On the morning of my birthday, August 22, we were doing our usual breakfast time things when suddenly the TV announced that Jack Layton had passed. What a shock! It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was amazing to witness the coverage on CBC and other channels [...]]]>

Photo by Jackman Chiu

 

On the morning of my birthday, August 22, we were doing our usual breakfast time things when suddenly the TV announced that Jack Layton had passed. What a shock! It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was amazing to witness the coverage on CBC and other channels – it reminded me of the fanfare and mourning that accompanied the death of Pierre Trudeau. One of the amazing things I remember about that was sitting with my mother and watching the train that transported Trudeau and his sons from Ottawa to Montreal, and how amazing it was when the camera captured people standing at railway crossings waving and the sons leaning out windows to engage with the well-wishers.

It is a sad and profound moment. At 61 Layton was truly just hitting his stride. Could he have been PM? It’s possible. There is a swing going on now in politics – the greens are gaining and young people are seemingly turning to the left. When they interviewed a group of twenty-somethings in a restaurant after the televised leaders debates during the last election, nearly every one of them said “Jack won.” I think it was partly his charisma, and partly a left-leaning wave. There are always waves and times of momentum, and right now Harper is riding his, but times will change, and he will be replaced. Will it be by an NDP, Liberal or Coalition leader? No one can say.

Jack was important to me and I am left very saddened by this turn of events. I remembered how gaunt he looked in his last television appearance but I assumed he was in recovery and going to gain strength and come back fighting. This time also reminds me of my mother’s battle with cancer. She too had ups and downs before she finally lost her battle. Jack represented a genuine force for the common good. He was the champion of what is right, and would engage in battles for the little guy – meaning the urban poor, women, children and seniors. He was particularly vocal on the behalf of seniors and that was an endearing quality. Of course he was a friend to the workers and battled for the environment too.

There is one particularly amazing scene that I have in my mind about Jack and his public persona and public battles. Some would say he had a bit of the grand-stander in him, but I argue that his pedigree, work ethic and talent for speaking just produced the right combination of characteristics to allow him to rise to the fore in many public forums of debate. He was an all-star city councillor and was frequently found at the front lines, at a protest, or discussing among a group at a public debate.  This scene I have in my mind is one found in the documentary “The Mayor of Tent City,” which documents the brief existence of “Tent City” – a shantytown on Toronto’s waterfront that existed around 2000. The movie centres on a charismatic German emigree who the homeless denizens look to for leadership, but also turns the lens on Jack Layton, who is right in the thick of it when the police and bulldozers come calling. Here is what the CBC website report said:

City councillor Jack Layton, who is also running for the leadership of the federal NDP, said the evictions underline the homelessness problem in the city.

“As we’ve been pointing out for years, we need some affordable housing built,” said Layton. “At least at Tent City they’d built themselves a warm place for the winter.”

Jack Layton was a hero to me. It is obvious but can be restated – he was such a powerful figure that people would definitely vote NDP rather than for the local NDP candidate. He was consistently rated higher in polls than Harper or Ignatieff. The only elite politician with his kind of pull is probably Elizabeth May, and she is indeed a fighter as well, but the Greens may take many more years, perhaps decades, before they even get remotely into contention with centre-left parties like the NDP.

Truth be told, up until this summer I didn’t know much about Jack. It was a Maclean’s magazine piece on his life and legacy that really blew me away, and made me feel I understood the confluence of factors that brought him to that pedestal of power where he was but one step away from the PM’s office. Quite a rise, from city council to the highest echelons. Jack came from an elite background in Anglo Montreal, but was quite naturally a true man of the people – down to earth, earnest, vociferous on many issues and fronts, and it is these qualities that mark his legacy and instill powerful memories that will not dim for a long, long while. Rest in peace Jack.

Links:

Photographer Jackman Chiu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewolf011/ 

Maclean’s article – a MUST READ – The Life and Time’s of Jack Layton
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/06/17/the-making-of-jack-layton/

Macleans article – Jack Layton’s Amazing Race
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/04/29/jacks-amazing-race/

BlogTO – Hundreds rally to remember Jack Layton
http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/08/hundreds_rally_in_toronto_to_remember_jack_layton/

CBC Article on Toronto’s “Tent City”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2002/09/24/tentcity_eviction020924.html

Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Layton

The movie “The Mayor of Tent City” can be found in the Toronto Public Library.

Here [...]]]> Mike has been an earnest student of film since he studied the “History of Cinema” and “Italian Cinema” at university. Mike is an aspiring filmmaker with a few short videos under his belt. Currently he is working on “City Symphony” – a hybrid documentary / music video that includes music by his alter-ego “Mikooshka.”

Here are some of my favourite docs – in alphabetical order. After you read this please feel free to comment or use the share button to send this on to your colleagues, friends and family.

* Canadian movie, director, or content

*9 Blocks, 6 Months – Dir. Christopher Romeike – Poignant interwoven stories in Toronto’s working class Parkdale neighbourhood. A sensitive and quiet movie that is emotionally rich and beautifully shot.

Barbarians at the Gate – Dir. Spike Jonze – Fun cross-America skateboard tour with Foundation/Blind teams. Frames the hi-jinx and skate action with the “American Vacation” style narrative and visuals.

Watch scenes from this movie via my playlist at YouTube
Barbarians at the Gate – Dir. Spike Jonze

Big River Man - Dir. John Maringouin – Follows Martin Strel, a burly hard-drinking Eastern European, who swims the longest rivers of the world, and in this feature, attempts to swim the length of the Amazon. Incredible mix of drama, humour, and scenery.

DC Movie – Dir. Greg Hunt – DC Shoe Co. + skateboard superstars = amazing production value. One of the most incredible “action sports” videos of the last ten years. Danny Way’s record-setting airs off the big ramps set to Metallica are easily the highlight.

Food Inc – Dir. Robert Kenner – A highly professional documentary that utilizes some slick motion graphics and cinematography in its production, while illuminating the current crisis in American/global agricultural practices (co-produced by Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation”).

*Gambling, Gods and LSD – Dir. Peter Mettler – a psycho-geographical journey into the modern day world via beautifully filmed scenes in North American casinos, evangelical churches and contrasted with scenes from exotic locations like India.

Grizzly Man – Dir. Werner Herzog – A story about a man who lived and died with grizzly bears in the Alaskan frontier – absolutely essential viewing from the quintessential documentarian. Also recommended is the more recent ”Encounters At the End of the World” (about his travels to Antarctica).

*Manufactured Landscapes – Dir. Jennifer Baichwal – Photographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscape due to industrial work and manufacturing. Some of the most striking scenes demonstrate the awesome scale of development in China.

*Mayor of Tent City – Dir. Rosalie Bellefontaine -  Gritty urban tale of hope and redemption for homeless in Toronto’s “Tent City” shanty town. You may be only able to find a copy of this in the library system.

*McLuhan’s Wake – Dir. Kevin McMahon – Excellent overview of the life, career, and work of Marshall McLuhan within a narrative framework that centres on “The Laws of Media,” his last scholarly work. Also look for Kevin’s newest work, Waterlife – a doc focused on the ecology and issues of the Great Lakes.

My Architect – Dir. Nathaniel Kahn – Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.

*Souvenir of Canada – Dir. Robin Neinstein – Explores Doug Coupland’s life story, “Souvenir” photography-based books of iconic Canadian products, his family, and artistic life (his preparations for an art show called “Canada House”). One of my all-time favorites. Compelling, profound, and funny.

That is my list – I’d welcome yours! It’s an interesting exercise to do this. What do our favorites say about us? I know for one thing, that at this moment it’s even easier for me to concoct a list of docs than regular flicks. These days I am ravenous for documentary film and there is a mountain of great material out there. I get my movies in equal number from my local video shop – the amazing “Big Daddy’s” on Dundas St West – and the Toronto Public Library, which has an extensive catalogue.

Related Note 1: Read my book review of Douglas Coupland’s “Extraordinary Canadians: Marshall McLuhan”

Related Note 2: When I was googling these movies to confirm the director info I found my own page at the top of the Google results for “Barbarians at the Gate” (#1 of 353 listings for “Spike Jonze Barbarians at the Gate”). Spike Jonze is a famous Hollywood director these days, but he got his start in more humble skateboarding industry productions.

My original “review” page with stills from Barbarians at the Gate is here:

http://strongandfree.ca/skateontario/video/classics.htm

Update: March 2011 – this movie won the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 2010 Awards ceremony

A new documentary is opening – “Inside Job” – a film about the global financial crisis. Positive reviews abound: Rottentomatoes.com gave the flick an amazing 95%!

Directed by Charles Ferguson, the doc features Matt Damon as [...]]]>

Update: March 2011 – this movie won the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 2010 Awards ceremony

A new documentary is opening – “Inside Job” – a film about the global financial crisis. Positive reviews abound: Rottentomatoes.com gave the flick an amazing 95%!

Directed by Charles Ferguson, the doc features Matt Damon as the narrator, and a heavy duty investigative flavor that is sure to make waves in media, entertainment and politics. But will it have any effect on economics? Hopefully – but obviously regulators and politicians have a role to play in reigning in the excessive system that is a greedy, irresponsible blight on the early 21st century landscape. The movie traces the development of the causes of the disaster, which have their roots in 1980s Reagonomics – the loosening or removal of financial systems regulations designed to stymie abuse and protect consumers.

Here is the synopsis:

‘Inside Job’ is the first film to provide a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia

Links:

Article in Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/inside-job-skillfully-skewering-the-lobbyists-and-apologists/article1776590/

Trailer at YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrBurlJUNk

Kensington Market is a colorful, lively place chock full of quaint shops and colorful characters. On the last Sunday of every month they hold an innovative, car-free, pedestrian-only street festival.

My pal Grey Coyote is the President of the Kensington Market Action Committee [...]]]> < Photo of Maracatu Nunca Antes, Toronto-based Brazilian music group, by Yvonne Bambrick

Kensington Market is a colorful, lively place chock full of quaint shops and colorful characters. On the last Sunday of every month they hold an innovative, car-free, pedestrian-only street festival.

My pal Grey Coyote is the President of the Kensington Market Action Committee and a loyal supporter of community events like Pedestrian Sundays. I asked him to write about the event and tell us what we might expect for the last two events on September 26th and October 31st.

“With the summer quickly fading away, the hotter days of Pedestrian Sundays is now behind us, but there are still two left to go. On September 26th, the theme will be fall harvest time – and on October 31st, it will be a Halloween theme as we honour our ancestors. As with every street closure, there will be giant games in the middle of the street, buskers and musicians spread out the whole length of the Market, and as far as the eye can see – food – food – FOOD! So far, with absolutely no corporate funding whatsoever, we’ll pulled off most of our 7th season without a hitch. Belly-dancers warmed things up in anticipation of summer on the May 30th opener. The June 27th event was a fire theme, and I almost got heat stroke shaking my percussion along with the Samba Elegua! On July 25th, we had a water theme to try to cool things down, and on August 15th, we all tried to turn off as much power as possible to remember the great blackout of 2003. August 29th saw the Kensington Air show (our way of saying that we don’t need the war planes that come for the other air show at the lake). For each and every one, the streets were packed with a multicultural melange of people enjoying the streets without any vehicular intrusion – something that can be instituted in any community that wants to band together and have a street closure day. – For me, that’s the most important part of it all – knowing that this is our town and our streets and that bowing to the convenience of cars is not something that we have to do every day.”

Grey Coyote
greycoyote.net
paradisebound.ca

THANKS to my contributors: Grey Coyote and Yvonne Bambrick

More info: P.S. Kensington

I don’t really frequent art openings and [...]]]> Two art show / exhibitions open this Friday that explore the geography of Ontario, one focusing on the man-made spit at the foot of Leslie St. in Toronto, and the other on the remote wilds of northern Ontario, north of Thunder Bay by and reached via Highway 11.

I don’t really frequent art openings and I’m a marginal participant, but in the last year I attended Contact Photography Festival, the Gladstone on an occasion or two, and a handful of cool shows involving friends (including the amazing YYZ shopping mall at 401 Richmond that my friend Ulysses participated in). I was really stoked to get emails from two gallery spaces early this week. This weekend two shows open which document explorations of urban/wilderness spaces and concepts at the geographic extremes of Toronto and northern Ontario (easily 24 hours driving north of the megacity).

The first email came from Ranko Pavic, who operates Gallery Out / Aut on St. Clair Ave West. I first met him about two years ago. He was preparing an exhibit with punky/graffiti-inspired manipulations of found materials, and I got stoked on his originality and bright quirky works. He hosts a number of other artists at the gallery throughout the year. On Friday the photography exhibition “As Far North in Ontario as the Road Goes,” by Noah Cole, opens for a one month run.

The second email I received was from Laura and John, who operate the innovative Labspace Studio at 2a Pape Ave. in the city’s east-end. Two years ago I did a DJ-Live performance there as Mikooshka, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and eclectic acts and art. John and Laura strive to present interesting evenings of music and performance, with a backdrop of funky edgy art, and it looks like they are going to be stretching novel concepts to the limit with their new and future projects. I think the description below should pique your interest (and be sure to keep your eye out for a future “Toronto explorations through art” event called “Rumblings from the Rouge”). Labspace’s event is just over the weekend so you have a brief window to catch it! (Performances Friday night and exhibit Saturday.)

Here are descriptions and links for the shows and artists:

As Far North in Ontario as the Road Goes

“Inspired by stories of northern travels; bears, beautiful lakes, remote hiking trails, historic canoe routes, logging roads, and the potential promise of seeing caribou, I headed on a journey along Highway 11, past Kapuskasing, and Thunder Bay, as far north as the road travels in Ontario. I drove to a remote community, and drove 300 kilometers north of it, where there are no cell phone towers, or gas stations – at the end of the road there is only wilderness, and the result of the impact people have made on the lands. I had the chance to see big rivers, blue sky, expansive lakes, pickerel, remote villages, mountains, ancient forests, and the stars in the northern sky. Along my journeys I enjoyed blueberries, fresh fish, and along the many miles of open road and wilderness, I enjoyed my own company, as well as the company of loons, a fox, and the campfire. On my journey, I hiked along many ancient trails, and I stood on the shores of lakes where voyageurs, and ancient first nations people stood, enjoying the landscape that brings peace of mind in an otherwise busy world.”

Noah Cole

A Night with Leslie
Adventure 2 – led by Laura Mendes and John Loerchner

Nine adventurers set out on a two-day expedition to explore and research the strange and beguiling landscape of the Leslie St. Spit; a 5km man-made peninsula, wildlife sanctuary and active construction dumpsite.

Join them as they present their research and “Spit”
inspired works: Performance, Dance, Sound, Installation & Found Sculpture.”

Labspace Studio

Links:

Noah Cole

greenravenphotography.com

Labspace Studio

labspacestudio.com

Green Screens presents WATERLIFE

Directed by Kevin McMahon, 2009, 109 minutes.

Tuesday June 1 at 7pm

FREE

NFB Cinema – 150 [...]]]> This movie looks like a “must see.” The director, Kevin McMahon has directed some amazing documentaries, including one of my favorites, “McLuhan’s Wake” – a doc on the Canadian media communications theorist Marshall McLuhan.

Green Screens presents WATERLIFE

Directed by Kevin McMahon, 2009, 109 minutes.

Tuesday June 1 at 7pm

FREE

NFB Cinema – 150 John St (at Richmond St W), Toronto

Waterlife follows the epic cascade of the Great Lakes from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean, telling the story of the last huge supply of fresh water on Earth. Filled with fascinating characters and stunning imagery, Waterlife is a cinematic poem about the beauty of water and the dangers of taking it for granted.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Tony Maas, Director of the Freshwater Program at WWF-Canada; Dr. Romila Verma, CIELAP Research Associate, Watershed Management and Climate Change; and Hilary Van Welter, Director of Social Innovation, Windfall Ecology Centre.

Green Screens partners films from the NFB with experts and panellists selected by the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy. If you are interested in the environment, Green Screens will entertain and inform you.

For more information, please call 416-973-3012 or visit:

http://www.NFB.ca/mediatheque

http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/mediatheque/?lg=eng

"World's Tallest" Illustration by Strongandfree.ca

From our old building  we could see, through a sliver of highrises, Toronto’s downtown and the CN Tower. Now we look west to the green canopy of the west end and if we peer south from the balcony edge we have a view of the immensity of [...]]]>

"World's Tallest" Illustration by Strongandfree.ca

From our old building  we could see, through a sliver of highrises, Toronto’s downtown and the CN Tower. Now we look west to the green canopy of the west end and if we peer south from the balcony edge we have a view of the immensity of High Park, where we walk and cycle, when the weather’s warm.

When my girlfriend’s parents see a clip of Toronto on Russian TV there will inevitably be a shot from the harbourfront with the tower prominent. I know my former students, scattered around the world, in Asia, Mexico, Brazil and Europe, will reminisce and the CN Tower, and Toronto’s skyline, will forever be a backdrop to their memories. Why is the tower so compelling? What does it mean to us? How did the CN Tower come to be?

Conceived as both tourist attraction and communications tower, ultimately the size of the tower was the result of a motivation to go higher than the Ostankino tower in Moscow. A claim to be “the biggest and the best” was central to the mission. Today it is both landmark, reminding locals and tourists which way is south, and decorative addition to the skyline – with its thousands of LED lights lit up at night — the world’s tallest free-standing Christmas tree. The construction of the tower (1973-1976) followed the buzz of 1967 (the Montreal Expo, Canada’s world coming out party) and remains a symbol of hope and pride to Torontonians and visitors to the city.

This weekend’s Saturday Star had an article by the architecture critic Christopher Hume, about the excesses that have wracked Dubai and produced the Burj Khalifa tower. Hume tends to write about the positives on the Toronto skyline: new green buildings, LEED certification, and rooftop gardens, among many other discussions. (In a recent blog post I referred to his article on Douglas Coupland’s new waterfront park in Toronto’s downtown).

The Star’s critic writes:

Of course, there’s nothing new about the desire to build higher and higher. The “edifice complex” has been around at least since the ancient Egyptians started building pyramids 4,500 years ago. Since then, things have grown ever taller.

In North America, the heyday of the race to the sky was played out in New York during the 1920s and ’30s. It reached a climax with the rivalry between the Chrysler and the Empire State buildings.

Toronto’s flight into the architectural stratosphere came in the 1970s with the construction of the country’s tallest building, First Canadian Place, and more dramatic still with the world’s tallest free-standing structure, the CN Tower.

Hume astutely compares the Burj tower to another modern relic, the Hummer. They both represent conspicuous consumption and a new world order that worships at the “bigger is better” altar, and stubbornly refuses to economize for the common good. The Burj was constructed in part with a massive crew of immigrant labor, and as we have seen unfold, under a badly mismanaged financial system which worked furiously for a brief moment to convince the world that they were building a modern utopian cosmopolitan and super-rich city.

What will the Burj come to represent for the locals? The names refers to the “caliph” or “successor” (to Muhammad). Will the tower be a destination for rich locals and foreign tourists? Will it be a point of pride on their horizon? Does it represent a changing of power away from the west, or the rise of the “developing world?”

_ _ _ _ _

Post-script: It is worth noting that China is constructing a half-dozen gargantuan towers (one of which is not finished and already taller than the CN Tower), all of which rival the biggest skyscrapers in the world. Today, the CN Tower is the 3^rd tallest “man-made structure.” The next biggest Canadian structure on the list is the “Inco Superstack” nickel smelter in Sudbury (29^th in the world).

Read more / watch video

Christopher Hume says the “proletarian” Burj may be iconic but lacks “poetry” and could have been the perfect Soviet skyscraper. He also argues that we often forget that architecture is “not just an economic phenomenon, but also an art form.” In any case the Burj tower is fascinating and Hume’s article is an engaging devil’s advocate view. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/747815–hume-tallest-tower-emblematic-of-dubai-s-ugly-excess

It’s no secret that China has long been the world’s factory and is increasingly looking to change its position from that of producer [...]]]> Art by a Chinese artist named Liu Bolin. He specializes in camouflage painting. His work challenges us to think about identity and ambiguity in contemporary Chinese society. Click to view larger image.

It’s no secret that China has long been the world’s factory and is increasingly looking to change its position from that of producer to creator. Once upon a time the US, Japan and Germany were engineering new technical marvels and China was simply where the production would happen. That is starting to change, and China is developing new capability for aspects of design, and increasingly, seeking to grow by instigating a kind of new Cultural Revolution – one in which art and artists have new freedoms and the government recognizes that creativity needs to be encouraged to bolster the still emerging economy.

Here in Toronto we have long had government support for the arts and some long-standing galleries, museums and private art spaces, but even here artist zones or development are a relatively new idea. Liberty Village and the Distillery District are two such former industrial areas converted to live/work loft spaces with lots of cafes, galleries and condos in the mix. According to a recent TO Star article, China is incubating these new projects at a furious pace. They may not have pioneered this process but they’re ahead of the global pack (Beijing has dozens of these areas and Shanghai has hundreds). It’s all part of China’s quest to obtain what the article describes as “soft power.”

The article in the Star focuses on artist Yue Minju, one of a number of rising Chinese art stars who earn millions of dollars for their works. If you read the TO Star article 798 Art District doesn’t sound far off from Toronto’s Distillery District. Here’s a snippet to pique your interest:  ”As he spoke, Minjun sat perched at a chic outdoor café in Beijing’s 798 Art District, a massive former munitions factory repurposed by the government in 2002 as a home for artist studios, galleries and boutiques. Across the way, a tourist shop’s shelves were filled with versions of his personal brand-name icon: a self-portrait frozen in a cackle of grim hysteria, on coffee mugs, calendars, notebooks and picture frames.”

Read the TO Star article.

Read about and see more of Liu Bolin’s amazing urban camouflage work at the Inspiration Room blog.