January 27, 2008
Weekend links: Googlemaps as art, Bill Nye, a billboard I could like
Sigh, repression in Burma continues. Burmese poet Saw Wai has been put under arrest for a love poem he recently wrote. Turns out he hid an anti-government message in his poem “February 14.” The Guardian has the scoop: The eight-line poem in Burmese is about a man broken-hearted after falling for a fashion model, whom he thanks for having taught him the meaning of love. But if read vertically,... [More >>]
January 25, 2008
Adding up the cost of homelessness
Is Canada ready for a long-term plan to tackle homelessness or will the feds continue to rack-up the bill with temporary solutions? Estimating the annual cost of homelessness to be between 4.5 and 6 billion, Calgary journalist Gordan Laird provides research to show how the neglect of housing rights has affected Canada both economically and socially. Laird will be giving a talk in Toronto called “Housing... [More >>]
January 23, 2008
Persepolis
Oscar nominations are out! In keeping with the spirit of the event, I would like to personally thank the Academy for its inclusion of the powerful and timely Persepolis, which has been nominated in the Best Animated Feature category. The hand-drawn cartoon, directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, is adapted from Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name. Autobiographical in nature,... [More >>]
January 20, 2008
Reimagining Rosie the Riveter, cellphones in Africa, Nike tries to go green
Earlier this month the Library of Congress partnered up with photosharing site Flickr. They’ve put up thousands of images to be tagged by the online community. Boing Boing found this amazing image that could have very easily inspired the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster of the 1940s. If you love archival photos be sure to check out the giant Flickr set. PSFK looks at whether the $100 laptop will... [More >>]
January 18, 2008
Introducing The People’s Republic of Dave
Dave Bidini first made his name as a member of the seminal Canadian band Rheostatics, but since then has carved out an impressive career as an author–he bears witness to all things music, hockey and politics, infusing his observations with reflections on how regular Joes and Janes fit in the grand scheme of this crazy world. Starting this week, Dave will be sharing his thoughts with the readers... [More >>]
January 11, 2008
Food combining
Tata motors of India has developed world’s cheapest car, revving engines in news-land. Retailing for $2,500, the tiny, amenity-less car is being compared to the Volkswagen for putting poor folks in the driver’s seat. While the vehicles are supposed to be lower-emission than North American cars, the price means there will be millions more polluters on the road, which is not a good thing.... [More >>]
January 5, 2008
Death of the mall, why women’s magazine covers hurt your eyes
The Economist has this piece about the decline of American shopping malls. Some of the problems: oversaturation, changing demographics (suburbs are getting poorer or becoming more diverse), online shopping. Some culture jammers are lopping off the heads of plastic mascots and photos in ads. I’d like to think this is a culture jam, but it could just as easily be an add for Sweeney Todd! Women’s... [More >>]
January 3, 2008
Canada’s top CEOs already made your salary
How long will it take the country’s top 100 CEOs to make as much as the average Canadian does in a year? Whoops, it’s already happened. According to research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, “Canada’s best paid 100 CEOs make the average Canadian wage by 10:33 am January 2.” And that’s the average. If you’re unlucky enough to be a minimum-wage... [More >>]
