Angel >> Soccer, aka football Seduced by the drama of the Stanley Cup final? Caught up watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls sew up yet another NBA championship? What's the matter with you?!? The World Cup is on, and people around the globe are in a frenzy! If you are of pure laine québécois extraction, or if you are an anglo-Canadian of many generations in this country, now is the perfect opportunity to cast off your pasty whiteness and discover the multicultural and cosmopolitan side of Montreal. Go to Little Italy, to the Plateau's Portuguese district, or some place like that. Find a bar where no one is speaking either English or French. It won't matter if you can't speak the language. Football is universal.

Insect >> Pre-election bribes In the past week alone, the Bouchard government has announced that: 1) it will finally build a $75-million library in Montreal; 2) it has concluded a $55-million fiscal pact with the city of Montreal for this year; 3) it will pump an extra $110 million into the health care system (after cutting $1.5 billion in the past three years); 4) it will soon begin a massive $185-million expansion of Montreal's Palais des Congrès; 5) it wants to spend $500 million developing the Quartier International next door to the Palais; and 6) it plans to spend lots upgrading roads and stuff. Individually, these are all wonderful things; together, they look like a craven tactic to buy votes. Expect a provincial election in the fall.