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 >>]
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 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 >>]
January 7, 2010
Which party leader uses social media better?
Separating the hax0rs from the n00bs in Canada’s parliament Part of Barack Obama’s victory came on the back of a grassroots campaign that effectively used the internet to collect supporters and funds. Among social-media-savvy politicians, the president is The Man. While Obama might be down with the kids today, have any Canadian leaders managed to cash in on the social-media cachet? Or is Twitter... [More >>]
January 5, 2010
Web-based activism feels good, but sometimes clicking isn’t enough
Does web-based charity really click? Illustration by Matt Daley. Recently, I’ve been inundated with inspiring messages and touching stories of online charitable endeavours every time I sit at the computer. Whether the bike ride to cure cancer or the drive to raise money for kids in sub-Saharan Africa, it’s been incredible to see such widespread empathy and concern. So I, like so many others, have... [More >>]
November 26, 2009
The new face of porn
A new generation of feminists are reclaiming porn, both as consumers and producers. A (very) intimate journey Erika Lust on the set of "Barcelona Sex Project," her "erotic experimental film" that exemplifies the style of the new crop of feminist-identified pornographers. Photo courtesy Lust Films. The first time I remember thinking critically about pornography, I was 15. It was... [More >>]
November 17, 2009
Turning the lens on Aboriginal urbanites with “Concrete Indians”
Portrait of Jennifer Podemski, one in a series in Nadya Kwandibens "Concrete Indians" project. Image courtesy the artist. Nadya Kwandibens Nadya Kwandibens stepped off a Greyhound bus from Phoenix, Arizona, in Kenora, Ontario, in November 2006 with only her camera and her computer. During the two-and-a-half-day trip, her suitcase, containing all her belongings, had been misplaced at a transfer... [More >>]
November 10, 2009
Pay indie artists and break the music monopoly — Legalize Music Piracy
Music is a dead industry walking. A radical all-you-can-eat plan promises unlimited tunes and puts artists — not record companies — first Politically speaking, it was a pretty good haul of booty. On June 7, an organization of self-described “pirates” took what was a fairly small step toward gaining real political clout, but a gigantic leap for everyone in the world who has ever downloaded... [More >>]
October 21, 2009
Ottawa’s Gay Guerilla Takeover turns any club into a D.I.Y. gay bar
Guests at Ottawa’s Heaven dance club expect to have a good time and dance the night away. What the mostly heterosexual crowd was not expecting this spring Saturday night was for the club to be overrun by the Gay Guerrilla Takeover. The Gay Guerrilla Takeover is an organization that does what its name says: once a month, a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, and queer-friendly people venture... [More >>]
October 19, 2009
Girls Gone Wild. So? Sometimes being brave means being bad
With Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears splashed across tabloid covers, racing toward early graves, it’s easy to think they’re stupid or sick. But there’s something irresistably subversive about women who won’t behave The website “When Will Amy Winehouse Die?” reads like a macabre count-the-jellybeans contest. How many days does a junkie have left to live?... [More >>]
