A Funkaoshi Production

The left has long admired Canada as an enclave of social democracy in North America: for its openly socialist electoral parties, its robust welfare state, and its more moderate policy profile. Recent developments, however, have thrown that reputation into question. The country is helmed by a prime minister, Stephen Harper, known for his brazenly right-wing views and executive unilateralism. Both federal and provincial governments have embraced austerity and eroded public services. And Canada’s newly aggressive exploitation of its natural resources has it trampling on civil liberties and reneging on its international obligations like, as Foreign Policy put it, a “rogue, reckless petrostate.”

A fascinating look at what’s going on with Taxis in Toronto. (I love Hailo, by the way.)

The Ultimate Warrior has passed away.

Man, Conan is crazy tall.

Kate Beaton has made a comic about her experience working in Fort McMurry.

Something interesting seems to be happening at Microsoft right now.

MetaFilter discusses Sillicon Valley, which I need to watch.

All about Stewart Butterfield.

A new Comic Sans—for serious.

I enjoy their tag line: “He’s running on his record — we’re not sure why.”

It’s all kinds of heartbreaking.

Scarlett Johansson in a film by Luc Besson. Thank you Jesus.

Bill Maher plays a game of ‘Gotcha!’ with W. Kamau Bell and Bell is all, “lets have a thoughtful discussion about how you’re kind of an asshole” and it’s pretty great.

I put a quarter in the siren. Ten minutes later, I was on the scene. It was a normal office building, strangled on all sides by public sidewalks. I hopped over them and went inside.

“Home Depot™ Presents the Police!®” I said, flashing my badge and my gun and a small picture of Ron Paul. “Nobody move unless you want to!” They didn’t.

“Now, which one of you punks is going to pay me to investigate this crime?” No one spoke up.

The father of House music, Frankie Knuckles, passed away yesterday.

How did so manifestly unqualified a candidate win a landslide victory, and how is it that he continues to have so many partisans? Ford captured the 2010 mayoral election with 47 percent of the vote, well ahead of the 35 percent garnered by the second-place candidate, a long-time veteran of Liberal provincial cabinets, in a race that drew unusually high voter turnout. Throughout Ford’s tumultuous tenure in city hall—and notwithstanding the most recent revelations—his public approval ratings have hardly wavered, holding at over 40 percent. To really understand Rob Ford as a political phenomenon requires retracing Canada’s steady march to the right since the 1980s.

This story is crazy and sad.

And a follow-up to that article about the size of people’s monitors.

The problems with creating a user experience that only exists to sell ad space.