and enviable...

Nosing about (wine review).
February 1, 1999... What's new THESE TASTING NOTES list producer/shipper, agent (and telephone), CSPC number (V indicates a Vintages bottle), price/750 mL and region. Rating is on a five-star system that stresses quality for price: basic (); acceptable ();...

Drink list of the month (review of The Fifth, a Toronto nightclub).
February 1, 1999... The Fifth (225 Richmond St. W., 979-3005) The place Above The Easy--that chichi nightclub--an oasis that feels more like a private home than a restaurant; proprietors Libell and David Geddes joke that they can move right in if business gets...

Hot chocolate (where to drink it in Toronto).
February 1, 1999... Like watermelon in July, hot chocolate in February never fails to bring back memories, usually fond, and often of childhood. The finest place in the city in which to enjoy a Proustian madeleine moment, by way of hot chocolate, is Little...