A few years past, one’s command of the French language had to be fairly deft to survive in Quebec for very long. McGill students, for the first weeks after arriving in Montreal, would need to assiduously commit dozens of key phrases to memory in order to obtain everyday household items, from milk to light bulbs.
Author: Admin
SHOOTING OUT THE LIGHTS: It’s TSN’s time
Not that there was a contest, but with its new high-definition studio, TSN has solidified itself as the superpower of Canadian sports. In all realms of sports broadcasting, TSN is superior to its rivals at the CBC and Rogers Sportsnet. But what does having sports-broadcasting hegemony mean for the Canadian market? Most significantly, it means that CBC and RSN might as well kiss the NHL goodbye after 2007-2008.
Putting Canada back on the television map
Tuesday evening saw the debut of CBC’s latest prime time original broadcast, the brainchild of Chris Haddock, nationally revered creator of decade-spanning Canadian success Da Vinci’s Inquest. His new series, Intelligence, examines a new facet of West Coast criminality, this time turning the camera towards the perpetrators rather than the victims and investigators.
FILM: LIttle trailer park called home
Canada’s favourite foul-mouthed trio hit the big screen last Friday after an excruciatingly long period of anticipation for fanatical devotees. The film, surprisingly, did not disappoint. The “surprisingly” modifier is used hesitantly because, let’s face it, 90-plus minutes of rampant alcoholism, recreational drug use, petty criminality and enough vulgarity to make Lenny Bruce blush has the potential to get old fast.
Exploring ethics
Renowned ethicist and McGill Professor Margaret Somerville will give the 2006 Massey Lecture at the Mount Royale Centre today. Presented by CBC Radio One and McGill University, the Massey Lecture is a prestigious annual event designed to bring scholars to Canadian universities in order to discuss issues of political, cultural or philosophical importance.
News Brief
Fasting For Darfur McGill’s Students Taking Action Now on Darfur organization participated in a broader global initiative to raise awareness about the Darfur crisis on Thursday. STAND members fasted for 24 hours and encouraged other students to give up a luxury for the day.
VOX POPULI: Canadian citizenship is not a right
As pointed out by Andrew Coyne in the National Post on September 23rd, approximately 7,000 of the 15,000 Canadians evacuated from Lebanon have since returned. The cost of the evacuation, around $85-million, will not be picked up by the evacuees but rather by taxpayers.
TELEVISION: My superpowers trump your superpowers
The newest and most highly anticipated show from NBC’s fall lineup premiered Monday night. Heroes enacts everybody’s dream fantasy – to wake up in the morning and discover an amazing superpower. Along the lines of a televised X-Men, the show follows nine characters around the globe who find themselves in just that situation.
NATIONAL: First Nations’ new station
In hopes of preserving First Nations language and promoting world peace, the first of a network of radio stations sponsored by the Global Country of World Peace was launched Thursday. The station will broadcast from Fredericton, New Brunswick in the native languages of the area, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq and Passamaquoddy.
SIMPLY SPEAKING: Harper needs to stand up for gun control
The House of Commons returned from summer recess last Monday. I don’t know about you but I miss recess. It’s fun to leave your work at your desk and run outside to the playground and play games like hide-and-seek. But I don’t think that MPs appreciate recess or hide-and-seek; now that recess is over, they’re “it.