Volume 4, Issue 5May 24 2013

THE HeraldLocal

W e s t E n d ’ s C o m m u n i t y P a p e r

“I say YES when your bank says no!”

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Final PrintCollector’sEdition

Print may die, but the local media dreamPrint may die, but the local media dreamlives on digitally... p.3lives on digitally... p.3

pg. 2 - MAY 24, 2013 - localheraldmontreal.com

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The Local Herald, West End Montreal EditionVolume 4, Number 5, May 24, 2013The Local Herald does not accept responsibility for errors,misprints or inaccuracies published within. The opinions andstatements of our columnists are not to be presumed as thestatements and opinions of The Local Herald.

So, anyone care to ask how I feel (notethat I have changed the column titleback to Briefly Bram, for sentimentalreasons)? As I write this final column forthe print edition of my paper, The LocalHerald? Honestly: Sad. It’s hard to saygoodbye. I’ve really come to love this

little rag, but financial realities finally made merealize that there’s no money in publishing a small paper.I’ve been fortunate to have broken even, virtually, sinceday one. Had I lost a truckload of cash – or had I hired astaff that I would now be letting go – it would be a lotworse. But it’s just been me, my associate in Cornwall,Julia Lucio, who has handled the layout of this papersince its Local Seeker West End Montreal Edition days asof September 2010 till now… and, of course, a group ofsimply amazing contributors who have gamely carried onand whom I hope will continue to do so with us on line.Of course, our advertisers, led by the generous andhardworking people at Rothenberg Capital Management,have made all this possible period.

My sadness is not because I feel like a failure, as I am veryproud of the product we brought you and I think we havehit many highs the past two years and seven months.There have been some lows, but in the community paperbusiness, that’s rather usual. I won’t mention names, butthere is some really stinky garbage out there posing ascommunity papers. Badly-written garbage, at that, whichto me is a line I do not believe we ever crossed. You’ll seelarge piles of it at various spots around the West Endregularly and if it looks like dung and smells like dung,it’s dung. You KNOW who you are!

No, I am sad because change is hard for me when I amcomfortable just where I am. But I am convinced andoptimistic that change in this case will be for the better.The Local Herald On-Line is going to besupercalifragilisticexpialidocious… yeah, that good, folks(and thanks, Rogers & Hammerstein and Julie Andrews)! Iam convinced of it. We’ll be bringing you interviews onvideo, as well as short featurettes, in addition to printmaterial - albeit in a different format. We won’t be lockedinto a finite number of pages as we have been till now,which means we can bring you as much or as little asthere is material to bring you. And we can update the sitewith, say, West End news, as often as we’d like. Wecertainly could not do that in print, though I’m sure ourprinter isn’t too happy we caught on.

Anyone wishing to bring news or material to myattention, please feel free to do so anytime.Communication professionals in any West Endcommunity: Cote Saint-Luc, Hampstead, Montreal West,Snowdon, Cote des Neiges and West End portions of the

City of Montreal, please send me your information and Iwill do my best to run it.

Anyone wishing to attract my attention, drop me a line atsuperscribe@sympatico.ca or leave me a message at 514-975-7745. I have been fortunate to have spoken withsome of you the past two-plus years and it would be mypleasure anytime. More than anything, I hope you stickwith us and tell your friends to check us out, as well. Imake one promise to you that I have always kept: TheLocal Herald will remain the West’s End’s most differentcommunity lifestyles and leisure source, starting with ourfirst remodeled issue in June 2013. Till then, please see

Managing Editor: Bram Eisenthal Creative Design: Julia Lucio - julia@thelocalseeker.com

OUR CONTACT INFORMATIONFree Classifieds and Advertising: 514-975-7745

EMAIL: bram@localheraldmontreal.com localheraldmontreal.com

Head Office: 327 2nd Street E. Cornwall, On. K6H 1Y8

this issue’s Honour Roll for the list of people who helpedmake this past 2 ¾ year run happen.

Strangers in the Night great place to meet stars… andassist Starlight!

Local actor and night club entrepreneur Larry Day is onceagain at his peak this time of year, as he organizes hisStarlight Foundation fundraiser Strangers in the Night, theninth edition of which takes place this year on Saturday,June 15, 2013. Not only will over 75 restaurants be servingscintillating cuisine to the mass of attendees expected, butyou will be able to party away to the beat of the legendaryKool and the Gang, plus Rhapdosy Orchestra, Powerplay,Meg Smith and Sammie Libman, as you also imbibewhwtever you want at their open bar from 6 – 11 p.m. If youare with a business, a table of 10 is $1,800, with yourdonation helping children at Starlight Foundation. EmailDay at larrydaytalent@videotron.ca for more information.And see you there!

And now for something completely different… andwonderful

While we have you all prepped for the closure of our printedition, please read the Breaking News press release on p.11. It’s not a belated April Fool’s prank, but the next bestthing…

EDITORIALSIt’s been a pleasure in print:Good night… sleep tight!

localheraldmontreal.com - MAY 24, 2013 - pg. 3

When Bram Eisenthal founded The LocalSeeker West End Montreal Edition as a bi-weekly in September 2010, he could not haveknown where the journey would lead. What hedid know was that it would not be easy, giventhat he did not have big money backing himand that another long-established weekly inthe area, The Monitor, had recently closed itsdoors.

He was essentially one man with a vision anda dream. Being a local journalist myself, withdeep roots in Montreal and a long history as amedia entrepreneur, I could relate to Bram’sinitiative.

We were in touch on several occasions. Hecontacted me just prior to March 2012 whenhe converted his paper to a monthlypublication and asked, as a courtesy, whether Ihad any objections to his changing its name toThe Local Herald, partially in tribute to TheWeekly Herald newspaper that I and myformer journalism colleague Wesley Goldsteinfounded in 1989 and kept going for almost twoyears before we ran out of money and had toclose.

Now after struggling alone for almost threeyears to support his media initiative throughadvertising revenues, Bram told me recentlythat he has reluctantly concluded that the May2013 issue of The Local Herald will be his lastprint edition.

I can speak from first-hand experience how itfeels to lose your own newspaper. — it’s akinto a death in the family. The loss of ourbeloved Weekly Herald, with its emphasis onimportant social and political issues, felt like adeep wound when we ceased publication inFebruary 1991.

The last few weeks of our existence weretough ones. The staff knew we could notsurvive much longer. Although focus groupstudies indicated that our readers loved ourproduct and spent several hours each weekporing over it, local advertisers were slower tocome aboard.

We had heavy fixed expenses in printing 25,000copies of the paper weekly and delivering themdoor-to-door in Hampstead, Cote St. Luc,Westmount, Town of Mount Royal andMontreal West. As well, we had about eightfull-time editorial employees, a bookkeeper, areceptionist and five full-time salesrepresentatives.

The only source of revenue for our free weeklycame from advertisements, and we had aformidable competitor in the long-establishedSuburban, which was able and willing to cut itsad rates as low as was needed to induceadvertisers to go with them.

The two years in business were a struggle interms of garnering enough ad revenue to meetweekly expenses. We knew early on that wewere underfunded and needed more workingcapital.

With that in mind, we tried to make a deal withthe Sun newspaper chain to invest in ourpublication. Doug Creighton, then CEO of theSun chain and himself a swashbucklingentrepreneurial journalist, met with Wesley andme in his Toronto office in the spring of 1990.He really liked the editorial content of our paperand felt that if we had enough financial stayingpower, advertisers would eventually comeaboard in sufficient numbers.

A few months later, he presented The WeeklyHerald as an investment opportunity to theSun’s board of directors, which instead voted toinvest in an Alberta weekly. Creighton later toldme that the board’s decision to invest in Albertarather than in Quebec was motivated by a fearthat Quebec might separate from the rest ofCanada.

Ironically, Quebec did not separate, althoughthe margin was razor thin, in the subsequentreferendum held in October 1995. And, againironically, Montreal-based Quebecor ended upacquiring in January 1999 the Sun chain whichhad been so scared of entering the Quebecmarket in 1991 because of politicalconsiderations.

As 1990 wound down, not a day went by thatone of our employees did notask me whether there was anychance of saving the Herald. Itbroke my heart to say I had nofurther solutions to explore.

The stress also played havocwith the friendship Wesleyand I had shared as journalismcolleagues at United PressCanada several years beforewe became partners in theHerald. To my regret, Wesleyand I have not spoken sincethe paper folded and he moved

Print may die, but the local media dream lives on digitally Prelude – After deciding to close down our print edition with this final issue (before going fully on-line), we thought it might be meaningful to expose our readers to theprocess of closing a beloved newspaper. We reached out to Warren Perley, former co-publisher and co-founder of a much-acclaimed West End Montreal weekly thatburned brightly for two years more than 20 years ago. And this is what he graciously came up with…

Story by Warren Perley cover pic by Bram D. Eisenthal

Cove

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a short time laterto Florida.

Although I wasdisheartened byour closure, Igained ameasure ofsolace that manypeople spokewell of our“baby” after itc e a s e dpublication.

For example, inFebruary 1991, then-Gazette columnist AlbertNerenberg called our newspaper a “sassy,intelligent weekly aimed at an upscale west-end[Montreal] audience.” Even now, people (of acertain age) in the west-end often tell me theyremember The Weekly Herald.

In July 1991, I started a graphics/marketingcompany called Ponctuation Grafix Inc. At thatpoint, a return to full-time journalism did notappear to be possible although I stayed active asa freelance writer.

But karma is an unpredictable harbinger offortune. It turned out that switching over tographics and marketing was a good trainingground for the new publishing opportunities thatwere to be made possible through the advent ofthe Internet in the mid-90s.

By the fall of 2008, I had in mind to build a newkind of digital media company devoid of alladvertising, with an emphasis on empoweringfreelance journalists to choose which storiesthey wish to write and then making those articlesavailable to readers online at a modest price of40 cents each.

We incorporated a new company under the nameof BestStory.ca, and on April 18, 2013 wecelebrated our first anniversary as Canada’sonly ad-free, long-form digital journalism site. I fully expect that, like me, Bram is going to findnew ways to continue his journalism career, inhis case with The Local Herald On-Line. It’snow up to readers and advertisers whoappreciate local journalism in west-endMontreal to help Bram resurrect his mediadream in digital form!

Career journalist Warren Perley is Editor ofBestStory.ca, Canada’s only ad-free, long-formjournalism site — www.beststory.ca

ED. NOTE: Thanks so much to a plum of a guyfor giving our readers some insight into themachinations that take place behind the scenesof a seemingly-thriving paper that decides toshutter its doors. I understand you, Warren, andfully commiserate… but now on to page 11 fora startling revelation!

Perley as he is today.

Perley in his younger days (with cap on), as a UPI reporter

pg. 4 - MAY 24, 2013 - localheraldmontreal.com

Chef Cayennewith Chef Michael Minorgan

Montreal’s prohibition on street food dates back to1947, when it was considered to be littering thestreets, providing undue competition to localbusinesses and committing flagrant abuses of thecity’s traffic laws. This ban has finally been lifted andthese gastronomic delights will once again grace

our city’sstreets andallow us to nopartake int h e s ed e l i c i o u sm o r s e l s … .right? Wellno, notexactly. 

As it turnsout, what

we will be offered will noteven meet the minimum standards ofwhat real street food is supposed to be.In typical Montreal fashion, theseoperations will be so tied up andburdened by rules, regulations andhighly-subjective bureaucraticjudgments that what we will be leftwith will be a warmed over product ofuninspired and somewhat sanitizedfood.

The very essence of street food isthat it allows the small entrepreneur,with little cash on hand, to open a smallbusiness and bring their passion for cooking aunique product to the forefront, while earning adecent living. Perhaps, as much treasuredimmigrants to this great city, it should allow themto present their unique cuisines to our food savvypalates and allows us to relish in their expertise. 

This freedom of access is not permitted underpresent regulations, permits will only be issued topre-existing restaurants or caterers and the foodsold must represent, by definition, “the identity ofQuebec and Montreal” and must be, according tothe Mayor, “highly respected and renowned.” Onemay quite fairly ask what in the hell does “highlyrespected and renowned” mean and whichbureaucrat is going to make this very subjectiveevaluation. What does ‘Quebec or Montrealidentity’ mean? Does it mean we can’t offer tacosor arepas or even kebabs, etc ? Must it all bepoutine or beaver tails, etc (perhaps we could getaway with a fancy poutine!)? It all seems a bitridiculous and, coupled with the fact that any foodsold in these trucks must be prepared in anotherinside location, presumably a restaurant kitchen,and then transported already cooked to the foodtruck (no food carts or wagons are allowed a laNew York by the way) and presumably just warmedup before being sold to the customer… boring! 

Street food has survived successfully for decadesand, in some cases, centuries alongside successfulrestaurants and cafes in cities all over the world.During my many visits to South East Asia I have veryoften eaten all my meals at these amazing food stallsand I might add that in most of the cases the food Ihave eaten has been some of the best that I havesampled anywhere and I have never experienced anyill effects from these sojourns. 

Yes, our street food experiment in the city will be anovel experience, for a while at least, especially as wehave been starved from such sinful excesses for solong, but under these current rigid regulations thatpermit only the ‘big boys’ access to this field, because66 years on they still feel threatened in some way bythe lowly food truck adversary. 

I fear this food high will be short lived until themarketplace ultimately demands more

culinary freedoms.We will, Iam certain,eventua l lytire ofwarmed uptacos andsmoked meats a n d w i c h e sand demandthat our foodbe preparedfresh and on thespot in front of

us and be served hot, messy,dripping with sauces and melted cheeses right fromthe food truck grill, as it should be! 

Toronto’s initial experiment into street food failedmiserably and should offer Montreal a window intohow too many rules and regulations stifledbusinesses and made it impossible for them tosucceed and survive, but it seems we have nointerest in such lessons.

Street food, real streetfood, has the attraction ofallowing cooks greatflexibility, at low cost, topresent their uniquecuisines in neighbourhoodsall over the city and to beable to move their trucks,within limits, to where themarket is. It allows forinnovation andexperimentation, thehallmarks of any successfulbusiness, and it putsexcitement back into our

At long last, street food… well, not exactly! 

food choices. This benefits everyone involved andoffers a definite attraction to tourists visiting ourcity. Montreal’s present approach can onlypromise a sanitized version of the original thatwill certainly not be popular with people whohave experienced the real thing elsewhere. 

You only have to look to cities like Bangkok,Singapore, Saigon, Manila, Mexico City or evenLos Angeles for the true meaning of street food,where the food is prepared by passionate cookswho have been making the same dish for aeonsusing handed-down family recipes that havesurvived generations in the same locations. As itis in these cities, street food should be a vital partof any city’s culinary scene. This will not be thecase in Montreal, at least at its outset. We will behard pressed in the beginning, to even land acoveted spot on the Food Network’s muchacclaimed Eat St. 

I have however the utmost faith in Montrealers’love of good food and, rest assured, they willeventually rise up in unison and demand thatMontreal remove these shackles and allow animage to evolve that Grumman 78 had in mindwhen they gave renewed birth to this idea:Outrageously and fun-filled graffiti-decoratedtrucks cooking delicious, messy, mouth-wateringfood that allows some of our finest ethnic cooksto display their passions and invite all of us torelish in it!

ED. NOTE: If you ever find yourself vacationing inHollywood, Florida, Monday evenings at Young CirclePark are an authentic and memorable happening, assome 60 food trucks offering every imaginablecuisine take over. The trucks are each artistically-decorated and as much fun as the delectable fooditself.

www.globalgourmets.ca Email: michael@globalgourmets.ca

localheraldmontreal.com - MAY 24, 2013 - pg. 5

RENATA Swiss watch batteriesReplacement on all makes

done on site ( while you wait )

Serving Montreal and area with expert service in:• custom jewellery remodelling

• Quality watch and jewellery repairsdone on the premises

We’ve been on watch for over 50 great years!

Come see our exclusive line of MURANO jewellery

Metamorphosis DesignJohn BiagottiArtist Bio:A self-taught jeweler and lapidary, I have been designing and making jewelrysince 1977… though my background is in sculpture, painting and two-dimensional art. In 1984, after selling my work through artist co-ops andlater through several art shows that I participated in annually, I started doingbusiness as Metamorphosis. I specialize in innovative, contemporary jewelrydesigns utilizing unusual combinations of gemstone and stone shapes,producing bold and highly-noticeable rings and other jewelry items. Icurrently feature a line of work featuring actual meteorite stone andastronomical themes. These include a ring that has actually been taken intospace by an astronaut.

Craft description: I feature 14K and 18K gold and platinum jewelry, using precious and semi-precious stones in rings, earrings, pendants, pins and bolos. I design and craftall my pieces using the “lost wax” method of casting, though some of theseare partially fabricated. The original design is first carved from wax and theresulting mold is placed inside special high-temperature-bearing plaster andburned inside a kiln. The mold is then placed inside a centrifugal castingmachine and molten gold is forced inside the mold by the centrifugalpressure. After the piece is cast, it is finished by grinding, filing, sanding,buffing and polishing, after which stones are set or inlay work is done,fabrication elements are added and the piece received its final polish. Anenormous amount of work generally goes into each and every piece ofjewelry.

My designs include custom work, should you desire something special uponrequest. Because I do my own lapidary work, including faceted stones, I havegreater design flexibility. I have also developed two processes that areunique to my work: One called “underlay,” in which I use an opaque stoneto back a faceted stone, giving not just a combination of colors but also anadded texture… for this, I often use druse material, stones covered in smallclear or colored crystals) and; A process involving using an opaque stone,such as Black Jade, to receive a faceted stone set by wedging it between twoor more pieces of stone, rather than setting it with metal as is otherwisethe case.

My featured faceted stones include Tourmaline, Rhodolite Garnet, TsavoriteGarnet, Tanzanite, Amethyst, Sapphire and Diamond. The non-faceted stonesinclude Lapis, Black Jade, Druze Chrysocolla, Gem Silica, Chrysophrase andDinosaur Bone, featured in my popular line of men’s rings.

My prices range from $750 - $6,000 per item.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my work.

pg. 6 - MAY 24, 2013 - localheraldmontreal.com

by Bram D. Eisenthal Exclusive to The Local Herald

The Casino. The concept means different things todifferent people. To some, they are dens of sin,covens presided over by the Devil himself. Toothers, they are exciting entertainmentcomplexes. One thing for certain: The casino existsto take your money, not to make you wealthy. Butif you approach gambling with a sense of realismand fun and don’t exceed your means, you MIGHTcome out ahead. Just don’t count on it.

In recent years, I admit I have become a fan.Having been to Las Vegas nine times, usually forthe opening of a new property with the goal ofresearching the place for a travel feature, I playedslots on the side. And did quite well, too, winningseveral jackpots. When the Casino de Montrealfirst opened, almost 25 years ago, I would go onceper year, then several times and, about 7-8 yearsago, perhaps once every three months. Now myvisits are more frequent, though I can quitanytime, I swear! The secret is taking a certainamount with you and not exceeding that if youlose. Do NOT line up at the ATM depleting yourbank account… as so many people are wont todo.

Pouring good money after bad is not a sure-fireway to profit. In fact, you may or may not haveheard that an older gentleman hanged himselffrom the bridge near the Casino de Montreal acouple of years ago. How well do you think he wasdoing money-wise prior to desperately slippingthat makeshift noose around his neck?

So, where can you have the best time at a casino?I can tell you from experience that it isn’t theCasino de Montreal, where they would rathergouge you on a barely decent meal (highest mealprices among the casinos listed here, a crazymentality when one considers most casinosactually want you to spend more money on thegaming floor than in their restaurants) and bringin only the smallest percentage of hot new slots. I’ve complained to their general manager, too,and was treated like an annoyance, sent what wasessentially a form letter in response. If the

Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake had followedthrough on its plan to build a competing casino,as so many Indigenous Peoples have donethroughout North America, the Casino deMontreal would have been in dire trouble. Yet ifyou enjoy gaming and don’t view such activity asa Guaranteed Income Supplement, there areother places within a reasonable enough distanceto indulge your interest. They are:

Casino Mont Tremblant – Laurentians, Quebec Predicted by many (including our onetimecolumnist Sol Boxenbaum) to be doomed as soonas it opened its doors in 2009, this smallishproperty is holding its own and is actually a lotquainter and more appealing than its Montrealcousin. It is located a five minute drive from theVillage and is surrounded by scenic beauty andfresh air, making it a lush spot to spend asummer’s evening. The action takes place on justtwo levels and the third, upper level is reserved fora solitary restaurant that outshines anything theMontreal location has to offer.The view is amazing, due to its prime location in

the middle of a natural outcropping, the décor isalso gorgeous and live music is featured as youdine on weekend evenings. Yes, it’s a far drivecompared to the route you take to Isle Sainte-Helene, but it’s worth the extra gas to avoid themiddling experience they give you here in ourcity.

Casino de Hull – Lac Leamy, Quebec Located about 15 minutes from downtownOttawa, this property is different than either of theother two Quebec casinos located near Montreal

(the fourth, inCharlevoix, about afour-hour drive fromMontreal, is the nicestQuebec casino of all…though its distancemakes it tenable foronly the heartiest ofgamblers). What I likedbest about Lac Leamywhen I visited in 2012was the large selectionof slots, much morevaried than Montreal’s.When I asked Montrealmanagement why theHull casino could bringin such a largeselection, but Montrealcould not even come

close, all I received was a feeble protest thatMontreal, too, was bringing in new machines(News Flash: They just unveiled the hot MichaelJackson slot to much hoopla… a machine that hasbeen available at American casinos for severalyears… Sorry, Montreal, your selection is stillwoefully inadequate). Lac Leamy is also located ona picturesque lake and features an attached,quality-guaranteed Hilton that is extremelycomfortable, beautifully appointed, and catersequally to English and French-speaking patrons(to be fair, all of Quebec’s casinos are totally

Anglo-friendly) and has a selection of excellentrestaurants inside the casino next door.

If you REALLY want fun, though, you have to driveto Ontario and, in one case, just beyond, toexperience gaming that offers a much moreenjoyable experience.

Rideau Carleton Racetrack and Casino –Ottawa, Ontario In the early 2000s, the OLG people opened acasino at the historic racetrack here, whereMontreal Canadiens’ legendary defenseman DougHarvey patrolled as a security guard, not longbefore his death in 1989. And despite theopposition of anti-gaming groups, it appears tobe doing quite well. The casino is not huge, but it’sthe ideal size, has just enough machines to handlea crowd, is located on just one level, and isadjacent to an excellent buffet overlooking therace track, where one can dine really well for just$16.95, which includes all-you-can-eat king crablegs on Saturday nights (the Montreal casino’sbuffet lies in the $35 range and isn’t one iotabetter for the increase). Rideau Carleton is by farmy favourite Canadian casino.

Thousand Islands Casino – Gannanoque,OntarioAnother OLG property, this one is similar toRideau Carleton in size and serves the muchsmaller population around it. I’ve been there twiceand enjoyed it a lot, if winning can be linked toenjoyment, at any rate. Further proof that OLGdoes the casino experience in very nice fashion,despite the fact their properties are government-owned. The OLG casino at Niagara Falls is also areal treat to visit. When in Gannanoque during thewarmer months, be sure to take a 1,000 Islandsboat cruise and explore Boldt Castle, an amazingexperience. Bring your passports, because thehistoric castle is on the American side of thewaterway and you will not be permitted entrywithout it.

Slot fans have choices, other than disappointing Casino de Montreal

localheraldmontreal.com - MAY 24, 2013 - pg. 7

And, saving the best for last:(For this one, you must cross the bridge spanningCanada and the U.S. at Cornwall)…

Awkasasne Mohawk Casino Resort –Hogansburg, New York

Yes, you need your passport to come here, yes,you must pay a $3.25 toll to cross the bridge bothcoming and going and, yes, they allow smokinghere (my one pet peeve), but if you like gaming ina friendly environment, dis iz da place. I love ithere. On the way, you pass Native-ownedsouvenir stopovers like Bear’s Den and there isterrific mall shopping in nearby Masena, as well ascheap gas, but this casino, its new Bingo parlourand its even newer luxury hotel beat anythingoffered by the competition. The best part of all isthe casino, an integral part of a $74 million project(Casino-Bingo Hall–Hotel) that encompasses140,000 square feet. The casino is still filled withexciting slots and always guarantees the newestmachines, as well asold favourites.

PR specialist BenHerne, who has beenat Awkasasne sincethe casino opened 14years ago - he was inhis early twenties atthe time – still marvelsat the many visitorswho come here to trytheir luck, includinglocals and manyCanadians, fromCornwall, Ottawa and,of course, Montrealand elsewhere inQuebec (you hear a lotof French spoken onthe floor here).

This casino, he pointsout, is far ahead of itstime. They actuallyhave a director of slotoperations, and ateam of technicians, researching the most recentmachines and bringing them in – “We were thefirst casino in the northeast to bring in popularmachines like Grease and Michael Jackson, toname but two,” Herne told me. “Our floor layout isplanned in such a manner that the exciting newmachines will pop out at you.”

I stress once more: Just try to find the latest

machines in a casino the size of Montreal’s…sadly, for casino buffs, very few and far between. Another problem with the Montreal casino issomething that Awkasasne recently took care of:A luxury hotel. In celebration of its 14thanniversary, Awakasasne Mohawk Resort veryrecently opened a hotel, one which connects tothe casino by an interior hallway. The Montreal,Mt. Tremblant and Ottawa casinos have nearbyhotels, but none in the immediate vicinity, whichis a major inconvenience if you decide to play tillthe wee hours. The Casino de Lac Leamy featuresa lovely hotel that forms part of the complex andnow, so does Awkasasne. Having stayed at bothhotels, I can tell you that the Awkasasne hotel isnot only extremely comfortable, but also veryaffordable, a big plus. When you visit a casino,your major goal is to gamble. Spending a bigchunk of change on a hotel or meals sort ofdefeats that purpose and a smart casinoadministration recognizes this.

A professional spaalso plays a majorrole in the newly-r e n o v a t e dA w k a s a s n ecomplex and, asHerne pointed out,“We are proud toh a v eAwkasasne (asin Mohawk)w o m e nworking in theS w e e t g r a s sSpa, as theyhave theexperience andknowledge toi n c o r p o r a t et r a d i t i o n a lhealing intotheir work, inaddition to providingthe spa’s services.” I mentioned theTurning Stone Casinoand Resort in upstate

Verona, New York, where I had recently seenveteran musician Michael Bolton perform and,although the latter is nothing short of massive,Herne laughed and revealed that many of theAwkasasne execs had come through the TurningStone school of successful casino-ing. “TurningStone is a model property for someone like us,” headmitted. “It’s a beacon of success to many of theother casinos in this area.” Foxwoodsand Mohegan Sun, two other Native-owned properties, both in Connecticut,are other “area” models where you cancatch major name musical talent whileplaying merrily away.

So, should you be of legal age, andlooking for a fun time, I suggest youbring a pre-determined amount ofmoney with you (an amount you canafford to lose, not a penny more), fill upyour gas tank, remember your passportand take a drive to Awkasasnesometime. If viewed maturely and not

as a chance to make a fast buck, a casino can be afun way to spend a few hours. But remember thatyou are the client… if they aren’t falling overthemselves catering to your every whim, theyaren’t worth your hard-earned dollars. Native-owned casinos, it seems, know a lot more aboutthe word “host” than the government-ownedones.

Awkasasne Mohawk Casino Resort 873 State Route 37 P.O. box 670 Hogansburg, N.Y., 13655(over the bridge from Cornwall and next toMassena) Phone: 888-622-1155 or (518) 358-2222

Ben Herne (Photo Bram D. Eisenthal)

pg. 8 - MAY 24, 2013 - localheraldmontreal.com

Are you hopeful about tomorrow?

SPIRITUALITYSp

iritu

al See

dlings

- Fathe

r Jo

hn W

alsh

In our North American culture, all too often,the thought of tomorrow instils fear in us.There were times not that long ago, duringthe Cold War, when our greatest fear was thethreat of a nuclear attack that could possiblymean the end of the world.

Today we worry about the use of nucleararms and speak little about total nucleardisarmament. The world is upside-down.

Whenever there is a glimmer of hope, it is dashed with newsof another catastrophe.

We settled down from the bombings in Boston and then, withindays, there was news of a planned terrorist attack to derail theToronto to Montreal train. It is hard to find good news.Everywhere we turn there is bad news. Therecession that began five years ago is notover. Yet we are told to save for a rainy day,top up your RRSP's, and be preparedbecause “you never know when you willbe affected.” One naysayer told me thatour Canadian banks might have to closetheir doors, just like in Greece. Is our onlycomfort the fact that our home freezersare filled with enough food for a year?Have you started to save for yourchildren's education?

We can be depressed, but if we want toremain upbeat and happy, we have tolook around and find the many littleefforts people are making to build a betterworld in which to live. A woman I knowtravelled a great distance to surprise anold friend who is terminally sick. A youngman and a young woman came to interview me and I couldn'thelp but experience the innocence of 16-year olds. I was invitedto a friend's home for supper and one of the guests exuded joyeven as he told me he is a nine-year cancer survivor. Our neighborhoods are filled with very generous people doing allthey can to help those who cannot help themselves. Tomorrow isnot more of today, it is the sacred unknown. Tomorrow is the story

that has yet to be written. Herein lies each person's hope: Whentomorrow arrives we have only to open our eyes, get out of bed, put ourfeet on the bedroom floor, stand up and say to ourselves, ‘what a gift, thegift of another day, a gift no one can take from me.’

The real Patch Adams, played by Robin Williams in the movie bearing hisname, was in Montreal a few years ago; he stood tall, all six feet three orfour, and, without flinching, told us how at 17 years of age his familycommitted him to a mental institution. His words: "I awoke onemorning in the mental institution and said to myself, 'You will neverhave another bad day in your life. I am now 63 and I have not had a badday.'" Attitude and its subsequent behaviour is what life is all about.

In the musical Annie, Annie is an orphan, with literally not a thing to hername. She escapes from the unpleasant orphanage and touches our

hearts when she singsTomorrow.

The sun'll come out TomorrowBet your bottom dollar Thattomorrow There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about TomorrowClears away the cobwebs, Andthe sorrow 'Til there's none!

When I'm stuck a day That'sgray, And lonely, I just stickout my chin And Grin, AndSay, Oh!

The sun'll come out TomorrowSo ya gotta hang on 'Tiltomorrow Come what may

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya Tomorrow! You're always A day Away!

Tomorrow is a silent transition from our past. Tomorrow opens us to acreativity we have yet to discover. Tomorrow is the ground of our being.Tomorrow is the God of surprises.

Since I began writing this column, I have had the joy of discussing Yoga, as well as the challenge. Yoga is a vast ocean tobe experienced rather than explained or intellectualized, though there are important areas of study within these waters.

It is my hope that over the past while I have illuminated for readers such as yourself a small area of what Yoga is about.There are many paths to the heart, many paths to awakening: Yoga is one way to penetrate the dense layers of ourbeing and experience more subtle ones. The ripple effects are countless and far-reaching.

Whether you have an existing Yoga practice or are thinking of embarking on one,every student begins their practice where they are. We really don't need to prepare for thestarting-point because we are already here: It is something freely given. The important thing toremember is to practice intelligently, which is to say, not to push our bodies too hard or too fast,and not to place upon ourselves, our teachers, or the teachings themselves, unrealisticexpectations. We have become a culture obsessed with immediate gratification.

One of my colleagues has a saying: "If you can breathe, you can do Yoga." Yoga is a practice ofcultivating presence. It is open to all regardless of background, health, age, etc.

I mark my last column for now by offering my thanks for your readership and also, myencouragement, to start however and wherever you are today.

The light in me recognizes and greets the light in you --- to everyone, NAMASTE.

ED. NOTE: Chantalle is leaving us for personal reasons and will be missed. Thanks, Chantalle, for beinga terrific contributor with your enlightening columns and also several very well-written feature articles.

The end of a chapter

Yoga

U- C

hantalle Kud

si

localheraldmontreal.com - MAY 24, 2013 - pg. 9

ENTERTAINMENT

remains, at least for me, the definitiveSedaris).

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls doesfeature, however, something differentfrom other Sedaris compilations:The“Etc.” part of the book’s subtitle, which isexplained to us in the introduction. Hehas added six brief monologues in whichthe narrator is not himself but rather acharacter. While said pieces are well-written, they do not add anythingsignificant or insightful to Let’s ExploreDiabetes with Owls and even serve as a bitof a distraction. It is like an unwantedinterlude, aside, or sub-plot, and whilereading them I could not wait to get backto the more traditional essays.

Although I do applaud the author fortrying something new, they belongsomewhere else. The only exception tothat is the poem at the end of the book,which anyone who has ever owned andloved a dog will identify with and enjoy. But in the end, Let’s Explore Diabetes withOwls: Essays Etc. can have only onereview: If you are a fan of Sedaris you willlike it and if you are not, you won’t.

Read on! www.essaysbyandreas.com

observations and dry sense of humour.I laughed out loud at least once eachstory, and in a few cases several timeson the same page, (and after reading #2to Go I swear I will never visit China).As usual he targets people he does notcare for, as well as members of hisfamily, and even himself, for ridicule.Every yarn can match anything he has

previously written. In fact I will go sofar as to say that Let’s Explore Diabeteswith Owls is his best and mostentertaining book since Me Talk PrettyOne Day (although the latter still

Sedaris returnsto form withlatest effort

If you are, like me, a fanof writer andraconteur David

Sedaris, you were likely somewhatdisappointed with Squirrel SeeksChipmunk, his book of a few years agothat featured, in a bold departure fromthe genre we have grown accustomedto from him, humanized animals as themain characters in fictionalized talesthat, I am pretty sure, were drawn from(and inspired by) the author’s personalexperiences. I thought it was a decenteffort and, in some places, quite good,but most of the pieces and passageswere forgettable. My main worry at thetime was that he had exhausted hissupply of personal stories.

That is why I was excited to hear thathis latest, Let’s Explore Diabetes withOwls: Essays Etc. was a reversion to thenon-fiction first person narrative stylethat made Sedaris famous.

Sedaris returns to classic form as heimparts to us the chronicles of hiseveryday life, past and present, andcontinues with his trademark witty

Read

On! -

Andrea

s Ke

ssaris

ED. NOTE: When this issue was originally planned to be TheRadio Issue, I wanted to bring you a fascinating little tidbit, awee piece of radio trivia involving my favourite Montrealstation, hands down, CHOM-FM. CHOM will continue to playa role in this publication, even when we are on-line, in theguise of deejay Sharon Hyland, our Liner Notes columnist.

CHOM theme song hadits genesis in classicfilm spaghetti westernby Bram D. EisenthalThe Local Herald

One of the strangest Montreal radio tales, a realpiece of genre history, involves CHOM-FM andthe film Duck You Sucker, a “spaghetti western”starring James Coburn and Rod Steiger andreleased in 1971, not too long after CHOM madeits debut on its way to becoming one of our city’smost storied stations.

I knew that the now-famous CHOM tune (theone that involves creaking door and crying babysound effects, plus the trademark music,culminating in “CHOM, CHOM, CHOM…”) wastaken from the violent, campy Sergio Leone-directed motion picture. But when I saw the film

again on television recently, I was stunned to hearwhat sounded like “CHOM, CHOM, CHOM” aspart of that classic tune in the film! ‘What?’ Ithought, how is that possible? Did the producerspurposely pay homage to CHOM-FM with theirmusic?I contacted legendary CHOM deejay TerryDiMonte, who graced the cover of this paperearly summer 2012, and he filled in some of thepertinent details, with assistance from his friendand associate Bob “Too Tall” Wagner, without adoubt the radio industry’s “iron-man” in terms ofair-time.

"If Doug Pringle hadn't gone down the street tothe [since defunct] Westmount Theatre to seeDuck you Sucker (also known as A Fistful ofDynamite) in 1971, in an altered state of mind, Imay add, whereby he mistakenly heard the word‘CHOM’ when they were actually singing ‘SEAN,’this would have never come to pass into radiolegend. This proved to be one of the all time greatmisheard lyrics,” stated DiMonte. ”Too Talldecided to combine that with the sound of a newborn baby as CHOM itself was just newly born.And that’s the story behind the legend. “Thattheme resonates with me still. When I hear it, I

am instantlyt r a n s p o r t e dback to my teenyears and hotsummer nightsat the coffeehouses at WestPark pool. It'sthe magic of thesound ofCHOM that'sbecome part ofM o n t r e a l ' sfabric.” DiMontealso debunked aw i d e l y - h e l ddetail regarding the theme: I had heard previouslythat the crying baby was actually the infant daughterof the station’s owner. “No sir, that's a myth,” he toldme. “The baby came from a sound effects record thatToo Tall employed.”

We wish to note as well that Anglo Montrealers willsoon benefit from a new talk radio station, which willbe located on your dial at 600 A.M., CFCF’s old haunt.We can hardly wait, as Montreal radio in generalcontinues to sink into a morbid mixture ofunspectacular boredom, and appalling ineptitude.

pg. 10 - MAY 24, 2013 - localheraldmontreal.com

The Local Seeker West End Montreal Edition&

The Local Herald (Print Editions)Sept. 2010 - May 2013

Honour Roll (in no particular order)

A grateful thank-you to our wonderful contributors (columnists or otherwise):

Shlomo SchwartzbergSharon Hyland

Father John WalshRob CallardAlex CallardPaul GraifCaryn Roll

Andreas KessarisChantalle Kudsi

Chef Michael MinorganJustin Welks

Jason ZuckermanSol “Last Call” BoxenbaumAnita Benabou Rosenblat

Jacqueline TreminioEvelyne Budkewistch

Shayne LonnRicky FriedlanderRabbi Alan BrightJarred CoxfordJordan DavidovitDavid Sherman

Jeff May

Thanks, as well, to our advertisers, big and small alike, and especially to Jack Rothenberg ofRothenberg Capital Management for generously sponsoring our back cover for almost our entire

duration. You kept your word, Jack, and we owe you a debt of gratitude!

Special thanks to Julia Lucio, at The Seeker in Cornwall, for her excellent work on the layout of these papers from Day One.

We welcome you all back in June 2013, as we debut the new-and-improvedLocal Herald On-Line

localheraldmontreal.com - MAY 24, 2013 - pg. 11

** BREAKING NEWS **MEDIA MERGER: GOOD THINGS DO HAPPEN

TO GOOD PEOPLECOTE SAINT LUC, May 24, 2013—Bram D. Eisenthal, Publisher and Editor of The Local Herald, ‘Montreal’s Most Unique

Community Paper,’ announces the merger of The Local Herald with superpartyfactory.com and its The Life PlanningDirectory, Montreal’s Most Unique Websites. Operated by local entrepreneur Nadav Avisar, The Life Planning Directory

gives our advertising clients greater marketing options not available on other sites.

“With the merger of The Local Herald, we now have yet one more option to offer ourexpanding list of clients,” said Avisar. “This is indeed a very auspicious merger for both

businesses.”

Associates of Avisar – experienced business professionals - will also be part of this new ownership group.

“Just as we were placing the finishing touches on the ‘final’ issue of The Local Herald in print, this terrificopportunity presented itself and I felt it was a smart business move… to at least meet with my new

potential partners and discuss it,” Eisenthal said. “I liked what I heard, they also felt we could do businesstogether, and we are going all-out to make this work for us. It is very exciting.”

The physical version of the paper will continue operating monthly for the time being – very much as usualbut with some key changes, such as expanded size and distributorship – under the banner:

The Life Planning Directory, presented by The Local Herald.

The publication will also be available on-line, at the lifeplanningdirectory.com, starting with the June 2013 issue.

localheraldmontreal.com - JUNE 15, 2012 - pg. 13

Great Food ~ Great Coffee ~ GreatPeople

1377 Greene at SherbrookeWestmount514.935.0946

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The seasons come and the seasons go. Spring brings renewal andhope, summer...hopefully some heat on some long gestatingprojects. In La La Land there is no shortage of hope. In fact you candie of hope in this town.

Let’s face it, it is hard sometimes to keep your head up in this town,but this spring something happened very close to home that notonly gave me hope that talent wins and the cream does rise to thetop, it restored my belief that good things can happen to thosewho work hard and stay focused on their goals. I used to believe itwas not what you know, but who you know, which may be true,but sometimes....

It was my own 16-year old daughter who proved to me thatsometimes it is what you know, not who you know.

My wife and I are blessed with two wonderful but very differentdaughters. They do share one huge passion - the arts. Our 19-yearold has focused on photography and being a singer songwriter,while our youngest been working very hard at being the best actorand singer she can be. Both, unfortunately, seem to want to have

Even in Hollywood’s summer, hopesprings eternal

their hearts broken regularly. They havewatched my ups and downs and still want topursue the arts - go figure.

In Southern California there is a veryprestigious arts competition called theSpotlight Awards, but it is about much morethen just awards. Spotlight is an educationalprogram for high school students of ALLtalent levels in Southern California. With anemphasis on self-esteem, preparation andperseverance, this unique learningexperience provides a community ofsupport for the development of youngartists to help strengthen artistic andperformance skills. The Spotlightperformance categories are ballet, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental musicand jazz instrumental music. The visual arts are included with the two-dimensional art and photography categories.

My youngest, Alexandra, entered in the category of non-classical voice alongwith approximately 450 other singers. After a number of audition rounds shemade it to the final 15. The final group then performed in front of some major

entertainment industry figures, and three ofthese talented kids were chosen to representtheir category. Alexandra did not make thefinal three, but before she left the building, oneof her judges, a very important talent agent inthe Broadway world came up to her and saidthat she wanted to represent her. BOOM! Justlike that, Alexandra got herself what so manyperformers dream of... an agent who believesin you and loves you. It wasn’t who sheknew...it was what she knew.

‘What does it mean to have a respected andpowerful agent in this business?’ you ask.Alexandra’s first audition was for a lead rolealong side Jake Gyllenhaal on Broadway. Shewas among 12 girls who got a call back to workwith director. We still don’t know if she got thepart as of this writing, but we know one thing:It doesn’t matter. It has given us hope and ithas proven to her that she can do it. Hopesprings (or rather summers) eternal...Alana Goldmann

Alex

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COMING NEXT MONTH:

A new and improved Local Herald, with many of thesame favourites and some new ones, to boot.Larger… but still “The West End’s Most UniqueCommunity Paper.” Look for it in more finelocations this June 2013.

pg. 12 - MAY 24, 2013 - localheraldmontreal.com