OTL Blog

Eyebrows are once again being raised concerning the competence of urban planning on the Lower Main. First came the wholesale evictions and gutting of the now-crumbling historic block on the west side of the Lower Main, effectively transforming an area where entertainment once thrived into a dangerous and boarded-up eyesore.  Now, on the south-east corner of Ste. Catherine Street [...]

UPDATE (June 22) After a successful opening vernissge, the Dumpster Dive Art Drive has been on display in an undisclosed alleyway for the public to enjoy. One jogger who stumbled upon the opening said, “Thanks! You just made my day!” between chugs of red wine served to him in a brown paper bag. The great [...]

Montreal’s Lower Main has been the site of controversy as of late, with powerful business interests squaring off against artists and heritage activists to determine the future of the historic stretch of road that was once the heart of Montreal’s bustling Red Light District. The battle has been characterized by powerful business interests dislocating the area’s [...]

From May 28th – 31st the Société de Développement du Boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL) hosted a four day party known as the Mainfest. Despite bad weather reports, the sun shone radiantly throughout most of the festival. This was wonderful for local merchants, musicians, performers, and pedestrians who converged at the Mainfest to participate in a multitude [...]

In an attempt to diversify its media holdings and reach a new, more socially aware public, CanWest Global Communications Corporation has purchased several internet sites, blogs and forums deemed until recently to be too small-scale for a large media corporation to even be interested in.  This online publication, the OTL Blog, is one of them. [...]

Montreal hosts North America’s oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade, which started officially in 1817, even though its roots go back as far as 1759.  With such an ancient history by Canadian standards, many assume that the parade is steeped in authenticity. After witnessing the parade this year, however, many viewers were left with the impression [...]

March 15th marked the 13th International Day Against Police Brutality, and in Montreal the mood was tense after an unusually brutal year whereby police officers killed a young man after they found him playing dice with his friends. Early in the evening on August 9th, 2008, 18 year old Fredy Villanueva was shot dead at [...]

We’ve been getting quite a bit of it on this trip, both local (Halifax Herald, Daily News) and national (CBC, Globe and Mail). Most of it is already online here: www.optative.net/neptune/media.html

After a long drive and a day of flyering, talking to the media and in general having a good time in Halifax, we headed to Annapolis Royal for our first Nova Scotia show, yesterday, November 14th, the 400th anniversary of Lescarbot’s play. Of course, we had to pay a visit to the “birthplace of drama” [...]

The Montreal cast and crew of Sinking Neptune is leaving for Nova Scotia tomorrow morning. We will be playing a show in Anapolis Royal at King’s Theatre on Tuesday, November 14th and two shows in Halifax at The Bus Stop on November 15th and 16th. We’re going to help start the next 400 years of [...]