Ambushed, Buffaloed and Tipsy
1. Rob Ford “ambushed”!: Toronto’s mayor dialed 911 Monday morning after he was the “victim” of an early-morning “ambush” by Mary Walsh from CBC’s satirical show This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Dressed as her alter-ego character Marg Delahunty, Warrior Princess, she came to Ford’s home to ask about his sinking polls. Ford’s brother Doug hadn’t heard of Margaret Atwood, so maybe he hadn’t heard of Mary Walsh? Or satire?
2. Phil Kessel: If you’re looking for a bandwagon to jump on right now Leafs Nation, try Phil Kessel’s. The Toronto Maple Leaf right winger is off to a blazing start and leads the NHL in both goals and points. Things are going so well for him — finally — that he’s decided to join the Twitter universe (@pkessel81), and already is nearing 30,000 followers.
3. Steve Jobs biography: Steve Jobs, a just-released biography of the Apple co-founder by Walter Isaacson, says Jobs came up with the company’s iconic name while he was on a diet of fruits and vegetables, on his “fruitarian diet.” Jobs thought the name sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating.” I’m naming my next company Bananas.
4. You’re Not Alone: With suicide being the second leading cause of teen deaths in Canada, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (OntarioShores.ca) has introduced a wonderful new adolescent mental-health-awareness curriculum. It’s being piloted at 17 high schools in Ontario to encourage adolescents with mental-health concerns to get help. Let’s hope this “You’re Not Alone” campaign spreads to all schools.
5. The Cult of Lego: The new coffee-table book The Cult of Lego is for Adult Fans of LEGO, or AFOLs, who have a borderline obsession with these colourful plastic bricks. It’s an inside look at the community of serious adult LEGO fans and builders, and the scale replicas they’ve done, from a 80,000-brick T. Rex skeleton to micro-scale versions of landmarks like Yankee Stadium. I’m holding out for a Tonka Truck collector’s book.
6. Buffalo in Toronto: This Sunday, Canada gets another taste of what it would be like to have an NFL franchise when the Buffalo Bills play a “home” game against the Washington Redskins at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. While the response to this Bills series in TO has been largely indifferent in recent years, it should be much fuller for the re-energized 4-2 Bills than it’s been for Argos games this year. The “Argooooos” are 4-12.
7. Best inexpensive vinos: A new book with the great title Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines was released this week by renowned Canadian food writer Natalie MacLean. It’s based on her worldwide adventure to wineries and vineyards in the search for the best value bottles. I’ll be reading it over my bottle of 1811 Château d’Yquem. I wish.
