Monday, June 16, 2008

what's happening in canada

Sometimes one writes out of inspiration, sometimes as a matter of discipline, and sometimes as a way of avoiding cleaning the cat litter box (apparently this last was behind much of both "A Farewell to Arms" and "The Great Gatsby").

I'm not saying what is behind today's post, but my cats are holding their noses as I write, and it's not a reaction to my prose.

I realize I've fallen down on the job of keeping you all informed about what's happening in Canada. The main obstacle is that I don't actually know what's happening in Canada. This morning, though, in my never-ending efforts to serve my public (both of you) I've skimmed the Globe and Mail (Toronto's NATIONAL newspaper) and and here's what I found:

"Within spitting distance of the Calgary International Airport, at an anonymous conference hall, Oscar-winner Ben Affleck moved listeners to tears as he talked about his experiences in Africa."

Raises more questions than it answers, doesn't it? Who's spitting at the Calgary airport? And who gave Ben Affleck an Oscar?

"He held back no painful detail about the people he encountered, juxtaposing their stories with what he called 'vain consumption' in the West, in a room oozing with oil money, where 325 guests paid $25,000 per table of 10. The tables alone raised $800,000."

More questions: can you think of a better example of 'vain consumption' than spending $25,000 to have dinner with Ben Affleck?

Oh wait, maybe this:

"Affleck's celebrity status helped raise more than a quarter of a million dollars during the live auction on Saturday night, including $150,000 donated by five couples...to take in two upcoming movie premieres, Affleck's comedy He's Just Not That Into You and Damon's war drama Green Zone."

(He's Just Not That Into You is apparently the story of a Calgary oil man's relationship to the African continent.)

And that's what's happening in Canada!

1 comment:

Shay said...

I heard that Affleck recently held a similar benefit dinner in Africa in which he was able to raise over 30 sacks of Red Cross issue flour to send to Alberta so some of the oilmen there can bake some "Try to make myself feel vaguely charitable for being rich for no reason and having nothing better to do with my time and money than go to shitty Affleck romantic comedies" cookies.