Archive for October, 2008
Shameless Name Dropping
October 30th 2008Thanks to LinkedIn, I recently reconnected with a university friend. I sent him a copy of Escarpment Views and he sent me his response. When I asked, he gave permission to post his comments. In part, he wrote “The magazine looks great. I always loved the escarpment. Once a year or so our folks would take my brother and I for a hike along the Bruce Trail. I remember those days (and my mom’s sandwiches) quite fondly.” You can read his full comment under People Respond.
This friend is Graham Yost, the son of Elwy Yost, host of TVO’s wonderful “Saturday Night at the Movies.” Graham is the screenwriter of the movies “Speed” and “Broken Arrow” among others, and won an Emmy for writing the TV mini series “From the Earth to the Moon.” He’s also written for “Band of Brothers” and “Boomtown.”
It’s gratifying when someone who’s moved away and achieved some fame and fortune, is willing to become reacquainted and take an interest in what an old friend is doing. Thanks, Graham, for your encouragement. It’s also great that there are people connected to Hollywood who remember the Escarpment.
Which of your school friends have grown up to become well known, and are you still in touch with them?
Catch-up of Mentions of Escarpment Views
October 27th 2008If this bog had been active earlier, I would have pointed readers to a couple or three interesting mentions of Escarpment Views. One is on the blog of writer Jennifer Smith who lives in Milton (or Sprawlville as she calls it?). Last spring she wrote of “something wonderful” that she first read about in Trudi Down’s article for us: the Halton Fresh Food Box Program. Thanks for the mention, Jennifer!
Another item is the Sydenham Bruce Trail club’s report in their fall newsletter, about Ken Haigh’s article and great photos about the trail’s new Bayview Escarpment reroute east of Owen Sound. You can read the whole article in Selected Articles on our site. Ross McLean’s report in the club’s newsletter notes “It is feedback such as this that gives trail builders their satisfaction.” We here at EscarpmentViews appreciate the Bruce Trail Conservancy and are happy to celebrate its achievements.
We’re also pleased to have been interviewed by Masthead Magazine about our launch of Escarpment Views. They published their report in both the print issue and online. We thank them for giving us this honour.
Do you have information about local fresh food programs in your area? What’s your favourite stretch of the Bruce Trail?
Small Towns Offer Big Pleasure
October 25th 2008We’ve had a couple of interesting responses to our fall issue recently. Benitta Wilcox, the Erin textile artist whose treasure-filled garden is featured on the cover, reports that she received many favourable comments about the article and was recognized because of it by a woman in Brampton.
In addition, our readers and viewers are taking notice of our ads. Jamie Leder, owner of Collins Brewhouse, a pub in an interesting old building on the main street of Dundas, tells us that he had a couple come to the pub from Toronto because they saw his ad in the magazine. This is what advertising (with us?) can do: draw business to you. We thank Jamie for sharing this story, and the couple from Toronto for mentioning the magazine to him in the first place.
Another interesting note is that we only have a few subscribers from Toronto, and we don’t do any regular distribution in Toronto at all, so it’s remarkable that this couple got the issue and acted on it. Publishing a magazine is a bit like putting a message in a bottle. It’s surprising where it ends up.
Finally, last night we attended the first performance of the 10th anniversary season of the Georgetown Bach Chorale. We’re pleased that Escarpment Views is a patron of the chorale. It was an instrumental classical concert by artistic director Ron Greidanus on piano and guest artist Conrad Chow on violin. I sometimes drift off to sleep during all-instrumental wroks, so I was rather dreading the evening.
I did close my eyes, but it was only to enjoy the music more or to listen more intently to the remarkable sounds produced on these two instruments. I’m not musically educated, so my comments might seem lame, but I guess I represent the average concert goer in a small town. Sometimes it seemed as if there must have been two violins playing. Other times Chow’s fingering and digital dexterity had to be seen to be believed. I had no idea a violin could sound the way he made it. Greidanus is at home all over the piano, easily playing the most elaborate and complex pieces, sometimes entirely from memory. His variations go from the softest vibration of a single note to the loudest bashing of keys imaginable. He’s utterly fearless and amazing to watch.
The musicians took turns introducing the pieces before they performed, helpfully preparing us for what to listen for and sharing their enthusiasm for each composer. I had never heard any of the pieces before, but they were either enjoyable or exciting. In his final performance of Carmen Fantasy by Pablo de Sarasate, Chow played like the devil. I thought his strings would break or his violin would catch fire.
Chow will perform in early 2009 in Carnegie Hall and I expect he’ll bring the house to its feet. He did last night, and it’s amazing that Greidanus is able to bring such world-class talent to Georgetown.
What do you think of classical music? And what treasures do you know of in small towns?
When Publishing a Magazine is Not Enough: Blog
October 21st 2008You would think that as editor of Escarpment Views magazine, I would have plenty of opportunity to write about what’s important. Well yes and no. After publishing our first four issues, a year’s worth for a quarterly, I’m only finding there’s much more to communicate.
So then we had our Web guru, Joan Donogh of In-Formation-Design, set up this blog. I highly recommend Joan. Her work is elegant and effective. She creates Web sites that work the way they were intended to: they’re easy to update yourself.
It will be great to have an online vehicle for worthwhile subjects that can’t make it into an issue of the magazine or are worth another mention. There are so many interesting things happening that our print version alone doesn’t seem to be enough.
Recently, my co-publisher Mike Davis and I attended the first eco:partners networking event hosted by smart Centre Oakville in their dealership as a way to introduce the smart eco:partners program, which they describe as “a mutually beneficial partnership that rewards businesses, organizations and government entities in the Oakville and Milton area for their eco-awareness and concern for our environment.” There is a page on their site explaining the program in detail.
We enjoyed meeting some people we know as well as some people for the first time. Mike even won a fabulous door prize of a basket of organic treats donated by Whole Foods Market of Oakville. We think this eco-partners initiative is an interesting idea. Why not check it out for your own business?
This blog is also meant to provide a way for everyone to participate more directly and quickly. Feel free to add your comments and announce your events and accomplishments. Let’s see where this blog leads in the recognition of the community of people who love Niagara Escarpment lifestyles and attitudes. What are your views?
