Saturday, February 24, 2007
Top 2006 Albums
The long promised and much prompted list is set to for public consumption. The music buying for 2006 may have shifted from hard copy to digital, however, it simply added more options to the buying pool.As a result, it is time to introduce the best of 2006.
1 - Separate Ways - Teddy Thompson
This is the second effort from the child of Richard and Linda Thompson and it is head and shoulders above the previous album - which was a good start. This is must purchase for anyone who enjoys a complete album.
2 - Crane Wife by The Decemberists
Could easily be the number 1 if not for TT. The Decemberists are a band that not everyone grasps, but that is ok. Those who like them, like them allot.
3 - Boys And Girls In America by The Hold Steady
Critical acclaim well deserved.
4 - Taking The Long Way by The Dixie Chicks
Good to see that there was more to the band than country stereotypes and an anti-Bush rant. A really solid effort led by the steady hand of Rick Rubin.
5 - So This Is Goodbye by Junior Boys
The album just grows on you and the songs all start to the sound better after each play. A true recipe for success.
6 - World Container - The Tragically Hip
Most people that I know long ago abandoned the Hip. Not really sure why though. This album is yet another solid effort from the five piece band from Kingston. It may not be their best, but it is a damn fine effort and is the best Canadian album this year. Forgot the Dianna Krall Christmas jingles or the Celine Dion car commercials.
7 - Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller
A true storyteller with the mic.
8 - This Is Only The Beginning - Girl from Saskatoon
Thank you Myspace.
9 - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
High energy. Tonnes of Fun.
10 - Awoo - Hidden Cameras
A nice discovery that many problem overlook. The music and lyrics are rock solid and it will not disappoint.
Now, it is over to Phoff and BUMF or any others who wish to comment, cross-post or simply post on their own.
Where's the Substance?
Some bloodlines warrant politcal involvement - Hilary Clinton and Jeb Bush. Others warrant airtime on a 4th rate CTV talk show. Justin is somewhere in the middle.Classic Caruso
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The Moose is Loose
Moosehead beer is now available in Saskatchewan. For those in the province it is worth a try. Thursday, February 15, 2007
Hey Kettle. It is Pot.
SI.com Columist Steve Hofstetter writes that the NHL shouldn't be using sex to the sell tickets on the same day that his employer releases the SI Swimsuit Issue.
The headline for SI.com columnist latest piece is, "Desperate Kings Using Sex To Sell Tickets." Hofstetter writes that the Kings have put up billboards around L.A. "that simply say ‘Kings Hockey’ with a picture of an attractive blonde in a Kings uniform." Hofstetter claims that hot blondes are not bad , they just shouldn’t embody Kings hockey."
Hofstetter's commentary comes the same day that Sports Illustrated rolls out its famous swimsuit issue (and the accompanying tens of thousands of subscription cancellations).
And one week after internet "model" Jenn Sterger started her second official SI.com journalistic stint, which features her as a video reporter for Time, Inc., website.
The headline for SI.com columnist latest piece is, "Desperate Kings Using Sex To Sell Tickets." Hofstetter writes that the Kings have put up billboards around L.A. "that simply say ‘Kings Hockey’ with a picture of an attractive blonde in a Kings uniform." Hofstetter claims that hot blondes are not bad , they just shouldn’t embody Kings hockey."
Hofstetter's commentary comes the same day that Sports Illustrated rolls out its famous swimsuit issue (and the accompanying tens of thousands of subscription cancellations).
And one week after internet "model" Jenn Sterger started her second official SI.com journalistic stint, which features her as a video reporter for Time, Inc., website.
Hat tip to Sportsbybrooks.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
B on SI
The NBA All-Star game in Vegas. Beyonce on the cover of the SI 2007 Swimsuit Issue. Sport and pop culture really have mixed. Now, all we need is Shelia Copps on... nevermind, she should stay writing for Sun Media.PS - I sure hope that Kenny Chesney's other hand is happy to see Marisa Miller.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Two Tiered
There has been plenty of discussion in Ontario about the need (and for some desire) to see the province's minimum wage hiked from $8 to $10. To many on the left it is matter of economic fairness. To many small business owners it is a job killer. Since no government seems serious about moving the minimum tax threshold, minimum wage becomes a calling card.
Ontario should follow the lead of British Columbia and Alberta and go two-tiered - one wage for those over 19 and one for those under. Outrageuos you say. Age discrimination. Neither. The recent hike in the US is leading to some examples. The Economic Policy Institute in Arizona figures that three in 10 workers in the state are between 16 and 19 AND live at home. It is not to say that these workers didnt need an increase in wage but a hike of 15 percent in one sitting is a little extreme since inflation is runnning at between two and three percent in most cases.
The real issue is that too many Canadians are struggling to earn a decent living and the problem is more complex than simply mandating business to pay more at the bottom end.
Mea Culpa - My research bad. This happened in Ontario. Carry on as you were.
Ontario should follow the lead of British Columbia and Alberta and go two-tiered - one wage for those over 19 and one for those under. Outrageuos you say. Age discrimination. Neither. The recent hike in the US is leading to some examples. The Economic Policy Institute in Arizona figures that three in 10 workers in the state are between 16 and 19 AND live at home. It is not to say that these workers didnt need an increase in wage but a hike of 15 percent in one sitting is a little extreme since inflation is runnning at between two and three percent in most cases.
The real issue is that too many Canadians are struggling to earn a decent living and the problem is more complex than simply mandating business to pay more at the bottom end.
Mea Culpa - My research bad. This happened in Ontario. Carry on as you were.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Sunny Days
Dr. Tim Ball, Chairman of the Natural Resources Stewardship Project (www.nrsp.com) and former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg is aiming to be the lone voice in the wilderness. Nevermind the thousands of scientists that are actually proving their research with fact, Dr Ball wants us all to chill (and the join the skeptics read Stockwell Day - remember him of Dino roamed the earth fame) - literally - and thank the sun for the recent upswing in global temperatures.
Believe it or not, Global Warming is not due to human contribution of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). This in fact is the greatest deception in the history of science. We are wasting time, energy and trillions of dollars while creating unnecessary fear and consternation over an issue with no scientific justification. For example, Environment Canada brags about spending $3.7 billion in the last five years dealing with climate change almost all on propaganda trying to defend an indefensible scientific position while at the same time closing weather stations and failing to meet legislated pollution targets.
The end of the world is not coming tomorrow with the current state of climate change, but you can't tell me the inaction is actually going to improve anything. The quest for energy independence is a good thing and it may actually have some green and economic benefits for a country like Canada.
Free speech is a right in Canada and Dr. Ball gets his two minutes.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Everything you can do, I can do better
The race to secure the hearts and minds of world citizens and ease their minds on climate change has hit a new low. The British government announced that it will send a copy of Al Gore's film about global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, to every secondary school in the country.This announcement follows the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report - called Climate Change 2007. The report, not surprisingly, has signalled that the human race bares the responsibility for the heating of the plant. Although, there are still skeptics and many of them will be in the UK next week (Fraser Institute keep the blinders firmly planted).
The report was met with relief in Europe as politicans scramble to do more (better), little fanfare in Asia (where it matters) and sudden emergence of priority in North America where Bush and Harper have discovered green is the new black.
Canada needs to be world leader not just in rheteric (Liberals past and Conservative present). Harper is right, a leader sets attainable targets and hits them. Those targets were lacking in the Clean Air Act and now they get a do-over. It would help if the loser Stockwell Day would shut his hole for a second with his glib, tongue in check global warming jokes. He is such an embarassment.
Still hating busdrivers!
The Texas 2 Step
Progress is reported in the lonestar state. Governor Rick Perry ordered Friday that schoolgirls in Texas must be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, making Texas the first state to require the shots. The girls will have to get Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human pillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
Testing women at an early age is a good way to prevent disease in the future.
