This Week In News

It has been another interesting week in the news here in Toronto :

1) Sam Sniderman aka Sam the Record Man died

See previous post 


2) Another TTC fare hike has been announced:

Seriously??? How much more are we going to be expected to pay? It seems every year their is another fare hike and its getting ridiculous. The service in my opinion has NOT improved. Sure we got the new subway cars on the Yonge/University/Spadina line  which yes has helped a lot during those peak rush hours,but in terms of the actual "service" and delays it has not improved in the slightest. What has changed every time their is a fare hike? Where are the funds from the increase actually going? I know its been stated they need to raise fares to pay off their debt but still its going to hurt the millions (like myself) who rely on the TTC to get from point A to point B every day.

What about people living on welfare?How are they going to be able to keep affording to take the TTC if the fares keep going up?  What's really funny is that if you read the comments on the article from  The Star online our transit system is considered a joke  compared to other cities around the world. Come on TTC.... prove you really are "The Better Way".


Also coming up this weekend in blog entries a full report on The Markham Fair which happened this weekend.

RIP Sam The Rcord Man

Sam Sniderman aka the founder of the iconic Sam the Record Man store has passed away today. The store that stood for nearly 50 years became an integral part of Toronto's history.

It opened in 1959 and unfortunately had to close it's doors in June 2007 because of the rise of mp3 downloads and iTunes,they just could not compete.

According to a statement from the family a memorial service will be held sometime in October will re-post with date when it is announced.


Here is the article http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/local/on/sam_the_record_man_sniderman_dies_/95f032ac


More to come later

Weekend Recap : Unplugged Expo (Non News Entry)

Another new week begins and what a week it is going to be for us  Fast Track Journalism students here at Centennial College.

Tests and assignments galore to help us become even better journalists then we already are. Anyways onto this weekend recap of an event  that happened here in Toronto.


UNPLUGGED EXPO:

Unplugged Expo an anime,comic book ,gaming and music convention took place at the Best Western Primrose Hotel Sat/Sun. It was the first year for this convention taking place in September and Saturday saw a pretty good turnout. Yes the venue was a touch crowded but you can tell a lot of hard work,dedication and planning went into this event. The staff were extremely friendly and welcome as were the people who attended. I met a lot of interesting people this past weekend,saw some fantastic costumes,props etc and made new friends.  The highlight of the convention for me was the small Masquerade which took place late Sunday afternoon in the main room of the convention.

Despite being very few entries (5 in total) all the entrants did a fantastic job and made for a very entertaining half hour or so. Gangham Style also made an appearance both within the show and at the end when the entire crowd broke out dancing!

It was a fun filled two days from the cosplayers,guests, artist alley and panelists I think Unplugged Expo can only go up from here and I wish them luck in the future!

If you attended feel free to comment on your experiences!


Some Pics :

News of the week

Oh what a week it has been here in Toronto!

So many news stores so little time to blog them!

What is making big news today in Toronto?

Beginning at  5:30 am many people were in line at the Eaton Center for the coveted iPhone 5, Apple's latest installment in the iPhone family.

For those who foresaw the long lineups at Apple stores from previous releases and pre-ordered their iPhones online they were sound asleep this morning.

The funniest thing that has to do with the new iPhone is a video coming from overseas.
Two pranksters super glued the most coveted smartphone to the pavement in Amsterdam and filmed people trying to snatch it. The results are quite hilarious

You can check out the article via Mashable here:iPhone 5 glued to ground in Amsterdamn

Also check out the video on Youtube here: iPhone 5 Prank 


Other news to note :

-Jayesh Prajapati  the Shell Gas attendant killed by a motorist in a "gas and dash" crime was mourned by many today at a Mississauga funeral home during a Hindu ceremony.


-Mary Gowans the teacher who was allegedly accused of sexual assault involving a former student trial has finally come to the end. The judge acquitted her of the charge.

-Elementary students are still lacking their usual after school extracurricular activities- parents have been told by school boards they can not hold practices on school grounds

*UPDATE from Toronto Star: One Toronto high school will in fact be resuming its extracurricular activities

Read more here via Toronto Star:http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1260782--toronto-high-school-resumes-extracurricular-activities


It has been a busy week in news here in Toronto and on a side note the tragic death of Jayesh is a shock indeed. What is more shocking however are allegations coming forward that gas attendants are responsible for paying for stolen gas. If these are indeed true that is despicable! It's not enough that most of these workers are working minimum wage and long hours but to make them pay for stolen gas is totally wrong.


That's all for now more this weekend. 

GoDaddy down -Annoymous Member Comes Forward

So if you've been checking out the newsfeeds lately or are at least browse sites hosted by GoDaddy you will know its been out all day. What caused it? A member of Annoymous the group who has hacked and shut down many known sites and made the news many times,came forward.

This story comes courtesy of CTV: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/godaddy-goes-down-member-of-anonymous-takes-credit-1.950182

Oh Annoymous... I was wondering why you were so quiet lately.

Were you affected by the outage? I know if you are an avid fan of the site  Did You Know Gaming (As I am myself) you may have noticed you can not access the site. This is because GoDaddy now hosts their site.


Will update with more info as it becomes available.

Return to blogging and other news

Hi everyone,

Wow, it feels good to be back on this blog site after a 2 year hiatus.
I return to the wonderful world of blogging as a recent Broadcast and Film Graduate from Centennial College. I also completed a 4 month internship with CTV's Canada AM which went extremely well . Now after 3 years in the broadcast  program I returned to Centennial for Fast Track Journalism. 

Speaking Out the blog which I started in 2009 will continue to do as the title suggests "Speak Out". You can find all sorts of news here from weird news , entertainment, gaming, to the most talked about in Toronto and all over the world. If its "water cooler" worthy you can for sure find it here.

Without further delay to today's edition of Speaking Out :

 This story comes courtesy of The Toronto Star :http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1254063--caregiver-wants-175-000-to-give-up-claim-to-elderly-woman-s-home

For those who need a refresher,the tragic tale of the caregiver and the widow who's home was taken by her caregiver is back in the news again. Whats the big scoop? She wants $175,000 to relinquish her claim on Stella Wasiuk's home. Now I know this case is before the courts and has been in the papers a lot in the last few years but morally speaking how much more does this woman want? Is it not enough that Stella an elderly woman was forced from her own home and basically blackmailed ? You have to ask this poor woman for more money to give her back her home which was not your right to take in the first place?  You took advantage of an elderly person with no family and no friends that alone disgusts me.

What's your take on this? Speaking as a granddaughter with two rapidly aging grandmother's this case really turns my stomach.


I just can't condone this and I sincerely hope Stella gets gets her home back without paying the caregiver a single PENNY. After all she has been through enough is enough..