Rob Ford's Toronto

[EagleEye]

One aspect of this FordFest that I find troubling is the Toronto Star's coverage of it. They didn't get many pictures, and their bulk of their coverage of the fracas was one day later than most of the other media. They did not send Daniel Dale, probably because he would have been barbequed alive. They send 2 relatively unknown reporters. I saw logos for and reporters from every major media organization except the Star there.

Have we come to the point where Ford Nation has intimidated Canada's largest daily newspaper so that it has to send reporters essentially undercover to a "public event" in a public park, for fear of their safety? If so, how is that healthy for democracy? Coupled with the inability to tolerate dissenting free speech, and Frod's fanatical tone in his speech that night, the whole business has dark undertones for me.

I can't say I blame The Star. I wouldn't advertise being there if I were Powell or Pagliaro and there is no way I'd send Dale to such an event. Even if they didn't physically hurt him, you can just imagine the things they would do once they recognized him. Pags wrote a very good article about Mikey and even spoke to Kathy the day before so I think they did alright.

 

[James_D]

Warminton was working the grill? Lord, he's not even pretending anymore.

 

[animatronic]

I can't say I blame The Star. I wouldn't advertise being there if I were Powell or Pagliaro and there is no way I'd send Dale to such an event. Even if they didn't physically hurt him, you can just imagine the things they would do once they recognized him. Pags wrote a very good article about Mikey and even spoke to Kathy the day before so I think they did alright.

And Dale is the acting bureau chief - he's got other shit to do.

 

[EagleEye]

Warminton was working the grill? Lord, he's not even pretending anymore.

So that was true? I figured it was a joke.

 

[sublime]

A few photos via Torontoist:

 

[casita]

View attachment 30513

One that I like.

View attachment 30521

For as long as I can remember Boystown was the slang used to refer to the area around the Y (way back - it was named Boystown because of the younger sex workers who patrolled this area).

Sorry. I couldn't resist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k

 

[GeekGirl]

Urban form? Can you expound on that?

I can. Have you been to Scarborough? I grew up here. It is endless strip malls and it lacks all character. The street are too dangerous to ride bikes on and to get anywhere you must drive.

 

[adma]

I'd be terrified of those genes too.

Though actually, of the lot of them, I'd say that Krista inherited the best of the Ford "husky gene"--and is the best at handling it. Really. In all the shots I recollect having seen of her, she looks (physically) good--to the point where I wonder if she's had any "Alpha Female" impact on the rest of the family, where the other DoFo girls + even the parents themselves have felt obligated to follow suit. (But btw/Kyla's muscular freakishness and DoFo's present clumsy caboose--well, trust the Ford family to make a hash out of even *that*. And for that matter, if Krista had any brains to match her physical brawn, she'd have parlayed her physical gifts into something with Olympic-type legitimacy rather than lingerie football.)

And for that matter, from what little evidence we have, I'd say that of the Ford brothers, *Randy* carries the gene best; in fact, a 1999 photo posted way back in this thread suggests that he might once have been the "handsomest" in the family, and even now he comports himself with a natural "sturdiness" lacking in RoFo's Shmooness or DoFo's constipated-bullet poise. And any evident *deterioration" on his part is more facial, i.e. the archetypal handsome-young-dude turned middle-aged-lush--a sort of "50something David Lee Roth" pathos there...

 

[casita]

View attachment 30514

There were disabled children being wheeled up to the big tent. Almost like an old-time camp meeting for true believers.
View attachment 30522

 

[adma]

I can. Have you been to Scarborough? I grew up here. It is endless strip malls and it lacks all character. The street are too dangerous to ride bikes on and to get anywhere you must drive.

But you're viewing it through a vacuumland prism--there's history, and stories there; yea even in the "endless strip malls". In fact, the irony is: a lot of Micallef-ian sensitive urbanites are better prepared to appreciate said "history and stories" within Scarberia's midst than, I'll betcha, a "DoFo 99%" of Ford Fest attendees--who wouldn't know in blazes what to make of Thomson Park and its environs were Ford Fest not there as raison d'etre to go there.

And I think *that's* what's colouring your perspective--a "characterlessness" compounded by the philistine nimrods all around you. Scarberians as a wilfully ignorant insult to their own turf.

 

[adma]

Rob Ford apologizes after LGBT attendees harassed at Ford Fest

Ford also said the event “was the best Ford Fest we’ve ever had†and thanked his supporters for coming out.

http://www.cp24.com/news/2014-munic...gbt-attendees-harassed-at-ford-fest-1.1933871

Y'know...*non*-subjectively speaking, let's call him out on a lie there. This year's Thomson Park fest lacked last year's carny rides; it lacked last year's gastronomic diversity. Never mind no-alcohol; this year's FF had no-frills burgers/dogs with no-frills condiments and a pathetic bouncy castle. That's better than last year's? (I can't judge audience numbers, if that's the barometer he's using.)

In effect, the cult of personality (selfie or otherwise) is all he had to go by this time.

 

[drk]

Yeats said it better.

Agreed -- thanks!

 

[Greg Banks]

Interesting playing with the Forum numbers..weighting the poll vs population distribution in Toronto(2011)
It would seem from the single poll that Tory is much better off with a 3 person race and Chow fares well in a 5 person race and R Ford is static either way
Five person race
O Chow 29.8%
R Ford 27.2%
J Tory 26.9%
K Stintz 5.7%
D Soks 5.3%

3 person race
Chow 34.7%
Tory 32.4%
Ford 26.8%

 

[expat]

Interesting playing with the Forum numbers..weighting the poll vs population distribution in Toronto(2011)
It would seem from the single poll that Tory is much better off with a 3 person race and Chow fares well in a 5 person race and R Ford is static either way
Five person race
O Chow 29.8%
R Ford 27.2%
J Tory 26.9%
K Stintz 5.7%
D Soks 5.3%

3 person race
Chow 34.7%
Tory 32.4%
Ford 26.8%

yeah, it seems as though stintz and soks' supporters fall almost directly to chow and tory - it's pretty well established that ford has no room for growth at this point, and needs to count on somehow winning with less than 30% (either lots of his voters show up and nobody else does, or he benefits from a massively fractured opposition).

which makes stintz's recent actions even more bizarre, to me.

 

[Jado]

Does anybody think (or hope, desperately, as I do) that Soknacki and Stinz will bow out before the election so as to avoid a diluted vote - which will work in Rob Ford's favour? It would be a huge act of altruism but I think we might need it.