Blane

Totally agreed on Scorch. If I was going to be in Canada when they play I'd totally be hitting that up.

jesus. So long ago I don't recall where we went, but good squid is to be found at Janos (possibly where we went) and Chez Doval, both portuguese joints on the plateau. The bouchard families went to Chez Doval a couple of weeks ago on my recommendation and apparently quite liked it.

there are a few good choices in the Forks area. Not sure about names, but maybe the Chowhound boards have some info (check the food forum here for link).

oh yeah, I should add that the Sala Rossa restaurant is one of my absolute favorites in town. Authentic spanish tapas and paella for a decent price. Try the fried balls of chevre with honey and caramelized onions!

Damn heather, I was totally going to be at that show (with my buddy Mark), but we couldn't pull it together. I'll be at the Akron/Family+Hamid Drake show on the 8th if you're up for it. For those that don't know the Fest, Suoni has been goign on for about the last 5 or 6 years, adn is organized by Mauro and Kiva, the curators/managers of the Casa del Popolo/Sala Rossa cultural empire. It's basically their month-long summer treat for themselves. They book bands they like, and invite cool labels to curate shows. Saturday the 16th is "Suoni in the Park" day, which is a free, super-fun outdoor family event for improv, freaky but kid-friendly stuff, and artist-community collaborations. All in all, a great festival to support.

I stayed at the Essex inn, downtown, last time I was there. Pretty decent place with a fantastic location. aobut 90 bucks a night.

none. zero. zilch. nada.

though I wish I'd connected AFTER holly cole sang the national anthem. Fuck I can't handle her voice.

sitting in the Winnipeg airport, poaching wireless signal from the maple leaf lounge (hasn't failed me yet, in any airport, FYI), and streaming the Sens game! See, this is why we have technology.

funny, listening to her RIGHT NOW. Track 2 of teh Reminder. Great live performer too.

no shit. that was the wade redden we saw for most of the regular season. Afraid to go into corners, dishing off the puck dangerously when somebody's about to play the body on him, etc. Suck it up Wade. you can heal in the summer.

Sens' first line got shut down. End of story.

To me this settled it in terms of the H4, reading sonicstudios write this in their review:

Hey, if you're set on buying the Zoom, then go ahead. I honestly haven't tried it myself and am going based upon the feedback i've read on it. However, I"d say that having done a TON of research on portable recorders (leading up to my purchase of a modded Marantz PMD660) I've got a pretty good idea of the popular opinion of some of these units, based both on peoples' real experiences with them and bench testing by website reviewers. There are so many options now (look at this: Sweetwater Product Listing ), but in the sub-500 USD category, I'd say the main contenders are: - M-Audio 24/48 - Zoom H4 - Edirol R09 - Marantz PMD 660 If I had to rank them in terms of USER FEEDBACK that I'd read, I'd say they rank like this: 1. Edirol R09 2. Marantz PMD 660 (Oade modded versions ranking higher) 3. M-Audio 24/48 4. Zoom H4 Both the R09 and the H4 use SD memory. The 660 and the M-Audio use CF cards (the same cards used in the D70, making them dual-purpose, keep that in mind). All I can say is that I've read glowing praise for the R09 and know that it's being widely used. I've had great experiences with my 660, though it's probably more money than you want to pay. I've heard mixed reviews of the Microtracker (exactly the stuff phishtaper mentioned). I think some people had fewer troubles with bugginess on the MT than others, but it strikes me as a bit of a mixed bag. And the majority of the feedback on teh Zoom I've read has been of disappointment. That's all I can offer, I'm sure you'll find any of the 4 useable, it's just a question of what level of use you'll be able to get out of each. EDIT: I'd suggest reading the user reviews on the sweetwater site linked above. Some good info.

Basically, it doesnt' do anything worth 300 bucks. Might as well add a microphone to your I-pod in terms of quality (no joke). From Brad's link: Seriously, if you want to use CHEAP recording for voice, get a T- 8xx or 9xx series I-River mp3 player with microphone. It'll be fine for recording. IF you want flexibility, ease of use, all in one performance, and quality build, scrap the Zoom and go with the Edirol or something else. The M Audio is Ok, but as soon as you want ot start doing anything beyond the ordinary, you'll have to start buying/building new parts, down loading new firmware, etc. IMO, if you can spend an extra few bucks and get something that has proven to work at a whole range of levels (ie. concerts, extended recording times, low-level recording situations). You make the call!

no clue, stumbled upon in it in a "follow the links" kinda way.

Will Oldham & "California Guitar Trio" doing a reggae version of Freebird (does it get more bizzare than that?)

the zoom has failed miserably at all bench testing for field recording. Avoid at all costs. Microtrack has had marginal success, but a lot of "growing pains". In terms of an all-in-one box in the "entry" price/features range, the Edirol R9 has had a lot more positive feedback than either of those units: http://www.edirol.net/products/en/R-09/ Like Brad said, check the Taperssection forums for details but I think you'll find they support what I've just said. EDIT TO ADD: The above info is more in reference to recording music where fidelity (sound qual) and battery life are paramount issues. If all you're interested in is recording conversations, you may be able to make a different choice, but c'mon if you're going to get an H4, might as well get something a bit better and be able to use it for a ton of great shit!

I've lived a lot of places, in a lot of great cities, but certainly Montreal is one of the best places I can imagine. Otherwise, I'd consider Barcelona and Buenos Aires. I'm a city guy and love the latin joie-de-vivre. I'm off in 3 weeks to see how living in West Africa compares.

my god hasek is brutal. any time there's a scamble in front of his net he lies on his back and pretends to be a starfish.

They're my friends from elementary/high school that migrated to Toronto. Heavy into theatre and their shows show it. Totally a "show" band with huge costumes, energy, etc. Well worth checking out

first thing that came to my mind.

indeed I have. I was there in 2004. Very interesting. Montreux is small, so basically everything is part of the fest. shows are expensive (60-150 canadian for most tix)but venues are really small. Stravinski aud, the biggest one, holds about 3,000. I saw Scofield open for Herbie hancock, brian blade, wayne shorter and jack dejohnette in a club of about 400 people, maybe less. There's not much happening in montreux that's NOT part of the fest during that week. DOn't stay IN montreux, it'll be impossible to find something. Just stay in one of the nearby cities (Lausanne is great). SOme cool pairings of musicians by the looks of it. Larry Carlton with Robben FOrd opening for Scofield MMW looks cool, if you can afford 120 bucks! I'd also suggest, if you're in switzerland at that time, checking out Paleo festival in nearby Nyon. GREAT fest. opens 3 days after montreux closes. www.paleo.ch edit: on the 25th, paleo has Bjork, Arcade Fire and Clap your hands say yeah, for 50 or 60 bucks (depending if you've got a student card)! Good deal.

imagine Flaherty saying "I hope they come to a verdict that will work well for Mr. Black today" around the conrad black case. THe approximate equivalent.

back to the days of theological imperialism I guess.