Snappy Answers runs every Saturday afternoon. Send your questions, be they tough or trivial, to snappyanswers@torontoist.com. Hi, I'm a stressed-out U. of T. student in the middle of midterms, and I'm always looking for good places to study. I'm sick of campus and tired of Starbucks, which is usually overcrowded (not to mention overrated, overpriced etc.). I know Futures has good food and it's open late, but it's too loud. I just want a friendly......

Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto was assassinated yesterday in a bloody suicide attack that killled at least 20 other other people. Anyone thinking that this news isn't sufficiently Toronto-centric should hope that the destabilization of this nuclear-armed extremist-incubator state doesn't have much direct impact on Toronto, because if it does it's likely to be in ways that are not at all fun. Climate change remains in the news––Environment Canada have declared the dramatic and......

Gift cards may make convenient presents for Christmas, but they're a lump of coal for the environment. According to the Consumers' Association of Canada, Canadians will spend $3 billion on gift cards this year, which means a lot of rectangular pieces of plastic will end up in the garbage. Gift cards can be reloaded to extend use, but a person who receives multiple gift cards for a retailer usually keeps only one to reload......

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. What's so great about Jet Fuel Coffee Shop (519 Parliament Street)? It may be a favourite for Cabbagetown residents,......

The price of oil scaled new heights yesterday, climbing up over $80 US for the first time ever. That's good news if you're an oil company, but bad news if you're a regular folk who likes to go places, or do things, or eat stuff. McDonald's Canada is going upscale. Influenced by popular chains such as Starbucks, the fast-food giant will renovate its restaurants to make them more "comfortable," creating cosiness with leather chairs,......

Photo of delighted fans by Carrie Musgrave. It's a curious bit of magic that can connect eighties synth-pop, Bob Marley, and bouncing castles with a seventeen-year-old boy wizard. It's even more curious to see how far that wizard and his multi-billionaire creator have come in just a few short years. Last night, magic and wonder invaded the typically staunch and business-like intersection of Bay and Bloor. To celebrate the release of Harry Potter and......

Two arrests have been made in the shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Manners. The two boys, both 17, were allegedly very close friends with Jordan, and even attended this weekend's vigils and had offered condolences to Jordan's mom. Here's hoping that this does not prompt more ignorant white guys to claim that children of single mothers shouldn't be friends. Corporal Matthew McCully's body will be arriving at CFB Trenton today. He will be having......

On Monday, April 16, some of Toronto's finest slam poets walked into the John & Richmond Chapters-Indigo and performed sans mic, sans stage, sans everything. The poets included David Silverberg, who tipped us off to the vid; Electric Jon; Truth Is; Tomy Bewick; and Boona. The collective has uploaded one video so far of the event (more are on their way; we'll update the post when they're up), and it provides a little piece of......

Each weekday for the next two weeks, Torontoist is facing off local memes and blog drama in a tournament-style ladder and you, the reader, decide the outcome. March Madness begins today! View the current ladder here. Suggestions for next year will be recorded! Today's matches, Region I, 1st Round: The Giambroney vs. One Cent Now St. Clair ROW vs. York Subway The Gardiner vs. CN Tower Ice Starbucks vs. Parkdale The Beach vs. The......

Because there are only a handful of Canadians in the NCAA, (and who really cares about college basketball, anyway?) we thought we'd cook up a little March Madness of our own - Toronto style. We have created a tournament ladder of recent memes, blog drama and local news and for the next two weeks, you will decide the winner of each match. Sure beats betting on Kansas State. You can view the ladder full......

Starbucks might not make your favourite cup of joe, and you might even believe that the coffee giant is ruining your neighbourhood, but that doesn't mean that it's easy to refuse a free cup of freshly-brewed stimulation. This morning from 10 a.m. until noon, Starbucks locations across North America are giving away free Tall brewed coffees in their Second Annual National Coffee Break. While you're waiting in line, feel free to discuss the commoditization......

As the world holds its breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans for......

The urban sprawl in Toronto is a continual point of debate on Torontoist (see, for instance, our interview with Brad Lamb), but tomorrow you will get a chance to share your opinions on the matter outside of our sullied comment threads. On Monday, 7pm to 9pm at the Parkdale branch of the Toronto Public Library, fourth year students from Ryerson University will present their study of gentrification in Parkdale, followed by a moderated panel......

Sadly the quillblog is not about porcupines. However, it is the blog of Quill and Quire, Canada's magazine about the book trade. Recent posts have touched on everything from which books authors really like, Starbucks playing Oprah to the latte-sipping set and the continuing car wreck that is the OJ Simpson book. The Quillblog has also been recently renovated, a move that we hope gets them some more traffic. The fixups include getting blog......

More than a month before it's scheduled to begin, the season for harvesting crops has begun. The announcement came in the form of Starbucks' annual overhaul, which as usual is characterized by orange name plates describing an array of pumpkin-derived pastries and drinks. Meanwhile, Halloween- itself another month away beyond autumn's own beginning- has been ushered in at Dollarama. Anxious shoppers can now now buy Christmas items as well. Photos by Marc Lostracco.......

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. LAist's sex advice column on......

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it......

Internet stalking has blown to outrageous proportions on the interweb and the Missed Connections page on Craigslist is the hotspot for the lonely-hearted as well as the mildly (or moderately) curious. Recent hot topics on the Missed Connections page have included the Cheese Magic boys, the Soundscapes crew, and the Euclid and College Starbucks bunch. Torontonians have brought stalking to a new level by going above and beyond daily trips to buy an extra brick......

In due time, you'll be able to fold a map of city in half, with Yonge Street as the crease, and witness the more or less symmetry in Starbucks locations on Queen Street. One Starbucks is on Queen West in Beaconsfield, site of the infamous "Drake you ho this is all your fault" tag of last year. The other is planned for Queen East in Leslieville, home of the infamous commenter Joe Clark. More......

The Disappearing City, an exhibition of photography by David Kaufman is on now until May 28th at the Bliss Gallery, 1402 Queen Street East. The Disappearing City” refers to types of buildings that I like to photograph that are rapidly disappearing from the centres of our major cities: factories, store fronts, commercial and institutional buildings built in the late 19th or early to mid-20 century, indicative of the mixture and concentration of functions that......

In case this week's issue of Now isn't reminder enough, tommorow is Earth Day. And there are plenty of Earth Day events around town. Downsview Park is holding a festival and massive tree planting. They're trying to plant 1000 trees so there should be plenty for all. There'll be a live animal show, face painting and Torontoist favourite, crafts! If trees are too big and you'd rather plant something smaller head down closer to the......

A keen eyed Torontoist reader sent us this link, apparently Coca Cola isn't just launching Blak, a new coffee/pop beverage, in Canada but has leased a 4000 sq. foot space in Yorkville. Industry analysists suggests that Coke is trying to wrest a small part of the booming (too soon?) lucrative coffee market away from players like Starbucks.......

Start growing the beards and wearing the tweed jackets with the elbow patches - Torontoist has gone all professorial. We are currently listed on the syllabus of a third year University of Toronto anthropology course. ANT 347Y: Global Cities currently has our article on the Starbucks graffiti incident - cleverly titled Drake Ho Was His Name-O - as required reading for a March 9 class. The blog-savvy course also has a blog of its own.......

Torontoist has lots going on this weekend - Juelz Santana on Friday (wardrobe: tuxedo), Lady Sovereign on Saturday (wardrobe: hoodie) but this weekend officially starts tonight with Islands at the Drake (wardrobe: Starbucks t-shirt). After ex-Unicorns Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur reminded us of the importance of benefit songs at Halloween, their first headlining Toronto show sells out. Is this because we loved The Unicorns that much? Or because Do They Know It's Halloween was......

When we discussed Starbucks moving into the West-Queen-West/Beaconsfield Village/Appliance Store Land/Art + Design district, there didn't appear to be a discernable negative reaction. Except now we find out that not only is there a negative reaction, but that reaction holds the Drake responsible. Does this make the Drake a 'ho,' necessarily? Depends on your definition, doesn't it? And yes this is the same graffiti that Zoilus refers to in his post - though there......

So a woman is standing, hands on hips, looking irate in the Second Cup at Queen and John. An equally frustrated man walks in, and as he proceeds toward her - Man: (Quietly enough) You said Starbucks. Woman: (Quiet also) I said Second Cup. Man: (louder) You said STARBUCKS! Woman: (matching him) NO, I said Second Cup. Man: (umcomfortably loudly!) STARBUCKS! Woman: (yelling) SECOND CUP! (people stare at them, which seems to inspire conciliation) Man:......

Coffee: Bull Dog ...

Number of people shouting 'Do It' at the Leafs, as the Sens beat the Leafs on Wednesday, at the Monarch Pub: 36 Amount by which the cost of a chicken burrito at Bar Burrito exceeds that of a chicken burrito at Taco El Asador (with $1.00 factored in for extra guacamole): $0.11 Approximate percentage by which size of a a Bar Burrito chicken burrito exceeds that of Taco El Asador chicken burrito: 22.63% Number......

It's a sure sign of a neighbourhood's up and coming status, the green glow of a Starbucks outlet. Torontoist was down in Parkdale investigating the rash of cafes sprouting up in the neighbourhood, two more have opened up in the now very caffeinated couple of blocks between Shaw and Dufferin, when he got wind of Starbucks' planned expansion. It doesn't look like much now but come November the empty corner storefront on Queen and Dovercourt......

Two presumably homeless people are having a conversation at the top of their lungs, just beyond the Starbucks at Bloor and Lipincott. Yelling Woman: You don’t know one thing about computers! Yelling Man: I know those university students make a mess in those coffee shops! Entire Starbucks patio (half being university students) break out into laughter. It's funny because it's true.......