What the other 9/10ths thinks

Toronto still terrific - "Toronto is funky, tolerant, multicultural, young, with an artistic sensibility and an inherent dignity. It's not New York. It's not Chicago. It's more earnest, more harmonious." [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Funny, isn't it, reading what an outsider has to say about the city where you live? This article highlights 10 general categories of stuff-to-do in the city this summer that make the travel, currency, and border hassles worthwhile for US-ian tourists.

Sometimes a travel writer's enthusiasm boggles the mind, though. For example: "Families will have a blast taking the fast, on-time subway through town". What on earth does that mean? An "on-time" subway? Has Toronto such a beast? Our subway are scheduled to run "every x minutes" - with x being a function of time of day and day of week - with the only fixed times being the first and last train of the day. I think even giant TTC transit nerds like myself would have a hard time saying to themselves, "boy, that subway sure was on-time".

Another good one: "Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive". I guess Einstein was right... it's all relative.

Lessons for Canada, too

Michael Moore on his new film Sicko's showing at Cannes:

Even those who have been harsh to me in the past, or who have not agreed with my politics, were moved. Aside from my stated desire that "Sicko" ignite a fire for free, universal health care (and a larger wish that we, as Americans, do a better job of treating each other with a true sense of solidarity and respect), I continue to hope that I can make a contribution to the art of cinema and give people a good reason to get out of the house for a few hours...

[read more]

School rules as class warfare

Unlike in public schools, where phones are now banned, NY's private school kids tote BlackBerries for fun status and profit success:

"Gil received a hand-me-down Palm Treo six months ago, when his father upgraded his smart phone. Since then, the 16-year-old has been using the PDA to stay on top of his homework assignments, appointments, and extracurricular activities. "I'm definitely more organized," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his camera- and multimedia player-equipped Treo."

[New York Sun via Gawker]

AOL News, of all places, has obtained two one-act plays allegedly written by Virginia Tech mass-murderer Cho Seung-Hui.

Woah

Officials: Gunman dead after bloody campus rampage - "At least 33 people, including a gunman, were killed Monday during shootings in a dorm and a building housing classrooms at Virginia Tech, university officials said... The killings mark the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, surpassing attacks at Columbine High School in 1999 and at the University of Texas in 1966" [CNN]

Lenders Sought Edge Against U.S. in Student Loans - "In a fierce contest to control the student loan market, the [US]’s banks and lenders have for years waged a successful campaign to limit a federal program that was intended to make borrowing less costly by having the government provide loans directly to students." [New York Times]

Student punished for spaghetti beliefs - "The school, in North Buncombe, North Carolina, remains adamant that their decision to suspend Killian for a day has nothing to do with his religion, and quite a lot to do with his repeated refusal to heed warnings against wearing pirate outfits." [Metro.co.uk via Digg]

The political revenge fantasies of Shooter - "The movie's... strangely powerful and absolutely nihilistic political message: Everything sucks as much as it possibly can, and even if you're named something as awesome as Bob Lee Swagger, there's not much you can do about it." [Slate]

Crisis Looms in Market for Mortgages - "Hanging in the balance is the nation’s housing market, which has been a big driver of the economy. Fewer lenders means many potential homebuyers will find it more difficult to get credit, while hundreds of thousands of homes will go up for sale as borrowers default, further swamping a stalled market." [New York Times]

Does Bush Know What Neocon Means? - "When someone is as uncurious as George W. Bush, it's easy to underestimate what he knows. A friend of mine tells the story of discussing the income tax with the president early in his administration and, after using the term progressive, acting on the impulse to explain to the president what, in that context, progressive means. 'I know what progressive means,' the president snarled back, irritated that anyone would think him so ignorant." [Slate]

Familiar Face, but a New Tone to the Message - "[John] Edwards, his party’s nominee for vice president in 2004, has taken on a sharper tone since that campaign ended in defeat. He is campaigning as a harder-edged economic populist now, which he says represents more a change in tone than in substance. He says he is both more electable and more authentic than Mrs. Clinton, and more experienced than Mr. Obama." [New York Times]

Survey shows 13% of Americans never heard of global warming - "The report, by ACNielsen of more than 25,000 Internet users, showed that 57 percent of people around the world considered global warming a 'very serious problem' and a further 34 percent rated it a 'serious problem.'" [Reuters]

NB: Being from an online (and therefore not randomly sampled) survey, these numbers should be treated with some suspicion.

U.S. envoy slams Arar efforts - "...the U.S. found its own reasons to keep Mr. Arar on the watch list, [Public Safetly Minister Stockwell] Day says he's seen the information and found nothing new to suggest Mr. Arar is a safety risk." [Globe and Mail]