Oscar extras

For movie fans tuning in to the Oscars tonight I thought I'd collect some links and add a little game (inspired by 100 Books in Facebook) in case the proceedings are moving a little slow.

The main site - http://www.oscar.com/
Big winners and nominations - http://www.filmsite.org/oscars2.html
IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/features/poweroffilm/ - my movie bible.

Unfortunately I have seen very few of the nominated movies and performances this year. Having a quick look, I saw The Dark Knight (Ledger), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Cruz), Ironman (sound and FX) and Wanted (sound).

Past 25 Best Picture winners - seen 'em all. How many have you seen ? My faves with an *

1. 1983 Terms of Endearment
2. 1984 Amadeus*
3. 1985 Out of Africa
4. 1986 Platoon
5. 1987 The Last Emperor
6. 1988 Rain Man
7. 1989 Driving Miss Daisy
8. 1990 Dances with Wolves
9. 1991 Silence of the Lambs*
10. 1992 Unforgiven
11. 1993 Schindler's List*
12. 1994 Forest Gump
13. 1995 Braveheart
14. 1996 English Patient*
15. 1997 Titanic
16. 1998 Shakespeare in Love*
17. 1999 American Beauty*
18. 2000 Gladiator
19. 2001 Beautiful Mind*
20. 2002 Chicago
21. 2003 Lord of Rings - Return of the King
22. 2004 Million Dollar Baby
23. 2005 Crash**
24. 2006 The Departed*
25. 2007 No Country for Old Men

I do watch a ton of movies, all my reviews are on Facebook - Flixster.

My pics for tonight:

Actor: Rourke
Actress: Winslet
Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Supporting Actor: Ledger
Supporting Actress: Cruz

I'm suspicious about coincidence

My Facebook profile says that my religious view is "I'm suspicious about coincidence".

Coincidence continues to be something I notice a lot, maybe more than most people. The way I've said this is deliberate - I believe coincidences are happening all the time and the personal connection is simply a matter of noticing them. Coincidences may not really happen to people, they happen and people observe them.

I'm not a religious person (well not in the traditional, organized religion, sense), but in this week's episode of House, I heard a great requote of Einstein - "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous". There seems to be a lot of links on this quote.

Don't laugh, but I'm actually trying to develop a more complete theory about coincidence. One element of the theory needs to consider the time element. How far apart in time do two events have to occur for them to be considered coincidental ?

I hope to write more on the subject in the future, but if you find some other interesting views on the topic or have your own comments I'd love to hear them.

Latest coincidence that sparked this entry: listening to a Beth Orton track that a friend reblipped and I in turn reblipped with the comment "The mood of this just kinda sums up this gray wet day". I then notice that the original Blip DJ provided "rainy day ohio" and "here's my perfect rainy day band" as comments to earlier tunes today. Weather may not be the largest of coincidences, but it's a nice feeling when a little coincidence make us feel connected to other people. Are we really strangers ?

Photo Blog #8: Downtown Snow Scenes

University Avenue - Canada Life and CN Tower

Snowy Train Tracks taken from Strachan Avenue crossing

University of Toronto

[By the way I'm still adding photos to my Flickr and personal Picasa web albums]

Clueless networking assistance from Bell

I just had a very humourous call w/ Bell technical support. I was trying to find out some more information about the combined modem and wireless router product they have been promoting. The sales department quickly routed my call to technical support. Apparently Bell are selling this product for home networking customers, but clearly, apart from stratosphere level marketing information, they haven't got a clue about the product.

Keep in mind that Bell Canada is Canada's most "experienced" communication company and one of the first companies to offer internet connectivity for the public.

The "technical" person I was speaking with did not understand my simple technical question - what wireless specification does your product support, e.g. is it a wireless N or G router ? They hadn't get a clue about different wireless specifications, 802.11n/g. Maybe it was my accent ! Oddly he did quote 128bit security which I suspect he was reading from a cheat sheet in front of him. I did ask him to forward information, but he didn't seem to acknowledge my request so after a few more uncomfortable words trying to politely say he was useless, I hung up.

This total lack of understanding of home wireless networking technology is oddly disturbing coming from Bell Canada technical support. I have been using their ISP service for a long time and am quite happy with it, but obviously I crossed some line in technical expectations. I wouldn't be surprised to get a call from another Bell rep this afternoon.

So, I'm still a little stuck on my networking dilemma. My current Netgear G router is acting up a little, dropping connections now and again and problematic for the PS3 wireless connection. I recently picked up an Apple Airport Express but it's configured as a wireless client and connected to the stereo to stream iTunes. Plus it's not conveniently close to my modem and my desktop PC cannot use it because it doesn't have a wireless card. So I'm looking at new N routers and hoping to get faster and more reliable performance, plus gain USB network attached storage if possible. I'd like to get something that's a little future proof, but reviews are all over the place and prices range from about $100 to $200. I put out a twit and Facebook status asking for advice, but only got one who said they liked Netgear. Any solid advice on a reliable and good performing wireless N router would be appreciated.

The one and only Rolling Stones

I watched Shine a light last night. I didn't have high expectations, but I was in the mood to listen to some classic Stones and see if there was any Scorsese magic (I'd actually forgotten he's directed another concert film - The Last Waltz - which I still haven't seen - my bad).

I must say the cinematography was beautiful, especially so in HD. The sound quality was superb, although I noticed various instrument sounds were highlighted when the camera moved to them, especially from the supporting musicians. Even Richards' guitar work seemed to come in and out, but then again maybe he's struggling to stay on and that's how he plays these days. Or maybe, because of the sound quality, I've just noticed this for the first time. If the highlighting was deliberate, the effect seemed a little unnecessary.

Some would call the music of The Stones classic rock, however from this performance you can see that the sound of American blues music is solidly in their English blood. I've noticed their take on the blues on past occasions, but I think it was more evident than ever in the film, maybe it's always been there and it just took a more intimate setting to show it off rather than the mega shows we've been used to in the last 25 years.

[pause while I put on some tracks from 1969's Let it Bleed]

The duets with White, Guy and Aguilera were a great addition. With Jack White you got to really see his playful natural side, Buddy Guy's booming voice was just fantastic and the I loved the sassy and sexy chemistry between Mick and Christina Aguilera. I was also pleasantly surprised by Keith's lead on You Got the Silver, that drugged-out dude can really sing and he really poured a lot of heart and energy into all his playing and singing in the show.

The movie was really a concert film with some intro elements from Scorsese to set the stage. There was some odd nonsense with Bill Clinton and company that seemed a little out of place. It may be a little hard to appreciate Scorsese's hand in the film with no clear directing of the performers, but I'm sure he had a big say in all elements of the film, from the choice of camera angles, editing, lighting, etc. Whatever he did, he made this intimate, bluesy and rocking performance a must see for any fan of The Stones, or any music fan wanting to find out what makes The Rolling Stones one of the best bands of all time.

The movie had a few interjections from old interviews, simple but effective. The selected excerpts showed their early confidence, their intelligent humour and a sense they already knew they would make a mark in the music world. Now in their 60's, the lines on their faces show they've enjoyed an exhausting career, but you can't fault their energy levels. It shows that youth never has to die, these kids are still just doing what they love. Jagger's non stop moves actually reminded me of Brandon Flowers' Killer performance at Friday's night show here in Toronto.

I watched the movie by myself in my basement, but I didn't feel alone. I sung out loud a few times and felt like clapping in appreciation of their artistry on many occasions. I've seen them live twice (1981 Tattoo You tour in Detroit and the massive SARS concert here in Toronto in 2003), but I felt I could almost call this the third, it was such a personal experience.

The film did it's job for me. It reminded me how truly great The Rolling Stones are. The New York performance shows what wonderful consummate performers they are. 40 years on and their energized and intelligent combination of classic blues and rock with the most singable and mature lyrics around is still shining bright. I'm proud to call them my countrymen.

The one and only Rolling Stones

I watched Shine a light last night. I didn't have high expectations, but I was in the mood to listen to some classic Stones and see if there was any Scorsese magic (I'd actually forgotten he's directed another concert film - The Last Waltz - which I still haven't seen - my bad).

I must say the cinematography was beautiful, especially so in HD. The sound quality was superb, although I noticed various instrument sounds were highlighted when the camera moved to them, especially from the supporting musicians. Even Richards' guitar work seemed to come in and out, but then again maybe he's struggling to stay on and that's how he plays these days. Or maybe, because of the sound quality, I've just noticed this for the first time. If the highlighting was deliberate, the effect seemed a little unnecessary.

Some would call the music of The Stones classic rock, however from this performance you can see that the sound of American blues music is solidly in their English blood. I've noticed their take on the blues on past occasions, but I think it was more evident than ever in the film, maybe it's always been there and it just took a more intimate setting to show it off rather than the mega shows we've been used to in the last 25 years.

[pause while I put on some tracks from 1969's Let it Bleed]

The duets with White, Guy and Aguilera were a great addition. With Jack White you got to really see his playful natural side, Buddy Guy's booming voice was just fantastic and the I loved the sassy and sexy chemistry between Mick and Christina Aguilera. I was also pleasantly surprised by Keith's lead on You Got the Silver, that drugged-out dude can really sing and he really poured a lot of heart and energy into all his playing and singing in the show.

The movie was really a concert film with some intro elements from Scorsese to set the stage. There was some odd nonsense with Bill Clinton and company that seemed a little out of place. It may be a little hard to appreciate Scorsese's hand in the film with no clear directing of the performers, but I'm sure he had a big say in all elements of the film, from the choice of camera angles, editing, lighting, etc. Whatever he did, he made this intimate, bluesy and rocking performance a must see for any fan of The Stones, or any music fan wanting to find out what makes The Rolling Stones one of the best bands of all time.

The movie had a few interjections from old interviews, simple but effective. The selected excerpts showed their early confidence, their intelligent humour and a sense they already knew they would make a mark in the music world. Now in their 60's, the lines on their faces show they've enjoyed an exhausting career, but you can't fault their energy levels. It shows that youth never has to die, these kids are still just doing what they love. Jagger's non stop moves actually reminded me of Brandon Flowers' Killer performance at Friday's night show here in Toronto.

I watched the movie by myself in my basement, but I didn't feel alone. I sung out loud a few times and felt like clapping in appreciation of their artistry on many occasions. I've seen them live twice (1981 Tattoo You tour in Detroit and the massive SARS concert here in Toronto in 2003), but I felt I could almost call this the third, it was such a personal experience.

The film did it's job for me. It reminded me how truly great The Rolling Stones are. The New York performance shows what wonderful consummate performers they are. 40 years on and their energized and intelligent combination of classic blues and rock with the most singable and mature lyrics around is still shining bright. I'm proud to call them my countrymen.

Killer Show

Last night, I saw The Killers at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

A few months back, I posted about The Bands I'd Love To See which was prompted by having seen The Killers on Saturday Night Live. At the time, I didn't think that I would get to see The Killers from up close (with them mostly having grown to arena shows).

Last night was a great combination of a small club feel with the theatrics of an arena show. It was my first time on the floor for a general admission show at the ACC. My husband (luckily for me) humoured me and arrived at the venue 45 minutes before the doors opened which allowed us to get a spot 5 persons deep a bit right of center.

M83 began their 45 minute set at 7:30 and were very good (especially for a warm-up band). I loved the set-up with the two main singers facing each other on keyboards. The drummer was exceptional (not that I know much about drumming - but he really impressed me).

The Killers took the stage at 8:45pm after a brief countdown with the lights in the background. The crowd was instantly into it singing along to the oh oh ohohoh oh oh ohohoh of Spaceman.

The best view I had was of Brandon (the lead singer) and Ronnie (the drummer).



They were both very entertaining. Brandon surprised me at how comfortable he was on stage. In past reviews, he has been described as shy and awkward, but for me, he was very personable and he looked like he was really enjoying being up on stage (smiling and lots of facial interaction with the crowd and his bandmates). Perhaps that is not visible from further back - and perhaps live closeup videos of the band would have helped this (like I have seen other bands have).

I was really loving the show but then while they were playing Smile Like You Mean It (the 4th song), some disorderly guys shoved their way up through the crowd obviously not caring who they pushed or stepped on (it had been already completely packed in-with no space for anyone else and they were not small men who ended up standing beside me -or should I say stumbling and pushing?). I guess I was lucky that they didn't end up in front of me. This commotion got us distracted for that song, but when This is Your Life started (which I love), I tried to ignore the guys.

Joyride was next when Brandon asked the crowd to show him some sexy dancing. Half way through the song, bubbles started falling which was fun (and wet...lol).

Bones was a song which I really didn't expect. It's one of my favourite Killers song and I hadn't seen it on 2009 set lists (from previous shows). So, I got my camera out and videotaped 90 seconds of it.



I'm quite happy with the video as it does show how much Brandon moves around on stage and a minute into the video he pauses in front of where I was, then steps up closer to the audience (and touches the fans in the front rows). At this point (as you can see from the bumpy video), there is a lot of pushing forward and shoving. I stopped videotaping when it really started to get crazy. At the end of Bones, I found my husband (who had ended up almost 10 feet away from me after those guys showed up and this last shoving match) and we moved back about 5 rows where it was a bit tamer.

As wonderful as it was to have been close, being a bit further back made it great as well because we could more fully enjoy the spectacle of the light show and with songs like Human and All The Things That I've Done coming...it was worth moving back. It would have been interesting to move further back, but really the crowd was so packed in - it was difficult to move (even having moved back 5 rows had been a struggle).

So we stayed where we were and enjoyed the light show during Human. They had such an amazing performance at the MTV European Music Awards with an amazing light show and the band members in boxes. I was happy to see part of the light show incorporated into the ACC performance.



The concert wasn't all high energy dance numbers. An acoustic version of Sam's Town saw Brandon play at a piano at the back of the stage (my view was blocked by the front keyboard) was a good example of some of the quieter songs.

But the quieter moments were few and far between with the first set ending with Read My Mind, Mr. Brightside and the anthemic All These Things That I've Done which had many of the lyrics displayed on the back drop of the stage and confetti falling into the crowd.



The encore started with For Reasons Unknown followed by the Joy Division cover Shadowplay and Jenny Was a Friend of Mine.

They finished the 90 minute concert with the Guitar Hero song...When You Were Young which was a huge hit with audience especially with pyrotechnics falling down onto the stage.

For me, this concert was a 4 out of 5. It exceeded my expectations.

SET LIST:
Spaceman
Losing Touch
Somebody Told Me
Smile Like You Mean It
This Is Your Life
Joy Ride
I Can't Stay
Bling (Confessions Of A King
Bones
A Dustland Fairytale
Neon Tiger
Human
Sam's Town
Read My Mind
Mr. Brightside
All These Things That I've Done
ENCORE:
For Reasons Unknown
Shadowplay
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
When You Were Young

The Killers part 3

Great show, Flowers and drummer true performers. They played all their hits and my fave Joy Division cover. Better in the bigger venue than plastic performances on SNL and the like. Worth the crush.

sent from my BlackBerry

The Killers part 3

Great show, Flowers and drummer true performers. They played all their hits and my fave Joy Division cover. Better in the bigger venue than plastic performances on SNL and the like. Worth the crush.

sent from my BlackBerry

The killers part 2

Piano interlude. Second fight avoided. Great energy. Screaming girls. Still very intimate - crushed, but nicer folks a few feet back. My kind of Vegas floor show.

sent from my BlackBerry

The killers part 2

Piano interlude. Second fight avoided. Great energy. Screaming girls. Still very intimate - crushed, but nicer folks a few feet back. My kind of Vegas floor show.

sent from my BlackBerry

M83

Solid opening act for The Killers tonight. Great exposure for this small band - small enough that they're putting their own gear away and the guitarist walked on this his parka under his arm and his guitar case in hand. Great start to the night.

sent from my BlackBerry

M83

Solid opening act for The Killers tonight. Great exposure for this small band - small enough that they're putting their own gear away and the guitarist walked on this his parka under his arm and his guitar case in hand. Great start to the night.

sent from my BlackBerry

Killers part 1

We have general admission floor tickets at the Air Canada Centre.

So my gung-ho-early-liner-upper wife has us jammed in up front and still a few hours to go before they go on - I must be crazy. And a little annoyed because they don't allow booze for floor tickets.

Looking around - I'm definitely the oldest guy in the mob. Spanish banter behind me. Mob is about about 20 deep - it must look odd for those sitting down in this 15,000 person arena !

Supporting act M83 hopefully up in the next 30 mins.

Not sure if I'll have elbow space to write later.

sent from my BlackBerry

Killers part 1

We have general admission floor tickets at the Air Canada Centre.

So my gung-ho-early-liner-upper wife has us jammed in up front and still a few hours to go before they go on - I must be crazy. And a little annoyed because they don't allow booze for floor tickets.

Looking around - I'm definitely the oldest guy in the mob. Spanish banter behind me. Mob is about about 20 deep - it must look odd for those sitting down in this 15,000 person arena !

Supporting act M83 hopefully up in the next 30 mins.

Not sure if I'll have elbow space to write later.

sent from my BlackBerry

The new vegan and the health of my heart

I've been a vegan for a week. It's not easy, but actually not as difficult, nor as depressing as I thought it would be. I'm the guinea pig in my wife's nutrition experiment.

[If you don't want all the medical background you can skip the next 3 paragraphs].

What set this off a week ago was an appointment with my cardiologist to discuss my latest blood cholesterol levels. Basically they are not as good as he'd like them to be. By normal standards, my levels are very good. However because I've inherited my Dad's tendency to "naturally" have higher blood cholesterol levels than normal people, and he had a heart attack when he was about my current age, that puts me in a high risk category. Therefore my doc is pushing me to really low levels to reduce the risk of heart disease. He's talked about research that indicates there is certain reversing effects at LDL levels below 2.0 mmol/L. [note to convert the mmol/L measurement to mg/dL used in the US, then multiple by 40].

I started going to a family doctor on a regular basis in 1992. When I first got tested, my total cholesterol was 6.74. By following a recommended low fat diet I reduced my total cholesterol to a natural low of 5.26 in 1994. In 1997, I started to record the LDL and HDL numbers individually and the corresponding risk factor. My LDL was 3.99 and my risk factor ratio (total/HDL) was 4.87. My levels were hovering around those numbers (+/- 0.5) for quite a few years. In 2006 I complained to my family doctor that I felt some chest/muscular discomfort, maybe from over-excursion playing sports ? That's all it took for her to refer me to a cardiologist ! I did a full stress test (which I aced) and echo cardiogram (my "normal" functional heart murmur may have made an appearance) and he decided that diet was not making a big enough impact on my blood cholesterol levels and we agreed that I should start taking a drug to lower it. I started on 10mg of Lipitor and moved to 20mg/day within a year. I remember him saying that diet really only makes up a small portion of your cholesterol levels and actually said I could relax my diet a little ! Over the last few years the new low was a total of 4.55, LDL of 2.61 and a risk factor of 3.55.

My latest result from a few weeks ago was a total of 4.65, LDL of 2.9 and a risk factor 3.7. This doesn't seem to be good enough for my cardiologist and I must admit I've probably been relaxing my diet a little. The research and guidance suggests that people categorized as high risk should aim for LDL level below 2.0. He said to try harder on the diet and get retested in a few months. To me, that seems quite a jump, but perhaps not impossible. I've asked him on a few occasions how susceptible the results are to daily differences in diet and exercise, but he said the levels are quite steady - but he thinks I can carve off a big chunk in a few months ! However I am still wondering if my unhealthy Christmas habits and a potential missed dose a day or two before the test had inflated the numbers. So after chatting with my wife and relating the news with her findings from The China Study, I signed on to the vegan program (at least until my blood work). The theory (and evidence) in the study is that most of our (bad) blood cholesterol comes from animal protein. Now I'm pretty sure that's a big generalization, but don't worry, she'll be adding her comments and clarifications quickly after this gets posted. BTW the study focuses on cancer as well, so even though you may not have problems with high blood cholesterol, you may have concerns with cancer, but I digress.

So, back to being a vegan. In case you don't' know, this means cutting out any food that comes from an animal. One gray area I was happy to resolve was pasta. I think most dried pasta is not made with eggs, although some fresh pasta maybe. I may have cheated just a tad over the past week with a few slices of apple pie and some nibbles of high % cocoa chocolate. But other than that I haven't had dairy, meat or fish in a week.

My diet has been a lot of vegetables and fruit, beans, a few meals with tofu (which I must say I've been enjoying for quite a while now), pastas (already my favourite food) with tomato, pesto or oil olive, grains, nuts and cereal (now with soy milk). I tell you one thing - I makes a trip to the grocery store a lot simpler - you can cut out entire aisles and sections.

And I'm just glad that almost all of my regular liquid intake is already vegan, but first tastes of soy milk in my cuppa is a far stretch for an English lad. Beer and wine - bring it on.

I don't feel that I really need to eat meat or fish, but it's more a matter of finding enough tasty varieties of vegan food so it doesn't become too boring. I can probably do without dairy (although a yogurt based smoothy would be nice), but I'm finding that the majority of dishes I love like pasta, sushi, Asian and Mexican food, and hearty soups have meat or fish added to them. I can't say I'm craving a big steak or a piece of chicken, but I'm sure that day will come. What's a little sad is that I'm actually not looking forward to going out to eat. It will save me some dolalrs for sure, but I'm not really looking forward to my business lunch and dinner on Monday.

Now I've got to wrap up and find something for lunch.

A decent summary of understanding Cholesterol is the brochure Living with Cholesterol from the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Lunchtime connections and commentary

• I'm tracking the Kaka mega football transfer story, FIFA player of the year in 2007 may be on his way to Man City from AC Milan for a staggering transfer fee ($200M) and salary (1M/week). He's good, but really, come on, is he (or anyone) really worth that kind of money ? [from Kaka story I spotted the reference to the Time 100 list - nice to see some global sports inclusion in the American mag list].
• Also on the list is Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy. These are not names that most people recognize, but they run Harmonix, the originator of Guitar Hero and now developers of Rock Band. I think the article in the Time 100 piece is a great take on the secondary power of these new music games - I believe they can and will actually lengthen the lifespan of classic rock, and music from many other decades and genres. I think that Kids (and parents) are getting a new (or renewed) passion for great old music and making sure rock 'n roll will never die. Since getting Guitar Hero and now Rock Band, my son has a great appreciation for classics such as Cream, The Stones and Cheap Trick, as well as rarer finds (Eric Johnson), punk (Sex Pistols), new wave (Talking Heads) and alternative (Beck).
• Steven Van Zandt. He wrote the piece above and his name is instantly familiar. BUT, I didn't know the guitarist with Springsteen was one and the same slick haired Silvio from The Sopranos. I always saw the name in the credits and thought I should know him, but dough-head me never connected the two. Well, he does look radically different in his two roles.
  

Blip.fm - another way to share and find new music

Hot on the tail of what-influences-your-music-choices, last week I dabbled a little with a new music sharing site called blip.fm. I wasn't immediately impressed, but today a few other friends joined on and if you know me, obviously I didn't want to be left out of the new community. It's like one of those things out of The Tipping Point, when there is a critical mass of users or content focused on something that is of particular interest to you - you can't ignore it for long ! You can find my Blips at http://blip.fm/pjmixer.

Blip has a few quirks, but it's method of sharing and streaming individual tracks in decent quality seems quite appealing. It services two audiences, of which I'm probably both. One, the ever-aspiring DJ who wants to be the first to tell his friends about some great music finds; and second, the person always looking for new music. From what I've been able to find out so far, it seems quite legal which is very surprising because you can preview the full version of any track in its library and search and skip through Blips to hear exactly what you're interested in. In that regard, it is much better than other streaming sites I've used like Finetune. However, it doesn't seem easy to get a good constant and stable themed stream going, and you're constantly being drawn from the latest hip track to old favourites and questionable diddies. If you blog a little about music or use Twitter for micro-blogging, then you can look at Blip as a micro-blogging site dedicated to music. The library is quite vast and I've found I few gems already.



This snappy player will likely be heading over to the right-hand column shortly. I'll be interested to see if Blip will become a music extension to this blog and if you'll jump into the Blip community. See you on the flip side.

Blip.fm - another way to share and find new music

Hot on the tail of what-influences-your-music-choices, last week I dabbled a little with a new music sharing site called blip.fm. I wasn't immediately impressed, but today a few other friends joined on and if you know me, obviously I didn't want to be left out of the new community. It's like one of those things out of The Tipping Point, when there is a critical mass of users or content focused on something that is of particular interest to you - you can't ignore it for long ! You can find my Blips at http://blip.fm/pjmixer.

Blip has a few quirks, but it's method of sharing and streaming individual tracks in decent quality seems quite appealing. It services two audiences, of which I'm probably both. One, the ever-aspiring DJ who wants to be the first to tell his friends about some great music finds; and second, the person always looking for new music. From what I've been able to find out so far, it seems quite legal which is very surprising because you can preview the full version of any track in its library and search and skip through Blips to hear exactly what you're interested in. In that regard, it is much better than other streaming sites I've used like Finetune. However, it doesn't seem easy to get a good constant and stable themed stream going, and you're constantly being drawn from the latest hip track to old favourites and questionable diddies. If you blog a little about music or use Twitter for micro-blogging, then you can look at Blip as a micro-blogging site dedicated to music. The library is quite vast and I've found I few gems already.



This snappy player will likely be heading over to the right-hand column shortly. I'll be interested to see if Blip will become a music extension to this blog and if you'll jump into the Blip community. See you on the flip side.

What influences your music choices ?

Just reading and commenting in Mark Evans' blog about how Radio 2 is igniting a renewed interest in music for him. Mark posed the question "The question is why Terfry’s show has inspired the consumer in me when there are services around like Pandora and Jango?". My comment... "Interesting note on why radio seems to drive some of our music choices over other non-personal channels. I actually just finished reading The Tipping Point and in the updated afterword, Gladwell provides thoughts on impacts of technologies on The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesman. It seems that we may be building an immunity to the huge volume of data we receive through new tech channels. I'd like to hear Malcolm's thoughts on the smaller community focus of web 2.0 being a better chance at building more valuable connections online."

Although I did comment back in November that I was getting some new (old) music from Radio 2, the vast majority of my music finds continue to come from reading reviews in magazines and then taking the time to sample a large amount of music. For instance, scattered around our living room are months of Q magazines with year-end US focused publications from Rolling Stone and Spin. I've been busy correlating many of the best ofs and making sure I didn't miss any gems in 2008. A found a few new ones just over the last couple of days from Rolling Stone. Mostly American artists like Blitzen Trapper, Conor Oberst and Girl Talk that haven't quite made the impact in the UK which is my primary source. There are plenty of online reviews (metacritic being a good consolidator) but music magazines remain one of the few hardcopy purchases I make on a regular basis - I love marking them up with check marks, c/o for "check out" and other personal ratings and comments.

Personal recommendations are almost always better than what you hear from mass market channels. You build a sense of trust with the person who recommends a good band or book, especially if you find one that hits the mark, is close to your tastes or perhaps they even begin to understand your personal tastes and they tailor their recommendations to you ! There must be a little gap in the web 2.0 weave for a little more personal recommendation. Blogs, Twitter and Facebook work to some degree, but there's room for improvement and readers should make a good effort to fuel the feedback loop. I pretend to be a source for recommendations and ratings for music (here and there) and movies via my Facebook page, and but then again it all comes down to personal preference and how specific your tastes are.

Can a good, reliable source influence your tastes ? I'd say it probably has for me over the years, especially with popular music in the UK. It's taken a while for me to trust the ratings in Q, but now we seem to be in sync. One other source I go to on a regular basis is IMDB for movies. I'd say the reader voting and reviews really do provide a good guideline for me and I can invest good time in any movie scoring over 7.

So where do you get your new music from ?

What influences your music choices ?

Just reading and commenting in Mark Evans' blog about how Radio 2 is igniting a renewed interest in music for him. Mark posed the question "The question is why Terfry’s show has inspired the consumer in me when there are services around like Pandora and Jango?". My comment... "Interesting note on why radio seems to drive some of our music choices over other non-personal channels. I actually just finished reading The Tipping Point and in the updated afterword, Gladwell provides thoughts on impacts of technologies on The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesman. It seems that we may be building an immunity to the huge volume of data we receive through new tech channels. I'd like to hear Malcolm's thoughts on the smaller community focus of web 2.0 being a better chance at building more valuable connections online."

Although I did comment back in November that I was getting some new (old) music from Radio 2, the vast majority of my music finds continue to come from reading reviews in magazines and then taking the time to sample a large amount of music. For instance, scattered around our living room are months of Q magazines with year-end US focused publications from Rolling Stone and Spin. I've been busy correlating many of the best ofs and making sure I didn't miss any gems in 2008. A found a few new ones just over the last couple of days from Rolling Stone. Mostly American artists like Blitzen Trapper, Conor Oberst and Girl Talk that haven't quite made the impact in the UK which is my primary source. There are plenty of online reviews (metacritic being a good consolidator) but music magazines remain one of the few hardcopy purchases I make on a regular basis - I love marking them up with check marks, c/o for "check out" and other personal ratings and comments.

Personal recommendations are almost always better than what you hear from mass market channels. You build a sense of trust with the person who recommends a good band or book, especially if you find one that hits the mark, is close to your tastes or perhaps they even begin to understand your personal tastes and they tailor their recommendations to you ! There must be a little gap in the web 2.0 weave for a little more personal recommendation. Blogs, Twitter and Facebook work to some degree, but there's room for improvement and readers should make a good effort to fuel the feedback loop. I pretend to be a source for recommendations and ratings for music (here and there) and movies via my Facebook page, and but then again it all comes down to personal preference and how specific your tastes are.

Can a good, reliable source influence your tastes ? I'd say it probably has for me over the years, especially with popular music in the UK. It's taken a while for me to trust the ratings in Q, but now we seem to be in sync. One other source I go to on a regular basis is IMDB for movies. I'd say the reader voting and reviews really do provide a good guideline for me and I can invest good time in any movie scoring over 7.

So where do you get your new music from ?

Dream life

I just woke up a few minutes ago after a particularly vivid dream. The unusual thing about this dream was that I think I "remembered" and incorporated experiences from other dreams into this latest one. I know this is all sounding pretty weird and I'm trying to type before the dream memory evaporates...

In the dream...

I'm a Dad, same children, same wife, different home. I'm seeing my son off for his school day and he has a project due. He's done a particularly good job and I'm very proud of him and we're arranging lunch plans.

However, I'm in hurry because I have a university project due as well. I've completed the project, but don't feel I've done a great job and perhaps even missed some vital elements of the work. I'm going to the university to hand it in.

But I'm thinking about the other subjects I've been neglecting, especially my math course. I know that I haven't been going to many courses, incl. math and maybe history. I "know" that this has been going on for some time.

My wife returns home and I say that I've got something to talk to her about. My daughter comes in from the other room, curious to what we're talking about. I say this university thing isn't working out and I should give it up. I've got my bachelors degree and a job anyway, why do I need any more education ?

I can still see the house we're living in, the confusing time on the alarm clock in the bedroom - 12:38, the room I had the conversation in with my wife, the side story of a police officer checking bike racks and allowed "parking" times. But I also vividly "remember" the auditorium where I'm taking the math course, and I'm pretty certain I didn't dream that part last night !

The dream as I've told holds many clues to my feelings and experiences in my life today, some clearer than others. And there are some good mysteries in there too.

I have reoccurring dream themes quite often, but I don't recall I dream that "clearly" seemed related to past dream memories. Then again, maybe all this was a new dream - I should have recorded those old ones. On other occasions, I have managed to write down dreams when I first wake up. Sometimes the complex connections and bizarre content make complete sense in your cloudy head - just waking up state, but then when I review what I've written at some later point, the dream doesn't make any sense at all. Maybe that will be the case here and you've got this far, saying - what the hell is he talking about. I'm more awake now and going to make my breakfast.

Good morning.

Listening to RFK in 2009

I have to admit I don't know a lot about Robert F. Kennedy, but the little bits I've heard from my parents over the years, and what I've seen through historical movies (Thirteen Days) and now tonight in Bobby, greatly impresses me.

I found the playing of one of his speeches overlaying the closing scene particularly riveting. I did a little googling and found out that the speech was delivered the day after Martin Luther King's assassination, just two months before his own assassination. The speech talks to the problem of violence in America and provides some hope for what the world should, and could be. Maybe not as well known as King's I have a Dream speech and obviously not as current as Obama's speech on race in Philadelphia last year, but I feel RFK's speech about violence is still true to this day and one that we should all perhaps use as a warning on a global level. You can read the text of this short speech here.

On the Wikipedia page, I also found these other following great quotes, perhaps some guidance for our leaders and ourselves for 2009:

• "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."^[7]
• "Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital, quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change."
• "The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country."^[35]
• "Men without hope, resigned to despair and oppression, do not make revolutions. It is when expectation replaces submission, when despair is touched with the awareness of possibility, that the forces of human desire and the passion for justice are unloosed."^[36]
• "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were and ask why not."^[37]
• "Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."^[38]
• "At the University of Natal in Durban, I was told the church to which most of the white population belongs teaches apartheid as a moral necessity. A questioner declared that few churches allow black Africans to pray with the white because the Bible says that is the way it should be, because God created Negroes to serve. "But suppose God is black", I replied. "What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?" There was no answer. Only silence." South Africa, June 1966^[39]
• "What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black." Indianapolis, Indiana, April 4, 1968 Announcing to the crowd that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.
• "Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it." From his last speech, June 5, 1968^[40]
• "Laws can embody standards; governments can enforce laws — but the final task is not a task for government. It is a task for each and every one of us. Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted — when we tolerate what we know to be wrong — when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy, or too frightened — when we fail to speak up and speak out — we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice." June 21, 1961^[41]

Favourite lyrics of 2008

I'm still putting last minute touches on my Best of 2008 list, so for now, here are some of my favourite lyrics of the year (I'm sure I'm forgetting some).

You take the pieces of the dreams that you have
Because you don't like the way they seem to be going
You cut them up and spread them out on the floor
You're full of hope as you begin rearranging
(The Lovers Are Losing by Keane)

Got my dreams, got my life, got my love
Got my friends, got the sunshine above
(Happy by Natasha Bedingfield)

Revoluationaries wait
for my head on a silver plate
just a puppet on a lonely string
aah who would ever want to be king?
(Viva La Vida by Coldplay)

And sing that old song, how does it go?
Look out sunshine, here's the punchline
No one gets you anymore
(Look Out Sunshine! by The Fratellis)

You make me so much better
I hope I don't make you worse
(This is Happiness by Gavin Rossdale)

Safety pins holding up the things
That make you mine
(Shine On by The Kooks)

My heart beats fast
but the clock ticks slowly
You can be my one and only
As anticipation beckons
I feel the thrill of 30 seconds
(Thrill of 30 Seconds by Skint & Demoralised)

Forgot about the accident
The words you didn't say
Forgot to call the ambulance
To take your heart away
(Hiding Place by Serena Ryder)

For now I'm faking it
Till I'm pseudo making it
from scratch begin again
but this time
I as I not as we
(Not as We by Alanis Morissette)

No I don't want to battle from beginning to end
I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge
I don't want to follow death and all of his friends
(Death and All His Friends by Coldplay)

What do you want for tea?
I want crisps
(Never Miss a Beat by Kaiser Chiefs)

Photo Blog #7: Santa Claus is coming to town

Toronto Eaton Centre

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.

A big thank you to my blog readers, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, Flickr viewers and Finetune listeners for being part of my online world.

Music highlights of the year

The best songs (and albums) of 2008:

• Coldplay - 42 (epic haunting track), Yes (love the low tone vocal), Viva la Vida (track of the year) and Death and all his Friends (best rhythm riff of the year), album of the year and the best band in the world today
• Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss a Beat, best catchy song, incl. best lyric "what do you want for tea ? I want crisps", plus best small club concert
• Oasis - The Shock of the Lightning, still cheeky and still rocking, now with psychedelic backdrop
• The Fratellis - Tell Me a Lie, many fab tracks on the album, top band I still want to see live
  
• Glasvegas - Geraldine, you can feel the angst on the Scots' guitar strings
  
• The Dears - Crisis 1 & 2, dark and moody layers from Montreal, perhaps summing up the somber moods of 2008
  
• Beth Rowley - Sweet Hours, simply a beautiful voice
• Duffy - Warwick Avenue, tough job selecting just one track off this fantastic album, sadly, the wee gal isn't so engaging live
• TV on the Radio - Shout me Out, complex sounds massively varied across tracks and album
  
• Kings of Leon - Crawl (best guitar riff of the year - even versus AC/DC), wonderful, mature 3rd album from Tennessee boys, I'm converted and sold, hallelujah
  
• AC/DC - Rocking all the Way, the list really wouldn't be complete without wee Angus
  
• The Heavy - Our Special Place, eclectic album, better beats than sound-a-like Gnarls B
  
• The Streets - I Love You More (Than you Like Me), Brit rap joy, album also includes must-mention clap along track Heaven for the Weather
  
• The Killers - Human, quirky pop brilliance, looking forward to the big show in January
  
• Neil Diamond - The Power of Two, heart felt lyrics beautifully produced from old timer
  
• Jason Mraz - Lucky, super sappy duet with beach girl Colbie C
  
• Elbow - On a Day Like This (anthem of the year), pastoral, emotional with strings
  
• MGMT - Time to Pretend - thank you Strombo for the early tip
  
• Black Mountain - Queens will Play, retro rock done right by Vancouver scruffs
  
• Morcheeba - Thumbnails, deep late night instrumental electronica
  
• Thievery Corporation - Hare Krsna, surprise new inventive exotic grooves from one of my early electronica faves, looking forward to seeing them live in February
  
• The Kooks - Do you Wanna, sing it loud, straight up pop Rock
• The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made for You, keeping Monkey fans happy with superb Turner lyrics
• Razorlight - Wire to Wire, passionate sounds from the rocking lads
• Travis - Chinese Blues, the album is still growing on me, great come-back-from-the-dead rich sounds
• Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, last minute addition - rating and classification not quite dry, tip from my bro and making a few critic best ofs, punchy indy tracks with weird hint of Paul Simon.
  

I started making the list thinking 2008 was just an average music year, but now having sampled all the tracks above again, I have to say 2008 was a fantastic year for new music.

As most of you know I'm a big Brit music fan, but surprisingly a quick tally across the globe shows a healthy 11 of the 26 artists coming from North America.

Some one-hit wonders of 2008:

• Ray Lamontagne - You Are the Best Thing, I love horns and a rough voice, may be more goodies on the CD, but this track is standout
• Black Kids - Hurricane Jane, gentle sounds with urban feel
  
• Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet about me, fantastic musical and vocal trip from a very young lady
• Sonya Kitchell - Here to There, beautiful Canadian voice rolled into a landscape piece
• Usher - What's your Name, guilty hip hop pop find from Victoria Secret show
  

Old stuff rediscovered and/or triggered by new releases:

• Joy Division - Atmosphere, early new wave beats with ill-fated lyrics
  
• Primal Scream - Some Velvet Morning, one of my favourite dance tracks but the Kate Moss vocals wasn't the kicker
  
• Brazilian Girls - Don't Stop, very catchy and toe tappin' tease
  
• The Wombats - Moving to New York, original version plus Paul Van Dyck Remix, nice find of missed hipsters of 2007
  
• Susan Tedeschi - Share Your Love with Me, you gotta have some lady blues in your mix
  
• The Dears - Lost in the Plot (best old track discovery), no that's not Morrissey singing
• Just Jack - Life Stories, great Brit hip hop chappy pop grooves

Concert highlights:

• Oasis (Virgin Festival) - lived up to the reputation and hype and then some
  
• Kaiser Chiefs (Mod Club) - lots of bawdy fun and bouncin', almost helped surf Ricky over to the bar
  
• Coldplay (Air Canada Centre) - magnificent show, energy, lighting and a lively crowd
  
• Morcheba (Opera House) - groovy scene showing class electronica performance with lots of guitars
  
• The Kooks (Mod Club) - always lots of fun, even with a broken ankle
  
• Duffy (Mod Club) - clean sounds from the tiny Welsh chantreuse, but I found her stage presence a little uncomfortable - still on the list because she just sounds fantastic
  
• John Mayer (Molson Amphitheatre) - for saying we were seated way back, the sound and performance was top notch
  

Apologies for the no-link post, but it would have taken me just too long to put it all together and I wanted to complete while I was in the groove. But you can listen to many of the tracks and artists on my latest Finetune playlist 2008 Big Update.

Music highlights of the year

The best songs (and albums) of 2008:

• Coldplay - 42 (epic haunting track), Yes (love the low tone vocal), Viva la Vida (track of the year) and Death and all his Friends (best rhythm riff of the year), album of the year and the best band in the world today
• Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss a Beat, best catchy song, incl. best lyric "what do you want for tea ? I want crisps", plus best small club concert
• Oasis - The Shock of the Lightning, still cheeky and still rocking, now with psychedelic backdrop
• The Fratellis - Tell Me a Lie, many fab tracks on the album, top band I still want to see live
  
• Glasvegas - Geraldine, you can feel the angst on the Scots' guitar strings
  
• The Dears - Crisis 1 & 2, dark and moody layers from Montreal, perhaps summing up the somber moods of 2008
  
• Beth Rowley - Sweet Hours, simply a beautiful voice
• Duffy - Warwick Avenue, tough job selecting just one track off this fantastic album, sadly, the wee gal isn't so engaging live
• TV on the Radio - Shout me Out, complex sounds massively varied across tracks and album
  
• Kings of Leon - Crawl (best guitar riff of the year - even versus AC/DC), wonderful, mature 3rd album from Tennessee boys, I'm converted and sold, hallelujah
  
• AC/DC - Rocking all the Way, the list really wouldn't be complete without wee Angus
  
• The Heavy - Our Special Place, eclectic album, better beats than sound-a-like Gnarls B
  
• The Streets - I Love You More (Than you Like Me), Brit rap joy, album also includes must-mention clap along track Heaven for the Weather
  
• The Killers - Human, quirky pop brilliance, looking forward to the big show in January
  
• Neil Diamond - The Power of Two, heart felt lyrics beautifully produced from old timer
  
• Jason Mraz - Lucky, super sappy duet with beach girl Colbie C
  
• Elbow - On a Day Like This (anthem of the year), pastoral, emotional with strings
  
• MGMT - Time to Pretend - thank you Strombo for the early tip
  
• Black Mountain - Queens will Play, retro rock done right by Vancouver scruffs
  
• Morcheeba - Thumbnails, deep late night instrumental electronica
  
• Thievery Corporation - Hare Krsna, surprise new inventive exotic grooves from one of my early electronica faves, looking forward to seeing them live in February
  
• The Kooks - Do you Wanna, sing it loud, straight up pop Rock
• The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made for You, keeping Monkey fans happy with superb Turner lyrics
• Razorlight - Wire to Wire, passionate sounds from the rocking lads
• Travis - Chinese Blues, the album is still growing on me, great come-back-from-the-dead rich sounds
• Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, last minute addition - rating and classification not quite dry, tip from my bro and making a few critic best ofs, punchy indy tracks with weird hint of Paul Simon.
  

I started making the list thinking 2008 was just an average music year, but now having sampled all the tracks above again, I have to say 2008 was a fantastic year for new music.

As most of you know I'm a big Brit music fan, but surprisingly a quick tally across the globe shows a healthy 11 of the 26 artists coming from North America.

Some one-hit wonders of 2008:

• Ray Lamontagne - You Are the Best Thing, I love horns and a rough voice, may be more goodies on the CD, but this track is standout
• Black Kids - Hurricane Jane, gentle sounds with urban feel
  
• Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet about me, fantastic musical and vocal trip from a very young lady
• Sonya Kitchell - Here to There, beautiful Canadian voice rolled into a landscape piece
• Usher - What's your Name, guilty hip hop pop find from Victoria Secret show
  

Old stuff rediscovered and/or triggered by new releases:

• Joy Division - Atmosphere, early new wave beats with ill-fated lyrics
  
• Primal Scream - Some Velvet Morning, one of my favourite dance tracks but the Kate Moss vocals wasn't the kicker
  
• Brazilian Girls - Don't Stop, very catchy and toe tappin' tease
  
• The Wombats - Moving to New York, original version plus Paul Van Dyck Remix, nice find of missed hipsters of 2007
  
• Susan Tedeschi - Share Your Love with Me, you gotta have some lady blues in your mix
  
• The Dears - Lost in the Plot (best old track discovery), no that's not Morrissey singing
• Just Jack - Life Stories, great Brit hip hop chappy pop grooves

Concert highlights:

• Oasis (Virgin Festival) - lived up to the reputation and hype and then some
  
• Kaiser Chiefs (Mod Club) - lots of bawdy fun and bouncin', almost helped surf Ricky over to the bar
  
• Coldplay (Air Canada Centre) - magnificent show, energy, lighting and a lively crowd
  
• Morcheba (Opera House) - groovy scene showing class electronica performance with lots of guitars
  
• The Kooks (Mod Club) - always lots of fun, even with a broken ankle
  
• Duffy (Mod Club) - clean sounds from the tiny Welsh chantreuse, but I found her stage presence a little uncomfortable - still on the list because she just sounds fantastic
  
• John Mayer (Molson Amphitheatre) - for saying we were seated way back, the sound and performance was top notch
  

Apologies for the no-link post, but it would have taken me just too long to put it all together and I wanted to complete while I was in the groove. But you can listen to many of the tracks and artists on my latest Finetune playlist 2008 Big Update.

Reporting live 3 days ago...

This "live report" at 4:26pm on Friday, December 19th got lost in the mash of the tech transfer circus...posting so I can document this weather related little adventure...

Trying to get home.

Subway cars are jammed packed, it's going to be a nightmare for those commuters transferring to surface routes - I'm lucky I just have a nasty 10 min walk home in the blizzard. But still, I'm sure driving is worse. Dumb thing is, I actually chose to go to the office, rather than work from home today - I chose poorly.

Blackberry shot from the office at 1:30pm on Friday

Sears helping us remember our soldiers overseas

I stumbled on a special event at Sears on Tuesday. It was a presentation for Operation Wish with Sears Canada CEO, store manager and husband and wife military captains on hand to talk about the program and give people a chance to sign the banners that will be sent to our troops in Afghanistan. I signed a simple greeting of Thank you. Stay Safe. Although Christmas is supposed to be a time to think of others, our busy personal lives and precious family time normally take precedent. Take a moment to think about how lucky you are that you're safe and have the comfort of a home around you. Over the next week or so, contemplate the lives of those less fortunate or the brave troops making huge sacrifices for the greater good, maybe it will help put things in perspective. If you can do more, fantastic, but reserving a little place in your hearts and minds for others is something we can all do.

Make my day, shoot someone

I have been seeing signs for "Pixels for Pistols" around town over the last few months and got a bit of a clue as to the details behind the program. In today's Metro and saw some great news...Police trade digital cams for 1,900 guns !

I never would have thought such a simple, yet generous program would have such a large impact.

So make my day - shoot someone... shoot a friend laughing, your sibling teasing your Dad, a beautiful face of a girl on the street, or an old man whose face tells a thousand stories. I believe in shooting a lot and often, photography is a fantastic hobby, I love discovering great photography and love sharing my own shots.

Some links you might enjoy: Flickr portrait photographs; all my posts about photography; my page on Flickr; Digital Photography School blog. I have lots more, just let me know if you want some specific pointers.

Cheese.