By Montreal Simon You think you know the story. You’ve seen the pictures on TV a million times. Over and over again. You’ve seen how the media have tried to explain what happened, and how they’ve framed the narrative, complete with more heroes than you can count. You know what Stephen Harper wants you to […]
What I have to tell Rob Ford
By Dave Brindle Rob Ford has finally hit his rock bottom. You have to, before you get enough of a grip to get out. It can be a slow fall or a freefall, bouncing against the jagged edges of the hole, or hard and fast, straight to the bottom. It’s black. It’s lonely and silent, […]
Good news for Ford — BC to allow children in pubs
A BoB short: It looks like the party’s over for Toronto mayor Rob Ford, at least in BC. Two months after his trip to the Lower Mainland, during which he was dealt a jaywalking ticket by Coquitlam RCMP and photos of an after-hours soirée surfaced on social media sites, the province’s liquor regulator has finally […]
Wonderland
By Dave Brindle To protect his identity, I’ll just call him the kid. He’s only just turned 19 — 19 going on 13. He’s from a broken home where alcohol was the addiction. He was kicked out of high school in grade 11. He’s no longer allowed in the mall. He gets chased out by […]
The Video: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Owning Mahowny”
The 2003 Canadian film Owning Mahowny, based on Gary Ross’s book No Limit, was made for pennies. It grossed pennies. But when Philip Seymour Hoffman wanted to play a role, wanted to make a film, he made it. Roger Ebert wrote of his performance: “Philip Seymour Hoffman, that fearless poet of implosion, plays the role […]
Rob Ford is us
By TJ Dawe “#RobFord is the perfect picture of our age: capitalism in its underpants, slouched drunk on the couch saying “what r going to do, leave me?” — Naomi Klein” A point that keeps coming up in the never-ending Rob Ford train wreck is that the man was elected. He wasn’t open about his […]