January 31, 2005
Quebec Connection
I finally tracked down a copy of “Bonjour Expo”, by the Montreal-based musician Nathanial Hebert, aka Quebec Connection. It’s a really cool CD of music that the 26-year-old Hebert thinks would have made a good soundtrack to Expo ‘67. Or, as his website puts it, it is “a classy, teutonic-disco themed album, chronicling the golden days of Montreal’s Expo 67, using... [More >>]
January 31, 2005
Gay marriage, free votes, and matters of conscience
In the lead editorial on Saturday, the Globe and Mail asked, “where does a free vote end and government accountability begin?” The editorial argued that The Headwaiter should make the vote on the upcoming gay marriage legislation a “free vote” for Liberal backbenchers, but that all members of Cabinet should vote with the government and support the bill. This reverses the paper’s... [More >>]
January 29, 2005
Thank you, good night, sold out
Thank you to all the friends of This Magazine — current and former staff, board, contributors, volunteers and readers — who came out to the Rivoli on Thursday night to help push the boat out in my honour. I left the room (at 3 am) feeling like I was on cloud nine. You are an incredible group of people and the reason This Magazine is still here, and getting better every day. You haven’t... [More >>]
January 27, 2005
The Big Payoff
The number of columnists who have accepted cash from the Bush administration to promote the President’s agenda is now up to two. The latest? Syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher, who accepted a $21,500 contract to research and write items promoting marriage (presumably the traditional kind). She later wrote about the Bush initiative in her column. Gallagher claims she forgot about the contract,... [More >>]
January 27, 2005
miscellaneous thursday
1. Here’s a neat list of top ten science books from the Guardian. Made me a bit nostalgic. I was a science boy, I grew up on dinosaurs. 2. Speaking of the Rheostatics, did anybody catch their show in Kingston last night? Review and set list plz. 3. Speaking of science, I am looking for a relatively objective/balanced book about modern agriculture, especially on the pros/cons of organic farming.... [More >>]
January 25, 2005
Fight! Fight! Fight! and, uh, Fight!
This is great. Warren Kinsella’s been writing a book on punk, and I think it’s getting to him. He’s been throwing punches left/right/centre on his blog for the past week or so, and it’s spilled over into the crowd. This reminds me of the time, in grade 9, my friend Kenny and I went to see the WWF at the Civic Centre in Ottawa. The main event was Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo... [More >>]
January 25, 2005
Some can opt-out, some can’t
Things are finally dying down in Quebec, after everyone has been freaking out for the past two weeks over what many people (like Mario Dumont) are calling Jean Charest’s worst political blunder.What happened was this: The provincial Liberals announced that they were raising the funding of private jewish schools that teach the public curriculum from 60% to 100%. There was a tremendous public backlash,... [More >>]
January 24, 2005
The first million years were the worst…
Hey all you paranoid androids, feeling a bit down today? It is because today is, officially, the most depressing day of the year. A UK researcher figured it out scientifically: He settled on January 24 after using an elaborate formula expressing the delicate interplay of lousy weather, post-Christmas debt, time elapsed since yuletide indulgence, failed new year resolutions, motivation levels, and the... [More >>]
January 23, 2005
Nutty, nutty industry satire
Did anyone catch Nut Graf, Jason Sherman’s new radio play, on Saturday? Here’s a review from the wonderful Kimberley Noble: “Sharp, funny writing that will really resonate with anybody who’s worked in a big Canadian newsroom and captures the culture closely enough to be compelling to people who have not but are interested in what it’s like.” From the CBC website:... [More >>]
January 21, 2005
Cherry 2000 Robots at the Gomery Inquiry
12:13PM: Warren Kinsella is appearing, at this very minute, in front of the Gomery commissioon. How do I know? Because WK has been blogging it every few minutes all morning. This is bizarrely fascinating in this ridiculous 21st century way. [More >>]
