Death falls upon a institute in the Cdn music industry

OK... so I don't blog for months on end & this is the topic I decide to go w/ on my triumphant return!?

It always smarts a bit when I hear about a Cdn company being bought out by a U.S. company or investment firm. It's even sadder when a Cdn institution such as Sam the Record Man is forced to close its doors forever -- particularly since it has been a family owned business for more than 70 years.

I know that we all saw this coming years ago when smaller shops were shutting down all over the country. But the one mainstay was the flagship store in downtown Toronto. Who has seen the glowing records on the storefront via the TV? Because I'm such a nerd, that was actually one of the landmarks that I *needed* to see the first time I travelled to TO four years ago.

Thanks for the years in which you provided me a Cdn venue where I could purchase CDs, Sam.

Cdns aren't luddites, but we are economically conscious

So last year, I made a post about a G&M article on how it's impossible to compare cell phone rates b/n companies. Similar to my comments in my previous post, Simon Avery discusses how cell phone bills in Canada are *one-third* more than in the U.S.! Avery notes that this may be the one reason that impacts the cell adoption rate in Canada. For pete's sake... our adoption rate - 56 per cent - is on par w/ *Tunisia* and slightly behind Turkey!?

Why is there even an issue

Looking over some of the media cvg on the upcoming 2010 Olympic Games and saw that Senators are fretting over French status at Olympics.

I don't really understand why there is even an issue... First off, Canada's a bilingual country. It might not seem like it in Vancouver, but French and English have always been the two official languages and it will always be. Secondly... aren't the two official languages of the big O's English & French anyway? I can't remember the last time when I didn't hear languages being represented at the Games - English, French & the native tongue. Why is there even any concern?

The only concern there should be is whether we can pull of these Games & not make an embarassment out of ourselves. I'll havta admit, I was totally on the bandwagon about getting the Olympics... but now I'm not so sure it's a good idea.

I feel the same!

Globe & Mail had an article today about the mobile phone industry in Canada. The facts in the article are teh same things that piss me off about the cell providers in our country.

Additional thoughts:

• It's impossible to compare rates b/n the providers.


• It's way more expensive to own a cell phone in Canada.


• @ least in the U.S. they let you roll your minutes over to the next month. Here, if you don't use 'em, you lose 'em.


• It's actually getting more expensive to own & use a cell phone. Case in pnt - when I first got my cell from Fido in '99 there was no monthly user fee, voicemail was $4 and offered way more functionality than it does today, long distance calls were 15 cents/min., additional minutes were 15 cents/min, roaming in the U.S. was 50 cents U.S.... I could just go on
  

If I had a choice, I wouldn't fork $ over to the cell phone providers, but my company pays for the majority of my bills and I need it for work. :\