moving notice

Visit my new blog: Metropolitan News.

this is not me

Just FYI, this new video on YouTube, titled “Andy AK47 riga,” is not footage of me, nor is my middle name AK47:

lost (and found?) in translation

It’s amazing to me that after so many years of co-existing in Quebec, anglos and francos are still involved in a “dialogue de sourds” when it comes to language issues. At least, it’s that way in much of the news coverage and political discourse. Overall in day-to-day life (I think) most people get along quite [...]

the properties of snow

After Montreal’s first winter storm, the city claimed 45 centimetres of snow fell, while Environment Canada said 36 cm. I wanted to figure out how and why Environment Canada and the city could come up with snowfall estimates that diverged so widely.
The story that resulted from my research was published in today’s Gazette (see the bottom [...]

creepy real-estate agents

Got something bizarre and creepy in the mail this week. It was a 2008 calendar from a couple of neighbourhood real-estate agents (Marie-Claire Le Pessec and Yvan Pelland) but it wasn’t the usual schlocky type. You know – stock photos of quaint landscapes and big pictures of the agents.
On this one, the photos of [...]

if i hate facebook so much, why do i keep posting about it?

Now people are adding me as their Facebook “friends” just to annoy me.
Very droll.
A still-committed Facebooking friend emailed me this Canadian Press story about a trend I started way back in May:
Endless status updates, unwanted friends: some have had enough of Facebook
By Lee-Anne Goodman, Canadian Press
TORONTO – Mark Johnston is 27, a teacher living far from home [...]

revenge of the facebook haters

While working on a story about one of my favourite topics (revenge!; see if you can find it in Saturday’s paper), I stumbled upon a cool new add-on to Facebook. It’s called Enemybook and it lets you list your enemies on Facebook, then tell the world why you hate them.
Enemybook creator Kevin Matulet calls [...]

ste. catherine st. w.’s ghost block

I have a story in today’s Gazette about the crumbling Seville Theatre and the ghost block it sits on. Here’s the top of the article:
The outer limits of downtown
Andy Riga, The Gazette
The strip of Ste. Catherine St. W. was once alive with nightlife, full of Montrealers heading for Canadiens games at the Forum, movies [...]

hello, anybody still out there?

hello, anybody still out there?

montreal.dumb

The city’s website has long been an impenetrable mess, despite the striking, colourful cityscapes that recently started gracing its front page. I just stumbled upon more evidence the city doesn’t get the Internet.
I thought I’d save some time by paying a parking ticket online only to learn the city charges a $1.50 “administrative fee” for [...]

reformed facebook’er

Here’s an interesting Facebook primer – but obsessive status-updater Tony Pompeo is long gone.

pas de circulaires, s.v.p.

I’m taking the advice of a DMM,JTTM reader who told me to “smarten up!”
In this comment, Jodster took me to task for complaining about “Unaddressed Admail” (what Canada Post calls the junk mail that it delivers).
He makes some good points, though I’m not sure you can compare Bell Canada to Canada Post, the latter [...]

fighting for your right to dry your clothes

I have the day off so I’m doing laundry – lots of it. Unless those ominous dark clouds bring rain Some of it is going up on the clothesline I can see from where I’m sitting at my computer.
In some parts of North America, this would be a no-no. CBC Radio did a story [...]

it’s like riding a bike

Since it’s turning into cycling week on DMM,JTTM, I thought I’d throw this out there. I taught a 7-year-old to cycle without training wheels last Saturday. Took about 20 minutes. This after weeks of struggling on the street. Before going out Saturday, I went online and found some very useful tips from Bicycling Magazine’s website [...]

why can’t montreal cyclists and montreal drivers get along?

Are Montreal cops monitoring this blog? They put out a press release today about bicycle safety.
I had another near-death experience on Ste. Catherine St. this morning, wondering as I dodged driver-side doors and was cut off by taxis about who in the Gazette newsroom would write my obit and whether they’d quote yesterday’s prescient blog [...]

bungee jumping on ste. catherine

Took my bike to work today for the first time since last June. I had forgotten how much cycling along Ste. Catherine St. in morning traffic can be like what I imagine bungee jumping feels like – enjoyable but hair-raising. There’s the constant fear of a car door swinging open, the double-parked delivery trucks blocking [...]