March 16, 2010
Stand up for women’s rights: don’t ban the burka
We must protect women from religious coercion… Two Afghan women wear burkas in Northern Afghanistan. Creative Commons photo by Steve Evans. Banning burkas has long been a popular idea among immigration hardliners on the European right, who claim that the head-to-toe woman’s garment is a matter of national security. Canadians may scoff at such paranoia, but the idea is gaining some momentum... [More >>]
March 15, 2010
E-books may be efficient, but they have no sex appeal
In the documentary Helvetica, incensed graphic designer Michael Bierut hilariously critiques ads from old copies of Life Magazine. He attacks the verbosity and shrill insistence of early 1950s Coke ads prior to the introduction of Helvetica then flips admiringly to a minimalist ad set in the new font. Here again is a reminder of how design and material delivery can influence the content of a message.... [More >>]
March 11, 2010
Review: The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book by Gord Hill
In The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book, Vancouver-based writer Gord Hill blends his visual and literary talents to tell the story of aboriginal life since the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in 1492. If the book’s title isn’t enough to tell you what perspective Hill, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation, is taking, the names of the book’s three sections certainly will: Invasion,... [More >>]
February 23, 2010
Six new documentaries explore the darkest corners of modern capitalism
Noam Chomsky in "Encirclement: Neo-Liberalism Ensnares Democracy" If ever there was a conspiracy theory that had every likelihood of being true, it’s that a shadowy cabal of billionaires are meeting at some remote location in the Swiss Alps (perhaps the Hotel Mont Pelerin, or the latest Bilderberg stronghold) to plot how to most effectively screw the rest of the world. Michael Moore’s... [More >>]
February 22, 2010
Postcard from London: tech geeks are hacking African development
Participants in London's Africa Gathering event. Photo courtesy TMS Ruge (TMSruge.com) The Hub King’s Cross café in London is buzzing today with a new breed of tech geek: consumed not by robots or video games, but African development. This group, about 100-strong, are meeting at the tri-annual Africa Gathering event. And together, through what they call Information and Communication Technologies... [More >>]
February 17, 2010
Interview: sealskin clothing designer and lawyer Aaju Peter
Europe’s sealskin ban threatens her runway-ready apparel—and maybe the entire Inuit way of life Aaju Peter. Illustration by David Donald. A majority of the 27 member states of the European Union voted to ban the trade of seal product imports such as pelts, oil, and meat last July. The ban comes into effect in August 2010. Although the EU did allow a partial exemption for Inuit populations,... [More >>]
February 12, 2010
The Olympics reveals our priorities as a nation. The news isn’t good.
Jacques Rogge's bank of Olympic televisions (artist's impression). When Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, checks into his Vancouver hotel suite a few weeks from now, he will find (as he flops, exhausted, no doubt, from the strain of private jet travel) a “video wall,” paid for by the citizens of British Columbia. The bank of televisions are a requirement of... [More >>]
February 10, 2010
For artists embedded in Afghanistan, propaganda concerns linger
Sharon McKay in Afghanistan with the Canadian Forces Artist Program. Photo courtesy Sharon McKay. Young-adult novelist Sharon McKay has visited some rough parts of the world in search of material for her stories. When she was writing War Brothers, a book that follows five child soldiers through war-torn Uganda, she travelled to that country to interview kids on the ground. For an upcoming book about... [More >>]
February 2, 2010
Yes, “awards season” is stupid, but it beats the alternative
It's easy to be cynical about awards season, but a chance to promote quality is still valuable. Illustration by David Donald. If you ever want to get your hands on an Oscar, you’ll probably have to earn it the hard way. Security is tight on those things, and the resale market starts at $50,000 and heads into the seven-figure bracket if the winner was anyone you’ve heard of. (Michael Jackson... [More >>]
February 1, 2010
How having the web on your phone is changing urban living
In ways large and small, having the internet in your pocket changes the urban experience. Illustration by Matt Daley. I stood there on the street, squinting into my phone, needing to double check. Could the nondescript restaurant before me really have, as the anonymous web commenter put it, “the. best. hot sauce. ever.”? It didn’t seem likely. But sure enough, after popping inside, the fiery,... [More >>]
