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The best of writing, photography, art, and argument – on everything from film to foreign policy.

“Ever dreamed of subscribing to a cultural magazine that doesn’t seem to be eating out of the hand of half a dozen media magnates? Something pluricultural and unassuming but nonetheless covering everything worth seeing, reading, doing or listening to for a season? Well, it exists, and in Canada to boot!”

“There is no on-line version or web site, which either makes John a dinosaur or a man of character. (I opt for the second, since the editorial team occasionally has a kind word for me.)”

John Howe — Canadian artist and co-conceptual designer on all three “The Lord of the Rings” motion pictures.

* Editor’s Note: The age of the dinosaurs has at last come to an end — with the arrival of this website!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

On August 8, 2012

(I) The Good: Excellence in Advertising — A Celebration of Canada in 96 Seconds

We may only be two-thirds of the way through 2012, but the race is run as far as assessing the year’s best television commercials is concerned. And the gold medal goes to a wonderful celebration of Canada […]

When the ‘Cure’ Causes the Disease:

On July 18, 2012

Zostavax Vaccine Can Cause the Very Disease (Shingles) it was Designed to Prevent

A healthy Canadian woman (let’s call her Jane Doe) was given an injection of Merck’s “Zostavax” vaccine as a prophylactic measure to prevent her from contracting shingles. Instead of protecting her from acquiring that illness, however, the vaccine […]

Our Revels Now Are Ended

On April 22, 2012

Jonathan Frid: Canada’s late, lamented exemplar of stage, screen, and television (courtesy of J. Frid).

Canada lost an unsung titan of stage, television, and screen this month, with the death of the eminent actor Jonathan Frid at the age of 87. Almost unknown in his native Canada, Frid became […]

A Voyage to the Uttermost North

On April 15, 2012

“I have been to the Uttermost North, a place to which I have long been drawn. I swam in a lagoon the color of blue milk with drifting

mists floating above its surface, felt my heart leap in joy at the sight of […]

Despicable Thee — Canada Condones Torture

On March 6.12

It recently came to light that the Government of Canada has approved the use and dissemination of information that “may have been derived from the use of torture or mistreatment.” That was the directive from Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, to Canada’s spy agency, CSIS. It overturned the existing policy […]

Case-Studies of Creative Protest in Action

On January 11.12

A reader from Germany offers a delightful account of creatively opposing life’s little injustices. Taking a stand (constructively) and engaging with the world around us, in microcosm or in macrocosm, is the sine qua non of a free and healthy civil society. For an entertainingly original approach to standing up to the […]