We love libraries, all those books! But every once in a while we get impish and think, “man wouldn’t it be fun to race book carts? Or play games of jenga with the books?” Apparently there’s a competition for people like me. There is one mysterious quote here: “It’s all about the image that librarians […] More »

(book image courtesy Amazon.ca) I’m just back from a courtroom on University Avenue in Toronto where a judge in the Robert Baltovich re-pre-trial threw out a subpoena demanding a local writer hand over his research materials. It’s a very good day for a free press in Canada. Derek Finkle, former editor of TORO Magazine, succeeded […] More »

Ottawa pols care more about working on their seasonal tans than getting AIDS drugs to the global poor, according to the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Jean Chretien’s outgoing humanitarian gesture, the “Pledge to Africa” (now called the Access to Medicines Regime), has amounted to nothing. The law passed three years ago with the alleged aim […] More »

I just returned from Toronto’s gay pride celebrations, and I was so thrilled to spend a few hours on Friday night at Goodhandy’s, Toronto’s “pansexual playground.” The bar is only one year old, but in that short period of time has established itself as a gathering place for trans people and their allies, alternative burlesque […] More »

Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait (image courtesy The Telegraph) On a day when even the stodgiest of media crews, the CTV television folks, covered the Toronto Pride parade like Santa Claus might show up at any minute, I enjoyed a few hours touring the closet. I happened to be in Buffalo, New York (great town, everyone should […] More »

In the hands of Al Gore Powerpoint is a force for good but in the hands of thousands of middle-managers everywhere the ever-present Microsoft program is downright insipid and evil. Professor Edward Tufte would probably agree with me. Read this New York magazine article to find out more about the design guru. Marketing guru Seth […] More »

One thing that initially seems refreshing about visiting Cuba is the lack of commercial advertising. Not that there are no billboards; in fact, huge placards are omnipresent. They’re populated instead with political propaganda. I’m sure many Canadian leftists might savour the idea of progressive viewpoints brandished everywhere instead of airbrushed models toting Gucci bags. After […] More »

I have to admit that I don’t pay much attention to the CDs for sale at my local Starbucks. I’m usually in desperate need of caffeine and trying to figure out whether eight grams of fat in coffee cake really does make it “low fat.” Does it? I know they’re currently selling some sort of […] More »

What do you get if you cross the CBC with Facebook? A colossal waste of energy. Keen to tap into the youthful energy of online social networking, the CBC set up an experiment—The Great Canadian Wish List. (Note: A Facebook account is required in order to view links on the Facebook website. If you haven’t […] More »

Whenever I hear media commentators bemoaning the scourge of childhood obesity, I always wince a little bit. Even though I understand how important it is for kids to get active (and for parents to help them eat nutritious, unprocessed food), the reality is that there are many factors that affect a person’s weight and girth. […] More »

It’s an old idea but one that’s worth re-exploring: buying land to save it. American multimillionaire and North Face founder Douglas Tompkins bought up huge chunks of Argentina earlier this month. Tompkins says he wants to prevent these ecologically sensitive areas from being developed and exploited by corporations. He even intends to eventually turn them […] More »