I've maybe talked a little bit too much about Now Magazine on this podcast.

I don't know if it's anybody else's favorite topic, but it is mine.

Just as a reminder for people who don't live in Toronto.

Yeah, nobody, nobody listening knows what that is.

We have a few Toronto people who might. Now Magazine is our equivalent of the village voice.

It's a very venerable alternative weekly.

You can get it for free.

You get it on the subway.

When it started, it was the lefty rag in town,

in addition to providing like events, listings, and all that kind of stuff.

You know, it was our village voice, basically.

And now it's one of the last alternative weeklies that exists anywhere.

And about two years ago, it was bought up by this company called Media Central,

which was trying to buy basically all the remaining alternative weeklies in Canada,

put them under the same umbrella.

Something that has emerged under this new ownership is this section that I'm absolutely obsessed with called brand voices.

Man, that is a cursed pairing of words, if ever there was one.

It's a section that's devoted entirely to sponsored content, which I guess now magazine staff writes. And by the way, no shade at all towards any writers or editors at Now magazine.

This is not their fault, you know? This is obviously the decision of someone much higher up, and I'm sorry that they have to write some of this stuff.

I noticed it because it's not just in the Brand Voices section. I went to the film

section, as I often do, to see, you know, the latest and greatest in film news. And there was a story

just under latest news and features titled, It's been an unforgettable year for the Toronto

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