Archive for August, 2008

If The Globe and Mail hadn’t posted this story on their own website, I might not believe it. Canada’s national newspaper has signed a long-term printing contract with Transcontinental Inc. for $1.7 billion, yes billion, that runs from 2010 to 2028. Does the Globe know something that other newspapers don’t? Do they really think there will still be carriers throwing copies on doorsteps twenty years from now?

What about the growing numbers of people who only read newspapers on the web or, long before 2028, via some other form of delivery? Or, just as likely, what if circulation continues to head down until the graph finally reaches zero?

As a life-long reader (with photographic proof of me crouched on the kitchen floor at age six reading the Globe) I can’t help but wonder if they know what they’re doing. First off, the website is a shadow of what it should be with too few updates on any given day.
Worse, the editorials have become trite. Two examples this month will suffice. In the first case, the Globe commented on the decision by the good burghers of London, Ont. to ban the sale of bottled water by saying that’s OK as long as the city increases the number of public water fountains. In the second example, the Globe thoughtfully suggested that cities could fight congestion by making available shareable bicycles. How long did it take to hammer out those silly solutions at their editorial board meetings? I weep for my former profession.

In The Americanization of Emily, the 1964 classic film about D-Day, the storyline is not about how the English motor pool driver played by Julie Andrews becomes more like a Yank so much as it’s about how James Garner, American aide to an Admiral, becomes more British. The movie is a preachy tale about the virtues of war, or the lack thereof, focused on Garner’s altered state as he touts his lack of courage in battle. It’s also a witty look at the American propaganda machine, something that we Canadians like to think we’re immune to.

I’m just back from a few days in Boston, amazed not at the Americanization of Canada, but how easy it is to want to be just like them. What’s not to like? In Boston it was a five-minute walk from the hotel to Saks and Neiman Marcus where there were items for sale that are simply not available in Canada. Newbury Street was equally close with more than half a dozen blocks of art galleries and high-end shops that made Toronto’s Yorkville look like Punkydoodle’s Corners.

A night game at Fenway Park was a reminder of the kind of historic stadium and dedicated fans that baseball is meant to have. And the newly developed Seaport district, a combination of seafood restaurants, the classy Institute of Contemporary Art and office towers for the likes of Fidelity Investments demonstrates what a waterfront could look like if someone knows what they’re doing.

Somehow Canada has managed to embrace the easy elements of Americanization with the recent influx of U.S. retailers such as Starbucks and The Home Depot, but not the more difficult aspects, such as urban planning and interesting destinations. “Don’t show me how profitable it will be to fall in love with you. Don’t Americanize me,” says Andrews at one point as she turns down two boxes of Hershey bars proffered by Garner. The plea by Andrews does not work; she soon falls in love. What will it take for Canada to reach its promise? Bring on those Hershey bars, I say.

Imagine my delight when I read about “a major Michelangelo exhibition” opening next week in Syracuse, New York, with works from Florence, an exhibit that will move to New York City later in the year.

Imagine my disappointment when I went online and learned that the “major” exhibit, entitled “Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth,” has only fourteen items by the Man himself.

Nor did my excitement grow when I read that eight of the works (five drawings and three manuscript pages) have never before been seen in the United States. According to the hype, “the exhibition will explore multiple facets of Michelangelo’s life, art and reputation.” Seems like a lot of myth to be covered by such a small number of figural studies associated with the Sistine Chapel as well as sketches of ancient Roman monuments.

There are apparently fewer than a dozen drawings and no paintings or sculpture by Michelangelo in current American art collections. As a result, the drawings in this exhibition “will, temporarily, more than double the number of Michelangelo works in the United States.” That’s still not enough to entreat me to make the 500-mile round trip to Syracuse or fly to New York.

To be sure, we’ve been very lucky. Sandy and I have visited The Vatican and seen The Sistine Chapel. We’ve lived in Florence where we were awed by David in L’Accademia, admired Michelangelo’s statuary in the Bargello, and toured Casa Buonarroti, home to many of the master’s works including the Madonna of the Stairs and the Battle of the Centaurs.

Still, fourteen works does not a major exhibit make. I can call up that many in my mind.