Photo by David Spigolon. Just over a decade ago in the basement of a SoHo café, playwright Eve Ensler began performing a series of moving and celebratory monologues dealing with the shame many women have over their physiology and sexuality. Since then, The Vagina Monologues has evolved to legendary fame, so far staged in 120 countries and translated into 45 languages. Ensler's success also inspired her to create V-Day, a non-profit, worldwide movement opposing......

According to the Inside the CBC blog and the National Post, Toronto's favourite boyish-looking provocateur, Avi Lewis, is back on the airwaves with his newest show, Frontline: USA. The show promises to "strip away the spin and highlight real issues such as poverty, violence, race, health, and immigration" in America. Considering that Lewis is involved and that the show airs on Al Jazeera English, chances are that Frontline: USA won't be a Dobbsian exercise......

Chris Bosh is at it again. Although his innovative video pitch to fans wasn't enough to push him past Kevin Garnett and Lebron James for a starting spot in the NBA All-Star Game, it has made him a media player. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix details how the video's popularity has raised Bosh's profile to new heights and how it prompted CB4 to start his own Chris Bosh TV channel on YouTube. To ring in......

In the best campaign commercial since HuckChuckFacts, Chris Bosh has assumed the identity of a Texas used car salesman in order to try to drum up votes to make it to this year's NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. Bosh has appeared in the All-Star game for the last two years. Last season he was voted into the starting lineup for the first time, but achieving that feat again became nearly impossible when Kevin Garnett......

Beginning Friday and running until July 1st, the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival is smoothly bringing over 60 swingin' musicians to play in venues all across town in what apparently is Canada's best jazz festival. Take that, Montreal! So, catch up on some free music downtown at Nathan Phillips Square, or go chill at joints like The Rex and Lolita's Lust, open with an extended liquor license until 4 a.m. (which Torontoist thinks......

Sad news from New Orleans, where during a recent spate of violence one of the victims was Helen Hill, filmmaker and animation teacher who worked for many years in the Halifax scene and the Atlantic co-op, and friend of many in Toronto's indie film. Helen was affiliated with the Super 8 festival in Toronto and numerous other activities, so this should come as a horrible shock to the local filmmaking and animation communities. Her husband......

Let's look back at a week in which no site in the -ist network adopted anyone from Africa... -Austinist reveled in the dumb antics of some U.T. law students and posted some great audio from former New Orleans natives who've decided to stay in Austin. But the best news for Austinist? They were voted Best Local Entertainment Web Site by the local Austin alt-weekly. Congrats, Austinist. -DCist gloried in being told their musical tastes made......

If authors Thomas King and Joseph Boyden ever teamed up as Can-Lit superheroes this could be their secret identities. King is one of Canada's best novelists with works like Green Grass, Running Water and Truth and Brightwater, not to mention the recently back on CBC Dead Dog Cafe. His latest book is A Short History of Indians in Canada. There's also his sidekick Joseph Boyden (left). We think that his debut novel Three Day Road......

"My album's like walking a dog, because you should get fined if you don't pick the shit up" - Juelz Santana Whether he's throwing down on the mixtape circuit, draping himself in an American flag, or just grinding with Lindsay Lohan on the Tonight Show, Juelz Santana has got to be one of rap's most intriguing personas. Embrace his eccentricities or not (Pitchfork calls him "functionally retarded"), Mr Santana represents a new force in......

Eye film critic Jason Anderson knows show business. Not only is he a long running film critic but prior to losing sleep watching dozens of films a week, Anderson was the weekly's music editor. It's no surprise then that Anderson's first novel, Showbiz, tells the story of Jimmy Wynn, an all-but forgotten presidential impersonator in the 1960s. But Wynn's career dies when president Cannon, Anderson's fictional copy of JFK, is gunned down in New Orleans.......

Funny how quickly a show can go from pariah to the hot ticket in town. Sunday's New Pornographers show created a dilemma for fans who didn't want to miss seeing the full-roster band including Destroyer's Dan Bejar (also opening the show) and Neko Case (whose own skyrocketing fame all but ensures this is the last time she'll be able to tour with the band), but on the other hand, didn't want to make the trek......

Tall Poppy Interview - Davy Rothbart...

Just that the band was never still enough to get a decent photo should be enough evidence of a worthwhile live set. The ZooBombs were a blurry highlight at last night's New Orleans Benefit at the Comfort Zone, even while only getting to play three or so songs. The ZBs may not all speak perfect English ("This is love song. Dedicated to New Orleeeeeans...and YOU!"), the sentiment came through pretty clear last night. One......

- Adam Nayman slaughters Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown on the Eyeblog. It's a rough cut, but the trailers (and Kirsten Dunst in a beret) have been scary enough. - Pop Wherry reports that Thursday's Hard Rock Cafe Tribute Bands Katrina concert may or may not include New Orleans is Sinking. - How close have you ever gotten to Bono's right hand? - A bummer: Zoilus will be retiring his Overtones column. Can Gary Michael Dault......

Five years ago this week, most major office buildings were evacuated as a 9/11 precaution. Similarily, Toronto's subway systems were given a scrupulous once-over post-London bombings earlier this summer. Now, in lieu of the New Orleans flood, Toronto may look to become better equipped to deal with like situations. Which one of these doesn't fit? City Councilor Norm Kelly has become the personification of globalized fears, making the statement that our emergency services are "woefully......

Like anyone else, Torontoist can't help but be occasionally overwhelmed by the traumatic events in other areas of the world. This week is obviously one of those occasions. Our thoughts are in Louisiana. DCist has copious links and information on Katrina relief efforts. We'll post a comprehensive list of Ist posts and information shortly. In Canada, efforts are underway across the country to send relief to New Orleans. Celine has donated $1 million to the......

Although the Raptors are only 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot, and 6 games back of the division leading Boston Celtics, the hopes of a playoff birth should realistically be dropped. Following Toronto’s win over the Orlando Magic at the Air Canada Centre last night, the optimism was once again running wild. "It's impressive the kind of balance we had. We're going to need a lot of that the rest of the season,"......

Raptor Coach Sam Mitchell had some strong words prior to Wednesday’s 110-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In clarifying Tuesday’s night’s rumored altercation with point guard Rafer Alston, Mitchell called out the Gund Arena cleaning crew for keeping a messy house. "I laugh at the fact that it went from shouting to I was actually rolling around on the floor with my nice suit on," said Mitchell. "I don't do that anymore. I'm a little......