Alice and Yanka: Canadian visionaries!

A few weeks ago, the Mirror published a letter by Professor G. Wilson of the McGill Music Department, who wrote something not too professor-like about Alice and Yanka’s monthly Resto Bizarro column [“Resto Bizarro confuses professor,” Letters, Sept. 22].

It’s strange for a professor of the art of music not to be open to appreciating free samples of the art of creative writing from two of Montreal’s talents. And what’s wrong with their adding a touch of humour to the reviews? Anyone knowledgeable about Montreal’s restaurants will know that humour was and will never be separate from this city’s dining experience.

Besides reminding us about the fun that sneaks into daily life, Resto Bizarro is deeply Canadian in its skillful weaving of French-Canadian expressions into English-Candian writing. They’re typical expressions, yet Alice and Yanka create a rare art. Their creative writing is a memorable tribute to the art of sowing feelings into words. The art of turning a flat, fact-article into a living expression—into an almost aromatic display of what it actually feels like and how it tickles the senses to sit in the restaurants they describe.

It works to such a point that one is compelled to get up and go straight to the featured eatery, guided by the leaping art review into a warm, manifest treat and actual experience!

Lack of understanding and/or appreciation of French-English poetry weaving is no excuse for a professor, with so many resources at hand. Art is an invitation to experiential discovery of the unique vision of another human, another visionary heart. One life.

In closing, I must add, that Prof. Wilson’s statement, “Your book reviews are good, but your restaurant reviews are something else,” was not only depreciating Alice & Yanka’s Resto Bizarro artwork, but also that of the Mirror’s other honest restaurant reviewers.

For Prof. Wilson’s own good, rather than rejecting new, flamboyant stuff, he should treat himself and eat out! Bon appétit, professor!

» Alain Lord

Projet Montréal, please

Your weekly elections notebook is interesting, and it’s nice to have some light shed on the races. But you seem to be ignoring the third party, Projet Montréal, a small, young party with great ideas about making the city a better place for people.

Honestly, it is the only party with substance. Yet, predictably, most big media shut them out, and Gérald Tremblay refuses to participate in debates if they are included. If the Mirror really is an “alternative” weekly, there’s no excuse not to talk about Projet Montréal anymore. Even the Gazette came out against their exclusion from the RDI debate, and profiled their leader, Richard Bergeron. Please be true to your democratic mission! Shine some light on Montreal’s only homegrown, inclusive, positive, democratic, ecological political movement!

» Jacob Nerenberg, Projet Montréal member

Column chemistry

This week again we were greeted with yet another redundant Kristian Gravenor column. Let’s see:

Gravenor reminds us of his Westmount pedigree. Check. He devotes one paragraph to bash the separatists. Check. Another paragraph to write about the French-English rivalry. Check. Spends the rest of his column on miscellaneous anecdotes of Montreal citizens that can be found surfing on Wikipedia. Check. Writes about some vague inane subject so he can insert aforementioned items, and fails to make an actual point. Check.

I’m seriously considering a career change after reading this guy. I could easily generate the same weekly column with a machine. I find that the Mirror is an awesome paper. However, Gravenor’s columns give me an urge to gouge my eyes out of their sockets and boot-stomp them. Please, write something already.

» A. Laflamme

Skinheads evil

Regarding H.G.’s description of her studmuffin skinhead, I can only say that the U.S. version of this beast is not the same as the one she describes [“Acceptable sex fantasies,” Letters, Oct. 13]. The U.S. skins think that Hitler is right up there with God. They are also anti-Gay, anti-Jew, anti-Black and just about anti-Anything. So you must excuse me while I laugh at her choice of words like “honourable” and “clean.” The only term that I can suggest in describing this group is “evil.”

» Jon Whitney, hoboken, n.j., usa

Bakery bias?

[Re: “Let us eat cake,” review of Cocoa Locale, Resto, Oct 6]: I’m surprised that bakeries make it into your Resto section, especially since you can’t even sit in there to eat. I also can’t recall a reviewer ever doing an interview with the owner, which he should never do to keep the distance in order to produce a fair review. But I guess this time it was more important to support the cute female owner of this place than to stick to the rules of writing good reviews.

» John S.

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