A video of several celebrity impressions by Newstalk 1010 reporter Lucas Meyer led to him being recruited to perform the voice of Justin Trudeau on The Simpsons, as part of a “D’oh Canada” episode that may or may not touch on a “current scandal.” But it’s not the show’s first reference to a Canadian PM: in 2004, there was a visual joke involving Louis St. Laurent.
That old raccoon-stabbing magic
Toronto Star column backlash is less common now that there’s a metered paywall, but Heather Mallick discovered how to get it now. She surmised that many outraged by the headline didn’t read far enough to learn about the instrument she used for the stabbing: “Dessert forks aren’t even pointy.”
Captain High Liner’s stealth seduction technique. The frozen fishmonger confirmed that its mascot has shed his hat and turtleneck—which had incidentally turned him into a meme. But now the Captain is just another product logo with an unpopular hashtag.
The last days of BlackBerry Messenger
Emtek made a $207-million deal in 2016 to take over the consumer side of BBM. But it couldn’t compete with other messaging apps:
Warren Beasley dead at 88. As the heir to a family business that developed game concessions at the CNE and Toronto-area horse racing operations, Beasley won amusement contracts at Centre Island, which resulted in his creation of Centreville. The park has become best known for the antique carousel that the family failed to sell.
Finally, the 9 that ran out of time
CFTO-TV assumed its dial position on New Year’s Day 1961, after the CBC moved from 9 to 6 (and later 5) to accommodate a second station in Toronto. To this day, the address of CTV’s compound in Scarborough is 9 Channel 9 Court. But the VHF signal frequency is soon changing to 8, and CFTO’s cable position will finally match that over-the-air channel number: