September 27, 2021

Good morning BL5- Hard to believe that summer is now officially over – it was good run and now we can all enjoy PSL season….

I never do this but also wanted to recommend a movie this week. This weekend, Shlomit and I watched the new Nicholas Cage film called Pig, which was actually quite good. Basically, the story is about a master chef who gives it all up to move to the Oregon wilderness to hunt truffles and his beloved sidekick (the pig) is stolen – so he heads to the city (Portland) to go find his BFF. It is slow moving and very simple but an interesting character study with excellent acting by Mr. Cage. If you have time I would highly recommend it.

This week is one of personal accomplishment for me. I finally finished the Power Broker, which is just epic (yes I appreciate that my definition of epic may be different than yours…).

The Power Broker – Robert Moses and the Fall of New York By: Robert A. Caro – Robert Caro is most famous for his multi-volume biography on the life of Lyndon Baines Johnson. These LBJ books (recommended to me years ago by Steve Halperin and Neill May) are in my opinion, the “gold standard” when it comes to US presidential biographies. The level of detail that Caro provides is without comparison. My favourite of the set is Master of the Senate in which Caro shows how LBJ was the ultimate strategist and tactician when it came to running the upper chamber. Caro is working on the final volume (the Viet Nam years) and his fans are hoping it gets done (Caro is 85 years old after all…). Before Caro embarked on his LBJ odyssey he wrote a masterpiece about the most powerful man in New York politics never to have been elected to public office (he tried once and failed miserably, but it didn’t matter). Robert Moses was the ultimate power broker and a true master builder. He ran New York like it was his own personal empire (some compared him to Peter the Great). Unlike an earlier week’s featured leader (Satya Nadella), he was ruthless, power hungry, had billions of dollars to allocate (although he never cared about money for himself other than as a means to gain more power) and used this power and influence to the build the infrastructure that became 20th Century New York. He owned Governors (like Smith and Dewey), Mayors (like Walker and less so LaGuardia), Tammany Hall Bosses and arguably even some presidents. Moses’ legacy ranges from public parks, to beaches, highways, the Triborough Bridge, Shea Stadium, the United Nations Headquarters, Niagara Power, etc. etc.. He was not the most well liked man in the history of New York, but boy was he effective. The book describes in detail how for over 40 years he “worked” with every major player in New York (State and City) – and basically told them what to do and how to do it. It took me almost two years to get through this book (often putting it down for months at a time) but I am very happy that I finally did. This biography is a case study of the masterful use of power and how it can be a force for both good and evil. Moses is the hero of this book and in many ways a hero of New York, but he was a complete and utter a-hole and in many ways an “anti-hero” who surrounded himself with sycophants and lost touch with reality. It begs the question of how ruthless one must be in an effort to amass a massive quantity of power and also what it is that drives such a relentless quest. It makes sense to me that Caro was interested in both Moses and LBJ – given how both of them sought out and desired to gain power for power’s sake. Not a quick a read (at least not for me) but one that is worth the investment (perhaps not two years though). Here is a good article from the Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/the-power-broker-robert-moses-and-the-fall-of-new-york-robert-caro-review

The McKinsey Podcast - How Hamilton stayed alive during the pandemic: An interview with producer Jeffrey Seller – In March 2020 I had tickets for me and my family to go see the Toronto production of Hamilton. However, due a certain pandemic this show was cancelled. It got refund and then went on to watch the show about 20 times on Disney Plus with my daughters, which was a major bright spot for us during the early days of Covid – and it even won the EMMY last week. While I loved watching the show on TV, it is clear that there is no substitute for live performances when it comes to plays, concerts and other shows. Last night<s Tony Awards (and the Moulin Rouge sweep) are evidence of that fact. Fast forward to today and as world slowly opens up (including Broadway), it is clear that “the people” are ready for live performances but at the same time all performing artists are going to have to be nimble in their thinking about how to deliver their product. Luckily there are brilliant people in the arts who are thinking about this issue every day, including Jeffrey Seller who is interviewed in this PODCAST. Here is an excerpt from the PODCAST itself: ”Today Co-host Anna Bernasek is in conversation with Jeffrey Seller, producer of Broadway hits Hamilton, In the Heights, and Rent, about how Broadway and live performances have endured during the past tumultuous year-plus. Hear about: Shutting down, pivoting, then staging a production in Australia during the pandemic • How digital streaming services like Disney+ and Spotify affected demand for performance tickets • Why he created an affordable ticket lottery to increase access to the magic of live, in-person performances • Why he’s still an optimist, but one who’s focused on resilience This conversation was recorded in May 2021”: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-mckinsey-podcast/id285260960?i=1000533192564

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon