Système de support entre immigrantes

Les immigrantes francophones s’entraident au Nouveau-Brunswick
Assez vague comme article mais un principe intéressant. Dans plusieurs coins du monde, y compris plusieurs parties de l’Afrique, l’existence d’un système de support est primordiale. À Moncton, une grande partie des immigrants sont d’origines africaines, surtout parmi les étudiants de l’Université de Moncton.
Chose à noter, ces systèmes de support se bâtissent par les gens eux-mêmes en fonction de leurs besoins et de leurs méthodes. Un peu le principes des «tontines» à certains endroits.
Aussi intéressant de noter l’accent mis sur les femmes. Beaucoup d’Africaines savent vraiment se prendre en main.

City Rivalry?

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.

Air Guitar

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.

Current TV

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.

A bilingual blog on disparate subjects. / Un blogue disparate bilingue.