Tag Archives: Montreal

CLJ Reviews Barney’s Version

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What we read

This novel received rave reviews when it came out in 1997. To me, it is a welcome addition to the canon of Canadiana, overly populated with the dryly morose (e.g., Atwood), or the cheesy (e.g, Anne of Green Gables, Who Has Seen the Wind). While none of the fine members of CLJ could readily identify with the whiskey-swilling, cigar-puffing Barney Panofsky, everyone certainly enjoyed following his trials and tribulations in this last and funniest novel by literary icon Richler.

What we Did

The group discussed the novel over delicious pizza followed by attending the move adaptation, aptly named, well, “Barney’s Version.” To win the prize of the CLJ trophy and a mickey of pretend-Macallan whiskey, Barney’s booze of choice, people were asked to present their own “version” – some sort of autobiographical account of an event or incident in their life around for which there were conflicting interpretations, emulating Barney’s own account of the murder/accident by the lake. The stories were generally hilarious, ridiculous and improvisational. Kurt delivered a schizo tirade with an impressive southern twang, but John stole the show with his telling of a Lennoxville adventure during his Bishops days, scoring particularly high in the curmudgeon and geographically relevant (Go Quebec!) categories.

Pizza was followed by the movie at 5th Ave cinema and its delicious frozen yoghurt (!).  Amazing. The fun didn’t stop there with a splinter group heading to a 4th Ave. Hell’s Kitchen for a post mortum on the movie/book. All very good times.

What we Thought

Both the book and the movie were a big hit with the kids. There was no denying that Richler’s humour kept us engaged over 300+ pages, while Dustin Hoffman (Barney’s Dad) and Paul Giamatti (Barney) were, as usual, brilliant. No one particularly liked Barney as a character, but most agreed that this was hardly Richler’s concern when conjuring up a foul-mouthed  grump who produces second rate miniseries for a living. I think I was in the minority in complaining that the movie “Hollywoodized” / overly sanitized the book a bit. Lastly, I’m not sure this book lent itself so well to a book club only that it was thin on themes and issues, reading more like a stream of consciousness in which it was hard to get much of a foothold for discussion.

Reviewing Activehistory.ca

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So, I just reviewed this book (Booze) for a very innovative organization full of world-changing leaders of tomorrow. Here’s the punchline: these world-changers are historians.

Led by these historians, Activehistory.ca is the coolest and most important website in the Twitterverse. Sure, as Editor-in-Chief of the second coolest site in the Twittervese, it pains me a little to say such things, but it’s totally true. The Daily Gumboot is, however, lucky enough to share the mind of Active Historian, Jim Clifford, who moves seamlessly between the two blogs online magazine online journals websites like a nineteenth-century farmer from the Lower Lea River Valley who spends his days tilling the fields and his evenings sabotaging the industrial workshops that will soon overwhelm and consume his pristine lands. Interpret this outstanding metaphor as you like.

Moving on…

So, what is this relevantly historical website? Activehistory.ca “is a website to help connect historians with the public, policy makers and the media.” Basically, it explores and celebrates history that makes a difference in the world and (this is my favourite part) “is transformative” to communities.

The website uses podcasts, blogging, photos, maps, videos, and other social media widgets to engage communities and make the issues and ideas of today relevant from a historical perspective – as it turns out, a lot of our mistakes and successes have happened before. History? Social media? Blogs? Videos? Interactive maps? What?! Hmmm…imagine such a thing actually being developed and, eventually, transforming the entire discipline. All you dusty tenured professors out there, well, it might be a good idea to be a little nervous and, hopefully, get a lot relevant.

In time, Activehistory.ca will be one of the most powerful twitblogs on the Interscape, too. Because, in addition to putting topical events of our contemporary world into important, relevant, meaningful, and interesting historical contexts, they also know how to build community. For you see, good readers, the Twitterverse’s two coolest sites recently joined forces in an innovative new way that involved someone other than Jim Clifford. Today, you can click over to Activehistory.ca and read my superawesome review of Booze: A Distilled History by Craig Heron. Disclaimer: “superawesomeness” may subjectively vary depending on tolerance of semi-colons, nerdiness and appreciation of unique approaches to historical study.

Here is an excerpt of the my recent review of Booze: A Distilled History:

So, a wild buffalo, four twelve year old boys and Jenny the Alcoholic Bear walk into Joe Beef’s tavern in Montreal.

Seriously. That really happened…in 1859. Regardless of when it was, I bet that the mechanical bull you rode last week doesn’t seem too cool anymore, does it?

And this is why Canadian history doesn’t get much better than Booze: A Distilled History. Craig Heron’s thoroughly enjoyable – and enjoyably thorough – romp through Canada’s boozey past is as approachably prose-worthy as it is an interconnected analysis of the social, economic, political, sexual, medical, racial, and cultural impact of alcohol on this country.

It gets better from here, too. And I can tell you’re already hooked! Booze analyzes and storytells all the things we love and hate about alcohol and community – drunks and drunkards, social agency, politics, business, sexuality, and, of course, drunken bears (see Alex Grant’s and my commentary about March Madness to confirm this fact). It’s a tour de force of Canadiana and I encourage you to visit Activehistory.ca to check it out in full.

To the editorial team at Activehistory.ca, I thank you for the link love, the collaboration and, most importantly, for the opportunity to be a part of your meaningful online experience. As a self-professed history nerd – albeit not an academic one – it was an honour that meant a lot.

- JCH

Montreal, Sleazy Politics, and the Sopranos (sort of)

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Montreal - the Jersey of Canada?

Montreal - the Jersey of Canada?

Well, the results are in and it turns out that just because you oversaw a regime replete with corruption in an election campaign dominated by headlines like: Quebec corruption crackdown yields 10 arrests, Montrealers say they won’t let systemic corruption stop them from voting, and Montreal Mafia controls 80 per cent of road contracts, whistleblower says doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be Mayor of Ville de Montreal for a third time.

That’s certainly the lesson learned by three time champ, Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay, who earlier this month clinched re-election in an extremely tight three way race with Vision Montreal leader Louise Harel and Richard Bergeron’s Projet Montreal. It certainly wasn’t a grand slam (Tremblay won with only 37.5 percent of the popular vote and lost several key candidates in the process) , but nevertheless he won. Now he says he is setting out to “regain the confidence” of voters.

The confidence issue he’s talking about tarred just about everyone seriously involved with a whole grocery list of corruption allegations. According to a recent Globe and Mail article published:

Among the allegations were reports of bid-rigging for lucrative road-work contracts by a clique of construction companies; Mob connections on key infrastructure projects; trips by Mr. Tremblay’s former right-hand man on a well-connected businessman’s luxury yacht; a contract for a new municipal water meter system that went scandalously over-budget and was ultimately cancelled; and shady corporate campaign contributions.

All of this makes for quite an interesting political “community” to run an election in. Kind of reminded me of what it might be like to run for councilman in Jersey in the fictional world of the  Sopranos.

Tremblay promises to clean up corruption - just like Batman.

Tremblay promises to clean up corruption - just like Batman.

What’s most fascinating (and funny) to an observer like myself, is trying to contextualize it all in the Vancouver political community. Sure, we know the municipal political community (sans finance reform) is sort of like the wild west. But the idea of wise guys having sit downs with the likes of City Councillors or a certain Vancouver City Hall Press Secretary and threatening the life of Mayor Gregor Robertson is something beyond imagination.

Now with the election over, things are starting to get back to normal – sort of.  There are currently several police probes under way and a growing amount of public pressure on Quebec Premier Jean Charest to launch a full fledged public inquiry into just how big an influence the mob has on the construction industry at the municipal and provincial levels.

My question though is just how could the political community in Montreal become so corrupt that all of this could happen?

More importantly, though,  it made me thankful that we don’t have a similar issue with organized crime and municipal politics here on the West Coast (at least none that I know of).