Update to A Tale of Cities, Part 2

A few weeks back, I contrasted Halifax’s convention facilities with Winnipeg’s.  Yesterday brought exciting news that Halifax may be getting new digs after all.

 

PolicyFrog is right that all cities are chasing the convention-centre-as-tourism-development strategy.  This irrational exuberance may be causing some municipalities to overbuild.  However, every major urban centre should have adequate facilities to fulfill convention needs.  While Winnipeg’s are ample enough, a new multipurpose facility for Halifax is long overdue.  Halifax is the logical focal point for any Eastern Canadian trade show.  The city can also draw visitors from Moncton, PEI, Cape Breton and other centres that are a relatively short drive away.

 

Nova Scotia also manages to squeeze out 36.25% more tourist revenue than Manitoba even though the province only has 8.98% more people coming to visit.  This proven talent at successfully executing a tourism strategy can only be further enhanced by better convention facilities.  The weather is also much more moderate which means that there is a greater likelihood of year-round appeal.

 

While shows like this may still not come around, there is no reason that a scaled-down version would be out of the realm of possibility.  Count me in for four tickets!

Compact or Compaction?

My recent trip to New York made me revisit a question that’s been lingering in the back of my mind ever since I lived in Toronto.  I raised this question in the comments section of Policy Frog’s most recent blog entry:

 

“…to what degree should we seek compact urban living for cities such as Winnipeg or Halifax? Right now there is a sense of community that simply does not exist in a city such as New York. I get the feeling that there is a “tipping point” where if too many humans live together, we artificially create distance by being emotionally removed from our fellow humans.”

 

When I lived in Toronto, I became accustomed to the antics of my neighbours – I referred to said antics as the “Elevator Game”.  The goal of the game was simple – close the elevator doors as fast as you could to preclude anyone else from coming on and causing you great delays of 30 seconds or more.  Getting the better of seniors and people laden with groceries (I unfortunately sometimes fell into the latter category) must have given these boors an elevated (pardon the pun) sense of achievement in saving those precious few seconds.

 

Manhattan and Downtown/Midtown Toronto are arguably perfect examples of compact urban living.  Spending time in such urban centres when you have had the luck of living in Winnipeg and/or Halifax requires quite a cultural adjustment to acclimatize yourself to the ways in which people can be packed so closely together and yet remain so emotionally distant from one another.

 

Human beings have spent hundreds of thousands of years living in small, tight-knit communities.  Major urban centres and the compact urban living associated with same are a relatively new phenomenon for our species.  In short, we’ve spent much more time evolving under a certain societal organization only to fairly recently change the way in which we live.  Imagine the chaos that would ensue if we put disparate packs of wolves, prides of lions, troops of gorillas or even atoms together in overly close quarters.  Are humans any different or does our thin veneer of civility fade when we get too close to one another?

 

Staunch proponents of compact urban living sometimes make the value judgment that urban sprawl is inherently bad.  I think too much of either alternative has adverse effects on an urban centre.  In the blind pursuit of compact urban living, do we run the risk of creating a type of compaction where the human soul and our senses of community and civility are left to wither on the vine?  If so, give me some land in the ‘burbs instead where I can share a cold beer with my neighbours after our yardwork is done – and if there was one nearby, I would promise to hold the elevator door open… 

To Bully or Not to Bully

This story came to my attention via Spirited Kenny.  The Manitoba Teachers Society is apparently up in arms about the game Bully.

 

Perhaps MTS President Pat Isaak should actually play the game before she chooses to ante up an opinion on it.  I would hope she expects students to read a book prior to doing a book report on it - procedural fairness dicates she should therefore do a little homework herself.

 

Were she to play the game, she would find that the preferable course of action is to DEFEND students from other bullies and ATTEND classes.  Gameplay difficulty is actually harder when you skip class or beat up students.  Besides, attending class in the game is actually fun - it is part and parcel of the gameplay missions.  And giving a bully a wedgie to stop a bullying in progress is so much more fun than beating up on a helpless kid.  In real life, kids must make choices – the game shows them that if they make the wrong ones, their “missions” become infinitely more difficult.

 

Rockstar’s games have always contained a level of social satire – Grand Theft Auto constantly pokes fun at our fascination with mindless violence – just listen to the AmmuNation ads in the games.  In Bully, things are no different.  It mocks the cliques that made getting through high school so tedious.

 

Perhaps the Manitoba Teachers Society should be teaching our teens the critical thinking that will enable them to see the bigger message video game companies sometimes impart.  Instead, it is unfortunate that Ms. Isaak sets such a poor example to students by opining on something she obviously knows nothing about.

 

For that, I give Ms. Isaak’s “book report” on the game Bully an F.  Never judge a book solely by its cover, Ms. Isaak.

A Tale of Two Provinces

Would this ever happen in Manitoba?  A solution should be judged on its outcomes (hopefully shorter wait times and lower costs) rather than just through some blind adherence to a misguided ideology (all private involvement in healthcare is bad). 

A Tale of Two Cities, Part 2

The last time I did a “tale of the tape” between Winnipeg and Halifax, Michael of Life’s a Journey asked me if Winnipeg outdid Halifax on any front.  With Sam Katz’s recent budget in mind, I would have to say Winnipeg has far better convention facilities than Halifax.  One need only compare this to this or this, although this is quite nice (but they don’t hold the boat, car or home shows there).

 

When I was in Winnipeg, I absolutely loved attending the boat shows, Home Expressions and all of the other events that let us know spring was on its way.  However, as I asked in Policy Frog’s blog entry, is there a real need to expand the Winnipeg Convention Centre?  Are any shows being turned away?  Is the current building running anywhere near full capacity?  Does burdening Winnipeg hotels with a tax to subsidize bigger convention facilities make sense?

 

If anyone needs updated convention facilities, it is Halifax.  Tourism spending in Nova Scotia totals $1.3 billion and 2.1 million people visit the province annually – contrast that with just under 500,000 visitors to Manitoba in 2006.   When you look at those numbers, is there really a need to build a convention centre Taj Mahal in Winnipeg?  Or should the city make better use of the excellent facilities it already has?

 

If I were trying to attract more people to Manitoba, I would focus on the spring and summer months when the weather is excellent.  Trying to lure tourists to a vibrant city, fabulous lakes and easy access to nature would be far easier than trying to convince convention goers that they should stage their next corporate gathering in January or February in -30 (-60 with the windchill) weather.  

UPDATE - I stand corrected on the tourism numbers - please refer to the Comments.  Thanks for pointing it out, D!

Commons Conundrums

An article showed up in today’s Chronicle Herald about Halifax’s Mayor Peter Kelly enlisting the help of a New York promoter to seek concerts for the Halifax Commons.  Events Halifax is complaining that they have been usurped.  One of the promoter’s representatives stated:

 The president of Creative Entertainment Group confirmed Wednesday that she has a "written contract" with Halifax to pursue acts on the city’s behalf. But Sharon Kim-Dion, speaking from New York, was tight-lipped about what concerts she is trying to land.

"It’s a written agreement but only for very specific artists," she said. "And those artists are the kind that can fill the Commons space," that is, those that can attract more than 40,000 people.

"There’s only about half a dozen artists in the world that can fill that kind of venue."

It’s a "very informal" agreement, Ms. Kim-Dion said.

Only half a dozen artists in the world could attract more than 40,000 people?  Off the top of my head, here are some biggies from the entertainment world:

1)  David Bowie

2)  U2

3)  Madonna

4)  Rolling Stones

5)  The Eagles

6)  Pink Floyd

7)  Bruce Springsteen

8)  The Police

9)  Paul McCartney

10)  Faith Hill/Tim McGraw

11)  Billy Joel

12)   Spice Girls

13)  Garth Brooks

14)  Neil Diamond

15)  Led Zeppelin when they finally kick off a reunion tour

16)  Bon Jovi

17)  Hillary Duff

18)  Hanna Montana

19)  Gwen Stefani

20)  Tragically Hip

21) Van Halen

22)  An East Coast-themed extravaganza featuring artists such as Great Big Sea, Signal Hill, Sons of Maxwell with the Dropkick Murphys thrown in for good measure

23)  Iron Maiden – ok maybe this is more of a personal bias – but they could at least hit around 20,000 seats

Any artists I missed?  Please add them in the comments section.

Harry is Hip-Hop’s Last Hoorah?

Being of a certain age, I have seen numerous musical trends come and go.  Hair metal died when record labels started signing anyone with big hair.  Grunge died when plaid started showing up on the runways of Milan, New York and Japan.

 

If the past is any indication of the future, the world of hip-hop may now be on its last legs as well.   The kids’ show Hip Hop Harry takes the notion of musical oversaturation to dizzying new heights, no doubt making even Gene Simmons insanely jealous.  There’s even a brewing battle between Barney and Harry, a la Kanye and Fiddy.  Thankfully, I don’t ever recall a Hair Metal Harvey or Grungy Garry.

 

Even the trash talk in rap has gone commercial.  The latest battle between 50 Cent and Kanye West was not about who had the greater talent or artistic merit but who would sell the most albums.  Could competing tours sponsored by Target and Wal-Mart be far behind?

 

Perhaps the next step in the mass commercialization of hip-hop includes sponsorship by the big cereal companies.  I’m hoping for Kanye Krisps and Fiddy Flakes – that way when they continue to cram the mass consumption of hip-hop down my throat, it at least will have a sweet sugary aftertaste.