TheStar.com – Editorial: Urban gamesmanship
Usually, rivalries between cities are a Big Thing for the smaller one and a rather inconsequential one for the bigger one. Between Montreal and Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area being larger than Metropolitan Montreal, it seems to be the reverse, to a certain extent.
This example is as telling as the others:

Let us spell it out for you, Montreal: We want the Games and we would put on a great Olympic spectacle.

This follows a few comments by Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay that, given the success of the FINA games, putting Montreal’s candidacy for the 2016 Olympic Games might be worth a thought. Reaction from Toronto thus seems a bit strong for something that is much of a “pie in the sky” concept at this point.
One could say something similar about Ontario’s recent bid for the Shriner’s hospital. Or this article (also from the Toronto Star) trying to compare Toronto and Montreal.
This is not to say that there aren’t Montrealers who are envious of Toronto. But mainstream media in Montreal (at least in French) don’t seem to harp on the Mtl/TO rivalry so much. Or maybe it just depends on where you go for information.
On the other hand, the rivalry between Montreal and Quebec City seems to have taken a new style. Since hockey isn’t the stage for Quebec confrontations, most comments by Montrealers about Quebec City now have to do with the provincial capital being little diverse and rather intolerant. Apart from those occasions, discussions about Quebec City are quite rare in Montreal. On the other hand, some people in Quebec City seem to carry a grudge against Montreal which, they claim, dominates the scene too much. Not unusual a rivalry but certainly an asymmetric one, much like the one between, say, any big city in the Northeastern United States and New York City. William Labov had some interesting things to say about this.
Fascinating. Really.

Salon.com | Look in the mirror, Mr. President
Some people do cross the lines of partisan politics.

Are there national patterns of teaching?
People still talk about national culture? And how about patterns of learning?
Didn’t RTFA. It might be quite interesting but this description sounds rather simplistic.

Telegraph: Academic takes PhD in art of air guitar
The article itself is quite dismissive and there’s been an even more adverse reaction from a few academics elsewhere.
Isn’t it sad when a person’s research is evaluated without being read?
The topic itself is quite fascinating in terms of the sociology of music with connections with gendered perceptions of the body, gestural analysis, and musicking.
Let’s hope not everyone is so dismissive of the subject matter.

Radio-Canada.ca: Dans les entrailles d’un Québec disparu
Intéressant de voir autant d’événements liés à l’archéologie au Québec. Un engouement?
Qui sait, ce genre d’événement peut encore augmenter le nombre d’inscriptions en anthropologie…

Wired News: Gore’s Webby TV Network Debuts
Sounds a bit like ZeD. One of the advantages of ZeD is that it’s online community is rather active and artists do seem to submit their stuff.
The whole TV vs. ‘Net issue is still unraveling. With broadband, digital video recording, good compression schemes for video (H.264 looks pretty cool) and, maybe, new business models, online video content is becoming quite enticing. At the same time, television content has shifted away from some of the older formats such as daytime soaps and “sitcoms,” putting more emphasis on contests and “reality shows.” In such a context, personalised video content, vlogging (video blogging), and art videos may eventually make their way to mainstream television.

The World Today – Montreal: a tale of two cities

The only problem is actually working out where I am. I’ve been working for about 10 minutes and I’m too ashamed of my French to ask anybody. None of the signs seem to make much sense either.

En fait, il aurait probablement pu demander en anglais…

Jon Stewart interviews Rick Santorum
From the perspective of a cultural anthropologist, some intriguing bits in that interview, including interpretations of the history of “natural marriage” and notions of the State’s involvement in people’s lives.
A lucky thing is that despite a wide gap in point of view (which we might be able to intepret throught the so-called “Culture Wars”) the participants in the interview managed to hold a respectful honest debate. Nice to see such a thing, even if it has to come from a fake news show.

Playlist: Apple changes podcast rankings
Thing is, the very notion of ranking podcasts (or voting for them) seems to run against one of podcasting’s most interesting feature, related to the Long Tail principle. Specialized podcasts with few subscribers are as much part of the “success story” as those so-called “mainstream podcasts” which often attempt to mimmic the ways attitudes of mainstream radio from the US.
When you add the problem with bandwidth for small popular podcasts, it seems that being an obscure podcast only catering to a few like-minded people is the way to go as opposed to having the podcast with the most buzz.
Oh, but, yes, right, they’re thinking in this mindframe of eyeballs and eardrums. “The more listeners you get, the better your advertising revenues will be.” “What? Don’t have advertising yet? Well, this is your chance, got a great deal for you!” Talk about reification…

The Register: Olive conducts Symphony for classical music fans
Quite interesting concept. Let’s hope it doesn’t deceive and/or that other companies will offer similar products.
Was talking to a composer friend a couple of months ago about audio technology and sound quality. It can be a fascinating subject.
“Fidelity” or audio quality isn’t simply about “resolution” (as in sampling rate and bit depth). Fans of Western Art Music are probably more likely than other music listeners to be attracted to this type of technology but not all audiophiles are restricted to Western Art Music.
There might be a more general principle about taste, these days. Refinement in taste that doesn’t necessarily go with condescension. Actually, open-mindedness and refined taste can make a very powerful mix. In music, in food, in life.