Prayer, Politics and Palin

I'm not a huge fan of Sarah Palin or her politics, but I was intrigued about her recent interview on Oprah.  This clip is regarding her interview with Katie Couric.



She definitely seems more comfortable with Oprah than she did with Couric. Possibly because with Oprah she only had her own agenda to worry about.  Some hilarious Palin-izms as well.  "The perky one"  Tee hee.

I open up the floor to you dear reader.  What are your thoughts?

Something like a Pandemic

I'm suffering from H1N1 fatigue. It seems like we've been talking about nothing but since the first wave hit. Now, I know that it's a serious disease and that some people have gotten quite sick and died from it. I get that it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to disease prevention. But man, haven't we heard about it enough already?

I think that part of the problem has been in the communication and the messaging around this whole pandemic thing. I'm not actually sure that we can even call it a pandemic at this point. To me it seems like so far, the number of people sick with H1N1 has to be similar to the number of people who usually get sick from the seasonal flu. Is that a pandemic? Maybe, maybe not –I'm not a scientist. But if it's not a true pandemic, why call it a pandemic and just freak everyone out. Why call it SWINE flu? There has been so much misinformation out there. So much fear and paranoia. Way too many communicators making conflicting statements. H1N1 is in your face all the time. The information is overwhelming and it's confusing.


Granted, this hasn't been easy. The situation continues to change almost moment to moment with this thing. While I think the people in charge of health in this country have messed up when it comes to the pandemic plan and their H1N1 communication, I get that this is pretty much a nightmare for a PR person. Yet, I'm not even really sure there have been PR people involved. Maybe if there had, this whole thing would have gone a lot more smoothly.

There is no simple answer, but I really think that we would have benefitted from one person being appointed on a federal level to head a pandemic communication committee. That person would be the source of all the official messaging and would pass that message on to a representative in each province. Each province should have had the same priority list and the same vaccination rules. Maybe this kind of set up would be impossible given how governments tend to be set up, but a little bit of organization when it comes to communication would have been beneficial. Because isn't the point in a situation like this to keep people calm? The best way to keep people calm is to keep them informed.

One silver lining of this whole thing: many medical professionals are saying this pandemic is not going to be as bad as originally thought. Part of that may be that many high risk individuals have been vaccinated, which is great.  Hopefully, at the end of the day, most people don't get seriously ill and this circus becomes a valuable test run. Hopefully everyone involved learns from the mistakes they made this time around, and applies that knowledge to a plan for a future pandemic that might be far more serious.

As a side note: I do have to credit our nurses, who have been volunteering and working long hours at these vaccine clinics. When I got the shot a few weeks ago before the shortages hit, I was impressed with the organization and the speed at which they moved people through. So to those on the front lines: kudos for a difficult job well done.

Update:  Here's a great article out of the UK that delves into the "is it a pandemic" issue.

Women in Music

As someone who hosts a music show on UMFM called Venus Envy that focuses exclusively on music by female artists, I want to share two items of interest with you.  The first is a list of 50 essential women in music albums.  I personally think there are albums missing, but it's a pretty great list of must- hear albums.  Check it out here.  

Another item of interest is a radio documentary produced by CBC journalism intern Amanda Ash.  It inspired a special podcast on Women in indie music for CBC Radio 3.  Check it out here on Amanda Ash's personal blog.

METRIC System

I have a crush on the band Metric. I saw them in concert again a couple of weeks ago, and that was probably the fifth or sixth time I've seen them, if not more. As usual, they were fabulous. Emily Haines inhabits the stage like a Mexican jumping bean. How she manages to have so much energy, show after show, is beyond me. Just watching her dance and jump and strut across the stage is exhausting. Metric is definitely a band that entertains.

Their most recent album Fantasies came out last April and was promptly nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, an award presented for a full-length album from a Canadian artist based on artistic merit rather than album sales. They didn't win, but they made the short list, and they continue to do well for themselves. I dare you to turn on a show like Grey's Anatomy and not hear their music.
One of my favourite videos to come out of this album is for Gimme Sympathy. It's one continuous shot, which is quite a feat. The band is playing in a theatre in Toronto and while they all start in their usual positions, they rotate throughout the video. It seems to happen almost magically and I'm sure it was choreographed like crazy to do the whole song in ONE shot. The band has posted a behind the scenes video, split screened with the original video. It allows you to see how they did it. Mostly, a lot of running around and changing costumes quickly off camera. I've posted both the original video and the behind the scenes shoot below for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

Random Musings

This post isn't really about arts, culture or communication.  It's about moving.  Why?  Because I spent the weekend hauling boxes and sorting through all my possessions.  Well, some of them.  The rest are stacked behind me in the den.  When you move, you really realize just how much stuff you have and how much of it is probably unnecessary.  It's a time to start fresh, to reinvent your life by reinventing your space.  Talk about pressure.  Never has the placement of a table held so much meaning.   The options are endless...

In other news, and news that is arts & culture related - Tegan and Sara's new album Sainthood comes out on Tuesday.  I'm taking a first listen on their MySpace right this minute, and I love it. Of course, that's pretty much a given as I've been a fan of T&S since '99 or '00.  They constantly reinvent themselves and push their musical boundaries.  And then there's the fact that they have this really authentic connection with their fans that starts with their on-stage banter during live shows.  Check out the album.  I ordered the deluxe version online that comes with three books they've penned as well as an autographed piece of art.  That's going to be a happy mail day.  Their official website is here.

Must-See TV

I love my television, and now that I own a PVR, I love it even more. It seems like everyone around me is watching TV in new and different ways.  Even my parents have watched shows online. 

Before tonight, it had been a while since I'd streamed a show online.   I'm very happy that television networks have gotten with the program and starting streaming shows on their sites.  If I forget to record an episode, I no longer have to wait for it to come out on DVD.

Tonight, I was catching up on a show on the Space website. Space has 30 second commercials that run where commercial breaks would regularly run on TV.  The problem is, every commercial was for the Save Local TV campaign.  Definitely an important issue that everyone should look into (especially since now, Shaw is  running counter ads that spin the issue in a completely different way), but I really started to get annoyed after seeing the same two commercials cycle on a loop for eternity.  Hyperbole... isn't it grand? I'm not sure if Space regularly sells this space to advertisers, but if I have to sit through a 30 second commercial, some variety would be nice.  Perhaps it sounds crazy that I'm advocating for more commercials, but really - advertising is what pays for shows, and I'm a fan of creative advertising. Which is exactly the type of advertising that belongs online- commercials that are cutting edge and bursting with creativity. Give me something I'm going to remember because it's unique - not because you're repeating it over and over again.  The alternative?  Product placement. Which I think we can all admit is just lame.

Ways of Seeing

A couple of years ago, my aunt asked me if I thought I was a good problem-solver.  I think the implication was that she didn't think I was.  I didn't know how to answer that at the time, and though I couldn't say I was a good problem-solver I knew I didn't think I was a bad problem solver.

It's become clear to me now, as I've gotten to know myself better in the years since, that I actually am a good problem solver, it just might not appear that way from the outside.  Why not?  Well, it really comes down to the fact that when I'm attempting to solve a problem, I'm looking at the problem from every possible angle.  Sometimes, when you can see all the sides of something, it's a bit tough to make a decision. At least, make a decision quickly. Of course, if it's your job to consider all these things, that way of seeing the world is actually a good thing.  In fact, I've recently discovered that this aspect of the way my brain works actually suits me to work in PR because PR is all about thinking about things strategically from a bunch of different angles.  Who knew?