The Scary Truth About Newspapers

The story in yesterday's Globe and Mail about the shrinkage and looming disappearance of newspapers delved into the scope of the problem and why citizen journalism and blogs — while valuable in their own right — simply cannot replace reporting and, perhaps most importantly, investigative journalism. Here are some highlights:

"The blogosphere is full of people with opinions, but the facts have to come from somewhere. If the [San Francisco] Chronicle were to close its doors, all of this would be gone." (Nathan Ballard, press strategist for the SF mayor, quoted in the article)

Many online news sources, such as the popular Huffington Post, have a parasitic relationship with newspapers, either linking to their content or using it as a springboard for analysis, commentary and criticism. Almost all lack the heft to do in-depth or investigative reporting, whether locally, nationally or globally — a perfect situation for political corruption.

"Not to be overly nostalgic, but the paper form does something that online doesn't do." (Aurora Wallace, a newspaper historian at NYU, quoted in the article)

"I think you already have elected officials getting away with close to murder, and I think you would have even more of that. There is no oversight whatsoever. It would be awful — I can't imagine." (Lydia Chavez, journalism professor at Berkeley, working on MissionLocal.org, quoted in the article)

The situation leaves me, to put it mildly, worried. News has been free for so long now on the Internet that I'm not sure how papers will be able to charge for content without getting lots of backlash. And then there's the always prescient advertising conundrum. What's next? 

Culture Hopping: Textile Museum of Canada

Experiencing more of the Toronto arts and culture scene is always on my to-do list. I feel like I know many of the city's neighbourhoods, parks, festivals, shops, bars, and restaurants. But I'm lacking in the fine arts area, and winter, as usual, has turned me into a hermit. So when my friend Caryn, who is doing a masters' in museum studies at U of T, suggested we start hitting up some museums, I was pumped.

Our first stop: the Textile Museum, which might be one of the hardest museums in the city to find. It's tucked at the bottom of either an apartment building or a hotel, on a little street running off that seedy-ish part of Dundas just east of University. 

There are two feminist exhibits running at the moment—When Women Rule The World: Judy Chicago in Thread and She Will Always Be Younger Than Us by a collective of five artists inspired by Chicago's work. 

We were initially taken aback by the "birth" section of the Chicago exhibit, which includes a lot of pictures of well, the vagina in birth/earth mode. But there was so much to appreciate in Chicago's work beyond the vaginas, from the layered textiles and colours of her pieces to the fact that she included many women in her artistic process. My favourite piece was "Smocked Figure", a simple outlined shape of a woman contemplating the birth of her child. We also found Chicago's later collection, Resolutions for the Millenium: A Stitch in Time entertaining. I liked the play on traditional needlework/cross-stitch pieces with their corny messages—they were wacky, weird, and retro, and old-fashioned at the same time, a feminist textile version of pop-art. 

We both appreciated the well-edited layout of the exhibit (you have to critique this if you're with a museum studies student). Quotes from Chicago were painted on the wall (I love when walls are painted for exhibits—it makes them seem transient, which they are), and some of her original sketches were placed beside finished pieces of work. Being able to see the artistic process makes me, someone with no art history background, appreciate and absorb an artist's work much more effectively. 

The permanent collection, although small, was nice to take a quick meander through, although I might recommend the Patricia Harris Costume Gallery at the ROM to people looking for more decadent costumes—that is, if the ROM doesn't bother you like it does at least 60% of the people in Toronto. 

Besides the Chicago exhibit, my next favourite part of the Textile Museum was—don't make fun—the gift shop. It was filled with rows of coloured scarves, quirky gifts (knitted stones! finger puppets!), sewing kits, books, and bags.

Overall, not a bad start to the Toronto museum scene. Stay tuned. 

p.s. Speaking of feminism, Robyn posted this video on her blog and I really liked it, so I'm going to copy her and put it on, too. Check it. 

Photo: A piece of work from Birth Project by Judy Chicago. 

Wedding Pet Peeves

Okay, so I know a lot of people pooh-pooh Leah McLaren and her "me generation" writing, but her column this week is quite insightful, and helps me answer the seemingly common question of, 'why don't you want to get married?'

My fave bits:

"I think my generation has gone off marriage—or more precisely weddings—because the sentiment (which we believe in) has been obscured by the ludicrous pageantry (which we reject)."

"The bridal industry, with its fabricated notions of formality and ceremony ("traditionalesque" as Rebecca Mead put it in her book One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding) and Hollywood, with its consistent output of mawkish chick flicks such as Bride Wars, has conspired—as a primary school teach might say—to ruin a perfectly nice thing for everybody else."

All of this is true. I love events and I've had the chance to write about all the exciting behind-the-scenes that make them happen, so I can understand the thrill of planning a wedding (well, sort of). Of the handful of weddings I've attended, all have been tasteful and touching. But the thought of being a bride in the stereotypical sense that most people think about brides leaves a sour taste in my mouth. 

So for now, I'll stick with being a part of the weddings of people I care about—I love doing this, so long as the term "bridezilla" never applies—and continue to tell my mom that common-law is the new marriage. 

Being Erica — watch it!

CBC, while strong on news and current affairs, isn't known for its TV dramas past or present. Although I've never watched Sophie, Heartland, or Wild Roses, the ads tell me all I need to know—that I won't take kindly to a perky real estate agent or brooding Albertans with scandalous oil-related secrets. 

But CBC has, surprisingly, done something right with a non-news program. Being Erica also has some annoying commercials, but it's a great show — solid acting (the lead, Erin Karpluk, is really, really good), an intriguing premise (time travel without the space-time continuum issues), and sweeping shots of summery Toronto. In fact, one of my favourite parts of watching it is trying to identify what neighbourhood and/or building Erica is in. So far, she's touched down on the walkway in Yorkville, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto Island, and the architecturally amazing house of artist Charles Pachter (located on the street behind mine). Her apartment is in a beautiful old building on Palmerston, which I used to walk by lots when I lived in Little Italy. I miss that 'hood!

My message, in short, is watch this show! It's on Wednesday nights, and you can also watch all the episodes online. If Sophie can be renewed for a second season, then Being Erica...well, it simply has to be. Let me know what you think!

The Buy: Boots, Equestrian-styles

I had an idea awhile back to start a blog about things I bought as a way to gauge my own consumer habits and talk about the reasons behind the purchase. I later found out Mindy Kaling (who plays the hilarious Kelly Kapoor on The Office) writes a blog that does almost just that, but with more biting wit than I could ever hope to have. 

My consumer blog never materialized, but I'm thinking of starting a regular feature in that vein on this blog. Here goes!

Once in awhile I set my sights on finding a perfect item—e.g. black pumps, short peacoat—and I make it my goal to find an affordable version of it. Tired of my frumpy winter boots, I recently decided I wanted some tall flat boots that were somewhat equestrian looking. This desire stemmed from how classy Betty Draper on Mad Men looks when she goes riding. 

I saw several fashionable girls on Queen Street wearing the boots I envisioned I wanted, but when I hit the stores (which, dangerously, I can now do on my lunch hour), all I could find were boots with heels, flaps, strange stitching, and pointy toes. For the most part in fashion, I appreciate things simple and classic, but these items can be the hardest to find in a trend-happy consumer world. 

There's that saying about finding what you're looking for when you're not looking. Sure enough, when I was on my way to buy a snack from the underground market in First Canadian Place, the sale signs in the window of Nine West drew me right in. I was skeptical when I saw rows of boots with ridiculous heels. But then, there they were. Tall, skinny, black flat leather boots with a rounded toe and no weird details—except for a little ruching on the back, which gives them a bit of a Victorian feel that I can appreciate. 

I look like I'm on the way to the stable when I wear them. I love that. 

Why I Don't Watch the Junos...

Nickelback leads the nomination pack with five nods this year. As if hearing their little ditty on the top of the Hockey Night in Canada opening the other night wasn't enough. This does not make me a proud Canadian! 

I know, I know, the Junos are based on record sales like the Grammys, but that model isn't so hot, especially when we have a lot of musical CanCon to be proud of. More Chad Kroeger, Sarah McLachlan, and Hedley? Call me a snob, but I'll pass. And so, I'm sure, will the vast majority of Canadians. 

Cooking Time

It's hard to eat right when you work full-time, something I've re-discovered since being back on the job in the last month. 

Okay, it's not hard like getting up at 6 a.m. to run every morning (who are those people?) or—heaven forbid—getting kids ready for school, but still. Packing a healthy lunch every day and then coming home and making a satisfying dinner and THEN doing dishes can be a challenge. Thankfully, I enjoy cooking a whole lot more than cleaning and my freezer doesn't really work, so I can't succumb to the frozen-dinner trap that many people fall into. Plus, I think I overdid that stuff as a teenager prone to eating pizza pops, sausage rolls, and French onion soup microwaved from frozen (shudder). 

Almost two weeks ago, I went to a lecture by Mark Bittman, my culinary hero, who just came out with a new book called Food Matters. I haven't gotten around to reading the factual part of his the book yet, but a lot of it was summed up in the talk: eat significantly less meat, consume whole grains and fruits and veg, stop relying on packaged/processed foods, learn how to cook, try new things. It's stuff that's almost redundant because of the Michael Pollan/"locavore"/healthy living mentality that's become so popular (for good reason). But Bittman puts a practical spin on it by providing recipes and making suggestions for adjusting your diet. 

I've tried two delicious things so far, an apple cinnamon multi-grain bread pudding and a tweaked traditional caesar salad with a dressing much more acidic than creamy—far superior, in my opinion. Caesar salad has been bastardized just about everywhere. 

Every once in awhile, I need a kick of food inspiration and Bittman comes to the rescue once again. Okay, I promise to stop rhapsodizing, but one last thing. As much as I love going out to eat for lunch or dinner, it does make me satisfied to make what I eat. And it makes me proudly pronounce, "I won't fall for you, sucker" to all those ads for soups named after colours, frozen bagel and cream cheese roll-ups (really?!), and rice pilafs that come served from a "chef" out of a microwave oven. Bah.