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Collection of blogs to feed your Canucks need

Welcome to September. Ok, the month is nearly over, but pre-season hockey kicked off this week. On top of that, my birthday is on Sunday. Rumor has it, Rebecca might have gotten us tickets to the Canucks game for the same day against Anaheim. This might be a secret, but I am almost positive that we’re going to be there. I’m almost shaking with excitement as I type this. An amazing way to celebrate my first birthday in Vancouver.

The hockey blogs are ramping up for the coming season, so I thought I would do my best to share some of my favorites for getting news on the Canucks. I should also mention that the commentary is the best thing about these sites. Afterall, what else are blogs for if you can’t share some of your personality while posting away about the team, or teams, that you love, not to mention the team, or teams, that you don’t.

  • Vancouver Canucks Op Ed [http://www.vancouvercanucksoped.com]
    • I liked Alanah’s stuff before we interviewed her on the podcast[radiozoom#108], and she is an incredible source of what’s happening with the Canucks. Readers chime in with comments, and she responds with more insight to what she’s posting. That conversation alone can give you more about what you want to know.
  • Canucks Hockey Blog [http://canuckshockey.blogspot.com]
    • J.J. knows his stuff. The guy worked at GM Place for a number of years and has season tickets for the Canucks. Do you need anything more to tell you that he loves this team? J.J. offers great insight into what’s going on with the team, and I loved his coverage on the salary cap situation. I had the opportunity to meet him recently, and he is a super cool guy. We hope to interview him on the podcast in the very near future.
  • Canucks Outsider Podcast [http://hockeynw.com]
    • I can’t fail to throw a podcast into this, but DaveO does do some blogging on this site as well. The guy knows his stuff and has done a lot to teach me about the history of the team. Hasn’t been much since the Hurricanes won the final last season(of which he totally called from day one of the playoffs), so I hope he starts back up when the season returns. Plus, I know the guy. Go check out his stuff because I said so.
  • Miss604 [http://miss604.com]
    • Gotta plug Rebecca’s blog because she does some great blogging about the Canucks, and she is, afterall, my wife. Expect more as the season kicks into full swing.
  • Waiting for Stanley [http://hockey-madness.blogspot.com]
    • Three guys contributing to one blog makes for a lot of content coming from this site. They cover more than just the Canucks, but the things they cover give you a good overview with what is going on with the teams that will be coming up against Vancouver. “Waiting for Stanley” refers to the Stanley Cup, of course. With the Sedin twins pictured in the banner at the top of the page, this is the story for much of Vancouver fans.
  • Orland Kurtenblog [http://orlandkurtenblog.blogspot.com]
    • These guys crack me up. They’re new to the scene, as of July, but I like their take on the Canucks. They have a lot of knowledge in terms of the history of the team, and the commentary is hilarious. I dig the posts about Canucks players of past, and stuff like Celebrity Hockey Look Alikes crack me up.
  • Canucks.com Blog [http://blog.canucks.com]
    • Last, but not least, the official Canucks blog. However, there is a lot to be desired from this one. It’s a tad messy to sort out, and I’m not sure who the guys are that are posting, officially, on behalf of the organization. They also do live blogging of the games and have players do their own posts from time to time. It’s a great resource, but finding all of those elements that I just pointed out can be a little difficult.

That’s all I have for now, and I know that there are more blogs about the Canucks out there. Feel free to post a comment about them, but the ones that I just listed are the ones that I’m reading on a regular basis. I have so many RSS feeds that I check up on everyday, so if there are others that you think I should be paying attention to, let me know.

All of that being said, it’s going to be a crazy season coming up. Nothing is on TV until the regular season kicks off in October, so I have no way to judge anything except what I read about it in the blogs or catch from the media.

Yo! Luongo(that’s for you, Alanah) makes his debut in a Canucks jersey tonight in San Jose, and my favorite boy, Anson Carter, made his way to the Blue Jackets(where Federov just went out for the next six weeks with an injury SUCKER!). I don’t know what to expect. Maybe the game against Anaheim on Sunday, that Rebecca might be taking me to, will tell me more.

With hope, I’ll be doing my own posts from time to time about the Canucks, but keep listening to RadioZoom. Rebecca and I always love talking hockey there.

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Weird Al’s “White & Nerdy” on YouTube

Rebecca made a post about this yesterday[miss604], and I’m not going to put the YouTube video on my site.  However, I really think you should go over there and watch this.

Weird Al Yankovic has been a favorite of mine since I was four, and it’s amazing that he is still running strong.  I dislike the original version of this song so much, but “White and Nerdy” might be some of his best work yet.

His new album lands in stores on September 26th.

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Dedication of Johnny Carson’s birthplace

When I met Wyn at one of the Metroblogging Vancouver meetups, she mentioned, with a lot of pride, how she puts a little bit of Halifax in everything that she posts, whenever she can. Afterall, it is her home town, and I think that’s what I try to do with a lot of the things that I write about here. If anything, I like to promote information about Iowa that some people might not be unaware of.

Take Johnny Carson[wiki] for instance. He’ll claim that most of his days spent growing up were in Nebraska, but his true place of birth is in the town of Corning, Iowa[wiki]. Yeah, Iowa… Corn… Corning? A historical pun of the sorts, but this is the truth.

Carson birthplace event called off; McMahon ailing

THE REGISTER
September 21, 2006
Thursday’s planned dedication of the Johnny Carson Birthplace in Corning is off, event organizers say, because Carson’s former pal Ed McMahon is unable to attend.

McMahon was to headline the day’s events honoring the memory of Carson, who died last year. The two were together during the three decades Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show.”

“Mr. McMahon called us (Wednesday) night and told us he was ill and unable to fly,” said Beth Wadle of the Adams Community Economic Development Corporation. “He very much wants to be here when we dedicate the birthplace, so we’re holding off until he can reschedule.”

The small house where Carson was born in 1925, was recently purchased by a Corning native who plans to restore it to its original condition.

Carson also lived in Clarinda, Red Oak and Avoca as a child before his family moved to Nebraska. [desmoinesregister]

There are certain things that you have to be proud of, and for many Iowans, this is one of them. While it is true that Carson sat on his throne for nearly thirty years on the west coast, his roots run deep in the midwest. He always spoke with fondness about where he was from, if not making it apart of his jokes. It’s easy to do, and more acceptable when you are one of us.

I think what troubles me are those who move away from Iowa and do everything they can to hide where they are from. Actually, this goes for anyone from anywhere, and I’ve run into this with a vengence. I outted a girl for being from Indiana once, and that happened at the University of Iowa. I don’t think she liked me much prior to that moment, and she certainly hated me after.

It all comes down to stereotypes. Why not be truthful about your roots and defy those things that people already presume that we are? Not having the sense of pride to say where you are truthfully from doesn’t make your lie of where you claim to be any better.

People often ask me where I’m specifically from when I mention being an American. I’m not afraid to tell them where, and it’s rare to have a long conversation with anyone about it. I do live and reside in Vancouver, but you won’t hear me claim it as where I am from.

The fact is that a majority do not know a lot about Iowa other than what they saw in Field of Dreams[imdb].

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Taking a look at the Global National Podcasts

Global National PodcastI was originally thinking of making this a W.I.L.T., but the Global National Podcast isn’t something that I’m regularly checking out. I’ve caught enough of their commercials to gather enough interest in seeing what they’re doing.

A basic background to the program, Global National is a half hour news program that is broadcast across Canada. Kevin Newman is the guy behind the desk, and I have to add that the guy is huge. He must workout between commercial breaks.

There are two ways you can get the program in podcast form. The video version makes the most sense because, afterall, this is a television program. If you would rather get your daily dose in audio, you can do that as well. The interesting thought here is that the audio is exactly what you hear on the video version of the podcast. Basically, it’s TV without the pictures.

They promote this podcast with the slogan of, “Missed the Global National newscast on television? Now you can watch or listen to Global National on your portable media player!” This stands to reason because you are getting a carbon copy of what they aired on TV. At the same time, this is a lot of content to be pulling down everyday, and being national news, there is a lot more that you can get from surfing into a couple of websites, like the Globe and Mail or CBC, in the amount of time it takes to download just one of these podcasts.

This is another example of big media trying to get into the realm of what’s new and independent. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but there seems to be poor elements within Global’s effort. Kevin Newman might be pretty to look at on your iPod, but do you want to spend time staring at a head on a screen telling you the news? There are much more effective ways to have this done, but to each their own.

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Compression is not in the NPR dictionary

Dear National Public Radio,

I really enjoy listening to your podcasts. Being someone who used to work in the network, I understand the content that you guys offer with your podcasts. The new is incredibly informative and a great addition to my playlists when I go running. The five minute updates clue me into news happening around the world that I’ll usually look into future among my many RSS feeds.

I also like the other content that you guys offer. The Whad’Ya Know stuff is great. I’ve been listening to Mr. Feldman for as long as I can remember. Although it’s just a small portion of the weekly program, his satire is quite humourus.

What I was to know is… why do I always have to crank up the volume when I listen to your podcasts? It’s annoying. I get that there is a certain “style” to the way NPR does things. I have also run into a number of arguments in the broadcast engineering world to know about the dislike for compression among public radio enthusiasts. To each their own, but this is podcasting we’re talking about.

When I’m in the shower, CNN podcasts are perfect. Once your news update hits, I get nothing but some mumbling. And if I decide to switch my playlist up when I go running, my ear drums get blasted when music follows said news update because I have to turn up your stuff just to understand the content. Listening to Feldman on the podcast produces some of the same mumbling followed by laughter from the audience. I completely miss what was funny and shouldn’t have to rewind to catch it.

And for the love of god, shorten up the intro and outros. That beginning music is one thing, but you can be way more brief in telling me thanks for downloading your five minute news summary. Perhaps it’s the ads that drive me even more nuts. The non-commercial rule of thumb doesn’t apply so much to podcasts, and I doubt the FCC is going to or can regulate that.

Just give me the news, and let me be able to hear it without having to crank the volume all the way up.

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Happy Birthday, Ben!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

My nephew is eleven years old today. To be fair, here’s a pic of his cousin-in-crime, Anthony.  You just gotta love iChat.
Anthony

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Pat Spurgeon of Rouge Wave needs your help

Rouge Wave is a band that I’ve played on the podcast before.  Since emailing the guys, I’ve been put onto their mailing list, which is a common thing that happens whenever I email artists.  This note came in this morning that I thought was worth passing on here.

On September 30th 2006, Rogue Wave will host a benefit concert at The Independent to raise money for drummer Pat Spurgeon, who is in desperate need of a kidney transplant.

The benefit concert will feature performances by Rogue Wave, Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie,) Matthew Caws (Nada Surf,) Ryan Miller (Guster,) John Vanderslice, and other special guests. Daniel Handler (AKA Lemony Snickett) will MC the event.

Pat was born with one kidney and it failed. He had his first transplant in 1993, which served him well until now. After 13 years, it has started to deteriorate. He has been on dialysis since April and is hoping desperately to find a donor. Some of their friends have gotten tested to see if they are a match, but Pat has yet to hear good news. Provided he finds a donor, there will be an enormous amount of costs that both Pat and his donor will incur.

In a logical world, medical insurance would cover his donor’s and his expenses after the procedure, but it does not; so he and his family must carry the financial burden. The expenses can be huge. We are trying to raise money for costs like: donor’s travel, care, bills, lost work wages, etc., as well as Pat’s expenses, care, bills, etc. while he is in recovery.

If you cannot attend the show, we encourage you to donate whatever you can by visiting www.roguewavemusic.com

Thank you for your love and continued support,
Rogue Wave
(Zach, Pat, Gram, Evan)

9/30/06
The Independent
628 Divisadero St., San Francisco, CA 94117
Doors: 8:30pm; Show: 9:00pm
Tickets available now on www.ticketweb.com

Talk about an impressive line-up.  I’d love to road trip down for this one, but the government of Canada would prefer it if I didn’t leave the country.  So if you think you might be able to make it out, this would be for an excellent cause.

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Confessions of a tinkerer

One thing about reading up on so many blogs and websites through RSS feeds is that you have to make an effort to actually see how some one’s design to their site looks.  If that applies to you, then you never notice how I constantly tweek the design to my site.  I can’t help it.  It’s a tad bit on the obsessive side, but I never find myself happy with what I have when it’s so easy for me to change it.

If you are one of those people who still go the “old school” route and surf into my site everyday(like all good boys and girls should), then you notice these changes.  Over the past day, I’ve done a variety of subtle to not so subtle changes to different things.  And when you start in one place, you end up doing one of two things.  You screw something else up, or that one change leads you down a path of wanting to change even more things.  It can be addictive.

I doubt that what you see will remain exactly the same for very long.  At least now you know.  I tinker.  It’s what I do.

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Sponsor us in the Run for the Cure 2006

CIBC Run for the CureOn Sunday, October 1st, I’ll be participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure 2006 in Vancouver. The run is held in various communities across Canada helps to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. It will be a heck of a way to finish out my first year in Vancouver, the next day being my one year anniversary since moving here.

Technically, you are unable sponsor me directly if you would like to make a donation online. With there being two of us, it makes more sense to donate to one of us rather than deciding which person you like more, me or Rebecca. I also have a sneaking thought that she’d win in that debate.

What we have decided to do for the event is have all donations go to her, as she needs to raise at least $150. Of course, we would love to raise more than that.

To make a donation, go to the “Support a Participant” area of the CIBC Run for the Cure website, put “Rebecca Bollwitt” into the corresponding fields, our location is “Vancouver”, and follow the rest of the instructions to donate online. Credit cards seem to be the only way you can make your contributions via the web, and you also get a tax receipt for doing so.

The last 5k run that I did, I finished around 22 minutes. I’m not sure that I can do this one as well as the last, but if there were a challenge made in terms of a donation, you’re welcome to entertain the possibility. I’ll step up the training these next couple of weeks in anticipation.

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Obadiah Parker doing a cover of Radiohead’s “Idioteque”

Rebecca posted something about their cover of “Hey Ya” by Outkast yesterday, and while that is absolutely brilliant, I liked this one just as much. And you can find out more about Obadiah Parker at their website.

Covers are delicate things. I’m all for them, as long as you make the song more than just a carbon copy of the original. Of course, there are some folks out there, like bands you find at The Roxy, that it works for. Well, “works” can be taken lightly. Ok, maybe poorly, but you see what I’m getting at, right?