TTC union reps walked away from the bargaining table yesterday, meaning you could be walking to work as early as next Tuesday. Much like everyone else on the planet, the union is looking for more money and better benefits, but unlike everybody else on the planet, they can force the city into shutdown if they don't get it. As Clint Eastwood famously said in Unforgiven, "Deserves got nothin' to do with it." More snow......

Plagued by complaints, the City of Toronto has finally gotten around to ticketing some homeowners who don't clear the snow in front of their property. A city spokesperson said they prefer not to send out inspectors in the winter because it's so difficult to get around. Anxious to cement a reputation for self-serving indifference to the public interest, more than 99% of TTC workers have voted more to reject their most recent contract offer.......

Unionized Toronto Star employees met at a downtown hotel yesterday and voted 96% in favour of a strike, or as the Star itself might say, "Star Employees Vote To Strike At Hotel." In another sign of potential economic trouble on the horizon, the benchmark TSX stock index dropped 623 points in two days. While most issues declined, analysts declared themselves bullish on several sectors, including rural real estate, bottled water, and firearms. The San......

Some musicians are professional wallowers. Others are professional romantics. And still others are professional fun-havers. Both Toronto's Spiral Beach and Brighton's The Go! Team fall into that last category—performers who embrace the sheer joy of performing. But more than that, they are young, talented, and famous, they know they are young, talented, and famous, and they're grateful for being young, talented and famous. Although Beach's Maddy Wilde and the Team's Ninja may strike diva......

Each week, Torontoist shows off the most interesting, creative, and cool submissions to our Torontoist Flickr Pool. We're especially partial to photos that show our city in a new light, highlight a recent event, and remind us why we live here. Join the Flickr pool and show us what you've got. Beckoning the fogBY SYNCROS Free standingBY CHRISJACKSON SplashBY JSANEB UntitledBY GABI~ Early Morning Fog ShotsBY BIGDADDYHAME The hot seatBY UWAJEDI In the observation deckBY......

Buzz about the Seventh Annual Griffin Poetry Prize began when its 2007 judges were announced last November. Anticipation grew when the shortlist was unveiled two months ago, and on June 5th, the nominated poets performed for an enthusiastic sold-out crowd at The Macmillan Theatre. And finally! The winners were presented during a vibrant awards gala last Wednesday evening at the Stone Distillery. As you’ve probably heard by now, Charles Wright’s Scar Tissue and Don McKay’s......

Only three days left in the 17th Annual Inside Out Gay and Lesbian Film and Video Festival! Last night, Eleven Men Out screened at the Bader; an Icelandic comedy with a reasonably original premise: a soccer player named Ottar being interviewed by a reporter in the locker room after a game while the rest of his team is changing decides, for the benefit of appearing on the magazine's cover, to come out of the......

Past Griffin Award recipient Christian Bök once stated, "The Griffin is the poetry award that can drastically change a poet’s life." Christian isn't exaggerating: the $100,000 prize, shared by two winners, is one of the largest poetry awards in the world. In a 2000 speech, Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, explained, "the poetry prize had to be of sufficient size to make a statement that declared that poets......

Torontoist would like to take a moment to wish all of our readers a very happy Festivus. Since the Seinfeld episode “The Strike” first aired on December 18, 1997, thousands of fans from all over the world have taken it upon themselves to establish their own annual Festivus celebrations, mostly happening on December 23. And yes, while the recent Michael Richards spat may have made it difficult to remain a Seinfeld fan, let’s not allow......

C'mon admit it. You secretly still love plush toys. They're cute, fuzzy, lovable and if they're creations from the Monster Factory then you know they've got a design sense and quirkiness that makes them stand out. Since 2003, these Torontonians have been hard at work designing and making their whimsical plush toys. Torontoist finally managed to cobble together an e-mail interview with the trio earlier this week. They're launching a new series of monsters......

Our fascination with photographing Bikes continue, especially since it's Bike Week in Toronto. You have to wonder if the TTC Strike and the start of Bike Week, was truly a coincidence.......

Things have been quiet of late at Lee's Palace, which has been closed since the start of July for renovations. The venue will remain dark for the next week, but will reopen next Wednesday the 13th just in time to host the Toronto debut of The Go! Team, also this week's NOW cover story. With their 2004 debut album Thunder, Lightning, Strike, the Brighton UK outfit has been creating huge buzz with their addictive blend......

Fears of Garbage Strike, Part Deux are rising precipitously as Friday's deadline looms. It's hard to say how things are proceeding at the secret talks, negotiated on behalf of 6,000 employees, but one thing is clear - both Miller and Union President Brian Cochrane go in for the descriptive language. Herewith, a scene of near-Mametian dialogue, comprised of the men's very own words: Cochrane: There are a "couple of big nuts to crack." Miller: Talks......

Proper names are perhaps the most arbitrary labels in the animal kingdom. What criteria are available to name a baby too young to lend itself to any endearing nicknames? The Toronto Zoo is well well aware of this, and needs our help with baby names. They have a young gorilla (pictured -->) that must be addressed as something besides, "Hey You!" or "Monkey Boy." They, however, are not so open to give free reign in......

What is this place called Vaughan and how is it lucky enough to house Toronto's "Newest Hotspot?" Yesterday, Torontoist's inbox was graced with a frightful flyer and press release for Lucky Strike Lanes, a sexy bowling alley in a sexy shopping mall in sexy Vaughan. It's all a bit much, and derivative too, when you remember that NYC's Bowlmor has got a monopoly on sexy, tasteless bowling. Of course, it could also mean that Toronto......

It's a very Sakamoto of us to put a cover song in this week's mixtape, but it's a nice cover and the two bands seem to be the subject of a lot of talk lately. Don't worry though; we'll stay away from any of those Strokes/Chingy mash-ups that Sakamoto likes so much. 1. The Arcade Fire - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) A clever cover of one of the Talking Heads' best singles.......