New Song: "The Ballad of Steve Harper"
Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I done it again. Here’s a new song all about Steve Harper set to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song. The Ballad of…
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The great unwashed
The expression “the great unwashed” has been attributed to many but was probably first used by Edmund Burke in the 1700’s to refer to the common man, the lower classes,…
EbertFest Dispatch #5: Take Shelter
I first noticed Michael Shannon in the movie ‘Bug’, which was marketed as a horror movie but is really much scarier than that. His performance was profoundly disturbing, so much…
A polarized Canada
Several weeks ago, a journalist from the Montreal Gazette called me up for a conversation about a feature she was writing about the increasingly polarized nature of Canadian politics. We…
EbertFest Dispatch #4: It’s Not You, It’s Me
I was very much looking forward to seeing ‘A Separation’ last night. From everything I had heard, it was a moving and emotionally complex film experience that even its competitors…
EbertFest Dispatch #3: The Rules
I’m starting to get the hang of this whole ‘Ebertfest’ thing. The first house rule I had to learn was the ‘saving your seat’ protocol. People will grab the best…
I Am Not Afraid of an Abortion Debate
If we, as Canadians, believe a woman ought to have the right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy, why are we so afraid of having our views challenged? Why…
Chrishaun "CeCe" McDonald stands trial for defending herself against racist, transphobic, homophic attackers…
A transgender African-American woman is set to go on trial next week on charges of second-degree murder for an altercation after she was reportedly physically attacked and called racist and…
How to survive a plague – a documentary about the history of AIDS activism
The 25th anniversary of the formation of ACT UP recently passed and Democracy Now did a piece on this documentary. This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of ACT UP —…
The Big Lie Reigns Over Us
Everybody knows that the dice are loadedEverybody rolls with their fingers crossedEverybody knows that the war is overEverybody knows the good guys lostEverybody knows the fight was fixedThe poor stay…
EbertFest Dispatch #2: Kinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda is different from any film you’ve seen about the Rwandan genocide. It starts not with bloodshed, but with a kiss. Rwanda has pervaded our consciousness in Canada more so…
EbertFest Dispatch #1: On the Road Again
Excuse me while I remove my political blogger hat and replace it with my film critic and movie blogger hat…there we go… Greetings from the beautifully restored Virginia Theatre in…
Toronto: A Canvass
Toronto is a complex, beautiful city. So many different views of its diverse urban landscape have gained us refreshing insight time and time again. There is a cache of photographs…
A Treaure Trove of City Photographs
Check out Fine Art America’s City photos. Here’s the link: city photos Concrete, steel, brick. It’s all there.
You Don’t Say… April 26, 2012
I’m not saying that the provincial budget passed this week in Ontario is perfect, but it is much better after a few NDP ammendments. Collecting $470 million from the 23,…
Wildrose Voters got Cold Feet
In the days after Alberta’s engaging general election for the 28th legislature, everyone is talking about the polls – specifically how wrong they were. And while they did not accurately…
Whip the Vote, Mr. Rae (#lpc #prochoice)
Citation: R. v. Morgentaler, 1 S.C.R. 30 Date: January 28, 1988 State interference with bodily integrity and serious state-imposed psychological stress, at least in the criminal law context, constitutes a…
Québec Students: You’re Coming Along
After school is over you’re playing in the parkDon’t be out too late, don’t let it get too darkThey tell you not to hang around and learn what life’s aboutAnd…
The Manning Centre is Still a Registered Charity
Ethical Oil has written a letter to the Canada Revenue Agency to review the David Suzuki Foundation’s charitable status because, they allege, the Suzuki Foundation is a partisan political organization.…