The hosts of Re-Inventors, Jeremy MacPherson and Matt Hunter, put one of their "re-inventions" to the test against Olivier Jean, a speed skater and Olympic hopeful, at the Ricoh Coliseum this week. The propeller strapped to MacPherson's back was based on a patent registered in 1948 by Horace M. Morrill, who intended the device to "provide a portable manually supported propelling unit" for people on skates, boats or bicycles. The race, a promotional event......

So, you may have noticed it snowed this weekend. If you don't believe us, go check out the Toronto Star's website, where nine out of ten local stories are about the snow, people dealing with the snow, and celebrities talking about the snow. Notably absent among them: the probable cause for all of this snow. Rare meteor lands somewhere near Georgian Bay. This would as opposed to the common, everyday type of meteor that......

Hundreds of people braved the year's worst storm to march along Bloor and Yonge on International Women's Day, Saturday. This year the march marked the 100th anniversary of a demonstration by 15,000 immigrant women in New York to draw attention to working conditions and child labour. The theme of the march was "The Rising of the Women is the Rising of us All!"......

The organizers of Nuit Blanche held a launch event at OCAD this morning to announce this year’s curators—Wayne Baerwaldt, Director and Curator of Exhibitions at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery at the Alberta College of Art and Design; Dave Dyment, Director of Programming at Mercer Union, Toronto; Gordon Hatt, a writer and curator who lives in Kitchener; and Haema Sivanesan, Executive Director of Toronto’s South Asian Visual Arts Centre—and allow them to outline their individual......

A demonstration at City Hall yesterday by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty forced the Speaker to halt proceedings after the protest spilled onto the chamber floor. The action by OCAP was called after the discovery of a homeless man frozen to death in a downtown stairwell February 27. A statement by OCAP called the death a "preventable tragedy." Members of the activist group handed out statements to councilors as others rebuked them for their......

The final lineup for the benefit concert for the O'Keefe family has been announced. Organized by Andrew Copland—John O'Keefe's close friend and the Duke of Gloucester's head bartender—the concert aims both to honour John O'Keefe, who was killed walking home from the bar a month and a half ago, and to raise money for an education fund for John's son, Iain. This Sunday, March 2, the Mod Club will host a mix of Toronto......

The Village of Yorkville Park rang to the sound of chisels and chainsaws on Saturday as ice sculptors took part in the Bloor-Yorkville IceFest Festival Ice Carving Competition. More images after the jump.......

A little more of the renovation of Museum subway station has been revealed, showing oddly contrasting purple columns and white moulded volutes. (See also Rannie Turingan's video taken from a train pulling into Museum station.) Still under wraps until the official unveiling in April are the individual column designs themselves. The subway revitalization project, which includes Museum, Osgoode, and St Patrick stations, has not been without its critics. Joe Clark calls the project a......

Fire at Queen and Bathurst. Adios to Duke's, the Suspect Video outlet, and a bunch of other cool places. Check out Torontoist's coverage of the fire here and here and here––Queen West will be closed until next week. Home sales in Toronto drop significantly after land tax kicks in. Of course, one has to account for the fact that home sales in January, before the land tax was initiated, were significantly higher because people were......

Exclusive images from the massive fire on Queen Street. More shots after the jump.......

Photo by aardvark from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Transit vehicles are being diverted and streets have been closed near Queen and Bathurst as firefighters battle a six-alarm blaze this morning. The fire broke out about 5 a.m. and spread through eight low-rise buildings on the south side of Queen, consisting of fourteen addresses between Bathurst and Portland. The destroyed block contained commercial properties Suspect Video, Duke's Cycle, National Sound, Preloved, the Jupiter head shop,......

A protest outside the Toronto office of Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty Thursday drew attention to the housing crisis in Canada, demanding that resources spent on military action in Afghanistan be diverted to provide an additional 1% of the federal budget for social housing.......

Taking advantage of Friday's snowfall, Newmindspace called for a snowball fight in Trinity Bellwoods on Saturday afternoon. Lots of fun was had by all! Check out more pics after the jump.......

Walking through Grange Park during today's snow storm.......

The Flying Canucks perform in front of City Hall as part of the Wintercity festival.......

As part of the Wintercity festival, France's Cie Carabosse are firing up hundreds of clay pots and metal sculptures, some of which are pleasantly warm to sit on. More images from this fiery spectacular after the jump.......

The umbrellas at HtO Park stand guard over a snowy beach. Photo by Miles Storey......

Even on a street as gaudy, inconsistent, and ugly as Yonge, the Brass Rail has always felt out of place. Bordered by Ginger on one side and Kitchen Stuff Plus on the other, the building's façade eschews subtlety: unflattering snapshots of women in bikinis––the focus squarely on breasts and torsos––cover the exterior of the building, while an LED marquee scrolls the latest club news past (there's always something about "Porn Star Nikki Benz"), and......

A procession marking the Mourning of Muharram took place Sunday in Toronto. This annual event during Muharram—the first month of the Islamic calendar—marks the anniversary of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, an important Shia Imam. The particular part of the event captured in these photographs shows how devout men repeatedly strike their chests in remembrance of Imam Husayn and his suffering. All photos by Miles Storey......

The ice rink at Nathan Phillips Square displays its wounds after suffering through the recent spring-like weather. Photo by Miles Storey......

Democracy beckons. Will you heed its call? Today, Thursday, at midnight is your very very last chance to judge complete strangers and vote for your Superhero and Supervillain of 2007! Don't forget to tune back in on Saturday for the extremely exciting results (which could, potentially, include a tie for one first-place position). Photo by Miles Storey.......

The sun sets and the condos rise . As seen from Spadina and Front. Photo by Miles Storey......

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset. Riders of the TTC may have noticed a new kind of stop announcement on buses and streetcars over the......

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset. There are good condos and there are bad condos. Toronto is being overrun by bad ones––"terrible cold chasms of......

Toronto is a city of heroes and villains, a town with as many planning its progression as there are forcing its regression. With that messy dynamic in mind, Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. While last year's Love/Hate saw us do a comprehensive......

An unusually open tattoo parlour, Adrenaline (239 Queen St. West), where the work is done in full view of passers-by. Photo by Miles Storey.......

Photo by Shari Kasman. Despite the less-than-ideal weather this weekend, the Queen West Art Crawl was a hit. Torontoist contributors Soloman Lam, Kevin McBride, Shari Kasman, and Miles Storey wandered the "Art and Design District" equipped with cameras, just in case you missed the action.......

On August 22nd, Leonardo Zuniga held a press conference in the Council Chambers of City Hall, where representatives of community organizations including the Toronto Youth Cabinet, No One Is Illegal, and the Metropolitan Community Church urged Minister of Immigration Diane Finley to grant Leo refugee status in Canada, a decision that could potentially save his life. Leo came to Canada in September of 2004 in search of a place to live where he would......

Project manager for the Art Gallery of Ontario's Frank Gehry-designed transformation Mike Mahoney stands on the site of the Galleria Italia, a 450-foot-long sculpture promenade rising above Dundas. Enclosed by moulded glass hanging from swooping beams of Douglas fir, this will become one of the city's most iconic architectural features and a postcard favourite. Photo by Miles Storey......

"Oh my God, my blow-up doll has been brutally murdered!" shrieked the young woman from the southeast corner of John and Richmond as she clutched her fake-blood-soaked inflatable companion. "My only friend, and someone brutally shot her! The horror! Why hasn't the police security camera done anything about it?!" Early Saturday afternoon, the Toronto Public Space Committee's Cameras in Public Spaces campaign performed this bit of street theatre in the Entertainment District. It was......