The origin of Conservative species. Thirty years ago, prime minister Brian Mulroney displayed his statesman talents by writing a letter to a seven-year-old boy to explain why he couldn’t own a gorilla. Thirty years later, party heir Andrew Scheer got mocked on Twitter for a combination of lighting and makeup that gave him an embalmed glow:

Justin Trudeau’s actual Nazi moment. A vintage German war flag was presented to the PM to sign at the Calgary Stampede in July, as documented in a video. Vice considers the situation with a former RCMP officer and security agent who thinks Trudeau should really look closer at what he’s doing.

Trainspotting to the end of the NDP leadership race. Niki Ashton has managed to stay out of headlines after backtracking on how to deal with Quebec religious rights. (Even the father of her twins got drawn into the Twitter fights.) Jagmeet Singh faced criticism from rivals for allegedly inflating his numbers. Meanwhile, party fixture Brian Topp is putting his money on Guy Caron. Still, the party's ranked ballot system gives Charlie Angus hope of prevailing as the popular second choice. He's even pitching himself with a self-effacing tribute to Trainspotting character "Sick Boy."

TTC geeks get plenty of grist to choke on. The transit system will spend $500K to study the air in the subway, just in time for Spadina trains to start rolling to York Region on December 17. The TTC's most recent board meeting also included discussion of buying more buses built with cleaner technologies. Meanwhile, with paper transfer slips officially an endangered species (thanks, Presto!) one family spent nine hours catching 'em all.

Radiohead’s stage collapse ruling reflects a broken system. Charges were stayed in a criminal case stemming from a stage collapse at a June 2012 concert at Downsview Park, which ended up killing Radiohead drum tech Scott Johnson. The outcome has been criticized as a result of poor funding for Ontario's courts. "It's hardly justice, I'm afraid," said Scott's father, Ken Johnson, who previously accused defence lawyers of deliberately dragging the process out to the point of expiration. The acts slated to play the cancelled show also didn't hesitate to express their disappointment:

Richard Dreyfuss will never forgive a certain "Irish drunken bully." As the 40th anniversary of Close Encounters of the Third Kind was commemorated on screens, its star was an unusually famous guest for FanExpo Canada—but then, the Oscar winner has admitted his need to do things just for the money. Three days in Toronto included an onstage interview, in which Dreyfuss, whose contempt for Bill Murray is legendary, called a questioner "an asshole" for asking about What About Bob?. (Also, an autograph buyer claims Dreyfuss ruined the poster he paid $70 to get signed.) But an Oshawa man eternally obsessed with Jaws clearly went home feeling ecstatic:

“Sometimes you feel the columns are getting a little tired, repetitive, the columnist is doing other things and perhaps has lost a bit of interest in working with the Globe.” Publisher Phillip Crawley offered an explanation to the Canadian Press about the Globe and Mail's decision to ditch freelancers Leah McLaren and Tabatha Southey, continuing his streak of being more publicly candid about things than the editors under him. The paper's revamped print presence, debuting December 1, will tap into digital data to determine what's worth a dead tree.