Talking terrorism in Times Square

I had an hour to spare this past Sunday while waiting for the bus from New York to Montreal. Pushing through the crowds of 42nd Street, I found my way to the metal chairs and tables in Times Square, which, for better or for worse, is America. I sat watching[Read More…]

Re-opening the files of A Film Unfinished

If A Film Unfinished were nothing but 60 minutes of raw Nazi propaganda footage filmed in the Warsaw Ghetto, it would still be the most affecting film viewers have seen in a very long time. If the five silent reels found in an East German bunker nine years after the[Read More…]

Talking to Quebec’s delegate to New York

John Parisella, Quebec’s delegate-general to New York and a McGill alumnus, recently spoke to the Tribune about the Tea Party, U.S. congressional elections, and the prospects for high-speed rail travel between Montreal and New York. Parisella was kind enough to answer some questions before heading having dinner at his home[Read More…]

Obama harshing on my mellow

Reclining on my couch a few nights ago after a long day at the Trib office, I exhaled deeply upon reading the news that the Obama Administration will continue enforcing federal drug laws in the state of California even if its voters next month pass Proposition 19. If passed, this[Read More…]

Sufjan Stevens: not half as enslaved

Sufjan Stevens is a master designer of atmospheres. You would want to be a Jim Carrey-type character in a world of his design, and at the end of the movie you would ultimately choose not to escape through the hidden door. At will, and in bizarre, repeating cycles, he lulls[Read More…]

Literary launch lacks laughs

Local literati were out in full blazered regalia on October 5 for the re-launch of Montreal humourist Jonathan Goldstein’s first novel, Lenny Bruce is Dead, originally published by Coach House Books in 2001. The 41-year-old Goldstein, author of two books, contributor to Chicago Public Radio’s This American Life, and host[Read More…]

Exile Above New York

The view at night from the roof of my sister’s apartment building in midtown Manhattan is like looking down from one of the higher clouds in heaven at the other angels living out their merry lives below. There are no problems up there, nor does there seem to be any[Read More…]

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