One would be hard-pressed to find two places with less in common than southern Bhutan and the town of Saint-Jérôme. In the south of Bhutan, the soaring peaks of the Himalayas descend into subtropical plains and fields of rice. Bhutan is primarily Buddhist and shares many cultural ties with its northern neighbour, Tibet.
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EDITORIAL: Jean (Charest) and Kate plus 8: Quebec funds in-vitro
Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc announced last week that the Quebec government will fully fund up to three cycles of in-vitro treatment for infertile couples. This announcement, which fulfills a pre-election promise made by Jean Charest in 2008, makes Quebec the first province to adopt such a policy.
EDITORIAL: Let us do our jobs; Mr. Neilson tear down this bylaw!
Last week, 10 McGill Tribune editors were forced to take leaves of absence in order to campaign for the creation of a $3 fee to support an independent Tribune. And while we’re ecstatic that students voted “yes” to the fee, the bylaw that required half of our editorial board to resign needs to be changed.
Caravaggio vs. Michelangelo
Although art historians and casual tourists probably won’t stop peering up at the brilliance of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the 16th-century Italian Renaissance man may find himself looking up at another art world rival as the top Italian artist in history, according to one renowned art historian.
BLACK & WHITE: Miss manners for Facebook
The embarrassing number of hours I’ve spent trolling Facebook profiles have convinced me we need a Facebook etiquette handbook. You know, the sort of pamphlet that would’ve circulated in the 19th century: an almanac of do’s and dont’s for ladies and gentlemen who wish to participate in civil society.
POP RHETORIC: Burton’s formula
Tim Burton has a distinct, dark, and quirky style that puts him in a cinematic class apart from any other director. The problem is that after creating so many successful films, his new projects are always going to be compared to his earlier “glory days.” The empire he has created is subject to unwarranted, faulty criticism merely because of the expectations that he’s planted in viewers’ minds.
The Bald Soprano has some playgoers scratching their heads
Director Julien Naggar’s production of The Bald Soprano transports the audience into an absurd world that nonetheless seems strangely familiar. Playing this week at the TNC Theatre in Morrice Hall, The Bald Soprano brings TNC’s 2009-2010 season to a climactic finish with its parlour-room madness, reshaping expectations and challenging presumptions.
Sex, violence, and more violence
Joy Fielding’s The Wild Zone begins when a personal trainer, a dishonourably discharged Afghanistan war veteran, and a Princeton philosophy Ph.D. walk into a bar and make a bet over who can sleep with the pretty, quiet girl alone with her martini. Suzy Bigelow, naturally, has secrets and an agenda of her own, and she leads them all on a wild and deadly ride which, though two-dimensional, is remarkably compelling.
Car-puccino
Many people drink coffee to wake themselves up in the morning or stay focussed throughout their day. But a team of scientists from BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory have taken the term “running on coffee” to another extreme: they have built a car that runs on coffee rather than gasoline.
A weekend in Munich
I should know better than to order anything off a German menu when the only German phrase I know is “beer, please.” Clearly this wasn’t the case after I found myself at the Haufbrauhaus in Munich, staring down at a plate of something that looked more or less like pig ankle (although I imagine it could have been an elbow or knee).