As far as larger than life characters in a melodramatic musical mockery go, is there any contender more perfect than Rob Ford? With all the controversy and comedy since his election in 2010, there is no shortage of stories. The antics of the city’s chief prima donna have been screaming for a send up, with social gaffes and cases of mistaken identities like something out of a soap opera. Now take just that last word, and voila! Rob Ford: The Opera. It’s real. And it’s all thanks to Starbucks.

Charles Foran began his career as many a University of Toronto student does: studying at St. Michael’s College and exploring the world beyond the classroom. “I was the kind of undergraduate who learned as much outside the classroom as within,” Foran said regarding his formative years. “Some smaller universities can’t really accommodate that kind of young person, that kind of sensibility, but there was no way I could exhaust it (U of T).” Describing his past self as “a very restless young man,” his experiences in the halls of the campus and on the streets of the city speak to a time perhaps more encouraging of extracurriculars than that which current students and recent graduates would recollect.

Chances are, you’ve yet to hear the buzz about beekeeper (sic). But the Vancouver “post-pop power trio” is ready to fly from their West coast indie hive and take on the other side of the country. On January 19, the band will play their second Toronto gig, but as their guitarist and vocalist Devon Lougheed put it, they’ve “made the jump to an upstairs room” at the ever-edgy Sneaky Dee’s.

This past weekend saw Toronto take the world stage--or track--as host, for the first ever Roller Derby World Cup. Derby has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and Canada is leading the pack, with over 1,000 amateur leagues springing up across the country.

A recent poll commissioned by Canada Post showed that almost 90% of Canadian youth prefer physical rather than electronic greeting cards, and about three quarters of Canadians of all ages will send an average of twenty Christmas cards each this month. Of course, many of those may very well be addressed to the North Pole, H0H 0H0, as Canada Post’s campaign to get kids to write to Santa (actually retirees and post employees) enters its 29th year.

On Thursday December 8, the Gothic Revival building at 1 Spadina Crescent will once again host the hidden artistic treasures of U of T in Eyeball. Organized by the Fine Arts Student Union, the annual showcase features work from the undergraduate Visual Arts program, and aims to expose the students’ accomplishments to the general University population. This is not an easy feat.

Earlier this month, Queen’s University gave its marching band, the oldest and largest university band in Canada, a semester-long suspension for distributing a salacious pamphlet. The marching band was also barred from performing in the Toronto and Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parades.

Which subject would you ACE on an exam right now?

"Where to find the best brunch in Toronto."
The Stephanies

This past month, the Tarragon Theatre has been home to the many stories and voices of The Sankofa Trilogy, the dub poetry performance of Dora-award winning playwright and educator d’bi Young. The third installment, word!sound!powah! follows blood.claat and benu.

The Art of Time Ensemble was at it again this past weekend at the Enwave Theatre, featuring Canadian artist Steven Page, former frontman of The Barenaked Ladies.