Interview For Capital Magazine With Sol Guy, 4Real TV Series

Posted by on February 28, 2007 2 comments

I have recently started to play a small role for Capital Magazine, videoblogging interviews with various artists and people who have a story to tell, people who are making social and economic change through art, film, music, television and life – most accurately, people whose stories deserve more attention. Here’s an excerpt from their site, better explaining Capital Magazine’s purpose and goals:

“Capital Media is a non-profit entity dedicated to the sharing of information and encouraging the spread of ideas, modes, and movements. Our collective is dedicated to the untold story. We strive to give voice to people and issues that haven’t been given adequate attention…. We aspire to promote the value of cultural movements, of people’s passions, interests and expressions, and most importantly, to demonstrate the worth of the story untold.”

I interviewed Sol Guy, the host and producer of the television series 4Real – a show that highlights young people around the world who are using art and culture to deal with pressing social issues. Several shows are already in the bag, with the likes of Joaquim Pheonix and K’naan, with more to go before it goes to air this fall on MTV Canada.

All you need to know is here in the inverview, so check it out over at Capital Magazine.

I’ve Landed On The Globe And Mail – An Article on Now Public By Jonathan Woodward

Posted by on February 24, 2007 14 comments

Me on the top of the fold!

I am most excited about this so my dad can see that I am actually doing things out here in Vancouver – top of the fold Pappy!

NowPublic is a participatory crowdsourcing news organization that is based here in Vancouver. I like writing for this news network, believe in their goals, and think it’s pretty damn cool I ended up in the British Columbia section of today’s Globe and Mail because of my contribution.

Read the article here.

Find out more about NowPublic and join the masses.

If you’re in BC, there happens to be a photo that goes along with this article where I managed to get my dog Capo another step closer to being the most photographed dog on the planet!

After thought: For those of you that DO see that photo in person, the caption reads, “a place that gave me a voice”. I think that quote serves a great purpose for one of the postive aspects of NowPublic, but that doesn’t really sound like something I would say, plus, I *think* I’ve had a voice for about 30 years or so. I know that I DID in fact say, “the public wants a voice”. Alas, it’s a great article, and pretty swell to be top of the fold with my dog :)

CNMA Shares A Few Pictures On Flickr!

Posted by on February 23, 2007 No comments

James Eberhardt, Marble Media, With His Wife

Flickr is one of the best photosharing sites on the planet, not to mention, all over the internet!

The Canadian New Media Awards has joined the masses and set up a new flickr account to share photos from years past. Check out some of the pictures added from the awards show in 2005 and 2006.

This will be one of the places online anyone can upload their CNMA pictures for this year’s show in Toronto this May for all to see and experience. You’ll be able to check out the Who’s Who of new media in Canada and download any photo from the site as well.

Get caught up on the CNMA Blog and submit a nomination for the 2006 award show now!

Lost: The Sequel? From The Beaches Of Vancouver?

Posted by on February 20, 2007 3 comments

Getting Up Close And Personal With A Plane Wreck – Thankfully, This One’s For The Big Screen

Seeing movie trailers, cables, cameras, lights and crew members with walkie-talkies in hand has long been a common occurence throughout the streets of Hollywood North. Every person living in Vancouver has either been on a movie set or knows someone who is “in the business”, so this ain’t no novelty.

But stumbling across the wreckage from a plane, hunks of metal puked all over the beaches of Point Grey on Vancouver’s west side, was a spectacular site to behold. Eerie in fact. Once the initial shock is over, after about 3.7 seconds, one can quickly decipher, “Oh, this must be for a film”. Phew. The movie Passengers is shooting here in Vancouver until mid- March, starring Anne Hathaway, and this on-location film set took up residence along the Spanish Banks for the last few weeks. (Just around the corner from the burned out 747 is Wreck Beach, the infamous year-round hang-out for hippies and nudists with hot pizza, cold beer and plenty of herb.)

The film industry in Vancouver has had its’ fair share of ups and downs, but this set was a strong reminder, and was as in-your-face as it gets, that movies are made here: Made In Canada. And Vancouver’s sophisticated film studios and flexible outdoor backdrop aren’t just attracting feature films. The television series Smallville has long been a Vancouver-shot mainstay. Anne Heche’s new series Men In Trees resides here as well. And let’s not forget the days of X-Files, Dark Angel, X-Men, the list goes on and on. From the BC Film Commission list, there are currently 9 features, 12 televisions series, 5 MOW’s, 3 short films, 8 animations, 3 documentaries, and a handful of pilots and mini series. And this is the SLOW season!

So for all of us in Vancouver, when we’re slaggin’ the back-up of traffic and the no parking zones due to movie trailers and film sets, smile and remember that this industry keeps many Canadians employed and north of the border. And, hey, one of these days you may get lucky and stumble across a gnarly plane crash, or two.

I hope I never get that close again.

CNMA’s: Top 5 Reasons Why Past CNMA Finalists Say “Submit A Nomination!”

Posted by on February 19, 2007 No comments

ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT!! Submit a nomination for the Canadian New Media Awards 2007 by clicking here.

Check out what past finalists have said about being included in and recognized by the CNMA’s:

  1. “Not only did the awards raise my company’s profile on the national New Media front, but they also legitimized years of independent production and non-profit creative passion!”
    Brooke Burgess | Executive Producer | Budget Monks Productions Inc.
  2. “Winning a CNMA is one more thing that gives a client confidence in me. Every little bit helps.”
    Nate Smith | Centre Ice | The Vacuum Design
  3. “My CNMA nomination did a lot to raise my visibility in the industry and in the company I work for. I’ve been booked for numerous speaking engagements and consulting jobs since.”
    Tim Willison | Interactive Engineering | Organic Inc.
  4. “Thanks to the CNMA Website, a Polish executive found out about my work and invited me to work on a project in Poland which allowed me to set a foot in the eastern European market.”
    Tommy Ferlatte | Creator
  5. The prestige of winning a CNMA gave me the recognition instrumental in launching my career forward. No other award I’ve won bears quite the same weight. Norma Penner | Senior Contributor Designer | Organic Inc.

Submit Here.

Heading To Northern Voice

Posted by on February 14, 2007 1 comment

nv badge

Northern Voice 2007 is fast approaching, and from the look of things over there, only 20 spots remain. This will be my first year attending. This time last year, I was held up and buried in a Broadcast Centre in Torino. Albeit, Italy won out over NV then, but this is now, and I’m excited to suss this out this blogging, podcasting, videoblogging conference – I’ve heard so much about it, this conference for the commoner?

Register: it’s cheap, should be grand fun, and there’s a purple T-shirt in the loot bag. That’s the real reason why I’m going.

Why Do You Blog?

Posted by on February 12, 2007 4 comments

My friend and guru blogger, Darren Barefoot, is conducting a wee online survey: Why blog? Why do YOU blog? Wait, what’s a blog?

Check it out and take the survey, if you feel so inclined. And if that was the weakest pitch you ever heard, there are prizes involved…

CNMA Blogger

Posted by on February 11, 2007 1 comment

I have just been recruited to blog for the CNMA’s! What the hell is the CNMA’s, you ask? Well, it’s Canada’s premier award show for new media in this technological marvel of a country we live in: The Canadian New Media Awards. This year, the event will be held in Toronto on May 28th – and you can go, and WIN!! But first, you must be nominated, something nice you can do for a friend, colleague or even yourself!

Here is the first post from the new CNMA blog that highlights some important details on the awards and the nominations:

Get Your Vote In!

CNMA's in Toronto May 2006

The nominations for this year’s Canadian New Media Awards is open for business. There are 15 categories, 7 for product and 8 for individual and company – take a spin through the list and check out the categories to nominate your colleagues and friends whom you feel deserves the recognition of a CNMA. Heck, you can nominate yourself as well, if you so wish!

New This Year: Early bird prices you should not miss out on! Get your nominations in now, before February 16th at 5pm EDT, and you’ll save mucho dinero on the nomination fee.

Finalists are announced and notified in mid-April, with the award show to follow, set for May 28th in Toronto.

To find out a little more on the previous winners and nominees of a Canadian New Media Award, have a look at the categories and accomplishments of the 2006 finalists.

Nominations are only open until March 2nd, so let your voice be heard while we’re still listening – submit your nomination now!

Happy Birthday Blog

Posted by on January 31, 2007 No comments

You Are One Today!!

I started my blog one year ago…. since then, well, I’ve enjoyed the blog. I like writing, always have. It has led me to write on a few other sites as well, and I continue to pursue writing for the web. I find writing on this blog cathartic. Yes, it is my online journal, and it truly is just a bunch of my jargon, but this was the beginnings of my online networks, communities and connections, and I can’t say enough about how wonderful this aspect of ‘my life online’ has been, especially when you get those random, sweet comments from around the world, like this one.

I just left my position at Raincity a week ago, and am in the process of molding, shaping, building a whole new site (oh, and business) for myself that will encompass all aspects of what I do: designing, writing, photography, hosting, blogging… all coming soon to a megan portal near you!

But for now, this simple, unchanged and unedited (sometimes neglected!) WordPress blog of which I have grown fond over this past year, will remain my place of jargon for the time being.

Why I Care About What Happens In Bangladesh

Posted by on January 15, 2007 1 comment

Pilot Rob

Over the past week, Bangladesh has been in the headlines in and around the 3rd or 4th story. Before 2 months ago, I think these particular clips would have passed me by, in that, when hearing the words, “… And in Dhaka…”, I would have zoned out (“Where’s Dhaka?”), and continued my mental list of things to get done today, as I fed my dog breakfast or frothed my made-at-home Illy latte.

But instead, my ears perk up, I dash to the kitchen counter, lean in, my face inches from the radio, my hand on the dial, cranking up the volume. The 20-second story clues up and I am already scooting over to the computer to surf my various online sources for more details on this news.

Bangladesh has over 130 million people, all stacked in an area about the size of the island of Newfoundland.

My brother is a helicopter pilot with CHC. He is currently stationed in Bangladesh.

Thanks to the advances of technology, I can flip open my skype and have a conversation with him almost every day, as he’s tucked away in his hotel room (more recently between 11pm and 5am because of the implemented country-wide curfew). So I know he’s okay most of the time. I also get the real skinny on what’s happening, and more importantly, what’s *not* happening.

Experiencing life from the extremes of a poverty-stricken people who struggle for survival in Chittigong, to cruising the shores over the Bay of Bengal in search of oil rigs, my brother will have many stories to tell from his version of the front lines, as they were. For me, I can’t express how grateful I am for email, blogging, flickr and my new best friend, skype. Strangely and fortunately, Rob doesn’t seem so far away.

I’ve learned one thing for certain: Though I like to think I hear all that crackles into my kitchen via the radio waves, I will pay closer attention to the world report and the sometimes unimaginable description of some form of chaos from half way around the world, in places I have never been and likely will never know… because inevitably, somebody’s brother is there.