arts & entertainment

[ ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ottawafestivals.jpg) Heads up: The Ottawa Festival Network has a brand new web site. It’s a big improvement over the old one – not only is it much prettier to look at, but the listing of festivals is easier to navigate and there’s more info as well. ...

We recently found a great local website called Ask Around. It’s a very useful resource that features a directory of businesses and services in Ottawa that have been recommended by other readers. The site is run by Wendy Stone, who also writes the Ask Around blog , and shares recommendations via Twitter . ...

Our rant of the day today comes from Alec Saunders, who’s upset about not being able to buy tickets for the Leonard Cohen show at the National Arts Centre: ** ** That TicketMaster has a monopoly on the sale of event tickets in North America is not in dispute. ...

A few recommended links on today’s Obama visit in Ottawa: ** ** * John W. MacDonald's collection of photos: " [ What does this day mean to you? ](http://www.johnwmacdonald.com/blog/2009/02/obama-what-does-this-day-mean-to-you.html) " * Scott Feschuk's [ running diary of Obama's visit, as seen from his sofa ](http://blog. ...

** It’s Barack Obama Eve in Ottawa. Here’s what people are talking about today online: ** * Bruce Ward [ invites Obama to make a public appearance ](http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Bruce+Ward+presidential+appeal+Give+some+face+time/1300301/story.html) : "So please, Mr. President, give us some face time when you get here tomorrow. ...

Looks like Ottawa has caught Obama fever. Here’s a round up of blogs and news from around the web today, in advance of his visit to Ottawa on Thursday, February 19. We’re just waiting for Mayor Larry to proclaim Thursday “Obama Day” in Ottawa. ...

Seen on Katy O’Malley’s blog today: ** ** ObamaWatch: He’s coming! He’s really coming! Well, they’re [ shutting down the airspace ](http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/13/c8550.html) around our fair city, at least, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p. ...

Here are ten facts about Canada’s World Junior team , courtesy of IIHF.com. 1. Canada has hosted the World U20 Championship seven times, winning gold three times, silver three times, and bronze once. 2. In five of the last six times Canada has hosted the event it set new attendance records . ...

** We’ve had a few emails asking us what happened to OttawaStart’s movie listings. Here’s the story: ** * Our listings were provided by a third party called FilmCan, via a syndicated feed. They were a local company that provided the complete local theatre listings for a yearly subscription fee. ...

Peter Simpson has a w onderfully sardonic take on Stephen Harper’s approach to arts funding his The Big Beat blog. Here’s a sample: ** ** Prime Minister Stephen Harper is absolutely right: all that money that His government spends on the arts each year could go to other, more useful purposes - say, covering His government's subsidy to Bombardier for one day - instead of being wasted by rich folks who fritter it all away going to fancy galas. ...