Category: Uncategorized Page 52 of 76

Since the weekend is coming up and Clerks II, Kevin Smith’s new movie, is opening this weekend, I thought you might enjoy this little segment.

I’ve been a fan of Smith’s for a long time and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with the old Clerk’s franchise. The original was the classic tale of a low-budget, screwball movie that took on an amazing life of its own. It’s hard to imagine how this sequel is going to top that, given that now money isn’t an issue. For the original, Smith used his own credit cards to fund part of the shoot, which was done for less than $30,000.

I was referred over to The Movie Blog, an excellent resource for learning all kinds of things about current movies, when I came across a recent post by John Campea. He admits that Kevin Smith may not be his favourite filmmaker, but he things that Smith’s regular guy schtick is wonderful, and this clip he found on YouTube proves just how funny he really is.

I couldn’t agree more, and the video really is hilarious. You can go read the original post, but I also put up a copy of the video he’s talking about below, just in case you don’t want to go blog-hopping right now.

Enjoy. By the way, the clip is kind of long, but it’s a great story.

And one more thing. If you like this clip, go on over to YouTube and check out all the other Kevin Smith clips. There are a lot of them.

After awhile, even the most interesting video can get a little stale, I suppose. So my apologies to those of you who’ve been tuning in to get a new Daily Upload but keep seeing that guy sailing out over the mountain.

I’ve been taking a break from blogging while I’m out here in Regina for a few days. I had planned to write about the drive out here from Hamilton, but a lack of Internet access along the way scuttled that plan. And for the past few days, I’ve been enjoying life here at the cottage at Buena Vista so much I just didn’t bother to Update the Upload.

But I’ll be back in Hamilton in a few days and regular blogging will return next week. Until then, here’s a brief update on the reason I’m out here now.

I drove to Saskatchewan with my brother and his son last week. We were on our way to the 50th anniversary celebrations for Sheldon Williams Collegiate, the high school that we both attended here in Regina. If you’ve ever gone to a high school reunion, you’ll know how much fun they are. And if you haven’t gone back to your’s I recommend it.

Attending a reunion is getting together with hundreds of people you have little in common with except everything. After all, you haven’t needed to keep up over the years and things have worked out fine. But there was something very special about those high school years and it’s astounding how important they were in shaping the people we all became.

Of course, the best thing about the weekend is that all of the other 800 or so alumni that were there (spanning most of the entire 50 years of history) were there because they wanted to rekindle the old memories. None of us were dragged out against our will, so we were all motivated to chat, revisit old friendships and embrace everyone we met, even if we couldn’t stand each other in high school. It’s amazing how a few years will put to rest even the most bitterest memories.

The organizers of the event went all out to provide ideal conditions, especially the Saturday session at Sheldon, where we all toured our old haunts, visited the classrooms, played in the gym and admired how much more civilized the washrooms had become over the years. But most of all, we admired each other. It’s amazing how the characters that developed during our high school years have shaped the rest of our lives. I recognized virtually everyone I met, despite the 31 years that have passed since I last saw them.

Now I’m left with a lot more good memories and a few new email addresses that I may or may not follow up on. But I know that I’m looking forward to the next big get together in 10 years. I’ll be back.

And now for something completely different…

You’ve heard of flying squirrels? Check out this flying Dude!

Kelly got a nice write-up from the University of Louisville this week on their website, so I thought I’d point you to it. Of course, if you’re tired of reading about rowing exploits, you can just skip this post.

Here’s the link to the Louisville story.

And as a further update, Jaime arrives back in Hamilton from Victoria this week, ready to start on her latest quest to win a gold medal at the Henley regatta in August.

It’s going to be a fun summer.

This is an older story, but I’ve just come across it. Apparently, students in Chile have gone out on strike – but in a strikingly effective manner that underscores the power of the new media tools they are increasingly using.

This is from a post on E-Media Tidbits

The widest strikes of Chilean students since 1972 are taking the streets of Chile’s main cities by storm. After two weeks of demonstrations, state-owned high schools are under student control, and the whole country is amazed by the young protesters’ incredible organization.

The high school students have put into ingenious use all the means that have been taught in computer labs in the last ten years to protest for a better education and free admittance in public transport and the fees of tests to apply for universities.

The link her will take you to the E-media tidbits article I found, which contains links to a lot of examples of what’s going on in the strike.

We hear a lot these days about how businesses are going to have to adapt their communications once these new “digital natives” start looking for work. This is a good example of why they need to.

I’ve been remiss in getting around to blogging. There’s just been a bit too much going on out here on the West Coast. In fact, I’m just heading out again to yet another visit with one of the local communication types.

The IABC conference wrapped up Wednesday and it was a terrific event all around. I just haven’t had time to sit down and write up some of the things I learned, but I may do that when I get back to Hamilton. I’m flying back on Saturday.

I’ve been in Victoria since Wednesday, when I rode over on a seaplane from Vancouver. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was a tremendous flight. I highly recommend taking it sometime, if you’ve never done it. I’m staying with Heather’s midwifery partner here in Victoria. I had a chance to tour the new office, which is going to work out great.

While I’m here, I’ve also been checking out possible houses to rent (nothing too great so far) and meeting some of the local PR and Communication people that I can add to my network. Being a freelancer, a good network is critical to my job, and I’ve made some great contacts already, with plenty of other recommendations for people to meet when I return in September.

Proud Papa Update
Although I didn’t plan it this way, my visit has also coincided with the Canadian Rowing Team’s National speed trials, where Jaime has been competing this week. She’s having a fabulous camp, in her attempt to land a spot on the Women’s Under-23 National Team. If she does earn a spot, she’ll be off to Belgium this July for the World Championships. But even if she doesn’t end up in a boat, she’s had a tremendous camp. Her times have been consistently good and she’s rowing better than I’ve ever seen her do before. It’s quite a thrill to be a part of it.

She’s in the “C” final tonight (that’s competing against everyone — not just the Under 23’s) so if I get a chance before I fly out tomorrow, I’ll publish an update on her.

In the meantime, I’m off to network and watch Jaime’s race.

UPDATE
Jaime just missed out on making the team. There were only two spots available and she came up a second or so short. But she had a great camp and feels she really learned a lot about herself and the whole process. And the good news is she already has her sights set on a new goal. She’s going to come back to Hamilton for the summer and row at Leander and make a serious run for a gold medal at the Henley regatta in August. So Kelly and I are going to have some company this summer!

Why has the world abandoned Africa, even as AIDS is destroying it?

Why are celebrities like Bono so passionate about the problem, while politicans are backing away from it?

Why hasn’t the private sector stepped up to the plate to donate some of their after-tax profits to the cause?

And why have all the communications about AIDS prevention not done more to get through to the most affected people?

Those were just some of the questions left hanging this morning, after Stephen Lewis, former politician, diplomat and currently the United Nation’s Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa finished his keynote address at the IABC Conference here in Vancouver.

Speaking to an audience of communicators, Lewis said he has two rules of communication he lives by.

First, do your research. Find solid facts that are irrefutable and can’t be challenged. Know your stuff inside out. Then put a human face on the numbers. Break through the numbers with stories, anecdotes and case histories. Make the numbers real.

Second, always tell the truth.

Then he proceeded to demonstrate.

Unfortunately, there are far more questions and too few answers when it comes to the AIDS pandemic. Lewis’s passion and sincerity and encyclopedic knowledge of the problem, combined with his energy, enthusiasm and oratorical skills captivates his audience. He combines his personal convictions with hard, cold facts to demonstrate the logic of his plea and I guarantee that no one in the audience is not affected by his message.

Yet, the pandemic, which is killing so many people, continues.

I can’t do justice to what he says. If you haven’t read his book, Race Against Time, go out and buy it. Find out for yourself what is going on. And then consider how you can make a difference.

Lewis challenged us to go back to our companies and make something happen. To this point, not a single major corporation has stepped up to the plate and pledged to donate a percentage of their after-tax profits to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

"You want a communications triumph?" he asked us. Then be that first company to step up to the challenge. He predicted that every major media outlet in the world would trumpet the achievement, and it would lead to an avalanche of other companies not wanting to be left behind.

But as with so many other things on the AIDS issue – it hasn’t happened. Governments which pledged so much support have reneged on their commitments. Africa is dying and the attention of the world seems to have been diverted elsewhere.

It was a sobering speech. And quite a way to start the morning. Personally, I need to think about how I can make a difference. I am one of the privileged people in this world. The people around me are relatively healthy. The AIDS pandemic is not affecting me personally. But I cannot continue to pretend I am not involved.

Stephen Lewis, and so many others, are inspirations. We can’t all be as involved as he is, but we should all support his work. And we should do all we can to influence for change, any way we can.

The gauntlet has been thrown down. We should all accept the challenge.

Tags: IABC, AIDS, Stephen Lewis