#ottawa fringe

[ladycharles]

I want to try writing about some of the plays that impress me at the fringes this year, now that Ottawa Fringe is in full swing. No better place to start than with 666!

This play deals with the Satanic Panic of the 80s and 90s - when shoddy therapy led to many people becoming convinced they had fallen victim to satanic rituals, causing an overall moral panic

The play features a woman who believes she has been victimised by satanic abuse, and her difficult and harrowing journey is portrayed stunningly by Corinne Viay - she is tormented by visions of Satan (played by drag artist Mx. Caligula) and sensationalised media coverage (portrayed by Seth Thompson, with a hilarious satirical edge)

Standing out in particular was Caligula's performance as the devil. It is an outstanding physical performance that channels the queer-coded villain tropes that mark many modern portrayals while maintaining an imposing physicality balanced with an androgynous grace that brings the fallen angel to life. Their frenetic voguing and wacking during the dance sequence, performed within striking distance of the audience, is really quite breathtaking, it adds the excitement of watching a dancer push their limits on top of all the other triumphs.

Oftentimes in theatre serious content involving religion and queerness, or discussions of abuse and mass hysteria can drift into cliché or suffer from a lack of perspective. Handled poorly, this can lead to joyless agit prop or an almost fetishistic gaze that obscure their gravity. You've probably witnessed it if you ever watched a lot of emerging theatre - plays that feel random, obscure, soulless and preachy.

Thankfully, 666 does not have this problem. It uses its unorthodox structure to unpack the human toll of the satanic panic while tacking issues like internalized homophobia and patriarchal society with a naturalism that transcends cliché. It is focused and clever, delivering its message with care, humour, and depth.

If you're in Ottawa or Montreal for their respective Fringes, this is seriously some of the best theatre I have seen in a long time!

[fiveht]

Love, love, love Adore and am drooling over Head Over Feet!!

You mentioned a couple asks ago that you haven’t specified it’s in the US, and that made me very curious as to where they do live??

The way you’ve phrased east and west coast and mentioned eastern time (NA) makes me wonder (aka hope) that maybe, if not the US, they’re in Canada?!?! As a Canadian girlie I love some representation for us - so I just had to ask!!

They indeed are Canadian. 😁 They don't live in Quebec, but they're close! They live in Ottawa. For those unaware, Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec are directly across the Ottawa River from one another, and Hull is a historic neighbourhood in Gatineau. (By the way, the university in the story is Carleton.)

I'm a Canadian girlie myself, and when I started Disarm I thought, if American writers make them American in AUs, why can't I make them Canadian? So I did. I'm not from Ottawa (I'm from Newfoundland, which is way too distinct a setting, because we fucking weird over here) but I did spend a lot of summers there as a kid.

[thebunnycruise]

Less of a question and more of a comment, Im sorry if its in the wrong spot lol, I just had to say this. I promise it’s not a hate comment, and sorry for the length.

I have never in my life seen something that has made me feel so physically ill. I feel genuinely sick reading this, and mentally exhausted from it. I have never read anything that has ever made me want to do something about these topics so badly. I hate this comic, and feel every fiber of my body crumble that I can’t do anything to help these women. It’s such an uncomfortable and painful feeling to see such heinous acts being done to people who i know are just down on their luck and never deserved this. I hate to sound cliche, but this was the eye opener of the fucking century.

You should be proud of your work, you’re doing something that I haven’t ever seen work as effectively and as potently as this.

One question I guess; I unfortunately can’t donate, but what else could us readers do? This comic destroyed me and I’m genuinely desperate at this point to see some happy ending come out of this, and I don’t know what I can do.

Thank you for this question! And sorry for ruining your mood, I think... TL/DR: Giving a shit is free. I recall this one lady being interviewed by a local news reporter regarding her views on the homeless problem in her neighbourhood, and she said something that stuck in my mind: "The more I have to [pick up] human feces, the less empathy I have." I think that one comment really hit home why we're at this point in society. People connect with the characters on the Bunny Cruise because we see their backstories, how they got to where they are, what they've lost along the way, what they dream of for the future, and how they've suffered in trying to reach for that dream. But, even though we know the guy OD'ing on the sidewalk passed out in his own sick must have had a life, have dreams, it's not something we think of in the moment. The difference between the Cruise and real life is that the girls have each other to support them through it, but we will walk over or side-step the heroin addict on the sidewalk without a second glance. That "mentally drained" and "physically ill" feeling is the cognitive dissonance talking. It's when we're forced to confront an perspective that challenges our way of thinking, or in this case, face a fear that perhaps the only difference between us and 67, 10, the twins, or that guy on the sidewalk, is just pure luck. For a lot of us, this is something very uncomfortable, and it's much easier to put it out of our heads and move on with our lives. And politicians take advantage of this fear and apathy far too often. Famously, Mark Sutcliffe (Calling you out, asshole), the recently elected Mayor of Ottawa, campaigned on zoning land for more large, single-family homes rather than more compact, affordable housing. He called it "preserving the community and keeping it safe", but we all know what that really means by now. Or they will call for increased police spending and promise to be tougher on crime (which Sutcliffe also did). Because having bad luck or being neglected and abused by capitalism is a crime now... I think the easiest thing to do, is to just think about it, and speak up when the issue comes up. All too often, things like homeless shelters, affordable housing projects, and safe injection sites, don't get built because people don't want to think about the people living on the fringe of society. But the thing is, people with nowhere to go have to go somewhere.

I donate to a women's shelter because I've worked with women fleeing violence in the past, and it's an important cause for me. I also realize that I am in a very fortunate position to be able to pay rent and have a little left over to put toward charity work. But speaking up and spreading the word is free. The next time someone wants to veto a safe injection site project, speak up against them, ask them what millionaire real estate firm is lining their pockets. Vote for that city councilor campaigning to build shelters and affordable homes. Have a relative who says "the homeless deserve what's happening to them"? Shut them down, ruin that christmas dinner. They sound like a dick anyway.

It's not much, but I think if we can all treat our fellow humans a little better instead of kicking them to the curb, we can make a bit of a difference in the world.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“ESKIMOS ARE NOT PRIMITIVE PEOPLE,” Montreal Gazette. November 30, 1932. Page 5. ---- Richard Finnie Describes Delights of Arctic Scenery ---- Toronto, November 29. "Eskimos are not refrigerated, blubber-saturated savages, but happy, intelligent, and hospitable people, the finest, most generous and most likeable people of all uncultured races," according to Richard Finnie, of Ottawa, who accompanied L. T. Burwash on his Franklin expedition to King William Island.

"The Arctic climate," Mr. Finnie said in an address here last night, :is by no means unbearable. The summers are short, but warm and pleasant. The winters are cold, but I have suffered far more with cold in civilization, wearing its ridiculously inadequate clothing.

"The tourist has begun to discover the Mackenzie River," Mr. Finnie said. "There are 2,000 miles of magnificent waterway through absolutely unspoiled country, to be travelled in comfort by aeroplane, steamboat or canoe.

"The aeroplane has changed the whole situation in the Arctic. It is possible that across the fringe of the polar ocean, towns and cities may grow up in the course of the next four generation's, the nucleus of a new empire."

Mr. Finnie is official archivist and photographer of the Canadian Arctic under the Department or Interior, Ottawa, and is a son of O. S. Finnie, former director of the Canadian Northwest Territories branch.

[AL: Weirdly positive account of Inuit society and culture, despite the racist and archaic name. Still, what a vision of settler colonialism - Vacationland forever.]

[emzeciorrr]

Eyes and Horns from Fabian&Fred on Vimeo.

Film by Chaerin Im

Inspired by Picasso’s ‘Vollard Suite’, the transformation of the over masculine Minotaur leads to the destruction of boundaries of sexes.

Festivals (selection) Ann Arbor Film Festival VIS Vienna Shorts Animafest Zagreb Frameline San Francisco LQBTQ+ Film Festival Annecy Animation Festival DokuFest Odense Film Festival Linoleum Animation Festival Cyprus Short Film Festival, Limassol Drama International Short Film Festival Festival Mix Milano – LGBTQ+ Guanajuato Film Festival Ottawa Animation Festival Animation Volda VAF Viborg Animation Festival StopTrik Oslo/Fusion Film Festival BIAF Bucheon Animation Festival Uppsala Short Film Festival SPARK Animation Festival Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival PÖFF Shorts – Black Nights Cartoons Underground Chéries Chéris LGBT Festival Paris Tous Courts, Aix en Provence International queer Film Festival Merlinka Anima Brussels Tricky Women MONSTRA Animation Festival Regensburger Kurzfilmwoche Roanne Animation Festival Kaboom Animation Festival Florida Film Festival GLAS Animation Festival Atlanta Film Festival Busan Short Film Festival deadCenter Film Festival Fest Anca Anibar Insomnia Animation Festival Animist Tallinn Nancy Film Festival Supernova Animation Festival Animasyros Animation Festival Fringe Queer Film & Arts Fest GAZE LGBTQ+ Film Festival Nashville Film Festival Festival of Animation Berlin Primanima Tacoma Film Festival TLVFest - Tel Aviv LGBT Film Festival Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Queer Film Festival Playa del Carmen Pinx Queer Film Festival Seattle Asian American Film Festival

©2021 Fabian&Fred, Chaerin Im

[brookston]

Holidays 6.13

Holidays

Aethra Asteroid Day

Beyond the Solar System Day

City Day (Lisbon, Portugal)

Dia de Exu (Brazil)

Flag Day (Palau)

International Albinism Awareness Day (UN)

International Axe Throwing Day

International Community Association Managers Day

Inventors’ Day (Hungary)

Jason Voorhees Day

Kitchen Klutzes of America Day

LGBTQIA Equal Pay Awareness Day

Loeys-Dietz Day of Giving

Michael Jackson Vindication Day

Military Gendarmerie Day (Poland)

Miranda Day

National Albinism Awareness Day

National Chamoy Day

National Dance/Movement Therapy Advocacy Day

National Day of Abortion Storytelling Day

National Day of Productive Business Civility

National Doe B Day

National Elderflower Day

National Frances Day

National Golf Cart Day

National Jane Day

National Pigeon Day

National Productive Business Civility Day

National Random Acts of Light Day

National Weed Your Garden Day

Outdoor Marketing Day

Random Acts of Light Day

Roller Coaster Day

San Antonio Day (Ceuta, Spain)

Sewing Machine Day

613 Day (Ottawa)

613 Mitzvot Day

Suleimaniah City Fallen and Martyrs Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)

Swiftie Day

Tench Day (French Republic)

Weed Your Garden Day

The Wicket World of Croquet Day

World Softball Day

Yawn-a-thon

Yeats Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cupcake Day (UK)

Cupcake Lover’s Day

National Cucumber Day

Rosé Day [also 2nd Saturday]

Independence & Related Days

Princian Commonwealth (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Reform Movement Anniversary Day (Yemen)

2nd Thursday in June

National Career Nursing Assistants Day [2nd Thursday]

National Farm Workers Day [2nd Thursday]

Superman Celebration begins (Metropolis, Illinois) [2nd Thursday thru Sunday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

World Judicial Officer Day [2nd Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 13 (2nd Full Week)

National Hermit Week (thru 6.20)

National Nursing Assistants Week (thru 6.19)

Festivals Beginning June 13, 2024

BBQ RibFest (Fort Wayne, Indiana) [thru 6.16]

Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival (Manchester, Tennessee) [thru 6.16]

Chisholm Trail Roundup BBQ & Chili Cook-Offs (Lockhart, Texas) [thru 6.15

Chorus Inside International (Lloret de Mar, Spain) [thru 6.18]

Claw Down (Boothbay Harbor, Maine)

Gladbrook Corn Carnival (Gladbrook, Iowa) [thru 6.16]

Greenfield Festival (Interlaken, Switzerland) [thru 6.15]

Hollywood Fringe Festival (Los Angeles, California) [thru 6.30]

Indy Strawberry Festival (Indianapolis, Indiana) [thru 6.15]

Kirtland Kiwanis Strawberry Festival (Kirtland, Ohio) thru 6.15]

Lavender Bloom and Wine Event (Concho, Arizona) [thru 7.13]

Louisiana Corn Festival (Bunkie, Louisiana) [thru 6.15]

Newport Italianfest (Newport, Kentucky) [thru 6.16]

New York State Blues Festival (Syracuse, New York) [thru 6.15]

Ottawa Fringe Festival (Ottawa, Canada) [thru 6.23]

Owego Strawberry Festival (Owego, New York) [thru 6.15]

Sónar (Barcelona, Spain) [thru 6.15]

Springfield Fair (Springfield, Maine) [thru 6.16]

Taste of the Vineyard (Edgartown, Massachusetts) [thru 6.15]

Telluride Food + Vine (Telluride, Colorado) [thru 6.16]

Tour of America's Dairyland (Muliple locations, Wisconsin) [thru 6.23]

US Open Golf Championship (thru 6.16)

Feast Days

Annie Sprinkle Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church (Christian; Saint) [Portugal]

Aquilina (Christian; Saint)

Audrey Niffenegger (Writerism)

Balor (Celtic Book of Days)

Bricket Wood Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Buddha's Parinirvana (Bhutan)

Cetteus (Peregrinus; Christian; Saint)

Damhnade of Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Day of the Living Children of Nut (Ancient Egypt)

Dorothy L. Sayers(Writerism)

Feast of Epona (Celtic; Pagan)

Felicula (Christian; Saint)

Festival of Jupiter Invictus (Jupiter the Unconquered)

First-in-Line and Queue-Jumping Tournament (Shamanism)

G. K. Chesterton (Episcopal Church (USA))

Gerard of Clairvaux (Christian; Saint)

Gin Day (Pastafarian)

Gotthard Graubner (Artology)

Green Day (Pastafarian)

Ides of June (Ancient Rome)

Leon Chwistek (Artology)

Psalmodius (Christian; Saint)

Quinquatrus Minusculae (Old Roman Festival to Minerva)

Ragnebert (a.k.a. Rambert; Christian; Saint)

Ralph McQuarrie (Artology)

The Spaniel (Muppetism)

St. Theresa (Positivist; Saint)

Thomas Woodhouse (Christian; Blessed)

Triphyllius (Christian; Saint)

William Butler Yeats (Writerism)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Shavuot ends (Judaism) [7 Sivan] (a.k.a. …

Feast of the Harvest

Feast of Weeks

Festival of Weeks

First-Fruit festival

Wheat Harvest

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Water Husband Name Day (Young Women fill their mouth with water and didn’t let it out until they heard a man’s name. That name would be the name of their future husband; Portugal)

Premieres

The Apocalypse Watch, by Robert Ludlum (Novel; 1995)

Back to School (Film; 1986)

Backwoods Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1959)

BrainDead (TV Series; 2016)

Cherche Le Phantom (The Inspector Cartoon; 1968)

Day of Infamy, by Walter Lord (History Book; 1957)

The Disillusioned Bluebird (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1944)

Faith and Courage, by Sinead O’Connor (Album; 2000)

Forever Your Girl, by Paula Abdul (Album; 1988)

The Game of Kings, by Dorothy Dunnett (Novel; 1961)

Hercules (Animated Disney Film; 1997)

Horsefly Opera (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Animated Film; 2014)

I’ll Be Skiing Ya (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1947)

The Incredible Hulk (Film; 2008)

Jagged Little Pill, by Alan’s Morrisette (Album; 1995)

Jet Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1967)

Kind Hearts and Coronets (Film; 1949)

Les Noces, by Igor Stravinsky (Ballet; 1923)

Lolita (Film; 1962)

Make It With You, by Bread (Song; 1970)

Mona Lisa (Film; 1986)

Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny (Novel; 1970)

Olive’s Boithday Presink (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1941)

The Omen, by David Seltzer (Novel; 1976)

Pat and Mike (Film; 1952)

Petrushka, by Igor Stravinsky (Ballet; 1911)

Post, by Björk (Album; 1995)

The Price of Salt, by Claire Morgan (Novel; 1952)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Film; 1957)

Prozac Nation (Film; 2003)

Roadie (Film; 1980)

Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin (Serialized Novel; 1978)

Texas Flood, by Stevie Ray Vaughan (Album; 1983)

22 Jump Street (Film; 2014)

…Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble, by Uriah Heel (Album; 1970)

Vida La Vida, by Coldplay (Song; 2008)

The Washout Chronicle, by John Cheever (Novel; 1957)

Wholly Moses (Film; 1980)

The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman (Economics Book; 2005)

Yodeling Yokels (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

You Only Live Twice (US Film; 1967) [James Bond #5]

Today’s Name Days

Antonius, Bernhard (Austria)

Antonija, Antun, Toni (Croatia)

Antonín (Czech Republic)

Cyrillus (Denmark)

Monika, Mooni, Moonika (Estonia)

Raila, Raili (Finland)

Antoine (France)

Anton, Antonius, Bernhard (Germany)

Trifilios (Greece)

Anett, Antal (Hungary)

Alice, Antonio (Italy)

Ainārs, Tautvaldis, Tobijs, Uva, Zigfrīds, Zigrids (Latvia)

Akvilina, Antanas, Kunotas, Skalvė (Lithuania)

Tanja, Tone, Tonje (Norway)

Antoni, Chociemir, Herman, Lucjan, Maria Magdalena, Tobiasz (Poland)

Achilina (România)

Anton (Slovakia)

Antonio (Spain)

Aina, Aino (Sweden)

Kalyna (Ukraine)

Ivey, Ivy, Lara, Larissa (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 165 of 2024; 201 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 24 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 8 (Wu-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 7 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 6 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 15 Blue; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 31 May 2024

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 24 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Theresa]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 87 of 92)

Week: 2nd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 24 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.13

Holidays

Aethra Asteroid Day

Beyond the Solar System Day

City Day (Lisbon, Portugal)

Dia de Exu (Brazil)

Flag Day (Palau)

International Albinism Awareness Day (UN)

International Axe Throwing Day

International Community Association Managers Day

Inventors’ Day (Hungary)

Jason Voorhees Day

Kitchen Klutzes of America Day

LGBTQIA Equal Pay Awareness Day

Loeys-Dietz Day of Giving

Michael Jackson Vindication Day

Military Gendarmerie Day (Poland)

Miranda Day

National Albinism Awareness Day

National Chamoy Day

National Dance/Movement Therapy Advocacy Day

National Day of Abortion Storytelling Day

National Day of Productive Business Civility

National Doe B Day

National Elderflower Day

National Frances Day

National Golf Cart Day

National Jane Day

National Pigeon Day

National Productive Business Civility Day

National Random Acts of Light Day

National Weed Your Garden Day

Outdoor Marketing Day

Random Acts of Light Day

Roller Coaster Day

San Antonio Day (Ceuta, Spain)

Sewing Machine Day

613 Day (Ottawa)

613 Mitzvot Day

Suleimaniah City Fallen and Martyrs Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)

Swiftie Day

Tench Day (French Republic)

Weed Your Garden Day

The Wicket World of Croquet Day

World Softball Day

Yawn-a-thon

Yeats Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cupcake Day (UK)

Cupcake Lover’s Day

National Cucumber Day

Rosé Day [also 2nd Saturday]

Independence & Related Days

Princian Commonwealth (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Reform Movement Anniversary Day (Yemen)

2nd Thursday in June

National Career Nursing Assistants Day [2nd Thursday]

National Farm Workers Day [2nd Thursday]

Superman Celebration begins (Metropolis, Illinois) [2nd Thursday thru Sunday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

World Judicial Officer Day [2nd Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 13 (2nd Full Week)

National Hermit Week (thru 6.20)

National Nursing Assistants Week (thru 6.19)

Festivals Beginning June 13, 2024

BBQ RibFest (Fort Wayne, Indiana) [thru 6.16]

Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival (Manchester, Tennessee) [thru 6.16]

Chisholm Trail Roundup BBQ & Chili Cook-Offs (Lockhart, Texas) [thru 6.15

Chorus Inside International (Lloret de Mar, Spain) [thru 6.18]

Claw Down (Boothbay Harbor, Maine)

Gladbrook Corn Carnival (Gladbrook, Iowa) [thru 6.16]

Greenfield Festival (Interlaken, Switzerland) [thru 6.15]

Hollywood Fringe Festival (Los Angeles, California) [thru 6.30]

Indy Strawberry Festival (Indianapolis, Indiana) [thru 6.15]

Kirtland Kiwanis Strawberry Festival (Kirtland, Ohio) thru 6.15]

Lavender Bloom and Wine Event (Concho, Arizona) [thru 7.13]

Louisiana Corn Festival (Bunkie, Louisiana) [thru 6.15]

Newport Italianfest (Newport, Kentucky) [thru 6.16]

New York State Blues Festival (Syracuse, New York) [thru 6.15]

Ottawa Fringe Festival (Ottawa, Canada) [thru 6.23]

Owego Strawberry Festival (Owego, New York) [thru 6.15]

Sónar (Barcelona, Spain) [thru 6.15]

Springfield Fair (Springfield, Maine) [thru 6.16]

Taste of the Vineyard (Edgartown, Massachusetts) [thru 6.15]

Telluride Food + Vine (Telluride, Colorado) [thru 6.16]

Tour of America's Dairyland (Muliple locations, Wisconsin) [thru 6.23]

US Open Golf Championship (thru 6.16)

Feast Days

Annie Sprinkle Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church (Christian; Saint) [Portugal]

Aquilina (Christian; Saint)

Audrey Niffenegger (Writerism)

Balor (Celtic Book of Days)

Bricket Wood Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Buddha's Parinirvana (Bhutan)

Cetteus (Peregrinus; Christian; Saint)

Damhnade of Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Day of the Living Children of Nut (Ancient Egypt)

Dorothy L. Sayers(Writerism)

Feast of Epona (Celtic; Pagan)

Felicula (Christian; Saint)

Festival of Jupiter Invictus (Jupiter the Unconquered)

First-in-Line and Queue-Jumping Tournament (Shamanism)

G. K. Chesterton (Episcopal Church (USA))

Gerard of Clairvaux (Christian; Saint)

Gin Day (Pastafarian)

Gotthard Graubner (Artology)

Green Day (Pastafarian)

Ides of June (Ancient Rome)

Leon Chwistek (Artology)

Psalmodius (Christian; Saint)

Quinquatrus Minusculae (Old Roman Festival to Minerva)

Ragnebert (a.k.a. Rambert; Christian; Saint)

Ralph McQuarrie (Artology)

The Spaniel (Muppetism)

St. Theresa (Positivist; Saint)

Thomas Woodhouse (Christian; Blessed)

Triphyllius (Christian; Saint)

William Butler Yeats (Writerism)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Shavuot ends (Judaism) [7 Sivan] (a.k.a. …

Feast of the Harvest

Feast of Weeks

Festival of Weeks

First-Fruit festival

Wheat Harvest

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Water Husband Name Day (Young Women fill their mouth with water and didn’t let it out until they heard a man’s name. That name would be the name of their future husband; Portugal)

Premieres

The Apocalypse Watch, by Robert Ludlum (Novel; 1995)

Back to School (Film; 1986)

Backwoods Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1959)

BrainDead (TV Series; 2016)

Cherche Le Phantom (The Inspector Cartoon; 1968)

Day of Infamy, by Walter Lord (History Book; 1957)

The Disillusioned Bluebird (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1944)

Faith and Courage, by Sinead O’Connor (Album; 2000)

Forever Your Girl, by Paula Abdul (Album; 1988)

The Game of Kings, by Dorothy Dunnett (Novel; 1961)

Hercules (Animated Disney Film; 1997)

Horsefly Opera (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Animated Film; 2014)

I’ll Be Skiing Ya (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1947)

The Incredible Hulk (Film; 2008)

Jagged Little Pill, by Alan’s Morrisette (Album; 1995)

Jet Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1967)

Kind Hearts and Coronets (Film; 1949)

Les Noces, by Igor Stravinsky (Ballet; 1923)

Lolita (Film; 1962)

Make It With You, by Bread (Song; 1970)

Mona Lisa (Film; 1986)

Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny (Novel; 1970)

Olive’s Boithday Presink (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1941)

The Omen, by David Seltzer (Novel; 1976)

Pat and Mike (Film; 1952)

Petrushka, by Igor Stravinsky (Ballet; 1911)

Post, by Björk (Album; 1995)

The Price of Salt, by Claire Morgan (Novel; 1952)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Film; 1957)

Prozac Nation (Film; 2003)

Roadie (Film; 1980)

Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin (Serialized Novel; 1978)

Texas Flood, by Stevie Ray Vaughan (Album; 1983)

22 Jump Street (Film; 2014)

…Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble, by Uriah Heel (Album; 1970)

Vida La Vida, by Coldplay (Song; 2008)

The Washout Chronicle, by John Cheever (Novel; 1957)

Wholly Moses (Film; 1980)

The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman (Economics Book; 2005)

Yodeling Yokels (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

You Only Live Twice (US Film; 1967) [James Bond #5]

Today’s Name Days

Antonius, Bernhard (Austria)

Antonija, Antun, Toni (Croatia)

Antonín (Czech Republic)

Cyrillus (Denmark)

Monika, Mooni, Moonika (Estonia)

Raila, Raili (Finland)

Antoine (France)

Anton, Antonius, Bernhard (Germany)

Trifilios (Greece)

Anett, Antal (Hungary)

Alice, Antonio (Italy)

Ainārs, Tautvaldis, Tobijs, Uva, Zigfrīds, Zigrids (Latvia)

Akvilina, Antanas, Kunotas, Skalvė (Lithuania)

Tanja, Tone, Tonje (Norway)

Antoni, Chociemir, Herman, Lucjan, Maria Magdalena, Tobiasz (Poland)

Achilina (România)

Anton (Slovakia)

Antonio (Spain)

Aina, Aino (Sweden)

Kalyna (Ukraine)

Ivey, Ivy, Lara, Larissa (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 165 of 2024; 201 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 24 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 8 (Wu-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 7 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 6 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 15 Blue; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 31 May 2024

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 24 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Theresa]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 87 of 92)

Week: 2nd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 24 of 31)

[aangussca]

Art Studio 1 Lecture and 24th Biennale Gallery visit (Chau Chak Wing Museum) (22.3.24)

Lecture: Artist-run Spaces (by Alex Gawronski)

Artist-run Spaces (or ARIs - Artist-run Initiatives) are:

Spaces directed and organised by artists (collectives, studios, shows/exhibitions, festivals, workshops, etc.).

Dedicated to showcasing experimental contemporary art.

Usually running on a 'not-for-profit' basis (although art may occasionally be sold).

An international phenomenon (found everywhere)

Below are some examples (Australia):

Firstdraft (Sydney, Australia)

107 Projects (Sydney, Australia)

Airspace Projects (Sydney, Australia)

Gertrude (Melbourne, Australia)

Blindside (Melbourne, Australia)

Outer Space (Brisbane, Australia)

Sawtooth ARI (Launceston, Australia)

FeltSpace (Adelaide, Australia)

Watch This Space Gallery (Alice Springs, Australia)

Below are some examples (international):

Studio 1.1. (London, England) and its other galleries: Studio 1.2. (Haarlem, Netherlands), Studio 1.3. (Poços de Caldas, Brazil) and Studio 1.4. (Susak, Croatia)

PrintSpace (Brooklyn, US)

Transmission Gallery (Glasgow, Scotland)

VideoArt Center Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)

EST Art Foundation (Leiden, Netherlands)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival (Singapore)

OpenArt (Örebro, Sweden)

SPAO Photographic Arts Centre (Ottawa, Canada)

Mothermother (Auckland, New Zealand)

Artist-run Spaces run on different models in funding and exhibitions.

Funding:

Government funded (ie. The Australia Council etc. Other State funding bodies).

Self-funding as a co-op (members of the directorship pool their own financial resources to pay for gallery rent and exhibition costs).

Exhibitor funded (gallery is paid for on a not-for-profit basis, by a rental fee paid by exhibiting artists.

Auctions and Fundraisers organized by ARI directors. A combination of the above.

Exhibition models:

Typically Government funded Als must, as a part of their agreement, accept outside proposals. That means the gallery directorship collectively decide which proposals they want to exhibit.

Self-funded co-ops can choose to accept proposals, but the onus will be determined by the co-operative.

Exhibitor-funded ARI models may accept proposals or may curate 'in-house' (ie. The directorship) actively curate the exhibition program without accepting proposals. Some of these are 'spaces for hire. That means they accept outside proposals for the primary purpose of covering the venue rent. They are often expensive and have less credibility within the art world (ALTHOUGH if you can afford it, they can be useful places to experiment if you're starting out).

There are many benefits to founding, directing or being involved in an Artist-run Space - including but not limited to:

Greater creative freedom in both the works you like to exhibit and the artists you'd like to work with

Greater freedom from limitations within institutional/commercial galleries

While another means of income may be needed, you don't have to deal with the pressure of selling your work

Collaboration opportunities, which can help you to form personal and professional connections

Gallery visit: 24th Sydney Biennale (Chau Chak Wing)

Citra Sasmita's Timur Merah Project X: Bedtime Story (2023, acrylic on traditional Kamasan canvas and oak dowels) and Timur Merah Project IV: Tales of Nowhere (2020, acrylic on traditional Kamasan canvas and oak dowels)

Description: "Citra Sasmita began researching patriarchal roots of modern Bali by looking to the literary and artistic canon of Indonesia, which broadly narrates male heroism and depicts women as romantic decorations. Through her Timur Merah Project, Sasmita creates counter-narratives that depict women as powerful and resistant actors who push back against a male gaze informed by colonial ideology. Following the fall of the last Balinese kingdom in 1908, the Dutch administration introduced the policy of Baliseering. A strategy of cultural diplomacy intended to establish an 'authentic' Bali, the policy obliged the Balinese community to carry out their cultural practices under Dutch supervision. Javanese nationalists argued that the policy kept Bali as a living museum' that appealed to colonial aesthetics of the noble and exotic while obliterating any Balinese self-determination. Balinese women, who for centuries were trafficked by the Dutch as particularly beautiful slaves, were often depicted in naturalistic portraits by colonial painters. In Timur Merah Project X: Bedtime Story and Timur Merah Project IV: Tales of Nowhere, Sasmita uses traditional Kamasan painting to reclaim the female figure as an active de-colonial agent challenging the exotic aesthetic heritage of Baliseering."

Cho Ka Fai's Exodus (2024, short film (18 mins 52 secs))

Description: "Gathered around the campfire one hot Javanese night in the 1930s, a contingent of Dutch soldiers drunkenly sang and danced while a group of Indonesian farmers watched from afar, mimicking the men's strange, rhythmic movements. And so, Dolalak was born. Something of a cultural constellation, Dolalak performers cosplay in Dutch military regalia for trance-like performances of traditional Javanese dance, melodic Islamic poems and songs of ancestral spirits. Popular among young Indonesian TikTok influencers who dance Dolalak to the tunes of Indonesian pop music (Dangdut Koplo), the ritual sits within a deeply layered history. The same rich source resulted in an Indonesian band being hailed as the greatest live act in mid-century Europe some 20 years after the development of Dolalak. Following the Dutch failure to re-invade Indonesia after the Second World War, a number of Dutch-speaking Indonesian musicians, primarily from the Maluku Islands, were exiled to the Netherlands. In the same way that Dolalak rose from a colonial clash of cultures, Indo-Rock emerged in the 1950s/1960s when these musicians began to meld Western, Indonesian and Kroncong music, a specific genre in Indonesia played on Portuguese-introduced instruments. This fusion gave rise to leading bands like the Tielman Brothers, who reached stardom as icons of Dutch and West German rock 'n' roll. In Exodus, the Dewi Arum Girls (TikTok stars) dance Dolalak to a remix of the Tielman Brothers, meditating on the colonial resonances that linger. They dance like spirits, in the reverberations of Dolalak, Indo-Rock and contemporary digital culture."

Diane Burns' Alphabet City Serenade (1988, short film (1 min 57 secs))

Description: "Chemehuevi and Anishinaabe poet Diane Burns walks the streets of New York's Lower East Side (Loisaida colloquially) reciting her poem Alphabet City Serenade in this powerful footage. An indictment of the gentrification of Loisaida and the treatment of First Nations Americans, Alphabet City Serenade paints the cracked windows and littered streets of Loisaida with a vivid and loving brush. The serenade also threads Burns into the fabric of the cityscape, with its crumbling tenements and narrow stretches of blue sky. A prolific personality and artist, Burns read her work at Bowery Poetry Club, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church as well as joining the likes of writers Allen Ginsberg, Joy Harjo, and Pedro Pietri in Nicaragua for the Ruben Dario Poetry Festival. Yet by the late 1980s, Loisaida, a counter-culture hub for creative, immigrant, and queer circles, was at risk of losing itself to rising rents, drugs, and the HIV epidemic. Before long, the community which had sustained Burns would dissipate, coming together again in 2006 on the event of her death. Over a career defined by an immutable spirit, Alphabet City Serenade captures the writer's sardonic, yet penetrating, insight..."

Mangala Bai Maravi's Baiga Godna Indian Tribe (2024, ink on paper)

Description: "The women of the Baiga community in central India (primarily in the state of Madhya Pradesh) begin receiving tattoos from as young as age nine, starting with their forehead before covering their back, legs and chest. The designs, known as Godna, are a record of life and culture, and are known to hold healing properties when applied correctly. Among some of the earliest communities in South Asia, in recent times the Baiga people have been displaced by deforestation and government policy. In turn, the tradition of Godna is fading because (unlike jewellery or written records) the history that is encapsulated in these tattoos disappears with those who wear them. Mangala Bai Maravi, one of the few remaining Badnin (women tattoo artists) in her community, has committed her life to preserving and sharing this tradition. Documenting the symbols and stories of her people, across not only bodies but also canvas and paper, Maravi's practice can be understood as an act of cultural preservation and healing."

[ladycharles]

New Fringe Pick! Hope you liked the last one, this is another piece that's at the Ottawa Fringe right now 💖

It's Angel, Baby!

In 2019 I visited Athens, Greece and happened on a queer performance festival. Unmoored from North American ballroom standards and US puritanism, the performances were in turns subversive, earnest, vulgar, virtuosic, exhibitionist, and absolutely hilarious. It is rare in my cozy little government town to get the same feeling of witnessing truly subversive, truly mind opening art.

To my absolute luck, Angel, Baby ended up being one of those rare shows that leaves me in awe, and does so in way that is uniquely charming.

Exploring the concept of kissing booths as a vehicle for their audacious comedy, Victoria gives a charismatic and deeply funny performance as the skits turn increasingly bizarre and extreme. Audience members are asked to involve themselves in some desperately uncomfortable situations, and yet never once is the humour mean spirited or the audience members made the butt of a joke. In fact, seldom have I seen crowd involvement done with such care, even when the situations themselves are completely off the wall.

This is a show that does not waste time with exposition, creating a disorienting feel and a dramatic tension that amplifies the humour. Despite this, there is a cohesion and thematic completeness to what’s could otherwise seem like a bunch of random skits if one didn’t pay attention. For one, Victoria's characterisation is strong enough that exposition isn't necessary - we know exactly who Angel, Baby is from their awkward charisma and the earnestness of their delivery. For two, the baffling structure of the show itself is quite an important component of the humour. This is not a show for those who cannot fill in blanks, but for those who can give over their full attention and trust in Victoria's comic instincts, the rewards are bountiful.

There are things here I have never seen an actor attempt, things that could derail the entire show, things that could turn traumatic even, and yet Victoria maintains control with a comic charm and commitment to their character that keeps the unscripted moments compelling. The most fascinating facet to this is that as it unraveled the audience participation moments began to take on a quiet, dramatic beauty - the effect is so immersive that the lines between script and improv may as well not exist.

There is a certain awe to watching such a great actor take big risks with the audience, Iike the theatrical equivalent of juggling fire. Shows like this make Fringe Fringe, they are the lifeblood of artists like myself who crave not just great escapism but to see art destroyed and rebuilt in our images. Victoria has destroyed comedy and rebuilt it in their image, and it is a devastatingly effective transformation. Definitely recommended!

[impaulhi]

Reclaiming the Canadian Flag

The Canadian flag hasn’t changed since 1965. But for many, its meaning has. 

Since the emergence of the “Freedom Convoy” in late January, the symbolism behind the maple leaf has shifted from patriotism to an emblem of violence.

The convoy was initially formed to protest mandated vaccines for truck drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. border; it has since shifted to encompass all COVID-19-related mandates. Although the “Freedom Convoy” can be seen as a fringe movement, its presence has been felt across the country. The initial protest was held in Ottawa, but the demonstrations spanned across Canada to cities such as Toronto, Winnipeg, Fredericton and Edmonton. 

The Canadian Association for Securities and Intelligence Studies released a briefing on January 29 discussing potential risks related to the convoy. The paper notes that the convoy “arguably evolved into a national security threat as violent, extremist rhetoric is normalized which threatens the cohesion of Canadian society.” 

During the many rallies across Canada, the Canadian flag was used by convoy supporters to symbolize the movement. But Martin De Groot, commercial truck driver and founder of the Facebook page “Take Back the Canadian Flag,” says the flag is meant for everyone. 

“Canada was built on inclusivity. Canada was founded on so many things,” De Groot said. 

“The flag, which represents all of that, was never for one single group who claim to be patriots, who claim to be pretty much more Canadian than the rest of us. That's never what our flag was meant for. It's for all of us.” 

De Groot recalls a video he saw with convoy organizer Tamara Lynch urging supporters to wave Canadian flags in solidarity. 

“That turned me off because, I mean, the Canadian flag is not meant to identify any particular group of people,” De Groot said. 

De Groot is not the only one who holds this opinion. Other Canadians and fellow “Take Back the Canadian Flag” group members have been working hard to reclaim the flag’s meaning.

One issue that has been heavily documented in mainstream media are protestors’ use of symbols in the “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations. Alongside the traditional Canadian flag, protesters have been waving symbols connected with hate groups such as swastikas, Confederate flags, flags from Donald Trump’s campaign and a variety of altered Canadian flags, such as the flags turned upside down and flags with hateful messages. 

De Groot said he’s seen hateful Canadian flags on his trucking route in Boyle, Alta., between Evans and Port Pirie. He describes one of the flags he’s seen as being a Nazi flag with a maple leaf in place of a swastika. 

“I get really disgusted when I see the Canadian flag modified to look like a Nazi flag,” De Groot said. 

De Groot isn’t the only one upset by the use of flags during the convoy protests. Emma O'Toole, a Carleton University journalism student, attended the convoy’s initial occupation of the downtown Ottawa area to counterprotest. She and her friend Fiona Nicholson, Carleton University law student, carried a sign that read “vaccines save lives.” O’Toole said she saw protesters waving Canadian flags with swastikas drawn on them. She also saw a swastika spray painted in Sandy Hill. 

“It’s just vile,” O’Toole said. “There is no place for that in our city, or any city. It’s so hateful.” 

De Groot said the convoy has put a bad image on the trucking industry. As a commercial truck driver opposing the movement, his experience with the convoy has been different than the average Canadian.

De Groot notes convoy members often assemble at his local truck stop on the west side of Edmonton. He recalls a time in February when he ran into them. 

“They [were] there waving at me and I'm just like, what do I do? Ignore them? Because, you know, I can't tell them what I think for fear that they might wreck my truck. They might do something if I really tell them how I feel,” said De Groot. 

Nicholson, who attended the protest with O’Toole, said she was physically and verbally harassed at the convoy, and one person pushed her out of the crowd. 

“He was screaming at me and was getting pretty abusive with me,” she said. “It was pretty scary. That was the only point where I actually felt scared for my safety. … I thought he would hurt me,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson notes her perception of the Canadian flag has changed since January. When she walks by a house with a flag flying, she says her mind immediately goes to the convoy and what they stand for. This is something many Canadians, especially those in areas affected by the convoy’s occupation, have had to deal with.

Despite the changing symbolism of the flag, De Groot said he is hopeful Canadians can reclaim its meaning. 

“Everybody who’s got a flag, wave it. If everybody puts out a flag, that diminishes it from that group,” he said. 

De Groot cited this as the reason he began the Facebook page. He said if Canadians return to proudly flying their flag, people won’t be able to distinguish between those flown by protestors and the general population. Then, he said, the hateful meaning is erased. 

“I see a group of vehicles coming up with the Canadian flags, and it's like, ‘Oh, it's those people.’ Whereas if I go through a town and everybody’s got their Canadian flag, it’s more, ‘Oh, well, they can’t all be those people,’” De Groot said. 

“It starts to bring the meaning back to us.” 

-30-

[asandreolli]

Rebecca Belmore [1] Rebecca Belmore, sister, 2010. Colour ink-jet on transparencies, 2.13 x 3.66 m (overall). Courtesy the artist. © Rebecca Belmore. [2] Rebecca Belmore, Ayumee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother 1991–96/2008 Courtesy Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre / photo Sarah Ciurysek (Image 1/24) [3] Rebecca Belmore, Mixed Blessing, 2011. Hair, plaster of paris, hoodie. Dimensions variable. Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal, purchase, Louise Lalonde-Lamarre Memorial Fund. [4] Rebecca Belmore, Fringe, 2008. Cibachrome transparency in fluorescent lightbox, 81.5 x 244.8 x 16.7 cm. Purchase 2011. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. © Rebecca Belmore photo: NGC [5] Rebecca Belmore, nindinawemaganidog (all of my relations), witness, 2017. Inkjet print, Overall: 142.2 × 106.7 cm. Courtesy of the artist. © Rebecca Belmore

[shahananasrin-blog]

[ad_1] OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been hitting the summer barbecue circuit with ramped-up rhetoric around debunked claims that the World Economic Forum is attempting to impose its agenda on sovereign governments. It is, some experts suggest, another sign that some conspiracy theories are moving from the fringes of the internet to mainstream thinking, as people's distrust of government grows. In speeches to Conservative supporters across Canada, Poilievre has promised that none of his ministers will attend the international organization's conferences, including the annual meeting typically held in Davos, Switzerland. "It's far past time we rejected the globalist Davos elites and bring home the common sense of the common people," said a Saturday fundraising email. The Conservative party also recently sent out mailers with a poll asking people to tell Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who they think the prime minister should stand with: working Canadians or the World Economic Forum. The wording implies Trudeau's cabinet is beholden to the latter. Poilievre did not agree to an interview on the matter. His spokesman instead pointed The Canadian Press to a clip of him at a rally in Penticton, B.C. in July, expressing concerns over the government invading people's personal privacy and financial decisions. "There will be no mandatory digital ID in this country, and I will ban all of my ministers and top government officials from any involvement in the World Economic Forum," Poilievre said, chuckling as he received lengthy applause for the remark. Canada has long participated in WEF events. Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet ministers attending the summit regularly. Trudeau attended in person in 2016 and 2018 and his ministers have attended as well. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland went to the most recent annual summit in January. On digital IDs, the federal government has been looking at technology to create a national digital identification document to help people access government services. It has not been promoted as something that will become mandatory. Last winter, a conspiracy theory circulating on social media suggested Trudeau was going to require provinces to sign on to digital ID systems for their residents in order to get billions in new health-care funding. That conspiracy was also debunked. Duane Bratt, political science professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said some people have long embraced conspiracies, but now they have moved into mainstream politics. "The big shift that we have seen is that it is now being promoted by someone who could be prime minister," said Bratt. Poilievre peddled the WEF control claims during the Conservative leadership race in 2022, and it has emerged again as a regular talking point following the federal byelection in southern Manitoba, said Bratt. In that contest in Portage-Lisgar, the Conservatives were looking to beat back a growing challenge from the People's Party of Canada. Maxime Bernier, the leader of that party who has long accused the WEF of having a globalist agenda, ran in the byelection. The Conservatives attacked him for having attended the Davos summit when he was Harper's foreign affairs minister in 2008.Bratt said Poilievre's embrace of conspiracy theories could be because he's attempting to steal back votes from the PPC. "The question is does he really believe it or is he just pandering to people, and will he pivot again if he becomes prime minister," Bratt said. Kawser Ahmed, a politics professor at the University of Winnipeg with a research specialty in conspiracy theories, said the number and uptake of conspiracy theories began to grow after the 2016 presidential election in the United States, aided by social media and encrypted messaging apps. But Ahmed said the biggest trigger was the COVID-19 pandemic. "At that time, whatever decisions government took, it was explained to some corner of our citizens -- in line with conspiracy theories -- that the government is controlling you, the government has asked to give you a vaccine, the government has asked not to go out and so forth," said Ahmed. It's a sentiment politicians have learned to pick up on, and Bratt believes that many people aren't willing to reject a politician just because they peddle false claims or conspiracies. "There's a lot of ideas that are now moving into the mainstream that are simply not supported by science, evidence or facts," he said. "But it doesn't matter and some of those politicians have been elected, like the current premier of Alberta." United Conservative Party premier Danielle Smith has said she is in lockstep with Poilievre, and will having nothing to do with the World Economic Forum. Populism has driven politicians to feed into conspiracy theories because they need votes, and fear is a great motivator, said Ahmed. They get less interest peddling for votes using their record. "It's very easy to appeal to people that something is a threat," he said. "For example your identity, your livelihood, your religious values." Ahmed said it is affecting our democracy, pitting groups against each other, creating suspicion and harming national security by spreading misinformation that eventually affects policy. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2023. [ad_2]

[terraencounters-blog-blog]

Exploring Canada’s Most Beautiful Places

Discover Canada’s most beautiful places with our guide to exploring the country’s stunning natural and city landscapes. From the rugged peaks of the Rocky Mountains to coastal mountains fringing the dynamic city of Vancouver, we’ll take you on a journey t

Discover Canada’s most beautiful places with our guide to exploring the country’s stunning natural and city landscapes. From the Neo-Gothic parliament of Ottawa to historic Quebec City, from the rugged peaks of the Rocky Mountains to coastal mountains fringing the dynamic seaside city of Vancouver, we’ll take you on a journey through some of the most breathtaking scenery in North…

[torontoarenas]

2022-23 NHL Predictions, Revisited

Five Teams I Most Overrated

Calgary. This happens to me every year. A team I pick to win their division goes and misses the playoffs instead. Vegas & NY Islanders did this to me last time. I guess I should’ve anticipated a step back since they lost Gaudreau and Tkachuk and replaced them with the store-brand version of those guys. (I hate that I said that about my beautiful boy Nazem Kadri, but c’mon. Tkachuk is one of the best players in the league! You’re not just replace him with Kadri or Huberdeau, two players who are both “great to have,” but not especially elite.

Florida. From Presidents’ Trophy to fringe playoff team? I didn’t think they’d repeat what they did last year, given how reliant they were on overtime wins and especially after they hired Paul Maurice, but I didn’t anticipate such a dramatic fall.

Nashville. Huh?! I’m scratching my head here. I don’t remember this at all. I had them third in the Central? Ahead of Dallas?? That was insanely dumb of me. My bad.

Pittsburgh. I decided to give them the ol’ Crosby/Malkin/Letang “benefit of the doubt,” but it’s time to pay the piper. They’re all still good players, but not as dominant as they once were and their team depth seems to have completely evaporated. These guys might just be cooked.

Washington. See above re: Pittsburgh, but with Ovechkin and friends, and they’re even more cooked. Couldn’t even come close to the playoffs! It would be great to see Ovi challenge for Gretzky’s goal record, but unfortunately I don’t think that’s going to happen.

“Honourable” mentions: Detroit and Ottawa. lol. lmao even. not only did these guys not take an appreciable step forward like many people (myself included) thought they would, but they got lapped by the Buffalo fuckin’ Sabres. and it’s hard to see how either of them make the playoffs next year. but I’ve been wrong before, clearly, as everything I’ve written above and below attests, so I shouldn’t be too confident here. but for now, I can laugh a little. Steve Yzerman is perhaps the most overrated GM in all of hockey. as for the Sens: “hot Pierre summer,” my ass!

Five Teams I Most Underrated

Boston. Who the hell saw this coming? They started the year with Marchand and McAvoy hurt, and not only won the Presidents’ Trophy but broke the record for most wins in a season? I was pretty sure they’d at least make the playoffs, but jesus christ. We’ll never be rid of these guys.

New Jersey. I figured they were on the cusp of something great, but not quite there yet. Instead, they broke through to the top of the league almost instantly. That there Jack Hughes fella’s pretty good, hey?

Seattle. After overrating them last year, I thought, “boy, this team with solid depth but no true superstars isn’t going to trick me again! I’ve got you figured out now!” Well, apparently not!

Winnipeg. The difference between Connor Hellebuyck being “world-class” and merely “pretty good” is the difference between the Jets barely limping into the playoffs and missing altogether. Their late season play wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but I still should’ve picked them to finish ahead of St. Louis at least!

Buffalo. Isn’t that nice? They’re almost a playoff team now! I’ll be cheering for them to get in next year. Maybe with a full season of Devon Levi as the starter will do it!

Honourable mention: NY Islanders. I didn’t underrate them so much as I overrated Washington and Pittsburgh. This team isn’t that good. They’ve got one of the best goalies in the league, but the rest of the roster just screams “average.” Still, though, gotta give them props for making the playoffs when I didn’t think they would, and the Sorokin factor means they could be a real handful for the Hurricanes in the first round.

Preliminary Impression of My Predicted Cup Finalists

Carolina vs. Colorado? Hey, it could happen! I no longer think it will, especially not with Andrei Svechnikov out for this year’s playoffs, but I didn’t make myself look like a complete fool with that pick. I’ll take it.

Awards

Hart and Art Ross: Connor McDavid? Folks, he’s done it again. As always, this was the chalk pick, so I can’t claim any credit for thinking Connor McDavid would be good.

Norris: Cale Makar? Though he missed a bunch of time due to injury, this was a reasonable pick otherwise. But again, reigning champion, chalk pick, &c.

Rocket Richard: Auston Matthews? He was playing hurt for most of the year and went on a weird shooting slump in the middle of the season, so he couldn’t even get close this time around. Don’t care. I’ll pick him again next year. He’s gonna absolutely blow the doors off with his expiring contract, and you can take that to the damn bank.

Vezina: Jacob Markstrom? Woof! My rationale was that Calgary would win the Pacific, which meant that as their starter, Markstrom would pick up more wins than any other goalie in the league. The GMs who vote on this shit love “goaltender wins,” one of the dumbest stats in all of sports. But I can rationalize all day. This one’s on me for thinking that Calgary would still be good.

Selke: Joel Eriksson Ek? Went with a classic “Fancy Stats” guy that the eye test folks seem to respect as well. His xGA numbers are still pretty good among forwards, but I overthought this one. I absolutely should have picked Patrice Bergeron for the Patrice Bergeron Award.

Calder: Owen Power? If I had to guess, it’s gonna be him or Matty Beniers, though probably the latter. But I never have to guess. I just do this for fun (?)

[philosopherking1887]

In case people are running into a paywall, here are the first few paragraphs of the article (which was written by Ofer Aderet and first appeared in Haaretz):

Wikipedia, the largest online encyclopedia in the world, systematically and intentionally spreads false, deceptive and biased information about the Holocaust. It even includes the accusation that the Jews were to blame for their own fate and of collaborating with the Nazis. These are the findings of a new study published last Thursday in the “The Journal of Holocaust Research” entitled “Wikipedia’s Intentional Distortion of the History of the Holocaust.”

“As a historian, I was aware for a long time of various distortions of the history of the Holocaust on Wikipedia. What I found shocking, was the sheer scale of the phenomenon, its lasting character and the small number of individuals needed to distort the history of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of humanity,” Prof. Jan Grabowski of the University of Ottawa told Haaretz.

“The impact of these distortions and falsifications is truly alarming; the Wikipedia articles which we looked at are being read by tens of thousands of people per month.”

The research found that over the past decade, a group of Wikipedia editors have been promoting a “skewed version of history,” one that serves a false narrative but which fits the ideology and version of history espoused by right-wing Polish nationalists. “Wikipedia’s articles on the Holocaust in Poland minimize Polish antisemitism, exaggerate the Poles’ role in saving Jews, insinuate that most Jews supported Communism and conspired with Communists to betray Poles (Żydokomuna or Judeo–Bolshevism), blame Jews for their own persecution, and inflate Jewish collaboration with the Nazis,” the authors write.

Grabowski and his colleague, historian Shira Klein of Chapman University in California, studied 25 articles in English as well as 300 back pages on Wikipedia, which provide a glimpse “behind the scenes” of the articles, such as “talk pages,” noticeboards and arbitrations that document the discussions of Wikipedia editors regarding every article. “What we found in these back pages is the mechanisms by which these editors get away with disinformation,” Klein told Haaretz.

The researchers discovered that Wikipedia editors chose to use deceptive and dubious sources of information and to quote studies or websites from marginal historians instead of citing the research of prominent historians in their fields. “They disparage established historians, praise fringe points of view and abuse the fact that the Wikipedia community doesn’t know the difference,” Klein noted.

The study authored by Grabowski and Klein found four areas in which the history of Polish Jewry during the Holocaust was distorted in the English-language version of Wikipedia.

“Four distortions dominate Wikipedia’s coverage of Polish-Jewish wartime history: a false equivalence narrative suggesting that Poles and Jews suffered equally in World War II; a false innocence narrative, arguing that Polish antisemitism was marginal, while the Poles’ role in saving Jews was monumental; antisemitic tropes insinuating that most Jews supported Communism and conspired with Communists to betray Poles (Żydokomuna or Judeo–Bolshevism), that money-hungry Jews controlled or still control Poland, and that Jews bear responsibility for their own persecution. Finally, distortionists inflate Jewish collaboration with the Nazis to make it seem an important part of the German policy of the extermination of European Jewry,” Grabowski and Klein wrote.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“DIRECT RELIEF HAS BROUGHT COUNCIL INTO OPEN REVOLT,” Montreal Gazette. January 10, 1933. Page 4. ---- Demand System Whereby Jobless Shall Do Something for Their Money --- BIGGAR OPPOSES LOAN ---- Votes Against $880,000 for December Belief as Protest Against Piling Up Capital Charges ---- Montreal aldermen yesterday broke into open revolt against direct relief, with its $1,000,000 a month for which proprietors get nothing, and demanded that some system be created so that the jobless shall do something for their money. Ensuing was a warning by Aid. Joseph Schubert, St. Louis ward Laborite, that the city is wasting its time talking of trying to cure unemployment. 

"What we have got to do," he said, "is to see that the coming inter-provincial conference at Ottawa does something to insure that these people will be absorbed by industry. I the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railways can redistribute their hours on the basis of 15 days a month and still run, so can others. It is by absorption into industry, with reduced hours, that something can be gained. Giving a man snow to shovel, or a park to rake means nothing and will get you nowhere." 

Technocracy was fringed in the debate on the $580,000 loan for direct relief for December last, Aid. W. II. Biggar, of Notre Dame de Grace, caused some surprise by voting against "I shall do this until we stop piling up capital charges which the small proprietor has to meet, all the while we are loading him more and more with interest and sinking fund charges. There is snow on the streets to clean, there are streets to be cleaned in summer, there are parks to be beautified. Give the proprietor something for his money. I am going to vote against this business of million after million going out and the proprietor and taxpayer getting nothing for it." 

SEIGLER'S SUGGESTION. Ald. Max Seigler suggested that since landlords are having to lodge the jobless free of charge, they might get something if a system were started by which the landlord would have the unemployed repair his property. He would pay for materials, but labor would come out of relief monies. 

From Ald. Bernard Schwartz came the proposition that the City Council understand that, since organizations like the League of Nations and Individual governments had not succeeded in overcoming unemployment, it is hardly likely that 35 aldermen can do it. The city, he said, has to give fire and police protection, health laws, water, etc. And beyond that all the city could do is to alleviate distress as far as possible. But to talk of curing unemployment was, he thought, out of place. "There are lawyers and doctors on relief. How can you expect doctors and lawyers to clean streets?" 

Ald. Schubert welcomed admissions that the city is helpless. He thought the next step might be something practical toward lifting the load. At the rate of relief in Montreal right now, he said, $10,656,000 will be spent and there will be nothing to show for it. Then he developed his scheme for solving the unemployment problem "at the source" that is, in the factory. He advocated shorter hours. He wanted something practical done at Ottawa and thought Montreal should take a hand in guiding the conference. 

Ald. Fortin agreed with Ald. Schwartz that the city has statutory duties; but there is the moral and humanitarian side and it was the aldermen's duty to try to relieve distress as much as possible.