Nightcap

I'm totally ripping off Truehoop's bullets here, but I think it's unique in applying that approach to news. I'm probably just bored. And nobody is really ever going to read this. But it's for my own amusement, so bear with me and this way we can all have common conversation topics the next time I see you in person.

• An absolutely thought provoking article in the Times about the subjects of what define art and photojournalism, and perhaps where those two are beginning to overlap. Particularly it looks at the infamous Obama red-white-blue graphic. Also, some fascinating insight into the ongoing discourse concerning art-as-appropriation. "Copyright lawyers have been arguing over Fairey’s appropriation of a news photograph of for his “Hope” campaign poster and whether it constitutes “fair use.” But no one has disputed that it is a work of art. But what about the photograph on which the poster is based?"
• UConn was caught violating NCAA recruiting rules. I know this goes on everyday. Only a few days ago, there was a great article (also in the Times) about the seedy underworld of elite-amateur basketball all the way down to middle school. Am I the only one still waiting for a Nick-Nolte-from-Blue-Chips moment to actually go down any one of these days? I can absolutely see Tim Floyd walking out and retiring after USC wins a big game because he'd rather coach street ball kids on West Long Beach.
• More talk from Waterfront Toronto this week, this time about renovating Queens Quay with at $192-million boobjob. Are these guys ever going to actually do anything? What happened to that Harbourfront plan? Oh, it turned into a condo. What about the Cherry St. project? On the back burner you say. East Don Lands? What? Ok, let's pour imaginary money into Queens Quay then. I like David Miller, he's got some great ideas. But please. Follow them up with action. I'll even pay taxes for it, I swear.
• Oh the French. Can you imagine if, in Toronto, laid off workers of 3M barricaded the national manger in his office for a day, holding him hostage until he signed a deal to renegotiate with said-economic casualties? It'd be front page news. On the BBC website, this story barely made a squeak on the RSS feed. I kind of respect their proletariat-perseverance I suppose. Or as some may call it, "the crazy".
• The CBC is letting go of 800 employees Canada wide. The Ceebs has never been a shining example of fiscal responsibility. It's a company that loses money, but is paid for by the people, for the people. Therefore, it is owned by, the people. To see it have to start selling off properties is painful, particularly when this affects a few of my personal colleagues. Hopefully the industry is going to bounce back eventually, or I'll be writing these blogs to nowhere for a very very long time.
• North Korea is apparently going ahead with plans to test a long-range missile, says the Times in breaking news. Oh KJI. You whine about sanctions, run your country on hay, your people sleep in the dark because you don't have enough power, and yet you're building weapons... why? Even if you can get a single working nuke, do you honestly think you'd have the wherewithal to actually harm anybody but yourself with it? You're being watched by the world like Michael Jackson at a daycare centre. For pure entertainment though, you can never go wrong with a good North Korea story.
• The Raptors won last night, but really, there is no winning with this team. Ever. Just look at the talent on our bench. We're horrible. Even our starters are suspect at this point, when they're not out ducking alimony payments and such. For the rest of this season, I'll be rooting for the Suns, who are keeping the hope alive with a tense win over Utah last night. Grant Hill turned back the clock big time. That's the difference between the Suns and the Raptors. Their glue guy is a former NBA MVP. Ours is a former Euroleague MVP. Oh well.

And finally, something to really get excited about.