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That Eric Alper

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Bruce McCulloch’s Young Drunk Punk Gets Airing On CITY TV

Jan 9, 2015

Treasured Canadian comic Bruce McCulloch, of Kids in the Hall, returns to the TV screen with a new 13-episode scripted comedy series, YOUNG DRUNK PUNK. Filmed in Calgary, Alberta, this original half-hour show was created by Bruce McCulloch and will premiere on City TV on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 8:30pm ET/PT.

From the clever and caustic mind of McCulloch, YOUNG DRUNK PUNK tells the tale of two teen rebels on the fringes of society . . . or in the suburbs of Calgary, circa 1980. Set to a soundtrack that includes Pointed Sticks, The Buzzcocks, The Demics and The Diodes, Ian McKay and his best friend Shinky are searching for ways to grow up without selling out. In those lost years between high school and “what’s next,” they fight against conformity all the while dodging parents, cowboys, oilmen and responsibility.

“You don’t even know. There’s so much happening in the world, you don’t even understand. Mom, I won’t live in your microwave oven world anymore!” – Ian McKay

YOUNG DRUNK PUNK stars Tim Carlson (Gracepoint) as Ian McKay, Atticus Mitchell (Fargo) as Archibald Shinky, Bruce McCulloch as Ian’s father Lloyd, Tracy Ryan (Nancy Drew) as Ian’s mother Helen, and Allie MacDonald (House at the End of the Street) as Ian’s sister Belinda.

“Remember, the world isn’t run by people who were popular in high school . . . so our future must be very bright indeed.” – Ian McKay

YOUNG DRUNK PUNK is produced for television by Accent Entertainment and SEVEN24 Films and broadcast on City.

Driver Park to Get Gas. Can’t Figure Out Which Side Gas Cap Is On.

Jan 9, 2015

I hav a new rule I’d like to implement. If, after, several times and a few minutes you still don’t realize what side your gas cap is on, you don’t get to drive.

If you grew up in the 70s, you’ll remember these 5 ads from magazines

Jan 9, 2015

‘The Incredible Dog Shrinking Machine’ Is A Thing!

Jan 8, 2015

YouTuber Jon Hill decided to test out his Incredible Dog Shrinking Machine. I think it worked!

‘National Geographic’ Profiles Musician Paul ‘DJ Spooky’ Miller

Jan 8, 2015

With cultural and environmental issues as its backbeat, the music of National Geographic 2014 Emerging Explorer Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky creates a space to ponder and address some of society’s biggest questions.

The Explorers Project chronicles the work of National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers—tomorrow’s visionaries who are making discoveries, making a difference, and inspiring people to care about the planet. Learn more here.

Deaf African Teens Have Never Been Able To Communicate – Until Now

Jan 8, 2015

Patrick Otema, 15 was born profoundly deaf. In the remote area of Uganda where he lives there are no schools for deaf children, and he has never had a conversation. Raymond Okkelo, a sign language teacher, hopes to change all this and offer Patrick a way out of the fearful silence he has known his whole life. Thanks to the work of inspirational sign language teachers, they are transforming the lives of profoundly deaf children and adults across the country who have never been able to communicate – until now.

Canadian Arts/Media Job Posts For January 8, 2015

Jan 8, 2015

Global News is looking for a Part-time Graphic Artist to work weekends supporting their Saturday and Sunday News programming.

Humber School of Creative and Performing Arts is hiring a Music Services Co-ordinator to establish the music services division, which will offer such services as grant writing; music supervision; overseeing the release, placement and distribution of Humber Records; evaluating contracts and consulting on such matters as music publishing, as well as additional services to be determined by the co-ordinator. Further, this person will develop the music services division’s five-year business plan.

Zak Communications in Montreal and Toronto has an opening for a Public Relation Account Manager.

Central 1 Credit Union in Vancouver is looking for Director, Member and External Communications.

Shaw Media is currently seeking a temporary full-time Brand Manager to join their team on a 12 month contract.

BroadbandTV in Vancouver is currently looking for a Head of Branded Entertainment & Content Strategy to develop and oversee all initiatives associated with Branded Entertainment, Original Content Production, and Content Strategy at BroadbandTV.

Global News is looking for an exceptional Creative Designer to join their team as Art Director to help lead their Network News Design Centre. Your creativity and leadership will continue to define the look of their 24/7 News anywhere programs.

Neverblue, a GlobalWide Media Company was awarded One of the Best Places to Work in Los Angeles 2014 by The Los Angeles Business Journal, has an opening for an Account Executive in Toronto.

Shaw Communications Inc. in Calgary, Alberta is currently seeking an Analyst, Digital to join the Marketing team. This position reports directly into the Director, Research & Planning.

Science North is Northern Ontario’s most popular tourist attraction and an educational resource for children and adults across the province, and they are looking for a Communications officer (Member Services Intern).

Global Halifax & Global New Brunswick, a division of Shaw Media, has an immediate opening for a full-time Executive Assistant. This position provides support for all administration activities for the Station Manager/News Director.

Shaw Communications Inc. has an exciting opportunity for a Product Planning and Analysis, Manager located in their Calgary office. Reporting to the Director, Pricing and Packaging in the Marketing department, the successful candidate will have overall accountability for ensuring that Consumer pricing and new revenue opportunities meet Shaw’s overall business objectives.

Rio Tinto is looking for a Senior Advisor, Communications and External Relations, to oversee the implementation of activity programs, approaches, plans and strategies in communications and external relations to support IOC in achieving its business objectives. The position will be based in Sept-Îles.

Shaw has an exciting opportunity for a Video Journalist working in their Calgary Shaw TV office. Reporting to the Manager Programming, the successful candidate will be accountable for videotaping and post-production of news features for Shaw TV.

CityNews and 680News are looking for a news leader to oversee our growing digital properties. Based out of the City Toronto newsroom at Yonge & Dundas, you will be responsible for both the day-to-day operation of the site (including breaking news, content, social media) and content strategy of the sites & mobile apps.

Inspiration in Action based in Vancouver is looking for an Executive Director.

Rdio is looking for a Director, Public Relations – Canada.

NOVA Chemicals is seeking a confident, dynamic professional to join the Government Relations team in Calgary, Alberta.

Loyalist College in Belleville has an opening for a Multimedia Marketing Writer and Digital Designer.

The Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) of Rogers Communications is experiencing tremendous growth and is looking for passionate, goal-oriented individuals to join this winning team. They are currently looking for a bilingual Regional Marketing Manager based in Montreal.

Noel Gallagher Gets It Right On The Value Of Music

Jan 8, 2015

“People are more than willing to sit in a coffee shop and spend a tenner on two coffees and talk about the weather to their friends, and that coffee will last 45 minutes. Yet they will physically get angry at you for asking you to buy an album for a tenner which will last a lifetime and might even tell you something about yourself and might even change your life.”
– Noel Gallagher

Can the creaking machinery of the few remaining record pressing plants cope with demand?

Jan 7, 2015

From The Guardian:

In the first half of 2014, officially registered sales of vinyl in the US stood at around 4m, confirming an increase of more than 40% compared to the same period in 2013. In the UK, this year’s accredited sales will come in at around 1.2m, more than 50% up on last year. That may represent a tiny fraction of the industry’s estimated sales of recorded music, but still, a means of listening to music essentially invented in the 19th century and long since presumed to be dead is growing at speed, and the presses at Optimal – along with similar facilities smattered across the UK, mainland Europe, the US and beyond – are set to grind and pump on, into the future.

“Isn’t it strange?” Runge mused. “I’m an automation engineer. I never thought I’d be dealing with vinyl. It’s unexpected. But it’s also unexpectable.” He shouted this over the din of the machinery. Each press sat in a space not much more than four metres square. Two circular paper labels were mechanically plucked from one end, while tiny vinyl pellets were sucked into a steam-driven heating process. The result was a hunk of plastic with the circumference of a beer mat, heated to 130C, to which the labels were attached, while 50 tonnes of hydraulic pressure squashed and spread it into a disc. Metal stampers pressed against either side, and it was quickly cooled to 40C. With another clunk, the finished product was dropped on to a spindle, ready to be inserted in its sleeve. The whole cycle had taken 27 seconds. Each day, the factory makes somewhere between 50,000 and 55,000 records.

Hanging over everything Runge showed me was an awkward question. While demand for records is increasing year by year, Optimal’s stock of machinery is old, and getting older. New presses are unaffordable, unless the big companies were to invest, but vinyl is still too small a sector of the market for them to be convinced. The kind of painstaking maintenance and technical ingenuity one might think of as the Cadillacs-in-Cuba model keep the industry going. But for how long?

CMRRA’s New Licensing and Royalty Distribution System

Jan 7, 2015

When CMRRA staff began to analyze how it could serve its music publisher clients better in this new and vast world of online music, it found its IT partner across the ocean in Ireland. Spanish Point Technologies Ltd had already helped IMRO, the Irish Music Rights Organisation, find a solution to the growing volumes of data they were processing from online music services and other sources. After an extensive RFP process, CMRRA launched a project that will see the replacement of its 25 year old legacy system with a new modern system that is being built using the latest Microsoft technology.

“CMRRA’s commitment to transforming its systems to meet new challenges in the music industry is impressive. We are lucky to work with a dedicated team of professionals who are reinventing their business and providing value to their clients,” states Donal Cullen CEO of Spanish Point Technologies.

CMRRA’s new License and Royalty Distribution System (LDS) is based on combining a suite of Microsoft technologies including Microsoft SQL, BizTalk, SharePoint and Azure. Work has been ongoing for some time already and will continue throughout 2015. The project is being rolled out in stages in order to provide as little disruption as possible to our clients. “A good friend once compared many of our technology projects to “changing the tires on a moving car” said Caroline Rioux, President of CMRRA. “Here, we’re also changing the engine, the dashboard and the car shell, so it’s important we don’t lose anyone along the way. We need everyone to stay on board, all moving in the same direction. We’re committed to reaching our destination with the fewest bumps possible”.

The first module allows for the processing of mechanical licences and royalties from the major labels, and incorporates many new process improvements. New modules will be added to accommodate our various other lines of business, including distribution of Broadcast Mechanical royalties and the licensing of online music services offering downloads, on-demand streaming and webcasting. The rollout of CWR processing in LDS will begin in early 2015, and we will slowly begin reaching out to CWR submitters to transition them to a more secure file transfer protocol for all CWR files.

“Accurate automation is the key to increased efficiencies and faster royalty distributions”, said Lori Ellis, CMRRA’s Vice President, Operations. “LDS offers a completely new operational approach to licensing and royalty processing and is designed to increase and improve the accuracy of data matching as much as possible without human intervention”. In particular, our new system will have the ability to match all manner of incoming work and usage data – CWR registrations, recording and usage/sales details – to musical work data that we have compiled from a variety of sources. It will also give us the ability to add new lines of business in a cost conscious manner. In addition, the use of the Microsoft technologies will make it easier to maintain and upgrade LDS as the world of music and audiovisual distribution evolves.

The staged implementation approach means that CMRRA publishers will see royalty statements from two different systems in the short term but, in the longer term, they will benefit from combined statements and payments for all business lines in one easy to use format. Clients will have access to an array of song, licence and royalty information online, via a new version of CMRRA Direct; this enhanced data will allow music publishers to analyze their royalty sources in new ways that will help them streamline their own business processes. Clients will also have access to useful online features to help them conduct their business with CMRRA, such as song registration, dispute resolution and royalty tracking and claiming tools.