October 29, 2005
Us kids know
Everyone should listen to and buy “Do they know it’s Halloween?,” a Geldof send-up performed by an ensemble calling itself the North American Halloween Prevention Initiative. Included in the group are some great and hot artists, such as Beck, The Arcade Fire’s Win and Regine, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, Sloan’s Chris Murphy, Feist, and so on. The song’s... [More >>]
October 28, 2005
How Corporate Sponsorship Works—Lesson One, Weaseling
Unlikely hero, Brian Diesbourg, hauled off and booted a football over fifty yards and put it through the uprights—for non-sports fans in the audience, this is a very, very long way, even for a professional football kicker, which Brian Diesbourg is not—last night at halftime during the Toronto/Hamilton CFL game (hey, guess who won), and for his efforts he will now receive ONE MILLION DOLLARS... [More >>]
October 28, 2005
Defending the indefensible?
I want to laugh at the idea of CBC president Robert Rabinovitch spilling water all over himself and then falling out of his chair, but I’m afraid I’ve done the same a few too many times to pass judgement. However, I’m having trouble with his claim that the CBC lockout was justified. While his point about jumping the gun and locking employees out before they could walk out during the... [More >>]
October 26, 2005
English Canada, prostrate
This is curious. The Governor General, defender of the constitution, decided to honour a dedicated and unambiguous secessionist poet by giving him some bling and a nice wad of cash. Fair enough. This is Canada, and rewarding disloyalty is how we do things here. But after his secessionist friends found out that he was Uncle-Toming it and started razzing him for being a stooge of Les Anglos, Raymond... [More >>]
October 21, 2005
unsafe at any speech
Ralph Nader is coming to the centre of the universe—wait, isn’t he already there? Anywayyy, “The Nade” is speaking in Toronto next Friday (October 28), at the Ryerson Theatre (43 Gerrard St. East). His topic: Innovative Solutions for our Survival: Connecting Climate Change with Social Justice Of course, you don’t have to believe in either climate change or social justice... [More >>]
October 21, 2005
Save our forests… unless the U.S. wants to put tariffs on them
In this week’s NOW Magazine, Wayne Roberts provides some much-needed perspective on the softwood lumber dispute. He wonders why many moderate, even progressive, Canadians are looking to the federal government to stand up to the United States on the issue of tariffs being applied to raw lumber imports from Canada: “It disturbs me that any Canadians, let alone the almost unanimous mass of... [More >>]
October 20, 2005
Saturday Night Dead
Rest in Peace, Saturday Night magazine. Just learned from D.B. Scott’s Canadian Magazines blog that St. Joseph’s Media has decided to suspend publication of Saturday Night, yet again. The magazine has died and been resurrected more times in the last decade than I can remember. If this is it’s last life, I will truly miss it. [More >>]
October 19, 2005
Lobby Night in Canada
A loose coalition of Canadian arts groups is travelling to Ottawa next week to deliver an enormously important message to federal politicians — Canada’s arts and culture industry is a huge contributor to the Canadian economy, yet we continue to treat this sector like it can eat air. From a recent Canadian Arts Coalition press release: Canada’s artists and arts organizations are an... [More >>]
October 19, 2005
Hu is the new leader of China?
Currently making the email rounds: George: Condi! Nice to see you. What’s happening? Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China. George: Great. Lay it on me. Condi: Hu is the new leader of China. George: That’s what I want to know. Condi: That’s what I’m telling you. George: That’s what I’m asking you. Who is the new leader of China? Condi:... [More >>]
October 17, 2005
Look up and listen up, Calgary
This Magazine’s new co-editor of This & That, Shawn Micallef, has brought his [murmur] project to Calgary. Made popular in Toronto’s Kensington Market and Annex neighbourhoods, [murmur] is a story-telling tool that allows passersby to hear tales of the city told through their cellphones—simply look for green [murmur] signs in key locations, call the number listed and punch in... [More >>]
