Critically-acclaimed film director Roman Polanski has led a truly fascinating and trouble-filled life. He lost his mother in the Holocaust, he lost his pregnant wife when she was murdered by a member of the Manson Family, and he remains a wanted man in the USA after allegedly having sexual relations with a minor. And he's directed some incredible films.


From July 25th to 31st, the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired will be screening at The Royal Theatre, and blogTO has five pairs of tickets to give away to lucky readers.

Continue for contest entry details and screening times.

Photo: "Parking hassle at Toronto Harbourfront" by jonathan ponce, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Wednesday July 23rd, 2008:

Another pile of odd meat has been found in a Mississauga park (how's that for a weird opening headline?). For the second time in less than a week, meat being described as suspicious has been discovered in public green spaces, prompting dog owners to recall the recent High Park poisoning case and fear for their pets' safety. Odd (and delicious) meat belongs in storefront windows in Chinatown, not in suburban parks.

Speculation on the part of police and silence from area residents has it that south Etobicoke's not-so-well-known "10th Street Gang" may be responsible for the drive-by shooting that killed three people on the weekend. Ten years ago, I lived at Lakeshore and 6th and never felt even the slightest bit unsafe, but I suppose things have changed since then.

Loreen Small, the mother of gun-slain teen Jordan Manners, had a scary brush with guns in the Jane-Finch area again last week. A man who was rejected in courtship by Small's daughter, shot 7 bullets in the direction of the family, but fortunately missed his target. One must wonder at what point Small will choose to flee rather than fight the ongoing gun violence.

Photo: "canada day" by RebootYourComputer, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Tuesday July 22nd, 2008:

A U.S. environmental lawyer is warning us that current laws governing the diversion and use of Great Lake waters will eventually doom and deplete them. An Ontario government spokesperson, on the other hand, hopes we find solace in the fact that beginning in 2009, we'll be charging companies $0.00000371 per litre.

Imagine walking through your apartment lobby with your child, and having to dodge bullets? Welcome to Toronto in 2008, where multiple homicides, drive-by shootings, and innocent bystanders getting killed are taking centre stage.

The somewhat legendary "beer guy" at SkyDome, who was recently fired for allegedly serving a couple of brews without doing an ID check, now has 15,000 people in his Facebook group, MTV on his side, and is considering a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. We, the citizens of Toronto, should also take on Rogers for a wrongful renaming of the dome lawsuit.

Photo: "rain runner" by wvs, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday July 21st, 2008:

Right after being touted as the safest big city in Canada, six homicides have been logged in Toronto this week, including three men found dead in a car in south Etobicoke yesterday. Police are saying it's likely gang-related, and that the victims were shot elsewhere before the bullet-riddled car was driven to its final abandoned location.

Toronto will be going ahead with a plan to install pay-per-use public washrooms on our city streets, despite recent failed attempts to run a similar arrangement in Seattle - where the public toilets ended up being used by drug dealers and prostitutes to conduct (non-peepeepoopoo) business. Toronto is hopeful that a $1 entry charge and 15-minute auto-security trigger will prevent ours from reaching the same fate.

Sunday night's Rock the Bells hip hop mega-show doesn't end when the last act finishes and the lights go on at Arrow Hall.

The bells will make their way downtown and will continue to be rocked when Nas performs at the afterparty at Circa - and a couple of blogTO readers will get into the afterparty free, and win a copy of Nas' latest album Untitled, courtesy of Universal Music.

Continue reading for contest entry details.

Led by an eccentric and electrifying front man (who was born and raised in Quebec and later moved to Germany at the age of 22), King Khan and the Shrines are a garage rock/psychedelic soul band that puts on one hell of a live show. Anyone that was at their NXNE show in Toronto back in 2006 (pictured above) can surely attest to this.

On July 23rd and 24th, King Khan and the Shrines will be rocking the Horseshoe, and we want you to be there.