Opera by night, criminal justice by day, drama all the time

Opera by night, criminal justice by day, drama all the time

Opera singer Bertrand Malo has such a challenging day job – Crown Prosecutor – that it’s tempting to ask if listening to the gory details of horrific crimes is a good way to unwind from the stresses of opera. He answers with a laugh, “Yes, I need both. Opera is a great world. However it’s […]

End of the Earth: Dickie defeated!

End of the Earth: Dickie defeated!

Edmonton elects new Mayor!

Edmonton elects new Mayor!

A new Mayor was elected Mayor of Edmonton Oct. 21 in a stunning victory that will herald in a bright new era of prosperity, innovation and other swell things for the city, according to the new Mayor and those who voted for the new Mayor. Surrounded by jubilant supporters, the new Mayor promised more of […]

Eleven Edmonton election embarrassments

Eleven Edmonton election embarrassments

Let us at least salute ALL the candidates in the Edmonton civic election campaign that mercifully ends on Oct. 21. They are brave to have subjected themselves to months of almost daily humiliation – at the hands of the media, from bloggers, from each other, and from voters, of course. Every voter wants something, everybody […]

INTERVIEW: Dan Savage makes punditry cool

INTERVIEW: Dan Savage makes punditry cool

On Christians and the whole gay marriage thing, Dan Savage says, “Jesus Christ Himself condemned divorce, yet we’re not amending state constitutions to prohibit people getting divorced. It’s hypocritical of these people to say that they cannot come around on the gay issue because of the Bible when they ignore so many other parts of […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Women of rock, pop rule the stage

MUSIC PREVIEW: Women of rock, pop rule the stage

As we look forward to the back-to-back pop spectacular with Sarah Brightman and Pink at Rexall Place next week, there are definitely some worthwhile gigs happening this weekend, including an early show by New York’s The Pretty Reckless over at the Starlite Room on Friday night – featuring Taylor Momsen, one of the most colourful […]

Plagiarism fracas erupts in Ward 6 race

Plagiarism fracas erupts in Ward 6 race

Accusations of plagiarism against Ward 6 candidate Melinda Hollis have prompted calls for her to drop out of the election – but the candidate denies she’s done anything wrong. Leading the charge is her accuser Kathleen Smith, aka social media personality KikkiPlanet, who says she discovered an essay about urban sprawl that was posted on […]

INSIDE THE JOKE: John Wing wings it

INSIDE THE JOKE: John Wing wings it

Rather than focus on the entire Edmonton Comedy Festival, Oct. 16-19 at venues around town; rather than focus on one specific comedian performing therein, maybe it would be fun to zero in on just one joke. In doing an absurd in-depth examination of said jest, with any luck we can tease out all the humour […]

End of the Earth, by Chad Huculak

End of the Earth, by Chad Huculak

ROCK THE VOTE: Lemmy endorses Josh Semotiuk for mayor

ROCK THE VOTE: Lemmy endorses Josh Semotiuk for mayor

Edmonton mayoral candidate Josh Semotiuk wore the right T-shirt at the right time – and has won a huge plug from the one and only Lemmy Kilmister: “My kind of Mayor! Good luck Josh! Cheers!!!” the Motorhead singer posted on his official Facebook page a couple of days ago. Someone had sent Lemmy the link […]

TV PERSONALITY: Lynda Steele is gonna make it after all!

TV PERSONALITY: Lynda Steele is gonna make it after all!

It sure didn’t take long for Lynda Steele to become a media rock star in Vancouver. Barely two and a half years since she left a 16 year stint anchoring the evening news on Global Edmonton, she’s been given her own show on CTV Vancouver: Steele On Your Side. The half-hour consumer program premieres Oct. […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Up to Downtown in fab new fest

MUSIC PREVIEW: Up to Downtown in fab new fest

While Edmonton doesn’t usually host festivals this late into the fall, the inaugural Up + Downtown Music and Arts Festival is about to give it a whirl. Organizers might have positioned themselves well to ensure success during an otherwise festival-free time of year, as they’ve attracted an intriguing cadre of talent-laden regional and touring acts […]