Authored by: Karen Laidlaw on Sunday, September 10 2006 @ 07:17 PM PDT

Oh OK, the Free Press never had the information about Paul Haggis receiving "Celestial City" -- the original collage from artist Philip Aziz.

They also never had the details about where and how long he's staying in London.

I'll be sure and wear a tight-fitting skirt down to city hall and try and catch Paul's eye (flutter, flutter), in order to score an autograph. His wife's back in L.A., right?

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I used to be a chronic complainer. Then Imagine London succeeded in redrawing the ward boundaries and I was born again as a ray of glorious sunshine.

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Authored by: Butch (The Beast) McLarty on Monday, September 11 2006 @ 06:35 PM PDT

Not surprisingly, Haggis admitted this afternoon that he logs onto altlondon about three times a week to find out what's going on in Melonville.

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Goodbye Joe, you gotta go, me oh my oh
You gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
Just like Vaughan, the easiest one, me oh my oh

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Authored by: Karen Laidlaw on Tuesday, September 12 2006 @ 03:10 PM PDT

A stunning omission in the Free Press online photo gallery, Dan Brown's blog and the newspaper reportage, is the complete absence of any mention of Paul Haggis receiving an original piece of art from internationally renowned artist Philip Aziz at city hall yesterday.

Aziz, 83 (who was deemed significant enough by the City of London to have had a street named after him in 2005), presented the art work, Celestial City, to Haggis personally, amid a constellation of flash bulbs and an array of video cameras.

This was a significant part of the affair at city hall yet it has been "airbrushed" out of the event entirely -- a sort of rewriting history by omission.

Given that the underlying purpose of this event was to promote the arts in London and area, the real question is, why did the Free Press wilfully ignore this part of the event?

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Who to vote for? Paid pesticide lobbyist John Matsui and his candidate Joe Fontana or Anne Marie DeCicco who supports a pesticide control by-law?

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Authored by: Karen Laidlaw on Tuesday, September 12 2006 @ 04:42 PM PDT

Even the City's media release on September 11, 2006 mentioned the Aziz work of art for Haggis:

The Corporation of The City of London
September 11, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Paul Haggis Welcomed Back to Hometown

Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter Paul Haggis came out from behind the cameras to visit his hometown today, as he was honoured at a series of events held throughout London, Ontario.

“It’s been absolutely wonderful having Paul home in The Forest City,” said Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best. “Paul stands as a strong symbol of passion and dedication - a fine example of someone who truly follows his heart, and in doing so, he inspires all of us to pursue our own dreams - whatever they may be.”

Haggis began this morning with a visit to Fanshawe College, where it was announced that he will receive a honorary diploma. It was also announced that a scholarship would be established in his name to help students who want to study the arts at Fanshawe.

From there, Haggis toured his old high schools - Catholic Central High School and H.B. Beal Secondary School – meeting with students, old friends and former teachers.

The day culminated at London City Hall where it was announced that a new city park would be named Paul Haggis Park. A nine hectare green space with a four hectare pond, the park is located in the city’s south west end (Wharncliffe and Southdale) area. Development plans include a soccer pitch and baseball diamond, play structure, pathways, benches and trees and a scenic trail around the pond with a lookout.

Haggis was also given a painting, Celestial City, by internationally-acclaimed London artist Philip Aziz. Aziz who has pieces hanging in the Vatican, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York as well as in galleries in Miami, Paris, Washington and Sydney, Australia.

On March 5, 2006, Haggis became the first person in the history of the Academy Awards to write two back-to-back Best Picture Winners, for Crash and the previous year’s winner, Million Dollar Baby. His latest endeavour, The Last Kiss, a new film for which he wrote the screenplay, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this past weekend.
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Who to vote for? Paid pesticide lobbyist John Matsui and his candidate Joe Fontana or Anne Marie DeCicco who supports a pesticide control by-law?

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