The miseducation of Lauryn Hill fans hoping for a proper concert. Complaints were flying about the former Fugees singer taking the Budweiser Stage two hours late, complaining about the sound, and playing songs remixed beyond recognition. But it’s not like they weren’t warned. The show was still exciting enough for the federal environment minister:

“I went out to Jane and Finch, put on a bulletproof vest, and spent 7 o’clock to 1 o’clock in the morning visiting sites that had previously had bullet-ridden people killed in the middle of the night.” MPP Michael Tibollo’s comment about his ride-along as community safety minister sounded “inexcusably racist” to NDP leader Andrea Horwath. Police say the vest was given to Tibollo based on a routine safety assessment.

A big blind item about a media boss flying blind. “I am the president and publisher of a national print-media company,” reads the Twitter bio of @sighboss, an account which claims to be based on quotes collected by a former employee who heard this:

Nothing says “serious” like serifs. BuzzFeed News is now branded as separately as possible from its mothership’s coverage of topics like McDonald’s giving away free fries. The changes have come with BuzzFeed moving away from its initially ambitious coverage of Canada, even though it retains some staff in Toronto, who do things like its newsletter.


Today’s edition of 12­:­36 is brought to you by the Toronto Life Wine Club, a new monthly subscription service featuring small-batch bottles from the best Ontario wineries. The first trio includes one with a whiff of pine forest, damp earth and pine tobacco, and another featuring just a touch of the taste of petrol. Find out how much you get by signing up.


Crashing the marijuana marketing party. Just after CBC News reported on cannabis companies freely sponsoring outdoor festivals before October 17, Health Canada issued a warning that they really shouldn’t be doing that. Now, the companies all need to figure out how to remain compliant. so they don’t screw things up before profits start wafting in:

Goodbye to the bookstore organized by “intuition order.” Dencan Books is heading into its final days of operation with a tribute column by Edward Keenan. Writing about owner Eddie Roberts can’t help but focus on his dedication to making the Junction neighbourhood shop look like an unholy mess. It’s now less so after six months of slashing stock, but the store’s chaotic look still lives on Yelp:

Roger & Marilyn with Jamar is Toronto’s most surreal radio show. The addition of a long-time Chicago DJ who went by “J Niice” to mornings on CHUM 104.5 has led to awkward exchanges with Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis—yet, the veterans sound like they’re having fun training a likely replacement. Jamar McNeil also boasts a credit that no other local can claim: appearing in a Honeycomb cereal commercial with André the Giant.

Word of the moment

FOR THE PEOPLE

House Democrats in the U.S. announced this 2018 midterm election campaign slogan, which sure sounds awfully familiar.




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