Factory Theatre is well-known for developing new plays by Canadian playwrights. Tonight however marks the beginning of the second installment of their new festival, Performance Spring, which features exciting plays that have been developed elsewhere in Canada.

Tonight's opening show is Sexual Practices of the Japanese, an exploration of sexual stereotypes from Theatre Replacement in Vancouver. The show is taking place on the mainstage until the 18th, while a variety of shows are lined up for the Studio Space. First is Two Stroke Roll running from next Tuesday to Sunday, which is really two connected solo shows from Winnipeg's David King. Then on May 21st The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios opens for five performances only. This show, from infinitheatre in Montreal, explores the struggles of two friends when one of them is diagnosed with AIDS in the mid-1980s. Finally there's a late-night element added to six nights of Performance Spring, with two shows each of music, comedy and monologue/performance art taking place after normal theatre hours.

If none of that strikes your fancy, the CrossCurrants Festival is Factory's annual celebration of writers of color, and it continues until Sunday with Pay-What-You-Can shows and readings in the Studio Space.

• Visit the Factory Theatre website for details on tickets, location and performance times.

May is Asian Heritage Month and tonight the Toronto Library, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and Coach House Books are teaming up to celebrate. The festival and Coach House Books recently co-published an anthology of essays, Reel Asian: Asian Canada On Screen, and tonight the book's editor, Elaine Chang, will be interviewing several filmmakers whose short films will be screened.

The event is free and starts at 6pm. It's taking place at the Agincourt Branch, on Bonis Avenue right across from the Agincourt Mall.

• See what else is happening for Asian Heritage Month at the Toronto Library
• Read more about Reel Asian: Asian Canada On Screen from Coach House Books
• Visit the Reel Asian website

If you had already paid for your transit use during last month's TTC strike, you'll be happy to know that refunds are now available to cover the strike period. The amount you get back varies from $3 to $9.50 based on the type of pass you had, and you'll have to hand in the pass itself at any TTC collector booth to get your money back. To see how much of a refund your type of pass will receive, check the refund notice on the TTC website.

But What About The Tax Rebate?
For those who bought a metropass, you likely already know that you are supposed to be signing and keeping all of your passes if you want to claim the tax rebate for 2008. The TTC clearly conferred with Revenue Canada, because according to the refund notice the tax folks will accept a front-and-back photocopy of your signed pass as proof of payment, but only for the month of April 2008.

A Limited Time Offer
The rebates are only available until May 30th, so if you're the kind of procrastinator who files their taxes on the last day (*cough, cough*), take note not to put this off as well.

I think I'll be stopping by Staples to make a few photocopies later this afternoon.

Photo © Marilyn Campbell

Locked up, but is it safe?

Riding the streetcar today I overheard some guys talking about how one of them had found a bike. It wasn't clear if this was really a bike that was abandoned somewhere -- which means it was probably stolen at one point -- or if this guy had "found" a bike someone hadn't taken the time to lock up properly. Either way, it reminded me of how many people I know who've had bikes disappear from all kinds of places, whether it be where they were carefully locked up in a very public place or taken from their own backyard.

If you're a cyclist, registering your bike with the Toronto Police may help the police get it back to you if it's stolen. Of course they have to recover it first, but judging from the police online auctions there are plenty of times when they're left with bikes no one has claimed. Registering is free and only takes few minutes, so you may want to put it on your to-do list for this weekend before the weather gets really nice for riding -- and thieving.

Photo © Marilyn Campbell

Today's the deadline to file your 2007 taxes - which means I've got to take a walk to the post office this afternoon and make sure that fat brown envelope gets a postmark.

If you're like me (a procrastinator who still doesn't file online), a way to be sure your return is in on time is to visit one of Toronto's tax services offices, which will be open until midnight tonight for drop-offs and payments.

• Toronto Centre Tax Services Office
  1 Front Street West
  (Near Union Station, just east of Bay Street - Mapquest Map)


• Toronto East Tax Services Office
  200 Town Centre Court, Room 427, Scarborough
  (Near the Scarborough Town Centre - Mapquest Map)


• Toronto North Tax Services Office
  5001 Yonge Street, North York
  (North of Sheppard - Mapquest Map)


• Toronto West Tax Services Office
  5800 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
  (Just south of Britannia/the 401 - Mapquest Map)

With the TTC Union legislated back to work by the Ontario government as of Sunday afternoon, on the surface things are back to normal. But it seems more likely now that "normal" will change, and that the city will put in a request with the province for the TTC to be declared an essential service.

I don't know very much about labour law, but there's a definition of essential services in this online document, Guidelines for Essential Services Agreements. This is a Federal document, but if Ontario's decision would be based on the same criteria, then here's what it says:

"Services should be identified as essential where there are reasonable grounds for accepting the probability, or even the possibility, that human life or public safety would suffer if a work stoppage interrupted the duties of these employees."

Prior to Friday night I could have argued either way for how to classify the TTC, but that was because I never would have imagined they'd withdraw service the way they did. But stranding people in the middle of the night, especially on a weekend night when many folks have been out drinking and planning to transit home, clearly goes well beyond a mere inconvenience.

If the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 executive wanted us to understand just how important the transit workers are, they've succeeded. If they planned to use that as a bargaining chip when they threatened striking in future negotiations, they may have failed miserably.

I'm going to continue to be friendly and polite with TTC workers, since I know that for many Friday's actions weren't a personal choice. But if the government moves to take away their right to strike, well, let's just say I won't be writing any letters of protest to my MPP.

It seems TTC workers have rejected the deal reached earlier this week, so the TTC is on strike. Right now.

According to the CityNews article the decision not to give the public the same 48 hours notice that was promised earlier are due to fears that front-line workers could be in danger from an angry public.

Hopefully this will come to a quick end, perhaps even in time for the Monday rush, but if you had plans for this weekend or are one of the many people for whom a normal work-week does not apply, here are few links that may be able to smooth your way.

• Toronto Taxi Numbers
• 416-TAXICAB, if you have trouble remembering numbers
• Stay Updated on Toronto Traffic if you're trying to drive

And you may also want to consider using GO Transit, if so visit the GO Transit website for schedules.

Of course, nothing I'm posting here will do any good to the many people who are out for a fun Friday evening, or are working tonight and will suddenly find themselves without a way home. Personally, I wouldn't have been angry with the TTC if they'd given notice, but cutting off service literally part-way through an evening is a ridiculous way to go about things.

I love speculative fiction. I also loved discovering the term speculative fiction, because after growing up enjoying any books that were "strange", it finally gave me a proper way to refer to all of them. The definition of the term is actually a bit loose and changes depending on who you ask, but in general "speculative fiction" refers to any work that explores a "what if" scenario. This means it can encompass genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history, and fairy tales, plus any number of works that don't fit neatly into any genre.

If you love speculative fiction or think it sounds interesting, the Toronto Public Library wants you to give our own northern brand a try. TPL is just a few days into a six-week series of talks and other events highlighting speculative fiction in Canada. The events are all free and are taking place at six different branches: Eatonville, Beaches, Cedarbrae, Centennial, Oakwood and Lillian H. Smith.

Authors in the series include Kelley Armstrong, Guy Gavriel Kay, Emily Pohl-Weary, Cory Doctorow, Peter Watts, Terence Green, Phyllis Gotlieb and others. And if none of those names mean anything to you, the works being discussed include elements like half-demons, mythic figures, girl pirates, teen hackers, alien communication, and travels through time and space.

• For a list of all events, see the TPL's Foresight: Speculative Fiction in Canada webpage.

Today is Earth Day, but more and more people are trying to change their lifestyles so that it can become Earth Day everyday. At our house we've been trying to buy greener products and limit electricity use (although turning my computer off more often is still a hurdle I'm trying to get over).

If you're interested in taking part in environmental initiatives, supporting wildlife, creating gardens, exploring natural spaces or improving the environment in your own community, Toronto has tons of events for you year-round. This Friday alone you'll find Bike Summit 2008 exploring cycling as a transportation option, "An Evening of Green - Building an Environmental Community" at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, and the start of the Green Living Show at Exhibition Place.

To keep track of what else is coming up or to let others know about your own event, visit the Green Toronto Calendar (and maybe unlike me, you'll remember to turn your computer off when you're done).

Robert during the game vs. L.A. Galaxy

This afternoon Toronto FC won their home opener, beating Real Salt Lake 1-0 at BMO Field on a free kick by Laurent Robert. This was their fourth game of the season and now they're 2 and 2, with an earlier win against L.A. Galaxy. Last year the then brand-new team came in last overall with only 6 wins and 25 points for the season. But already things are looking up for Toronto's newest sports team.

Meanwhile the Toronto Marlies are off to Texas to play three more games in their first round playoff series against the San Antonio Rampage. Right now the teams are 1-1 in the best of seven series, so they'll definitely get to game five. If it goes to game six, the teams will return to the Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday April 27th at 4pm. In the American Hockey League teams are playing for the Calder Cup, which last season went to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

For more on the Marlies visit torontomarlies.com and keep up with Toronto FC on torontofc.ca.

Photo © Victor Decolongon/Getty Images