Category: British Columbia

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Now you can watch lacking Canucks PPV on an even bigger screen

Hold on to your hats, the Canucks are coming to a big screen near you.

Forget Hockey Night in Canada, how about Hockey Night on the big screen? Cineplex Entertainment is bringing back Canucks pay-per-view games as a regular feature in select theatres across BC.

The idea was first tried out last year, and Cineplex says it’s been successful enough to warrant a sequel. The next “big screen” game is on Sunday, when the boys take on the Blue Jackets. [news1130]

As incredibly cool and nonintoxicating as that sounds, why would you want to watch a standard definition broadcast of a hockey game on a huge screen? Changes are coming to Canucks Pay-Per-View, but it’s still the same, over priced dribble that we have watched for the past two seasons. It could be longer than that, but I haven’t watched it for that long.

Come on, PPV people! I get that we don’t have to watch commercials, but what else do we get besides that? John Shorthouse and Tom Larschied? Yeah, that’s cool, but there could be a whole lot more.

Dare I say it, but TSN does some cool stuff by having their guys down on ice level, smack dab in between the benches. Or how about cameras on ice level? Give me a Fin cam or something more than just your standard Sportsnet broadcast with static cameras.

It’s not about being flashy or bells and whistles. I’m just saying that you could make a lot more money if people really got primo content from PPV. I don’t mind visiting our friends on the north shore to watch the game on their huge DLP TV, but if we couldn’t make it over, we’d live with listening to the radio.

The green graphics and the in between period set where Dan Murphy hangs out is nice, but that’s it? Should have spent more money on going HD, and that’s a whole other gripe.

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Working when it’s a lot like playing

Last night, I had the opportunity to do something that I have never done before, but it was only a matter of time before it was going to happen. I mean, this is Canada. If you read between the lines enough, you know that I’m back to doing the radio thing in and around Vancouver, all on the technical back end. I’m the guy making things work and the people on the air sound good.

So when I was going through the setup for Friday night on Wednesday afternoon, it struck me. I’m working my first ever sports broadcast, and on top of that, it was a Vancouver Giants hockey game.

View from press row

That might not sound incredible or awesome to some, but that’s the point where I realized how far I’ve come in my radio career. From those early, blood shot eye, 4AM Saturday mornings at a tiny, 100 watt college radio station to a group of commercial radio stations in the #2 market in Canada, it hit me as I was getting everything in place for the guys doing play by play for the game.

When I saw a semi-professional hockey game for the first time, it was for the UHL Quad City Mallards[wiki], now known as the Quad City Flames (and recently an AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames). I kinda thought that it would be cool to do radio stuff for them, but it always seemed like I might be doing something for the Hawkeyes basketball or football team before something like minor league hockey would come my way. I came close once, but it never panned out.

Giants Post-Game Show In all actuality, my first days doing any sort of sports broadcasts was being board operator for Iowa Women’s Softball games at KRUI. That’s when I developed my affinity for good music during sporting events, and you can believe that I took some pleasure in parsing the library to find some killer tracks to play as beds and bumpers. These days, it’s a boarder line obsession with restraint.

The Giants game was simple setup and tear down with some minor sweating as we got the broadcast on the air. There is always that moment where you second guess everything you just setup and pray that when the show goes live, you can breathe again once you’re sure it works.

Crazy thing is, the only fire to creep up on us last night was an actual fire. I usually refer to having problems as “putting out fires” or “having a complete flame out”, but there was an actual fire in the rafters of Pacific Coliseum, just above the goalie on north end of the rink.

At least my night wasn’t that bad, and when it seemed like it might not be all that serious, the flames gave a nice pop and some flaming debris fell to the ice. They had to stop the game to get it all cleaned up and repair the ice for about ten minutes, but it made for an interesting first period. Never worked a hockey broadcast before, and I certainly have never seen a fire like that either.

Fire in Pacific Coliseum
Best shot I could get with my cellphone.
That small, orange spec near the middle of the shot is the fire.

No damage to really be seen, and it was too high up to see what it actually was. Some guy ran to the location to first see what it was, and then ran back to, presumably, find something to put it out with. Instead, he came back to stomp on it, but then another few guys ran up with a fire extinguisher to kill it.

Giants lost to the Chilliwack Bruins in OT, 5-4, but still a pretty good night.

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Thanks for making the 2007 Run For The Cure a success

Last Sunday was the CIBC Run For The Cure, and I wanted to make a quick follow-up post to say thanks to all of your who donated towards my or Rebecca’s goal.

The standard goal for all runners to participate without having to pay an entry fee was $150, and I ended up with a final tally of $175. Not only is that pretty awesome, but the one day total from the Canada wide, one day event was $26.5 million. That’s mind blowing, but seeing all the people who showed up on Sunday morning in downtown Vancouver would prove that not so hard to believe.

And speaking of the run, the weather was miserable. A little cool, but raining like it can be expected for Vancouver at this time of year. By the end of the few hours that we braved the elements, we were sopping wet. I’ve often said that there is nothing like running in the rain, and that statement still rings true. However, being forced to wait outside for nearly an hour for the run to start? That’s not so cool.

Rebecca and I ran the whole route together, without stopping or walking, and finished the 5k in just over 31 minutes. She did awesome, but it was even better to get home and hop into a hot shower, followed by a heaping breakfast at Hamburger Mary’s to reward ourselves.

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Trying to Raise A Reader

Yesterday morning, Rebecca and I ventured around downtown to see what Canucks players we could mug for a photo during the Raise A Reader event that the Vancouver Sun put on. For those unaware, this is an event in which you donate money to people giving away copies of that day’s edition of the Sun in hopes of helping the fight against illiteracy. A great cause for sure, and we’ve been planning on this day for about a month. Last year it caught us off guard, so we made sure to mark it down this time around.

Raise a Reader Day: Hank is going to kick your a$$!
Photo credit: miss604 on Flickr

Basically, to get a picture or signature from the various players that were stationed around Metro Vancouver, you have to make a donation. A stellar idea, and we snagged a few. Hank was super nice, but a little stiff. In fact, I think he looks like a cardboard cutout here, but that’s cool. He can still play hockey better than I ever could. Also got a snap of Rebecca with Kevin “Boom Boom” Bieksa, but we bypassed Byron Ritchie and Rick Bowness. Nothing against them. We were just on the move.

Raise a Reader Day: He squeezed back
Photo credit: miss604 on Flickr

Still, the best image from the morning was this one that I snapped.

Fin is insane!

When I pulled out my camera, Fin saw me and gave me this great pose. I swear he must have had a liter of coffee before suiting up for the morning. How he does it, I’ll never know.

Raise a Reader Day: Fin is nuts!
Photo credit: miss604 on Flickr

When my parent’s first visited Vancouver, we took a ride on one of those exact, same trolleys. Some dude dressed in an orca outfit with smoke spewing out the top of his head never found his way on our tour, and it makes me want our money back. I could only imagine those out of town folks, namely Americans, who had no clue who or what was jumping on board with them and going straight for the driver’s seat, proceeding to lay on the horn like there was no tomorrow.

Fin is trying to work the trolley

We also walked by the Vancouver chief of police by the Hotel Vancouver. There were numerous police and fire personnel all over the place, and they are just as much as important as the hockey players around the city. They might not score as many goals, but they’re still important folks in my book. Overall, I think it was a pretty successful morning for the Raise A Reader campaign.

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Vancouver Podcast Meetup: September 23, 2007 (follow-up)

It’s been a while since the Vancouver Podcast Meetup on September 23, 2007, but better late than never to post a few notes and pictures of the event, right?

Bottom line, it was a great night, and that’s aside from the round of beer that Mark bought in celebration of my birthday that was the next day. There weren’t too many who showed for the event, and everyone had familiar faces from the previous meetup in February. The boys from Foreskin Radio, DaveO, Rebecca, John Biehler, Mark Blevis, and myself.

There were a a variety of things that were discussed, namely an around the table mentioning of the podcasts that we each listen to. I stirred up some debate when I said that, yes, I still listen to Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code, but that’s because I derive an element of satisfaction from his shenanigans and mindless dribble, even if he is a millionaire. In the end, as podcasters, isn’t that what we all hope that people enjoy about what we do? Minus the whole millionaire thing…

There are a lot of podcasts that I listen to when it comes down to it. I was even thinking of listing them all here, but seriously, that would just take too long to do. iTunes isn’t friendly in terms of exporting a list that is friendly to posting, but I will say that I do listen to anything Dave does, Clubside Breakfast Time, CBC Radio: BC This Week, Democracy Now!, Fitness Attack, Geek.Farm.Life, Island Podcasting, NPR: Hourly New Summary, The Onion Radio News, Podrunner, Spike O’Dell, Vanmega, and Kaflooey, just to name a few podcasts that I’d like to plug.

We’re really behind on producing an episode of RadioZoom, but The Crazy Canucks are pushing out content like there is no tomorrow. We’re ramping up for the season, so it’s time to get excited for sure. Don’t worry, the RZ fun will continue. Just stay tuned.

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Vancouver Podcast Meetup: September 23, 2007

It’s getting to the point where I’m bypassing the spam that comes in my email, but luckily, I was able to catch an email from Mark Blevis about an upcoming Vancouver Podcast Meetup that he’s bringing together during a business related trip out here.

I am taking advantage of a work trip to Vancouver to organize a meetup of podcasters, podcast listeners and the podcast curious. The event will take place 7:00pmPT Sunday, September 23 at the Steamworks Brewing Co. Gastown location (375 Water Street) — makers of great beer including their Nirvana Nut Brown Ale.

Please RSVP so that we can warn Steamworks about our numbers.

The event is open to everyone so, even if you find out about this gathering at the last minute, show up. [markblevis]

This is a day before my birthday. That makes Mark 2 out of 3 so far for important dates to us, the last meetup landing on the same day as our wedding anniversary. I guess that just means that we’ll have to get Mark out here to do another meetup on or around January 9th, Rebecca’s birthday.

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Sponsor me in the CIBC Run For The Cure 2007

The time has come again for the CIBC Run For The Cure 2007, and I will be participating again this year. I’m also asking for your donations so that I can partake in the event, and all money will go directly to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to help those dealing with breast cancer and hopefully find a cure.

CIBC Run For The Cure Make your online sponsorships here, and the run takes place on September 30, 2007 in downtown Vancouver, starting and ending at BC Place. I have until then to raise $150 to participate in the event.

ABOUT THE RUN

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is an extraordinary single-day experience that unites more than 170,000 Canadians in 53 communities across the country. Together, we’re raising millions of dollars to fund innovative and relevant breast cancer research, education, and awareness programs in the communities where you live. [cibcrunforthecure]

I have just recently gotten myself back into the running routine, pretty much healed from my shin splint that was bothering me a lot. My hope is to run this 5k at or under 25 minutes.

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Holly McNarland at the East Vancouver Cultural Center

Holly McNarland
Photo credit: gusgreeper on Flickr

I know the picture is dark, but this whole venue was dark except for the light that shined on the performers. Actually, a few songs into Holly McNarland‘s set, the lights seem to brighten and change colors. Otherwise, Corinna‘s picture here is pretty spot on.

Rebecca has been a fan of Holly’s music for a long time, so I’m familiar with the music. Can’t say that I know a lot of words to very many songs, not to mention the few songs titles that I can name off the top of my head. The one thing I do know is that Holly can wail.

Bottom line, an amazing performance at the East Vancouver Cultural Center. Stripped down to a point, there was no percussion, aside from the occasional tambourine, and some subtle electric guitar to add a little extra where needed. Other than that, acoustic guitars and a fellow female vocalist to provide backing vocals where needed. Worked out beautifully.

On the latest episode of RadioZoom, I was mentioning the amount of “da da da’s” that were utilized in her and the opening act’s music. Adaline probably doesn’t have a song on her latest album called “Da Da Da” like Holly McNarland does, but at a certain point in the evening, I heard a lot of da-da-da-ing going on.

True that I’ve been to a lot of rock shows with a fair share of yeah’s being screamed, and the key thing is that both of these women were using their amazing voices to sing this simplest of syllables. Still, it was something that really stuck out to me.

In the end, she’s still got it. Even after having a child less than a year ago, she was able to get this album put together and out to the masses. Couldn’t have asked for a better, more intimate venue as well.

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Sparta at the Pacific Colosseum

It’s true that Sparta was opening the show for Alice In Chains and Velvet Revolver last Friday, but I think my mind went in reverse for this show. We caught the first half of Alice in Chains and missed out on all of Velvet Revolver. We got in there just in time for Sparta to take the stage, though.

Ticket and pass to interview Sparta

Actually, RadioZoom was slated to have yet another interview with the band[RZ#118, RZ#130], this time with Keeley and Tony. Sadly, and you can read Rebecca’s post about the whole night, it just didn’t work out. This was night number one of being on this tour with VR, taking them around various parts of North America.

Combine the working out the kinks and a big arena show, it wasn’t the strongest performance I’ve seen from Sparta. Don’t get me wrong, they played really well, and the last few songs all seemed uber tight and rocking. I chalk it up to first show jitters. The quarter full Pacific Colosseum received them very, very well.

As an extra mention, Alice In Chains, believe it or not, were pretty amazing. I was a total, non-believer of them going back out on the road without Layne Staley[wiki]. At the same time, we have to be honest to ourselves and understand that Layne is gone forever, so that this would happen isn’t all too surprising. You can’t expect it to be the same or as good as it ever was, so the show must go on, right?

Rocking the Gorge
Photo credit: Jenya Campbell on Flickr

Well holy crap, was I ever blown away. William DuVall[wiki] actually works. The guy has a voice that fits with Alice In Chains, and stage presence never hurts. Even though he has big shoes to fill, I think he is doing a hell of a job making a mark for himself. When they opened up with Again and then busted into Grind right after that, I looked at Rebecca and asked, “Remember when we were sixteen?” To me, that means something. I wanted to keep hearing them rock out and relive my glory days in the nineties, but I had a job to do.

As a side note, I can also say that I’ve seen Jerry Cantrell[wiki] play. Maybe not one of the biggest guitar gods in the world, but a prominent person, to me, in rock and roll history when it comes to the heyday of the Seattle grunge scene. He’s really skinny, too.

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Wireless Internet on Vancouver buses

It’s not what you think, at least initially, but I find this application incredibly interesting. Plus, it’s another step closer to having mobile WiFi for the rest of us commuting around Vancouver via TransLink.

Novax Industries of New Westminster is in negotiations with TransLink to install what’s called Trans-POD. It would give buses intersection priority.

Novax CEO David Atnikov says it would also alert transit passengers on their laptops or cellphones on where their bus is and how long it will take to arrive. He says it would be like making your time more efficient.

The system could also be used for parking meter reading, gas meter reading, or checking your hydro consumption.

Atnikov says because the transmitter is on the bus, it creates a wireless connected neighbourhood wherever transit is. Edmonton and Toronto already have the Trans-POD system up and running. [news1130]

I’ve written about the need for a city-wide, wireless Internet system in Vancouver, and it’s high time that we stop thinking about catching up with what other, major metropolitan areas are doing on the other side of the Rockies.

I’m already using the MyBus application on Facebook quite a lot. It’s incredible useful to see how soon the next bus is supposed to arrive when heading to work on a rainy day. I can only imagine how useful that would be to get on my cellphone, not needing wireless access on an iPhone to do so.