Monthly Archives: March 2008

Mar 30 2008

Taxes

Way back in the olden days, my Grade 11 economics teacher promised he would make each of us $100 by the end of the term. He pulled off this trick by showing us how to do our taxes and claim the provincial sales tax credit. For a sixteen-year old kid with a part-time job, it was a pretty big deal – $100 for 20 minutes of math. For a few weeks, I was seriously thinking about becoming a tax accountant.

Thankfully I avoided that fate, but I still like doing taxes every year. There’s something about the ritual I enjoy – gathering and sorting the slips, filling in the little boxes, and that growing sense of excitement as you get closer to the final page and find out how much money you’re getting back. Just writing about it is getting me all hot and bothered…

For the past few years, I’ve put away the paper and pencils in favour of quicktaxweb.ca. It’s totally addictive, due largely to the constantly changing refund / owing display on each page. This year it’s more blatant than ever, with big green numbers for refunds, and scary red numbers if you owe money.

For some reason, I started out with a $300 refund before I’d even entered my slips. After I entered the information from my T-4, I cheered as the refund soared. Then I entered B’s info, and our refund inexplicably vanished. That’s one of the downsides – there’s no explanation provided for why the number goes up or down.

I wasn’t too worried, since I still had an ace up my sleeve – daycare expenses. I entered the first receipt, and was rewarded with a big green number in the refund box. Cha-ching. I entered the second receipt, pushed “continue”, and was stunned when the number didn’t change.

It turns out that the maximum child care claim is $7,000 per child. Um, excuse me Mr. Flaherty, have you checked out daycare costs for a toddler these days? $7,000 doesn’t come close to cutting it, unless you’re using an unlicensed place that looks more like a puppy mill than a daycare.

So, what am we going to do with our refund? While I have visions of big screen TV’s, family vacations, and original artwork dancing in my head, the sad truth is we’re going to pay down some debt – another lesson from my Grade 11 economics teacher. Thanks, Mr. Ferber.

Mar 28 2008

A Death in the Family

One sad fact about the orchestra business is that sooner or later, practically every orchestra is going to face a life-or-death struggle. Take a look around Canada – Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal – they’ve all dealt with significant financial crises in the past decade.

The stories are usually remarkably similar. Expenses are greater than revenues, deficit increases, bankruptcy looms, media debates role of classical music in today’s society, community rallies, musicians agree to wage cuts and concessions, and most of the time the organization rises from its deathbed.

Perhaps that’s why I found the sudden passing of the CBC Radio Orchestra so shocking. Although there were some warning signs recently that its long-term outlook was poor, it was still stunning to see someone simply pull the plug on such a long-standing cultural institution.

Now, I know a little bit about working for a national organization that struggles with funding issues and the difficult choices it can present for its leadership. Still, given the range of options available, it’s unfortunate the CBC chose the extinction of radio orchestras in North America. The orchestra’s annual budget was under a million dollars – isn’t that roughly the cost of producing a couple episodes of MVP – The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives? Which one has the greater cultural value?

Yesterday’s announcement must have been disheartening to this country’s classical music fans. When combined with recent news that the CBC will be reducing the amount of classical programming on Radio Two, and the disappearance of arts programs like Opening Night, it’s only fair to wonder what the future will hold.

A CBC spokesman claimed the money that would have been spent on the orchestra will now go towards commissioning works from other orchestras in Canada. I wish I could believe that was true, but given the CBC’s new priorities, it just sounds like spin to me.

Mar 25 2008

Criticize This

“I love criticism just so long as it is unqualified praise.” -Noel Coward

“I have always been very fond of them (drama critics)…I think it is so frightfully clever of them to go night after night to the theatre and know so little about it” -Noel Coward

I came across a couple of entertaining reviews this past week. The first appeared in an article in Saturday’s Globe and Mail about the vicious nature of London food critics. Here’s what Giles Coren, the Times of London’s restaurant critic, wrote about the chicken marsala at Goodfellas restaurant in Belfast:

“It is revolting. It is ill-conceived, incompetent, indescribably awful … I cannot leave it alone but return to it every few minutes with the grim fascination of a toddler mesmerized by a pile of its own feces. … If you’ve ever sniffed your finger after scratching your arse, and then done it again, then this dish may not be entirely wasted on you.”

I actually lived with a friend at Queen’s who used to scratch his nether regions, bring his fingers to his nose, inhale deeply, wait two seconds, and then say “Interesting”. I guess this dish would be perfect for him.

Ken Winters wrote a scathing review of Yundi Li’s piano recital at Roy Thomson Hall last week. Yundi may be one of the classical music world’s hottest stars at the moment, but Mr. Winters obviously didn’t think much of his performance. Among his comments:

“It was only when he played, alas, that we heard what a fragile hold he has on musical reality.”

“He opened the slender first half of his program with Chopin’s most shopworn Nocturne, the one in E flat, Op. 9, No. 2, and played it very badly indeed.”

“All of these were accompanied by the subliminal but distinct sound of Arthur Rubenstein spinning in his grave.”

“The one thing immediately obvious in Li’s performance was that he appeared to have never listened to it in its original song form. He played the melody in a manner no singer could have followed.”

“Yundi Li will continue to play when and how he likes so long as he fills halls and sells CDs. Everything will profit except the music.”

These two reviews brought to mind food critic Anton Ego’s statement from the movie Ratatouille:

“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”

Pretty insightful for a cartoon…

Mar 19 2008

An Open Letter to Vancouver

Dear Vancouver,

I know we don’t see each other all that much, so it may come as a surprise that I have a bit of a crush on you. Don’t worry – I don’t think it’s going anywhere. You have lots of potential suitors, and I know you’re way out of my league.

If I can be honest here for a second, I think you’re looking a little stressed out these days. I know you’ve got a big party coming up and you’re all “Oh dear, what will the world think of me”, but you should relax a little bit. You’re a natural beauty, and you really don’t need to tart yourself up so much. People are going to like you for who you are, and if they don’t, well, you don’t need fairweather friends like that.

You need to slow down. Put down the jackhammers and welding torches and take a walk. That’s right, a walk, not a run. What’s with all the running? You’re always in such a hurry – I took a walk in Stanley Park and was nearly trampled by packs of incredibly lean fitness freaks. Even the women who aren’t running are wearing tights and lululemon™ pants, as if they might spontaneously launch into a run at any moment. It comes off as a little obsessive / compulsive.

As a start, you may want to confront your coffee addiction. Don’t deny it – it’s obvious. There’s a pusher on every street corner, peddling quick hits of Columbian black. Don’t let the pretty designs in your latté foam fool you – it’s a drug, and it makes you do funny things.

I’m really trying not to focus on the negative, so I’m not even going to bring up the cost of housing or that problem you’ve got going on down there on the East Side. You’re young and still have things to work out, so I’ll just give you some space and check in a little later to see how you’re doing.

In the meantime, I will think of you often and ponder what might have been, and what might still be.

With love,

CSD

Mar 12 2008

Tulips and Cherry Blossoms

For the past 114 days, Ottawa has been covered in snow.  On most days, there are two colours – white, and shades of gray.  Residents are tired, sore, and slightly despondent about the fact that Spring is still several weeks away.

So, it came as a bit of a shock to touch down in Vancouver this morning to green grass, tulips, and even a few early cherry blossoms.  I grabbed some cheap sushi, a latte at Starbucks, and tried to fit in with the locals, but my pallid complexion probably betrayed me.  There’s a blue sky, a warm breeze, beautiful mountains – if it wasn’t for needing a $600,000 mortgage, I could be quite happy living here.

Over the next few days I have about 14 meetings, two new music concerts, and a play to take in.  This is one of the coolest parts of the job – checking out new and existing work and trying to figure out what we can and should bring to the festival.  I’m not a producer, but it’s fun to contribute an opinion.

So, I’m off in search of good food and fine B.C. wine.  It’s tough researching the culinary portion of the festival, but someone’s gotta do it.