Rating: NNNNN
RE Dramatic Ending (NOW, December 18-24). As an actor who has worked with Ken Gass, I’m shocked that Carmen Aguirre’s allegations of discrimination have received so much press when they are so obviously unfounded and ridiculous. By publishing her letter to the theatre community, you give it credibility and far more attention than it deserves. Racism is a real issue, one that many actors have to deal with on a daily basis.
By attacking one of the true champions of racial diversity in the theatre, you are essentially crying wolf, drawing attention away from the occasions when charges of racism are truly warranted.
What is scary is that anyone with e-mail can slander a great man like Ken Gass, and the media will lap it up.
Karyn Dwyer Toronto
thanks to steven davey for his excellent article on the influential Beverley Tavern (NOW, December 18-24). My personal Beverley highlight is an inspirational performance by an early incarnation of the Sturm Group back in 1983.
One minor clarification: Steven refers to Andrew Cash as a “guitar wrangler with L’Etranger.” Andrew was the lead singer/guitarist for L’Etranger, another great band from that era.
I believe his younger brother, Peter, was the band’s guitar tech before he joined the Skydiggers, and the two eventually teamed up as the Cash Brothers.
Doug Watt Toronto
from a spiritual standpoint we can admire Saddam Hussein for his personal power (NOW, December 18-24). The guy’s got a strong soul. He reminds me of what’s possible if we really put our mind to something. We are all leaders and have the ability to affect others. Imagine putting that much power behind an effort that brings cultures together. Anything’s possible for anyone.
Michelle Höhs Toronto
Conan thinks T.O.’s boring
RE Conan O’Brien’s coming to toronto (NOW, December 18-24). This is the man who, toward the end of the SARS outbreak, quipped on his late-night show that now that SARS is under control, the only thing to fear dying of in Toronto is acute boredom.
Thanks but no thanks, Mr. O’Brien.
John H. Borg
Toronto
i was disturbed to learn that Martin Levin of the Globe and Mail refused to publish Jason Sherman’s review of two books on anti-Semitism (NOW, December 11-17). It is a sad trend that freedom of expression is being stifled across North America whenever opinions about the Middle East are viewed as unsympathetic to Israel.
Though Levin disliked Sherman’s piece, he ought to have trusted the Globe readers’ ability to think critically and make up their own minds. As an avid reader of the Globe’s book section, I find Levin’s action very disappointing and indefensible.
Jacques Touré Toronto
a united conservative party will fade into the sunset, according to Wayne Roberts (NOW, December 11-17). Roberts need not worry about “Two wrongs….” Why doesn’t he just do his job at the Toronto Food Policy Council and send me some e-bulletins to read instead of dabbling in fantasy? Leave that to the professionals.
John Falconer Game Toronto
Rude customs
as a frequent visitor to canada, I thought I’d seen it all. Recently, however, crossing the border has become more complicated. Lines have been getting longer — much longer. I encountered an hour backup at the Queenston Bridge coming home from Thanksgiving dinner with friends in Toronto. I decided to take a chance at the Rainbow Bridge, where I encountered a very rude customs official who held my passport and driver’s licence while he spent a good five minutes searching my trunk.
Crossing the border has become such a problem that I am seriously reconsidering future trips. I’ve already cancelled a week’s vacation. I also belong to a social group that comes to Toronto twice a year and books an entire hotel. We will be monitoring our treatment at the border more carefully.
Is it time for someone in government to lean on these customs officials who seem to be on ego trips?
Thomas C. Munger Rochester, NY
for the record, the film some thing’s Gotta Give (NOW, December 11-17) was nothing short of outstanding. I think your reviewer is either a little young for this film or a little offended by its heterosexual message, no matter how well written, acted or directed. Jack Nicholson is flat-out getting better and better with age, and Diane Keaton more than holds her own. Most of the audience roared for two hours. So what gives?
Todd Cooper Toronto
shame on dalton mcguinty’s Ontario Liberals for caving in to the NDP’s incessant whining and allowing them more questions during Question Period. After the Bob Rae nightmare, the perpetually incompetent NDP deserves nothing more than relegation to the lawns of Queen’s Park, where they can continue to impotently yap like chihuahuas at the big dogs who now rule the house.
Fortunately, the NDP’s inability to grasp even the most fundamental fiscal policy, combined with their embarrassingly misguided pandering to money-grubbing unions, will prevent them from ever again forming a government in this province in my lifetime.
Ross Peterson
Toronto
on behalf of all cellphone drivers, I’m appalled. More and more often, pedestrians and fellow drivers are walking in front of my car or honking in my direction when they can plainly see I’m on the phone. They are not only interrupting my conversation, they are endangering their own lives. Why can’t these people see that when someone is on the phone, they shouldn’t be disturbed?
Not only do they ruin my conversation, they put a real damper on my day. To make matters worse, when I respond to these insolent people with my “Can’t you see I’m on the phone” face, they take to swearing and throwing really evil glances my way.
If everyone could just be a little more considerate of people like me, we’d all have a better time of it on the road. It’s not like I have road rage. Talking on the phone makes me drive much slower. Shouldn’t you people be thankful for drivers like us?
Justine Purcell Toronto
no fun allowed (now, december 4-10) was bang on. Toronto was run by the Methodist Family Compact for much of the 19th and some of the early 20th century. It is well documented in the old Globe and Mail microfilm records of the 1920s. As well, Ontario’s notorious Blue Laws virtually banned all business and recreational activities on the Sunday Sabbath for decades. Even children’s swings were padlocked.
Letter writer A.G. Pasquella (NOW, December 11-17) needs to read some Toronto history before condemning observations based on fact.
Mike Brassard Toronto
michael lee-chin should be ap plauded and celebrated for his “gift” to the Royal Ontario Museum — if, in fact, it is a gift. Gifts should be given in humility and not to seek prestige or reward. However, his name will be immortalized, and the benefits attached to such a tax write-off are his and his alone. In a way, he has appropriated the prestige of the renovations of our museum to serve his own vanity.
This is pyramid building, but Chin did not build the ROM. It doesn’t belong to him, and his gift doesn’t change that.
This sort of thing is fine in the private sector. However, the ROM is a public institution and exists due to the work and dedication of the generations who came before us. Surely such an arbitrary matter as one man’s wealth cannot take precedence over that?
The ROM is sending a dangerous and disgusting message. An institution of learning and discovery has made wealth a virtue. This diminishes us all. It is theft.
R. Glenn Curry Toronto
Tonight I had the pleasure of watching Tafelmusik’s presentation of Handel’s Messiah at the Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Seated in front of me were some young girls belonging to a choral group, obviously excited to be there, and I found their enthusiasm contagious. Early into the piece, two of the girls watching the Tafelmusik players were clearly diggin’ their chops. Unfortunately, a woman seated next to me took it upon herself to reprimand the girls, all in the name of proper concert decorum, I suppose. Her scolding of their completely inaudible conversation clearly disturbed the young ladies, not to mention many people seated around me. For the rest of the night they sat quietly with hands folded while I bopped along with the music, waiting for my comeuppance.
So is it really a lack of interested youth that’s killing classical music? Sometimes I wonder.
Matt McQuaid Toronto
