Another Citizen amputates daily editions to survive
Journalism: The Slow Death of Newspapers
The Prince George Citizen goes weekly, prompting a former staffer to remember the days of a $1.49 steak at Mr. Jake’s, the big story of a hotel fire that left him burnt, and the long-gone giddiness of daily newspapering.
Uncle Ed Nelson’s harmonica and the Zeffirelli-sphere
Movies/Tribute: Franco Zeffirelli and Ed Nelson
The late Italian director Franco Zeffirelli did more than inspire a generation of high school students to see their own truth in Shakespeare, he gave a veteran English teacher a good reason to blow his musical Hoehner -- and, in turn, blow your mind.
One, two, three strikes — and Canada is out!
History: The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, Part Two
The workers of Canada united behind strikers in Winnipeg, leading to the largest labour action in Canadian history and a class division that continues to create friction and distrust 100 years on.
The Winnipeg General Strike fought the pejorative optics of “Socialism”
History: The 100 year anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, Part One
Disillusioned workers demanded fair wages and the right to collective bargaining, but their biggest foes throughout the historic, 40-day labour action weren’t just the powerful and privileged -- but the rabid rhetoric surrounding “Bolshevik” forces and "undesirables, socialists, radicals, enemy aliens, Marxists, foreign agitators, revolutionaries, reactionaries, extremists, and (of course) anarchists.”
Remembering Michael Kesterton: An Oasis of Old-Fashioned Civility
Tribute: Michael Kesterton
Though he made his name in journalism with the collection of arcane facts that became the Globe's beloved Social Studies column, Rod Mickleburgh remembers the young, and somewhat awkward, Varsity staffer who shared a quirky sense of humour.
By Rod Mickleburgh
The unexpected can hit you in the solar plexus. Such was my feeling late December, when I received an email from a former colleague at the Globe and Mail giving me the sad news that the one-of-a-kind Michael Kesterton had died. He was best known to Globe readers as the genius behind the assemblage of arcane facts, news, trivia, miscellanea, humour and occasional bits of string that made up the paper’s beloved daily feature, Social Studies, which ran for 23 years. In the midst of all the superb journalism and writing that filled the Globe in those days when I was on the paper (smile), many readers turned first to Social Studies. A hit from the beginning, his unique creation – Twitter before its ...
Lest We Forget the heroes once branded “enemy aliens”
Mickleburgh: Japanese-Canadian Veterans
Huddled under a colourful autumn canopy, in a secluded corner of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, Rod Mickleburgh found a Remembrance Day ceremony that refused to forget Canada’s racist past.
Folking things up made for summer’s bright spot
Music: The Vancouver Folk Festival 2018
We celebrate the summer that was with a fond look back at what proved to be the highlight of Vancouver's smokiest season ever: A fully reinvented Folk Music Festival featuring acts that rocked, rattled and rolled young and old alike.
By Rod Mickleburgh
The line-up was skimpier than past years. Sunday clashed with the final of a riveting, month-long World Cup and the sun was hot enough to boil a monkey’s bum, but once again, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival cast its magic over me and thousands of other attendees with its annual mix of good vibes, a setting to die for and outstanding music. Even at my increasingly creaky and cranky advanced age, I found myself dancing, most notably at a wonderful, spirited workshop jam session involving Little Miss Higgins, Les Poules à Collin and Petunia & the Vipers. Thankfully, there were no cameras in sight, and the young people politely refrained from giggling.
There were other highlights:
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How the ghost of Ginger Goodwin painted the town “Red”
Canadian History: The Ginger Goodwin General Strike of 1918
When pacifist union organizer and worker’s rights activist Ginger Goodwin was killed by a single police bullet 100 years ago, it marked the beginning of Canada’s first general strike, and a blood-drenched birth to B.C.’s modern labour movement.
By Rod Mickleburgh
At 12 o’clock sharp on Aug. 2, 1918 – one hundred years ago today – Vancouver transit operators stopped their streetcars in mid-route, drove them to the barns and walked home. The city’s normally bustling waterfront fell silent, as 2,000 burly stevedores and shipyard workers streamed from the docks. Construction workers refused to pound another nail or lift another brick. They joined textile and other union workers across Vancouver who were also leaving their jobs. It was the start of Canada’s first general strike and the beginning of one of the most memorable 24 hours in the city’s history.
(Okay, I could have photo-shopped this a bit ...
