Most of these arguments tend to focus around Ken Gass: Does a volunteer Board have the *moral* right to fire a founding member of an organization? Should he have been fired over a non-artistic argument? Should he have been fired the way he was?

Many strong arguments have been made. Yet, I’m surprised by what little has been said about how the Board’s actions may harm the financial stability of the Factory.

After all, the main responsibility of a Board is to build and maintain an organization’s financial strength. When a Board harms the financial stability of an organization, it is in breach of its most important, fundamental responsibility. Harm the financial viability of the organization, and you have failed as a Board.

The recent actions of the Board of the Factory Theatre clearly jeopardizes future revenue.

Government Funding

Funders have a responsibility to distribute funds only to  organizations in which they have complete confidence. Nothing kills this confidence more quickly  than concerns over Board governance. Even minor concerns such as having a small Board, or having a Board that doesn’t meet regularly enough can make the difference between receiving a large grant or receiving a rejection letter.

Now in the case of the Factory, there has been a gross breach of confidence in its governance practices. It’s been widely reported throughout both mainstream media and social media that the only artist on the Board was told not to show up to the meeting where Ken Gass was terminated. This Board member was not told about his termination in advance, and was not given an opportunity to take part in the discussion or vote on his termination (presuming there was a vote).

How can a funder in good conscience continue to fund the Factory at the same level when there has been such a public breach of good governance? There are so many other companies out there – companies that have solid governance practices and a strong public image of fair management. Why would a funder take the risk of trusting a company with money when its governance has been questioned so publicly?

Earned Revenue

To say the Board of the Factory has upset the arts community would be an understatement. There are differing opinions out there, but for the most part the artistic community is outraged. Over 3,500 signatures on a petition, and a threatened boycott is proof enough. I have tried very hard to keep an open mind, but the statements the Board have issued can only be described as completely dismissive towards the arts community. They have made absolutely no effort to help repair what is a truly damaged relationship.

I am sure the Board thinks they are being treated unfairly by the arts community (and to a certain extent this may be true), but quite frankly, that doesn’t matter. The customer is always right.

Artists are responsible for the vast majority of the Factory’s earned revenue. It is mostly artists who buy tickets to see shows there (no, this isn’t a good thing, but sadly it’s true). It is also artists who represent the majority of the rental agreements with the Factory. And finally, artists make up the bulk of the jury members who decide on annual operating grants (no, this isn’t technically earned revenue, but stick with me here).

Imagine looking at this through the lens of a for-profit corporation: The Board of the Factory has enraged their customers (ticket buyers), their clients (renters) and finally, their investors (the artists who sit on juries and decide where the TAC, OAC and Canada Council, award operating funds).

No matter what the Board thinks, they should be doing back-flips to make the arts community happy again. Everything they do should be about repairing the relationship with this community.

Why?

What happens to a for-profit company that outright dismisses their customers, clients and investors? They don’t survive.

Private Donations

Arts organizations depend on private donations – people who believe in the work a company creates, and are willing to put their money where their hearts are. By giving money, people become part of the organization. And people want to be a part of something big, something strong, something successful.

Currently, the Factory is in a state of chaos. It appears almost daily in the mainstream media for the mess it is in. Who wants to be associated with that? Private money loves stability. It flees from instability.

And those who donate private money to an organization have more than just a financial investment in the company. They have an emotional investment in *the people* involved. It is the artists that donors buy into, not the building or renovations, or elevators. When you break ties with the artistic head, many, many private donors will walk.

I believe the actions of the Board (the way Gass was fired, the follow-up statements, and the lack of interest in repairing the relationship with the artistic community) has created serious financial instability for the Factory, and harms its future. And when the Board of Directors is responsible for damaging the organization’s financial stability, then it’s time to go.

These are just my thoughts. Do you agree or disagree? I would love to hear.

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It’s an understatement to say that the Conservative candidate in my riding, Toronto-Danforth, does not have much support.

I have seen exactly two signs for Katarina von Koeni this election.

But a funny thing happened today.

See, it’s the Saturday morning before the election (to be held on Monday), and all of a sudden close to a hundred of her signs appeared along Eastern Avenue. Almost every 25 feet or so. This street is a high traffic road, but is made up of mostly industrial businesses.

The massive surge in her support is strange indeed.

But especially when you notice that her signs appeared on the private property of every industrial business… that just happens to be closed on the weekend (which are most).

Not a single sign appeared on residential property, nor on the property of businesses that are open this weekend.

Clearly these signs weren’t requested by the owners, and will remain there until Monday morning when the owners come in to work and find the unwelcome signs sticking in their lawns. But of course, by then it will be election day, and the ‘dirty trick’ will have done it’s job.

UPDATE: Saturday 1:10 PM

Some businesses have opened for the weekend and ripped the signs down, but most are still closed and most of the signs remain.

Follow me on Twitter for updates: @christolley

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If you are like me you don’t like the new 2D, flat icon for Google Chrome. This tutorial will tell you how to change it back to the old 3D icon on a mac.

You can download the old icon here (right click and choose ‘Save’: files.me.com/christolley/laxb5b

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Yesterday a great article was published in (none other than) The National Post presenting a clear argument for the continued funding of the arts. The author, Noah Richler (the son of Mordecai Richler - and a well known arts advocate in his own right) argues that funding for the arts generates more value than what it costs.

The most controversial (and in my opinion, valid) argument includes a comparison to the Canadian Army. It too doesn’t create a direct profit – but does generate wealth for the country in its own way.

“The Canadian Forces don’t make a ‘profit,’ at least not until things like safeguarding trade with the United States or access to Middle Eastern oil are factored in. But we don’t demand that our soldiers pay for their own gear, accuse them of leeching off the public purse, or suggest that they would perform better if they did.  Without adequate resources at their disposal, provided by the public, soldiers would not be able to do their job properly, and our country would not be what it is.”

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Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/01/31/debate-the-arts-are-worth-every-penny-we-can-give-them/#ixzz1Cfp5mXdV

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In 2007 I was lunching with my Godfather, the great Robbie Burns scholar and academic, Professor Richard Hertz. During this lunch he passed me an envelope and then proceeded to tell me a fantastical story…

In the late 1950s Professor Hertz was snooping around through his university’s main archives. There he came across an old leather pouch. Inside he found two yellowed pieces of paper. To his surprise, one of them was a poem. The other piece of paper was even more interesting. This document explained that the accompanying poem was actually a long lost poem by Robbie Burns. In fact it was the last poem the great Burns wrote - writing it on his death bed.

What Professor Hertz had was gold. A lost poem by one of the world’s greatest poets.

As he handed it to me he quietly whispered, “Many want their hands on this poem. You have to promise me no one will ever see it. Promise!”

“But, why? “, I asked?

“Well it’s just not very good.”, he said. And with that he left the table.

Well, it’s many years later and I’m sad to say the great professor died last week. We will all miss him.

His death has hit me hard.

But on a lighter note, I can now publish the poem without pissing him off!

So, without further ado -

MY ROBIE BURNS

‘Tis a secret I have
Words I ought not say
But as death approaches I’ll share – I may
For ’tis ugly and gross
Stomachs will toss and churn.
The secret my friends…
AAarrrrch-

My Robbie Burns…

At first blush I thought
No need to fear
The Scottish Highlands
Aye! damn cold up here
With nothing but a kilt to hide
My precious privates should be kept inside!
Those were my worries –  my sole concerns-
That’s why I thought..
Aaaarch-

My Robbie Burns

You see, these kilts are made from camels’ hair
And we’re not allowed cotton underwear
It’s free to flop left and right-
Aye, dear Lord – what a sight
No whitey tighties? – My heart – it yearns.
Aye was sure this was why-
Aaarrch-

My Robbie Burns.

But Nooo.

My pee it’s green.
It smell’s amiss.
Could be Gonorrhea – or Syphilis
Such a great, great man, am I to be brought down by this?
But how, thy question remaining returns
How did I get so that….
Aaaarchh.

My Robbie Burns?

I donno.

So here I lay upon my bed
Writing down all that remains unsaid.
I must confess all to you my darling,
my love and my life…
so I turn to you and say..

Aye… you’re not my wife.

Oooo…

Last night – the whisky – aye, that’s right
Oooo – the truth behind my horrible plight.
And now it dawns – I see – me learns!
Now I know why-
Arrrgggh-

My Robbie Burns.

So my dear wife I will indeed
Completely understand if you so find the need
To leave me.
Alone – a sad death – as my life adjourns…
And I will always remember: you left because…

Of my horrible 70’s Side Burns…

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Chris Tolley on TWITTER

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Yes, I heard it a million times. It’s been pounded into my head. “Back Up Your Data!”

I know how important it is. I have my life’s work, writings, my photos, my memories – everything (!) in little bytes living on a fragile slip of magnetic film (or on several fragile slips of magnetic film to be exact).

But did I have a back up system in place?

Nope.

Then one day my OCD kicked in. And thank God it did.

I was working away, editing a video. I had several hours of footage representing weeks worth of work. And more importantly, this was for a presentation for a client who was up for nearly a half a million dollar grant. If something went wrong, it would not just be me who felt the pain.

So I panicked, and obsessed over figuring out a reliable and easy back-up system. And thanks to my OCD, I needed it NOW!

I had two main drives. One for storing my basic files (business correspondence, pitches, etc.). This file is 1 terabyte (I call it Terabytasaurus because it’s big and I think I’m cute).

The other drive is a 2 TB drive and stores all of my multi-media files (my video files, audio, etc.). I call it ‘Multi-Media Drive’.

After a panicked 24 hour research binge, and after trying out several options this is what I settled on. It’s fairly cheap, easy and reliable…

I needed two back up drives. Instead of buying drives – or at least drives with enclosures (casings), I bought two NewerTech Voyager Q Quad Docking Stations. These are docks in which you can slap a naked drive (a hard drive without a case – just the drive itself) into it, and it runs just like a normal external drive. The great thing about these is that you can unmount the drive, press a button and the drive pops out. You can then drop in a new drive and off you go.

Another great thing about these docks is that the drive is exposed so you don’t really need to worry about heat. Therefore, no fan. And by that I mean no noise!

I then bought two naked drives (you can get 2 TB drives for as little as $70. Just look around and you’ll be surprised).

I now have my two original drives (my old external drive), and two backup drives (in the form of my docking stations with naked drives in them.)

Yes I like saying ‘Naked Drive‘.

Now: for a means to back-up my data.

I tried several back-up software solutions including some which were fairly pricey. I finally settled on Carbon Copy Cloner. This application has been around for ages. Originally it was the only program that could ‘clone’ a start-up drive so if your computer’s main drive crashed you could just boot-up from your clone.

This piece of software has matured a lot and now it’s the most robust back-up solution I could find.

Best of all, it’s free (if you use you can give the developer, Mike Bombich, a donation. I did – and it’s the best money I have spent).

What makes this application the solution I was looking for is its ability to schedule back-ups.

I have mine scheduled for 2 AM. In the middle of the night my drives wake up. The contents get compared and files are back-up nice and safe. I don’t have to think about it. It just does it.

The back-ups are also incremental as well. This means if I need an old file I deleted a few days ago, I can still restore it.

This solution works like a charm. And when I need to expand, all I need to do is buy two more naked drives ($140) and then I’m good to go. Scaleability for little outlay.

Easy, cheap, scaleable and reliable.

So why does my new back-up system make me so happy? Why do I feel it’s worth writing about?

One week after I set up my new back-up system, my multi-media drive failed. (No, I’m not making this up. I must have known somehow.)

I would have lost everything had I not back-up.

Yes, I heard it a million times. It it’s been pounded into my head. “Back Up Your Data!”

I now know how important it is.

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