Category: Art

A Protest Song About the NSA Reading Your Emails

The band YACHT has gone back to the glory days of Dylan and the like by writing a protest song. The song is about the NSA illegal spying the USA, which should bother pretty much anyone who cares about privacy. Until now, there was no good news to mention about the questionable actions revealed by Edward Snowden so hat tip to YACHT for singing what we all think.

“We claim full citizenship in the nation of Internet,” Evans told me over email, by way of explanation. “We wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for the existence of an open, free, and direct line to our fans–and to the world.” The idea that an intelligence agency could be listening-in struck Evans and Bechtolt as, well, creepy. “The analogy we’ve been using is that nobody wants to dance when there’s cops in the club,” says Evans.

The song came first, but soon after came the idea of putting it to work. The song became a pay-what-you-wish fundraising website for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the best-known advocacy groups pushing to keep the Internet free. Evans says the donations have rolled in “steadily” since the site launched, with the largest single donation coming in at $30.

Read more here.

As always, check out our the band of the month if you like music.

Artists Better Protected Against Cognitive Decline

People who engage in music or visual arts are better protected against dementia and other cognitive decline issues. Nows the time to pick up that instrument you keep meaning to learn how to play!

Artists compared with non-artists are better protected, he added. “Due to their art, the brain is better protected [against] diseases like Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, and even strokes. They have more reserve in their brain in order to give functions.

“So [we know], based on other neuroscience studies, that art in any of its forms uses different neuronal avenues inside the brain to do their work. And the activity, the talent and the art per se gives reserve when the brain requires that reserve.”

Read more at CBC.

Making People Laugh in The New Yorker

The New Yorker is one of my favourite magazines and the first thing I do when I open it is to read all the cartoons. Some are hilarious and others just don’t resonate with me and in the TED Talk below you can see that having a mixed bag of humour is important. Regular readers will already know the benefits of laughter so here’s a meta-analysis of what works in making us laugh.

The New Yorker receives around 1,000 cartoons each week; it only publishes about 17 of them. In this hilarious, fast-paced, and insightful talk, the magazine’s longstanding cartoon editor and self-proclaimed “humor analyst” Bob Mankoff dissects the comedy within just some of the “idea drawings” featured in the magazine, explaining what works, what doesn’t, and why.

Lovebots Invade Toronto


Lovebots are a fun art project that aims to fill Toronto with little concrete robots. The goal is to remind people that the city is a lovely place filled with nice people.

No fewer than 100 2′ tall concrete statues of Lovebot will be put on display in “secret locations” across the city. Like humans, each statue is connected to a specific story of love, kindness or compassion that the curators have collected from the public. The call for submissions is still open,too. Pay Lovebot a visit on Facebook, or the Feel Good Guru on Queen West, Atomic Toybot on Queen East, Serpentine on Cumberland or A&C Games on Spadina. Happy lovins!

From BlogTO.

Thanks to Liz!

Community Canoes to Help Bees and Butterflies

A new initiative in Toronto is trying to help the local ecosystem and bring people closer to nature through canoes. Not by paddling, but by bringing bees and butterflies to the canoes.

The core idea is to help pollinators in the city survive by creating little sanctuaries on land using old canoes filled with plants. Humans will be drawn to the canoes too, but for different reasons. People can learn about the local wildlife and environment by additional information provided by the context of the canoe placement.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

Well, we love canoes. And not only do they look awesome filled with native plants and flowers, the Community Canoe Garden network will support local bees, butterflies and other pollinators that help ensure our fruits, veggies and herbs are abundant and healthy.
Please join us in this project. Together, we can build the Community Canoe Network.
And please note that the Community Canoe Garden Network is just the beginning. Working with residents, community groups, the city, and local paddling businesses, our grand ambition is to establish Community Canoe as a service similar to bixi bikes, but for canoes. We want to help make it easier for residents to explore Toronto’s waterfront and waterways. Imagine adding a paddle down the Humber or the Don to your commute, or taking a canoe trip along the waterfront!

Read more and contribute to the project here.

Thanks to Shea!