Opal on Queen West has shut down, one of a number of downtown eateries I've seen go under in the last month or two.

What I don't know is whether it's because the concept (jazz and supper all in one place) was bad, or because people are tightening up in general on their resto spending -- with resultant casualties among the weaker operations. Opal did get a solid review from the Globe and Mail's Joanne Kates in April 2007:

Sopra is a more expensive room than Opal: It suits its proximity to Yorkville while Opal fits in on Queen Street West. For my money, the jazz being about equal, I'd take Opal any day, thanks to good basic bistro food, sensitive service and almost unbearably lovely decor -- black and whites of jazz greats on brick walls, lit by cool napkin-draped hanging halogens with a "chandelier" made of white cards (all with mysterious writing on them) clipped to transparent wires fanning out from a central light. Opal is not luxe, but the passion for jazz, food and warm welcome go a long way toward the high notes.

Ah well. It's gone now.

There is a place just east of Dovercourt on College St. that has the greatest Brazilian chicken sandwich in the world! Or at least on College.

At least, in my opinion.

Churrasqueira Oliveira had the generousity of spirit to sell cookies made by a local artist -- Terri Oliver, who is trying to raise money to record an album.

She bills herself as a soul/jazz/r n' b artist. Here's her MySpace page.

So, if you are jonesing for a chicken, chocolate and sugar fix, go to this fine little Brazilian deli and pick up a sandwich and a packet of cookies. You can't go wrong with either.

More about CO:

Very strangely, that interview didn't talk about the chicken.

The NYT's David Carr says the "Irish, tribal" side of him admires Fox News's tenacious defence of its team. And more importantly, he says its bullying ways work ... er, make that tactically rather than strategically.

The Globe and Mail's Gloria Galloway offers a case study of the new, streamlined access-to-information request system of the federal government.

I'm at an intersection. The walk light comes on. I leave the curb.

A Toronto driver comes barrelling around the corner on a right turn.

I freeze, but, bizarrely, he comes to a halt. Not only that, he waves a little with his right hand as if to invite me to continue crossing the street. So I do -- warily.

However, he does not accelerate or try to strike me with his car. Nor does he scream "asshole!" at he or utter a guttural, Sopranos-like "go fuck yourself."

I cannot explain this aberrant behaviour.

If you haven't seen this classic jeremiad, UBS News boss Max Schumacher (William Holden) and Howard Beale (Peter Finch) are tying one on in a Manhattan bar after Howard had threatened, on air, to commit suicide after being told he was about to lose his gig.

From the Globe and Mail:

When 25,000 foreign journalists descend on Beijing next month to cover the Olympics, they will face restrictions that are far from the “complete freedom” China promised in its bid for the Games.

You'd think setting out the case for accusing U.S. President George W. Bush of murder in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq would garner some publicity, particularly if the author has a track record of writing best sellers.

However, that's not turning out to be the case for Vincent Bugliosi's The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.

I was in the vicinity of King and John Streets earlier today. A group of four young people are kvetching about how they still hadn't reached Front Street.

Unfortunately, they were walking westbound on King -- a trajectory that would ensure they would never, ever reach Front Street.

I guess I should have said something. Oh well.

I was standing at Bathurst and Queen, and saw one of those Hippo tour buses approach. But then it broke south at Portland.

Paul Terefenko actually rode one (a bargoon at $38) and wrote the following in Now. The article was headlined Toronto Tour Bust:

The fact is, the Toronto these companies want outsiders to see isn’t the city we know, with its ethnic en­claves, artsy ‘hoods and Victorian residential streets.

Sorry, most of Toronto, you don’t matter. Sticking to the safe traffic flow of McCaul and avoiding Spa­dina, the tours I take basically ask pas­sengers to imagine a bustling China­town. Nor do they venture to Little Italy or point out that a chunk of T.O.’s creative heart pumps in West Queen West or Leslieville.

Queen West does get a mention as the area to buy hip things. And one guide says Eat My Martini is where it’s at on the west College strip. Leslieville, Cabbagetown, Danforth and beyond: you are officially not Toronto tour-worthy. Instead, the Hippo guide directs vis­i­tors to Joe Badali’s to take advantage of the 15 per cent entree discount we get with our tour ticket stub. At least she doesn’t say Lone Star Texas Grill, but it’s close.

I went into Pages bookstore, looking for an amusing summer read for an impending vacation break.

Clerk: Have you seen this (Holds up a copy of Lamb, by Christopher Moore)? It's about Jesus's best childhood friend. It's very sacrilegious.

Me: I'm in.

After plunking down my coin, I'm relieved to see there is evidence of positive reviews about this little tome. We shall see how it reads ...

Needless to say, the editorial boards of the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail were pleased with the Supreme Court ruling in the Rafe Mair case.

From CP via CTV.ca:

Sources say former lobbyist and Reform party activist Kory Teneycke is the prime minister's new communications director.

Highly placed sources tell The Canadian Press that Teneycke will take over Monday from Sandra Buckler, who announced her resignation June 26.

As executive director of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, Teneycke launched a national ad campaign last year praising Prime Minister Stephen Harper personally for assisting the industry.

However, the article said Teneycke moved on from that gig to a job in the Tories' research bureau, providing talking points to MPs and ammo with which to attack the opposition.

So sayeth Joshua Micah Marshall, founder of the liberal U.S. political blog Talking Points Memo, and the winner of a prestigious Polk award for his coverage of the firing of eight U.S. federal attorneys.

In 1993, author Michael Crichton had a seminal commentary published in Wired magazine (he also delivered the message in a speech at the U.S. National Press Club in Washington). He might have had the timing off, but his analysis is worth revisiting, considering the industry's recent troubles.

This page at Registan.net has photos (where available) and thumbnail sketches of journalists murdered over the past decade in Russia and other former republics of the Soviet Union.

A sample listing:

Alisher Saipov, 10/24/2007. Reporting in Uzbek from Kyrgyzstan and smuggling papers into Uzbekistan, he was gunned down for a reported $10,000 bounty. He had said he was disappointed it was so small.

The page also offers this qualifier:

It is worth remembering these are only those journalists who were unlucky enough to be murdered for their work. It does not include the further dozens upon dozens who have been physically assaulted and/or imprisoned.

Sadly, the page needs updating. :(

NYT journalist Timothy Egan on what might be the end result of the decline and possible fall of serious newspapers in the United States. From the NYT's Outpost blog (July 2):

We could be left with a national snark brigade, sniping at the remaining dailies in their pajamas, never rubbing shoulders with a cop, a defense attorney or a distressed family in a Red Cross shelter after a flood.

My lament this Fourth of July is to ask readers to see newspapers as not just another casualty in the churn of business. Sure, reporters say stupid things and write idiotic stories. Everyone stumbles. But on its best days, a newspaper is a marvel of style and wit, of small-type discoveries and large-type overstatements, a diary of our deeds.

We may still prove Jefferson’s preference wrong: perhaps a nation can function without newspapers. But it would be a confederacy of dunces.

From the BBC (July 1):

Israel has denied allegations by a journalist from Gaza that he was injured by Israeli security personnel.

Mohammed Omer says he was detained for four hours as he crossed from Jordan into the occupied West Bank on 26 June.

Afterwards, Israeli officers summoned a Palestinian ambulance to take Mr Omer to hospital in the West Bank.

Mr Omer emailed the BBC the following day, saying he had "difficulty in breathing and pain in my chest" because of the treatment he received.

He is now back in Gaza, where hospital doctors have diagnosed several broken ribs. They also say Mr Omer suffered a nervous breakdown.

The journalist, 24, was returning from London, where he had received the Martha Gellhorn prize for journalism. He has also contributed to the BBC news website.

From the BBC:

It is exactly two months since Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, causing widespread death and devastation.

In a country that has been under military rule since 1962 and controls almost all aspects of the media, it was a huge challenge to report on the aftermath of this disaster.

BBC journalists who managed to get into Burma either had to enter secretly, or pretend to be tourists and report undercover.

They shared their experiences of reporting in such difficult conditions for the BBC World Service's Assignment programme.

I'm standing late Thursday evening at the intersection of Queens Quay and Lower Simcoe Street, waiting for a Spadina streetcar to take me towards Queen St.

Suddenly, a rodent-like creature zooms off the sidewalk and into the intersection.

"Is that a rat?" someone asked.

"Nope, it's a ferret," I said.

The ferret looked dazed and confused. It darted here and there, back and forth -- and came perilously close to meeting its end underneath an eastbound streetcar. If not for the quick reflexes and instinct to preserve life of a few cabdrivers, it could have died under their wheels too.

People gasped with each near miss and applauded in relief when the ferret finally spotted a break in the crowd and made a mad dash for safety on the south sidewalk.

Veteran Toronto libel lawyer Julian Porter fears the Internet and human rights tribunals are making his craft unworkable.

Saw this at J-Source: the Torontoist reported Monday that Toronto Life has or is about to shut down at least three of its blogs (update: It's four).

Noted one commenter: "clearly a smart decision. online media is sooo 20th century. print is where things are headed." :)

Wrote D.B. Scott at the Canadian Magazines blog:

It's usually useful to follow the money; in this case, apparently, the web division of St. Joseph Media has been ordered to slash budgets in the face of declining ad revenues -- think GM and Ford, for instance. So even the small amount paid to freelancers Chatto, Preville and Bell has been red-pencilled, as has most budget for original online content. The implications for St. Joe's online strategy is anyone's guess, but will they be considered players if they are not playing?

From CBC.ca:

The Los Angeles Times will cut 250 jobs, including 150 in its editorial departments, the paper's editor has announced.

Alejandro Escevedo at the Mod Club on Monday. Here's a q-and-a from Now:

The Austin singer/songwriter named artist of the decade by No Depression magazine comes blazing back with the aggressively rockin’ Real Animal (Back Porch/Virgin) disc, an amped-up salute to his glam-rock and punk roots that he’ll be showcasing at the Mod Club Monday (July 7). $18.50. 416-870-8000, myspace.com/alejandroescovedo.

Taj Mahal, Sarah Harmer, Corb Lund, Connie Kaldor, Loudon Wainwright III, Joel Plaskett, Harry Manx, Great Lake Swimmers, Foggy Hogtown Boys and the Creaking String Quartet, to name a few.

If you do go and hear a great act that hasn't gotten any acclaim but deserves some, please leave a comment when you get back.

Have fun and happy listening!

From AP via CTV.ca:

A new study suggests Canada ranks second to last among G8 countries when it comes to addressing global warming.

Only the United States scores lower on the Group of Eight Climate Scorecard, released Thursday by the World Wildlife Fund.

The study also found that none of the eight countries are making improvements large enough to prevent drastic temperature increases.

The World Wildlife Fund say none of the G8 countries are even half-way to meeting ideal emissions targets.

It says Britain has done the most to reach emissions targets set out in the Kyoto Protocol, with France and Germany close behind. Following in order are Italy, Japan, Russia, Canada and the United States.

Here's the WWF news release and some related links:

• 2008 G8 Climate Scorecards
  
• WWF G8 Position Paper
  
• Ranking Summary

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80's Harbourfront show Wednesday night is an early pick to be my top show of the summer.

From the BBC (posted July 1):

The man wanted over the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya is hiding in western Europe, Russia's chief investigator has said.

Ms Politkovskaya, a prominent Kremlin critic, was shot dead outside her home in the capital on 7 October 2006.

Thirty-four-year-old Chechnya resident Rustam Makhmudov is believed to have fired the fatal shot.

Last month, three men - who all come from Chechnya - were charged over Ms Politkovskaya's murder.

Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov - brothers of Mr Makhmudov - and Sergey Khadzhikurbanov are expected to go on trial soon.

From the July 2 BBC:

Hundreds of journalists have protested outside the residence of Sri Lanka's president, demanding an end to a wave of attacks on the media.

The demonstrators called on Mahinda Rajapaksa's government to end what they said was a "culture of impunity".

At least 12 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since August 2005.

Campaigners for press freedom say Sri Lanka is fast becoming one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work in the world.

Wednesday's protest comes two days after a reporter and a British diplomat were attacked in the capital, Colombo.

Read Russell Smith's column in the Globe and Mail on "crapspeak."

However, one of the wellsprings of that effort is this June 14 rant by Lucy Kellaway in the BBC magazine: Are you going forward? Then stop now.

That begat this June 16 follow-up: 50 office-speak phrases you love to hate.

John Macfarlane, who stepped down in February as the editorial helmsman of of Toronto Life, will be doing some work over the next six months for The Walrus, the award-winning but financially challenged magazine. He will be ...   more »

I own Nigeria 70: The definitive story of 1970s Funky Lagos once again!

Just over two years ago, this excellent compilation of Nigerian funk and Afrobeat, featuring great artists like Fela Kuti (he called his first band Nigeria 70), was unlawfully removed from my possession.

A British label called Strut Records pulled the anthology together, issuing it in 2001. But when I went hunting for another copy after the theft, I found it had gone under.

PS: Fela's son Seun Kuti and the 25-piece Egypt 80 band will be playing Harbourfront tonight!

I had a fine one. Just came back from watching fireworks at Ontario Place in T.O.

Listened to classical, soul, reggae, bagpipe and country music performed live over the course of the day, ate -- at various times -- a cheddar-and-mushroom omelette, pork dumplings and finished with Pakistani food at Lahore Tikka House.

In its own way, I think that's an all-Canadian day. :)

CBC had a Canadian songs segment today*, and if I'd been consulted, I would have worked the Guess Who's Runnin' Back To Saskatoon into the playlist.

I hope everyone here in Soviet Canuckistan had a great day.

Here's to a peaceful, prosperous, diverse and tolerant Canada.

* Afterward

The CBC radio3 website had a blog posting announcing Sing For Your Song Canada!, but if there are easy links to a follow-up archived podcast or a text version of the playlist, I can't find them. As they wish.