Column

Atlantic News Perspective #121 (Nov 29, 2004)
Christian radio, oil spills and preparing for Bush.
By: Iain K. MacLeod

Benefit for the 25th Anniversary Atlantic Film Festival

“Christmas with the Trailer Park Boys”

Halifax, NS – The Atlantic Film Festival announced today that it will host a “Christmas with the Trailer Park Boys” benefit with an advance screening of Showcase’s Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special and party on December 7th as a fundraiser for the 25th anniversary Atlantic Film Festival. The screening will take place at the Oxford Theatre at 7:00 PM and will feature cast and crew in attendance plus a Q & A session. After the screening, the audience will join the Trailer Park Boys at an exclusive post-screening party at the Marquee Club at 8:30 PM for refreshments, door prizes and giveaways as well as an autograph session with the cast.

“This is a great way to pay tribute to a series based on Mike Clattenburg’s feature film that originally launched at the Atlantic Film Festival. Trailer Park Boys has become an international success and provides a real boost to the local industry,” said Gregor Ash, Executive Director. “This will be a fun event and the funds raised will go towards programs and activities to help celebrate the Atlantic Film Festival’s 25th anniversary.”

Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted at the Oxford Theatre for the Metro Food Bank.

The Canadian premiere of the Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special will air on Sunday, December 12, at 9:00 PM ET/PT, only on Showcase. Trailer Park Boys is co-produced by Topsail Productions and Trailer Park Productions Limited.

“Christmas with the Trailer Park Boys” is a presentation of the Atlantic Film Festival Association and is sponsored by Showcase, Empire Theatres Limited, Appleton Rum and Garrison Brewing. The 25th anniversary Atlantic Film Festival will take place September 15-24, 2005.

Tickets are $25 each, which includes the screening and party. They can be purchased by phone (902-420-4577) with Visa, Mastercard or American Express, in person with cash or cheque at the Atlantic Film Festival office (5600 Sackville Street, Suite 220) or drop me an e-mail to make other arrangements (iain@atlanticfilm.com). For more info on the Association, check out the site: http://www.atlanticfilm.com

Column

Atlantic News Perspective #120 (Nov 22, 2004)
Healthy food in schools, paying for power and fiddling with gay marriage.
By: Iain K. MacLeod

Gift Idea

The Criterion Collection Holiday 2004 Gift Set | Amazon.com

Father of the Year

A man pleads guilty to second-degree murder and will serve a 25 year life sentence after shooting his wife and her internet lover from Holland so his children won't have to testify at his trial.

Man guilty of killing wife, lover | Halifax Herald

Music

"Who's angrier than Toby Keith? He's angrier than the average 10 rappers. That shit is gangsta. I mean, it's not for me, singing about dropping bombs on towel-head people, but boy, that guy's pretty angry." - Chris Rock (The Onion A.V. Club)

Music

"A piece of art is not a loaf of bread. When someone steals a loaf of bread from the store, that's it. The loaf of bread is gone. When someone downloads a piece of music, it's just data until the listener puts that music back together with their own ears, their mind, their subjective experience. How they perceive your work changes your work. Treating your audience like thieves is absurd. Anyone who chooses to listen to our music becomes a collaborator. People who look at music as commerce don't understand that. They are talking about pieces of plastic they want to sell, packages of intellectual property. I'm not interested in selling pieces of plastic." - Wilco's Jeff Tweedy (Wired)

Column

Atlantic News Perspective #119 (Nov 15, 2004)
Court settlements, beer cases and FBI investigations.
By: Iain K. MacLeod

Mistaken Identity

I think I am going to have to keep better track of these type of encounters because it happens to me a lot. Way more frequently to just consider them random acts of confusion. Off the top of my head, here are a few examples:

On Saturday, I was walking down a well lit hallway of the Westin with a name tag on towards a woman on a bench and she called me Matt. Apparantly I look like a lot like her son.

A couple months ago, a young volunteer at work said I looked a lot like an "industry person" that had appeared on the crappy reality TV show Pop Stars.

A local business owner started talking to me at a reception, thinking I worked for the Propellor brewing company.

At a reastaurant on Argyle street, a waitress asked me if I got her e-mail. Apparantly, I look like a guy from the Delta.

Years ago in Sydney, a very large man came pretty close to "dealing witih me" because he thought I had been hanging out of the window of a car yelling racial slurs at him.

The only explanation I have is that I have been dealt the same set of facial features as dozens of other males. The thing I wonder is how many of the people I do run into during the course of a day might actually think I am someone else? Or strangers that see me that think we already met and I am ignoring them? Weird. It is also strange that this happens to me, considering I know about six or so people that share my name as well and result in confusing phone calls and e-mails from people I don't know.

Wet Juan

100,000 Nova Scotians face night without power

First major winter storm pummels Nova Scotia, cuts power, suspends flights

Snow blacks out much of Nova Scotia

N.S. snow storm leaves 100,000 without power

They are all pretty much the same story, but living in a bunker on a major power grid, I didn't realize it was that bad outside until just recently.

It is moments like this that I wish I had the "halo flu" or was obsessed with GTA.

If you have any stories about heroes, now would be the time to share them.

Post (Halifax Locals)

Buck 65 has V2 site for the US market. Looks like the compilation This Right Here is Buck 65 is scheduled for release on Jan 22, 2005 (originally mentioned here and here is a review). They also have a promo e-card thingy, which has links to stuff like wallpaper. I also stumbled across This Right Here Is an EP while browsing the iTunes music store (supposedly opening for business in Canada sometime this month). And here is a look at some press he has been gathering ("Jimmy Fallon look-alike"...ha!).

Post (Halifax Locals)

From the Anti-Hit List 6. CAMOUFLAGE NIGHTS, "Skies Are Foggy":
"It's not easy being sleazy / I get so wheezy / When those evil urges seize me..." Led by former Thrush Hermit/ Dears guitarist Rob Benvie and Thrush Hermit bassist Ian McGettigan, this woozy amalgam of rock, hip-hop and the kitchen sink is dying to be adopted as the official anthem of the stubbornly dissolute. (From The Summer of 2004, www.camouflagenights.com)

From Pitchfork's Free (but paid for) downloads: MP3: The Burdocks: "Pop Cult"
Whatever happened to the East Coast of Canada? Years after the hype has died down the current generation of Maritime rock bands is a little older, a little wiser and ready to reignite the regions once vaunted lo-fi torch. Leading the charge is the Halifax band, the Burdocks. Retaining the wry pop ideals of their forbearers, these do-it-yourself stalwarts quickly established themselves as fan favourites across the country through their loud, raucous, chaotic shows and various recorded gems, released on Out of Touch Records. Through three releases (Lips and Assholes E.P, I Have a Million Friends L.P, Airplane Tracks E.P), the band has developed their distinctive ‘scrap rock’ sound, wherein different song fragments and styles are expertly sewn together to create a unique sound that is at once choppy and abrasive yet somehow cohesive and poppy. Co-songwriters Christian Simmons and Seth Smith craft the band’s dynamic, intricate rock songs, melding classic pop structures with progressive sophistication and indie-rock sincerity to produce songs that buck the current trend of inflexible genre adherence while still maintaining a distinct, instantly recognizable character. The band is just about to enter the House of Miracles to record their second full length, which should be out in the new year. [theburdocks.com]

RUTH MINNIKIN: STRAIGHT SHOOTER
By Sean Flinn, photos by Ryan Whynott
C B C R A D I O 3

Column

Atlantic News Perspective #118 (Nov 10, 2004)
New hockey teams on horizon, fruit fly replicas and Halloween vandalism.
By: Iain K. MacLeod

Democracy

Single transferable vote | Wikipedia

Software

Delicious Library 1.0 is now available for download. (Once you've downloaded the application you can buy it via its built-in store, assuming you're so inclined.)

Thank you for your interest! We hope you love our software.

Thanks,
The Delicious Monster
Lead Monster, Delicious Monster Software

DVD

Lost & Found Video Night Vol. 7 | 5 Minutes to Live

Post (MetaFilter)

Dub vs. Dubber | Metafilter

Post (MetaFilter)

Harvesting souls, one dollar at a time | Metafilter

Terrorism

ter·ror·ism
n.
The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Stuff

Buyers' Guide 2004 | iPodlounge

Post (Halifax Locals)

Another Life Changed by Joel Plaskett. On November 16, In Need Of Medical Attention (1999) & Down at the Khyber (2001) will be reissued. The track listing appears to be the same and there is no word on any actual changes to the CDs.

The Nova Scotia Music Week/RendezVous Folk! (<- not my exclaimation point) Event Schedule & Showcase Schedule are online.

Just spoted a job listing for an Audio Visual Systems Technician, if that is your sort of thing.

Since it is a big election day south of the border, I thought I would try and skew the results by showing what kind of influence this site has over international politics: Vote today!

Column

Atlantic News Perspective #117 (Nov 1, 2004)
The 2004 Trucker of the Year, Eskasoni's big ballot and the crime of selling antlers on eBay.
By: Iain K. MacLeod

Book

The 10th Anniversary Issue and THE DOs & DON'Ts BOOK | Vice