Although Bike Month did not technically start until today, bike enthusiasts across Toronto certainly gave themselves an enthusiastic head start. With around 150 bicycle related events taking place from May 26 to June 21, no time has been wasted for demonstrating to Torontoians how important bicycle culture is to a significant amount of the city’s population.
One of the first events to occur, Bells on Bloor took place Sunday afternoon. The lack of adequate bike paths in any urban space is a hot topic for pedal pushers. Bloor Street, which has one of the highest car-bike collision rates in the city, is with no question, in desperate need of a bike lane. Well over 1,000 bikers rode down Bloor from High Park to Queen’s Park while ringing their bells, filling the streets with a wind-chime-esque tune.
To our advantage, one of the bikers decided to make a short film of the ride.
In The Adventures of Captain Carbon, a recently uploaded film to CitizenShift, a factoid is mentioned that states over 5 billion non-biodegradable plastic bags are consumed each year, which works out to 2,000 a minute. Through production, use and disposal, these plastic bags are with no question doing extreme damage to our environment. Even the ocean has been affected by our hyper-dependency on toxic plastics. The folks at VBS.TV went on a research adventure to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to study the damage plastic is doing, only to discover that some areas have up to one million pieces of plastic per square mile. So what are we going to do about it?
At this point it is virtually impossible to counteract the damage that has been done. One thing we can do however, is try and stop any more plastic bags from entering the trash bin by making some proactive decisions. Continuing to educate ourselves and the public by presenting creative and practical alternatives is essential, as well as writing our MPs about banning plastic bags. Read the rest of this entry »
Monster by Toronto graffiti artist, Twelve Fingers.
The extent of graffiti I have seen throughout the majority of my life has involved little more then chicken scratched expressions of teen angst and self-proclamation, covering the bathroom stalls of small city concert venues and public school washrooms. Not until I took a course that discussed the political and social implications of graffiti, did I even think twice about its cultural relevance and its potential as a voice for social change.
Walking through Toronto and seeing streets lined with collages of characters, slogans, and tags, my tendencies are often to turn back to the ‘art vs. vandalism’ debate, an issue that gets old quickly but never quite resolves. I am not convinced a valid argument exists that can dethrone Banksy or Roadsworth of their revolutionary street-artist status, nor am I convinced that painting a tag on a brand new cube van for notoriety or rebellion’s sake is part of any valid revolution. However a question that arises is- whether the message is the determining factor of the graffiti’s social and political relevance, or whether that rests in the medium itself.
Powerful and award winning Palestinian films will be screened in Montreal, May 15 at Cinema du Parc at 5pm, 7pm & 9pm
Since 2007, a Montreal collective, Palestinian Perspectives, has focused on the organization of events dedicated to Palestinian artistic and cultural expression. These film and video screenings mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba
The directors who share these stories have, themselves, lived under the occupation or in exile.
Watch two dramatic clips from A Palestinian Journey (Dir. : Osama Qashoo)
Good news for fans of Naomi Klein! Recently, in an article written for The Financial Times, Klein mentioned that she and a few partners are in the midst of making a documentary based on her most recent book, The Shock Doctrine. The film will be directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, who made The Road to Guantánamo.
The Shock Doctrine was also the inspiration of a short film that appeared at the Toronto Film Festival. Using historical facts of standard torture and shock techniques accompanied by vintage film clips and stenciled images, this short film proves to be both artistic and disturbingly informative. Alfonso Cuarón, Naomi Klein, and Jonás Cuarón were somehow able to artistically capture the information being presented without lightening the harsh reality of this topic.
Montrealer in her mid-twenties.
Freelance journalist and photographer,
with an interest in human rights and sustainable living.
Has a cheerful disposition.
Tynesha is CITIZENShift's summer intern from Concordia University's Communication department (Mtl., QC). Brimming with interests, she states "I enjoy school, I sing in a choir and I am also involved in community radio and volunteer work with youth. In the future, I look forward to developing a company that merges my three great passions in sound, community engagement, and music."
David Widgington was the event coordinator for the Citizen Media Rendez-vous 2010 (http://citizen-media.ca). He is a mobile journalist (MoJo) who is well-versed in community radio, video and print and web-based media practices. He has a particular interest these days with diaspora communities returning to Southern Sudan since the end of the war. He is script-writing a documentary project on the subject. (http://southsudaninfo.net).
