[caption id="attachment_9170" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Image by Archibald Ballantine"][/caption] A friend of mine recently came to me with a dilemma. Let me explain it to you. For the sake of anonymity, I will not mention any names. The friend of her friend's boyfriend ... you follow me so far? Or better yet, her friend's boyfriend's friend ... confused? Me too. To hell with anonymity: My friend Megan has a friend named Justine. Justine has a boyfriend named Stéphane. Stéphane has a friend named Adam who lives in Toronto. Last week, Adam came to visit Montreal. Now here's the dilemma. There is no word in either English or French to describe what it's like to be around Megan. "Fun" is so overused; it does not begin to describe the unique experience had whilst in her company. And "lively" only explains the half of it. I would say quality time with her resembles an intoxicating cross between merriment and jubilation (with just a touch of rapture). Yes; Megan is awesome. So this is why, whenever out-of-towners visit, they must hang out with Megan. She has become a tourist attraction that rivals The Botanical Gardens, or, The St-Joseph Oratory. But unlike the aforementioned Montreal destinations, Megan is a human being. And so, the day before Adam came to visit, she confessed: "I have a thesis to write. I have a job to work. I have a life to lead. I don't have time to play tour guide." I felt her pain. I too have become a perennial stop on the tourist circuit.

Airside is a British creative agency working across the disciplines of graphic design, illustration, digital, interactive, and moving image. « The Joy of Cycling » was a concept proposed to Transport for London for their winter cycling campaign. It is a take on the classic 70’s illustrated sex manual, The Joy of Sex. Rugged men, sultry women, and all that facial hair - Montréal, this winter, let's turn this biking fantasy into reality.

Alors. Il y a 15 ans, le Québec a presque voté « OUI » pour son indépendance. Ou, il a presque voté « OUI » pour qu'il devienne souverain, après avoir offert formellement au Canada un nouveau partenariat économique et politique, dans le cadre du projet de loi sur l'avenir du Québec et de l'entente signée le 12 juin 1995. Ou bien, il a presque voté « OUI » pour la canonisation de Monsieur Lucien Bouchard. Quoi qu'il en soit, le référendum de 1995 fut un moment inoubliable dans l'histoire de la nation.

Allez. Débarquez à la station De l'Église. Regardez autour de vous. Prenez note, que l'État est un fait de nature, que naturellement l'homme est un être sociable, et que celui qui reste sauvage par organisation, et non par l'effet du hasard, est certainement, ou un être dégradé, ou un être supérieur à l'espèce humaine. De là, cette conclusion évidente, nous découvrirons les particularités verdunoises qui rend cet arrondissement sociable.

Pour notre premier arrêt à Verdun, nous entreprenons une exploration de son aménagement.