What Rob Ford Says About Toronto

What happened to Toronto the sophisticated? How could a city so rooted in left-wing politics elect someone so far right?
Amid all the cries from liberal minded city-dwellers, some can make out the faint sounds of a hallelujah chorus. Nearly 48% of voters turned out in support of this guy so he must have some merits...right? Well he certainly did have the loudest voice, and maybe these days that's all it takes to entice the voting public. Ford ran on a campaign promise - stop the gravy train - and I find myself wondering if Rob Ford is really the most qualified man to do so. No that's not another attack on Ford's fitness level, but rather an attack on his personal finances. For someone who claims to understand the plight of the working man, Rob Ford has a considerable amount of inherited wealth.

Ford has built a career by being vehemently opposed to everything. Now he finds himself out of the opposition and in charge of the most multicultural metropolis in the world what's the big bully to do? Now he's stuck running a city even though he's failed to demonstrate that he understands how to fix its problems. "Stopping the gravy train" worked as a slogan but how will he put it into practice? Ford has promised to slash almost $3 billion in spending without layoffs or cutting services, something that just doesn't add up. Ford has really only expressed his concern over cutting city hall spending, but has not made any substantial statement regarding any other of Toronto's concerns. Development? Ford has stated that we can no longer afford to improve our neglected waterfront. Environment? He knows to turn out the lights, but no comment on sustainability. TTC? A convoluted plan that scraps Transit City and any of the required provincial government support that came with it.

Plus there's dealing with the council. A mayor depends on his council to enact the policies he campaigned for. In his years as a councillor, Ford has done precious little to make allies. Now he expects to cut their salaries, benefits and size and still get them to vote his way?

So what does Ford say about Toronto? The obvious answer is that Toronto desires change. Or maybe that Torontonians are so concerned with saving a few dollars they'll do so at the expense of city they love. It outlines the distrust Toronto has in their city council to effectively manage finances. Most concerning, as Toronto is making advances on a global stage as it never has before, a Ford victory shows that we aren't concerned with image. City beautification falls low on Ford's prioritization list. Not to mention his lack of charisma. The man representing Toronto is the same guy who was ejected from a Leafs game for getting too drunk and berating fans. So much for Toronto the sophisticated.

Rob Ford's Mugshot

When Possible, Make a U-Turn

Consider this: you're driving around on a dark, cold night. There are no streetlights to help and the rain and fog have stolen your visibility. But thank god you have your satellite navigation system. You can be at ease knowing that your GPS will guide you home safely tonight. Or will it?

That's what an Ontario woman thought Tuesday night as she got caught in the rain northwest of Trenton. Unfortunately her dependence on the device led her right into a marsh.

It took rescuers hours to find her in the isolated area. Luckily the woman was not injured by the incident.

The GPS had led her over a kilometre off the main road.

Reliance on GPS devices have caused several driving mishaps since their inception.

Last Christmas an Oregon couple were stranded for three days in a wildlife reserve forest. Making their obligatory Christmas rounds, the couple were headed towards a timeshare they owned for Christmas Day when their trusty GPS suggested an alternate route that promised to save them a few minutes of travel time. After travelling 40 kilometres on the unmaintained road the car inevitably got stuck and they remained without a cell signal for three days. Luckily it was Christmas time and they had a few gift baskets in the trunk filled with provisions to keep them satisfied.

Of course Garmin, the manufacturer of the GPS maintained that the directions given by their device are only suggestions and cannot be held liable for any incidents that may occur as a result of those suggestions.

Sometimes these GPS devices can cause destruction. Last June a demolition crew was misdirected to a worksite and ended up tearing down the wrong house. Last March a driver nearly drove his BMW off a cliff!

There are a plethora of mishaps involving misdirection by GPS devices - the Swedish couple who drove 660 kilometres in the wrong direction and found themselves in the Alps instead of the coast. The British woman who drove her Mercedes into a river.

what ever happened to the good ol' map? You know checking out where you're going before you go there and making sure there's no cliffs or marshes in your way. Has it fallen out of fashion to know where you're going BEFORE you get there?

Reliance on these devices has reduced driver knowledge. So how about the next time you go to type in your destination into your GPS...take some precautions to make sure you don't end up driving into a river.

Nuit Blanche...

Every year Toronto holds an all night art festival called Nuit Blanche. The idea was borrowed from similar festivals in cities like St. Petersburg and Berlin. For one night the city tries to transform itself into a free art gallery, filled with commissioned and non-commissioned art installations and performances. In theory this is a wonderful way for a city to embrace its artistic side and promote the arts. In reality, it's a mess.

Flocks of Torontonians gather in the core of the city to view these spectacles and by eleven o'clock the would-be intellectual event transforms into a parade of drunken patrons roaming the closed streets. Much of the emphasis isn't even placed on the installations themselves, but more on the idea of nuit blanche. Flags at all intersections remind the hoards of the purpose of the event but it's easier to locate the many sponsor booths than the actual exhibitions.

Without a proper plan, Nuit Blanche can be tiring and confusing. There are hundreds of things to see, and all though you are armed with a map you can never be really sure of the quality of the next exhibit you're marching towards.

The award for the most self indulgent piece has to go to the live feed of SMS messages and tweets that were displayed on the side of a building.

So Nuit Blanche, you know what your problem is?

• Ego - stop acting like this is a cultural revolution and be more informative about the exhibits!
• Timing - October? Why not August? A summer date would increase the enjoyment of this event
• Yonge St. - Yonge St. is the main artery of Nuit Blanche pumping crowds from one installation to the next, so why not spruce up Yonge with some art.
• Crowds - I don't have a solution for this but navigating through the hoards and hoards of people really takes the pleasure out of the night. Perhaps the exhibits should be spread out a little more to dillute the traffic, particularly around Yonge and Queen.

 All in all, see you next year.