On The Radio

Warning: links followed by (audio) indicate that music will start playing as soon as you open the page! Also, apologies to anyone who received my email containing large chunks of this post. Read on; I've got much more to say this time :)

Living alone in my flat can make for some very quiet nights and, with no radio or TV, I depend a lot on the internet to fill the space. CBC has done an amazing job getting excellent Canadian music onto the airwaves with their transformation of Radio 2 and programs like Q, GO!, and DNTO, not to mention the worldwide popularity of Radio 3 (audio) on the interweb. And they've been very smart to make so much of their stuff available for streaming online or downloadable as podcasts. Thanks to the time difference, my evenings are beautifully soundtracked by Radio 2 Drive, where Rich Terfry hosts an excellent mix of music from all over the world and across many genres. If you're stuck in rush hour during, say, a transit strike, this is a surefire way to calm the nerves. Someone send a memo to Kathleen: "Heavy rotation on the CBC" has a whole new meaning. (audio - Yes, that really is Marty McSorley, Paul Coffey, and Jim Cuddy on the ice with Kathleen! (audio - think it's illegal to have so many parentheses?))

So why this random plug for the CBC, you ask? My vote for the band Stars got aired on GO's Top Eight Driving Tunes of All Time show in December. You can listen to the entire 11/29/2008 show streamed at http://www.cbc.ca/go/audio.html#fullshows (where you can find archives from previous shows and excellent mp3s of live performances). The vote for Stars' "Take Me To the Riot" comes in at #7 about 11 minutes into the show, followed by a beautiful request from Torquil (half of the vocals of Stars) himself.

Here are a few more gems in rotation:

- Fuse (http://www.cbc.ca/fuse/)
An innovative show combining two or more artists/bands (often of different genres) to make some live musical magic. The incredibly sweet (audio) Amanda Putz helped conceive and hosted (along with Alan Neal) the program. Sadly, Fuse was cancelled in 2008 but you can relive some memories on their website under "Audio."

- Concerts on Demand (http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/)
Recordings of live concerts by all sorts of musicians. Some favourites:
>>> Buck 65 with Symphony Nova Scotia
>>> Rose Cousins
>>> Zaki Ibrahim
>>> Kathleen Edwards at Bluesfest
>>> New Year's Concert (Jim Bryson, Zaki Ibrahim, Sandro Petti, Jenny Whiteley, Andre Ethier and Catriona Sturton)
>>> Canadian Songbook - Luminato 2008 (Alex Cuba, Luke Doucet, Molly Johnson, Danny Michel, Mikel Rouse, Ron Sexsmith, Nikki Yanofsky, Dan Zanes, Kim Stockwood, and Damhnait Doyle)

- The Nerve: Music & the Human Experience (http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/features/theNerve/)
A six-part series look at the How and Why of music.

- The Age of Persuasion (http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion)
Terry O'Reilly is back exploring the countless ways marketers permeate your life, from media, art, and language, to politics, religion, and fashion.



I feel compelled here to say a word (or several...) about the attacks against the new Radio 2. I've seen many comments on the Radio 2 blog complaining about the programming change from purely classical music to a wider variety of genres. I agree that it was not too smart of CBC to eliminate the CBC Radio Orchestra but do feel that their new programming better reflects Canada's musical mosaic. I really think that many of these complaints demonstrate true narrow-mindedness. With petitions proclaiming the need to restore "intelligent sensitive programming," I would suggest they take a good listen to what is being played on the New 2 and dare them to accuse the compelling lyrics and beautiful melodies of being unintelligent and insensitive.

One comment in response to Radio 2 Drive read:

"...The people with the technology to stream music from the net are the kind of people who might like your music. How come they don't get to stream it while we fans of the old Two have to suffer in silence or be assaulted by music we hate?"
Posted by: Janet Bickford | November 21, 2008 09:15 PM

I appreciate the euphemism of "people with the technology to stream music" in the place of "stinky young folk," but you certainly don't need a logic textbook to see the extreme flaw in her argument. People from all walks of life can appreciate music from danceable World to European Indie to Country and everything in between.

Another reads:

"What dribble and when combined with the inane comments of the host, it should be not even be allowed to use the CBC call letters. I wonder if the host even graduated from high school. I am embarrassed by this low level of programming."
Posted by: Herc | December 26, 2008 04:37 PM

I understand that people are upset because programs they loved have been cancelled. (Don't think I'm upset that Fuse and Waking Up With A. Putz. and Arrested Development were cancelled? Think again.) That, however, is no reason to stoop to mean-spirited comments that are not helpful in the least. I imagine this person would be one to dismiss an artist like Shad as unintelligent and unsophisticated solely on the basis that he's a rapper, thus missing the great pleasure of hearing a song as powerful as Brother (Watching (audio)). One does not need to have decades of expensive musical training to be capable of creating art that can touch and affect others.

It feels like all of these comments are being made with an extreme sense of entitlement and superiority. These arguments are made as though classical music is the only music that deserves to be broadcast by our public broadcaster. I enjoy classical music and have the option of listening to it five hours a day on Radio 2. However, there are vast amounts of incredible music being produced in our country outside of that genre that deserve to be heard. It's called "Your National Music Network," implying a commitment to shine the light on all talented Canadian musicians. The New CBC Radio 2 does just that.

If you have any thoughts/opinions to add on the subject, please feel free to leave a comment.

Dublin

This is the last post from last semester - yes for catching up! Coming soon: stories from two weeks of exploring Scotland with Garrett! (In other more superficial news, I got some brilliant wouldn't-buy-if-they-weren't-on-sale boots and am oh so pleased! :)

Dublin (map)
December 6-8, 2008

For the first weekend of December, I found myself in Dublin with Kristin, Marjorie, and Aurore, the great friends I luckily met on a bus early one fall morning. They went up on Friday but, with a lecture I couldn't miss that day, I decided to go on Saturday morning and come back on Monday.

Our Saturday was primarily spent at the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin's main tourist attraction. The building, located on the 64-acre St. James' Gate Brewery, was redone in 2000 into a brilliant 7-floor museum of sorts where you learn about all things Guinness - the entire production chain from raw ingredients to storage to transportation, its marketing through the years, and general history about the company. Even for someone who doesn't like beer, it was a pretty interesting tour through the building shaped like a pint glass (despite the ridiculous crowds and hilarious Windows errors) and the displays were quite well-done. My favourite part was probably a video from the 1950s showing a cooper in action, speedily making a barrel with the most minimal of tools and experienced hands.

A pint was included with entry, making the ticket price slightly less exorbitant. With not much time and boxes on the qualities-that-make-one-easily-inebriated list, I didn't finish my pint. Actually, none of us did - much to the chagrin of the guy who grabbed our seats as we left.

Here we are from left to right: Aurore, Marjorie, Kristin, me! (Photo stolen from Kristin :)

Our evening's entertainment was covered with dinner, music, and dancing at Legends, the restaurant/bar part of the Arlington Hotel. The food was delicious, the music traditional and charming, and the dancing impressive. The moving painting was a fun addition.

On Sunday, we joined up with a walking tour guided by a history graduate of Trinity College. His Jack Nicholson-like mug attempted to go through the history of Ireland back the past few hundred years in a span of two hours - no small feat. With so much information pouring in and me knowing pretty much nothing about Irish history to start, a lot of it passed right through me.

The highlight on Sunday for me was Oscar Wilde! Travelling with three literature majors, his statue was a definite stop - and am I glad we did it. This statue is, hands down, the most brilliant of brilliant statues out there. The cheeky facial expression, the inviting pose, the colourful smoke-room jacket - all apparently quite appropriate for the type of man he was known to be. Opposite the statue sculpted in 1997 by Danny Osborne, there are two columns covered in his quotes and topped with two impressive sculptures. I wonder, though, why the male sculpture is just a torso while the female one shows an entire body.

After being awed by the wicked statue, we made our way to see the Book of Kells and the Old Library of Trinity College. Sadly, the book was not in display that day (for maintenance) so we only saw a facsimile. The little exhibition about the book did have some neat videos - my favourite one showed the old school book-binding process from start to finish - and just standing in the Old Library surrounded by ancient dusty volumes was quite an experience too.

The girls left that evening and I spent the night strolling around town. Much of the same was done on Monday and I strolled on into a few museums too.

One area that was nice to walk around in was Temple Bar. The cultural hub of Dublin, this area was on the brink of demolition twenty years ago. A bus company had plans to buy it out and build a bus depot but had trouble paying their mortgage. Instead of borrowing massive sums of money that they wouldn't be able to pay off (not a good idea?), they decided to rent out the flats for short periods at low rent. Artists and students flocked to the area and a cultural revival of sorts organically began. The government took note, admirably scrapped the bus depot and, instead, invested money into the area, funding centres for photography, music, film, and theatre.

I had lunch at The Bakery - a delicious savoury pastry (though no bacon or ham!) - and spent the rest of the day at the Photography Gallery, National Photographic Archives, and the National Library of Ireland. (The National Museum of Ireland was closed because it was a Monday - what a bummer!) Quite the cultural day to end off a nice weekend.

I found people were generally more pushy than I've seen in Edinburgh and drivers were slightly insane but, overall, it was a good choice for a last trip of the semester. Lots more photos and commentary to be found in the full album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2182660&l=a0f6f&id=90402206.

I'll leave you today with one of my favourite photos taken last semester - a bird sitting atop a Temple Bar sign.

When not sleeping in castles...

…brought to you by the letter C!

Note: this post was written in early December and is obviously dated, but I thought I'd put it up in any case since my internet wouldn't let me when I wrote it. It probably contains far more detail than you'll care to know but at least my mom will be happy :) I've also just put up an album containing some miscellaneous photos from the first semester - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2186826&l=15975&id=90402206.

People have been asking about what life has been like for me in Edinburgh outside of the weekend trips, so I've put together this post to share a bit about what keeps me busy when I'm not sleeping in a castle or taking photos of them.

Classes
Yes, these do exist. Being that university is what brought me on this adventure, I suppose it does feature as quite a big part of life these days. The norm here is three classes each semester with 2-3 hours of lecture time per class each week plus weekly or bi-weekly tutorials. That's a lot of numbers so I'll sum it up as: 8 hours of class time a week! Compared to the 15-20 hours that most (BA) students in Canada have, you would think this equals lots of free time. In theory this is true, but, much of that time is taken up by readings and work to keep up with lectures and tutorials. I don't want to generalize the comparison to Canada vs. UK because there are so many other factors (home university, program, personal study style) and I've heard lots of people say they've felt the opposite.

That said, my classes have been enjoyable so the required work isn't necessarily a bad thing. A first year Human Geography class has been my favourite - studying many things that I'm genuinely interested in always makes class work easier. The second year Organisation Studies has met my expectations and as much a psychology class as it is a business class. My only economics class is Topics in Economic Analysis and has its moments of being both interesting and very dull, often the case with economics classes.

Clubs
With well over 200 clubs and societies at the university, there's something for pretty much everyone from lovers of juggling to avid Perfidious Albion-ers. I've opted for two societies thus far - ChillOut and Photography. No, the ChillOut Society does not consist of lying around on shag carpets drinking hot chocolate and listening to Zero 7 (though that would be pretty sweet). What it does consist of is great massage classes and I took their 6-week beginner class as well as a one-day Indian Head Massage class. Both were great to learn some new skills, meet nice people, and get a relaxing massage! I've only just started with PhotoSoc but their once-a-week meetings are often guest speakers who come to talk about some aspect of photography. On Tuesday, there was a fellow student who told us all about pinhole photography - very cool stuff. Imagine having your camera exposed for six months!

Edinburgh's own Camera Obscura

City
So after the school work and societies, there is still lots of time to explore the city. (Perhaps a blog post brought to us by the sound 's'?) Living in the middle of a UNESCO World Heritage Centre has its benefits. With winding alleys and buildings seeped in history every way you look, just wandering around Old Town provides hours of entertainment. There are also many world class museums and galleries with free entry that I definitely haven't taken advantage of.

Another beautiful feature of Edinburgh is the massive park smack in the middle of the city! Holyrood Park is always great for a stroll about and offers some of the best views of the city. Here are some photos from a few jaunts up Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags (more here).

The gentle stroll up Arthur's Seat.


This panorama is a snippet of the view of the city from the Salisbury Crags.

On one outing, I walked around the Scottish Parliament - a very controversial building that's been slagged for its unique design and blown-up costs (which totalled £414.4m, about 10 times the initial guesstimates). Lots of people complain about the modern architecture, especially when compared to some of the ancient buildings around Old Town. Personally, I'm a fan. With no educated commentary to add, I will simply say that I think it's pretty and am very much looking forward to doing a tour to learn about the finer details (green roofs and material primarily sourced from within Scotland!).


Cooking
With a father who can cook up a storm in minutes using whatever is found in the fridge, I've been lucky enough to have a steady stream of nutritious and delicious food entering my stomach without having to flex a single culinary muscle. That has obviously changed since September and I'm happy to report that I have not been living out of cans and pizza boxes. I've been sticking to pretty simply things and like to cook larger batches that will feed me for a few meals. (Tip: poaching an entire chicken can keep one person fed for a good chunk of the week. Thanks for the recipe, brother!) While the food that comes out of my microwave/oven/grill (yes, all three in one unit!) or off of my two little burners may not be as tasty as going out to eat or the make-brain-think-substance-is-delicious flavourings often found in packaged stuff, spending time on carefully selecting and preparing definitely makes me appreciate my food.

Overall, the city is a beautiful place to live. Not so big that you feel overwhelmed but not so small that it's lacking in things to do. And for a city of this size, Edinburgh is disgustingly rich in things to do and see... lucky for me!

Glasgow

With the hallways in our building just painted, I feel like I should avoid walking through unnecessarily and inhaling those toxic fumes. So, thanks to locking myself in my decent-smelling (by university student standards) flat, here presented is my second post of the day!

Unrelated: do you think it fair to say the most pungent of smells on this Earth can be attributed to things either very natural (like durian or farts) or very unnatural (like paints full of synthetic chemicals)? Not a very solid argument, I'll admit, since the term "natural" is so debatable and definitely not black and white and there probably isn't a quantitative measured scale of pungency... yet. I'm sure someone will pour precious research dollars into creating such an incredibly useful and necessary tool. Onto the post...

Glasgow (map)
November 29, 2008

As usual when the ISC does a trip to a city, we walked as a group to a main attraction. This time, it was Glasgow Cathedral. I think the exposure to so many tremendously old buildings has ruined some of that romantic sense of awe for me. The cathedral is massive and beautiful but, without knowing any of the history or hearing any stories, it felt like just another ancient pile of bricks. This would explain my new appreciation for tour guides who add that beautiful extra dimension and bring these sites and attractions to life. One neat thing I'll mention is the crazy contrast between this little white chapel inside the cathedral and the dull grey-brown hues of the rest of the building. The white paint looked very fresh, but I imagine it must have been originally whitewashed.

After the cathedral, Christophe, Armando, and I decided to walk along the River Clyde to take a peek at the Armadillo (about a mile west of the city centre), passing the Arc Bridge on the way and getting a glimpse of the BBC Scotland building and the Glasgow Science Centre. The Rough Guide to Scotland says that Glasgow has failed to take advantage of their river coursing through the city and I would agree. The walk, past piles of concrete and very few trees, was not as pleasant as it could have been and was decidedly anticlimactic.

Armando in front of the Armadillo Concert Hall

Lupper was had at a pub called Waxy O'Connors which is brilliantly set up like a little labyrinth, several different rooms/bars linked by winding halls and wee staircases. The food was good for a pub and the place had a nice atmosphere - pretty cozy and not too noisy.

Glasgow is the self-proclaimed second largest shopping centre of the UK and it fits the bill, though it often felt like every shopping centre or street featured the exact same stores. We saw some excellent buskers on Buchanan Street - a great group of improvising drummers that kept going and going and sounded fantastic! Also nice was the prettily-decorated Argyll Street Christmas market with stalls selling fun woollen hats and useless trinkets and giant sausages and Belgian waffles and mini pancakes (delicious when topped with nutella, cream, and cinnamon!).

There are some things we didn't get to see like the Glasgow School of Art (designed by the famous Charles Rennie Mackintosh), but the city is so close that it could easily be another daytrip were I so inclined. I've heard that Glasgow is a city that's nicer to live in than to visit, which I can definitely imagine (especially with all the musicians that go to Glasgow but not Edinburgh), so perhaps it'll be worth giving it another chance in the future.

Though I didn't take a ton of photos, you can find a few more at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2180187&l=cd86e&id=90402206

Highlands Weekend Trip

Confession: this post has been procrastinated for ages and, as a result, is not as beefy as it would have been were it written say... right after the trip. I'll work harder on frequent updating this second semester, I promise. Until then, I'm catching up with several posts about trips done the tail-end of the first semester as well as a few other miscellaneous write-ups to be posted in the next few days. Hope you enjoy!

Scottish Highlands (map, look for pink placemarks)

November 15-16, 2008

This November weekend was the only overnight trip the ISC put on last semester and took us up to the Scottish Highlands. The weekend was a fun time and I met some great new friends. Our bus (one of three) was lead by tour guide Jamie who threaded the different stops together with stories pulled from Scotland's rich history. The stops were a really nice mix of typical tourist sites and lesser known sites, the first stop being one of the latter. After a long drive that saw the landscape morph from rolling green fields (filled with sheep) to brown heather-covered and snow-capped hills (still filled with sheep), we arrived at the Hermitage forest.

Our short walk through the forest (supposedly) featuring Britain's second tallest tree took us to a view of Ossian's Hall overlooking a nice waterfall. Apparently the Hall was built by Dr. Ossian to win over the Duke of Atholl (owner of the forest) and gain his daughter's hand in marriage. I wonder if there's a modern day equivalent - any grand buildings out there being thrown up as a gesture of love/marriage proposal? Probably in Dubai.

We drove on to the Culloden Moor battlefield where Jamie retold the story of the battle that made Scotland what it is today. Most interestingly, he equated the events post-battle - the demolition of the clan system and the banning of tartan, kilts, and even bagpipes - to genocide. With the wind whipping through our hair and rain droplets falling sporadically, they grey sky really set the mood as we walked through the battlefield past the graves marked for each clan.

Another unconventional stop we made was at Clutie Well. Since Pictish times, people have believed many wells to have healing powers because of the high mineral content of the water. At this well, people bring an article of clothing to tie to the trees and then drink from the well. The idea is that when your dingy sock falls off the branch, you will be healed. All the trees in the vicinity of the well were covered with strips of cloth and, at dusk, it made for a very eerie walk.

We retired for the night at Carbisdale Castle, probably the grandest youth hostel in the world! The rooms are nothing to write home about but check out the dining hall:

On the Saturday night, there was a traditional Scottish ceilidh - a big dance party consisting of set dances done in pairs or groups. It was a really great time and my sad body definitely got a workout, even feeling sore the days following.

Day two saw us make the drive to Loch Ness (which contains more water than all the lakes of England and Wales combined) and Urquhart Castle on the banks of the famous loch. The stop was a bit rushed so I didn't fully explore the castle but did manage to nip down to the dock (where the cold air told you that the water was freezing).

After Urquhart, we made a stop at the Commando Memorial which has a beautiful view of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain standing at 4406 feet. Apparently more people die in one year trying to climb Ben Nevis than do Mount Everest thanks to the steep cliffs of its north face.

The last site of the trip was Glen Coe (literally "Valley of Weeping") which saw a brutal massacre in 1692 when 38 members of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were murdered and another 40 women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned. The most awful part of this story is the fact that the soldiers who did the dirty deed, many of Clan Campbell acting for King William, had spent the two weeks prior accepting the Highland Hospitality of the MacDonalds.

Jamie, pictured here in Glen Coe, stands in his kilt made of one of five different tartans to which he has rights based on his ancestry.

More photos and little tidbits in the full album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178612&l=bfc8b&id=90402206