The city will need to find around $745 million to fund the Scarborough subway extension, which could mean a property tax hike of around 1.6%, according to city manager Joe Pennachetti. Rob Ford says he would prefer a raise of 0.25% a year spread over four years but that may not be enough. Some of the tax money would be used to keep the SRT running. The tax hike assumes funding of $1.48 billion from the province and $660 million from Ottawa.

Toronto residents seem to be split on whether or not to allow a runway extension and jet service at the Island airport. 47% of those polled over the phone by the city supported the expansion while 45% were opposed. Residents that live close to the lake were (perhaps not surprisingly) most likely to be opposed, often citing environmental concerns.

Meanwhile, David Miller has thrown his weight behind the NoJetsTO campaign. In a letter, Miller says jets and runway expansion "would violate the idea of a clean, green waterfront that Torontonians have embraced."

Also in polls, Rob Ford's approval rating is up, according to research carried out on behalf of the Toronto Sun. 49% of those surveyed approve of the mayor, 51% disapprove. A 1,000 people were contacted via telephone.

A Toronto Police Services Board consultation heard fears yesterday that giving cops tazers would present more opportunities for use of force. Community advocates argued police should receive additional de-escalation training instead of new weapons.

Rob Ford's executive committee have voted in favour of a 70% hike in development charges, rejecting a call for discounts on priority streets. The hike will bring in an extra $250 million a year if it gets the approval of city council.

The doctor who lead Toronto through the SARS crisis had left a heart-wrenching video calling for a change in Canadian assisted suicide laws. Dr. Donald Low died from a brain tumor eight days after the video was made after suffering problems with his vision, hearing, and strength. "I know it's got to end; it's never going to get better. I'm going to die. What worries me is how I'm going to die," he said.

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (remember him?) wants back in Rob Ford's inner circle. The mayor's one-time political foe quit his seat on the executive committee the same day Ford was removed from office for violating the municipal conflict-of-interest act and has been on the sidelines since suffering health problems this year. Mammoliti put his name on a list of councillors willing to fill a vacant seat on the committee, according to a staff report.

Something's wrong with the Maple Leafs when the Ottawa Senators are ranked 100 places higher on a list of North America's best sports teams. ESPN calculates the Sens are the 9th best team on the continent in terms of ownership, coaching, affordability and bang for the buck. The Maple Leafs came in 119 and the Blue Jays 100 in the list of 122 franchises. Brutal.

IN BRIEF:

• Man shot near Bloor and Sherbourne streets [CTV News]
• Project Traveller: Search warrant information may remain secret for months [Toronto Star]
• Male suspect sought in 3 Toronto sex assaults [CBC]
• Undermanned Senators outlast James Reimer, Leafs [CBC]
• Phil Kessel suspended 3 games [Global News]
• Suspended Leaf David Clarkson can play pre-season games [CBC]
• Blue Jays end Baltimore's playoff hopes in extra innings [Toronto Star]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Andre Buno/blogTO Flickr pool.

This Week in Fashion rounds up the week's style news, store openings and closings, pop-up shops, sales and upcoming fashion and design events in Toronto. Find it here every Wednesday morning.

NEWS

Plaid Magazine's former Editorial Director Odessa Paloma Parker and Fitzroy's in-house designer Sarah Donofrio have teamed up to launch Grey Lagoons - a fashion line heavily influenced by the 60's and 70's. The debut collection is a chock full of bold colours and mixed prints, and it's available from now until October 20 at a pop-up inside Love of Mine (781 Queen St W).

M for Mendocino is launching "M hearts Poppy Delevingne for Vero Moda" this October - a capsule collection inspired by the British model's unique personal style. M locations across the GTA will be the only Canadian retailers carrying the edgy pieces, including a marled motorcycle jacket and a baroque print skirt.

EVENTS/PARTIES

Tomorrow night, Vintage Crawl Toronto is back and ready to paint the town red. After a very successful turnout last season, the very same retailers will be a part of the city-wide vintage shopping party, in addition to a flock of new participants including Black Flower Vintage, Thank You, and Print. Pick up a map at any of the listed boutiques to know exactly where to go for drinks, snacks, and sweet, discounted finds.

For yet another year, Art of Fashion is hosting their Annual Design Competition at 99 Sudbury Street; this year marks the 17th round celebrating emerging Canadian talent. Ten designers each produced a collection playing on the theme of "Past Behaviours," which will be judged on Friday (September 27) by a panel of fashion insiders. They'll be announcing the winners for Most Promising Designer of 2013 as well as the People's Choice Award &mdashp and the rest of the night (from 8 pm until 1 am) will be dazzled with cocktails, oysters, boutique vendors, and a performance by The Bellwoods. Tickets ($25) are available online.

The Toronto Vintage Clothing Show is just around the corner! This Saturday (September 28) from 10 am until 5 pm, head down to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (255 Front St W) to peruse one-of-a-kind clothing, shoes, and accessories from a whole slew of independent fashion retailers. Then, parade around in your statement find and wow everyone around you! Admission is $10.

If you've got shirts with missing buttons or pants ripping at the seams, bring them to St. Lawrence Market (92 Front St E) on Saturday (September 28) for the Toronto Clothing Repairathon. Running from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm, all your damaged clothing woes can disappear (free of charge!) with the help of the Repairathon's volunteers.

SALES

Foxy Originals, a local jewellery brand and online boutique, is setting up shop in the Church of the Redeemer (162 Bloor St W) to host a two-day pop-up sale. Stop by this Friday (September 27) from 2 pm until 7:30 pm or Saturday (September 28) from 10:30 am until 5:30 pm for a chance to see their girly accessories in the flesh... and cop them at up to 80% off!

Photo from our review of Black Flower Vintage.

East enders now have a new destination for tacos and other Mexican fare. This new eatery is serving up authentic recipes with innovated twists, like fancy guacamoles studded with say, blue cheese and walnuts or smoked salmon and bacon. Seating is limited but take-out is welcome.

Read my profile of Xola in the restaurants section.

Meat fanatics have a new way to placate their desire for top notch charcuterie in Toronto and beyond. Launched on Indiegogo on September 22nd, the locally based Carnivore Club is a monthly meat delivery that features cured meats, terrines, and other products that aren't readily found at the grocery store. The company is looking for $10,000 in donations to cover costs associated with stocking their first run of of inventory and with the establishment of what they call a marketplace — a database of artisanal producers designed to showcase farms that probably get less attention than they deserve.

The club portion of the concept costs $50, for which subscribers will receive one box of speciality meats each month. The first box comes with Iberico chorizo, Culatello, Bresaola, Pate de Champagne, Pata Negra, and Tuscan sausage. It's all top notch, but the Bresaola and the Pata Negra are the standouts for me and don't make it more than 24 hours in my fridge. Thankfully, as cured meats, you don't have to worry as much about your products spoiling if you consume the contents of your box more slowly.

So it's a good concept that and the quality is there. $50 ain't cheap, but it's a hell of a lot less expensive than buying charcuterie at a restaurant on multiple occasions. One critical point worthy of note, however: the affiliated promotional materials for the Carnivore Club are so hopelessly anachronistic and cliche — "man was made to eat meat" — that they put a damper on what is otherwise a good product. Let's tone that back, guys. It's all a bit forced and tired to me.

The best film festivals in Toronto underscore just how far the city has come in a cultural capacity over the last decade or so. Toronto is home to over 50 film festivals (and counting), covering nearly every community and genre. From huge international events to small local gatherings, there is no shortage of options for film fans to choose from throughout the year. If you look hard enough, you can find a film festival representing just about any country, any style of film nearly every month in the GTA, most being just as affordable as going to your local multiplex to see the latest blockbuster.

In compiling a list of the best film festivals in Toronto, there is bound to be some worthy ones that get overlooked. Toronto Animation Arts Film Festival and Rendezvous with Madness are just a couple that deserve an honourable mention. What's great about listing the best film festivals in Toronto is that with each new year, it's bound to change along with the city's film culture, which continues to grow and diversify.

Here is a list of the best film festivals Toronto has to offer.

See also:

The Best Place to Watch a Film in Toronto
Where to watch free movies in Toronto

TIFF
By far the most popular and high profile festival, the Toronto International Film Festival is an easy and predictable pick for the top of the list. Every September, TIFF brings a buzz to the city as well as nearly 300 films. It's the last stop on the festival calendar for many filmmakers, which makes TIFF the first stop for Oscar predictions. Everyone talks about the big Hollywood galas, but TIFF is best at finding and supporting innovative and independent filmmakers internationally and at home, and gives them one of the biggest platforms for their work.

Hot Docs
Holding it down as North America's largest documentary festival, Hot Docs has been providing Torontonians with some of the best documentaries from around the world for 20 years. With almost as big a following as TIFF, but with a more down to earth atmosphere (reasonable prices, free daytime screenings for students and seniors) Hot Docs is definitely one of the best festivals around. Its expansion into its own cinema of year round programming speaks to its popularity and success.

Toronto After Dark
Toronto's preeminent Cult, Sci-fi, and Horror film festival, Toronto After Dark showcases some of the weirdest films out there. Past years have included cult favourites like Human Centipede and Black Dynamite as well as appearances from Eli Roth and Simon Pegg. There's even a discount for people dressed as Zombies on their annual Zombie Appreciation day. There isn't another festival like it in the city and fans of cult and horror movies are some of the most fun audiences around.

Inside Out Film Festival
For 24 years the Inside Out Film Festival has been promoting queer cinema in all its forms to the city, starting the summer off with a bang. Inside Out's programming is always eclectic, with screenings ranging from local short films and boundary pushing features to powerful documentaries, like last year's Oscar nominated film, How to Survive a Plague. Plus, they have three great parties during the festival and some of the most passionate audiences in the city.

Reel Asian Film Festival
Coming up to it's 17th year, Reel Asian is Canada's largest Asian film festival and its programming is as diverse as the continent which it covers. Spanning six days every November in downtown Toronto and now also Richmond Hill, Reel Asian showcases some of Asia's best artists in film and video, presents art installations and some pretty fun parties, as well as an annual pitch competition which gives local filmmakers an opportunity to make their idea a reality for screening at the following year's festival.

Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Throughout its 20 year run, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival has continuously provided the city with a wide range of films that touch on the Jewish experience from all over the world. TJFF's programming continues to evolve each year, looking for new ways to showcase Jewish film. Last year they explored African and Bollywood through the Jewish lens and their yearly sidebar series, retrospectives of influential Jewish entertainers, are always inventive and unique. Previous years have celebrated comic book writers like Harvey Pekar and the 3 Lennie's (Bruce, Cohen and Bernstein). They also offer free day of student tickets, which adds to this festival's welcoming atmosphere.

Planet in Focus
Have the fluctuating temperatures this fall got you wondering what is happening in the world? If so, make your way to the Planet in Focus film festival in November to find some answers. Focused primarily on documentaries and experimental shorts about our changing planet from around the globe, PIF also screens over 100 films and offers free and discounted programming for schools and kids. It's one only a handful of film festivals with a spirit of art and activism at its core.

Cinefranco
Cinefranco is all about French language cinema, as the name would suggest. Selections from francophone Canada and the rest of the French-speaking world are presented every March, often with special guests in attendance. Additionally, they present a youth festival leading up to the main event and year round programming, with highlights from French cinema from around the globe. Previous years have included Canadian Screen Award nominated Quebec films, many of which never find theatrical distribution in English Canada. It's a great way to support Francophone films, while brushing up on your language skills (although subtitles are present at all screenings, just in case).

Images
By far the most unique festival out there, Images Film and Video Festival is in a league of its own. Focusing on experimental film and video art, Images' programming is possibly the most avant-garde and innovative in the city. One of the most amazing experiences I've ever had at a festival was during Images 2010 for their closing night performance by Shary Boyle, who has since gone on to represent Canada at the Venice Bienniale. Images is continually pushing boundaries in the realm of film and art.

Open Roof Festival
Possibly the most laid back festival on the calendar, Open Roof is a festival of film, music and food. Less about premieres and red carpets and more a fun summery atmosphere, Open Roof screens films once a week from June through August, with live bands accompanying each screening and top-notch food trucks for pre and post movie snacks. Previously located at the Amsterdam Brewery, Open Roof has since moved to the Moon Lot View on Queens Quay for even more breezy summer vibes.

Reel World
In many ways, Reel World is not just a film and video festival, but a grassroots movement focused on giving opportunity to and celebrating diversity in the arts. Every April, Reel World screens film and videos from a variety of communities as well as provides support and encouragement to new filmmakers through their Reel World Foundation. Founded by actress Tonya Williams (from Young and the Restless and Polka Dot Door!) they also promote local filmmakers with a promise of 50 to 75% Canadian content. Reel World is a festival with a message.

European Union Film Festival
If you missed seeing the latest films from some of Europe's finest at TIFF in September, don't fret. There's a good chance many of them will turn up at the European Union Film Festival. Collaborating with EU consulates and cultural institutes, this completely free film festival takes over the Royal every November, offering up some great films from EU nations, from Ireland to Estonia and all the places in between. Get a glimpse of some of next year's contenders for Best Foreign Film Oscars 3 months before everyone else.

Regent Park Film Festival
Totally independent and always free, Regent Park Film Festival work with and for the community, presenting a variety of films and events, both international and locally produced. Using film as a way to reach out to the community and beyond, the Regent Park film festival has expanded to include year round programming such as summer outdoor screenings and community workshops, always at no cost. Going into its 11th year, it shows how art and film can be inclusive and engaging at the same time.

Toronto Palestine Film Festival
Taking place every September, the Toronto Palestine film festival is ready for anyone who didn't get enough of a film fix from TIFF. Only in its 6th year, this festival has quickly established a strong audience for its selection of Palestinian film and music. In addition to highlights from the year's best Palestinian films, there is also an annual art show and the very popular Palestinian Brunch, one of the hottest tickets of the festival.

ImagineNative Film and Media Arts Festival
Since 1998, imagineNative has been showcasing emerging and established indigenous film and new media artists from Canada and beyond. With a wide range of features, shorts programs featuring local talent, plus great new media exhibits and their annual concert The Beat (featuring popular aboriginal performers), the imagineNative festival gives voice to a diverse collection of indigenous artists from all over the world.

Is your favourite local film festival missing? Add it to the comments below.

Ai Weiwei's elaborate bicycle installation at Nathan Phillips Square for Nuit Blanche 2013 won't officially be revealed until dusk on October 5th, but those passing by city hall over the past few days have been treated to a sort of preview as city crews assemble the structure, which consists of 3,144 bicycles. It's difficult to get a sense of what the final product will look like (which is why we feel we're not giving anything away here), but the sight of thousands of unpainted bicycles being fused to form a giant installation is intriguing in its own right.

Visitors to the major Ai Weiwei exhibit at the AGO will likely recall the 42-bike version of Forever Bicycles on display right now. That installation is already rather impressive, so the addition of some 3,100 bikes promises to be nothing short of spectacular. Fortunately for those who can't make Toronto's all night art affair, the piece will remain on display until October 27th, the closing day of the AGO show.

Photos by Julia Stead

This contemporary menswear boutique may fit the bill of every minimalist retail space in the city (read: the world), but in this case, there's more to it than meets the eye. Besides the latest and greatest from Patrick Ervell, Svensson, and more, the shop's lower level harbours a bookstore and soon-to-be independent publishing house.

Read my profile of Working Title in the fashion section.

David Bowie has touched down at the AGO in the form of a major exhibit covering five decades of the rockstar's prolific career with over 300 items from his personal archive. The construction of Bowie's multifaceted celebrity persona takes centre stage over two sprawling floors of costumes, memorabilia, photos, sketches, and sheet music. Essential viewing for super-fans, the show will also prove intriguing for casual Bowie followers or those merely interested in pop music's phantoms and constructed idioms. For others, this will feel a bit like exploring some creepy eccentric, wealthy relative's hoarded possessions after they've been laid out for auction in a warehouse. Either way, it's fascinating to wander one's way through this stardust archive.

Check out these 20 highlights from David Bowie Is at the AGO.

Walking along Shaw St. north of Dupont the other day, I spotted a City of Toronto Development Proposal notice that caught my eye. Sobey's, it would appear, has grand designs for the lot that it owns at the northwest corner of these two streets, which is currently home to a reasonably sized grocery store and rather modest parking lot. In place of this, the company envisions two 11 storey condo towers, composed of 393 residential units and two storeys of street level retail and commercial space, a development which would be accompanied by a whopping 734 parking spaces.

The proposal is in its early stages, but it brings up some interesting questions about the neighbourhood. Is this section of Dupont ready for a development of this size? Although the height of the condos is anything but exorbitant, the scale of the proposed development is far larger than much of the rest of the Dupont corridor, which remains downright sleepy through some sections.

In considering a rezoning proposal for 555 Dupont last year, councillor Adam Vaughan spoke of the need to be cautious about development along the street. "It's a concern, because quite clearly, when Loblaws went in [at Christie and Dupont], it has a major impact on the traffic in the neighbourhood." Speaking to Yonge Street Media, the councillor explained that he hoped "to get a visioning study of the area as it runs from Avenue right across to the top of Ward 19. We'd like to do a unified streetscape."

How this new proposal would fit with such a unified vision is difficult to imagine, but one suspects that a project of this sort might usher in more rapid development of a strip that seems poised for condo housing. While signs of Dupont's industrial past remain in spots, the street has gentrified significantly over the last decade, and you can bet that it would be a cinch to sell the nearly 400 units under the Sobey's proposal.

Traffic flow around Dupont and Ossington, already a bottleneck during rush hour, would likely degrade to annoying levels with the construction of this development, but one can also see the streetscape revitalized by the presence of mixed retail. In other words, it's an interesting proposal to mull over. A statutory public meeting is to be schedule in the coming months. What do you think? Would this development be a good thing for the Dupont corridor?

Photo by Freaktography in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Toronto events on Thursday, September 26, 2013

CONFERENCE | TEDx Toronto
A collection of successful Canadians like Maestro Fresh Wes, Matthew Good, and Stephanie Guthrie (to name a few) will speak on the topic of choices and how just one can shape an entire career at this year's TEDx Toronto. Inspiring, entertaining and sometimes heartbreaking, TEDx Toronto is designed to make audiences leave feeling motivated--whether you roll your eyes at that or not indicates how much you'd enjoy the conference and lectures. The official after party takes place at UNIUN and tickets can be purchased through the TEDx Toronto website. The party is 19+.
The Royal Conservatory of Music (273 Bloor Street West) 9:30PM

FASHION | Lingerie Française
Corsets, girdles, bloomers and lace bras make up the Design Exchange's racy new exhibit. Lingerie Française, opening today at the DX, travels through the 19th century, marking the history and growth of the women's undergarment industry and the modern day incarnations of classic pieces. Curated by Catherine Ormon, creator of the Fashion Museum of Marseilles, the show is a retrospective of 100 years of French lingerie, chronicling the rise of 11 of France's leading brands. Lingerie Francaise is open daily at the Design Exchange until October 13th.
Design Exchange (234 Bay Street) 10AM Free

FILM | WILDsound Feedback Toronto Film Festival
Carlton Cinemas hosts WILDsound Feedback Toronto Film Festival, the nearly free evening of short films from across the globe. Tonight's $4 screening features five short films from the UK, Switzerland, Canada, Germany and Brazil, four of which are big budget shorts and one that is a no-budget student film that has done well on the festival circuit. Following the films, audiences are invited to give feedback to encourage and support the future of feature filmmakers, which is the very nature of this festival. Tickets are available online and if you are a film, TV or short story writer, check out WILDsound's many contests and get feedback from industry professionals.
Carlton Cinemas (20 Carlton Street) 7PM $4

THEATRE | FIXED
FIXED is theatre for the mobile generation. Inspired by the life of Grindr inventor Alan Turing, this Zack Russell play tells the story of Gayle, the creator of an app for men that broadcasts potential hook-ups into users homes. The inventor hires a dozen men to test the app but when there's a glitch, Gayle ends up stuck on boy #1. The play opens tonight at Videofag with performances running until October 13th.
Videofag (187 Augusta Avenue) 8PM $10

ALSO OF NOTE:

• Crash

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo from Lingerie Francaise 2010

TTC CEO Andy Byford says a Yonge relief line should be a priority over extending the Bloor-Danforth line through Scarborough. Speaking after the TTC endorsed extending the subway to Sheppard Avenue via McCowan Road, Byford said he would pick the DRL if given the choice. Too bad it's not that simple.

U of T instructor David Gilmour is in hot water after an interview he gave to Hazlitt, an online magazine. Gilmour said he only teaches books by "serious heterosexual guys." "When I was given this job I said I would only teach the people that I truly, truly love. Unfortunately, none of those happen to be Chinese, or women," he said. Gilmour says his words were taken out of context, but Hazlitt has since published a full transcript.

GO Transit has called in a team of auditors over allegations it was overcharged by CN Rail for construction work on rail lines west of Toronto. Former CN Rail construction supervisor Scott Holmes filed a complaint with the OPP over the alleged racket to bill Ontario taxpayers millions of dollars for upgrades that had nothing to do with the GO Transit work. As CBC notes, the allegations haven't been confirmed and Holmes is currently involved in a bitter dispute with CN.

First Rob Ford, now the TTC's approval rating is on the rise. A survey by the Toronto Transit Commission found 79% of customers were happy with the service, up 7% since the end of last year. Just 21% said the TTC represented good value for money. Have Andy Byford's customer service tweaks made a difference to you?

Toronto could once again have two Vaughan's on city council if a business owner from Etobicoke wins the nomination to fill Doug Holyday's vacant seat. Ross Vaughan, a family friend of the mayor, has Ford's blessing but not endorsement for the seat. He served as the election-day chair and a realtor for Doug Ford Sr. - the Ford brother's father - when he was an MPP in the 1990s.

A pile of possibly poisoned hot dogs found in an east end park have parents and pet owners worried. The dirty dogs were found in Oakvale Green Community Gardens near the TTC subway yard just west of Greenwood Avenue. In 2004 a dog died after eating hot dogs laced with blue crystals that later turned out to be insecticide.

The police watchdog has been called in after a video appearing to show two police officers beating a suspect was released online. The cops were making an arrest near Avenue and St. Clair in connection with a shooting at a barber shop of Sherbourne Street. The witness who took the video said the officers asked the man not to resist.

Condo sales are at their slowest in a decade, according to market research company RealNet. 633 high-rise units sold in August, which is 46% lower than the 10-year average. The number of unsold units actually declined in August, falling to 1,260. Is this a sign of trouble or a bump on the road?

IN BRIEF:

• Councillor Layton to announce plans to tackle graffiti in Queen Street West area [Global News]
• 'Toronto 18' member Ali Mohamed Dirie reportedly died in Syria [CBC]
• Streetcar driver charged after collision with cyclist [CBC]
• Ontario driver's licence can now be renewed online [Global News]
• Beaches house overrun by cats gets long-awaited cleanup [City News]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Stephen Gardiner/blogTO Flickr pool.

This Week in Film rounds up noteworthy new releases in theatres, rep cinema and avant-garde screenings, festivals, and other special cinema-related events happening in Toronto.

NEW RELEASES

Watermark (TIFF Bell Lightbox, Varsity)

A Special Presentation at TIFF early this month, Canadian docmaker Jennifer Baichwal once again joins forces with Edward Burtynsky (whose work was featured in her landmark Manufactured Landscapes) to show the world just how dependent we are on the not-as-unlimited-as-we-think resource known as water. With crisp, professional-grade photography of both natural and man-made structures, it ought to look awful pretty up on a big screen.

Also opening in theatres this week:

• Baggage Claim (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Don Jon (Scotiabank)
• Enough Said (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Metallica Through the Never (Scotiabank)
• On the Job (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Red Obsession (TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Rush (Varsity, Scotiabank)
• The Spy (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Land|Slide - Burning Down the Suburbs (Saturday, September 28 at 7PM; Markham Museum)

This is the first of three screenings in the Land|Slide series, which will run for the next three Saturdays at the Transportation Hall in the Markham Museum. Curated by Scott Birdwise & Clint Enns, "Burning Down the Suburbs" is a six-film program dealing with the "realities and imaginaries, the facts and mythologies of the suburbs." Including 16mm prints of films by Norman McClaren and Diane Bonder, as well as more recent videos by Chris Chan Fui Chong and Clive Holden, among others. There are free shuttles running between MOCCA (leaving at 2PM and 5PM) and Markham Museum (6:30PM and 10PM), so no transportation excuses!

The Free Screen - All Down the Line: Films by Kevin Jerome Everson (Thursday, October 3 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

The first of a two-night Kevin Jerome Everson binge at the Lightbox, this first Fall edition of The Free Screen compiles some of the highlights from the last six years of the Ohio native's short film work, which amasses to form one of the purest and most fascinating portraits of African American life and labour in avant-garde (or any) cinema. Everson will be present to introduce his films both for this program and the next evening's screening of his most recent feature, The Island of St. Matthews.

FILM FESTIVALS

Toronto Palestine Film Festival (September 28 - October 4; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

"The Toronto Palestine film festival is ready for anyone who didn't get enough of a film fix from TIFF. Only in its 6th year, this festival has quickly established a strong audience for its selection of Palestinian film and music. In addition to highlights from the year's best Palestinian films, there is also an annual art show and the very popular Palestinian Brunch, one of the hottest tickets of the festival." To purchase tickets online, go here.

Lead still from Watermark

It's not the size that counts, its how you use it...your condo that is. Or at least that's the idea behind Queen West's latest development. There's been a lot of talk lately about the shrinking condo sizes in this city, and now Smart House plans to take it one step further with its unique selection of micro sized units. All indicators point to living small and efficient as the way of the future. Whether it's a future a great deal of cul-de-sac loving suburbanites are excited about, I'm not sure.

Starting at a compact 289 square feet, the units in this 25 storey tower just west of University won't be quite like your average condo. With features like Murphy beds, movable partitions, expandable and retractable kitchen counters, and hidden storage throughout, those who spent their summers sleeping in RVs will feel right at home. You even have the option to control a good deal of interior functions from an app on your "smart" phone (Here's hoping none of your prankster friends download the app!).

All of the units also come with the option to come fully furnished, which is nice for those not entirely experienced with picking out the best kind of "transformer" bed. But more likely given the unit sizes and location, the furnished option will be handy for the large number of buyers who will undoubtedly turn these into rental units. When you're not busy playing Jenga with your apartment this pagoda-esque building also features amenities to keep you busy including a gym, a terrace, and mercifully enough a guest suite. A lot of buildings like to call themselves mixed-use, but in a nice addition for Queen the building also includes not only two levels of street front retail but also two floors of office space.

SPECS

Address: 219 Queen St. WestStoreys: 25
Number of Units: 241
Unit sizes in Square Feet: 289-778
Starting Price: $249,000 (most under $350,000)
Amenities: Gym, Party Room, Exterior Terrace, Guest Suite, Show Kitchen and Dining Room, Lounge
Architect: architectsAlliance
Developer: Urban Capital, Malibu InvestmentsInterior Designer: II by IV Design
Completion Date: March 2017

The Good

We'll if you aren't the type that enjoys hosting parties or taking care of overnight guests, this might actually be a convenient excuse not to. Guests may not relish the apparent lack of elbow room. There is a pretty good chance these units will turn rental. And for the single young professional or student who just needs a place to sleep and perhaps stretch out their legs (if the kitchen is folded away that is), this is at least way better than renting out a hotel room.

If you work in the Financial District or really anywhere near a subway station, living here makes for a fairly easy commute via the streetcar or subway. And to top it off along with the bragging rights that come with living in a uber green and highly efficient building, you should feel pretty good about yourself living in a condo that took out one of Queen's last street-front parking lots and managed not to mess with any of the historic storefronts.

The Bad

If you actually do have more than one or two friends you plan on having over, you might be out of luck, especially in some of these 300 square foot units. The idea of no space wasted is a pretty cool one but on the other hand it means that just about everything in your apartment doubles as something else. Not everybody is going to want to be reassembling their bed every night. Also, don't expect rent to be any cheaper here because the units are smaller, this is still Queen and University mind you. If you do buy, there also isn't much room to grow a family, so you shouldn't expect this to be a long term stay. That is, of course, unless you plan to spend the rest of life as bachelor or bachelorette (the hidden storage will only house your future children for so long).

Our Take

Smart House is nothing new, at least in cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, but can we space-loving Canadians embrace the trend? There's lots to like if you're into things that are cozy.

Read other posts in this series via our Toronto Condos and Lofts Pinterest board.

Toronto Restaurant Openings highlights the latest restaurant openings and closings in Toronto and also gives a preview of what's coming soon. Find us here every Thursday morning.

OPEN

• Hudson Kitchen at (800 Dundas West), the new restaurant from Robbie Hojilla (formerly of Ursa and Woodlot) is now open and accepting reservations.
• Astarté, a fresh Greek yogurt bar is now open in the PATH at 150 King Street offering sweet and savoury bowls.
• The Scullery, a new bakery café is now open in Cabbagetown at 200 Carlton Street serving up soups, salads and sandwiches like pulled turkey with apple slaw.
• Huntsman Tavern is now open at 890 College Street, the former site of Red Fish. (Via The Grid)
• Rhum Corner the newest incarnation of the Hoof Raw Bar opens Sunday, September 29th at 923 Dundas West with an all new rum-focused bar menu and Haitian-influenced eats.
• Fresh, the vegetarian chain opens its newest offshoot at 90 Eglinton Avenue East on Tuesday, October 1st.
• Drake One Fifty opens officially on Wednesday, October 2nd at 150 York Street. The new restaurant mixes art, food and culture in signature Drake Hotel style; there's custom artworks from Douglas Coupland, video installations from Guy Maddin, a brasserie-style menu from Ted Corrado (c5), and even a stage for live performances.

OPENING SOON

• Gourmet Gringos is putting the finishing touches on their new brick and mortar location at 1384 Bathurst, they could be open as early as this week, if not next.
• Escobar, a 50 person private bar is soon to open in the back of Valdez (606 King Street West). To get to it, you'll have to walk past the Valdez bathrooms, into the kitchen and through a freezer door.
• New Delhi Burgers is set to become Toronto's first Indian-themed burger joint when it opens at 785 Queen Street.
• The Wind Up Bird Café is soon to open at 382 College Street, taking over the address from the recently shuttered Q Space. The new cafe is billing its offerings as 'farm fresh with a twist' and is promising nightly culinary, literary and community events.
• The Crudo Room, a new wine bar is opening in the back room of John & Son's Oyster Boy at 1 Balmoral Avenue. (via The Grid)

Have you seen restaurants opening or closing in your neighbourhood? Email tips to liora@blogto.com

This newish vendor in the Village by the Grange foodcourt specializes in freshly steamed bun sandwiches reminiscent of David Chang's signature pork buns at Momofuku. While these might not be quite at superstar chef level, the food here — which includes dumplings and a variety of lunch bowls — is surprisingly good and wonderfully cheap.

Read my review of Mean Bao in the restaurants section.

Fall art shows in Toronto might get overshadowed by Nuit Blanche in the weeks leading up to the all night art event, but rest assured there are plenty of opportunities to get your art fix in Toronto this fall without playing at being an insomniac. Aside from the obvious big names on now at the AGO (i.e. Ai Weiwei's phenomenal multimedia collection of work and David Bowie's closet), art lovers have countless options coming up or on exhibit already, from David Cronenberg's TIFF take-over to a lesbian haunted house. Here are here are 10 must-see art exhibits in Toronto for fall 2013.

Edward Burtynsky | Nicholas Metvier Gallery | Sept. 5 - Oct. 12
Edward Burtynsky's latest body of work, in which he turns his lens away from the more predictable topic of oil consumption to the human relationship with water, is his most accomplished yet. His huge colour photographs are stunning as ever, but it's the sensitivity with which he handles his subject that's so compelling. From nearly abstract images to the big-money crowd shots for which he's become famous, the Toronto-based photographer is at the top of his game. If you can't make the exhibition, the Jennifer Baichwal-directed film Watermark gives the Manufactured Landscapes treatment to Burtynsky's latest work.

Micah Lexier: One, and Two, and More Than Two | The Power Plant | Sept 21 - Jan 5
Recently opened at The Power Plant, Toronto-based artist and curator Micah Lexier's exhibition is separated into three parts (from which the exhibition takes its name): One, Two, and More Than Two. While One showcases works including Self-Portrait as a Wall Text, working documents, and video, Two features collaborations including Lexier's work with writers Christian Bök, Derek McCormack (with whom he custom minted 20,000 coins), and Colm Tóibín. Finally More Than Two (Let It Make Itself) sees Lexier work with literally one hundred other Toronto artists/duos/collectives, showcasing the artist's high regard for the talents of the Toronto art community and the power of collaboration.

Landslide: Possible Futures | Markham Museum (Markham) | Sept. 21 - Oct. 14
While it's a trek for those situated downtown, this exhibit from the creator's of 2009's brilliant Leona Drive project taking place in Markham's 25-acre, open-air museum is not to be missed. Beyond just exploring the changing nature of the culturally diverse place that is Markham, one of Canada's fastest growing cities, the sprawling multimedia collection will probe suburbs around the world. A ton of programming is planned, from film screenings to artist talks, which is all listed on their website. The whole thing is free, and complimentary bus rides from MOCCA will be offered on Saturdays between Sept. 22 - Oct. 12.

Animal Stories | Gardiner Museum | Oct. 10 - Jan. 12
Here's one for the animal lovers: Animal Stories will span four centuries of critters in visual culture through both illustration and ceramic art. Through the ages animals have acted as muses to human artists working in all disciplines and cultures from Asian porcelain craft to children's book illustrations to contemporary art, and this exhibition aims to draw the lines between them all. And yes, there will be pug art. Where my pug lovers at?

Lesbian Rule: Kill Joy's Kastle: A Lesbian Feminist Haunted House | 303 Lansdowne / 1302 Queen St. W. | Oct. 17 - 30
Need Halloween plans? Allyson Mitchell's AGYU Off-Site exhibit Lesbian Rule aims to frighten with "Rug-hooked, crocheted, and paper maché'd constructions are womb-like wonders for visitations of the undead lesbian community, who are hell-bent on remaining nightmarishly non-assimilated". See their website for tour information.

Carbon 14: Climate is Culture | Royal Ontario Museum | Opens Oct. 19
Produced in partnership between Cape Farewell and the ROM, this art-meets-science exhibit explores what is likely the most pressing issue facing the globe today: climate change. Three years in the making, the exhibit's strength is the degree to which it places climate change within the cultural sphere, something that's rarely done on newscasts focusing on melting arctic ice caps and CO2 emissions. Exploring how artists engage with a contemporary issue of this magnitude is both fascinating and instructive.

Art Toronto | Metro Toronto Convention Centre | Oct 25 - 28
The 14th Toronto International Art Fair will span four days this year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with over tens of thousands of expected visitors converging to eyeball about 200,000 square feet of art. As always, the list of galleries and international artists exhibiting at the art fair is expansive and impressive, and some of the price tags will be in the half a million dollar range.

Elaine Stocki | Stephen Bulger Gallery | Oct. 26 - Nov. 3
Fromer Grange Prize nominee, Winnipeg-based multidisciplinary artist Elaine Stocki is one of Canada's bright lights in the field of photography. Her staged photographs that probe issues related to the construction of gender and the complications of class and race are both visually stunning and typically haunting. Often shot from jarring angles, as if from the margins of the frame, one needs to dwell in front of her images for a while before their subtly critical nature starts to make sense. It's time well spent.

The Cronenberg Project | Various Venues | Nov. 1 - Jan. 19
TIFF is honouring Toronto filmmaker David Cronenberg this fall in a way that's only fitting: TIFF's plans are so big and so bold they're difficult to explain and could be called ambitious, borderline outrageous, dazzling, and, well, weird. The retrospective will probe Cronenberg's future obsessed aesthetics as his oeuvre is documented, reflected, and explored in a variety of media including a display of Cronenberg film relics and props at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and an art exhibition at MOCCA including specially commissioned films.

Michael Wolf | Bau-Xi Photo | November
Wolf's pristine photographs of urban landscapes — often showing unsettling views of seemingly endless windows, balconies, and the rigid grids of city topography — arrive at Bau-Xi Photo this November. Wolf's large format chromogenic prints (most are mounted at 48 x 60 inches) are technically dazzling and offer a glimpse at scenery both familiar and altogether alienating. Exact dates TBA.

This new AYCE joint near Queen and Church distinguishes itself by going beyond the more typical sushi/Japanese options with a diverse menu that include Thai and Chinese food too. The food might not win any awards, but at $13.95 for a limitless lunch, it's tough to argue with the value. The service, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired.

Read on for my review of TCJ Restaurant in the restaurants section.

The largest indoor aquarium in Canada - a giant watery repository for all manner of weird creatures of the deep - is nearing completion at the foot of the CN Tower. Inside the new Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, there's everything from the humble and familiar carp to lumpfish, mudskippers, and tangs, whatever they are.

Combined, the live exhibits and interactive displays, all of which are stocked from farms or other Ripley facilities, contain 5.7 million litres of water, which is quite a lot. It would take you, the average Toronto water consumer, 60 years to drink, cook, and shower it away, presuming you didn't mind (and wouldn't be harmed by) a little saltwater.

Speaking of salt, there's a lot of that, too. 253 tonnes of the stuff was dissolved in the tank's water supply to achieve an optimal salinity for each type of creature. In comparison, the city spreads 130-150,000 tonnes of salt on around 5,100 kilometres of Toronto roads during the average winter. Put another way, it would take just over 3 million of these standard salt shakers to store the aquarium's salt in a completely impractical manner.

There are 15,000 sea and lake creatures gliding and lurking in all that water. If they were all riding the subway (bear with me,) the TTC would need to lay on 37 of its new Toronto Rocket trains to transport slippery crowd and give them all a seat (they don't have legs, of course.)

The largest tank is the ominously named Dangerous Reef. In this tank, which has an underwater, 96-metre linear walkway, there are a total of 17 sharks, including sandtiger, sandbar, and nurse. There's also green sawfish - a flat-headed weirdo with a hedge trimmer on its face - that's supposed to be very calm unless it's provoked or surprised.

The Grouper Grotto is home to three "extremely large" species of the big-mouthed, blobby little Pacific dwellers. The large grouper made the longest journey to Toronto. A plane took the fish from Queensland, Australia to Los Angeles where it began a 4,082-kilometre road trip to Buffalo, then a month later to Toronto.

In all, the large grouper traveled more than 15,840 kilometres from its home. The over-land stretch required a specially adapted van with a 15,000-litre tank in back. As the Toronto Star reported, a second team of marine biologists relieved the crew that had driven from L.A. in Nebraska.

The aquarium also has a section for upside down, moon, spotted, and Pacific sea nettle jellyfish. The upside down jellyfish sometimes attach themselves to crabs and act as a self-defence mechanism for the host crustacean. Weird.

The attraction is expected to open later this fall.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Images: Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

The TTC has confirmed that WiFi will be rolled out at two subway stations by December 2013. Last week we posted a map portraying the limited areas on the subway route where riders could temporarily grab a signal. In that article we made light of delays facing a system-wide roll out of WiFi on station platforms, to which TTC spokesperson Brad Ross responded that the pilot projects at St. George and Bloor/Yonge Stations were still on track. Today he told 680 News that the Commission expects to have the service up and running in roughly two months.

That's pretty exciting news, especially given the fact that Montreal just announced a $50 million project to outfit its Métro with wireless capability on platforms and in tunnels. The TTC will test the systems at these two hub stations before proceeding with a route-wide roll out once BAI Canada (the service provider) has contracts sorted out. No word yet on plans to extend coverage into the tunnels.

Photo by cookedphotos in the blogTO Flickr pool