All photographic prints from Sanza-Hanza [King Surfer] are by Jamie-James Medina and Matthew Salacuse.

They leap, twist, and run, their sneakers ragged from use. They devise tricks, each more daring than the last, and name them after the heroes of their "play." But these aren't skateboarders, basketball players, or parkour traceurs. They're trainsurfers.

17-year old Tupac (real name Lesego) is a high school kid. He is brash, well-spoken, and steeped in a dark side. Tupac lives in the Soweto ghetto, a collection of townships on the edge of Johannesburg. Along with his crew V.I.R.U.S. (Very Intelligent Riders Usually Survive), he death-defyingly climbs on top, on the sides, and even under trains while they speed along at 80 km/h.

Photo: "Untitled," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler LnTee.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, October 17th, 2008:

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion seems in no hurry to step down after Tuesday's defeat at the polls. Officials deny that he will make way for someone new despite allegations by the Toronto Star. According to former Liberal cabinet minister Lisa Frulla, however, "he doesn't really have a choice, and I think he knows that." Meanwhile, people close to MPs Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy and Dominic LeBlanc, former deputy prime minister John Manley and former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna are "coyly" testing the waters.

"Teflon Don" Vito Rizzuto's father, 84-year old Nicolo Rizzuto, was released yesterday after two years behind bars, with three more years of probation left to serve. He and six other reputed leaders were investigated for four years as part of Project Colisée. Rizzuto was given the lightest sentence in part because of his age and health problems. A plea bargain also allowed him to avoid the more serious charges of drug trafficking and extortion.

Photo: "Ineffective guards," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler greynotgrey.

Your morning news roundup for Friday, October 10th, 2008:

Quebec taxpayers will spend nearly $400 million to bail out the Université du Québec à Montréal. Education Minister Michelle Courchesne said the province will shell out $180 million for the Pierre Dansereau science complex on top of the $200 million already being spent to cover the �?lot Voyageur site.

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion says he simply didn't understand a question asked by an interviewer in Halifax yesterday, an incident that the Conservatives are using to question his ability to lead. Dion also expressed surprise that CTV broke its agreement by running the images showing his confusion. The question in question? "If you were prime minister now, what would you have done about the economy and this crisis that Mr. Harper hasn't done?"

Photo of Pierre Allard and Annie Roy courtesy of ATSA.

�??Est-ce que l�??argent c�??est important dans la vie?�?� asked a young woman to a handful of children. �??Non!�?� they exclaimed, and proceeded to throw fistfuls of change on the floor.

Word-play abounds in CHANGE, a new projec by Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable (ATSA) located at the corner of Saint-Laurent and Marie-Anne.

No, ATSA isn�??t out to bomb you. Although the name raises quite a few eyebrows, the group�??s mandate, as expressed by co-founders Annie Roy and Pierre Allard, is to stage �??urban interventions.�?� These installations and performances view the public realm as political spaces that can be reclaimed by ordinary citizens.

Photo: "DSC01032," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler purelikegolddd.

Your morning news roundup for Monday, October 6th, 2008:

Montreal police shot and injured a teenage suspect over the weekend. 18-year old Nashwah Abdullah is in stable condition after being shot in the stomach on Saturday. According to authorities, he was resisting arrest in a murder investigation and had a knife. Mayor Gérald Tremblay defended the decision and said that police must enforce the law.

Secret documents obtained by Canwest News Service show that the Canadian penny now costs more than a cent to make "due to rising labour, metal and other manufacturing and distribution costs." Some studies have pegged the cost at 4 cents, but NDP MP Pat Martin says the cost is closer to 6 cents.

Photo: "Market Spice," by Midnight Poutine Flickr pooler chuck.bergeron.

Your morning news roundup for October 3rd, 2008:

Did y'all catch the enlightening debate yesterday (in Canada, not the U.S.)? According to an instant poll conducted by Ipsos Reid right after the televised event, Stephen Harper came out as the winner but his appeal as Prime Minister slipped. He lost some leverage to Elizabeth May and Jack Layton, respective leaders of the Green and New Democratic parties. Liberal leader Stéphane Dion failed to follow up on his strong showing at the French debate while Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe managed to win only 2 percent of viewers with his policies.

Meanwhile, below the 49th parallel, Democratic and Republican VP candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin battled it out over the economic crisis. Both portrayed themselves as "folksy politicians well versed in the struggles of ordinary Americans." The most dramatic moment of the evening after Palin told viewers that her experience as a working mom contributed to her qualifications for the White House. Biden accused Palin of suggesting that he didn't understand "because I'm a man," recalling the 1972 accident that killed his wife and young daughter and left him to raise 2 critically injured sons.