You’d think that after all the huffing and puffing they’d been doing about the “War on Christmas” that Fox News would actually do as they said…
Category: In the News
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Sassafraz, the Day After
Torontoist has posted Marc Lostracco’s photos of Sassafraz, the day after the fire, and you can find more photos on Flickr.
(For more on Sassafraz, see today’s earlier entry titled Sassafraz and Schadenfreude.)
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"Texas Monthly’s" January 2007 Cover
Texas Monthly, “The National Magazine of Texas”, runs its annual “Bum Steers Awards” every January. This coming January, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney gets a place both in the awards and on the cover:
The fine print on the cover reads:
* Yes, this is a photo illustration. If we don’t say so, Dick Cheney will shoot us in the face.
Sassafraz
Photo by David Topping. Click to see the original on its page.
For those of you not familiar with Accordion City, Sassafraz was a restaurant in the tony boutique area of town known as Yorkville. The place had a reputation for so-so food at ridiculous prices (I’ve had brunch and lunch there, and yeah, you can get much better for the money), but that’s not why one went there. It was a big celebrity hangout. Whenever a big movie star was in town on a movie shoot or publicity tour — and that’s fairly often — they often ended up at Sassafraz.
I use the past tense because Sassafraz burned down yesterday afternoon in a five-alarm fire that brought over 40 fire vehicles and called for 135 firefighters. Here are some major news outlet stories on the fire:
- Fire destroys celeb hangout in Yorkville (Globe and Mail)
- Yorkville celebrity roost burns (Toronto Star)
- Star hangout burns (Toronto Sun)
And here’s what the online locals have had to say:
- Sassafraz on Fire, No Celebs Injured (BlogTO)
- SASSAFRAZ IS BURNING! (Raymi the Minx)
- Sassafraz in on Fire! (Torontoist)
My Cousin Works There
My cousin, Malou, is in the restaurant business. She worked in Manila for years, then in New York, and as of March, she’s been working here in Accordion City — at Sassafraz. Naturally, the first thing I did was to call her mobile phone and see if she was all right.
“C’mon,” I said to no one in particular while the phone rang, “pick up…”
“Hello?”
“Hey, Malou, it’s Joey — just checking to see if you’re all right.”
“All right? Oh yeah — the restaurant. It’s okay, I took a sick day today.”
“That’s got to be the best timing ever,” I said, “I’ve already told Mom that Sassafraz is on fire, so expect a call from her any time now. And hey, if you need anything, you know that you can call any one of us.” (The closest immediate family she’s got is in California; the rest are in Manila.) “I’ll see you at the Christmas party if not sooner.”
Whew.
Schadenfreude
I find it disappointing — but not surprising — at the various online comments expressing near-glee at the news that Sassafraz burned down (one commenter on BlogTO was hoping that the Drake Hotel was next). While I believe that celebrities are generally over-worshipped and overrated, I don’t see see much reason to jump for joy at the loss of a local business, especially one that played a key part in the Toronto International Film Festival, which in turn feeds one of the city’s most high-profile industries, the film industry. Consider also the people who worked at Sassafraz. Thankfully, none of them were injured, but consider that they’re now without a source of income, and we’re deep into the holiday season.
If local indie-hipster hangout 56 Kensington (a charming hole-in-the-wall in the city’s most boho neighbourhood) had burned down, there’d have been a benefit concert with the Barcelona Pavilion as the headline act, and there would’ve been a general call among the local underemployed arts graderati to save an important cultural landmark.
In my opinion, there’s room and need for local institutions of all sorts in this city — from hipster dive bars to Zagat top-rated restos. The sooner we get our collective heads out of our collective asses and recognize that, the better this city will be.
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The Iraq Study Group Report
For you news junkies, policy nerds, political bloggers and people wondering what the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations for how to fix the Mess O’ Potamia are, the Iraq Study Group Report is now available. 142 pages, 79 recommendations, the difference between Sunnis and Shi’ites explained (and some people in Washington need to study up on that), and one president who’s likely to ignore it if it differs from the “things are going well” tack.
An excerpt:
Current U.S. policy is not working, as the level of violence in
Iraq is rising and the government is not advancing national reconciliation. Making no changes in policy would simply delay
the day of reckoning at a high cost. Nearly 100 Americans are
dying every month. The United States is spending $2 billion a
week. Our ability to respond to other international crises is
constrained. A majority of the American people are soured on
the war. This level of expense is not sustainable over an extended period, especially when progress is not being made.
The longer the United States remains in Iraq without progress,
the more resentment will grow among Iraqis who believe they
are subjects of a repressive American occupation. As one U.S.
official said to us, “Our leaving would make it worse….The
current approach without modification will not make it better.”
Here’s how you can get your paws on it:
- Download it from me for free [1.7 MB PDF file]
- Download it from the unintentionally Orwellian-sounding United States Institute of Peace for free
- Buy it at Amazon.com for the low, low price of US$6.57.
Another excerpt:
The United States has made a massive commitment to the future of Iraq in both blood and treasure. As of December 2006,
nearly 2,900 Americans have lost their lives serving in Iraq. Another 21,000 Americans have been wounded, many severely.
To date, the United States has spent roughly $400 billion
on the Iraq War, and costs are running about $8 billion per
month. In addition, the United States must expect significant
“tail costs” to come. Caring for veterans and replacing lost
equipment will run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Estimates run as high as $2 trillion for the final cost of the U.S. in-
volvement in Iraq.
Despite a massive effort, stability in Iraq remains elusive
and the situation is deteriorating. The Iraqi government cannot
now govern, sustain, and defend itself without the support of
the United States. Iraqis have not been convinced that they
must take responsibility for their own future. Iraq’s neighbors
and much of the international community have not been persuaded to play an active and constructive role in supporting
Iraq. The ability of the United States to shape outcomes is diminishing. Time is running out.
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James Kim Found Deceased
That’s the news according to CNET and the JamesAndKati.com site. My deepest condolences to the Kims and their family and friends.
Their families have spent a lot of money on the rescue effort, and there’s the matter of a funeral and helping Kati and the kids back on their feet. If you’ve got a little money (and some Christmas spirit) to spare, please consider making a donation at the JamesAndKati.com site.
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JamesAndKati.com
If you’ve been following the story about the Kims (which I mentioned in the previous entry), there’s a site set up by their friends and family: JamesAndKati.com. It’s got news and updates, as well as a guestbook where you can leave some best wishes and words of support.