There are plenty of ways we’re told we can boost our sex life, from Viagra to Amazonian potions, role play to the Karma sutra. One area that is often overlooked however is our diet, which is why MyVitality hopes to … Continue reading →

Hunky Dory takes us back to the seventies as Marc Evans returns to the director’s chair for his latest project. And the filmmaker has assembled a great cast, which is an exciting mix of young talent and experience, that includes … Continue reading →

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Milla Jovovich will be returning to the role of Alice for a fifth Resident Evil movie – Retribution. It has been ten years since she took on the role for the first time and now she is back while Paul … Continue reading →

Now I am going to stick my neck out on the line here and predict that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be the biggest grossing movie of 2012 – LOL!! Rather obvious I know but I am super excited … Continue reading →

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"This river I step in is not the river I stand in." That line will likely ring familiar to most Toronto folk who've crossed the Queen Street Viaduct heading east across the Don River. Added to the structure by Eldon Garnet during a renovation effort in the mid-1990s, its thoroughly Heraclitean sentiment is a little reminder of the flux that surrounds us regardless of whatever efforts we might make to suppress the passage of time. It also happens to sum up one of the dominant ideas that Toronto artist Flavio Trevisan explores in his latest show, "Museum of the Represented City."

Presented as museum of unconventional maps, the exhibit dramatizes the degree to which cities tend to elude the various cartographic efforts made to capture them. "Maps are out of date as soon as they are made," reads an accompanying note to one of the show's "pieces," which asks viewers to gaze out the window at 80 Spadina Avenue and compare the landscape below to the one depicted on an adjacent Google Satellite map (the imagery on which would likely derive from 2009 or earlier).

The exercise, in effect, turns the city into a living diorama — a savvy reference to the show's underlying argument that the act of representation tends to obscure as much as it reveals. As traditionally understood, maps are secondary documents, passive records of landscapes and built environments that experience constant change. Their ability to represent the subject matter at hand is limited in the same manner that words necessarily come up short at the task of representing the diversity and complexity of the things they describe.

This is not an original observation — of course cities are about more than what can be put on a map — but the wonder in Trevisan's work lies in the way that he unveils this putatively simple fact and, in so doing, turns it on its head. Last year's "Studies of a New Past" already played with the notion that maps exceed their referential function, but this latest collection pursues the argument with greater force and sophistication.

Take, for example, the final map in the show, "A City of Dead Ends." A deceptively simple work, by eliminating Toronto's through streets, it exposes just how inappropriate it is to refer to the city's streetscape as grid. More than that, it presents Toronto in a thoroughly unfamiliar manner, one which should seduce the viewer into a deeper consideration of our built environment and the way that it's taken shape over time.

In an attentive bit of curation, the obvious companion piece is the show's other bookend, "10 Square Blocks," a diptych that highlights the more rigidly governed beginnings of Toronto's street pattern in the grid that still remains just to the east of the St. Lawrence Market. "Things do not always turn out as planned," Trevisan writes. "The shape of the city as we know it today represents its history unfolding in time and space."

All of the pieces in the show work to establish this observation in some capacity or another, whether it be the knife-like map that tracks the area between King and Queen streets, the tiny snippets of the city that are cut out and made to spell "representation," or the aerial view of the Toronto Islands that draws attention to the dueling processes of erosion and development that has given the former peninsula its current shape.

These maps aren't mere imitations of a Toronto that exists prior to and outside of them, but a set of documents that serve to remind viewers that our conception of the place in which we live is born of our efforts to chart it. Although static in a superficial sense, Trevisan's work is thus better understood as a portal to a different way of understanding the city — as a place that's neither fixed in time nor space, the state of which could be best described as becoming.

Grey Area, 2009

Pink Republic, 2011

Bathurst Circuit, 2011

Representation, 2011

Flavio Trevisan's "Museum of the Represented City runs until April 8, 2012 at Koffler Off-Site. Admission is free.

Photos by Jesse Milns and the author

Long hailed as the place to go for OCAD students, this art supply store has opened a second location after more than 13 years on McCaul. This new store is considerably smaller with just one retail floor, but for a previously dry strip of Dundas West it's a welcome addition. Well that and its competitor, also new to the Junction, just a few doors down.

Read by profile of Above Ground Art Supplies (Junction) in the design stores section.

Martin Crimp has an ethereal Beckettesque presence. In town for the opening of his 2004 play Cruel and Tender, a modern version of Sophocles' Trachiniae, the playwright — a tall, stick-thin ghost-like figure — appeared for the curtain call alongside the play's director, acclaimed filmmaker Atom Egoyan.

It's a play that's set to divide Toronto audiences, not necessarily for Egoyan's direction of the piece, as the fanfare would suggest, but rather for Crimp's fractured portrait of war and a disappointing performance from the play's lead.

Alongside a chorus of helpers, the tortured household of a General at war unravels under the pressure of the father's decisions overseas. Amelia (Arsinée Khanjian) sends her son James (Jeff Lillico) to fetch his father (Daniel Kash) from the front lines, where he has obliterated a city in the name of war. We learn from a government official (Nigel Shawn Williams), that the mission was not actually to root out terrorists, but to claim the daughter of the fallen dictator, Laela (Abena Malika), for his own. Amelia plots to return her husband to his senses with a test tube cure.

Crimp's play is an indictment of the war on terror and the language used to service recent missions to Afghanistan and Iraq. His thesis (among many ideas) is that human beings are not mentally equipped for the actions and consequence of war. Each character, the General being the obvious example, bends, falls, and is crushed by the weight of war, whether in the field or not. While there are strong moments, not all of the fractured and abstract scenes coalesce.

Khanjian fails to rope the audience into the web tightly-weaved by her character Amelia, who dominates the first half of the show. She doesn't match the intensity of her wondrous performance in Palace of the End, seeming vocally dwarfed by the imposing set by Debra Hanson in the expansive Bluma Appel. The characters of the chorus (Cara Ricketts, Brenda Robins, and Sarah Wilson), there to interpret and distract, sing karaoke songs whenever things go awry — a strange inclusion in Crimp's text.

In the play's second beat, where the son and father return home, the action is better. It's in these scenes — a gut-wrenching familial reckoning — where the play reaches towards the promise of the sum of its parts. Lillico's return injects much-needed intensity into a plot that has, until then, felt like low-stakes. He's commanding, focused, and draws the right notes out of Khanjian.

Kash the General reaches the heights needed for the play's final scene. As he terrorizes those around him, with seemingly the same psychological violence exerted in the field, the awful climax reaches full pitch. Williams has some shining moments as the fast-talking bureaucrat in these scenes.

Egoyan navigates Crimp's text well, bringing clarity to some of the abstract moments in the script. His use of shattered glass punctuates the right notes, and the integration of live video is, as would be expected from the Academy-Award nominated director, a highlight. The mis-en-scene in general though — the stark set, distracting lighting, and cruel sound — doesn't service the play.

It's unbalanced, no doubt, with the missteps overshadowing the aspects that shine. The strong thrust of the second section almost makes up for how we arrived there, but not quite.

—

Cruel and Tender, written by Martin Crimp and directed by Atom Egoyan, runs at the Bluma Appel Theatre until February 18.

Photos by Bruce Zinger

Rob Ford had no legal right to cancel Transit City — at least according to lawyers Freya Kristjanson and Amanda Darrach, whose legal opinion was solicited by councillor Joe Mihevc. In a report that 's to be publicly revealed later this morning, it's argued that Ford really had no right no entering into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the province that authorized a new transit plan. If that's the case, his new transit plan shouldn't be acted upon until it's approved by council. Stay tuned.

Looks like the Real Jerk isn't going down without a fight. The popular Caribbean eatery has hired legal counsel to seek an injunction to delay the eviction from their Queen Street and Broadview location. The restaurant's been ordered to leave their building on Tuesday — fingers crossed roti lovers.

The Post's Peter Kuitenbrouwer takes a tour of Toronto's newest hill and details his walk in the park. Don River Park is 9-hectares of greenery and trees that lies between the Distillery District and the Don Valley Parkway. The hill was artificially built and serves as a great vantage point to view all the new development in that corner of the city, including the old Unilever soap factory that's due to be turned into an office park and the section of land set aside for the athletes' village for the Pan Am Games.

For lovers of improv comedy, the news that Bad Dog Theatre has finally found a new home, is a relief. Since leavings its Danforth home last year, the theatre company has finally found a new home at Comedy Bar. Their new exclusive partnership will see Bad Dog providing in-house classes, as well as performing several weekly nights of shows at the bar. Evening classes will, however, remain at Fraser Studios.

From the weekend:

• The Neighbourhood Mix Tape for all the Cool Kids
• Keith rounded up this week's best theatre and Michael shares what's going on comedy
• Chris gave us a brief history of the Dufferin Gates at the CNE
• Lauren tells us where to trade in clothes on Queen Street West

Photo by syncros in the blogTO Flickr pool

COMEDY | Comedy Cabaret
Sometimes what you really need most is a good laugh - especially on a Monday! Tonight at The Charlotte Room, the Comedy Cabaret promises to deliver just that, will a most happening lineup of standup comics. Tonight's offerings include: Barry Taylor, Todd Van Allen, Ali Hassan, Zabrina Chevannes, DK Phan, Robin Crossman, Camille Cote, Sarah Grange, Marc Hallworth, and Dave Code. Our host for tonight is Chris MacLean.
Charlotte Room (19 Charlotte Street) 8PM PWYC

FOOD | Lynn Crawford Book Signing
If you weren't lucky enough to get an invite to Chef Lynn Crawford's book launch at Ruby Watchco a couple weeks back, then here's your chance. Hosted at George Brown College where Crawford received training many moons ago, this a a chance to exchange words with the celebrity chef and to congregate with other food lovers. Regular admission is $35 and student admission is $30.
George Brown Chef School (300 Adelaide Street East) 6PM

MUSIC | Elvis Monday
It's Monday - that means music! Elvis Monday goes down at the Drake tonight, and this is a long standing Toronto showcase that has been serving up cutting edge alternative and independent rock with no cover for decades! Tonight there will be a variety of local bands you should know about, including the hard-rockin' Delusion Manifesto. Elvis never leaves this building!
The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West) 9PM

PHOTOGRAPHY | Seeing Sound
This is could be the tastiest photography exhibit you ever attend! This will be Katie Genaro's first photography show, and will feature footage of Toronto various concerts from 2007 to 2011. The bonus for this one is the venue. Vesuvio's is an Italian joint that has been in the pizza biz since the '50s. They have a unique selection, too, and a must try is their Pizza Bella - could go very nicely with some photos of live music. Bada bing!
Vesuvio Pizzeria and Spaghetti House (3010 Dundas Street West) 11AM

BOOKS & LIT | Professor David Klausner discusses the Canterbury Tales
"The Canterbury Tales" is Geoffrey Chaucer's famous collection of stories, written in Middle English in the late 14th Century. This work is considered one of the most important in the history of English literature, and sheds much light on English society at the time. This is precisely the angle that Professor David Klausner will take with his lecture on this great work: exploring how "The Canterbury Tales" reveals much about the society, politics and culture of its time.
Toronto Public Library @ Deer Park (40 St. Clair Avenue East) 2PM

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR

• Authors Fight Alzheimer's Fundraiser/Book Signing Event
• 2nd Annual David Soulfingaz Williams Tribute/ Scholarship Fundraiser

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by _Rashomon_ in the blogTO Flickr pool

Photo by DdotG in the blogTO Flickr pool

Montreal's Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra chose not to allow media cameras into their Lee's Palace show on Friday — a questionable decision given that, as I predicted, many fans successfully smuggled in cameras, but not a particularly surprising one. Silver Mt. Zion is an offshoot of notoriously media unfriendly Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

The worst part about the photo ban is that I can't show you the first thing fans saw upon entering: a framed, up-side-down photo of Stephen Harper mounted above the stage (I must say, Harper looks better inverted than right side up).

Silver Mount Zion, currently a quintet, appeared just after eleven. Leader Efrim Menuck added to the light-hearted political flavour offered by Harper's visage, greeting the crowd by stating sympathetically that "base humour" is the only response possible to Toronto's mayor. Beginning with a new song, the bluesy "Take Away These Early Graves," Menuck and violinist Jessica Moss harmonized over rock riffs and strings with punky yells, epitomizing the band's take on post-rock: a sound that pulls from folk, punk, neoclassical, and blues.

Musical highlights were Godspeed-reminiscent orchestral climaxes, tranquil moments of violinists Moss and Sophie Trudeau's sweetly feminine vocal harmonies, and Menuck's loud, discordant voice singing mostly indiscernible lyrics.

Between songs, Menuck engaged the crowd with question periods that mostly produced asinine questions — "is she (Moss or Trudeau) single?" — but did bring the revelation that the band is not working on a full-length at the moment. Menuck quipped more about mayor Ford, Canadian mayors past, and of course, Harper.

The political theme continued to the set's end. "They say we get the leaders we deserve" Menuck said, gesturing toward Harper, "our leaders don't care if we live or die." The band began "What We Loved Was Not Enough," another new song and a gorgeous, melodic composition which made me feel lucky to be in attendance.

Judging by various lewd comments and conversations around me, I doubt some of the post-rock hungry fans in the audience were impressed with the night's political slant, but it struck a chord with me. Having spent my fair share of time thinking about the current state of Canada and what I sometimes view as the dark path our country is taking, I hope the band's message reached other members of the crowd in some way it did me.

Back to the music — check YouTube for the next week or two if you'd like some visuals (and audio) from Friday. Media ban or not, I saw at least one fan film the set.

Set list

Take Away These Early Grave Blues
Blind Blind Blind
13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
There is a Light
The State Itself Did Not Agree
Horses in the Sky
What We Loved Was Not Enough

Encore:

Psalms99

Photo of a previous Thee Silver Mount Zion show by Jason Persse

Cass McCombs' show at the Garrison this Friday night was a treat for all those in attendance. The opener, Frank Fairfield — a violin and banjo-toting songwriter from California — set the stage with whimsical, southern-style tunes that had the crowd tapping their feet and clapping along with the occasional "Yip!" hollered into the night.

When McCombs and his band finally hit the stage just before midnight, the crowd was right riled-up and ready to sway to songs from his most recent release, Humor Risk. The backdrop — a glittering matrix of LED lights that sparkled like clusters of stars — left the band a mere silhouette, completely darkened in contrast to the brightness shining behind them. The result was a mysterious and stylized series of profiles that were not revealed... for the entire show.

After greeting the audience with a humble "Hi, how are you?" McCombs kicked off the set with the poppy "Love Thine Enemy." The band played with an easy charm and fluidity demonstrative of a well-rehearsed stage show and great musicianship. Though I'm certain every audience member secretly hoped that the lights would eventually be turned up, the lack of emphasis on the band themselves allowed the music to take center stage.

The hour-long set was a dynamic one, slipping fluidly between slower, seductive jams like "Meet me at the Mannequin Gallery," to the high-energy "I cannot lie," which finished off the show. Ever the idiosyncratic songwriter, McCombs' lyrics were often underpinned by hilarious nuggets of profound ridiculousness ("Satan is my toy/ Jesus is my boy," for example). The comedic gems woven into a repertoire that is oft noted for its sense of dejection and bleak outlook ("AIDS in Africa" from his first full-length A jumps to mind), were a nice surprise and at times had the audience laughing out loud.

McCombs' show, though shrouded in darkness, was exceptional. The easy and comfortable atmosphere created by the band brought a sense of homey-ness to the Garrison on Friday night — a feat that isn't easy to accomplish. As I watched fans of all ages swaying gently with smiles on their faces, even as the show reached one o' clock in the morning, I felt certain that Cass McCombs will always have a dedicated audience wherever he goes, for as long as he continues to make music.

Photos by Nick Warzin

Off the back of last weekend's caption hilarity, we've dug up another gem from the Toronto Archives for the sole purpose of a quick laugh. In celebration of his visit to Toronto earlier this week, today's image features a miserable Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter lookalike posing during a cake-making workshop at Central Technical School in 1923.

Make us chuckle with your best caption below. But, you know, please keep it mostly clean.

The photos of the week collect each of the editor-selected photos of the day into one post for a contest to be decided by our readers. Sponsored by Posterjack, the photographer whose image receives the most votes will be awarded with a voucher code for a 24"x36" poster print of their work.

All the rules and fine-print can be found in the original announcement post on the blogTO Flickr page. One thing to add, however, is that the voting period ends at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, after which the winner will be contacted with the good news.

For those photographers whose images are featured below, please feel free to give us a little information about your shot — i.e. where and when it was taken — in the comments section. Who knows? Maybe your description will sway voters in your favour! Lead photo by Metrix X

2.

mauriciojcalero

3.

Photo by Tony Zh@o

4.

suede photography

5.

enedkl

6.

ellaraye

7.

ellaraye

Please vote for the photo of the week

The Neighbourhood Mixtape is a collection of newly-released songs by Toronto musicians. The mixtape is meant to celebrate Toronto's music culture and provide a forum to listen to and discover new local music.

Every Sunday, I post a five-track mixtape (along with my own mini-reflections for each track) that you can download or stream as a soundtrack for the week.

Track #1: Bry Webb, "Asa"

If you haven't yet, you must listen to Bry Webb's LP Provider. The album features graceful, glacially-paced tracks like "Asa", where Webb's voice flows smooth, lonesome and thoughtful. Catch him live on February 4th at The Music Gallery.

Track #2: Western Walk, "Channel Twenty"

Western Walk is a noise-pop project by Tobi Soetan. Download the new shimmery, pulsating "Channel Twenty" for free here.

Track #3: Donlands & Mortimer, "What You Offer"

Led by the vocal prowess of Carmen Elle, D+M thrills with the skyward surge of their rocketing track "What You Offer". Collect it for your own mixtape here.

Track #4: Phèdre, "In Decay (Beta Frontiers Remix De Tercero)"

Phèdre is a hybrid love affair between Hooded Fang members Daniel Lee and April Aliermo and Airick Woodhead of Doldrums. "In Decay" blends mosaic arrangements with switchblade rhythms. Grab it now on Pitchfork.

Track #5: Chocolate Robots, "Summer Krushhh"

Get past the funny names to listen to Chocolate Robots, a brother-trio band who work at their dad's pizza shop by day and play psychedelic tunes like the catchy "Summer Krushhh" by night. Listen to their full album Pizza Face here and grab some free samples here.

If you wish to be a part of The Neighbourhood Mixtape, you can contact Aldrin at aldrin [at] blogto [dotcom]

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto.

A Brimful of Asha / Tarragon Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $23
When's the last time you've seen a play featuring a mother and son playing themselves? In A Brimful of Asha, actor and director Ravi Jain performs alongside his mother for a look at a true Canadian story about generational culture clash. When Ravi takes a vacation to India, his parents decide to showcase potential brides. As a special treat, select Sunday performances take place at Dish Cooking Studio and include a cooking class with Asha.

The Double / Factory Theatre Studio / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $20-$28
TheatreRUN presents an original adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella The Double: A Petersburg Poem. The story concerns a government clerk who is obsessed with the thought that a fellow clerk has stolen his identity. The show is performed by Adam Paolozza, Arif Mirabdolbaghi, and Viktor Lukawski, an exciting and physically motivated group of theatre creators. TheatreRUN produced the award-winning Spent, for which Paolozza won a Dora Award.

No Exit / Theatre Passe Muarille Backspage / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $20-25
In Satre's hell, other people are the fire and brimstone. arts and lies productions brings us the existential philosopher's most famous play, in which three individuals, Joseph, Inès, and Estelle, consider their fate in the afterlife. Don't let the parlour setting fool you, it's eternity for this threesome. No Exit is not an easy text to make engaging — it will be interesting to see how director Rosanna Saracino approaches it.

Festival of Original Theatre / Robert Gill Theatre / Various / Free
Each year, the University of Toronto huddles up for a festival of experimental work that brings together academia and the arts for cross-disciplinary exchange. This year it celebrates its 20th anniversary and takes for its study the theme of Theatre and Learning in both theory and practice. While it may sound cerebral, there are performances to complement the discussions — Helene Vosters on Performing Peace, Checkpoint.Notes, La Maleta (The Suitcase) from Roseneath Theatre, La Danza Del Venado, and Canada Road.

Closer / Winchester Street Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $20
Pop culture mavens will surely recall the 2004 film Closer, based on the play of the same name, in which Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen engage in all kinds of bed-hopping. The play takes a microscope to monogamy, questioning if and how infidelity can be redeemed. The irony of the play is that, while moving closer is the goal, these characters drive away from one another with their actions.

Photo from a Brimful of Asha