CategoryArts & Culture

THE OLD BOND IS BACK FOR BETTER OR WORSE  After the immense success and critical acclaim of Skyfall, it was almost inevitable that the subsequent Bond movie would fall short of many moviegoer’s heightened expectations. Unfortunately— thanks to a combination of questionable writing and an incredibly far-fetched plot—Spectre would not only do just that, but fall even further. Spectre starts off...

Concert Review: Blind Guardian plays The Danforth There are always dangers in revisiting your old favourites. I hadn’t seen Blind Guardian in almost a decade, not since their 2006 A Twist in the Myth album tour. The German power metal group was my favourite band during my formative years, but I was a different person now, living in a different city with different friends, different tastes...

Philadelphia’s Transformative Mural Arts Program For thousands of years, humanity has expressed themselves by creating imagery on walls, whether on caves, under bridges, or the sides of buildings.  Graffiti ranges from simple written words, to elaborate paintings. Opinions remain varied on what is graffiti and what is art, with a struggle between the two. Before the explosion of street...

A woman’s place is the lab A woman’s place is dissecting a cadaver on a slab A woman’s place is as a statistician A woman’s place is as a master musician A woman’s place is operating a forklift or a crane A woman’s place is on higher spiritual plains A woman’s place is as a chemist, creating potions A woman’s place is in a clinic, providing free and safe abortions A woman’s place is as a...

Global Status of the Artist Acts originated from the 1980 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. Differing from other professions, those involved within the arts not only require social and labour protection, but also moral, economic and social rights that include income and social security. The UNESCO Recommendation and General Conference recognizes and affirms an intensive...

A bi-weekly roundup of legal television Week of October 1, 2015 – October 16, 2015 Episode Grades (according to the Osgoode Bell Curve) A – The Good Wife Episode 1 B+ – The Grinder Episode 2 B+ – HTGAWM Episode 2 B+ – L&O:SVU Episode 1+2 B – The Grinder Episode 3 B – The Good Wife Episode 2 B – L&O:SVU Episode 3 B – HTGAWM Episode 4 C – HTGAWM Episode 3 C – L&O:SVU Episode 4...

Food Adventure #3: Patria Name:                         Patria   Location:                   478 King Street West Category:                   Spanish tapas Atmosphere:             Upscale, trendy, friendly Additional info:      Has outdoor patio. Reservations recommended.   Website:                      www.patriatoronto.com   Today, we will be reviewing Patria – an acclaimed Spanish tapas eatery...

Live at the Danforth Music Hall, 30 September 2015   On 24 August, Destroyer released Poison Season on Merge Records, a modest four and a half years after the release of Kaputt. With a jammed-packed schedule of dates all across North America, Destroyer’s tour in support of the album looks gruelling,. The band stopped into Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall on September 30th and I was lucky enough...

THE BORGIAS  Originally Aired On: Bravo!, Showtime Series Length: 3 seasons, 29 episodes Set during the turn of the 16th century, The Borgias follow the rise and fall of the notorious, Rodrigo Borgia, and his family, whose very name became a byword for depravity, nepotism, and corruption.  The series begins in 1492, immediately following the death of Pope Innocent VIII, and sees Cardinal Borgia...

A bi-weekly roundup of legal television Week of 28 September 2015 – 1 October 2015 Welcome to TV L Rev, a bi-weekly review column of scripted legal television shows currently airing. Lawyers and shows about them are an enduring staple of television content. Spanning genres from serious dramas to comedies, there is always a legal show somewhere on television. There appears to be something...

A Netflix Guide to Shaking an Early Fall Cold  With the chilly weather and the beginning of cold and flu season upon us, many of us are hunkering down, spending more time indoors and doing what some of us do best – “Netflix and chill”. Like my colleagues who have reviewed television in other excellent articles within this issue, I too have decided to write about what is on our favourite streaming...

Part One: The Artist Resale Right Over the next year, I have decided to pen a series of articles on a topic that remains very near and dear to me—artist rights and advocacy for visual artists. During my time at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London a few years ago, I authored Resolving the Starving Artist Cliché —a guide on implementing international schemes into Canada to assist access to justice...

Live at Massey Hall, 4 September 2015 The Tallest Man on Earth is the moniker of Swedish folk-singer Kristian Matsson. Contrary to what his stage name suggests, Matsson is no bigger than your average horse jockey. His voice, however, is larger than life and is an integral part of his music. It bolts out the speaker like a horse from the turnstile at the start of a race. Matsson is touring this...

A Plea and a Recipe I couldn’t possibly overstate the benefits of home cooking. It’s way less expensive, often healthier, and produces little to no garbage in comparison to eating out. It can (and should) be tastier, and more interesting as well. It’s pretty much better in every way. But of course, everybody knows these things… And yet, it seems like people are cooking fewer and fewer of their...

A riveting, thought-provoking play by Catherine Frid Catherine mentions that working with J.D. students on the play was an amazing experience. Holder of a law degree herself, she felt right at home exploring issues of law and justice with so many bright people—a perfect collaboration. Children on a school trip parade by me as I wait for the conference room to open in the foyer of Black Creek...

My Eleven Golden Rules In 1946, George Orwell had an article published called “A Nice Cup of Tea” in which he describes the proper way to make tea. The way in which he thoroughly and eloquently describes a process as mundane as making tea has always made me chuckle. Recently, I have been wondering whether there were any other topics in need of such profound insight. Finally it hit me...