Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Mark Breslin
Now is the time for Gulf companies to fix AI foundations
My conversations with business leaders across the GCC follow a familiar script. Budgets are being cut. Payments from clients in Saudi Arabia are slowing or stalling. Global companies with exposure in the region are conserving cash and reducing headcount. Each of these moves is prudent in the narrowest financial sense. None amounts to a strategy for what comes next. This is the default response to unexpected geopolitical shocks: protect cash, reduce exposure, and wait it out.
Gulf gigawatts determine who leads in AI
Opinion Artificial Intelligence The greatest risk is building data centres before baseload generation and transmission are ready The region has genuine strengths if sequencing is disciplined. Sovereign capital allows grid upgrades to proceed independently of private financing cycles In my recent work with a UK engineering firm developing battery systems for data centres, one pattern kept repeating: the grid queue.
The Gulf’s time to seize AI leadership is now
Opinion Artificial Intelligence Deeper collaboration across states could significantly amplify the Gulf's impact The emergence of generative artificial intelligence has prompted a vast wave of global technological experimentation, backed by equally prolific sums of public and private sector investment. This momentum is unfolding at a time of global uncertainty: shifting US foreign policy, rising US-China tensions, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and volatile economic conditions.
Do variation clauses permit the suspension or acceleration of construction works?
A recent TCC decision has found that a variation clause entitled an employer to postpone the commencement of construction work to an unspecified future date. Variation clauses often contain wording permitting the timing of work to be varied, but this appears to be the first time an English court has considered such a provision. The broad interpretation given by the court highlights the risks of including such wording within a variation power.
How Toronto's Lorne Michaels got his start at the CBC long before Saturday Night
The CBC has been responsible for some obscure, under-the-radar comedies that aren’t mentioned in the official Canadian comedy canon. I’m thinking first of Nightcap — arguably the first Canadian topical sketch comedy series, running from 1963 to 1967. Hosted by a very young Al Hamel, on a very limited budget, the show legendarily offended everybody. Although the topics, including Bobby Kennedy, miniskirts and hippies, are dated, the general tone of insolence is not.
Merits now relevant in applications to stay adjudication decisions
Merits now relevant in applications to stay adjudication decisions 23/05/2024 A recent decision from Northern Ireland has proposed a change in the law concerning stays of execution in relation to adjudication decisions by permitting a limited merits-based review as part of the discretion to grant a stay. The judgment proposes a merits-based... Read more Authors Conor Rodgers Associate London Aidan Steensma Of Counsel London Mark Breslin Partner London
Merits now relevant in applications to stay adjudication decisions
A recent decision from Northern Ireland has proposed a change in the law concerning stays of execution in relation to adjudication decisions by permitting a limited merits-based review as part of the discretion to grant a stay. The judgment proposes a merits-based review, firstly, as a threshold requirement for the granting of a stay and, secondly, so that any “clear views” of the merits can be weighed generally in the court’s discretion.
To decide or not to decide: burden of proof findings and subsequent adjudications
16/04/2024 A recent decision of the Scottish Court of Session has considered whether the failure to prove a delay damages claim in one adjudication prevented the claimant from renewing the claim in a subsequent adjudication. In finding that the claim could not be re-adjudicated... Read more
To decide or not to decide: burden of proof findings and subsequent adjudications
A recent decision of the Scottish Court of Session has considered whether the failure to prove a delay damages claim in one adjudication prevented the claimant from renewing the claim in a subsequent adjudication. In finding that the claim could not be re-adjudicated, the Court sought to distinguish a previous TCC decision in England where a failure of proof did not prevent a subsequent adjudication on the same claim.
TCC upholds exclusion of liability for fraudulent breaches of contract
A recent TCC decision has decided that a generally worded exclusion clause was sufficient to exclude liability for fraudulent breaches of contract committed by a party’s employees or the party itself. The Court also concluded that the clause satisfied the reasonableness requirement under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 which applies where commercial parties contract on standard terms.
Do generally worded exclusion clauses cover repudiatory breaches?
A recent decision of the Technology and Construction Court has decided that a broadly worded exclusion clause was sufficient to exclude liability for deliberate repudiatory breaches of contract. In reaching its decision, the Court considered conflicting caselaw as to the need for explicit language to exclude such serious breaches of contract. The Claimant has applied for permission to appeal, potentially allowing the Court of Appeal to provide clarity in this important area of the law.
Serial adjudications: the Court of Appeal provides clarity
Serial adjudications: the Court of Appeal provides clarity 11/08/2023 A recent Court of Appeal judgment has overturned a TCC decision as to whether an adjudicator was bound by a previous adjudication decision as to the existence of Relevant Events justifying an extension of time under the JCT Design and Build form. The adjudicator... Read more Authors Matthew Taylor Partner London Mark Breslin Partner London
Waiver and estoppel in interim payment disputes
Waiver and estoppel in interim payment disputes 23/02/2023 A recent Court of Appeal decision is the first to consider waiver and estoppel arguments in the context of an interim payment application under a construction contract. The case concerned whether an interim payment application had been made validly within contractual... Read more Authors Mark Breslin Partner London Angus Nice Associate London
Waiver and estoppel in interim payment disputes
A recent Court of Appeal decision is the first to consider waiver and estoppel arguments in the context of an interim payment application under a construction contract. The case concerned whether an interim payment application had been made validly within contractual timeframes. The Court concluded that an estoppel was made out and highlighted the regularity with which such issues arise in adjudication enforcement, particularly for “smash and grab” adjudications.
Should I ditch Triple monitor for VR club/tournament racing??
Ok guy's, after 3yrs, and a very 'bitter divorce', moving house etc. I've setup my rig again, but for VR only as I only used it a month prior to the problems. (Nothing to do with the VR .... I think!!) My question is... having spent most of my time previously with AMS, I got excited over AMS2 . However it seems there is little interest in club/tournament racing AND setting up the HUD (so I have tyre/fuel, telemetry etc at the bottom of the screen to ease on creating a setup) is not possible.
Comic rabbi seeks soulful laughs
(Flickr/cosmic_flurk/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/) In a world of multi-position jobs, rabbi/comedian may be a rarity – not unheard of, though. Jackie Mason trained as a cantor before deciding jokes yielded a larger congregation. David Steinberg, the pride of Winnipeg, studied at a yeshivah in Israel before chucking it for high-level laughs in Chicago. And in Los Angeles, comedian/rabbi Bob Alper is a constant presence on the comedy scene.
Adam Sandler, Oscar nominee?
Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems (TIFF photo) Adam Sandler, Oscar nominee. Crazy words, perhaps, but maybe you should get used to hearing them. At the Toronto International Film Festival, and subsequent film festivals, his work in a little film called Uncut Gems wowed critics and audiences alike. Sandler has always been a conundrum for moviegoers. His films are almost always as lazy as the characters he plays, not that there’s much difference among them.
Breslin: Why I brought Louis C.K. back from the dead
Louis C.K. (Flickr/David Shankbone/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Last month, I booked Louis C.K. in my Toronto club for eight shows over five nights. It was the most controversial booking I have ever made, in a history of controversial bookings that have included Sam Kinison, Andrew (Dice) Clay, Timothy Leary and others. Rattling the cage of polite society is part of the job of comics, onstage and off.
Breslin: Mixing high finance and low humour
(Flickr/cosmic_flurk/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/) After more than 40 years in the comedy business, you’ve pretty much seen it all: mostly, it’s people standing in front of a brick wall. Sometimes there’s a contest – “Ooh, who’s the funniest?” Sometimes there’s a theme – black comics, female comics, comics on the left, comics on the right. But rarely do I see a new approach. Enter David Goodman. Born in Montreal, Goodman has lived most of his adult life in Toronto.
Breslin: Mad is dead. What, me worry?
Part of a Mad magazine cover from March 1971 (Jasperdo/Flickr/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/) I have delivered many a eulogy for recently departed comedians, but this may be the first time I’m doing so for a comedy institution. Last month, Mad magazine announced it would be ceasing publication, after 67 continuous years. Along the way, there were Mad paperbacks, Mad records, the Mad TV show, even a Mad Broadway show.
Mel Brooks: The other Jewish comedy legend
Funny Man: Mel Brooks by Patrick McGilligan (HarperCollins) The two great comedian filmmakers of the 1960s and ’70s were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Allen has been the subject of countless books and magazine articles, yet comparatively little has been written about Brooks. Now, along comes Funny Man by Patrick McGilligan, a 600-page tome intended to redress the imbalance. If you ask most people about Brooks, The Producers will immediately come to mind.
Breslin: Can the Holocaust ever be used for humour?
Rachel Feinstein plays Anne Frank in Netflix's controversial episode of Historical Roasts. (Netflix) I am no stranger to offensive comedy. In fact, I usually love it. But I watched something this week on Netflix that made me queasy. Jeff Ross is a Jewish comic from L.A., who is called, with some affection, the “Roastmaster General.” In a comedy roast, a celebrity is made fun of, in a brutal way, by a series of comedians, before getting a chance to turn the tables on his attackers.
TJFF screens vintage Canadian film about comedy
The real reason to watch Funny Farm is to watch the leading comedians of the day. In 1983, a Canadian film Funny Farm was released to little fanfare and even less box office. The movie, written and directed by Ron Clark, is a comedy/drama about the then nascent comedy scene in Los Angeles, but cast entirely with standups from the Canadian comedy scene and shot in Montreal.
The laughs and bombs of Netflix comedies
Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas in The Kominsky Method (Netflix Canada photo) Around New Year’s, Netflix dropped an incredibly ambitious assortment of stand-up specials onto its streaming service – 47 half-hour sets, to be precise. Titled Comedians of the World, the show features stand-ups from 14 different countries performing in their native languages.
So a comedian walks into Rideau Hall and gets a medal
Mark Breslin with Gov.Gen Julie Payette (Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall photo) On Nov 20, 2018, I had one of the proudest moments of my life. I stood on a dais in a beautiful room in Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence in Ottawa, and received the Order of Canada, the highest civilian distinction given in this country. As you can imagine, swaddled in pomp and grandeur, I had a long, dreamlike series of images pass before my eyes.
Saturday night comedy, at its finest
Lorne Michaels (Wikimedia Commons photo) I still do it, and so does my wife – almost every Saturday night. That’s right, we still watch Saturday Night Live. Created in 1975 by Toronto’s Lorne Michaels (nee Lipowitz), the long-running series has been the most potent force in North American comedy over the past 43 years. The show has had more ups and downs than a roller-coaster, but since the ascent of U.S. President Donald Trump, it has been enjoying some of the best reviews in a long time.
Breslin: Comedy should make me laugh
Hannah Gadsby (Netflix Canada photo) A friend recently reminded me I used to joke about opening a chain of tragedy clubs when everyone had grown bored of all the laughter. Watching some recent comedy projects, it seems my prediction may have come true. Comics have always wanted to show their serious side.
New shows take a big leap in depicting standup comedy
I sat watching the recent Emmys with fingers and toes crossed, hoping for my favourite comedy to win, and it did – four times to be precise. If you haven’t seen The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel yet, get a subscription to Amazon Prime, because it’s worth it just for this show. The comedy series is set in 1959 and follows the eponymous Mrs. Maisel as she accidentally becomes a standup comic in NYC following the break-up of her marriage. But the show is more than that.
Comedian finds humour in lesser-known Jewish traditions
I was at Just For Laughs in Montreal last month seeking out great comedy, but also looking for some Jewish inflected humour. There wasn’t a lot – a far cry from decades past when the festival, reflecting the comedy industry in general, was rife with Jewish comics.
How to tackle disputes: Conflict avoidance and ADR
Project disputes can have a devastating effect on the parties involved and their finances, but the industry may be close to breaking through a number of alternatives to adversarial contracting. For decades, the construction industry has struggled to find ways to reduce conflict. Solutions such as standard form contracts covering (almost) every eventuality, a bespoke adjudication procedure and specialist judges and arbitrators serve the industry well.
Joint ventures: What are the risks and how do you avoid them?
Joint ventures offer various benefits and additional resources to all parties involved. But in light of Carillion’s collapse, what can firms do to avoid unnecessary risk when entering into such arrangements? Why do organisations undertake joint ventures? By their very nature, they are inherently risky. You don’t need to look too hard at the industry to see the implications when JVs go wrong. Carillion, the UK’s second-largest contractor by turnover, was put into liquidation in January.
Five new Toronto comics ready for their breakout year in 2018
Toronto continues to turn out some incredible comics. Each year, there are new laughs to be found, and with two elections in one calendar year, we need all the comedy we can get. Here’s my list of the next big things in comedy. Courtney Gilmour There have always been comics with disabilities on the Toronto scene, from the blind Gord Paynter to deaf D.J. Demers. But there has never been anyone quite like Courtney Gilmour.
Mark Breslin reviews all five Grammy-nominated Comedy Albums
I remember back in the day when people would listen to Robert Klein, Woody Allen or my own favourite, Steve Martin’s Let’s Get Small, for an entire hour in a rec room surrounded by friends. Comedy and chill, I think we called it. Comedy albums have had their ups and downs, and lately the tide has turned again as Netflix has become the primary distributor of comedy material. At this year’s Grammy Awards, all five nominees in the Best Comedy Album category are from Netflix specials.
Robert Klein in town for rare concert
I could argue that modern standup comedy was created by seven pioneers of the ’60s and ’70s: Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Don Rickles and Robert Klein. Of these pioneering greats, all are deceased except for Sahl and Klein. Sahl, now 90, no longer works, leaving Klein alone to carry the torch of the founders. Strangely, Klein, who is performing at Massey Hall on Dec. 31, only occasionally lands on these kinds of lists.
Mark Breslin’s guide to Toronto’s six best comedy shows this season
Looking for some big chuckles this fall? — check out these shows. Chris Rock, Air Canada Centre, Nov. 11 Granted, the venue is cavernous and not the best place to see a comic, but there will be big screens and Rock’s even bigger personality to fill the room. Since touring here last, Rock’s gone through a bitter divorce, and his home country has been racked with racial incidents. Can’t wait to hear what he’ll say on both personal and political issues. Carol Burnett, Sony Centre, Oct.
A guide to the 2017 edition of JFL42
JFL42, which now hits our city every late September, has evolved into a greatest hits version of the full-blown Just for Laughs in Montreal. There may only be 42 acts to see, but increasingly they’ve become the 42 acts audiences most want to see. There are gala concerts at the Sony Centre, but if I had to pick just one to see, I’d go for Ali Wong.
Comic Stripped: Jim Carrey’s latest ‘I’m Dying Up Here’ a drama about early days of LA stand-up
I’m Dying Up Here is a new TV drama developed by Toronto native Jim Carrey about the comedy scene in Los Angeles in the mid-’70s. The series is based on a non-fiction book of the same name by William Knoedelseder, which covers the nascent comedy explosion at the famed Comedy Store. The book is populated with characters such as a young David Letterman, a callow Jay Leno, an innocent Garry Shandling and so on. It also paints an acid-edged portrait of Mitzi Shore, the doyenne of the scene.
Second City gala features the legendary Bob and Doug McKenzie
For those of you who’ve been saying you’d give up a body part to see Rick Moranis perform again, it’s time to call your surgeon. You’re going to get your wish, but it will cost you. On July 18, both Moranis and Dave Thomas will reprise their roles as the famous McKenzie brothers in a star-studded gala at Second City (tickets $500 to $2,500).
Turns out comics can be funny and sober, who knew?
The year was 1979. I was onstage at my first Yuk Yuk’s, which had opened a year before, and something was amiss. I was sweating through my jacket; I could hardly put a coherent sentence together; my mind could not keep up with my mouth; or maybe it was the other way around. The audience looked like monstrous vipers, and I was the furthest thing from funny. Of course; I had snorted six long lines of cocaine just before I stepped onstage.
Mark Breslin on the top up-and-coming comedic minds in Toronto
Mayor John Tory has floated the idea that Toronto could be branded as a “music city” with all the great musicians who perform here and the many (though shrinking) live music venues. But the case could equally be made to brand Toronto a “comedy city” with our long history of standup, sketch and improv greats. There’s never been such a proliferation of comic talent. The volume is staggering; the quality equally so. Young, fresh talent is everywhere, in every medium.
Mark Breslin on the top up-and-coming comedic minds in Toronto
Mayor John Tory has floated the idea that Toronto could be branded as a “music city” with all the great musicians who perform here and the many (though shrinking) live music venues. But the case could equally be made to brand Toronto a “comedy city” with our long history of standup, sketch and improv greats. There’s never been such a proliferation of comic talent. The volume is staggering; the quality equally so. Young, fresh talent is everywhere, in every medium.
The Beaverton continues Canadian really fake fake news tradition
There was a poll taken a while back of Saturday Night Live fans, asking them their favourite part of the program. The winner, by far, was Weekend Update, the fake news desk segment in the middle of the show. Many viewers thought it could be lengthened and made into its own show. Now it has been, only it’s produced here in Canada, and it’s called The Beaverton.
Remembering Steve Shuster, a comic’s comic | Toronto Star
RecentlyNorm Macdonald, Brent Butt and other Canadian comedians mourned online over the loss of Toronto’s Steve Shuster, one of the first and best at the birth of the Canadian standup scene in the 1970s. Shuster, whose death at age 66 was announced on March 2, was not destined for TV of movie fame, but his friend Mark Breslin, founder of the Yuk Yuk’s chain, is among his many peers who will never forget him or his comic artistry. A great Toronto comedian passed away last week.
Mark Breslin's Comic Stripped: Funny wife, funny life?
It’s February, the month of Valentine’s Day, and so our hearts turn to thoughts of love and romance. Less so perhaps for comics, who aren’t known for their excesses of sentiment or soft, warm centres. Relationships may be tough to maintain for most of us, but for comedians it’s near impossible. Most are single, some are divorced and a rare few are married with a couple of kids. Rarer still are those comedians married to each other.
Comic Stripped: Just give ’er school of comedy comes of age
Television sitcom Letterkenny is a bona fide Canadian comedy success story. It began a few years ago online and migrated to CraveTV as its first original production. The second season just premiered on Christmas Day with a third underway. The show stars pride of Listowel, Ont., Jared Keeso — who also created the show — as tough-guy hick Wayne, and Toronto’s Michelle Mylett as his little sister Katy. I spoke with Keeso, who created the show. What real town inspired the town of Letterkenny?
Comic Stripped: Gifts for those who love to laugh
It’s the holiday season once again, and that means the eternal hunt for gifts is on. But why waste your money on a scarf no one will wear when you can give the gift of laughter? Here’s my handpicked guide to some of the best mirth-inducing presents you can bestow on your loved ones and frenemies. Books! Yes, they still print ’em! And they make great, inexpensive gifts that look good on a shelf next to your uncle’s bowling trophy.
CBC’s new comedy Kim's Convenience is heartwarming but just not that funny
You can’t miss the billboards if you’re driving downtown: Kim’s Convenience, the new CBC sitcom about a Korean-Canadian family that operates a store in the city. Clearly, the size of billboards shows the high hopes and great pride the CBC takes in its new series. Kim’s Convenience is one of those rare Canadian success stories. It started at the Fringe and with great reviews and a fervid audience, grew into a major theatrical production most notably at Soulpepper.
Brush up on Trump satire before Sunday's presidential debate
At the Second City’s recently opened Come What Mayhem!, there was this delicious blackout: a woman is on a high ledge about to jump. A man crawls out to save her. She explains she just can’t stomach the idea of a President Trump. Then she lists his deplorable policies and campaign statements. Then both the woman and her rescuer jump together. To many people, Trump is a disastrous presidential candidate, but to comedians he is something else: a gift.
Comic Stripped: Top 10 shows at JFL 42, opening tonight
Just For Laughs, the Toronto edition of the legendary Montreal laugh fest, hits town this month for 10 days of standup comedy and 42 comics, beginning Sept. 22. Here’s the list of the 10 shows I’m sure to be at, in case you’re a big comedy fan or want to hand me a subpoena. Maria Bamford: I saw her show in Montreal and was blown away by her loopy eccentricity and offbeat madness.
Industry Voices: A Breakthrough or The Bucket
In the February issue, check out our examination of cloud-based software for the construction industry, Gypsum Association code updates, and important considerations for acoustic ceilings. View More Subscribe
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Mark
Contact Mark, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack