08w14:1 Gladwell vs Gopnik in Toronto Posted March 31st, 2008 by timothy. 0 Comments Goodreads | 2008 week 14 number 1 (Gladwell vs Gopnik) Weisblott’s excellent summary convinces me this was eminently missable. Gebu was there, and she said this about it: Today, e and I went to a debate held by Maclean’s: Canada: Nation or Notion. The argument was more of a semantic variety, but it was a lively conversation between Malcolm Gladwell (Blink, or The Tipping Point) and Adam Gopnik (Paris to the Moon). The problem was that the two speakers had similar backgrounds — expats who are now living in NYC — but the discussion was entertaining. Adrienne Clarkson and her hubbie, John Ralston Saul, were there, and she asked a question. (Everyone else had to write their questions on a cue card, but I guess if you’re Adrienne Clarkson, then you’re not writing your question on a cue card.) Gladwell vs Gopnik | Marc Weisblott http://www.eyeweekly.com/city/scrollingeye/article/22644 “Today on the Scroll: A pair of Canadian journalists who are richer and more famous than anyone who lives here feign an argument about Canada’s future. […] Look, whatever it is, it’s not The New Yorker — for one thing, The New Yorker’s website is designed in a way that makes it possible to read the stories that are posted. Maclean’s also lacks a budget for cartoons, opting instead to dedicate its pages to Rebecca Eckler complaining about being ripped off for the movie Knocked Up, followed by her account of infiltrating a gang of online tormentors. Just in case you were wondering why neither of the star debaters still live here. […] Canada’s continued existence, on the other hand, is important to Maclean’s — and for the sake of a rebroadcast of the debate on the CBC’s Ideas on April 7 — but for a live audience in Toronto? Maybe to front-row sitters Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul but, otherwise, the topic was probably a turn-off to those journalism groupies and wannabe writers who’d eagerly hear tales of this pair’s workplace. Plus, the $30 ticket went for half the price to Maclean’s subscribers.”
