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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!

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 […]

The Decline and Fall of TIFF

On July 27.10

Yes, that’s right, TIFF, better known as the Toronto International Film Festival, has a new moniker, one that better describes its unattractive new modus operandi. Forget about the current cinematic fad known as 3-D; the festival does it one better, having cornered the market on “4-D:” “Discourteous, Disorganized, Disingenuous, and Disdainful.” Gone […]

A Billion Dollar Boondoggle

On June 27.10

It’s a sad state of affairs when you can pretty much count on the powers that be to do the wrong thing. That clearly goes for the lame-brained decision of the Government of Canada to host the G-20 Summit this weekend (June 26-27, 2010) in downtown Toronto. Turning the heart of this […]

The Blob That Ate Oshawa: Contaminant Enters Lake Ontario

On May 14.10

Phosphorescent orange gunge flows freely from park into Lake Ontario

The Gulf of Mexico has a disastrous oil-spill to deal with. But good old Lake Ontario has to suffer a few man-made indignities of her own. A couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a noxious-looking, oily, phosphorescent orange liquid […]

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Editor’s Notebook

Despicable Thee — Canada Condones Torture

Case-Studies of Creative Protest in Action

The Decline and Fall of TIFF

A Billion Dollar Boondoggle

The Blob That Ate Oshawa: Contaminant Enters Lake Ontario