Thursday, October 19 - Toronto's music scene is on the rise because of bands that can easily change things up quickly, just like The Born Ruffians. The band, which has already been signed to XL and WARP, is having its EP-release party this Thursday. The debut album will be available (for the first time ever) for a measly $5. Dance party will follow. $5, Neutral (349a College). --Garry

Friday, October 20 - Girl Talk's recent Night Ripper album bulldozes through 150 samples in 40-odd minutes with razor-sharp cut n paste mixing. From the everybody-sing-along-now rock choruses and cheesy top 40 anthems to vicious electro synth stabs and raucous rap refrains--the pace promises to be fast and furious. And your booty will surely follow suit, shakin a-merrily. $15 advance, Spin Gallery (1100 Queen W), doors 8pm. --Panthea

Saturday, October 21 - A million dance parties in Toronto and only one seems to capture the essence of being true to its 60s French-pop culture. Okay, okay, fine. ZOI ZOI is the only 60s French-pop dance night in Toronto--that's exactly what makes it so unique. But yes, ZOI ZOI is a swingin' monthly party that goes down at The Boat. To makes things a bit more interesting, this month, it will be a party within a party as ZOI ZOI will be celebrating its one year anniversary. $5, The Boat (158 Augusta), doors 10pm. --Garry

[Photo credit: Born Ruffians]

Women want to be her. Men want to be with her. Yet, for someone who's been hailed as Canada's first lady of the sex column, It Girl Josey Vogels is amazingly down-to-earth.

"I just won a wicked pair of boots on eBay!" she gushes when prompted for some recent news. Uhhh, come again?

Though Vogels has certainly earned her bragging rights in Canada's media landscape, she hasn't let it get to her head. There's no hint of gloating about "My Messy Bedroom" and "Dating Girl", the two nationally syndicated columns she pens weekly. Nor any trace of smugness regarding her radio appearances on The Edge. Over the course of our interview, she barely mentions her column on toronto.com, her regular contributions to xyyz.ca, or her coast-to-coast campus tours. In fact, while most others use interviews to detail their accomplishments in the public eye--love me! validate me!--Vogels breezes over the biggest of them in one quick breath: "TVandradioprojectsintheworks,plusacoupleofnewbookprojects."

Attention-hungry media wench she certainly is not. Still, the media does love to lavish her with attention. They can't get enough. And it's easy to see why: Vogels is the woman for women.

What if wedding vows truly came straight from the heart? Just how productive are your office meetings, really?

Attend Radio Vault's seventh, all-new show tomorrow evening (Thursday, October 12) and find out.

blogTO and Radio Vault are tickled pink to offer free tickets to our faithful, beloved (and darn lucky) readers. All you gotta do is shoot an email to reservations@radiovault.net with the subject "blogTO tickets". The first three folks to do this will each win a pair of tickets.

There are some songs that speak the language of your soul. They cradle and soothe your spirit. You have no choice but to like them, for your being has decreed it so--they speak its language, not yours.

For me, these include Lamb's "Gabriel", Portishead's "Roads", Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", Radiohead's "Idioteque", Gorillaz's "Tomorrow Comes Today", and Massive Attack's "Teardrop." All are staples in my late-night soundtrack. All hit me where it hurts. I have listened to them countless times while burrowed in bed, as worldly preoccupations are banished from consciousness and sprightly candlelit shadows dance on walls.

These are musical poems I dream of experiencing live. So, when the opening notes of "Teardrop" were heard on Friday night--that unmistakable, unrelenting stutter of a beat--my heart stopped. Then the track's hypnotic harpsichord riff trickled in and I began to feel lightheaded. When, finally, the shimmering, fragile coo of Elizabeth Fraser blossomed into song, I just about lost it. For the next few minutes, the whole world stopped and I melted. It was bliss.

It's been 50-odd hours and I'm still reeling from Friday's Massive Attack show.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, October 6.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, this should come as no surprise: Google is taking over the world. In a press conference yesterday, the CEO hinted at big future deals in the broadcasting and telecomm arenas, and also teased with the promise of a more cohesive platform for all its suite of tech products.

The results are in for Vital Signs 2006, Toronto's annual checkup. In many areas, we seem to be on the right track, but the list of must-fixes seems much longer. Violence and murder is up (the highest in 10 years), 7 in 10 children don't have access to subsidized care child and net long-term debt shot up by $300 million in 2005.

What has the world come to when a man is stabbed over an iPod?

A study from the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, to be released today, is calls for national standards for drinking water (the US and the EU both have them). Health Canada estimates 90 deaths annually from unsafe drinking water.

The 2006 Ig Nobel Prizes, which honour obscure and zany scientific achievements, were doled out at Harvard yesterday. Among the winners? A teenager repellent, a medical case report entitled "Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage", and a study that proved female malaria mosquitoes are equally attracted to the stench of Limburger cheese as they are to human feet.

Canada's unemployment rate is at a near-record 6.4 percent and, for women, it's at an all-time low. Thanks, Alberta, and here's to being slaves to oil...

A recent poll indicates relations between Canada and the US are improving. When it comes to being BFF, however, our neighbours opt for Britain. Whatever, they can have each other, though perhaps Mr. Harper is feeling a tad shafted?

A rare misconduct probe is underway in the Ontario Judicial Council after allegations were made against Justice Marvin Zuker for deleting important content from court transcripts. The case has raised questions about the policies and practices of the Ontario Court of Justice. Should be interesting to see how this one pans out.

Welcome to the inaugural "Toronto Through the Eyes Of", a new blogTO column [hold your applause, please, you're far too kind]. Each Wednesday, we will cozy up to the city, exploring it through the eyes of a local celebrity, hero, do-gooder, or simply winning individual. Hope you enjoy.

For many a transplanted Vancouverite, Toronto-bellyaching is a popular pastime. They get misty-eyed as they recall winters spent in the powdery bliss of Whistler. Drool seeps from their mouths as they debate amongst themselves which Vancouver sushi joint serves up the best all-you-can-eat. (For the record, it's Richmond Sushi.) They scoff at The Beaches, recalling seemingly better, bygone days wiled away at Kits Beach, Jericho and English Bay. Ahh, yes, the forever disgruntled 416er from the 604.

Such is not the case with Sook-Yin Lee. The star of John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, which premieres this Friday, bade farewell to Vancouver for a VJ gig at MuchMusic in 1995. Today, she is a gung-ho Toronto cheerleader. The CBC show host (Definitely Not the Opera), musician (Bob's Your Uncle, Slan), filmmaker (Unlocked, Girl Cleans Sink), actor (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Art of Woo), and all-round overachiever (see select list of accomplishments in preceding brackets), has found her version of bliss--it's called Kensington Market-- in the city the rest of Canada loves to hate.