Sept 21


MISS WITHERSPOON
Another play!

I REALLY enjoyed Miss Witherspoon, starring Teri Loretto, CHS theatre and improv grad ’88, tonight. ( Sept 21) The play is at Academic Hall, produced by Vision Theatre — it’s directed by John Koensgen and had other CHS people also working on it.
We laughed a LOT, all through the play. The play was smart and funny too, gotta love that. It is written by Christopher Durang, and while it surely is a play of ideas, Teri played it with just the right touch to get all the ideas across and keep us laughing. She was abetted in that by her fellow cast members, Sarah Hearn, Colleen Sutton, Matthew Domville and Nadine Thornhill. And of course, director John Koensgen. There was effective and vivid lighting by the talented Lynn Cox too. I have no photo! Oh, I wish I had one! The play runs until Sept 23.

NEIL HERLAND

And look at this! I am floored! I got home to an e-mail from Neil Herland, Bofa 1993, telling me he is now in charge of CBC’s United Nations Bureau in New York!! Wow! That’s huge and WONDERFUL!

Neil was part of the crazy team of ‘93, with 8 guys and 2 girls, and I especially remember a gig at GCTC, when a BOFA guy, running down the stairs to go on stage, said, “here,” and thrust his braces/false teeth into my hand for safe keeping. (Was that Rory?) On stage we had a documentary style to do, and as everyone dithered over who would be narrator, Neil took on the job. The scene was about Houdini - I remember an underwater scene and a very clever ending, and Neil pulling it all together supremely well. You might need to be Houdini to do Neil’s job now.

SPINACH and YOU

I got some help with this entry- thanks, Jess!

You heard about the e coli-spinach fiasco in the States?
Some now think the problem is in the fertilizer:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6084158

Canadians have been told not to eat any fresh spinach from the States.

I heard scientists/nutritionists say that many people without the proper knowledge are jumping onto the-money making opportunities of organic food, and not taking the precautions necessary to make sure the food is safe.

From the Ottawa Citizen, Sept 18:

Rick Holley, a professor of food safety at the University of Manitoba, said that over the last 30 years, there has been a constant increase in foodborne illnesses.

This rise is in part related to the rising numbers of people consuming more fresh produce on the advice of their doctors. He also noted that the distribution chain, from farm to shelf, is much longer, leaving more room for contamination.

Holley said Canadians should be aware that there is a certain amount of risk associated with each and every type of food.

"I think that there should be some concern and I think it's also important to recognize that all of the food we eat is not sterile," he told CBC.