Mohawk protesters staging blockade north of Deseronto, Ontario on April 20th.

Labels: peace, shit-disturbers, violence

Labels: life, toronto

The lytic phase, the lytic phase!

Labels: life, the point

Labels: canada, net neutrality

Toronto-based Canadian Music Centre executive director Elisabeth Bihl was one of the louder voices of alarm yesterday, citing the important role Radio 2 and the CBC orchestra played in helping foster new music in the country.

Asked how many new compositions were commissioned by the CBC orchestra in recent years, Bihl initially had no idea but, in a later call, gave last year’s number as 18.

It’s like that with the rest of us. Shocked by news of losing yet another oasis of familiarity in our daily lives, we forget to think about the precise value this institution may have, other than making us forget the inexorable passage of time.

I’m willing to bet it’s not what is being changed that scares us most. It is change itself – in any form.

The whole notion of a national broadcaster, linking people otherwise isolated from a national culture, needs to be more flexible in the Internet age. After all, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio and the BBC are only a few mouse clicks away.

In the same way, the CBC is now a portal to Canadian culture for the rest of the world, not just ourselves.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our portal truly reflected the country – so our rich and ever-regenerating indie pop and rock artists and burgeoning world and world-fusion musicians can get equal airtime (and bandwidth) with the venerable Toronto and Montreal symphony orchestras?

That’s where Radio 2 is going – while still guaranteeing listeners several hours of classical programming every day. We should be proud – not angry – that the CBC is willing to take this kind of risk.

The only thing constant is change. It's time to let the barbarians in. That being said, you should go help save jPod from its premature demise. Because what did change ever do for you, anyway?

A tip of that hat to Michael Vincent at Fully Composed for the interview except.

Labels: canada, cbc, music

Made specifically for Method from a combination of paper and bamboo the new brown packaging has an attractive unfinished quality to it - totally unique next to other products packaged in clear clamshells with bright labeling.

The packaging has a minimal quality to it that alone provides it a creative advantage - you want to look at the packaging, touch it and find out what is in it.

The packaging is both compostable and recyclable (mixed paper) and its creation has an interesting story behind it.

The idea for the new design came out of a "Design Safari" a regular creative departure held internally among Method staff. At the safaris staff members share examples of packaging or creative design they like and discuss it with their colleagues.

The new Omop starter kit packaging is compartmentalized. Everything has its own place in a logical easy to open format (unlike many clamshells).

Labels: blogs, design, sustainability

In the following years, Edmonton has lost its reputation for being gay unfriendly, say local gays and lesbians. The gay drain to Vancouver and Toronto has stopped. The majority of gay people are out of the closet, with some coming out as early as junior high school.

Verbal and physical abuse of gays is far more rare. And, because of the Vriend decision, no longer can gay people be fired from their job simply because they are gay, a practice that had been going on in Alberta for decades.

Labels: edmonton, queer stuff