Michèle Champagne
@michelechampagne.com
Graphic art, M.Des. — Photography direction. Publication design. Research on mandatory positivity and its effect on freedom of the press and the media of architecture and “smart” cities. Invited to Harvard GSD, McGill, UQAM. — michelechampagne.com
It’s with fondness that I remember living on the University of Toronto campus, and it’s in part because of its great buildings old and new.
Alex Bozikovic@alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 8h agoMy glowing review of Mecanoo’s new building for Trinity College. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/art-...
And why I bristle at the “if ‘smart’ cities are so smart they wouldn’t have to spend so much on PR” thing. PR and marketing, identities and images are key tools in the power brokering of tech. These tools framed a mandatorily positive narrative of tech and it worked for a while, but no more.
Tyler@electriceden92.bsky.social · yesterdayThis is why I bristle at the 'what happened to tech' question: at its core, nothing happened except the ability and need to express that. From the late-70s to the mid-10s, it could have its cake and eat it too, and when it no longer could, that's when the mask got pulled off
The 'think different'/Buddhist Dylan fan marketing was only ever that. The computer industry is a direct outgrowth of the military industrial complex, and it never stopped being that for a moment, it just pretended to for a long time
Quinn Slobodian@quinnslobodian.com · yesterdayNice piece by Sharon Weinberger about Jobs's early lifeline from the security state. www.wsj.com/tech/steve-j...
Nice piece by Sharon Weinberger about Jobs's early lifeline from the security state. www.wsj.com/tech/steve-j...
The Hidden Debt That Apple Owes to the CIA
Without CIA funding that helped keep NeXT afloat in the ’80s, Steve Jobs might not have made a triumphant return to Apple—and the iPhone might not have its foundational operating code.
wsj.com
AR Reading list 091: water in the city Few building types reveal as much about a society as the places it chooses to submerge itself in. Curated from the AR archive, these five free-to-read stories explore the role of water in cities across five decades.
Reading list 091: water in the city
These five free-to-read stories explore the role of water in cities across five decades
architectural-review.com
Siza’s ocean swimming pools are on my wish list:
Revisit: tea house and swimming pools, Leça da Palmeira, Portugal by Álvaro Siza
Designed by a young Álvaro Siza, the Boa Nova tea house and nearby swimming pools sustain an intimacy with the Atlantic by turning their back on land
architectural-review.com
At Strøm spa yesterday with ceramist Anja Otto, I read Lili Owen Rowland’s review of A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnès Varda, by @carrierickey.bsky.social. It’s a good read and as usual, the text is wonderfully typeset in Quadraat, drawn by type designer @fredsmeijers.bsky.social.
Lili Owen Rowlands · Againstness: Agnès Varda’s Fruit Salad
Beneath the whimsy and the wit, Agnès Varda’s films were motivated by contradiction and critique. She said she was...
lrb.co.uk
If in Montreal, opt for Bota Bota in Old Montreal or Strøm spa on Nun’s Island. Highly recommended. I’m glad Recess is not on the list. When I was there last, the lounge was tiny and uncomfortable, the screaming session gave me bronchitis, and Aesop products were hard to find.
Best Spas in Montreal
As voted by our readers in the 2026 Best of MTL readers poll, the best spas in Montreal are Bota Bota, spa-sur-l’eau, Strøm Spa Nordique, Scandinave Spa, Spa Le Finlandais and Spa St. James.
cultmtl.com
La prochaine soirée, c'est demain ! Le 20 août. Projections de Ciné-Façade au @ccaconversations.bsky.social. J’y serai avec des couvertes et quelques amis. Si vous voulez vous joindre à nous, envoyez-moi un message.
Ciné-Façade : Habiter l’imperfection
Dans le cadre de notre exposition L’atout de la ville c’est qu’elle n’a jamais été parfaite, Cinéma Public vous propose une série de trois soirées de projections dans le parc Baile, accompagnées d’ate...
cca.qc.ca
404 Media really is doing great work! I had to re-read this more carefully tonight to better appreciate it.
404 Media@404media.co · last wk.EXCLUSIVE: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Investigation by @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
This is thoughtful.
Rebecca Williams@rebeccawilliams.info · 2w agoI started writing about the Summer of Ludd and ended up writing about all the ways tech has grabbed power and all the ways we can take it back. (The secret is: politics). There's a good chance I cited your work in this piece – there are links for days. rebeccawilliams.info/unwinding-th...
Álvaro Siza “celebrates the city as an ‘imperfect body,’ one that demands transformation … A city’s margins, forgotten elements, transitional zones, and social fabrics offer opportunities to rethink how cities develop.” – @fagallanti.bsky.social – @archpaper.com www.archpaper.com/2026/08/alva...
At @ccaconversations.bsky.social until January 10th, 2027: something imperfect yet full of life and wonder.
The fortune of the city is that it has never been perfect
cca.qc.ca
Kate Taylor on Biidaasige Park’s Lassonde Art Trail, including this installation by Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka.
Toronto’s Lassonde Art Trail represents public art done right
Located on the east waterfront in Biidaasige Park, the trail features about two dozen small statements and hidden treasures
theglobeandmail.com
Governments in Canada can create great public spaces.
Phil@philmarfisi.bsky.social · 2w agoIt is not an understatement to say that the promenade at Biidaasige Park is one of the best new public spaces in North America.
Lovely portrait series of Victoria Mboko by photographers Alex Blouin and Jodi Heartz.
This week, @magnumphotos.bsky.social is celebrating Louis Armstrong’s 125th birthday. Le voici dans l'atelier de Philippe Halsman en 1966:
Louis Armstrong, une vie au rythme du jazz
En 1966, l’icône de jazz est au sommet de sa gloire, mais ressent aussi tout le poids de sa carrière sur ses épaules.
ledevoir.com
We walked by this again today on Mont-Royal.
Sarah Moser@sarahkmoser.bsky.social · 2w agoMontréal has spoken! ⚡️⚡️
I love my @lrb.co.uk subscription. Barbara Newman on medieval health and happiness:
Barbara Newman · Beasts with Ravening Whelps: Helthe and Welthe
Self-Help from the Middle Ages raises some provocative questions about historical figures. Was Thomas Aquinas truly a...
lrb.co.uk
C’est fou : « Les billets les plus chers pour le soccer se vendent 6$ (33$ en dollars d’aujourd’hui). »
Comment les spectateurs ont-ils vécu «leurs Jeux»?
À l’aide des journaux de l’époque, «Le Devoir» a examiné la «petite histoire» des Jeux olympiques.
ledevoir.com
A company that would experiment on its own users like this, and obfuscated what it was doing, is not one that will abide by any "duty to act responsibly." @ntusikov.bsky.social and I lay out exactly why not in this Policy Options piece. policyoptions.irpp.org/2026/07/bill...
Canada can’t regulate Big Tech by trusting Big Tech
Bill C-34 puts too much faith in Big Tech. Canada should regulate the algorithms, data practices and business models that drive online harm.
policyoptions.irpp.org
Jason Leopold@jasonleopold.bsky.social · 3w agoBOMBSHELL story by Olivia Carville @bloomberg.com Internal Report Shows TikTok Kept Safety Feature From Millions A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement NO PAYWALL www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Great new piece by @markfollman.bsky.social Inside a mass shooter’s harrowing history with ChatGPT. A year of chats reveals glaring red flags—and disturbing ChatGPT replies—from long before a rampage at Florida State University. www.motherjones.com/media/2026/0...
Inside a mass shooter’s harrowing history with ChatGPT
A year of chats reveals glaring red flags—and disturbing ChatGPT replies—from long before a rampage at Florida State University.
motherjones.com
BOMBSHELL story by Olivia Carville @bloomberg.com Internal Report Shows TikTok Kept Safety Feature From Millions A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement NO PAYWALL www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide
A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement.
bloomberg.com
