It's baaaaaaaack (almost)!

I doubt most people miss that scurrilous gossip rag Frank Magazine as much as I do.

Despite finding myself unflatteringly portrayed within its pages many times -- once I had to sic a lawyer on it -- I thought Frank was vital to exposing the clubbiness, arrogance and wankery of Canada's chattering, corporate and political classes. The other day, a documentary about the sometimes satirical magazine reran on TV, and I found myself sighing nostalgically.

After it went bust last year, Canada was bereft of a dumping ground for office gossip and political backstabbing. Imagine if it had been around during the Belinda-rama, for example. Or when Rachel Marsden began writing for the National Post.

Even Frank's online forum, once a lively source of news and views, has relocated (out of necessity) and degraded into a rather shallow pool of squabbling egos, with the occasional burst of wit and whimsy.

All of which is a lengthy preamble to the big, big, big news: TA-DA!

Hope you're ready for it Mike Duffy!

Comments

[Constant Reader]

I hope that you give them computer layout and
access advice.
Right now there is too much javascript nonsense
and one browser Konqueror doesn't display
the www.efrank.ca/efrank_reborn.swf
whatever.
Remember the text edition for the blind--easy
alt codes.

[Antonia Z]

Oh yeah ... I am gonna give them tech advice. AS IF!

[Paul]

Would you run a satirical mag out of Newcastle?

[Antonia Z]

Newcastle? I don't gettit.

[Jiminy C.]

Madame Z - never thought I'd see you pull your punches and use weasel words - but your comments on the snakepit known as EZIBoard FRANK FORUM were worthy of Ambassador Frank McKenna at his diplomatic doublespeak best!

[Helper]

Paul was referring to the fact that the domain "efrank.ca" is registered to a Peter Scott in Newcastle, Ontario.

[Open Source]

For those using Mozilla browsers who can't get
beyond their too-javaed-up first page,
www.efrank.ca/signup.html
gets you a sub/notification page.

I'd still like to see it in print on every
accusing newsstand, (yes, including Chapters)

Go Frank!!

[miss mindyourmanners]

"shallow pool of squabbling egos"?? Gentle Ms. Zerb, you grant them undue respectability! A small and small-minded gang of hooligans, common ruffians, and rapscallions have taken over that once fine forum and turned it into a CESS pool of ill manners. Why, I was CHASED out of there by a pack of shrieking hyenas with ENTRAILS in their teeth!

[Jiminy C.]

I think I talked to Peter Scott once.
I believe he was Bate's Distribution Manager on the old FRANK.
Sounds like Bate has reassembled some of the old team (I assume Steve Collins is in the mix there somewhere) though what a distribution manager will actually do on an electronic rag teases the mind somewhat!

[adeq]

Finally found the forum a few days back, and now this.

You've made my week, Madame Z.

[Paul]

Actually, I was asking whether any journalist would do a bit of research before publishing. But yes, that's the bit of research anyone could dig up.

[Jean Crustacean]

Beg to differ about the Frank Forum... "wit and whimsy" seem much more in evidence than they were at the old forum about 18 months ago back, when such "humour" as could be found at the place generally consisted of endless me-too posts to the effect of "Yankk's suck plus they are dumb and kills each other with assalt weapon's." Gotten way beyond that now. As for the feuds, they are an everpresent feature of pretty much all discussion boards. They were in fact far worse at the old place.

[Antonia Z]

Welcome Jean. How did you find us?

[Jean Crustacean]

Da link was give to me by une amie from La Belle Province, einh?

[someone]

check out this efrank.ca home page, someone posted:

www.geocities.com/colchesternorth/