Category — Media

Paris, 2009

Cardus, my favourite Canadian think tank and publisher of Comment magazine, where I frequently contribute, has a new online venture called After Hours. It’s a daily blog interested in ‘issues that affect the architecture of North American public life, including economics, literature, religion, politics, social and scientific innovation (and sundry other things.)’

“Slow for Good,” my first post as a Contributing Editor, went live last Thursday. It’s a bit ‘manifesto-y,’ according to my husband. I get that way sometimes. 

Anyone is welcome to contribute to After Hours. Please, fire off an e-mail if you are interested.

Brilliance from the Wooster Collective.

In the artist’s own words:

“these days it seems shoes and clothes just aren’t enough anymore.

i’ve always loved working in different mediums on the street - stencils, pastes, stickers, cardboard, wood, etc.. over the years you watch your works disappear no matter what the medium - from weather, other artists, property owners, etc.. anyone that does this for a while starts to realize that with more thought out placement, things can last a long ass time, a lot longer than pieces placed haphazardly. so lately i’ve not only been choosing my locations more wisely but have been doing things that attempt to blend in with the existing surroundings. i’m sure these alterations go mainly unnoticed for the most part but for me it offers the same satisfaction as the other things i do on the street - it’s all about altering the outside world no matter how subtle”

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P.S. We decided not to move. It’s a faith thing.

The UN announced yesterday that talks towards a new global climate deal — set to wrap this December in Copenhagen — are now in serious jeopardy. Realistically, they said, only a massive show of public support over the next few weeks can sway the outcome, showing our leaders “they have their populations behind them” for bold political action.

Could it happen? Just maybe. This summer we were approached by a remarkable coalition within the climate movement, now representing more than 200 leading NGOs including Greenpeace, Avaaz, OXFAM and Christian Aid. Together we designed a global campaign called TckTckTck tailored for just this purpose — showing our leaders that “the world is ready”.

You can check out the TckTckTck.org campaign here — and all the action leading up to Copenhagen.

Since we launched the site in August it’s grown like wildfire. Today we surpassed an incredible 2 MILLION PEOPLE ready to lobby as Copenhagen nears — and this could be our best chance at influencing a deal.

What explains the massive response? The urgency of the issue? The simplicity of the ask? The theory of change and outreach? Yes. But more than anything, it’s about Tck’s powerful model of online organizing. It’s about well-established groups setting aside their brands and egos to collaborate openly for the movement — focused on giving people a powerful platform to impact an issue they care about. That’s promising stuff indeed.

Again, you can check out the TckTckTck.org site here. 

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From the good people at Biro Creative.

I need to publicly thank Heather B. Armstrong for showing me that Twitter is good for something.

Dooce it up people. It will make you smile smile smile. Thanks to Meg for introducing me. (Hope your road trip is going swimmingly, Miss W.) ;)  

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ps. no bebe yet.

A word from our friends at Adbusters

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Every human being has the unassailable right to seek, receive and impart information without hindrance.

This right, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is something for which we at Adbusters have been fighting since our inception. Our not-for-profit group, Adbusters Media Foundation, was born 20-years ago in response to broadcaster censorship that refused to run our citizen-produced ads. Over the last two decades, we have been censored by television networks all over the world and we have launched numerous legal actions in Canada against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and private broadcasters (notably CanWest Global), fighting for the right of citizens to walk into their local TV stations and buy 30 seconds of airtime for a message they believe in.

For 20 years we were knocked back at every stage: we were defeated in the lower courts and the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear our appeals. But last April, we finally scored a great legal victory. In a unanimous decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned previous court rulings and concluded that television airtime may indeed constitute public space. This crucial ruling allowsAdbusters to proceed with its groundbreaking case against media conglomerates.

In order to take our fight to the next stage, we need an immediate injection of funds. We are asking for donations from people all over the world who believe that information rights are the key to a flourishing democracy and that those rights are now more imperative than ever in giving citizens a voice in navigating our path through the dangerous times ahead.

To donate, please visit www.adbusters.org/donate … or send a cheque to Adbusters Media Foundation … or give us a call at 604-736-9401/1-800-663-1243 (toll free in North America). As Adbusters has subscribers in 20 countries around the world, we are also trying to get in touch with media lawyers in the US, Australia and the UK who are interested in launching Right To Communicate legal actions in their own countries.

If you have ideas, need more information or want to talk strategy, email kono@adbusters.org.

for the wild,

Kalle Lasn
Editor and Co-founder, Adbusters Media Foundation

I caught up with Canada’s George Stroumboulopoulos, host of CBC’s The Hour, to get his thoughts on true love and his affinity for black (among other things.)

Enjoy this uncut version!

I am off to London tomorrow to celebrate my birthday (April 3,) visit Amanda’s adorable digs, peruse Oxford with the hubby, and savour croissants (pregnancy, the perfect excuse!) in Paris… then home to Vancouver! See you after the 18th.

Streeting in front Toronto’s CBC buildings I ‘ran into’ a guy named George. Turns out he’s a little famous. Hear his thoughts on the ‘centre of the world’ (aka Toronto) and Canada at large.

Camera: Mike Klassen

(For those who have been waiting, Part 2 of the interview is too large a file to upload to Youtube. I’m shrinking it later today and hope to post it soon.)

I fear for the beloved mother corp. Read the news here, here and here.

I fell for the CBC, and public broadcasting at-large, through my liberal communication studies at Simon Fraser University. Reading McChesney’s Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy solidified it for me. Still does. To my mind, these are fearful days. We are on the brink of losing public broadcasting in this country.

As I’m sure other parents will tell you, words can not describe what it’s like to see your baby moving on the ultrasound screen for the first time. My heart was aflutter. There the tiny heart beat steadily. Its body shifting to and fro. My baby. Safe. Healthy. Growing. Inside of me.

I am overwhelmed. God, I thank you for this gift. 

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And just an hour before I met with a hero of mine. One of the country’s best interviewers. With dreamy eyes and a stature settling just below my 5′8.5″ frame, I stood with George Stroumboulopoulos in the CBC Atrium interviewing him. It’s a wild story. On Monday I happened to stumble upon a posting for a lifestyle TV host position with the CBC in Vancouver. The description read like my DNA. I already had tickets to see The Hour that night so, feeling particularly ballsy (and eventually egged on by Annie, my date for the night) I asked George if he’d do a cameo in my demo reel. And (by some miracle) he said YES. The one hiccup was it had to happen before Friday, hence the interview/ultrasound afternoon.

George knows me from my days working for the CBC in Vancouver. I was the special projects coordinator on his first live taping which took place at the Firehall Arts Centre on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. I’ve been to a few of his shows since and check in each time with a friendly hello. But really, he went out on a limb for me and I am incredibly grateful.

I can’t wait to show you the footage.

And girlfriends, I asked him the question we’ve all been dying to ask: “What are you looking for in a woman?”