TAKE THAT, ANGLOPHONES: Last night, the winner of this year’s Polaris Prize was announced. It was Karkwa, for their album Les chemins de vers. This is an acceptable choice by me, as their record is easily one of the two or three most interesting on the shortlist, and is still gathering some listen counts on my iTunes.
“NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT KIEFER SUTHERLAND”: The artist behind Weyburn’s new statue of Tommy Douglas is considering taking it back, according to a Leader-Post article. She was upset after the unveiling of the piece became a spectacle when Jack Bauer showed up. She shouldn’t worry. Sure, it was badass to have Sutherland in the province, but she’s got the last word on the matter, a big sculpture that will most likely stand there longer than Sutherland lives. In other news, I heard he was down at O’Hanlon’s on the night of the unveiling. And now I’m cursing myself for working mornings and not drinking more.
STILL NO PIGS, NO POULTRY: Not yet, at least, says Regina’s City Council. A report by CJME details how the debate is continuing as to whether Regina residents should be able to keep pot-bellied pigs and chickens. Marie Moldovan was quoted in the piece has having said to the council that “[many] owners sleep with their potbellies, dress them in costumes, and share every aspect of their lives with their potbelly companions.” What I really need to know is how this will effect my long-term plans of getting a mini-pig.
A MEXICO PAPER’S PLEA: The New York Times details the death of an intern for El Diaro, a Mexican paper in Ciudad Juárez, and the publication’s subsequent editorial where they asked those in charge of the illegal drug trade to tell them what they can and can’t publish. From the article:
The question now is whether anyone there will dare to continue documenting the turmoil in Ciudad Juárez, a smuggling crossroads across from El Paso that is battled over by at least two major criminal organizations.
El Diario’s open letter to the city’s drug lords and the authorities it believes have failed to protect the public ran Sunday, the day after the funeral of Luis Carlos Santiago, 21, a photography intern at the paper who was shot dead while leaving a shopping mall after lunch. A car drove up. A barrage of bullets. Mr. Santiago, shot in the head, died instantly while another intern, who was wounded, stumbled and dragged himself to safety in the mall and is recuperating.
TWITTER BRIEFLY NSFW FOR EVERYONE: For a while this morning, social networking site Twitter was hacked and was opening pop-ups for anyone who scrolled over a tweet. These pop-ups included porn, according to NPR. No worries, though – it’s reportedly all fixed now. You can go back to reading the definitely NSFW tweets of 50 Cent in peace.
SWEET OLD MAN OF THE DAY: This honour goes to Vin Scully, the longtime sports announcer who, on-air and during a game, mulled over what a mullet could possibly mean. Deadspin has the audio. This happened a while back now, but there’s no bad day to name Scully the Sweet Old Man of the Day.