Montreal May 22, 2012

What does it mean to be a citizen?

Lately I've been really re-evaluting social media and how it pertains to citizen journalism. 

Today marks day 100 that Montreal students have been on strike, opposing massive tuition increases and student debt. I'm not 100% sure on all the details behind the rallies, but I've met many students who have been hit hard by this movement over the course of my first week here.  I remember how worried we were a while back when the professors at the U of W were planning to strike It was my graduating year.

Today I was lucky enough to stumble into the biggest protest march in Montreal to date on my walk home from work. Tensions are so high here, I can only wonder what it will take for either parties to form an agreement. Two nights ago, riot police unloaded by the bus-full and were walking the streets in formation, banging on their shields like the guys from 300. Yesterday a student threw a moltov cocktail. New laws are being passed every day, making this beautiful, cultural city look more and more like a war-torn police state.

The last two shots are from my bedroom window. The people are still marching by as I write this.

Boys and Girls

This website is a cool way of checking out the difference in gendered advertising. It's no secret that there is a formula to most toy commercials, and the mashup website lets you play around with the audio and video of some samples.  I see it as a reflection on the persisting gender norms that still exist today. The biggest one is probably that girls still like pink and boys still like blue.