Nerd Alert

My favorite author, Chuck Klosterman, discusses Twitter and Facebook with a youtube intellectual. While discussing how facebook, and twitter limit the amount of self reflection, increase our self-centeredness and generally "rot our brains" these two tell four personal stories about themselves in just under 5 minutes. The guy with the internet talkshow (and a turn-table) calls Twit/book "Narcissistic Validation". Wait, is the medium the message?

A Meeting of The Minds

My favorite sports columnist and favorite author/pop-culture enthusiast discuss the death of the newspaper and how they mishandled the internet on this latest B.S. Report.  People have been bemoaning the death of the newspaper and love to romanticize the idea of the newspaper (a line i just stole Chuck Klosterman).  There is a moment where the discussion gets very medium=message when they start talking about people like newspaper because of the experience and the information is almost meaningless.  Their 3 reasons might fit nicely into an essay for a 2nd year university exam.  If you plan on going to school for history 20 years from now this might be a worth while listen.   Their reasons are 1) Craigslist.org 2) Newspapers attempted to compete with the immediacy of the Internet and ended up giving their content away for free  3) Unions (I personally blame it on those damn Newsies!)  

Usually the discussions on this podcast ends up getting a little bogged down in references to 1970's NBA bench players but this time I think they almost stay on topic for the full 45 minutes.  I wish I could have a beer with Chuck Klosterman...I doubt I could keep up and I would probably end up just staring and smiling at him in a very creepy way.  I don't know how he does it but he seems to come up with ingenious analogies on the spot.  His mind seems so nimble but he puts it to use on the most meaningless subjects (read:pop culture).  Please note: I grew my beard before I knew he had a beard!

You can DL it here or find it on iTunes or go to the Sportsguy World

The Power of One....Remote

Well all this complaining on the internet has finally paid off!  Someone out there has read it and said "let's get this guy working for us and the for the people".  I have just received my Television Diary from the good people at BBM.   For those of you who don't know, BBM tabulates television rating for Canada.  They obviously saw what I did here and thought this is a guy who is capable of turning the TV off when there is nothing on and can then turn it right back on when he thinks there is something worth while on TV.  My TV selections will count for literally thousands of households.  

With great power comes great responsibility and tough decisions.  As your voice, I promise to avert my eyes from shows that should not be on TV.  In particular: any show in which the main character converses with ghosts to solve crimes, CSI New York and Las Vegas, Two and A Half Men, shows involving Howie Mandel/the jonas brothers/Donald Trump/the works of Jane Austen/Medicine women/poker and shows that have a panel of judges. 

I know what you're thinking.  It will be a tough 7 days.  I will have to be always mindful of what I am watching and what else is on.  I would hate to be ironically enjoying a CSI Miami while there is a classic Seinfeld episode on somewhere else.  I also have to make sure I catch all the good shows that need my ratings.  

But I think I am uniquely prepared for such a task.  The weekdays should be fairly easy but the weekend is going to be really tough because you really never know what you are going to find. I know what your thinking now and no,  I am not doing this for free!  They sent me a crisp 5 dollar bill with my diary!  I mean sure it'll end up working out to about $0.05/hour but I am happy to do it.  Don't forget, I'm not doing it for myself or for the good people at BBM, I'm doing it for you, the TV watching public.  I'm looking out for your best interests

Slow Month

So, February is a fairly slow month in PEI and I've been having trouble relaying that to you, the faithful reader.  Well, all it took was one look at today's newspaper, The Gaurdian, and it was clear.   This was found on the FRONT PAGE. ABOVE THE FOLD

The banner headline read: Balloons take voyage from U.S. all way to Island.  

The intrigue of the headline that sucks you in soon disappears when you come to the second line

"A balloon bouquet took flight from a person’s 40th birthday party, apparently somewhere in New York, before coming to rest Sunday morning in Greenwich National Park in eastern P.E.I., some 1,500 kilometres away."

Apparently there was a business card attached which put the balloons take off point somewhere on Staten Island.  The Gaurdian went on to ask the tough questions.  “I want to know what the party was like. Was it a big party? Who let the balloons go?. . . It would be cool to know when the balloons were let go.’’

So someone in New York let go of some birthday balloons and proabably forgot about them.  Those balloons landed in rural PEI and were found by a pair of snowshoers.  Those snowshoers thought to themselves: let's call the newspaper.  The newspaper thought: let's send a reporter and a photographer.  Then they decided it was front page material. 

 In unrelated news, Transcontinental, the publisher of the Gaurdian, has announced that it will be cutting 1500 jobs.

What is a four letter word for Diatribe? I have BL_G so far.

I have been waking up to the dulcet tones of CBC Radio 2 for the past several weeks. Half the time they play good stuff have the time it is in french and the other half is Anne Murray. I like this mix because I have found it really hard to get out of bed when there is nothing but good songs (you just want to hear one more song) and it just ruins my morning when I hear awful songs. It seems to work out that I am awoken by a decent song and then forced from bed by either annoying chatter or even worse...Anne Murray. So I wake up on the right side then am out of bed fairly quickly.  In the past two weeks they have been yammering on about the "Barack Obama Playlist". We the listeners are going to select the top 49 songs that define Canada and send it to Obama so that he might have a deeper and richer understanding of the people inhabiting the top bunk of North America.  As if this might somehow change his mind about NAFTA or that maybe Canada might get a shout out in a future speech. Far be it from me to pass judgement on online polls. My mother always says "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all"...wait a minute I have a BLOG. Its my responsibility to get on this soap box and preach to the fringes. I wasn't given this outlet by the good people at the internet so I could keep my opinions to myself!

Now I love playlists and I think they are an excellent way for someone with no discernible artistic talent to be artistic and use other peoples art to send a message. I fancy myself a bit of an expert at this particular faux-art but the more faux-artists that are involved in making a playlist the harder it is to see/hear the message. This CBC playlist (Warning: I am making all of these arguments based on the top 100 list.  The final 49 might not include some or all of the songs I am about to complain about) will inevitably have songs from bands that I hate and am kind of embarrassed about their Canadian citizenship (BTO, The Rankin Family, Trooper, The Guess Who...If I could vote Bauchman off the Island I would).  It will also have songs that should never be used to represent our country or any country for that matter (Crabukit (sp?), Let Your Back Bone Slide, 7 Day Fool...not to be 'hating' on the hip hop crowd but there are probably better songs from each of those artists that could go).  Do you think if America was making a playlist for us (a laughable concept) they would include "MotownPhilly" by Boys II Men or "I Was Made For Loving You" by KISS (only if they were trying to get us on the dance floor at their wicked awesome Retro dance party)? There will also be a few strange songs, for example "Hallelujah" by KD Lang...the song was written and performed by Leonard Cohen...why not just put the original on there? I'm sure it is better and I'm sure Obama is a huge Leonard Cohen fan.   Also, "One Great City" by The Weakerthans is a great song but it is kinda about how Winnipeg sucks (I know someone from Manitoba and he told me so).  And there is gonna be a bunch of french songs.  Thats like getting one of those tattoos in Chinese letters and having the artist assure me it means "Strength and Wisdom" and not "Stupid Tattoo".  Also I don't think Obama speaks french so he'll probably skip them (I'm getting an image of Obama sitting down in the White House after a tough first week with his iPod on and a warm cup of Hot Chocolate or a herbal tea and just diving right into the playlist.  Thinking about each song, taking notes. "Apparently, if Canada had a million dollars they would buy me a fur coat...but not a real fur coat that is cruel...they sound like they need the cash" and "You know what...Superman never made any money...I never thought of it like that...cancel that cheque for 1 million dollars").

Listening to the DJ on Radio 2 gush about the diversity of the talent that Canada produces is beginning to sound like that I AM CANADIAN beer commercial or that Toronto commercial they used to play at Blue Jay games.  Its kinda like when the CFL season starts and TSN is hyping this season as the one when everyone will start recognizing that the Canadain Football League is one of the premier leagues in the world.  You can proclaim yourself the greatest country in the history of civilization for only so long until it sounds like some sort of a government sponsored ego boost meant to compensate for some sort of an inferiority complex. America pats itself on the back a lot but they have been legitimately labeled a super power for about a half century...they can back up the claim.  I'm not saying that Canada doesn't have some really good qualities or that our music scene sucks (There is A LOT of great canadian music and most of it sponsored by the government...unless you have an explitive in your name)  What I am saying is that I really don't like it when patriotism gets all up in your face (unless it is shortly after Team Canada wins a gold medal in some sort of a hockey tournament and especially if they just beat the hatable Americans).  You should be able to come to the conclusion that Canada rocks on your own.  I try to listen to only good music and I am astonished by how much of it is Canadian.  If I listened to only Canadian music (specifically the CBC/Obama playlist) and the only thing I need to know about a song was that it was Canadian, I would probably come to the conclusion that Canadian music is not all that great.

Sometimes you start with a great idea...like a playlist for Obama (ha ha...its still a funny idea to me) and it ends up getting watered down (by other peoples suggestions) and the message gets murkier and murkier until its lost all meaning.  This Blog post is an incredible example of that (medium=message? Canada = #1!).

I just saw a Canadian Independent Film that, in my mind, did patriotism the right way!  The movie is called One Week.  It tells the story of a failed author now english teacher (played by Pacey from Dawson's Creek (Played by Charlie from The Mighty Ducks Quadrilogy (Canada's Joshua Jackson))) who is diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer and is given a slim chance of survival.  In search of one final adventure before he becomes a "patient" he buys a motorcycle and leaves his family and fiance and heads west from Toronto (he also had some time to kill because he was put on waiting list for a hospital bed).  All along the way he stops at every "Worlds Biggest" that he can find.  Considering the subject matter, the movie was fairly light hearted until the end when they really start pulling on the heart strings.  Canada was not the subject of the movie but it was a superb back drop.  The scenic shots, the soundtrack and the cameos were all great and distinctively Canadian. I would entice you with the names of the cameos but the surprise was half the fun.  I will say that they were all playing characters and it was not like "Wow, David Suzuki!  What are you doing here at the worlds largest hockey stick?  Would you like a double-double?".  The whole Canada thing was on the verge of subtle until some German tourists tell the main character, while surfing in Victoria, that Canada is the most beautiful country in the world.  Why don't they come here to Charlottetown in January and say the same thing when the wind chill is running around -35?!?!  That was the only part that didn't quite sit right with me.  It felt tacked on.  Like the government said we'll only give you the funding but you have to get someone to say that Canada is great.  I was convinced...I didn't need some jerk German telling me that.  They didn't need anyone to come in at the end and say: "Road trips on motorcycles are awesome!". I was planning on going on to tell you whether I am pro or con when it comes to motorcycles but I should stop here with this.  I thought the movie was pretty good and made Canada look pretty fantastic (everything west of Toronto at least) and it did it in such a way that I didn't feel like I was watching a propaganda video or a tourism commercial.

After searching for more info I discovered that it does not get released across Canada until March 6th.  I guess Charlottetown is one of those "select cities" I keep hearing so much about.

Next week I will explain why watching Sports Centre's beautifully metric Top Ten plays (decaplay?) every morning makes me a better Canadian and a helps me fully appreciate the virtue of socialized health care

It's Science

As a scientist I am compelled to undertake experiments not for myself but for the greater good of humanity.  A few months ago, right here on this blog, I swore off TV as a waste of time (except for the exceptions).  I took it upon myself as an experiment in the human condition and I learned a lot about myself and the world at large.  For instance, did you know that in 1974, the Cleveland Indians hosted a "Dime Beer Night"  where they sold beer to the fans in Municipal Stadium for $0.10 each.  Unfortunately for the Cleveland Indians they had to forfeit the game because of "unruly" fans (please click the link and read more!).  Who could have seen that coming? In my time without TV I have blogged (NOTE:  linking to your own Blog?  doesn't get much worse than that!), I have read a book, I have read several issues of TIME magazine (not really worth it.  they always seems to be at least 1 week behind the real news), I have explored the world of pet ownership, I have attempted to work out a sabermetrics for my iTunes stats, I have gone car shopping, I have toyed with stop-motion movies (200 views...on the verge of Viral!) and I have taken far too many pictures of Downtown Charlottetown.  It truly has been a rich experience and I feel much better because of it.

But there comes a time in every experiment when you have to compare your results with another set of data.  That time begins NOW (or sometime between 9 am and 1pm)

For some reason the good people at Eastlink Cable have decided I am ready for a paradigm shift.  I'm not sure if they read my blog or if they noticed I wasn't using my cable as much as I used to or maybe I am just a valued customer but they got the message.  Today the "Cable Guy" hooked me up with EVERY channel of digital cable they have!  Now the offer only lasts for two months so I have to maximize my time with it to get proper data.  

Sometime in February, when HBO and TMN and The NHL network and NBC Seattle and Court TV and Much VIBE and BBC Kids fade to black, I will emerge from my cocoon.  Physically, I will be a pale shadow of my former self but mentally, I hypothesize that I will be so thoroughly entertained that I will never have to read a book EVER AGAIN (I will be also getting the Book Channel so I've got that covered)!  Remember, I am not doing it for myself,  I am doing it for you!

"Unfortunately", Christmas is upon us and I will be leaving Charlottetown for 2 weeks and there might be some holes in my data.  I will be in Toronto from Dec 20th - Dec 29th then I'll be heading out to Vancouver for New Years...and then back to Charlottetown.  I hope I get to see all of my readers on my whirlwind tour (this is likely seeing as at least 2/3 of my readers are my mom...Hi Mom! I can say 2/3 because she reads it once and then she calls me and we read it together so she can correct my spelling and grammar and I can explain to her why I think what I wrote was funny.  If my other reader needs an explanation on why I think what I write is funny please let me know!)

Stay tuned here...I have a few other blog worthy topics that I might get out soon.  Also i think  I will trickle out some "Favorite of '08" stuff.

You Can Call Them TNATGDSD For Short.

This is a band I have been holding back on, Thao Nguyen and The Get Down Stay Down.  I was gonna post them probably in my year-in-review extravaganza but then last night on NBC's hit new comedy Kath & Kim (actually pretty funny) I heard one of their songs on in the background.  So i thought I would pass the news along before I they start showing up everywhere so I can take some sort of credit (credit: my friend out in B.C., Jonathan, told me about them if this impresses you and you would like to learn more about him I can put you in touch with him).  I am having a lot of trouble picking just one or two songs so I will post three.  "Beat" is their best song, "Bag of Hammers" is a good one as well and "Geography" makes sense. Their latest release, We Brave Bee Stings and All, is...like amazing and stuff...of the 11 songs I think 5 of them are 4 stars or better (yes, you should be impressed by that...Unless you hate these songs then that stat should probably not impress you and you should really wonder why you are taking musical advice from me).

 

TIME for a Change

When I was in third year university TIME magazine started showing up on our door step with a mysterious name on it.  After a few weeks they started to pile up, I gave in and started reading them.  I look back on this time in life as the time when I was most informed about the world at large (read: America, Iraq, Social Security and The Bush Doctrine and only these topics because that is all they focused on).  Recently I decided that I was out of touch and had to get back in the loop.  I ran back to the tried and true.  I am now 6 issues into my TIME Subscription (with my name on it) and have noticed some changes to the format.  They are using the same philosophy that drives O magazine.  Why put different things on the cover if you can just put the same person on week after week.  Barack Obama is on all 6 covers.

This fact has lead me to the conclusion that Barack Obama will probably be named TIME magazine's Person Of The Year.  I guess he is a worthy choice.  He has accomplished quite a bit in the last year and made a total of 13 covers of the 48 published this year.  With 8 issues left this year I am guessing that, your boy, Barack will be on atleast one more cover (but probably 3 more).  He will join a list that includes some of History's Greatest Monsters.  Some of the highlights from the list include:

Adolph Hitler (1938)

Joseph Stalin (1939 & 1942)

The Baby Boomers (1966)

Richard Nixon (1971 & 1972)

The Computer (1982)

The Endangered Earth (1988...what a scam that was...20 years later and look at it now! Never been better)

Vladimir Putin (2007)

and

You! (2006)

Oh no.  All this talk of Person of the Year just reminded me that I have to do a best '08 list.  Its the most important job any blogger has.  I'm gonna have to start studying now.

In other news, I just watched Quantum of Solace.  If you see one Bond movie this year....Make it this one.  There was almost no dialogue and the story was weak...but man can Paul Hagis write a car chase!  Keep your eye out for the polite Canadian in the denouement.  Way to represent your homeland Paul.  There was that perfect mix of anti-corporation and pro-environment sentiment.  The sort of sentiment that lets you know it was made by a studio that is owned by a multi-national corporation and that the filming of this movie was done all over the world and required explosions and car chases that left a carbon foot print the size of a NASCAR season.

Interesting Link

Hiroshima: the Lost Photographs.

Long story short: Guy walking through a japan city and for some reason is rummaging through peoples garbage. He stumbles upon a suitcase full of black and white photos. he scoops it up and takes it home to see what they are. He figures out that he just found 700 pictures of Hiroshima taken a few days after the US dropped the bomb. A group of Japanese photographers were asked to go through the city and document the destruction. I guess shortly after the these pictures were taken publishing them was outlawed...so they sat in a suitcase in a basement and were recently discovered on the curb.

Here is the short story longer.

Reason to Visit PEI #2: Slow news day

DSC_0395, originally uploaded by mmilway.

So I recently got my bike stolen while in Charlottetown. Being a Toronto kid i assumed that the bike was on some shipping container headed to the far east and i would never see it again...but i went to the cops and they told me to go take a look at the local Cash Converters. There is the front window was my bike being sold for $70 more than what I paid for it! I called the cops they came and justice was served. My bike was returned to me for no charge. The punk who stole it apparently only had to take it 5 blocks from my house and Cash Coverters gave him $50 for his hard work. All in all an interesting story of small town crime.
I'm not so sure it was interesting but its the only story I got and I seem to tell anyone who will listen. So I was shocked to see my story on the FRONT PAGE (below the fold) of the city news paper, The Guardian. Now i have heard of the game broken telephone but this reporter got the story sooo wrong. I imagine he had to puff it up get it published (ya know Senior instead of 20 something and Three wheeler instead of front and rear shocks grand kids instead of nobody) but there was no need to publish that picture of me.

Anyway...this article actually made the front page of the local paper. I lol'd when I saw it.

Reasons to visit PEI #1: How about "Prince Edward Potland"

I've been looking for things in the news that might entice people to come visit Prince Edward Island.  and every now and again this friendly little island makes the big bad scary American news.  The Boston Phoenix has uncovered a burgeoning marijuana industry on the island.  There are some interesting tid-bits in the article, by Alan Earls (two first names?  sounds like an alias.  I wonder what he is trying to hide), about the Island.  For instance PEI doctors have to go down to Baltimore to practice treating gunshot wounds because they are so rare on the Island (when will the Canadian government learn and grant us our human right to bare arms).  Also the island newspaper, The Guardian, claims to "cover Prince Edward Island like the dew".  But all in all I would say that the reason the author wrote the piece, other than to spread xenophobia, was because he wanted to show off his way with words.  He finished the article off with a truly inspired pun: PEI pot is no longer small potatoes.  Bravo Mr. Earls...if that is your real name.