My Top 12 most useful websites of the year

These are the websites that I have bookmarked and found myself accessing the most during 2007:


1. Google


This search engine is the first place I turn when I need access to data on other sites unknown

2. Yahoo!


The site hosts my wen-based e-mail account so I refer here frequently to send and receive e-mail messages


3. Facebook


I have been building my social network of friends on this site and use it often to post and receive updates on comings and goings and to share uploaded photos. (Fortunately I have not become addicted to any related apps (like Scrabulous) that seem to have captured some friends)

4. Blogger


This site (affiliated with google) hosted my own blog so I refer to it often to post blog updates

5. Wikipedia


Despite complaints about the accuracy of its content, it is the one site that you can depend on to have information on just about any imaginable topic

6. globeandmail


This is the site I refer to most often for national and local news. I also refer to the Star's site but the business news is far better at The Globe

7. i-tunes


This is where most of the downloaded digital music tracks on my i-pod are downloaded from


8. rbc.com


I have been banking with the Royal Bank since I got my Hamilton Spectator newspaper route at 10 years old. I still bank with them but rarely at a bricks and mortal branch-- now I am able to do most transactions on-line at this site.

9. youtube


Although I rarely go to this site myself seeking content, many friends e-mail me links and post videos from this source on my facebook wall

10 Canada411


The reason I no longer need to keep massive paper phone directories (white pages or yellow pages) at home


11 mls.ca


A source to search all homes listed for sale on MLS (to compare values with our own)


12 (TIE) Mapquest


The reason I no longer need a road atlas and haven't yet bought a GPS for the car


12 (TIE) Kajiji


We sold many old household items we needed to clear out (on account of our renos) using the Toronto local of this site during the past year

Obama's List: 49 from North of the 49th

CBC Radio-2 is sponsoring a special promotion for President-Elect Obama's inauguration where they will compile and present him with a playlist featuring 49 songs by Canadian recording artists (chosen by their listeners) that define our nation. Canadians are invited to vote for their picks on-line. Details here:

In response, I have begun to compile my own list of 49 selections that I consider representative of Canada. My preliminary playlist (subject to revision) is set out below, sorted in rough chronology from earliest recording to latest.

Caveats: I have limited most artists (with the exception of a few that were especially influential) to a single selection. I also tried to make balanced selections that were representative of all decades in Canadian recorded pop music and most genres. My list consists of entirely of English language songs (tho I recognize that Canada is an officially bilingual country, I am not sure Obama is fluent en Francais)

Steve's (prelim) list of 49 from north of the 49th

Guy Lombardo Auld Lang Syne
The Diamonds Little Darlin'
The Four Lads Moments to Remember
The Crew Cuts Sh-Boom
Paul Anka Diana
Oscar Peterson Trio Night Train
Steppenwolf Born to Be Wild
Blood Sweat and Tears Spinning Wheel
Neil Young Heart of Gold
Neil Young Old Man
Joni Mitchell Help Me
Leonard Cohen Suzanne
Leonard Cohen Hallelujah
Ian and Sylvia Four Strong Winds
The Band Up on Cripple Creek
Gordon Lightfoot Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Gordon Lightfoot Sundown
Anne Murray Snowbird
Anne Murray You Needed Me
Guess Who These Eyes
Guess Who American Woman
Andy Kim Rock Me Gently
BTO Takin' Care of Business
Heart Dreamboat Annie
Burton Cummings Stand Tall
Dan Hill Sometimes When We Touch
Trooper Raise a Little Hell
Kim Mitchell Go for Soda
Rush Closer to the Heart
Gino Vannelli I Just Wanna Stop
Bryan Adams Everything I do (I do it for you)
Tom Cochrane Life is a Highway
Barenaked Ladies One Week
Celine Dion My Heart Will Go On
kd lang Constant Craving
Shania Twain From this Moment
Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know
Jann Arden Insensitive
Cowboy Junkies Misguided Angel
Blue Rodeo Try
Alannah Myles Black Velvet
The Tragically Hip New Orleans is Sinking
Sarah McLaughlin Angel
Great Big Sea Ordinary Day
Nelly Furtado I'm Like a Bird
Avril Lavigne Complicated
Michael Buble Home
Amanda Marshall Everybody's Got a Story
Nickelback Photograph

Oscar Contenders Update

A few more critics groups have weighed in with their verdicts since I last posted on the subject of critically acclaimed performances in 2008 motion pictures. So I've updated my consensus picks list based on the frequencies of critical mentions to establish my predictions for the upcoming Oscars season. Based on this careful analysis, I have determined favourites, certain nominees and long-shot outsiders with slim to faint hope chances in each of the major Academy Award categories.

They are:

BEST MOTION PICTURE:

Favourite:

Slumdog Millionaire


Certain nominees:


Wall-E
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk

Long Shots:

Dark Knight
Doubt
The Changeling
The Reader
Gran Torino

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR:

Co-favourites:

Sean Penn, for Milk
Mickey Rourke, for The Wrestler

Certain nominees:

Brad Pitt, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frank Langella, for Frost/Nixon
Leonardo Di Caprio, for Revolutionary Road

Long shots:

Josh Brolin, for W.
Clinton Eastwood, for Grand Torino
Richard Jenkins, for The Visitor

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS

Favourite:

Anne Hathaway, for Rachel Getting Married

Certain nominees:

Angelina Jolie, for The Changeling
Melissa Leo, for Frozen River
Kate Winslet, for Revolutionary Road
Meryl Streep, for Doubt

Long shot:

Cate Blanchet, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Favourite:

Heath Ledger, for The Dark Knight

Certain nominees:

Robert Downey Jr., for Tropic Thunder
Josh Brolin, for Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman, for Doubt


Long shots:

Eddie Marsan, for Happy-Go-Lucky
Tom Cruise, for Tropic Thunder

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Favourite:

Penelope Cruz, for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Certain nominees:

Marisa Tomei, for The Wrestler
Viola Davis, for Doubt
Amy Adams, for Doubt

Long shots:

Rosemarie DeWitt, for Rachel Getting Married
Taraji P. Henson, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST DIRECTION OF A MOTION PICTURE

Favourite:

Danny Boyle, for Slumdog Millionaire

Certain nominees:

David Fincher, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, for Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, for Milk
Christopher Nolan, for The Dark Knight


Long shots:

Darren Aronofsky, for The Wrestler
Clint Eastwood, for The Changeling or Gran Torino

Condo reno update (9th in a series)

Our (much delayed) kitchen cabinets are finally IN. And our countertop was templated today! The cabinets were made in Italy by Scavolini and designed by Dekla. The quartz countertop is by Ceasarstone in a nougat fleck pattern. We ordered it thru Allset Interiors. It will be fabricated over the next 10 business days and installed early in the new year. Thereafter, the glass tile backsplash will be installed. We also have a working toilet and sink in the master ensuite now. Work is about 90% complete at this point in time! We are finally almost there!

Picture gallery here

Big 4 Creative Famine

The decline of quality fictional (drama and comedy) broadcast on the four major US commercial TV networks continues.

Two recent developments cement this trend. First, NBC’s recent announcement that next fall they will cede five hours of their weekly lineup to a new primetime weekday strip of Jay Leno’s talk series. Second, the Golden Globe nominations for television, in which the Hollywood Foreign Press reserved over 70% of their nomination slots (in the 11 major TV categories) for programming that does not air on the major networks. In one of the categories -- Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie—the major networks were shut out altogether. Meanwhile, the Big 4 scored only 1 nomination in 6 of the other categories and 2 nominations in 3 of the categories. Only in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical category did the major webs managed to score a majority of the nominations.

Here’s a complete run down of the split in nomination slots between the majors versus the cablers + PBS (1st number indicates major net programming/second number indicates non-net programming

Best Television Series – Drama: 1/4
Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical: 2/3
Best Mini-Series or Made-For Television (MTV) Movie : 1/4
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama: 2/3
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama: 1/4
Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical: 3/2
Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical: 2/3
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or MTV Movie: 0/5
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or MTV Movie: 1/4
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or MTV Move: 1/4
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or MTV Movie: 1/4

Overall totals 15/40
Percentages: 27.3%/72.7%

Rogers wins new Toronto TV news license

CTV's CP 24 local headline news service will soon be facing new competition from Rogers. Although Rogers acquired CITY Tv from CTVglobemedia some time ago, CGM retained former sister station CP 24 in that sale. Earlier this week Rogers Media announced that the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) had approved their application to operate a specialty all news English-language regional Category 2 specialty channel. Rogers' application had faced opposition from CTVglobemedia, whose Toronto cable channel CP24 plays around-the-clock news, traffic and weather updates. The private broadcaster had argued that the new channel would be a direct competitor. Rogers' application was also opposed by Pelmorex Inc., owner of the Weather Network, which said the new channel will infringe on its territory by running extensive weather updates. In rejecting the opposition from CGM and Pelmorex, the CRTC observed that the new channel's programming would be much broader in focus than that provided by the Weather Network and its coverage area narrower in focus than CP24 whose reach extends beyond the GTA into other areas of Southern Ontario.

The digital license granted was for a local 24-hour news channel to serve the Greater Toronto Area (which includes Durham, York, Peel and Halton extending from Burlington in the west, to Clarington in the east, and to Brock in the north). Rogers Media already operates several tv stations in the GTA including CITY tv, the multicultural outlets OMNI 1 and OMNI 2 and the local community access channel Rogers cable 10. The channel's programming is expected to consist of local news, traffic, weather, business, sports and entertainment information for the city and commuting areas.

Having a local cable news outlet will give Rogers a second window for airing the news programming produced with its other local TV media holdings and to amortize production costs over a broader advertising revenue base. During a transition period following CGM's sale of CITYtv to Rogers, CP 24 has continued to air some CITY tv originated programming during a transition period including the flagship morning show "Breakfast Television" but that programming has gradually been phased out and replaced with CTV programming. CP 24 recently began airing CTV's local supper hour newscast. Rogers new news channel will also include news items contributed from a number of other Rogers owned media properties including The Fan 590, 680News, Sportsnet, the Toronto Blue Jays and its publishing interests (which include newsweekly magazine Macleans).

Although Rogers Media Television will be unveiling launch date and branding plans for the new channel at a later date, the new news channel is currently being referred to as CITYNews. Under CRTC rules, the new Rogers channel must be launched within three years of the decision, but operations are expected o commence in 2009. The new channel is expected to originate live newscasts from the new studio facilities Rogers currently have under construction at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto.

New new stations will also compete in the crowded news specialty field with national networks like CTV Newsnet and CBC Newsworld as well as US imports like CNN, CNN Headline News, CNBC and FOXNews available in many GTA households. CBC executives recently revealed that market studies indicate consumer awareness of the public broadcaster's cable news channel, Newsworld, indicates the channel is lagging and needs to be revamped. Plans are reported to overhaul the look of Newsworld in the fall of 2009 to mimic CP24, which runs graphic weather and news update elements on-screen throughout the day.

Critical darlings announced

The year end film award season is upon us.

The Hollywood Foreign Press have announced their Golden Globe Award nominees. Also many media film critic groups—including the National Board of Review, the Broadcast Film Critics, the New York Film Circle, and the LA, Detroit and Washington DC Film Critics—have made their selections.

What follows is a list of the nominees in the major categories most mentioned in these year-end critics lists.

These should help predict the nominees for the Oscars. (in case you haven't heard the telecast will be hosted by Hugh Jackman this year)

(The number in parentheses beside each nominee indicates the number of mentions each nominee received and they are ranked by categories starting with the most mentioned)

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire (4)
Frost/Nixon (4)
WALL-E (4)
Milk (3)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3)
The Dark Knight (3)
The Wrestler (3)
The Reader (2)
Changeling (2)

Best Leading Actor

Sean Penn in Milk (5)
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (5)
Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon (3)
Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road (2)
Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2)
Clinton Eastwood in Gran Torino (2)

Best Leading Actress

Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married (4)
Melissa Leo in Frozen River (3)
Sally Hawkins in Happy Go Lucky (3)
Meryl Streep in Doubt (3)
Aneglina Jolie for Changling (2)
Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road (2)

Best Supporting Actor

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (5)
Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder (3)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt (2)
James Franco in Milk or Pineapple Express (2)
Josh Brolin in Milk (2)

Best Supporting Actress

Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Bracelona (6)
Viola Davis in Doubt (3)
Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler (3)
Kate Winslet in The Reader (2)
Amy Adams in Doubt (2)
Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married (2)

Best Director

Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (4)
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3)
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon (3)
Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight (2)

Condo Reno Update (8th in a series)

Our condo renos are 80% complete now.

100% of all flooring, electrical wiring, light fixtures and dry-walling jobs are finished.

The ensuite plumbing (for the shower and tub) is complete and the vanity has been assembled and installed.

Outstanding jobs to complete:

Installation of kitchen cabinetry and built in appliances (scheduled for December 18)

Installation of the ensuite marble tub surround, backsplash and walk-out sills (marble is being cut to order now and should be installed before Xmas)

Installation of kitchen countertop: Ceasarstone surface has been selected and estimated but cannot be finally measured / templated for fabrication until after kitchen cabinets are installed.

Installation of kitchen backsplash: glass tiles have been ordered but cannot be installed until after cabinets and countertop are installed.

Installation of master/ensuite and shower glass panels/doors: have been measured and are being fabricated. Should be available for installation in two weeks.

Installation of shower kit: should be installed before glass panels/doors are installed

Relocation of granite countertop (from ensuite) and installation of new sink in 2nd bathroom: should be complete this week.

Installation of tub filler: should be installed after tub backsplash is installed.

Installation of new ensuite toilet: should be complete this week.

Completion of wall trim work (baseboard in closets is outstanding): should be complete this week.

Grammy surprises, vets and spoken words!

The Grammy Awards were announced (for the first time some were revealed on a live prime time network TV broadcast) yesterday.

I submit the following observations:

Shockingly shut out of the Best New Artist category were were Simon Cowell protege Leona ("Bleeding Love") Lewis and Katy ("I Kissed a Girl and "Hot and Cold") Perry, passed over while Disney's Jonas Brothers to earn a nod. However, Lewis and Perry did both score Best Female Pop Vocal Performance nominations, "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Single of the Year and Lewis's "Spirit" CD was noted in the Best Pop Vocal Album category.

Veteran recording acts as diverse as James Taylor, The Eagles, Neil Young, Robert Plant, Cyndi Lauper, Natalie Cole, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, Pual McCartney, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Metallica, Rush, Sheryl Crowe and George Strait also scored nominations.

The competitors in the Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling) are:

"An Inconvenient Truth" (Al Gore) Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon & Blair Underwood

"Born Standing Up" Steve Martin

"I Am America (And So Can You!)" Stephen Colbert (& Various Artists)

"Life Beyond Measure" Sidney Poitier

"When You Are Engulfed In Flames" David Sedaris

Return of the Trump

NBC has announced that “Celebrity Apprentice” will return March 1 at 9 p.m. with a series of two-hour episodes.

CBS TV Announces Mid-Season Programming Plans

CBS has announced that “Flashpoint,” last summer’s top rated original scripted series, will return on Friday, Jan. 9, airing from 9:00-10:00 PM. A co-production with Canada’s CTV network, filmed in Toronto, the show depicts the risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the Strategic Response Unit (inspired by Toronto’s Emergency Task Force).

Simultaneously, CBS has announced that the 18th edition of “Survivor” will returns Thursday, Feb. 12, airing in its usual 8:00-9:00 PM slot and the 14th Edition of “The Amazing Race” will premieres Sunday, Feb. 15; also airing in its usual 8:00-9:00 PM period.

Finally CBS’s mid-season schedule will include a new non-fiction series entitled “Game Show in My Head,” (executive produced by Ashton Kutcher). This show will premieres Saturday, Jan. 3, 8:00-9:00 PM. It will be hosted by Joe (“Fear Factor”) Rogan. It will feature ordinary people performing extraordinary tasks on an unsuspecting public to win up to $50,000. In the preliminary round each contestant performs five outrageous, embarrassing and hilarious tasks worth $5,000 each. In the bonus round, each contestant has the chance to double their money up to $50,000.

72 hours in Calgary

I have spent the past 72 hours in the city of Calgary Alberta. I stayed downtown at the Fairmount Palliser hotel and attended a conference at the Telus Convention Centre sponsored by the Canadian Tax Foundation.

The first thing a Torontonian has to adjust to upon arriving in Calgary is that the inter-building connective walkways are not on the underground concourse level (as in Toronto's PATH network; rather they are elevated in bridges across intersections on the mezzanine (Plus 15) or second levels.

I had a chance to sample both a Stampede style breakfast and a mini-rodeo (featuring cowboys riding bulls and a first nations native performing a hoop dance) while in Calgary. The rodeo was held on the Stampede grounds in the agricultural building just across the street from the Saddledome. I also and also made it out to Flames Central (an old theatre converted into a sports bar - eatery featuring jumbo flat panel TV screens). Also I enjoyed an excellent 5 course dinner (featuring Alberta beef and sea scallops) Tuesday night at the Divino Wine and Cheese Bistro. Both Flames Central and Divino are located on the Stephen Avenue Walk section of 8th Avenue. That section is a pedestrian only mall. The city is easy to navigate. It is laid out in grids along numbered streets (running north to south) and avenues (running east to west), similar to Upper Manhattan.

I flew on Air Canada flights from Toronto Pearson to Calgary. Flight time in the air is approx. 4 hours but since Calgary is on Mountain time you gain two hours on the flight out West and lose it on the return flight back East. The aircraft I flew out on came equipped with seat back VOD displays. I was able to catch two feature length movies on the way out, both of which were excellent. The first, entitled Man on a Wire, is a documentary telling the story of a French high wire walkers successful attempt to walk between the tow towers of the World Trade Centre in the 70s. The second, entitled Frozen River, is a contemporary drama about the unlikely pairing of a two mothers--- one native, one American-- who form an unlikely business pact to shuttle Asian illegal aliens from Quebec into upstate New York across frozen rivers flowing thru a native reserve. I would highly recommend both.

The Ottawa Nightmare Before Christmas

The Coalition Accord presented in Ottawa yesterday by the Opposition party leaders may sidestep another immediate election, but it is unlikely to produce good strong stable government to guide us through the tough economic times we face over the 1 to 2.5 year fixed life contemplated by the proposed alternative government.

To my knowledge there is no precedent (even at the provincial level) in Canada for the vice-regal to permit a change in government to swear in a tri-party coalition headed by a party controlling less than 25% of the parliamentary seats in the legislature, where the two coalition partners' combined MPs outnumber the lead party's seat tally and where the PM designate will be a lame duck who has resigned and is scheduled to be replaced as leader (and PM) in 6 months.

The last time a coalition government served federally was in WWI when Tory PM Borden invited Liberal party members into his caucus. It is impossible to make a credible case that the current economic crisis requires a broader coalition to fight than the first world war.

Moreover, the growing perception among many Canadians (outside the Ottawa - Toronto - Montreal power corridor) is that this coup is a central Canada hatched backroom power play to rob the periphery of the legitimate political power earned in an electoral process that handed Harper a stronger mandate in October. The front page story in the Globe today reporting that Liberal leadership aspirants Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff cemented the deal over dinner in Iggy's luxury condo in Toronto's tony Yorkville (apparently he doesn't live in the Etobicoke riding he represents), only adds fuel to that simmering fire.

There is also a lingering suspicion that the economic statement (as partisan and ideologically provocative as it may have been) is more of a justification for the timing of the pre-planned power play than a legitimate reason provoking it (especially since the Tories have already backed away from the party funding and public sector strike freeze components of the package and pledged to deliver an early budget to offer more targeted fiscal stimulus).

What is the likely outcome of this period of tumult on parliament hill? I believe Harper is likely to play for time in order to mount a full frontal PR counter-offensive against the coalition plan. In that vain, he is likely to delay introduction of any confidence motions in the House and/or to ask the Governor General to prorouge parliament early for the Christmas recess (on the pretense of allowing the government time to prepare a full Budget to address the Opposition's expressed concerns). Strategically, it would be better for Harper to be defeated in the House on a full budget implementation bill containing fiscal stimulus "goodies" than to fall on a motion to implement the fiscal restraint measures outlined in the Economic and Fiscal Statement.

There is virtually no chance that a partisan scrapper like Harper will graciously hand over the reins of power quietly (as Dion called on him to do in Question Period yesterday.)

Among the open questions that Harper is likely to provoke in the Tory PR campaign expected to launch ASAP:

1. Is it legitimate for Dion-- a leader whose was so soundly rejected in the last election that he was forced to resign as Liberal leader-- to inherit the PMO for the next 6 months as a "lame duck"interim PM?

2. Is it legitimate for a leader chosen by a handful of Liberal party partisans to assume the PMO thereafter without seeking mandate from the broader electorate for up to 24 months following replacing Dion?

3. Does the NDP have sufficient depth of talent among their elected MP caucus to fill the 6 ministerial and 6 parliamentary secretary positions they have been allocated in the coalition Cabinet?

The next few weeks should be very interesting ones for Ottawa-watchers!