Media consolidation is a very big deal in this country. In what used to be a chorus of diverse voices, Canada has now only 3 television companies: Canwest Global, Bell Globe Media, and CBC. The newspapers are much the same, with the only additional player there being Torstar. It's a dangerous world we're making for ourselves where the difference of opinion isn't really all that different anymore.

The CRTC, the government body charged with protecting our culture in the media has been asleep at the wheel while companies like Alliance Atlantis and CHUM have been bought up by their competitors. This leads to less diversity of opinion in the news as well as reduced local and regional content. In other words, the changes are getting progressively greater that when you hear a story, you will only ever have access to the same side of the story... no matter what media source you turn to.

To that end, DemocraticMedia.ca was formed and is petitioning the CRTC to wake up and fix its mess. I encourage everyone to use the handy online form to send a citizen's deputation to the CRTC to be read at a hearing in Ottawa this September, or better yet, if you can, show up and depute yourself.

Here's a copy of my letter:

I am very disappointed with the actions of the CRTC to date. I've always been a proponent for you in conversation both academic and social. You are charged with safeguarding Canada's cultural identity and you are failing at this all-important task.

It does not require a great deal of comprehensive skill to understand that media consolidation is bad for Canada. Indeed, any child can recognise this rule in nature: monocultures are weak and more susceptible threats than diverse groups. This is true in agriculture, it is true in software, and it's most certainly true in the media.

The CRTC is failing Canadians in its charge to safeguard our access to news and culture. By allowing consolidation, you limit choice for your stakeholders (the Canadian people) and leave the hearts and minds of the country open to threats like an uninformed populace, a disenfranchised voting base and foreign ownership... the typical symptoms of a monopoly.

I am unable to appear before the CRTC in September, but I want to ensure that my voice is both heard and counted at those hearings.

CBC is running a contest called The Great Canadian Wish List and they're counting the votes using a Facebook application (which is an ass-backward idea if I've ever heard one). Regardless, it would seem that the Christian wingnuts (apparently, there are a lot) are pushing to get votes for "abolish abortion" or "ban gay marriage" etc. so I logged in and cast my support for a number of issues including some anti-wishes like "keep abortion rights" and "keep gay marriage".

If you're interested (and you have/want an account), log into Facebook and check out the CBC Wish section.

I gave my notice today to my landlord. I'll be checking out of Toronto by September 1st.

Why am I scared?

I ran across two interesting things this morning on CBC:

British Prime Minister has finally quit parliament and is now moving into his new job as, (get this) peace broker for the middle east. First he spends years antagonising a people by invading sovereign nations under false pretences, and now he wants to play peacemaker. That guy's got some nerve.

The CIA has declassified some of it's past dirty work during the Cold War. Among some of the most glaringly illegal actions committed by the department:

• Assassination plots against foreign leaders such as Cuban President Fidel Castro.
• The testing of mind-altering drugs like LSD on unwitting citizens.
• Wiretapping of U.S. journalists, and spying on civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protesters.
• Opening of mail between the United States, Soviet Union and China — and break-ins at the homes of ex-CIA employees and others.

I wish I could say that I was surprised by either of these, but I'm not.

Interesting things are happening down near the water on the East side of Toronto: someone is trying to build a Walmart. I rode my bike down there about a month ago and the whole area is being dug up in preparation for a sort of "power centre" (to borrow a phrase from Radiant City).

The new complex calls for roughly 2000 parking spots, yet claims to be an "urbanised" environment and Councillor Paula Fletcher isn't falling for it for a second.

Today City Hall denied Walmart permission to build its box down there and it did so in part due to support from people like her. It wasn't a big leap really, no one wants the damn thing there anyway so she's just acting as her constituents have asked. Frankly, I think that that area would be much better served by a mixed use residential/greenspace/commercial area, especially since it's right on what is possibly one of the prettiest bike lanes in the city.

Nice job Paula, keep up the good work. The fight isn't over yet (it rarely is with Walmart). The issue is expected to be brought before the Ontario Municipal Board sometime in the next month and sadly, that particular institution is not known for it's smart urban planning. If anyone has any ideas regarding how we might help the OMB make an intelligent decision, I'm all ears.

The Metro published a story today about the Toronto Public Space Committee's Guerrilla Gardeners and I'm quoted in it as a first-timer (until last Friday, I'd never been on a plant). Naturally, when I came into the office (and before I knew about the story), Jenn had already cut out the article and left it on my desk, and Anne came over to read the whole story to me aloud.

What a nice way to start a birthday.

For those who are interested, the Guerrilla Gardeners work throughout the Spring and Summer digging up nasty-looking patches of grass (and sometimes gravel!) and replanting them with pretty flowers. It's really quite fun and rewarding, so if you have some time, check out the web page and contact the organiser in your area.

Update: 11:45:11

The guy who did the story works for the Canaidan Press, and so the story is national. Here's a longer version in a Montreal paper.

Torontoist has a great story dealing with the recent debate at City Hall over whether or not city-run vehicles should be permitted to sport those yellow "Support our Troops" ribbons. Frankly, I'm a big proponent of the "no" position, but I couldn't have possibly said it better than Ken Hunt:

At best, the yellow ribbon decals (like all the other ribbon campaigns) are merely a form of advertising. Putting on a ribbon is a way of acting like you're doing something, without actually making the effort to do anything. The yellow ribbon is especially powerful and popular because, like the Nike swoosh, it lets us affiliate ourselves with heroic actions and individuals without ever breaking a sweat.

Torontoist vs. Torontoist: "Support Our Troops", 2007-06-23

Of course, the post is considerably more fleshed out than this particular snippet, but I liked it so much I wanted to post it here.

I had a lovely night tonight out with a good cross-section of my friends here in The Big Smoke. People I know from the real world, or meatspace activities like TEV or The TPSC were there, as well as a bunch of the people I've met online. And most importantly, they all got along (and even mingled!) very well. It's a nice social experiment I like to do every year and I'm all warm and fuzzy-like on the results of this evening. Thank you to everyone who could come out.

As the title says, this will be my last June 25th in this city -- unless for some reason I decide to do a birthday on a Toronto vacation in the future. I'm not sure how I feel about it all really. It's a hell of a thing to partition your social life on opposite sides of a country this size... There's not one way you can put it all together in the end. Somehow, regardless of what you do, you'll be away from people you care about... forever. I just hope lots of them come to visit (or move!) out West.

I'm here at Open Cities for an all-day "unconference" about the design of our cities. I'm too groggy to come up with a good description, so here's what's on the website:

Open Cities Toronto 2007 is a weekend-long web of conversation and celebration that asks: how do we collaboratively add more open to the urban landscape we share? What happens when people working on open source, public space, open content, mash up art, and open business work together? How do we make Toronto a magnet for people playing with the open meme?

You are invited to discuss, dance, debate, and download Toronto’s potential to become an epicentre and an example of a community that thrives on openness. We’ve all chosen to live here for a reason – let’s figure out how we can combine our talents to build a city-wide community of openness.

I'll be blogging throughout the day so you can check back to see what's happening "as it happens" so to speak... unless you're reading this through Facebook, since apparently, their software isn't smart enough to process changes to pre-existing posts.

Update: 12:15pm

It's been fun so far, Misha Glouberman has been a fabulous ring-leader. I've had some good conversations from so many different people. One guy wanted to build a mobile FM transmitter for Uganda, and I met a couple of women wanting to revitalise the street food vending in Toronto. My favourite so far though, has to be the woman who organises seemingly random dancing sessions around the city. Fun times are being had.

Update: 1:21pm

I just finished my first conversation and I have to say that I'm not that impressed. It's interesting conversation, but at this point, it feels more like a sort of mental masturbation than anything else. We share ideas, but nothing else comes of it. Maybe I'll feel differently later.

Update: 5:21pm

So it's finally over and I'm pleased to say that my attitude has changed. I've had some good conversation, but more importantly, I've learned a lot of handy stuff as well. On top of that, I've come up against two cool projects that some of these people want to do: an Kevin Bracken and Lori Kufner (New Mind Space) are advocating a true 24hour Toronto, and Mark Surman is attempting to creat an Open Source Chamber of Commerce. Both ideas sound fabulous, and it's solidified my faith in gettogethers like this one.

I'm heading over to the after-shindig-bbq at Ft. York. Hopefully, there will be more interesting things there.

I saw Paprika last night and was very impressed. For those who know something about anime, you know that it's rare to see it in a mainstream theatre like The Paramount, and it's even more rare to see it with subtitles. I had the pleasure of both last night and absolutely LOVED it.

Watch the trailer, and you'll start to understand, but if you really want the full experience, you have to see it on the big screen. Positively lovely.

If you want to see it for yourself, hurry! It's only got one night left at the Paramount.