I am not terribly well-represented in the latest issue of NOW, but don’t worry; it’s just a quirk of timing. I’ll be all over the section next week.

Today’s paper does feature one thing about which I’m reasonably proud, though — an interview with Lance Hammer, the director of a terrific new drama called “Ballast” that’s been picking up some of the year’s strongest reviews on the festival circuit. It opens in Toronto tomorrow, and is well worth watching even at one of the shoeboxes in the Carlton.

It’s not for everyone, but it’s infinitely more satisfying than, say, Rod Stewart’s manky cover of Ron Sexsmith’s lovely “Secret Heart”, which is playing on CBC Radio 2 as I type these words. Seriously, what the hell?