Torontonians Complain about Family Day Holiday, Fletcher Readies to Tear Down the Leafs: TorontoIAM

This is a selection of recent popular blog articles from TorontoIAM where you will find the best blogs from Toronto, Ontario as well as video uploads, social networking, rumors, and blog authoring

Happy Family Day – Get out There and Complain like a Canadian!

Val Dodge over at The Torontoist, blogs about the controversy that is Family Day. The irony of all the complaints being that we “spent years agitating for a mid-winter holiday,” comparing ourselves to Americans, who have two. From almost “the very second we got our coveted holiday, we began months of complaining about how inconvenient, costly, and stupid it is to have a day off in the middle of winter.” Dodge says, sure, it’s a “borderline holiday with a silly name.” And, according to a recent poll, only 25% of us want to spend time with our families so soon after Christmas. “Family Day has absolutely nothing to do with families,” she writes in her post, “and has everything to do with getting a day off work and school.”

Some people are upset that anyone is getting the day off at all, and “others are angry that some people aren't getting the day off.” For some, one of their existing “floating days” is being converted to cover Family Day. Others are angry at the cost. But “how exactly is any of this different from any other statutory holiday in Ontario?” It isn’t. “The only difference is that Family Day is new, while the other statutory days off work are relatively long-standing traditions.” Dodge makes a “modest proposal” that next year, “the third Monday in February be rechristened ‘Canadian Holiday’ and celebrated / condemned across the entire country.”

Fletcher Readies for Anticipated Trades

Howard Berger’s most recent post reports on Cliff Fletcher’s early arrival in south Florida to “get a head start on revamping his hockey club.” Although, Fletcher admits he got in a bit too early, “Most of the managers didn't start arriving 'til around supper time,” Fletcher laughed, who arrived early in the morning yesterday. Fletcher has not made it a secret that “re-tooling the Maple Leafs for next year and beyond is his primary goal.” Berger says Fletcher wouldn’t admit it, but the current season is pretty much “a write-off” for him. Fletcher has “repeatedly assured media folks and fans that no move will be made before next week's trade deadline to try and abet this year's sorry bunch.”

Berger writes in his post that “it's been a long time since a Leaf GM approached the deadline without an immediate fix in mind. In fact, it was probably Fletcher, himself, more than a decade ago.” He’s pretty much been given “carte-blanche by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to tear down, not build up, the current team.” Although he has his “hands full” as he attempts to restructure, because most of his “tantalizing possessions… control their own fate with movement restrictions in their contracts.” As well, they’re happy to stay on a losing team in a “nice city.” Fletcher isn’t shy about making “multi-player deals” but also knows his colleagues are “aware of his strategy,” and that “GMs that advertise themselves too fervently as sellers can place themselves in a position of weakness.” However, he only has “eight days to spin the magic that would land the club its optimum return.”

Local Talent Matthew Barber Celebrates Release of New Album

From B(oot)log, we get a feature on Toronto’s Matthew Barber, the second half of a dynamic musical brother and sister duo. Of the talented Barbers, Matthew is the elder sibling. Like his sister Jill, “Matthew has a gift for writing lyrics and crafting melodies.” Our blogger states that also like Jill, “Matthew has a great stage presence, confidently chatting with the audience in between songs.” The main difference between the two is that Matthew tends “to rock a little harder than Jill, although he is equally wonderful at the softer stuff.”

He has recently taken a “down-tempo” approach to thing “according to the blurb posted about his new record, ‘Ghost Notes,’ due out March 4th.” For his album release, Matthew has scheduled many performances through April. The duo will play Kingston with their band “The Sevilles” at the end of the month at the Grad Club. B(oot)log warns in the post that readers should get our tickets soon as they are selling fast.

Toronto’s Showdown Vintage the Hottest Place for Vintage Online

Daniel Wilson over at Toronto Street Fashion sends kudos to Showdown Vintage for their presence on the modern market of cyberspace. The Toronto team of Showdown Vintage and eBay “are taking vintage fashion out of musty old Kensington basements” and onto the Internet. “Showdown Vintage is an eBay seller that operates like a small independent boutique, posting new items every couple days and maintaining a consistent standard and fashionability.”

Showdown Vintage, one of the “hottest online stores for beautifully cut, flawless vintage fashion,” will celebrate their 2nd anniversary in May. “When we’re picking,” says Showdown’s Staysail, “we are looking for beautiful, well made, well cut pieces. Cut is key, and we personally try on every item we pick to make sure the fit is nice.” The Showdown team picks “five days a week in four different rag houses” and has “amassed a huge collection of clothes.” And for those who don’t like shopping online, they open up to the shopping public every four to six weeks. “Relying only on Facebook and word of mouth, the Showdown sales have been growing steadily. Staysail remarks that this has been their busiest yet.” More information and a link to Showdown are available in the post.

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