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Hinterland Who’s Who

October 22, 2003 By

If you grew up in Canada in the 1960s or 1970s, you will know what I’m talking about. For those who didn’t, Hinterland Who’s Who was a series of one-minute films shown on television between commercials. If I remember right, sometimes we even saw them at school. They were brief introductions to some of Canada’s wildlife species, delivered by a very boring narrator. I’m sure almost every Canadian comedian has spoofed them at some point in his/her life. Well, not only is the Canadian Wildlife Service going to produce new clips, but it’s put up a great web site containing all of the old ones. Those first few notes on the flute always take me back to the days when I thought I’d see ptarmigans and snowy owls and roseate terns just outside my window.

Filed Under: Funny Links

7 Marathons In 7 Days

October 22, 2003 By

Intrepid explorer and cousin of film stars Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, 59-year old Ranulph Fiennes is planning to run 7 marathons in 7 days, even though he’s recently suffered a heart attack.

This is almost crazier than that loon who went over Niagara Falls.

Filed Under: Sports

So Long, Sad Elliott

October 22, 2003 By

Elliott Smith has apparently taken his own life. I’d recently been wondering what he’d been up to, not knowing whether to expect a new album or news like this. Obviously, I’d have liked him to keep making his haunting, beautiful, but undeniably sad music.

Filed Under: Music

Lame

October 17, 2003 By

Microsoft’s response to yesterday’s unveiling of iTunes for Windows, along with access to the iTunes Music Store:

“Unless Apple decides to make radical changes to their service model, a Windows-based version of iTunes will still remain a closed system, where iPod owners cannot access content from other services. Additionally, users of iTunes are limited to music from Apple’s Music Store. As I mentioned earlier, this is a drawback for Windows users, who expect choice in music services, choice in devices, and choice in music from a wide-variety of music services to burn to a CD or put on a portable device. Lastly, if you use Apple’s music store along with iTunes, you don’t have the ability of using the over 40 different Windows Media-compatible portable music devices. When I’m paying for music, I want to know that I have choices today and in the future.”

Lame. Microsoft is lecturing music fans about choice? When their crappy Windows Media Player won’t even let people rip MP3s? When their software is so full of DRM nonsense that has more to do with keeping lawyers happy than consumers? When the “other services” referred to have been pitiful failures so far even with the huge market open to them? Puh-lease.

Filed Under: Music

Zambia Stories

October 16, 2003 By

Intrepid reporter dude Josh Benton is spending six weeks in Zambia as part of the Pew Fellowship in International Journalism program. He’s taking a break from posting at his usual place, crabwalk.com, and has set up a special blog, Zambia Stories, to document his trip. Josh is quite a globetrotter, having done a series of stories on tiny Pitcairn Island a few years back. Last year, he even visited Toronto.

Filed Under: Blogging
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