Archive for June 15th, 2007

green bin
Yes Men pull wicked burn on oil industry

Corporate Pranksters The Yes Men hoodwinked the Go Expo Energy Conference on Thursday, posing as two speakers from the National Petroleum Council.

Instead of lecturing on a new Canadian/US energy policy, the two activists warned of the coming collapse of oil supplies. As a solution, they advocated the use of ‘vivolium’- a petroleum substitute made from the bodies of the victims of the impending oil crisis.

The audience began to get suspicious when the were instructed to light candles allegedly made out of a former Exxon janitor.

That’s sweet glorious music right there. Hilarious that oil execs are so stupid. Did I say hilarious? I meant terrifying.  Nothing like leaving a bunch of nimrods in charge of our future ability to clothe, feed, and transport ourselves. 

June 15th, 2007 by graeme | | 10 comments »

green bin
Critics put on notice in Australia

The critic- the great arbiter of public taste- is under attack after a landmark court ruling in Australia declaring a review defamatory and allowing the reviewee to sue for damages.

The case concerns a negative review of Coco Roco, a now-defunct Sydney restaurant, written by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Mathew Evans. The owners of Coco Roco, who poured $3 million into refurbishing the restaurant, claim the bad review but them out of business.

Toronto theatre critics Richard Ouzounian and Kamal Al-Solaylee should be watching this case closely. Their relationship with the struggling theatre community has been, shall we say, fractious of late. It wouldn’t take much for a disgruntled producer to go after them for their frequently snarky and vitriolic reviews.

Critics are an often-annoying, but important part of our cultural landscape. However, irresponsible criticism (and I’m not suggesting Evans is guilty of this- I haven’t read his review) can damage individual artists and businesses. So, how do you keep critics accountable? I’m not sure litigation is the answer, particularly since lawsuits have a chilling effect on other critics. I suspect some sort of voluntary code of conducts and ethics would encourage the critical classes to keep their reviews above board.

June 15th, 2007 by graeme | | 3 comments »

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