Could Ezra and Five Foot Be Exaggerating?

From Ezra's blog, a number repeated again and again throughout the blogosphere:

I'm still thinking about that amazing 600-person town hall meeting in London, Ontario on Monday night.

Paul Berton, explaining why the London Free Press didn't bother to cover the event:

"The event was discussed and considered. It was never actually rejected, but simply didn't make the cut, for reasons, as you have so astutely observed, mostly related to staffing.

"That is not unique. You should know there are dozens of other events each year attended by 300 or more people that we also do not cover, mostly for similar reasons, although space and timing are also factors."

So, how about this as a standard rule-of-thumb: take everything the Ez says and divide by two.

h/t

Note: this is Berton's response to an email complaint. Read the whole thing and you can see that the "300" figure is originally raised by the complainer.

Calling All London Skins!

Shaidle's coming to town, and her fans include this guy, among others. Who knows what other luminaries might show for the show?

In other Shaidle news, the wiki war over her entry seems to be back on; she's non-controversial again, and for some reason one of her admirers wants to add this

I was the first person in my family to finish high school.

...to her bio.

PS. Nice picture of FiveFoot. Looks like she shaved for it.

PPS. This guy says I was wrong about the London City Music Theatre, and that it really is the larger venue (as compared to the Jewish Community Center). Interestingly enough, though, it looks like the theatre has had to drop ticket prices for the event.

PPPS. Secret sources tell me there will be a raffle at the event. 1st prize is a copy of Shaidle's latest book. 2nd prize is a copy of Ezra's latest book. 3rd prize is a copy of both books.