Photo by Ryan Coleman from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Maybe you've heard? TIFF starts today! Spotlights! Cameras everywhere! A-listers in action! Parties every night! With free champagne! And gift bags! Also, apparently there are some movies playing somewhere! And yet, contrary to the appearance of every front page of every Arts or Life or Style section in the city, the entire city is not hyperventilating in unison. Not every body has leapt from its......

SPORTS: After a four-day stint in Baltimore, the Toronto Blue Jays return tonight for their first home game in two weeks. The Jays take on the Seattle Mariners tonight. The Mariners are in last place in the West Division, and the Jays are in second-last place in the East Division! This is shaping up to be an exciting series. Rogers Centre (1 Blue Jay Way), 7:07 p.m., $9-$57. MUSIC: The record release party for folk......

This fjord is my fjord, this fjord is your fjord, From the valley Thörsmork to the geyser Strokkur, From Lake Lögurinn to Björk's house in Reykjaviík. Iceland was made for you and me. Our favourite Nordic country just got a little closer: Icelandair will launch direct flights between Toronto and Reykjaviík on May 2. To celebrate, Iceland Naturally is hosting a week-long Taste of Iceland festival from March 10–16 to promote modern Viking culture......

For the entire month of May, the Deep Wireless festival will be taking place at various venues, from the west end to your very own living room. Presented by New Adventures in Sound Art, this is the sixth edition of the annual festival that explores the medium of experimental sound and radio art. Don't let the idea of experimental audio art put you off. It's far more accessible than it sounds, and with a......

For live music junkies, the week between Christmas and New Year's can offer very little in terms of quality shows. The folks at The Drake Hotel are trying to remedy the situation with their What's In The Box? week of shows. Running from the 26th to the 30th, the Drake Underground and Lounge are featuring the best acts from 2006. Each day is five dollars and features five bands, leading to a nice "5 Bands......

Windy enough for ya? Those heavy gusts that left you scrambling for your scarves yesterday also knocked out power to some of Toronto's east end, and much of Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Michael Ignatieff isn't the only local politician using the internet to reach younger voters. Mayoral candidates David Miller, Jane Pitfield and Stephen LeDrew are hoping to YouTube themselves into City Hall by releasing campaign videos on the popular website. How are the candidates......

Tonight Pontiac Quarterly unleashes its second issue this year at The Drake Hotel (8pm). For those of you unfamiliar, PQ is a performance magazine where writers read their fiction, feature stories - even advice columns - on stage in front of a live audience. Coming around only four times a year (it's right there in the title!), The Torontoist looks forward to it like our mom looks forward to gardening season. This issue's theme......

Assuming it doesn't rain torrents, you have two options for free filmgoing this evening. Dundas Square offers family fun with The Sound of Music, while Harbourfront capitalizes on its proximity to a large body of (sharkless) water with Jaws. Do neither of these films tickle your fancy? Then why not set up a screening in your own backyard? Rent a projector, pop in your favourite movie, and invite TOist over. We love us some Christopher......

1. The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St W) Wait a second...Isn't this a hip music venue that serves that nice fresh fruit salad? Yes to the music venue, and doubly so to the fresh fruit salad. But the Drake's hipster appeal is not the reason that there's a ginormous line every weekend - that's more so because of the luv-hungry 905ers go there to get lucky. Perhaps it's just the dichotomy between the Drake Underground......

When Jean Chretien decided not to invade Iraq, he effectively averted both the war and all mentions in the countless anti-war media produced since. For instance, tonight's Robert Taicher produced Rush to War will make no mention of the Chretien government, and will most likely lay off Canada altogether. The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen W) houses the film in its basement (pronounced 'the Drake Underground') tonight at 9:30pm, with the doors at 8:00pm. After-party includes......

Representatives of U.S. hip lit invade The Drake Hotel Underground Sunday night as newly minted McSweeney's author Salvador Plascencia presents his first novel The People of Paper alongside fellow McSweeney's alum Paul La Farge. Plascencia's lyrical fantasia is already being compared to the work of beautiful dreamers Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Paul Lafarge's latest work, The Facts of Winter, purports to continue and not continue the work of Paul Poissel, "one of......

Canadian Music Week, which is not really a week, kicks off tonight with what looks like a promising line-up. Then again, with like 200 bands, how could there NOT be a promising line-up? The CMW shotgun approach has Torontoist looking forward to this small smattering of shows: Absynthe Minded, Thursday March 3 at Kathedral @ 10:00 pm Barbie Bangkok, Thursday March 3 at The Drake Hotel @ 12:30 am controller.controller, Wednesday March 2 at The......

The Drake Hotel, the Queen West nightspot all the cool kids are contractually obligated to pretend they hate, is throwing down the gauntlet this All Hallow's Eve with their Dead Artist party. Dress as your favourite deceased cultural type and have the chance to win 300 bucks, they say on their website. Torontoist guesses Andy Warhol fright wigs won't be enough to bring home the bacon. You could tape over an ear and go......