This lady has a few more handsome men to greet. Catherine “Katie” Hebert, exposed by the Toronto Sun in 2005 for implying that her stickers, which she was selling around the Eaton Centre, were "for charity," made the tabloid's cover again in 2013 after returning from a hiatus. Now she's getting a new star turn on Reddit. By all accounts, Hebert's decades-old come-on still involves approaching strangers to remark upon their attractiveness, with sticker in hand. She expects a buck or two in return for the flattery.

Homeless clothing brand sticks up for itself. Street nurse Cathy Crowe inadvertently promoted Homeless Toronto, which is ostensibly a streetwear brand that sells shirts emblazoned with messages like "Change Please,” along with a selection of ragged hoodies. But the company's co-founder, Trevor Nicholls, is pledging 40 per cent of the proceeds to charity, despite apparently not yet having made formal arrangements with any specific nonprofits. Also, there's no evidence that his website has fulfilled any orders.

Postmedia political columnist goes to work for Team Trudeau. Earlier this month, Michael Den Tandt announced on Twitter that he was leaving his National Post pulpit "to pursue other opportunities." Twelve days later, the PMO announced MDT as a new communications advisor on Canada-U.S. relations. Naturally, this prompted a perusal of his recent writings about the federal government. But the closed ranks of the Ottawa press corps can only be so critical of a career move they might wish for, too. One of their biggest stars stuck it to Den Tandt in a subtweet:

Keeping up with “Doogie Howser, MPP.” Sam Oosterhoff accused the Liberals of “killing manufacturing jobs,” making the Ontario PCs proud enough that they uploaded video of the remark to YouTube. But that doesn’t mean the teen has won over the whole party: Tony Quirk, who lost a nomination fight to Oosterhoff, wants to knock him off next year’s provincial election ballot, because, he says, the social conservative has “the blind faith of a child.”


Today's edition of 12­:­36 is brought to you by the great Canadian journalism survey. Tired of complaining about Paul Godfrey on Twitter? Want to actually fix things? Find out more and fill it in here.


Honest Ed’s long farewell would make no sense to Honest Ed. Now Magazine’s cover story on Toronto For Everyone, the four-day festival at the shuttered bargain store, includes the organizers explaining the event with sociological bafflegab. (At one point, they claim that criticism of the $16.50 admission price “is necessary to fully confront the reality so we can actually do something about it.” Whatever "it" is.) Anyone who can't afford admission can admire some of the spectacle from a digital distance:

“Things never seem what they seem.” The effectiveness of the tagline for Frank D’Angelo’s latest fading-star-studded caper, The Red Maple Leaf, will be tested tomorrow when the film opens in theatres. (The flick's closest thing to a Toronto engagement is at the Cineplex in Vaughan.) D’Angelo isn’t known for taking criticism kindly. (Even so, last year’s Sicilian Vampire earned some notable press.) In addition to a slew of probably-fake rave reviews posted to IMDb, Maple Leaf is being advertised on Twitter—proof of D’Angelo’s faith in the marketplace:

Canadian cyber-cop show creates a new American ratings floor. Ransom, an international co-production shot in Toronto, which CBS plunked on Saturday nights—when new scripted shows don’t generally air anymore—is the biggest broadcast network flop of the season, with a 0.6 share, according to Nielsen. That amounts to around three million weekly viewers south of the border. Last year’s lowest-rated U.S. shows averaged a 0.7. (Global TV has still managed to get a million Canadians to tune in.)

Word of the moment

MUMPS

Toronto Public Health confirms that 14 people caught them, most likely after visiting west-end downtown bars.




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