Page 10 In the introduction
to Terry "Aislin"
Mosher's latest collection
of editorial
cartoons, Canadian
comic Rick Mercer
writes that "Aislin is
something more of a
nightmare. It's a name
that has become synonymous
with biting
political satire and
razor-sharp wit. But
more importantly he is
Canada's most celebrated
s-- disturber."
For more than 40
years,Aislin has used his
pen and inks as his
tools - and for most
part, the Montreal
Gazette as his canvas -
to give his pointed,
acerbic take on the political
issues of the day
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Stuart Nulman
Book Banter
Linda Leith Publishing, $24. 95
and the diverse bunch
of characters that are
politicians who made
those issues come alive,
through his unique, distinctive
style of cartooning.
"Was It Good For
You?", his newly-published
collection, still
proves to his multitude
of fans that this editorial
cartoonist extraordinaire
is a national
treasure.
The book collects the
best ofAislin's cartoons
over the past three
years (2010 to 2012). It
covers events and issues
that affected not
only Canada, Quebec
and Montreal, but also
the latest innovations in
technology and the environment.
There's his
illustrated take on the
rampant student antituition
fee hike
protests, the NDP's
"Orange Crush" during
999110412
Book Review by Stuart Nulman
Was It Good For You?
by Terry "Aislin" Mosher
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS FOR
ONLY $75/ PER MONTH
MIN. 6 MONTHS
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the 2011 federal election,
the Arab Spring,
the war in Afghanistan,
the crumbling Montreal
infrastructure (and
those omnipresent lifesized
orange construction
cones), and the
decline of the Montreal
Canadiens.
And such politicians
and personalities like
Stephen Harper, Jean
Charest, Gerald Tremblay,
Pauline Marois,
Barack Obama, Bashar
Hafez el-Assad and
even the Bonhomme
Carnivale are not immune
from the Aislin
treatment.
There's even an unusual
(and interesting)
chapter, in which he
shows how a random
drawing that Aislin did
on his pad while taking
a walk becomes one of
his editorial cartoons
by simply adding another
person, building
or signage.
No matter what, the
Aislin cartoons that are
featured in this collection
(as in previous collections)
evoke the
reactions that editorial
cartoons should for the
reader: laugh out loud
(as in his description of
the different colour
protest patches and
their respective significances),
touch you (as
in his tribute to the late
NDP leader Jack Layton)
or make you pause
and reflect (as in his response
to a new arena
for a proposed NHL
franchise in Quebec
City).
"Was It Good For
You?" will certainly be
good for all of Aislin's
fans. He certainly
knows how to stir the
pot of the national conscience
with his mighty
pen.
* * *
Aislin is one of the 16
Canadian authors who
are featured in the lineup
of this year's Books
& Breakfast series
sponsored by Paragraphe
Bookstore, the
Gazette and the Westmount
Public Library.
He will be promoting
"Was It Good For
You?" at the November
18 breakfast at the
Centre Sheraton Hotel,
located at 1201 Rene
Levesque Blvd.
The other Books &
Breakfast sessions will
take place on October
14 and 21, and November
4. Each one starts
at 10 a.m. Other authors
to appear in the
series include Tommy
Schnurmacher, Jacob
Richler, former Boston
Bruin Derek Sanderson,
Rawi Hage, Dr. Joe
Schwarcz and David Bidini.
Tickets are $32 each,
or $114 for the entire
series, and can be purchased
at Paragraphe
(2220 McGill College
Avenue) and the Westmount
Public Library
(4574 Sherbrooke
Street West). For more
information, call 514-
845-5811.
Stuart Nulman's "Book
Banter" segment is a
twice-a-month feature on
"The Stuph File Program"
with Peter Anthony
Holder,which now has almost
150,000 listeners
per week. You can either
listen or download it at
w w w. p eteranthonyholder.com,
Stitcher.com
or subscribe to it on
iTunes. Plus you can find
it at www.CyberStat
i o n U S A . c o m ,
www.KDXradio.com,True
Talk Radio, streaming on
www.PCJMedia.com, and
over the air at World FM
88.2fm in New Zealand,
Media Corp in Singapore
and WSTJ, St. Johnsbury,
Vermont. Stuart can be
reached at:
bookbanter
@hotmail.com .
Comment on this article
at: www.westendtimes.ca
Symon Says: VANOC
boss trying to hide past
Recent allegations
levelled at
John Furlong,
the CEO of the
Vancouver Organizing
Committee for the
2010 Olympic and Paralympic
Winter Games
(VANOC) underline
how the hiring process
is not the same for all.
Applicants with friends
in high places seem to
be able to skip impor-
tant steps. Rather than
face any serious scrutiny
about their past, they
are simply welcomed
aboard.
The Globe and Mail
named Furlong "Canadian
of the year" in
2010; he is a recipient of
the Order of B.C., the
Order of Canada, the
Olympic Order, and the
Paralympic Order. He is
chairman of Own the
10 OCTOBER 6, 2012 *
Opinion
Podium, and is on the
Whistler Blackcomb
Holdings Inc. board. He
has received honorary
degrees from two BC
universities and a technical
school, from the
University of Calgary,
and the BC Justice Institute.
A recent article in Vancouver's
Georgia
Straight newspaper
claims that Furlong is
not being forthcoming
about his first few years
in Canada. That article
goes into great detail
about how Furlong, now
61, had already lived in
Canada from 1969 to
1974 prior to "immigrating"
to this country.
continued on
page 20