Originally broadcast on FM 89.5 CIUT on July 29, 2013.
Sarah Thomson and Travis Myers talk with Mackenzie Keast of Distl Creative Intelligence Collective about his daring concept of a man-made lake in Trinity Bellwoods park along with other urban planning issues in Toronto.
I realized recently that Boyfriend is my best friend. I have many bests: there’s #BoyBestie and my Lemon, who I lovingly refer to as my heterosexual life partner; there’s Jen, Nus, Reg and Yaw and really too many amazing bests in my life to count; but the person who I call when I need someone, the person who I call when I want to share great news or moderately good news or just talk to about nothing and everything is Boyfriend. He’s my best friend.
I’m sure there’s a definition or a Thought Catalogue article somewhere that attempts to define what exactly a best friend is, something that uses big words or includes a list of the top bestie duos of all time; are you and best friend more like Monica and Rachel or Joey and Chandler or something along those lines. But for me it’s a little simpler and a lot less ‘90s.
Boyfriend is the only person who calls me a Wild Shannon because for some reason he thinks of me as a Pokemon. There’s literally no logic to this but it makes me laugh uncontrollably. He’s a terrible dancer but we have a dance move that no one else understands and sometimes we’ll do it at the same time. It’s embarrassing and only kind of adorable. We have shows that we watch and we never TV cheat, ever, no matter how hard Netflix makes it for us. We have our own language; we get each other, even if no one else really understands why we’re laughing or what it is we’re talking about.
When it comes down to it though Boyfriend is just the person I’d rather be with; hanging out and watching a movie with him is better than a night out with anyone else. I love my friends and I am so lucky to have them in my life but I had no idea what it felt like before this past (almost) year to be someone’s partner.
Boyfriend is my best friend and I had no idea it could all happen this quickly, I had no idea my life could change in so little time, but I can’t imagine a world where I don’t get random text messages that somehow light up my entire face even though most of the time they are just pictures of cats with silly comments.
What worries me most though are the what ifs. What if we break up? What will I do then? How will I handle that? I try not to think about it but every relationship before this ended; did they end so I could find Boyfriend or do relationships always end? And that’s the big difference between having best friends and being best friends with your boyfriend: My closest friends love me unconditionally, they don’t get to break up with me, but Boyfriend could if he wanted to.
So I’m hopeful, cautiously optimistic if you will. I’ve got nothing to worry about but the idea of losing someone who I love that much scares the hell out of me.
#TOpoli explores politics, transit, city building, and more more in the city of Toronto with a digital edge and a constant eye on the #TOpoli hashtag while live on the air.
#TOpoli with Sarah Thomson, Monday July 22:
Sarah welcomes guests Councillor Adam Vaughan, TTC CEO Andy Byford, in-studio guest Women’s Post editor Travis Myers to discuss the future on development on Bathurst with or without a Walmart, issues of funding transit, LRTs versus subways in Scarborough, the Downtown Relief Line, and much more.
Follow Sarah on Twitter at @ThomsonTO and Travis at @TravMyers.
I’ve been on a lot of dates: with boys I liked; with boys I hoped would call and never did; with boys I was serious with; but I’ve never been on a double date, not really. The Big Ex didn’t want me around his friends because his relationship with me was somehow different from his relationship with his friends. In the end I realized that he was just never sure about ‘us’ and we stayed together for as long as we did because I was filler, I was the girl he dated before he met the girl he loved and he was the man I needed to be with so that I could appreciate what was coming.
So on Saturday night Boyfriend and I went for drinks and a movie with two of my friends, a lovely couple who glow with happiness in love in a way that probably would have made me a little sick when I was younger. No one can be that in love right? That’s movie love, heartbreaking, crazy, sick to your stomach, put a radio over your head in the middle of the night in love. But my friends have that and I look up to them because I hope that after a couple of years Boyfriend and I will be like that, crazy-happy and living in sin. My Catholic upbringing leads me to believe that living in sin would be awesome, like when you first move out on your own and realize that there are no rules and you can go to the store and buy candy at midnight, just because. I assume that is what living with your partner is like, please don’t correct me if I’m wrong.
I was a little nervous to try this double dating thing, being new to healthy and happy dating. I was worried that Boyfriend wouldn’t get along with my friends and I really wanted them to like him and like us together. I shouldn’t have been worried, they loved him. The best thing about being with Boyfriend is that when my friends see how happy we are together they immediately like him.
The only hiccup to an otherwise perfect evening was that when I was being fake angry with Boyfriend my friend pointed out that, “It’s not going to work. No one believes that you’re actually mad when you’re so clearly in love with each other.” Since Boyfriend and I still haven’t said that very terrifying four-letter word, I was afraid that he would freak out, I was nervous that my feelings had been outed and he would start acting weird. He didn’t. Nothing changed, except that he knew he’d won this particular battle.
So we haven’t said the words yet. I’m pretty sure they are going to burst out of my mouth any day now, and it’s nice to know that everyone can see how in love we are. It’s a win for me at least… now I know I’m not crazy. Not completely anyway.
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Words fail me when I think of ways to describe this. Masterpiece comes to mind. Genius. Art.
From the description of the video as told by uploader Ryan Doucette:
“So here’s the story… For those of you from Southern Ontario, it’s likely that you went to Canada’s Wonderland in Toronto during the late 90’s/early 2000’s in the Summertime. I have very fond memories of the roller coasters, waterpark and food at the amusement park. One year, I went with some friends and we came across the new video karaoke; essentially, you pay them some money and they create a blue screen video of you and your friends singing a song. They would broadcast the song, including the videos of whoever was singing at the time, on the outside of the building.They had all the hits at the time, including a number of songs by the Backstreet Boys. While I never had the guts to go in and sing something, we happened to be outside the place when this guy went in for his solo. The park staff were stunned, and my friends and I were on the ground crying with laughter! Needless to say, I wanted this video, and the staff were kind enough to oblige. I spent the rest of my spending money for the day on the VHS copy of his performance, and to this day, I still consider it money well spent. It’s been hiding in a box in my basement for years, and today, I converted it to digital. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you WTF Backstreet’s Back. Enjoy!”
While this man may not know the joy he has brought to this writer and other viewers of the video, he at least knows that he has a wicked kick and some sick moves.
Below are some of my favourie stills from the video.
You can follow Travis on Twitter at @TravMyers for all the latest in Backstreet Boys dance videos from over a decade ago.
Recently someone told me that Boyfriend and I aren’t officially official because we haven’t declared our undying love for each other via the Facebook relationship status. They were serious.
I was shocked, because I haven’t had a relationship status since the Big Ex and I broke up; my status says nothing. I’m not single, dating or complicated and I’m okay with that. Boyfriend and I have been together nearly a year and we’re happy but we’re not the kind of people who need to shout about how much we love each other on Facebook. Neither of us feel that our bond as a couple would somehow be stronger if we had matching profile pictures and constantly updated our friends on how incredibly in love we are.
Don’t get me wrong, I gush, I talk to my friends about how happy I am, if I could write a good sonnet I would probably do that too, but Facebook is the place where I share cool shit I find on the interwebs, not the adult version of a high school locker.
I share a lot of my life with the internet, but Boyfriend and I have an agreement: he doesn’t read my column and I don’t write about anything that I wouldn’t want to talk to him about, so if I’m super mad at him I have to tell him before I tell you lovely folks. It’s a fair deal.
But blogging and writing is so much different than an obnoxious status update. Instead of declaring your everlasting love with a grammatically incorrect and socially unacceptable update, maybe you could text your darling.
It’s okay to be excited about the person you’re seeing, it’s awesome actually, but if you have to shout it out to the world do you think that maybe you’re a little insecure in your relationship? In the same way that we forget to check our phones when we’re having a really great time, when you’re really happy do you even have time to tell the world how happy you are?
There are people who are always an exception to the rule. Two of my friends were in a long distance relationship until very recently and I thought the love notes they sent each other were adorable and sweet, they needed the internet because they didn’t always have each other.
So while I don’t have a relationship status I’m very much taken, very much in love and I have no plans to change that any time soon. However, I’m also not about to change my status so that everyone else knows that my relationship is real. The people who should know him know him and the people I love have met him and like him almost as much as I do.
The next time you see a status change from me it will be engaged or married, if I get my way and we elope on an island; anything less isn’t worth the effort or the hassle from people whom I haven’t seen in years congratulating me on no longer being a sad spinster lady.
There is a joke online about the so-called “hover hand” — where men posing with women for photos won’t actually put their hand on their female companion’s shoulder but instead will let their hand hover just shy of a normal photo pose. Silly, yes. Most women would find it a bit funny that these guys are too shy to even put their hand on a shoulder.
This guy, however, is billed as “the opposite of the hover hand” for his flagrant disregard for boundaries as he shamelessly gropes women who he poses for photos with. This website applauds the guy for being a public perv.
Check out the series:
The women he is posing with are all in costumes, leading us to think they are either trade show models or at some sort of cosplay convention.
Are they inviting this kind of behaviour because they are dressed up in revealing costumes? the answer is, of course, no. In fact, if these women are trade show models they are bound and pressured to stay quiet and pose for the photos with this creep at the risk of losing their job by complaining. These women are hired to be dangled along with whatever is being promoted at the show, to complain because a patron went a step too far and groped them would probably get them in trouble or fired for shattering the illusion that they are hired to promote.
Creep factor: 100% — this guy is taking advantage of women who are incapable of fighting back.
Someone should also tell this guy that Jamiroquai called and he wants his fun-fur bucket hat back.
Follow Women’s Post on Twitter at @WomensPost.
Happy Tuesday! It’s the day after a record-breaking rainfall drenched Toronto, leaving commuters stuck in subway stations and stranded in vehicles all across the city. Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist at Environment Canada, confirms that this rainfall is ranked among the most intense rainfalls the city has ever experienced, with 90 mm of rain within 90 minutes. In total, 126 mm of rain fell at Pearson yesterday, with the original record of 121 mm being set by Hurricane Hazel in 1954.
What does that mean for Torontonians today? Twenty thousand people are still without power, concentrated mostly in the west end of the GTA; TTC and GO Train services have been impacted; and the clean-up will continue for those in the city with flooded basements and damaged property.
Short of putting your home up on stilts, there’s not a whole lot that can be done to completely flood-proof your home, but there are a lot of things that can be done to help reduce the damage of a flood like yesterday’s.
For one thing, I listen to the warnings. So much can be prevented if the warnings put out by Environment Canada are taken seriously and not brushed off until it’s too late to do anything about it. I always have this semi-irrational fear that ignoring a flood warning will leave me sloshing around soaked and stinky carpets and picking up the pieces of ruined furniture, electronics and family albums. And then, of course, there’s the mould. So I listen, I take them seriously and I do whatever I can do last minute to prepare.
I clear my gutters, drains, and downspouts. Okay, I get my husband to clear my gutters, drains, and downspouts. That’s totally the same thing.
We don’t have anything that needs it in our basement right now, but I always do a check to see if I’ve got any furniture, electronics or appliances that are in harm’s way, so that I can raise them onto concrete blocks.
I get my hands on some sandbags and I use them anywhere I expect water to be able to seep in.
None of these are major retrofits or impermeable solutions, but a couple dollars spent could be your defense against tens of thousands of dollars in major damage caused by flood damage, so I do what I can.
I’m sending a ton of well wishes and positive energy to all fellow Torontonians still dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s rainfall.
Our intrepid writer (and something of a lush if you go based on his tweets alone) Simon Johnson spent his evening on the VIA Train heading from Winsdor to Toronto. After a lovely weekend visiting with his boyfriend’s family he had to get home to relieve the dog-sitter and give his puppy Baxter some love.
Unfortunately for Simon, this Monday was a Monday like no other, when #StormTO hit and gave Toronto more rain than she has ever seen. The subway flooded, the highways flooded, Union Station flooded, and of course, the way home was flooded, thankfully not nearly as bad as the situation taking place on a GO Train not too far away.
Simon tweeted his way through this mess and, with a little help from some new friends on the train, we think he just might make it home okay, even if it is a little late. Read on below to see how Simon manages to turn a miserable stalled evening into a train party.
Can anyone tell me if Union Station is flooded?! I'm just outside of London on my way back from Windsor on Via Rail. #Toronto #stormTO
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@jeremyforeshew Are they diverting the trains? I'm kinda clueless here haha!
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
So the Via Rail dude on my train had no idea about the flooding… Yeah, I'm super confident of getting back home with ease. :/
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail Can you please tell me what's happening with trains bound for Union Station? I'm on the 17:45 from Windsor.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy Hi Simon, lots of flooding around Oakville delaying your train. Staff onboard will let you know if alternatives are needed ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@ashleybrett Thank God I brought the wine!! THANK GOD!!!! pic.twitter.com/PsNKhcL9gD
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
Scotland has had a better summer than we have had, Toronto. That's all I have to say. 😐
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ashleybrett The chips were done by 17:47. I'd never survive on a desert island. #OnlyChild
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
OMG! The @VIA_Rail guy is telling passengers THE INFORMATION I TOLD HIM FROM TWITTER! Nothing more! Come on where is your communication VIA?
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
"I'm just guessing at this point." Actual quote from @VIA_Rail staff member on how we will get home if we cannot get to Union. #Toronto
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy Hi, we are looking at alternatives now. Apologies for the inconvenience. Will keep you posted ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail Please do because we are being given ZERO information on the train.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy I am also waiting on information as to what will be done. Will update ASAP ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@ashleybrett @ScottishGuy Hi, while there is some flooding at Union, the issue is actually near Oakville ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail So we will be getting into Union or no?
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@80sgirlforever Good thing I brought my waterproof flask.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy union station is closed CP24 just said
— Amanda (@Mandy_0023) July 9, 2013
@Mandy_0023 Yeah, I've been getting texts about that. Just wish @VIA_Rail would announce the situation on the train. #CommunicationFAIL
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ryanchase29 Do we have power in our building? Also, do you have wine because I'm hungry…
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy we have power!! Woot woot. I don't have pizza 🙁 only like some baileys and 2 jd and cokes left
— Ryan Scheel (@ryanchase29) July 9, 2013
@ryanchase29 Hmmm… I'd rather we had no power lol
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
In Brantford. Random fact: my girlfriend in university was from here. Needless to say, it didn't work out. Can't imagine why… Ahem.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
We hope we make it to Oakville… Um, yeah, me too. @VIA_Rail https://t.co/wHMSy7qrgr
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail Are you organizing alternate transit for passengers heading to Toronto? I'm not paying $150 cab fare or getting home after 12am.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy We are trying to get buses to get you to Toronto. ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy I'll wave as you come through Aldershot 😉
— ~Deb~ (@80sgirlforever) July 9, 2013
Does anyone wanna come pick me up in Oakville at the @VIA_Rail station and drive me to downtown Toronto?! I put out.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
On the plus side, I'm not on THIS train!! #Toronto #stormTO pic.twitter.com/iGU6s97XxS
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy I am also waiting on information as to what will be done. Will update ASAP ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
We were literally just told, " We will get you to Toronto but if you CHOOSE to get off at Oakville, expect … https://t.co/bYp4bMGJG5
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy Can you remind me of your train #? ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail I'm on train 7805, stopped at Aldershot. It is the 17:45 Windsor to Toronto.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy Don't have an update yet, but you will be getting a travel credit: http://t.co/HtzXqJMdlw ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail I appreciate the gesture but Union has been flooded for hours, why wasn't a backup plan in motion when we left Windsor?
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail It's not an issue of a refund, it's an issue of people with animals and commitments having no way home with no plan in sight.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@VIA_Rail And we're sitting here with no water or food as a result.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ScottishGuy Understand the frustration. Unfortunately we don't run the bus service & availability of buses/drivers the issue ^NK
— VIA_Rail (@VIA_Rail) July 9, 2013
Anyone in #Aldershot wanna bring me some wine?!
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
@ashleybrett I'M SO THIRSTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
I wish @VIA_Rail would offer a complimentary beer or wine to keep us occupied.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
So here's the update… VIA was useless. But I made friends and between us we had booze, food, and cigarettes. We've become an alliance.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
We heard there was a GO Train that was able to get to Clarkson so we abandoned our train and hijacked it.
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
My new found friends, we're surviving the zombie apocalypse together! (And we've hijacked a GO Train!) pic.twitter.com/QTCrOxWkNX
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
We found a GO Bus that is taking us to Longbranch. As far as I know, our VIA train is still stranded at Aldershot. pic.twitter.com/Y9628kcllJ
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
The GO Train party! pic.twitter.com/efPY1hxQuc
— Simon (@ScottishGuy) July 9, 2013
Stay up to date with Simon’s voyage here:
Tweets by @ScottishGuy
You can follow Travis on Twitter at @TravMyers and follow Simon at @ScottishGuy for the latest updates on flood train shenanigans.
