GroundWire September 25th edition available

GroundWire is a twice-monthly dose of grassroots, independent journalism from the campus-community radio sector of Canada. It is a project of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA). This edition of GroundWire was supported by a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and produced by volunteers in the studios of CJLY in Nelson, BC. Visit the GroundWire website or download it through the NCRA’s Program Exchange.

The HEADLINES:

• Omme Salma Rahemtullah (CHRY Toronto) speaks with Stephen Moses, a striking employee and the Bargaining Unit Chairperson of Canadian Auto Workers 1000, about the Zellers/HBC strike in Scarborough, Ontario
• Catherine Fisher (CJLY Nelson) talks with Alexis Allen, President of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union about the September 22 strike vote by Nova Scotia Community College employees.

This edition includes two STATION REPORTS:

• Vivian Park (CJSF Burnaby) asks NCRA Vice President External Stephanie Kepman a few questions about the CRTC’s upcoming Campus and Community Radio Policy Review.
• The 2010 National Campus and Community Radio Conference will be held on Gabriola Island, BC. Kelly Price (CKGI Gabriola) chats with Gabriola Radio Society Board Member Kathy Ramsay about how the conference is shaping up. She also speaks with GRS Board President Ken Zakreski about Rogers Media’s application to the CRTC for the last available frequency in the region.

The FEATURES:

• The VanRad Collective talk with Paulina Walton, who, along with other residents of the Golden Crown Hotel, has recently been served an eviction notice. Kim Kerr, executive director of the  Downtown Eastside Residents Association suggests this eviction has much to do with the upcoming 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
• Amber Hieb (CHLY Nanaimo) speaks with Paul Manly, a Nanaimo-based independent filmmaker about the SPP, and North American integration. Manly’s new film is ‘You, Me and The Spp: Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule’.

The MUSIC: The September 25th Edition of GroundWire features music by Kathleen Yearwood, The Sinuses, Rabnett 5, and Tamara.

(Links updated November 2013)

June 27 edition of Groundwire now available

GroundWire is a twice-monthly dose of grassroots independent journalism from the campus community radio sector of Canada and is a project of the National Campus and Community Radio Association. This is the second bi-weekly edition of GroundWire, thanks to a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada (on a personal note, woohoo!).

The June 27, 2009 edition of GroundWire was produced by CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto. Listen online

Presenting the June 27, 2009 Headlines: With Narration from the Women’s News Collective at CHRY 105.5 FM

• Abousfian Abdelrazik Returns to Canada | David Koch (CKUT)
• Adil Charkaoui’s Cross Canada Tour | David Parker (CKDU)
• CSIS Security Certificate Update and the Case of Mohamed Harkat | Tariq Jeeroburkhan (CKUT)
• Toronto City Workers’ Strike | Candace Mooers (CHRY)
• Ontario Labour Actions Increase | Omme Rahemtullah (CHRY)
• Canadian Companies Sued by Palestinian Community of Bil’in | Libby Drew (CHSR) and Chris Albinati (CKUT)

Presenting the June 27, 2009 Features:

• The National Community Radio Conference in Montreal: A Year in Community Radio. CHRY‘s Jacky Tuinstra Harrison talks with volunteers, speakers and organizers about the future of community radio in Canada and the spirit of volunteerism at this year’s annual conference.
• On Friday, June 19th, the National Association of Friendship Centres hosted a forum on Urban First Nations issues in Ottawa, with three candidates for the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations: Shawn Atleo, John Beaucage and Perry Bellegarde. Lisa Abel CHUO
• With threats to form a Caledonia militia aimed against Aboriginal activists, Jesse Zimmerman of CHRY brings us voices from a counter-protest, re-asserting territorial rights for six nations indigenous peoples.

(Links updated November 2013)

Fringeless Thursday

Well, I took the night off from Fringing last night. Certainly not what I had planned, and I’m going to miss out on a couple of great shows because of it. But I would not have enjoyed myself, I think. I was in a pretty foul mood, truth be told. Not for any reason in particular, it was just one of those days, I guess.

I did end up going to a couple of training session at CHUO, though. It’s great to finally have time to do a little broadcasting. Quite a few people were there, so that’s great! Anyone else? You can do it to, you know.

Anyway, pretty stoked to be a part of the News Collective (at least for now, we’ll see how time plays out for the long run). And I’m pretty sure I want to a magazine-style show. It looks as though Kevin Matthews will co-host the show with me, so I should check in with him on if he is cool with that. It will mean some work, as we would have interviews and some pre-recorded segments from time-to-time. And we’ll have to look at what kind of focus the show would have. And we’ll need a good name.

I’m also looking to get to New Brunswick this month and next. If anyone is heading in that direction, let me know. I’m not looking forward to 12 hours on the bus, but having a bus buddy would make things a little nicer.

Finally, I changed up my Fringe schedule a bit (posted here on my blog on its own page). So if you are thinking to check out any of those shows and are looking for someone to go with, just let me know.

Ottawa Fringe Reviews: From Death to Growth and the 70’s in between

Reviews: Mugged, Walking the Labyrinth, Old Growth, Fear of Being Heard, The Spy

Thanks to CHUO 89.1 FM, I have a press pass to the Ottawa Fringe Festival, taking place from June 19-29. It’s 10 days of 52 plays ranging from drama to German punk to Napoleon Dynamite dancing. While there are several production companies based in Ottawa, shows are being mounted by people from all across Canada as well as from the US, the UK, Germany, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. There’s also some spoken word performances happening along with a touch of cinema and stilt walking. Everything you need is at www.ottawafringe.com.

Mugged by Andrew Payne (Ottawa School of Speech Drama Young Company, Ottawa): This was pretty decent. I liked the play itself and the subject matter. As we get older, sometimes we forget about the tough issues teenagers face. Crime affects people of all ages, but I think it’s easy for teens to feel isolated, and it can be hard to figure out the best thing to do at any given moment, let alone when you are facing a tragedy. As someone in alternative media, I also appreciated the message about the role media plays in tragedy and “telling the truth.” Overall, great effort. The young actors did pretty well dealing with Payne’s British script, and I was glad they didn’t use accents. www.ossd.com

Walking the Labyrinth by Peter Cavell (Electric Lethe Productions, London, Ontario): This original re-imagining is based on a Greek myth. Theseus, son of the King of Athens, set out to defeat a minotaur in a labyrinth, which was created by King Minos of Crete. What was really interesting about this production was the creative multimedia experience — altered voices and pre-recorded vocal music, poetry, dialog and effects — it added to the dark mystique of the show. Facing the unknown, facing darkness, and making choices is a common theme throughout. While some of the dialog was lost in the effects and the extreme low lighting was somewhat disconcerting at times, I thoroughly enjoyed this unique and creative production. www.petercavell.com

Old Growth by Alex Eddington (Acky-Made, Toronto): Everywhere you turn these days there is something about the environment. It’s in politics, in our schools and places of work, it’s on the Net, and it’s in our art. But this play asks what is environmentalism? It’s not a political platform or a religion, but rather, it is us. This play asks us to stop consuming the world around us because we are in fact consuming ourselves. Overall, I did enjoy this production. It was a little scattered, much like me and my hippie friends were back in 1997 (when the resurgence of hippiedom hit my then-home Fredericton), when the play is set. But I think that signifies and reflects our needing to process the state of the world in which we live and how big of an issue were are trying to come to terms with with respect to our existence and our home. www.AlexEddington.com

Fear of Being Heard by Kyla Gray (MoMo Productions, Ottawa): Throughout my life I’ve always questioned the line and even the difference between dream and reality. This play is an abstract blending of the two to make us question how real either one is. There were some interesting moments, such as when the actor was being moved by an imagined puppeteer, and a few of the dance sequences were beautiful and hypnotic. But overall, this was not a show that resonated with me.

The Spy by Jonno Katz (Epicworlds, Melbourne, Australia): Brilliant. This one-man show takes you through a whole cast of characters involved in espionnage. Set in the 70’s, Katz travels the world in search of his own truth and comes across valuable secrets that others wish to kill for. This show is funny, engaging, and interactive. A definite must-see of the Fringe. www.epicworlds.com

Coming up for me (if I can make it): Circumference (lots of buzz about this show), Shadows in Bloom (another buzz-show), Making Deals with Gods, Without a Clue, Totem Figures, Inferno Sonata (looks pretty hot) and many more.

Heading off to the Fringe

Yay, first post! (although I’m going to add some old blogs in an archive style, but this is my first official post with my brand-spanking’ new wordpress blog.)

What a great way to celebrate the Solstice! I’m off to enjoy the annual Ottawa Fringe Festival thanks to some CHUO press passes. I’m hoping to write up some reviews for the station and perhaps get some interest in phone-in reviews on a few shows throughout the week.