Had a blast at the David Byrne show!

Chatted with Yann Martel about pet birds, the Da Vinci Code and the Trojan War. The Canadian author's first novel in a decade came out last week.

Grace Glowicki’s outrageous, campy new horror film Dead Lover is now playing in Toronto theatres. It’s at Revue Cinema April 3-9 and at The Fox on April 11 & 12. Select screenings are in Stink-O-Vision and with filmmaker Q&As.

‘Palestine 36,’ Annemarie Jacir’s immersive new film set during the crucial 1930s Arab Revolt, is playing at TIFF for the next two weeks, starting tonight. Read @rdassaly.bsky.social’s review.

So many charming and colorful neighbourhoods in Toronto

Why does the Toronto police budget keep rising, while other city services strain for funding? In our new cover story, @aliyapabani.bsky.social explains how a taxpayer-funded comms machine ensures that the police budget only goes up, even when crime goes down.

If you're enjoying the lovely new Charlotte Cornfield album, as I am, give Emilie's recent profile a read:

Arielle Soucy speaks with Richie Assaly (@rdassaly.bsky.social) about her latest album, ‘Passages.’ She shares that the record, which grew out of a period of experimentation and grief, serves as a reminder that “all things pass.” www.newfeeling.ca/arielle-soucy-passages-profile/

Had the pleasure of speaking with Arielle Soucy about her excellent new album, 'Passages,' out today. My first piece for the lovely folks at @newfeelingcoop.bsky.social!

Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank since 2020. A Guardian analysis found that not a single Israeli has been prosecuted this decade

Grounded yet adventurous, the latest album from Cootie Catcher makes you want to shoot the shit with its creators, and announces the Toronto band as a torchbearer for Gen Z indie in Canada. ✍ @rosield.bsky.social

It should be illegal to be mean to me

Had the pleasure of editing @alishamgl.bsky.social’s profile on the great Grace Glowicki for @thegrindto.bsky.social. Edmonton’s freakiest!

Replace the Mona Lisa with it

Edmonton’s police chief traveled to Israel during a genocide to meet with local police leaders. The Israeli police play an instrumental role in protecting settlers and facilitating terrorism/ethnic cleansing throughout the West Bank.

Oof

Solid analysis on Iran (free link: archive.is/hlxFV)

Tanya Tagaq’s new album is a fearless and brutally cathartic anti-war statement. My review of ‘Saputjiji’ for @exclaimdotca.bsky.social (@tanyatagaq.bsky.social)

Tanya Tagaq’s new album is a fearless and brutally cathartic anti-war statement. My review of ‘Saputjiji’ for @exclaimdotca.bsky.social (@tanyatagaq.bsky.social)

The killing of 165+ students at a girls' school in Iran has also been largely ignored in Canadian media. As far as I can tell, neither the Toronto Star nor the Globe and Mail has run a standalone story on Saturday's attack.

Terrible news this week but I’m heartened by this image of J Mascis on a ski trip

Carney defends Israel’s “right to defend itself” after a “preemptive strike” by American/Israeli forces killed at least 50 students at a girl’s elementary in southern Iran

NEIGHBORS on HBO is just wild. The “self-defence” scene in epsiode 2 had me laughing harder than anything else on tv this year

“If you’d like to witness human evil at its worst, come with me any day to the West Bank,” Israeli scholar and Hebrew U professor writes in @nybooks.com

More than a dozen Israeli soldiers in the West Bank stood by and watched as 14-year-old Jad Jadallah bled out from a close-range gunshot wound. The soldiers blocked Palestinian ambulances and Jad’s mother from reaching him. The IDF says Jad threw a rock.

More than a dozen Israeli soldiers in the West Bank stood by and watched as 14-year-old Jad Jadallah bled out from a close-range gunshot wound. The soldiers blocked Palestinian ambulances and Jad’s mother from reaching him. The IDF says Jad threw a rock.

I’ve experienced two Stanley Cup losses and a World Series heartbreak in less than 20 months. Nothing can hurt me now

Double minor

The Tkachuk Brothers make me sick

Superhuman

www.noarmsinthearts.com/scotiabank-d... Campaign statement on the divestment here:

Over the past couple years, a common refrain among Canadian authors who didn't support the Giller Prize boycott was that the campaign had a point, but was unlikely to 'make a difference.' Scotiabank had a $368-million (US) stake in Elbit at the end of 2022. Now it's $0.

I discovered Israeli government procurement documents showing a Canadian group that's sending right-wing media personalities on free trips to Israel was granted funds from Israel's foreign ministry The funding came through an arm of the ministry focused on managing “public perception of Israel”

Reviewed the star-studded new Danny L Harle record for @exclaimdotca.bsky.social No paywall:

Here's a profile of Beverly Glenn-Copeland, the synth pioneer who was handed the miracle of a career resurgence a decade ago, and who has a new album out today. Now Glenn needs another miracle: to keep making music through dementia – and to find a home www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...

This photo of Chief Demkiw looks exactly like the Mr. Krabs meme

I don’t see a problem here

Had a great time digging into the new Daphni record for Exclaim. It's the closest Snaith has come to balancing the pulse of Daphni with the heart of Caribou. My 8/10 review: @exclaimdotca.bsky.social

NEW: Palestinian-Canadian engineer Amjad Ramadan is suing his former employer, NTN Canada. He was fired soon after a video clip circulated of him protesting outside an Indigo bookstore in the GTA. By @rdassaly.bsky.social.

Public Servant Surprised by Voicemail from Doug Ford Suggesting They ‘Get Another Job’

New story in The Grind. Amjad Ramadan, a 52-year-old Palestinian-Canadian, is suing his former employer for wrongful dismissal after he was abruptly terminated for speaking out for Palestine. "There is a campaign to silence us," he told me. @thegrindto.bsky.social

The Joe Thornton of downhill skiing

Here it is: the inside story of how the Eglinton Crosstown LRT went off the rails. This was the result of months of work, research and sourcing. www.thestar.com/news/gta/off...

Israel bombed a tent camp in Khan Younis, killing a father, his three children and three grandchildren. A different strike on a Gaza City apartment building killed three more children, their aunt and grandmother.

Disgusting take and policy. I met a refugee in downtown Toronto with trench foot — a WWI disease — that he contracted while living unsheltered in the rain. Refugees are not why the system is failing; they're the people we have failed and are now scapegoating. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Devastating news

INFINITE JEST is back in the news, baby! And so, I wonder, in an age of nosediving fiction consumption, "performative reading," and "post-literate" culture: can the dreaded litbro be redeemed? For @wired.com . www.wired.com/story/infini...