If you're anything like me, Christmas is a very conflicting time of the year. As much as I enjoy finding gifts for friends and family, the insanity of Christmas consumerism often leaves a bitter taste in my mouth after eventually getting all my shopping done. With this in mind, for the past few years I've made a consistent effort to purchase my gifts from local artists around Toronto. This year, that (last minute) list will include a couple pieces from the small but beautiful Joe & Josephine collection now being exhibited at the MADE Design Store gallery.

More photos and info on the collection after the jump...

Take a look at this quick little movie I shot a few weeks ago at a food court in T&T Supermarket. Anyone care to guess what the hell this spread of fluttering deliciousness might be? Common... Anyone? I'll give you a hint... it's edible (yes, this is actually food) and is most commonly referred to as the "Japanese Pizza".

Give up? Well don't fret... I'll gladly tell you all about this odd little food item in my review of Naniwa-Taro in our Restaurants section.

Two summers ago I took a trip to Japan, partly to connect with a family and culture I never really knew I had, but also... to eat tons of amazing food. Since coming back, I've been going through a sort of constant gastronomical withdrawal of real Japanese food. Anyone who's had the real thing, made by real Japanese chefs, will know what I'm talking about. But for those who don't, I have some good news to report: there is a place in Toronto that does the real thing really well. It's called Ematei, and if you haven't heard of it, that's probably because it's hidden away in the most unlikely (and hidden) of places.

So what do I actually mean by "the real thing"? Read on about my nostalgic Japanese meal at Ematei in our Restaurants section to find out.

Hello all, and welcome to JUICE. Well really, it's JUICE2. Last year's event flew a little under the radar in Toronto, and was meant to be more of a local OCAD event for students and faculty. But this year's a different story all together. All are invited, starting this Thursday evening, to come listen, participate and absorb all that the impressive lineup of speakers has to offer. And if last year is any indication of the overall quality of this year's event, it'll definitely be worth dropping in for.

Now there are probably two main questions you're asking at this point...

1) How much does it cost?
2) Who's dropping by to lecture?

Well first of all, I can gladly report that the 3 day event is ENTIRELY FREE. And as for those speakers...

What can one say really after a show like Saturday night's sold out affair at Kool Haus? Well whatever your take is, you'd definitely have to shout it at this point for me to have even the slightest chance of hearing it, as your voice presently has a constant high pitched ringing to compete with that I'm hoping will go away sometime soon. Regardless, The Carps, Holy Fuck, Datarock, and M.I.A. all banded together to wage musical war on our senses on Saturday... and I have to say quite simply that THEY WON (well actually, I think The Carps might have lost... but we'll get to that later).

As fantastic as the show was though, it didn't escape its own list of shortcomings and oddities that made for some, let's say "mixed emotions" at the end of the night among many. And yes, the constant ringing between my ears is playing a small role in those emotions...

I love fish & chips. Some nights, I swear, no other meal will do. It's definitely a deep fried weakness of mine along with... well, pretty much anything else that's been deep fried. Some readers might already know this after a recent review I did of Harbord Fish & Chips, which was a VERY positive one by the way. But there's a new game in town kids, and it's even CLOSER to my house than Harbord! Right at the corner of Denison and Augusta facing the park now stands Somethin's Fishy Fish & Chips... a rather unfortunate choice of name, but the food could still be good, right?

Get the goods on Somethin's Fishy Fish & Chips in our Restaurants section...