[SpongeG]

is it going to happen? is the internet as we know it over?

The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom
Top-down, international regulation is antithetical to the Net, which has flourished under its current governance model.

By ROBERT M. MCDOWELL

On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.

If successful, these new regulatory proposals would upend the Internet's flourishing regime, which has been in place since 1988. That year, delegates from 114 countries gathered in Australia to agree to a treaty that set the stage for dramatic liberalization of international telecommunications. This insulated the Internet from economic and technical regulation and quickly became the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.

...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577229074023195322.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

[Rico Rommheim]

Canadian culture continues to thrive, Four Weddings Canada is premiering on Slice soon!


Oh, and it is NOT scripted by the way. No, not at all.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^Lol. How come there's no Iron Chef Canada?

[Rico Rommheim]

Canadian showbuisiness "art" sucks polar bear balls, but we do have a few artists who pop out and stick to making Canadian products. One example of this is jay baruchel (who coincidentally was in my grade in high school), the film "Goon" is coming out this Friday. A Canadian film about hockey that's NOT called "Score: a hockey musical" or whatever the fuck. It sounds silly and enjoyable. I'll try and catch it.

[bulliver]

is it going to happen? is the internet as we know it over?

The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom
Top-down, international regulation is antithetical to the Net, which has flourished under its current governance model.

By ROBERT M. MCDOWELL

On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.

If successful, these new regulatory proposals would upend the Internet's flourishing regime, which has been in place since 1988. That year, delegates from 114 countries gathered in Australia to agree to a treaty that set the stage for dramatic liberalization of international telecommunications. This insulated the Internet from economic and technical regulation and quickly became the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.

...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577229074023195322.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

If the UN is involved it's bound to fail. Nothing to worry about... :rolleyes:

[vid]

Jay Baruchel is cute. I have nothing else to add.

[SpongeG]

did anyone happen to catch this show? its pretty cool and city geeks will love it

FiWo7ljw0XE

[SpongeG]

u can watch whole thing online

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/suzuki-diaries-future-city.html#

it repeats Sunday February 26 at 8 pm ET on CBC News Network

[manny_santos]

If the UN is involved it's bound to fail. Nothing to worry about... :rolleyes:

I wouldn't be worried either. This is just China (and its closest allies) trying to promote their system of censorship to the world. They're all scared of the power of the Internet to promote democracy and capitalist economies.

Any country that would fall for this proposal is idiotic.

[Acajack]

OK, one of the criticisms I often hear about Canadian TV and movies is that they often have low production values, seem fake and have the "community TV" feel to them.

I was wondering: given that Hollywood shoots lots of movies in Toronto and Vancouver using local crews and services, you would think there would be first-class technical expertise and equipment available to make top-notch Canadian stuff as well. (Since there is no discernable difference in production values between a Hollywood production made in Toronto vs. Hollywood.)

So what gives?

[reidjr]

OK, one of the criticisms I often hear about Canadian TV and movies is that they often have low production values, seem fake and have the "community TV" feel to them.

I was wondering: given that Hollywood shoots lots of movies in Toronto and Vancouver using local crews and services, you would think there would be first-class technical expertise and equipment available to make top-notch Canadian stuff as well. (Since there is no discernable difference in production values between a Hollywood production made in Toronto vs. Hollywood.)

So what gives?

If you look at the amount of movies and films done in Canada be it it Montreal/Toronto/Ottawa/Vancouver what bugs me is when there is a canadian movie or tv show its not at the same level as american movies or tv shows filmed in canada for some reason.

[Acajack]

If you look at the amount of movies and films done in Canada be it it Montreal/Toronto/Ottawa/Vancouver what bugs me is when there is a canadian movie or tv show its not at the same level as american movies or tv shows filmed in canada for some reason.

I deliberately left out the Quebec stuff because I find that its movies and TV look more "real" and less fake. Especially the most popular ones.

There are some exceptions in English, though. Like Flashpoint, which I find looks really slick and has good production values.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAXd-IS7r7s

[MolsonExport]

^Lol. How come there's no Iron Chef Canada?

There was once "Canada's next great chef" but the show drew more flies than viewers:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811596/

[harls]

Those McD's spots with Kelly Hrudey and PJ Stock are dang terrible to watch.

[vid]

I think the problem is that English Canadian TV shows try too hard to appear Canadian, so they seem forced. Quebecois TV shows don't have that issue because they don't really have an America to compete with like we do. French culture isn't as dominant there as American culture is here.

[jeremy_haak]

Two Canadian shows that I think are pretty decent while being unapologetically Canadian were/are Corner Gas and Republic of Doyle.

I was looking at the listing of shows on Global and CTV, and I was surprised by just how few Canadian shows there were. I only found two primetime Canadian shows on Global (Bomb Girls and Rookie Blue and not much more on CTV. They really do the bare minimum for Can-Con it seems. I'd also be curious just how much Can-Con is simply rehashed Canadian versions of American reality TV shows.

[SpongeG]

they can also fill their can con requirements with cheap informercials and talk shows like those religious ones that come with a warning that the views of the show do not match those views of the station blah blah blah

I think being erica is one of the best canadian shows - it looks good and its a great show to watch

apparently ABC picked it up to make an american version

[reidjr]

Two Canadian shows that I think are pretty decent while being unapologetically Canadian were/are Corner Gas and Republic of Doyle.

I was looking at the listing of shows on Global and CTV, and I was surprised by just how few Canadian shows there were. I only found two primetime Canadian shows on Global (Bomb Girls and Rookie Blue and not much more on CTV. They really do the bare minimum for Can-Con it seems. I'd also be curious just how much Can-Con is simply rehashed Canadian versions of American reality TV shows.

Show and ctv does have a fair amount of shows that they have a hand in and there are some that are canadian take the Firm shaw is a partner in that show such as Heaven and Rookie Blue then they have shows such as King etc.

[Acajack]

I think the problem is that English Canadian TV shows try too hard to appear Canadian, so they seem forced. .

Some try too hard to appear Canadian, and some try too hard to NOT appear Canadian. There is no middle ground it seems.

On appearing NOT Canadian, remember those game shows in the 80s like Bumper Stumpers and a bunch of others?

You could almost see the producers coaching the Canadian contestants backstage to say "zee" as opposed to "zed".

Or to say stuff like: "Hi Stu. My name is Gord and I am an investment consultant in a major North American city."

[MolsonExport]

There's a voice, that keeps on calling me...

[Proof Sheet]

Some try too hard to appear Canadian, and some try too hard to NOT appear Canadian. There is no middle ground it seems.

On appearing NOT Canadian, remember those game shows in the 80s like Bumper Stumpers and a bunch of others?

[/U][/B]."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Me

Do you remember this show. Many episodes were so obviously filmed in Hudson and St Lazare (and one episode I recall at Nuns Island), but the street signs and license plates were blurred out

[mr.John]

There was once "Canada's next great chef" but the show drew more flies than viewers:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811596/

I could swear I heard a promo on food tv announcing the return of the smash hit "Canada's next great chef", Anyone else sick of reality show competitions it's become a non-stop dog and pony show,you have cooking shows, business shows, talent shows etc etc etc all with a panel of obnoxious god like figures passing judgement on the unwashed peasants "you want the money? then jump through the hoop... go on you can do it":whip:

[Rico Rommheim]

What does this say about American 'culture', if we have to hide in order to be accepted, why is this accepted?

It is so stupid, but everyone knows that if the viewers knew this was shot in Canada (even worst, in 'french Canada!!) they wouldn't tune in.

[reidjr]

What does this say about American 'culture', if we have to hide in order to be accepted, why is this accepted?

It is so stupid, but everyone knows that if the viewers knew this was shot in Canada (even worst, in 'french Canada!!) they wouldn't tune in.

I think Americans take great pride in there country and whats made there i am not sure if they would not tune in if they did know many are filmed in Canada but i think they would not be as proud.

[Acajack]

There's a voice, that keeps on calling me...

Now that was one show that was unabashedly Canadian!

[Acajack]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Me

Do you remember this show. Many episodes were so obviously filmed in Hudson and St Lazare (and one episode I recall at Nuns Island), but the street signs and license plates were blurred out

Yes, I quickly picked up on the fact that it was filmed in the Montreal area. Also the host was Mike Giunta, who is an Ottawa radio personality.

One thing I always wondered about was how they handled the "hidden camera" open houses. I mean, even in so-called anglo parts of Montreal a large proportion of visitors to open houses would be francophones speaking in French between themselves, or even mixed couples speaking a mix of French and English, or English and another language, or French and another language, or a mix of three languages. Yet the visitors you see on the show always speak straight North American English and only that. I guess they just used those clips where people spoke nothing other than English.

[Acajack]

What does this say about American 'culture', if we have to hide in order to be accepted, why is this accepted?

It is so stupid, but everyone knows that if the viewers knew this was shot in Canada (even worst, in 'french Canada!!) they wouldn't tune in.

I think it says as much about Canadian culture as it does about American culture. Many shows that try not to be *too Canadian* actually do this so that their *Canadian* viewers won't view their show as "small time". Too many Canadian cues in a show will cause a lot Canadian viewers to tune out as well.

I remember some time ago when the CFL expanded to the U.S., and the Commissioner of the CFL said that this wasn't just about winning over American fans, it was also about winning over Canadian fans. He said that since Canadians were used to having U.S. teams in the NHL and major league baseball playing against their cities' clubs, that the CFL would seem more "big time" to them if they had some American clubs coming to town. So the CFL proceeded to put a club in the big time global metropolis of... Shreveport, Louisiana.

OK, they had clubs in Baltimore and Las Vegas as well, to be fair...

[manny_santos]

Now that was one show that was unabashedly Canadian!

Not quite. I remember seeing American money being used, and in one scene, a news reporter was seen holding a microphone showing the old CFTO-TV "9" logo but with CFTO covered up with call letters starting with a "W", which is American.

[Proof Sheet]

Yes, I quickly picked up on the fact that it was filmed in the Montreal area. Also the host was Mike Giunta, who is an Ottawa radio personality.

One thing I always wondered about was how they handled the "hidden camera" open houses. I mean, even in so-called anglo parts of Montreal a large proportion of visitors to open houses would be francophones speaking in French between themselves, or even mixed couples speaking a mix of French and English, or English and another language, or French and another language, or a mix of three languages. Yet the visitors you see on the show always speak straight North American English and only that. I guess they just used those clips where people spoke nothing other than English.

Good point...I noticed the same thing myself. For the untrained eye, the show could be anywhere North America, although the # of winter scenes did make it look quite Canadian.

[Acajack]

Not quite. I remember seeing American money being used, and in one scene, a news reporter was seen holding a microphone showing the old CFTO-TV "9" logo but with CFTO covered up with call letters starting with a "W", which is American.

That's interesting. I seem to recall the bad guys at the end always being arrested by police wearing the trademark police caps with the red band that you see in most parts of Ontario:

http://www.police.belleville.on.ca/recruitings8.php

[Rico Rommheim]

Canadian culture keeps on leap-frogging towards cultural perfection.

http://ca.omg.yahoo.com/blogs/north-stars/real-housewives-vancouver-cast-revealed-170055709.html


http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/V2hAgWxlQpBniwLr5pafoA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-CA/blogs/north-stars/rhovgroup_1_rev.jpg


The hag (second one on the right) looks as charming and bangable as my avatar.

[SpongeG]

the second one is half japanese and she collects cars

one of the woman owns a compound with 4 houses in west vancouver

[Rico Rommheim]

Fascinating!

[SpongeG]

very - can't wait to watch it all! NOT

Jd3pxX0lRYI

[Rico Rommheim]

the second one is half japanese and she collects cars

one of the woman owns a compound with 4 houses in west vancouver

That woman made the front page of The Province today. Didn't buy it. The editor is either one of her servants, or a complete moron. Probably both.

[manny_santos]

The CRTC has released details for 22 applications for radio stations in Toronto, to replace the former CKLN at 88.1 FM that had its license revoked last year. Among them are proposals for new ethnic stations, indie rock stations, and easy listening stations, as well as "nested" repeaters for existing AM stations. Of course, there's only going to be one winner.

Also out of the CRTC today, Rogers has offered to purchase SCN (Saskatchewan Communications Network). That could lead to the addition of a Citytv-like station for Saskatchewan, although that name wouldn't work out too well for a whole province. SCN is available on cable throughout the province and across Canada on satellite.

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-126.htm

[yaletown_fella]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4StzNTpNls&feature=share

[Doug_Cgy]

LIVE! with Kelly is coming to Banff:

http://dadt.com/live/special/livecanada/

[SpongeG]

she'll or any TV show will go anywhere when the host city pays

[Rico Rommheim]

Omgz!!! Banff should roll out its red carpet. Local RCMP can put on their fancy shmancy red Santa uniforms (if they're not busy dropping natives on frozen lakes or spotting and tazering innocent immigrants at the airport) and prepare to greet our American overlords. Our American overlords that are on tv, btw.

[SpongeG]

they went to PEI last year wasn't it? when regis was still on the show - PEI paid fro them to come

[Rico Rommheim]

Toronto is notorious for going ape on canadian film. So needless to say, I'm sure the Genie awards are creating quite some buzz all over canada's cultural capital.

[MolsonExport]

Toronto is notorious for going ape on canadian film. So needless to say, I'm sure the Genie awards are creating quite some buzz all over canada's cultural capital.

http://cksyfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ben_mulroney_090222.jpghttp://images.ctv.ca/gallery/photo/Oscar_arrival_080224/image11.jpg
tanyakim'srectum.com

We all know who will be there to report the goings on. Unfortunately, we can't blame toronto for the BM as he is from Mtl.

[harls]

Tania Drumface will cover all news mentioning Canada or anything remotely referencing this country, we are all good.

[Rico Rommheim]

Some bullshit military naval law procedural drama (yeah they actually made a show about bullshit naval investigations) had a Canadian-born person as gaffer, and I shit ye not e-talk made a huge deal out of it. That was 5 years ago or so, and since then I've long moved out of my mums house so I'm no longer exposed to e-hack, so maybe the key grip in CSI: Tallahassee grew up in new Westminster, but I don't wanna hear about it.

[vid]

NCIS was good for the first few seasons. After the 4th season it got kind of repetitive.

If you add up all the murders from TV shows, the murder rate is extremely huge, and rarely affects black people.

[MolsonExport]

posted over at skybar, reposted here.

Proof that South Carolina does not have exclusivity on dumb blondes:

dykCynTxDXs

[SpongeG]

toblerone was 3D first

[harls]

I want to put El Tabador in the back of a cube van and lock it up. Then I would cut a small hole in the roof, and connect a length of hose to the exhaust pipe. Next I'd put the truck in park, fire it up, put a cinder block on the gas pedal, and walk away.

..maybe for fun, we could corral the A&W manager and the brand power people inside as well.

[davidivivid]

Canadian Album of the Year at the Juno's: Michael Bublé's Christmas album...


http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/19792i04ED829206E5B1A2/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1
http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-Home-General/Loonytoons-Gigglz-say-We-need-a-FACEPALM-emote/td-p/9267146

[ZeDgE]

Canadian Album of the Year at the Juno's: Micheal bublé's Christmas album...


[IMG]http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/19792i04ED829206E5B1A2/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1[IMG]
http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-Home-General/Loonytoons-Gigglz-say-We-need-a-FACEPALM-emote/td-p/9267146

That pretty much sums up the Junos.. :yuck:

[MolsonExport]

I hate Michael Buble. "And I got some corn for popping..." So cheesy.

[Andrewjm3D]

The Junos, from what I saw no where near as good as last year.

[MolsonExport]

The Silver lining is that Nickelback was shut out of the awarded Junos

[leftimage]

I feel like cancelling the Junos would actually help foster Canadian culture...

A few years back my sister got paid to translate the Junos ''official program guide'' to french, cause her friend worked for them and they were in a last minute jam. Shes not even a translator, just a normal Montrealer... anyways the pay was crappy, and the content so shameful, she couldn't bring herself to take the gig seriously.

She even translated ''depantsed'' to ''dépantaloné'' (not a word)

[SteelTown]

Martin Short - the Canadian comedy legend - shot a comedy special for CBC called I, Martin Short, Goes Home (Short's last comedy special was I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood for HBO) and it airs on April 3, at 9pm (9.30 NT). Co-hosting Live With Kelly on US television, Martin gave the viewers a sneak peek... and now we have it:

O8vpbRsMlkU

The special follows Short's return to his hometown of Hamilton and has quite the cast, including Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin (who you can see in the preview), Fred Willard.

[Rico Rommheim]

She even translated ''depantsed'' to ''dépantaloné'' (not a word)

I don't even know why she bothered, most Quebecers have never heard of the Junos. I think most of them found out about the Junos when Arcade fire won last year.

[Ayreonaut]

The only reason I knew about the Junos this year was because Devin Townsend was nominated for best hard rock/metal album. Now I'm off to forget about them for another decade.

That said, I never know when the Grammy's, Oscars, Golden Globes, etc. are either.

Awards shows are all terrible.

[vid]

The Junos still exist?

Good for them!

[Travis007]

0fVylVvtA9Y

[SteelTown]

AlarmForce president Joel Matlin credits new video technology with thwarting burglars at his home

http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/702665--alarmforce-president-joel-matlin-credits-new-video-technology-with-thwarting-burglars-at-his-home

Would-be burglars didn’t know who they were dealing with when they cased out a nondescript North York bungalow two months ago.

Their target was the home of Joel Matlin, the president and CEO of AlarmForce Industries Inc. and the face of the home security company known for its two-way voice technology.

The burglars wouldn’t have known either that the company has a new video relay technology, which enabled Matlin to see his front door all the way from Florida on his smartphone, and trigger a two-way voice call.

At 11 p.m. on Feb. 4, while Matlin was enjoying the company of friends at a Fort Lauderdale condo, he received a phone message showing live video of a stranger at his door.

“It’s Saturday night. I don’t know this guy,” said Matlin, 63. “I think something’s coming down at my house.”

The man soon left, but a concerned Matlin said he asked police to increase patrols and called his central station and told them to be on alert.

Before going to sleep, Matlin made one mistake. He turned off his phone.

Had his smartphone been left on, he would have received an email message notifying him that someone was ringing his front door in Toronto at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday.

[Symz]

That pretty much sums up the Junos.. :yuck:

I thought the Junos were all about watching someone like Justin Beiber win a Juno instead of say someone like City and Colour.

/sarcasm (yes I know they both won this year, in different categories), but I am using this as an example or how skewed awards shows can be at times.

[SpongeG]

if you can get a hit song or any attention in the USA you get a juno no matter what they will make up a category for you to ensure you get one

[manny_santos]

AlarmForce president Joel Matlin credits new video technology with thwarting burglars at his home

http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/702665--alarmforce-president-joel-matlin-credits-new-video-technology-with-thwarting-burglars-at-his-home

Would-be burglars didn’t know who they were dealing with when they cased out a nondescript North York bungalow two months ago.

Their target was the home of Joel Matlin, the president and CEO of AlarmForce Industries Inc. and the face of the home security company known for its two-way voice technology.

The burglars wouldn’t have known either that the company has a new video relay technology, which enabled Matlin to see his front door all the way from Florida on his smartphone, and trigger a two-way voice call.

At 11 p.m. on Feb. 4, while Matlin was enjoying the company of friends at a Fort Lauderdale condo, he received a phone message showing live video of a stranger at his door.

“It’s Saturday night. I don’t know this guy,” said Matlin, 63. “I think something’s coming down at my house.”

The man soon left, but a concerned Matlin said he asked police to increase patrols and called his central station and told them to be on alert.

Before going to sleep, Matlin made one mistake. He turned off his phone.

Had his smartphone been left on, he would have received an email message notifying him that someone was ringing his front door in Toronto at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday.

That could be the best marketing any security company gets.

But don't forget, Alarmforce is listed on the TSX. That is very, very important.

[MolsonExport]

did he wince when he answered? Like the "Can I Help you?!?" wincer featured in that memorable advertisement for Alarmforce? Which is listed on the TSX?

[amor de cosmos]

4dtUjhnSAaM

[harls]

AlarmForce president Joel Matlin credits new video technology with thwarting burglars at his home

http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/702665--alarmforce-president-joel-matlin-credits-new-video-technology-with-thwarting-burglars-at-his-home

Would-be burglars didn’t know who they were dealing with when they cased out a nondescript North York bungalow two months ago.

Their target was the home of Joel Matlin, the president and CEO of AlarmForce Industries Inc. and the face of the home security company known for its two-way voice technology.

The burglars wouldn’t have known either that the company has a new video relay technology, which enabled Matlin to see his front door all the way from Florida on his smartphone, and trigger a two-way voice call.

At 11 p.m. on Feb. 4, while Matlin was enjoying the company of friends at a Fort Lauderdale condo, he received a phone message showing live video of a stranger at his door.

“It’s Saturday night. I don’t know this guy,” said Matlin, 63. “I think something’s coming down at my house.”

The man soon left, but a concerned Matlin said he asked police to increase patrols and called his central station and told them to be on alert.

Before going to sleep, Matlin made one mistake. He turned off his phone.

Had his smartphone been left on, he would have received an email message notifying him that someone was ringing his front door in Toronto at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday.

This story seems a little fishy to me. I heard this commercial on the radio the other day and you could actually hear Matlin grinning when he talked about the attempted robbery.

It would have been funny if the robbers got away with it, but then we would have never heard about it.

[harls]

PJ and Isabelle sound so excited.

IS62QQotw-Y

[vid]

"It is so much easier to enjoy physical activities knowing that I can urinate while doing so and no one around me will know!"

[SpongeG]

Roku Streaming Players Launch in Canada

Roku®, the leading streaming platform in the U.S. today announced the official launch of its products in Canada. Two Roku streaming player models – the Roku 2 XD and the Roku 2 XS – are available for purchase in Canada starting today. These small set-top boxes use the Internet to stream entertainment to the TV instantly.

The Roku 2 XS is the top-of-the-line Roku streaming player now available in Canada. It provides a ton of instant entertainment -- currently more than 100 channels of video, music and games -- to virtually any TV. (Photo: Business Wire)

At launch in Canada, Roku features more than 100 entertainment channels including movies and TV shows from Netflix and Crackle; live and on-demand sports from the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball; music from Rdio and TuneIn Radio; photos and videos from Facebook and Flickr; news and weather from the Wall Street Journal and CNBC – plus casual games like Angry Birds, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Roku expects to broaden its channel selection in Canada at a pace similar to its growth in the U.S. – now at more than 450 channels.

“We have a simple formula for our best-selling streaming players: provide access to a ton of entertainment at a low price, while maintaining a best-in-class streaming experience,” said Chuck Seiber, vice president of global marketing at Roku. “We’ve set the same high bar for ourselves with the launch of our players today in Canada.”

The Roku 2 XD Streaming Player offers tremendous value for streaming video and music directly to a TV. The Roku 2 XD connects to the Internet instantly via built-in WiFi and supports up to 1080p high-definition video. The Roku 2 XS is the top-of-the-line Roku streaming player. In addition to the features of the Roku 2 XD, the Roku 2 XS comes paired with an enhanced remote with motion control for playing games like Angry Birds. It also features an Ethernet port and a USB port for playing music, videos and photos off of any USB drive.

Roku is an open streaming platform and content providers – whether they are big entertainment brands or new Internet services – can develop a channel on Roku. Content providers interested in developing a channel can contact Roku at partners@roku.com for more details and to access the software development kit.

Pricing and Availability

The Roku 2 XD and the Roku 2 XS streaming players have suggested retail prices of CAD 89.99 and CAD 109.99, respectively. Both models are available now for pre-order online from Roku.ca, Amazon.ca, LondonDrugs.com and Walmart.ca; and are expected to be available at London Drugs and Walmart retail locations at the end of the month.

...

http://www.financialpost.com/markets/news/Roku+Streaming+Players+Launch+Canada/6464167/story.html

[SteelTown]

LOL at around 9:30am CHCH accidentally aired gay porn for about a minute.

[SteelTown]

Porn movie overtakes CHCH broadcast

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/708898--porn-movie-overtakes-ch-broadcast

CHCH television’s signal went dark this morning shortly after the regular news broadcast was overtaken by a porn movie.

Viewers of the Morning Live news broadcast were confronted with hard core sex scenes for about three minutes before the channel stopped broadcasting.

Reaction to the event was immediate on Twitter.

“Someone hacked CHCH news to play gay porn... And every TV in the gym and starbucks was set to it...”

“Watching #chch news when channel cut out and turned into male gay porn.”

We are attempting to reach the network to determine what happened.

CHCH is owned by Channel Zero, which operates several adult movie services.

[vid]

:ack:

9:30am too! That sucks for them!

[davidivivid]

Patrick Watson's brand new album, Adventures in Your Own Backyard, was releasedthis week. I bought it but haven't found the time to listen to it carefully so I'll talk about it more in a few days. The critics have been very positive.

Here's a live version of the title song of the album. The song begins at 1:00 in the video.

IgyLgbGEi_k&feature=related

[Travis007]

Paulina at it again. Haha what a slut.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/30/paulina-gretzky-instragram-photos_n_1466321.html

[MTLskyline]

Interesting to note that Montreal will get a Citytv station. I will miss some of the short films that air on Metro 14 though.

Rogers Media buys Montreal TV station Metro 14


By Steve Faguy, The Gazette May 3, 2012

MONTREAL - Citytv could be coming to Montreal soon.
Rogers Media announced on Thursday that it had reached a deal to purchase Montreal multicultural television station Metro 14 (CJNT) from Toronto-based Channel Zero Inc.

Rogers plans to turn CJNT into a Citytv station, expanding the national network’s presence. Citytv has stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The company also announced that it will sign long-term affiliation agreements with three stations owned by the Jim Pattison Group: CHAT-TV in Medicine Hat, Alta., CJFC-TV in Kamloops, B.C., and CKPG-TV in Prince George, B.C. All three have been Citytv affiliates since 2009, and are, like CJNT, former members of the Canwest CH/E! network. Rogers also announced in January it would purchase educational regional cable channel Saskatchewan Communications Network from Bluepoint Investment Corp. and rebrand it as Citytv Saskatchewan.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Rogers+Media+buys+Montreal+station+Metro/6560252/story.html#ixzz1trpnRg4Y

[harls]

It's been a long time coming.. The Boston Pizza guy that gives cooking 'the finger' needs to be drawn and quartered.

[SpongeG]

roomba roomba
roomba roomba

[SpongeG]

Lu_61SCjUAg

[bulliver]

It's been a long time coming.. The Boston Pizza guy that gives cooking 'the finger' needs to be drawn and quartered.

Boston Pizza needs to change their menu. I am there more often than I like, as it is one of the few places you can get a sit-down meal late at night, but they haven't changed their menu in 20 years.

[SpongeG]

they never invented boneless wings either

[manny_santos]

Boston Pizza needs to change their menu. I am there more often than I like, as it is one of the few places you can get a sit-down meal late at night, but they haven't changed their menu in 20 years.

I actually like Boston Pizza's menu! I used to eat there often when I was traveling for business last year. Of course, it helped having an unlimited expense account for food.

There are a lot of much worse places to get pizza or burgers.

[bulliver]

^ Yeah, it's not terrible. I'm just bored of everything on it.

[SpongeG]

there's always moxies, that joe place - based in alberta i forget the actual name - is it original joes? same price range anyway as BP

i know someone who works at BP and she said she would never eat there most of the food comes out of a bag and gets zapped

[MolsonExport]

Moxies = Boston Pizza = Milestones = Applebees = Kelseys

They all look the same, they all taste the same, they all cost the same, they all smell the same.

[Ramako]

I'll actually give Moxies a leg up over all those other names. I've eaten there a couple times and have to admit that I've had some pretty good meals there.

[kirjtc2]

they never invented boneless wings either

No, Terry Peters did.

[vid]

Moxies was very nice. The waitresses are all extremely thin, I was impressed at how they were able to hold food up with arms that are about as wide as my thumb.

[MolsonExport]

And then there is Earls. Coming to Ont, from BC

[SpongeG]

earls is good - as is Joey - I hear the Joey that opened in Toronto is doing stellar business

the ones here are always packed - i love the roasted chicken :P

[SteelTown]

Breaking: CBC digital service to launch Thursday

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/720161--breaking-cbc-digital-service-to-launch-thursday

The CBC will launch its digital service in Hamilton on Thursday.

Hamilton Economic Development and Ward 2 city councilor Jason Farr made the announcement on Twitter just before noon as the new service’s executive producer Roger Gillespie spoke to a crowd at an open house Tues morning.

The CBC service, headed by former Spectator city editor Roger Gillespie, is located in a James Street North storefront.

[davidivivid]

TV5 Canada produces a great show called Ports d'attache and the last episode was focused on Vancouver. It is in french but is seriously worth a look.


http://video.tv5.ca/ports-d-attache-2/vancouver

[Dylan Leblanc]

Something I've realized about TV in Canada is that we don't produce certain types of shows which, in my opinion, should be default for a national TV market. We don't have a late night talk show, no game shows, no court/judge show, no cops show. We just fall back on US versions of these types of shows. To me any country, no matter how small, should have these types of shows, but Canada doesn't. It's like we don't even try sometimes, or care, just watch the american shows. Canada is lame. :(

[Nouvellecosse]

As far as cop shows, Flashpoint sort of qualified even though they aren't beat cops or detective. And Blue Murder was on for 4 seasons ending in 2004.

My beef is that we don't have many (any?) sitcoms. We have dramas and commedian/improv type comedy, and that's it.

[vid]

I don't think Canada allows the kind of private sector small claims court judges like the US does. We kind of have a late night talk show with George Straomaoufenfoasienfpalous, and Quebec has a lot of game shows, mainly since they can't compete on English ones due to the language barriers. Our cops wouldn't make the most interesting episodes of cops, either. They'd have to get too much footage to make a show to make such a project economically feasible.

[bulliver]

Davinci's Inquest was a decent Canadian cop show. And we did have Mike Bullard, though that guy was terrible.

I also remember when I was in Vancouver there was a Cops-esque show that featured Burnaby RCMP. "Serve and Protect" I recall it was called.

[Acajack]

I don't think Canada allows the kind of private sector small claims court judges like the US does. We kind of have a late night talk show with George Straomaoufenfoasienfpalous, and Quebec has a lot of game shows, mainly since they can't compete on English ones due to the language barriers. Our cops wouldn't make the most interesting episodes of cops, either. They'd have to get too much footage to make a show to make such a project economically feasible.

Quebec produces basically every type of show imaginable, including those judge-type programs. If there is any TV concept that exists in the States or Europe you can bet that it has had a Quebec version of it at some point.

[Acajack]

Something I've realized about TV in Canada is that we don't produce certain types of shows which, in my opinion, should be default for a national TV market. We don't have a late night talk show, no game shows, no court/judge show, no cops show. We just fall back on US versions of these types of shows. To me any country, no matter how small, should have these types of shows, but Canada doesn't. It's like we don't even try sometimes, or care, just watch the american shows. Canada is lame. :(

Late-night talk shows are tough for English Canada because you need either a good selection of stars living in the immediate vicinity of where the show is filmed, or many stars passing through the city regularly throughout the year.

The problem with Toronto is that most Canadian stars don't spend most of the year there. They generally live in LA. Toronto gets some pass-through star traffic for the TIFF but during the rest of the year it is more scattered.

At one time Vancouver was doing not do too badly with afternoon talk shows hosted by Alan Thicke, Don Harron and Alan Hamel. They surfed quite a bit of the Hollywood stars who passed through Vancouver on TV and movie shoots.
ac
The advantage Quebec has is that it has a big crop of local stars that people are actually interested in seeing. Pretty much all of them live and work in the Greater Montreal area so the pool of potential guests for talk shows is large. Plus Quebec is a big secondary market for some French stars so they show up on Quebec talk shows when they visit Montreal. The Quebec talk shows actually do really good business with virtually no appearances by Hollywood stars, although big American stars do frequently show up on Quebec musical variety shows.

[SpongeG]

CTV tried to have a late night talk show with that Mike bullard guy

CTV and City TV have daytime shows like CityLine and Marilyn Denis etc. CBC has Steven & Chris

[Dylan Leblanc]

Mike Bullard - groan!

I remember To Serve and Protect, that's the kind of cop show I'm talking about. I liked it better than the Cops show from the US. Either Vancouver or Toronto would have enough criminal action to make another one of these types of shows.

Court shows in the US aren't actually real court sessions. The judge used is a real judge, but the parties in the "court" agree to settle in-camera outside of court, and so a show can be made from it.

Good point about the lack of access to stars for a late night talk show.