tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267258612011-07-02T13:00:41.119-07:00The adventures of a boy reporter in the big smoke. With frequent guest appearances from all sorts of characters. Also writing about visual arts, the media, music, books and other things.arts_guynoreply@blogger.comBlogger751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-51655712628241987032006-08-02T14:09:00.000-07:002007-05-02T14:14:23.112-07:00

As cartoon boy reporter Tintin turns 75, BBC News Online looks at the enduring appeal of the comic book correspondent.In the days before John Simpson and Rageh Omar, Tintin was the quintessential foreign correspondent, boldly going wherever his paper deemed to send him, accompanied always by his faithful terrier Snowy but very rarely by a typewriter or a notebook.But Tintin more often than not

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-73575006177319373542006-05-02T14:05:00.000-07:002007-05-02T14:09:00.362-07:00

At the San Francisco conference, a special columnist for the sedate Christian Science Monitor was rapidly winning readers and influencing teen-age kids. Nice old ladies were writing him fan mail. Ecstatic schoolgirls wanted his autograph. The journalistic meteor was Kenneth Langley, 16, an auburn-haired, apple-cheeked high-school student. He sold Erwin Canham, the Monitor's shrewd and

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261667097556152005-05-17T15:46:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:47:47.096-07:00

I've been keeping one eye on Toronto City Council because they're voting on the postering by-law. Unfortunately this meant that I missed the breaking news that Belinda Stronach jumped off the S.S. Harper and joined up with Team Martin.Also, I'm sad that I won't be able to help take down the Liberals in the BC election. Gordon Campbell has hacked social services in that province, the NDP didn't do

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261721096495832005-05-11T09:24:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:48:41.096-07:00

When I first found out about Spacing Magazine I fell in love with the idea of a magazine dedicated to Toronto's public space. I've written one piece to the mag which is now online and will have pieces in the next issue.Spacing is also having a fundraiser at the Steamwhistle Brewery Distillery District next week. It's only 10 bucks (20 if you can afford it!). I'd love to see you there.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261775233692752005-05-09T10:48:00.000-07:002006-11-27T05:29:05.736-08:00

If you haven't already subscribed to Maisonneuve's MediaScout, what are you waiting for? MediaScout is Maisonneuve's daily analysis of what the Big 6 media outlets are covering (Four papers and two TV news programs). The sages at MS break down the papers and show you what they're leading with, how the newsrooms are spinning the stories and any missteps in coverage.Canada phone cards India phone

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261850962177462005-05-08T19:34:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:50:50.963-07:00

One of things I did when I was in NYC was visit the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas, a little museum tucked right in the middle of Chinatown. The museum was showing an exhibit on Chinese restaurants in the US, which is also lovingly reviewed here by Gish Jen.Chinese restaurants have been on my mind a lot lately because of Cheuk Kwan's great 13-part documentary series which is screening

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260258619186002005-05-08T14:20:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:24:18.620-07:00

Sooner or later something really bad is going to happen in my neighbourhood. But for now I just have to contend with the silliness of urban life.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261898258941242005-05-06T11:55:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:51:38.260-07:00

I finally got around to reading William Langewiesche's American Ground, his long feature turned into book on the 9-11 recovery efforts. Langewiesche, who writes for the Atlantic, managed to get access to the site less than a week after 9-11 and was there for months afterwards. It's probably one of the best pieces of long-form journalism in the last couple of years and well worth getting (it's

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261930625298612005-05-05T18:50:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:52:10.626-07:00

It's in a study it's gotta be true!

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261991312186992005-05-05T12:32:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:53:11.313-07:00

I'm using the power of the blogosphere to get the word out. The posters are available from the Toronto Public Space Committee to download or you can buy a package of 50 and start your very own anti-Nike campaign. I also post about it on Torontoist.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147262068700147112005-05-03T17:24:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:54:28.700-07:00

One of the things that has always pissed me off about the contemporary marketing of classical music are the really really lame attempts at sexing up classical music. Bond, Vanessa Mae, that annoying new tenor quartet. They're sooo mainstream and heavy handed....Let's put this hot, young soprano in a short skirt and this hot young tenor in a leather jacket and tight pants and those classical music

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147262105199554602005-05-02T18:14:00.000-07:002006-05-10T04:55:05.200-07:00

A story in the NYT reports that the Republican chairperson of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting thinks that PBS should change its liberal bias. Uh, isn't denying PBS funding to do its job enough damage guys?

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261552441043202005-03-22T14:01:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:45:52.443-07:00

I bumped into Zoilus last night at Trampoline Hall and we ended up chatting about his alterna-50 tracks exercise with Ottawa blogger Pregnant Without Intercourse. There are some genuinely insightful and also some amazingly funny moments so far:1) Tragically Hip Vs. Rush2) Lenny and his Casio3) Why “A Case of You” is really a shitty songAnd more gentle (or not so gentle) reader, oh so much more.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261455536395112005-03-21T15:12:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:44:15.536-07:00

I'm writing a couple of book reviews for Broken Pencil. I also have reviews in the issue that's about to hit newsstands (eee, Steve Kado centrefold!).Also, if you're in Toronto and want to start on the road of being a policy wonk, check out this event I'm helping to organize.Also, if you haven't seen it yet check out Angry Asian Man's blog! Culture, politics, from an Asian American perspective,

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261402461040182005-03-18T15:46:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:43:22.463-07:00

I went to the packed launch for PubliCity last night and between chatting with half of the editorial board of Spacing, sifting through buttons and chatting with photobloggers I came to the realization that Toronto is actually quite beautiful.It's not like Vancouver or Sydney, which are just plain out, jawdroppingly, achingly beautiful but the fact that I'm living in Toronto now and not missing

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261217365837552005-03-17T16:16:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:40:17.366-07:00

So a few more things about Massive Change that didn't make it into my Torontoist piece:In note form:All this stuff was in Wired Magazine last year....This feels like EPCOT, where's the monorail? And where's the overpriced food at the Japan Pavillion? (Sarah L. my editor felt like this too)Why is the rubber chicken the defining souvenir from Massive Change? Is this a joke?The room of photos is

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261185105951592005-03-17T13:21:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:39:45.106-07:00

Ooh, eye Weekly writes about blogs. I don't really agree with their picks for Toronto city blogs, but hey, no such thing as bad coverage.Also, I'm scared of Bruce Mau (pictured here on the left). Here's why.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147261121490664522005-03-15T19:20:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:38:41.493-07:00

No, it's not the new Michael Moore film. It's my friend's event.Bowlers of the World Unite!a fundraiser for immigrant rights5-pins and a glowing disco ball!Live music set from The Pick-Ups!Rockin' tunes courtesy of Rose B. and Kristine K.!Raffle Prizes from Cheese Magic, Images Festival,I Deal Coffee,Public,Uprising Books, and more!and... a LUNGE CONTEST!with MC Maggie M. stirring up trouble!@

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260870592121952005-03-15T14:07:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:34:30.593-07:00

Boy Reporter is also Boy PR person. Here's an event I'm helping organize. Come on down if you're in Toronto and interested in policy (and who isn't!)Title: POLICY FROM THE GROUND UPDate: Tuesday, March 22Time: Reception, 6:30pm; speeches begin 7:15pmPlace: International Living Learning Centre, Ryerson University.International Room.Confirmed Speakers:BOB RAE, Author of the Rae Report on

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260797441908382005-03-14T09:49:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:33:17.443-07:00

Go see my post on Torontoist about this man. After you read the post, go buy his album.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260755206204442005-03-11T22:48:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:32:35.206-07:00

Sheila Heti (known as Mrs. Zoilus in some circles), quite possibly one of the first people I met in Toronto, all around great person and great writer has a new site and a new book (pictured here). I'm trying to wrangle her for an interview on Torontoist.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260599139257032005-03-11T21:32:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:29:59.140-07:00

I picked up Men of Tommorow at the library today. A book about the early early days of comic books. Coincidentally this is the historical setting for one of my favourite books EVER Michael Chabon's Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay. I read comic books when I was a kid, and heck I read comic books now too. I find it interesting how the genre has become quite normalized and almost no longer

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260348559397812005-03-09T17:46:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:25:48.560-07:00

It's official.... I'm contributing to yet another blog! You can find my writing on the Bloggie nominated site Mixed Media Watch. The boys and girls at MMC look at representations of mixed race peoples in the media, race relations and more. Always a good read.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260294827551212005-03-08T15:38:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:24:54.826-07:00

What's not to like about these shirts.... the tag line is awesome, "putting the racy back in conspiracy." Thanks boing boing.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260205935300752005-03-07T23:23:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:23:25.936-07:00

Wow, I'm not sure who to root for in this fight. I was reading just last week that the Bowery, historically a pretty shady neighbourhood in NYC, is gentrifying fast. Now there's this lovely little scuffle between punk rock mecca CBGB and the homeless services committee that owns the building.There seems to be a lot of lousy accounting on both sides here and a general sense of flakiness but there

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260154668912212005-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:22:34.670-07:00

Most people will argue that the computer is arguably the most powerful design tool ever. Yes with programs like Photoshop and the ability to design things down to the millimetre electronically and make changes on the fly the computer has ushered in a new age of design. But I posit the humble restaurant napkin as our most powerful design tool. I was inspired when I read a post on Torontoist about

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260070628698442005-03-07T10:38:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:21:10.630-07:00

I can officially add telling the future as one of my skills (also on the list: making a mean quiche, copy-editing and trivia skills. I'm also a good kisser). In today's paper Christopher Hume, Toronto Star architecture critic, also harps on the evils of suburbia and why that's coming to an end soon, but not soon enough.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147260016621885082005-03-06T07:42:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:20:16.623-07:00

Everyone seems to be talking about sprawl. Now magazine has written recently about what to do with all that open space outside the GTA (turn it into organic farmland growing a diversity of crops). The Star weighed in with this feature on small shops, new urbanism and why sprawl makes for boring cities (anybody who's been to the Dallas Ft. Worth area or any other second rate American city can

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259926233803192005-03-05T00:10:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:18:46.233-07:00

I've registered and hosted this site on www.boyreporter.ca. I'm also working on migrating this site over to Movable Type. I'm starting to find Blogger a little bit annoying and not as flexible as I would like. So stay tuned, changes are afoot.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259895413773522005-03-04T12:41:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:18:15.413-07:00

I liked the Decemberists since my friend Hanson introduced them to me a couple of years back. Any band that can name drop Marcel Duchamp and write sea shanties and songs that make fun of Los Angeles is alright with me. I've been listening to a copy of their soon to be released album, Picaresque (mea culpa on internet piracy here). Well the new album is more of the same, which is a good thing.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259592221358762005-03-04T09:54:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:13:12.223-07:00

Although I promised that I wouldn't plug the Radio3 website so much, I can't help but do it this time. If you don't already know the Radio3 website is being shutdown because the higher-ups want to focus on the radio side of things.Check out my friend Charlie Cho's piece "at the end of the day." Yep that's him on the couch. Also my old boss Sally McKay blows our minds with an alternative viewpoint

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259519317416362005-03-03T10:46:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:11:59.316-07:00

Hypothetical conversation between MOMA architect Yoshio Taniguchi and a member of the MOMA board:Board Member: Uhm, Yoshio these drawings look great. We especially love the way you're using glass to dissect the staircase. It frames our gallery goers quite well. There is a problem though.Yoshio Taniguchi: Problems?! What problems, I made sure I looked over everything. I even made sure you got

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259423633731292005-03-03T09:17:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:10:23.636-07:00

I'm quite sure everyone is sick and tired of hearing about the Gates, so I promise that this will be my only and my last post about Christo's installation. I went to the Central Park last Saturday on a breezy winter day, and also the second to last day the installation was completely up.The critical round-up about the Gates has been mixed. Timothy Comeau's Good Reads has done a good job rounding

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259232509755282005-02-26T22:28:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:07:12.510-07:00

I'll be writing a longer post about the Gates when I get back to Toronto. But for now....Best comment heard while walking through Central Park and the Gates:"I hate this colour. I lived in Boston, Christo's turned Central Park into the Big Dig!"Second best comment heard at the Gates:"What's the weirdest question I ever got asked? Well last week someone came up to me and asked, 'hey where's this

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259199695230142005-02-25T01:15:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:10:56.600-07:00

My friend David is a "reformed jerk" and a scientician. He also likes to give back to the community. Recently he went to an elementary school to judge a science fair, had the hots for teacher and tried really hard not to make kids cry. Read it here.Kinda reminds me of a story I read in Canadian Business a while ago about competitive high school science fairs. A good story but I've excerpted what

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259129996696462005-02-24T18:37:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:33:52.786-07:00

Because of financial considerations I'm taking the train down to NYC (and flying back up). That means I get to spend 12 hours hearing the clickety click of one of VIA or Amtrak's lovely locomotives lumbering its way down to the land of media kings and million dollar lofts.I figure I'll spend a good chunk of that time starting my research on Colin McPhee, the Canadian composer who's responsible

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147259069192838542005-02-24T01:04:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:07:45.483-07:00

One of the best things I did in recent memory is write an article for Spacing magazine. I'm proud to contribute to a magazine that's adding to the discourse around urban issues in Toronto. I'm also thrilled to share pages with writers like Sheila Heti and Ryan Bigge, who I'm big fans of.Well there's more love coming our way. Maisonneuve's Christopher DeWolf gushes (that's Murmure in French!). I

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1147258971969239512005-02-22T12:27:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:07:36.043-07:00

I'm heading out to NYC for about five days. I'm taking the train down on Friday and flying back up Wed.Things I plan to go see:The Gates in Central ParkThe new MOMAThe WhitneyWilliamsburgMy cousinsAn ex-girlfriendNot in that order of course.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146437291435143822005-02-21T09:24:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:48:11.436-07:00

I'm pulling a Sally Field and getting pretty excited about a cheeky little write up that media critic/Toronto Star columnist Antonia Zerbisias gave Torontoist. Apparently we're cute.... but really need a little more sass. Hmmm, that's like the girls I want to date, cute and with a little bit of sass.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146437186592356772005-02-17T18:05:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:46:26.593-07:00

It's kinda like when your big brother or sister does something to make you proud. Chicagoist, kinda a big sister blog to Torontoist, has been teed off about a "ban" on photographers taking pictures of sculptures in Chicago's Millenium Park. Well after much haranguing the city realized what it was doing wrong and has decided to fix the problem and set the record straight! And of course they did

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146437096299909042005-02-17T17:42:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:44:56.300-07:00

I recently referred to CanWest's soon to be launched youth daily, Dose, as similar to cancer. Despite the possibly insensitivity I believe the analogy to be accurate.In the same bent I would also like to point out the frightening ability of American Apparel to metastize. They're opening a third location and a fourth will be opening soon. That's four stores in a year! Yikes!Mixed Media Watch

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146437013375295282005-02-16T12:23:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:43:33.376-07:00

I'm heading out to the Untitled Art Awards tonight! I actually know a few of the nominees as well. Shawn and Gabe are nominated for murmur in the exhibition in a virtual space category, a few other people I know curated a few of the shows that are nominated and of course the very talented and whip-smart Julia Dault, who I had the pleasure to interview over the weekend.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436967172500952005-02-14T12:40:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:42:47.173-07:00

I'm posting two (maybe three stories) on Torontoist today, that doesn't leave much room for blogging.I just wanted to point out Zoilus' manifesto like column in the Globe this weekend about Canadian Indie music and why the industry seems to have their head stuck up their asses.Also, because I'm way too lazy to re-post what I wrote on my livejournal about the wavelength fifth anniversary....

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436910712781012005-02-11T03:05:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:41:50.713-07:00

Let the Toronto indie-rock love in continue. The fifth anniversary of local indie-rock series Wavelength has been getting full-court press coverage. I pitched in my two cents with my interview of Jonathan Bunce, Wavelength founder and all-around musical force. The Star weighed in with their profile of the Creeping Nobodies (who are pictured here, aren't they cute?). Now gives us more reason to

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436828854928902005-02-10T11:15:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:40:28.853-07:00

I gush about something at least once a week. This time it's mixedmediawatch.com. A blog out of NYC that fights for the positive and constructive representations of people of colour and mixed races in the media! I check it almost daily now!

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436791278202772005-02-09T16:47:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:39:51.276-07:00

Ok, music hipsters get out your foam bats and start whacking. The Village Voice Pazz and Jop list is back. Get it while it's hot.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436705396210722005-02-09T16:13:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:38:25.396-07:00

I'd like to thank JJ Forms for getting me in gear to write this post by telling me the terrible news that the CBC has lost the broadcast rights for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Not getting an Olympics on home soil is a huge blow for the struggling CBC. Especially considering, the massive financial bleeding that's going on right now because of the lack of NHL Hockey (again thanks JJ).So is the

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436618633730402005-02-08T17:01:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:36:58.633-07:00

I neglected to post on Monday, but to make it up to you I posted two things on Torontoist today. An interview with local indie-rock guru Jonathan Bunce and I try to shed some light on Chinese New Year! Enjoy!Also, I'll be posting photos of the Wavelength extravaganza later this week.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436582992575092005-02-04T13:28:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:36:22.993-07:00

CanWest is at it again. This time, it's news that they'll be launching Dose, a free daily targetting youth in five major Canadian cities.Terrible name aside, how CanWest has the money to do this befuddles Boy Reporter. After all, the National Post, CanWest's flagship paper can barely pay its freelancers and are cutting back drastically (this tip from a friend who freelances for them regularly).

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436502381628152005-02-04T11:52:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:35:02.383-07:00

Contrary to Phil's belief that there'll be six more weeks of winter. It's been sunny and balmy all week here in Toronto. Which makes it hard for me to concentrate on work. For all of you who haven't been doing so I'm posting at least once a week on Torontoist. It's a bit of a slow week for me on TOist, but next week I'll be posting on everything from Chinese New Year to an interview I did with

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436434022169982005-02-02T21:43:00.000-08:002006-05-10T04:56:24.606-07:00

I went to the AGO to go see their Christo and Jeanne-Claude exhibit. Christo, for those not art savvy, is the installation artist famous for wrapping up surrounding buildings (like the Reichstag and the pont neuf in Paris), installing giant umbrellas all over a California valley and working with large pieces of orange sheeting and oil drums.Their work is the ultimate statement of our abilities

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146436357456859992005-02-02T19:12:00.000-08:002006-04-30T15:32:37.466-07:00

To think, we knew him when....Last night I was watching current 'it' band of the moment the Arcade Fire on Conan. Lo and behold there was Toronto's very own Owen Pallett (seen here at their Webster Hall show opening for the AF). Zoilus called it a couple of months back.Photo courtesy of awesome NYC blogger: Youngna Park!

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146263219417336252005-01-31T16:58:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:26:59.420-07:00

Boy Reporter's Crush du JourI have a crush on Alexandra Pelosi. I caught her 2002 documentary Journeys with George last night on Newsworld. Sure it was a couple years too late, but better late than never.And those who know me know that I have about as many crushes as a border town has illegal immigrants. So why do I have a crush on a woman probably more than 10 years my senior? Is it because of

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146263112857156102005-01-28T16:50:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:25:12.860-07:00

She definitely works hard for her money!Somewhere along the line every journalist will have a job as a factchecker (along with a number of other jobs including waiter, bartender and coffee jockey). When I first moved to Toronto I did this for free for three months as an intern at eye Magazine. An experience that had me sifting through City Hall minutes online but also calling up sex stores to

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262975130610822005-01-26T11:28:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:22:55.133-07:00

He won't play your video...unless it's really really bad!It's easy to hate the movie-going experience. Unless you're near a huge mall, you have to drive half-an-hour to your local megaplex. Ticket prices (until recently) have been climbing steadily, the snacks are ridiculously over priced, you're subjected to half an hour of ads followed by crappy trailers that give away far far too much of a

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262887555354262005-01-26T10:11:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:21:27.556-07:00

So apparently not only are T-shirts the vehicle of choice for faux-hate against women, jews and minorities there's this lovely sociological piece from Maisonneuve magazine!

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262716078408862005-01-24T15:29:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:18:36.080-07:00

Is Mao really in good taste?Seems like Prince Harry's fashion faux-pas tweaked some editors at the Toronto Star. The Star ran a piece yesterday about how easy it was to get clothing with that other symbol of totalitarianism the hammer and sickle! This was followed up by a piece on how those no- good kids today are wearing t-shirts that include racial slurs, messages advocating violence towards

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262556453138842005-01-21T10:40:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:15:56.453-07:00

Elisabeth Belliveau at YYZ until Feb. 12Despite the fact it was -20 outside I walked to the 401 building and hit a few galleries. YYZ has three of the strongest exhibitions that I've seen in a while. Seth Scriver's installation/illustrations, Karim Zouak's mesmerizing films and the beautifully crafted work of Elisabeth Belliveau.Belliveau's work struck me the most. She's rescued found objects (

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262462558324692005-01-19T22:30:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:14:22.560-07:00

I spent a lot of time thinking about my ethnicity after reading Jocelyn Chan's photo essay on the Radio3 website. It's a topic that's on my mind a lot lately.Yesterday I spoke to Kwoi Gin, a local filmmaker and cinematographer, whose most recent project was a documentary series on Chinese Restaurants that took him to over 13 countries in four years. We spoke at great length about what it was like

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262262248960422005-01-17T23:55:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:11:02.250-07:00

There's simply too much great stuff out there to read. I spent a lot of time thinking about authors and writers that have influenced me how I wrote after reading this NYT Book Review piece asking 14 young authors (including Jonathan Safran Foer and Zadie Smith no less) which writers influenced them.I loved Jonathan Safran Foer's and Jonathan Lethem's writing. Lethem's memoir on the subway station

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262412790382532005-01-17T15:42:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:13:32.793-07:00

Leslie Feist, thank you Toronto StarLast year I, along with about half of Toronto's indie scene was enchanted by a singer-songwriter by the name of Leslie Feist. A former Broken Social Scenester, she left her humble Toronto existence for Europe where she hung out with people like Peaches before setting off on her own in France. Somewhere along the way she recorded a great little album that seems

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262202024738652005-01-15T11:15:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:10:02.026-07:00

My blogging over the last couple of weeks has been as sporadic as the internet connection I had in Vancouver. No matter, what's in the past is in the past! We have a new year and new times in front of us. Here are a couple of goals for the coming year, some directly related to this blog and a few more not related.1) Migrate this blog to my new domain name www.boyreporter.ca (yes folks, soon Boy

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262075098268492004-12-20T01:08:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:07:55.100-07:00

Boy Reporter will be returning to his 'hometown' of Vancouver for three weeks. Stay tuned for posts from the West Coast!

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146262030175389882004-12-19T23:55:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:07:10.176-07:00

Last weekend I went to the Ken Lum retrospective at the Power Plant. Ken's works are deceptively simple. The bulk of the work in this show are large photos paired with large colourful descriptive text. Gallery-going habits what they are today, it's tragically too easy to gloss over Ken's work which means you're missing out on one of Canada's finest photo-artists.The Ken Lum works at the

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146261994307997372004-12-18T13:50:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:06:34.310-07:00

The saddest music in the world might just be Emily Haines, lead singer of Metric, on a piano. My favourite song on Metric's impressive and entertaining album, is Calculation Theme, arguably the most down-tempo, introspective and breath-stealing song on the album.So needless to say that I was pretty happy to see Haines' solo show last night at the Church of the Redeemer on Bloor. Haines played a

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146261913595772912004-12-17T13:52:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:05:13.596-07:00

In the old days journalists used to wonder the streets, assistants, camera boy, and secretary in tow. Nowadays, most of us are chained to our desks, taking sips from that flask of whisky, bourbon or scotch hidden in the bottom drawer. But nothing beats hitting the streets and burning some shoe leather.Take for example, yesterday your intrepid boy reporter was on Queen Street reporting. Fine, I

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146261882890313882004-12-14T13:00:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:04:42.890-07:00

It's bad sex.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1146261847084945722004-12-04T21:45:00.000-08:002006-04-28T15:04:07.093-07:00

Your very own Boy Reporter is on new-fangled blog http://www.torontoist.com/ writing about the http://www.nokimono.com/ show going on right this very instant at the Design Exchange.Also, due to computer problems I might not be posting as regularly. Hopefully Benji will be back from the store very soon and good as new.

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145875522964629252004-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:002006-04-24T03:45:22.973-07:00

There's an old journalism adage. One is a fluke, two is a coincidence and three is a full-blown trend. Last year horror film director George Romero directed a remake of his very own Dawn of the Dead, starring lovely local Sarah Polley. The recently released Resident Evil: Apocalypse had Milla Jovovich blowing up city hall and raining chaos, mayhem and destruction on 'Racoon City.' Now Romero's

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145875568141799512004-11-29T13:46:00.000-08:002006-04-24T03:46:08.153-07:00

Spent the entire weekend at the Toronto Reel Asian Film Fest. Like last year the sheer breadth of the fest makes one giant review rather silly. A few capsule reviews of some of the films I saw.The Adventure of Iron Pussy: Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is better known for his Cannes prize winner Tropical Malady. So this campy cult homage to popular Thai film genres (spy, action, musicals,

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145875605732000252004-11-24T16:53:00.000-08:002006-04-24T03:46:45.740-07:00

Or an asian film blog to be specific. I know that the last couple of posts have been about asian film but bear with me here.The Reel Asian Film Fest starts tonight with a shorts programme. I'm personally looking forward to a few of the more eclectic films. Like a Thai spy spoof called the Adventures of Iron Pussy. I'm also ecstatic about seeing Cheuk Kwan's restaurant series. I always thought

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145875648783867452004-11-23T13:49:00.000-08:002006-04-24T03:47:28.793-07:00

For all of those in the Toronto area:Spacing Issue 3 "Work and Play" will be hitting the newsstands next month! I've got an article on public space and politics in Jakarta in the back of the mag. But there's tons of great stuff in there, check it out.The details:When: Thursday December 9Where: El Mocambo (462 Spadina Ave. and Spadina and College)How much: $10 cover, which includes a copy of new

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145875684211928152004-11-10T17:48:00.000-08:002006-04-24T03:49:35.360-07:00

I've been working with these folks lately, doing PR work for the Toronto Chapter. Anyways, their very well written and insightful report on Canada's foreign relations was just recently launched. Download it http://www.canada25.com/downloadreport.html

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145708431105064132004-10-25T13:53:00.000-07:002006-04-22T05:20:31.110-07:00

Last Saturday's edition of the Globe and Mail was an all-China extravaganza, with every section fronting a long long feature on something China (Ian Brown on fashion house Shanghai Tang and chinese style, Jan Wong on Chinese tourism in Canada, the front page in Chinese/English).The Globe's coverage tried to capture the breathtaking and massive changes that rock China on a daily basis. This is

arts_guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26725861.post-1145708167018548122004-10-25T13:41:00.000-07:002006-04-22T05:16:07.036-07:00

I will have a piece published in the next issue of Spacing Magazine (a little magazine here in Toronto dedicated to issues of public space). I'll post it here for the benefit of those that don't live in Toronto. All of you Torontonians, help a buddy out and buy a copy of the magazine (or come to the launch party). I'm not getting paid for the article so the least you can do is buy it and read the

arts_guynoreply@blogger.com