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I recently came across a copy of “My Old Order Mennonite Heritage”, published by the Pennsylvania Dutch Gift Shop in Kitchener, Ontario (6th printing, 1979).  Signed by the author, Mary Ann Horst, the little booklet was used by the NFB as source material for a film on Old Order life.  Within a couple of pages, I fell under its spell [Read more →]

A little publication recently came to our attention:
The Call of Copper
by G. Leigh Hornick, 
North Shore Printing, Bruce Mines, Ont., 1969.
This little typescript folio was produced largely by the Grade Thirteen history class of the Bruce Mines High School under the editorial guidance of their teacher, Mr. Hornick.  The result is a craggy but fascinating read, whose stated purpose was to raise funds for a library “containing the “history of the area”.  There are three introductory chapters outlining the general history of the area (a mining region on the North Shore of Lake Superior).  They are followed by nine chapters on the life and times of the region including “Finding a Home”, “The Indian Question”, “Soap Making” and “Disasters”.  The histories of local schools and churches are particularly thorough.  The last five chapters are colourful anecdotes from the region that give a taste of the local consciousness. [Read more →]

The Modern Jazz Quartet shaped music in the last half of the 20th century.  They had a social, personal and musical significance that can be felt in the pristine grooves of “The Best Of The Modern Jazz Quartet” (Atlantic SD1546), which recently came into our possession.  It’s a venerable vinyl compendium (need one say more?). [Read more →]

This album, cut in 1973 on the Paramount label, came my way recently.  It should be required listening for anyone who professes to believe that the 70s was the Golden Age of anything.  And writing this does not make me happy. [Read more →]

Who knew?  The whacky, acerbic, occasionally apoplectic commentator of Daily Show and HBO fame cast as an autobiographical scribe (in “Nothing’s Sacred”, Simon & Schuster, 2005)?  Unlikely, when you glance at his c.v. - a spiralling list of failures and near-misses, combined with some not-that-amusing-if-you-weren’t-there vacations.  But Black’s manic style and vitriolic charm propel him straight over the top so often that you have to forget about the trivial content.   His failures fed his gyroscopically imbalanced muse - “and as my world seemingly began to crumble, my sense of humour began to blossom.”  [Read more →]

It seems like only yesterday when we sat smoking in the seminar room awaiting the appearance of our English lecturer, Michael Ondaatje.  University of Western Ontario - October 1969… The news to discuss - the death of Jack Kerouac on the previous day - was far more significant for me (a disciple of Kerouac)  than he (a disciple of Leonard Cohen).   And suddenly it’s 2007… [Read more →]

Dragon Boat enthusiasts may want to think seriously about taking the plunge - a trip to Sydney for this year’s IDBF World Championships.  The website is already up and so is the excitement.  Last year’s Club Crew Championships in Toronto were highly successful, [Read more →]

We recently picked up an ancient paperback copy of “Junky” (note the dated spelling) by William Burroughs.  What seemed so advanced to some at the time has become quaint.  [Read more →]

After a delay of over a year, Art is ready to spin out some syllables on a variety of subjects.  With time to catch up on some developments in music and lit, his palette may have changed.  We hope it piques your whatever-it-is-that-interesting-stuff-piques!

Happy New Year! 

No - he didn’t die! It seems that many arts blogs have become obits… and of course we feel that disturbance in The Force when a great talent is no more. But what about those that are charged with the task of maintaining The Force on a daily, monthly, yearly basis? Like Mark Murphy… [Read more →]

Eventually adapted for the screen by Roman Polanski, this (Vintage Paperbacks) novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte makes an interesting long-weekend read (this is Canadian Thanksgiving!). Most on-line reviews of the book seem a little awe-struck, and show evidence that the reviewers have fallen for the author’s pyrothechnics hook, line and sinker. His intentions, of course, are as playfully mischievous as those of most of his characters… [Read more →]

Taylor Dent has just gone down to Lleyton Hewitt in Round 3 of the US Open. The match, a five-setter, featured some excellent play. But in an interview afterwards, Dent revealed a serious flaw in the Zen of his serve-and-volley tennis. He said, “My serve just really let me down today.” [Read more →]

Ouch! In the midst of this monster American crisis (Katrina), the producers at CNN decide to put Wynton on Larry King Live. This is not a clever move. Larry, the old spin-meister, who thinks in prepositional phrases, interviews Wynton who speaks in complete paragraphs (which usually terminate in the concept that Louis Armstrong created the known universe). [Read more →]

To take our minds off the Katrina disaster and close out the summer, we watched some big tennis from the US Open 3rd Round. [Read more →]

The New Orleans disaster has been breathtaking in its size and complexity. CNN has, of course, been the main source for news and commentary. At Arena Arts, we know nothing about military or rescue operations and would never think to comment beyond commending those who have worked so hard to save people and commiserating with those who have lost family, friends and homes… [Read more →]

At the risk of running an obit column, here’s an anecdote that is suddenly germane (with the passing of Robert Moog at 71)… [Read more →]

It was Oscar Peterson’s 80th birthday on August 15th. Hard to imagine that the man who was a powerhouse of flawless piano technique has aged like everyone else… well, maybe not like everyone… [Read more →]

I had never heard of Long John Baldry. It was 1971 and I was on the road in Britain with Faith Brown. Knowing that I played blues, she assumed that I knew Long John - the King of the Blues in the UK. Being a Canadian, nothing could be further from the truth. [Read more →]