Toronto Life – December 2018

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contributors name tk

December 2018 toronto life 67

3

margaret

atwood

Author

atwood’s fictional worlds have never been more alive in popular culture.

Alias Grace earned critical fawning and roughly four million viewers on CBC

plus millions more on Netflix. Season two of The Handmaid’s Tale was as good

as—if bleaker than—the first. Even if the Emmys semi-snubbed the show (20

nods but no major wins), viewers didn’t; the season two premiere attracted

twice the audience of the original’s. Women in red robes and white wings

popped up to protest the Kavanaugh confirmation in Washington, to rally for

abortion rights in Argentina, to stage an operatic Handmaid’s Tale adaptation

in Australia. Up NExT: Season three of The Handmaid’s Tale.

in 1966, john lennon said the Beatles were

bigger than Jesus. In 2018, Billboard decreed

Drake was bigger than the Beatles when he

smashed a longstanding Fab Four record: seven

of his songs appeared on the Top 10 simultane-

ously. Also this year, he opened the sports joint

Pick 6ix, reunited the Degrassi crew for the “I’m

Upset” music video, produced the police-violence

film Monsters and Men, and delivered the song of

the summer, “In My Feelings.” All of this matters

because, outside of Canada, the first—and some-

times only—thing millions of people know about

Toronto is that it’s Drake’s hometown. When he

looks good, so do we. charity circuit: He blew his

“God’s Plan” video budget (roughly $1.23 million)

on shopping sprees, university scholarships and

other charitable causes for the people of Miami.

in the course of a year, Peterson went

from eccentric prof to global phenomenon. His

12 Rules for Life, a self-help guide to enjoying a

more enlightened existence, topped bestseller

lists around the world. The New York Times col-

umnist David Brooks called him “the most influ-

ential public intellectual in the Western world,”

and by the fall, his book had sold more than

two million copies. up next: Pursuing defamation

lawsuits he’s launched against two Laurier

professors and a former staff member who

compared him to Hitler.

4

Drake

Musician

6

john tory

Mayor

call him bland or a ditherer, but he must have done

something right to nab 63 per cent of the vote. Tory is a no-

surprises maintenance man who worries, so we don’t have to,

about all the unsexy stuff that keeps our metropolis running.

To his credit, he has proved a smooth operator, pushing

through overdue TTC improvements (express buses and

reduced fares for people with disabilities, for two), forming

committees (on important but dull stuff like construction road

closures) that get things done, and avoiding major strikes and

service disruptions. We also take for granted his steadiness

when confronted with the previously unimaginable horrors of

mass shootings and van attacks on our streets. Right now,

with the sheer craziness to the south and the rule-by-spite at

Queen’s Park, it’s nice to have Mister Reliable minding city

hall. up next: Funding for his SmartTrack transit plan finally

won approval at council, but the entire thing could be a wash

if he doesn’t get on the premier’s good side.

5

Jordan Peterson

author

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