If you’ve ever wished you could do a little something to fix the world, you have a chance to learn from The Yes Men‘s Andy Bichlbaum at OCAD tonight. For the uninitiated, The Yes Men is a prankster collective — led by Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno — that pulls off fantastic hoaxes in order to shame big businesses and government entities. Below, five of The Yes Men’s best moments to date.
Seana McKenna taps her inner tyrant to portray Richard III
This summer, even the most indifferent of downtowners will get to feel alive like they never have before. EdgeWalk at the CN Tower was announced today, wherein participants literally walk the edge of the CN Tower 356 meters above the ground. Sure, there’ll be safety harnesses and trained guides and all of that, but the thought of hanging out atop Toronto’s signature phallus is terrifying. Below, five reasons why EdgeWalk has us reaching for the Valium.
These days, Shaun Majumder is a busy guy. He’s moved to Los Angeles, where people don’t know him as a stand-up comic and the sketch comedy guru behind such loveable characters as Raj Binder, the sweaty, East Indian journalist featured on This Hour has 22 Minutes. Currently, he’s a tough cop on the police drama Detroit 1-8-7, a show that was well-received by critics but hasn’t yet connected with a mass audience. We caught up with Majumder on the eve of his cross-Canada stand-up comedy tour.
Rohan Fernando’s visually stunning The Chocolate Farmer makes social issues seem big-screen friendly. That may not be what you’d expect from an NFB production, but this film about cultural transition doesn’t cater to expectations. The Chocolate Farmer documents the life of Eladio Pop, a penniless Mayan farmer from Belize, as he adheres to traditional farming methods in the face of looming industrialism. Fernando spoke with us at the Hot Docs headquarters.
Tomorrow marks Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican festival in which downing tequila shots and plates of tacos is pretty much all you have to do to celebrate. If you’re thinking of taking part, we’ve selected a variety of events that will help you waste away in Margaritaville. As for figuring out what, exactly, you’re celebrating, your guess is as good as ours (maybe Wikipedia could help).
UFC 129 has come and gone, and Toronto is still in one piece. Despite hordes of rabid fans crowding into the city, there were no riots, and the moral fiber of the city hasn’t been ripped to shreds. Overall, the aftermath of has been overwhelmingly positive. Here are some reasons why:
In Transit is Toronto’s first urban cultural festival, bringing together the city’s talented (if sometimes volatile) skateboarding, urban music, break-dancing and graffiti-art communities.
Just in case you didn’t know, there’s a little event called UFC 129 going down at the Rogers Centre tomorrow. Venturing into the ring will be a significant Canadian contingent in addition to the top draw, Georges St-Pierre. One of those fighters, Mark “The Machine” Hominick, of Thamesford, Ontario, is gunning for the featherweight championship against Jose Aldo. We tracked down “The Machine” at the gym and asked him a few questions.
Natalie Portman studied neuroscience at Harvard University
English-language premiere of Wajdi Mouawad’s latest play, Forests, lands on the Tarragon stage
Toronto-born eco-warrior Paul Watson, one of the founding fathers of Greenpeace, is ridding the oceans of scurvy whalers one at a time
