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Join us for an evening of French conversation at B Espresso Bar in the atrium of the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music (near St. George station)!
We welcome all levels of French, and it's free\*.
Venez pratiquer votre français! \*While there is no fee to attend this event, guests are expected to purchase something from B Espresso Bar, in accordance with RCM's restrictions on usage of the cafe atrium space. **Building location:** The Royal Conservatory is at 273 Bloor St W, between Varsity Stadium and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). There are entrances off Bloor St. and Philosopher's Walk. If you enter from Bloor St through the large glass doors, follow the hallway on the left beside the staircase and turn left at the end. (Closest TTC: St. George) **Notes and restrictions:** The host may or may not attend this event. Attendees are encouraged to seat themselves at two or more adjacent tables, as needed. Please form groups of 6 people at each table; do not rearrange chairs and tables to accommodate more people, as this obstructs the narrow walking space. Guests are expected to order something from the cafe, and are asked to please refrain from bringing outside food or drink. Attendees must leave the building at 8pm when the cafe stops serving. **Contributions:** If you are a regular with us and would like to support the group, please send any contributions by e-transfer to [diskutomeetup@gmail.com.](http://diskutomeetup@gmail.com.) The yearly donation goal and amounts received year-to-date will be tracked anonymously on [this google sheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18GfqYsis8Cf2XGg4KsKQJsY_0Fv3bsSQHwJAxvC1Km8/edit?usp=sharing). Thank you so much for your support.

The public sphere is currently dominated by a handful of social media platforms — for example, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit — all built on centralized networks. Centralized networks concentrate decision-making and infrastructure in a single entity that manages user identity, data storage, policy enforcement, and content curation. This concentration of control grants platforms enormous power over online communication and public discourse. Yet these platforms are operated by unelected actors accountable primarily to shareholders rather than the public. I argue that operators of platforms built on centralized networks can’t legitimately exercise power over the public sphere. By contrast, platforms built on decentralized networks — which distribute control over identity, data, and policy across independent nodes interoperating through open protocols — can in principle exercise their power legitimately. The upshot is that legitimate platform governance requires migrating to decentralized architectures. Chris Howard https://www.mcgill.ca/philosophy/chris-howard Associate Professor Department of Philosophy McGill University About the Speaker: I'm an Associate Professor of Philosophy at [McGill University](https://www.mcgill.ca/philosophy/), where i direct the [Philosophy, Technology, & Policy Lab](https://www.mcgillptplab.com/). My earlier work was in normative ethics & metaethics. Now I work on questions about power, legitimacy, & governance in digital infrastructure. I'm focused on the illegitimate power of centralized social media platforms & AI systems, & on the prospects for legitimate decentralized alternatives. Before joining McGill, I was a research assistant professor at [UNC-Chapel Hill](https://philosophy.unc.edu/) & core faculty in the [UNC/Duke program in philosophy, politics, & economics](https://ppe.unc.edu/). **\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*** This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat [here](https://www.youtube.com/live/NGJrCWCnkyY). About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca): The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life. In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society. The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai

## 🧠🎉 Trivia Night @ The Frog: A Firkin Pub 🍻 **Think fast, laugh hard, and make new friends!** We’ll be meeting at **The Frog: A Firkin Pub**, conveniently located just steps from **Yonge–Sheppard Station** — cozy - great food and fun! ### 🕖 About the Event Trivia starts at **7:00 PM** and runs until around **9:30 P**M— just **ask for Colleen’s group** when you arrive! Expect a lively mix of **pop culture, history, music, sports, and random fun question.** Whether you come solo or bring a friend, we’ll make sure everyone’s part of a team. 🧩💬 ### 💸 Cost & Policy Everyone must spend at least **$10 (plus tax & tip)** at the pub. **NEW POLICY:** * 🆕 *First-timers* must send a **$5 deposit** by e-transfer to **tommills@rogers.com** and message Colleen right away on this page or the sign-up page. * 💌 There will be a **$1 reminder charge** if you don’t send the deposit promptly, for each reminder. * 👥 You may bring **1 guest**, but please e-transfer **$10** in advance. You’ll be refunded once your guest arrives. ### 🧠 Why You’ll Love It Trivia night isn’t just about questions — it’s about **connection, laughter, and teamwork**. Come test your wits, cheer on your tablemates, and enjoy the buzz of a pub full of friendly faces. Whether you’re a trivia pro or just in it for the fun, it’s always a great time! 📱 **Don’t forget to join our WhatsApp group** – [CLICK HERE!](https://chat.whatsapp.com/H59mSCbsAi018gYANrKAnc?mode=ac_t) ### ⚠️ Notes * Please don’t just “show up” without RSVPing — seating is limited, and teams need to be balanced. * Occasionally, the organizer may need to rearrange teams if one is *too stacked* (e.g., all the sports or music experts together!). * Sometimes things happen — events can be canceled or adjusted, so keep an eye out for updates. 📩 **Questions?** Contact **Colleen**, your organizer, by posting on the event page.

The Ethereum Developers Meetup in Toronto (and surrounding area) is back for 2026! Our first guest of the year will be [Jan Gorzny](https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jangorzny), co-founder of the Ethereum Layer 2 [Zircuit](https://www.zircuit.com/), the safe haven for onchain finance. We have a second guest confirmed last minute who unexpectedly showed up in Toronto! [Willem Olding](https://www.linkedin.com/in/willem-olding/) of Boundless Network, will be showcasing some work from Signal Ethereum, ZK-proofs of Ethereum consensus. Jan is a co-founder of Zircuit. He is an experienced researcher in algorithm design and formal methods and is interested in all things rollups, plasma, and beyond. At Zircuit, Jan's research is focused on sequencer-level security, minimizing proof generation time, and developing novel methods to check the correctness of zero-knowledge circuits. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo in 2022. Willem has worked in crypto since 2018, and on Ethereum since 2021. For much of this time his focus has been on verifiable computation in the form of state channels, fraud proofs, and ZK proofs. He currently works as a protocol engineer at Boundless Network, a spinout company of RISC Zero. Regardless if you're new to the Ethereum community or have been in this community for years, we'd love to get Toronto, Waterloo and surrounding area Ethereum builders bonded together to create and build synergies. Please join us for some refreshments and enjoy a couple hours surrounded by like-minded builders of Ethereum. RSVP here and follow our Luma group calendar here: https://luma.com/ethereumdevelopers

In modern Java applications, distributed systems are everywhere, and so are failure modes. But how do you know when your cluster is fragile, or if it’s on the brink of breaking? This talk dives into practical observability and resiliency techniques for distributed Java environments. We’ll highlight key patterns, failure signals, and metrics that matter, backed by a live demo using Hazelcast, Chaos-mesh, Prometheus, and Grafana. You’ll learn: Core Patterns – Leader election, partitioning, replication Metrics That Matter – Backup count, member count, JVM health, Golden Signals Failure-Aware Design – Resilience patterns, chaos testing principles Live Demo – Deploy a working cluster, simulate node failure, and explore metrics to observe how data integrity holds as the system nears its fault tolerance threshold Ideal for Java developers, architects, and SREs, this session blends theory, tools, and real-world failure scenarios to help you build distributed systems that stay online—even when things go wrong. **About the venue** Free Times Cafe has bistro-style seating and a full food and drink menu. Please consider helping to support the venue by planning to have supper during the talk. **Speaker Bio** Joe Sherwin is a Principal Solution Architect at Hazelcast with 22 years of experience in the design, development, and implementation of application systems within multi-tier distributed computing environments. Working with clients such as Vanguard, Fannie Mae, Federal Reserve Bank, Citi Group, Bear Stearns, Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, Comcast Corp, Webster Bank, Gartner Group, The Hartford Life Company, IBM Global Services, Mass Mutual, Lincoln National Financial Corporation, Bank of America, and Barnes & Noble Online Group, Mr. Sherwin has been instrumental in the development of large-scale mission-critical E-commerce, insurance, and financial systems. He has experience architecting & implementing solution using CORBA, RMI, Java EE compliant distributed Object architectures, in-memory high transaction/low latency solutions using Hazelcast IMDG®, GemFire, Ehcache & Oracle Coherence, and solutions deployable on IaaS or PaaS platforms like Cloud Foundry, Amazon Web Services, Rackspace or Heroku.

(English below) Venez profiter de la bonne nourriture et une bonne conversation en français au café **Black Pony** situé au **1481 Gerrard St East**, le **jeudi 8 mai de 18h à 20h.** Nous serons à l'arrière du café autour d'une grande table, prêt à vous accueillir! On va pratiquer la langue de Molière tout en nous faisant de nouveaux amis. **Toutes les 30 minutes, nous changerons de place** pour favoriser les échanges. Tout le monde est bienvenu, quel que soit son niveau. Pour en savoir plus sur le café et son menu délicieux et varié : [https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/black-pony-toronto/](https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/black-pony-toronto/) Si vous ne souhaitez pas que votre photo soit publiée sur MeetUp, veuillez en informer Jesse. La plateforme Meetup engendre des frais de $560 pour l'année 2025. Pour soutenir le groupe, **nous demandons de payer $3.00 à chaque événement.** Jesse sera là pour recueillir vos contributions. Nous vous prions de bien vouloir apporter de la monnaie. Si vous préférez, vous pouvez utiliser ce lien sur Square **et montrer a Jesse votre recu:** [CLIQUER ICI](https://square.link/u/S6dAAKd1) Merci, **Pierre et Emily et Jesse** L'équipe du Toronto French meetup .................................................................................................................. Come and enjoy good food and good conversation at the **Black Pony café** located at **1481 Gerrard St East**, on **Thursday May 8 at 6pm until 8pm.** We'll be in the back of the café around a big table ready to welcome you! We'll be practicing the French language and making friends, **keeping in mind that every 30 minutes we'll be moving around to mix up the conversation.** Everyone is welcome, whatever your level. To find out more about the cafe and its delicious and varied menu: https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/black-pony-toronto/ If you don't want your photo published on MeetUp, please let Jesse know. The Meetup platform incurs a fee of $560 for the year 2025. **To support the group, we ask you to pay $3.00** for each event. Jesse will be on hand to collect your contributions. Please bring change. If you prefer, you can use this Square link and **show Jesse your receipt:** [CLICK HERE](https://square.link/u/S6dAAKd1) Thank you, Pierre and Emily, and Jesse The Toronto French meetup team

**Join [TILE.]** at the **most popular Weekly Saturday Language Learning Social Event & Party in Toronto! 🍁** **[TILE.] will be hosting a special K-POP theme night on January 31st 2026 from 7PM to Midnight at the Madison Pub.** Join us for a night of fun, networking, language learning, music, and more. From **[7 PM - MIDNIGHT](https://www.meetup.com/biggest-language-party-event-social-in-toronto):** Our special KPOP-themed version of **[TORONTO'S BIGGEST LANGUAGE EXCHANGE SOCIAL EVENT AND PARTY ](https://www.meetup.com/biggest-language-party-event-social-in-toronto)**(Cost: *$0-$5\*, see below)* Meet Toronto locals and international friends. Talk to language teachers and speakers to learn English, French, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and much more! Join us for board games, conversation, dancing, singing, and more! Make sure to get a nametag from one of our helpers. *You **must** read the full event description below before attending. By attending, you agree to all the terms listed.* **[TILE.] Toronto International Language Exchange** event details: * We are on the 2nd floor of the Madison pub on the patio with all the international flags! *The dance floor opens around 10:30 PM, and the live piano bar singer start around 10:30 on the 1st floor.* * With our night ride promotion, the second event (the 7:15- 11 PM Party & Social event) is **FREE** for women who will be traveling alone at night to promote inclusion and equity\*. This event normally $5. * The cost for the first event (the 6:30 - 7:15 PM English Language class) is $5 for everyone. **PAY** **$5** right at the event by **CASH, CREDIT, or DEBIT**, or **SEND $5 E-TRANSFERS** to: **TILETORONTO1@GMAIL.COM**. You can also support the bar by buying a drink or appetizer. **\*** The second event ends late at night. It is 100% your own responsibility to ensure you get home safe. We can simply waive the $5 event entry/cover fee for women who will be traveling home alone so that they may instead put this money towards taking a safe ride home. \-\-\-\-\-\- **IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER – Meetup Group** By attending any TILE events, including these ones, you acknowledge and agree to the following: * *The organizers and hosts of TILE events are are not liable for any loss, injury, damage, or other unforeseen outcomes that may occur before, during, or after any event.* * *Participation in TILE events is entirely voluntary and at your own risk. You are solely responsible for your own safety, personal belongings, transportation, behavior, and well-being. It is your responsibility to assess the risks involved in any activity or location and to act accordingly.* * *TILE and its organizers do not provide insurance and cannot guarantee the safety, accuracy of information, or quality of venues, third-party services, or other attendees.* * *By attending, you release TILE, its organizers, and affiliates from any and all claims or liability, and you agree to conduct yourself respectfully and in accordance with local laws and venue rules.* * ***If you do not agree with this disclaimer, please do not attend TILE events.***

🪞 My Inner Mirror – Inner Alchemy Workshop Through Art Therapy 🎨 Immerse yourself in a unique and transformative workshop, blending artistic creation, meditation, and inner exploration. This guided introspective space will allow you to manifest your inner reality through art, shifting perceptions and strengthening your connection with your subconscious. 🌟 Why Join? ✅ Visually express your inner world and uncover its hidden messages ✅ Deepen your connection with your subconscious through guided meditation ✅ Use art as a tool for transformation and self-analysis ✅ Learn interpretation techniques to better understand your creations No artistic skills required – this workshop is accessible to everyone! 🧘‍♂️ Workshop Flow: 1. Breathing Exercises – Mental and energetic preparation for meditation 2. Guided Meditation – Activating the subconscious and awakening intuition 3. Mirror Drawing Creation – Representing your inner reality through art 4. Interpretation & Examples – Understanding the symbols and messages within your artwork 5. Sharing & Q/A – A space for discussion and guidance 📌 Required Materials: 🔹 Paper: Blank sheets (A4 or A3 format, no grid lines) 🔹 Artistic tools: Pencils, brushes, markers, or any medium of your choice ⏳ Duration: 2 hours 💫 Guidance: This workshop is led by Ludovic, exploring inner alchemy through yoga and art therapy. 🪞 Let your true essence emerge, observe your inner reflection, and uncover the secrets your subconscious wishes to reveal. ✅ Reserve your spot now and embark on this transformative journey! **✨ Join Our Wellness Community** More on [https://www.yogasource.org](https://www.yogasource.org)

Contact Alex for location and information.

Living On Video + DJ Lazarus presents **Sat Jan 31 - PANIC: 80s/90s Video Dance Party w/ THE CURE Spotlight** ADVANCED TIX $10: https://TheCureSpotlight.eventbrite.ca PANIC is a brilliant evening of new wave, post-punk, classic alternatives, synth pioneers, britpop, shoegaze, madchester, new romantic, classic industrial, ska, and more. Join hundreds of your friends dancing to the coolest retro tunes at PANIC. Saturday January 31, 2026 PANIC: 80s/90s Video Dance Party w/ THE CURE Spotlight Ground Control - 1279 Queen St West - Toronto @groundcontroltoronto Lounge 9pm - Mainroom 10pm 19+ event Adv. Tix ONLY $10: https://TheCureSpotlight.eventbrite.ca $15 at the door INVITE: www.facebook.com/events/827745866827468/ (please INVITE your friends) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- SOCIAL: www.instagram.com/groundcontroltoronto www.facebook.com/livingonvideoclub www.facebook.com/djlazarusrocks www.twitch.tv/livingonvideoclub www.mixcloud.com/livingonvideo www.instagram.com/djlazarusrocks www.twitter.com/djlazarusrocks

Our coffee shop meetup now takes place every other Saturday at Tim Hortons at Bay and Wellesley. Come out to meet and chat with your fellow members of the Toronto Social Anxiety Support group in a supportive environment. **IMPORTANT: This group is intended to provide a safe space for people with social anxiety who may feel inhibited in louder, more extroverted environments. Please respect the nature of this group and do not attend if you are not in this category. There are many other groups available on Meetup.** **When**: 5pm - 630pm **Where to meet**: Tim Horton's at 56 Wellesley St West (northwest corner of Bay and Wellesley). **Reminder**: Like all our events, the group's code of conduct applies. Pls make this a successful outing by being courteous and respectful in language and behaviour, and supportive towards other members, especially those with higher anxiety. **Covid/flu safety**: If you are sick or have recently been exposed to someone who is sick, pls use your judgement about attending this event. You can always come to the next event when you feel better.

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

Join us as we get together to see the steamy-romance-period-drama, WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Director Emerald Fennell gives us her take on the romance between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw from the classic Emily Bronte novel. Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: The film tells a passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. The film is directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) and is loosely based on the classic novel by Emily Bronte. It stars Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Alison Oliver, Owen Cooper and Hong Chau! TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLCdIYShEQ PLAN: We’ll plan for a 7pm-ish showing and will meet inside the lobby area about 30 minutes before the show begins. Advance ticket purchase not required for this theater but early arrival is advised! Be sure to mention you’re with the Movie Group for admission and concession discounts! And, after the movie, don’t miss the best part of the night – food and drinks at the nearby Rusty Bucket! Complete details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer! Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

Attend a free seminar on how to have successful and lasting relationships. At this seminar you will learn: How to spot and handle negative and toxic relationships. How to get through the "rough patches" in a relationship. How to choose the right people to work with. The three things that make or break any relationship. How to make a good relationship great. All are welcome. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. Hosted by the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

If you would like to participate in a fun gift exchange please bring a wrapped $5 sweet treat 😋