Podunk's municipal election comes a calling in mid November, like all other municipalities in British Columbia, we go to the polls on Saturday, November 19th.
For those that have left Podunk for greener pastures, here's the list of those that wish to be King or Queen.
MAYOR
Only two candidates this time, Mayor Herb Pond seeks another term as captain of the good ship Podunk, having been on the bridge through the years where the place seemed more in tune with the Titanic. During Pond's term of office, the town has seen a rather severe contraction of economic factors. None of which are really his fault and while promises of a better day are made regularly, there still seems an air of what can happen next around here. Perhaps that is why only one other candidate has chosen to challenge Pond.
Gloria Rendell who is employed by the local Credit Union has tossed her hat in the ring in quest for the mayor's chair at City Hall. She's a bit of an unknown quantity, a few years ago she was a joiner as they say, taking on numerous community activities as a way of participating in the city's life. Of late though she has had a rather low profile, it will be interesting to see what she brings to the debate.
Interesting to note is the number of names who did not choose to seek the highest office in Podunk. Former Mayors Don Scott and Jack Mussallem both took a pass, councilor Paul Kennedy not only didn't seek the mayor's office he also chose not to run for council this time. Maynard Angus, who doles out Community Futures monies like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve also expressed no interest in the job. Defeated MLA Bill Belsey took a pass on the job as did the usual collection of local movers and shakers who have always been suspected of seeking the title.
Instead, we are left with the incumbent and one other challenger, whatever does this mean about the state of the city.
The real horse races are at the council table, as eighteen challengers seek six council positions.
COUNCIL RACE (incumbents in Red)
Kathy Bedard, incumbent, the councilor once again seeks to continue her reign at the left hand side of the mayor's chair. Head of the local small business development centre she seems to win election after election, despite not really taking many stands on a number of issues.
Marty Bowles, president of the local BCTF chapter, Bowles will apparently have a bit of time to campaign as his members patrol the picket lines around the city. He launched his campaign about three weeks ago with a number of letters to the editor, the first anyone outside of the BCTF heard of any of his ideas.
Tony Briglio, incumbent, another employee of the Credit Union Briglio is a member of the Northern Health Authority board, his last campaign was based on keeping our community healthy. Read into that making sure the hospital didn't get downsized in any capacity.
Mario Castelli, a former real estate agent (for a brief time) Castelli now drives bus in the city and is heavily involved in the union movement there. He's another unknown quantity, an occasional letter to the editor writer it's not really clear where he stands on a lot of the issues.
Brenda Cook, she has a name everyone seems to recognize but I can't find anyone that actually knows what she does, where she does it or what she believes needs to change with the city.
Ken Cote, incumbent, Cote ran last time as the guy that wanted to change the way City Hall worked, too much mystery, not enough for small business was his stand. Since then he's been part of a group of six that took far too many issues in camera, leaving the citizens wondering what exactly was going on down on Third Avenue. He also doesn't like to be criticized about that too much, as his letters to the editor testify towards.
Danielle Dalton, an employee at the Crest Motor Hotel and a serious joiner in community circles. Dalton is making another attempt to take a seat at the council table. Despite her community activities it's not clear if she'll find the necessary support in the city to make the leap.
Frank DeBartolo, the head of Local four of the PPWC, DeBartolo was frequently in the news as Skeena Cel imploded upon itself and then crashed again when Dan Veniez played his little shell game out at Watson Island. Obviously a labour leader and of that mind it will be interesting to see what kind of vote tally he receives. Especially when you consider the vast majority of his constituents, those of the PPWC have long since moved out of town for other work.
Steve Fitzpatrick, a civic employee if memory serves correct and strong in the union movement and a frequent participant in civic activisim, he ran last time around and came up short. It will be interesting to see the inisights he might have as to the city/city worker situation at the moment.
Sheila Gordon-Payne, a local health care employee, she certainly trumps Briglio in the "healthy community aspect". A strong community person, she has served in the past on the Independent School Council in town, is a member of the well know local family. She has many contacts in the community as is considered a straight shooter. Probably the best bet of the bunch to get elected.
Nelson Kinney, incumbent, everybody's favorite hairdresser, Nelson is back for another shot at glory. His last three years were rather uninspiring. He wasn't heard very often on the bigger issues, as he mainly champions the causes of senior citizens and for that he'll probably be re-elected. As the Randy Travis song goes, "we're gonna love you forever, as long as old ladies, talk about old men".
Gabe McLean, once again Gabe has decided to take his shot. In what seems like the tenth consecutive attempt for office the airport employee and labour rep (if I remember correctly) will seek office. And most likely be back in three years looking for a shot once again.
Mitchell Myers, not much known about him apparently an electrical student at NWCC. Maybe if elected he could fix the lighting at city hall so we could actually see what the heck is going on when they televise the meetings on channel 10.
Erika Rolston, local activist and environmentalist. Has a good network of local lefties that might help get out the vote. Could be a darkhorse possibility.
Jack Rudolph, incumbent, running for council seems to be Jack's thing. Last time he ran he lost out only to rejoin the circle when that goof Scott Randolph left town. Randolph ran for office and then took off for Powell River, instead of a byelection Jack got the tap on the shoulder having the next highest vote total. Probably appropriate anyways, as many suspect that Randolph was elected by seniors who forgot their glasses and couldn't make out the difference between Rudolph and Randolph. Jack spends most of his time talking at Tim Horton's. Probably will get back in, much to his relief.
Lothar Schiese, who the heck is he?
Joy Thorkelson, Union leader of the UFAWU the strongest of unions in the city, Thorkelson is a long time community activist and frequently has banged heads with Mayor Herb. If she can get out the union vote in town she's probably a shoe in.
James Vassallo, another media type that wants to be the story rather than cover the story. Following in the footsteps of the unlamented Scott Randolph, Vassallo is a reporter for the Daily News. Randolph was a reporter for the radio station at the time. History will not repeat itself, Mr. Vassallo will not have to turn down news assignments to cover council, he won't be sitting at the table.
And there you have it the Best and the Brightest? Five incumbents want their seats back, Paul Kennedy having chosen to sit out both the council race and the mayoralty challenge.
There's a very heavy union presence in this years wannabes, which could make for a very fiery council if a few of them get in. At least five of the participants would be considered hard core labour types, giving the debate this time around a bit of life.
My picks for shoe in candidates are Sheila Gordon-Payne and Joy Thorkelson, does that leave Ms. Bedard on the outside looking in? Quite possibly, both of the challengers are strong speakers and well thought of in their constituencies, this could spell the end of Bedards time on council.
It will be interesting to see how the BCTF strike will impact on Bowles candidacy, if the schools are still out by election day there may be a backlash against his union or then again he may reap the benefits of a strong union groundswell, hard to say where his vote will go.
I'm not sure how the Briglio and Cote campaigns will go, at times they took to lecturing the community about how they were here for the good of the town and didn't appreciate the constant criticism of council's machinations. Sorry, but thin skins are not a good thing for a politician, especially in a town where the economy is in a tailspin and the only creative ideas come from the Port Corp, not city hall. The electors may punish these two as well.
The Sunshine Boys, Nelson and Jack may get back in just by being the schmoozers they are, non offensive they just chat up the same old folks day in and day out, if enough of them get to the polls they'll get back in.
So lets see I have Gordon Payne, Thorkelson, Kinney and Rudolph back in office. Leaving me with two more to go. If the Briglio and Cote campaigns tumble then I think that Steve Fitzpatrick may get in, having built a profile last time around. The last choice is a wild card, I'll go with Marty Bowles, the current teacher's dispute is a high profile issue and he's on the front line of that one, priceless in the world of image making.
If I"m correct the labour types will have recaptured a share of council in numbers not seen since Lester and Miller. Could be an interesting time for ole Podunk.
As for mayor, well it would appear we're destined for three more years of Herb!
The votes get counted November 19th, watch this space if anything exciting happens during the campaign.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Readin', Writin' and Protestin'
Victoria was home to the largest protest of the Gordon Campbell era yesterday, a pretty impressive thing considering the animosity directed towards Campbell and his government from organized labour in BC over the last number of years .
Thousands of people marched on the Legislature in support of the British Columbia Teachers Federation and their striking members. Stretching from the Legislature grounds, down the Causeway and past the Empress into the downtown area. The crowd of over10,000 braved the winds and walked in a steady downpour, vociferous and creative in their expressions of anger at the Campbell Liberals.
Now considering the fact that it is a strike by teachers, some of the protest signs were a tad more creative than your run of the mill labour confrontation.
Spotted around the Legislature grounds on Monday were:
"ATTENTION: The Following Bullies should report for Detention, Gordon Campbell, Shirley Bond, Mike DeJong."
"Prince George won't live in Bondage!"
Kill Bill 12!
"An Exorcist is needed in Victoria"
"Drunk with Power (complete with the ever popular Hawaiian Campbell DUI mugshot)"
And then there were those that probably weren't teachers but were there to offer moral support, all be it in need of a refresher course in grammar.
"WE AIN'T GOING AWAY"
With rotating public sector strikes starting today there will be many more opportunities for the labour movement to express themselves. Tuesday saw Northern BC behind picket lines as CUPE members walked off the job to show support for the teachers, closing rec centers, pools, city halls and interrupting garbage collection across the Northern half of the province. Other disruptions are planned for the rest of the week, with Vancouver to be the target of dissent on Friday.
The government meanwhile is busy trying to get the courts to act on the situation in a forceful manner, having named a special prosecutor, Len Doust to explore further charges against the union and union leader Jinny Sims.
For Labour the escalating action is just the beginning, sensing a chance to fight back after taking it on the chin for a number of years, the promise of more demonstrations has been made if the government does not negotiate with the BCTF.
A smart investor would perhaps invest in a supply of bristol board and sharpie markers, a stall outside of the Legislature might be a smart business opportunity for the next little while.
Thousands of people marched on the Legislature in support of the British Columbia Teachers Federation and their striking members. Stretching from the Legislature grounds, down the Causeway and past the Empress into the downtown area. The crowd of over10,000 braved the winds and walked in a steady downpour, vociferous and creative in their expressions of anger at the Campbell Liberals.
Now considering the fact that it is a strike by teachers, some of the protest signs were a tad more creative than your run of the mill labour confrontation.
Spotted around the Legislature grounds on Monday were:
"ATTENTION: The Following Bullies should report for Detention, Gordon Campbell, Shirley Bond, Mike DeJong."
"Prince George won't live in Bondage!"
Kill Bill 12!
"An Exorcist is needed in Victoria"
"Drunk with Power (complete with the ever popular Hawaiian Campbell DUI mugshot)"
And then there were those that probably weren't teachers but were there to offer moral support, all be it in need of a refresher course in grammar.
"WE AIN'T GOING AWAY"
With rotating public sector strikes starting today there will be many more opportunities for the labour movement to express themselves. Tuesday saw Northern BC behind picket lines as CUPE members walked off the job to show support for the teachers, closing rec centers, pools, city halls and interrupting garbage collection across the Northern half of the province. Other disruptions are planned for the rest of the week, with Vancouver to be the target of dissent on Friday.
The government meanwhile is busy trying to get the courts to act on the situation in a forceful manner, having named a special prosecutor, Len Doust to explore further charges against the union and union leader Jinny Sims.
For Labour the escalating action is just the beginning, sensing a chance to fight back after taking it on the chin for a number of years, the promise of more demonstrations has been made if the government does not negotiate with the BCTF.
A smart investor would perhaps invest in a supply of bristol board and sharpie markers, a stall outside of the Legislature might be a smart business opportunity for the next little while.
You've Got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away and know when to run!
Credit Brett Hull with knowing when the time has come. Hull hung up his blades over the weekend, having come to the conclusion that the new NHL was a creature which has passed him by. As Hull put it "the mind was willing, but the body isn't". As the season began, it became apparent that Hull no longer had the wheels to keep up with play, as the new offensive oriented NHL took flight. Imagine his stats had these changes taken place ten years ago. It would have been an amazing sight to see, no clutch and grab, firewagon hockey with Hull as the head fireman!
At an emotional news conference, Hull said his farewells to a game that he loved and one in which he performed to the highest of standards, reaching the number three spot in all time goal scoring. And with a few tears and some rather sage remarks, ends the run of one of the more colourful characters of the NHL.
Hull first made his debut in an NHL uniform in 1986 with the Calgary Flames, at the time he occasionally provided us with glimpses of potential only to be stymied by an occasional lack of a work ethic. A situation that eventually found him out of Alberta and on to America.
Perhaps hindsight in Calgary would suggest that a bit more patience might have gone a long way, for once Hull took his show to the States his legend began to grow. He went on to become one of the main attractions of an NHL which at times seemed to be lacking in showmanship, from St. Louis to Dallas, through Detroit and finishing off with a brief appearance in Phoenix, Hull rewrote record books and spoke out as a conscious for a game that at times seemed to be on the road to ruin.
Outspoken at times, he would from time to time say something that didn't sit well with management or fans for that matter. But what you saw was what you got. A straight shooter (and what a shot eh) who wasn't afraid to speak out, when so many others hid behind the old I was misquoted line.
He earned a bit of animosity from his Canadian fans when he chose to join the Team USA group for world competitions, a situation that went back to his first Team Canada camp when he was unceremoniously told he wasn't wanted. A slight that was never forgotten, Hull in a USA uniform gave more than a bit of credibility to the International aspirations of American Hockey. But perhaps his choice was one of the best things for the game in the still troubled American markets.
At 41, Hull has played a lot of hockey. 1,269 regular season games, 202 playoff contests and countless International matchups. His regular season totals give you an idea about how important he was to his various teams. 741 goals, 650 assists for a total of 1,391 points. Shot totals of 4,876. A performer equally at home on the power play (265 goals) or defending a short handed situation (Short handed goals 20).
The playoffs also gave him the opportunity to shine, 103 goals, 87 assists for 190 playoff points, 784 shots fired for potential game winning situations. A deadly sniper who could end a series with just one shot.
The accolades have been pouring in over the weekend ever since he announced his retirement and most seem to have discovered the talent that was Hull. The true testament to his value to the NHL is the fact that despite having one of the most famous fathers in NHL history, Brett is honored now on his own accomplishments. His father's name merely a passing note in the flood of articles about his storied career.
Brett Hull became his own man in the NHL and now takes his leave from a game that finally seems to be adapting many of the nuances that he had so long clamored for. Beyond his many scoring achievements over the years, Hull's best contribution may have been to make the NHL stand up and take notice about a game that was on a trip to nowhere.
Hopefully as he takes off the skates for the final time there will still be a place for him somewhere in the NHL family. Television would be a natural for the opinionated and thoughtful mind of Brett Hull. Perhaps the league can put him to work examining their latest rule changes and how to make the game even better. It would be a natural fit for a guy that lobbied for change for so long. If nothing else, I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of Old Timer rec league teams that might let him suit up from time to time!
It was a hull of a run for Brett, but all good things truly do come to an end. The skates may be off for good, but here's hoping he still hangs around the rink for many years to come.
The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, fore more items about hockey check it out!
At an emotional news conference, Hull said his farewells to a game that he loved and one in which he performed to the highest of standards, reaching the number three spot in all time goal scoring. And with a few tears and some rather sage remarks, ends the run of one of the more colourful characters of the NHL.
Hull first made his debut in an NHL uniform in 1986 with the Calgary Flames, at the time he occasionally provided us with glimpses of potential only to be stymied by an occasional lack of a work ethic. A situation that eventually found him out of Alberta and on to America.
Perhaps hindsight in Calgary would suggest that a bit more patience might have gone a long way, for once Hull took his show to the States his legend began to grow. He went on to become one of the main attractions of an NHL which at times seemed to be lacking in showmanship, from St. Louis to Dallas, through Detroit and finishing off with a brief appearance in Phoenix, Hull rewrote record books and spoke out as a conscious for a game that at times seemed to be on the road to ruin.
Outspoken at times, he would from time to time say something that didn't sit well with management or fans for that matter. But what you saw was what you got. A straight shooter (and what a shot eh) who wasn't afraid to speak out, when so many others hid behind the old I was misquoted line.
He earned a bit of animosity from his Canadian fans when he chose to join the Team USA group for world competitions, a situation that went back to his first Team Canada camp when he was unceremoniously told he wasn't wanted. A slight that was never forgotten, Hull in a USA uniform gave more than a bit of credibility to the International aspirations of American Hockey. But perhaps his choice was one of the best things for the game in the still troubled American markets.
At 41, Hull has played a lot of hockey. 1,269 regular season games, 202 playoff contests and countless International matchups. His regular season totals give you an idea about how important he was to his various teams. 741 goals, 650 assists for a total of 1,391 points. Shot totals of 4,876. A performer equally at home on the power play (265 goals) or defending a short handed situation (Short handed goals 20).
The playoffs also gave him the opportunity to shine, 103 goals, 87 assists for 190 playoff points, 784 shots fired for potential game winning situations. A deadly sniper who could end a series with just one shot.
The accolades have been pouring in over the weekend ever since he announced his retirement and most seem to have discovered the talent that was Hull. The true testament to his value to the NHL is the fact that despite having one of the most famous fathers in NHL history, Brett is honored now on his own accomplishments. His father's name merely a passing note in the flood of articles about his storied career.
Brett Hull became his own man in the NHL and now takes his leave from a game that finally seems to be adapting many of the nuances that he had so long clamored for. Beyond his many scoring achievements over the years, Hull's best contribution may have been to make the NHL stand up and take notice about a game that was on a trip to nowhere.
Hopefully as he takes off the skates for the final time there will still be a place for him somewhere in the NHL family. Television would be a natural for the opinionated and thoughtful mind of Brett Hull. Perhaps the league can put him to work examining their latest rule changes and how to make the game even better. It would be a natural fit for a guy that lobbied for change for so long. If nothing else, I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of Old Timer rec league teams that might let him suit up from time to time!
It was a hull of a run for Brett, but all good things truly do come to an end. The skates may be off for good, but here's hoping he still hangs around the rink for many years to come.
The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, fore more items about hockey check it out!
You never know who you'll find on the blogsphere
Every once and a while I pay attention to the Blogger home page, making note when those rotating posting things pop up on the screen. You know the ones, they flip over every second beside the Blogs Updated section, offering you a glimpse of somebody else's creations. Sometimes when something catches my interest I click on it and off I go.
Most times I'm impressed, occasionally disappointed, but never really bored which is a good indication as to the talent pool of our little group of fellow travelers in the world of blogs.
Today I stumbled across something in the Blogs of Note section, called The Boy Who heard music. An interesting offering of snippets of life from the word processor of Pete Townshend. Yes, the very same guitar hero of the band The Who. His blog is more of a serialization of a work in progress for him, but it's a fascinating read and a chance to follow along with the project as it heads for a February completion date.
Of equal interest is a glimpse into Townshend's personal section of his blog, his musical interests (there's a steady stream of Canadiana there), his literature choices, movie selections and general interests. They are all offered up for us in his profile.
My little discovery has me anxious to keep on clicking when those blog names flash by, you just never know who else you might meet!
Most times I'm impressed, occasionally disappointed, but never really bored which is a good indication as to the talent pool of our little group of fellow travelers in the world of blogs.
Today I stumbled across something in the Blogs of Note section, called The Boy Who heard music. An interesting offering of snippets of life from the word processor of Pete Townshend. Yes, the very same guitar hero of the band The Who. His blog is more of a serialization of a work in progress for him, but it's a fascinating read and a chance to follow along with the project as it heads for a February completion date.
Of equal interest is a glimpse into Townshend's personal section of his blog, his musical interests (there's a steady stream of Canadiana there), his literature choices, movie selections and general interests. They are all offered up for us in his profile.
My little discovery has me anxious to keep on clicking when those blog names flash by, you just never know who else you might meet!
Monday, October 17, 2005
Radio Free Rafe
Suddenly it has become very quiet on the airwaves of British Columbia. AM 600 and Rafe Mair parted company at 10:30 on Friday morning, as the long time legendary talk show host announced that his program was to come to an end on the Jim Pattison owned station.
Mair joined AM 600 two years ago, bringing his hard edged talk radio style to a very unlikely place, a station better known for Sinatra and Martin (Deano not Paul). His two hour daily gabfest was a completely different direction for the syrupy meanderings of the rest of the on air crew, so it's not particularly surprising that his time there has come to an end.
In an article on the Tyee website, Rafe himself offers up his on air obituary, all be it a temporary one if he has his way. Rafe does a fair amount of patting himself on the back in his farewell address to the listeners, adopting a kind of third person approach to it, suggesting the world is poorer place without a Rafe Mair to shake the trees from time to time.
And taking away a healthy dose of ego, he's probably quite correct. While his shows of late have not been the same energy charged affairs that brought down a Vander Zalm or scared a Glen Clark, he still when motivated could cut through the BS that so often invades the generic talk shows.
Having left CKNW after 19 years under a bit of a cloud of politically incorrect circumstances, he took advantage of the offer at AM 600 to try and recapture some of the early days magic that made him BC's most listened to talk show host, a worthy holder of the torch from Pat Burns and Jack Webster to name two of BC's more famous talkers. He tried, but for whatever reason the audience did not follow him in great enough numbers to keep the show on the air, there are reports that his program did not bring enough advertising dollars in to cover off his 200,000 dollar salary. In a business that is all bottom line his days would have been numbered with each and every billing period.
Bill Good who took over the Mair timeslot at NW, has done a fairly good job of maintaining NW's talk show reputation. His show is informative, challenging and a good fit for the audience. Good is not as confrontational as Mair could be, nor does he seem to latch on to a horse and ride it into the ground. One flaw with the Mair shows over the last few years has been his constant focus on fish farming, which while a very important issue seemed to be Mair's cause celebre. There were too many times a listener would tune in only to hear the same old song dragged out again, Fish Farms are bad. No doubt we get the idea, but there was other news out there and sometimes it got lost in the pursuit of Rafe's personal hobby horse.
He did however rattle cages and with his absence now as he says in his farewell, there will be a gap in the media machine for awhile. He single handedly took on Alcan over the Kemano completion project effectively making him persona non grata in Terrace, though as things have played out he was ahead of the curve on that one. Mair railed on about Alcan's plans to use Kemano energy to sell to the USA, while the Kitimat smelter remained locked in a Charles Dickens' like environment of technology. Ironically someone on the same side of the argument as him now is none other that Bill Vander Zalm. Controversy indeed can make strange bedfellows.
When he left CKNW it seemed very much that the station was in the midst of a mild revolution, his departure was followed about eighteen months later by the retirement of Frosty Forst the long time morning show host on NW and then by the News voice of NW John Ashbridge. The on air anarchy of the morning show at that time gave listeners a bit of a glimpse as to a bit of the animosity of some of the players in the studios, against the bean counters at Corus.
In an earlier article for Tyee, Mair recounted how the industry had changed and not for the better. Many might think of it as sour grapes, but in reality he was only stating his report from the front lines of what must have been a rather nasty civil war inside the station that was the Top Dog.
Stylish to the end, he left the AM 600 studios on Friday with a TV crew recording his final moments on air and his vow to return one day. Dressed to the nines and flashing a smile (maybe a grimace) as he walked out the door of an on air studio, perhaps for the last time. Though he certainly is not leaving to sell pencils on the sidewalks of Vancouver, the conditions of his buyout include a salary until August of 2006. As he quipped to the cameras on his way out the door, you can make a pretty good living on radio station buy outs! Radio Historians can check out the AM 600 archive for his farewell address and his last week of shows, while they keep it up on the website!
While he says he'd like to be back on air by New Year's one wonders where exactly he might fit in. There are not many radio stations at the moment doing anything resembling intelligent talk on the air. NW has a couple of worthwhile adventures on the air at the moment, but a return there is not going to happen. The other two talkers in Vancouver are Mojo and the Team, both catering to the sports audience or the fart joke crowd or both and one in the same, one can't see Mair fitting in at either, plus Corus owns Mojo so that's a non starter to begin with. The CBC wouldn't have a clue what to do with him and anyways the curmudgeon quota at that Noah's Ark of broadcasting called the CBC already has two angry old guys, a dude named Don Cherry and the Newfoundland tiger Rex Murphy, both of whom scare the brass enough on their own.
After that it's voice tracking on hip hop, country or classic rock stations. The possibilities are not great for the talk show veteran, despite Rafe's MacArthur like vow to return. He does have his regular spot at the Tyee, and some readers there have suggested he explore podcasting as a possibility, or maybe the soon to arrive satellite radio revolution may make some room for him, so perhaps he will still be around in some form or another.
If indeed this is the end of the on air road for the man who commanded a legion of listeners for many years, may he take with him, the best wishes of a province of talk show fans for his hard work over the years. He's right, the industry has changed, there may not be room in the bean counter's world for a muckraker, as he self described himself and that is too bad. A good dose of fear every once and while helps keep everyone honest.
If for nothing else, his ability to hold a targets feet to the fire will be missed. He asked the questions many of us wish we could have asked and frequently wouldn't let up until he got us an answer. Guess we'll have to get to work on our own now and look for the answers, he gave us a pretty good road map, should we choose to follow it.
Mair joined AM 600 two years ago, bringing his hard edged talk radio style to a very unlikely place, a station better known for Sinatra and Martin (Deano not Paul). His two hour daily gabfest was a completely different direction for the syrupy meanderings of the rest of the on air crew, so it's not particularly surprising that his time there has come to an end.
In an article on the Tyee website, Rafe himself offers up his on air obituary, all be it a temporary one if he has his way. Rafe does a fair amount of patting himself on the back in his farewell address to the listeners, adopting a kind of third person approach to it, suggesting the world is poorer place without a Rafe Mair to shake the trees from time to time.
And taking away a healthy dose of ego, he's probably quite correct. While his shows of late have not been the same energy charged affairs that brought down a Vander Zalm or scared a Glen Clark, he still when motivated could cut through the BS that so often invades the generic talk shows.
Having left CKNW after 19 years under a bit of a cloud of politically incorrect circumstances, he took advantage of the offer at AM 600 to try and recapture some of the early days magic that made him BC's most listened to talk show host, a worthy holder of the torch from Pat Burns and Jack Webster to name two of BC's more famous talkers. He tried, but for whatever reason the audience did not follow him in great enough numbers to keep the show on the air, there are reports that his program did not bring enough advertising dollars in to cover off his 200,000 dollar salary. In a business that is all bottom line his days would have been numbered with each and every billing period.
Bill Good who took over the Mair timeslot at NW, has done a fairly good job of maintaining NW's talk show reputation. His show is informative, challenging and a good fit for the audience. Good is not as confrontational as Mair could be, nor does he seem to latch on to a horse and ride it into the ground. One flaw with the Mair shows over the last few years has been his constant focus on fish farming, which while a very important issue seemed to be Mair's cause celebre. There were too many times a listener would tune in only to hear the same old song dragged out again, Fish Farms are bad. No doubt we get the idea, but there was other news out there and sometimes it got lost in the pursuit of Rafe's personal hobby horse.
He did however rattle cages and with his absence now as he says in his farewell, there will be a gap in the media machine for awhile. He single handedly took on Alcan over the Kemano completion project effectively making him persona non grata in Terrace, though as things have played out he was ahead of the curve on that one. Mair railed on about Alcan's plans to use Kemano energy to sell to the USA, while the Kitimat smelter remained locked in a Charles Dickens' like environment of technology. Ironically someone on the same side of the argument as him now is none other that Bill Vander Zalm. Controversy indeed can make strange bedfellows.
When he left CKNW it seemed very much that the station was in the midst of a mild revolution, his departure was followed about eighteen months later by the retirement of Frosty Forst the long time morning show host on NW and then by the News voice of NW John Ashbridge. The on air anarchy of the morning show at that time gave listeners a bit of a glimpse as to a bit of the animosity of some of the players in the studios, against the bean counters at Corus.
In an earlier article for Tyee, Mair recounted how the industry had changed and not for the better. Many might think of it as sour grapes, but in reality he was only stating his report from the front lines of what must have been a rather nasty civil war inside the station that was the Top Dog.
Stylish to the end, he left the AM 600 studios on Friday with a TV crew recording his final moments on air and his vow to return one day. Dressed to the nines and flashing a smile (maybe a grimace) as he walked out the door of an on air studio, perhaps for the last time. Though he certainly is not leaving to sell pencils on the sidewalks of Vancouver, the conditions of his buyout include a salary until August of 2006. As he quipped to the cameras on his way out the door, you can make a pretty good living on radio station buy outs! Radio Historians can check out the AM 600 archive for his farewell address and his last week of shows, while they keep it up on the website!
While he says he'd like to be back on air by New Year's one wonders where exactly he might fit in. There are not many radio stations at the moment doing anything resembling intelligent talk on the air. NW has a couple of worthwhile adventures on the air at the moment, but a return there is not going to happen. The other two talkers in Vancouver are Mojo and the Team, both catering to the sports audience or the fart joke crowd or both and one in the same, one can't see Mair fitting in at either, plus Corus owns Mojo so that's a non starter to begin with. The CBC wouldn't have a clue what to do with him and anyways the curmudgeon quota at that Noah's Ark of broadcasting called the CBC already has two angry old guys, a dude named Don Cherry and the Newfoundland tiger Rex Murphy, both of whom scare the brass enough on their own.
After that it's voice tracking on hip hop, country or classic rock stations. The possibilities are not great for the talk show veteran, despite Rafe's MacArthur like vow to return. He does have his regular spot at the Tyee, and some readers there have suggested he explore podcasting as a possibility, or maybe the soon to arrive satellite radio revolution may make some room for him, so perhaps he will still be around in some form or another.
If indeed this is the end of the on air road for the man who commanded a legion of listeners for many years, may he take with him, the best wishes of a province of talk show fans for his hard work over the years. He's right, the industry has changed, there may not be room in the bean counter's world for a muckraker, as he self described himself and that is too bad. A good dose of fear every once and while helps keep everyone honest.
If for nothing else, his ability to hold a targets feet to the fire will be missed. He asked the questions many of us wish we could have asked and frequently wouldn't let up until he got us an answer. Guess we'll have to get to work on our own now and look for the answers, he gave us a pretty good road map, should we choose to follow it.
Jib Jab is back!
Is the US economy getting you a little worried? Wondering if we're all going to spin out of control into an economic day of reckoning? Well sit back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a of an economy losing it's grip!
Yes the folks at Jib Jab are back and with BIG BOX MART they put the whole US economy into perspective as only they can! And you know they seem to have once again nailed things pretty well to the wall.
We used to be the customers, now we're the employees. Sit back and laugh a bit, but then you know you just may want to cry!
Yes the folks at Jib Jab are back and with BIG BOX MART they put the whole US economy into perspective as only they can! And you know they seem to have once again nailed things pretty well to the wall.
We used to be the customers, now we're the employees. Sit back and laugh a bit, but then you know you just may want to cry!
Keeping idle hands occupied
As week number two dawns on the British Columbia Teacher's strike, Monday brings the prospect of a protest march on the BC Legislature in Victoria. With a bit of time on their hands, both teachers and government officials may find that they want to catch up on their reading, music listening and video viewing activities.
We offer up a look into the family rooms of Gordon Campbell, Jinny Sims and Jim Sinclair.
Over at theCampbelll residence it's the collective thoughts of Madam Thatcher, perhaps he'll throw on some leather and pound the air with Judas Priest's You've got another thing coming and then sit back and watch a credo to live by from another famous Gordon.
Madam Sims perhaps has dipped into her collection of labour related epics for guidance, a little protest music to help hold the lines and of course to help keep the faith a look at taking on the world's largest corporation.
Over at the Fed, Jim Sinclair probably is looking at books on how to host the teeming throng soon to arrive, some appropriate music to rally the troops and a movie to to help the troops keep the faith in the darkest hours.
We offer up a look into the family rooms of Gordon Campbell, Jinny Sims and Jim Sinclair.
Over at theCampbelll residence it's the collective thoughts of Madam Thatcher, perhaps he'll throw on some leather and pound the air with Judas Priest's You've got another thing coming and then sit back and watch a credo to live by from another famous Gordon.
Madam Sims perhaps has dipped into her collection of labour related epics for guidance, a little protest music to help hold the lines and of course to help keep the faith a look at taking on the world's largest corporation.
Over at the Fed, Jim Sinclair probably is looking at books on how to host the teeming throng soon to arrive, some appropriate music to rally the troops and a movie to to help the troops keep the faith in the darkest hours.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Class Warfare in British Columbia
One week has now gone by since British Columbia's public school teachers stepped away from their classrooms and onto the front lines of a battle against the agenda of the Gordon Campbell Liberal government.
Originally this was a dispute over salaries, class sizes and special education requirements, but things have quickly moved away from a simple labour dispute, into an almost holy war against a government perceived as intransigent and uncaring. The teachers have found themselves subject to legislation effectively ending their right to bargaining for a collective agreement, the Liberals Bill 12 closed the book on any negotiations before they even began, putting in place the same formula of settlement that many other public service employees have faced that of Zero, Zero and well here's another Zero.
The Liberals who were re-elected with a smaller majority than the last election, but a majority none the less, have been making a habit of taking tough stands with unions, the teachers long a nemesis of Provincial governments of all stripes, Rafe Mair traces the history of teacher/government discord in an article here for Tyee. He coins a rather suitable phrase when he suggests that both sides are like two scorpions in the same bottle. With the decision to ignore the back to work edict and challenge the courts, the teachers must have known that the path they will follow would be one of drama.
The teacher's refusal to return to work, as outlined by their president Jinny Sims, has placed them in contempt of court for their troubles. The government seemingly emboldened by their own get tough rhetoric and proclamation of an illegal strike, has taken to poking the BCTF in the eye. They sent Education Shirley Bond to the microphones, Ms. Bond suggested that any teachers wishing to cross an "illegal picket line" would be helped by a government dedicated to the rule of law. It was an un-necessary comment at the time and only served to make things appear dark at a very dark hour.
On the other side of the silliness table came comments from the Teachers Federation that the public school teachers were involved in the same kind of struggle that the followers of Gandhi or the civil rights activists of the sixties in the USA had to face. Now the dispute currently shutting down the province's public schools may be many things but a life and death struggle for the right to live or combating racism it certainly is not.
Hyperbole apparently is the only two things that the two sides have in common, each offering up charged statements rather than sober debate. Two sides with apparently no common ground rarely find much to discuss, but to be fair to the teachers it is rather hard to negotiate when the other side simply says, that's it, go back to work. Class dismissed.
With the picket lines still up by Wednesday, there were suggestions that on Thursday BC Supreme Court Madam Justice B. Brown would fine the BCTF out of existence in one fell swoop. Instead what was presented was a rather unorthodox ruling for the two sides to ponder. The BCTF has been told that they are not to pay any strike pay for thirty days, refrain from any correspondence regarding the dispute and not accept any funding from third parties to tide them over the thirty days. To keep a handle on things the Courts appointed someone to oversee the terms of the ruling, in effect putting the union into trusteeship for 30 days.
The ruling has galvanized the labour movement in British Columbia, once again threatening to take the unions to the barricades in public protest. The umbrella group of labour unions in BC is the BC Fed, Jim Sinclair who is the leader of the Fed has called for Victoria based unions to assemble in Victoria on Monday morning for a march on the BC Legislature, showing the Campbell government that the line has once again been drawn in the sand.
While Monday may prove to be a pivotal day for labour in BC, it may only be the opening shot in a long battle for hearts and minds in a very over polarized province. Rumors persist that the next step will be rotating shutdowns of unionized worksites across the province, or even a dedicated General Strike to gain the attention of the public to the issues at hand.
Meanwhile, 600,000 British Columbia students find themselves far away from their studies. The students merely pawns in a struggle between two sides, which have painted themselves into two separate corners with no sensible way out.
The Liberals, who seem to be on a Margaret Thatcher like quest to take on unions at every step, may find they have over stepped their allotted powers from the electorate with their desire to eliminate collective bargaining. The public may find it a little uncomfortable to watch as bargaining rights are curtailed by legislation, the need for negotiation apparently an unnecessary aspect of life in BC these days.
Now, one wonders if the Teachers really expected to receive the 15 per cent raises that they were asking, a rather unrealistic figure considering every other public sector union has been saddled with the Zero, Zero mandate. The honest desire for change to funding for class sizes, special education and other necessary things such as library funding and such are issues the public can certainly find sympathy with. However, by refusing to join in on a roundtable organized by the Provincial Government to study the issue, the teachers may find that their claims of concern get washed away by salary demands.
Cynics suggest that the roundtable is only a smokescreen to hide the issues away in the never ending circles of study hell, but by refusing to attend the teachers have stepped away from the high ground in a quest for change.
Monday will bring another day away from the schools, day number eight of what is shaping up to be a nasty, bitter struggle. The issues now moving away from what is best for students and instead turning towards a fight between competing agendas. Another skirmish in the endless battles between left and right in BC.
The government was wrong for eliminating a right to bargain and effectively stripping its citizens of a basic right of citizenship. The teachers are wrong for refusing to obey a return to work order from the courts, despite the advice of their own legal counsel. One is not sure that denying them the right to their strike pay is a good faith decision by the courts either. Finally, we're all wrong for fostering this perpetual Us against Them attitude in a province that has far too many resources than it apparently deserves.
The solution will be hard to find for a situation that has the danger to spin out of control of both the teachers and the government, the rhetoric and intransigence of both sides appears to be sending us to an endless loop, one which we may never get away from. Binding arbitration might offer up an escape from the side of this cliff, Vince Ready is one of Canada's foremost negotiators, over the years he has been the voice of reason when all others have seemingly lost their focus. If ever there was a situation that screams out for his calm and sensible ways this is it!
For the sake of the school children of BC, Mr. Ready should be contacted without delay. These two scorpions need to be seperated and shown some common ground. The terms of his contract would be simple, fix this mess. Fix it fast and fix it for the foreseeable future.
Originally this was a dispute over salaries, class sizes and special education requirements, but things have quickly moved away from a simple labour dispute, into an almost holy war against a government perceived as intransigent and uncaring. The teachers have found themselves subject to legislation effectively ending their right to bargaining for a collective agreement, the Liberals Bill 12 closed the book on any negotiations before they even began, putting in place the same formula of settlement that many other public service employees have faced that of Zero, Zero and well here's another Zero.
The Liberals who were re-elected with a smaller majority than the last election, but a majority none the less, have been making a habit of taking tough stands with unions, the teachers long a nemesis of Provincial governments of all stripes, Rafe Mair traces the history of teacher/government discord in an article here for Tyee. He coins a rather suitable phrase when he suggests that both sides are like two scorpions in the same bottle. With the decision to ignore the back to work edict and challenge the courts, the teachers must have known that the path they will follow would be one of drama.
The teacher's refusal to return to work, as outlined by their president Jinny Sims, has placed them in contempt of court for their troubles. The government seemingly emboldened by their own get tough rhetoric and proclamation of an illegal strike, has taken to poking the BCTF in the eye. They sent Education Shirley Bond to the microphones, Ms. Bond suggested that any teachers wishing to cross an "illegal picket line" would be helped by a government dedicated to the rule of law. It was an un-necessary comment at the time and only served to make things appear dark at a very dark hour.
On the other side of the silliness table came comments from the Teachers Federation that the public school teachers were involved in the same kind of struggle that the followers of Gandhi or the civil rights activists of the sixties in the USA had to face. Now the dispute currently shutting down the province's public schools may be many things but a life and death struggle for the right to live or combating racism it certainly is not.
Hyperbole apparently is the only two things that the two sides have in common, each offering up charged statements rather than sober debate. Two sides with apparently no common ground rarely find much to discuss, but to be fair to the teachers it is rather hard to negotiate when the other side simply says, that's it, go back to work. Class dismissed.
With the picket lines still up by Wednesday, there were suggestions that on Thursday BC Supreme Court Madam Justice B. Brown would fine the BCTF out of existence in one fell swoop. Instead what was presented was a rather unorthodox ruling for the two sides to ponder. The BCTF has been told that they are not to pay any strike pay for thirty days, refrain from any correspondence regarding the dispute and not accept any funding from third parties to tide them over the thirty days. To keep a handle on things the Courts appointed someone to oversee the terms of the ruling, in effect putting the union into trusteeship for 30 days.
The ruling has galvanized the labour movement in British Columbia, once again threatening to take the unions to the barricades in public protest. The umbrella group of labour unions in BC is the BC Fed, Jim Sinclair who is the leader of the Fed has called for Victoria based unions to assemble in Victoria on Monday morning for a march on the BC Legislature, showing the Campbell government that the line has once again been drawn in the sand.
While Monday may prove to be a pivotal day for labour in BC, it may only be the opening shot in a long battle for hearts and minds in a very over polarized province. Rumors persist that the next step will be rotating shutdowns of unionized worksites across the province, or even a dedicated General Strike to gain the attention of the public to the issues at hand.
Meanwhile, 600,000 British Columbia students find themselves far away from their studies. The students merely pawns in a struggle between two sides, which have painted themselves into two separate corners with no sensible way out.
The Liberals, who seem to be on a Margaret Thatcher like quest to take on unions at every step, may find they have over stepped their allotted powers from the electorate with their desire to eliminate collective bargaining. The public may find it a little uncomfortable to watch as bargaining rights are curtailed by legislation, the need for negotiation apparently an unnecessary aspect of life in BC these days.
Now, one wonders if the Teachers really expected to receive the 15 per cent raises that they were asking, a rather unrealistic figure considering every other public sector union has been saddled with the Zero, Zero mandate. The honest desire for change to funding for class sizes, special education and other necessary things such as library funding and such are issues the public can certainly find sympathy with. However, by refusing to join in on a roundtable organized by the Provincial Government to study the issue, the teachers may find that their claims of concern get washed away by salary demands.
Cynics suggest that the roundtable is only a smokescreen to hide the issues away in the never ending circles of study hell, but by refusing to attend the teachers have stepped away from the high ground in a quest for change.
Monday will bring another day away from the schools, day number eight of what is shaping up to be a nasty, bitter struggle. The issues now moving away from what is best for students and instead turning towards a fight between competing agendas. Another skirmish in the endless battles between left and right in BC.
The government was wrong for eliminating a right to bargain and effectively stripping its citizens of a basic right of citizenship. The teachers are wrong for refusing to obey a return to work order from the courts, despite the advice of their own legal counsel. One is not sure that denying them the right to their strike pay is a good faith decision by the courts either. Finally, we're all wrong for fostering this perpetual Us against Them attitude in a province that has far too many resources than it apparently deserves.
The solution will be hard to find for a situation that has the danger to spin out of control of both the teachers and the government, the rhetoric and intransigence of both sides appears to be sending us to an endless loop, one which we may never get away from. Binding arbitration might offer up an escape from the side of this cliff, Vince Ready is one of Canada's foremost negotiators, over the years he has been the voice of reason when all others have seemingly lost their focus. If ever there was a situation that screams out for his calm and sensible ways this is it!
For the sake of the school children of BC, Mr. Ready should be contacted without delay. These two scorpions need to be seperated and shown some common ground. The terms of his contract would be simple, fix this mess. Fix it fast and fix it for the foreseeable future.
Bertuzzi struggles through early games
For Todd Bertuzzi it seems that the idea picking up where he left off is a little bit harder than first thought. When Bertuzzi was reinstated many wondered if he would play a less physical game than the crashing, bashing style that made him famous. Would a misplaced elbow, or a crushing check into the boards land him on the Colin Campbell/Gary Bettman carpets, where banishment is a hammer apparently not spoken, but fully understood.
With a new season underway, thus far there has been a change in the way Bertuzzi seems to play the game. He's tentative on the ice at times, has struggled to find his place in a game that has changed since his infamous night in Vancouver and the "incident". The Bertuzzi presently patrolling the ice for the Canucks is not the same equalizer of past seasons, he doesn't seem to create the space he once did, his passing and shooting have not been particularly sharp and his points so far are not at levels expected. He has taken careless chances with the puck in his own end, been sent to the penalty box for needless penalties far away from the play and generally seems to be playing in a bit of a fog, unsure where to fit himself into the lineup night after night.
The Vancouver Province explores his return with an article here (subscription required, though if you go to Google sports and type in Bertuzzi you find a back door into the story {you're welcome}) The article by Brad Ziemer gives us an interesting glimpse into the road Bertuzzi is presently on.
There is still much residue from that attack on Steve Moore, it would seem that Bertuzzi is now destined to hear the Boobirds at every rink he and the Canucks visit. In many places it would appear that he is now public enemy number one. It will be interesting to see how he handles the attention and the endless questions that he will face. Many believe he should not have been allowed back until Moore was fit to play again, others say he should be banned for life.
While they debate those issues to the last breath, the simple fact is that the NHL has closed the book on the Moore/Bertuzzi incident. Bertuzzi is back on the ice, most likely under the watchful eye of the NHL brass, a situation that could be the genesis of his slow start and uncommon on ice errors. It's only five games into a lengthy season, some in Vancouver are quick to panic, suggesting the best solution would be a trade to the East for Bertuzzi. Personally I don't think that's in the cards, the Canucks have been fairly adamant about keeping a core group together for a run at the Cup. Bertuzzi has always been at the heart of that core, expect the team to give him more than five games to get back into a groove and return to the form that made him the toast of Vancouver at one time.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!
With a new season underway, thus far there has been a change in the way Bertuzzi seems to play the game. He's tentative on the ice at times, has struggled to find his place in a game that has changed since his infamous night in Vancouver and the "incident". The Bertuzzi presently patrolling the ice for the Canucks is not the same equalizer of past seasons, he doesn't seem to create the space he once did, his passing and shooting have not been particularly sharp and his points so far are not at levels expected. He has taken careless chances with the puck in his own end, been sent to the penalty box for needless penalties far away from the play and generally seems to be playing in a bit of a fog, unsure where to fit himself into the lineup night after night.
The Vancouver Province explores his return with an article here (subscription required, though if you go to Google sports and type in Bertuzzi you find a back door into the story {you're welcome}) The article by Brad Ziemer gives us an interesting glimpse into the road Bertuzzi is presently on.
There is still much residue from that attack on Steve Moore, it would seem that Bertuzzi is now destined to hear the Boobirds at every rink he and the Canucks visit. In many places it would appear that he is now public enemy number one. It will be interesting to see how he handles the attention and the endless questions that he will face. Many believe he should not have been allowed back until Moore was fit to play again, others say he should be banned for life.
While they debate those issues to the last breath, the simple fact is that the NHL has closed the book on the Moore/Bertuzzi incident. Bertuzzi is back on the ice, most likely under the watchful eye of the NHL brass, a situation that could be the genesis of his slow start and uncommon on ice errors. It's only five games into a lengthy season, some in Vancouver are quick to panic, suggesting the best solution would be a trade to the East for Bertuzzi. Personally I don't think that's in the cards, the Canucks have been fairly adamant about keeping a core group together for a run at the Cup. Bertuzzi has always been at the heart of that core, expect the team to give him more than five games to get back into a groove and return to the form that made him the toast of Vancouver at one time.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!
Friday, October 14, 2005
Teachers, Gordo and a cartoon
I plan on weighing in on the current teachers dispute in British Columbia shortly, but until I compose my thoughts, I offer up this to tide us all over.
Bob Krieger of the Province, has one of those political cartoons that will stand the test of time in BC.
Bob Krieger of the Province, has one of those political cartoons that will stand the test of time in BC.
Sacrilege
Whatever are they thinking of here, there are some things that just do not need "upgrading" for.
A word of advice free of charge from the far away territories, play with the formula at your peril!
A word of advice free of charge from the far away territories, play with the formula at your peril!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Carry On Crosby
Another Sidney Crosby wardrobe disappearance case has been solved. For the second time in less than a year a Sidney sweater has been found missing from the Crosby family luggage.
This time it was the debut jersey of young Sidney fresh from his first NHL appearance in New Jersey last week. Sidney's Dad Troy had packed the jersey into his luggage Sunday for a trip from Pittsburgh to Buffalo, only to find his luggage partially open upon arrival and the historic sweater missing from the contents of the luggage.
The jersey was found two days later by a US Airways employee who discovered it at the foot of a stairway that is used to load planes. The jersey was placed in the care of a US Airways manager and is now in the process of being returned to the anxious father.
The latest sweater problem brings back memories of last January when a Sidney Crosby Team Canada jersey went missing at Pierre Trudeau Airport in Montreal. An investigation that time determined that a baggage handlers had stolen the sweater to give to his daughter. It wasn't long before the sweater was discovered and returned to Crosby, the baggage handler was fired over the situation.
Sweaters for Sidney seem to find a way of walking away. One piece of advice may help reduce the frequency of theft and perhaps even end it completely. Carry On baggage, no matter how sweat stained it may be, still in sight is the best policy. Either than or wear the things home at night.
The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!.
This time it was the debut jersey of young Sidney fresh from his first NHL appearance in New Jersey last week. Sidney's Dad Troy had packed the jersey into his luggage Sunday for a trip from Pittsburgh to Buffalo, only to find his luggage partially open upon arrival and the historic sweater missing from the contents of the luggage.
The jersey was found two days later by a US Airways employee who discovered it at the foot of a stairway that is used to load planes. The jersey was placed in the care of a US Airways manager and is now in the process of being returned to the anxious father.
The latest sweater problem brings back memories of last January when a Sidney Crosby Team Canada jersey went missing at Pierre Trudeau Airport in Montreal. An investigation that time determined that a baggage handlers had stolen the sweater to give to his daughter. It wasn't long before the sweater was discovered and returned to Crosby, the baggage handler was fired over the situation.
Sweaters for Sidney seem to find a way of walking away. One piece of advice may help reduce the frequency of theft and perhaps even end it completely. Carry On baggage, no matter how sweat stained it may be, still in sight is the best policy. Either than or wear the things home at night.
The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!.
Bud Selig and his crew are doe heads
So what sport in the world has its championship teams down to the final four and schedules them to play head to head?
We work our way through the Divisional finals quite nicely with a double header, even a triple header. Now we get to the League Championship series, the final four teams in quest of the World Series championship and they schedule both the American and National league teams to play at the same time.
Uh, not to make things to complicated for the Bud and the folks at Major League Baseball, but scheduling either early and late games or playing on alternate days might help boost your television viewership.
We work our way through the Divisional finals quite nicely with a double header, even a triple header. Now we get to the League Championship series, the final four teams in quest of the World Series championship and they schedule both the American and National league teams to play at the same time.
Uh, not to make things to complicated for the Bud and the folks at Major League Baseball, but scheduling either early and late games or playing on alternate days might help boost your television viewership.
UNICEF tries a new approach
With Halloween almost upon us, the little orange change boxes for UNICEF will once again be trotted out for your pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies and toonies. It's an age old tradition that goes back to when I went trick or treating back in the day, a few treats for me, a few coins for UNICEF, a few more treats for me.
It was a nice way to feel like you were making a contribution, raising awareness and getting a message of caring for the children of the world out to your neighborhood. But apparently the gentle approach just doesn't cut it anymore.
UNICEF has just released a media campaign to raise awareness that presents a dark and horrid future for the little ones, using the Smurfs those Blue Belgian creatures of cartoon fame, UNICEF goes for the heart with a vignette of death and destruction.
In the commercial currently on the air on Belgian TV (click here to view a version of the ad and get some background), Smurfette is left for dead. Baby Smurf is left crying and orphaned as the Smurf's village is carpet bombed by warplanes. A scene of Apocalyptic horror designed to bring attention to the plight of ex children soldiers. The theme is to highlight the horrors that some children face in places we don't tend to give much thought to.
It certainly is an attention grabber, with little Blue creatures left for dead, others left orphaned destined to wander the forests of Smurfland on their own. Officials at UNICEF claim that the commercial has provided many hits to their official website with Belgians seeking out more information on the UNICEF programs.
I'm not sure if the Smurf campaign will be an effective tool in raising awareness or funds. Sometimes shock value can have the opposite effect on the audience it's designed for. Not to mention that fact that smart ass teens and some parents may not actually mind seeing little blue Smurfs blown to bit.
One thing is certain however, the times have certainly changed. Gone are the mushy feel good spots about making a difference. With the Smurf campaign, UNICEF's fundraising and public awareness has definitely gone down a long and different path from those little orange boxes of my youth.
It was a nice way to feel like you were making a contribution, raising awareness and getting a message of caring for the children of the world out to your neighborhood. But apparently the gentle approach just doesn't cut it anymore.
UNICEF has just released a media campaign to raise awareness that presents a dark and horrid future for the little ones, using the Smurfs those Blue Belgian creatures of cartoon fame, UNICEF goes for the heart with a vignette of death and destruction.
In the commercial currently on the air on Belgian TV (click here to view a version of the ad and get some background), Smurfette is left for dead. Baby Smurf is left crying and orphaned as the Smurf's village is carpet bombed by warplanes. A scene of Apocalyptic horror designed to bring attention to the plight of ex children soldiers. The theme is to highlight the horrors that some children face in places we don't tend to give much thought to.
It certainly is an attention grabber, with little Blue creatures left for dead, others left orphaned destined to wander the forests of Smurfland on their own. Officials at UNICEF claim that the commercial has provided many hits to their official website with Belgians seeking out more information on the UNICEF programs.
I'm not sure if the Smurf campaign will be an effective tool in raising awareness or funds. Sometimes shock value can have the opposite effect on the audience it's designed for. Not to mention that fact that smart ass teens and some parents may not actually mind seeing little blue Smurfs blown to bit.
One thing is certain however, the times have certainly changed. Gone are the mushy feel good spots about making a difference. With the Smurf campaign, UNICEF's fundraising and public awareness has definitely gone down a long and different path from those little orange boxes of my youth.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
With no particular direction to go
Another disaster and yet more questions for Canada's disaster response officials. The weekend earthquakes of Pakistan and India have reportedly claimed over 35,000 lives, left countless hundreds of thousands homeless and changed entire villages forever.
At 7.6 on the scale, this one has been classified as a major event, some thirty aftershocks have rattled the area since the main event of Saturday, reliving the fear for those that survived. A widespread call for assistance has been issued by the Pakistani President and many countries have stepped up to offer aid. And so far Canada has made a lot of noise but little tangible effort. In a replay of the Southeast Asian Tsunami of Boxing Day, another disaster hit on a Canadian Long weekend and that only seems to spell trouble for any kind of comprehensive response by Canada. It seems that everyone is out of the office and no one has the phone numbers to stir the nation to action.
Originally 300,000 dollars was suggested as a sufficient amount to drop in the donation box. Quickly upped to 20 million dollars when the optics became a bit poor on the initial amount. Now 20 million is nothing to sneeze at, it's a generous display of concern even if it appears to have been picked out of thin air in a moment of political panic. Perhaps some officials reminded the government that there were votes to be lost in the homes of Canadians affected by the disasters in their home countries. In fact the Prime Minister is to meet with the Pakistani community in Ontario today to explain what Canada is going to do and express his condolences. Good for him for making that gesture, though I always look for ulterior motives with politicians these days, my cynicism cup runneth over I'm afraid.
While the financial aid will no doubt be welcome and is the least we can do, the real question remains why we never seem to provide boots on the ground as they say. Now keeping in mind that our military forces are rather thin at the moment with other ventures including a rather concentrated effort in Afghanistan, but one must wonder why our much vaunted DART unit never seems to leave home. This dedicated unit to disaster relief would seem tailor made to be sent to areas such as the recent flooding of New Orleans and Mississippi or now this latest disaster, but again the containers stay packed and locked in a compound at some Canadian Armed Forces base.
It seems that we have a transportation problem with our Armed Forces, we don't have the necessary lift potential to take our good intentions to where they need to be placed. We also are rather short staffed when it comes to the actual personnel to go to disaster zones and lend a hand. Consecutive decades of neglect has left our Armed Forces stripped of its ability to respond, this is no criticism of those that serve valiantly, no doubt frustrated at the expectation that the job will get done without the proper backing.
Time and time again our political leaders will trot out the old chestnut that Canada stands ready to take its place in the world, to step up and help when the call comes. Then when we receive the call suddenly the cupboards are bare, the gas tanks empty or the mission not practical. Eventually someone is going to ask just what exactly is an emergency that the DART unit could be used for and what it might take to send it someplace useful in a timely manner.
I'm reminded here of our recent efforts in the Hurricane ravaged Gulf coast, we took longer to get to the disaster zone in travel time than we actually spent doing good deeds. When we arrived there was not much in the way of work for our troops to do. So it was back on the ships and heading north for home as another Hurricane was heading for Texas. Fortunately the damage to Texas wasn't as terrible as expected, yet it could have been much worse. Why our ships weren't placed on station in the Gulf ready to head for stricken ares after the first hurricane is beyond me, there did seem to be enough warning there. Once on station in the Gulf, we could then have gone on to Texas for the next one, we were down there anyways, but instead we were steaming back home. Again this is not to criticize the folks doing the heavy lifting in our Armed Forces they truly want to help, but it seems there is a dis-connect from the will of the troops and the planning and financial contribution of the politicians.
International Co-operation minister Aileen Caroll, was quick to head for the microphones stating that Canada's financial contribution puts us in the lead of the G8 on a per capita basis (a quaint term of bafflegab, that makes us look good cause you know were not the big kid on the block). But she said there were no immediate plans to send DART to Pakistan, however we may send Bill Graham there to take a look for us. I'm sure the folks digging through the rubble are just waiting for Canadian politicians to show up on the scene. Hope he brings a shovel!
Far too often Canada seems to be playing catch up on these things, we tend to scramble to react, rather than take effective and decisive action when its required. The press releases are flying from Ottawa, once again we're leading the world in patting ourselves on the back, while at the same time not exactly breaking our backs with anything resembling tangible labour.
At 7.6 on the scale, this one has been classified as a major event, some thirty aftershocks have rattled the area since the main event of Saturday, reliving the fear for those that survived. A widespread call for assistance has been issued by the Pakistani President and many countries have stepped up to offer aid. And so far Canada has made a lot of noise but little tangible effort. In a replay of the Southeast Asian Tsunami of Boxing Day, another disaster hit on a Canadian Long weekend and that only seems to spell trouble for any kind of comprehensive response by Canada. It seems that everyone is out of the office and no one has the phone numbers to stir the nation to action.
Originally 300,000 dollars was suggested as a sufficient amount to drop in the donation box. Quickly upped to 20 million dollars when the optics became a bit poor on the initial amount. Now 20 million is nothing to sneeze at, it's a generous display of concern even if it appears to have been picked out of thin air in a moment of political panic. Perhaps some officials reminded the government that there were votes to be lost in the homes of Canadians affected by the disasters in their home countries. In fact the Prime Minister is to meet with the Pakistani community in Ontario today to explain what Canada is going to do and express his condolences. Good for him for making that gesture, though I always look for ulterior motives with politicians these days, my cynicism cup runneth over I'm afraid.
While the financial aid will no doubt be welcome and is the least we can do, the real question remains why we never seem to provide boots on the ground as they say. Now keeping in mind that our military forces are rather thin at the moment with other ventures including a rather concentrated effort in Afghanistan, but one must wonder why our much vaunted DART unit never seems to leave home. This dedicated unit to disaster relief would seem tailor made to be sent to areas such as the recent flooding of New Orleans and Mississippi or now this latest disaster, but again the containers stay packed and locked in a compound at some Canadian Armed Forces base.
It seems that we have a transportation problem with our Armed Forces, we don't have the necessary lift potential to take our good intentions to where they need to be placed. We also are rather short staffed when it comes to the actual personnel to go to disaster zones and lend a hand. Consecutive decades of neglect has left our Armed Forces stripped of its ability to respond, this is no criticism of those that serve valiantly, no doubt frustrated at the expectation that the job will get done without the proper backing.
Time and time again our political leaders will trot out the old chestnut that Canada stands ready to take its place in the world, to step up and help when the call comes. Then when we receive the call suddenly the cupboards are bare, the gas tanks empty or the mission not practical. Eventually someone is going to ask just what exactly is an emergency that the DART unit could be used for and what it might take to send it someplace useful in a timely manner.
I'm reminded here of our recent efforts in the Hurricane ravaged Gulf coast, we took longer to get to the disaster zone in travel time than we actually spent doing good deeds. When we arrived there was not much in the way of work for our troops to do. So it was back on the ships and heading north for home as another Hurricane was heading for Texas. Fortunately the damage to Texas wasn't as terrible as expected, yet it could have been much worse. Why our ships weren't placed on station in the Gulf ready to head for stricken ares after the first hurricane is beyond me, there did seem to be enough warning there. Once on station in the Gulf, we could then have gone on to Texas for the next one, we were down there anyways, but instead we were steaming back home. Again this is not to criticize the folks doing the heavy lifting in our Armed Forces they truly want to help, but it seems there is a dis-connect from the will of the troops and the planning and financial contribution of the politicians.
International Co-operation minister Aileen Caroll, was quick to head for the microphones stating that Canada's financial contribution puts us in the lead of the G8 on a per capita basis (a quaint term of bafflegab, that makes us look good cause you know were not the big kid on the block). But she said there were no immediate plans to send DART to Pakistan, however we may send Bill Graham there to take a look for us. I'm sure the folks digging through the rubble are just waiting for Canadian politicians to show up on the scene. Hope he brings a shovel!
Far too often Canada seems to be playing catch up on these things, we tend to scramble to react, rather than take effective and decisive action when its required. The press releases are flying from Ottawa, once again we're leading the world in patting ourselves on the back, while at the same time not exactly breaking our backs with anything resembling tangible labour.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Blinking at the Deathstar
An interesting article in the Globe and Mail (registration required, but its FREE!!) caught my eye today, Canadian broadcasters have asked the CRTC to delay it's review of conventional radio while the industry comes to terms with the new landscape they are working in.
Radio has been tied to the railway tracks for years now, watching the approaching train get ever so close as newer forms of media come along and split the pie that they once had to themselves. Every once and a while the business has a renaissance and then slips back into a comfortable groove, smaller than it once was and significantly further and further away from what once made it an integral part of a community.
The latest threat to your local radio station (according to local radio) is satellite radio, which the industry tried to keep out of Canada in the last few years trotting out the old song that it would cause irreparable damage to Canada's cultural fabric. Somehow confusing local radio commercials and a mandated 30 some odd percent of Canadian music as a glue holding the country together. In fact, the threat to local radio has been local radio itself.
The CRTC found some backbone and stood its ground, granting licenses to operate satellite delivered radio to a couple of major players in the field. Despite the grumbling of the CHUM group which lost out and a bit of cultural sabre rattling from Quebec, the two competing services, Canadian satellite Radio and Sirius Radio are still working on their plans to bring the newest gadget to Canadians in time for Christmas. Some small changes were made to the bids to satiate the parliamentarians on the Hill, but for the most part it seems that the proposals made earlier are still the ones to come to receivers shortly.
Satellite radio is basically niche programming on steroids, numerous formats all delivered with CD like sound, many without the interruption of commercial message. Though others won't be much different than what many in the larger centres have today, except the programming will be available to anyone willing to part with the money for a receiver and a subscription. The key players in this pay radio thing are numerous sports leagues and high profile talents like the much discussed, feared and at times loathed Howard Stern, though to date there's no actual suggestion that the Stern show will be allowed to beam down to fragile Canadian ears. Stern may not make the bandwidth (my bet is he will), but there will be many other options previously never explored in Canadian media.
The whole Sat radio thing seems like a convenient excuse for current broadcasters to shake their fists at the sky and scream Damn CPR or some such current equivalent. They can't get their heads wrapped around the idea that their world has changed and actually changed a while ago. The age of the internet provides anyone with a computer browser, a sound card and a pair of speakers the chance to listen to stations from anywhere in the world. The likes of the BBC, Radio Eire and Radio Australia all put their excellent options on the net. Numerous private stations such as Radio Paradise all stream their programming on the net, easily accessible and quite enjoyable. Sports fans have no shortage of streams to chase down to follow their favorite sport or team. Even the CBC has an internet only service called Radio 3. There's pretty well something for any interest out there if you want to take the time to search it out. Each hour listened to is one hour less that your local station has of your attention. And one less hour that its advertisers will have of your spending potential.
I live in a town with technically four "local" radio stations, a CBC affiliate that kind of broadcasts a morning show from here, though it shares the show with a host 700 kms away in a different city. They touch on local issues, but its a wide region they cover and two and a half hours doesn't give them much time to keep everybody happy (of course the last six weeks or so they've been gone completely, but that's another story.) Our other AM station is supposed to be the local station, however it long ago began broadcasting out of a central studio in a city an hour and a half down the road. They apparently have a local reporter who sometimes provides local stories for the chain and rumours persist that there is a local radio guy in town who goes on the air, but to be truthful I stopped listening a long, long time ago and wouldn't be able to testify that I've heard the guy or gal.
We also have two FM stations in our market both of which also broadcast from another town and only come to our city for remotes, where the station pretends to be part of the community by dropping by some local business for three hours or so. To say we have a thriving local radio station, that is deeply concerned about our community and is tapping the pulse of the place is just not a truth. What we have is a company that comes in here with sales reps and takes commercial dollars away while not serving the community in a very tangible way.
And ours is not the only community with this kind of arrangement. With radio having downsized itself over the last fifteen years, this scenario has repeated itself time and time again across the country. Mother ship studios provide the content for numerous towns, occasionally sending some announcer out on the road to show the flag. Automation has reduced the human contact and bean counting has reduced the visible presence in most towns. The big cities have been able to fight off the concept thus far, though automation has taken root there and recently the simulcasting of "network" shows in local markets has begun to take away blocks of programming from the local market. The best example of this has been a once mighty CKNW which has been a mainstay of Vancouver radio for years, now slowly the Vancouver audience is finding that local issues are being sidestepped for a more "national' vision, as the Charles Adler show took over the 1-3 slot. It's apparently an experiment, but who knows if its not the thin edge of the wedge.
The major and minor players in Canadian radio say that the oncoming rush of satellite radio will fragment the Canadian market, but that Canadians will always want local product. Which is probably quite true, but sadly in many markets it isn't provided. Playing a tight rotation of the same old songs over and over again, utilizing automated voice tracking with no local flavour, reading PSA's as the only local involvement offered up, while airing the odd newscast and running local commercials, is not quite keeping the pulse of the local market. Eventually more and more choice will have listeners voting with their fingers, clicking from pre-set to pre-set looking for something worth listening to.
To go back to my local market for just a bit, Twenty years ago there was more or less a full service radio station here. They had four on air announcers, three news people who found local stories to relay, a sports guy that went out and covered local sports as if he was covering the Lions or the Canucks, commercial copy writers and sales reps that lived in this town and understood the market. Today they're all gone, the station lives on in call letters only, the afore mentioned newsie and possible on air person providing a sliver of content. But to call it a service of local importance would be folly. The difference between that station 20 years ago and what we have now is like night and day.
Now to be fair and upfront the town has gone through a rather severe economic contraction, as near to a depression as any town in Canada, yet there are other markets in similar economic distress that have managed to keep a local comprehensive radio service in business. Our market was abandoned by the chain that owns the license, the news reporter is basically lip service for license maintenance. But that's all ancient history now. Yes some people still listen, but with more and more choices to come, the numbers will continue to erode away as people seek out a more reliable barometer of the local community.
Now about that change, the fear of satellite radio seems rather silly as there is so much more out there now and on the way that will have a much larger impact. Perhaps one day a co-op radio option may arrive in our town, but that's really old time thinking. More likely is some new form of media. I wouldn't want to be banking on anyone under the age of thirty being a dedicated local radio listener here or anywhere, with Ipods that can hold over 1000 songs or more, MP3 players in cars and homes, the idea of waiting for your local radio station to play a song you might like seems like a quaint old tradition. One the old folks harken back to when they talk about the good old days. Podcasting is still in its infancy, but it's making huge gains every day. New podcasts pop up each hour, some good, some awful, but all offer a choice. If local radio continues on its current path, where safe is best and cost cutting is the religion, and the local community is treated as only a vat of revenue then the alternatives will soon find a ready audience.
Even the large cities will not be able to stem the flow of the new media experiments. Satellite radio is really only one small piece of an ever changing spectrum of options. Your average listener may one morning load up their Ipod with a dozen podcasts of their liking, some put together by local guerilla journalists not encumbered by corporate chill. They'll then select a collection of their favourite songs for the day from their own library or download some for ninety nine cents at itunes, maybe download a chapter from an ebook that they have wanted to read, a seminar from a well know speaker or last night's Jon Stewart show or Letterman monologue, the possibilities are endless. Your favourite blogger may have a podcast, perhaps you'll take a half hour of his or her thoughts on the way to work. Click, click, click, your local old media outlet suddenly has no one listening.
Local media will have to compete, but if the last twenty years is any indication they won't really be up to the task. They have taken the easy way out for far too long, taking their audience for granted because the competitive options weren't there. That day has apparently changed forever, no wonder they want a delay of three years for reviewing the industry. The industry of today most likely won't even be in place by the time the CRTC calls its meeting to order.
The stations that today say they aren't worried are only whistling by the graveyard. As the old spiritual goes, People get ready there's a change a comin'.
For the listener it's a day of celebration as they will soon have the power to choose what they want for entertainment and information. For creative folks with something to say, it will be like a revelation, the new era of communication will make your voice heard by more people than you ever thought possible.
But most importantly for those radio and other media outlets that have shown nothing but contempt for their audiences and communities, it's more of a day of reckoning! The train is getting closer, one wonders if they can get off that track one more time? Do they even know how to get off the track? More importantly, do we the listener even care anymore?
Update: As though to re-inforce my point about new technology the folks at Ipod today announced an upgrade to the current Ipod players, this one will offer video, so instead of just listening to your favourite new tune you can view the video to it. Plus, ABC has signed a deal to offer up current episodes of its prime time lineup, the two mentioned in this article, were Desperate Housewives and Lost. Hmmm, Desperate and Lost, two terms that come to mind for certain head in the sand broadcast executives!
Radio has been tied to the railway tracks for years now, watching the approaching train get ever so close as newer forms of media come along and split the pie that they once had to themselves. Every once and a while the business has a renaissance and then slips back into a comfortable groove, smaller than it once was and significantly further and further away from what once made it an integral part of a community.
The latest threat to your local radio station (according to local radio) is satellite radio, which the industry tried to keep out of Canada in the last few years trotting out the old song that it would cause irreparable damage to Canada's cultural fabric. Somehow confusing local radio commercials and a mandated 30 some odd percent of Canadian music as a glue holding the country together. In fact, the threat to local radio has been local radio itself.
The CRTC found some backbone and stood its ground, granting licenses to operate satellite delivered radio to a couple of major players in the field. Despite the grumbling of the CHUM group which lost out and a bit of cultural sabre rattling from Quebec, the two competing services, Canadian satellite Radio and Sirius Radio are still working on their plans to bring the newest gadget to Canadians in time for Christmas. Some small changes were made to the bids to satiate the parliamentarians on the Hill, but for the most part it seems that the proposals made earlier are still the ones to come to receivers shortly.
Satellite radio is basically niche programming on steroids, numerous formats all delivered with CD like sound, many without the interruption of commercial message. Though others won't be much different than what many in the larger centres have today, except the programming will be available to anyone willing to part with the money for a receiver and a subscription. The key players in this pay radio thing are numerous sports leagues and high profile talents like the much discussed, feared and at times loathed Howard Stern, though to date there's no actual suggestion that the Stern show will be allowed to beam down to fragile Canadian ears. Stern may not make the bandwidth (my bet is he will), but there will be many other options previously never explored in Canadian media.
The whole Sat radio thing seems like a convenient excuse for current broadcasters to shake their fists at the sky and scream Damn CPR or some such current equivalent. They can't get their heads wrapped around the idea that their world has changed and actually changed a while ago. The age of the internet provides anyone with a computer browser, a sound card and a pair of speakers the chance to listen to stations from anywhere in the world. The likes of the BBC, Radio Eire and Radio Australia all put their excellent options on the net. Numerous private stations such as Radio Paradise all stream their programming on the net, easily accessible and quite enjoyable. Sports fans have no shortage of streams to chase down to follow their favorite sport or team. Even the CBC has an internet only service called Radio 3. There's pretty well something for any interest out there if you want to take the time to search it out. Each hour listened to is one hour less that your local station has of your attention. And one less hour that its advertisers will have of your spending potential.
I live in a town with technically four "local" radio stations, a CBC affiliate that kind of broadcasts a morning show from here, though it shares the show with a host 700 kms away in a different city. They touch on local issues, but its a wide region they cover and two and a half hours doesn't give them much time to keep everybody happy (of course the last six weeks or so they've been gone completely, but that's another story.) Our other AM station is supposed to be the local station, however it long ago began broadcasting out of a central studio in a city an hour and a half down the road. They apparently have a local reporter who sometimes provides local stories for the chain and rumours persist that there is a local radio guy in town who goes on the air, but to be truthful I stopped listening a long, long time ago and wouldn't be able to testify that I've heard the guy or gal.
We also have two FM stations in our market both of which also broadcast from another town and only come to our city for remotes, where the station pretends to be part of the community by dropping by some local business for three hours or so. To say we have a thriving local radio station, that is deeply concerned about our community and is tapping the pulse of the place is just not a truth. What we have is a company that comes in here with sales reps and takes commercial dollars away while not serving the community in a very tangible way.
And ours is not the only community with this kind of arrangement. With radio having downsized itself over the last fifteen years, this scenario has repeated itself time and time again across the country. Mother ship studios provide the content for numerous towns, occasionally sending some announcer out on the road to show the flag. Automation has reduced the human contact and bean counting has reduced the visible presence in most towns. The big cities have been able to fight off the concept thus far, though automation has taken root there and recently the simulcasting of "network" shows in local markets has begun to take away blocks of programming from the local market. The best example of this has been a once mighty CKNW which has been a mainstay of Vancouver radio for years, now slowly the Vancouver audience is finding that local issues are being sidestepped for a more "national' vision, as the Charles Adler show took over the 1-3 slot. It's apparently an experiment, but who knows if its not the thin edge of the wedge.
The major and minor players in Canadian radio say that the oncoming rush of satellite radio will fragment the Canadian market, but that Canadians will always want local product. Which is probably quite true, but sadly in many markets it isn't provided. Playing a tight rotation of the same old songs over and over again, utilizing automated voice tracking with no local flavour, reading PSA's as the only local involvement offered up, while airing the odd newscast and running local commercials, is not quite keeping the pulse of the local market. Eventually more and more choice will have listeners voting with their fingers, clicking from pre-set to pre-set looking for something worth listening to.
To go back to my local market for just a bit, Twenty years ago there was more or less a full service radio station here. They had four on air announcers, three news people who found local stories to relay, a sports guy that went out and covered local sports as if he was covering the Lions or the Canucks, commercial copy writers and sales reps that lived in this town and understood the market. Today they're all gone, the station lives on in call letters only, the afore mentioned newsie and possible on air person providing a sliver of content. But to call it a service of local importance would be folly. The difference between that station 20 years ago and what we have now is like night and day.
Now to be fair and upfront the town has gone through a rather severe economic contraction, as near to a depression as any town in Canada, yet there are other markets in similar economic distress that have managed to keep a local comprehensive radio service in business. Our market was abandoned by the chain that owns the license, the news reporter is basically lip service for license maintenance. But that's all ancient history now. Yes some people still listen, but with more and more choices to come, the numbers will continue to erode away as people seek out a more reliable barometer of the local community.
Now about that change, the fear of satellite radio seems rather silly as there is so much more out there now and on the way that will have a much larger impact. Perhaps one day a co-op radio option may arrive in our town, but that's really old time thinking. More likely is some new form of media. I wouldn't want to be banking on anyone under the age of thirty being a dedicated local radio listener here or anywhere, with Ipods that can hold over 1000 songs or more, MP3 players in cars and homes, the idea of waiting for your local radio station to play a song you might like seems like a quaint old tradition. One the old folks harken back to when they talk about the good old days. Podcasting is still in its infancy, but it's making huge gains every day. New podcasts pop up each hour, some good, some awful, but all offer a choice. If local radio continues on its current path, where safe is best and cost cutting is the religion, and the local community is treated as only a vat of revenue then the alternatives will soon find a ready audience.
Even the large cities will not be able to stem the flow of the new media experiments. Satellite radio is really only one small piece of an ever changing spectrum of options. Your average listener may one morning load up their Ipod with a dozen podcasts of their liking, some put together by local guerilla journalists not encumbered by corporate chill. They'll then select a collection of their favourite songs for the day from their own library or download some for ninety nine cents at itunes, maybe download a chapter from an ebook that they have wanted to read, a seminar from a well know speaker or last night's Jon Stewart show or Letterman monologue, the possibilities are endless. Your favourite blogger may have a podcast, perhaps you'll take a half hour of his or her thoughts on the way to work. Click, click, click, your local old media outlet suddenly has no one listening.
Local media will have to compete, but if the last twenty years is any indication they won't really be up to the task. They have taken the easy way out for far too long, taking their audience for granted because the competitive options weren't there. That day has apparently changed forever, no wonder they want a delay of three years for reviewing the industry. The industry of today most likely won't even be in place by the time the CRTC calls its meeting to order.
The stations that today say they aren't worried are only whistling by the graveyard. As the old spiritual goes, People get ready there's a change a comin'.
For the listener it's a day of celebration as they will soon have the power to choose what they want for entertainment and information. For creative folks with something to say, it will be like a revelation, the new era of communication will make your voice heard by more people than you ever thought possible.
But most importantly for those radio and other media outlets that have shown nothing but contempt for their audiences and communities, it's more of a day of reckoning! The train is getting closer, one wonders if they can get off that track one more time? Do they even know how to get off the track? More importantly, do we the listener even care anymore?
Update: As though to re-inforce my point about new technology the folks at Ipod today announced an upgrade to the current Ipod players, this one will offer video, so instead of just listening to your favourite new tune you can view the video to it. Plus, ABC has signed a deal to offer up current episodes of its prime time lineup, the two mentioned in this article, were Desperate Housewives and Lost. Hmmm, Desperate and Lost, two terms that come to mind for certain head in the sand broadcast executives!
Happy Thanksgiving
For those of us above the 49th, today is our Thanksgiving, so take time to give thanks for the country we were fortunate to be placed in. While there may be many things we don't like about the governance of the country from time to time, we should never lose track of the Big Picture. There are no doubt millions, perhaps tens of millions that would only wish to live in a land of plenty such as ours. In far too much of the world our freedoms and shared beliefs are just a dream or fantasy belief. Think of how many today wish they could change places with you or I and share in the bounty of this truly blessed land.
We have the right to vote, to earn a wage, to join a union or association of like minded people. Free from tyranny there are no limits on our potential and no chains to hold us in place. For every little nit picking thing we might find about this country, there are far more great things that make us the envy of a good portion of the world. When trouble arrives, for the most part we can counted on to stand up and do the right thing, many times to the detriment of our own self interest.
We should strive to make ourselves better each and every day, but on this day we should take the time to be thankful for what we have and what we can and shall achieve.
Enjoy your turkey with all your trimmings, dive into that pumpkin pie and over indulge in the spirits of the season if you must, but try to remember those that may not be as fortunate and make the step to offer a helping hand. This is the time to celebrate the harvest and to plant the seeds for improvement over the next year. There is always room for improvement, but it won't come unless you and I step up and do our part to make our corner of the world better than it is today.
Send someone your best wishes on this day of food, friends and celebration, a simple click and a few words will help you share the tidings across the nation.
We have the right to vote, to earn a wage, to join a union or association of like minded people. Free from tyranny there are no limits on our potential and no chains to hold us in place. For every little nit picking thing we might find about this country, there are far more great things that make us the envy of a good portion of the world. When trouble arrives, for the most part we can counted on to stand up and do the right thing, many times to the detriment of our own self interest.
We should strive to make ourselves better each and every day, but on this day we should take the time to be thankful for what we have and what we can and shall achieve.
Enjoy your turkey with all your trimmings, dive into that pumpkin pie and over indulge in the spirits of the season if you must, but try to remember those that may not be as fortunate and make the step to offer a helping hand. This is the time to celebrate the harvest and to plant the seeds for improvement over the next year. There is always room for improvement, but it won't come unless you and I step up and do our part to make our corner of the world better than it is today.
Send someone your best wishes on this day of food, friends and celebration, a simple click and a few words will help you share the tidings across the nation.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Marital bliss nailed at the blue line!
With the NHL season officially underway now, reports of hockey widows suddenly being abandoned are becoming more and more common. Rather than Don Cherry, perhaps a second intermission feature with Doctor Phil might help bring the two sides together!
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!
Friday, October 07, 2005
The Gift of Conservatism and other tales
Rick Mercer nails it again, his latest blog entries zing the zingable and bring a chuckle to the poor trodden upon Canadian proletarian (not to be confused with a Rotarian I guess). I've enjoyed his work from the days of 22 minutes, through the highly entertaining Made in Canada and most recently with his Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday whateverdaytheCBC wants Report.
Mixed emotions on his return to TV soon, probably means he won't dedicate as much time to his blog, then again at least it gives us a reason to find our local CBC affilliate in the multi channel universe. God anything please other than the Antiques Road Show.
Check out his tales on entertaining the troops and vexing Valeri!
Mixed emotions on his return to TV soon, probably means he won't dedicate as much time to his blog, then again at least it gives us a reason to find our local CBC affilliate in the multi channel universe. God anything please other than the Antiques Road Show.
Check out his tales on entertaining the troops and vexing Valeri!
The power of the puck
For Canadians weary of the reruns of Coronation Street, Antiques Roadshow and other imported epics from England, the return of the NHL hailed the end of the CBC lock out. With money on the line and a population getting nervous about missing out on the sage meanderings of one Donald S. Cherry, the management of the CBC and the Media Guild have cobbled together an agreement to end the labour dispute.
With days counting down to the debut of a new year of Hockey Night in Canada, the Liberal government brought the two sides together and instructed as to the wisdom of settling their differences, preferably before the puck would drop at 7pm EST on Saturday.
And thus with the power of a puck, Hockey and the rest of regular programming will return to the CBC. No CFL like silent movies for the Hockey fan, it's full programming ahead this Saturday night. CBC management put about a million dollars in the pot to ensure that technicians report to work early to make sure the show goes on as scheduled. Peter Mansbridge and friends can now get back on the payroll, because hockey is back, the risk of losing the single biggest money maker the network has evidently secured a deal.
Seven weeks went by, and while a few folks probably missed their diet of Canadiana, the nation seemed to get by just fine with other options, that is until hockey season started, then we noticed, and with that so did the politicians. Suddenly an agreement was within reach, a settlement arrived and Ron, Don and the rest of the gang are back to work this Saturday.
The power of the puck, it may be mightier than both the sword and the pen!
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more posts about hockey check it out.
With days counting down to the debut of a new year of Hockey Night in Canada, the Liberal government brought the two sides together and instructed as to the wisdom of settling their differences, preferably before the puck would drop at 7pm EST on Saturday.
And thus with the power of a puck, Hockey and the rest of regular programming will return to the CBC. No CFL like silent movies for the Hockey fan, it's full programming ahead this Saturday night. CBC management put about a million dollars in the pot to ensure that technicians report to work early to make sure the show goes on as scheduled. Peter Mansbridge and friends can now get back on the payroll, because hockey is back, the risk of losing the single biggest money maker the network has evidently secured a deal.
Seven weeks went by, and while a few folks probably missed their diet of Canadiana, the nation seemed to get by just fine with other options, that is until hockey season started, then we noticed, and with that so did the politicians. Suddenly an agreement was within reach, a settlement arrived and Ron, Don and the rest of the gang are back to work this Saturday.
The power of the puck, it may be mightier than both the sword and the pen!
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more posts about hockey check it out.
Slowly back to the blog
Hmm, lets fingers on keys, click, click, click, yep words still come out.
Well who knows, I lost my way to the basement and the computer, couldn't put two words together that made sense and just plain ran out of things to say for a while there. It happens from time to time, the need to punch out a few lines just wasn't there. Not sure it's even back yet, but I figured I had better just sit and write for a while before my brain and fingers both atrophied at similar speeds.
And since I'm not getting paid here, figured there was no pressure to meet a deadline, nor any cheques to cash. So for now I'm back, to the dozen or so folks that once and a while browse these pages I'll try to at least make an appearance on a more frequent basis.
Some days I have a dozen things run through my head that might be blogworthy other days nada, zip, not a thing. Seem to have run into a month of that, man I hope that doesn't happen again for awhile. I'd like to say I was so busy with other things that I just couldn't make it to the computer, but that would not be totally honest.
And while in my absence, the world seemed to move along its path quite nicely without me, I'll stick my nose into its affairs from time to time, I hope anyways.
Well who knows, I lost my way to the basement and the computer, couldn't put two words together that made sense and just plain ran out of things to say for a while there. It happens from time to time, the need to punch out a few lines just wasn't there. Not sure it's even back yet, but I figured I had better just sit and write for a while before my brain and fingers both atrophied at similar speeds.
And since I'm not getting paid here, figured there was no pressure to meet a deadline, nor any cheques to cash. So for now I'm back, to the dozen or so folks that once and a while browse these pages I'll try to at least make an appearance on a more frequent basis.
Some days I have a dozen things run through my head that might be blogworthy other days nada, zip, not a thing. Seem to have run into a month of that, man I hope that doesn't happen again for awhile. I'd like to say I was so busy with other things that I just couldn't make it to the computer, but that would not be totally honest.
And while in my absence, the world seemed to move along its path quite nicely without me, I'll stick my nose into its affairs from time to time, I hope anyways.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Flight of the Stumble Bees
There is apparently a fascinating documentary that has just wrapped up on the French and English CBC in Quebec(which is for some reason a distinct society all to its own and thus not embroiled in the current nastiness of the rest of Canada English networks, but I digress), which has raised more than a few questions about just how close Canada came to being Quebec-less in the last referendum of 1995.
Now perhaps this little tempest in a cathode ray aired in English Canada (outside of Quebec), but as I've all but given up watching the CBC whilst the two sides gnash and wail at each other, I'm afraid I'm out of their programming loop. So if it aired, my apologies to the folks at the marketing dept., but if it did air and nobody knew about it I'll take back my apologies and suggest that cost saving measures take place in promotions.
At any rate the Documentary which was called Breaking Point, or Point de Rupture is all the talk in Quebec and suffers the silence of the Lambs in Canada where the CBC has a hard time keeping the Antiques roadshow on the air, let alone translating a controversial program from their French language counterparts. One of the key components of the documentary besides the glaring math that we were less than 40,000 votes away from two nations is the suggestion that the Feds had no back up plan whatsoever. Jean Chretiens' nephew, Raymond, who at the time was the ambassador to the USA from Canada, reminisced about a dinner with his Uncle where he asked for some talking points for the Clinton White House should the Sovereigntists win the day. As Raymond puts it, suddenly I realized that we had no plan B. Apparently realizing what he said and how it sounded to the cameras, he gave a slightly different interpretation for the French language version, which as you can guess ended up on the cutting room floor. The producers preferring to utilize his English version and the drama of a government terribly adrift and incapable of cobbling together a worse case scenario exit plan.
Things were apparently so bad that even a political coup was considered to relieve the beleaguered Chretien from his travails. English Canadian cabinet ministers were concerned that Chretien was incapable of not only winning the referendum but more importantly that there would be no one in place to represent the rest of Canada in the follow up negotiations. It would seem that only Mike Harris (God Help Us!) and Frank McKenna were contemplating how to approach the potential fissures approaching the nation.
But by far, one of the more interesting conspiracy theories floated in the series involves the state of the Canadian Armed Forces and how they would be utilized or tasked in the event of a positive vote for sovereignty. The producers strongly suggest that Federalist forces were so unsure of the outcome of the vote, that they voted with their wings in the days prior to voting day. Effectively removing every CF18 in the province, sending planes out of province from their Bagotville base. In a scenario that kind of reminds me of the early days of the first Gulf War back in 1990, Canadian pilots were according to the producers, apparently moving their planes to South Carolina and Virginia of all places, much like Saddam's ancient warriors headed for Kuwait (or those with poor navigational skills Iran). Of course the idea that Canada was bugging out was quickly quashed by military officials, who stated that in fact, the fighters in question from Bagotville went to the States as part of a pre-arranged military exercise called Hornet's nest. An interesting name for an exercise and indeed just what many of these stories from Breaking Point seem to be stirring as more and more reports come out.
In a province and a nation that seems super sensitive to anything to do with National unity or disunity, the documentary is just another little chapter in the ongoing war of attrition.
However, if there is a suggestion of truth to the idea of moving our assets out of Quebec when times get tough, perhaps the Federalist forces can be a bit more disingenuous next time, if God forbid there is a next time. I suggest that if there is yet another referendum for us to suffer under, we move Sea King helicopters and less than sea worthy Subs INTO Quebec, that should do more than enough to save the day for the Federation!
Now perhaps this little tempest in a cathode ray aired in English Canada (outside of Quebec), but as I've all but given up watching the CBC whilst the two sides gnash and wail at each other, I'm afraid I'm out of their programming loop. So if it aired, my apologies to the folks at the marketing dept., but if it did air and nobody knew about it I'll take back my apologies and suggest that cost saving measures take place in promotions.
At any rate the Documentary which was called Breaking Point, or Point de Rupture is all the talk in Quebec and suffers the silence of the Lambs in Canada where the CBC has a hard time keeping the Antiques roadshow on the air, let alone translating a controversial program from their French language counterparts. One of the key components of the documentary besides the glaring math that we were less than 40,000 votes away from two nations is the suggestion that the Feds had no back up plan whatsoever. Jean Chretiens' nephew, Raymond, who at the time was the ambassador to the USA from Canada, reminisced about a dinner with his Uncle where he asked for some talking points for the Clinton White House should the Sovereigntists win the day. As Raymond puts it, suddenly I realized that we had no plan B. Apparently realizing what he said and how it sounded to the cameras, he gave a slightly different interpretation for the French language version, which as you can guess ended up on the cutting room floor. The producers preferring to utilize his English version and the drama of a government terribly adrift and incapable of cobbling together a worse case scenario exit plan.
Things were apparently so bad that even a political coup was considered to relieve the beleaguered Chretien from his travails. English Canadian cabinet ministers were concerned that Chretien was incapable of not only winning the referendum but more importantly that there would be no one in place to represent the rest of Canada in the follow up negotiations. It would seem that only Mike Harris (God Help Us!) and Frank McKenna were contemplating how to approach the potential fissures approaching the nation.
But by far, one of the more interesting conspiracy theories floated in the series involves the state of the Canadian Armed Forces and how they would be utilized or tasked in the event of a positive vote for sovereignty. The producers strongly suggest that Federalist forces were so unsure of the outcome of the vote, that they voted with their wings in the days prior to voting day. Effectively removing every CF18 in the province, sending planes out of province from their Bagotville base. In a scenario that kind of reminds me of the early days of the first Gulf War back in 1990, Canadian pilots were according to the producers, apparently moving their planes to South Carolina and Virginia of all places, much like Saddam's ancient warriors headed for Kuwait (or those with poor navigational skills Iran). Of course the idea that Canada was bugging out was quickly quashed by military officials, who stated that in fact, the fighters in question from Bagotville went to the States as part of a pre-arranged military exercise called Hornet's nest. An interesting name for an exercise and indeed just what many of these stories from Breaking Point seem to be stirring as more and more reports come out.
In a province and a nation that seems super sensitive to anything to do with National unity or disunity, the documentary is just another little chapter in the ongoing war of attrition.
However, if there is a suggestion of truth to the idea of moving our assets out of Quebec when times get tough, perhaps the Federalist forces can be a bit more disingenuous next time, if God forbid there is a next time. I suggest that if there is yet another referendum for us to suffer under, we move Sea King helicopters and less than sea worthy Subs INTO Quebec, that should do more than enough to save the day for the Federation!
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated
Lots of egg on the face over at CTV Newsnet as the cable news channel which at the moment has the genre all to itself, managed to kill off Lucien Bouchard without the former Premier and Bloc Quebecois king passing away.
As Mike Duffy launched into a wonderful eulogy of Mr. Bouchards contribution to political life, someone whispered into the Duffs ear that uh, ooops, ole Lucy is still around.
CTV then managed to chuckle their way to commercial and went on with their regular dose of endless loop news coverage, edited of course to omit the exit of Bouchard from our mortal coil.
Now to make things worse for the folks at CTV, the crew at Quebec's Radio Canada are livid with them for suggesting that the Death notice was filed by the Quebec broadcaster. Management at Radio Canada say they issued no such advisory today and wonder how exactly CTV managed to screw up so badly.
A fair question no doubt, but even more alarming for the folks at CTV is the idea that they need to scalp news (incorrectly as it turns out) from other media sources and run with the story without in house verification. As things began to hit the fan the finger pointing and harrumphing began in earnest!
Over at the CBC, things were a lot more relaxed and error free. With no actual live programming making its way from the National or Newsworld, countless dozens of Canadians could sit back and enjoy the antiques roadshow uninterrupted.
The public network which is now into day number 26 of the great network lockout managed to avoid embarrassment due to the fact that there's no one around to watch the other channels, let alone to do some reporting of their own.
With CTV looking sheepish these days it's advantage CBC News and they're not even on the air!
As Mike Duffy launched into a wonderful eulogy of Mr. Bouchards contribution to political life, someone whispered into the Duffs ear that uh, ooops, ole Lucy is still around.
CTV then managed to chuckle their way to commercial and went on with their regular dose of endless loop news coverage, edited of course to omit the exit of Bouchard from our mortal coil.
Now to make things worse for the folks at CTV, the crew at Quebec's Radio Canada are livid with them for suggesting that the Death notice was filed by the Quebec broadcaster. Management at Radio Canada say they issued no such advisory today and wonder how exactly CTV managed to screw up so badly.
A fair question no doubt, but even more alarming for the folks at CTV is the idea that they need to scalp news (incorrectly as it turns out) from other media sources and run with the story without in house verification. As things began to hit the fan the finger pointing and harrumphing began in earnest!
Over at the CBC, things were a lot more relaxed and error free. With no actual live programming making its way from the National or Newsworld, countless dozens of Canadians could sit back and enjoy the antiques roadshow uninterrupted.
The public network which is now into day number 26 of the great network lockout managed to avoid embarrassment due to the fact that there's no one around to watch the other channels, let alone to do some reporting of their own.
With CTV looking sheepish these days it's advantage CBC News and they're not even on the air!
Monday, September 05, 2005
Hey Ralphie Boy, they've got their eyes on you!
Good Luck selling this plan to the folks in Alberta!
Man would that be recipe for the de-confederation of the federation! Not to mention an instant jump in the price of gas to the stratosphere as the rest of the country all of a sudden loses it's main supply of the evil fuel!
Suspect if this is a trial balloon it just popped before it got into the air.
Man would that be recipe for the de-confederation of the federation! Not to mention an instant jump in the price of gas to the stratosphere as the rest of the country all of a sudden loses it's main supply of the evil fuel!
Suspect if this is a trial balloon it just popped before it got into the air.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Als hold aces after NFL cuts released
The final cuts from the NFL could stock the Alouettes for years to come. With the NFL rosters about to be set for the start of the season teams made their final cuts of training camp. On the short end of the list were four Canadians, three of whom find themselves on the Montreal negotiating list.
The Alouettes may find that Jesse Palmer's name jumps out at them, the Als who have never really been able to find a suitable insurance policy for Anthony Calvillo, now find Palmer available as the New York Giants let the fourth year Canadian go on Saturday. If ever there is a city that the "bachelor" might find appealing it would be Montreal, perhaps the Als should send him an invitation for a night on the town.
Pass catching could also be a strong suit for the Als as Jerome Paython was issued his release by the Seattle Seahawks, making him the second Canadian released by the Hawks who earlier in camp terminated Jesse Lumsdens NFL experience early.
The purge of Canadians continued in Seattle as Ken Carter a running back from Toronto was informed that the end had come. Carter was mostly used on special teams in Seattle and did not see much action in the backfield. He now can contemplate his football future and should his thoughts turn to Canada he will have to think Montreal, the Als hold his rights as well. The exodus of Canadians from the NFL camps this week makes Als GM Jim Popp probably the most prescient GM in the CFL today!
One other Canadian got his pink on Saturday Brett Romberg a centre with Jacksonville cleaned out his locker and is looking for further football projects, somehow Montreal missed his name as his CFL rights belong to the BC Lions.
Perhaps Wally could give Jim a call and work something out.
The above posting first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about Canadian Football check it out!
The Alouettes may find that Jesse Palmer's name jumps out at them, the Als who have never really been able to find a suitable insurance policy for Anthony Calvillo, now find Palmer available as the New York Giants let the fourth year Canadian go on Saturday. If ever there is a city that the "bachelor" might find appealing it would be Montreal, perhaps the Als should send him an invitation for a night on the town.
Pass catching could also be a strong suit for the Als as Jerome Paython was issued his release by the Seattle Seahawks, making him the second Canadian released by the Hawks who earlier in camp terminated Jesse Lumsdens NFL experience early.
The purge of Canadians continued in Seattle as Ken Carter a running back from Toronto was informed that the end had come. Carter was mostly used on special teams in Seattle and did not see much action in the backfield. He now can contemplate his football future and should his thoughts turn to Canada he will have to think Montreal, the Als hold his rights as well. The exodus of Canadians from the NFL camps this week makes Als GM Jim Popp probably the most prescient GM in the CFL today!
One other Canadian got his pink on Saturday Brett Romberg a centre with Jacksonville cleaned out his locker and is looking for further football projects, somehow Montreal missed his name as his CFL rights belong to the BC Lions.
Perhaps Wally could give Jim a call and work something out.
The above posting first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about Canadian Football check it out!
Friday, September 02, 2005
Voices
It may be a little late in the situation for listening in, but for those that want to get the pulse of the people of Louisiana talk radio seems to be serving the need.
The radio stations of New Orleans and all of Louisiana have combined many of their forces, you can listen in to the reaction of a people seemingly abandoned for the most part. Click the station link below, you may have to download a file and play the station through your media player as the on air link doesn't always work. When you get the station you will hear many emotions, at times the dialogue is fascinating, at times heartbreaking and at times the anger jumps through your speakers and grabs your attention.
http://www.wjbo.com/main.html
A couple of hours later you too may be mad as hell at the promises of help that seem to be not much more than rumours of help!
The radio stations of New Orleans and all of Louisiana have combined many of their forces, you can listen in to the reaction of a people seemingly abandoned for the most part. Click the station link below, you may have to download a file and play the station through your media player as the on air link doesn't always work. When you get the station you will hear many emotions, at times the dialogue is fascinating, at times heartbreaking and at times the anger jumps through your speakers and grabs your attention.
http://www.wjbo.com/main.html
A couple of hours later you too may be mad as hell at the promises of help that seem to be not much more than rumours of help!
Thursday, September 01, 2005
On the nose, on the money
As New Orleans suffers under its fourth day of misery the apparent incompetence or unwillingness of the US gov't to engage in the crisis is staggering. All day watching CNN one heard correspondent after correspondent all but scream (and Anderson Cooper and Jack Cafferty actually did) where the hell is the help. Cafferty especially seemed to reflect the angst of Americans with his well placed anger at those supposedly in charge.
There is no better explanation of the mess that seems to be Homeland Security than this from Slate, there will no doubt be many other editorialists ready to wade in, but this one article from Slate does it in concise and frightening simple terms. It's a must read and should be made compulsory reading for those politicos that spent the day patting themselves on the back and thanking each other for doing what appears to be nothing!
There is no better explanation of the mess that seems to be Homeland Security than this from Slate, there will no doubt be many other editorialists ready to wade in, but this one article from Slate does it in concise and frightening simple terms. It's a must read and should be made compulsory reading for those politicos that spent the day patting themselves on the back and thanking each other for doing what appears to be nothing!
Guess they're sick of her around the house!
When Christy Clark left provincial politics in British Columbia, there wasn't a dry eye in the house, she stepped aside from the daily grind of governance because she wanted more time with her family. She especially was concerned about not being a part of her sons life in ways that she would like. Who couldn't admire her stand to put family ahead of ambition, leaving the highest of positions in government to keep guard on the family home. Priorities that seemed to be right in tune with the times.
That was less than a year ago, so one can only assume that like any parent having spent a summer vacation with the kids enough is enough, it's time to get back to the adult world, well sort of I guess. Clark is coming back, this time as a candidate for mayor in Vancouver, the apparent penultimate launching pad for those that would be Premier one day. Having put in some part time work in that other political launching (or is that landing pad) of talk radio, Clark has kept a pretty high profile of late for someone looking to spend time with the family/
Ms. Clark has tossed her hat in the ring with the NPA as candidate to replace the Senate bound Larry Campbell, a guy that she apparently really, really respects. As Clark said "if Larry was staying on as mayor I wouldn't be running".
But Larry isn't running for mayor, he's running towards the Senate in Ottawa, perhaps urged on by Clark's husband, Mark Marrisen who is a political fixer in BC for Prime Minister Paul Martin. Interesting possibilities that one offers up, hubby puts a bug in the PM's ear, PM offers the mayor the Senate and Christy steps in to fill the void at City Hall. Considering the many branches of the Clarks into the Liberals it's easy to see how Conspiracy theories can run like water here.
What remains to be seen is how the folks in Vancouver will react to Ms. Clark's candidacy, considering her current residence is in the burbs of Port Moody and nowhere near the neighborhoods Vancouverites call home.
Will she be running for the long haul? Or merely as a stepping stone to the job many pundits feel she truly wants that of Premier of British Columbia. She's a smart student of BC History and the last few occupants of the Premiers office have begun their path to Victoria through the electoral process of the Vancouver mayoralty.
She will make the race for mayor a much more interesting affair than what was shaping up, but she brings with her some serious baggage from her days in the Gordon Campbell cabinet, her battles with the teachers and the events in Humans services will find her facing some serious opposition in the bare knuckle ridings of Vancouver.
She's a high profile candidate no doubt, but will she have both eyes on the job at hand should be successful or will she be keeping an eye on the career path of Gordon Campbell, how she answers that question could go a long way as to whether she'll be back to being a stay at home Mom at the end of November!
That was less than a year ago, so one can only assume that like any parent having spent a summer vacation with the kids enough is enough, it's time to get back to the adult world, well sort of I guess. Clark is coming back, this time as a candidate for mayor in Vancouver, the apparent penultimate launching pad for those that would be Premier one day. Having put in some part time work in that other political launching (or is that landing pad) of talk radio, Clark has kept a pretty high profile of late for someone looking to spend time with the family/
Ms. Clark has tossed her hat in the ring with the NPA as candidate to replace the Senate bound Larry Campbell, a guy that she apparently really, really respects. As Clark said "if Larry was staying on as mayor I wouldn't be running".
But Larry isn't running for mayor, he's running towards the Senate in Ottawa, perhaps urged on by Clark's husband, Mark Marrisen who is a political fixer in BC for Prime Minister Paul Martin. Interesting possibilities that one offers up, hubby puts a bug in the PM's ear, PM offers the mayor the Senate and Christy steps in to fill the void at City Hall. Considering the many branches of the Clarks into the Liberals it's easy to see how Conspiracy theories can run like water here.
What remains to be seen is how the folks in Vancouver will react to Ms. Clark's candidacy, considering her current residence is in the burbs of Port Moody and nowhere near the neighborhoods Vancouverites call home.
Will she be running for the long haul? Or merely as a stepping stone to the job many pundits feel she truly wants that of Premier of British Columbia. She's a smart student of BC History and the last few occupants of the Premiers office have begun their path to Victoria through the electoral process of the Vancouver mayoralty.
She will make the race for mayor a much more interesting affair than what was shaping up, but she brings with her some serious baggage from her days in the Gordon Campbell cabinet, her battles with the teachers and the events in Humans services will find her facing some serious opposition in the bare knuckle ridings of Vancouver.
She's a high profile candidate no doubt, but will she have both eyes on the job at hand should be successful or will she be keeping an eye on the career path of Gordon Campbell, how she answers that question could go a long way as to whether she'll be back to being a stay at home Mom at the end of November!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Katrina leaves me with a loss for words
There are many questions I have right now, how such a humanitarian disaster can seemingly go on and on without end, with no clear indication that the powers that be have any idea what to do.
Why the world's richest, most advanced and most militarily equipped nation in the world somehow doesn't have the proper resources at hand to deal with a human tragedy is puzzling. Knowing how ferocious this storm was going to be, one wonders why military and social services weren't pre positioned closer to the impact zone before the storm came ashore. But that's for another day.
I wonder how the best of some people can be so overshadowed by the worst of others. Again one day perhaps we'll understand how instead of pulling together things degenerate into every person for themselves.
And of course there is the always at the top of my mind question. Why a God would allow such things to happen over and over again? The horror of the gulf coast must surely test the faith of the strongest of believers!
Many questions, no easy answers. But probably right now isn't the time for questions and finger pointing anyways. Instead we offer up our prayers, thoughts and hopes for a return to normalcy one day for all those so horribly affected by the events in the Southern USA this past weekend.
The visual evidence provided night and day tells us more than we can possibly process. May those suffering today be delivered from their tribulations very soon.
Why the world's richest, most advanced and most militarily equipped nation in the world somehow doesn't have the proper resources at hand to deal with a human tragedy is puzzling. Knowing how ferocious this storm was going to be, one wonders why military and social services weren't pre positioned closer to the impact zone before the storm came ashore. But that's for another day.
I wonder how the best of some people can be so overshadowed by the worst of others. Again one day perhaps we'll understand how instead of pulling together things degenerate into every person for themselves.
And of course there is the always at the top of my mind question. Why a God would allow such things to happen over and over again? The horror of the gulf coast must surely test the faith of the strongest of believers!
Many questions, no easy answers. But probably right now isn't the time for questions and finger pointing anyways. Instead we offer up our prayers, thoughts and hopes for a return to normalcy one day for all those so horribly affected by the events in the Southern USA this past weekend.
The visual evidence provided night and day tells us more than we can possibly process. May those suffering today be delivered from their tribulations very soon.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Two bananas short of a Republic?
The uneasy tidings regarding Canada's newest Governor General nominee continue to leak out from Quebec. And for those that actually still feel any attachment to the Vice Regal position it's a rather worrisome time to be a monarchist.
Michaelle Jean, the Quebecois film maker and broadcaster tapped by Prime Minister Paul Martin to replace Adrienne Clarkson, continues to find herself in the high heat spotlight. Interestingly enough, it's separatists that are suggesting that the Governor General designee may not be one to take an oath to the Queen all that seriously.
Quebec media and bloggers alike are abuzz with all sorts of contradictory information about Madam Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond's political leanings and past expressions of sovereignty passion.
The Prime Minister for his part is sticking to his guns, stating that the government did a thorough job of vetting her application, investigated all paths and are firmly convinced of her dedication to a united Canada.
Personally the GG's position is not one that I give a great deal of thought towards, there are far more important things in the country to be concerned about. However, one must admit a bit of envy towards our American neighbors. I don't normally find many things about their system of governance that I like, but the nomination process for high profile government positions is one we could certainly take a look at. Compare the process for selecting a new US Supreme Court Judge and our little hand picked lottery winning for GG and well, I think we would be well served to set up some committees for closer looks on all government positions.
For many Canadians our days as a Constitutional Monarchy are pretty well numbered anyways, a growing number of Canadians seem to think that once Queen Elizabeth leaves the throne we as a nation should set aside our Monarchist ways and evolve into a more Republican form of governance. A position I tend to agree with these days, however, I certainly don't think we should speed the process up by placing anyone in the Queens employ who might not actually be inclined to respect the boss.
A more thorough investigation of the Jean appointment is certainly called for. The announcement a few weeks ago was more in line with a patronage appointment, rather than a solemn appointment of the nation's touchstone with the throne.
Then again if the nominee is truly a sovereigntist it might possibly all be a misinterpretation of terminology. Perhaps the PM only asked Madam Jean and her husband Mr. Lafond if they wish to represent the Sovereign in Canada. It quite possibly may have been something they wished to associate themselves with eh, a little Sovereignty Association for two, it's not all that an uncommon idea in Quebec!
Michaelle Jean, the Quebecois film maker and broadcaster tapped by Prime Minister Paul Martin to replace Adrienne Clarkson, continues to find herself in the high heat spotlight. Interestingly enough, it's separatists that are suggesting that the Governor General designee may not be one to take an oath to the Queen all that seriously.
Quebec media and bloggers alike are abuzz with all sorts of contradictory information about Madam Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond's political leanings and past expressions of sovereignty passion.
The Prime Minister for his part is sticking to his guns, stating that the government did a thorough job of vetting her application, investigated all paths and are firmly convinced of her dedication to a united Canada.
Personally the GG's position is not one that I give a great deal of thought towards, there are far more important things in the country to be concerned about. However, one must admit a bit of envy towards our American neighbors. I don't normally find many things about their system of governance that I like, but the nomination process for high profile government positions is one we could certainly take a look at. Compare the process for selecting a new US Supreme Court Judge and our little hand picked lottery winning for GG and well, I think we would be well served to set up some committees for closer looks on all government positions.
For many Canadians our days as a Constitutional Monarchy are pretty well numbered anyways, a growing number of Canadians seem to think that once Queen Elizabeth leaves the throne we as a nation should set aside our Monarchist ways and evolve into a more Republican form of governance. A position I tend to agree with these days, however, I certainly don't think we should speed the process up by placing anyone in the Queens employ who might not actually be inclined to respect the boss.
A more thorough investigation of the Jean appointment is certainly called for. The announcement a few weeks ago was more in line with a patronage appointment, rather than a solemn appointment of the nation's touchstone with the throne.
Then again if the nominee is truly a sovereigntist it might possibly all be a misinterpretation of terminology. Perhaps the PM only asked Madam Jean and her husband Mr. Lafond if they wish to represent the Sovereign in Canada. It quite possibly may have been something they wished to associate themselves with eh, a little Sovereignty Association for two, it's not all that an uncommon idea in Quebec!
1, 2, 3, 4 we declare a thumb war!
And now a pause in the hostilities over Hans Island, as the Danish government has said that they will refrain from planting a Danish flag on the contentious island.
The Danes had tasked a navy ship off to the far side of Greenland to offer rebuttal to Canada's latest visit to the island, when defense Minister Bill Graham stepped upon it's rocky shores and made one small step for Canada, one large step for Danish anxiety.
The Danes and Canadians intend to discuss the issue later next month when the respective Foreign Ministers meet at the UN, while the Hans Island debate won't be the material of Security Council deliberations, the two ministers hope to find some common ground when they meet outside of the regular meetings on major UN issues.
So for now, the Canadian flag is flying on Hans as the Danish flag has suffered severe weathering over the last year, with the Danish flag squad put on hold Hans will remain uninhabited for the foreseeable future.
The Mice that roar will go back to their respective corners and try to find a way out of the world's loopiest territorial dispute in a long time.
A few acres of rocks
A few acres of snow
The two sides will talk
Perhaps now common sense will come to this show!
The Danes had tasked a navy ship off to the far side of Greenland to offer rebuttal to Canada's latest visit to the island, when defense Minister Bill Graham stepped upon it's rocky shores and made one small step for Canada, one large step for Danish anxiety.
The Danes and Canadians intend to discuss the issue later next month when the respective Foreign Ministers meet at the UN, while the Hans Island debate won't be the material of Security Council deliberations, the two ministers hope to find some common ground when they meet outside of the regular meetings on major UN issues.
So for now, the Canadian flag is flying on Hans as the Danish flag has suffered severe weathering over the last year, with the Danish flag squad put on hold Hans will remain uninhabited for the foreseeable future.
The Mice that roar will go back to their respective corners and try to find a way out of the world's loopiest territorial dispute in a long time.
A few acres of rocks
A few acres of snow
The two sides will talk
Perhaps now common sense will come to this show!
Monday, August 08, 2005
A trusted voice and a master of his craft
Canadians will be mourning the passing of one of their own this morning, even if he took out US citizenship a few years ago. Peter Jennings passed away on Sunday night at the age of 67, the long time anchor of ABC news had been suffering from lung cancer.
Jennings had that style and credibility that is oh so hard to acquire and may very well have been the last of a breed that put the story over the business of News. His career started on Canadian Television in the sixties but he will be forever remembered as the guardian of the news in the great heyday of network news in the USA.
His dedication to his craft seems to be a trait that has been dumbed down over the years as local, cable news and network news television battle over the same piece of pie. Jennings urbane ways were an island in an increasingly depressing media scene.
With the cable news empires emerging in the last twenty years it seemed impossible that a network news program would be able to hold back the tide of news, but night in and night out Jennings and his crew at ABC put out a professional and balanced view of the days events. (Long before Fox coined the term fair and balanced for Bill O'Reilly, Jennings was practicing the art each night at 6pm!)
Jennings was the comforting and informative face on a world gone amok, able to transcribe for us the developments from far away that seemed unfathomable at times.
I particularly remember his work with the various disasters that would befall the US space program in the last few years and of course his non stop work on 9/11, a time of great anxiety in the States (and Canada as well). His professionalism and dedication to getting the story right placed him far ahead of many in the media herd who prefer to go for the quick fix.
Of the big US networks Peter Jennings was my personal favorite for finding out what really was going on. Perhaps it was his experiences with Canadian TV and his ability to look at the world without that American pre-occupation, for whatever reason a newscast from ABC seemed to at least provide the news of the day without a jingoistic tinge to it, most times.
Eventually Jennings would take out his American citizenship, as he should have one guesses as he quickly had become America's anchor. Yet it wasn't until the passing of his mother two years ago that Jennings made the change, a promise to his mother that he would not relinquish his Canadian status held until after her death.
Even then, most Canadians probably never really accepted the paperwork, he may have been an American in bureaucratic terms, but he'll forever be considered a Canadian.
The tributes have been pouring in through the evening as the giants of news and the journalists on their way up the food chain pay their respects. ABC News put out a press release that sums up quite nicely the tenure of Jennings at ABC, "a colleague, a friend and a leader.", which makes a rather nice and accurate epitaph.
I wonder what Jennings would think of all the attention coming his way, no doubt he would think that's all very nice, but there's some news happening out there, lets go get a story and get it right.
He not only reported on the story, Jennings lived the story. And now he's out on yet another assignment, the foreign correspondent in him will probably welcome the challenge that is now ahead!
Jennings had that style and credibility that is oh so hard to acquire and may very well have been the last of a breed that put the story over the business of News. His career started on Canadian Television in the sixties but he will be forever remembered as the guardian of the news in the great heyday of network news in the USA.
His dedication to his craft seems to be a trait that has been dumbed down over the years as local, cable news and network news television battle over the same piece of pie. Jennings urbane ways were an island in an increasingly depressing media scene.
With the cable news empires emerging in the last twenty years it seemed impossible that a network news program would be able to hold back the tide of news, but night in and night out Jennings and his crew at ABC put out a professional and balanced view of the days events. (Long before Fox coined the term fair and balanced for Bill O'Reilly, Jennings was practicing the art each night at 6pm!)
Jennings was the comforting and informative face on a world gone amok, able to transcribe for us the developments from far away that seemed unfathomable at times.
I particularly remember his work with the various disasters that would befall the US space program in the last few years and of course his non stop work on 9/11, a time of great anxiety in the States (and Canada as well). His professionalism and dedication to getting the story right placed him far ahead of many in the media herd who prefer to go for the quick fix.
Of the big US networks Peter Jennings was my personal favorite for finding out what really was going on. Perhaps it was his experiences with Canadian TV and his ability to look at the world without that American pre-occupation, for whatever reason a newscast from ABC seemed to at least provide the news of the day without a jingoistic tinge to it, most times.
Eventually Jennings would take out his American citizenship, as he should have one guesses as he quickly had become America's anchor. Yet it wasn't until the passing of his mother two years ago that Jennings made the change, a promise to his mother that he would not relinquish his Canadian status held until after her death.
Even then, most Canadians probably never really accepted the paperwork, he may have been an American in bureaucratic terms, but he'll forever be considered a Canadian.
The tributes have been pouring in through the evening as the giants of news and the journalists on their way up the food chain pay their respects. ABC News put out a press release that sums up quite nicely the tenure of Jennings at ABC, "a colleague, a friend and a leader.", which makes a rather nice and accurate epitaph.
I wonder what Jennings would think of all the attention coming his way, no doubt he would think that's all very nice, but there's some news happening out there, lets go get a story and get it right.
He not only reported on the story, Jennings lived the story. And now he's out on yet another assignment, the foreign correspondent in him will probably welcome the challenge that is now ahead!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Divine Intervention and a pretty good bull pen!
Interesting note from the world of baseball, a sport which lives and dies on its statistics.
From the San Jose Mercury News comes a great little tidbit about the current success of the Oakland Athletics. Seems that the A's have had quite a good little run since their flagship broadcasting station changed it's format.
The A's have gone 17 games over .500 since KFRC went to an all relgious change of format, and all this time one just assumed that the Great Ball fan in the sky was an Angels fan..
From the San Jose Mercury News comes a great little tidbit about the current success of the Oakland Athletics. Seems that the A's have had quite a good little run since their flagship broadcasting station changed it's format.
The A's have gone 17 games over .500 since KFRC went to an all relgious change of format, and all this time one just assumed that the Great Ball fan in the sky was an Angels fan..
Friday, August 05, 2005
Senator Da Vinci
One of the latest additions to Canada's upper chamber provides at least some new material for the Chamber of government most wish would go away.
Prime Minister Martin named five new members to the Senate, Martin tossed a few seats of inclusion to the Progressive Conservatives with two selections, including long time Brian Mulroney loyalist Hugh Seal. Martin also sent in someone to take the pulse of his fellow senators in the new sober second thought club, as Mayor Larry Campbell of Vancouver prepares to join the old gang on the Hill . Campbell apparently weary of the rough and tumble of civic politics in Vancouver is ready for the more sedate surroundings of the Senate.
Credit to Vaughn Palmer on CKNW today, for this wonderful observation about Larry Campbell's potential in unelected politics in the Upper Chamber, "He was a coroner, so he knows his way around a morgue".
Man does that hit the nail on that head!
If you're feeling left out on the political gravy train, there's good news for you. There are still five spots to fill in the Senate, so the chance to get that dream job and dream your day away is still out there if you belong to the right party!
Prime Minister Martin named five new members to the Senate, Martin tossed a few seats of inclusion to the Progressive Conservatives with two selections, including long time Brian Mulroney loyalist Hugh Seal. Martin also sent in someone to take the pulse of his fellow senators in the new sober second thought club, as Mayor Larry Campbell of Vancouver prepares to join the old gang on the Hill . Campbell apparently weary of the rough and tumble of civic politics in Vancouver is ready for the more sedate surroundings of the Senate.
Credit to Vaughn Palmer on CKNW today, for this wonderful observation about Larry Campbell's potential in unelected politics in the Upper Chamber, "He was a coroner, so he knows his way around a morgue".
Man does that hit the nail on that head!
If you're feeling left out on the political gravy train, there's good news for you. There are still five spots to fill in the Senate, so the chance to get that dream job and dream your day away is still out there if you belong to the right party!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
All About Us
By the time a clock will tick off sixty seconds, somewhere in the blogosphere sixty new blogs will have been launched upon the world. The BBC website has an interesting article about the Blogging thing and it seems it shows no sign of tailing off anytime soon.
Fifty five percent of Bloggers have kept their Blogs alive after three months (which makes Podunk a major success I guess since I've more than matched that goalpost thus far). Mind you the mind does wander for some of our fellow Bloggers who abandon the project or neglect to update their blogs every week. (Guilty as charged from time to time I must admit)
Technorati claims that they have tracked over 14.2 million blogs thus far and it seems that Blogs double every five months. And Blogging continues to be a phenomenon that attracts new ideas and concepts.
So for the sixty new Bloggers out there in this sixty seconds welcome, hey would you mind linking my Blog to yours, wouldn't mind a share of that 14.2 million!
Fifty five percent of Bloggers have kept their Blogs alive after three months (which makes Podunk a major success I guess since I've more than matched that goalpost thus far). Mind you the mind does wander for some of our fellow Bloggers who abandon the project or neglect to update their blogs every week. (Guilty as charged from time to time I must admit)
Technorati claims that they have tracked over 14.2 million blogs thus far and it seems that Blogs double every five months. And Blogging continues to be a phenomenon that attracts new ideas and concepts.
So for the sixty new Bloggers out there in this sixty seconds welcome, hey would you mind linking my Blog to yours, wouldn't mind a share of that 14.2 million!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
A Pearson miracle
Not sure what form of divine intervention took place in Toronto today, but when I first saw the television coverage of the Air France crash I just assumed there would be a horrendous casualty amount.
It's truly remarkable that not one person perished in that horrible crash, and so we offer up a prayer of thanks to whatever hand of fate was working over Toronto today. It's a relief to once and a while see something originally perceived as tragedy turn into a moment of great happiness and celebration.
Over 300 passengers and 12 crew must surely feel as though they've been given a second chance a life today, for them we wish nothing but safe journeys in their future.
It's truly remarkable that not one person perished in that horrible crash, and so we offer up a prayer of thanks to whatever hand of fate was working over Toronto today. It's a relief to once and a while see something originally perceived as tragedy turn into a moment of great happiness and celebration.
Over 300 passengers and 12 crew must surely feel as though they've been given a second chance a life today, for them we wish nothing but safe journeys in their future.
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