In amongst the pumps © 2008 illeboc-r.

Steve Brill has led hundreds of guided tours throughout the states of New York and Connecticut. He takes groups of visitors to locations like Central Park, Bear Mountain, and Sugar Pond. During each outing, he points out plants with such exotic names as chickweed, carnelian cherry, and common spicebush.

But Steve Brill is no ordinary tour guide. Although he is a naturalist by trade, Brill is best known as “Wildman,” America’s most famous forager. Foraging means living off the land, and to do that, one must have intimate knowledge of edible plants.

Posters from Expozine 2006. Photo: "5th anniversary party" by Flickr user sfflaw.

At the mention of the word “zine,” most people think of quaint little booklets plastered in riot grrrl scrawls and anarchy symbols. Wildly popular in the early 1990’s, they faded from public awareness and were chalked up as a fad. Right?

Wrong. Zine culture is alive and kicking. There’s no better place to be than Montreal, a fertile playing ground for a dizzying array of genres. There are smut zines, bike zines, feminist zines, queer zines, fashion zines, all manner of zines.

Photo: "W.A.S. / Art Brut / Spinto Band @ La Tulipe," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler Nika.

Every concert-goer has a pet peeve. Whether it's the horde of suburban teenagers in the front row singing the lyrics to every song or the fraternity douchebags sloshing their drinks all over you, there's usually a point where you shake your head and mutter to a friend. Granted, it's annoying. But these are things to be expected at a concert and, in the end, life goes on.

There is, however, a breaking point. Yesterday, my roommate got trampled during Girl Talk. She was knocked down as people mobbed the stage, bottlenecking through an improvised staircase that she happened to be standing near. The two friends that she was with tried to help her up, but repeatedly got pushed back by the surging crowd.

Photo: "Legato Night," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler chuck.bergeron.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, November 14th, 2008:

A sociology professor at the University of Ottawa was arrested yesterday morning at his Gatineau home. 55-year old Hassan Diab is being linked to a terrorist attack on a Parisian synagogue almost 30 years ago. The bomb left four people dead and 20 injured. Diab will appear at the Ottawa courthouse tomorrow afternoon.

Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP Michael Ignatieff is once again back in the Liberal game. The 61-year old former Harvard professor and author is up against an old friend, Toronto Centre MP Bob Rae.

Photo: "Fog Patrol," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler All About Eve.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, November 7th, 2008:

There is a deer in the streets of Montreal. Yes, a deer. This morning at 8 a.m., Park Ex residents reported seeing a Virginia deer. It was tracked down to an area surrounded by a 2 metre chain link fence, which it tried to jump. The deer had injuries to the mouth from impacting the fence; witnesses also saw it hit a car. As of 9:30 a.m., the police had roped the area off and were waiting for wildlife agents.

The Quebec comedy duo of Marc-Antoine Audette and Sébastien Trudel caused grief to the McCain-Palin camp with their prank call, reported several U.S. newspapers. Palin's failture to tell McCain that she had plans to speak with "Sarkozy" aggravated the Republican ex-candidate.

Photo: "All Pumpkins," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler steveyb.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, October 31st, 2008:

Worried about Nov. 4? You're not the only one. The U.S. presidential election, just days away, is already plagued with complaints of voter fraud, faulty machines, and intimidation. Polls show Obama and McCain neck-and-neck in several swing states, so controversies on election day could determine who ascends to the White House. In anticipation, both the Democrats and the Republicans have hired hordes of lawyers to monitor results.

According to a series of studies at the University of Rochester, men are more attracted to women in red. What's more, they're more likely to spend dolla dolla bills to wine and dine her than they would women in other colors. The results could indicate a deep-seated association of red with sex. No wonder Little Red Riding Hood costumes on grown women make men all funny.

All photographic prints from Sanza-Hanza [King Surfer] are by Jamie-James Medina and Matthew Salacuse.

They leap, twist, and run, their sneakers ragged from use. They devise tricks, each more daring than the last, and name them after the heroes of their "play." But these aren't skateboarders, basketball players, or parkour traceurs. They're trainsurfers.

17-year old Tupac (real name Lesego) is a high school kid. He is brash, well-spoken, and steeped in a dark side. Tupac lives in the Soweto ghetto, a collection of townships on the edge of Johannesburg. Along with his crew V.I.R.U.S. (Very Intelligent Riders Usually Survive), he death-defyingly climbs on top, on the sides, and even under trains while they speed along at 80 km/h.

Photo: "Untitled," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler LnTee.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, October 17th, 2008:

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion seems in no hurry to step down after Tuesday's defeat at the polls. Officials deny that he will make way for someone new despite allegations by the Toronto Star. According to former Liberal cabinet minister Lisa Frulla, however, "he doesn't really have a choice, and I think he knows that." Meanwhile, people close to MPs Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy and Dominic LeBlanc, former deputy prime minister John Manley and former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna are "coyly" testing the waters.

"Teflon Don" Vito Rizzuto's father, 84-year old Nicolo Rizzuto, was released yesterday after two years behind bars, with three more years of probation left to serve. He and six other reputed leaders were investigated for four years as part of Project Colisée. Rizzuto was given the lightest sentence in part because of his age and health problems. A plea bargain also allowed him to avoid the more serious charges of drug trafficking and extortion.

Photo: "Ineffective guards," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler greynotgrey.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, October 10th, 2008:

Quebec taxpayers will spend nearly $400 million to bail out the Université du Québec à Montréal. Education Minister Michelle Courchesne said the province will shell out $180 million for the Pierre Dansereau science complex on top of the $200 million already being spent to cover the Îlot Voyageur site.

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion says he simply didn't understand a question asked by an interviewer in Halifax yesterday, an incident that the Conservatives are using to question his ability to lead. Dion also expressed surprise that CTV broke its agreement by running the images showing his confusion. The question in question? "If you were prime minister now, what would you have done about the economy and this crisis that Mr. Harper hasn't done?"

Photo of Pierre Allard and Annie Roy courtesy of ATSA.

“Est-ce que l’argent c’est important dans la vie?” asked a young woman to a handful of children. “Non!” they exclaimed, and proceeded to throw fistfuls of change on the floor.

Word-play abounds in CHANGE, a new projec by Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable (ATSA) located at the corner of Saint-Laurent and Marie-Anne.

No, ATSA isn’t out to bomb you. Although the name raises quite a few eyebrows, the group’s mandate, as expressed by co-founders Annie Roy and Pierre Allard, is to stage “urban interventions.” These installations and performances view the public realm as political spaces that can be reclaimed by ordinary citizens.

Photo: "DSC01032," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler purelikegolddd.

Your morning news roundup for Monday, October 6th, 2008:

Montreal police shot and injured a teenage suspect over the weekend. 18-year old Nashwah Abdullah is in stable condition after being shot in the stomach on Saturday. According to authorities, he was resisting arrest in a murder investigation and had a knife. Mayor Gérald Tremblay defended the decision and said that police must enforce the law.

Secret documents obtained by Canwest News Service show that the Canadian penny now costs more than a cent to make "due to rising labour, metal and other manufacturing and distribution costs." Some studies have pegged the cost at 4 cents, but NDP MP Pat Martin says the cost is closer to 6 cents.

Photo: "Market Spice," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler chuck.bergeron.

Your morning news roundup for October 3rd, 2008:

Did y'all catch the enlightening debate yesterday (in Canada, not the U.S.)? According to an instant poll conducted by Ipsos Reid right after the televised event, Stephen Harper came out as the winner but his appeal as Prime Minister slipped. He lost some leverage to Elizabeth May and Jack Layton, respective leaders of the Green and New Democratic parties. Liberal leader Stéphane Dion failed to follow up on his strong showing at the French debate while Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe managed to win only 2 percent of viewers with his policies.

Meanwhile, below the 49th parallel, Democratic and Republican VP candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin battled it out over the economic crisis. Both portrayed themselves as "folksy politicians well versed in the struggles of ordinary Americans." The most dramatic moment of the evening after Palin told viewers that her experience as a working mom contributed to her qualifications for the White House. Biden accused Palin of suggesting that he didn't understand "because I'm a man," recalling the 1972 accident that killed his wife and young daughter and left him to raise 2 critically injured sons.