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Let the season officially begin… this afternoon?

Go Canucks Go!Yesterday doesn’t count. The Cubs just ended their season as of this past Sunday, so my need is picked up from today through next spring. It’s good to have the boys back on the ice. Being that it starts in Detroit tonight, we’ll be enjoying things in the afternoon out here on the west coast.

By the way, have you checked out The Crazy Canucks yet?

Update: Canucks 3, Red Wings 1. Guys looked great on the ice, but way too many penalities. However, as many power plays that Detroit had, our defence really stepped up. Have to say, I loved tonight’s game!

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There needs to be a ban on ignorance

Here we go again.

‘Ban Harry Potter or face more school shootings’

A woman who maintains that the Harry Potter books are an attempt to teach children witchcraft is pushing for the second time to have them banned from school libraries.

Laura Mallory, a mother of four from the Atlanta suburb of Loganville, told a Georgia Board of Education officer that the books by British author J.K. Rowling, sought to indoctrinate children as Wiccans, or practitioners of religious witchcraft.

Referring to the recent rash of deadly assaults at schools, Mallory said books that promote evil – as she claims the Potter ones do – help foster the kind of culture where school shootings happen.

That would not happen if students instead read the Bible, Mallory said. [dailymail]

The article is worth reading the rest of, and so is this one. However, it should go without saying that banning anything is the worst thing that you can do. Banning books from a school library will not solve any situation. The next thing you know, kids will be sneaking away from their parents house to read. Oh the horror!

I was thinking about this a little bit futher today, and there has to be another side to the argument that we’re not getting. My assumption would be that the fact that you can read Harry Potter in the school library and not the Bible would probably be it. Obviously, religious text like that would be banned. Seperation of church and state would stand to reason.

The two publications, in their raw form, are just that. They are books. Their texts take on different meaning across the vast number of societies that make up the world, yet alone a tiny school district in Georgia. Just as you teach a child to read, you can teach a child to help understand that difference between wrong and right, good and bad, selfish and self-less, and so on. No one, and certainly not banning something, will do that any better.

There is also something to be said about stopping at Harry Potter. Do you ban everything by J.R.R. Toilken[wiki]? What about Phillip K. Dick[wiki]? Stephen King[wiki]? Witches and fantasy might lead us down a rabbit hole full of authors that we should wipe from the shelves, simply for telling us stories of the imagination.

When I was 13, I read The Boys From Brazil[wiki]. That freaked me out. Nazis, human cloning, little Hitlers? It was one of those rare book projects for school that I actually recall enjoying, not to mention the amount of times that I shivered from the chills it gave me. Even though the book was of fiction, I still sought to find out if cloning was even possible, which it wasn’t at that time.

And who was this Josef Mengele[wiki] guy that was in this story? There seemed to be more detail there that begged me to find out more, as I have forever been attracted to WWII history. Fact was darker than fiction when I discovered the true tales of that man. The fact is, I was inspired to learn more.

The printed word is a powerful thing. The Bible is a book that society uses to teach a way of life. There are many versions of it. There are also many interpretations of the things written inside. Not everyone takes away the same meaning, nor is it free from violence, corruption, darkness, and tales of evil. Simply saying reading that instead will not solve the problems of gun violence in schools.

I also find it incredibly ironic that a podcast called The Secrets of Harry Potter exists, and that it is created by a catholic priest. As it says on the site, “Fr. Roderick explores themes and symbols in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling.” According to his podcast, The Daily Breakfast, he breaks down this argument of the books being pure evil and examines the connections to christian themes. Maybe Laura Mallory should subscribe.

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My imagination is confirmation

Mat Kearney at the Media Club

Rebecca already blogged about this show on Metroblogging Vancouver[post], so I’m late to the party on this one. She’s also the one getting the photo credit on this post. And actually, I never made my post about seeing Snow Patrol not too long ago. Maybe I’ll get to that, but I’ve been a little busy lately. I’ll add that to the list.

Anyway, about this show. Both acts were really good. Griffin House was a great opening act and was far more stripped down in terms of their sound. The lyrics were often political and witty. Mat Kearney, on the other hand, seems to be a master of bringing the quality of a CD recording on stage. He’s got a great voice and song writing ability, but I often felt like I was listening to an American version of Coldplay. Keep in mind, I had not heard of this guy before stepping foot into the Media Club.

We ended up at the show when one of Rebecca’s co-workers, who is a music nut like myself, wanted to see the show but couldn’t track anyone down to tag along. I’m always up for some live music, so we were happy to go.

The thing about this show was that it was an “industry event”. In fact, the name “Sony BMG” was mentioned numerous times, outside and inside the place. I’m not one to ditch a show or an artist for the only reason being that they are on a major label, but you better believe that there are people out there who do shun such folks. So for me, it wasn’t the fact that Kearney is one of these artists as much as it was those folks who were a part of this “industry”… “thing”.

The whole night, in this tiny club, there was constant talking. Not just chattering or murmurs. Full out conversations, ignoring the fact that there was anything happening on stage. That might be a bit of an exageration, but for anyone there who was there for the love of Kearney’s music, which there were more than just a few, this was less than perfect for them.

For the people in the back, who were most likely on guest list at the door, this is just another thing they do with their day job. Music is a business, not an art. The love they brought into that place was for money, rubbing elbows, making connections, and keeping your face in the industry that makes up Vancouver. It hurt to see this become a reality opposed to a thought that has been in the back of my head.

All the pointless, over played “hits” that populates radio and TV made sense in that moment. Mat Kearney is a victim of these people who profit from his artistic abilities, all the while they pay little attention as to what he is doing on stage. This is not saying anything about him as an artist.

I just feel bad for him. He’s a great singer, has an incredible talent at freestyling, and seems like a nice guy. I guess his stuff was featured in some TV show recently, and that’s outstanding. Good for him. I’m betting that the folks in back(and what was with the guy who introduced him at the beginning?) were more focused on working on the the next guy, gal, or group that they can get onto the next The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy, or whatever series soundtrack that’s “hot” out there.

I know this isn’t complete doom and gloom. This isn’t the truth for the whole industry, but among the big labels out there, this is heartbreaking to experience first hand. You have a picture in your head that this might be what it’s like, but the reality is something that ends up completely surprising you. There would be some happiness in knowing that you’re making this up, but I’m not.

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One year down

Downtown VancouverI’m a few days late with marking the occasion, but it has been, officially, one year since I have moved to Vancouver. So much of my life has changed within the past year. Wrapping my head around it just gets too confusing, not to mention all the other projects that I have going on in my life right now. That’s not too bad for a guy who can’t legally work in Canada yet, but my time is coming.

Rebecca is so much a piece of everything that I call my life now. We figured out a long time ago that distances were too tough to keep us from each other, and the fight to get this far has been something we have done hand in hand. Our little home in the west end is more happiness than I could have ever imagined. That’s not to say that life has been a walk in the park. I just have an incredible partner in crime to push through it all.

I also haven’t left British Columbia, or even this country, since I came here. Moving so far away from your family is never the easiest thing to do. You leave behind everything that you have known to learn everything all over again.

Downtown VancouverI still have a slight problem with deciding which way is north. That might sound silly, but I grew up in a flatter evironment and about seven degrees further south on the latitude. There is even less sunlight up here in the winter, and the snow is only seen if you head to the interior.

Even after a year, there is still a lot of changes to get used to, but that’s what life is. I always had this thought in my head that my path would lead out of Iowa one day. I also understood damn well that such a venture would not be easy. Little did I know that it would lead me to Rebecca, moving to another country, and taking on the biggest change in my life.

The strange thing is that so much of my mindset has changed from just thinking I can do this to nothing can stop me now. Naturally, nothing in life is perfect or comes easily, but you make the best of what you have of it. Bumps in the road happen. You adjust and keep going. Rebecca and I do that everyday. It’s all about having fun, and we get to do that in the greatest city in the world.

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Announcing a new podcast: The Crazy Canucks

A few months ago, Rebecca[miss604] and I brainstormed an idea for a podcast that seemed too good to pass up. With the friends that we have been making in the world of blogging and podcasting, The Crazy Canucks was born.

We’ve brought together Vancouver Canucks Op Ed, the Canucks Hockey Blog, the Canucks Outsider, Miss604, and my adventures with RadioZoom into a podcast that is probably unlike anything you’ve heard before, and nothing like anything I’ve ever been apart of. And you don’t need an iPod to listen!

The Crazy Canucks

[krey-zee, kuh-nuhks]

Local Canuck Bloggers to Host a Weekly Roundtable Podcast this 06/07 NHL Season

Current album art: The Crazy Canucks podcastVANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (October 2, 2006) – Coming this October is a podcast the likes of which Vancouver has never seen. It will be a collaboration of hockey bloggers and the brainchild of a podcaster who all have one thing in common: The Vancouver Canucks.

The Crazy Canucks will be a weekly podcast about the team, the players, the organization and the league. Our goal is to have a fan’s point of view, since we’re not cable TV and we’re not local sports radio. Agree or disagree, leave us a written or audio comment and tell us how you really feel.

Listen and subscribe to the podcast, which will be available weekly on TheCrazyCanucks.com.

For more information contact: feedback [at] thecrazycanucks.com

Look for the premiere episode to debut this week as the Canucks kick off the regular season on Thursday. Subscribe or listen directly on the website. It doesn’t matter how you hear it as much as it matters that you come be apart of the podcast. Afterall, we’re fans just like you.

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Doing my part in documenting local history

Jason Vanderhill[flickr] is a guy I met at the Vandigicam event that Rebecca and I attened a few weeks ago to do a podcast[rz#110] during. A short time ago, Jason contacted me to aid him in a project he is working on with members of the Vancouver Historical Society. I wasn’t completely sure I was volunteering for, but the idea of lending my knowledge of recording in the field sounded like fun.

Turns out, the oldest film of Vancouver is the same piece of footage that I heard about from Dave Olson when we hung out during the Celebration of Light.

Last week, I was helped Jason capture some audio that is to go into a project about this film that was discovered in the basement of a house down in Australia. Nine minutes of a movie where William Harbeck[vancouverhistory.ca] put a camera at the front of a cable car as it goes through Vancouver in 1907. Very cool stuff, and it made me overly happy to have ventured over the Granville Bridge by foot on such a gorgeous day.

The film has been shown publicly, but I have yet to see it. I’m not sure what the whole plan is for the final project, but this is something I am very lucky to have a hand in. I’ll be sure to update here when I know more. If you can get a chance to see this piece of history, I’m betting that the images of Vancouver from one hundred years ago is a trip.

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Good Bye, Dusty

Dusty Baker is out as the main man on the bench for the Cubs.

CHICAGO (AP) – Dusty Baker is out as the Chicago Cubs’ manager following a last-place finish and a failure to take the team to the World Series in his four-year tenure.

The Cubs made the announcement Monday, a day after team president Andy MacPhail resigned and the club finished with a 66-96 record.

“I wish we could have (got) it done but we didn’t,” Baker said. “You see four years come to pass very quickly.”

Baker was in the last season of his deal – worth over US$14 million – and had hoped to resurrect the franchise that hadn’t been in the World Series since 1945 and hadn’t won one since 1908. The Cubs got within five outs of the Series in 2003, but never came close after that.

He compiled a 322-326 record during his time in Chicago. [tsn]

It’s tough to be a fan here in Vancouver, but I think I followed the team nicely this season. However, this year has been so up and down, and I would probably say that it’s been more down than up. Baker isn’t the guy to completely blame here. He has had great guys come into the organization, but the amount of injuries has been the constant problem. Shortly after the all-star break, I didn’t keep up with the guys on TV as much as I did before that. Reading the wires and catching a few podcasts, I wasn’t missing a whole lot.

I’ll miss seeing Dusty on the bench. He’s a serious manager, but the emotions you get out of him was a part of the fun. So many managers are stone faced and almost robot-like. Baker would jump off the bench, smack his hands together, and give out a audible yell on a great play. Can’t forget that we won’t see his kid sitting on his lap as he gives post-game interviews anymore.

So long, Dusty. You did your best, and I was always a fan, no matter what the record was.

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I might be at the Portable Media Expo

My immigration status is still unchanged. That means I cannot go to the Portable Media Expo in California, at least physically. In fact, it’s already started by the time I make this post. The keynote is over and people who claim to know more than you about podcasting are beginning various sessions about different topics, mostly how to make money off this stuff.

Dave Slusher is one of those guys. He speaks for the trees. Er, I mean hobbyists. Amateur podcasters that do it for the love and not the money. He also put out a call for URLs, logos, and a voice comment regarding why you podcast and would you keep doing it if you knew, tomorrow, that you were never going to make a single dime from podcasting. He’ll be using these things in his session with a goal of highlighting those who do this for the love, not the dollar signs.

I gave him all three, and he emailed me to let me know he got it. If it wasn’t for the fact that I listened to Ted’s latest edition of Island Podcasting, I would have never known that he was doing this. My listening to the Evil Genius Chronicles got a little backed up. Even though I emailed him the stuff yesterday, I got in “right under the wire”.

So if you saw or heard of RadioZoom at the PME, be sure to leave a comment and let me know.

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WILT: PodRunner

If you like podcasts and are someone who enjoys a nice, sweaty workout like myself, then you should subscribe to this. PodRunner is a weekly podcast that is music for your workouts. DJ steveboy sends this out for those who are into running, spinning, or however you workout, and the mixes are all of his own creation.

Here’s the description that pops up on his RSS feed in iTunes.

Like to run or workout to fast, energetic music? Check out PODRUNNER: nonstop, steady-bpm, one-hour mixes from L.A.’s own dj steveboy. A new mix every week to help you groove while you move, whenever, wherever, and however you work out. iTunes reviews are appreciated, and suggestions and comments are always welcome at steve@djsteveboy.com.

If you’d like to be notified whenever new mixes are online, visit the “Mixes” page at www.djsteveboy.com.

I’ve done a few running routes while listening to his stuff, and they are a really great change from the mix of music and podcasts that I usually stick on my iPod mini when I venture out. 170 BPM(beats per minute) is a little fast to set a constant pace to, and I found myself keeping up with the beat more than a few times this morning. That can get tiring if you’re not careful.

Still, this makes your environment pass by with a slightly different perspective, and I do get into the electronic side of music. I don’t know much about who is who, but I dig it. This is great to set your breathing rate to and get a nice pace on your route. You can also use it to tell how long you’ve been running if you press play at the very start of your run and measure by how much time has elapsed in the podcast.

Every episode that is released usually has a name and a short intro of him talking about the mix at the beginning. In addition, every podcast has the BPM in the title. My next trial will be something in the 135 BPM range.