The first snowstorm of 2005 can’t stop Alex from speaking his mind. He enters the Speakers Corner booth on Queen Street West in downtown Toronto for the 10th time since Boxing Day. Alex puts a dollar in nickels and dimes into the slot and talks for the full two minutes allotted, responding to the reenactment of a Toronto break in… Continue reading Shout It All Out
Category: Fall 2004
Redrawing the line
“Family Fashions for Spring!” reads a bold headline in the April 2005 issue of Homemakers. The page’s layout is similar to countless others in consumer magazines: visuals with captions, columns, and service-oriented blurbs about the latest in fashion trends. But there’s a crucial difference – the story wasn’t put together by Homemakers, but Levi Strauss and Wal-Mart.… Continue reading Redrawing the line
This hour has George Stroumboulopoulos
“Do you hear that?” asks George Stroumboulopoulos, catching everyone’s attention on set. “The groove here is ridiculous.” It’s only minutes to airtime for CBC Newsworld’s new current affairs program, The Hour, and the 32-year-old host is grooving to The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 37-year-old “Voodoo Child.” He taps his feet, snaps his fingers, and even breaks out… Continue reading This hour has George Stroumboulopoulos
Crime Takes a Bullet
On January 23, 1975, Quebec police finally cornered the elusive local gangster Richard Blass. The handsome fugitive was laying low at a cottage in the Laurentians after setting fire to a Montreal nightclub, killing 13 people. Police surrounded the house and demanded that Blass give himself up. He refused. At 4:30 a.m., two officers broke down… Continue reading Crime Takes a Bullet
Trans Fat: Exposed
Trans fat is tasty, common, and, according to some experts, poison. Found in cookies, French fries, and even some baby formulas, it is suspected of causing everything from clogged arteries to Alzheimer’s. But if you’ve been watching television stations like CTV or reading newspapers like The Globe and Mail in the past year, you already knew that. You probably… Continue reading Trans Fat: Exposed