CBC Radio column: Newspapers and magazines and mastering the Internet
In this alberta@noon column on CBC Radio One with host Donna McElligott I talk about how reports of the internet fueled death of newspapers and magazines are greatly exaggerated. I talk about Avenue Magazine and their editorial panel, the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal’s use of online chats, journalists joining Twitter to create one on one relationships with readers and to report breaking news, Metro and National Post’s use of Foursquare for content delivery, and a few other examples too.
Making a poet laureate cool
I don’t know about you, but I was certainly excited this week when the City of Edmonton named Roland Pemberton – aka the incomparable Cadence Weapon – as their new poet laureate. His Afterparty Babies and Breaking Kayfabe albums are in heavy rotation on my iPod.
He is a fantastic choice because much of his music is ABOUT his experiences living in Edmonton. (His song Oliver Square is a personal favourite of mine.)
That got me thinking about who Calgary could have as our poet laureate. If we even had a poet laureate. So, props to @AvenueMagazine for turning me on to Dragon Fli Empire. After listening to their songs “Mount Pleasant” and “CGY” I’m sold. They would be a great fit.
But I can’t do much about the poet laureate gig but I can buy their albums and put them in rotation on the iPod to
o. Done.
I’ll through out the call for a Calgary poet laureate again though. (Regardless of who you think would be a good fit for the job.) This was floated by Council last year and didn’t gain any traction. I imagine the number one reason was because people felt the $5,000 honorarium for a two year commitment and a minimum 6 poems was too much.
But look at how much attention Cadence Weapon is getting Edmonton? I’d guess any tourism agency would kill for that kind of play over that long of a time for a miniscule $5k investment.
Big Cheers and Heartfelt Jeers
Cheers to Calgary for being named as one of Fast Company Magazine’s “2008 Fast Cities” in the June issue. This magazine has quickly become my favourite (sorry Calgary Inc. – I still like you and want to stay friends). To have my hometown highlighted alongside mentor cities (cities I think Calgary should look to for advice and strive to follow in the footsteps of) like Chicago, London and Seattle is very exciting. It shows, while perhaps we haven’t arrived yet, we are definetly on the right path.
And people are starting to take notice.
Jeers to me for being so absent from blogging these past two months. I did indeed survive my back surgery (thank you to those that enquired) so that’s not the reason I’ve be non-existent since the end of May.
What can I say, there are a number of reasons why I’ve been offline (my own RSS reading has drastically declined this summer too). First: its just so damn nice outside; second: I think I’m a little Web 2.0 burnt out. Sometimes it is just nice to not have to find info myself and let a book, magazine, movie or the television do the heavy lifting for me. That pretty much describes the past three months. I’ve been lazy on purpose.
I suppose there is a third reason too. I’ve drafted a blog post about it three or four times but none of them seemed appropriate or expressed what I was feeling. The third reason I’ve been so absent is the death of Amber Bowerman. I’m not sure my I let it affect my writing, but I did. (Isn’t it strange how someone’s selfish act can have such an unforseen ripple effect?)
Amber, a freelance writer in Calgary – and always a strong supporter of the arts, was murdered on the evening of Tuesday, May 27 by her landlord, who also killed his wife and himself. The details have been widely publicized and I don’t want to get into them again. There is no need to open old wounds.
I did not know Amber well; I had only had drinks with her and her husband a couple of times. (They once stuck me with the bill after heading home without paying after a night of revellery at Velvet.) We might’ve even walked past each other on the streets without recognizing one another, but I somehow admired her without really knowing it. Her writing with Alberta Views was admirable and her work with other publications such as Avenue, Calgary Inc. or Swerve always spoke well to me. I looked up to her success as a freelancer and thought well of her.
She’ll be missed by many, myself included. But the writing must continue.
Tasty Calgary
This month Calgary’s Avenue Magazine lists their top 25 things to eat in Calgary. (They also offer up their 5th annual food awards, so check it out if you are looking to try out a new restaurant in Calgary – or in the case of every John Gilchrist pick: Canmore.)
Going through the list of the top 25 things to eat in Calgary I was surprised how many of them I actually already consume. And love! Here’s my top list of their top 25:
#6. Spolumbo’s Chicken and Apple Sausage – Sure they are better known for their other sausage’s but this one has been my favourite since I discovered Spolumbo’s for the first time. It is fantastic on the bbq and served with a little Worchester Sauce. It’s so damn good I had it for dinner last night.
#8. Bagels at the Daily Bagel – I eat way too many bagels. You’d think I was Jewish and lived in Montreal if you knew how many bagels I eat. It can’t be good for me. While these aren’t my favourite bagels in town I always make a point, when I’m at the Calgary Farmer’s Market, of stopping and having a ham and swiss on sesame seed bagel at the Daily Bagel. So good.
#14. Callebaut chocolate cherries – I’m a chocolate snob. I love good chocolate and despise the cheap stuff. (Sure I’m eating those Allan chocolate eggs this weekend but it’s Easter and it’s tradition.) You can keep the cherries but give me Bernard Callebaut’s pure chocolate creations any day. Milk or dark, I don’t care. Oh, and caramel is good too. And the odd truffle. Damn, I think I might have an addiction here…
#19. Crave Cupcakes – ‘Nuff said. Who doesn’t well up with tears of joy just thinking about these things. I’ve actually seen complete strangers come together in conversation over how much they love Crave’s cupcakes. Did you know they sell cookies too? That’s what the sign says but the cupcakes are so damn moist that even if you showed up planning only to buy cookies I bet you go home with a half dozen Crave-o-licious instead.
There are some other fantastic things on Avenue’s list too (the full list can be found online here). So I suggest you print off a copy and get out exploring this week. I plan on trying out The Palomino’s smoky ribs and cheese grits, Urban Baker apple flax rosemary bread, and the baguette from Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop ASAP.
And then maybe the other 18 things…
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