Improv with Improv in Toronto

Every month-ish I go to Improv in Torontos’ monthly meetup. We do some improv and plan other future Improv in Toronto events. Here are some pictures and videos from this month.

Here are the pictures

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This is a video of an improv game called “Hitchhikers”

Questions Only

Social Media Unites to Feed The Hungry With #HoHoTO

Image by Matthew Burpee via Flickr

In 2008 some twitter friends decided to do something about people who couldn’t afford to eat. Through social media connections HoHoTO was created, and was a big success.

HoHoTO is a big party held each year in december to raise money and collect food donations for the Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank so people who can’t afford a Christmas (or any other holiday) dinner, can have one. Each year millions of people go to the Daily Bread Food Bank and HoHoTO is a great way for you to help out… and attend a great holiday party.

So get tweeting, blogging and networking, donate if you can, or find some other way to help out. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #HoHoTO. Lets make the world suck a little less.

Canada Post: Making Itself Obsolete Since 2011

Canada Post has finally started the final few steps to becoming obsolete. They have gone on strike. Well, actually the bosses locked out the workers until they reached a contract agreement but to you and I it is the same thing. We’re not getting any mail.

Or are we?

By going “on strike” Canada Post has effectively sealed its fate as a company. Just the threat of going on strike showed a 16% drop in use of Canada Post so you can imagine what this full blown strike has done.

This is the problem with unions. I understand the need for them but they are not helping the workers any more. All they seem to want is as much money as they can get and they won’t stop until they get it. The whole purpose of the union is to protect the worker from the business owners. They make sure that working conditions are good, wages are paid, people aren’t getting dismissed for unfair reasons, and they negotiate contracts on behalf of the workers. This seems to be too difficult for them to do nowadays.

By going on strike in a business like Canada Post, a business where their are other options to choose from (Email, FedEx, UPS, paying bills online) you aren’t acting in the interest of the workers. Canada Post has probably lost so much business that it might have to cut jobs. Jobs that might not have to have been cut if there hadn’t been a strike.

So, good luck Canada post. We all enjoyed having you around but if you keep up like this, everyone is going to use online bill paying, email, and FedEx. Which is where most of your workers will be too.

What War Is Worth Fighting

Image via Wikipedia

To keep it simple, one that threatens me. Sounds selfish but if I’m going to put my life on the line to fight for a cause, it has to be one I believe in. One that affects me. It could be a threat on my country or even a direct threat to my safety.

To give examples, lets look at the current Canadian “combat mission” (don’t call it a war, thats politically incorrect) in Afghanistan. If a recruiter asked if I would join the armed forces to defend my country by fighting in Afghanistan I would say no. Last time I checked Afghanistan wasn’t attacking Canada.

It makes me sound anti-…something. War? Canadian? Troops? I don’t think I’m any of those. Actually, I might be a little bit anti-war. Then again, so are lots of people. I’m definitely not anti-Canadian. I love my country almost as much as Americans love theirs. And certainly not anti-troops. I support the troops. I think they are the best Canadians we have and we all should be proud of them. But I wouldn’t join them.

We all have our own talents and skills and it just so happens that mine aren’t armed forces related. Perhaps if one day there is a threat to me or my country then I would consider it but not until then. Its a personal choice. I’m not discouraging people from joining up, if they want to then thats their choice. All of our troops should be applauded for their bravery. If you see a Canadian soldier you should go up to them and say “thank you” for representing your country and keeping peace around the world.

If you ever disagree with their causes just remember that they didn’t have a choice about where they were deployed, but they went and did their best. And for that they should be thanked.

Stuff For Twitter People

Tomorrow (june 20th) is the tenth Tweetgasm, a monthly tweetup for twitter people of toronto. It takes place at the gladstone hotel usually in the melody bar at 7:30. This month the theme is “Pretty In Pink” which means that if you are wearing pink you get in free. If not you have to pay a $5 cover.

Here are some pictures from a previous Tweetgasm

Tweeting

 

A performance by @misslatejuly

Dancing

The always present DJ's

Thats just a taste of some of the things that go on at tweetgasm. You should all consider dropping by this month or maybe another time. Theres a facebook event here or follow @photojunkie who organizes it and will give you more information

Update: Moving Taxes To The Ones Who Can’t Afford Them

Image by Zolk via Flickr

I mentioned yesterday that in the Toronto budget, it was announced that there would be a TTC fare hike 10 cents. Well today, the TTC chair, Karen Stintz, announced that all the money they needed to avoid the fare hike had been found and so the hike wouldn’t be happening.

It all seems a bit convenient doesn’t it? One day after they said “we won’t be able to freeze property taxes without this fare increase” they suddenly found millions of dollars to avoid it. If they were planning this, you think they would have at least waited a few days instead of just one. That way everyone would start saying “Ford is talking out of his ass when he says he wants to avoid the hike” then BOOM, no fare hike, people are on his side and it makes the media look like they hate him. But this just looks too planned.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be a fare hike. It just won’t be on January 30th.

 

Moving Taxes To The Ones Who Can’t Afford Them

Image via Wikipedia

Today, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford revealed his first budget and big shock, the TTC fares are going up 10 cents.

So far in his few months as mayor, Rob Ford has cut the $60 car tax and… well that’s about it. Now he is talking about closing libraries, raising the garbage tax and now he has raised the fares to use Toronto public transit.

The sneakiest thing he has done, and this really got me upset, is raise the price of an adult metropass by $5. Now you’re probably wondering why that in particular makes me mad. Well let me explain. If you buy a metropass, you most likely buy one every month. So do the math, 12 months times $5. What does that equal? Big surprise $60. Its the car tax but other people are paying it. People who don’t drive. People who can afford it even less than people with cars. The whole reason lots of people take public transit is because they can’t afford cars or they have no need for a car. Now they are paying for a tax that other people didn’t want to pay.

Of course the budget has other things in it. Fees for city services going up, cuts to services. The usual bad things that no one wants.

Mayor Ford says that this budget is “in the interest of taxpayer”. If this is what a budget “for the taxpayer” looks like then I want one that isn’t for the taxpayer. Hopefully people will start to see through Ford’s facade before it’s too late.

Manhunt on the Subway

Image via Wikipedia

I spread the link to the facebook event but people have been having trouble viewing it so i decided to post the information here.

Time: Wednesday, December 29 · 8:00pm – 11:30pm

Location: Meet at Bathurst station, lover level

More Information: Meet at Bathurst Station, Lower Level at 8:00pm. Game will start at 8:30pm.

Game One: 8:30-9:30pm
After the game meet at the streetcar platform at SPADINA SUBWAY

Game Two: 9:45-10:30pm
After the game meet at the TICKET COLLECTOR at YONGE/BLOOR SUBWAY

BOUNDARIES (BOTH GAMES):
Yonge/University/Spadina Line – North: Rosedale Station + Dupont Station
Yonge/University/Spadina Line – South – Union Station
Bloor/Danforth Line – East – Yonge/Bloor
Bloor/Danforth Line – West – Bathurst

Aftergame:
Karaoke

Whats Going on at City Hall

Image via Wikipedia

Quite a lot has been happening at Toronto city hall. The three main things are the cutting of councilors expenses, the removal of the car tax and the move to make the TTC an essential service.

The first “Victory” of the day for Mayor Ford was the removal of the vehicle tax that added $60 to your fees every time you updated your license plates on your car. The concerns from many councilors was that he reason the tax was brought in was because the city was short of money. This made many citizens happy because they now don’t have to pay a tax. A tax that no one really had to pay anyways.

The next was a the cut of city councilors expenses by $20,000. That’s quite a lot isn’t it. Well it used to be $50,000. That’s more than lots of people make in a year. Just for things they might have to spend money on while doing their jobs. The reason it was cut was because people had been complaining about the over spending going on with expenses because councilors had been claiming things that weren’t business related. The cut could be a good thing because now councilors will be spending less. Or will they? Perhaps more councilors will start spending everything they are allowed to spend instead of what they used to, just to make things awkward.

The final act was to pass a motion to make the TTC an essential service. This is one of Mayor Ford’s big election campaign promises. Of course what he failed to mention was that city council cannot actually decide whether the TTC becomes an essential service but they can make a recommendation to the provincial government that it should become one. If the TTC became an essential service it would mean that they can’t go on strike and must always continue service, even during labour disputes. This doesn’t mean that they can’t go on work-to-rule which means they can slow down service and things like that. Although many transit riders will say they wouldn’t notice anyways.

Those are the main things that have been happening so far with the new council. Lets hope it stays good. All you people outside Toronto. Wish us luck.

Just Let It Go

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I am seriously getting fed up with all the complaints about the G8/20 protests during the summer. Let it go people.

Its been months since this happened and nothing has really been done about it and I really don’t blame the SIU (special investigations unit, they investigate the police) for not finding any police officers in the wrong. You’re complaining about the police arresting you at a protest that was bordering on a riot.

Whats next? People complaining about the government? Because they are really going to listen to you about that.

Now some of the higher ranking officials are saying that some officers took off their name tags that were on their uniforms to hide who they were. That makes perfect sense to me. Remember “Officer Bubbles”? He’s the officer who threatened to arrest a protester because they were blowing bubbles at him. I’m not going to defend his actions or support them. I don’t care. But what happened is because he had his name tag on people found out who he was and started threatening him and his family by phone, mail and going to his house. This is why officers took off their name tags. Because they didn’t want this to happen to them! A badge number is as good as a name tag. You can phone the police and check a badge number and they will tell you the name of the officer (apparently, this is just what I’ve heard). The reason for this is if a police officer shows up at your door and you are unsure if they are a police officer, you can phone and check. Its sort of a thing for older people who have been told by their kids about bad people dressing up like police officers to scam them. This is a bad thing for certain situations. Do you want people knowing who you are and being able to threaten you or your family because you were simply doing your job? I didn’t think so.

I think at the next protest officers should give out the names and addresses of all the people who are in charge. The people who are responsible for all the police presence creating the “police state”. Then maybe they will realize what a stupid idea this is.

I must say that it probably seems like I am taking sides but I don’t fully support either side on this. Both sides of the G8/20 issue could have done better.