Chomsky on Iran
Noam Chomsky always has a unique point of view on international affairs, particularly US foreign policy.
This article from Z magazine includes plenty of the pundit's personal perspective on Iran.
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February 28, 2007
Stratusfaction
So you won't believe who we have on the show this Thursday...Trish Stratus. She's only the biggest female star to rock the 'stratusphere' of the WWE, winning 7 Women's Championships before she retired last Fall. We took her to the Newsstand earlier today and heard all about her passion for yoga, life after wrestling and a great new show she's going to be a part of. And, funny enough, she also happens to be on the cover of 'Today's Bride' at the moment (you can see it behind her). Here's a pic we grabbed of her and George.
How We Make The Hour
If you're interested in how we make television, here's an explainer of scripts and the teleprompter. The teleprompter reflect the scripts of the show onto a two way mirror that sits directly in front of the camera lens. News anchors can therefore read the teleprompter script while looking directly into the lens.
The photo on top shows the two-way mirror in front of the camera lens. Below that you see the script. This is what George sees during the show - but not necessarily what he says. George does a lot of off-script ad-libbing.
The show script is written by writers and producers in a lineup program, that's it above. The lineup is synchronized, so when we make a change at our desk, George can see it in the studio, and the director can see in the control room. In the photo on the bottom someone's pressing a button on a black box. That box runs a program called auto-cue. Auto-cue is used to scroll through the script as George talks his way through the show, keeping up with what he's saying, and letting him know what's coming up next.
Grabbed Face Guy Running For Office
The guy that Chretien is manhandling in this famous picture is running for office in Quebec. Read more right here.
give me a bee
It's just before spring and something is missing in America. In 24 states across the good ole US of A, millions of bees, that's right bees, have disappeared. Beekeepers walk up to the little hives, and no one's home. Researchers are calling it "colony collapse disorder," and if they can't find the little honey makers, dead or alive, we're screwed. Why should you care? Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, told the International Herald Tribune: "Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food." And without them, we'll have to make it through the summer without the juicy goodness of things like watermelon, kiwis, peaches....
February 27, 2007
Mark Messier, Smyth and Suspicious Minds
Mark Messier retired his Oilers Jersey in Edmonton on Tuesday night. A whole bunch on people from his career were there, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe and more. Mess talked about retiring his jersey in this interview we did with him last year.
At the end of an event on Monday night Mess and Tom Cochrane sang the song 'Suspicious Minds.' If I was a playright I'd call that foreshadowing for the Ryan Smyth trade this afternoon.
Like Mess in his day, Ryan Smyth was the heart and soul of the Oilers team. Today he was traded to the Islanders. He's leaving the only NHL team he's ever played for. It was a shocker. Here's what Chris Johnstone from CP said:
He had a smile on his face while going through drills and joked around with his teammates. While taking off his equipment afterwards in the dressing room, he carefully examined a white board outlining the schedule for Mark Messier's number retirement ceremony later in the evening. It was an event he wouldn't attend.
Stéphane Dion is on The Hour tonight
Tonight on The Hour George sits down with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion. The conversation focuses on climate change, what Stephen Harper is doing about it, what the Liberals did about ( or didn't do ), and what the Liberals would do about it if elected. Here's a couple of sneak peak shots from the interview. There's also a really funny bit that I won't spoil here, but you can see it tonight, it's right at the start of the show at 11pm.
ps. That's Kevin, the floor director, in the background.
Bush's Iraq Flip-Flop
The Associated Press is reporting that U.S. will join the Iraqi government in a new diplomatic offensive that includes inviting Iran and Syria to a "neighbours meeting" on stabilizing Iraq. Ring any bells? This is EXACTLY what the Iraq Study Group recommended a couple months back. Need I mention that the Bush administration rejected the idea at the time?
How to Manufacture a Pop Star
Before the Music Dies is a new documentary that tells the story of an industry at a crossroads. The music industry seems to be heading in two directions, the top 40 radio hit lists that dominate the airwaves, and the small indie bands that take off on myspace. This doc is about that tension. Here's a clip, called how to make a sexy popstar:
I'd love to get the doc makers of this on the show. It sounds really interesting.
Cocaine Cowboys
This is a clip from one of the best documentaries I've seen in a while. It's the true story of Miami's wild west style cocaine gold rush in the late '70s early '80s. Jan Hammer - the guy who wrote Crockett's Theme for the Miami Vice series - did the soundtrack. Add it to your Zip accounts.
Iran Nukes Assessed
The looming Iran issue is getting muddier by the moment. Besides the talk of Iranian support for Iraqi insurgents, there's the ongoing discussion about whether Iran is trying to create nuclear weapons.
This article from Friday's Guardian is headlined in such a way that you'd think it's all a tempest in a teapot. But then the article goes on to say that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded that "Iran had continued with the operation of a pilot enrichment plant" against UN orders issued last December.
Iran is innocent? Iran is guilty? Looks like the jury is still out, and the deliberations are heating up...
February 26, 2007
The Internet
In 1993 the CBC ran this report on the Internet.
Oddly, I found the clip on Netscape, which is trying to reinvent itself as a social bookmarking site, to mirror the success of companies like youtube.
Fox's Daily Show Didn't Bomb
Wasn't That a Party
The report is in from Montgomery Nordwind in Second Life:
George's HQ, Malacosoma (159, 216, 73) was the place to be on Friday night for a couple of hours following the best-of show.
A whole whack of weird and wonderful characters showed up. Two people sported wings. One wore only a white bikini with strategically placed maple leaves. At one point, someone had a vortex for a head. There was synchronized dancing, yak riding in the neighbouring Dominion of Canadia, and one guest even distributed Pegasusses to the whole group for a flying rodeo.
There's somethng about a party in a world of reduced consequences. A bunch of guests hopped up on Red Bull took off on a magic carpet ride, only to return, on foot, somewhat bedraggled after crashing in a nearby sim. Montgomery had a similar incident with George's chopper.
The conversation ranged from serious to hilarious. There was synchronicty amid diversity - two guests a thousand miles apart had both produced items for DNTO. Laughter ruled the day. Fantasy was normality. Everyone had a good time and nobody got hurt.
Montgomery had his bottom pinched.
Now, wasn't that a party?
February 23, 2007
You Only Live Twice
Pssst... Hour blog readers... we're homesteading in Second Life. You're the first to know.
SL philosopher and impressario Montgomery Nordwind has built George's HQ in Malacosoma as a place for fans and friends of The Hour to chill.
It's pretty cool: a red brick garage, complete with motorbikes, features a growing collection of studio & celebrity photos casually tacked to the walls. Stroll up the fire escape and you'll find a breezy rooftop patio with a sizzling grill, picnic table, hammock, herb garden, and a spectacular view of the nearby Dominion of Canadia.
We're going to be adding to the space as we go along - more pictures, more features, more fun. Drop in after the show tonight - Montgomery will be there to answer your questions.
Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner
Don't get the headline? Rent 'Dirty Dancing'. Came across this story. Helen Thomas, who has had her front-row seat in the White House briefing room for 46 YEARS, will find herself in the second-row once renovations on the room are complete. WTF? Bad decision people.
February 22, 2007
Next Level Laser Graffiti
This has been around the computers for a minute now but it's still pretty cool. Check the Graffiti Research Lab's website for drawings on how to build your own laser graffiti projector.
Force for Peace?
Rasoul Movahedian, the Iranian ambassador to the UK, responded to increasingly harsh words from the White House regarding Iran's alleged role in Iraq with this plea in the Guardian.
The expression "Force for Peace" has a peculiar, some would say paradoxical rhetorical quality.
Gondry Solves Rubik's Cube With His Nose
This is actually kind of a "part three" in a series of Gondry related Rubik's videos. First the brilliant director posted a video where he solved a Rubik's Cube with his feet. Watch it below...
Then another guy posted an explainer of how Gondry faked the trick. Here it is...
video follows anonther where the brilliant director solved a Rubik's Cube with his feet.
Musak for the Masses
Break out your bearskin rug and throw your keys in a bowl! For those of you who can't get enough of classic 70's porn, check out this web site, and groove to the sounds of Klaus Harmony, "The Mozart of Erotic Film". According to his bio, Klaus "..was the foremost German composer of erotik film scores in the 1970's, crafting music for over nine classic movies in just thirteen years. In collaboration with filmmaker and long time friend, Friedrich Wohlfaht, he expanded and thrust the genre beyond its known limits." Note the cheeky use of the word "thrust". You can download MP3's with titles like "Who Needs Dialogue". Who needs dialogue indeed.
(Thanks to BoingBoing for this little gem.)
February 21, 2007
Barenaked on YouTube
The Barenaked Ladies, who were on our show recently talking about their dislike of DRM, have released a new video. It's for their new single "Sound of Your Voice" and their voices are all we hear in the video...since the entire thing is comprised of popular YouTube personalities lip-synching to the song. And you though you'd never have to see the "Numa Numa" kid again.
The Defense Weeps
David Corn at The Nation wrote this exhaustive blog post on the Scooter Libby trial. It features the following somewhat bizarre description of Defense Attorney Wells' statement to the jury:
Wells finished his case by returning to the sacrifice quasi-narrative, asking the jurors not to treat Libby as he was mistreated by the White House: "[If] someone [in the jury room] starts to say, 'He was a Republican, he worked for Cheney, let's do him,' help that person....Don't sacrifice Scooter Libby for how you may feel about the war in Iraq or how you may feel about the Bush administration. Don't sacrifice Scooter Libby."His finale was emotional. Scooter Libby is "a good person," Wells proclaimed, noting that Libby, during the trial, had been under Wells' care and protection. "I give him to you," he told the jurors. "Give him back to me. Just give him back." Wells voice broke; he choked back a sob. He sat down.
Can Homosexuals be 'Cured?'
Tonight on The Hour, a piece about two gay Christians who chose God over their sexuality. Amongst some Christians there is a movement, known as reparative therapy, that seeks to 'cure' people of their homosexuality.
One of the guys in the piece is a youth pastor who went through this and is is now married to a woman. The other is a guy who tried to 'cure' himself, but it didn't work, and he has since abandoned the reparative therapy idea.
So here's the question. If you're gay and Christian, what do you do? Hide it, abandon your faith, or try this reparative therapy route?
Cutest YouTube Video Ever
Three kids with tin foil grillz loosing their minds to MOP's classic Ante Up.
The Future Is Here
A B.C. company has annouced that it has created the world's first practical quantum computer. Quantum computing is controversial and holds the promise of exponentially increasing the speed of computation. People are sceptical about the announcement.
The Hour Podcast is Doing Great
We launched The Hour's podcast a couple weeks ago without much fanfare. We just kinda put it up there. So this morning I was downloading some stuff and I was shocked to see how well it's doing.
It's the number eight podcast, above the BBC World Service, Bill Maher, ESPN and bunch more. I don't know what the metric is, but either way it's great, thanks for subsribing everyone. Note: looks like it's since moved to number 9, but we're still happy.
Bye Bye Beaver... Hello Wolverine
Stephen Harper thinks we should rebrand our national animal. He thinks Canada should be a wolverine. He says Canada is not a mouse sitting next to an American elephant. We're a wolverine and the U.S. is a grizzly bear.
This is so embarrasing. It's like he's a little six-year-old playing pretend and all angry that his next door neighbour is a tougher animal.
Just for the record, wolverines eat the flesh of dead animals and have a terrible odour. Here's a piece in the Economist on the topic.
Iran Attack Plan
The BBC is reporting that the US military has contingency plans for airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure, in this article.
Genetic Engineering on Humans
On Monday we aired this story about Genetic Engineering expirements that had resulted in the birth a 30 babies.
One of our viewers Sean Atkinson was skeptical but he looked into it and found the original scientific abstract, in case you were skeptical too, here it is.
Body Beautiful - UPDATE to the UPDATE
UPDATE to the UPDATE - I saw the ad last night. While watching Survivor. However, it was heavily edited, drastically shortened, and void of anything racier than some hands and backs. Which was my original point. You can air all the violence you want on Prime Time, but don't you dare show natural, unsexualized, bodies of all ages, shapes and sizes presented in an artistic manner.
UPDATE - According to a couple of people, the ad has been seen on Canadian TV. BUT, no one can tell me what channel they saw it on! I still would argue that it was not on any of the main networks, i.e. NBC or CBS. I could see it running on Showcase or Bravo however. If anyone can tell me where they saw it, I would appreciate it.
Thanks to Adfreak.com for tipping me to this gorgeous Vaseline ad.
Seriously. Produced by groundbreaking Brit ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, this Vaseline ad is a beauty, featuring hundreds if not thousands of naked folk, a la Spencer Tunick. The choreography, voice over and music in this ad are just perfect. It really is art. Sadly, it probably would never run here in North America. Because - good heavens - you can see people's naughty bits!
February 20, 2007
Adam Beach Tonight on The Hour
Adam Beach is an up and coming Canadian actor. If you haven't heard of him, check out the Hour tonight. He talks about acting, the business, and working in Hollywood is a way that you never hear from actors. He sounds really genuine and honest. He just finished working with Clint Eastwood on 'Flags of Our Fathers.'
What more can I say
You can dress him up, and you take him out... but there's no guarantee that he'll like it. George in a suit for the BAFTA awards in London. There's a few more pics from London in The Hour's photo gallery.
February 19, 2007
She Said What?
From CBC Halifax's article covering the East Coast Music Awards:
Comedian Mary Walsh wasn't bleeped, however, when she called the federal Conservatives "the arse-lickers of Satan," as an uncomfortable-looking Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay smiled in the front row.
Ah! Vindication.
So Bindi Irwin won't be on The Hour tonight. Apparently young Bindi wanted to go to the CN Tower with her younger brother. And Terri let her. Can you imagine? What a monster. It seems she isn't the horrible mom 'some' people thought. In fact she makes her decisions based on what's best for her kids. You can judge for yourself. George will ask her all about it tonight ...
February 16, 2007
Would You Do It?
Tonight Terri and Bindi Irwin are on The Hour. Why would we book them? Because they're the wife and daughter of the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, of course. Some producers on the show think it's a mistake. They say we shouldn't support an opportunistic mother who's thrusting her 8-year-old daughter into the media spotlight. Others, including me, say it's not that simple. She's grown up in the spotlight. She accompanied her dad on many interviews. She has her own show coming out on Discovery called Jungle Girl. They're a family that thrives on adventure. Are they being opportunistic? Absolutely. Why wouldn't they? They get to talk about a man and a cause they both cherish while moving on with their lives. That doesn't mean it's going to be a traumatic experience for Bindi that will lead her down the road of psychologists and child star drama. 'The Critics' even went so far as to place a $10 bet that in a decade we'll be reading about Bindi's drug problem, or washed up career in the tabloids. Well Bindi, in 2017, my 10 loonies are on you! (BTW ... if you know of a good shrink ... pass it on. We could all use a little help now and then.)
Friday night on The Hour
I know that I just sent out a reminder a few entries back - but change can be hard to adjust to, so here comes another nudge in the ribs. For those you who are home at 11pm tonight, The Hour is now on Monday through Friday, and the Sunday show is gone. Tonight, it's Christiane Amanpour with our boy Georgie. And a super interview with Mohammad Al Fayed. This interview is quite incendiary. The Royal Family gets a very rough ride.
World Wide Treasure Hunt Ends
Last season I did a piece about this incredible game Perplex City. It was a super elaborate puzzle game that led people on a real life treasure hunt for an elusive object called the Receda Cube. Well the Cube has been found. It was burried in the Wakerley Great Wood near Stamford, Northamptonshire UK.
Andy Darley from Middlesex found the cube and has won the the 100,000 pound prize. Here's his story.
An all new game is supposed to launch today but it looks like the Perplex City website is still being updated.
These things are called Alternate Reality Games and Microsoft has launched one of its own. It's called Vanishing Point and Boing Boing had a post about it a while back. Here's a cool video that was part of the game.
February 15, 2007
Slippers Inventor Dies
This woman is literally the perfect person to have invented slippers.
In a perfect world she would have come with every pair of slippers you bought.
Here's an obit from the New York Times.
The Hour's Launched a Podcast
We're launching a podcast for The Hour. Right now we're still ironing out a few kinks, but I wanted to give the blog readers a sneak peek. If you have a video iPod go here Clicking the link will launch iTunes. If the link doesn't work, just search for 'Strombo' in the podcast directory. It'll show up.
If you have an audio iPod, it's a little more complicated to subscribe, but the instructions are here.
DIRECTIONS FOR AUDIO PODCAST
To get the audio podcast and dowload The Hour's clips, open iTunes, click on Advanced menu, then click "Subscribe to Podcast" and paste this link below into the box: http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/rss/itunes_audio.xml
This should open the podcast stream in iTunes. Click the grey GET button to download whichever clips you want to download to your iPod.
If you don't have an iPod, you can watch the clips on itunes here. Clicking the link will launch iTunes, or ask to install it if you don't have it.
Mark your calenders
This is just a reminder. The show that used to recap the week on Sundays now plays on Friday nights at 11pm. If you missed any of the London shows this week, check it out. Here's just a sample of what you'll get, it's George and musician Damon Albarn.
Milli Vanilli Movie
Variety Magazine is reporting that Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to make a movie about Milli Vanilli. Does this qualify as a mocumentary?
In an odd bit of serendipity my wife met Milli Vanill's former makeup artist turned backup singer yesterday. She knew about the whole lip-synching thing way before it blew up in their faces. I promise to bring you an interview with the makeup artist/singer in the coming days.
Here are some more details.
Iran is the new Iraq?
A couple of days ago I posted this entry about current White House posturing on Iran.
Since then, the idea that the US might target Iran has been on my brain in a big way. This thing looks like big ugly volcano ready to burst all over the Middle East.
Just like liquid hot magma, the source of this potential next conflagration is buried mighty deep. Thankfully Vanity Fair has gone to the trouble of tracing it in incredible detail in this article, From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq.
By the way - there's a long-standing theory that the US might like to control the whole region partly for the simple purpose of putting in a mighty pipeline to two of the world's great oil markets; namely, Europe and China. The idea still pops up from time to time. This article, entitled Pipe Dreams from Slate magazine is five years old but still debunks the notion quite admirably.
George Galloway on the Toilet
Tonight's show features a great interview with Noel Gallagher from Oasis. George and Noel always have a good time together, and tonight will be no exception.
We also have Britsh comic Mark Thomas. He's quite hilarious. His stuff is political and very cutting. We found a youtube clip of his old tv show - and there's no doubt he's influenced Ali G with this bit. Somehow, he convinced George Galloway, the radical British MP, to be interviewed, from a toilet. Who came first, Mark Thomas or Sacha Baron Cohen?
Quite the debate(s)
A bunch of bloggers known as the Stroumboulopouli have a blog. It's totally independent from The Hour, it's a fan site essentially.
Anyway for the last couple of days there's been a raging debate going on over there about The Hour - the good, the bad and the ugly. If you're a hard core viewer you 'll want to take a look at the comments.
Elsewhere a bunch of blogs are going nuts about that Chris Hedges interview from last week, here's a few of them:
George and Nelly Furtado
Here's George doing an interview with Nelly Furtado backstage right after she scored the trophy for best international female solo artist. She was obviously ecstatic. The show featured a special tribute to rock band Oasis for its "outstanding contribution to music," and Furtado has this to say about the band:
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Oasis. I bought my first acoustic guitar because of them and the first tracks I learned to play were Live Forever and Wonderwall. I was inspired by their working-class roots because that's the kind of background I come from. source: Irish Examiner
If you love Oasis, you're in for a treat tonight, you can catch them playing at the Brits between 8 and 10 on CBC, and then catch an interview with Noel Gallagher on The Hour at 11.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Here's George at the Brit Awards talking to a couple of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In case you haven't ever seen the Brits, think the Grammy Awards, but way better. The Brits are a real party, fun to watch and without long and tedious acceptance speeches. You can watch the Brits tonight between 8 and 10 on CBC, check here for more.
Love is a many splendoured thing. Discuss.
Yesterday was Valentine's Day, or as I like to call it - "VD". I spent it at home watching "Lost" (best episode EVER, by the way). Which brings me to this article I found in the Chicago Tribune. According to the author, in this world of texts and emails and Lavalifes and ready made syrupy Hallmark cards, we have forgotten how to communicate. Person to person. In a loving way. That the little gestures - really from the heart - are a thing of the past. While I agree with most of what he says, I want to share a little moment from yesterday. One of our producer/VJ's is in London right now, and when I say in London I mean HELL - not sleeping, eating sporadically, and generally working his butt off to help get our London shows to air. Yet he still managed to send the most beautiful poem out to "all the ladies who work on The Hour", in honour of Valentine's Day. It was incredibly thoughtful, and warmed all our cockles on such a stormy snowy morning. I'm not going to name him. Because then he would have to kill me. The point of this post? I'm a cynic. And I do feel that it's harder to connect with folk these days. But one person with one simple gesture proved to me that it's not impossible. As Borat would say - "Niiiiice!"
February 14, 2007
Spaceship Story Takes Off
Sorry about the terrible headline. Anyway, we put this amazing story that Ryan did onto The Hour's YouTube channel yesterday. It's about a Detroit man who built his own spaceship. The piece is getting a lot of buzz. Check it out.
Fox News Version Of The Daily Show
Fox News Channel is piloting a right wing version of the Daily Show. It's called "The Half Hour News Hour" and Joel Surnow co-creator of "24" is at the helm. Upside: the left is just as ripe for satire as the right. Downside: Fox is funny when you're laughing at them not with them. Variety has details.
Amazing Psychadelic Lily Allen Video
This is why she should win the entire everything at the Brits.
Zombies... A Serious Discussion
"The zombie movie has been among the most consistently political forms in American popular culture."
That line is pulled from an essay on three books that analyze the policitcal themes and cultural impact of zombie movies. Arts and Letters dug this up. Yikes. Here are links to the books discussed in the piece:
Pretend We're Dead
Book Of The Dead
The Dominion Of The Dead
Something funny on Valentine's Day
Rick Moranis has a funny piece on his site today. It's about consumption. The act. Not the condition. Enjoy.
Be My Robotic Valentine
The following is a poem written by something called Ray Kurzweil's Cybernetic Poet. It's a computer that's read enough love poems to write its own poetry.
Imagine Now And Sing
Imagine now and sing,
creating myths
forming jewels from the falling snow.
You can download the program here. It's just one of the thousands of mindblowing innovations and ideas in Kurzweil's book The Age Of Spiritual Machines.
If you were Prime Minister...
David Suzuki is travelling across the country on his bus tour. He's asking Canadians to post videos to a group on youtube on the theme 'If you were Prime Minister...' A whole bunch of people have submitted stuff, here's Rick Mercer's.
Hopefully when George gets back, and has a few hours sleep, we can ask him to put something up. A few of the highlighted videos are on Suzuki's site.
SPAM...and not the kind you eat.
Not to long ago we had David Manning on the show. He's the director of the film 'Spam: The Documentay'. In the film he meets with Monty Python's Terry Jones, tracks down a spammer in Las Vegas, talks with the world's foremost anti-spammer, and visits the secret control room of AOL.
Our interview with him is here.
The doc is going to air again so you'll be able to catch it on Tuesday, March 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Newsworld.
February 13, 2007
George and the Brits
So, as you probably know, we're over in London for the Brit Awards, or the Brits as they're known. The idea was simple fly over there, do a week of shows in London, cover the Brit Awards and come back. Then reality started to set in. Producing these kinds of shows, 'remotes' as they're called at the CBC, are tough. Everything is a little more challenging, from booking guests in the UK that have never heard of the show, to the working in a new studio with new people, to getting an audience every night, to feeding the tapes back and forth on the satellite lines, plus flights, hotels, time changes, it's all more complicated, but at the end of the day the show goes on. Here's George and the London audience, mostly expats, getting a taste of home.
Mohamed Al Fayed Lets Loose
Mohamed Al Fayed is one the show tonight. In case you don't know he's the owner of Harrods, a British landmark shopping mall. It was his son, Dodi, that was killed in that crash with Princess Diana a few years back, and he's obviously still upset about it. He's insisted repeatedly that there's been a cover up. Anyway tonight he's on the show and it's an interview you don't want to miss, he really lets loose on the British establishment.
Youtubing The Hour
In case you didn't know, there's a bunch of The Hour's videos on youtube. The one above is a piece that Ryan Marley did on a guy that's building his own flying saucer, it's really cool and beautifully shot.
Black Cabs and Gurus
Very little says London like the classic black cab. They're all over the place in London, and with the congestion charge downtown, they've become even more indispensable. Here's a shot of George inside one with something that's indispensable to him, Guru. The guy has one of these every single morning. He doesn't drink coffee, or alcohol, but he loves this stuff, and with the jet lag he's probably suffering, who can blame him.
Iran, Iran so far away
You already know that Iranian-made munitions in Iraq are a hot-button issue at the moment.
As an ignorant person far away, I must say this confuses me... aren't the Iraqi insurgents using weapons from everywhere - Russia, France, and the US itself, for example - to attack American troops there?
And how come the US can invade another country, but if that country uses weapons from a third country to defend itself, that counts as an attack against the US by the supplier?
This NY times article doesn't answer those naive questions, but at least they're trying to sketch out the issue.
February 12, 2007
Spend about an hour with The Hour
We're at the Brit Awards. So are lots of people. In some cases it will be a reunion with people we've met before, on our show. To get you in the spirit of Wednesday's awards, here's a bunch of links to interviews we've done with some really terrific, Brit-nominated artists like Cat Power. The Flaming Lips, Noel Gallagher, - walking track by track through the Oasis masterpiece "Definitely Maybe" - Pink and part two of that talk.
Conservatives Full Of Hot Air: Al Gore
This is great. Last week Stephen Harper's environment minister read a statement in the House of Commmons that made it seem like Al Gore had endorsed the Conservative party's environmental policy. Not so says Al Gore. The world's most famous environmentalist says his comments were taken out of context. Click the permalink for a full CP story.
Conservatives get `Gored'; Al Gore says Tories misrepresented him
By Alexander Panetta
OTTAWA (CP) -- Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore is taking the Conservative government to task for suggesting he endorsed its performance on climate change.
The environmentalist, filmmaker, and onetime presidential candidate issued a statement from his Tennessee office Monday to distance himself from the Tory claim.
"I understand that last week Canada's minister of the environment, John Baird, mischaracterized comments I made last summer as praise for the Harper government's actions on global warming," Gore wrote.
"The comments I made were designed to encourage the Harper government not to abandon Canada's tradition of fighting above its weight class on the world stage as part of the Kyoto process.
"It is my experience that other nations do look to Canada for moral leadership. . . Nothing less than the future habitability of the planet is at stake. I urge the Harper government to do the right thing."
Despite Gore's urging, the Conservative government has abandoned Canada's greenhouse-gas reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
In the House of Commons, Baird has habitually responded to opposition questions by reading out statements ridiculing the Liberals' record on climate change.
Last week, he read out a purported endorsement from Gore, perhaps the world's best-known environmentalist.
"Canada (is) once again providing leadership in the world, fighting above its weight class and showing moral authority to the rest of the world. That's what Canada's known for," Baird read.
"Do we know who said that yesterday? Al Gore."
But Gore said his statement was taken out of context, adding that it was made last summer, not last week.
It's not the first time the Conservative government has been accused of misrepresenting remarks about their position on the environment.
Daphne Wysham, an academic at the Institute for Policy Studies, said she was "horrified" last fall when then-environment minister Rona Ambrose appeared to suggest she supported the government's concerns about the Kyoto accord.
One month later, at a United Nations environment summit, Ambrose suggested that senior UN climate official Yvo de Boer was sympathetic to Canada's position. But De Boer said he was actually confused about the Canadian position.
The Liberals said there's still something the Tories can do if they want Gore's support.
"Since it is no longer possible for this minister to mischaracterize Mr. Gore's position," said Liberal MP Karen Redman, "will he now take the former vice-president's advice and embrace the fight for Kyoto on the world stage?"
by accusing the Liberals of failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"I saw the movie from Mr. Gore -- it was called An Inconvenient Truth," Tory MP Mark Warawa replied.
"The inconvenient truth for Liberal members is that they did absolutely nothing."
George Touring London
Roll camera! This is your boyfriend George shooting a bit along the famed River Thames for this week's series of shows from London. The other guy is an ITV set designer who "acted" as a tour guide for the Tuesday night Thought Of The Day, and the shooter is Ed, one of The Hour's great camera operators. For more from London watch the show this week.
Blur, The Gorillaz and now The Good, The Bad and The Queen.
Damon Albarn, one of the most prolific artists to emerge from the 1990's BritPop scene, joined George on The Hour Monday evening in London England. He talked music, politics, Iraq and dropped a very funny insider story about Madonna backstage at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Catch it tonight at 11pm on CBC.
Chris Hedges Feedback Feeds Debate
If you missed it last week we had Chris Hedges on the show. He's promoting a book, 'American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.' The response to the interview has been overwhelming. Not only has the video been downloaded three thousand times since last week, but we've had tons of feedback, and that has sparked a debate about religion, power, and creationism. The emails really run the gamut, some accuse us of being over-funded "Marxists" trying to "undermine and destroy the foundations of Christian faith," others say evangical Chrisitans are "dangerous," and others say religion is "nonsense." You can read the whole debate here. Thanks all for the feedback and discussion.
B Reel From Last Week
Hi there,
My name is Nile Seguin and I’m a writer here at The Hour. Although I don’t know if I like blogs, George has encouraged us to contribute some stuff. So here goes nothing.
As you well know (‘cause I just told you) one of the segments we write for is called The News. So called because I believe George’s mom refers to Entertainment Tonight as The News. Well there’s a lot of magic that goes on during the morning pitch meetings and not everything makes it on.
Luciano (a.k.a. Luc, Lucador, Dr. Casimiri, Peter Mansbridge) did have an idea that we should do a segment called Not For the Week (which I think is a clever title) in which we’d do the bits that didn’t quite make it on the show. The idea, although good, got lost somewhere in the vacuum that eats good ideas . So I thought I’d at least do a half assed version and post my “also rans” here. They’re not all gold but please bear in mind that most of these were written on the back of a cocktail napkin at eight in the morning. Hope you diggez vous.
N.
P.S. I stole the idea on using links in your blog from Pete Zedlacher, a very funny comic.
more
Hi there,
My name is Nile Seguin and I’m a writer here at The Hour. Although I don’t know if I like blogs, George has encouraged us to contribute some stuff. So here goes nothing.
As you well know (‘cause I just told you) one of the segments we write for is called The News. So called because I believe George’s mom refers to Entertainment Tonight as The News. Well there’s a lot of magic that goes on during the morning pitch meetings and not everything makes it on.
Luciano (a.k.a. Luc, Lucador, Dr. Casimiri, Peter Mansbridge) did have an idea that we should do a segment called Not For the Week (which I think is a clever title) in which we’d do the bits that didn’t quite make it on the show. The idea, although good, got lost somewhere in the vacuum that eats good ideas . So I thought I’d at least do a half assed version and post my “also rans” here. They’re not all gold but please bear in mind that most of these were written on the back of a cocktail napkin at eight in the morning. Hope you diggez vous.
N.
P.S. I stole the idea on using links in your blog from Pete Zedlacher, a very funny comic.
David Lee Roth is back in Van Halen and they will be touring this summer.
Bassist Michael Anthony will not be part of the reunion. He's been replaced by Eddie Van Halen's 15-year-old son, Wolfgang. Not only does this make him the youngest member of Van Halen but it also makes him the only teenager in the music industry who will see what it's like for someone to sing onstage live.
In a statement on the group's website, guitarist Eddie Van Halen says he's excited "to get back to the core of what made Van Halen." Really? How are they going to be able to find that much heroin before July?
It will be the first time Roth performs live with the band since 1984, when he was replaced by Sammy Hagar. Ironically, Hagar will be taking Roth's spot in the dumpster marked Obscurity.
At least one fast-food restaurant is impressed with Kevin Federline: Taco Bell. I'm willing to bet the last time anyone was impressed by K-Fed it involved his report card and the words "wow, no Ds!"
In fact, the Bell is offering him a job. Right, because I need another reason not to go clog my arteries with dog collar laden taco smeat. Why not just set up a machine gun nest at the door or maybe a hive of killer bees at the drive through?
Taco Bell President Greg Creed says in an open letter to Federline he has a future at Taco Bell. In exchange, K-Fed invited Creed to try a day at his new job: crying uncontrollably.
Taco Bell President Greg Creed is asking Federline to work for Taco Bell for just an hour, and he promises Federline a uniform, a custom name tag and the opportunity to see "what a great place Taco Bell is to work." Notice that no employees are up in arms about this. Hey, Creed, how bout saving the money it costs to complain about this and raising your employees wages so they can actually afford to kill themselves with your food?
The opinions expressed in the previous line are those of…well not the CBC. Let’s saaaaayyy, Paul Bates. So sue him.
Looks like J. Lo is back to her diva ways. Two hours before the singer was in due for a recording session, she issued a three-page list of demands, including a request that all light bulbs be replaced with dimmer ones to make her look "desirable," reports the London Mirror. You know what makes you really desirable? Not being a bitch.
The demands didn't stop there. "She wanted fresh, piping-hot Cuban bread which we had to trawl 10 bakeries," a source told the paper. J-lo is the first diva to include a request that involved the words "piping hot cuban" since George Michael.
"She also wanted a gourmet meat selection, a separate cheese platter, and crates of water and fruit and scented candles." Maybe she should ease up on the cheese and scented candles during a recording session because then she might be able to smell the crap she makes.
Academy Award nominee Jennifer told Essence magazine "On American Idol, you go through this mental thing; you've got to get yourself back together. You've been abused, misled and brainwashed to believe whatever they want you to think." The rest of her comments were lost unfortunately as she was busy swallowing the hand that fed her.
But she went on to say "I don't believe in looking back, and I didn't look back." In response, Simon Cowell said: NOTHING. BECAUSE HE'S MOVED ON. MOVE ON, HUDSON. For god's sake.
Jessica Simpson admits it stung when Nick Lachey started dating so soon after they broke up. Well, Jessica, if you wanted to keep Nick while still be able to have sex with other people then I guess you should've stayed married.
Simpson says she made the decision to file for divorce after seeing the movie "The Notebook" on a plane to Texas. Not the first time this has happened. Lachey revealed earlier in the year Simpson had spent a week microwaving spiders after seeing Spiderman 2.
She says she figured out "that moment of desperation" and she needed to breathe. To be fair, she was sitting next to Courtney Love whose pores flush out crank fumes when she detoxes.
Simpson says she still keeps in touch with Lachey, because he's so much a part of her life...and because she keeps forgetting which fishing holes have the best chicken.
She says, "I want to tell you everything, but I have to sew my lips together." The interview was cut short as her father wrested a needle and thread for her hands and explained what a metaphor is.
"Oh, it hurt me," the 26-year-old singer-actress says in an interview in the March issue of Elle magazine, on newsstands Feb. 13. "Two or three weeks later? Yeah, I'd say it kind of hurt me." Nick, you're a brave man. Just a quick reminder: the last Simpson who got dumped and found out their ex was spending money on a new hookup made Johnny Cochrane famous. Watch youself.
Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty was charged Monday with driving offences, the latest in a long string of run-ins with the law. Okay, lemme just clear away the background noise and call this as it is: this guy is Paris Hilton with an outie. I mean who cares? Can we expect Pete and Nick Lachey to be giving each other pole dancing lessons soon? God, I hope so. Er...I mean not. I hope not.
Doherty, 27, faces charges including failing to produce driving documents, driving without insurance and driving a car without proper registration. Good thing he can't be charged with failing to produce a fucking album. I mean this guy's supposed to be a musician, right? Scott Weiland's blood could double as methadone and he's still put out music. Get to work, Pete. Kids nowadays.
A Chewbacca impersonator was arrested after being accused of head-butting a Hollywood tour guide who warned the furry brown Wookiee about harassing two Japanese tourists, police said on Saturday. The arrest comes on the heals of a similar incident where JarJar Binks was caught peddling his ass to old men in Venice Beach.
"Nobody tells this Wookiee what to do," "Chewie" from the "Star Wars" movies said before slamming his head into the guide's forehead, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported. Street performers at the world-famous Manns Chinese Theatre collect tips from tourists by posing for photos, but some are known to turn hostile if they don't get money. For example the Billy Dee Williams impersonator gets very upset...when you notice it's not an impersonator.
IPod maker Apple said Monday it settled long-simmering trademark issues with The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. company about the use of the name "Apple" and apple logos. No doubt heading off the lamest feud since Paul vs Heather, Paris vs Nicole or Robbie Williams vs music.
The new settlement replaces the companies' 1991 agreement, and gives Apple Inc. ownership of all the trademarks related to "Apple." In addition, Apple Inc. will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. The last time a dispute involving an apple made this big a stink a snake and god were involved. I speak of course of when Steve Jobs made a deal with Bill Gates to save the company. I don’t think Steve jobs is a snake but I needed somebody for the joke.
Brian Wilson has written a new musical piece that will debut in London in September. Brian Wilson? How did the entertainment newsday get this slow? We need a little more initiative out there: get to work youtube.
Wilson will perform it for six nights at London's Royal Festival Hall. He'll have something in common with the high profiles people who come to the show in that they'll both be spending the entire performance in a box to keep them away from other people.
Celine Dion will perform at this year's Academy Awards. The Quebec songstress will unveil a new song, "I Knew I Loved You," during a tribute to Italian composer Ennio Morricone. This is the least likely combo since Andy Dick and well...anyone.
Morricone will receive an honorary Oscar at the February 25th awards. Morricone is known for putting music to film and in fact the only other Oscar recipient who's done more scoring is Benicio Del Toro.
He orchestrated the song for 1984's "Once Upon a Time in America," directed by Sergio Leone. This is significant as it's one of the few things orchestrated in the 80s that didn't involve the sale of illegal weapons to contras (that's right, I picked that scab).
The new rendition of "I Knew I Loved You," produced by Quincy Jones, will appear on Morricone's upcoming greatest-hits album -- and on Dion's forthcoming record. Dion is excited to finally be covering something that isn't Renee's blackjack loss.
Ozzy Osbourne unveils plans for free concert fest. This marks one of the few times a rock star's named has been linked to the word "free" without the words "drug" and "leaving rehab" being involved.
Ozzy Osbourne surprised the music industry on Tuesday with plans to stage this year's Ozzfest, his annual U.S. summer hard-rock extravaganza, as a first-of-its kind free event. The 12th annual rock festival headlined by the onetime reality TV star and self-described Prince of Darkness will kick off July 27 in the Los Angeles area and play 25 dates, Osbourne and his wife/manager, Sharon, told a news conference. In response to the announcement, the ceo of Ticketmaster attacked a homelessman while screaming "I"m still the king, baby! You need me! You need me!" before he collapsed weeping.
The news, which squeezes out Ticketmaster and other such organizations may be the most startling news to hit the heavy-metal circuit since Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat. In fact, if you look at it that way, this doesn't seem as crazy since Ozzy's used to hurting bloodsuckers.
A commercial for the Hannibal Lecter prequel had to be toned down before airing during the Super Bowl because it had the word "terrifying" in it. This makes perfect sense of course since you wouldn't want people to be nervous or distraught as they watch men beat each other simple.
The ad for "Hannibal Rising" was going to air during the fourth quarter. The fact that it was pulled meant that the only thing that was terrifying in the Superbowl was Rex Grossman's decision making.
Producer Harvey Weinstein called C-B-S chief Les Moonves (MOON'-vehs) the night before to talk about the content of the ad. I'm surprised this information was released as terrorists will now know what Americans fear. They're probably working on a hockey mask wearing cannabilistic nipple right now as we speak.
The judge in the murder case against music producer Phil Spector said Wednesday he is leaning toward allowing the trial to be televised and will make a decision after hearing from lawyers later this month. No pressure on the prosecutors but with O.J., Rodney King, Robert Blake, if they shank this it would make them the Buffalo Bills of DAs.
A state judge has ordered O.J. Simpson to stop spending money he received for his unpublished book, "If I Did It," about the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg's ruling on Wednesday extended a restraining order issued last month barring Simpson from spending any earnings from past deals, including books, films and sports memorabilia. I for one don't know about this. I mean if word gets out that you can't make money off of violent crimes then who's going to want to run for vice president?
Cook said the Goldman family remains concerned Simpson is shopping another book deal. Should that deal go through, this would officially make O.J. the worst juice since what was served at Jonestown.
Colour Me Bad
Here's a colouring book featuring various Black Panthers, labour leaders, civil rights advocates and dissenters. Red and Pinko crayons not included. Not your speed? Maybe baby would like the Gangsta Rap Colouring Book.
DIY Music Box Challenge
This is pretty cool. A do-it-yourself music box. One hundred bucks goes to the first person who gets the music box to play that insane guitar solo from that Dragon Force song. Speed will not be considered as a factor. Don't know the song? Well looky-here...
Act Like You Know
Here's a candid revelation. When I pre-interview an author for the show I don't necessarily read their book cover to cover. Few people do. It's just a matter of practicality. There aren't enough hours in the day. This book should be the exception. It's called How To Talk About Books You Haven't Read. I'm eagerly awaiting the translation so it can sit on my shelf unread. Here's a piece from the Times Online on the topic.
Silverman Helps... The World Weeps
So George, Darby and I used to work at Chum Television. I worked in the newsroom and there was a consumer advocate/investigative reporter there name Peter Silverman. He'd go around stirring up trouble on behalf of people who got ripped off in some minor way.
Silverman is in his 70s and his catch phrase was "Watch It Buddy" because he scrapped with so many of the people he hounded over stories. Anyway his latest outing has made headlines across the globe. It was on the BBC's homepage. It's been on CNN. Too funny.
F.Y.I.
Did you know, Tariq Ali is often considered the inspiration for the Rolling Stones 1968 classic, " Street Fighting Man".
That's just about as much street cred as you can get. If the strong reaction to last week's interview with Chris Hedges is any indication, then you can be sure that Mr. Ali will get people riled up tonight.
The Hour in London
Hey folks, the show is coming from London, England tonight. The guests this week are amazing. The range is something else. Tonight, there's writer and intellectual Tariq Ali. Here's his website, if you wanna read more about him. http://tariqali.com. And also, Damon Albarn is dropping by. I love watching George interview Damon. They've chatted several times over the years, and Damon always seems to enjoy himself, despite the fact he's a British musician, and therefore sullen.
If you haven't heard Mr Albarn's new band, The Good, The Bad and The Queen...give this a look. As far as I can tell, it's just the band cooking breakfast. And who doesn't love a good breakfast.
February 09, 2007
A Puck In Every Net.
If you watch tonight's show, you'll hear Hilary refer to a website where you can go and vote for George to become the next president of the USA. '08 is just around the corner. It's called http://www.u4prez.com. Here's the deal. It's a site where people upload their personal profiles, and the public picks its favourites. The highest rated profiles then run in primaries against each other, and eventually the top rated candidates, Democrat, Republican and Independant, become the 'official' candidates of u4prez.com.
Hilary heard about it and thought it'd be fun to run George. We never asked his permission, in case he said 'no'. The Site actually has people from Africa, and Europe running, as well as Canadians and, obviously, Americans.
If you do wanna vote for George, his profile is under the heading "Independants". The dude is his own man.
Lily Allen
As you know, we're headed to the Brit Awards. Perhaps you've heard us refer to the young singer Lily Allen, as we promote the big show. If you haven't heard her music before, give this a listen, let us know what you think.
February 08, 2007
WHAT DO PHIL FONTAINE AND JOHNNY BRIGGS HAVE IN COMMON?
Talk about six degrees of separation. Turns out that Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine and Coronation Street's lovable, but now dead, (on the show that is) rogue, Johnny Briggs know someone in common. The man: Billy Two Rivers. He made a name for himself as a wrestler, becoming an international star while in England in the late 1950s. He quit in the '70s, went into politics...and was one of the First Nations leaders during the Oka Crisis. Two Rivers now works for Fontaine. Turns out Johnny's friend is the guy who toured Billy Two Rivers around London for his wrestling matches back in the day.
Al Fayed & Ali G
Mohamed Al Fayed is on the show next Tuesday in London. The Egyptian business mogul has been dogged by one controversy after another... from his ownership of Harrods, to his repeatedly denied British citizenship, to his conspiracy theory over the car crash involving his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana. But, to his credit, the guy's got a sense of humour...
Take two of these and call me in the morning
We've all heard of self-medicating. Most of us do a fair bit of it. But self-infecting? The British Medical Journal recently asked people to vote for the greatest medical breakthrough of the last 160 years. Makes you think about things that we take for granted. LIke snoozing through a tooth extraction. But many discoveries were made by doctors and scientists experimenting on themselves. Imagine purposely infecting yourself with bacteria just to prove a point. Eeeep. I think I'll just keep self-medicating, thanks. Drinks, anyone?
February 07, 2007
The Hour's going to London
The Hour's heading off to London for the Brit Awards. We're set to leave tomorrow night, 32 hours and counting. At least the weather will be better there. Keep your eyes peeled for George's pink Louis Vitton luggage.
Technorati Profile
Mapping Out The Show
George and Exec Producer Jen plotting an episode of The Hour this week.
Hey lady, phone home!
So a woman in Thailand decides to go shopping. Then, like we've all done once or twice, she boards the wrong bus. Then another wrong bus. And ends up really, really lost.
You know, you just can't make this stuff up. I've never been to Thailand, but wouldn't the first wrong bus have circled back eventually to where she was originally picked up? The TTC does it. Once, I fell asleep on the subway, and rode the east/west line for at least an hour before waking up at Kennedy Station. It was late, the subway had stopped running, and I was, er, less than capable of wandering around trying to hail a cab. The nice TTC drivers backed the train up three stops and dropped me off at my home station. I was mortified. But I wasn't lost for twenty-five years.
Apple Blames Majors For DRM
Apple's been taking it on the chin lately over the restrictions it puts on the music it sells through iTunes. You've probably heard a whole lot of squaking about Digital Rights Managament in the last year or so. We've done a bunch of stories about this kind of thing. Here's a setup and interview we did last year.
Anyway Jobs says it's not Apple's fault. He's blaming the record companies.
"If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music."
Read more at the Guardian.
Oh Ye Corrie Fans of Little Faith.
So Johnny Briggs is coming on the show tomorrow and the Coronation Street blogs are buzzing. And what about? Well...I'll tell you what they're NOT writing about. They're not writing about how a whole bunch of new people are going to be exposed to their beloved little show, or how Coronation fans will get a chance to see a personal interview with Briggs (who was on that show for 30 years), or that we chased the interview because--gasp--we love the show and so does George. Oh no, they're writing about how they think George is the wrong guy to interview him, saying he's "CBC's wonder boy now in a pathetic effort to get young hip viewers."
Right. In an effort to get young viewers we're bringing on a 72-year-old from Coronation Street. Am I the only one who finds the humour in that?
So my challenge to you Corrie St. blogging fans of little faith is this...why don't you watch George interview him before you start getting your knickers in a knot?
Drumheller Speaks
Anyone who's interested in the American "renditions" program - you know, the one where US intelligence whisks a guy like Maher Arar off to Syria for detention, torture, et cetera - will find this German interview with Tyler Drumheller interesting.
Drumheller was the head of covert CIA operations in Europe and his frank words, particularly about how the current US administration used CIA intelligence, are enlightening.
Vice TV
They've been threatening to do this forever but Vice has finally launched Vice TV. It's online and you should look at it. A while back the magazine's co-founder Suroosh Alvi was on the show. He told a story about going to Baghdad to meet up with a metal band. Here's a link to the interview he did with Strombo. The Baghdad metal piece is on the Vice site. The Hour's friend and ex-on-air-guy Derrick Beckles is also working with them now. Here's a piece Beckles and I did last season where we burned the Blue Man Group.
The Mind Of A Murderer
That's a millimeter thick cross section of a convicted killer's brain. He allowed his body to be sliced up, photographed and then digitized by an organization called The Visible Human Project. Here's an incredible video they assembled of all the slices of his body.
February 06, 2007
American Fascists
Pulitzer Prize winning writer Chris Hedges is on the show tonight, promoting his new book: American Fascists. He makes the argument that the rise of the Christian Right-Wing in America bears similar characteristics of the rise of various fascist parties, throughout history.
That's a pretty big claim. But Hedges has always been a very controversial writer. We'd love to hear your thoughts tomorrow. Email us, or drop a comment in the box. Chances are, watching will get you mad.
Haiku, Do You?
Gnarls Barkley has put up a haiku contest on their blog.
The theme: Solitude, Pineapples, or both.
Aspiring Zen poets are asked to enter their best efforts in the comments field... and a lengthy string of user-generated content is born.
Social commentators may note the cleverly veiled critiques of the band lurking amid the carefully counted syllables.
HAGGARD "COMPLETELY HETEROSEXUAL"
The Denver Post has the word: former pastor Ted Haggard isn't gay anymore and it only took him three weeks! (who knew?) Rev. Tim Ralph, who helped "treat" Haggard after his dalliance with a male prostitute and "interest" in crystal meth, says "(Haggard) is completely heterosexual." "It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing." Towerload has a great take on his "resurrection" as a heterosexual man...
So what's a newly confirmed heterosexual man to do? Well heads up Missouri, Haggard is leaving Colorado and rumored to be setting up house in the "show me state", priceless. Let's just pray he has nothing more to reveal while he pursues an online degree in psychology with his wife Gayle.
Norah Jones on The Hour
Norah Jones is on the show tonight, and it's touched off controversy around the office between those people who love her music, and people who thinks it's elevator music. There's many more who love her stuff, but as a nod to the other faction, check out tonight's show opening. This is kind of a behind the scenes look at why we do the things we do. Watch tonight, you'll see what I mean.
Anyway...tonight's list is in honour of Ms. Jones. It's the top 5 artists who have performed on Sesame Street. You gotta watch tonight to see who's on the list. But here's a clip of Norah singing " Don't Know Why "Y" Didn't Come".
Change the World for Ten Bucks
Rachel sent in an email about this book she bought. It's called Change the World for Ten Bucks. It's published by Pilotlight Foundation, a philanthropic organization that wants to make big changes with lots of little steps.
Here's a few of the things you can do to change the world:
1. Learn mouth to mouth
2. Decline plastic bags wherever possible
3. Read a story with a child
There are lots more of these. Also if ten bucks is a little rich for you, there's also a five dollar version. Thanks for the info Rachel.
SEVEN DEADLIES PLUS 21
This is a find off boingboing. As Nick says, it's our bible around here.
The image above is a mathematical calculation using the seven deadlies to come up with 21 new secondary sins.
As in Gluttony + Wrath equals Bulimia. Go to the blog to see the rest of them....
PC vs. Mac
So you know all those clever Mac vs. PC ads? Well a guy in Vancouver, Laurie McGuinness, has created four ads of his own from the PC side of things. You can see all four of them here.
Here's one of my favourites:
February 05, 2007
Spam on The Hour tonight.
We have a pretty interesting guest tonight, David Manning, talking about the future of email spam. He's directed a documentary on the subject. Apparently, spam will soon account for 97% of all the email sent in the world. This is truly proof that we, as species, can't have nice things. Scientists create the greatest advancement in communication since movable type, and what do we do with it? We sell each other wang-enlargement pills.
If you're someone who can't stand the constant bombardment of unsollicted ads ( ranging from the vulgar, to the sublimely vulgar ) check it out tonight. It's near the top of the show, so don't start flippin' around the remote, or you'll miss it.
By the way, if you have any suggestions on how to avoid spam, please, drop it in the comment box. Maybe we can use the internet to HELP each other.
As a bonus gift, here's the classic SPAM sketch from Monty Python.
Being Steve Buscemi
Actor Steve Buscemi is on the big show tonight. Maybe you loved him in Reservoir Dogs, maybe it was Big Fish, or Fargo, or any number of great roles. Personally, my favourite Buscemi moments are with Thora Birch in Ghost World. A very creepy and funny movie, if you haven't seen it.
Anyway, while cruising around looking for Steve online ( I mean that in the most harmless context ), I found a very cool fact out about Mr Buscemi. He was a firefighter from 1980-1984, with Engine Company No. 55 in the Little Italy section of New York. And the day after 9-11, he went back to his old firehouse, and worked with the firefighters there to help recover bodies.
I don't know why this blows me away. Maybe it's because he just doesn't look like a fireman. He looks like a cigarette. But, regardless, it's a hell of a thing to do. You gotta love New York actors. They're so much more blood and guts than the average LA actor. LA types are little more than walking headshots.
Anyway, if you're into Buscemi's movies, check out tonight's show. He and George have a good talk down at the Sundance Film Festival.
Most cities raise taxes to make money....
So, in case you were wondering how Turner Broadcasting would be punished for the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" in Boston fiasco, word came down today: TBS and the marketing company they used were forced to pay out $2 million in damages. No word on how much over-reacting on the part of local authorites should cost.
As George likes to say, if you don't know the story....Google it.
As part of the settlement, $1 million bucks will reimburse the agencies involved, and $ 1million will be used to fund Homeland security and other programs. The Feds just made money. Beautiful.
February 02, 2007
Voice Changing Dr. Who Mask
This is pretty awsome. It's a Dr. Who Cyberhead mask. With the touch of a button it will play phrases, alter the sound of your voice or make weapons sounds. It lights up and everything. You can order it from Amazon.
Best Press Conference Ever
Here's the full newser from the two guys charged in connection with the Aqua Teen thing in Boston. I love how committed these guys are to laying down the best burn job the press/police/world has been dealt in a long time.
Let's Paint TV
John Kilduff hosts this cable access show called Let's Paint TV. It's totally insane. He walks on a treadmill, paints, takes calls, makes blender drinks etc. He's done more than 150 episodes. Brilliant. Here's an LA Weekly piece about the show.
February 01, 2007
Pixel Panic
I think something's been lost in the insanity of this Boston hoax story. There's an Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie coming out. The first three seasons of the show were fantastic. The fourth season was lame. Chances are the movie will blow but for what it's worth, that's the trailer up there.
The Plot Thickens
Yesterday, this reporter stumbled on the case of the redundant office machines.
Today, there was new evidence that something highly weird is afoot:
Exhibit C:
Peculiar, isn't it? I hate to speculate on the basis of such a dearth of evidence, but I am led to suspect that either (a) the Pitney-Bowes printer resembles a long lost one that went by the name of Jimmy; or (b) someone hoped to alert "Jimmy" to its potential fate before it was too late.
What potential fate? Ah... there the plot thickens further:
Exhibit D:
On inspection of the scene, it became clear that this area of the 9th floor is a designated Central Broadcasting Centre "Recycling Centre," suspiciously equipped with high-school grade lockers, customized, one can only surmise, for recycling.
My guess is that these lockers work something like the trash compacter on the Death Star. Note the foam pool noodles off to the right. Clearly these are not recyclable, the way typewriters are. I'm guessing they are either used to stuff the struggling typewriters - and possibly "Jimmy" the printer - into the lockers, OR... they are some sort of rescue device, although other pool noodles I have seen make a point of stating that they are NOT to be used as rescue devices.
But think of this: if a party of people, say, a princess, a pirate, a wookie and the one who would bring balance to The Force were all trapped in one of the lockers, with Jimmy, and the locker was on the "recycle" cycle, one of them, probably the wookie, could use a pool noodle to slow the compacting motion of the walls, while a pair of droids elswhere in the building re-progammed the circuitry to prevent certain death for all.
YouTube Detectives
Toronto police have posted a video on YouTube in a bid to try and track down a missing 17-year-old girl. She's been gone since August. More details are here.