Here’s what I like to plug my ears with on my way to work. They’re also a great idea for days like, well, all this week — rain, rain, and rainy. They are all Toronto (at least produced here) but, ironically, hardly contain any music at all.

Spark with Nora Young: http://www.cbc.ca/spark/

This one’s easy to get sucked into. It’s about modern digital technology — but rather than talk about tech as the topic, Spark discusses how it relates to humanity, the environment, and all that kinda stuff. The social implications of technology, in other words. Nora also manages to squeeze out another podcast every week or so. Oh, and all this month Spark is interweaving topics with another famous local, Marshall McLuhan.

Dispatches with Rick MacInnes-Rae: http://www.cbc.ca/dispatches/

I used to listen to this show on my lengthy drives home before I ever knew it was a podcast. Unfortunately, the show is produced only once a week but CBC makes up for it by packing in all sorts of interesting features. The topics are global but most of the reporters local-ish so I find it easier to connect with the stories.

Ideas with Paul Kennedy: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/

Yeah, this podcast is as vague as the title implies.  The show, however, covers a wide enough range of topics in a truly informative way, and regularly enough, that it’s worth a listen even if the topic of the day doesn’t necessarily strike your fancy.

Manthropology with Pedro Mendes: http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?92#ref92

I was sad to learn that a couple of weeks ago this podcast — about what it means to be a man in the 21st century — came to an end. While it’s still available for download, it’s unlikely to be so for long so grab those MP3s now!

Quirks and Quarks with Bob MacDonald: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/

Toronto’s answer to another fave podcast of mine has been around since I don’t even know when.  I always get Bob MacDonald and Jay Ingram mixed up, perhaps because they both sound very similar, or maybe because they’re both kinda short and swarthy, or it could be because they both host popular science shows. Bob, however, strikes me as having more of a sciency background and that makes him eminently more qualified to discuss the topics of the day. Even better is the fact that, as more and more cutting-edge tech comes out of Canada, podcasts like Q&Q are among the first to do on-the-spot, in-depth interviews with the scientists involved.

Search Engine with Jesse Brown: http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/searchengine/index.cfm?page_id=613&blog_id=485&action=blog

Jesse used to do this internet-news-and-social-implications podcast for, I believe, CBC, and then moved it over to TVO. Thankfully, neither the topics, nor the format, or even the name have changed. Plus, this is one of the few podcasts released under a Creative Commons license — props, Jesse!

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That’s right, I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss why I looked like I would be involved in a Bourne-like plot, but I could see how my behaviour could be construed as such.

I stood at the each location, gazing across the street to check the sightlines. Then I’d go to that location and gaze back from there. Suspicious. And, being the proud papa of a short new cut, along with my daunting shades, I probably looked the part of someone who might use those sightlines for nefarious purposes.

And I was on a mission.

Determined to hit as many of my ten destinations as I could. I managed six. Well, seven if you count the bendy CN Tower. I’m not sure if I’m counting it just yet; we’ll see which way I’m leaning later on. But I trekked the hell out of those streets. Up to the steps of Casa Loma…

…down to the most prominent building on Queen Street…

…onward to the CBC where I had a shouting match with Glenn Gould…

…then to Ireland Park, as far south as I could go without dropping into the waters of the lake. Still kinda chilly in the shade, you know…

…followed by a dash to beat the setting sun to Union Station…

…and, well, Union Station again…

…then home. Sun was too low and I was too hungry.

Six hours of pavement and I can’t even tell you why. And it’s not as if I haven’t been to these places before.

But I can tell you this: if you happen to be passing by any of these locations on some nice sunny day, keep your eyes open. These pictures were taken from these perspectives for a specific reason. And if everything goes according to plan (I really hope it goes according to plan!), it should all lead to some good old-fashioned blogging goodness.

Wow. That really is all I can mention.

Well, see you next time!

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And as I told him, I grew tired of all the low-level nonsense that his pop still likes to muck around in. It’s unseemly. I mean, I’ve done it too – every good programmer should rip apart their computer in every which way. But I put aside childish things when I decided to actually get some work done. Seriously, it’s like going back to the frickin’ Stone Age.

I like Flash because there’s a big creative aspect to it – half of the software is geared specifically for drawing and animation. Programming is fun, don’t get me wrong, but staring at computer instructions all day kinda sucks. It’s nice to work in a  piece of software where I can also draw a doodle of the CTO, animate it in some obscene way, add programming to it for interactive fun, and email it to friendly coworkers. And it all looks like legitimate work.

But the reason I brought all of this up wasn’t to go over my portfolio. This situation jumped to mind while I was strolling home and listening to Spark, a CBC Radio podcast about technology. That Zune that you see in the TCL header has a number of ultra-geeked-out podcasts on regular rotation but Spark stands out from the crowd; it looks at the human implications of gadgets and websites rather than the gadgets and websites themselves.

The episode I was listening to, for example, was going into detail about how to operate the iPhone (curse Apple!), with gloved hands. The touch-screen requires human flesh (not my word), to maintain a certain level of conductivity – to operate the phone, in other words. Gloves act as insulators, so the iPhone’s a brick with winter gear on (Ha! I can operate my Windows Mobile phone with mitts and a toque!) In the episode they came up with the solution of sewing some conductive thread through the tips of the glove; not that it’ll affect me directly but it’s neat to see someone thinking about this. After all, in Canada it’s a genuine problem for half the year, and I don’t see Apple using their “genius” to solve the problem. I don’t like Apple.

Nora Young, Spark’s host, has that perfect mix of nerdy affinity and enthusiasm for what technology could be. In fact, all of the podcasts I listen to are done by folks why have genuine interest and enthusiasm in the subject matter, and the fact that some of them are learning as they go along makes the shows accessible. Plus, the topics are approached from an angle that most in the industry wouldn’t think to consider. The third and fourth nipples sure wouldn’t.

Obviously, creativity counts for a lot with me. So when I found the advertisement for Wind Mobile on King Street, I was impressed:

Yes, the ad is the statue. Already intriguing, no? I stooped over to read the plaque, took a few pictures, even had a brief conversation with a passing girl who happened to be editing a video for some Wind Mobile spot – talk about effective advertising! The thing that really struck me was that this particular campaign doesn’t rely on flashing lights and loud noises, it just stands politely to the side and invites your attention. Well.

Unfortunately, Wind needs a new copywriter – the statue idea is absolutely brilliant but the plaque makes an unkind insinuation:

It reads:

The statue commemorates Flippy, Mr Ideas, FlowerGal and the thousands of other Canadians who rose up against an unresponsive mobile industry. It was upon the immortal thoughts of this community – who made proclamations like, “No contracts… do this and I will be your customer forever,” and, “it would be nice to NOT have limits” – that a movement was born. Their brave ideas gave rise to the dialogue which gave rise to Wind Mobile – the first wireless company to be led by the people and a testament to the truth that conversations always make things better. WINDMobile.ca

WIND
the power of conversation

The insinuation is that I will be Wind’s bitch if only they would do away with contracts. Not likely. Plus, if I don’t like contracts, I’m probably not going to commit to “forever”. But their putting statues on street corners (there’s another at University and Richmond), if nothing else, indicates a level of creativity that’s lacking in the older carriers. Here’s how Rogers tries to snag my business:

Granted this is for the cable TV and internet packages that Rogers offers, but it’s still pretty pathetic. A sad kid and a teddy bear — “We miss you”; I can’t imagine giving less of a toss. And while it’s rare that I buy something without going deep into technical specs, I consider a company’s advertising campaign to be a part of that specification. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the company or its products are currently any good, but at least they’re thinking (or at least willing to think), differently. Many companies claim to do this but few actually do.

Asking why anyone would want to learn to program in Flash is basically the same as asking why anyone would want to broaden their horizons. It’s kinda sad to hear a student ask that question, and especially in a mocking way. He’ll end up at the Rogers of the world, hopelessly out-of-date  before he even graduates, and the real world doesn’t take kindly to inflexible youngsters. I know I won’t, the little shit.

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Instead I had to hurriedly run around looking for something to write about. I did find some ceremony happening in front of Old City Hall:

I thought maybe it was a wedding or something, but there were media there and a bunch of old people wearing medals. Didn’t look very joyous, actually. And the fact that they were setting up in front of the old war memorial seemed pretty morose.

But I was in a rush because my original plan had gone completely out the window, so I didn’t stop to ask what was going on. As a result, today’s post will unfortunately have to rely on some borrowed Toronto Archives material as filler. I apologize.

Hopefully you’ll find it interesting. I chose to include some pictures of Claire Wallace as she interviewed some veterans of the second World War for the CBC. I don’t know why I chose this subject but something about it jumped out at me the moment I saw it. Wish my memory would do the same!

Luckily, back in the day reporters were like gods and carried around entire recording crews with them wherever they went. Kind of like me but none of my recording devices fetch me coffee or massage my bunions. So through the miracle of the Dictaphone (slung around a lackey’s neck), many of these moments were recorded. While the original recorded cylinders have now been lost, their plausible  transcripts still exist. And I’ve included excerpts with the pictures for extra depth. I sincerely hope it begins to make up for my lost idea. Dammit!

Wallace: You know, I can stand here all day like this until you look up at me.

Pvt. Bilko: I’d rather die first, ma’am.

Wallace: So am I to take it you involuntarily urinate every few minutes?

Sgt. Wilko: But … you already asked me that. Five times.

Wallace: And I will ask again if I feel like it! You’re the invalid, I’m the interviewer. (whispered) Don’t forget who’s in charge here.

Sgt. Wilko: You … bitch.

Wallace: Wrong answer. Nurse, the injection…

Wallace: So you maintain that you’re not lovers?

Pvt. Schilko: No ma’am. Just happen to have beds in the same room.

Pvt. Theodocious: S’right.

Wallace: R-i-g-h-t. Well, it’s your choice if you want to hide in the shadows like scared little girls. Some men have courage.

Pvt. Schilko: But…

Wallace: Maybe we need another approach. Huh?

Wallace: Your friend Wilco was a tough nut, but I cracked his hide. Am I gonna have to do the same here?

Sgt. Okliw: What, use bad metaphors? Har har har! (coughs)

Wallace: Ah yes, a joker. Very good. Nurse, let’s make him laugh…

Wallace: There, and now I’m here. Now are you ready to admit you’re gay?

Pvt. Theodocious: But ma’am, we’re really not…

Wallace: I wasn’t talking to you, tubby!

Pvt. Schilko: He’s right. This is a hospital, we have to share the room. Believe me, I really am st…

Wallace: Well then there’s no pleasing you, young man! You can go straight to hell! Nurse!

Don’t worry if you don’t know who Claire Wallace is. I don’t think she was very famous, and as you can see by her interview technique, she didn’t really do her job as a reporter very well. She didn’t ask the really incisive questions. But, she’s a slice of Toronto’s history as, I’m sure, are some of the soldiers she interviewed. The Archives have plenty more of this kind of stuff, but I’ve borrowed enough. I can only mask my lack of remembrance so far; next time I’ll just have to write down my ideas or something.

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