^^^^^ I’d vote for him!
Apparently parody election signs are popping up all over Toronto by No Ford Nation. The tagline on all signs are, “Anyone’s better than Rob Ford.”
The reaction by Torontonians have been a mixed bag so far. Some people are finding the signs absolutely hilarious, while others are pissed-off and claim the signs are damaging the city’s reputation.
Via reddit
If you live in the Toronto area and own a tuba, I may have found a job opportunity for you. Of course, it’s not without its risks—for all I know, you might end with a citation of some sort, and you might make a few high-powered enemies.
A Craigslist user in Toronto, apparently a representative from some flashmob-type website, would like a tuba player to follow mayor Rob Ford around for a day and toot some jocular tones intended to make fun of his weight—as if nobody had noticed that the good, crack-smoking mayor could stand to shed a few kilograms (that’s what they call “pounds” in Canada). For that service—8 hours of it—you can expect to receive $125. You are expected to bring your own tuba, but a trombone will suffice if absolutely necessary.
French horn players can fuck off, not interested.
“You must be willing to adhere to the following: wear a gopro camera (provided) to document the ensuing antics” and “wear a shirt with @UnethicalHacks (provided) printed on the back for the entire day.”
“Price for 8 hours: $125.” That comes out to $15.63 an hour. Which is better than minimum wage, but still not great pay. Considering what they are asking, they really should pay at least $500.
For those interested in applying, here is an instructional video on the job requirements, courtesy of The Family Guy:
Thank you Jess Wood!
On Friday bOING bOING featured a YouTube video of a section of Bizet’s Carmen reworked with lyrics pertaining to the trials and tribulations of Toronto’s singular mayor, Rob Ford. Ford has become a magnet of media interest lately, due to the surfacing of videotape proving that he smoked crack, his excuse for doing so (he was in a “drunken stupor”), and so forth. Basically Rob Ford is what would happen if you took your typical NCAA linebacker and made him mayor of one of the largest cities in North America.
The new Rob Ford version of Carmen is funny, but, to give you an idea of how long Torontans have been dealing with the insane Rob Ford phenomenon, there was an actual opera written and staged in Toronto nearly two years ago. Andrew Jaji (pictured above) played the title role.
Rob Ford in costume for a Christmas performance of The Nutcracker last year
On January 22, 2012, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music put on a one-time-only performance of Rob Ford: The Opera. It was written by four student composers as part of a writing workshop with the considerable assistance of Michael Patrick Albano, resident stage director of the Faculty’s opera division. Albano spoke to The Torontoist while Rob Ford: The Opera was in production:
Well, [Ford] is quite bigger than life, which is very interesting. And I don’t mean physically bigger at all. That’s not what I mean. I mean, bigger than life the way operatic characters often are. He really seems to have a spotlight following him no matter where he goes. And what’s interesting about that kind of character—the same as whether you’re talking about Rob Ford, or King Lear, or Richard Nixon, or whoever you’re talking about—is the tremendous catalyst abilities that he has. He has very strong effects on other people around him.
According to the Musical Toronto website, “It looks like the opera includes a scene where Ford goes to Heaven, to discover that God looks an awful lot like Margaret Atwood. There is another scene where Ford is judged by a jury made up of Toronto librarians.”
God, I’d love to see this thing. Until then, shaky audience video will have to do.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
The Cramps ‘Human Fly’ opera version
War of the Worlds: The Rock Opera