Weird and wacky

Entries Tagged as 'Weird and wacky'

Making the most of a meltdown

August 12th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, God Bless America, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

IT WAS EASY to predict that the Steven Slater story would quickly turn into a media circus. After all, America was in desperate need of a fresh hero / villain to obsess over, and, eventually, give a reality show to. UPDATE: Steven Slater offered reality show There’s really nothing left to say about the whole Slater and the slide incident, so [...]

Man’s best friend

August 4th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, God Bless America, Weird and wacky

THIS ZANY STORY gives new, weird meaning to the old adage “dog is man’s best friend.” Jerry Douthett of Rockford, Mich. had an infected toe. Yet despite pleas from his wife, Rosie, a nurse, Jerry refused to go to the doctor to get it looked at. A few weeks ago, the couple were out celebrating Rosie having [...]

[Read more →]

Tags:dogs·margarita·Michigan·Rockford·toe

Shit show

July 28th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

KINGS OF LEON had a shit show in St. Louis last week – literally. During a concert Friday at the Verizon Amphitheatre, birds in the rafters pooped on the band and their equipment. After one of the droppings ending up in bassist Jared Followill’s mouth, the group ended the show. “They couldn’t deal any longer,” their publicist said. “It’s [...]

The biggest buzz of all

July 25th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

YOU’VE GOT to hand it to BrewDog – they sure know how to create a big buzz. The Scottish brewery made headlines this week for producing a 55%-alcohol beer, ominously named the End of History. “This blond Belgian ale is infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and fresh juniper berries,” the proprietors say on [...]

Goosegate

July 17th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Oh Canada, Unusual Punishments, Weird and wacky

CANADA GEESE are a complete and utter nuisance. They happen to bear this country’s name, and, as such, have come to be seen as a national symbol of sorts, along with Mounties, beavers and maple syrup. But our default national bird can also be quite a pain, particularly beyond our borders. Recall Canada geese were [...]

Bull-baiting boneheads

July 13th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Pop Culture, Sporting Life, Weird and wacky

THREE BONEHEADS ended up injured yesterday during the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain. If you’ve never heard of it – and haven’t read Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises – the bull run is a super popular annual event that essentially involves a bunch of idiots hustling down narrow cobbled-stone streets [...]

Worst mother on earth

July 9th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Uncategorized, Unusual Punishments, Weird and wacky

THERE ARE BAD parents. Then there are horrible, evil, menace-to-society parents. It’s under the latter category you can place Tamara Broomfield (seen at right), a Toronto-area devil woman who fed her two-year-old son cocaine for more than a year, almost killing him at one point with an overdose. The single mother, 28, was convicted last year for administering cocaine [...]

Coney Island chaos

July 5th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Pop Culture, Sporting Life, Weird and wacky

APPARENTLY THINGS got a wee bit crazy yesterday at the annual Nathan’s International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. So-called competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut won the championship after stuffing 54 hotdogs and buns down his throat in 10 minutes. Alas, the San Jose man fell short of his goal to eat 70 dogs [...]

Time to KISS goodbye

June 9th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Toronto, Weird and wacky

NOTE TO KISS and the KISS Army: it’s over. I’m sure it was fun while it lasted — far too long, IMO — but alas the time has come to wipe off the clown makeup, lose the body armor and ditch the platform boots. I realize old Gene wants to squeeze a few more dollars out of his washed-up troupe of mimes (and wag [...]

BP reaches out

May 31st, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Media Matters, Weird and wacky

HAVING CAUSED THE worst oil “spill“ and one of the greatest environmental disasters in U.S. history, BP has taken to Twitter to provide information and updates on how its dealing with the catastrophic mess. Its account, @BPGlobalPR, “exists to get BP’s message and mission statement out into the twitterers!” according to the brief bio. A few of @BPGlobalPR’s recent tweets:

France’s freaky first lady

May 25th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Celebrity Scandal, Currently, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

YOU CAN’T HELP but be intrigued by Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, France’s freaky first lady. At the moment she’s in deep caca, if you will, over the re-emergence of a video clip of her from 1996 – long before she was Mrs. Sarkozy – in which she reads from the “Hot International Love and Sex Guide,” apparently a [...]

Hey Schmuck, my car ready yet?

May 22nd, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Toronto, Weird and wacky

I SWIPED my car against a pillar in my apartment’s parking garage a few months ago. I’ve put off getting it fixed, though, mostly out of fear of what my moment of absent-mindedness is going to cost me. This week I finally got around to getting a few estimates done for the repair, and it [...]

A killer White on Saturday Night

May 10th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

BETTY WHITE’S appearance on Saturday Night Live last weekend has garnered rave reviews. And she totally deserves the accolades; the 88-year-old delivered a better comedic performance than most SNL guest hosts in recent years. Indeed, her great work has prompted calls for her to be made a permanent cast member. It’s true that most of the [...]

Let’s talk about sex

May 4th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Oh Canada, Toronto, Weird and wacky

PURITAN PARENTS have prevailed yet again here in Ontario. Last year, the complaint of one parent was enough to get ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ banned in Brampton schools. Now the province has scrapped plans for a new phys-ed and health curriculum that would have provided kids with sex education at an earlier age. Religious groups had [...]

Ukraine: How egg-citing

April 28th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Weird and wacky

AND HERE I thought American politics had reached a partisan boiling point. On Tuesday, just before the Ukraine parliament approved an agreement to allow the Russian Navy to remain in the port of Sevastopol until 2042, opposition legislators began tossing eggs in protest and then smoke bombs were set off. Things got so eggy in there that the speaker had to be shielded [...]

Reader Comments

Comment on Get in ma belly! by Ryan Starr September 2, 2010

Aw shucks. I'll just have to settle for Diana having died on my b-day. I remember being out at the bar back in 97, and everyone getting set to buy me drinks. Then the pictures from Paris came on the TV. Really killed the whole “let’s do shots!” vibe. […]

Ryan Starr

Comment on Get in ma belly! by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS September 2, 2010

Oh look at that. Your birthday is only one day off the anniversary of the Beslan massacre, where Buddhists, Christians, Jews, misunderstanders of the peaceful religion of islam slaughtered and raped hundreds of school children. I bet the Russians felt really culturally enriched after that. What's that? The media have hardly covered the anniversary? Happ […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on Get in ma belly! by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS September 2, 2010

Heh, I read this post and thought to myself "Wouldn't it be funny if your birthday post was like, the only time I DON'T comment on your blog." But I can't help myself. Fried beer sure does sound great, I could see that catching on down here. I ate myself a packet of Burger Rings last night, hmm. Not to be confused with Ring Burgers, […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on What’s love got to do with it? by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS August 31, 2010

I hear he's a sikret muslim. Have you seen his birth certificate? No, me either. Think about it. […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on Getting over Katrina by Ryan Starr August 29, 2010

He's the bomb. […]

Ryan Starr

Comment on Getting over Katrina by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS August 29, 2010

Yeah, he really knocked 'em dead. This guy kills an audience. Never dies on stage. […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on ABOUT ME by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS August 29, 2010

Where do I email if I wanna submit 'scoops'? I'm not kidding, I quite often hear about things before the MSM. […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on Getting over Katrina by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS August 28, 2010

This guy's got so much talent, he's going to explode. Terrorist Khuram Sher was on Canadian Idol season 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iGPgZznQCY […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on Getting over Katrina by TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS August 28, 2010

I hear the IEDs in Canada are beautiful this time of year. http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/08/27/15164016.html#/news/canada/2010/08/27/pf-15164026.html […]

TOOPHATTOOFURIOUS

Comment on Getting over Katrina by Ryan Starr August 27, 2010

I can see the mayor of Brisbane uttering something about becoming a vanilla city -- and getting a positive reception for it. Just kidding, sort of. […]

Ryan Starr

What I’m Reading

All the names that aren’t fit to print September 3, 2010

NEW YORK TIMES standards editor Philip Corbett recently issued a memo to NYT’s reporters and editors concerning the use /abuse of anonymous sources. The document, posted on Gawker, is interesting reading for media watchers. I can’t speak to what’s going with most other papers, but I read the NYT a fair bit, and now that I think about it, it does seem like th […]

Habs sign Carey Price September 2, 2010

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has a contract reportedly worth $5.5 million over two-years with the team, ending a stalemate that lasted the entire summer. […]

Get in ma belly! August 31, 2010

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY today, so rather than write a serious, thought-provoking post, I thought I’d indulge in a little fantasizing about what may just be the greatest food invention of all time: deep-fried beer. You heard me right: ravioli-like pieces of salty pretzel dough filled with beer and dunked into a deep fryer. My god, sweet dreams are made of these. “It […]

Update: Hanson signing official August 31, 2010

The Leafs confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that they had re-signed restricted free agent Christian Hanson to a one-year contract. […]

Portrait of the artist as a real estate tycoon August 27, 2010

Gary Silverberg is an artist. He also happens to be a developer. […]

Getting over Katrina August 26, 2010

WITH THE five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina drawing near, the U.S. media is busy pumping out special reports and retrospectives on the day disaster struck the Gulf Coast. Most of this reporting is naturally focusing on Katrina’s aftermath and the botched response that continues to impact the area; notably the work done by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who’s […]

No to Fake Drugs: Battling Pharma Counterfeiting With SMS And Mobile Tech August 23, 2010

Femi Soremekun, managing director of Nigeria-based Biofem Pharmaceuticals, is all too familiar with the fight against counterfeit drugs. In late 2008, a distributor notified him that he suspected that one of Biofem’s products, Glucophage, was being counterfeited. After checking batch and inventory numbers, Soremekun reassured him there was no evidence of suc […]

Canada's housing market can't stay hot forever August 23, 2010

Juiced by the efforts of the CMHC, our housing market can't stay hot forever. […]

Wyclef: Not presidential material August 23, 2010

WHAT WAS Wyclef thinking? Hatian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean made a huge media splash earlier this month when he announced on Larry King Live that he was running for president of his native land, effectively positioning himself as the saviour of that earthquake-ravaged country. Only one teeny tiny problem: Clef doesn’t meet the requirements for those s […]

Betty White Wins Emmy For SNL August 21, 2010

“If there’s one thing I’m known for, it’s my muffin,” said Betty White on Saturday Night Live earlier this year, during a memorable guest-host turn that knocked the ratings out of the park. Now, she’s known for something else: On Saturday, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded the Golden Girl the Emmy for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series […]

Should the NHL go to 3-on-3 in overtime? August 21, 2010

With many GMs looking for ways to limit the number of shootouts, extending overtime could serve as one solution […]

Wyclef Jean Barred From Haiti Presidential Race August 21, 2010

Haiti's electoral board has denied Wyclef Jean's candidacy for president. The decision, confirmed yesterday, was not explained. Jean, who in this week's Rolling Stone suggested there might be a "challenge the judicial system if we feel like there's foul play" concerning the determination, emphasized in a statement that his suppo […]

Toddler dies ‘out of sight’ out of mind August 21, 2010

A family reunion of relatives from Canada, France and the United States turned to tragedy in Houston, Tex., on Thursday when a two-year-old Etobicoke boy was forgotten for two hours in a sweltering vehicle and died. The toddler, Khoa Nguyen, had returned with six relatives to the home of Thu and Christine Chau in Harris County. When the passengers entered th […]

Awkward time for Leafs August 21, 2010

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a Tomas Kaberle problem. The longer it festers, the more likely it is to infect other regions of the dressing room. […]

Liberals rush to help Smitherman stop Ford August 21, 2010

Ontario Liberals are pulling out all the stops to help ex-deputy premier George Smitherman win the mayoral race. […]

The Medium: What ‘Fact-Checking’ Means Online August 21, 2010

If the Web has changed what qualifies as fact-checking, has it also changed what qualifies as a fact? […]

How to Use Facebook's New Location Feature August 20, 2010

Facebook Places helps friends find each other in the real world, but users should pay attention to privacy settings before they use it. […]

Rudy Giuliani Is Still a Colossal Seven-Letter Word August 20, 2010

An Argument is being established. A Talking Point is taking root. A Meme begins. Support of Park51 is an act of war. And a familiar face is taking the lead. […]

No ‘Buff Bam’ this time August 20, 2010

THE WHITE HOUSE press corps was up in arms last weekend upon learning that they missed a chance to snap photos of President Obama swimming in Florida. You might recall back in 2008 when pics published of a shirtless president-elect on vacation in Hawaii created a media maelstrom. “FIT FOR OFFICE: Buff Bam is Hawaii hunk,” is how the New York Post played it o […]

How to disable Facebook's "Places" location tagging August 19, 2010

Facebook yesterday announced a new geolocation tagging feature, called "Places." Here's how to turn it off. […]

ROAD TO STARRDOM

All the names that aren’t fit to print September 3, 2010

Get in ma belly! August 31, 2010

What’s love got to do with it? August 30, 2010

BEFORE TIGER WOODS took to the fairways at last week’s Barclays PGA tournament, the ”cheetah” sat down for a perfunctory pre-tourney press conference. Reporters started things off with a few run of the mill golf-related queries: “Drive well today?”; “How many drivers will you hit out there?”; “Have you made the decision now to change your swing?” But this wa […]

Getting over Katrina August 26, 2010

Wyclef: Not presidential material August 23, 2010

No ‘Buff Bam’ this time August 20, 2010

Warning: Journalism being attempted here August 17, 2010

SELF-PROCLAIMED “geek comedian” Tom Scott has a funny-cause-it’s-true bit on his blog that really sticks it to crappy newspapers: Journalism Warning Labels. “It seems a bit strange to me that the media carefully warn about and label any content that involves sex, violence or strong language — but there’s no similar labeling system for, say, […]

Making the most of a meltdown August 12, 2010

Facing reality August 8, 2010

THE COVER of the Aug. 9 issue of Time has generated a fair bit of controversy among those on both sides of the debate over the war in Afghanistan. The magazine’s front features a disturbing image of an 18-year-old Afghan woman who had her nose and ears cut off as punishment for fleeing an arranged […]

Man’s best friend August 5, 2010

Fast is the new slow July 31, 2010

EARLIER THIS WEEK on PoliticsDaily.com, veteran journalist Walter Shapiro had a column in which he called for a “slow news movement.” “We have lost sight of so many significant aspects of our age because they cannot be boiled down to bite-sized news nuggets,” he wrote. “The problem is not the new technology of the news, […]

Shit show July 28, 2010

The biggest buzz of all July 26, 2010

Keeping Apple honest July 21, 2010

NEW YORK TIMES media columnist David Carr had an interesting piece in last Sunday’s paper looking at the role Consumer Reports played in the iPhone4-reception debacle. The magazine said it can’t recommend the phone because of issues with the antenna, which wraps around the outside of the device. If the phone is held a certain way, dropped […]

Goosegate July 17, 2010

Bull-baiting boneheads July 13, 2010

Worst mother on earth July 9, 2010

Coney Island chaos July 5, 2010

Happy “Canada Day” July 1, 2010

I SPOTTED this sign last night as I was out “shopping”… Here in Ontario, beer and liquor stores are government-controlled. That means they’re closed on holidays, every last one of ‘em. It’s a stupid system, and as with so many other services in this country, there’s no real alternative. If you want a cold one […]

Good for Ghana June 30, 2010

CAN’T SAY I know all that much about football/soccer. Like most, though, I’ve been taking in the World Cup action whenever I can. In a multicultural city such as Toronto, you simply can’t avoid the hoopla, and it’s been fun to watch the various ethnic communities around town reacting as their teams win or lose. (That said, I won’t […]

OTHER WORK

•Portrait of an artist a real estate developer (Aug. 27, 2010)
Meet the hybrid that is Gary Silverberg: a developer-artist who is a unique figure on Toronto’s real estate scene.

•Studio on Richmond: An authentic artistic experience (Aug. 20, 2010)
Aspen Ridge is setting aside 8,000 square feet of space at its new condo for an Ontario College of Art and Design gallery.

•Library District Condos: Book value (Aug. 13, 2010)
Context Developments hopes its colourful 29-storey glass tower will stand apart from the Railway Lands competition.

•Moving firm launches customer bill of rights (July 30, 2010)
Two Men and a Truck is nudging the industry to do more to guard against movers who use “predatory tactics.”

•DNA3: Things will be great when you're Downtown (July 23, 2010)
DNA3’s 7,000-square-foot sales office takes the presentation centre concept to a whole new level.

•Muskoka Bay Club: Membership has its privleges (July 16, 2010)
The homes may be in cottage country, but they offer all the features downtown denizens desire.

•In pursuit of a more public-friendly city (June 25, 2010)
The Planning Partnership aims to soften our car-centric urban spaces.

•Baker and co. well-equipped to ride out storm (June 17, 2010)
Lessons learned during the early-90s recession have stuck with Pat Baker and her sales team.

•Yorkville meets the Annex at Pears on the Avenue (June 11, 2010)
'You’ve got the best of both worlds at your doorstep.'

•Onni Group taking Toronto by storm (June 10, 2010)
Vancouver developer arrives in Toronto with big plans for 2,400 condos.

•A high degree of difference (June 5, 2010)
12 Degrees, a stacked glass cube condo, will feature a cantilevered middle section jogged 12 degrees off centre.

•Business is blooming at Geranium (May 15, 2010)
Admitted foodie Boaz Feiner has his plate full with the pile of projects Geranium Homes has on the front burners.

•Daniels chief honoured for affordable housing efforts (May 1, 2010)
Mitchell Cohen receives the St. George Society’s 2010 award of merit.

Entries Tagged as 'Weird and wacky'

August 12th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, God Bless America, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

August 4th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, God Bless America, Weird and wacky

July 28th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

July 25th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

July 17th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Oh Canada, Unusual Punishments, Weird and wacky

July 13th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Pop Culture, Sporting Life, Weird and wacky

July 9th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Uncategorized, Unusual Punishments, Weird and wacky

July 5th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Pop Culture, Sporting Life, Weird and wacky

June 9th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Toronto, Weird and wacky

May 31st, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Media Matters, Weird and wacky

May 25th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Celebrity Scandal, Currently, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

May 22nd, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Toronto, Weird and wacky

May 10th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Media Matters, Pop Culture, Weird and wacky

May 4th, 2010 · View Comments · Currently, Oh Canada, Toronto, Weird and wacky

April 28th, 2010 · View Comments · Around the World, Currently, Weird and wacky

GALLERIES

Twitter | @torontostarr

VIDEO O' THE WEEK

Blogroll

Tags

Pages

CATEGORIES

Archives

OTHER WORK