A lot has happened lately, which probably explains the lack of updates. It's been quite a busy summer so far, yet I haven't accomplished what I've set out to do - namely learning Latin, learning the Tin Whistle and improving my cooking. However, a lot of the bigger things have been concerning me of late.

As all of you have undoubtably heard, Bell Globemedia is buying CHUM corporation, a move which Matt points out will effectively put a good majority of Canada's mainstream media in the hands of a mere two corporations - Canwest and Bell Globemedia. The CBC will remain independent, but one must question how it will be able to compete with two juggernauts of such power. As I've already learned in Carleton's first-year History of Canadian Journalism course, it's about time for another useless, time-consuming Royal Commision on the subject of media monopolies. While these commisions typically do recommend positive things, they often succumb to the major peril of academia - no one listens. 

The broader implication of this is even more Americanization of the Canadian media. Our media has been traditionally regionally-based, with large American-style networks such as CTV and Global springing up relatively recently. I'm not trying to sound like a rambling anti-American, but there's something to be said for keeping with our regional traditions. This connects back to the foundation of CityTV itself. When Moses Znaimer and the rest founded CityTV, it was revolutionary - up until then television news typically involved a white man behind a desk talking about pictures. CityTV involved itself with the city of Toronto itself - it was, as it's slogan suggested, everywhere. Reporters roamed the street, the city was in the background, not a pale plywood wall. The community was actively involved and entire neighbourhoods sprung up around it. I was not the biggest fan of CityTV's move to expand into other cities (and whispers say that neither was Moses). CityTV was and is a Toronto thing. However, I was proven wrong, as the formula worked in other regions because it built upon the region itself. 

However, with the merger CityTV will be turned into a youth-targeted network. This destroys the regional-based strength of CityTV. No longer will it be a channel about the city, rather it will now be nationwide network attached to an age demographic rather than urban centres. Bell Globemedia is doing this so that it doesn't overlap with CTV, so they can hit two demographics. Alas, our media is becoming more and more homogenized. Unfortunately, this will just make it easier for possible American interest and influence in the Canadian media. We're falling away from our model of doing things and adopting a more and more Americanized model of mass media.

There are few uniquely Canadian media outlets anymore. The CBC - moreso Radio, which doesn't air shows like Simpsons or Frasier - is slowly looking like a last bastion of the uniquely Canadian mainstream media. The onus is falling more and more on blogs and the like to provide non-homogenized programming and insight - particularly with regional interests. Independant viewpoints are getting more and more rare. It's doubtless that corporate influence in our news and media outlets will be mixed - there will be limitations, but only to the point before people call them on their limitations. 

For now though folks, I leave you with with the (unfollowed) findings and recommendations of the Kent Commission of the 1980's.

"The ownership and control of most newspapers is today highly concentrated under interests whose business concerns extend far beyond the particular newspaper. Much of our press, consequently, is not itself dedicated exclusively to the purposes of the press, to the discharge of its public responsibility. Extraneous interests, operating internally, are the chains that today limit the freedom of the press."
--- Kent Commission on Newspapers, 1981

Also, you may want to check this out.

 Things I have found while cleaning out my room:

• My old short story from Writer's Craft.
• Random scraps of writing.
• A hundred dollar cheque from Campbell's.
• The phone number of our chaperones on the Ireland trip.
• The program from my Grade 8 graduation.
• My elementary school diploma.
• Pictures from Algonquin in Grade 12.
• Pictures from camp in the summer after Grade 6, featuring a very young Lee, a shaggy-haired me, and my crossdressed counsellor.
• Old McDonald's shiny hockey cards - unopened and still in the foil.
• The key to the knife rack at Williams-Sonoma Yorkdale (Er...)
• My admission package from Carleton.
• All the items from my CSIA Ski Instructor Certification sessions, including doodles of a zombie skiing in my rulebook.
• The Playboy my cabin bought me at camp in the summer after Grade 7.
• The membership card to the North York Youth Employment Centre that Stu and I got while looking for employment in Grade 12. This was the same day we realized that Stu knew my cousin Talia.
• An old McDonald's Magic School Bus toy, which was the bus filled with cards that quiz you in your knowledge of SCIENCE!
• My not-quite-authentic name badge from Silvercity. It was someone else's, but it said Matt. However, my apparent favourite movie was Return of the Jedi - not true.
• A Scholastic "Discovery Box" book and activity kit featuring the planets.
• 50 Cents, Euro.
• My Grade 11 student card, featuring Fat Matt.
• The business card of the old Italian man who taught the in-class part of my driving training.
• A one million dollar bill, American.
• A Camp Robin Hood Watch.
• The manual for the game that came with my old Sega Genesis - Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkatron.
• A totally awesome Gargoyles keychain.
• My badge from my old martial arts class, which I new sewed onto anything.
• More pictures of Lee. For some reason, I have two pictures of him dancing with some girl. He totally gets all the ladies.
• Old Ghostbusters action figures that I've had since I was probably...three?
• A cardkey for a hotel in Mt. Tremblant.
• A totally kickin' Gargoyles keychain.
• A pen featuring a naked lady. The picture looks like it was taken in 1975.
• The M, A, T, and E from my oooold name necklace (I had completely forgotten about that).
• The box for my old i2Go EgO, which was one of the first MP3 players on the market. It's huge and held 128 megabytes. The company went bankrupt.
• A manual on how to play Magic: The Gathering as well as numerous blue and yellow beads that I think had something to do with Pokemon cards.
• Numerous LaserQuest scorecards.
• Lots of documents from Pepsi Get Spotted, including my in-field performance report and a sticker.
• The log of my first G2 failure, when I hit the curb.
• The Thank-You card from my sister's Bat Mitzvah I was supposed to give Lee.
• The log of my pass in the G driving test.
• The "Super Nice Person" Award that Katie and Roberta sent to me, decorated in Barbie stickers.
• My Ontario Scholar Certificate.
• My Certificate of Withdrawl from Prescott House, Carleton University, Ottawa.
• The script for "Hobo Horror," that horrible movie that Nikki, Murali, and I (or our evil twins, rather) had to star in. It was written by Liz Molnar and Jeff Garner. I miss those two. In the end, I was the killer all along!
• A birthday card from Anna's parents.
• The "Garden Pests and Diseases" book my grandfather got me when I was very young. I don't think I ever opened it.
• A bottle of Green Apple Vodka from...prom(?). It still has about 4 shots in it. Sweet!
• The CamelBack I used when Stu and I walked downtown/to the lake from TSS.
• Many Warm Fuzzies from BOSS Retreat.
• The journal I kept in Ireland, featuring a 13th-century map of the world on it.
• A guide to hostels in Canada and abroad I got when Danny and I got out ISIC Fake IDs in Grade 12.
• My old prayer book from Hebrew school.
• The Cub Book. Yes, for a few months I was a Cub Scout. It was horrible. I didn't earn any badges.
• My old heavy-duty Guinness bottle opener! Sweet!
• Numerous old movie tickets.
• The realization that I need a far larger bookshelf.

That was fun! Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll clean out my closet. I still have a lot of fat-clothes there. It'll be another archaeological dig.

(Also: DONE EXAMS! WHEE!)