By Dave Brindle We’re in the middle of Pride season. The biggest of the top 10 festivals – Toronto, New York and San Francisco – are over now, but that leaves Montreal and Vancouver still to come in Canada, and a host of smaller ones around the world. They’re everywhere these days. Port Alberni, BC, will […]
James Moore’s gatekeepers
By Frank Moher It is entirely likely that James Moore decided not to run for reelection this Fall in order to, as he told us, “pursue new opportunities and be closer to my young family.” It is also entirely likely he did so because an Ottawa journalist revealed that he had been exchanging “sext” messages with a Conservative […]
Colville: Canada’s other great small town chronicler
By Rod Mickleburgh Like many, I knew the works of Alex Colville almost entirely from the ubiquitous reproductions of his most well-known paintings. The blonde woman on the PEI ferry staring out with her powerful binoculars at who-knows-what. The haunting image of a large horse galloping down the tracks towards an approaching train, its searchlight […]
It’s a stag, not an orgy
by Jodi A. Shaw William and Kate this, Royal Wedding that. Kate Middleton had a Dirty Dancing themed stagette, while Prince William’s bachelor party is rumoured to have had a water theme: speed boats and wakeboarding and a boat-borne pub crawl. Sounds like fun. But while I doubt Will spent a lot of time worrying […]
The polygamists down the street
By Jodi A. Shaw Last week, Angela Campbell, a professor of law at McGill University, testified at a constitutional reference case examining Canada’s current polygamy law that the practice ought to be decriminalized. I wasn’t sure if I should gasp or applaud. Campbell visited Bountiful, B.C. in 2008 and 2009, interviewing 22 women over a […]
Kate Gosselin: Go dancing with your kids, now
By Jodi A. Shaw Dear Kate Gosselin: What a long, twisty road you have travelled! I first met you when the smiling, laughing faces of your sextuplets caught my eye as I channel-surfed one lazy afternoon. I confess, I fell in love with your children and spent many afternoons looking in on your family. But […]
PlayStation nights
By Jodi A. Shaw I cringed this past Christmas while purchasing a PlayStation 3 for my husband. It didn’t exceed my budget and the shopping experience was quick and easy, but I was disgusted with myself for finally giving in. I’ve long had a distaste for video games and have been unapologetically vocal about it. […]
In Kate’s corner
By Rachel Krueger “Yes, hello, Kettle + 8? This is the Octo-Pot calling. Stop sucking away at my 15 minutes of fame.” I’ve never been a fan of TLC’s “Jon and Kate Exploit Their Eight” (or whatever). Being party to their marital spats and exhausted parenting makes me feel uncomfortably like an 11th wheel. Most […]
8 years, 18 moves
By Jodi A. Shaw It’s seven o’clock on a Saturday evening and I can’t find my toothbrush. Our new bathroom is chockablock with Rubbermaid tubs filled with miscellaneous items that you have to maneuver your way through to get to the toilet. The fridge is empty (with the exception of ketchup and a bottle of […]
Until change do us part
Gabriele Pauli, Bavaria’s Conservative Christian Socialist, has a marriage proposal for you. No grand gestures, no diamonds, no romantic music; instead, Pauli has suggested that, after seven years, a couple should be able to choose to renew their marriage or allow it to dissolve. Yes, a seven-year expiry date on marriage. Ideally, the cycle of […]
