Public art dismay
I was dismayed by Jane Kansas’s op-ed rant about “North is Freedom,” a public sculpture created by Doug Bamford, and installed in Halifax (“The monument at the north end library is a mess,” Voice of the City, November 7). She chose to write a violent, unfocused, art-hating diatribe instead of making the effort to write an insightful critique. Worse still, she gives support
to the widely held prejudice that “all public art is expensive rubbish and why do we need it anyway!”
Her kind of literary vitriol belongs on an extremist blog site. The Coast should be taking a more active editorial role. It should not be a soapbox for every unhappy person who happens to be having a bad day.
—John Brett, Halifax
On Griffin’s Pond
Upset about your ignorance regarding the history of Griffin’s Pond in the Halifax Public Gardens (Best of Halifax, Feature, November 7)? Don’t despair: The Friends of the Public Gardens
have the answer to this and all the other burning questions you may have about the Gardens!
We have just released the second edition of our book, The Halifax Public Gardens, which is full of beautiful photos and historical information AND
contains a detailed map of all the plantings in the Gardens. You can get this book from halifaxpublicgardens.ca, at Bookmark or tax-free from us at the Seaport Market during December. The history of Griffin’s Pond, incidentally, is on page 74…
—Sophie Bieger, vice-chair of The Friends of the Public Gardens
Bad Grandpa good
Your review of Bad Grandpa perfectly illustrates why when god wants to give the world an enema, he’ll stick it in Halifax (Movie Reviews by Jacob Boon, November 7). The film has received excellent reviews in all major urban centres in Canada and the USA. At the screening I saw, people were in hysterics.
I suggest your reviewer snort some Liquid Plumr and get with the tour. Movies such as Bad Grandpa should be celebrated, not denigrated. —Paul Mandell, via email
Between the lines
The Crosswalk Avenger is wasting his time with this—the city is absolutely right (“Crosswalks avenged,” Reality Bites by Hilary Beaumont, November 7).
The Avenger’s assertion that there is no such thing as a rolling stop is completely incorrect; I’d say about 90 percent of stops (not at red lights) are rolling stops. If you watch all motorists’ stops at stop signs, or right hands at red lights, you’ll see this to be true.
I have nothing against a rolling stop, but there is risk associated with them and differing circumstances need to be addressed in each situation. Also, rolling at one kilometre and rolling at 10 kilometres have very different dynamics.
I don’t know why pedestrians don’t get it. They have everything to lose. It’s so simple. They need to make eye contact with every driver they are considering to step in front of and they need to ensure said driver is making a complete stop.
Do these two simple acts and you will not get hit. It’s so simple. Lines will not help—exercising safe crossing practices will! —posted by Smee at thecoast.ca In the case of the Avenger, he did all that, and more. Still got hit. Not sure what was going through the driver’s mind when she saw this man make eye contact with her and put his arm out to cross, but she evidently didn’t clue in that he was crossing.
I get tired of drivers blaming pedestrians and pedestrians blaming drivers. It’s the responsibility of both to be paying attention. Drivers need to be aware of their surroundings all the time, and pedestrians need to stop and look where they’re crossing. To me, that’s what is “simple.” —posted by TDF
This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2013.
Dear, The Coast,
Jacob Boon and Kate Watson are both decent writers, but their reviews have long since become predictable and tiresome.
Boon seems to trash almost everything he sees and often comes off as smug or annoyed(usually both). Meanwhile, Watson appears to drift from play to play in a state of perpetual embrace, praising each production equally. I’m not sure for how many years I’ve been reading her reviews, but I can recall only one that was in any way critical. Even then, her comments fell safely in the category of “faint praise”.
However, I’d rather light a candle than curse the darkness. Here’s a suggestion: instead of having them both sacked, have them TRADE assignments for a month or so. Let Ms. Watson go to the cinemas and see how REAL money is spent(for better and worse) and let Mr. Boone explore art in the THIRD dimension(without “glasses”!).
Such an experiment would surely refresh the film and theatre reviews and should prove illuminating to your reviewers and their readers. If nothing else, we might stand a better chance of being spared Boon’s derision and Watson’s euphoria — at least, for a little while.
Sincerely,
David Cullen
Halifax
Hi David,
Just call me the Pollyanna of capsule reviews.
My job, given 150 words, is to give readers a sense of what the play is about, and whether or not it is worth spending money and time on.
Despite your assertion that I am never critical, I have received enough angry emails to refute that. But, in my years reviewing theatre in Halifax, there have been only a handful of plays that I am actually sorry to have seen.
I like to think people go to The Coast to see what plays are on, and to help them choose among them. (“Hmm, from Watson’s review of “Dr Jekyll”, I’d say a stylish, stylized horror is just what I’d like to see.”)
While there is definitely room for improvement in *all* of the 600+ plays I’ve seen in my tenure as reviewer at The Coast, my job is not to give a detailed critique, but to share some of my impressions of what’s out there.
Sincerely, too.
Kate Watson
Dartmouth