Top 10 Event at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre, all images courtesy of rockitpromo
The third annual Top 10 speaker series took place last Thursday in support of Autism Ontario. The event, founded by motivational speaker and author Stuart Knight, had a simple misssion: to share ten tidbits of knowledge from ten great minds, advice everyone should have before they kick the can. Think of it like a TED Talks. In keeping with the spirit of ten, we asked three of the speakers ten of our own questions to find out what makes them tick. Here are some Standard exclusive interviews with politican Olivia Chow, the ever-fresh Maestro Fresh Wes, and the lovely Linda Lundström, followed by a quick rundown of all ten speeches.
Olivia Chow on diamonds, public transit and the Batmobile
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
I am scared of caves. I used to love caves. I did paintings of caves. Then some day I got scared of caves. Don’t ask me why.
Who, or what, would you want to be reincarnated as?
Kwun Yum: The Goddess of Mercy.
The most life-changing piece of art?
Giacometti’s Public Square.
What do you care about most?
Kids not going to bed hungry
What do you care about least?
Diamonds. Never had one.
What’s something you’re working on?
A National Transit Strategy so we can finally have decent, fast, reliable, affordable public transit.
What motivates you?
Kids going to bed hungry.
Something I have to do before I die?
Go down this beautiful river called the Nahanni. It’s near the arctic. Any of the arctic rivers will do. You have to experience the wilderness.
Who would win in a fight: Superman of Batman?
Batman. Batman all the way. Especially the Batmobile. Superman doesn’t have a Batmobile, does he? Also, I love the look — that darkness that Superman doesn’t have.
If you could ask one question to anyone, what would it be, and to whom?
Stephen Haper: Can you quit please?
Maestro Fresh Wes on Public Enemy, Africa and Malcolm X
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
Based on the lack of understanding of hip hop, people would probably be surprised that I can be deep. I say that based on people having a lack of knowledge on my genre.
Who, or what, would you want to be reincarnated as?
Maybe Tupac’s agent. (Not Tupac? Tupac’s agent.)
The most life-changing piece of art?
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy’s second album. That was easy.
What do you care about most?
My family.
What do you care about least?
Gossip. Trivialities.
What’s something you’re working on?
My brand new album’s about to drop on June 25, Orchestrated Noise .
What motivates you?
Iconic recording artists: Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, the list goes on.
Something I have to do before I die?
I just went to Morocco, and I’d love to go back. So: Go to Africa.
Who would win in a fight: Superman of Batman?
Come on. Clark Kent. They don’t call him the Man of Steel for nothing.
If you could ask one question to anyone, what would it be, and to whom?
I’d ask the U.S. government: Who really shot Malcolm X?
Linda Lundström on First Nations peoples, what she would ask Jesus and all kinds of outfits
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
That I’m a long distance swimmer.
Who, or what, would you want to be reincarnated as?
A back-up singer in a band. Not a lead-singer (too much pressure). I really like the outfits.
The most life-changing piece of art?
Anything by Norval Morrisseau because I grew up in the same town he started painting in, so I witnessed his emergence as an international artist. He was the first Native artist to paint stories of the legends and traditions of the First Nations people.
What do you care about most?
Besides food? My family.
What do you care about least?
Gifts… I don’t need a lot of gifts.
What’s something you’re working on?
I’m building a new house instead of my uninsulated cabin with a woodstove that I’ve been living in for three years.
What motivates you?
Opening doors for First Nations people. I’m really motivated to use my position, my knowledge, and my connections to create ways for First Nations people to have their rightful place in our society and our economy.
Something I have to do before I die?
You have to fail. I’m not just talking about small failures like having a bad hair day, or like having someone break-up with you. I’m talking about something really big — something you really care about. I believe it makes you a better human being. And I speak from personal experience here.
Who would win in a fight: Superman of Batman?
Superman. Because I like his outfit better. Plus, Superman doesn’t cover up his face, and Batman has to hide behind a mask. I trust Superman more.
If you could ask one question to anyone, what would it be, and to whom?
To Jesus: What really happened? What was really going on there? And, where you and Mary Magdalene really married? I really want to know what was going on there. I want to verify the stories.
And here’s a condensed version of all ten speeches.
Oliva Chow on her first love at sixteen
Politician, Nature Lover, Batman enthusiast
The Quote:“I fell madly, passionately in love. I fell in love… with The Canadian wilderness.”
Romeo Dallaire on the ten-ton marshmallow
Canadian Senator, UN Commander in Rwanda, Efficient iPad user
The Quote:“Your right of passage in this extraordinary country… is that you have developing countries where 80% of humanity is trying to survive… go see it, touch it, smell it, feel it. Bring all that back, and influence it”.
Linda Lundström on the F word
Fashion designer, First Nations advocate, Back-Up Singer Wannabe
The Quote: “Failure is a terrible thing to experience. I’m talking about a big fricking failure. It’s an important thing to experience, and when failure knocks on your door, and the time is right, let it in.”
Alison Smith on never forgetting the cream
Journalist, Anchor, Funeral Planner for the Pope
The Quote: “Don’t forget the cream — for the tea and coffee after the funeral.” Her mother, on her deathbed, produced the profound final words.
Wes William a.k.a. Maestro Fresh Wes on jumping around like an idot
Rapper, Actor, Backbone Slider
The Quote: “Stick to your vision. A vision is a forward moving, motiving intention. If you stop moving, your vision’s going to die.”
Deepa Mehta on the two things you can never be sure of
Oscar nominated filmmaker, ‘Brave‘ fanatic
The Quote: “There are two things in life you’ll never know about: one is when you’re going to die, and the other is how a movie’s going to do.”
Bruce Cox on the power of one
Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada, World Savior
The Quote: “You must think from the outside that sounds incredibly arrogant: ‘who are you to save the planet? Who are you to change the world?’ But in fact you’d probably be surprised to know we don’t think we can do it — matter of fact we’re sure that we can’t do it — but we believe that you can.”
Rose Reisman on why Tim Hortons sucks
Nutrition and Wellness Expert, Best-Selling Author, Dogs’ Best Friend
The Quote: “Drop the double-double coffee at Tim Hortons, I beg of you… if you changed to just one cream and one sugar, at the end of 365 days you will have lost 16 pounds.”
Hilary Farr on vanity, and why the other Seven Deadly Sins are awesome
Host of ‘Love it of List it’, Owner of Great English Accent
The Quote: “This is so outside my comfort zone it’s ridiculous. I mean I’m an interior designer… I’m going to give you guys design tips you really, really, really should know before you go?”
Ron James on Rose Reisman was right: Tim Hortons sucks
Funnyman of ‘The Ron James Show’, Often Told He Should be a Professional Comedian
The Quote: “Are we so hungry for icons that we can’t find the authentic ones anymore? Bilge water from the hull of a Russian tanker filtered through a prostitute’s pantyhose would taste good after a couple creams, couple sugars!”
Top Ten will be hitting the country in a nation-wide tour soon, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for any future news.
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Jeremy Schipper is an intern at Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeromeoschipps.
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