These nutbars (left to right) are Sara, Christina and Daria. Last year I played on a Kickball team with them called The Morning After Pills. This year they have a new team, called The Never Nudes (Arrested Development anyone?) Kickball is a lot of fun. It's soccer baseball played on Sundays in Alexandra Park at Dundas and Bathurst. 6pm start. Last year I had a great time meeting incredible people, you should go this year!! www.torontokickball.com

So the city is cracking down on merchants in Kensington who don't have permits to sell on the sidewalks. Fair enough, why should some people pay, and others not? Yesterday I heard the owner of Ethiopian Spice (on Baldwin) got hit with a fine because a rug he sells contains endangered monkey fur. Permits is one thing, this monkey fur thing is another. That was someone going in searching for a reason to get this guy. The story came from a typically credible source......

Commercial rents in this area are rising, one guy's rent just got doubled. How are small independant merchants supposed to survive, let alone thrive downtown? Answer is, we're not. Property owners are interested in profit, and why not? It's their business. It's a shame that local culture and identity isn't of any consequence when there's money to be made. The only way to combat that pattern is for consumers to put their money into local business, to make it stronger, to enable those owners to purchase commercial property. But then what says a merchant/property owner wouldn't turn around and raise the rents by a ludicrous amount on the tenants they house?

Wow, pointless argument.

It's a combination of two of the greatest stories ever, David v. Goliath, and Star Wars (who will resist turning to the dark side?)

I came up with a kickass salad; green leaf lettuce, cucumber, red onion, pecans, avocado, green grapes, tuna. No dressing needed, the grapes provide juiciness and sweetness!!

xo