MUSIC | Toronto Kickball Fundraiser

Photo by brilliantboy08 in the blogTO Flickr pool.

The finalists for the fourth annual Toronto Urban Film Festival were announced today at a conference at The Drake Hotel.

Over 350 silent, urban-themed one-minute films were submitted, and some of the best will be showcased on TTC platforms from September 10 - 19.

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Today is 'Ask a Curator Day,' where you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home to pick the brains of gallery and museum curators from across the world. Ah, isolation.

The Art Gallery of Ontario is participating to take your questions from Toronto. Use the hashtag #askacurator to follow the feed, and direct your questions to @agotoronto.

The controversy over Toronto's exclusive deal with Tuggs Incorporated has taken another exasperating turn. Owner George Foulidis confirmed today that he is suing Ward 32 council candidate Bruce Baker for libel.

Tuggs Inc. holds exclusive rights to food and beverage sales in the Beaches through a 20-year deal with the city. As negotiations were being made last spring, it seemed as though Tuggs was getting a $1 million break in rent from the city.

Apparently, the downtown core is a hub of biological diversity. Yes, there are more than just pigeons and bed bugs.

York University researcher Jason Gibbs discovered a new species of bee in downtown Toronto, which he has named Lasioglossum Ephialtum. Gibbs has identified 19 new species of sweat bees across Canada.

From an efficiency standpoint, Toronto's newly adopted common zoning by-law is a long-overdue improvement to the previous system, which, 12 years after amalgamation, was comprised of 43 by-laws that applied to the former municipalities that made up Metro Toronto.

Apparently the City of Toronto has a sense of humour after all. Well, maybe.

On day one of my great poutine odyssey that will see me consuming a poutine a day for the next three weeks, I stop by the Stampede Bison Grill to get started.

If you purchased The Orchard last week, you were most likely at the Mod Club on Monday night to catch Ra Ra Riot, seeing as the band gave away tickets to their Canadian release show with the purchase of their sophomore album from GalleryAC or select independent record stores in Toronto.

While the fire across the street initially spelled disaster for one of Toronto's favourite menswear retailers, shop-owner Sydney Mamane has returned to West Queen West with a bang. His new store is now open and it's bigger and better than it ever was.

Read my review of Sydney's in our fashion section.

Live music picks for WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1 through TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2010.

Howard Moscoe will not be running in the upcoming election. The 70-year-old public servant has decided to move on to other opportunities, although he hasn't said what those are just yet.

COMEDY | Comedy at the Ossington

Photo by dzpixel of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Name: Cal
Passion/Job: Designer
My style: Fun and unique

Name: Leiko
Passion/Job: Neuroscientist
My style: Simple and comfortable

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In a back alley near Bloor and Ossington, a new space for art and technology collaboration has recently surfaced. Behind a bright red door in a structure that looks like a modified coach house, members and students gather for exhibitions, community projects and workshops like how to create lo-fi music from old-school Gameboys or introduction to electronics.

The Mimrans are expanding their empire. Canada's reigning fashion family has continued its sartorial onslaught with the reveal last week of its affordable new women's line, Moon, which will be available exclusively at The Bay ($19 to $139).

In this edition I feature k-os' new Anchorman Mixtape (which features guest appearances from Drake and Sebastien Grainger); links to download two remixes of Broken Social Scene's "All to All"; live video footage of The Hoa Hoa's, The Darcys, Steamboat, Nightbox and Tokyo Police Club; video interviews with The Sadies & Gord Downie, The Meligrove Band, Shad; and the HD preview for Superconnected, a forthcoming Canadi

A Toronto police officer was whisked away by EMS from a 22 Division training facility in Etobicoke yesterday after reportedly being accidentally shot in the leg. All we know is that he wasn't shot by anyone else, but police wouldn't confirm whether or not he accidentally shot himself.

FILM | The Book Revue - A Single Man

Photo by margonaut of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Though all of the front-runners have (of course) scoffed off the $16,000 recommended pay raise for the city mayor, they'll be able to put their money where their mouth is (so to speak) after October 25.

Finally, Toronto can show face with those jerks in Athens and their largest container of body cream.

The city's demolition of the germination and kiln buildings at Canada Malting site will begin this Wednesday.

The waterfront's Canada Malting complex is located at the southeast corner of Bathurst Street and Queen's Quay. The silos will come down as part of the waterfront's redevelopment, which will see restoration of the Canada Malting land's east dock wall later this year.

Charges against former Toronto Humane Society president Tim Trow and other former THS leaders were dropped this morning because of the way a raid was executed back in November.

The TIFF Bell Lightbox will open this fall with special guests and events already lined up for its inaugural program.

The best cheeseburgers in Toronto aren't hard to find - the city's burger belt is bulging with notch after notch being added by new shops opening all the time. From upscale to old-school, it seems our lust for charbroiled meaty goodness on a bun has not yet been satiated.

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Church St. held its annual Fetish Fair on Sunday -- a self-described "celebration of the leather, fetish and fantasy communities," which is currently in its seventh year.

While many galleries have closed for summer vacation or to install their newest shows, the season continues with more thematic group shows united by various degrees of vagueness, and I check out relatively new addition to the Ossington gallery scene.

In this edition: