Sarah Lazarovic—curator of the garage-based Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada—is painting a portrait of a Torontonian every day. Each Monday, we'll feature one of those portraits here. Yesterday, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Gopnik debated Canadian identity at U of T's Convocation Hall. Beyond learning that Gladwell considers himself hypocritical and Gopnik considers himself short, we learned that convocation ushers swish about in regal robes even when there's no convocating taking place. Better than a bowtie......

Have you ever wondered what you could learn from a computer pioneer? You'll have your chance to find out when Michael Dell rolls into town for a free speaking engagement at Convocation Hall later this month. Okay, so Dell isn't exactly a pioneer: he's famous not for inventing anything, but merely for improving the process of assembling a bunch of parts into a serviceable computer, shipping it somewhere, and making a boatload of money while......

This week Musicologist will be checking out Regina Spektor at the Kool Haus, thanks to the insistence of a friend who pretty much exclusively listens to hip hop. The fact the he loves Spektor means she's gotta be good. It's sold out, but Musicologist never shies away from listing sold out shows—we all know there's always an (expensive) last-ditch way to get in if you're desperate. (Why does that sound dirty? We mean scalpers,......

It seems like ages ago that calling our fair city "Hollywood North" meant something. Blockbusters used to set up shop on a regular basis and you could stroll through the University of Toronto campus and see pylons, trucks, and signs for a film going by the rather odd name "Good Will Hunting." So much hooplah and many huzzahs greeted news that The Incredible Hulk would be filming here this summer. A "re-boot" of the......

UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of her eponymous Institute this year, and Toronto is lucky enough to be part of the festivities. Dr. Goodall, most renowned for her involvement with chimpanzees in Tanzania, will grace Toronto for three days in September. Of particular interest is the good doctor's appearance at UofT's Convocation Hall on September 15. According to Tim Grant, co-editor of Green Teacher magazine, Dr. Goodall will......

Every weekday, we pick an image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve! For some students, attending a University can feel like living in a bubble and Toronto can be no exception. This fantastic panorama of King's College Circle at the University of Toronto by wvs (otherwise known as Sam of Daily Dose of......

Al Gore brought his now famous slideshow to a sold-out crowd at the University of Toronto last night. Outside, a very Canadian phenomenon—the "friendly picket"—was taking place with signs that read "Welcome Al" and "Heed The Goracle." Inside, former Ontario premiere David Peterson introduced Gore as a "moralist, philosopher, thinker, teacher, doer, and rock star." "I love you Al," someone yelled from the upper seats of Convocation Hall once the first burst of applause had......

He's making a list, and checking it twice. He's going to let us know who's been naughty or nice. That's right -- Al Gore is coming to town. If you have seen the Oscar-nominated documentary An Inconvenient Truth, then you are familiar with Gore's lecture on the dangers of climate change. The movie was directed by Davis Guggenheim, who wanted to bring Gore's lecture to a much larger audience. "Al Gore strips his presentations......

blogUT has stepped into the crowded Toronto blogosphere (blogaverse? blorld? blearth?) to fill an as of yet uncovered niche: everything about the University of Toronto. Though they've only been around since the beginning of this month, the site -- edited by Jingping Ji, a Masters student in Electrical Engineering -- is already generating quality event listings like you wouldn't believe (see, for instance, dinner with Howard Moscoe, free cookies, and a weekly film finds......

Those of you putting off watching Mean Girls until those exorbitant movie rental prices come down ($4?! Ridiculous!!) can breathe a sigh of relief. A hot, fire-haired, pre-bulimic sigh of relief. Every year, the University of Toronto presents a free film in the back field of their downtown campus. Past films have included Good Will Hunting - presumably fitting for the U of T crowd since it traces the intellectual and emotional growth of a......

Introducing... The First Word!!!!! We're an indie focused Arts and Entertainment talk show on your favourite college radio station - CIUT 89.5 FM. Sundays at 1:00pm is when we take over the airwaves with a lively discussion centred around music, film, comedy, theatre, and of course, Toronto! Big thanks to Ron for letting us get on here, we're huge supporters of Torontoist and are excited about working together. Hey, we even interviewed Ron last......

The U of T is currently in the midst of a major project to transform all three of its campuses, and so far, TOist is impressed with the results: the New College Residence at the corner of Spadina and Willcocks is nothing short of inspiring, and their selection of architects - from Saucer+Perotte to Andropogon - has been contemporary and tasteful. TOist has taken particular interest in the Great Spaces committee's proposal to create 'a......

World traveller and star of Lonely Planet/Pilot Guides for about seven years, Ian Wright will be bringing tales of his adventures to Toronto again this year. If you have ever had the good fortune of backpacking to some foreign land (Whitby doesn’t count) then you probably have a few good stories to tell about your trip. Now, imagine that trip lasting seven years and covering pretty much the whole Globe. These are the stories you......

Torontoist would be remiss if we didn't report that the great Noam Chomsky will be speaking this Sunday, Nov. 21, at University of Toronto's Convocation Hall. Unfortunately the event is COMPLETELY sold out. Good luck, Noam! (photo: infam.antville.org/)......