Tuesday, 23 November 2010
A year of Zombie Quotes - Day Three
QUOTABLE QUOTES FROM THE WALKING DEAD
On the third day of 2011 the zombie killer said:
"A Zombie isn't a dead person who's come back to life. It's someone who 's been infected with the plague of the 21st century - a terrible disease that leaves its victims irrationally violent and hateful, some insist evil. Zombiesm is carried in bodily fluids."
Flagstaff, Zombieland. Script by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
A year of Zombie Quotes - Day Two
A year of Zombie Quotes - Day One
Marilyn Monroe Art Exhibition coming to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg,Ontario,Canada in February 2011
The gallery curates its own Marilyn in Canada exhibit, plus the internationally acclaimed touring exhibition, Life as a Legend, makes its final stop of a successful tour at the McMichael!
November 23, 2010 Kleinburg, ON – In February 2011, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection will bring its visitors an unexpected and thought-provoking array of exhibitions, featuring contemporary art and pop culture with two exhibitions of works based on the woman who personified Hollywood glamour in the twentieth century: Marilyn Monroe. Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe (curated by Artoma, Hamburg, Germany and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC) and Marilyn in Canada (curated by McMichael Assistant Curator, Chris Finn, and organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection) will both be on display February 19 to May 15, 2011 at the Kleinburg gallery. A weekend of programs to celebrate the opening of the shows will take place Family Day long weekend, February 19 to 21,201.
These exhibitions capture the making of a celebrity and the myth behind the woman the world knew as Marilyn Monroe. Nearly five decades after her death, Monroe remains undisputedly one of the most famous movie stars in the world. Her intriguing personality and the aura surrounding her tragic death continuously attracted many artists, who responded more acutely to the creation of a legend.
The internationally acclaimed touring exhibition, Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, makes its final stop of a successful tour at the McMichael. The exhibition explores the incredibly diverse array of artistic responses to Marilyn’s image. An impressive grouping of paintings, photographs, and prints by world-renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, and Eduardo Paolozzi, along with unforgettable snapshots by the most famous photographers of the day such as Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Bernard of Hollywood make this exhibition a true revelation for Monroe’s fans.
Curated especially for the McMichael, Marilyn in Canada provides an intriguing glimpse into Marylin’s experiences while filming in Canada as well as her popularity among Canadian artists. Works by artists such as Shelley Niro, John Vachon, and George S. Zimbel are some of the highlights of this unique Canadian-content based exhibition. Both shows demonstrate the broad range of artists who responded creatively to Marilyn’s life – from a constellation of great fashion photographers of her day to the champions of the Pop Art movement in North America to well known artists in Canadian contemporary art.
Monroe’s popularity has not waned even half a century after her death and her mystique is an inspiration in many genres as currently sMonroe’s popularity has not waned even half a century after her death and her mystique is an inspiration in many genres as currently several projects are in the works, or have just recently been released, which feature the iconic actress. Two feature films are in production: My Week with Marilyn starring Oscar® nominated actress Michelle Williams (2011 scheduled release date) and Blonde, starring another Oscar® nominated actress, Naomi Watts (2012 scheduled release date). A collection of writings by the Hollywood icon was released in October 2010, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The book, entitled Fragments, includes poems , letters, and other writings dating from Monroe’s teenage years to shortly before her death. In October 2008, the twenty-fifth anniversary issue of Vanity Fair featured Monroe on its cover and, once again, this month the actress graced its cover to promote the magazine’s worldwide exclusive feature article, “Marilyn and Her Monsters”.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONS
Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe
Born in Los Angeles, California in 1926, Norma Jeane Mortenson was baptized with her mother’s maiden name as Norma Jeane Baker. Like many girls who flocked to Hollywood with aspirations of becoming an actress, Norma Jeane visited the studio of Bruno Bernard (known as Bernard of Hollywood), asking him to make her look sexy. She was discovered during a government photo shoot at a munitions factory, and Bernard is credited with introducing Norma Jeane to Jimmy Hyde, the agent who helped her sign her first contract with Twentieth Century Fox. By the age of twenty, as she began her career in movies, she was renamed and recreated by the Hollywood studio as Marilyn Monroe.
The exhibition Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroeroe contains a selection of approximately 150 works by artists Andy Warhol, Allen Jones, Robert Indiana, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Douglas Kirkland and many others. Having travelled in six countries in Europe prior to its American, and now Canadian tour, the exhibition’s primary appeal offers engaging interpretations of Marilyn, ranging from playful and intimate portraits to others that are bold, decorative, and even transformative. The subject of the artists’ work is nothing less than one of the most celebrated popular icons in history. With their images they capture the determination, innocence and vulnerability of Norma Jeane Baker, as well as the vibrant personality, femininity and sensuality that became Marilyn Monroe. The exhibition demonstrates that the longevity of her popularity stems, in part, from both the lessons (and myths) of her life and death as well as from the symbolic powers of her visual image.
The show challenges us to understand how and why these images have become part of our culture. Obviously beautiful, Marilyn was just one of many beautiful people in Hollywood. Perhaps the reason she remained so captivating was her life story: Monroe’s loveless childhood, her rise to stardom and equally spectacular slide, her unhappy affaThe show challenges us to understand how and why these images have become part of our culture. Obviously beautiful, Marilyn was just one of many beautiful people in Hollywood. Perhaps the reason she remained so captivating was her life story: Monroe’s loveless childhood, her rise to stardom and equally spectacular slide, her unhappy affairs and early death formed a necessary counterweight to the glamorous visuals. To most commentators, Monroe is a bundle of paradoxes. She’s sexual but innocent, that womanly body vying with that little-girl voice. She’s vulnerable but also driven and calculating in her pursuit of star status. Photographer Milton H. Greene, a glamour photographer who worked for Life, Look and Vogue and later became Monroe’s business partner, catches some of these contradictions in the so-called “Ballerina Sittings.”
The camera couldn’t get enough of Monroe. She was possibly the most photographed individual of the twentieth century. But her need for the camera was just as insatiable. That Marilyn Monroe is a carefully crafted persona as well as a legend is one of the show’s main themes – she herself said, “I’m an artificial product.” More than Monroe’s beauty and mystery is her story, emblematic of commodifying the individual. This is the interpretation in artist Andy Warhol’s famous, colourful images. He loved her whole essence, but wanted to show to the world, “Look, this is what we did to her.”
As Marilyn develops as a mature actress, she can be observed both behind the scenes and in the spotlight of high society, film and theatre. The most intimate and lasting images of Marilyn are taken in photograph sessions in the final months of her life. In her final magazine interview in 1962, she tells a reporter, “Please don’t make me a joke. End the interview with what I believe. I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one… I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity.”
Whether visitors to the exhibition lived during Marilyn’s lifetime or developed a fascination with her following her death, this exhibition offers an insight into the life of a woman who is firmly entrenched in North American and worldwide culture.
Marilyn in Canada
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic presence has been embraced by many cultures beyond her American birthplace. Her public image has served as a multifaceted symbolic muse representing a range of assigned roles and values providing inspiration for works created by a variety of artists who offer their ‘remembrances’ expressed through many artistic forms.
As an introductory and complementary component for the larger travelling show, Marilyn in Canada provides a Canadian connection to remembering and re-visioning this cultural figure. This exhibition includes works by John Vachon, George S. Zimbel and Shelley Niro.
George Zimbel, an American photographer who immigrated to Canada in 1971, participated in the original photo session with Marilyn Monroe that was staged in 1954 during the filming of The Seven Year Itch. Images from this filmed session have, through continuing appearance in reproductions, bolstered the iconic status of the actress while also inspiring artists to reinterpret this particular moment in popular culture history.
Canadian First Nations artist, Shelley Niro, has restaged her own version of this famous scene. Dressed in white with a fan blowing beneath her dress, the artist reveals the artifice behind the original pose. Her portrait as ‘Marilyn’ accompanied by images of family members emphasizes ideas of feminine beauty and notions of fame that have been embedded in media portrayals.
Marilyn in Canada features photographs, paintings, sculpture, and prints by artists who have inscribed Monroe’s public image with their own culturally-filtered interpretations which also serve as commentary on the influence of American popular culture in Canada.
ABOUT THE McMICHAEL CANADIAN ART COLLECTION
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com .
CUTLINES:
Top:
Bert Stern, “Here’s to you” from The Last Sitting, 1962/1978, C-Print, © Bert Stern; Middle
Milton H. Greene, Marilyn Monroe, New York City, “Ballerina Sitting,” 1954, Inkjet print, © Joshua Greene www.legendslicensing.com;
Bottom
John Vachon (1914–1975), Untitled (Marilyn with Mountie), 1953, photographic reprint, 61 x 51 cm, Courtesy of the Estate of John Vachon and Dover Publications Inc.
For photos and information contact
Stephen Weir
stephen@stephenweir.com
or leave a message on this blog
The gallery curates its own Marilyn in Canada exhibit, plus the internationally acclaimed touring exhibition, Life as a Legend, makes its final stop of a successful tour at the McMichael!
November 23, 2010 Kleinburg, ON – In February 2011, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection will bring its visitors an unexpected and thought-provoking array of exhibitions, featuring contemporary art and pop culture with two exhibitions of works based on the woman who personified Hollywood glamour in the twentieth century: Marilyn Monroe. Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe (curated by Artoma, Hamburg, Germany and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC) and Marilyn in Canada (curated by McMichael Assistant Curator, Chris Finn, and organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection) will both be on display February 19 to May 15, 2011 at the Kleinburg gallery. A weekend of programs to celebrate the opening of the shows will take place Family Day long weekend, February 19 to 21,201.
These exhibitions capture the making of a celebrity and the myth behind the woman the world knew as Marilyn Monroe. Nearly five decades after her death, Monroe remains undisputedly one of the most famous movie stars in the world. Her intriguing personality and the aura surrounding her tragic death continuously attracted many artists, who responded more acutely to the creation of a legend.
The internationally acclaimed touring exhibition, Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, makes its final stop of a successful tour at the McMichael. The exhibition explores the incredibly diverse array of artistic responses to Marilyn’s image. An impressive grouping of paintings, photographs, and prints by world-renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, and Eduardo Paolozzi, along with unforgettable snapshots by the most famous photographers of the day such as Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Bernard of Hollywood make this exhibition a true revelation for Monroe’s fans.
Curated especially for the McMichael, Marilyn in Canada provides an intriguing glimpse into Marylin’s experiences while filming in Canada as well as her popularity among Canadian artists. Works by artists such as Shelley Niro, John Vachon, and George S. Zimbel are some of the highlights of this unique Canadian-content based exhibition. Both shows demonstrate the broad range of artists who responded creatively to Marilyn’s life – from a constellation of great fashion photographers of her day to the champions of the Pop Art movement in North America to well known artists in Canadian contemporary art.
Monroe’s popularity has not waned even half a century after her death and her mystique is an inspiration in many genres as currently sMonroe’s popularity has not waned even half a century after her death and her mystique is an inspiration in many genres as currently several projects are in the works, or have just recently been released, which feature the iconic actress. Two feature films are in production: My Week with Marilyn starring Oscar® nominated actress Michelle Williams (2011 scheduled release date) and Blonde, starring another Oscar® nominated actress, Naomi Watts (2012 scheduled release date). A collection of writings by the Hollywood icon was released in October 2010, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The book, entitled Fragments, includes poems , letters, and other writings dating from Monroe’s teenage years to shortly before her death. In October 2008, the twenty-fifth anniversary issue of Vanity Fair featured Monroe on its cover and, once again, this month the actress graced its cover to promote the magazine’s worldwide exclusive feature article, “Marilyn and Her Monsters”.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONS
Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe
Born in Los Angeles, California in 1926, Norma Jeane Mortenson was baptized with her mother’s maiden name as Norma Jeane Baker. Like many girls who flocked to Hollywood with aspirations of becoming an actress, Norma Jeane visited the studio of Bruno Bernard (known as Bernard of Hollywood), asking him to make her look sexy. She was discovered during a government photo shoot at a munitions factory, and Bernard is credited with introducing Norma Jeane to Jimmy Hyde, the agent who helped her sign her first contract with Twentieth Century Fox. By the age of twenty, as she began her career in movies, she was renamed and recreated by the Hollywood studio as Marilyn Monroe.
The exhibition Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroeroe contains a selection of approximately 150 works by artists Andy Warhol, Allen Jones, Robert Indiana, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Douglas Kirkland and many others. Having travelled in six countries in Europe prior to its American, and now Canadian tour, the exhibition’s primary appeal offers engaging interpretations of Marilyn, ranging from playful and intimate portraits to others that are bold, decorative, and even transformative. The subject of the artists’ work is nothing less than one of the most celebrated popular icons in history. With their images they capture the determination, innocence and vulnerability of Norma Jeane Baker, as well as the vibrant personality, femininity and sensuality that became Marilyn Monroe. The exhibition demonstrates that the longevity of her popularity stems, in part, from both the lessons (and myths) of her life and death as well as from the symbolic powers of her visual image.
The show challenges us to understand how and why these images have become part of our culture. Obviously beautiful, Marilyn was just one of many beautiful people in Hollywood. Perhaps the reason she remained so captivating was her life story: Monroe’s loveless childhood, her rise to stardom and equally spectacular slide, her unhappy affaThe show challenges us to understand how and why these images have become part of our culture. Obviously beautiful, Marilyn was just one of many beautiful people in Hollywood. Perhaps the reason she remained so captivating was her life story: Monroe’s loveless childhood, her rise to stardom and equally spectacular slide, her unhappy affairs and early death formed a necessary counterweight to the glamorous visuals. To most commentators, Monroe is a bundle of paradoxes. She’s sexual but innocent, that womanly body vying with that little-girl voice. She’s vulnerable but also driven and calculating in her pursuit of star status. Photographer Milton H. Greene, a glamour photographer who worked for Life, Look and Vogue and later became Monroe’s business partner, catches some of these contradictions in the so-called “Ballerina Sittings.”
The camera couldn’t get enough of Monroe. She was possibly the most photographed individual of the twentieth century. But her need for the camera was just as insatiable. That Marilyn Monroe is a carefully crafted persona as well as a legend is one of the show’s main themes – she herself said, “I’m an artificial product.” More than Monroe’s beauty and mystery is her story, emblematic of commodifying the individual. This is the interpretation in artist Andy Warhol’s famous, colourful images. He loved her whole essence, but wanted to show to the world, “Look, this is what we did to her.”
As Marilyn develops as a mature actress, she can be observed both behind the scenes and in the spotlight of high society, film and theatre. The most intimate and lasting images of Marilyn are taken in photograph sessions in the final months of her life. In her final magazine interview in 1962, she tells a reporter, “Please don’t make me a joke. End the interview with what I believe. I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one… I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity.”
Whether visitors to the exhibition lived during Marilyn’s lifetime or developed a fascination with her following her death, this exhibition offers an insight into the life of a woman who is firmly entrenched in North American and worldwide culture.
Marilyn in Canada
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic presence has been embraced by many cultures beyond her American birthplace. Her public image has served as a multifaceted symbolic muse representing a range of assigned roles and values providing inspiration for works created by a variety of artists who offer their ‘remembrances’ expressed through many artistic forms.
As an introductory and complementary component for the larger travelling show, Marilyn in Canada provides a Canadian connection to remembering and re-visioning this cultural figure. This exhibition includes works by John Vachon, George S. Zimbel and Shelley Niro.
George Zimbel, an American photographer who immigrated to Canada in 1971, participated in the original photo session with Marilyn Monroe that was staged in 1954 during the filming of The Seven Year Itch. Images from this filmed session have, through continuing appearance in reproductions, bolstered the iconic status of the actress while also inspiring artists to reinterpret this particular moment in popular culture history.
Canadian First Nations artist, Shelley Niro, has restaged her own version of this famous scene. Dressed in white with a fan blowing beneath her dress, the artist reveals the artifice behind the original pose. Her portrait as ‘Marilyn’ accompanied by images of family members emphasizes ideas of feminine beauty and notions of fame that have been embedded in media portrayals.
Marilyn in Canada features photographs, paintings, sculpture, and prints by artists who have inscribed Monroe’s public image with their own culturally-filtered interpretations which also serve as commentary on the influence of American popular culture in Canada.
ABOUT THE McMICHAEL CANADIAN ART COLLECTION
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com .
CUTLINES:
Top:
Bert Stern, “Here’s to you” from The Last Sitting, 1962/1978, C-Print, © Bert Stern; Middle
Milton H. Greene, Marilyn Monroe, New York City, “Ballerina Sitting,” 1954, Inkjet print, © Joshua Greene www.legendslicensing.com;
Bottom
John Vachon (1914–1975), Untitled (Marilyn with Mountie), 1953, photographic reprint, 61 x 51 cm, Courtesy of the Estate of John Vachon and Dover Publications Inc.
For photos and information contact
Stephen Weir
stephen@stephenweir.com
or leave a message on this blog
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Writing A Bride's Speech - Advice To Die For
Advice from a speech writer for the woman planning to speak at her wedding reception
Writers and Publicists often have had to write speeches as part of their every day job. Speech writing sounds so important, but, it really isn't much fun. It takes lotsa work and in the end you don't get any credit for a job well done. But, it pays well.
I learned my speech writing technique in the 80's from Art Schwartz, former captain of the HMCS Haida. He explained to me one day how he used to address the Admirals of the Queen's Canadian Navy.
"You tell them what you are going to tell them. Then tell them a joke. Quote somebody famous. Then tell them what you told them you were going to tell them. Then tell them another joke. Then tell them what they just heard in case they weren't listening. Then get off the stage."
Sound Advice. And it always works.
When you are writing a speech, the person you are writing it for will tell you what to say (either in person or through an assistant) and will give you copies of past speeches so you can see how the person likes to say it. What is harder is to make it flow and make it interesting (and not put audiences to sleep).
I received a note last week from a friend who was about to hold a wedding reception with her new husband. She wanted me to write a speech for her. Out-of-town guests (Sault St Marie) had to be acknowledged. Something witty had to be said about her work friends (she is a pharmacist) and she wanted to say something nice about her musician husband who was going to be performing a song he wrote about her.
I had to turn down the job (suspect there was no pay involved)and I had to decline an offer to dance with the bride (two left feet). But I did give her some pointers. If you are a bride thinking about what to say on that big day, feel free to borrow and revise this guideline.
ADVICE TO A BRIDE HAVING TO WRITE A SPEECH FOR HER RECEPTION
It is true, I don't dance. And now for the bad news. Don't really have any advice about your speech. I do write speeches, but, they take days. And I usually get told what to say.
So can't help you. But here are some tips from a professional that you can follow, make changes as you see fit:
* A lot has to do with the age and temperament of your audience. Obviously you would rather drink than talk, but this is really something that your guests are expecting. (I don't buy that you owe your husband because he wrote a song for you -- isn't that is his job? It would be like you filling a script for him and telling him he had to write a damn speech)
* I would keep it short. Really short. Keep it light. Really light. Keep it even shorter and lighter than that. Leave them begging for more.
* However, I think you should take a serious note at the get go and talk about your late mother and father right off the top.
* I think you have to acknowledge the Sault St Marie (you know, the town near the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald) contingent at the party. Tell your friends that if they see anyone in flannel to say hello because it is probably your relative.
* I think you have to make a few jokes about pharmacy with the usual dispensing jokes and tell all the women in the audience that you have good news, you have put Viagra in the punch. You know that sort of thing.
* Style suggestion: Last year I was approached by a Giller nominee to help promote her book. It was a bit of a thriller all based on hasty notes left by a stalker (book didn't win). Aside from her I think of you as the most literate writer of yellow sticky notes.
* I would approach your speech as a series of hasty notes. Stick 'em all over your dress, your arms, your head and the palm of your hand a la Sara Palin. While you are at the mike just randomly pull them off and read them. Any topic. Any order. Then if it sounds disjointed the audience is going to assume that you pulled the wrong sticky note off and not that you are slightly "touched" when it comes to writing speeches.
* Remember to say great things about your audience. Make them feel that they are at something special. Lie and tell them that Shinan Govani is in the audience. Read a few telegrams (they still send them for weddings) from Stephen Harper, the Pope annulling your Italian wedding because he couldn't read your handwriting, Spongebob and a job offer from Walmart's pharmacy (yes they do more than sell walls).
* I might read a brief sticky note in French in a tip of the hat to your blood lines (quote Marcel Marceau if your French is like mine)
* As for quoting other people, in speeches I usually give a quote from Seinfeld. Showing my years. Guess given your age and your crowd I would look for a bon mot from Jon Stewart or The Office. I remember that George Bush once told his audience "I hope you leave here and walk out and say, 'What did he say?'" - George W. Bush, Beaverton, Oregon,2004.
* Probably too biting but when you address your new husband you can remind him what Paris Hilton said: "Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything."
Anyway, no point in going on, I bet deep down inside you know what you want to say (but I like my yellow stickee idea ...) Final Advice: If the audience is really fidgety, lift up your dress and show them your wedding garter (If your husband is wearing his kilt it will work for him too).
Cutline:
Top: After a certain age you look at weddings and wonder why bother? why spend the money? why bother to buy a dress? why bother to wear white? However in this case, I think the effort was worth it. The bride wore red (with a splash of red) and her young best man was all heart when it came to hors d'oeuvres. Picture taken in a Toronto park in late October
Middle: Always tip your hat to out-of-towners. Mention something about their home town that shows you know what their life is all about. In this case the bride's family came in from Sault Ste. Marie. Their proximity to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald isn't probably their biggest claim to fame ... but it is funnier than mentioning that the city is the birthplace of the first youth police cadet group in Canada. And, it sure beats singing a line from a Boy Named Soo.
Bottom: President George Bush always kept them guessing when he gave a speech.
Writers and Publicists often have had to write speeches as part of their every day job. Speech writing sounds so important, but, it really isn't much fun. It takes lotsa work and in the end you don't get any credit for a job well done. But, it pays well.
I learned my speech writing technique in the 80's from Art Schwartz, former captain of the HMCS Haida. He explained to me one day how he used to address the Admirals of the Queen's Canadian Navy.
"You tell them what you are going to tell them. Then tell them a joke. Quote somebody famous. Then tell them what you told them you were going to tell them. Then tell them another joke. Then tell them what they just heard in case they weren't listening. Then get off the stage."
Sound Advice. And it always works.
When you are writing a speech, the person you are writing it for will tell you what to say (either in person or through an assistant) and will give you copies of past speeches so you can see how the person likes to say it. What is harder is to make it flow and make it interesting (and not put audiences to sleep).
I received a note last week from a friend who was about to hold a wedding reception with her new husband. She wanted me to write a speech for her. Out-of-town guests (Sault St Marie) had to be acknowledged. Something witty had to be said about her work friends (she is a pharmacist) and she wanted to say something nice about her musician husband who was going to be performing a song he wrote about her.
I had to turn down the job (suspect there was no pay involved)and I had to decline an offer to dance with the bride (two left feet). But I did give her some pointers. If you are a bride thinking about what to say on that big day, feel free to borrow and revise this guideline.
ADVICE TO A BRIDE HAVING TO WRITE A SPEECH FOR HER RECEPTION
It is true, I don't dance. And now for the bad news. Don't really have any advice about your speech. I do write speeches, but, they take days. And I usually get told what to say.
So can't help you. But here are some tips from a professional that you can follow, make changes as you see fit:
* A lot has to do with the age and temperament of your audience. Obviously you would rather drink than talk, but this is really something that your guests are expecting. (I don't buy that you owe your husband because he wrote a song for you -- isn't that is his job? It would be like you filling a script for him and telling him he had to write a damn speech)
* I would keep it short. Really short. Keep it light. Really light. Keep it even shorter and lighter than that. Leave them begging for more.
* However, I think you should take a serious note at the get go and talk about your late mother and father right off the top.
* I think you have to acknowledge the Sault St Marie (you know, the town near the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald) contingent at the party. Tell your friends that if they see anyone in flannel to say hello because it is probably your relative.
* I think you have to make a few jokes about pharmacy with the usual dispensing jokes and tell all the women in the audience that you have good news, you have put Viagra in the punch. You know that sort of thing.
* Style suggestion: Last year I was approached by a Giller nominee to help promote her book. It was a bit of a thriller all based on hasty notes left by a stalker (book didn't win). Aside from her I think of you as the most literate writer of yellow sticky notes.
* I would approach your speech as a series of hasty notes. Stick 'em all over your dress, your arms, your head and the palm of your hand a la Sara Palin. While you are at the mike just randomly pull them off and read them. Any topic. Any order. Then if it sounds disjointed the audience is going to assume that you pulled the wrong sticky note off and not that you are slightly "touched" when it comes to writing speeches.
* Remember to say great things about your audience. Make them feel that they are at something special. Lie and tell them that Shinan Govani is in the audience. Read a few telegrams (they still send them for weddings) from Stephen Harper, the Pope annulling your Italian wedding because he couldn't read your handwriting, Spongebob and a job offer from Walmart's pharmacy (yes they do more than sell walls).
* I might read a brief sticky note in French in a tip of the hat to your blood lines (quote Marcel Marceau if your French is like mine)
* As for quoting other people, in speeches I usually give a quote from Seinfeld. Showing my years. Guess given your age and your crowd I would look for a bon mot from Jon Stewart or The Office. I remember that George Bush once told his audience "I hope you leave here and walk out and say, 'What did he say?'" - George W. Bush, Beaverton, Oregon,2004.
* Probably too biting but when you address your new husband you can remind him what Paris Hilton said: "Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything."
Anyway, no point in going on, I bet deep down inside you know what you want to say (but I like my yellow stickee idea ...) Final Advice: If the audience is really fidgety, lift up your dress and show them your wedding garter (If your husband is wearing his kilt it will work for him too).
Cutline:
Top: After a certain age you look at weddings and wonder why bother? why spend the money? why bother to buy a dress? why bother to wear white? However in this case, I think the effort was worth it. The bride wore red (with a splash of red) and her young best man was all heart when it came to hors d'oeuvres. Picture taken in a Toronto park in late October
Middle: Always tip your hat to out-of-towners. Mention something about their home town that shows you know what their life is all about. In this case the bride's family came in from Sault Ste. Marie. Their proximity to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald isn't probably their biggest claim to fame ... but it is funnier than mentioning that the city is the birthplace of the first youth police cadet group in Canada. And, it sure beats singing a line from a Boy Named Soo.
Bottom: President George Bush always kept them guessing when he gave a speech.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Just in time for November 11th
TIM COOK AND STEVE PAIKIN TALK ABOUT WORLD WAR 1 AND AFGANISTAN - NOW A TVO PODCAST
Linda Crane and I had Tim Cook (author of Madman and the Butcher, WW1 curator at the War Museum and Charles Taylor Prize winner) in studio with TVO Agenda host Steve Paikin - on Monday. Thoughtful,interesting and sometimes disturbing interview. Talked about the Great Wars in context with what is going on in Afganistan. 20-minute interview is posted on line at:
http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=3
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
AGO rolls out the Royce for the Cadillac of art exhibitions
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PEDAL TO THE METAL FOR MEDIA PRE-PREVIEW OF:
Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts
Launching an Art exhibition is like posting a new website. If you don't get an audience in the first week or two, in all likelihood you are doomed to the curse of low numbers. If you hate to see a website die, you will absolutely loathe to see an art show tank at the box office. No attendance. No revenue. And,in these days of tight government money, no revenue means public rebuke, a tsunami of second guessing and staff lay-offs.
Long before the public knows about an upcoming blockbuster, we publicists are hard at work trying to make sure that never happens. That means getting the media up-to-speed about what is coming down the road. There are two goals for the early pumping of sunshine. We want to get advanced publicity so that our audience is already marking our show in their Blackberries, and secondly, we want to make sure that our media launch will be well attended.
PR is free ... sort of. An art gallery has to pay someone like me. The coffee and doughnuts don't come cheap (kidding), the press kits have to be produced and the curators have to take a break long enough to speak intelligently at the preview media launch.
It is almost always worth the effort. Common wisdom holds that a consumer is 4 times more likely to believe and be motivated by an article in print than if he or she saw an ad for the same event. People are even more motivated when they see moving images on television compared to 20-second paid spot.
A full page advertisement in a Toronto daily can cost $30,000. A well attended media preview can result in the equivalent of 20 full page advertisements! Not bad for a plate of stale doughnuts.
In pre-recession days, when the media was flush and the Internet was a bit player on the arts scene, a well attended media preview was a sure bet. Not anymore. Papers don't have space, television doesn't have spare cameras, and when was the last time a radio station (aside from the CBC) sent a real reporter to an art preview?
The Art Gallery of Ontario is ready to launch a MAJOR exhibition this month. Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts, is a British created traveling exhibition that will appeal not only to the art world, but, Ontario's growing Indo-Canadian community. This is the first exhibition to comprehensively explore the opulent world of the maharajas and their unique culture of artistic patronage.
The AGO PR department is organizing a full scale mediapreview for early next week, but, in an effort to make sure that the media understands the "Bigness" of this exhibition, held a Media pre-preview today. This is something usually not done in Toronto, just because it is hard enough to get the media out once for a full scale press conference, let alone twice to a not-so-complete exhibition hall.
Although the galleries are still being prepared, the media was allowed in this morning to see THE major piece of the exhibition being installed. It was a tease - it put the media on notice that bigger and better things will be unveiled next week.
Gallery installers put down their tools long enough for the media, myself included, to take pictures and video of “ The Star of India”, an antique Rolls Royce Phantom II. This legendary 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II (pictured above) was custom-built for His Highness Thakore Sahib Dharmendrasinhji Lakhajiraj of Rajkot. The car is named after the famous 563 carat star sapphire “Star of India”.
According to Haema Sivanessan,AGO Special Project Assistant"the Star of India is almost the most famous Rolls Royce on the earth, second only to the original Rolls Royce Silver Ghost".
The bonnet and wings shown in the photo above, are made of polished aluminum and the rest of the body is of a saffron ochre finish, a tinge which is a symbol of purity in India. Visible on all doors and side windows is Rajkot’s state crest with an inscription meaning “an impartial ruler of men of all faiths.”
The car is on loan from an auction house and last I heard is up for sale for $13 million. I believe it is still roadworthy but because of its value is not driven
I am the mirror opposite of a car buff. I see the automobile as a tool, not a work of art. No matter, even I was impressed by the stately look of the Star of India. It is a statement of pure form and superior craftmanship. It was worth the trip to Dundas Street to attend a pre-preview!
How did the other media feel? Just about same as me. The pre-preview attracted a couple of TV crews and a gaggle of photographers and reporters, all who seemed genuinely impressed by the AGO's rolling stock.
The exhibition (sponsored in part by Scotiabank) opens to the public on November 20, 2010 and runs to April 3, 2011. Assuming that the pre-preview has done its job then you alreadly know that, don't you?
CUTLINES
Top: The Star of India - Blackberry photo of the 1934 Rolls Royce
Middle: Haema Sivanessan,AGO Special Project Assistant, is interviewed by the CBC beside the Star of India.
Bottom: The Patiala Necklace. Exhibit within the upcoming Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts
PEDAL TO THE METAL FOR MEDIA PRE-PREVIEW OF:
Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts
Launching an Art exhibition is like posting a new website. If you don't get an audience in the first week or two, in all likelihood you are doomed to the curse of low numbers. If you hate to see a website die, you will absolutely loathe to see an art show tank at the box office. No attendance. No revenue. And,in these days of tight government money, no revenue means public rebuke, a tsunami of second guessing and staff lay-offs.
Long before the public knows about an upcoming blockbuster, we publicists are hard at work trying to make sure that never happens. That means getting the media up-to-speed about what is coming down the road. There are two goals for the early pumping of sunshine. We want to get advanced publicity so that our audience is already marking our show in their Blackberries, and secondly, we want to make sure that our media launch will be well attended.
PR is free ... sort of. An art gallery has to pay someone like me. The coffee and doughnuts don't come cheap (kidding), the press kits have to be produced and the curators have to take a break long enough to speak intelligently at the preview media launch.
It is almost always worth the effort. Common wisdom holds that a consumer is 4 times more likely to believe and be motivated by an article in print than if he or she saw an ad for the same event. People are even more motivated when they see moving images on television compared to 20-second paid spot.
A full page advertisement in a Toronto daily can cost $30,000. A well attended media preview can result in the equivalent of 20 full page advertisements! Not bad for a plate of stale doughnuts.
In pre-recession days, when the media was flush and the Internet was a bit player on the arts scene, a well attended media preview was a sure bet. Not anymore. Papers don't have space, television doesn't have spare cameras, and when was the last time a radio station (aside from the CBC) sent a real reporter to an art preview?
The Art Gallery of Ontario is ready to launch a MAJOR exhibition this month. Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts, is a British created traveling exhibition that will appeal not only to the art world, but, Ontario's growing Indo-Canadian community. This is the first exhibition to comprehensively explore the opulent world of the maharajas and their unique culture of artistic patronage.
The AGO PR department is organizing a full scale mediapreview for early next week, but, in an effort to make sure that the media understands the "Bigness" of this exhibition, held a Media pre-preview today. This is something usually not done in Toronto, just because it is hard enough to get the media out once for a full scale press conference, let alone twice to a not-so-complete exhibition hall.
Although the galleries are still being prepared, the media was allowed in this morning to see THE major piece of the exhibition being installed. It was a tease - it put the media on notice that bigger and better things will be unveiled next week.
Gallery installers put down their tools long enough for the media, myself included, to take pictures and video of “ The Star of India”, an antique Rolls Royce Phantom II. This legendary 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II (pictured above) was custom-built for His Highness Thakore Sahib Dharmendrasinhji Lakhajiraj of Rajkot. The car is named after the famous 563 carat star sapphire “Star of India”.
According to Haema Sivanessan,AGO Special Project Assistant"the Star of India is almost the most famous Rolls Royce on the earth, second only to the original Rolls Royce Silver Ghost".
The bonnet and wings shown in the photo above, are made of polished aluminum and the rest of the body is of a saffron ochre finish, a tinge which is a symbol of purity in India. Visible on all doors and side windows is Rajkot’s state crest with an inscription meaning “an impartial ruler of men of all faiths.”
The car is on loan from an auction house and last I heard is up for sale for $13 million. I believe it is still roadworthy but because of its value is not driven
I am the mirror opposite of a car buff. I see the automobile as a tool, not a work of art. No matter, even I was impressed by the stately look of the Star of India. It is a statement of pure form and superior craftmanship. It was worth the trip to Dundas Street to attend a pre-preview!
How did the other media feel? Just about same as me. The pre-preview attracted a couple of TV crews and a gaggle of photographers and reporters, all who seemed genuinely impressed by the AGO's rolling stock.
The exhibition (sponsored in part by Scotiabank) opens to the public on November 20, 2010 and runs to April 3, 2011. Assuming that the pre-preview has done its job then you alreadly know that, don't you?
CUTLINES
Top: The Star of India - Blackberry photo of the 1934 Rolls Royce
Middle: Haema Sivanessan,AGO Special Project Assistant, is interviewed by the CBC beside the Star of India.
Bottom: The Patiala Necklace. Exhibit within the upcoming Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts
Thoughts on walking the chicken filled streets of Key West
.
Watching the Americans - but not understanding what we see
IT is the Canadian thing. We - all of us Canadians - watch the US. We know all the states. We know all the shows. We know all the trends. But, we don't necessarily understand fully what we are seeing.
We spent a week in the Florida Keys. We dove. We saw plays. We toured art galleries. We could have gone to a Florida pig race, but, went for a nature walk near Marathon instead.
We saw a bumper sticker asking why if they call it Tourist Season, how come Conkers are allowed to shoot them (Conkers are the real Florida Key residents).
We also noticed but failed to comprehend why:
* No one in Key West talked about the hundreds of chickens that live in parks, on people's lawns and in culverts
* No one in Key West seemed to notice that many of the cruise ship tourists visiting the port are seriously obese and had trouble making it across an intersection before the light turned red!
* No one in the Keys seemed to know that the US is fighting in two Wars. No signs of encouragement, no fund raising drives, no flags at half-mast, no mention on the TV, radio or local newspapers
* No one talked about the Gulf Oil Spill
* No one talked about cruelty to cats (trained cats perform at the daily Sunset Busker festival along the Key West town dock)
* No one talked about how you can't buy Ding Dongs and Twinkies in any of Key West's food markets.
CUTLINE: An acquired taste - attending a Florida pig race. Photo by Dave Tollington
Watching the Americans - but not understanding what we see
IT is the Canadian thing. We - all of us Canadians - watch the US. We know all the states. We know all the shows. We know all the trends. But, we don't necessarily understand fully what we are seeing.
We spent a week in the Florida Keys. We dove. We saw plays. We toured art galleries. We could have gone to a Florida pig race, but, went for a nature walk near Marathon instead.
We saw a bumper sticker asking why if they call it Tourist Season, how come Conkers are allowed to shoot them (Conkers are the real Florida Key residents).
We also noticed but failed to comprehend why:
* No one in Key West talked about the hundreds of chickens that live in parks, on people's lawns and in culverts
* No one in Key West seemed to notice that many of the cruise ship tourists visiting the port are seriously obese and had trouble making it across an intersection before the light turned red!
* No one in the Keys seemed to know that the US is fighting in two Wars. No signs of encouragement, no fund raising drives, no flags at half-mast, no mention on the TV, radio or local newspapers
* No one talked about the Gulf Oil Spill
* No one talked about cruelty to cats (trained cats perform at the daily Sunset Busker festival along the Key West town dock)
* No one talked about how you can't buy Ding Dongs and Twinkies in any of Key West's food markets.
CUTLINE: An acquired taste - attending a Florida pig race. Photo by Dave Tollington
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
WW1 expert Dr Tim Cook in Toronto for one-day only
Just in time for REMEMBRANCE DAY
Great War historian and award-winning author,
TIM COOK is in Toronto Monday, November 8th to talk to media about the Great War and his new book, The Madman and The Butcher
The Sensational Wars of Sam Hughes and General Arthur Currie
Great War expert Tim Cook, winner of the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction for his last book, Shock Troops, returns to Canada's literary arena with a new book that addresses Canada's role in the First World War. The book explores the need to place blame for the terrible loss of life, our nation's discomfort with war heroes and a war of reputations that has raged on since the guns fell silent more than 90 years ago.
Cook's The Madman and The Butcher (Allan Lane Canada, Penguin Group (Canada) is a powerful double biography that intertwines the relationship of Sam Hughes, Canada's war minister during the first 2 ½ years of the First World War and the internationally renowned Arthur Currie, the Canadian Corp commander recognized as a brilliant general, morally brave with a keen eye on solving the challenges of trench warfare.
As the Great War historian at the Canadian War Museum, and author of two previous books about the First World War (At the Sharp End, Shock Troops) Tim Cook makes a timely and fascinating interview as he explores Canadian war history. The Madman and The Butcher follows exposes one of the most shocking and highly publicized libel trials in Canada history; covering controversy, personalities and egos, and the mistakes and decisions that shaped Canada's valiant efforts, defeats and in the end its brave victories of the Great War.
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Penguin Press Release About The Book
Publication Date: September 25,2010
Praise for Tim Cook’s National Bestseller AT THE SHARP END
“The mark of a good historian is finding new ways to tell a tale that we thought we knew, and Cook has that quality in spades.”—The Globe and Mail
THE MADMAN AND THE BUTCHER
The Sensational Wars of Sam Hughes and General Arthur Currie
TIM COOK
From the winner of the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction
Set against the backdrop of Canadians fighting in the Great War, based on newly uncovered sources and written by the country’s Great War expert, The Madman and the Butcher is an engaging narrative that explores questions of Canada’s role in the war, the need to find victims for the terrible blood loss, the nation’s discomfort with heroes, and the war of reputations that has raged on since the guns fell silent more than 90 years ago.
Sir Arthur Currie is Canada’s greatest battlefield general, having achieved international fame as Canadian Corps commander during the Great War. He was recognized by Canada’s allies as a brilliant general, morally brave, and with a keen eye for solving the challenges of trench warfare. But there were no bloodless victories on the battlefields of the Western Front, and even elite fighting forces like Currie’s Corps suffered horrendous casualties. Who was to blame for Canada’s 60,000 dead?
Sir Sam Hughes, Canada’s war minister during the first two and a half years of the conflict, was erratic, outspoken, and regarded by many as insane. Yet this madman was an expert on the war. He attacked Currie’s reputation in the war’s aftermath, accusing him of being a butcher. The Canadian general, after leading his forces for four years and suffering from what would now be recognized as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, could not fight back. Many Canadians believed that Arthur Currie was a callous murderer of his own men. Currie was forced to claw back his reputation, battle against a nefarious rumour campaign by Sam Hughes and others, and eventually fight one of the most shocking and highly publicized court cases in Canadian history.
Based on newly uncovered sources, The Madman and the Butcher is a powerful double biography of Sam Hughes and Arthur Currie and the story of one of the most shocking and highly publicized libel trials in Canadian history.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tim Cook is the Great War historian at the Canadian War Museum, as well as an adjunct professor at Carleton University. His books have won numerous awards, including the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction for Shock Troops. He lives in Ottawa with his family.
PRAISE FOR TIM COOK:
“Serving solders and military historians should consider themselves lucky to have Tim Cook, himself a war studies graduate and an accomplished military historian.”
—Canadian Army Journal
THE MADMAN AND THE BUTCHER by Tim Cook
Non-Fiction/ISBN: 9780670064038/ $36 / Hardcover / 400 pages
To arrange an in-person interview on Monday, Nov. 8th and receive a copy of the book, please contact:
Stephen Weir & Associates
Linda Crane 905-257-6033 c. 416-727-0112 cranepr@cogeco.ca
Stephen Weir 416-489-5868 c. 416-801-3101 stephen@stephenweir.com
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