One in five Britons will live to 100

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_britain_centenarians

Toronto Star

And another, in today's Star, by Peter Goddard, here.

Previous press coverage (including a short TV spot) can be seen here.

Globe & Mail

An article in today's Globe and Mail by Gary Michael Dault, here.

Supercentenarians

The Gerontology Research Group is a Los Angeles based group of researchers who track the world's supercentenarians. The term supercentenarian was coined in the seventies to describe someone "well over one hundred years of age", though now refers to anyone who has lived past 110. Ironically, for a group whose central mandate is to verify birth records, their wikipedia page lists the organization as being founded in "either 1990 or 1992".

As of December 31st, 2008, the group is monitoring 91 supercentenarians - 82 women and 9 men. Today that number drops by one, with the death of Maria de Jesus in Portugal, who was born in September 10th, 1893, and was considered to be the world's oldest person. She worked in agriculture from the age of 12, never attended school or learned to read or write. Her daughter told reporters that she was never ill and had never taken medication.

The group now cites American Gertrude Baines, born April 6, 1894, as the world's oldest person.

A Drink To Us (When We're Both Dead) - tomorrow

MKG127 is pleased to host the launch for A Drink To Us (When We're Both Dead), a new edition by Dave Dyment, on Sunday December 21st from 3-6 PM.

Working with the staff at the Glenfiddich Distilleries, Dyment created a reinforced barrel, filled it with uncut spirit and buried it in Warehouse 8, among large stones from the river Fiddich. It will be excavated in 2108. This whisky is being pre-sold now, though it will not be available to drink for 100 years. Buyers will receive an extruded wood casket housed in a linen box, a map of the warehouse, a small diary documenting the process, and a contract to pass on to their descendants, to collect the whisky in a hundred years time. "A Drink To Us (When We're Both Dead" is available in an edition of 25 copies.

A website documenting the project can be seen here.

A representative from Glenfiddich will be on hand at the launch, serving Scotch.

MKG127 is located in Toronto at 127 Ossington Avenue between Queen and Dundas Streets at the NE corner of Ossington Avenue and Argyle Street .
For more information, please contact MKG127@rogers.com or 647-435-7682, or visit www.mkg127.com.

Facebook page is here.

You Don't Really Care For Music, Do You?

You Don't Really Care For Music, Do You?, curated by Catherine Dean and featuring myself, Tony Romano, Alana Riley and Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay closes today. 381 Projects is located at 381 Queen Street West.

A review in Canadian Art can be seen here:

http://www.canadianart.ca/online/see-it/2008/12/18/you-dont/

Henning Christansen, RIP

Last week George Brecht passed away, and this Tuesday another Fluxus composer, Henning Christansen, died after a short suffering of apoplexy, at age 79 in Denmark.

Best known for collaborations with Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik, Christansen remained active throughout his life - he presented a large retrospective exhibition last year in Copenhagen, participated in the Wundergrund music festival last month, and is currently showing at the excellent Gelbe Music in Berlin. A monograph of his work is currently in production and is expected in 2009.