TGIF – Jian, Tory and Harper
Whoooa Toronto.
What a week. Seriously. There’s a whole lot to talk about this Halloween.
We have a new mayor, and while I’m happy it’s no longer a Ford brother, I firmly believe Tory is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and his policies will be no different than those that Ford loved. He was the CEO of ROGERS for god’s sake.
I am still shocked that the city somehow thinks another conservative mayor is what we need after 4 years of an awful conservative mayor. “At least he’s not Ford!” is what I heard from people I ususally respect – but if all you care about is the city not being on Jimmy Kimmel – then I guess you got what you wanted. This is a rich white man in office to support the rich white men – make no mistake on that one.
His very PR savvy act of asking Olivia and David to join his team was smart, but until he starts undoing the damage Ford did, I don’t believe in him as my mayor any more than I did Ford. Politically they are as similar as it gets.
We also had a “terrorism” scare last week that was actually someone with serious mental illness. How Harper found it appropriate to use it as an excuse to make us all George W. Bush America FUK YEAH I will never understand. The focus here needs to be on taking care of Canadians with mental illness – something Harper has zero interest in. His terrorist rhetoric on the other hand is much better for his “lets make us more American” agenda.
AND THEN – the ball dropped on Jian Ghomeshi. I’ve been silent about this on the blog after being told to ‘wait for the evidence’ but I too, like everyone in the Canadian music/media industry knew about Jian. I mean, I had no idea he was actually this sick – but I heard the warnings/whispers that he’s a real creep with girls and got that icky feeling of a snake crawling around when seeing him interact with young women at events.
A lot of men like to question that article I just linked to – wondering why, if so many in the industry knew about him – no one said anything. The whispers were generally spread among women, to protect women – or from men who knew, to protect women. No doubt there was a collective sigh within the industry when it all went public.
Finally, we don’t have to pretend like we’re not grossed out by him at Polaris Galas and Lena Dunham interviews. We don’t have to whisper to our eager interns at a music party to avoid him at all costs.
- What Kind Of Woman Won’t Report Sexual Assault? To those few people who somehow still defend him via the – why didn’t they go to the police? – question, please read this now. Actually read it. Don’t just skim to the bottom and post a ridiculous comment. This is a lawyer talking about exactly why 9 out of 10 women do not report abuse. Because the 1 who does, almost always lives to regret that decision.
- A brief history of ridiculous things we’ve been asked to believe after famous men were accused of rape And if you need further proof – look only to the cases outlined in this article. Money and fame generally means you have legions of people who will defend you against your victim, as we initially saw with Jian.
- Owen Pallett wrote the best thing anyone in the music industry has put out there so far on all of it He considers Jian a friend – but he will not give his word more validity than that of 4 women, and now we know that number is 9 women and growing.
- I Care About Eight Alleged Victims, Not Jian’s “Due Process” Another great article on how the justice system is incredibly flawed when it comes to sexual assault and date violence.
- The top 15 lost music venues in Toronto On another note – here’s a nostalgic look back at the music venues that once were a vital part of our lives.
- Jeff Tweedy: why the album still matters Love this.
- 2014 is the first year with no platinum albums This is fascinating. I’m not sure what it will mean for the music industry going forward, but as usual, things seem to be changing every single day.
- Arcade Fire’s Funeral and the Legacy of the “WHOA-OH” Can you believe it’s been 10 years? I still remember being new to Toronto, living with my high school friends and having them play me this album. Nothing was the same after that.
- Sounds Just Like This project will show you just how similar most pop songs actually are.
- When Iggy Pop can’t live off his art, what chance do the rest have? Try not to let this depress you.
- Watch Emma Watson Deliver a Game-Changing Speech on Feminism for the U.N. (UPDATED) If you somehow missed it, her speech was excellent. Without men joining the conversation, progress will continue to stall.
- Lena Dunham Hilariously, Candidly Interviews Mindy Kaling I adore this conversation between two of my biggest role models.
- How We Love: TED Radio Hour This collection of TED talks on love is brilliant. If you have some spare time today give them a listen.
- Follow-Through Habits for Serial Quitters If you need a little help seeing things through, there are some good tips here.
- 10 Times When It’s Okay to Be Lazy Because sometimes you have to turn off your type A gogogo tendencies or you’ll burn out.
- 5 Ways to Reset Your Work-Life Balance When You’re Crazy Busy And if you are one of those type A’s, you’ll want to read this too.
- And if we needed any more understanding for why women don’t report sexual harassment and abuse of power by powerful men, look only to the way Monica Lewinsky’s reputation was DESTROYED when her name was thrown into the public. Of course, the Ghomeshi case is different in many ways, but the in the end she got shit all over while Bill lost next to nothing. Women don’t forget this:
[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy7icJSTjL8[/tube]