When deciding who to see at this year's Over The Top Festival, we luckily opted to check out Halifax's Rich Aucoin. Between his musical pedigree (he's the brother of the Hylozoist's Paul Aucoin) and the fact that his EP was synched up to How The Grinch Stole Christmas, we knew he would at least be interesting. His set turned out to be far better than just interesting, so it seemed natural to give his Personal......

While our experience Over The Top experience from Thursday was full of guitar driven pop-rock, Friday night was all about pianos, keyboards and synthesizers. We're still all smiles from it, it was that freakin' good. Here's why. It's hard to find a more energetic, loveable duo than Matt & Kim, who started the night at the Mod Club. With Matt on keys/synth and Kim on drums, the Brooklyn pair smiled and headbanged their way......

Ever dreamed of running your own magazine? Then Nicole Cohen wants to talk to you. In a candid announcement on Shameless magazine's blog, the co-founder and co-editor expresses the joys of indie publishing -- and the sober realities. And sadly, the heartaches are winning: The world of small magazine publishing is not as glamorous as you might think. Sure, we get to air our opinions in the media, spend time with smart, creative folks......

We had a healthy discussion on animal band names on this blog and noticed that Zoilus has been having a rollicking talk on yet another naming trend, the professional occupation or as Zoilus puts it "Yuppie Band Names." What's with these bands called Editors, or Architects (or The Architects)? It's the flip side of the Wolf/Bear/Eagle names, I suppose. But what's next - "Personal Finance Consultants"? Why not just say what you really mean and......

The finalists for the Canadian New Media Awards are up for your perusal. A bunch of Toronto area folks are up for awards including our friends at murmur! The only thing we're sad about is just how snore-inducing their site is. Maybe its that traditional Canadian modesty or the organizers unwillingness to outshine those who they are celebrating. In other web awards news the voting form for the Webby Awards are up. The CBC Digital......

Restaurants: Xacutti, Brunch...

How often does a piece of street signage elicit such earnest graffiti? Not only do we appreciate the sharpie-wielding inquisitiveness of the scrawler, but we like the swiss cheese in the corner too. And we agree that the sign, located just south of the AGO, on Beverley Street, might have been more clear. Does PXO stand for Pedestrian Crossing, or Personal Xylophone Orb? Free TOist pins for the best guesses.* *Yes, TOist pins are......

There’s a new pair of style hounds in Hogtown. Jak & Jil is the most recent addition to Toronto’s online style pantheon, and once you get past the site's unfortunate name, there’s enough eye candy to keep clockwatchers entertained for at least one afternoon procrastination session. In particular, TOist loves the Personal Style pages, featuring the good, the bad, and the in-between perpetrated by fashion civilians snapped in flagrante: shopping, do-gooding and party-hopping. Also: esoteric......