Ever done the Edgewalk at the CN Tower? When visitors to Toronto really want to do it, you pretty much have to comply. Continue reading
Author Archives: Schuster Gindin
My Secret Sister
Twin and adoption studies and stories are gold to those interested in the never-ending nature-nurture debate. As a political pinko, I easily bought into the idea of the transformative potential of environment to trump genetic endowment. Continue reading
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
What happens when Susannah Cahalan, a young successful journalist suddenly comes down with inexplicable and seemingly life-threatening symptoms? Marlene Webber reviews the harrowing memoir of Cahalan’s experience. Continue reading
TORONTO THE GOOD, TORONTO THE ESOTERIC: Buddhism in the City
Toronto has changed from a mostly Presbyterian city to one that includes people from all the religions of the world. Among the many places of worship across the GTA, there are Buddhist temples in the unlikeliest of places. Here’s an overview of the locations and the philosophy that inspires them. Continue reading
Tonga Living
Intrepid Toronto dog lover and cake baker Mary Li, with her husband Douglas, is living temporarily in Nuku’alofa, capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. Here’s a glimpse into her life there. Continue reading
OUTPOSTS: Ventures Beyond the Box
We live in the constant, ruthless flux of job and housing markets, of family and relationship reconfigurations and career impediments. As circumstances or conditions change, how do we respond? This issue presents a few examples of alternative ideas and practices, both new and old. Continue reading
COUNTING SHEEP: A play, a dance performance, a concert?
This original performance by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra is part concert, part sing-along, part play, part dinner theatre and puts the audience in the middle of Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti during the 2014 uprising in Ukraine. Continue reading
THE FEATURE WALL
Painting a creatively designed wall in a child’s room inspires a sense of freedom from traditional gender constraints and has an unexpected effect on how the author perceives her own life. Continue reading
TRANSITIONING TO MY TRUE SELF: Christine Newman’s Story
Christine Newman is a transgender woman in her 50s who has experienced sadness, fear and tragedy in her lifelong quest to become her true self. She is finally on the road to achieving that self and being happy. Continue reading
The Lost Dhow: A Discovery from the Maritime Silk Route
When you enter the latest Aga Khan Museum exhibition ― The Lost Dhow: A Discovery from the Maritime Silk Route ― you are literally aboard a 1200-year-old Arab trading ship, a dhow. Continue reading
Little Kingdoms
Tonga calls itself the land where time begins. Situated immediately left of the International Date Line, Tonga is the first place on earth to greet each new day. That’s where Mary Li will spend the next year. But she’ll miss so many things about Toronto. Continue reading
Gluten-free Lady Fingers or How to Use Up Spare Yolks
One of the by-products of royal icing (when you make four cakes) is a large number of ‘spare’ egg yolks. What to do? Continue reading
Christmas Fritter Outrage
Baking Christmas cookies is serious business in Italian home kitchens. When a regional recipe is published with controversial ingredients, it causes a stir. Continue reading
Incense and Song: Toronto’s Orthodox Churches
Created in exotic, even fairytale, shapes these churches contrast with the mercilessly functional buildings of many North American cities. They are fabulous gems set down, as if by an archangel’s hand, in the great urban sameness. Continue reading
THE VESTA – A Video
Where do you eat when you’re out in the middle of the night? Vesta Lunch has been a Toronto institution since 1955. The Vesta is a video short by Lucas Gindin and Leib Kopman. Continue reading
Florence Watts of Regal Heights
Florence is a woman whose legacy is evident all over the Regal Heights community. A resident since the ’60s, she has been working hard to make the neighbourhood more welcoming and more beautiful. Continue reading
A DERVISH IN THE COURTYARD: Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum
The newly-opened museum is now a reality that likely surpasses the vision of its creators. The stunning building is the only museum in North America devoted to Islamic art. Continue reading
BACKYARD CHICKENS: An Urban Adventure
Chickens are not complicated creatures. Feed, water, scoop poop, dress up like turkeys for Halloween, repeat. But really – do it for the eggs. Continue reading
Hillcrest Village Fibreworks: Sharing Our Art
A local group of fabric and textile artists get together to show their work and inspire the community to get creative. Continue reading
FEEDING TORONTO
We all have to eat, of course, but what does food mean to us and why do we care so much about it? Continue reading
YOUR CHOICE
Elect the tastiest candidate in town. Continue reading
ALL IN A WEEK’S WORK: Managing The Stop’s Wychwood Farmers’ Market
How a farmers’ market got started, what it takes to keep it going and the principles that guide it. Continue reading
MAMAN’S COOKIES
A family’s traditional cookies carry the stories of their lives. Continue reading
WORK GROUP: Planting, weeding, harvesting, canning, eating
How a ‘work group’ makes serious farm gardening so much easier and a whole lot of fun. Continue reading
YOUNG FARMERS: Bringing fresh organic food to your neighbourhood
The journey of two young Toronto organic farmers whose market gardening is bringing more fresh food to our city. Continue reading
OFFERING AT CENOTAPH
Encountered at the cenotaph in Prospect Cemetery. An offering which suggests that warm memories of family around the table last a lifetime, sometimes longer. Continue reading
THE SOLAR DEHYDRA-REVOLUTIONATOR
Recycling, re-purposing and defying convention. All in the name of, mostly, drying tomatoes. Continue reading
ON LOCAL APPLES AND 5,000-MILE APPLES
While eschewing perfect-shaped grocery store apples for locally grown ones, do we really know what’s involved in their cultivation? Continue reading
Tony Merante of DeSotos
Tony Merante is so committed to his St. Clair West neighbourhood that he risked all his savings to open DeSotos, a restaurant that serves great food and creates a warm gathering place for the community. Continue reading
PUBLIC SPACE/PUBLIC ART
Public space that is inviting and functional, in a metropolis like Toronto, is a vital element of community. Public space that includes public art plays an even more important role in the social fabric of a city. In this issue we look at shared spaces in the city that invite, engage and challenge. Continue reading
LIVING TORONTO 