HAPPY HOUR WITH MARK MCKAY

Video is a Powerful Motivator

2010-07-19T16:30:00.001-05:00

Picture courtesy of http://www.chrisbrogan.com

What do you want people to do when they come to your website? Chances are you're looking to convert potential customers into paying customers.

Chris Brogen, internet marketer and co-author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book "Trust Agents", recently wrote a post stating that while visiting a website he observed "video on the page is the most visually motivating thing the site offers."

He points out that video in of itself is a call-to-action, which is true: when you embed a video on a page you are essentially saying "click me."

Your video can be any number of things: a commercial for your product, testimonials from your clients, tips on how your product will make your customers lives easier. No matter what it is, a video can help you convert potential customers into paying ones.

Chris adds one final piece of advice in his post which I think is important: "If you’re not already doing video for your site, I strongly recommend it. It doesn’t have to be amazing. It might still draw our attention if it’s just plain useful."

Do you have a video on your website? Send me an email and lets talk about how we can make a video for you and your company. For more tips on how to improve your conversion rate check out these 10 tips by Added Bytes.

Posted via email from Hey Mark McKay

Make Your Press Release Pop With Video

2010-07-14T16:12:00.001-05:00

My latest project is a video about why your press release needs a video for CNW's same-day video service.

Now, more than ever, it's important to make video and YouTube part of your PR strategy. Why? YouTube is serving 1 billion videos per day and it is the second largest search engine in the world. If these two reasons don't give you cause for a video, here's 3 more from PR Web's webinar "Using Video and Multimedia in Online News Releases."

Video is the most effective content for a social media release, according to a a survey by Marketing Sherpa. The benefits are the timely indexing of media and "link juice" from YouTube.
Online video drives business. A survey by the Kelsey Group found that 55% of people who watched a video took action.
It is easier to explain complex concepts with a video. If a picture is worth a 1000 words then a video is worth a million.

Send me an email and lets talk about how we can make a video for you and your company. For more information on why you should have a video in your press release check out the Slideshare presentation from PR Web below!

Posted via email from Hey Mark McKay

Make A Video That Gets More Views

2010-06-14T16:48:00.001-05:00

A lot of time clients ask me to make them a video about their product. This type of video is great because you can instantly explain your product to anyone unfamiliar with it. These are perfect for people who want to find out about you and what you do, but what about all those potential customers who have never heard of you?

Reel SEO has a great article called "5 Ways Small Business Can Take Advantage of YouTube" written by Morgan Brown, the director of marketing for TurnHere. Morgan has some good tips on making videos for YouTube. Some of them are obvious like "pay attention to production value" and "give the viewers a follow-up action", but one of his points isn't quite so obvious and quite often overlooked - create content that meets a need.

By making a video that answers a question your customers may be searching for is a great way to hook them and get them interested in your product. Here's an example from my own life: I'm getting ready to redo the floor in my family room. My wife wants a laminate floor and neither one of us have any idea how to install it. So what did we do? We went on YouTube and searched "how to lay laminate flooring".

The video above is from Lowe's and is one of the first videos to come up in our search. It's a great piece of branded content that answers a common question asked by their clientele. I would never have searched for "Lowe's" on YouTube and to be honest before watching this video I wasn't really familiar with the company (they are American and have only recently opened stores in Canada). When I think about home building supplies I think Home Depot or Rona, but because of their video I now know them, went to their website, found out they just opened up a store near me and will probably go there when it comes time for us to do our floor --- all because they had a video that answered my question.

Think about how this could work for you and your company. What problems do you solve for your customers? Send me an email and let's talk about how we can work together to help you reach your audience through video.

Posted via web from Hey Mark McKay

DJ Cheapshot Judeshot 2 Mixtape

2010-02-25T10:30:00.001-05:00

via soundcloud.com

I love rap. Here's an awesome mix by my friend DJ Cheapshot. There are lots of jams here. Check him out on SoundCloud for more great mixes.

Posted via web from Hey Mark McKay

DJ Cheapshot Judeshot 2 Mixtape

2010-02-25T10:24:00.001-05:00

via soundcloud.com

I love rap. Here's an awesome mix by my friend DJ Cheapshot. There are lots of jams here. Check him out on SoundCloud for more great mixes.

Posted via web from Hey Mark McKay

Its Important To Know Your Audience

2009-10-29T13:42:00.001-05:00

It’s en vogue to talk about video SEO. It’s popular to talk about going viral. But small businesses can make use of online video tools to increase revenue and improve customer relationships without ever getting more than a few hundred views

via reelseo.com

Posted via web from Hey Mark McKay

The MTV Conspiracy

2008-01-16T14:09:00.001-05:00

The MTV Conspiracy
Video sent by mkmckay13

I am the victim of a conspiracy!!!

After I exposed the Christian Christmas conspiracy MTV decided to make a show all about conspiracy theories and asked me to make a segment about some of the lesser know conspiracies out there, but when the show went live tonight they cut out one of my theories. I think I might be on to something.

Try to guess which one they cut out.

If you like my show please send an email to MTV and let them know how much you love me/hate me!

My next one is all about nudity, so if you have any ideas send them along!

The Coolest Thing on the Net - I Promise!

2007-04-26T09:18:00.000-05:00

The other day I received yet another comment from someone telling me how I look and sound like Rick Moranis. I get this a lot. Sometimes people say it like it is some sort of diss, while other times, its a term of endearment. I like to think that it's a good thing. Rick Moranis is one of Canada's great comedians. Maybe one day CTV or the CBC will decide to make a made for TV movie about SCTV and I will get to play Rick Moranis. That would kick ass.

The coolest thing on the net came from the Reluctant Redneck, the umpteenth person to tell me I look/sound like Rick Moranis. I wasn't sure if it was meant as a diss or not, turns out it wasn't and the Redneck turned out to have the coolest thing on the net.

The coolest thing on the net is MIT's OpenCourseWare, a free and open educational resource (OER) for educators, students, and self-learners around the world. The Reluctant Redneck made a video all about it, I will let him tell you more.

Blog Don't Like Ugly | 4

2007-04-25T08:49:00.000-05:00

So I've got my Wordpress blog up and running locally and also at http://www.markmckay.ca. It's just the basic installation for now. I plan on using it for a portfolio site and over the coming weeks I will create a custom template for it.

I was hoping that I would be able to use Wordpress to import content from my Pipe's RSS feed as posts. But it doesn't look like it. The Wordpress's import function will only allow you to upload a local XML file - to for example: transfer all your posts from your Blogger to your Wordpress blog - which is not what I want to do.

After some thought, I figured out that I could probably use XSLT to transform the RSS feed into XHTML. And sure enough after a search of the internet, I found out that it is totally possible. Finally a solution!

XSLT is the perfect way - perhaps the only (some what easy) way to make the information generated by Yahoo! Pipes useful - I hope. My XSLT is a little bit rusty so it is going to take me some time to re-familiarize myself with the language and actually transform my Pipe into posts.

Here is a little bit of information about XSLT and XSL from the W3C School:

XSLT is a language for transforming XML documents into XHTML documents or to other XML documents.
XSL describes how the XML document should be displayed.
XSL consists of three parts:

XSLT - a language for transforming XML documents
XPath - a language for navigating in XML documents
XSL-FO - a language for formatting XML documents

XPath is a language for navigating in XML documents.
A common way to describe the transformation process is to say that XSLT transforms an XML source-tree into an XML result-tree.
In the transformation process, XSLT uses XPath to define parts of the source document that should match one or more predefined templates. When a match is found, XSLT will transform the matching part of the source document into the result document.

This is how the process works:

Start with a Raw XML document that you want to transform into XHTML.
Then create an XSL Style Sheet with a transformation template.
Link the XSL style sheet to the XML document (add the XSL style sheet reference to your XML document).
If you have an XSLT compliant browser it will nicely transform your XML into XHTML.

Hooked on E!

2007-04-25T08:09:00.000-05:00

In press release yesterday Canwest Mediaworks announced it' intentions to rebrand it's CH channels as E! Canada in September. E! is a popular entertainment speciality channel available in the United States and creator of the infamous of the "E! True Hollywood Story." In her statement Kathleen Dore, president of Canadian Television at CanWest MediaWorks, referred to the launch of E! in Canada as CanWest's "second conventional television network," and revealed that the Canadian E! menu will feature a mix of prime-time network programming, as well as add the extensive library of E! content during daytime, late prime time and weekends.

What does this mean for CHUM/BCE when Star, a CHUM specialty channel, licenses the majority of its programming from E!, including E! True Hollywood Stories- which it plays not only on Star but Much Music as well. Star is essentially the Canadian affiliate of E! with a different brand name.

Also the CH channels are a lot like the A-Channel channels: small TV stations that exist in places like Hamilton and Red Deer. By becoming a “specialty channel” these markets loose their local channels/programming. Is this another example of the thinning out of the Canadian television industry? Pretty soon there will only be television stations in the major markets, if this isn’t the case already.

Pipe Dreams

2007-04-23T18:31:00.000-05:00

I've been playing around with Yahoo! Pipes for a couple of days now. I've made my first pipe which combines my blog here, my Flickr account, and my Youtube account. I also have a filter set up to exclude vacation photos I took for a review I wrote for Trip Advisor. The pipe looks great when I import the RSS feed into Facebook. I am using it for my notes, so when ever I update something on one of these sites it is automatically added to Facebook. Google Reader, however, doesn't filter out the pictures. Also my Youtube videos don't show up in a videoplayer, so you can't watch the video through the feed.

My goal is to have one central website where all of my sites (Blogger, Youtube, Flickr, etc.) are mashed together. I have been trying to get it to work here on Blogger, but with little success. I don't think it is possible to import content as posts from a RSS feed on Blogger. Wordpress on the other hand will, according to the Wordpress website.

If you are interested in learning more about Yahoo! Pipes, here is the link to a couple of great video tutorials that will get you up and running in no time. Or check out Lifehacker for a tutorial on how to create your own masterfeed like I did.

Blog Don't Like Ugly | 3

2007-04-22T17:11:00.000-05:00

So I have more-or-less figured out how the guts of Blogger works, and while it works pretty good for all intents and purposes, there are a few things that I am not too happy with. Actually, there is one thing that I am not too happy with: I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but custom domains only work with the the exact domain name. For example with this webpage, the custom domain name is "www.videodrome.tv," if you were to type "videodrome.tv" or "http://videodrome.tv" into the address bar, you will get a "Server Not Found Error 404" message. They URL has to be "http://www.videodrome.tv" This might not be a major deal for most people, but I would like to make sure that visitors to my page don't encounter any errors when trying to find it, especially not one as silly as this - not that I think may people visit this page or anything.

So anyways, I am planning on trading up to Wordpress in the coming weeks. As I do I will use my blog here on Blogger to keep track of everything, for myself and anyone else who might find it useful.

To start here are a few great Wordpress resources:

The Mark McKay Show #5

2007-04-04T19:49:00.000-05:00

So the city of Toronto has decided to buy this night club downtown and convert it into a homeless shelter. What a great idea. It's going to cost like $5 million for this prime real estate and will only offer 40 beds. Wow talk about a great investment and really making a difference. I don't know about you but I love the idea of putting a homeless shelter in the middle of the club district.

Actually I think it's a terrible idea and I hate it. The only thing I hate more then this idea is homeless people. I know a lot of people are going to be mad at me for saying that, but I really do hate the homeless. If you have ever been to the corner of Queen and Bathurst in Toronto you'll know what I'm talking about.

This is probably the most controversial show yet. I hope people don't get too offended.

One Hit Wonder

2007-04-01T19:25:00.000-05:00

A long time ago I use to be the DJ for the Canadian band LEN. We had that really big song IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE. I made this video a couple of years ago when I applied to be a Much Music VJ. I never got the job (go figure). Watch the video to find out what happened to the rest of the band.

The Mark McKay Show #4

2007-03-25T06:40:00.000-05:00

Not many comments on last weeks show. I guess controversy is what it takes to get people talking. The federal and provincial budgets were released this week and you guessed it thats the topic of this weeks show. What do the budgets mean for me and you? Not much really. Enjoy.

The Mark McKay Show #3

2007-03-18T08:27:00.000-05:00

I'm getting lots of feedback over on blogTO, some good, lots bad! I'm getting used to being called Rick Moranis and starting to get to know my haters on a first name basis! This show is a little more tame, not so political. The cops busted a huge ecstasy operation in Scarborough and seized $40 million worth of drugs. Just think if they recovered that much dope from the lab how much of it's on the street! In this show I undercover who's behind the drug operation and the effect the drugs have had on the city. Feel free to leave me a comment here or join in on the conversation over at blogTO. Enjoy.

The Mark McKay Show #2

2007-03-11T16:22:00.000-05:00

In this weeks show I take on last weeks snow storm, Stephen Harper's new subway and Canadians for Kyoto! I got lots of comments on my last show over on blogTO, lots of good conversation and points made. Feel free to leave me a comment here on Videodrome, or to jump over to blogTO to get in on the conversation over there.

The Mark McKay Show #1

2007-03-03T17:57:00.000-05:00

blogTO has asked me to make them a weekly show about Toronto. I have decided to call it "The Mark McKay Show." This is the first episode, it is all about the 2007 Toronto City Summit Alliance pow-wow that went down early this week where Mayor David Miller asked the Feds for a cut of the GST. If you remember Harper promised to cut the GST by 2 cents when he campaigned. We got one cent back and now Miller is after the other!

Hip-Hop is Dead

2007-03-01T14:12:00.000-05:00

This just showed up on my personalized Google homepage: Sales of Rap Albums Take Stunning Nosedive. Wait it gets even better, this is the first sentance of the article:

"Maybe it was the umpteenth coke-dealing anthem or soft-porn music video."

Wow, what a statement.

toe-the-line

2007-03-01T08:56:00.000-05:00

I love Canadian politics, in my opinion the behavior of the elect stops short of an episode of Jerry Springer. In the latest exploits of the dysfunctional governing body, Stephane Dion says he will reprimand Liberal MP Tom Wappel for siding with the Tories over the renewal of controversial anti-terrorism measures. Wappel says he's willing to take whatever Dion dishes out given that this was Liberal legislation he had previously supported. In fact a number of Liberal MP's expressed support for the motion, only they didn't have the gonads to show up and stand up for what they believe in.

Dion reversed the parties stance on the issue less then a month ago. A column in this weeks National Post alleges that that the reversal stems from a deal that Gerard Kennedy made with the Indo-Canadian and Muslim communities to overturn the legislation when he sought the leadership of the party. With the majority of Kennedy's supporters throwing their support behind Dion after Kennedy dropped out, I wouldn't besurprised if these allegations are true.

On the one hand I can understand why Dion would want to make an example of Wappel. As the first real test of Dion's leadership decision among the ranks doesn't look good. But on the other hand, the right hand, or at least my right or what I think is right, I think that this goes to show that Dion is more concerned about the appearance of the party, then the people it represents, or the legislation it backs. Dions turned his back on legislation that his party previously introduced while at the same time sending a message to the members of his party that if they refuse to toe-the-line and instead stand up for what they and theirconstituents believe in, they will punished.

What a great leader.

Taking Stock of the Stock Market

2007-02-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

Since I work at Report on Business Television, I started paying attention to some of the stuff that goes on there. In addition to producing two pilot shows/segments (Freedom 35 & Mind Your Business), I have also started a portfolio over at Google Finance which I have been keeping up as of late. My girlfriends father, who is big into the stock market suggested that I start a $20,000 portfolio and see how I do - good advice since when I started my first portfolio I had no limit, which made it kind of less real and harder to follow.

Yesterday the markets took a major hit after China's stock market fell 9%. There is a really good article about it over at Business Week. In it the author talks about the Chinese market being like a dot-com bubble ready to burst. In my make-believe portfolio I have iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index, an ETF that follows the largest companies traded in China, which fell relative to the Chinese market. My own father once told me long ago to follow the 10% rule when investing: if a stock goes up or down 10% then sell it. While the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index came pretty to losing 10%, it didn't quite reach it and so I decided to hang on to it and actually double up. The stock has gone up 3.75% so far this morning. My plan was to sell it when it goes to 5% so that I make my money back, but I am not sure that the China bubble is ready to burst yet.

Yesterdays hit did a lot damage to my portfolio, but it also provided an opportunity for a lot of great deals. I picked up a bunch of stocks that I had been eyeing but waiting to drop to a more reasonable price and most of my stocks are creeping up from the yesterdays low. It has been almost a year since I started working at ROBTv and in that time I have seen the market correct itself like this a couple of times and when it does, it's a great time to buy.

Oh, Jesus!

2007-02-27T08:44:00.000-05:00

So James Cameron has produced a documentary called the "Lost Tomb of Jesus" which is causing more controversy then Mel Gibson at a bar mitzvah. Apparently 10 ancient caskets used to store bones were discovered in the suburbs of Jerusalem in the 1980s some of which had inscriptions that translate as Jesus, Mary Magdalene and "Judah, son of Jesus."

The Christian and Roman Catholic churches have dismissed the claims as doubtful. Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Church in New York, even went so far as to call the documentary "fanciful and absurd theorizing." I'm sure that this statement has something to do with the fact that the Christian faith has always believed that Christ was resurrected so there would be no bones - which to me sounds fanciful and absurd, but then again that could just be the atheist in me talking.

If these are Jesus bones, then this finding could totally contradict the religion - which might just happen, since the DNA from the boxes are being tested at the Lakehead University's Paleo-DNA laboratory in Thunder Bay. So far they have been able to determine the relationship between the bodies through testing.

The question that remains is how will they link the DNA of this Jesus to the Jesus of the Bible? I've seen a few episodes of CSI and so my suggestion is to test the Shroud of Turin for DNA and compare the results. If that doesn't work they can always ask the Masons!

S3E3: Global Warning

2007-02-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

So the IPCC releasaed its report on global warming the other day, which sparked a huge wave of global warming stories in the news. What a lot of people don't know is that the IPCC has a history of over exagerating the effects of global warming. In this show I expose the report for what it really is - fear mongering.

My girlfriend's father has been clipping out tons of articles out of the paper for me about the subject. He thinks that global warming is a joke and apparently so does the National Post. Here are the links to some of the things that he has sent me. There was so much I couldn't cram it all into one show, so I will do another show on climate change sometime in the future, so long as the planet doesn't melt!

Politics first, science second
The sun moves climate change
Kyoto sinks Europe
A carbon trader who lost her faith
Climate action would be suicidal
Coming in from the cold

S3E2: In Divine Style

2007-02-18T20:52:00.000-05:00

Here it is Happy Hour, season 3, episode 2!!!

My good friend Ryan Somers pka Fritz the Cat just published a book about his magazine "In Search of Divine Style..." If you haven't heard of the magazine, it's a Canadian underground hip-hop classic circa 1996. The book features all the best interviews and articles from the magazine, including interviews with some of my favorites: Divine Styler, Supreme Being Unit, Ras Kass and the Sebutones. There are even a few contributions by your's truly!

Ryan came by this weekend and we made a show about the book, in it he tells the history of the magazine and talks a bit about the book. Check it out and then got to Mud Scout and buy yourself a copy. This is truly a piece of Canadian hip-hop history and a great read.

In Search Of...

2007-02-17T21:55:00.000-05:00

TOP: Mindbender, Bilal Bashier, Divine Styler, Gerald, Takbir, Me, Fritz.
BOTTOM: Tachichi, Sixtoo, Ryu, Marc Costanzo, Bolts, Buck 65.

I just finished filming the latest episode of Happy Hour with my good friend Ryan Somers aka Fritz the Cat. He has just published a book about his magazine, "In Search of Divine Styler..." Divine Styler use to be part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate rap crew. He released this really crazy album called "Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light." If you haven't heard it, it's the most tripped out thing you will ever hear. It literally sounds like an LSD trip.

Anyways, Ryan named his magazine after Divine in the hope that he would find him. One way or another the magazine found its way to Divine who wanted to come to Canada and meet all of us. He came with Bilal Bashir and Styles of Beyond and we all hit off right off the bat and have been good friends ever since. Divine and I were actually in a group together and I went tour with Styles of Beyond.

You can pick up a copy of Ryan's book here.

Check out Ryan on Myspace here and Divine Styler here.

I should have the show we just made done sometime tomorrow.

Blog Don't Like Ugly | 2

2007-02-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

So after marenating on the Blogger code for the last week or so, I have been able to pull it apart and put it back together in a way that works for me temporarly. It isn't perfect and by no means where I want it to be, but I have at least set it up so that each individual element is customizable with the "Fonts and Colors" pannel and I have changed the widths of my columns to the size I want.

I've chosen the Minima template to customize because it is the most plain and therefore the easiest to hack. The Outer Wrapper section of the CSS is broken down into the following divs: #outer-wrapper, #main-wrapper and #sidebar-wrapper. To make them customizable through the "Fonts and Colors" control pannel I copied background CSS declartion from the "body" CSS and paste it into the CSS for the divs, then renamed them:

body {
background:$bgcolor;
}

#outer-wrapper {
background:$outcolor;
}

#main-wrapper {
background:$maincolor;
}

#sidebar-wrapper {
background:$sidecolor;
}

At the top of the Style Sheet you have your "Variable Definitions." Once again I copied the background and renamed it so that it matched the names I created for the divs:

[Variable name="bgcolor" description="Page Background Color" type="color" default="#fff" value="#15222b"]

[Variable name="sidecolor" description="Sidebar Wrapper Background Color" type="color" default="#fff" value="#e6e6e6"]

[Variable name="maincolor" description="Main Wrapper Background Color"
type="color" default="#fff" value="#e6e6e6"]

[Variable name="outcolor" description="Outer Wrapper Background Color"
type="color" default="#fff" value="#ffffff"]

* The square brackets are actually angle brackets, but when they won't show up in the post so.

After I had made each section customizable I went in and changed the widths of the body, outer wrapper, main and sidebar to the sizes that I wanted - this part is pretty self explanitory.

I hope this helps anyone trying to figure out how to customize their blog. I have been trying to figure it out myself for quite a while now (on and off) and now have a pretty solid understanding of how this thing works. As I apply more of what I have learned I will post it here for you. If you have any questions I will try my best to answer them.

Have You Seen This Guy?

2007-02-15T13:09:00.000-05:00

My friend Paul just put me on to this. It's really quite amazing, a friend of his created Lepos and the alien has made his way all over the world, into Time Magazine and even in Tony Hawk's Project 8.

Check out Lepos homepage here and a video of a documented sighting here.

Mind Your Business

2007-02-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

So Freedom 35 didn't get picked up, but it did open up a door. Kim Parlee, the host of Talking Tax and co-host of Stars & Dogs and After Hours on ROBTv saw the show and approached me about making a segment for Stars & Dogs. So here it is, Mind Your Business episode 0.1.

Hopefully it'll make the cut and I'll be on TV before you know it. Leave a comment, let me know what you think.

Get Free or Die Trying

2007-02-12T07:23:00.000-05:00

I have been working at Report on Business Television for almost a year and the opportunity to get on TV recently came up and I made a short finance/business show for young people and pitched it to them.

The show was recieved well by my boss, the executive producer, but the producer of the special that was going to air my program didn't think that it really fit and that was that.

Since I am never one to take no for answer I decided to make another episode to try and pursuade the executive producer that I'm not a one trick pony (one of the complaints the producer had with my first show). That was on Friday, it's Monday now and I still havent heard from the executive producer and I imagine that they aren't going to put me on TV. I can understand why, the show isn't really geared to the channels demographic, but then again I do remember saying that they wanted younger viewers...

RIM Job

2007-02-07T08:33:00.000-05:00

The patent for the new Blackberry made it's way to me yesterday, and I thought that I would post it I case you haven't seen it. In the picture below you can see that it's key pad swivals out for typing. I guess the idea is pretty good, but I like the idea of the iPhone's touch screen better. What do you think?

Check out my internet show at: http://www.youtube.com/markmckay, while you're here. You might like it.

The Astronaut's Wife

2007-02-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the movie The Astronaut's Wife with Johnny Deep? I half watched it a couple of weeks ago. I think the basic plot was, Johnny Deep goes up to space, they loose contact with him for a few seconds and aliens take over his body and only his wife can tell. Anyways, I think that it really happened.

Read the article at Reuters.
There is also a video.

Blog Don't Like Ugly | 1

2007-02-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

As you have probably noticed the look of the site has changed lots over the last couple of weeks and it hasn't been pretty. The current state of the site is pretty repulsive - don't worry I know.

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to get figure out how the Blogger template works so that I can customize the site and make it my own. The results have been drastic (to say the least), but after another sleepless night last night, I think I finally understand it all, and should be able to make this a pretty place pretty soon.

Blogger isn't really forthcoming on how the template works and I didn't really find the "group" to be much help either, and because Blogger is called "blogger" and bloggers are called "blogger", doing a Google search doesn't really help either.

Luckily through lots and lots and lots of searching I managed to fine a few really great pages that break down the anatomy of the template and how to hack it.

Here are the links:

Blogger Structure
Understanding the Template
Adding a Picture to the Header
Creating a 3 Column Template

Freedom 35 0.2

2007-02-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

This is the second episode of Freedom 35, a business/finance for dummies type of show, where I teach little tricks to help make you're money work for you.

In this one I talk about RRSPs and how you can use them to save money.

My first show went over really well, but I have yet to make it on TV, so I thought that I would make another one to try and seal the deal.

Welfare

2007-01-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

Freedom 35 0.1

2007-01-21T09:51:00.000-05:00

This is the pilot for a show on finances that I am pitching to my boss at Report on Business Television. It's kind of a business/finance for dummies type of show, where I teach little tricks to help make you're money work for you, so that we can all reach Freedom 35 and sit on the beach in Belize and sip pina coladas, yah heard!

What Does America Think of Canada?

2007-01-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

This is a hilarious rebuttal my friend Martin made in response to America's opinion of Canada's military prowess. It's right on the money. Check it out and then check him out on Myspace:

www.myspace.com/complexwescomplice!

Not only does he make smart videos, but smart music as well.

S3E1: Mark McKay's Apocolypto!!! A New Beginning

2007-01-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

Here it is!!! Mark McKay's Apocolypto, season 3, episode 1: A New Beginning!!! Filmed on location at Chichen Itza, in Mexico, this show explores the Mayan Doomsday Prophecy and what might happen on 12/21/2012.

I think this one is the best one yet. More coming soon!!! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!!

Mark

Happy Hour with Mark McKay 3.1

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How 'Bout 'Dem Apples?

2007-01-10T08:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the announcement of the iPhone overshadowed the release of another innovative product from Apple that will reshape the way we watch TV. Just like the iPhone will redefine the cell phone, AppleTV is set to change the way that we think about computers, the interenet and television.

AppleTV is a small box that streams content from your computer to up to 5 different TVs in your home. While having the internet on your television is nothing new, the way in which it is delivered is being changed dramatically. Nintendo and Opera have teamed up to offer the internet to owners of the “Wii” and Microsoft’s Xbox Live has proven to be to very successful.

On Sunday Bill Gates announced that Microsoft was working on a group of products and partnerships that he hopes will turn couch potatoes into digital consumers. Microsoft has already made deals with NASCAR, Fox Sports, Nickelodeon and Showtime in the United States to deliver the channels through the Windows Media Center free of charge to owners of Vista.

This is obviously a move by Microsoft to try and better position Vista against Apple’s upcoming “Leopard” OS and this announcement was surely timed to beat Apple to the punch. However, with the enormous popularity of iTunes, will Microsoft be able to compete, even if they give the service away for free? If the Zune is any measure, then I highly doubt it. If Microsoft fails yet again, Apple will no longer have to taking jabs at the “PC guy” to get people to switch.

IMHO | ICE-T's Rap School

2007-01-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

I love reality shows and it seems like everyone has one these days. I had the greatest idea for one a few years ago. I wanted to make one about me making my internet show in my parents basement while they got a divorce. I tried to sell the idea while I was at the Banff World Television Festival, but I couldn't find any takers. If they had, they would have gotten their money's worth as the divorce turned out ugly as hell and would have made for some really great TV (hey everyone else airs their dirty laundry on TV, why not me and my family).

ICE-T's Rap School, another great VH1 reality show is my new favorite. The original gangster teaches hip-hop to a bunch of New York City prep school kids and it is hilarious. While it's not as gruesome as the Flavor of Love 2, my girlfriends favorite reality show, it is just as entertaining and shows another side of Ice. There's a chubby girl on the show and seeing Ice try and make her feel comfortable in her chubby skin is really touching.

Ice has always been one of my favorite rappers. My girlfriend may not believe that I have been listening to ICE-T since he released Power in 1988, but since then the man has transformed himself numerous times and always been able to keep himself current and even ahead of the times. Rap School is a testament to the man and his career. I mean really, the man who wrote "Cop Killer," "Girls L.G.B.N.A.F." and "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" is now teaching rap school, what's next? I predict the moon, baby, first rapper in space, mark my words. If any one can do it Ice can.

Madonna Adopts 1 African, Oprah Adopts 152

2007-01-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

"I applaud Madonna. I think it's an amazing thing that she did, and it makes me sick that people criticize her, because there are millions of children in this world who will die because no one came to save them." ~ Oprah

Does anyone else find it strange that Oprah's new school cost $40 million dollars and only has room for 152 girls?

I read in the Edmonton Sun that:

Many state-funded schools, especially in the sprawling townships that sprang up under white racist rule, are hopelessly overcrowded and lack even basic necessities such as books. They are also plagued by gang violence, drugs and a high rate of pregnancy.

I understand that this school is suppose to develop political leaders, but with all these problems facing the African education system, wouldn't make more sense to use that $40 million to build a school to help more then just a handful of kids?

She's received a fair bit of flack about her decision and justifiably so, even though it is her money and she can spend it anyway she wants, its a lot of money to help so few people, especially when so many are in need.

IMHO | Gran Bahia Principe Coba

2007-01-04T21:20:00.000-05:00

My girlfriend and I just got back from spending a week at Coba (12/24/06 - 12/31/06). We booked the day before we left and got a fairly good deal. We used Trip Advisor a lot in deciding where to go and cross referenced every hotel in our price range and wanted to contribute to the knowledge base. I have taken a few pictures of the resort to give you a better idea of the place and broken down my report into three sections "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" to make it an easier read.

The Good
- The resort is big and beautiful. Gran Bahia Principe is made up of three resorts (Tulum, Akumal and Coba). We had access to the buffets and beaches of all three resorts. Tulum and Akumal are (sort of) on the beach, while Coba is off to the back. Tulum and Akumal are more expensive because of there location, but neither of them appeared to be right on the beach, so in my opinion not worth the extra expense.

From Trip Advisor

- From what I gathered the place is geared towards families. My girlfriend and I met a guy at the airport who stayed at Akumal who was disappointed at the lack of a party atmosphere at the resort. We didn't mine as we are past that stage in our lives.

From Trip Advisor

- We had a junior suite for our stay, which was a big and well maintained by the housekeeper. We tipped her a couple of bucks each day and came home to a new towel animal everyday.

From Trip Advisor

- As part of the "Golden Club" we we're given access to internet/computer workstations. I can't live with out the internet. I have to look up everything and while I had made extensive notes on the region before we left, I was happy to be able to get on the computer and double check our day trips and the weather.

From Trip Advisor

The Bad
- We we're told to book our a la cartes early on in the week, since they filled up fast. But since we spent so much time off of the resort we ended up missing all but one of the meals.

From Trip Advisor

- While the beach was nice, we found that there were lots of rocks in the water and we were thankful to have brought water shoes with us (we got them real cheap from Wal-Mart).

From Trip Advisor

- I'm not sure if it's the norm with an all inclusive, but all the beer was draft, which I personally don't like. The only cans were in the minibar.

From Trip Advisor

- Speaking of the minibar, when we finally checked into our room it had not been restocked.

From Trip Advisor

The Ugly
- Our flight from Toronto left at 6:35AM. When we arrived in Mexico we had to wait around for an hour while our bus waited for other planes to arrive. Since we had to be at the airport three hours before departure we we're up pretty much all night the night before, so we we're none to impressed that we had to wait around and were not taken directly to the hotel to check in so we could get some rest.

From Trip Advisor

- Not that it would have matter, when we finally arrived at the resort around 1:00PM, we we're told that we could not check into our rooms until 3:00PM! We couldn't believe this. Luckily we brought our bags with us (someone else on Trip Advisor had recommended taking them and not letting the valets deliver them) so we could change out of our warm clothes into our swimsuits. When we finally did check into our room at 3 we we're so exhausted that we slept the rest of the day and totally lost the first day of our vacation!

From Trip Advisor

- We traveled with Air Transat, who we would have complained about this situation too, but the reps we're conspicuously absent when we checked in. I don't remember seeing them at all on the first day. I am sure that they knew no one would be pleased with the situation and avoided us.

From Trip Advisor

- To make matters worse, the morning of our second day was eaten up by a meeting with the Air Transat reps, where they gave our group the "ins and outs" of the resort. Why they didn't do this on the first day when we couldn't check into our room is beyond me. This was only the beginning of problems with Air Transat.

From Trip Advisor

- Despite my intuition we followed the advice of the Air Transat reps on more then one occasion when going on tours of the area. Our first trip was to Xel-Ha which we we're told was a beautiful place for scuba diving, but turned out to be more like Disneyland's scuba adventure. Our second excursion was to Chichen Itza. The rep told us that if we didn't book through her tour company we would seriously miss out, and after looking into several options we thought we decided to pay the extra money for the convenience. While the experience was amazing, I found the trip to be very rushed, we didn't have much time to see or do much of anything. The tour guide obviously was in coohoots with some of the people we met along the way as he pointed us the direction of several vendors, belittled others, and tried to sell us bottles of tequila with our pictures on them from a cenote we had visited. The topper for me was when the tour guide asked us for a tip after we shelled out $85 for a tour that if we had done it ourselves would have cost less then half of what we paid.

From Trip Advisor

- Speaking of tipping, every time we got on a bus, we asked to tip. Whether it was going to or from the airport or part of a tour, our hosts we're always looking for a handout. These we're all services that we paid a PREMIUM for and I found it to be in poor taste to expect a tip.

From Trip Advisor

- Like others have said, the food is a few stars short of 5. I am not a particularly picky eater, but by the end of the trip I had become so dissatisfied with the food that I pretty much only ate fruit and nachos. I found everything else to be very bland or down-right uneatable. We only ate at Coba and Tulum and would usually take the trolley from one buffet to the other trying to find something to eat. We found that both buffets had the same food and we're generally of the same poor quality.

From Trip Advisor

- While the rooms we're beautiful we found them to be very dank and moist and when we got home our clothing were funky smelling (someone else had complained about this on Trip Advisor and we laughed it off).

From Trip Advisor

- We were told to do an early check out the night before, which we did, so when we went to leave the next day at 6AM my girlfriend left the keys at the front the desk (the Golden Club where we had checked out of the night before was closed). When the bus to take us to the airport finally arrived 45 minutes late, we we're told we could not board the bus with out a key voucher from the front desk. When my girlfriend went back to the front desk our keys were just sitting there, the attendant hadn't bothered to put the keys away or tell her that she needed a voucher! Why we even bothered checking out the day before was beyond me as we had to check out again a second time that morning.

From Trip Advisor

- My last complaint is with Air Transat, who we will not book another vacation with. The reps at the resort obviously have some sort of a deal worked out with the tour companies. Check in at both airports was a nightmare. And on the flight home, when no more veggie sandwiches were left the stewardess told my girlfriend to pull the roast beef out.

I know it looks like a lot of ugliness, but overall the experience and resort were great. I just wanted to make you aware of all of these things so that you are prepared. I'm sure that every resort has it's own shortcomings and that everyone will see things differently. I would recommend Bahia Principe Coba, despite my grievances. We will probably not return as "all inclusive" doesn't really fit our life style. But if you are looking for a great place to take the family and aren't to concerned about the food, Bahia is the place for you.

S2E9: 2K6 XMAS Special

2007-01-02T12:11:00.000-05:00

I know it's a little late, but my 2006 Christmas special is now up on Youtube and Myspace. I had hoped to get it finished before I left for Mexico, but didn't have time. I should have a Quicktime version up on Videodrome later today if you want to download it.

Send me an email and let me know what you think, or leave a comment here.

I filmed the first episode of season 3 while in Mexico, I think it's going to be pretty good. I am going to get started on it later today, just formating a hard drive cause I am all out of space. I've also got lots to talk about after my trip so I will should be adding lots of posts to the blog in the next couple of days.

I hope everyone had a good new years, I got a good feeling about this year.

Take care everybody,

Mark

Drinking and Driving Saves Lives

2006-12-19T08:02:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the news just blows me away, I think that's why I like it so much. Every morning I grab the two free local papers and consume them on the street car while on my way to work. I like to read between the lines and see how these stories connect together; to try and get an understanding of how all these factors are working together to create the world we live in each day. What I discovered today is that drinking and driving saves lives - yup, you heard me right.

The very first article on the front page of the Metro is titled "Naming impaired drivers." It's all about how the Durhamn Region Police have resorted to publicizing the names of drunk drivers on their website and to the media in hopes that public embaressment is enough of a deterent to keep people from driving under the influence.

Apparently it's not working so far, which might be a good thing, because on page three of the Metro at the bottom of the page is an article called "Alcohol has lifesaving benefits." This article states that "alcohol may actually provide some lifesaving benefits to drinkers who get themselves into car crashes." It goes on to say that drunks are "less likely to die after arriving in hospital with serious head injuries than those who have not been drinking."

Of course we all know that alcohol is the leading cause of preventable car accidents. But don't you think that it is kind of ironic that the cause of most crashes could also be the thing that saves your life?

+ I wanted to link the articles to this post, but they are unavailable on Metro's website.

Small Change Adds Up for Cheap Prostitutes

2006-12-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

So I was reading in the paper this morning that Ontario MPP's are trying to pass a 25% pay hike for themselves. The reasoning behind this is that their pay isn't competitive with other civil servants and municipal politicians. University of Toronto politics professor Nelson Wiseman says that even with the raise Ontario MPP's will still be dramatically underpaid and that the money they are asking for is small change given Ontario's annual $90 billion budget.

Math was never my strong subject, but something here doesn't add up. From what I have observed most politicians don't do anything but get fat off of taxpayers money. I did a search this morning to try and figure out what the MPP's actually do for us and the only thing that came up in Google was this pay hike. I checked out Wikipedia next and didn't come up with anything when searching either MPP or Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The only thing I ever remember them doing is banning pit bulls - way to go guys, killing a bunch of innocent animals, way to make Ontario a better place.

In my opinion there are too many politicians and not enough work getting done. If these people want more money then they should go work in the private sector. But I got tell you; I think they will be sadly disappointed. At my job I work just as hard as anyone else and my role is similar to many other people - but my pay and benefits aren't - this is the nature of the beast. What makes these people think it should be any different for them?

Now I always thought that public servants we're suppose to provide a service to the public. I always thought that people got into this kind of work to make a difference, to make the world, country and city a better place - not for the pay check. In this case, it seems like the opposite is true, this piece of legislation shows total disregard for the people of Ontario by putting the needs of the MPP's first and the public second. It seems like we're servicing the provincial government like a cheap prostitute and that our pimps the MPPs are getting rich off our backs.

Blog on Blog

2006-12-14T09:13:00.000-05:00

An article on the BBC's website this morning says that blogging will peak around the middle of next year and level out at about 100 million blogs. Analysts from Gartner, who provide the evidence for this article, say that most people who would start a blog already have and that 200 million people have already stopped blogging.

I was one of those people who started and stopped and I've now restarted. There are a number of reasons why I started again: to promote my show, to develop a community, to find like minded people and facilitate ideas. But what really got me off my ass and into the blog was an encounter I had with a group of bloggers at a meet and greet for the 2007 Mesh Web 2.0 conference.

Over beers I learned that a number of these people we're working for big companies and getting big paychecks; not from their blogs, but because of their blogs. By being knowledgeable, good writers and maintaining consistent blogs for a period of time these people had become "experts" in their field. They are a true testament to the adage: "build it and they will come."

Blogging is big; Technorati reports that 100,000 blogs we're started last month and 1.3 million posts were written. If it's true that blogging is going to reach its peak next year, now is the time to blow the dust off that blogger account or upload Wordpress to you're website. But remember, content is king and so you have to offer you're readers more then just the latest from Digg or headlines from CNN. I think that Dennis Wright in his response to the BBC article on Newsvine said it best:

It takes someone with special knowledge or insight, plus dedication and commitment, to stand a chance of establishing themselves as a blogger of repute. It doesn't help that the number of bloggers will at this rate outstrip the number of blog-readers!

Technorati Profile

NASTY NAS – 2006 HIP HOP: DEAD MAN TALKING (aka ILL WILL MATIC)

2006-12-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

My good friend Addi sent me this article he wrote for POUND magazine. It's really good so I thought I would share it with all of you.

Hello, person I love:
Please enjoy this little something I wrote about Nas and his "hip hop is dead" statements, plus the Mindbender/Nasty Nas interview at the end. Let me know what you think about it, if you care to. I thank everyone who reads all of this, I promise you it's worth it. This is what I ~love~ to do, and God/Goddess willing, I will be paid to write about hip hop culture in 2007. I'm open to your constructive criticism and your lovely, gushing praise, ha ha... and I'm hoping you still believe in -something- in this crazy hip hop culture of ours.
Because in 2007, we have to all become the change we want to see in the hip hop world. Word to Gandhi :)
Thank you for your precious time. Enjoy the writing... then go create a beautiful day!
Addi / Mindbender truly loves you

NASTY NAS – 2006 HIP HOP: DEAD MAN TALKING (aka ILL WILL MATIC)
By Addi "Mindbender" Stewart

"Listen... people be askin me all the time, "Yo Mos, what's gettin' ready to happen with Hip-Hop? Where do you think Hip-Hop is going?" I tell em, "You know what's gonna happen with Hip-Hop? Whatever's happening with us. If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out. If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright." People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin in the hillside, comin down to visit the townspeople. We +are+ Hip-Hop. Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop. So, Hip-Hop is going where we're going. So, the next time you ask yourself: "where Hip-Hop is going?", ask yourself: "where am I goin? How am I doing?", til you get a clear idea. So, if Hip-Hop is about the people, Hip-Hop won't get better until the people get better." – Mos Def on 'Fear Not Of Man', the intro to "Black on Both Sides"; Rawkus Records, 1999

"Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it."

What's good to everyone in the hip hop nation of 2006? In case you haven't heard, the streets are talking, and the verbal intercourse says that "hip hop is dead", like it has somehow mysteriously disappeared into the ether. In response to this almost ludicrous statement, some successful music industry- and in-the-streets people from different regions are saying 'we don't believe you, you need more people.'

But the people truly should know: we've been here before. A few times, actually. Way back in the relatively ancient days and times of 1994, when there still was some reasonable doubt, one of your favorite rapper's favorite rappers aka Common Sense declared a post-mortem moratorium on hip hop with "I Used to Love H.E.R.' (Hip Hop in the Essence of Reality), emphasizing that "she was really the realest, when she wasn't into showbiz" before proclaiming "I'ma take it back, hoping that the shit stop, cause who I'm talking bout y'all, is hip hop". Another time, heads thought hip hop music as we knew it was a Harlem-shaking corpse when Puff Daddy and Ma$e re-cycled Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's timeless, pioneer status ghett-o-vision soundtrack and 'Black CNN' broadcast classic titled 'The Message', during the so-called "Shiny Suit Era" in 1998. But arguably, from day one, to certain "old school" hip hop historians, some unexplainable-yet-infinitely-important element of hip hop culture was declared "dead" the very moment that the intangible, communal, living, dancing, musical experience could be contained, commodified, and re-created for retail sale on wax (or cassettes and CDs, and now, direct-to-your-home downloadable MP3's). Quiet as its kept, some true school b-boy originators openly called the MCs on the seminal 1979 hit 'Rapper's Delight' frauds, sellouts, and not completely real, especially after their pseudo-manufactured group signed the Sugar Hill Gang to a record deal with Tommy Boy Records. Almost two decades later, The GZA warned us about major record labels negative influence on hip hop music, in 1995. "Tommy ain't my motherfuckin' Boy/ when you fake moves on a n!gga you employ" is how he sparked the street single, disrespecting some of this ghetto music's first investors. Even then he said: "It's getting drastic."

But, the more things change, the more they stay the same. There's nothing new under the sun. No idea's original, even, to quote The Lost Tapes of Nas. Except, something is slightly different this time… In 2006, 'Nasty' Nasir "Nastradamus Escobar" Jones, unquestionably one of hip hop's most gifted lyricists of all time (that's approximately 30 years and counting, for those still remembering hip hop history), is pronouncing our beloved hip hop music as "dead". Dead like De La Soul was. Dead like disco. Dead like Elvis Presley. But, it's still "motherfuck him and John Wayne", right? It's still "Fight the Power", right? It still "Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back", right? According to Nas, something's not right. On the real, something is dead wrong with the modern hip hop generation. Do the new school heads of today even know about, much less own, that classic Public Enemy album? Well, these days, it seems like Flavor Flav's most lucrative and famous career moments come from TV, as he chooses from 12 female reality show contestants searching for his favorite 'Flavor of Love'. The international television demographic stays cold lampin with Flavor Flav the strange love-making Hollywood celebrity, not the comical MC, and Brigitte Nielson's embarrassing Black male exploitation in the exotic, erotic adventures of 'Foofy' was a horrible joke like 911 is. Meanwhile, the immortal Chuck D releases dope album after album to an uninterested new generation. But, his album titles were subtly saying 'hip hop is dying' a long time ago: "Muse Sick N Hour Mess Age". "There's A Poison Goin' On". But, who's he referring to with "Rebirth of A Nation"? The hip hop nation as we knew it is all but "dead". Since the 'Is rap the new wrestling?' mentality started its take over, fake and real beef has been at an all time high, and sadly, we're still waiting for brothers to work it out...

EPMD said it in the shortest and sweetest way on the 1992 LP 'Business As Usual': Rap Is Outta Control. Now it's so out of control, it has lost its collective mind. But how could a multi-billion dollar industry and worldwide culture actually become essentially "dead"? Now, let's get it all in perspective: what MCs, DJs, graf artists, b-boys, b-girls, or overall hip hop cultural movements do you still wholeheartedly support, truly feel musically, and believe their futures are bright, as they continue representing the hip hop lifestyle and sound of right now? Alternately, what elements, what values, and what ideas within the worldwide hip hop culture of 2006 can be diagnosed as officially at the point of a fatal, flatline-level of "death" today? Its revolutionary spirit? Its voice of resistance? Its sonically dominant social commentary, and fear-inducing declarations of pleasure and pain from the ghetto prophets of rage? Its humble stumbling upwards and onwards along the path of divine rhyme righteousness? Its constantly unknown, bold and unpredictable steps forward into uncharted recorded audio territory each year, with all the new types of beats and new turntablism tricks? Its unspoken and timeless "thou shalt not bite" commandment? Its sense of balance? Its relatively dignified appreciation of its exciting sexuality? Its public expressions of compassion and its prevalent sense of community? Its previously exclusive feeling of universal unity? Puff Daddy was absolutely right on 'Victory', "it's all fucked up now." Fucked up beyond all recognition… maybe even redemption.

On the 1992 classic album 'Fear of a Black Planet', Public Enemy's Chuck D wondered "Who Stole the Soul?" That song could easily be the thief's theme for hip hop in 2006. In our eulogy, we could say to the corpse of hip hop: "The World is Yours, but you gained the world, only to lose your soul", something that the Christian Bible's God's Son prayed would never happen. Yet it did. "Nasty" Nasir Jones's first album was called "Illmatic"; universally respected as an unparalleled rap classic. His 8th album is tragically called "Hip Hop Is Dead", since nothing can stop the madness of the modern rap nazareth savages. But you can't hate Nas right now. Actually, you gotta love it. You gotta love the fact that he's dropped one of the most perplexing (using Iron Butterfly's 'In-A-Gadda-Vida' sample again? And making it possibly sound better?), complex, honest and important songs of the year, controversially titled 'Hip Hop Is Dead'. A definitive sonic b-boy document for hip hoppers, simultaneously a nostalgic (Nastalgic?) and modern day East Coast stomper, featuring hardcore rock guitars, multiple old school break-beats, and a sinister vibe like the rhymes have a dagger to your throat… cloaked in a Trenchcoat-Mafia colored bassline with so much low end, in theory, it could wake every unconscious crack fiend in Queensbridge. It's serious. And it's a modern day masterpiece of a track, perfectly executed and excellently produced by, ironically, someone very arguably guilty of forever killing something in hip hop: Will.I.Am. Except, his pop group music is completely separate from his hip hop creations, which have quickly exploded into credible, mainstream-acceptable, yet underground-crowd-pleasing productions. In a year relatively lacking any hip hop with lasting, thought-provoking content, it is one of the most comprehensive analyses of this culture's critical condition status in a long time, succinctly scripted by Nas with such insightful observations like "niggas smoke, laugh, party and die on the same corner/ get cash, get vexed, body they man's mama", and "criticize that? why's that? cause Nas's rap/ is compared to legitimized crack". He even spits an example of his omniscience using only 2 bars with "so, who's your top 10?/ is it MC Shan, or is it MC Ren?", brilliantly placing the perpetual 'who's the best MC?' debate in the context of a hip hop reference and a history lesson, while simultaneously addressing the question of any listener's relevant East Coast/West Coast MC preference. Nas excellently describes the silent murder of hip hop on the definitive third verse: "everybody sounds the same, commercialized the game/ reminiscing when it wasn't all business…" and "went from turntables to MP3s/ from Beat Street to commercials on Mickey D's" among other thoughtful observations, and finishes the song with a surprise ending, emphatically yet subtly suggesting that hip hop can actually live again if it comes from the purest underground environment possible, directly from the essence of the ghetto, in the heart of the streets, and nowhere else. Nas almost implies that hip hop would have to become a secret society (again) to truly be resurrected. But for now: it's almost everywhere in the world, yet it's virtually dead. If sleep is the cousin of death, hip hop is beyond comatose. It's in purgatory. So what in the world can be bridging the gap between death, and the afterlife? One never knows...

Honestly, in 2006, the message of Nasir is somewhat a mystery wrapped in an enigma: how can hip hop really be dead, when Nas is still making amazing music (amongst the numbers of other noble MCs still hungry, and rhyming like it's always time for some microphone murdering affirmative action)? How can it be dead when the other Will.I.Am contribution, called 'Don't You Forget Me', sampling the Nat King Cole classic 'Unforgettable', sounded like such a powerfully heart-touching song that an entire room of privileged sneak-peek listeners got out their seats and applauded when it was played? What the hell are we all doing at work and at play every day, if hip hop culture as we knew it and lived it, is now "dead"? Hopefully Nas can completely answer that question with his highly anticipated first Def Jam album, also titled 'Hip Hop Is Dead', featuring the previously-unimaginable, now-legendary collaboration called 'Black Republicans', starring Nas's former arch-enemy/current business partner and label boss, President Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter (the same Jayhova from 'Takeover' that inspired an almost "falling off" Nastradamus to finally meet his match… with a hate-fueled 'Ether' flamethrower). Among other explanations of who, what, where, when, and why hip hop is dead, we wonder if he can possibly inspire us to use our collective common sense to all make some good music, and hopefully create hip hop's eventual resurrection. It was written in Nas's version of 'The Message' in 1996 that "a thug changes/ and love changes/ and best friends become strangers." To so many people today, the best friend and special lady you loved when you were young, the one named hip hop, has somehow become the perfect stranger. But maybe she's not literally 'dead', she's just a worthless impersonator with no purpose except to encourage hatred or absurb behavior while earning paper… like, if John Connor was hip hop, Babylon corporations became the Terminator. Forget any inspirational, educational words or further solutions for urgent changes, euthanasia is a possible option because entire continents on Planet Rock are almost beyond permanently saving, and things are literally dead in the eyes and the minds of some of rap's finest creators.

What if Nasty Nas made an album that was finally as equally as praised as 'Illmatic' with the same album that he decided to document the death of hip hop culture itself? Could we possibly call these new 2006 songs "Nastradamus prophecies"? Time will tell. And time will also eventually tell what is to come of this "dead" thing we used to affectionately call hip hop as we move into the an unknown future from the tipping point of a virtually forgotten past, with a mass of young, gifted and Black youth lacking contact with rap's true roots while swagger jacking with perilous arrogance so they're carelessly refusing the truth, moving the culture forward with old school groups and veterans questioning if they'll get acceptance and if they can remain relevant, and represent with music that's new and improved and excellent. If hip hop is dead, the most important question is: do you believe in reincarnation and resurrections?

THE OFFICIAL ARTICLE:
http://www.poundmag.com/P36_Nas.pdf

and something special that is not in the final printed version of the Nas article:

Quote:
Addi "Mindbender" Stewart of Pound: I have one more question: If Heaven was NOT a mile away, but it was right here and now, created through hip hop, do you think that's a possibility? Do you think maybe that's an idea? Like you for instance. You and Jay-Z and Kanye West. You guys seem to be able to manifest your dreams. Do you feel like you're in a Heaven in a sort of way?
Nas: Yeah, dog… I do. I do.

The Telephone Game

2006-12-12T09:35:00.000-05:00

So last week (or was it the week before?) the TV networks cried to the CRTC that they wanted fewer rules and more ways to make money. While the CRTC may have refused the networks petition, it seems like yesterday they made it up to the media monopolies by deregulating the telecom industry.

Yesterday Minister of Industry, Maxime Bernier, granted the telcos the power to set their own prices for local service. He said that this will:

"stimulate competition and innovation among local telephone service providers so that Canadian consumers and businesses will benefit from even more choice, improved products and services, and lower prices."

This comes right on the heels of last weeks amendments to the Competition Act that deter anti-competitive behavior in deregulated markets, and is a testament to Bernier "free-market" ideology.

The telecom companies, who have been lobbying for deregulation for years are loving it. Both Telus president and CEO, Darren Entwistle, and Michael Sabia, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, praised the decision and emphasized the benefits this will have on consumers.

But will the deregulation of the telecom industry really benefit the consumers, or is this bad news for Canadians? Now that the CRTC no longer has the authority to set local rates for Canada's major telephone companies who will protect the consumer? The free market? Competition? Not likely. If anything this decision proves that this isn't about competition but who the government will let win the competition. A survey done this past September by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre showed that "over 70% of Canadians were opposed to telephone companies being allowed to set their own rates." Yet in spite of the public's opinion the CRTC has bowed to the teleco's lobbying.

We will have to wait to see how all this plays out, if Canadians will really benefit with lower rates, or if this is just an early Christmas present for Bell, Telus and the other big boys.

S2E8 | Liberal Leaders

2006-12-11T08:37:00.000-05:00

So I have been pretty busy these past couple of weeks and let me tell you it has been a roller coaster ride. The blog has kind of been neglected because of it, but today I have a present for you that I am sure you are going to enjoy: a brand spanking new show!

S2E8: Liberal Leaders is a special show for a number of reasons. First it is the 8th show of the season, which means that we have doubled the number of shows from last year! It's also the first show that breaks away from the normal format - this one follows me around the Liberal leadership convention as I search for the next great prime minister!

I have two more shows in development that I hope to get out before the end of the year. So keep an eye out for them. I am also working on a mixtape with Kunga 219 (Goodnight Musics) which should drop sometime in February.

Mark

I've also joined FACEBOOK.

I've updated my FLICKR page.

And you can subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel.

Democracy (in)Action

2006-12-03T01:25:00.000-05:00

So I am on the bus on way back from the Liberal leadership convention. I left before hearing who won. It's not that I am not interested, it's just that I would much rather go home to Toronto and sleep in my own bed then participate in an empty celebration.

I mean what's there to celebrate? A new leader? After watching how the Grits chose their new leader for the past 12 hours I am not too sure there is anything to celebrate.

Before I arrived, the Liberals had decided through their version of democracy that instead of giving every member of the party a chance to participate in choosing their next leader (not the one they just chose, but the one after him), that they would prefer to keep their exclusive convention.

Liberal Party national director Stephen MacKinnon said in the Globe and Mail that they won't be picking another leader for 12 years so why not keep the convention going. Well, after seeing who the last two candidates on the ballot were, I am pretty sure that the Liberals will be looking for a new leader sooner then that.

Not that I didn't like the guys, it's just that, well, I don't think that either one will be the next Prime Minister. Why? Because neither one can beat Harper, despite all the signs and Iggy propaganda disseminated,by his supporters. Why can't Ignatieff beat Harper? Because they are more or less the same, they just wear different colors.

Dion on the other hand, I thought was a great guy, maybe it's because he walked right up to me in the hallway and shook my hand. Unlike Ignatieff who, I don't think I saw once.

Of the candidates that didn't make it to the final two, Scott Brison was the only one I talked to one-on-one. His speech and his video presentation where excellent the day before, but focused too much on the environment. Brison made the environment out to be the most important issue facing our country - I disagree.

I acknowledge that the environment is a huge issue, one that doesn't just affect Canadians, but the entire world. But the biggest challenge facing our country isn't green house gas emissions and the failure to adopt the Kyoto accord; it's national unity.

After last weeks vote on Quebec's "nationhood" national unity should have been the most important issue for all the candidates, but I am not surprised that it took the back seat. The Liberals have always championed Quebec and caved to their demands. I am sure that no one at the party except for Gerard Kennedy fully appreciates the fall-out that is to come from this gross miscalculation.

Kennedy seemed like a good guy, but interchangeable with Dion - they are kind of like the French and English side of the same coin. Kennedy was the first to throw his support behind Dion, but he wasn't the last. Dryden, who managed to survive Friday's vote stunned everyone when he positioned himself with Dion instead of Rae and Rae was right behind Dryden behind Dion. Even though he never pledged support when he was knocked out of the running, rumors that his brother John was wearing a Dion hat spread faster then mouth herpes at a kissing booth.

It's not surprising the other candidates threw their support behind Dion. I think more then anything the other candidates wanted to stop Iggy. I heard rumors that after they announced the final three Rae, who was in last, tried to strike a deal with Iggy. Iggy I heard wasn't having anything to do with it, which is why I'm sure the Rae boys did what they did.

I believe the overwhealming support for Dion came from the desire for the Liberals to have one of their own lead the party. Everyone knows that Ignatieff was parachuted into Etobicoke during the last elections and that Bob Rae joined the party to become Prime Minister. So it is no surprise that these two popular front runners lost to someone largely unknown to the rest of the country.

The computer has just warned me that the battery is about to die, so I am going to pick this up later and give you guys the rest of my impressions of the convention. So much has happened and I really want to get it all out, so for the rest of the week I will blog my experiences at the convention.

The Bloc is Hot

2006-11-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

So today’s the day our government is suppose to vote on a motion on whether or not to recognize Quebec as a “nation within a nation.” Pretty much everyone’s on board with this one, at least as far as our “elected” officials are concerned, but how about the rest of us? I for one don’t agree with it and after I explain why, I am pretty sure that you will agree with me too.

For those that don’t know, here is a brief rundown of how we got to where we are today. Duceppe thought he would force the issue of Quebec in the house last week to wreak havoc among Federalists and bolster support for the Parti in the upcoming provincial election. Instead of backing down, Harper stood up to Duceppe and forced the issue. If the motion passes then Harper will have effectively blocked Quebec’s aspirations for independence by recognizing Quebec as a nation, at least on paper.

Pretty much everyone is standing behind the motion except for the Bloc, for obvious reasons. One other notable exception is Liberal leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy. Kennedy is the only contender to oppose the motion; he believes that the country should focus on what it means to be Canadian.Jean Charest has also commented on the motion and suggested that if it passes that other provinces could follow suit.

I agree with both of them.

If we allow Quebec to be a “nation with in a nation” we are setting a dangerous precedent. But even worse, we are supporting the notion that the “whole” of this country (nation) is not as great as the individual "parts” (provinces). In other words if the provinces that make up this nation are recognized as nations, then do we really have a nation – or united nations? Our differences are a unifying feature of our country. By allowing a province to use distinction as legitimacy for independence, then the glue that holds us together becomes the noose to hang ourselves.

Letter | Refugee Income

2006-11-27T07:52:00.000-05:00

I got another great email from my new friend Barry. He's the one who wrote the great letter about Jim Flaherty. This one is just as incredible:

Do not apply for your old age pension. Apply to be a refugee.

It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00. This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 or 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Let's send this thought to as many Canadians as we can and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00., so they can joy the money they were forced to submit to the Canadian government for those 40 to 50 years.

Please forward this to every Canadian you know.

Barry

Letter | Who is Flaherty?

2006-11-23T12:28:00.000-05:00

So Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is set to deliver the fall fiscal update today. It's expected that he will unveil a bunch of new promises and set the economic plan for the next ten years.

The opposition says this is nothing but a wishlist since there are no spending announcements and that the Conservatives are just trying to quell Bay Street's concerns that Canada's rank is slipping in the global rat race.

Economists warn that Flaherty might have set his sight's too high since the Tories still have so many unfulfilled promises.

I got this amazing email yesterday with some background information on Flaherty, everyone really should read it.

Check it out:

Who is Jimmy Flaherty? He was with Mike Harris and Ernie Eves in 1997 when they coveted the Ontario MPP's Provincial Pension Plan. The taxpayers of Ontario built a Pension Plan for our elected employees which Mr. Harris and the Conservatives collapsed in the fall of 1997. The purpose of this Plan was to eventually relieve the taxpayers of pension liability. In other words, the Plan itself would fund all the pensions of Ontario MPPs. This is called a "fully funded" Plan.

There are two parts to a Plan or pension fund ... the corpus and the surplus. The corpus is the amount of money in the fund which is actuarially designated as adequate to pay for all pension liabilities "upon retirement", of Plan members. The surplus is the amount of money in the Plan beyond the corpus amount. Usually, if there is no surplus realized, contributions (taxes) must be transferred into the fund. Members accrue benefits usually through seniority, age and income considerations and thus the level of both corpus and surplus adjust frequently with seniority, retirement and death.

As taxpayers, we had been contributing into this Plan for a number of years and most of that money had been invested and earning more money for the fund. Although our fund was paying out pensions to then current retired MPPs in 1997, the design was such that we would ultimately not have to contribute taxes into the fund. Eventually the Plan would become "fully funded".

Mr. Harris took for himself $840,000 in the fall of 1997 but this was not his pension. He was not retired. This was in fact the amount of corpus money designated as the "generator" of his pension if he retired in 1997. In other words, it was the Ontario people's money. All the other then sitting MPPs joined in on the snatch.

Not only did MPPs take our money, they also attached a 5% tax free extension to their incomes to be deposited directly into their personal RRSPs. This Harris, Flaherty, Eves Plan is permanent and accordingly, Ontario children and we adults shall never be relieved of MPPs pension liabilities.

The con that Harris, Flaherty, Eves and the governing crew used was that this Plan is "gold plated" and therefore must be ended. However, to change a Pension Plan that is too generous, all the administrator has to do is alter the text of that Plan, not commandeer all the capital for self-centered enrichment.

His pockets flush with money, Harris left and Eves moved into the driver's seat with Flaherty hanging on as the provincial bookkeeper. At the end of Eves' term, newly elected Premier Dalton Mcguinty informed the Ontario taxpayers that the Eves/Flaherty regime had "cooked the books" during their tenure. This expression, "cooked the books", means fraud. The rationale was quite simply to acquire another term in office by deceiving the Ontario people into believing the Harris/Eves/Flaherty crew was financially responsible and therefore qualified to govern.

It's disturbing to note, upon being publicly accused of engaging in the crime of fraud, neither Eves nor Flaherty sued for defamation of character. It would appear that this deceitful personality trait is wholly tolerable to both men and presumably to those they prefer to associate with. This brings us to Mr. Flaherty's federal financial portfolio and the Income Trust debacle.

Income trusts pay out distributions which are taxable to the unit holders but the trusts held by foreigners have a withholding tax of only 15%. This does lead to an unfairness complaint which could have easily been addressed by itself. Instead Flaherty, Harper and the governing crew have shown gross incompetence and/or deceit in their handling of this condition. They have further eroded the credibility of all politicians by breaking an assurance which not only harmed individual retirement funds but, also group pension plans.

My fear is that if Flaherty and Harper are allowed to continue unchecked, they will adopt policies comparable to those of Reagan and Greenspan, specifically the looting of the US social security fund. Reagan extracted resources from this fund to pay for tax cuts and replaced the money with IOUs. That US fund is now bankrupt. Greenspan kept the truth from a gullible populace by not declaring the deficiency as a deficit because it was, in his opinion, government borrowing from government.

Are Flaherty and Harper salivating over the funds of our CPP (Canada Pension Plan) and our OAS (Old Age Security)? Have these funds already been molested? Given Flaherty's past conduct in regard to the Ontario MPP's Pension Fund and his book handling abuse in Ontario, we as citizens are forced to depend on the scrutiny of opposition MPs, which thus far is feeble. Most assuredly, Flaherty does not have the integrity to hold any office where trust and honour are obligatory.

Barry

Kramer vs. Kramer

2006-11-22T10:16:00.000-05:00

You've all probably heard this by now and seen the videos. But if not my buddy Wild Turkey passed along the links.

Subject: RACIST ASS KRAMER
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:27:42 +0000
>haha fuck this dude......true colors come out when people get amped
>eh
>prob gonna be black balled by hollywood for this shit ( no pun
>intended )
>and rightfully so
>be sure to check out his bullshit apology
>
>racist tirade
>http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8464171557517287206&q=richards+racist
>
>bullshit (with a capital B) apology (on his "boy's"
>show.....letterman)
>http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5727601579800432446&q=michael+richards+letterman
>
>
>
>PS just saw Paul Mooney on CNN kill it! mooney is one of our times
>greats.....people gotta see his stand up dvd "analyzing white
>america" i got it and will send yall a link wen i up it....
>
>wild turkey
>

Demo-graphics

2006-11-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

So I wasn't going to write on this subject, but after I read two different articles on it this morning I feel the need to let my opinion be known.

I have been following the video game console war for quite a while now and these past few days have been the culminating point in the war thus far. Both Sony and Nintendo released new systems last week; both systems saw people lining up for hours and both launches had their fair share of craziness.

I really wanted to be one of those people sitting outside of Wal-Mart all night waiting to be the first to buy one of these new Nintendos. After reading every story and watching every video about the machine on the web I was really psyched. I haven't played video games in years but this system was getting me excited.

What really got me on board the Nintendo hype-train was the announcement that Nintendo was going after non-gamers with the "Wii" and that they we're keeping the price low to make it an impulse buy. Both of these things we're music to my ears: I'm a non-gamer who is impulsive enough to drop a couple hundred dollars on this machine and some games.

Unfortunately this was not to be the case. As Sony dug its grave with the PS3, Nintendo's secrecy surrounding the "Wii" sent the hype-train into overdrive. When the hype-train finally reached Nintendo's press confrence in New York on September 14 the "Wii" had become more popular on the internet then porn. The machine that was once intended to be an "impulse buy" had become a hot ticket item with a hot price tag.

Which brings us back to today, in an article on Gamesindustry.biz Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Mario and Zelda, revealed that Nintendo had originally intended to sell the "Wii" for $100. In another interview on the same site, the president of Nintendo Canada bragged that the "Wii," unlike other consoles, is the only one making money right out of the box.

Now I understand that Nintendo can't rely on the sale of computers and TVs like it's competitors to keep it's company a float, but why is the president of Nintendo Canada bragging about how much money they are making off the machine when they're original plan was to attract customers with something that is suppose to be inexpensive and an impulse buy?

The current price of the "Wii" is far out of the "impulse buy" range of most people. When you add on the price of another controller, then the "Wii" starts to enter the same paying field as its competitors. Like I said before I'm a non-gamer that's pretty impulsive, but spending over $300CDN for a video game system, is way too impulsive even for me. I like videogames as much as the next guy, but I am not going to spend that kind of money on them. I would much rather take that money and invest it in something useful and not something that keeps me in front of the TV longer then I already am.

I read one gamers story of sitting outside of Wal-Mart for hours waiting in line for one of these machines. After reading it, I am glad that I didn't do the same thing. One observation that he had made drives home what I am trying to saying:

“A surprising fact that was brought up in the line, Nintendo has created the Wii to bring non-gamers in to the fold, to break out of the male 18-26 demographic. Yet as the line showed, male 18-26 was THE demographic."

But I am sure that Nintendo knew this all along.

Digital Cable DRM

2006-11-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

I am convinced that there is some sort of right-protection on the digital broadcast of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I was just watching the ATV (Nova Scotia) broadcast of the show and I paused the PVR and the screen went black for like 5 minutes and then the machine rebooted.

The same thing happened last week while watching Studio 60 on ATV and I think maybe again while watching Heroes on Global (Toronto) last Monday or the Monday before. The screen goes black and you can't do anything with the box, you can't change the channel, go to the guide, you can't even turn off the box, it just freezes up. After about 5 minutes the the numbers on the display turn into some crazy symbol and the machine reboots.

The first time it happened I thought that maybe there was something wrong with my PVR but now I am convinced that there is some sort of DRM on the signal preventing people from recording the show and watching it at the same time.

When it just happened now, I changed to the other program I am recording, the Simpsons, and had no problem rewinding the program and playing it back.

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? I am going to try and get the bottom of this. I have digital cable from Rogers in Toronto, Ontario and a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 box.

The Last 48

2006-11-17T10:20:00.000-05:00

Last night my new show premiered at Film Jam 2, an event put on by some friends of mine that is a mash up of music, movies and art. My show wasn't received as well as I had hoped it would be, but standing in the room watching people, I now understand where it fails.

Before I post the show on the web I am going to try and trim off some of the fat. I realized last night that I have a tendency to carry on at length. I really need to keep the shows short and sweet, because no one wants to listen to someone yell for four or five minutes.

Yelling is the other problem with the show. I really screamed this one out. I don't spend too much time in front of the camera, so I tend to yell into it. I am kicking around the idea of re shooting the show, but I think that this should be a lesson learned and try and correct these weaknesses in the next one.

Speaking of speaking in front of the camera, I got some really great advice the night before that applies to both in front of the camera and life in general: be yourself. I was at a meet-and-great for the 2007 MESH conference on Wednesday night. What I though was going to be a small gathering turned out to be a huge social event. I was so taken back by all the strangers when I first arrived that I didn't know what to do with myself. Lucky for me this retired tycoon noticed the look of confusion on my face and introduced himself to me right away. He told me to be myself and let my personality shine. I took his advice and had a blast.

Film Jam was a blast too, and if you live in the Toronto area you should try and make it to the next one, it is really an amazing thing - a total mash up of different mediums. I am going to try and post the new show this weekend and update the site. I also have another show that I made in the summer but didn't finish that will go up as well. So check the site early next week or send me an email and I will let you know when every things up.

Mark

Food Mongering

2006-11-14T11:11:00.000-05:00

Hey I don't know if you heard about this or not, but Hershey’s, makers of Oh Henry, Reese Peanut Butter Cups and Glossettes, has recalled 25 products, that may be contaminated with salmonella. Apparently an ingredient from an outside supplier was contaminated. Hershey’s wouldn't say which ingredient it was, but have confirmed that it isn't one of chocolate's four main ingredients: sugar, milk, cocoa butter and chocolate liquor made from ground cocoa beans.

This is just the most recent food recall. Only last week Maple Leaf foods pulled some of its meat products after an employee found a syringe casing pushed into an unpackaged ham. This was only one of several casings found at the company over the past few weeks. No one has gotten sick yet and no traces of contamination have been found in any of the recalled meat.

While meat eaters may have gotten lucky in this latest scare, veg-heads have not been so lucky. Only weeks ago two Toronto residents we're paralyzed after drinking carrot juice that tested positive for botulism. And Canadians weren't the only ones at risk a number of Americans we're also poisoned by the contaminated juice.

Carrots aren't the only thing to come out of the ground that has been contaminated. California-grown spinach tainted with a potentially deadly strain of E. coli was recalled last month after being the prime suspected in three recent deaths in the U.S.

Is it me, or does there seem to be some sort of pattern here? I know that they say: "when it rains it pours" and that perhaps the food industry got hit with a bit of bad luck, but I think that it goes a little deeper then that. If we look closer at these recent food scares we see that there is something that connects them all together: beef.

The beef industry is the biggest industry to be hit by food scares in recent memory. Mad-cow disease effects practically ever country on the planet and has set the beef industry back years. Each time the disease is seemingly eradicated, a new cases pops up. The mad cow scare has prompted many people to stop eating beef and only added to the problems already facing the beef industry.

So what does this have to do with chocolate, lunch meat and vegetables? Well we know that the milk used to make Hershey's chocolate bars was not contaminated, and that the spinach was contaminated by manure. Both milk and manure are both produced by cows. The lunch meat connection is a little less obvious. Maple Leaf primarily produces pork and chicken products, the beef industry meatiest competitor.

I don't want to sound like a nut, but it seems to me that all the evidence is pointing to a bovine-fied conspiracy. The way I see it, the beef industry, after being crippled by BSE, is trying to reassert itself as a healthy alternative to healthy alternatives. In order to re-establish itself as a formidable food in the minds of consumers, the beef industry has had to knock its competitors down to their level. The beef industry might not be able to convince people to eat beef on its own, but by convincing consumers that their competitor’s products are just as harmful or worse, they might just be able to gain back a significant portion of people's plates.

Bush Beats his Wife

2006-11-08T08:57:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's post I commented on David Wilkins, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, statement that the relationship between our two countries is growing stronger. Now I won't disagree, I'd just like to clarify the relationship that we have the U.S.

We're friends, but I think that our relationship goes a little deeper then that. We have shared a rich history with America and we have come to depend on one another almost like a married couple. Like most married couples we have our fair share of fights, but always end up in bed with each other. In recent years, that husband-wife relationship (I'll let you decide who the husband is and who’s the wife) has deteriorated into an abusive relationship.

The softwood lumber scandal and passports at the border are just two recent examples of the abuse that the United States has exhibited towards our country. Today, I read in the paper that as of November 24, the U.S. will start taxing Canadian air travelers and commercial shipments to fund random U.S. inspections of Canadian imports.

Hey, I can understand the United States preoccupation with security and their need to secure their borders, but why should we pay for it? I know there is a price to pay for doing business with the United States, but lately it seems like that price is getting out of hand. To me, at least, it seems like America is doing more to keep people out of its country then it is protecting it. Sure keeping people out will help protect the U.S. from terrorists sneaking across the border (which has happened in the past) but how does it help create a more secure country or world for that matter?

Instead of building a giant wall to keep the rest of the world out, perhaps the U.S. should take a proactive approach to securing its country by building and nurturing relationships with other countries (and I am not talking about using the same strategy they used in Iraq). Then perhaps the world wouldn't be such a scary place for America or Americans.

Hopefully this will happen sooner or later; if it doesn't then I am afraid things will only get worse for the U.S., which will have a huge effect on us. But if yesterday's midterm election is indication, the majority of American people feel the same way. Let's just hope that the next two years go a little better then the last 6.

Now on to the fun stuff...

Hockey rivalry spilled out into the House of Commons yesterday.

Britney Speares dropped her sperm donor.

The remains of Big Bird we're found in Russia.

Private letters to God will soon be for sale on Ebay.

The United Church has an awesome new adevertising campaign.

If you have a bad rep on the internet, this article will tell you how to fix it.

And support the 24 hour fight against internet censorship.

Doogie Houser is out of the closet and I'm out of retirement.

2006-11-07T10:06:00.000-05:00

So I was reading on the Internet this morning that Neil Patrick Harris, pka Doogie Howser, has just been outted as a homosexual thanks to one of Canada's classier news outlets. According to an article on CTV.ca outing Hollywood homosexuals is pretty big news and there are a couple of websites out there that are doing the dirty work. So if you are interested in finding out whose gay and who's not, check them out.

I have no problems with gays (can I say that, I doesn't sound very politically correct). Actually homosexuality is far more widespread then perhaps most people are willing to accept, and it's not just among celebrities and republicans.

The Oslo Natural History Museum in Norway is currently showing an exhibition on homosexuality in the animal kingdom. While this exhibition is the first of its kind, gay animals have dated back to the days of Greek philosophers (insert joke here), more then three centuries before Christ.

In other homo-related news Holesome Incorporated, the worlds largest sex toy manufacturer is being sued by Tom Cruise for using his image on its new butt plug called Mission Insertable. The head of the plug resembles the famous actor and it claims to be the most comfortable to use anal toy that ever existed.

While Cruise has been the butt of many jokes over the years, this is by far one of the funniest things I have heard yet. What makes it even funnier is that Scientologists are taught to respect their colons, as they consider the anus to be something next to godliness.

In non-gay news, today is midterm elections in the US. I read this morning that no matter what the outcome; Bush will continue the course he is on. This, of course, makes sense. He stole an election, what makes anyone think he cares about a little midterm election?

The outcome of the election won't have much of an effect on us Canadians according to David Wilkins, the US ambassador to Canada. He also said that the relationship between our two countries is growing strong and that he was personally insulted that Canadians helped vote Bush as the third most dangerous person in the world in a recent poll.

I just want to say that I am insulted that Mr. Wilkins is insulted. I mean, third place is pretty low spot for Bush considering all the trouble he has made in office. And what does he mean that US-Canada relationships are getting stronger? Starting January we will have start showing our passports to get in and out of the US. Strong relationships are based on trust, and this piece of legislation sure doesn't sound like the trust us. Well, I guess it's not as bad as what they have planned for Mexico - a giant wall to keep them out. I am sure that this wall will go down in history like the other great wall, (no not the Great Wall of China) the Berlin Wall.

What else?

Here are some links to some of interesting things I have found on the web today:

English lessons for Japanese prostitutes.

"The Man Whose Arms Exploded" a documentary by TLC, haven't seen it yet, but hear it’s pretty gross.

An update of MSN for Mac users.

Scientists in the UK want to create a man-cow.

A bikini piano.

If you like cold drinks, you’re going to like this.

And if you live in Canada, don't eat lunch meat today.

TOP 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-12-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

In the last episode (2.2) I laid out my intent to run for Prime Minister of Canada in the upcoming reality show "The Next Great Prime Minister." I got the call the other day, I made top 10. I had an interview with the sponsors and the producers, I think I got a pretty good chance here.

Stay tuned, should have 2.3 up within the week. We've been real busy here at Videodrome preapring for the upcoming campaign. In the upcoming weeks videodrome.tv will merge with markmckay.ca to bring unparelled coverage of Mark McKay's 2006 campaign.

Stay tuned, send me an email and I will tell you when the new show is up, or check back soon.

Tell your friends, and check me out at MYSPACE. Be my friend and I'll say something nice about you.

mark@videodrome.tv

THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER

2005-11-30T00:12:00.000-05:00

If yesterday wasn't the best day of my life, then maybe today is (or they all are [which is the way I like to live life]). If you've checked out my website and watched the last episode of "Happy Hour," then you know that I entered Magna Corp's "Next Great Prime Minister" reality show contest.

Well I got the call today, and I made the top 10. Sweet. I got my interview on Thursday and if all goes well I'll be in the top 5 and on TV. Its truly a great day. Knock on wood, I'll get the chance to bring my message of reform and national unity to the whole country (or atleast those watching).

Word up. I can't tell you how pleased I am.

Thought I would share this with everybody. Keep your fingers crossed, I'm a hit the books, and get myself ready so I can advance in the program, and advance the nation.

one,

mark@videodrome.tv

VANGLORIOUS!!!

2005-11-29T09:56:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it, I didn't think I would live to see the day, but last night, Brother J from the X-Clan made his return at the Guvernment. Tickets were $34.00, and he did like 8 songs, so it works out to be about $4.25 a song, and worth every penny. If you think about it, to see the songs live is only like $3 more then buying them from the iTunes store.

No Professor X last night, which was a bit disappointing (but expected), regardless, J put on the killer show. He brought along Fat Jack as his DJ, and the hype man, was pretty good and did a mean PXO imitation. The stuff from the new album is sounding nice. The new album is called "Return From Mecca" and should be out some time next year. Don't worry, I'm all up on it, and will let ya'll know when its coming out.

Now we were all there for X-Clan, but I got to tell you Damian Marley is the @#$%. His show was so slamming I was blown away. If you get a chance to see this tour, don't miss it. The best money I ever spent. You will not be disappointed.

Buy the new Damian Marley.
Check out X-Clan's website: http://www.xclanmusic.com
Check out X-Clan's old website, which has this dope article where Bro J explains how the group formed: http://www.darksunrecordings.com/index2.htm

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my website @ http://www.videodrome.tv

I want to say peace to everybody at the show last night, Mindbender, Smacko, Quaran-Don, Sauks and Reign.

Juelz Santana on Friday, I can't wait.

mark@videodrome.tv

Eight is Enuff

2005-11-28T12:33:00.000-05:00

I am going to post all my shows here on the blog, and try to get this RSS thing going. I thought I would start with season 2 episode 1.

This show came out right after the 7/11 attacks in England, and in it I uncover who is really behind the bombings and what they hoped to accomplish. Also on the show is Osama Bin Saddam, leader of Canada's Al Quada Network. Osama lets us into the hearts and minds of Canadian terrorists, and gives us a sneak peak at what's instore for the new year. Last, but not least, Mindbender of Supreme Being Unit comes out blasting with a Happy Hour Exclusive. Be sure to Check out Mindbenders site at: http://www.supremebeingunit.com/.

This is the big version of the show, don't work it's not that big, but if you want a smaller one, you can get it at: http://www.videodrome.tv/s2e1.html.

Alright that does it for me.

Tonight is the X-Clan show here in Toronto, we're trying to get Brother J on the show, but it's not looking good. I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how the show goes.

mark@videodrome.tv

VIDEODROME!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-11-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

How's everybody doing? I'm doing real good, starting to get the website off the ground finally and trying to get a handle on this internet thing.

My friend Gfors set me up with this Blog a couple of months ago, but I have been so busy that I haven't reallyt had the time to make any good use to it. Forgive me if this falls by the wayside every now and then, we got lots of work to do at Videodrome.tv.

New show coming out in the next two weeks. Should hopefully be out for the first week of December. I'll keep you posted here and on the site and let you know whats going on.

I am hoping that by the new year we should have this whole PODCASTING business figured out and posting video-podcasts of Happy Hour here on Blogger and through RSS and iTunes. I'm still trying to figure it all out, and found some pretty good stuff on the net about it, so hopefully this shouldn't take to long. Any one out there who can be of help, let me know.

I am also hoping that in the new year to introduce audio only podcasts shows, that will be mixtapes featuring the musical guests, and me skratching up my monologues. I got 'em figured out, just got to save a few hundred more for Serato.

Thats all for now. Thanks for checking out the Blog, check out the website: http://www.videodrome.tv.

PEACE OUT!!!

mark@videodrome.tv