Last Friday (sorry for the late post) was the one year anniversary of The Fight Network. I had never heard of the channel, not really being the "fighting" type (I'm more of a lover). To be truthful, I went for the food and the drinks, of which there was plenty. The party was catered by Pusateri's and the food was stereotypically masculine-- sausages, bits of grilled cheese with bacon, miniature burgers, and pizza. And the bar was stocked; Grey Goose and Belvedere were pouring freely and with enough Red Bull to start a small plane.

Now, I've never seen much ring fighting (except for maybe at the Steam Whistle industry party), but I have always wanted to photograph it. When I walked into this party (at The Fight Network's AMAZING office on Wellington) and saw the ring, I knew it was going to be my chance.

There were several matches. Mostly Mui Thai and mixed martial arts fights. Afterwards they had some women from the Pillow Fight League step into the ring for a number of very spirited matches. By the end I could almost see what the hype was about. Almost.

This morning my bike was stolen. My lock was snipped like twine, leaving me 15 minutes to make it from Trinity-Bellwoods to the north end of Queen's Park. Oh, and it had just started to rain.

What a terrible start to a day. My bike (and lover) of over four years, taken from me in the middle of the night.

What's worst is that I am a poor student. Making rent each month is a struggle, I'm thousands of dollars in debt and I manage this finacial balancing act by paying nothing for transit among other things. To all the bike thieves out there, go steal from someone who can afford it. Or better -- don't!

Tonight is the launch of Spacing's 7th issue. It's at the Gladstone and costs $10, which gets you a copy of the newest issue. There will be a reduced rate for people who already have a copy of the magazine (bring the copy). This is a great way for Spacing to raise money to keep ad content low and pay their contributors.

All of the city council candidates, David Miller and Jane Pitfield have been invited, so it is a perfect tie into Spacing's new election blog. I will be using this event to let my representatives know which issues are important to me.

Torontoist notes the coincidence that there is a public space related documentary earlier the same night, which I would be attending if it were not my sister's birthday (happy birthday Kendall!) -- but, it looks like an interesting movie.

Car free day is always so disappointing. More photos.

Spacing magazine is launching a new website for the upcoming municipal elections and it is off to a great start:

Spacing Votes will be a hub of news and analysis on a variety of urban landscape topics leading up to the Nov. 13 vote. We have assembled a team of 13 young writers and urban thinkers to spread out across the city and discover what residents and candidates want to happen at City Hall. Also on our team is John Lorinc, the award-winning urban affairs journalist (Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, Report On Business, Walrus) who will provide commentary on the events that will shape the election.

I'm one of the "young writers and urban thinkers" (AKA interns) at the blog and I am really excited about it. The rest of the team is great and there are a lot of interesting ideas going around. So between blogTO and Spacing Votes, you should be getting your fill of election coverage (and me) -- whether you like it or not.

Motorola might be sponsoring the Toronto Film Fest, but when it comes to mobility, TIFF can't hold a match to Vidiotic and their "festival of viral videos and micro-shorts". And tonight is your last chance to see it.

"Podcasting. Narrowcasting. Niche content. Vidiotic is dedicated to exploring new ways of exhibiting video. Viral content. Mobile content. Guerilla screenings. Vidiotic's goal is to integrate short films into the physical world.

Vidiotic is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to exploring and forwarding the art of the (very) short narrative as we move into a strange and exciting future."

Social interruptions and subverted public space always interest me. I happened upon the van-projected event at Sanko on Queen this past Thursday. Jordan Crute, programmer and director of the festival, was eager to let me know about the event. "We're kind of chasing the festival crowd," he says, handing me a card.