At 9:30 this morning my neighborhood was blanketed in choking smoke from a four-alarm blaze on Franklin Ave.

The fire began in the corner of a townhouse unit and rapidly spread through 6 homes within an hour via the shared attic. Witnesses say there was a lack of water pressure for almost a half hour when firefighters began fighting the blaze.

I arrived on the scene just as the fire was spreading to the second house and tried to comfort one of the tenants whose cats were trapped inside the third. Initially everyone was convinced that the fire could be stopped, but 3 hours later it had gutted all 6 homes and firefighters were desperately trying to prevent it from spreading to the next row of houses.

Thankfully no one was hurt.

Photos after the jump.

OCAP's (The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty), underground Mass Panhandle in the PATH to bring attention to the plight our city's homeless yesterday was a bust. The protest was better attended by the media, police and PATH security, who outnumbered the panhandlers 5 to 1.

Initially the authorities denied the protestors access to the PATH, but I was too busy watching a DJ from EDGE 102 (as he identified himself), insulting homeless people and arguing with protesters to notice. Within a few minutes he was the center of a crush of photographers and reporters and it was over. Shortly after, breakfast was served and everyone who decided to have a bowl of stew ate on camera. I don't know what is so fascinating about homeless people eating, but it was well documented.

Gifts by Artists at Art Metropole, offers unconventional and fantastic new multiples from over 50 artists, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

If you're like me with a list of people to buy for, who already have one of everything, Nikki Woolsey's Lint Pin and Max Dean's Thumb Chair wrapped in retro karmic "What did I do to deserve this" paper and a Sandy Plotnikoff campy Holidays Canceled card are going to be your shopping salvation. Coincidentally, Sandy's cards are also a good substitute gift if you're on a lean budget, which could be me if I treat myself to one of General Idea's Nine Lives flags.

It's that time of year again. Everywhere you go there are trees tangled in mini-lights, ear-piercing holiday muzak and crowds of people hauling over-stuffed shopping bags to remind you that the gift giving season is upon us.

If you haven't finished or even started your shopping yet, there's a reprieve from the mayhem of the malls and box stores: galleries, craft fairs and the holiday auction circuit!

Last Thursday I had my mind blown by the live show Fritz Helder and The Phantoms put on for their Greatest Hits CD release in the Great Hall. It was unlike anything I have ever witnessed.

It was my first time seeing the band and I spent the entire show next to the catwalk stage, ear pressed to the speaker and my eye glued to my camera view finder caught in a daze of fascination.

Get your bid paddle arm ready because tomorrow night is the annual Line Art Auction in support of Toronto's LGBT Youth Line. There will be paintings, sketches, sculptures and photos on the block by emerging and established artists including: Shaan Syed, Suzy Malik, Meera Sethi and Bruce La Bruce to name a few.