In my never-ending quest to retain some semblance of youth and relevance, I joined Facebook. You know, the incredibly popular social-networking website that allows hip kids like me to keep in touch with our friends, and our friends’ friends, and our friends’ friends’ friends.Why, since I joined just a couple of weeks ago, I’m already up to 14 friends. Actually, 6 of those are relatives, and 1 is my wife. Still, if you measure popularity by the number of friends you have (and who doesn’t), then I am way more popular than Bronwen.Actually, I’ve already found one friend from university that I haven’t seen for about 10 years, so that’s cool. I’m hoping that as more and more of us “old folks” join up I’ll be able to find some old friends from high school.The guy that started Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, is only 22 years old. He dropped out of Harvard to build his website, and he recently turned down an offer of $1 billion from Yahoo. With that kind of money available for Web 2.0 sites, I’ve decided to quit my job and launch an innovative new website that allows ordinary people to post and share videos online. It’s such a simple idea, and I’m surprised nobody’s thought of it before. Stay tuned for details.

I did a short interview the other day for Ottawa Citizen Business Television on my work as Orchestra Manager at the National Arts Centre. It was pretty painless – about six questions over three or four minutes.The clip aired tonight, so the boys and I sat down to review my performance. There were lots of things I could critique, but the part thing that stood out to me was that my upper lip wasn’t moving as I spoke. Is this always the case? Have I had a stiff upper lip for years and nobody has bothered to mention it to me? I looked like a ventriloquist’s dummy.Maybe I should have had some makeup. Under those bright lights, you really do need some foundation to even out the skin tone, a little rouge to define the lips, maybe even some eyeliner to make the eyes pop.Luckily the interview aired on Rogers cable television, so only 6 people probably saw me. If I can get a digital copy, maybe I can post it here for your viewing pleasure.And don’t get me started about my weak chin…

As I noted in my previous post, Harry Belafonte was the host for Saturday night’s opera gala. At one point, he went off script to talk about the importance of the Arts. An NAC staff member transcribed what he said, and I thought I’d share it:

“Forgive me if I make an observation, no intent to be scolding or critical but I feel compelled to say it: Art is really the gatekeeper, the protector, the truth that tells us about who you are, who we are, and where we would hope to be able to go. As an honourary Canadian citizen, I was saddened when I saw that budgetary reasons and constraints on spending found its way so vigorously in denying the necessary resources to keep the music programmes in the schools of Canada alive and healthy.

It is through culture, it is through art that our humanities are constantly being tapped into. Although we must be careful and mindful of economic needs and growth, we must also be extremely careful in what we do with the soul of a nation and the spirit of its people. And through music and art, the best that is in you is expressed. And so I will tell you that you are blessed with tremendous musical talent in this city and in this country and I would recommend that you citizens do all you can do to support it, to nurture it, to enjoy it and to share it with others. You will never be sorry you did.

Music bridges cultural and linguistic divides. It crosses borders and makes new friends. Music can play an important role in building a better life for people everywhere.

Cultural diplomacy presents opportunities to create good will and better understanding among people and nations. That’s why it is so important that the National Arts Centre Orchestra – Canada’s orchestra – continues its tours at home and abroad.”

I wish I could have written that…