Travelling on the TTC can often be a less than enjoyable experience. Whether you're on a packed streetcar during a humid morning commute or trying to navigate overcrowded subway platforms, the etiquette of some riders can easily make a bad situation worse. You can also make your trip a bit better by knowing certain things to avoid and expectations to check.

Here's a roundup of things that you just don't do on the TTC.

Expect that the 501 streetcar will go to all the way to Neville
It's always nice to not have to transfer vehicles when you're commuting home. Unfortunately, if you're a Beaches resident on the 501, that probably isn't in the cards for you. Despite the sign on the front of the car reading "NEVILLE PARK," there's an overwhelming chance that it'll short turn at Kingston Road or Greenwood. It's best to just brace yourself beforehand, because you're in for another seven minute wait.

Block the doors
Getting onto a streetcar or subway at rush hour is no easy feat. In fact, you probably need to throw some elbows if you want to make it onto a car at 5pm. More often than not, you'll encounter that one soul who just can't let go of the dream of making it on, trying to squeeze him or herself onto the vehicle by pushing and shoving - making a bad situation worse. Don't be that guy.

Put your feet up
I wholeheartedly understand wanting to go home after a long day and put your feet up, but the TTC is not your home. Not only do you take up more room than you actually need to, you make the seats dirtier than they already are. Many a person who dared to wear all white to work has been burned by this behaviour, and it's about time the problem was remedied.

Use the washrooms
Everyone knows that public washrooms are less-than-desirable, but the TTC's are especially icky. On par with the the worst concert venue washrooms, expect to find TTC restrooms looking far from pristine (despite promises). Using one at any subway station is a get-in and get-out as quickly as possible sort of situation. My advice: if you can hold it, do.

Listen to music on speaker
If you regularly use the TTC, you know that forgetting your headphones is akin to forgetting your wallet - they are necessary. Screaming children, obnoxious gum chewers, and loud conversations can all be blocked out by the sweet sounds of Drake. But, if you forget them, you have no right to blare your music through your phone speaker. Pro tip: "Energy" may be your jam, but it's certainly not for everyone.

Refuse to give up your seat to an elderly or pregnant person
This one should be a no-brainer. Why? Because there is literally signage everywhere reminding you to offer your seat to those who need it more (hint: the blue seats are for priority passengers). You may be exhausted, but how annoyed would you be if you broke your leg and had to maneuver your way through the sardines on the subway? I'm guessing pretty annoyed.

Clip your nails
To state the obvious, the streetcar is not your washroom and should never be used as such. It may be covered with debris ranging from discarded coffee cups to crumpled Metro newspapers, but your nail clippings seriously do not need to be added to that mess. You may be plagued with a hangnail, but trust me, it can wait.

Transfer at Spadina Station
Spadina Station was initially envisioned as two distinct stations (with what is the now the northern platform designated "Lowther Station"), but was eventually linked by a 150 walkway, which used to feature a moving sidewalk. Although there might have been a few scenarios in the past in which this station made sense as a transfer point, it no longer does. Ever. Don't do it!

Forget to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze
Getting sick is inevitable, but we need to talk about sharing your germs with the rest of the city. This may be a lesson your learned in Pre-K, but some people just didn't get the memo. When you need to cough or sneeze, please shield your face. I don't care if it's with your arm or your bag, but the guy next to you doesn't wan't to be bedridden just because he didn't have enough cash to Uber home.

Eat strongly scented food
I like going to Khao San Road as much as the next person, but if you get takeout, please refrain from eating it on the way home. Your food, though drool-worthy to you, won't appeal to everyone. Beside, most people are going home for dinner, so they'll be hangry and jealous - which is never a good combo.

What did I miss? Add your TTC donts in the comments.

Photo by Subjective Art in the blogTO Flickr pool

This west end eatery, with its wood-paneled walls and twinkly lighting is the perfect spot for brunch or a date night. Its bistro-inspired menu changes regularly to highlight seasonal flavours, there's Ontario craft beer on tap, locally roasted coffee and homemade desserts. There's not much this place doesn't do well.

Read my profile of Goodlake in the restaurants section.

A number of indie coffee shops that also serve booze have popped up in Toronto in recent years. At these cafe-bar hybrids you can feed your caffeine addiction or engage in a bit of day-to-evening drinking with a pint, a glass of wine or an elaborate cocktail depending on the spot and your mood.

But just how vital are alcohol sales to these establishments?

Grant Gable from Boxcar Social's Yonge Street outpost characterizes them as a crucial part of the business, comprising about half of their sales, which mirrors most other cafe-bar hybrids.

"We could very easily survive as just a coffee shop but we have the space anyway, so why not utilize it to its full potential," he says.

Alex Nassar, the man behind Voodoo Child says that he sees about a 70-30 percent split between coffee and cocktails. "This changes and evens out more towards the summer months, especially now that the cocktail menu is getting more attention," he says.

At Cafe Pamenar in Kensington Market, the wide selection of craft beer has attracted a loyal following. On a typical day, alcohol accounts for about 40% of total sales, and while that doesn't match most restaurants or bars, last year that number was closer to 25-30%.

"We've worked hard at upping our cocktail game by trying to deliver the best classic cocktails at very reasonable prices," says bartender Tom Hiley. "We're starting to get some crossover between coffee and alcohol. I like incorporating espresso shots into cocktails, and many customers are starting to add whiskey or liqueurs to their coffees, or they'll grab an amaro to complement their espresso."

The inspiration for adding more than just coffee has to do with catering to different moods, a larger demographic and making use of a wider range of possibilities, all things that independent coffee shops need to explore to remain competitive in what is a saturated Toronto market.

"People typically don't want to go out with a group of friends for coffee past 6pm, nor do they necessarily want to sit on our patio and drink a coffee on a hot summer day," says Hiley. "Some people do enjoy that, but there's no doubt that most people would rather enjoy a nice cold beer or an awesome cocktail on our patio."

2015 is an impressive year for Canadian Cinema at TIFF. It's hard not to marvel at how many movies we're getting from some of our greatest filmmakers. Sure, some of them went and made American films - like Jean-Marc Vallée with Demolition, and Denis Villeneuve with Sicario (whose films I've excluded from this list to favour Canadian directors making Canadian films) - but there's still a lot of CanCon to be proud of at this year's festival.

Here are my picks for the top Canadian films to see at TIFF 2015.

Beeba Boys
Deepa Mehta, director of Fire, Earth and Water, tackling a gangster movie? Yes, please. Her knack for compelling stories should do well with this one about a Sikh mobster who fights his way into the Vancouver criminal underworld (loosely based on the real life Western Canada Punjabi gangs of the 1990s).

Closet Monster
It's hard to tell what the exact tone of Closet Monster is. It's a story about a teenager struggling with his sexuality, but it also apparently has a talking hamster named Buffy. Seeing just how it will balance serious and surreal are going to merge has me excited to see this.

Forsaken
If for no other reason, Forsaken will be worth seeing for the opportunity to watch Kiefer and Donald Sutherland play father and son - at odds with each other, no less - on screen. The fact that it's a Western is just an added bonus. Who knows, it might even wash Paul Gross' ho-hum Gunless from our minds.

The Forbidden Room
There's nothing like a Guy Maddin movie. Almost literally. His cinematic fever dreams have been delightful curiosos for years, and if word from Cannes is to be believed, The Forbidden Room, could be one of his best. We can't wait.

Hellions
It's been seven years since Bruce McDonald blessed us with the now cult classic horror movie, Pontypool (a pseudo-zombie movie). Thankfully his horror drought ends with Hellions, his take on a Halloween horror movie. If Hellions is half as good as Pontypool, we can't see this soon enough.

Hyena Road
It seems after Passchendaele, Paul Gross isn't done with war yet. Swapping Canadian WWI soldiers with ones in Afghanistan, Hyena Road does something Americans do a lot, but not us: tackle the day-to-day mundaneness and violent complexities of warfare. A Canadian perspective on that is most welcome.

Into the Forest
Patricia Rozema is an underrated director, so having one of her films at TIFF again is a real treat. Into the Forest stars fellow Canadian, Ellen Page, and sees Rozema offer her own take on the apocalypse - here in the form of a nationwide power outrage which two women are trying to survive from an isolated country home.

My Internship in Canada
Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar, The Good Lie) may not get the publicity fellow French Canadian directors like Xavier Doland do, but he should. We hope My Internship in Canada, a satire of our wonderful government, does it for him. Plus, with the election coming up, we could use a good chuckle about politics, right?

Remember
The always watchable Christopher Plummer brings his dignity and skill to Atom Egoyan's latest. Remember sees the actor play an aging man seeking vengeance on a Nazi guard who killed his family in Germany, 70 years ago. Hard to argue that's not a compelling premise.

Ville-Marie
Hyperlink films - movies where multiple characters' lives intersect (think Pulp Fiction) - ave long fascinated me. Guy Edoin's Ville-Marie should be no exception. The film is set in Montreal, and finds the lives of four characters colliding into each other with the force of (cinematic) fate.

For all the latest on TIFF 15, including snap reviews, you can follow me on Twitter at @alxhuls.

Film still from Beeba Boys.

Photo by Yana and Denis in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Free events in Toronto this week will let you save your pennies and enjoy every second of it. Whether you want to catch one of the last free films of the summer or try your hand at crafting Vietnamese lanterns, there's something on tap to keep you busy on a budget.

Here's what to do if you're taking money from your retirement funds.

TIFF in the Park: Pride and Prejudice(September 2)
By now we're all very familiar with TIFF's outdoor movie events, but that doesn't make them any less awesome. This week, head to David Pecaut Square to catch the screen adaptation of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice.

The Bill Comedy Show (September 2)
Laughter is the best medicine, and with summer colds going around you might just need some. On Wednesday, head to one of the city's well-loved underground bars, Junction City Music Hall, for some comedy and cocktails.

AKIN Collective Open Studio- BBQ, Beer and free Tie Dye (September 5)
Feeling artsy? AKIN Collective is hosting an open studio event. Art is up for sale, but those strapped for cash can enjoy gallery works without dropping a dime. There will also be a free Tie Dye station, so if you want to revamp your old threads, now's your chance.

Vietnamese Lantern Festival (September 5)
Head to Dufferin Grove Park this Saturday for the Vietnamese Lantern Festival. What's in store? Performances, lantern making, a mooncake & tea tasting, traditional food vendors and more. The lantern competition could land you with a $100 prize, so get practicing if you're in need of some cash.

Open Streets TO (September 6)
Open Streets TO is taking over a chunk of downtown Toronto for a street fest promoting physical activity and city exploration. So grab your bike, your yoga mat, or just walk yourself over and enjoy the outdoors. Don't expect to find any vendors, the focus is on getting active, not trying outrageous foods.

Have a free event you'd like to plug? Submit it to our Toronto events calendar using this form.

Photo of TIFF in the Park by Marcus Mitanis.

It's not just buildings that get demolished in Toronto. Sometimes entire streets go the way of the wrecker, too. During the days of mega block construction projects like New City Hall, the Eaton Centre, TD Centre, and First Canadian Place in the 1960s and 1970s, numerous streets were entirely swept away, most of them in the downtown core or in heavily industrial areas.

In some cases, small fragments survived. Louisa Street (pictured above,) which was once a principal east-west street through The Ward, now only remains in a heavily truncated form behind Old City Hall. In most other examples, streets squashed by mega construction projects vanished entirely.

Here are five Toronto streets that didn't make it to 2015.

Louisa Street
Thanks to a pair of mega projects in the 1960s and 1970s, one of the principal streets of the city's historic Ward neighbourhood is no more. First, construction of New City Hall erased the western portion between Chestnut and Bay, then, a few years later, the Eaton Centre erased what was left between Bay and Yonge.

Albert StreetLocated a block south of Louisa Street, Albert Street was likewise diced up by City Hall and the Eaton Centre. Unlike its neighbour, however, one piece still remains behind Old City Hall between Bay and James streets. In its heyday, Albert ran between Chestnut and Yonge and was lined with houses.

Tate StreetLocated what is now the West Don Lands, Tate Street ran roughly two blocks east from an intersection with Cherry Street, just north of present day Mill Street. Two other now-defunct streets intersected with Tate--Water and Overend--before it ended at the entrance to a meat packing plant. Tate, Water, and Overend all vanished after being overtaken by the Canadian National Railway sidings.

Boulton StreetIn 1880, a little under a century before its demise, Boulton Street (not to be confused with Boulton Avenue) was home to the Lyceum Theatre, a hotel, various metal foundries, and a stone cutting yard. It ran for about 150 metres east from York between Adelaide and King to a dead end just before Yonge until the 1970s, when construction of First Canadian Place erased it entirely.

Francis and Commercial streetsFor more than a 100 years, anyone looking out the front door of St. Lawrence Hall at King and Jarvis would have seen the entrance to Francis St. About halfway along its length, Commercial Street intersected it east to west. Both were lined with buildings and were prominent parts of the local street grid until the 1970s, when the road was taken up and the buildings demolished to create St. James Park.

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

Lead image shows Elizabth and Louisa streets. Maps: 1880 Goad's Fire Insurance Plan of the City of Toronto, Toronto Public Library.

The top events in Toronto for September will give you one last chance to enjoy the summer before it all fades away. Whether you're looking to catch one last food festival before fall or want to take advantage of the warm weather by dancing in Downsview Park, it's a packed month in Toronto.

Here are my picks for the top events in Toronto this September.

Fan Expo (September 3-6)
This event will have the Metro Toronto Convention Centre filled with everyone from comic book nerds to cosplay queens. Fan expo enthusiasts know to expect a roster of activities, vendors and special guests. On this years list: Mike Tyson, Norman Reedus, Kate Mulgrew and more.

Hot and Spicy Food Fest (September 4-7)
If you're prone to dousing your food in Frank's Red Hot or Sriracha, this fest is probably right up your alley. Celebrating cuisine from around the globe, the festival focuses on hot, spicy and sustainable foods. Be sure to bring an extra bottle of water; your tongue will thank you.

Oddball Festival (September 6)
Funny or Die is bringing some of the worlds brightest comedic talent to the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on September 6th. Look forward to seeing Aziz Ansari, Amy Schumer, Nick Kroll, and many more of your fave funny men and women crack jokes on stage.

TIFF (September 10-20)
The Toronto International Film Festival is back again this year and with it comes a long list of parties and film events. As per usual, the fest will feature everything from hard-hitting documentaries to the next big features. Check out the programme for 2015 here.

Veg Food Fest (September 11-13)
If your plant-based diet held you back from attending the many barbecue events this summer, now is your time to shine. 130 meat-free and dairy-free vendors will be serving up bites to eat at the Harbourfront Centre.

Taste of the Kingsway (September 11-13)
Each year, on the weekend after Labour Day, the Kingsway comes alive with midway rides, beer and wine gardens, live performance and samples upon samples of local food. The street festival will run from Prince Edward Dr. to Montgomery Rd.

Toronto Craft Beer Week (September 18-26)
Toronto Craft Beer Week hits the city just in time for the final week of summer. Celebrate the end of everyone's favourite season with hoppy beverages at participating locations across the GTA.

Riot Fest (September 19-20)
Riotfest's move to Downsview last year came with a big upgrade to the lineup, four times the stages and a second day, slowly edging closer to the monster size of US counterparts. Thanks to this year's apparent "heavier + hip-hop" mandate, they've convinced Alexisonfire to reunite, bringing along however many of the Wu-Tang Clan can get across the border, Rancid, and many more.

Toronto Ukrainian Fest (September 19-20)
This is North America's largest Ukranian street festival. It started as a small gathering in 1995, offering the chance to sample the best in Ukrainian food, music and dance, and now it draws in about 500,000 visitors. This year's festival runs from September 18th to 20th on Bloor St. W.

Polish Festival (September 19-20)
This is your chance to enjoy all of the pierogies you please without an ounce of guilt. The Roncesvalles hood is still a Polish enclave, and they know what's up when it comes to food and celebration. Enjoy the Polish folklore, polka bands, and other live performances and vendors on September 19th and 20th.

Contributions from Matthew Forsythe, Ben Johnson, and Liora Ipsum.

What did I miss? Let us know what us know what events you're most looking forward to this September in the comments.

At least we're not Vancouver. Earlier this year, GPS manufacturer TomTom ranked the world's 218 worst cities for traffic. Toronto placed 47th internationally and second in Canada behind Vancouver.

Despite this, commuters know that traveling around this city quickly is a difficult feat. With construction seemingly around every corner, we all have our tips and tricks for avoiding particularly messy streets. But usually, bottlenecks are inevitable.

Some areas, such as the Financial District, are notorious for their traffic; driving on the DVP, Gardiner and 401 is no picnic either.

According to city statistics, the 10 worst streets and intersections for traffic are mostly clustered around Shepherd Avenue as well as the 401, though Lake Shore between York and Bathurst, Black Creek and Lawrence Ave. W., and Dufferin and Finch also made the list.

We all know that traffic is a divisive topic, so we asked our Twitter followers about which streets they considered the most congested. Unsurprisingly, the responses are a mixed bag. Toronto traffic has gotten progressively worse over the last decade, making the competition for worst street both fierce and depressing. Here are some of the candidates nominated by our followers.

What do you think is the worst street for traffic in Toronto? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Jen Tse

When you're excited to grab tickets for TIFF's biggest movies, it can be easy to forget one thing: many of them will be opening in local theatres in a matter of weeks. For some, it may make more sense to save yourself a $25 TIFF ticket and wait for a discount Tuesday at Cineplex.

Here's a round-up of movies screening at TIFF 2015 currently scheduled to open in Toronto theatres this September and October.

About Ray
Theatrical Release: September 18th
Ray (Elle Fanning) may have been born a girl, but has always known he was a boy. As he hits his teenage years, he decides to begin his transition - with the help of his mother (Naomi Watts) and grandmother (Susan Sarandon).

Black Mass
Theatrical Release: September 18th
Johnny Depp goes bald-ish and weird looking to play real-life gangster/informant, Whitey Bulger. Hopefully he'll reignite our hopes that deep down he's still a good actor. Or at least maybe he can make us forget about Mortdecai.

Office
Theatrical Release: September 18th
From Hong Kong, a movie musical set in inside the high-stakes corporate world (yes, seriously). Starring Chow Yun-fat, no less.

Hellions
Theatrical Release: September 25th
On Halloween, a pregnant teenager finds herself being targeted by terrifying trick-or-treaters who want her unborn child.

The Reflektor Tapes
Theatrical Release: September 23rd
Hip-hop music video director, Kahlil Joseph, takes us behind-the-scenes with Arcade Fire to look at their process, the making of their latest album, and their concerts.

Mississippi Grind
Theatrical Release: September 25th
Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn (Netflix's Bloodline) are card players who go on a gambling road trip to make their way to New Orleans for the card-game to end all card-games.

Sicario
Theatrical Release: September 25th
In the latest movie from Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy), Emily Blunt plays an FBI agent who gets pulled into a task force to take down a notorious drug lord, and gets embroiled in the murky morality and politics of the U.S.' war on drugs.

Stonewall
Theatrical Release: September 25th
Roland Emmerich (yes, the director of Independence Day) dramatizes the famous Stonewall riots in 1969, a major watershed moment in the push for LGBT rights.

Veteran
Theatrical Release: September 25th
This South Korean film focuses on an aggressive, street-fighting detective who faces a more unconventional challenge when he and his men set their sights on a corrupt businessman and his nefarious corporation.

He Named Me Malala
Theatrical Release: October 2nd
Directed by David Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman), He Named Me Malala gives us an intimate look at Malala Yousafzai, the inspiring teenager who has become an influential activist for girl's rights, and the youngest ever Nobel prize laureate.

My Internship in Canada
Theatrical Release: October 2nd
Just in time for the elections, French-Canadian director Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar) serves up a satire of Canadian parliament and politics.

The Martian
Theatrical Release: October 2nd
Set in the not-so-distance future, in this adaptation of Andy Weir's best-selling book, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets left behind on Mars and desperately tries to survive until help arrives.

Freeheld
Theatrical Release: October 9th
When police officer Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore) gets terminally ill, she begins a tough legal battle to ensure that her domestic partner (Ellen Page) can receive her pension if she passes away. Based on a true story.

Hyena Road
Theatrical Release: October 9th
Writer-director Paul Gross (Passchendaele) gives us a look at Canadian forces in Afghanistan coming to terms with the day-to-day moral complexity of wartime.

Legend
Theatrical Release: October 9th
Legend follows the rise and fall of Reggie and Ronnie Kray (both played by Tom Hardy), the notoriously brutal twin brothers who seized control of much of the London underworld during the 1960s.

Yakuza Apocalypse
Theatrical Release: October 9th
Director Takashi Miike's films have never been for the faint of heart, nor those looking for subtlety. Yakuza Apocalypse should be no exception, which features vampires, apocalyptic destruction, and martial arts.

Beasts of No Nation
Theatrical Release: October 16th
Based on the book by Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation - directed by True Detective's Cary Fukunaga - follows the story of a young Africa boy who is captured by rebel leaders, and under the leadership of the man known simply as Commandant (Idris Elba), must contend with the horrible acts he's forced to do.

Remember
Theatrical Release: October 23rd
Christopher Plummer plays an eldery man who gets the opportunity to finally seek vengeance on the Nazi officer who killed his family 70 years ago in Germany.

Room
Theatrical Release: October 23rd
For five years, a single room is all Jack has known of life. That's because he was born there, where his mother has been kept captive by a kidnapper for many years. When she and Jack finally escape, they both must contend with the dramatic adjustments to a world that is bigger than just four square walls.

Our Brand is Crisis
Theatrical Release: October 30th
In this look at the possibilities of PR spin, Sandra Bullock plays a political consultant who travels to Bolivia to strategize how to make a presidential hopeful the next leader of his country.

Which TIFF movies are you going to wait to see in regular theatres in September or October? Let us know in the comments.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @alxhuls for all the latest on TIFF 15, including snap reviews.

Film still from Black Mass.

Compiling a list of essential Toronto rap albums is no easy task, but it helps to have a working criteria. So let's do it like this: if an alien were to touch down at Nathan Phillips Square and demand to understand the Toronto rap sound from its origins through those glorious '90s till now in 10 albums or less, we'd play him/her/it the following 10 records and wish he'd stick around to listen to another 10.

These are my picks for Toronto's most essential rap albums.

Symphony in Effect - Maestro Fresh-Wes
Backed by the classic "Let Your Backbone Slide," this 1989 Scarborough masterpiece essentially slapped Canadian rap on the map and nearly went double platinum. Dexterous, confident rhymes in the vein of Big Daddy Kane met with a sexual wit ("Just Swingin' ") and thumping beats from Peter and Anthony Davis. A whole generation learned the game from Wesley Williams.



Nothing Was the Same - Drake
Drizzy's best album (until, perhaps, Views from the 6) finds the Billboard behemoth perfecting his oscillation from singing to spitting. Sure, "Hold On, We're Going Home" is pure pop fodder, but deep cuts like "The Language" and "All Me" hold up as examples of Drake at his finest.

And Now the Legacy Begins - Dream Warriors
Like up-north, islands-flavoured cousins of the Native Tongues, King Lou and Capital Q were a local force to be reckoned with at the top of the '90s. Their debut spawned four unique hit singles: "Wash Your Face in My Sink," "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style," "Ludi" and "Follow Me Not." Great hooks, greater timing. Unfortunately, their follow-ups never reached such heights.



Ice Cold - Choclair
T'was a big deal in 1999 for an up-and-comer from Scarborough to land features from big-name U.S. emcees Guru, Memphis Bleek and Ol' Dirty Bastard (the unreleased "Suave Dirt Dogs") on his debut. Yet the bouncy, Juno-winning Ice Cold soared on the merits of the hometown squad. Circle fam Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates and Solitar handled most of the beats, including smash hit "Let's Ride."

Passage Through Time - Da Grassroots
The only problem with Passage Through Time is that it's the only full-length in Da Grassroots' catalogue. The low-end-heavy production triumvirate of Mr. Attic, Mr. Murray and Swiff gift a cadre of mostly independent T.O. emcees - Arcee, Mr. Roam, et al - with a series of neck-cracking jewels. What's nastier: The graphic subject manner of "Body Language" or that instrumental?

Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 -- Kardinal Offishall
What sophomore slump? Following up 1997's head-turning Eye & I with a more confident and polished set in 2001, Kardi introduces the world to T-Dot slanguage ("BaKardi Slang"), gets the best kind of bristly on "U R Ghetto 2002," and gets blessed by Mr. Attic with the irresistible "Ol' Time Killin'."



The Long Awaited... - Monolith
More of an EP at six tracks, but screw it. I have to give some love to Monolith here, and this '98 cassette on One Rock Records, which presents underground compadres Grimace Love, Charisma, Dan-e-o, Wio-K, Black Cat, Korry Deez and SpiDahman at their dustiest, mic-passing best. Raw and enthusiastic, just like their live shows.



Troubadour - K'Naan
This album - a big, smart chunk of hopeful pop informed by pain - is destined to be remembered for the ubiquitous "Wavin' Flag," yet it's much more. An insightful and fun crossover smash from one of the city's many immigrant voices.



The Underground Tapes - Saukrates
Arguably the best talent (the MC plays instruments and produces, too) with the sickest voice to come out of Toronto, poor Saukrates' career has been hampered by delayed releases and busted record deals (Def Jam, through Redman). Although his debut would've been better served coming out two years earlier, there's no denying the consistency of this collection.

The LegendsLeague Presents: Naturally Born Strangers - Naturally Born Strangers
Three of the city's most prolific and proficient talents - Adam Bomb, Rich Kidd and Tona -form this smart, aggressive Cerberus of a pop-up group and end up stealing the 2015 Juno with their freebie mixtape. Dark and anti-pretty-much-everything, NBS represents the most cohesive and unchained work from a trio who has put in a ton of work individually.

What did I miss? Add your suggestions for essential Toronto rap albums in comments.

Writing by Luke Fox. Lead image from Nothing Was the Same.

When it comes to TIFF, it isn't just about what movies to see, but when. Scheduling is everything - whether you're going for one day or all of them. To help with your planning, and make sure you see the best movies you can, I've highlighted a few essential movies for each day of the festival.

Here are my picks for the 45 movies to see at TIFF 2015 by day of the festival.

September 10th
Classic cinema buffs will want to check out the first screening of Hitchcock/Traffaut (6:30 PM, Scotiabank 14), while those with an interest in contemporary movies should plan to see the first screening of Cannes Grand Prix winner Son of Saul (6:00 PM, Ryerson Theatre).

If you want to get TIFF started with a bang, there's also the opening night gala for Demolition (8:00 PM, Roy Thomson Hall), or the world premiere of Michael Moore's anticipated new documentary, Where to Invade Next (9:30 PM, Princess of Wales Theatre).

September 11th
A day of first screenings. Documentary lovers should check out In Jackson Heights (2:15PM, Jackman Hall), while those with adventurous tastes in cinema should see The Lobster (3:00 PM, Princess of Wales Theatre).

Dheepan (9:00 PM, VISA Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre) is a must, as it won Palme d'Or at Cannes. Or, if you're partial to star-studded casts, there's the premium screening of the world premiere of The Martian (9:30, Roy Thomson Hall).

September 12th
Start your first TIFF weekend with some Emily Blunt and the second and final screening of Sicario (11:00 AM, VISA Screening Room in the Elgin Theatre). Maggie Smith fans would do well to check out the world premiere of The Lady in the Van (2:00 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1).

If you're eager to watch another remarkable woman, there's the international premiere of documentary He Named Me Malala (2:15 PM, Ryerson Theatre), about the recent Nobel prize winner. And for your daily dose of glamour, there's the premium screening of Legend (9:30 PM, Roy Thomson Hall) with Tom Hardy.

September 13th
For those looking to catch some potentially Oscar-worthy performances, there's Michael Caine in the already beloved Youth (10:30 AM, Winter Garden Theatre) or Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl (12:00 PM, Roy Thomson Hall).

Today is the best day to see Tom Hiddleston in High-Rise (9:30 PM, VISA Screening Room), because the screening will feature an extended Q&A after the movie.

It's also a good day to see the premium screening of Freeheld (9:30, Roy Thomson Hall), so you can be the first to talk about how maybe this movie will earn Julianne Moore a second Oscar. Don't overlook Foreign Oscar contender The Assassin either.

September 14th
A good day to see some of the buzzed about book adaptations at the festival this year: you can either catch the 1950s-set Brooklyn (11:00 AM, Winter Garden Theatre), or the last screening of The Beasts of No Nation (12:00 PM, Roy Thomson Hall) with Idris Elba.

If you haven't already, be sure to also start meeting your Canadian cinema quota with the last showing of gangster film, Beeba Boys (2:30 PM, Scotiabank). Finally, for those wanting to get in early on the Oscar buzz action, there's the premium screening of the star-studded Spotlight (6:00 PM, Princess of Wales Theatre).

September 15th
Johnny Depp has become such a mediocre actor, it's hard not to want to see Black Mass (2:45 PM, Princess of Wales Theatre) just to see if there's hope for him still. Book lovers should also see the adaptation of Emma Donoghue's harrowing novel, Room (6:00 PM, Princess of Wales Theatre), which gets its premium screening.

If you like your cinema in extremes, there's the first showing of the much-discussed sexually explicit drama Love 3D (8:45 PM, Ryerson Theatre), or the highly anticipated horror film The Devil's Candy (6:45 PM, Scotiabank 9).

September 16th
You should not miss the first screening of Anomalisa (11:00 AM, VISA Screening Room), the stop motion animated fable from Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

You can actually make today a "Inventive Cinema" day by adding the first screenings of Victoria (5:30 PM, Ryerson Theatre) a bank heist movie done entirely in one shot, or the Sliding Doors-like romance, Right Now, Wrong Then (8:30 PM, Scotiabank 1).

Premium ticket buyers will want to see Donald and Kiefer Sutherland share the screen (and red carpet) with the world premiere of Forsaken (9:30 PM, Roy Thomson Hall).

September 17th
The last screening of My Internship in Canada (12:00 PM, Ryerson Theatre), a satire of Canadian politics, is an excellent choice at this stage in the festival when too many heavy dramas can make one feel a bit depressed. Or, if you don't need a boost, there's the second-to-last screening of Je Suis Charlie (9:15 PM, Scotiabank 9), which is bound to be talked about.

Must-watch Taxi (5:00 PM, Winter Garden Theatre) also gets its first screening today, as does period biopic The Man Who Knew Infinity (6:30 PM, Roy Thomson Hall) with its premium world premiere screening.

September 18th
If you're a genre fan, this is your day. Enjoy some martial arts with SPL 2 - A Time For Consequence
(3:30 PM, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema), dive into some horror with the first screening of The Witch (6:15 PM, Ryerson Theatre) then wrap-up with a Midnight Madness screening of Yakuza Apocalypse (11:59 PM, Ryerson Theatre).

Don't like genre? Then the North American premiere of Julie Delpy's French comedy Lolo (6:30 PM, Roy Thomson Hall) is a must.

September 19th
If you're looking for a true cinematic challenge, you can marathon all three volumes - that's almost seven hours - of Miguel Gomes' Arabian Nights(11:45, Jackman Hall). If your derriere can't handle that, be sure to watch the last screenings of the Lance Armstrong biopic The Program (4:30 PM, Winter Garden Theatre) or the exploration of the Louvre in Francophonia (9:15 PM, Scotiabank 2).

Those with premium tickets can also get the chance to see the closing night film, Mr. Right (6:30 PM, Princess of Wales Theatre), starring the always charming Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell.

September 20th
The final day of the festival is a good time to sneak in the great, smaller movies you didn't get a chance to see earlier. For the somber, be sure to see Sunset Song (12:15 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre). For something more light-hearted, see Maggie's Plan (3:00 PM, Ryerson Theatre).

For something more... odd... check out Men & Chicken (3:30 PM, Scotiabank 1). And for those looking for a fun horror movie to close off the fest, there's The Final Girls (5:00 PM, Scotiabank 4).

What TIFF movies do you think are must-sees by day of the festival? Let us know in the comments.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @alxhuls for all the latest on TIFF 15, including snap reviews.

Film still of Spotlight.

Photo by Svetlana Yanina in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today in Toronto skip work in favour of midway games. The CNE is on and you can spend dawn until dusk riding ferris wheels, wasting your money at impossible fair games, and eating chicken and waffles on a stick. If you'd rather skip the indulgent eats, there's a Jays game at Rogers Stadium, and there's just enough time to jump on the bandwagon before the summer ends.

For more events, click on over to our events section.

• 86'd Mondays: Ice Cream Sandwich Battle (Drake Hotel)
• CNE (Exhibition Place)
• Bring Your Own Vinyl (Pour Boy)
• Sean Jones (Casa Loma)
• Forever & A Day (Peter MacKendrick Gallery)
• Toronto Blue Jays vs. Cleveland Indians (Rogers Centre)
• Monday Rotation (Handlebar)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section.

Photo by Alex Meoko in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Every so often, we can't help but to post a video that shows off Toronto as the dynamic and liveable place it is. These compilations help us to momentarily forget our many grievances with the city and help us remember why we're proud to call Toronto home.

In this one, James Balutan sews together footage from each of the four seasons to highlight the past year in Toronto. With clips showing a giant snowball fight at UofT and the Cavalcade of Lights celebration at Nathan Phillips Square, Balutan even makes winter look appealing. Watch the whole video below.

What do you think of this Toronto video? Let us know in the comments.

Every year there are dozens of movies at TIFF to get excited about, but there's always a select few you just can't wait to see. So far I've covered films by day of the festival, the buzziest films, Canadian, award-winning, documentary and foreign films.

Here are the ten movies I can't wait to see at TIFF this year.

45 Years
Andrew Haigh's Weekend is one of the rare Before Sunrise wannabees evocations that lives up to the comparison. 45 Years finds Haigh not looking at a one-night stand this time, but the opposite: an elderly couple about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. An anniversary that gets threated when an ex-girlfriend of the husband throws a wrench in their plans.

Anomalisa
You can always count on Charlie Kaufman, the inventive mind behind Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to give you something unexpected. Considering Anomalisa is a stop-motion animated love story, I'm excited to expect no different from his latest. There are few minds quite like Kaufman's in moviemaking, so any new film of his is a highlight.

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - 3
Miguel Gomes' Tabu in 2012 was a wonderful black and white daydream that made me eager to see what he would do next. Which is why I'm excited that at TIFF this year we don't get one film, but three - all connected by using the narrative mold of Arabian Nights to turn modern day concerns in Portugal into fairy tales.

The Final Girls
As a lover of both horror movies and meta-stories (see: In the Mouth of Madness), The Final Girls could not be more up my alley. With a story about a bunch of teenagers who wind up inside a Friday the 13th style film that they have to try survive the movie's Jason Voorhees equivalent, the film hopefully will deliver a whole lot of recreation of 80s slasher stereotypes and subversions of them.

The Lobster
Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) makes weird movies. The Lobster should be no exception. The cast is great, but it's the premise that's so appealing: in a dystopian future, single people have forty-five days in a hotel every year to find a life partner. If they don't? They're turned into animals and set loose in the wild.

Louder Than Bombs
Reprise and Oslo, August 31st made Joachim Trier one of my favorite directors, and one of the few to capture the millennial generation fairly--the good and the bad--on screen. His first English language film stars Gabriel Byrne as a father trying to reconcile with his sons (one of whom is played by Jesse Eisenberg) after the death of his wife.

Mississippi Grind
I stand by Ryan Reynolds. I believe he's an actor who remains always just short of the wider recognition he deserves. Which is why I look forward to Mississippi Grind about two gamblers hustling to collect enough cash for a big-stakes game in New Orleans that could change their lives.

SPL 2 - A Time For Consequences
The first SPL (released here as Kill Zone) showcased the talents of martial arts star Donnie Yen, as well as some of the best movie fights of recent memory. Ten years later, SPL 2 hopefully will do more of the same, just this time swapping out Yen for the equally impressive Tony Jaa (Ong Bak).

Spotlight
While my Thomas McCarthy (Station Agent, The Visitor) devotion was somewhat shaken by last year's terrible The Cobbler. However, hope springs eternal the director can find his footing again with this true life story about the Boston journalists who uncovered the Catholic Church's cover ups of abuse, as well as with this all-star casts (Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and more).

The Witch
If The Witch is anywhere as terrifying as its trailer makes it seem, this Sundance his will be a can't miss for for someone like me who enjoys getting the heebie jeebies.

What are your most anticipated movies at TIFF 2015? Let us know in the comments.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @alxhuls for all the latest on TIFF 15, including snap reviews.

Film still from Louder than Bombs.

Earlier this morning, police shut down a portion of Toronto's Financial District because of a swaying antenna on top of Trump Tower.

As traffic draws to a halt and pedestrians stop to peer skyward, police have cordoned off Bay Street from King to Richmond. They've also blocked off Adelaide from York Street because of the unstable antenna, which sits above the 277-metre-tall skyscraper.

The Toronto Police are reporting that the road closures will remain until at least tomorrow at noon. According to CP24, engineers from the City of Toronto and Trump Tower are nearby.

Road closures around Trump Tower due to unstable antenna on roof will be in effect until at least noon Tues Sep1 #TrumpUnstableAntenna ^sm

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) August 31, 2015

While this remains a public safety issue for us in Toronto, those south of the border quickly took to social media to poke fun at the ongoing presidential primaries.

Photo by wyliepoon in the blogTO Flickr pool.

UPDATED: A previous version of this post said we were unsure of when the streets around the Trump tower would reopen. Police are now reporting that they'll remain closed until at least noon on Tuesday, September 1. (31/08/2015, 4:22 p.m.)

The best crepes in Toronto go above and beyond your typical French street foods. These creperies offer savoury galettes as well as decadent dessert versions in the classic Parisian style, along with Japanese takes and even deli style fusions.

Here are the best crepes in Toronto.

Food trucks from across Ontario made congregated at Mississauga Celebration Square for the annual AwesTRUCK rally and awards show this past Saturday. Held in conjunction with the SoundBites music festival, the evening was blessed with great weather, good vibes and a headlining performance by July Talk.

Check all the best eats at AwesTRUCK 2015 in this photo gallery.

For many in Toronto, buying a single-family detached home is a pipe dream. With the average price of these properties hovering around $1 million, breaking into the current housing market is a difficult task.

Today, RBC released its quarterly housing trends and affordability report. It details how affordability for detached homes is inching closer to "risky levels" in both Toronto and Vancouver.

"In fact," reads the report, "affordability in Toronto is moving ever closer to the historically poor levels that prevailed in 1990, which may signal that risks are mounting because those were associated with a housing bubble at the time."

RBC calculates affordability by measuring the amount of median pre-tax household income needed to cover mortgage payments, properties taxes and utilities at current market prices. For a detached bungalow in Toronto, this number sits just under 60 percent, meaning nearly two-thirds of a person's income would go towards paying for their house.

For a standard, two-storey detached house, this number jumps to 67.5 percent. As the report notes, however, condos are much more affordable on account of a continued supply (thanks condo boom). The current affordability measure for condos is just over 30 percent -- a number that hasn't changed in the last five years.

Photo by Vic Gedris