Toronto Mike

Memories

Total 422 Posts

Pizza Pasta Made Perfect

When I visited The Woodshed last month to chat with Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy, Jim asked me why I pronounced "pasta" with an "aw" instead of the way you'd say "past". I was often told I had it wrong, but I'd never been asked why I say it that way.
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Your Memory is Faulty

Yesterday I was checking in on Twitter, as I do several times a day, and I saw a tweet from Kevin Glew about Willie Upshaw. #OTD 39 years ago, Willie Upshaw hits a two-run single in the third inning to become the first Toronto Blue Jays player to record 100
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September 24, 1991

On this day in 1991, thirty years ago, four seminal albums were released. Nirvana released "Nevermind," Soundgarden released "Badmotorfinger," the Red Hot Chilli Peppers released "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" and A Tribe Called Quest released "The Low End Theory." I owned and adored all four of these albums. I still
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Elmer the Safety Elephant Statue

It's déjà vu all over again. Someone with a vintage Elmer the Safety Elephant statue has turned to Google to find out the value, only to end up right here at TorontoMike.com. Here's the email I received last night. Me and my partner have an Elmer The Safety Elephant
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The Gifted Program

The Barenaked Ladies have been the topic of many conversations this past week, so it's no surprise their reuniting for the Juno Awards came up in last Friday's Open Mike. Commenter mrmojorisica linked to this video featuring interviews with Steven Page and Ed Robertson. There it was, a quote from
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Blinky Used to Talk!

I love writing about Blinky. In the early 80s, Blinky the Police Car was everywhere. He and Elmer the Safety Elephant were primary school staples. I remember Blinky blinking, but I forgot Blinky used to talk. Thanks to my pal Retrontario, here's raw footage from the 1981 Santa Claus Parade
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I Witnessed a MuchMusic Reunion

Last night, I was at The Royal Cinema for an event billed as MuchMusic Retro Mixtape. It was a discussion with Christopher Ward and fantastic video collections curated by Retrontario. Along the way, other veejays from the era would take the stage to share stories. It was awesome for this
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Built for Speed and Rio

1982 was the first calendar year in which I purchased music for myself. Prior to then, the only music in the house that didn't spill out of the radio belonged to my parents. But in 1982, I purchased one album on vinyl and one album on cassette tape. The vinyl
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Ontario - Yours to Discover!

My pal Ed (Retrontario to you, pal!) has uncovered a clean copy of Roland Parliament's 60-second version of "Ontario - Yours to Discover". As a child of the 80s, I remember this tune well. It was an earworm of sorts that still randomly spills out of my mouth from time
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Back Catcher vs. Catcher

I fell in love with baseball during the summer of '83 when I caught Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth calling Blue Jay games while spending a couple of weeks at my uncle's cottage. I was hooked. Around this time, I was playing tee-ball. In my tee-ball league, the catcher was
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Time Machine

I was catching up on some work last night when I saw this tweet from TSN1050 host Mike Richards. Watching a Leaf "Classic" game from 1989. I think Damphousse has just finished a 7 minute shift..#WTF? @TSN1050Radio pic.twitter.com/w9Ig5o43xl— Mike Richards (@MikeRichardsTSN) March 24, 2016Immediately, I knew
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Ode to the Video Store Guy

My kids will never know a world without the internet. As far as they're concerned, it's always been there, a pervasive connection to a massive database of facts and myths. Periodically, I'll remind them that I didn't surf the web until university. When I was 13, my buddies and I
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Hidden Tracks

Do you remember the first time you spun Nirvana's Nevermind? I do. I'd pop it in the CD player, and after "Something in the Way", I'd start it again. At some point I realized there was a whack of time left in the final track, after "Something in the Way"
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I Had the Confederate Flag in My Home

The Confederate flag is under attack. A symbol of slavery and racism, the South Carolina legislature is finally removing it from its State House grounds while stores are busy removing the emblem from shelves. Back when I was young and innocent, I played with the Confederate flag daily. My favourite
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Black's Was Photography

Black's (now stylized as BLACKS) was founded in 1930 with a store in Toronto on St. Clair Ave. Yesterday it was announced that the last 59 stores will be closed for good on August 8. The digital revolution has most of us taking photos with our phones (count me in
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