Category Archives: New Utopia

Toronto never wavers when it comes to events in the city especially when theyre free. August brings all the best and exciting things to do in the city from foodie events to cultural experiences. Here are 16 of the best free things to do in Toronto this August.

The best things in life (and in the summer) are free, and these are the best youll find in Toronto this month.

Recent Posts:Popular Toronto outdoor bar to screen free movies next month & heres the line upThe Rogers Centre is getting a $300M makeover & heres what it will look like

When summer hits in Toronto, its hard to get relief from the heat even after the sun sets. Thankfully, for that very reason, night swimming at City of Toronto pools is officially back on.

Where: Multiple locationsWhen: Every day until 11:59 pm

This years Caribbean Carnival will have a brand new hub called Grand Parade Central, hosted on the Exhibition Place Grounds. There will be over 10,000 masqueraders performing in this all-day event, as well as live performances, food, and drinks. Enjoy the festival for FREE along Lake Shore or you can get tickets to Grand Parade Central for the ultimate carnival experience.

Where:Lakeshore Blvd W & Exhibition Place Grounds, 115 Princes BlvdWhen:July 30, 2022

A street-wide celebration called The Bentway Block Party has been set for this August, which will take place under the Gardiner Expressway. This years block party will include performers like The Illustrious Blacks andDrag Race Canadawinner Priyanka.

The event is described as a celebratory street party across The Bentway site, featuring performances, music, street food and drink, family-friendly workshops, fashion shows, and more.

Where:250 Fort York BlvdWhen: August 14, 2022, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Hunt for vintage treasures on the gorgeous grounds of Ashbridge Estate at this one-night-only flea market, in collaboration with the Leslieville Farmers Market.

Enjoy food, drink, activities, and music under the lights and summer night sky, along with incredible vintage and handcrafted flea vendors selling their goods.

Where: Ashbridge Estate, 1444 Queen St EastWhen: August 13, 2022, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

After a two-year hiatus, the Sunday street parties we know and love are officially back at Kensington Market. Pedestrian Sundays are back for the summer and will continue well into the fall. On the last Sunday of every month, Torontos most eccentric neighbourhood will host a FREE street-wide celebration of community, culture, and ecology.

Where:Kensington MarketWhen:July 31, August 28 & September 25, 2022

We love food trucks. And we love food truck festivals even more! The Toronto Food Truck Festival is returning this summer, with vendors like include The Kathi Roll Express, Pharaohs Kitchen, Food Dudes, Busters Sea Cove, and Craigs Cookies.

Admission will be free, and organizers say theres something for everyone!

Where:Woodbine Park, 1695 Queen St EWhen:July 29-August 1, 2022

After a two-year hiatus, the fifth annual Taste of India festival returns to Nathan Phillips Square this summer. The two-day festivities begin on July 31, bringing a diverse exhibition of culture and culinary art.

This year, expect to experience a foodie utopia as well as classical dances, Bhangra, music, and musical melodies by singers and a live DJ from noon until 10 p.m.

When:July 31 and August 1Where:Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen St West

The ROM is running its free summer program supported by the Temerty Foundation right now. The program lets you access the main floorthat is 80,000 sq ft of galleries, exhibitions and displaysfor free

When: On Now September 25. 2022

Summer nights, outdoor movies, and a picnic name a better combo, well wait! Movies Under the Stars at Downsview Park is back this season and you can catch screenings of popular new releases for free!

The annual movie program is back for its 6th edition this summer and will take place at the lakeside this year, in between the Orchard Pavilion and the Lake inside the park. Be sure to get your free ticket in advance ahead of time.

Where: Lakeside, Downsview Park, 70 Canuck Ave, North YorkWhen: July 28, August 9 & August 22, 2022, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The August edition of this summer festival at Stackt Market is basically a giant outdoor party, complete with a local vendor market, music series, food station, a showcase of artists, and all things MadeinTO. What better way to enjoy summer in the city than with good tunes, good bites, and good company in an outdoor oasis?

Where: Stackt Market, 28 Bathurst StWhen: August 20, 2022

Foodies are in for a huge treat in Toronto! Smorgasburg, Americas largest weekly open-air food market popular in cities like L.A. and Brooklyn, has arrived in the city for the first time ever, complete with an ice cream alley and fully-stocked SmorgasBAR.

Smorgasburgs Toronto edition will run for eight weeks straight, bringing dozens of international food vendors to one place every single Saturday.Check out the full list of vendors here!

Where: 7 Queens Quay EastWhen:Until September 10, 2022

Chinatowns popular summer street festival is finally returning this August. This exciting event not only pays tribute to Chinese culture but also serves as a tourist attraction for visitors from all over to enjoy, says the Chinatown BIA.

You can expect a neighbourhood-wide celebration of Torontos local Chinese community, from multi-cultural street food to traditional dancing and dragon shows, Kung Fu demonstrations, and more.

When:August 20 & 21, 2022Where:West of Spadina Ave, between St Andrew St & Sullivan St

The season of movies under the stars is back! The Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) has returned with a new series of FREE programming calledCurtains Up!. The films pay tribute to all of the performing artists weve missed seeing live during the pandemic, from dancers to circus acts to musicians and more.Check out the full movie schedule right here.

Where:See locationsWhen:Until August 28, 2022

Japan Festival Canada is said to be the largest Japanese cultural event in North America and its taking place in Mississauga this August. Visitors can expect to see traditional and modern performances, live pop music performances, and plenty of delicious Japanese food.

Where:Celebration Square, MississaugaWhen:August 20-21, 2022

Exciting things are happening at Ontario Place this summer, including an outdoor music festival. The Ontario Place Summer Live Music Festival will showcase a diverse range of performances and artists, and admission is completely free!

Where: Trillium Park, 955 Lake Shore Blvd WestWhen: July 7-August 28, 2022

Canadas first and only floating arts and culture festival is running until September 5. Toronto our outdoor, dockside summer performance series brings artists and audiences together to take in the sunshine and sounds of the city, the description says. You can see the full lineup of performershere!

Where:585 Queens Quay West & 1 Queens Quay WestWhen:Until September 5, 2022

With a curated slate of what matters in your city, Curiocity presents you with the most relevant local food, experiences, news, deals, and adventures. We help you get the most out of your city and focus on the easy-to-miss details so that youre always in the know.

Read the rest here:

16 of the best FREE things to do in Toronto this August - Curiocity

C

anary Wharf has been a long slow burn ever since the late 1980s when Margaret Thatcher decided to transform acres of derelict dockland in east London into Londons second financial centre.

Those early days were full of mishaps and disappointments the cost of the Docklands Light Railway spiralled, and critics pointed out that once its offices cleared out the area became a ghost town.

But since 2012 things have changed, radically. No longer simply a place for bankers to earn a crust, Canary Wharf has become a modern destination in its own right.

You can relax in the Crossrail Roof Garden or Jubilee Park, shop at Crossrail Place or a series of underground malls, admire the boats at South Dock, learn to sail at the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre at Millwall Outer Dock, eat at the kind of restaurants where an expense account is a help notably Roka (Canada Square), Ippudo London (Crossrail Place) or Hawksmoor (Water Street) or stroll over to West India Quay where Grade I listed waterfront warehouses have been redeveloped with bars and restaurants.

The Canary Wharf Group puts on scores of cultural events each year, like the Winter Lights Festival and public art displays.

When I tell people I live in Canary Wharf the majority of people say: Oh its so boring, there is no character, said Kevin Tang, 51, who has lived in the area since 2000 with his husband Geffrye Parsons, 56.

Canary Wharf to:

Tottenham Court Road: 13 minutes

Paddington: 18 minutes

Heathrow: From 54 minutes

Timings include ten minutes for interchange at Liverpool Street, eight minutes for interchange at Paddington, in force until 2023

I think people should come and look at it now. It has actually got lots of character, because of the architecture. You feel very metropolitan when you live here, it is what modern London is all about. And it is heaving at the weekends with people coming to eat and drink and shop.

The resident population of Canary Wharf has spiralled since the start of the 2000s as new towers have flown up. In 2011 there were 12,500 people living in the Canary Wharf ward, according to Tower Hamlets Council. By 2020 it had jumped to 19,000 and this is projected to leap to around 40,000 once all the new homes in the area are completed.

New landmarks on the skyline include Herzog & De Meurons One Park Drive, a 58 storey giant; prices currently start at 840,000 for a one bedroom flat.

There has also been heavy investment in flats built to rent. The largest to date is the Newfoundland tower, which was completed last summer. Its 636 flats cost from 2,383pcm for a one bedroom flat, and 3,335 for a two bedroom flat.

2012: 371,700

2022: 603,000,

Growth: 62 per cent

Source: Hamptons

Beyond the official Canary Wharf estate new towers are being built overlooking South Dock, technically in the Isle of Dogs The 53 storey Amory Tower (formerly known as The Madison) and the 75 storey Landmark Pinnacle where studio flats start at 559,000 both completed last year.

Kevin, a property developer, and Geffrye, who recently took early retirement from his career in finance, reserved a flat in One Park Drive back in 2018 the one-bedroom property, with phenomenal view from one of the highest floors, cost just over 1 million.

In the interim they rented a flat at 10, George Square, a purpose-built rental block, in 2020 before moving to their home at the start of this year.

They chose Canary Wharf partly because they were excited by the prospect of owning a home in Herzog & De Meurons first UK residential project. They travel frequently so living in a safe, lock up and leave home was another pull, along with the direct links to Heathrow that come with Crossrails long-awaited opening.

Their longer term plan is to move to Canada, and they plan to use the flat as a pied--terre, with the option of renting it out while they are not in the UK.

James Hyman, head of residential at Cluttons estate agents, estimates that around 70 per cent of Canary Wharfs flats are bought by investors able to let a two-bedroom flat for around 2,200 per week.

Would-be owner occupiers can get a bit more for their money by opting for a resale flat rather than something brand new around 750,000 would buy a two-bedroom apartment.

Hyman thinks the biggest challenge Canary Wharfs market has faced over the past couple of years has not been the pandemic and absence of overseas buyers and local office workers.

It has been the building safety crisis and the subsequent demands for buildings to pass fire safety checks. So many of those blocks still dont have the right documentation to satisfy a lender and that has slightly suppressed the market, said Hyman.

As a result, prices have inched up by just three per cent in the past two years.

Hyman agrees with Kevin that the appeal of Canary Wharf is its uniqueness. It is a very sophisticated part of London if you want modern, purpose built living, he said. It is owned by a Singapore-based business, it is maintained to a Singapore standard and is probably the closest environment to utopia that exists.

And Canary Wharf has changed massively over the past 10 years. It is buzzy at the weekend. The retail is West End standard, there are restaurants and bars. A lot of people who live in Canary Wharf dont work there. Historically you only lived there if you also worked there.

The future

The Canary Wharf Group has started work on the five million sq ft Wood Wharf development, which will include a hub for tech companies plus more than 4,000 new homes to rent or buy. The wharf will also include lots of new restaurants like street food sensation Mercato Metropolitano, due to open imminently within 10 George Street.

And at North Quay, there are plans to create a life sciences hub, several apartment buildings, a casino, nightclub, and skatepark.

To counteract all this steel, grass, and concrete, it was announced earlier this year that Canary Wharf chiefs are working with the Eden Project on plans to create a green spine through the docklands, featuring parks and gardens, boardwalks, bridges, and floating pontoons through the centre of the neighbourhood.

See the original post:

Why locals love this once boring London area on the Elizabeth line - Evening Standard

Nyle DiMarco in DNA #193 (Christian Scott)

We were first introduced to Nyle DiMarco after he won season 22 of Americas Next Top Model. That wasnt the last we saw of him, he went on to win Dancing With The Stars and has graced the covers of many magazines including DNA #193.

Since then, he has proven to be more than just a pretty face although he is that, too. DiMarcos new memoir Deaf Utopia is a love letter to the Deaf community and a deeply personal telling of Deaf culture from his perspective, reports Entertainment Weekly.

The title of the memoir is derived from Nyles blissful childhood. He reports that he is fourth generation deaf, which is a rarity among the community with only 10 percent of deaf people having deaf parents, reports Entertainment Weekly. Despite his Adonis-level good looks and idyllic family upbringing, being deaf has wrought its unique hardships for DiMarco and he has found strength and unity within his community. His unique perspective also comes from identifying as sexually fluid; its these overlapping identities which make Nyle such a strong advocate for his communities.

Nyle uses his platform as a model, actor and producer to advocate for the Deaf community every chance he can. On his season of ANTM, DiMarco had a moment where he was left without an interpreter for hours and hence had no avenue to communicate with the hearing contestants or crew.

Producers should just ask people what they need, says Nyle. AtANTM, I was never asked what I needed, it was just other peoples assumptions. And there were a lot of mistakes made in the process that were easily preventable.

These misconceptions are detailed in Deaf Utopia; its a memoir made to celebrate the Deaf community, but it doubles as an anecdotal guide that hearing people can use to unlearn problematic behaviours related to being around deaf people.

According to EW, DiMarco details his parents experience of learning that Nyle and his twin brother Nico are deaf. The doctor feared the news would come as a disappointment not realising that the Deaf community has a rich culture and doesnt feel shame around being unhearing. Stories like these are important for hearing people to know and they help us to break down those misconceptions.

I definitely think a lot of hearing people dont realise that we have a culture and that we have a very rich community, says Nyle. Looking at the challenges Deaf people face with representation, Nyle has been at the helm of many projects that bring the culture and community to the forefront of the mainstream consciousness. He produces the reality program Deaf U on Netflix that followed deaf students at Gallaudet, the one university for Deaf people in the US, as well as being apart of the Oscar-nominated documentary Audible.

I have never seen an accurate fiction [in films or TV] of something that really reflects my own experience, he says. Most of the time when were pitching ideas, the big question is can we sell a story with deaf people in it? But nowCODAhas removed all doubt, theres no excuse anymore.

When we had the chance to sit down with Nyle for DNA #193, he told us that what he wants the most is for deaf people to be 100 percent heard. He says, Respect our requests because we know what is best for ourselves. Give us a voice. Learn sign language. Become an ally.

Related

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Nyle DiMarcos Deaf Utopia Model, Actor And Activist Opens Up About ...

New England has long been fertile ground for experimental societies. One of the most influential utopian societies was formed close to home in West Roxbury. In 1841, a man named George Ripley bought 179 acres and created an intentional community called Brook Farm. The community, which had 120 members at its height,was inspired by the transcendentalist movement and sought to create a place that honored individual freedom, focused on humane relationships and the merging of values. Because of the communitys goals, Brook Farm grew, attracting academics, feminists, and thinkers from that time. And although it eventually fell apart, the commune's six-year existence was born out of a kind of radical imagination.

The idea of radical imagination is one I think about often. The expression is an invitation to view the world and its systems not as they are but as they could be. Its a helpful framework for thinking about change when conversations about the future especially those regarding the fate of the United States become cyclical. Imagination is the catalyst for everything in existence, from the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the cars we drive to our countrys founding. The idea of radical imagination takes systems and laws out of the concrete and places them back into the abstract. When I get overwhelmed thinking about this country and its codes, both written and unwritten, I find it helpful to think about whose imaginations we live in.

True utopia is not possible. However, the concept of world-building is fascinating. What do imagined literary societies tell us about our own? I dont think we should all skip town to join communes, but we could use a bit of radical imagination as we attempt to keep moving forward as a country. This week, I have a few recommendations for reads on utopia, world-building and reimagining.

In this nonfiction book, J.C. Hallman goes on the search for real-world examples of utopia. The author grew up in a master-planned suburb in California on a street called Utopia Road in a house that he says housed him but did not raise him. In the book's opening, Hallman explains that utopias, as a rule, slip. The history of utopian thought sheds light on civilization that both illuminates and scalds: Civilization triggers utopia, embraces it then indicts it, explains Hallman. Using literary utopia as a framework, Hallman explores the idea of perfection and the tensions that arise between, for example, the desire to be free from existential threat and the removal of nature. This book is rich, mixing narrative storytelling with investigation and history. Its a non-judgemental look at utopia and why experimentation with the idea is important, even if they have failed before.

This is an anarchist utopian novel and one of the authors many famous reads. In The Dispossessed, Le Guin has created two seemingly opposite societies. One is an advanced capitalist world. The other is an anarchist and classless civilization. The book takes place 200 or so years after revolutionaries were given a mining planet to live on, where they attempted to create a kind of utopia. The story follows physicist Shevek as he journeys back to the mother planet, where he discovers that civilizations, no matter how different, have similarities. Le Guin was a political person, and the injustices in the world around her inspired her fiction. Threads like that of an oppressed underclass and imperialism run through her work.

Using inspiration from real towns founded by African Americans in the 19th century, Morrison crafts the community of Ruby. The novel is about a created utopia that is completely exclusionary to the outside world, its conservative, patriarchal, and follows a strict moral code. But the all-Black town borders a convent, which Morrison has written to be raceless and free-thinking. Because of the two communities' differences and Rubys obsession with self-preservation, violence erupts. The story is a masterclass in worldbuilding. In a 1998interview with PBS, Morrison said, All paradises, all utopias are designed by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in.

Read this article:

The WBUR Read-In: Utopia - WBUR News

When Wonder of the Seas began sailing out of Fort Lauderdale in March 2022, the ship claimed the title of "largest cruise ship in the world" from its sister ship, Symphony of the Seas. In fact, Royal Caribbean (RCL) - Get Royal Caribbean Group Report has essentially traded that title from one Oasis-class ship to the next.

Before Symphony, it was held by Harmony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and even the original Oasis-class ship, Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has generally built each new Oasis-class ship a little bit bigger than the last. That's not something overtly noticeable when onboard -- Wonder of the Seas does feel notably bigger than Symphony of the Seas -- but the cruise line clearly wants to be able to claim the "biggest ship in the world title."

Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) - Get Carnival Corporation Report signature brand only has one ship, the Mardi Gras, that cracks the list of the top-15 biggest ships. And while passengers may not feel they're missing anything on a smaller ship (and certainly not one as large as Carnival Mardi Gras, which has an onboard roller coaster) the "biggest ship in the world" crown clearly has value both for marketing and bragging rights.

Now, with its next Oasis-class ship, the seventh of that class Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbean will once again claim that title and add some new bells and whistles.

TheStreet

Oasis-class ships have some unique features including the outdoor Central Park area -- a literal park onboard the ship -- as well as another outdoor area, the Boardwalk, which features the impressive Aquatheater as well as a carousel. Utopia of the Seas will offer both of those and it will be the second Royal Caribbean ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

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The company shared some news on that during the hull-laying ceremony for the ship.

As the second Royal Caribbean ship that will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Utopia will also advance Royal Caribbeans decades-long commitment to the environment. The ships LNG technology will join a lineup of the cruise lines already-established environmentally friendly initiatives on its ships. From shore power connection to waste heat recovery systems, the applications have been developed and continually enhanced as part of Royal Caribbeans dedication to innovation and making strides toward a clean-energy future.

Royal Caribbean has opted to keep building ships -- basically one a year -- despite the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding the cruise industry. President Michael Bayley detailed that commitment at the ceremony

The keel laying for Utopia of the Seas represents the first milestone of an incredible ship and the next step toward a bolder, thrilling future for Royal Caribbean and vacations, he said.. Utopias debut in 2024, on the heels of Icon of the Seas setting sail in fall 2023, will build on a new, exciting chapter that is set to redefine family vacations and getaways for all ages in ways well soon reveal.

Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival have placed their bets on big ships (Carnival's next ship, the Celebration will be a sister ship to Mardi Gras). Larger ships offer more to do -- things like water slides, roller coasters, ice skating rinks, unique performance venues, and a stunning array of dining choices -- but they're also limited at to what ports they can visit.

Oasis-class ships are destinations in themselves where you can't experience everything they have to offer on a seven-day cruise. Royal Caribbean uses many of its largest ships to make stops at its CocoCay private island, a destination that serves as an extension of the ship.

Royal Caribbean has committed to building big ships (Icon of the Seas will briefly be the biggest ship in the World when it launches). That's a strategy that Carnival has opted to follow, but not quite emulate as it has never tried to build a ship a tiny bit bigger than Royal's last effort.

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Royal Caribbean Goes Even Bigger in its Battle With Carnival - TheStreet

How does Beyonc define utopia? Well, her legions of fans are about to find out.

The latest drop from the superstar entertainers Ivy Park collection with Adidas is being called Ivytopia and is defined as a journey to discover ones own nirvana.

In this post-pandemic world, Ivytopia explores the collective connection we share after emerging from a period of isolation, the brand said. Ivytopia imagines the possibilitiesofthis journey with one another, dreaming and exploring our infinite potential.Whether a beach, mountain range, or urban oasis, the setting is unlimited,as long asit makes you feel hopeful for whats yet to come.

The news of the drop comes on the heels of the release of the singers throwback single Break My Soul, which just hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

In terms of the collection, this translates into a wide variety of inclusively sized gender-neutral fashion and performance apparel, footwear and accessories for adults and kids. It also features the brands first childrens-specific swimwear offering.

The Adidas x Ivy Park Ivytopia collection will include 52 pieces of apparel, seven accessories and four footwear styles for adults in XXXS to XXXXL as well as unisex regular and oversize fits, mens regular and tight fits and womens tight, regular and oversize fits.

For kids, 14 apparel styles, three accessories and two footwear models will be offered.

The collection was created with every body type in mind and comes in an array of colors including off-white, silver, cyan, khaki and yellow along with a crystal and floral-inspired print. Fabrics include printed power mesh, metallic spandex, stretch twills and French terry all intended to speak to Ivy Parks propensity for athleticism and fashion.

The accessories include a five-panel wide brim hat constructed in a swimwear material with a detachable Cuban link chain offered in both a solid and the crystal print. There will also be a reversible bucket hat and an oversize tote with removable exterior pouch pockets. The collection will include a three-pack of socks in off-white, cyan or silver.

In terms of footwear, Ivytopia once again takes on Adidas signature Stan Smith sneaker that has been reworked into a bold and slightly futuristic look, along with a new iteration of the Savage with intricate paneling and pops of color, and an updated mule featuring a light mesh fabric intended to complement the apparel. Theres also an Ultra Boost in an engineered knit.

Prices range from $30 to $200 for the adult collection and include swimwear for $45 to $120, a reversible bomber in the crystal print for $150, the Stan Smith for $110 and the Ultra Boost for $200.

The kids assortment will range in price from $30 to $120 and will include the inaugural swimwear assortment that will retail for $35 to $65.

Ivytopia will be available beginning July 21 on adidas.com and in select stores globally on July 22.

To promote the launch, the brand has created a cinematic campaign focused on the idea of being isolated from the outside world and finding healing through connection and sharing dreams of escape to Ivytopia, whether that is simply daydreaming or hitting the road for a trip. The cast includes models Irina Shayk and Joan Smalls along with Harvey Newton-Haydon, Adut Akech and Alva Claire.

The first Ivy Park collection under Adidas debuted in January 2020 and has become a perennial bestseller. Beyonc initially launched the brand under Topshop in 2016 but parted ways with the company and assumed full ownership of the label before teaming up with Adidas in 2019. Since then, they have offered several collections including Ivy Heart, a capsule inspired by love that launched for Valentines Day, Halls of Ivy, a line intended to unite people regardless of background, color or creed, as well as collections centered around Black cowboys and rodeo, swimwear and ski-inspired apparel.

PHOTOS: Looking Back at Beyoncs Best Fashion Moments

Read the original:

EXCLUSIVE: Beyonc Invites Fans to Discover Their Utopia - WWD

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Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. Im your host, Maura Forrest. Today, whats going on with the public service? Also, we translate PIERRE POILIEVREs new video. And we get into the weeds of the clean fuel standard.

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BACK TO EARTH Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is back in Canada after two weeks abroad and with three summits under his belt. He may be disappointed to find that many Canadians are less interested in what he was doing overseas than with their own inability to travel overseas for want of a passport.

That frustration is making waves in Quebec, where police at one point had to be called in to manage the crowd outside a Montreal passport office.

Its not just passports, of course. On Sunday, La Presses MLANIE MARQUIShad a rundown of all the areas of dysfunction in the federal bureaucracy: passports, airports, visas, refugee resettlement, employment insurance, and so on.

The source of the problems? Some combination of power centralized in the Prime Ministers Office, federal public servants still working from home, and a lack of interest in modernization, according to La Presse.

Notable excerpt: Former privy council clerk PAUL TELLIER sounded off on the Liberals to La Presse, saying the government never learned to work with the public service in an efficient and productive manner, and that federal ministers are kept on a short leash.

In the National Post: Former senator ANDR PRATTE has a dire warning for Trudeau from Quebec, arguing the breakdown of government services weakens the trust that Canadians have in their national government.

Its fine to issue statements and tweets about Ukraine and abortion in the United States, but when your government cannot deliver passports or unemployment cheques, it is your responsibility and your duty to come back from your worldly travels and get to work, he wrote.

In Quebec, he said, the prevailing sense of indifference toward the federal government could easily turn to anger if the Trudeau government does not tackle the current bureaucratic disarray head-on.

But hey: At least theres a task force!

Related: Heres CTV News MICHAEL LEE with a fresh rundown of the horrors of Canadian air travel.

10:30 a.m. The Bank of Canada will release the summer issue of the Business Outlook Survey and the latest Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference will be held in Lugano, Switzerland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers opening address via videoconference at 1:30 p.m. local time. Watch here.

TRANSLATION Conservative leadership candidate PIERRE POILIEVRE on Sunday released a campaign video in which he used an old, scarred wooden beam to make a point about reclaiming timeless values (i.e. freedom). Here, we present to you a translated version.

Poilievre: This post and these boards were probably on a barn for centuries.

Translation: Back when barns and the people in them were free.

Poilievre: I had to clean them by hand, you know, scrape off all the shit and mud and debris in order to bring out this beautiful honeycomb exterior that you see now.

Translation: Did you think I couldnt work with my hands? I can work with my hands. Also I can swear, just like regular people. Im just a regular guy in a Lacoste checkered shirt.

Poilievre: And what Im doing and what all of us do when we bring these boards into our house is we are reclaiming something that was already there.

Translation: Please ensure your seatbelts are fastened as I pivot hard.

Poilievre: [My campaign] is not about inventing some brand new utopia out of scratch. Its about reclaiming the freedom that is our natural right.

Translation: Go ahead. Call it a dog-whistle. See if I care.

Poilievre: Our tradition of freedom goes back about 800 years to the Magna Carta in the fields of Runnymede when the commoners forced King John to sign the Great Charter.

Translation: I am the kind of guy who can talk about the Magna Carta and mortises and tenons in the same breath. Tell me you dont want me as your leader.

Poilievre: [The loggers] discovered something. They unlocked something that was already inside that log. It was naturally there.

Translation: And that thing was a beam. But also it was freedom. Stay with me!

Poilievre: [The Liberals] dont want to restore the timeless ideas. They want to sweep away our history so that they can invent a new utopia from scratch.

Translation: A utopia built from vinyl siding.

Poilievre: Im here to allow you to reclaim what has always been yours. Reclaim your life. Reclaim your freedom.

Translation: I see you and your anger. Im looking right at you. I know what you need to hear, and Im getting damn good at this.

Here are a few reactions:

Hes putting on a clinic on winning. Its terrifying, but Im taking notes. NDP operative GEORGE SOULE

Prediction: if Poilievre did a video about the importance of sorting your laundry into darks and lights, blue check Twitter would slam him for shameless racist dogwhistling. Macdonald-Laurier Institutes AARON WUDRICK

Poilievres messages are getting better and better. He is a gifted communicator, has a vision of the country. Journalist STEPHEN MAHER

Meanwhile: The Conservative leadership race hits another deadline today. The party released a preliminary list of 675,000 members last week, and the campaigns have until today to challenge any names they think shouldnt be on it.

Stay tuned for more VIP summertime bookshelf selections. And send your reading suggestions to us! We'll share your picks with thousands of your closest friends i.e. in our Playbook newsletter.

CLIMATE COSTS Heres a thing we noticed. The federal government published final regulations for its long-delayed clean fuel standard last week, and the numbers look well, a bit different from what was published in draft regulations in December 2020.

The regulations, which are a key pillar of the Liberals climate plan, will require emissions from gasoline and diesel to decline gradually, and will take effect in July 2023. Fuel suppliers have several options to meet the emissions intensity cap, including by adding ethanol or biodiesel.

Into the weeds: Ottawa expects the clean fuel standard to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 18 million metric tons in 2030. Thats similar to the 17.5 million metric tons expected in the draft regulations.

But the expected costs look a little different higher, to be precise. Playbook did the nerdy compare-and-contrast work so you dont have to, and heres what we found. All these costs are projected for 2030:

Gasoline price: Will rise by 6 to 13 cents per liter, compared to 4 to 11 cents in the draft regs

Diesel price: Will rise by 7 to 16 cents per liter, up from 4 to 13 cents

Hit to GDP: Up to C$9 billion, compared to C$6.4 billion

Cost to average household: C$220, compared to C$136

Cost per gas-powered vehicle: C$127, compared to C$100

Cost per metric ton of emissions cuts: C$151, compared to C$94

The clean fuel standard has been delayed more times than we can remember since the Liberals first pitched it in 2016. But as the Canadian Press reported last week, the final regulations are tougher than the draft regs, requiring a 15-percent cut to emissions intensity in 2030, up from about 13 percent.

RISK REPORT How worried should Canada be about political instability in the United States? Homeland security consultant PAUL ROSENZWEIG tackled that question recently for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. In an imagined threat assessment that CSIS might have written, Rosenzweig speculates about how Canada stands to be affected by an increasingly unpredictable southern neighbor. Here are some of the highlights:

Does all of that sound pretty grim? Well, there was a spot of optimism near the end. We assess with a high degree of confidence, Rosenzweig wrote in the voice of Canadian intelligence officials, that a military confrontation between the United States and Canada is unlikely. Phew.

ONE OF THE PEOPLE? Speaking of security risks, Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND had a lot to say last week about her habit of bicycling to political events (Borgen, anyone?).

When Freeland met U.S. Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN in Toronto last month, she cycled to the Royal Ontario Museum to meet her, and then joined Yellens security convoy for the rest of the day. Heres how Freeland recalled their conversation:

The Secretary said to me, You rode your bike here, I hear. How does your security detail feel about riding bikes to be with you? And I said, They dont because I dont have a security detail. I just rode here by myself and locked up my bike and walked into the ROM.

That is a great thing about our country. I think it is great that people in my riding see me at the grocery store, that they can stop me while Im running in the ravines they very often have specific issues they wish to raise. So thats something that keeps me in touch with how people are thinking.

A real strength of Canada is that I feel safe being out there on my own. I hope that that can continue. I think actually its something that we as Canadians get to choose.

We get to choose: Do we want to be a country where our elected political leaders can just be regular people and hang out in their neighborhoods? Or do we want to be a country where theyre separated from the rest of us? I know what I prefer.

The Globes NANCY MACDONALD pieces together what is known about the brothers killed in a shootout with police after a botched robbery last week in Saanich, B.C.

The world needs more than crumbs from the G7s table,MARK MALLOCH-BROWN writes in the NYT opinion piece this morning.

Worry has long driven Canadian interpretation of American culture, COLIN HORGAN writes at Modern Hell. Whats driving people here now is something more profound, and more distinctly American. Paranoia.

The Hill Times CHELSEA NASH talked to Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER about immigration backlogs, the war in Ukraine, and the digitalization of Immigration and Citizenship Canada.

ICYMI, the latest episode of the Policy Options pod features JENNIFER DITCHBURN, ANITA LI, SEAN SPEER, ERIC MERKLEY and DARRELL BRICKER in conversation about polarization and public policy.

Over at Chatelaine, STACY LEE KONG asks: Should Canada finally abolish the monarchy?

BOB RAE, Canadas ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, spoke to DAVID COMMON on The Sunday Magazine about the U.N., Ukraine and finding hope against despair.

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter:Why gas prices in Canada will only go up.

In other headlines for Pros: Bracing for a new global health fight. Interior offshore oil drilling plan skirts tough choices. World Bank establishes the pandemic preparedness fund. How Biden can still meet his climate goals. 'We dont have to pretend anymore': Greens ready to bail on D.C.

TELL US EVERYTHING What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way.

Birthdays: HBD to political strategist BRIAN TOPP, retired Senator MARJORY LEBRETON, MNA CHANTAL ROULEAU and former MP CHRIS CHARLTON.

Spotted: CHRIS HALL, honored in LEGO after his final show as host of CBCs The House.

NDP MP RICHARD CANNINGS, doing one of the toughest jobs of an MP.

Movers and shakers: Banff Forum has announced the arrival of NADIA THEODORE and JENNIFER DITCHBURN to their board. AYESHA CHUGHTAIsaid farewell to the PMO last week. And ALEX KOHUTbid the PMO adieu on Sunday, after 2,250 days.

Media mentions: ADRIENNE ARSENAULT has been named chief correspondent for CBC News and sole anchor of The National. ANDREW CHANG is departing the flagship program to host a new daily digital newscast.

The APs KATHY GANNON writes about leaving Afghanistan after 35 years of reporting on the country.

CBCs IOANNA ROUMELIOTIS tells her story of being a living organ donor.

NUNATSIAQ NEWS picked up 14 nominations in the Quebec Community Newspapers Associations awards.

In memoriam: The Canadian Jewish News reports that historian and academic IRVING ABELLA has died. He was a scholar, a sage, a friend and a wonderful spouse, dad, and grandfather, BOB RAE said on Twitter last night.

Abella was 82. Here is an appreciation his life and legacy, written on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

Thursday's answer: Yathkyed Lake, Nunavut, was the answer we were thinking of: 62.3 degrees north, 97 degrees west. This is the center of Canada, as measured by the Canadian Cartographic Association.

Heres Macleans from 2015 with a story that explains why other spots brag about their centrality.

Props to ANNE-MARIE STACEY, LUCAS BORCHENKO, DOUG RICE, JAMES RENFREW, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, STEPHEN KAROL, KEVIN BOSCH, JOANNA PLATER, GARY ALLEN, CHRISTOPHER LALANDE and BOB GORDON.

Mondays question: How many U.S. states border Canada and with how many provinces?

Send your answers to [emailprotected]

Playbook wouldnt happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and editor Sue Allan.

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Is the federal bureaucracy broken?- POLITICO - POLITICO

Theres plenty going on here, she says. There are wonderful people who share the same values as us.

As an alumnus, she plans to spend as much time as she can absorbing the atmosphere and the performances at this years festival, which runs from Monday through July 31. Thats the kind of hobnobbing for aficionados of new music that Bang on a Can cofounders Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe envisioned long before they launched the summer festival 20 years ago.

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We knew lots of people involved in experimental music, but we felt wed met them all by accident, says Lang, another onetime trombonist whose choral work The Little Match Girl Passion won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008. We felt there should be a place where people interested in experimental culture could meet on purpose.

Having launched Bang on a Can with a marathon concert in 1987, the cofounders spent years looking to the art world for cues on how best to implement their ideas for the summer institute.

The art world is constantly renewing and questioning itself, Lang says.

Conversely, he notes, in contemporary classical music, new work is typically evaluated in terms of whether it stands a chance of joining the pantheon of the classical tradition.

I love that music, Lang says. Im not saying I dont love that music. But in the art world, all the industry is already saying we believe in the people who are working right now, and we believe their work should be challenging, should be seen and talked about and appreciated.

This years new music utopia at Mass MoCA will feature more than two dozen young composers and players working with the summer faculty. Each day begins with a movement class, segues into workshops and rehearsals, and ends up with late-afternoon recitals (free with a museum admission) in Mass MoCAs wide array of industrial spaces.

Participants are encouraged to explore the massive complex and draw inspiration from the art installations. Visitors to the galleries during the weeks of Banglewood (as the festival is affectionately nicknamed) will encounter musicians collaborating and practicing throughout the day.

We and the students figure out how to take advantage of every single space at Mass MoCA, Lang explains. It is, he thinks, a good lesson for an aspiring musician: Dont fence yourself in.

We talk to them about how to work with electronics, how to improvise, how to collaborate with each other, how to design a program, how to sign a contract, how to decide what your mission is. We talk to them about what you want to do more of, and what you want to do less of.

This years festival will conclude with the return of LOUD Weekend, a three-day program presenting some of the fellows alongside a curated selection of new music. The bill includes works by George Crumb and Steve Reich, a solo set by the keyboardist Yuka Honda, the electric guitar duo of filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and composer Phil Kline performing a live soundtrack to films by Thomas Edison, and the world premiere of Can Dance, a commissioned series of films created by renowned choreographers set to the live accompaniment of the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

For Lang, Bang on a Can represents an invitation to explore.

I think people should be entitled to have as narrow or wide an experience as they want, he says. I dont have any problem with someone saying My whole life is Mozart symphonies. But I think the thing that happens sometimes in music is that youre encouraged to find your box. And then it becomes very difficult to find things outside of your box, even if only slightly.

To me, the point of Bang on a Can is that its a way of listening for what is new in music. You can apply that questioning to everything you hear in classical, but also in jazz, or popular music, or world.

Its a philosophy of life, he says: An attitude of how you wake up in the morning and want to be refreshed.

BANG ON A CAN SUMMER FESTIVAL

At Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams. July 11-31. bangonacan.org/summer_festival

James Sullivan can be reached at jamesgsullivan@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @sullivanjames.

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At Bang on a Can's summer festival, musical explorations are instrumental - The Boston Globe

Why would a person ever willingly leave utopia? For the citizens of Moonhaven, a verdant, peaceful community nestled in 500 square miles of the moon, the answer is: in order to save the world. The year is 2201. Earth has been ravaged by climate change, war, and a cascade of related plagues. Now, the only hope for humanity lies with the so-called Mooners, whove spent more than a century building a kinder, more sustainable society. AMC+ sci-fi thriller Moonhaven, premiering July 7, opens just two weeks before a crucial event known as the Bridge, in which the first wave of Mooners will relocate to Earth to help their terrestrial brethren heal the planet.

Its at this moment that the lunar utopia starts to look less perfect. First, a young woman, Chill (Nina Barker-Francis), is murdered. Then, two hilariously ill-prepared Moonhaven detectives, Paul (Dominic Monaghan, a.k.a. Charlie from Lost) and Arlo (Kadeem Hardison, a.k.a. A Different Worlds unforgettable Dwayne Wayne), discover a strange connection between Chill and a pilot, Bella Sway (a taciturn Emma McDonald), who has just arrived from Earth with the powerful envoy Indira (Amara Karan from The Night Of) and Indiras bodyguard Tomm (True Bloods Joe Manganiello, playing a sentient snarl) to aid in final preparations for the Bridge. As an Earther with a violent past and a sideline in smuggling, Bella arouses the suspicion of the colonys leadersincluding Maite (Ayelet Zurer of Losing Alice), a council chair with big mother-goddess energy who is beloved by her people. Yet in Moonhaven, a philosophical near-future epic whose ambitious ideas compensate for sometimes-flimsy execution, characters tend to be more complicated than they seem.

All of these personalities provide ample research fodder for the shows all-seeing, yet unseen, main character: Io. Lurking beneath the moons surface and described in a commercial by its parent company Icon as humanitys self-teaching artificial intelligence, Io inspires an almost spiritual reverence on the part of the Mooners. With its sketchily explicated guidance, and after a few tragic false starts, they have constructed a society whose founding principle is interdependence. Couples raise other peoples offspring; children only encounter their biological parents at their own birth and immediately before the parents death. By obscuring bloodlines and forming unrelated families, Moonhaven incentivizes its citizens to value the collective.

Daily life in this utopia can feel generic by sci-fi standards, which is understandable in the absence of a Foundation-sized budget but also a bit of disappointment coming from creator Peter Ocko, an alum of AMCs exhilaratingly odd, prematurely canceled Lodge 49. The glimpses we get of the culture in Moonhavens six-episode first season suggest a familiar fusion of the Western canon (spot the literary references), Eastern spirituality (minus all deity worship), and techno-optimism. Because this is an earnest show set within an extremely earnest society, the dialogue can get precious. There is a lot of singing, dancing, and frolicking in bucolic bliss. Mooner fashion splits the difference between Comme des Garcons and ashram chic. Everyone seems thoroughly invested in the mission to save those unfortunate souls left on Earth. They are us. We are them, goes one of the colonys most frequently repeated maxims.

Emma McDonald in 'Moonhaven'

Szymon Lazewski/AMC

Yet theres reason to fear that the Bridge will fail. Not everyone on Earth welcomes the arrival of lunar elites. Nor are the naive youth of Moonhaven necessarily prepared for the horrors theyre sure to encounter hundreds of thousands of miles from home. Earth forges people like Bella: survivors who can throw a punch, land a kick, and sense when a persons motives are less than pure. Although Chills killer is easily apprehended in a world monitored by an omniscient AI, Bellas skills make her instrumental in the ongoing investigation by Paul and Arlo, whose goofy Sherlock-and-Watson schtick seems unlikely to detangle the knotty politics behind the murder.

Its this psychologically rich story line, which takes a few episodes to develop but dominates the back half of the season, that makes Moonhaven more thought-provoking and exciting to watch than some of its staggeringly expensive predecessors, from Westworld to Stranger Things. One compelling question is whether the lunar community has actually refined human nature to eliminate destructive traits like selfishness, or if the ease and abundance of life on the moon is simply holding those flaws in abeyance. How might Mooners navigate the harsh, kill-or-be-killed conditions on Earth? Will they compromise their collectivist values? Can Earthers really trust a privileged minority to sacrifice its security to help billions of strangers survive? Or is one character right to insist that the strong take what they want and leave the rest to suffer?

Read More: The 50 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2022

These are the kinds of inquiries that good science fiction makes. And despite some tin-eared dialogue, Moonhaven poses them subtlya particular relief at a time when genre fiction more often screams its political allegories from computer-generated mountaintops. It doesnt gloat over the colonys multiracial families or overwhelmingly female leadership; if anything, it plays with the assumptions viewers might make about matriarchy. It doesnt linger over a nonbinary characters pronouns or explain the complete normalization of same-gender relationships. The result is a rare story with no use for identity politics. In a society that ignores external markers of difference, everyone is both an individual and an equal member of the group. Thats refreshing.

And its refreshing that Moonhaven, for all its minor flaws, trusts viewers to make our own connections between the lunar colony, what little we get to see of 23rd-century Earth, and the various geopolitical cataclysms of today. Of course the conflicts it sets up around power and privilege are relevant. But the resolutions arent simple; in a first season thats almost prefatory, apparently easy answers often lead to new, more complicated questions. Why would a person willingly leave utopia? Before you ask, make sure you understand what utopia really means.

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'Moonhaven' Is the Smart Sci-Fi Show You've Been Waiting For - TIME

The Marvel Cinematic Universe had never seen anything likeBlack Panther.The movie wasnt a success solely because of Ryan Cooglers filmmaking or the collective brilliance of the ensemble cast. For Black audiences, it was the fulfillment of a dream left unrealized far too often.

Black Panthersdepiction of an Afro-Futurist utopia untouched by racial animus was deeply inspiring to moviegoers young and old. But the movie remains grounded enough to provide social commentary without becoming preachy. In one scene, Coogler uses a conversation about masksto make viewers think about the lineage of colonialism that shapes the collections of every major museum.

What makes Killmonger such an effective villain is that his pain is rooted in something familiar: the mistreatment of Black people and Black culture worldwide.His methodology is extreme, but his criticisms are rooted in truth.

One scene that best exemplifies his point of view is when he orchestrates the violent theft of a Wakandan artifact from a museum. It begins with Killmonger talking to a white expert on an exhibit of African masks and tools about the origins of these objects before revealing his true nature.

Dont trip, Im gonna take it off your hands for you, he says casually before the curator informs him that the items arent for sale. Killmonger bites back with a retort that the expert has no real answer for.

How do you think your ancestors got these? You think they paid a fair price? Or did they take it, like they took everything else? It is a line of dialog that delivers more impact than the blows in Killmonger and TChallas CGI-laden climactic fight in the third act.

So many totems of African history were taken overseas as a result of American and major European countries pillaging the continent for bodies and less sentient resources. According to The New York Times, a 2018 study by the French government found that 90% of Africas material heritage is housed in Western museum collections. That cultural loss is entwined in the disenfranchisement of Africa and the global diaspora, something that greatly undersells the rich history of the region.

In a video for Vanity Fair, Peter Meineck, Professor of Classics in the Modern World at New York University, explained how Wakandas status as a hidden kingdom allowed it to resemble the version of the region that was highly influential on Greek and Roman mythology in earlier centuries. (The Black Panther segment begins at the 8:47 mark.)

Whats happened is that through enslavement and colonization, we have a view of the continent of Africa that is completely false, particularly its history and its rich culture. We cant just look at the Greeks and Romans in isolation, Meineck says. Its got much wider connotations across the networks of that entire region.

The use of masks in the museum scene is particularly notable. These were not ornamental items. In their original cultures, they played a fundamental part in rituals honoring the elder statesmen in their society.

The old had very high status in ancient societies because they were the fountain of knowledge, Meineck explains.

The Romans actually would take death masks of their ancestors, clay versions of them, and then at certain festivals, they would wear the mask of their ancestors and they would parade through the streets in them.

Removing them from their cultures strips them of their power and communal relevance, transforming the masks into just another item in a museum to be looked at by visitors, most of whom will never fully understand the original context.

To take that mask and put it in a glass case in a museum is the worst thing you can do to that mask. That masks supposed to be worn by a performer whos been imbued in a whole culture of dancing and performing and telling those stories over centuries. And now its become like an aesthetic object with a price on it, and I think this movie actually shows that really well.

All museums hold significant value for showing people pieces of the world that theyll never have the chance to visit in their lives, and theres no reason to doubt that the curator in Black Panther has done all the work she can to learn about the items in the exhibit. But the question is whether these artifacts can ever be fully represented if they stay in places that are completely divorced from their origins.

There have been movements to repatriate certain objects. In 2021, the Brooklyn Museum returned 1,305 pre-Hispanic artifacts to Costa Rica, and some European museums have given items back to various African countries, but these are still only drops in the bucket for a longstanding issue. Marvel movies are sometimes criticized for paying lip service to real-life problems, so it was gratifying for many to see Black Pantherexplore these ideas so seamlessly.

Meineck is a big fan of the scene and what it represents. Its about access, right? And I think one of the things this does is it shows us how if you remove an object from the stories that are told about it and the way its performed, is that object still operating the same way?

He also notes the moment when Killmonger takes a mask with him at the end of the scene.He uses it for ill, but the sense of belonging he gets from the mask is palpable and unavailable to most people. I think often we see these objects in museums, but we dont think about them in their real cultural context. Black Panthermakes people think about that, concludes Meineck.

RELATED: Chadwick Boseman Would Want TChalla Recast Claims His Brother Amid Drama on the Set of Black Panther 2

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'Black Panther' Shows 1 of the 'Worst' Things You Can Do With an Ancient Mask, Mythology Expert Explains - Showbiz Cheat Sheet