The Muddy Hill Post

Off the Grid in St. Margaret's Bay

2009-10-23T11:07:00.002-03:00

I knew that my neiighbours Andrea and Shawn Redmond had built themselves a house way back from the road a few years ago. But when I heard it was also off the grid, and that they were raising chickens, goats and pigs, I wanted to get out there and talk to them.

Shawn does handyman and construction work, and Andrea is a painter (as in artist, not house painter) who also boards dogs. Shawn built most of the house, which is powered by solar panels and a 1-kilowatt wind turbine. In addition to the livestock they have now, they're hoping to add Scottish highland cattle, which are hardy and spend their winters outdoors.

Out of my visit came a five-minute radio documentary for CBC Radio's Information Morning in mainland Nova Scotia. You can listen to it here (in mp3 format).

Jailed for looking at drawings

2009-10-22T15:53:00.002-03:00

Defending people jailed for possession of child pornography may not be popular, but when people are imprisoned for looking at drawings, there is something wrong with the legislation.

The Halifax Chronicle-Herald reports that 20-year-old twin brothers have been sentenced to three months in jail for possessing child pornography. They had thousands of images on their home computer. But here's the thing: those images were all hentai -- Japanese-style pornographic drawings, in this case featuring children.

According to the Herald, Crown attorney Craig Botterill said, "The victimization wouldn’t happen in the first place if there weren’t people there to look at this material."

Well, there's a statement that ought to be open to some debate. If people could not look at drawings of children being abused there would be no child abuse? That seems pretty questionable to me. Have all the convicted pedophiles out there had access to drawings of children being abused? And did those drawings cause them to abuse real people?

Remember, we're not talking here about actual children being victimized and that victimization being captured through photographs. We are talking about drawings.

The presiding judge (the wonderfully named Theodore Tax) added that "This is a crime that victimizes young people around the world." What, drawing cartoons or looking at them?

"The images can only be regarded as disgusting and perverse," Judge Tax added. I have no doubt about that. But that doesn't mean people should go to jail for creating or possessing them.

If we still had a court challenges fund, I'd say this section of the law is one that somebody ought to mount a constitutional challenge against.

Ted Hutten -- local farmer finds a niche

2009-10-21T15:56:00.007-03:00

The 2009 Nova Scotia Food Summit just wrapped up: three days of meetings in the heart of the province's agricultural country.

In conjunction with the summit, mainland Nova Scotia's CBC Radio One morning program, Information Morning, ran a number of stories on local food and food security.

One of them was my 5-minute documentary on farmer Ted Hutten. He's been farming since age 18, and he and his wife (who, apparently, he has known since he was two!) bought the land they currently farm from his mother.

Hutten started off growing what he calls Dutch immigrant fare: green beans, potatoes, carrots. But he soon realized there was a niche to be filled in the exotic vegetable market. Now he grows all kinds of Asian greens and radishes, and he has a devoted following among customers with Middle Eastern and East Asian backgrounds.

I talked to Hutten and some of his customers at the Halifax Farmers' Market recently. (It meant getting there for 7 AM -- I should have been paid double). The documentary runs five minutes, and you can listen to it in mp3 format here.

Michael Moore talks newspapers

2009-09-14T15:54:00.001-03:00

At the Toronto International Film Festival.

A freelancer's friends

2009-09-09T12:19:00.004-03:00

If you want to be a successful freelance writer (or freelancer of any kind) you need more than skill, the ability to generate leads and ideas, and great marketing.

You need to be friendly with some key people -- people who can make your life (and cash flow situation) miserable if you act like an ass towards them. And conversely, who can make your life much more pleasant if you are kind.

I'm talking about editors, contracts people, the folks in accounts payable, and your fellow freelancers.

You count on these people, and you should treat them well. Sometimes, they will do you favours in a pinch ("I'm going on holiday -- is there any way you could get that cheque out to me a week early?").

I don't mean you need to be fake friendly. If people do their job well, you should show them some appreciation for it. And presumably, if you are a writer you have some interest in people's lives and their stories. Some kind of innate curiosity. Take advantage of it.

1) Be friendly with your editors. This one is kind of obvious. You don't have to be friends with your editors. But it's good to be friendly, and to develop a relationship that extends beyond your current and future assignments.

When I was starting out as a freelance writer, editors seemed like some other species. They were on a higher plane of existence than I was. I'd get nervous when I had to call them. Then I started to develop great relationships with editors.

We chat on the phone. We friend each other on Facebook. I find out what's going on in their lives. They find out what's going on in mine. Sometimes those conversations lead to story ideas, or to invitations to pitch. I learn about needs I could fulfill. They learn about skills and areas of expertise they may not have realized I had. It works for everyone.

There is a caveat. Not everyone loves to share. I've been hired by people who are generous and delightful to work with, but who are also quite private. It's essential to respect their boundaries.

2) Get to know the people who draw up your contracts -- especially if you plan on having a long-term relationship with an organization.

If you treat them badly, there is no reason why your contract can't sit on their to-do list for a good, long time. Also, in some organizations the person commissioning the work doesn't necessarily understand all the legal ins and outs when it comes to rights and permissions, or to collective agreements (if you are freelancing for an organization like the CBC, whose freelancers are covered by the union agreement). The contracts person does, and will make sure the terms of your agreement are done up properly.

Sometimes the contracts people seem to be the only ones in an organization who actually understand freelancers -- namely, that there is no paycheque or direct deposit coming our way every two weeks. They may suggest structuring a contract so you get paid in a few steps, instead of waiting til the end of a project. And they can go to bat for you if the editor has forgotten to release payment, or if there is trouble with accounting.

I've found that people who do contracts tend to be fastidious and detail-oriented. They don't like loose ends. Return your contracts to them in a timely manner. You will get paid faster, and they will be happy to not have to bug you.

3) This brings us to accounts payable. These are the people who pay you. You should be nice to them. Sometimes I've had to bug them for reasons that were entirely my own fault: for instance, I've screwed up the bookkeeping, and I'm not sure if I've been paid or not. A good relationship can ensure that I get the answer quickly, and that it can easily be rectified, if need be.

4) When you are a freelancer, you can see other freelance writers as competitors, or as colleagues. I've always chosen the latter. Sure, they are my competition. Maybe. But they are also sources (or sources for sources), they have all kinds of market intelligence and information about editors, and they are there for support when times are bad. I pass work along to them, and they pass work along to me. Knowing each other's skills and strengths helps us all.

Bring on the good karma.

Scott Pelton's Young Naturalists Club

2009-09-03T12:48:00.002-03:00

Every summer, Scott Pelton runs a day camp out of his boathouse on St. Margaret's Bay. He calls the place the Boathouse Institute of Oceanography.

Scott is like a big kid -- still completely captivated by the Bay and its ecological diversity. And he shares that passion with the kids.

I visited the camp during its last session of the summer, and put together a five-minute radio documentary. It is in mp3 format, and you can listen to it here.

My interview with Bruce Kirby

2009-08-31T16:47:00.003-03:00

Bruce Kirby is a sailing legend. A former Montreal Star editor, he's designed more than 60 sailboats, including the Laser -- probably the world's most popular racing boat.

Kirby was here in St. Margaret's Bay (where I live, near Halifax) for the 2009 Nautel World Laser Championships last week. I interviewed him for a report I did on the event for CBC Radio One's Information Morning.

We talked about why the Laser is so popular, the rock star treatment Kirby (now 80) gets whenever he attends sailing events, and his current sailing activities. He struck me as a modest guy, still genuinely surprised by the success of the Laser.

I only got to use a tiny bit of the interview in my radio piece. You can listen to the rest here (it's an mp3 that runs about 7 minutes).

Cash flow tips for freelancers

2009-08-13T20:16:00.003-03:00

If you are a freelancer writer (or any other kind of freelancer for that matter) summer can wreak havoc with your cash flow. The people who draw up contracts are on holiday. Accounting has someone filling in, and they are slow. Work dries up. You go on holiday, meaning you are working fewer billable hours.

Meanwhile, your bills keep rolling in, same as always.

A few years back, Canadian Screenwriter ran a story I did on cash flow for screenwriters -- but really, it applies to pretty much any freelance writers or artists.

And if you're a freelancer and want to share your own tips, hit the comments link below.

Go With the Flow
By Philip Moscovitch

If you're anything like me, you wind up tuning out all that standard financial advice in the media. Why? Because, most of it doesn't work for people with fluctuating incomes and lots of job insecurity. People like screenwriters.

Amanda Mills, who bills herself as a “financial therapist,” says the most volatile incomes belong to screenwriters and sculptors. But don’t throw up your hands. Despite the unpredictability, you can plan and avoid cash flow woes.

Put it aside
Mills, who works primarily with artists and writers, says a realistic view of your income is key. We tend to take our best months or years as our benchmark. Instead, Mills says, take the low end of the curve and base your budget on that. “When the upswings come you can expand your budget a bit. If you’ve allowed yourself so much for entertainment, add to that. But also make sure you use some of the money to build a six-month cushion”—a nest egg that you can live on if you’re out of work.

Brian Bowes, who offers financial planning and tax services for writers and artists, says you have to make sure to put enough money aside not only for lean times, but for the taxman too. “You have to master setting money aside—people in the first year especially, because they forget about income tax. Suddenly you get a bill for $10,000. Not only have you not saved anything, you owe all this money.”

It works best if you put money for taxes and a rainy day fund aside in a separate bank account, preferably one that will pay you a bit of interest. As for the amount to save, Bowes says it depends on many factors, including your income. But he offers 30 percent as a good general target. “If you’re the kind of person who has good times and then lean times I would think 30 percent is not a crazy number. The worst that happens is you’ve got extra money.”

Spend smart
Saving is one way to ensure decent cash flow. Another is to become smarter about spending. Barbara Florio Graham, who has been a freelance writer for 36 years, says you need to plan your spending, because “you don’t have time to shop when you’re working, and you don’t have time to work when you’re shopping.”

Her planning includes buying office supplies in bulk in August and September, and computers and other office equipment after Christmas, when they’re always cheaper.

She also tracks her spending by putting it all on two credit cards that offer rewards, and paying off the balance at the end of each month. Mills says that’s a great approach for people who “have a hard time getting receipts but are good at paying off the credit card bills. But it’s not good if you’re not the type who pays your balance off.”

Graham says that keeping an eye on spending doesn’t mean deprivation. Instead, skip the frivolous expenses and treat yourself once in awhile. “My philosophy is getting the biggest bang for my buck,” she says. “If I go out for dinner, I really enjoy myself.”

Bowes suggests flexibility as a way through the down times. Don’t buy a car if you don’t have to. You avoid monthly car payments—one less thing to worry about when money isn’t coming in.

Bridging the gap
No matter what you do, there may be times when you’re just short of funds. A line of credit can help—especially now, with interest rates so low.

“If you’re working on something and you don’t get your production fee for four months, certainly a line of credit can sustain you,” Bowes says. I would suggest that you consolidate at four or six percent instead of carrying credit card debt at 18 percent.”

But Ellen Roseman, personal finance columnist for the Toronto Star, points out that lines of credit have their downside too. If you find yourself just making the minimum payment, you’re only covering the interest and never paying down the principal. She says, “You have to watch that, or it’s a loan for life.”

Many banks offer lines of credit secured against your house. Technically, Roseman says, that’s a second mortgage. “Don’t leverage your house to the hilt,” she says. “It’s very easy to do because lines of credit are so cheap… but it means you’re really vulnerable if rates go up or market value goes down.”

One way to get through the tough times is to draw money out of your RRSP (because you maxed out your contributions during the good times, didn’t’ you?). Both Bowes and Roseman note that by maximizing RRSP contributions, you get a great tax break during the good times, and then when you withdraw the money during the bad times, you’re taxed on it in a far lower bracket.

But Mills is skeptical of the strategy. She says what often happens is that writers “are in clover the first half of the year, and then they’re cashing in their RRSPs in the second half of the year when work is slow.” Because you earned good money for part of the year, you’ll face tax hit on that RRSP withdrawal. “It makes me sick when that happens,” she says.

A week near Waterville, Maine

2009-07-31T12:04:00.004-03:00

Back from a week in central Maine. First time there. Things that made an impression:

Water fountains everywhere. Here we are fighting to bring them back. There, they don't seem to have ever gotten rid of them.
Vanity plates. Seemed like they were on every other car. Way more bumper stickers too. The day we went to the farmers' market in Waterville, you could definitely figure out the demographic from the cars parked nearby. "Obama 08" bumper stickers on every other vehicle. Licence plates like "COMPASN".
Almost no yellow ribbons or "We support our troops" magnetic ribbons or stickers on cars. We have far, far more of those here in Nova Scotia.
Just about every small town had a library. It might be a tiny library, but it's still a library.
Much bigger spread in the cost of food at supermarkets and convenience stores vs farmers' markets. When you can buy eggs for 99 cents, paying more than four bucks at the market is probably less appealing. In general everything at the markets seemed quite pricey (compared to here). Six bucks for bread. Sixteen to buy enough sausage for dinner. We bought there anyway, but it made me understand some of the arguments I'd read in American books about local food being less affordable.
Self-storage. Everywhere. Out in the middle of rural areas. One after another. People just bought too much crap and had nowhere to put it.
Sugar in everything. When you're palate's not used to it, it's shocking.

Back to the Westcliffe Diner

2009-07-15T16:13:00.004-03:00

I first wrote about the Westcliffe Diner in the early days of this blog. (I spelled it "Westcliff" at the time, because that's what it says on the sign, but owners Beverly Griswold and Tyler Slaunwhite assure me that it is actually Westcliffe, with an "e".)

I recently wrote about the diner again, this time in the pages of the Canadian edition of Reader's Digest (unfortunately the story is not online, so I can't point you to a link). It was an interesting piece to write. Tyler is not a publicity hound. He started off refusing to speak to me, and I think he got a bit annoyed when I persisted in asking him if he would consider allowing me to interview him.

But eventually, after several research trips (all of which included a burger or fish and chips of course -- I over-researched a bit), I pulled out my notebook and started asking questions. And Tyler and Bev started answering. They showed the same generosity with me as they do when they are cooking and serving up meals.

As one person I interviewed said, so many businesses now seem friendly -- but it's a kind of fake friendly. That's definitely not what the Westcliffe is like.

Eating the Wild

2009-07-15T15:04:00.002-03:00

Local food is all the rage -- and what could be more local and organic than something growing wild in your backyard or nearby?

I recently appeared on Information Morning in Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia to talk about edible wild plants with hosts Steve Sutherland and Bob Murphy.

Click here to listen to my conversation with Bob (mp3), featuring clips from a trio of local edible plant experts: Marian Munro, curator of botany at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax, chef Michael Howell of Tempest restaurant, and herbalist and plant walk leader Savayda Jarone.

There were some great clips I wanted to use in the piece, but wound up cutting for space. My favourite was Marian Munro talking about making porridge from the root of the invasive Japanese Knotweed and using Chickweeds in salads: "I say, if you can't get rid of it, eat it."

The piece runs about 5 minutes.

Now I can be safe

2009-06-29T10:15:00.002-03:00

Tim Bousquet, news editor at local weekly The Coast, points out the shortcomings of crosswalk safety public service announcements in his "Reality Bites" column this week:

Global TV is airing a pair of public service ads that purport to educate people on how to increase crosswalk safety. The ads, which are lame even by community PSA standards, tell us that there are two “teams” in the game of crossing the street---motorists and pedestrians. But both ads are aimed at only the pedestrian team, which is told to stay between the white lines and for some inexplicable reason to stick their hands out in front of them while crossing the street.

Our Halifax tax dollars have helped produce lots of other crosswalk safety videos, "produced by HRM Traffic and Right-of-Way Services [who knew?] and Global Television."

You can watch them here.

Unfortunately, the two PSAs Tim refers to are not on the page. And you can't embed the videos either (or I would, believe me). Also, confusingly, some are MPEGs and others are WMVs. All are equally inept and unintentionally funny.

But they did get me thinking about weighty topics. For instance, why is a video on why cyclists should wear their helmets considered a crosswalk safety announcement?

With supporters like me....

2009-06-22T18:19:00.002-03:00

Got a letter from GM today. It thanks me for my "unwavering support in these unprecedented times."

And what have I done to to support the troubled company?

I bought my first-ever American car (a Saturn) two years ago. Used. In a private sale.
I got an extended warranty (which I did not purchase) transferred to me from the previous owner.
I've never taken the car to the dealer to be serviced.

I am indeed one strong supporter. Thanks for the recognition GM!

More from Paul's Hall

2009-06-18T16:44:00.004-03:00

Back in May, CBC Radio's Maritime Magazine aired my radio documentary Tobias Beale -- Taking Music Education Beyond School Walls. (You can listen to it here, or tune in to CBC again for a rebroadcast on August 30.)

One of the people featured in the doc was Emma Paul, a young (then 13, now 14), singer doing Summertime in rehearsal.

Emma's still going strong. Here she is sitting in with the Mitchell-Staples Quartet at Paul's (no relation) Hall.

NDP victory in Nova Scotia

2009-06-10T09:19:00.003-03:00

The NDP has finally been elected in Nova Scotia, and with a substantial majority. They take 31 seats, while the Liberals climb to 11 and the Progressive Conservatives drop to 10.

Naturally, comment boards on sites like the Globe and Mail's are full of dire warnings for us foolhardy Nova Scotians. We are in for the kind of socialist hell that Ontario suffered through in the early 1990s.

According to these folks, I guess, every provincial New Democratic Party will be forever tainted by Bob Rae's government. Bob Rae, of course, is now a Liberal.

As I recall, most media had hysterics the moment Rae was elected. In order to demonstrate that he was not a crazed left-wing radical (see above: Bob Rae is now a Liberal), he brought in Rae Days -- unpaid days off for civil servants -- thereby pissing off both right and left and ensuring his defeat.

Are we to believe that every single NDP government from now to eternity will make the same tactical mistake?

The NDP were elected because Nova Scotians are fundamentally decent people, and Darrell Dexter is a fundamentally decent person who ran a fundamentally decent campaign.

I think that's what tipped the balance in a lot of rural ridings (including my own) that many thought would never vote NDP.

The Conservatives rolled out their scary attack ads, which didn't make clear (unless you read the tiny fine print on your TV) who had paid for them. Instead, they directed viewers to their risky NDP site. They ran misleading, nasty radio ads saying the NDP had accepted illegal campaign contributions from unions, and people saw through them. They claimed the NDP would be fiscally irresponsible, when they are the ones who lied about stimulus projects not going ahead if their government fell, and who tried to fudge the fact that they were going to ignore their own balanced budget law.

The Nova Scotia NDP are hardly socialist firebrands. Their promises were modest. Take HST (that's GST plust provincial tax to most of you in the rest of the country) off electricity. Keep seniors in their homes longer. Keep emergency rooms open. Develop a plan to encourage young people to stay here.

It worked. Good luck to them.

Newsroom follies

2009-06-02T09:19:00.002-03:00

Here's how I was going to start this post:

"A developer in Charlottetown has jumped into the Nova Scotia election fray. With a new poll out showing that the NDP may be headed for a majority, Richard Homberg has warned Nova Scotians that they businesses may leave the province if they elect an NDP government."

Now Homburg's remarks, as reported on CBC Radio, were ridiculous. He said that he had left Winnipeg on principle after an NDP victory in Manitoba, but then added that his opinion was not political.

Turns out, though, he made the comments last fall. So they were reported, newscast after radio newscast, as the word of a successful (if out-of-province) businessman warning of harm to the economy if the NDP were elected -- just as that began to seem like a possibility for the first time.

What I want to know is, how do you make a mistake like this? Where did the tape of Homburg come from? It's obviously not like a reporter just went out and interviewed him. Somebody had to dig it up from somewhere.

A big-time screw-up.

Speaking of screw-ups, it was pretty amusing last week to listen to newscasts about the guilty plea of a teenage girl on a weapons charge. In newscasts on the hour she was 18; on the half-hour she was 17. Back and forth, back and forth, all day long.

Uncyclopedia

2009-05-29T16:22:00.002-03:00

I just discovered Uncyclopedia (while doing research for a comic I'm writing).

Uncyclopedia calls itself "the content-free encyclopedia anyone can edit." I can't wait til it starts turning up in research papers by clueless students.

From the entry on Canada:

The vast majority of Canadians are actually invincible superheroes, invested with a variety of superpowers ranging from looking at TV or computer screens for entire weeks in winter to understanding the rules of hockey using telepathy and superhuman intelligence. For this reason, Canadians don't need any form of government or even a military, since every single guy next door can either stop bullets in mid-air or cut through buildings using energy blast from their eyes, but usually they end up playing video games on their computers most of the time since no nation is crazy enough to attack such an intimidating and powerful country as Canada.

40 is the new 20: The story behind the song

2009-05-27T10:30:00.004-03:00

Guest post today from my friend Steven Morris, who co-wrote an original song for a feature film being released this weekend. Take it away Steven:

On May 29, the totally independent English-language Canadian feature 40 is the new 20 opens in Montreal (AMC Forum) and Toronto (AMC Yonge & Dundas 24). It's directed by Montrealer Simon Boisvert, with a cast including Claudia Ferri (Hard Core Logo, Mambo Italiano), Pat Mastroianni (Degrassi), Bruce Dinsmore (The Myth of the Male Orgasm) and newcomer Diana Lewis, who also produces.

Best of all (well, maybe not best), a song I co-wrote runs under the closing credits. Here's the story of how that happened.

My old friend André Potvin was on the crew for 40 is the new 20, and he kept telling me it was one of the best experiences he'd ever had, after years of working on cookie-cutter films made to feed cable TV.

André has an innate sense of taste. If he said it was a cool film it probably was. Then he dropped the bombshell.

“Steven, I told the director that you and I wrote a song for his end credits and that we would send him a demo.” Tip your hat to André because this bit of hubris was a blatant lie. But it did set a bright orange fire under our you-know-whats.

André and I had once played lots of music together. Two guitars (one blonde the other black), two voices and two rock and roll frames of mind. But a few years ago I had been forced to stop playing because of arthritis. The musical path we’d been on split and I spent time licking my wounds, singing with others and trying to learn different instruments.

This song project represented an opportunity for renewed collaboration. But there were a few problems: songs don’t grow on trees, the shit box digidesign/pro tools home studio I had purchased two years ago had to be figured out, and André and I had to re-learn our lost art of relating as musicians, and as human beings.

Potvin had put together a muscular, highly rhythmic chord progression and a good sketch of an arrangement. But when I asked him what his melody was he stared at me with bland expression which screamed out, “Heeelp meee!”

For six weeks it was a slugfest. I read Simon’s taut script twice, Potvin threw melodic line after line I came up with back in my face until he started coming up with some of his own. Finally, we unraveled the needlessly complex software and delivered the song.

And Simon bought it! That was nearly three months ago.

Being the neurotic I am that gave me plenty of time to doubt André's opinion of the shoot. I was convinced our music and names would be identified with something of unbridled absurdity. That I would have to learn to repeat the line, “Oh, that must be some other Steven Morris, I have never heard of André Potvin.”

Or reverse anxiety: The song we wrote was horrible and Simon didn't know any better. More than one person whose opinion I respect had said, “it is a pity to see you wasting your spare time on this song Morris.” My older brother referred to me as “a head case.”

Finally, the date came for the crew screening. After seeing the film, I beamed with pride. And for all involved, not just me and André.

It is not such an embarrassment to have cradled existential doubt. Just making a film is a miracle. Making a good film is an act of God. Some say magic is involved. Regardless, Simon Boisvert made a good film. And that ain’t easy. It takes lots of courage.

If you have ever been on a web site to meet people, or speed dating, or been invited by friends for dinner and – surprise – there is a single person of the opposite sex there. you will relate to this film. There are legions of us.

40 is the New 20 is a contemporary tale. The actors deliver. The story grabbed me.

Some will loathe it, others love it. Some will be indifferent. But this is a call for you to buy a ticket and respond. Morris, you need your head read, that film is a stinker. Morris, you were right, it hurt me too. Maurice, désolé, peux pas te dire si je suis pour ou contre, car je me suis endormi durant la projection.

Go all out, post a comment on the Facebook group I created called, “40 is the New 20-The Feature Film.”

Please go see it. Hit me with your best shot.

Imagine Our Schools

2009-05-14T13:54:00.003-03:00

I have a lot to say about Imagine Our Schools, the process that brought in architects from Toronto to advise the Halifax Regional School Board on its use of facilities.

One of the main tenets repeated at meeting after meeting by the consultants was that students could not learn properly in small schools. Small schools simply cannot deliver the curriculum.

Today, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reports:

A Halifax County school has been named world literacy champion in an international reading competition.
Students at Shatford Memorial Elementary School read an average of almost 609 books each between last November and April to win the WOW Reading Challenge and claim the World Literacy Championship trophy and banner.

This would be the same Shatford Elementary that the consultants would like to see closed. Because, of course, actually looking at results was not part of their mandate. And I guess reading lots of books isn't necessarily part of the curriculum.

Stay tuned.

Open letter to Yak Communications

2009-05-08T11:56:00.004-03:00

Dear Yak,

Maybe you are overcompensating. You see, last time I failed to notify you when my credit card expired. You happily continued to provide long-distance phone service for months, then cut me off and took forever to reconnect me (operating under the assumption that I had switched long distance carriers).

My credit card is set to expire again. So you start calling me 6 weeks ahead of the actual expiration date, telling me you have an urgent message, that my card has expired, and that I need to contact customer service immediately.

I call customer service. Maybe they have the wrong date? I get a friendly rep who says no, we have the correct expiration date on file. Not to worry. Just contact us when you get the new card.

Fine. So stop with the auto-dialler every couple of days already. It's even more annoying than the exhortations to renew my sub to a mag after two issues.

Tobias Beale and Paul's Hall on CBC's Maritime Magazine

2009-05-06T11:37:00.006-03:00

My half-hour radio documentary on Tobias Beale is now online here.

Tobias is a music teacher who lives near Halifax. And he tells great, great stories.

In some ways, it's been a rough year for Tobias. He's spent 15 years devoted to teaching music, and he finds himself doing it in an environment where it really doesn't seem to be a priority.

After spending 8 years teaching band at his local junior high, Tobias found himself out of a job. Today, he's a half-time band resource teacher who travels from school to school. It's crazy and fun, but not the same. He's also bought an old church hall, and is using it to revitalize a locally focused music culture, and to provide a performance space for teens.

Bonus feature: I've posted the raw audio of the first interview I did with Tobias, when I started working on this documentary several months ago. We were chatting upstairs at Paul's Hall, while three local teen bands prepared for a show downstairs.

The file runs about 25 minutes. Click to listen, or right-click to download and listen later.

The interview covers all kinds of fascinating stuff I couldn't work into the final show. I especially like Tobias's answer when I ask him why kids need performance spaces when they all have MySpace and Facebook pages to promote their music. That comes about three quarters of the way through.

Enjoy, and please share your comments by clicking the "comments" link below.

Bankrupt news

2009-05-04T11:03:00.004-03:00

Bizarre story about writers and a new magazine on the early editions of CBC Radio's "World Report" today. (I assume it was dropped from later editions, because it's not part of the latest show available online.)

The story began with the assertion that these are tough times for writers. Well, maybe. Certainly they are tough times for journalists, whose papers are being shut down all over the place. I've rarely been busier than I am now -- and I know plenty of other writers who aren't hurting either.

So let's assume the story means these are tough times for staff journalists.

It then goes on to say that there's a new magazine from Vancouver that has sprung up to give emerging writers the opportunity to publish. It's called Bankrupt, and -- here's the hook, I guess -- it doesn't pay contributors.

Now, wait a minute. Did the story mean these are tough times for literary writers? Times are always tough for literary writers.

A look at the magazine's website indicates that it's mission is "showcasing the latest stories from Vancouver writers."

The magazine launched about six weeks ago.

I'm trying to figure out how any of this is national news.

Timely? Magazine launched six weeks ago.

Innovative? Writers have been putting up with the same old crap ("We don't pay but you get exposure" forever.)

National in scope? It's an online Vancouver litmag.

Recession? Yes, I guess this is it. The mag is called Bankrupt, and we are in a recession.

Therefore it is news that a) a little online journal with a clever name has launched, doing the same thing little online journals have always done, and b) it features emerging literary writers -- many of whom not only don't mind being kicked but will line up, ask you to kick them and then thank you for it. In any kind of economy.

The Globe's online letters page outdoes itself

2009-05-04T09:27:00.005-03:00

It's badly designed and hard to read at the best of times. Today, it's even more fun:

The only retailer that matters?

2009-05-01T12:41:00.001-03:00

This is a weird sentence, from a Marina Jiménez story on Mexico City in today's Globe and Mail:

Parks are closed and plazas empty. Malls, museums, cinemas and shops are shuttered - as well as most restaurants and cafés, including some of the country's 259 Starbucks outlets.

Farewell King

2009-04-15T10:54:00.001-03:00

King Kaufman, one of the most intelligent sportswriters around (even if he didn't write about hockey enough) calls it quits.