Monthly Archives: August 2008

Aug 28 2008

$45 Million and Counting

If you haven’t been paying attention this month, the Conservatives have recently announced a number of arts and culture program cuts. The $45 million list includes:

PromArt Program (International touring): $4.7 million
Canadian Memory Fund: $11.57 million
Research and development component of Canadian Culture Online $5.64 million
Northern Distribution Program: $2.1 million
Culture.ca web portal: $3.8 million
Canadian Cultural Observatory: $560,000
AV Trust – Feature Film Preservation and Access: $150,000
AV Trust – Canadian Music Preservation and Access: $150,000
Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund: $1.5 million
National Training Program for the Film and Video Sector: $2.5 million
Trade Routes: $7.1 million
Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program: $3.9 million
Supply Chain Initiative component of the Book Publishing Industry Development Program: $1 million
Support for Industry Development component of the Canada Magazine Fund: $500,000

Like most people who work in the arts sector, I was pretty shocked at the depth and range of the cuts. I was also offended / amused by the Conservative’s amateurish spin – statements like “the money was going to fringe arts groups that, in many cases, would be at best, unrepresentative, and at worst, offensive.” No rational person would believe that a critically important $4.7 million program that provides much-needed tour funding for organizations like the National Ballet and Tafelmusik should be cut because the band Holy Fuck received a $3,000 grant.

However, I held out hope that there was a method behind the madness and new programs or funding would be announced shortly to offset the cuts. Then came the news that the savings had been directed to fund the 2010 Olympics, including an eye-popping $24 million for the torch relay. Suddenly I was back in high school with jocks battling band geeks over meagre amounts of money (“We need new volleyballs”. “Yeah, well we need new oboe reeds”.)

It’s been fascinating to read the online responses to the numerous articles that have been written about these cuts over the past few weeks. Some people think this is the best thing ever. Here are a couple of examples:

“Arts should be supportted [sic] by the people who believe that it is worthwhile to support it. There is no reason for the federal government to fund arts programs where the return on investment is zero. The people who are good at their craft will make it — the people that stand there with their hands out — are simply wannabes with no hope and little talent. It is welfare for artists. Let’s hang another slab of meat and call it art — yeah right!”

“Now why should the government fund this or any other threater [sic] company? If they have talent and apparently they do, then a paying audience will provide the funds they require.”

It suppose it would be petty to point out both of these comments have glaring spelling mistakes. I certainly wouldn’t want to stereotype the writers in any way…

So, now we wait to see if the letter writing, protests, and behind-the-scenes lobbying have any impact. I must admit, with an election looming, it would be pretty cool to actually see arts and culture being discussed as a serious election issue. When was the last time that happened?

I’ll leave you with an excerpt from an open letter to the PM that appeared in a French newspaper yesterday. Even in the English translation, the writing is beautiful.

“…no government that rejected artists has ever recovered. Not one. Ignored them, bribed them, bought them, censored them, killed them, sent them to internment camps, imprisoned them, watched them, detested them, yes; rejected them, no. To do so is to break a strange and ancient pact between art and politics. Since time immemorial the relationship between art and politics has been one of mutual hatred and envy, attraction and loathing; this uneasy dynamic has spawned many a political theory, and more than a few masterpieces. However, your cultural policy ignites nothing but profound consternation. Not hatred, nor loathing, nor envy, nor attraction—nothing but stupefaction at the stunning vacuum that underlies that policy. From a symbolic perspective, because of the huge gap between you and artists—and your evident lack of appreciation for the value of what you disdain—your government, for however long it remains in power, will likely never witness the emergence of new political theories, much less masterpieces. Disdain is a subterranean emotion, a blend of jealousy and fear of its object. Such governments have existed, but they have not lasted, for no government, no matter how detestable, can endure if it lacks the courage to admit its true nature.”

Amen.

Aug 20 2008

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Wow, 13 days since the last post, and not one message, e-mail, or wall post complaining about the lengthy layoff. Either you’re a tolerant lot, or it’s a sign of overwhelming indifference.

I’m nearing the end of my second week of not going to work. Some people refer to that as a “vacation”, but I have some thoughts on that subject that I’ll save for later this week. All in all, it’s been a pretty busy time, with lots of time spent in the car traveling to exotic locales. To summarize, we:

- visited with Grandpa, Grandma, Lindsay, Riannon, and Meillyn in Ancaster

- attended my nephew Ian’s first birthday party in Kitchener

- watched a big boat travel excrutiatingly slowly through the Welland canal

- spent some time in Niagara-on-the-Lake and decided it would be a great place to live someday (which I consider some undefined future point, and which B considers tomorrow)

- enjoyed quick but meaningful visits with Evan, Ed, Cristina (x2), Patrick, Mark, and Miss

- took the GO train to Toronto and rode the subway

- checked out the dinosaurs and mummies at the ROM

- hiked to Webster’s and Tew’s falls

- went bowling, where I again failed to break 200, causing me to question the value of the 10 years of Saturday mornings I spent at the bowling alley in my youth

- picked fresh vegetables in Gerry and Claudette’s awesome garden

Rather than bore you with the details (if you’re not already there yet), here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks.

My nephew Ian at his first birthday party. Just looking at this picture makes me start thinking that having a third boy wouldn’t be the end of the world.

A going all medieval at the ROM.

K playing with his Cars toy at his Cars table.

A is the picture of concentration as he tries to master the drum part to Weezer’s Buddy Holly.

Aug 7 2008

The Summer So Far

This is the crappiest summer I can remember since the cold, wet summer of 1992. I was working outside that summer, and I can recall seeing my breath at noon on a July day. It hasn’t been cold, but it seems like it’s rained every day. Actually, it has rained every day so far this month, with more rain on the horizon.

Despite the frequent showers, we’ve still managed to have a few adventures around town. We braved the crowds downtown on Canada Day, checked out the annual CHEO Teddy Bear picnic at Rideau Hall, rocked out at the 14th annual International Leeds and Grenville Pink Flamingo Croquet Match and Beer Swill, and enjoyed a day at Lac Philippe. Here are a few pics of my favourite boys in action.

K riding the mini-Via train on Canada Day. As the tear rolling down his cheeks indicates, he didn’t really enjoy the experience.

A, on the other hand, loved the train and gave us his most angelic look. Don’t be fooled…

The carousel at the CHEO Teddy Bear picnic was much more to K’s liking.

By The Dearlove • Posted in Family
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Aug 3 2008

This Is Why We Don’t Have Nice Things

B and I came home from our date night to find our remote control wasn’t working.  The power button was lit up, but it refused to do anything.  I tried a few different things to fix it, but nothing worked.  The cause of this sudden malfunction was a seemingly unsolvable mystery.

I spent about an hour this afternoon setting up the fancy new universal remote control – installing the software, checking for updates, entering the make and model of our modest collection of home entertainment devices, etc.  Towards the end of the tedious process, I mentioned to the boys that we’d have to be careful not to drop this remote as it could break.  This comment resulted in an interesting conversation…

A: “Yeah, I dropped the other remote lots of times.”

Me:  “Really?  When?

A:  “Last night, when Grandma was here”

Me:  “Why did you do that?”

A:  “Well, I wanted to see where the batteries go.  When I dropped it before the batteries came out, so I kept dropping it until they came out again.

Me:  “Wow, how many times did you drop it?”

A:  “I don’t know.  A lot of times, I guess.  They just wouldn’t come out, so I kept dropping it on the floor.”

I was more amused than angry.  I could just picture him dropping the remote over and over again until finally the battery cover popped off – kind of like a Herring Gull dropping a clam on the rocks in an attempt to smash the shell and get to the juicy flesh inside.

I can’t wait until he tries the same trick with my laptop…

Aug 1 2008

Bert and Ernie Kickin’ It

A couple of weeks ago the clip of Feist performing on Sesame Street made the rounds on the world wide intrawebs. I haven’t watched SS in quite a while, but it was nice to see that the producers are committed to keeping the material fresh.

It turns out the Feist appearance was just the tip of the iceberg. It looks like SS is trying to appeal to a whole new urban demographic by updating the conservative image of some of their oldest characters. I really didn’t think Bert and Ernie had this in them. Word up, homes.