So there I was, walking past the Bloor Cinema with bike in tow, when I noticed something out of the ordinary. There was a long meandering white line in the middle of the north lane.

My brain quickly processed the image as a familiar sight: a bike lane! As I continued walking along Bloor to run some errands, it was clear that this impromptu bike lane had been spray-painted somewhat permanently to the ground. It appears to run the whole length of the Annex proper, from Spadina to Bathurst--only on the north side.

Curious, I walked over to Curbside Cycle to see if they know who did this. The guy I talked to there hadn't seen it before, so it must have happened earlier in the afternoon, right before rush hour.

As I continued to scope out the scene, camera in hand, I saw a fellow biking past me with a white spray-paint gun. The other guys he was with had mischievous looks on their faces.

Standing in the Round Room of the posh Carlu, my first thought was: I can't believe this place is full of nerds! After all, I was attending the 7th Annual Canadian New Media Awards: a celebration of the booming Canadian New Media industry. As the story goes, Toronto figures prominently in the industry's success.

Just under half of the nominees were Toronto-based companies or individuals, and by the time the awards ceremony (hosted by the hilarious Debra Digiovanni) finished, 7 out of 14 winners were from this fine city.

Having spent my university years playing too many computer games (it was better than studying), I always daydreamed that there was a way to turn it into cold hard cash. In swoops Vortex, the no-entry-fee game competition that launched 3 years ago in Toronto to fill the void for budding video game entrepreneurs in Canada.

I rode in my first Critical Mass yesterday. Though I wasn't sure what to expect, it turns out that being surrounded by hundreds of cyclists in either direction is pretty darn entertaining.

It was a perfect night for a slow-as-molasses bike ride through the city. I rode near the front, with trumpet-guy and surfboard-BMX-dude. Many people on the street and in their cars were supportive of the whole affair. However, I did see a few incidents involving a moron driving over a woman's bike with a huge luxury car at St. George, and a showdown at Yonge/College with a crazed streetcar driver leaning on his horn.

The highlight of the ride was definitely the run up Augusta through Kensington. It felt like a parade through my hometown after winning a championship of some sort. Speaking of which, Critical Mass and tomorrow's Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington are great warm-up events for the upcoming Toronto BikeWeek 2007. Keep pedaling for a condensed list of bike-centric events...

It's dark and buzzing at the Rivoli back room. Things have heated up enough that the ceiling fans look like they could tear off. Danielle Duval is on stage, playing to an excited crowd while Louise Ferguson paints fleeting moments of the set.

This is the 9th Pop with Brains. PwB is an art mashup event held every 2 months at the Rivoli to showcase Toronto's indie bands and DIY artists while raising money for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Comparable to the Friends in Bellwoods release, this gathering of artists defines (at least to me) the cultural dynamic that drives Toronto's indie community--Art with a conscience.

As we shuffled into the Steam Whistle Brewery for this year's NXNE press conference, two things became immediately apparent:

1) The NXNE crowd is a lot younger than the CMW crowd, as evidenced by the mere fact that plan B Emergency Contraception was one of the sponsors... oh, you frisky kids.

2) Since we were inside a brewery, running out of beer was not an option.

We enjoyed some fancy appetizers like asparagus and pea soup in a shot glass (it doesn't go down as smoothly as tequila) for an hour. While we were waiting, Ryan L ensured that the bottles kept coming by scoring extra drink tickets.

Andy McLean (NXNE Managing Director) finally took the stage to make introductory remarks, including the new green initiative called the Eco-Beat Code and some crazy soccer match at the new Toronto FC soccer stadium.

This news was well received, but the big ticket we were all waiting for was really the appearance of Dave Foley...