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Justin Scherer

MUSIC

Making Sense Of Math-Core

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Protest the Hero, Scurrilous

by Justin Scherer
18.05.2011

Chances are you’ve never heard anything like Protest the Hero. Two arpeggiating and chugging guitars whip through a labyrinth of counterpointed riffs at a speed that defies belief. Add to that a soaring vibrato, an erratic bass line, and a bewildering flurry of drums thumping out the beat.

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BOOKS

Fantasies Best Served Cold

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Revenge Fantasies of the Politically Dispossessed, by Jacob Wren, Pedlar Press

by Justin Scherer
07.02.2011

Jacob Wren’s novel Revenge Fantasies of the Politically Dispossessed begins with a love triangle of activists who become entangled during the circular debates of regular political meetings. From there, the novel branches out into several settings. The characters find themselves in the art scene of an unnamed developing country, in a chaotic refugee camp, in [...]

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BOOKS

Beautifully Written, Unabashedly Canadian

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Combat Camera: A Novel, by A.J. Somerset, Biblioasis

by Justin Scherer
27.09.2010

Though constantly sought by avid readers, it seldom happens: complete immersion into a novel, getting lost in the pages. It’s the benchmark for good writing. And after a long dry spell of books which, though good, didn’t seduce me into complete suspension of disbelief, I picked up Combat Camera by A.J. Somerset. His beautifully written [...]

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BOOKS

Boy and Girl Break Up

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Isobel and Emile, by Alan Reed, Coach House Books

by Justin Scherer
09.08.2010

He is alone. She is alone. They meet each other. They eat meals together. They are nervous. They laugh. They enjoy romance. They begin to trust. They fall in love… And it usually stops there; the typical two-become-one love story endemic to our popular discourse. In his novel, Isobel and Emile, Alan Reed upends the [...]

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BOOKS

An Eclectic Collection Needs Direction

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Writing Without Direction: 10 1/2 Short Stories by Canadian Authors Under 30, ed. by Coralee Leroux and Troy Cunningham, Clark-Nova Books

by Justin Scherer
21.06.2010

What do we expect from the young? The ingenuity of a new generation? A rebellion against the status quo? The residual angst of adolescence? A new voice? Clark-Nova Books’ new anthology of short stories Writing Without Direction: 10 1/2 Short Stories by Canadian Authors Under 30 promises all this and more from “eleven of Canada’s [...]

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BOOKS

Piece Work: Creating the Canadian Mosaic

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Piece by Piece: Stories about Fitting into Canada, ed. Teresa Toten, Puffin Canada

by Justin Scherer
02.05.2010

“How could an immigrant’s story not be compelling?” asks Teresa Toten in her lovely introduction to Piece by Piece: Stories about Fitting into Canada. We all need to belong; we spend most of our lives searching for a social niche to call home, and this search is all the more fraught for immigrants. The added [...]

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FILM

Documenting Endangered Principles

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The Most Dangerous Man in America, Cinema du Parc

by Justin Scherer
12.03.2010

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith’s Oscar-nominated documentary, tells the captivating story of an ultra-conservative hawk and war strategist turned whistleblower and dissident. This consistently absorbing depiction of Ellsberg’s fascinating life watches principles collide with the world of high politics. It documents the life [...]

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MUSIC

Sophomore Effort A Treat

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Basia Bulat, Heart of My Own

by Justin Scherer
11.02.2010

Ontarian folk-pop songstress Basia Bulat is back on tour supporting her new album, Heart Of My Own, the follow-up to her Polaris Prize-shortlisted debut album Oh, My Darling. Bulat penned most of the album’s songs while exploring North America, Europe, and Australia during a year of incessant touring, including a stop in Montreal tomorrow. And [...]

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