Artist behind rock sculptures in Humber River revealed - 680News

Artist behind rock sculptures in Humber River revealed - 680News

Recommended Summer Reading - 'Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle'

I encountered Robert Markle a couple of times in the mid 1980's. Following art studies at Georgian College in Owen Sound, I spent a couple of years working at the Tom Thomson Gallery, and with area artists on various community art projects. In 1987 we were installing a group show of local artists at the gallery called The Painted Room, when Robert stopped by to see what was up. We were in the process of installing elements from Markleangelo's, the restaurant he had outfitted in Toronto earlier in the decade. My friend from school, Lincoln Croft, had a couple of works in the show as well.

That same year I happened to be runner up to Mr. Markle in an Owen Sound mural competition, sponsored by the Downtown Business Association. Admittedly his was the better piece by far, and it remained on various Owen Sound walls for many years. I wonder where it is now? Later that same year I remember attending an artist talk he gave at the Durham Art Gallery, where he discussed his work, and showed slides of his Great Horned Serpent of Egremont - a massive construction on his Holstein area property made entirely of century old cedar rails.

Robert Markle lived outside Mount Forest, about twelve miles from where I was raised in Clifford, for twenty years. He would have traveled the same backroads and drank in the same hotels that we did - he was renowned for his visits to the local taverns and strip clubs that were the source of much of his work, and famously 'held court' regularly at the Mount Royal Tavern in Mount Forest with his country and city friends. Sadly, he died in 1990 on his way home from a night out in a violent collision with a tractor.

(Robert Markle, far right, 'holding court.')

J.A. Wainwright begins his excellent book, "Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle" telling the story of Markle's death. And throughout this biography, and tribute to a lifelong friend, he spares nothing in the telling of this fascinating story of the life of one of Canada's most dedicated and determined artists. Markle made drawing and painting the female figure his life's work, employing his masterful skills in an endless quest to interpret the relationship between the artist and his muse.

Wainwright's book flows like an undulating Grey County road, giving space equally to the highs and lows that are inevitable in the life of an artist like Robert Markle. "Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle" isn't just an art book - so don't be intimidated. It is the story of a man and his search for self amidst tempera washes and lots of beer!

Note: The next time you are traveling highway six through Mount Forest, look for Markle's main street mural, a fixture on the side of the grocery store for 25 years.

A Day-trip to Ontario's Largest Sand Pile

An advantage of living in Brantford, Ontario is that we are centrally located - just an hour from anywhere. On Friday we took a short drive to Sand Hill Park, located between Port Rowan and Port Burwell along the north shore of Lake Erie.

For twenty years we've been exploring these back-roads, and have driven past Sand Hill Park countless times, but finally made a commitment to visit Ontario's largest sand pile after reading about it in Ron Brown's Top 100 Unusual Things to See in Ontario. Brown is the author of over a dozen books on Ontario's ghost towns and roadside attractions.

Towering more than 120 metres above Lake Erie, the sand hill has been growing and shifting for centuries due to the prevailing southwest winds. The wind is so constant that surrounding farm lands, once renowned as the tobacco belt, now harvest the wind. Only the crashing waves of Lake Erie drown out the constant whirring and whooshing of the gigantic three propeller turbines that are quickly dominating the landscape of Ontario's South Coast.

We found the privately operated Sand Hill Park to be an excellent and inexpensive day-trip destination. At just $6.00 per person (children under 12 free) we were able to tumble down the sand pile to a Lake Erie swim and provided with a pleasant setting for our picnic. If you are a camper the park offers various options for your tent or travel trailer.

If you are going, make sure to check out the coastal town of Port Burwell, where you'll find one of the last remaining wooden lighthouses on the Lake Erie shoreline, still accessible to the public for a birds-eye view of the area. The adjacent marine museum and nearby Port Burwell Provincial Park are also worth a visit.

American Graffiti at the Mammoth Caves

We celebrated Canada Day this year by touring the Mammoth Caves, just west of Interstate 71 at Park City, Kentucky. If you haven't been, the caves are a labyrinth of passages and underground rooms that have been attracting tourists for 200 years to the 'middle of nowhere Kentucky', as the Tour Guide noted.

With the tourists came graffiti, most of it dating to pre-1941, when the caves were purchased from area residents (many reluctantly) to become a National Park. The above photograph illustrates an early example created using a blackening method. A candle was held to the cave ceiling and smudged dots - much like a magnified ink jet printer - were repeated to form a name or message. Tour guides would allow the cave writing for a small tip.

The Mammoth Caves are as interesting for their place in the history of tourism as they are for their geological wonders. Early on they were a destination for the wealthy, who would tour the caves in their best dress, and stay at fine establishments in nearby towns like Cave City. Later, as operators began to realize the enormous profits available to them through providing underground tours, 'cave wars' began, where rival property owners would outdo themselves by way of carnival like attractions within the caves. Subterranean cable car and boat rides are just two examples.

The height of cave craziness may have been the media event that surrounded the death of cave explorer Floyd Collins in 1925. On a quest to find a passage from his own Crystal Cave to Mammoth Cave (which would have increased his tourism revenue) Collins became trapped.

He died two weeks later, not before his entombment became front page news and a full-blown media circus erupted overhead. This event is loosely adapted in the 1951 film The Big Carnival (also known as Ace in the Hole) starring Kirk Douglas. A more factual film version of the Floyd Collins story based on the book Trapped! is rumoured to be in the works by Billy Bob Thornton.

The Mammoth Caves are certainly worth a visit.

If you are interested in going, let me know and I'd

be happy to send along information.

Hosting a Lawn Sale is a Great Way to Get to Know Your Community

A guest heading to a neighbour's backyard brought to our attention that our yard sale had become a yearly tradition, coinciding with the birthday party he was headed to. Well, I guess after three years we officially reserve the last weekend in June for the Demerling Yard Sale.

This year, the kids were successful at earning some spending money for our short trip to Kentucky this week. I didn't make out so well, slicing my leg while recycling cardboard, and ending up with seven stitches!

But the best part of any yard sale has to be the opportunity to meet new friends. We've lived in Brantford for over twenty years - half our lives now - and yet it is truly incredible how much more you can learn about your community by inviting residents to drop by your laneway to buy your stuff.

If you haven't held a lawn sale of your own, I'd encourage you to do so. It can be a lot of work, but the reward of meeting interesting folk from your town is worth the effort.

Canadian Redneck Games in Minto this Weekend

We all spend too much of our short lives pretending to be something we are not. But in the Town of Minto (the amalgamated Clifford, Harriston and Palmerston) citizens have embraced their perceived identity and created the Canadian Redneck Games - pig's feet, toilet seats, et al.

A series of tourism strategy focus groups back in 2005 suggested that a community weakness was a 'redneck' identity. Community leaders promptly squeezed that lemon to produce this annual festival. Weekend events include the 'Mudpit Belly Flop', 'Bobbin' for Pig's Feet', and 'Redneck Horseshoes' - this might be where the toilet seats come in. There is even a 'Redneck Wedding' at 5 p.m Saturday.

I don't know how current Minto residents feel (I'd like to hear your thoughts) about being the adopted Hillbilly Capital of Canada, but I don't recall 'redneck' being a part of the vernacular when I grew up in Clifford. But then again I was 10 years out of town by the time Jeff Foxworthy released his best selling 'You Might be a Redneck if...' comedy album in 1993. As young persons we certainly fit the Town of Minto redneck criteria - 'we lived in a rural area, worked hard for our money, and enjoyed a good time.'

I won't be revisiting my redneck roots this June 25-27, but if you have a chance take a drive to Clifford, Harriston and Palmerston to check out what these great little communities, pig's feet and all, have to offer. And be sure to wear your best cutoffs.

Pick Strawberries with Your Dad this Father's Day

This morning, after a visit to the Brantford Farmer's Market, we went strawberry picking at Sunny Terrace Farms, along Salt Springs Church Road just outside of town. The road winds along the Grand River to an expansive strawberry patch, where we picked three flats (18 pints?) of strawberries for just $30.00, roughly half the price if you buy them already gathered. I usually have found some excuse for missing berry picking, yet have never felt guilty enjoying the fruits of my family's labour! It was a great way to spend an hour with my family, and I highly recommend strawberry picking as a Father's Day event!

Wellington County's First Electric Car

When I remember my dad this weekend, one of the memories that comes to mind is the electric car he built for me in the basement of our house in Clifford, Ontario. My dad, Wayne Demerling, was an automobile mechanic by trade, the old school kind that knew how to fix things. His skills were learned on the shop floor of Demerling's Garage, founded by his dad Eldon in 1939, and still in operation today by grandson Terry.

When I was no more than four or five (late 60's) my dad built an electric car, using a car battery and an electric motor. I remember it had a wooden body, painted green by me with some paint found in the house. It had a lever for forward and reverse, and I would careen around the jack-post in the open basement in Wellington County's first electric car.

I don't remember the car being around very long, but do recall it made its final trip to the old Clifford dump (where another Demerling innovation - a snow-machine built from an Isetta) ended up.

I wish I had a photo of that car, and more photos of my dad, as I remember him this Father's Day.

BP (Better Practices) in Our Use of Petroleum Products

The environmental disaster (nightmare) in the Gulf of Mexico has forced me to consider my lifelong relationship with oil. From the opening credits to The Beverly Hillbillies to the many years (age 10 to 22) working in family owned service stations and auto repair shops, I've been around a lot of oil.

I've pumped tens of thousands of liters of gas and changed the oil on hundreds of vehicles. As a kid we played on the oil soaked (a dust suppressant) streets of Clifford, Ontario. We didn't always exercise the most responsible disposal or cleanup methods, either. Many a gallon of old oil was thrown carelessly behind the garage or burned in the wood stove. Gasoline spills were often washed down the storm drain, sometimes so much that vapours would rise from a neighbour's kitchen sink.

This was the 1970's - we didn't know any better and no one was rushing to provide information and education about safe petroleum handling practices!

I like to think that I've evolved, at least a little, over the past thirty years. I have a gas mower, but it has been abandoned in favour of a reel mower. I'm even working to put back in service a vintage reel mower found in my father-in-law's shed. Instead of the two-cycle weed wacker I've been using a 12 volt trimmer for nearly three years. Both alternatives are gentler and quieter - I don't need to announce to Eagle Place in Brantford that I'm grooming the Demerling acreage.

When I change the oil on our vehicles, I save it for disposal at one of the monthly household hazardous waste disposal events at the local landfill. Yes, going to the dump is an event, just as it was when I was a kid.

And for the first time in a number of years I have a bicycle, and am taking great pleasure in the brief and not frequent enough rides along the trail system near our home.

I hope everyone is rethinking their oil dependency (addiction) and finding small ways to lower consumption so that one day (if we don't use up our nine lives in the process) we can avert environmental catastrophes like the BP disaster.

Going Full Tilt into Community Carnival Season

This week marks the unofficial start of the community carnival season. Soon the bright lights wild rides of the midway will set up in fairgrounds and parking lots across the country, as the carnival comes to town!

In Brantford where I live, Campbell Amusements, family ran in the Telephone City since 1967, annually sets up the midway in the Civic Centre parking lot. Tonight you could ride the midway for just a buck a thrill!

When I was a kid the midway was a big deal. The only time I remember attending one in Clifford was during the 1974 Centennial. However, we would always make a trip to the fall fairs in nearby Harriston or Hanover. I wonder how the midway rides rank with kids today? With 3-D television and lifelike computer and video games, perhaps the carnival is old-hat?

I watched my daughter Rachael tonight as she mustered up the nerve to ride Full Tilt with her big brother. Throughout the ride she was white-knuckled and visibly nervous, and from the ground I felt for her. But she wanted to ride again!

Keep your Halo and 3-D. There is no greater thrill than riding the Scrambler or the Zipper to pounding rock music and the background bark of a carnival huckster. When the carnival comes to your town this season, don't hesitate to visit it with your family.

A Cow Can Be Your Friend on Twitter

When I was a kid, my Uncle Howard had on his farm a herd of milk cows. (His definition of a herd was probably no more than seven or eight!) He was an avid woodworker as well, and I was always impressed by the name plates he had mounted in the stall for each of the cows, and a little befuddled by the fancy crate that contained his milking machine, which I'm sure he never used.

Uncle Howard also gave us the opportunity to try our hand at milking the cows, something few Canadian kids have experienced. Michelle Ruby writes in the Monday, April 5 edition of the Brantford Expositor about a Brant County farmer, Chris Vandenburg, who is participating in a one-year "Dairy Diary" project coordinated by the University of Waterloo, where the milking activities of selected Holsteins are followed on Twitter through a 'tweet' triggered by a robotic milker.

Social networking with your favourite bovine is intended to educate us about the sources of our food and help transform our perception of farming - more than 80% of Canadians are urbanites and will never set foot on a farm. I'm not sure how successful Uncle Howard was as a farmer, but he certainly succeeded in giving me an education and appreciation of the value of the family farm.

(And if Uncle Howard had ever owned a computer, I'm sure it would be stored in a finely crafted crate!)

Hamilton Plays Itself in Woody Harrelson Film

In Defendor, Woody Harrelson plays an offbeat super-hero who dons a shoe black mask, black tights and a duct-taped 'D' on his chest to defend The Hammer against the evil Captain Industry. Yes, in this film the gritty City of Hamilton, belching smokestacks and all, is the star.

It is refreshing to see a city with as much character, tradition and integrity as Hamilton portrayed as is. "All the money in Hollywood could not give me this setting. You cannot recreate settings like that" states director Peter Stebbings.

It is important that communities acknowledge and embrace their identity, and to not pretend to be someplace they are not. In Hamilton, the escarpment waterfalls and the steel mill wharves can share equal billing.

Read Mark McNeil's article in Saturday's Hamilton Spectator, and be sure to catch a special Hamilton screening of Defendor at the Westdale Cinema this Friday, March 26.

The Stables Deliver a Shotgun Set at Brantford Concert

A back-lit banjo and a blended banana made strange bedfellows in Brantford last night as USS and The Stables played this frontier town as part of their westward bound Highway to Health Canadian tour.

The too few Jackhammers' crowd had certainly come for the hyper-energetic, pop-infused scratching and strumming of Ubiquitous Synergy Seekers Ash and Human Kabob, but The Stables' shotgun 'blackgrass' set has made me a fan!

Hailing from the 'Shwa', the trio's hardened harmonies accompanied by hand-made instruments were the antithesis to the gadget assisted USS set. While USS ended the evening with a ritualistic smoothie, blended and drunk as a symbolic intake of energy generated from the show, The Stables spilled their souls on stage with poetic tunes about love, death, addiction - life in a post industrial city like Oshawa or Brantford.

The players - Darren 'Choo Choo' Clarke, Blind Billy Blasko and Poor Pelly - all masterful musicians, rotated freely (at the call of 'snowball') between instruments ranging from guitar, a suitcase drum kit, and a washtub bass built with what looked to be Bobby Orr's hockey stick from his days as an Oshawa General. I was particularly impressed by Poor Pelly's light-box banjo.

Poor Pelly writes about their songs and shows: "Sometimes we are happy.... sometimes sad.... sometimes we are pissed off... our songs reflect who we are at the moment we write them. But when we get on stage to perform them for people it's always a celebration."

The Stables perform tonight at the historic Red Dog Tavern in Peterborough, and Monday in Thunder Bay as they head west with USS. Check them out when they come through your town. And be sure to track down Poor Pelly at the merchandise table - I didn't and regret not picking up their CD, which appears to be available only through their shows or the iTunes store.

Little House on the Prairie - A Lesson in Community Development

Each weeknight CTS (Crossroads Television System) broadcasts episodes of Little House on the Prairie, which I enjoy watching with my daughter Rachael. In tonight's episode, The Pride of Walnut Grove, the town's school board sponsors Mary's trip to Minneapolis, where she is selected to compete in a statewide mathematics competition.

In order to combat Pa's pride, Mr. Hanson and Ms. Beedle convince him that the trip is an important opportunity for the community - "How often do we get a chance to see Walnut Grove in the paper?" Mr. Hanson asks.

Mary's trip to the city was positioned as an important development and promotional opportunity for Walnut Grove. And the community pride displayed when Mary returns home with the second place prize helps define the culture of the pioneer town. Walnut Grove prides itself on perseverance, dedication, hard work, and community support.

Little House on the Prairie reruns, now 35 years old, air at 7 p.m. Check them out. They are great lessons in community development.

South Side of Colborne Street Brantford Saved!

As the demolition of 41 buildings along a three block stretch of Colborne street in Brantford draws nearer, the 1,600 followers of the Facebook site Save the South Side of Colborne Street need to be congratulated for their determination. Although they won't change the minds of City Council or stop the bulldozers, they have through their tireless advocacy 'saved' the south side.

In just a few short weeks, the group has raised more awareness, assembled more research, and contributed more historical documentation in support of this stretch of buildings than has probably been accumulated during the lifetime of the structures. Their collective work will not go unnoticed, and will help to set the standard in Brantford and other communities for defining inclusive processes for community development, especially where built heritage is concerned.

Although I personally feel that clearing the way for new development is the best option for Brantford at this time, I have a great deal of respect for the heritage of our communities, and the dedicated and devoted that work tirelessly to preserve it.

Learning Through the Arts Creates Recycled Fashions in Niagara Region Schools

Niagara Region artist Angie Geiss, through her In the Orchard art program, has found a way to keep discarded clothing from the dumpster. In partnership with Niagara schools and Salvation Army thrift stores, Geiss works with students to create wearable, recycled fashions, according to this article in the St. Catharines Standard. Jeans, sweaters, shoes, scarves, handbags and much more are transformed under the guidance of area artists as part of this innovative program. Look for this Learning Through the Arts Initiative, with support from the Ontario Arts Council, to be exhibited in the Niagara Region soon.

Art or Trash? Art Bin Defines Creative Recycling

In Taking Out the Trash, Elizabeth Davies writes for the CBC about a new installation by British artist Michael Landy. His Art Bin is on display in London until March 14.

By invitation, the Art Bin accepts discarded or rejected works by artists - a legitimized purge described as 'defining creative recycling.'

The article goes on to suggest that the cumulative work will be hauled to the landfill at the end of the show. What is the point? Perhaps a more creative solution would be to invite the public to rummage through the bin and find new homes or uses for the items. Once it is kicked to the curb, art or trash is fair game.

Please don't use the veil of 'art' as a justification to clog landfills.

The Wisdom of Friedrich Nietzsche

In March of 1995 Mark Moran of Wyoming, Ontario began publishing Daytripping, a unique bi-monthly travel guide and directory to the wonders of Southwestern Ontario. Mark fills his paper with small town tourism information and advertisements, and nuggets of information that need to be repurposed, including The Wisdom of Friedrich Nietzsche, reprinted here.

(Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche by Edvard Munch)

• All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.

• We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

• Glance into the world just as though time were gone: and everything crooked will become straight to you.

• He who cannot give anything cannot feel anything either.

• He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

• He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.

• In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.

• One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too.

• All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.

• Art is the proper task of life.

Authentic Theatre Chairs

An advertisement appeared today on the classified website Kijiji listing 'authentic theatre chairs for sale - ideal for your home theatre!' The Ingersoll Theatre for Performing Arts has 150 seats available as of August 1, when I expect they will be replaced by something more stylish, and comfortable.

Before television and the VCR kept us inside our homes, theatres were the social centres of our communities. The Peterborough Museum and Archives recreates the ambiance of an evening at the theatre with their traveling exhibition Voices of the Town: Vaudeville in Canada, currently on display until April 2 at the Spruce Row Museum in Waterford. As the promotion for the exhibit describes, a visit to an opulent vaudeville house was almost as exciting as the performance itself.

Whether it be a movie or a play, the experience is certainly enhanced when it is enjoyed in a vintage theatre in a stiff, old seat. What they lack in foam padding they compensate with history. Maybe your favourite seat in aisle seven is exactly where your granddad sat sixty years before? I know putting 'bums in seats' is essential for making theatres viable, but I prefer that mine doesn't have a cup holder or a head rest!

Cambridge Artist Sue Sturdy to Blanket Grand River Bridge

This summer, look for an innovative public art project spanning the Grand River in downtown Cambridge. Artist Sue Sturdy, as reported in this Hamilton Spectator article with photograph by Peter Lee, plans to knit a huge blanket which she will drape over both sides of the Main Street bridge in old Galt. She will be assisted by members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters Guild and community members, who will contribute blocks that will be knitted into the 'bridge cosy'.

This project is a great example of an effective public art project, integrated with the heritage of the community. Banks of the Grand River in Galt and Hespeler are lined with old factories that a century ago housed textile mills that were for decades the lifeblood of the community.

Sue is also involved in coordinating the 'World Wide Knit in Public Day' event in Cambridge, to be held June 19 & 20 at the Cambridge City Hall and Cambridge Centre for the Arts. She is also developing a book that will include people's tales and stories about knitting. For more information about this project you may contact Sue by email to sturdys@cambridge.ca

Will Demolishing Downtown Brantford be a Costly Mistake?

Earlier today Brantford's Harmony Square, just opposite this stretch of the city's beleaguered, boarded, and soon to bulldozed historic downtown, hosted a wildly popular chili tasting event. We arrived early and were home by 12:30, but judging by the crowds the event was a huge success.

Hopefully the chili held out!

Harmony Square was built three years ago to provide a public recreational space and to help stimulate downtown revitalization by simply providing a reason for residents to come to downtown Brantford. From summer movie nights to winter skating, events fill the square and create an energy and 'culture of community' that has been sadly missing for decades in the core. As this one small component of urban renewal begins to become established and sustainable, Brantford is now just days away from beginning a clean sweep of 41 properties directly across the street to make way for ..... well that hasn't really been determined for certain.

I hope removing these properties doesn't prove to be a costly error, as is being warned by many commentators. In the twenty years I've lived in Brantford I've watched the core deteriorate to the point where most residents are hard pressed to feel anything but apathetic toward the plight of the downtown. But faced with obliteration, I too am having second thoughts about what is the right move.

Standing in Harmony Square today, surrounded by five year old stucco and styrofoam structures that are already showing signs of wear and tear, a compelling argument can surely be made for doing everything possible to preserve the venerable south side of Colborne Street.

For your convenience, here are links to just a few of the discussions about the future of Brantford's downtown core, most questioning if the city is making a huge mistake.

• Urban Destruction in the Heart of Brantford, Ontario
• Brantford's Move to Tear Down Historic Structures is Pitiful
• SCANDAL: Brantford Demolishing Entire Street of 41 Heritage Buildings!
• Brantford's Heritage Buildings at Centre of Debate

Fans Mark 30 Years Since Bon Scott's Death

As a teenager I kept an album filled with concert ticket stubs and clippings as a record of the various rock shows I'd attend with my Clifford friends. Looking through it today, I found a list of 'rock stars who have died in mishaps since the music began', beginning with Buddy Holly, and ending with the 1983 drowning death of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson.

Missing from the list is Bon Scott, the late lead singer of the Australian band AC/DC, who died of 'misadventure' February 19, 1980. I distinctly remember first listening to the band, that summer. (It took a while for things to find there way to Clifford - the FM signals didn't quite reach us and there were no nearby record stores.) The raucous and raunchy Bon Scott lead AC/DC was heavily played in the autumn of my teens.

Darryl Sterdan of QMI Agency must have been a fan too, as he has put together this Bon Scott 'Match the Lyrics' quiz to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death. I found it this week in the Brantford Expositor, and thought it represented too much work on Darryl's behalf to end up in the blue box. Whether you are an AC/DC fan or not, enjoy!

Fans mark 30 years

"I ain't too old to die," Bon Scott once sang, "but I sure am hard to beat."

He'll get no argument here. Or from the millions of AC/DC fans marking the 30th anniversary of the inimitable singer's tragic death this week on Friday.

On Feb. 19, 1980, the Scottish born singer had everything to live for. After years of struggling, he and the rest of the Australian rock crew -- guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd -- were finally enjoying the fruits of their labour

Their sixth album, Highway to Hell, produced by Mutt Lange, had finally pushed the underground heroes into the mainstream, going platinum in North America. Propelled by Scott's winkingly lascivious lyrics and leering screech, tracks such as Girls Got Rhythm, Walk All Over You, Touch Too Much and If You Want Blood (You Got it) were earning a place next to AC/DC's early classics such as Sin City, High Voltage, T.N.T., Let There Be Rock and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

They had slowly expanded their fan base by slogging it out on lengthy North American tours opening for Aerosmith and KISS, where Angus' schoolboy togs and hyperactive stage presence -- a contrast to Scott's bare-chested swagger and rooster-like strut -- made a memorable impression. Scott felt their next album, the band later said, would be "the crowning glory of his life."

So, when the newly minted 33-year-old rock star hit the town on Feb. 18, the night before he was due back in the studio with the band, he was in a celebratory mood. At a London club called The Music Machine, he spent the evening downing quadruple whiskeys with several friends, one of whom drove the passed-out Scott home that night and left him to sleep it off in the car. He never woke up. The next day, his friend discovered his lifeless body still in the vehicle. He had died from acute alcohol poisoning. Death by misadventure, the coroner ruled. Ten days later, Scott -- clad in his trademark jeans and white T-shirt-- was cremated in Australia, marking the final chapter in his journey.

But it was just the beginning for AC/DC. Within weeks, the band had regrouped and risen from the ashes, hiring singer Brian Johnson and heading into the studio to make Back in Black, the album that would serve both as a tribute to Scott and the cornerstone of the global success they enjoy to this day. But for many fans, AC/DC still isn't the same without Scott.

With that in mind, we threw together this little lyrical quiz to sing his praises. See if you can match Scott's words to the songs. And remember: It's still a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll.

LYRICS

1. Gettin' robbed, gettin' stoned / Gettin' beat up, broken boned

2. You can stick your nine to five livin' / And your collar and your tie / And stick your moral standards / 'Cause it's all a dirty lie

3. I'm as cool as a body on ice / Or hotter than a rollin' dice

4. Lock up your daughter, lock up your wife / Lock up your back door and run for your life

5. You ask me why I like to play / I got to get my kicks some way

6. I didn't know if you were legal tender / But I spent you just the same

7. Got slicked-back hair, skin tight jeans / Cadillac car and a teenage dream

8. I am hot / And when I'm not, I'm cold as ice

9. I ain't too old to die / But I sure am hard to beat

10. It's a eye for eye, tooth for tooth / It's a lie, that's the truth

11. The white man had the shmaltz / The black man had the blues / No one knew what they was gonna do / But Tchaikovsky had the news

12. On the day I was born the rain fell down / There was trouble brewing in my home town

13. She pours my beer, licks my ear / Brings out the devil in me

14. I got myself a Cadillac / But I can't afford the gasoline

15. Now I'm the kind of guy that keeps his big mouth shut / It don't bother me / Somebody kickin' me when I'm up / Leaves me in misery

16. Diamonds and dust / Poor man last, rich man first / Lamborghinis, caviar / Dry martinis, Shangri-la

17. I tied my baby to the railroad track / Cannonball down the line / Givin' that woman just one more chance to give it to me one more time

18. Feel the pressure rise / Hear the whistle blow / Bought a ticket of her own accord to I dunno

19. Hey Satan, paid my dues / Playing in a rocking band / Hey Momma, look at me I'm on my way to the promised land

20. Love me till I'm legless / Aching and sore / Enough to stop a freight train / Or start the Third World War

21. No one's gonna warn you / And no one's gonna yell 'Attack' / And you don't feel the steel / Till it's hanging out your back

22. All the cards were comin' from the bottom of the pack / And if I'd known what she was dealin' out, I'd have dealt it back

23. You had my picture on your bedroom wall next to Gary Glitter, I was standin' on the stage playing rock 'n' roll / I was a guitar picker

24. For a fee I'll be happy to be / Your back door man

25. She ain't exactly pretty, ain't exactly small / 42, 39, 56 -- You could say she's got it all

SONGS

A. What's Next to the Moon

B. Problem Child

C. Rock 'n'Roll Singer

D. Little Lover

E. Down Payment Blues

F. High Voltage

G. It's a Long Way to theTop (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)

H. Let There be Rock

I. Girls Got Rhythm

J. Whole Lotta Rosie

K. Riff Raff

L. Rocker

M. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be

N. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

O. Highway to Hell

P. Live Wire

Q. Sin City

R. The Jack S.T.N.T.

T. Gone Shootin'

U. Love at First Feel

V. Dog Eat Dog

W. Night Prowler

X. Ride On

Y. Bad Boy Boogie

Answers

1-G; 2-C; 3-P; 4-S; 5-F; 6-U; 7-L; 8-B; 9-X; 10-V; 11-H; 12-Y; 13-M; 14-E; 15-K; 16-Q; 17-A; 18-T; 19-O; 20-I; 21-W; 22-R; 23-D; 24-N; 25-J

SCORE

1-10 = Riff Raff

11-20 = Problem Child

20-25 = Rocker

How did you rate?

Celebrating Our Past on Family Day

As Valentine's Day came to a close, so did My Thai, the last remaining business along a three block stretch of soon to be demolished Colborne Street in Brantford. Along with the sheriff lead removal of the last remaining resident (after living in the core for 56 years) the restaurant closure symbolizes the official end of an era in the history of the city.

Christopher Hume, in his Family Day Toronto Star article (ironically I remember February 15th being proposed as Heritage Day when I was a kid) expresses his dismay for the complacency Brantfordian's appear to have succumbed to in allowing the heritage of their community be slowly eroded.

I wasn't raised here, but have lived in Brantford long enough to be guilty of not taking an active enough role in celebrating the heritage of the city. On this day we should collectively remember the roots of the holiday and pledge to dig a little deeper and pay more attention to our personal histories, and celebrate and save them any way we can.

Baby Steps or Blockbusters?

The museum community continues to wrestle with the challenge of keeping the turnstiles spinning. A common strategy is the 'blockbuster' exhibition, which cannot be argued is a successful method of bringing a lot of people (and their cash) through the doors of an institution in a short period of time. But what happens when the shine goes off King Tut or the Titanic artifacts sail off to the next venue?

Blockbuster exhibits are not a sustainable strategy for audience development, and surely can't be counted on as a stable funding stream. The Kitchener Record reports today that young visitors to the Children's Museum in Waterloo will be reduced to making crafts from 'toilet paper rolls and macaroni' should increased funding not be found from local government sources to sustain the schedule of high profile traveling exhibits. On view until April 11 is Our Body: The Universe Within, where visitors are able to look under the skin and into the inner workings of the human body.

I'm sure that removing blockbuster exhibitions from the programming schedule will be a blow to the ambitions of museum staff, but organizations should look closely at the feasibility and return on investment of short-term spectacles. The slow, measured, one brick at a time, baby step approach of building a dedicated audience around a sustainable programming model should not be discounted. There is probably a lot a child can learn from pasta and cardboard.

Turning Ideas Into Practice: Solutions for Attracting the Creative Class

The Brantford Arts Block continues to take a leadership role in the promotion of redeveloping Brantford as a 'creative' city. On March 5th and 6th the Arts Block has organized a series of workshops, speakers and brainstorming sessions under the banner 'Turning Ideas Into Practice', to be held at the downtown (wouldn't this be a great site for expanded creative industry use?) Market Square. Read the Brantford Expositor story about the upcoming session, and contact the Brantford Arts Block for all the registration information. This is a great opportunity for leaders from other communities to participate in the sharing of strategies and support.

South Side Stories

The viability of Brantford's downtown core as a commercial centre has been in decline for 50 years. Dozens of reports have been written, including a 1969 Central Brantford Urban Renewal Scheme that recommended turning Colborne Street, the core's main thoroughfare, into a pedestrian mall, which became a short-lived reality for one summer.

The 1970's brought the development of two shopping malls on the edge of the city to serve the burgeoning subdivisions, a trend that continues today with the building of 'instant communities' in the city's southwest. This coincided with the loss of thousands of well-paying jobs that came with the collapse of the city's employment mainstay, farm implement manufacturing. Even the completion of large scale development projects like a new Eaton Centre couldn't reverse the spiraling fortunes of downtown Brantford.

In the past decade however, educational partnerships with Wilfrid Laurier and Nippissing Universities have began the process of creating a critical mass of new, knowledge based industries and services that will change the economic base of downtown Brantford forever.

With the growth of post-secondary enrollment has come the need for new housing and student services. Throughout downtown Brantford, many new facilities have been built, and many heritage structures, where feasible, have been repurposed. A noticeable stretch, the south side of Colborne Street, has remained untouched by new development.

The City of Brantford has expropriated 41 properties that make up a three block stretch of Colborne Street in an effort to kick-start new development. The buildings are scheduled to be demolished by the end of March. This radical step has created much debate within and outside the city that I'm sure is relevant to communities throughout Ontario, Canada and beyond.

You might be interested in some of these discussions on the topic:

• An active Facebook group, Save the Southside of Colborne Street, where there are many excellent discussions and links to documents that investigate the debate of restoration versus demolition;
• An article by Christopher Hume, Brantford Aims Wrecking Ball at its Future, in today's edition of The Toronto Star;
• A link to many, many articles in The Brantford Expositor that document the downtown Brantford expropriation process.

Our downtowns and built heritage contribute to the uniqueness and identity of our communities. However, sometimes even venerable buildings outlive their usefulness, and perhaps saving them can stand in the way of creating a new heritage.

It is still uncertain what is planned to replace the soon to be vacant three block stretch of Colborne Street in Brantford. Please feel free to use this space as a forum to let others know of the developments planned for your downtown - successes, failures or best practices that might be of use to your colleagues in Brantford, and beyond.

Buddy Holly Meets the StereoKid

When I was a teenager going to rock shows was an escape. For a couple of years around 1980 our group would regularly head off to exotic locations like 'Toronto' or 'Kitchener' (we were from Clifford!) to catch the acts of the day, not missing too much. But Friday February 5th offered a new concert experience for me.

My son Austen and I traveled to St. Catharines to see a number of bands, including StereoKid, USS, and illScarlet, perform at the CAW Hall. We enjoyed the concert, and I was impressed by the community driven, grass roots feel of the event. Our coats were checked on the way in (by young volunteers), drinks were sold and served at reasonable prices (likely by CAW members) and the band members themselves sold their merchandise from folding tables at the back of the hall. And throughout the show, the performers could be seen in the crowd, signing autographs and enjoying the show.

The event reminded me of what it must of been like in the 1950's, when rock and roll was born and bands would be packaged together to barnstorm small dance halls and community centres across North America. Famously, Buddy Holly was killed on February 3, 1959 on a concert tour.

My introduction to rock shows was the overproduced spectacles at venues like Maple Leaf Gardens and the old CNE Grandstand. As I get a little older, I'm looking forward to attending more family friendly events with my son, and in a few years my daughter, too. Perhaps StereoKid was channeling the spirit of Buddy Holly this past Friday night in St. Catharines?

How is Your Museum Responding to Tough Economic Times?

Ted Silberberg of Lord Cultural Resources authored this article,

Challenging Economic Times: Threat or Opportunity? that appears in the September/October 2009 edition of MUSE, a publication of the Canadian Museums Association.

In it he suggests a number of strategies that might assist cultural organizations to respond proactively to the current economic crisis. Of particular importance is the emphasis on building repeat visits from local audiences, investing in public programming, developing cross-promotions with internal and external (community) partners, and collaborating with like organizations to encourage operational efficiencies.

These are strategies that should be integrated into organizational planning, in good and bad times.

Studios at Hotel Hamilton

As many municipal governments wrestle with the concept of becoming a 'creative city', entrepreneurs in Hamilton continue to lead the way. You will enjoy reading about the Hotel Hamilton initiative, where a 19th century flophouse is becoming a 'creative cluster' at the corner of James Street North and Mulberry in the steel-town's core. The story is written by Paul Morse, and appears in today's edition of the Hamilton Spectator.

Sweet and Sour

On our way from Brantford to Hanover on Saturday, a sign outside the Wesley United Church, adjacent the Cambridge (Galt) Farmer's Market caught our eye. Apple Dumplings! Sure we were in a hurry, but our day immediately slowed a little. After a walk through the market we went into the church and purchased a half dozen dumplings, with rum sauce, to go.

The Wesley United Church Apple Dumpling Corps has been selling the dumplings on Saturday mornings for more than fifteen years, raising funds for projects like their church restoration or for worthy community causes.

You can eat in or take away, as we did, enjoying them after a dinner of country garlic sausage (from Carl's Custom Meats, located in the market) and sauerkraut with Marlene's parents.

The sauerkraut isn't the sour in this story. A short while later, as we passed through Harriston, we noticed three snowmobiles driving half the length of the town on the main street sidewalk! I'm sure Saturday is one of the town's busier shopping days, and we all know how difficult it is to get people to stop and shop in small town Ontario. The last thing merchants need is another obstacle to deter visitors and residents from enjoying an afternoon on our streets.

There is an abundance of well groomed snowmobile trails maintained by local clubs throughout Ontario. Saturday snowmobilers - join a club and keep your sleds off our sidewalks.

Canadian Films on the Screen in Your Community

In addition to finding Canadian films in libraries and video stores, visit The Film Circuit website to find movies that are being screened in your community. The Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival, has been helping to bring Canadian and world cinema to communities across the country since 1995. Circuit groups are usually non-profit organizations who typically use the screenings as an income stream and awareness builder for their cause. Working with The Film Circuit staff, community organizers develop a program of films, promote and sell tickets to the screenings, and in many cases create special events or mini festivals as part of their program. Over the past fifteen years The Film Circuit and their community partners have helped tremendously to develop new audiences for Canadian film, brought back to the screen Canadian classics like Goin' Down the Road, The Rowdyman, and The Grey Fox, and introduced Canadians to many of the talented actors and directors working to develop a unique voice and Canadian identity, through the motion picture. With a little searching, I'm sure you'll find a Film Circuit group in your community.

Cozy Up With a Canadian Film this Winter

Last weekend the busy awards season was launched with the Golden Globes. As you find yourself inundated in the next two months with the relentless marketing of overblown Hollywood movie product, seek out a Canadian film.

Whether you stumble upon a film on a television movie channel, rent one from your video store, or borrow from your local library (many have a world cinema section) you'll immediately sense that you are watching something previously undiscovered.

Under-stated, under appreciated, and for the most part under-watched, a Canadian movie shares a unique perspective partially derived from dwelling in our vast and diverse country. These ten films are just a sampling, but a good place to start.

Wilfrid Laurier Campus Helps Revitalize Brantford's Core

Proclaimed "the worst downtown in Canada" in the early 1990's, downtown Brantford is slowly being established as a center for post-secondary education, thanks largely to the commitment of Wilfrid Laurier University. As a twenty-year resident of the Telephone City I have witnessed the core, and collective community self-esteem, at its lowest.

The above photograph of downtown by Stephen Colwill is an accurate representation.

Earlier this week Brantford Expositor reporter Michelle Ruby talked to Laurier Dean Leo Groarke about his new book, Reinventing Brantford - A University Comes Downtown.

Read the article, and better yet, you might want to seek out Leo's book, available from the Laurier Brantford Bookstore.

Thomas Jefferson's Ten Vital Principles to Live By

I just came across a slip of paper (source unknown) that lists 10 vial principles to live by, included in Thomas Jefferson's "Decalogue of Canons for observation in practical life."

I thought they would be better published here, than lost again at the bottom of a desk drawer.

1. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.

3. Never spend your money before you have it.

4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.

5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.

6. We never repent of having eaten too little.

7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.

8. How much pain have cost us the evils which never have happened.

9. Take things always by their smooth handle.

10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.

Helping to Preserve the Planet - From Beneath the Kitchen Sink

This time of year we all make promises that we will, in some profound way, make the world a better place. I realize my limited capabilities, but the one thing I try to do is reduce my impact on our local landfill. For years, beneath my kitchen sink, I've saved almost every bread tab, can pull, and elastic band, in a series of plastic peanut butter jars. In our home it takes about two years, sometimes less, to fill a 1 kilogram container. Imagine what a small city's worth of 1 kg containers might look like? Twenty-five thousand stacked peanut butter jars would tower 2 1/2 miles into the sky!

To get started simply save the next peanut butter container from your blue box, and begin. I keep a separate one for each recyclable. (Tip: Glue them together to make a more compact recycling centre.) It is extremely gratifying when, after six months or so, you begin to see just how much rubber, plastic and aluminum you are diverting from the dump. Local groups will collect these products for fundraising drives. In the past my niece's Girl Guide troupe collected plastic bread tabs, and aluminum tabs are collected and sold to help buy wheel chairs at my wife's workplace.

So when you are resolving to make the world a better place, don't overlook the small impact you can make from just beneath your kitchen sink.

Holiday Season Extended to February 15th

Now that we are comfortably into 2010, many of you have already packed away Christmas and kicked your tree to the curb. What's the rush? In Canada, the new official Boxing Day (in our house anyway) is Family Day, the third Monday in February. So set February 15th aside for taking down the tinsel and tree, and enjoy an extended Holiday Season.