Sometimes, I wonder why I’m in Journalism - or, at the very least, if news will be around much longer. 

Michael Jackson has been news for over a week, (seriously, people? He was in the spotlight his whole life, and that’s arguably part of what led to his craziness, give him some privacy in death!), and now this is major headline news?  Talk about blowing things out of proportion! So, Harper didn’t eat the Host. I’m not Roman Catholic - and while I do understand that the communnion is very important to those who are - is this really major news?

Harper could have accidently dropped it, he could have been unsure what to do (I would have been), there’s a million things that could explain the “apparent” video clip showing… well, nothing.

Bottom line is - who cares what he did with it?  He was at a funeral mass for crying out loud, and the focus should be on remembering  and mourning former governor general Roméo LeBlanc, not on what Harper may or may not have done.

Does anyone know what’s going on with Canada’s isotope crisis or what North Korea has been up to recently?

Didn’t think so.

My Dad and I went to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s FlyFest 2009 on Father’s Day, which took place at the Hamilton International Airport. Originally, we were going to go on the Saturday, but thunderstorms and heavy rain meant the planes would be grounded. I opted to stay home (rain + recovering from a cold = bad news bears). My sister and Dad still went - and although no planes were flying, they got to board a number of aircraft, including one of my favourites - the Lancaster.

The Lancaster went up while we were there on Saturday - and promptly came back down, meeting two fire trucks on the runway. Much to my disappointment, it never went up again. According to the MC, “The pilot saw something he didn’t like”. According to a Lancaster Ground Crew member I was chatting with in the food line, that “something” was a serious problem with the hydraulics. Hopefully they get it fixed before the next airshow it’s due to be at!

PHOTOS BY LAUREN SOUCH

As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now - the City of Toronto voted in favor of introducing a mandatory fee on those pesky plastic bags you get when you shop back in December.

The new bylaw came into effect Monday, so officially if you’re shopping (and need - or want - a plastic bag) you’ll be charged a minimum of 5 cents for every bag you take home.

Personally, I’ve been using reusable shopping bags for a few years now - mostly because I was sick and tired of having the plastic ones lying all over my apartment (and was out of space to store them). The reusable ones are convenient, fold up nicely, and can hold a whole lot of stuff. However, many of them are also pretty ugly. I mean, who wants to carry around a bag plastered with close-ups of fruit guts all day?

I’ve dug up some alternative options to the reusable bags being offered by grocery stores, most of them made by local crafters and artists.

goodEGG Industries is an online store focusing on handmade crafts and goods. The shop is run by a duo of Toronto crafters, and offers a wide selection of Canadian-made items, including a slew of totes and shopping bags for a decent price.

Karissa Cove is a local artist who designs totes (among other things) that she sells on the online site Etsy.com.

Delight is an American company - but I had to include them because they sell really nice looking, reusable shopping bags (just like the ones you can snag at the grocery store, only with funky designs). Not only are their bags awesome, they’re also available in quite a few of Toronto Shops (including Bergo Designs in the Distillery District and Rolo in Yorkville.

And, for those of us who are eco-friendly and interested in taking your reusable bags a step further (and cutting down on your produce bags during your shop), Kootsac (located in B.C.) offers a handmade, reusable alternative to the throw-away plastic bags available in grocery stores.

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What do you get when you combine local self-publishing artists, a love for zines, and a cat? You get mishmish.ca, a brand new website that launched on Thursday night inside Jamie’s Area (which is a relatively new multi-purpose space located in Kensington Market). The site – named for Mish Mish the cat – is the brainchild of local artists Laura McCoy and Jesjit Gill, and sells zines, comics, posters, and art books. The launch party had a wide array of things to look at and listen to – there was a DJ, poetry readings, music performances, and of course, a number of cool zines and prints to admire.

Attendees were treated to the eye candy of various artwork, such as the poster by Andrew Zukerman (center)

McCoy and Gill tell me they snagged the idea for Mish Mish from two similar websites, which are run out of Switzerland and New York. McCoy hopes the website will encourage more people to self-publish, at the same time as providing an outlet for zines to be sold year-round. “There’s really no permanent place for this sort of thing”, she adds, “And there’s not really much space for zines on the internet”. The site currently is home to roughly ten artists, though McCoy says they’re planning on expanding. “We’re accepting submissions from anyone,” she told me, though submissions will be reviewed. “We just sell stuff we like by people we dig,” the website quips – so if the duo likes what they see, they’ll house it on Mish Mish. And I’ve got to admit – some of the stuff they’re offering is pretty cool.  

I love the tees on the far end - it's too bad they didn't come in girly sizes.

One of my favourite items was a set of really sweet, screened baby blue tees. McCoy tells me they were printed by artist Peter Kalyniuk, who has been self publishing for a decade. His work is available on the website – though sadly, the t-shirts are not – and there are both other established names from the zine world and work from newer artists available for purchase. Currently the site has about ten different items offered, but I’m assured more features will be added soon - such as a virtual poster room for your viewing pleasure. “We’ll probably end up breaking the rules and selling music soon too,” McCoy tells me with a laugh.

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Prices run anywhere from $2 to $20, solely dependent on the printing process (for example, whether it’s photocopied or screened). “It’s really not about making a profit,” says McCoy, “it’s about getting our work out there”.

“Could it be true?” writes the official Archie comic site,  ”Has Archie finally decided to take the plunge and propose to comics’ favorite rich girl?  It sure looks that way!”

Announced early yesterday morning with a blog post, the Archie team called the upcoming 6 part story line - which takes a look at the future for Archie and his friends as they graduate college and enter “the real world” - “The Archie story of the Century”.

No more love triangle?

And I think it just might be!

I grew up reading Archie comics - and I’ll even admit it, I own a pretty sweet “Veronica” shirt (um, that I bought maybe 3 years ago?).

Back in ‘94, there was a story line that advertised Archie would FINALLY pick between Betty and Veronica - and it surprised everyone when he picked Cheryl Blossom! That relationship eventually ended though, and the Betty/Veronica/Archie love triangle continued for another, oh, 15 years?

But as much as I love the rich brunette, I’ve also always had a soft spot for the blond Betty (who, by the way, according to the three males I asked is the preferred choice of the two). Regardless of which girl I (or any of my friends) might like better, there is one important thing I’d like to make clear: Archie isn’t allowed to CHOOSE between the two!

Well, technically I guess he is - but, I mean, I’ve been following Archie comics (and this love triangle) since I was, like, eight - and it feels so weird that it’s finally coming to an end… although I’m sure there’s going to be a few twists along the way. 

The first part of the series hits comic book store shelves August 19th (and there’s one down the street from me - looks like I might have to actually set foot it in), but if you don’t have one near you, you can pick it up from news stands September 1st.