I'm going to stretch the limits of the title of this column, "For the Social Butterfly", to mean "social" as in social conscience as in to mean... um, yeah, this:

Whenever I've heard certain city departments complain about the task at hand, I always wonder "Well, such and such city has the same problem, and they're doing it, so why don't you ask them how it's done?" AND LO AND BEHOLD, the City of Toronto is holding a Higher Learning Symposium "Learning from Other Cities" this Thursday the 19. Its objective: "What can Toronto learn from other cities grappling with these same fundamental issues?" No need to thank me (really).

All day in the Harbour Ballroom of the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel at 1 Harbour Square there are free programs regarding Tall Buildings: Perspective from Other Cities. The morning and afternoon programs are both free but require registration; the evening program, High Anxiety: Can We Get the City and Skyline We Deserve?, the "panel discussion among tall building experts" does not require registration and is also free.

You know how it is. You go to an art party/opening/event, and you say, "What the hell am I doing here, I so do not belong," knowing that 90% of everyone else in attendance is equally feeling out of place. Maybe that's why a big old art nerd like me loves historical re-enactments, where being totally out of place might not be such a bad thing (and guys in leather kilts is hawt).

Today a panel discussion of the Past Present: The Phenomenon of Reenactment in Contemporary Art, Film, and Theatre is being presented at Art Gallery of York University, Accolade East, 4700 Keele Street @ 4pm. RUN QUICK! YOU STILL HAVE TO MAKE IT!

WAIT! There is also a screening at 7pm of Peter Watkin's The Battle of Culloden,1964 and Jeremy Deller's The Battle of Orgreave (An Injury to One is an Injury to All), 2001 @ the Accolade East Cinema.

And speaking of art openings--finally!--tomorrow night (Wed. 18) from 8pm-12am, Gallery TPW is celebrating their grand opening at 56 Ossington Avenue with Space Launch where Silver Editions 2006 will be unveiled during a "bombastic party" featuring spinners "Ulysses Castellanos and Jon Sasaki" and "fabulous shmooze".

So...say, you're there feeling slightly out of place, and you see me across the room feeling slightly out of place, feel free to wave and we will feel out of place together.