The Write Stuff

The Life and Times of the Shirtless Back

2011-10-02T14:29:00.016-04:00

Human existence these days is more about paying than about anything else.

You drift back into consciousness one morning in a bed that you paid for, in a home that you pay for. Your alarm clock-radio iPod docking station multimedia centre stirs into life, slowly but surely filling the bedroom with music and chatter, while all the while consuming electricity that you pay for.

Scratching your nuts or your left boob as you trudge into the kitchen, you pay homage to your Neanderthal roots. Maslow's hierarchy of needs kicks in at stage one as you acknowledge, "I'm hungry". When you open the fridge, the light that switches on automatically illuminates either a proverbial Santa's grotto of fruit, vegetables, plastic-sealed leftovers, milk, fruit juices, meat and hopefully a beer or two, or if you're like me, a stark clinically-white gaping expanse not unlike a toy store warehouse on Boxing Day. But regardless of what's in there, you paid for it. In short, if we had no money then we would already be without two of the most basic tenets of human existence - food, and shelter.

People often visit the bathroom around this time of day. You sit on a toilet you paid for, wipe your arse with paper you paid for, and flush away whatever delights you've deposited into a sewer system you pay for. When you shower, unless you're masochistic or catholic, then the water is hot because you pay for it to be heated. Little water on this planet arrives hot, unless your bathroom happens to be on the side of Mount Etna. If it is then please stop reading, pack up your stuff, and get the hell out of there.

Of course you need money so you have to go to work. You pay for the bus, the car, the train, or even the bike that gets you there. And even when you're there, you have to pay to be there before you've even picked up a pen or touched a post-it note. What's that you say? You don't have to pay to work? Really? Who feeds you your lunch whilst at work - your employer? No. Your employer, instead, enforces an outdated, counter-evolutionary dress code policy that requires you to go out and pay for clothes that you wouldn't ordinarily buy just so that you can feel as though you share a connection with the other people you work with. And when you want to go home at the end of the day, you have to pay to do so or get stuck at the office.

But it doesn't end there.

I still write cheques for things from time to time. And every time I do I have to pay for it. OK, so it's somewhere under $3 per cheque, but how many cheques does the average person write in a lifetime? Now multiply that number by the quantity of people on the planet who have a bank account. Is that thousands of dollars? Millions? Billions? In short, I have to pay to pay. I have to pay for the privilege of paying someone else for something.

But the truth is even worse than that.

How do I know if I even have enough money to pay someone? Well, I tend to use online banking. Amazingly, neither the TD bank nor the CIBC charges me to access my own bank account details via the internet, but just when you think you've managed to escape it you realise you have to pay for that internet access. When environmentalism started to get trendy just before the end of the 20th century every insidious corporate entity on the planet got on the bandwagon in an attempt to falsely demonstrate that they were environmentally conscious. Paper bank statements (which you pay for via taxes that pay the postal service) began to be replaced by e-mails with PDF attachments. But, in an ironic twist, once that service became available, banks began charging those customers who wished to continue to receive a paper bank statement. So now you have to pay constantly for everything around you, even the most basic needs of a human being. And then you have to pay for the ability to pay for those things. And finally, just in order to establish whether or not you have the money to pay for the ability to pay for those things, you have to pay first.

If you go back now and read what I've written from the start, you will realise that you haven't really achieved very much yet but you've been paying for everything already. And yet society seems surprised that we as a species don't do better. Sadly, it's not even the case that very few people ever achieve their true potential before the day they die. The problem is not only that the majority of people have to pay to do a job they hate, while all the time suffering from an unrealised dream of what they would do if money were not holding them back.

Alas, the whole truth is actually a whole lot worse.

Not only do few people ever reach their potential, but many fall in the opposite direction. The world's streets are littered with grubby, starving, drunk, injured, ill people who started their lives in such a state of poverty that they never really stood a chance no matter what their work ethic or abilities might be. I wonder how many geniuses are currently shaking a cup full of copper coins with pleading eyes when they should, instead, be curing diseases, harnessing sustainable energies, or pushing the boundaries of art, of space exploration, or of consciousness? How many people buy lottery tickets because, despite the ridiculous odds stacked against them, they know that it is their only chance to ever push beyond the point of scratching around for a living instead of fulfilling their potential and making the greatest contribution to society that they could?

But the reality is even worse than that!

Our society is so sinister that even people such as I, brought up with a conscience that hangs around my neck like a millstone for my every waking minute, have to think twice before giving money to these people who need it the most. I feel regret after I've tossed a few coins in that cup because the thought that goes through my mind is, "Am I really the person who should be donating? Do I really have sufficient to be able to just give some away? Am I really that far from being the person on their knees in the street, begging for enough just to keep me alive?" The answer is no, and the quote I am constantly reminded of is, "There but for the grace of god go I".

The fact is that the system we live in makes it very, very difficult for humans to be equitable. We have to fight, and pay, to be able to leave the nest. We have to fight to make the rent. And then if we ever manage to pool enough capital out of the economy to put a deposit down on a house, by the time we've finished paying for that house we're so old that we can't even eat or go to the toilet without someone helping us to do so.

In order just to consider this issue we have to fight to quiet our mind for a few minutes, desperately trying to avoid a society of bright colours, flashing lights, and babbling over-stimulation that occupies, distracts, and entrances us like the front of a Las Vegas fruit machine. Yet we are told, and we tell our children, that this is "normal" and then get angry when they struggle to understand. And if they disagree, we tell them that they are immature. We tell them, "You'll understand one day," infer that they are stupid, undermine their self-esteem, and beat them down like a nail in a coffin until they are as indoctrinated into this system of blind stupidity as we are.

Yet we don't realise it. We don't even acknowledge that what we are doing, and what we are doing to our children, is wrong. And then every birthday and every xmas we bombard our children with materialistic goods as if to say, "Well, if you stop disagreeing with Mummy and Daddy then one day you'll be able to buy all this stuff yourself." And then we act surprised when people riot and loot in London because they believe that they are owed these things but will never have the means to obtain them legitimately. We get angry. We say, "Well I paid for MY stuff so they should have to pay too." We dismiss them as stupid or criminal. We insist that the government not only puts a stop to it, but does so in the most inhumane way possible, with riot batons and water cannons, and all the while further angering and aggravating those people who already know that they have been deceived, duped, and royally fucked over by the system.

But the truth is much worse than that.

Why? Because there is no need for anything to be paid for. We, as a species, already have enough food, concrete, teachers, lab equipment, books, tools, tarmac, iPads for everyone to have one. There are sufficient resources on the planet for everyone to have that home, that alarm clock, that bed, that education, that food and that love. Yet we still continue to stick rigidly with money - an invention that dates back before the internet, before X-factor, before space travel, before Einstein, before Leonardo da Vinci, even before the wheel and almost as far back as the invention of fire.

Why?! Why do we do this to ourselves and - much worse - why do we force all our seceding generations to make exactly the same mistake that we have, over and over? I can't speak for you, dear reader, but I have come to the conclusion that we can do better. I want to live in a world where everyone has more than they do now and, the really sad thing is that we could. Let me say that to you again: we already have so much that everyone could have plenty. There is already an idea that has been researched over 75 years and turned into a concept. And that concept has been turned into a plan. And that plan has now become a working project. And that project has a name, "The Venus Project".

And yet the best reason we can think of for not dropping whatever we are doing right now, and starting it immediately, is because we're late for a meeting, or because our favourite show is on HBO and we might miss it. Or because we selfishly, inconsiderately, naively tell ourselves that it is someone else's job to worry about that and - ironically - we need to get home and look after our kids.

Because we still keep telling ourselves that's the only way we can make sure our children don't lose the shirts off their backs too.

James Nunn, ICT team director, Kinross+Render Public Relations

2009-09-02T11:40:00.001-04:00

“Glyn was a trusted member of my team and a completely reliable second-in-command. His attention to detail is second to none and as a result he proved a fantastic project manager as well as guaranteeing that nothing could slip, neither deadlines nor budgets. He has writing flair and a creative attitude but most importantly his management and people skills were exemplary. He can communicate at both senior and junior levels with equal skill and grace. He's also capable of making the hard calls and difficult judgments. All in all, I would have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone. If he was living in Amsterdam, I wouldn't be writing this.”

Looking for Glyn's resume?

2009-08-18T09:41:00.001-04:00

You can find a palatable summary of Glyn's career highlights and other attributes here:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/glyn-davies/4/80/298

Dead Lucrative

2009-07-27T16:53:00.004-04:00

Written for Fuel Inc. magazine, July 2009.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dead Lucrative
You’ll see dead people – lots of ‘em. Who knew it paid though?

I know, I know - hanging out with the folks and their friends is already bad enough, so why on Earth would you want to hang out with cadavers for a job? But that’s the point. If we were all squeamish then we’d have no paramedics, tattoo artists, midwives, and certainly no funeral directors. In the words of Monty Python, you need to “Always look on the bright side of life”.

Well…death, that is.

The good news is that if you can keep your breakfast waffles down, stay at college for 2-4 years, and resist the urge to say, “Why so serious?” to those in the waiting room of the funeral home you work in, then this is a job that can easily be done. The better news is that the average starting salary in Canada for a funeral director is more than $40,000, rising by approximately $1,000 before tax for every year you stick at it. Perhaps the best news is that they’ll always, always be new business. The Darwin Awards suggest that there’s plenty of people falling off motorcycles, launching fireworks out of their butt crack, or trying to juggle flaming sticks of dynamite just to get onto TV. You’ll never have to wait long for your next customer. It might even be Johnny Knoxville.

Career constipation? You wouldn’t be the first.

2009-07-27T15:53:00.005-04:00

Written for Fuel Inc. magazine, July 2009.

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Career constipation? You wouldn’t be the first.

Take two careers gurus, and three career-changing entrepreneurs for fast and satisfying relief.

The five professionals keeping your career ‘regular’:

Karen Dowell – life coach, uses lateral thinking and counselling to identify people’s career goals and ideal work/life balance – aspirations@sympatico.ca
Monica Graves – Canada Post cubicle-worker turned jewellery design business-owner, a person following their career dream – http://www.glamjulz.com/contact/#staff
Ed Lucas – the hardcore entrepreneur, creating an aviation security firm after 9/11 and a solar & wind power company in response to social attitude change – http://www.tswp.ca
Theresa MacDonnell – from uni to Whistler to sandwich shops to the cutting edge of social marketing, constantly remoulds her role to keep it fresh - http://www.empirical.com/about/about.php
Doug Schmidt – professional careers counsellor, using comprehensive personality testing to match the individual’s core values and beliefs to their job and work environment - http://www.careersplusinc.com/about_doug.htm

“You get into the elevator on the 20th floor, running into an old friend who mentions they’re considering a career change. What do you tell them in 20 stories?”

That’s the first question I asked them all. Monica Graves reflected, “It’s the scariest decision you’ll ever make,” but, as Doug Schmidt reassures me, “It’s normal to be fearful, but taking no action is worst of all.” So whether it’s your current career or academic area that feels bloated, don’t leave it too long for a laxative.

The first thing you need to know is what floats your boat? As Ed Lucas says, “It’s not just about money. Before that you need self-satisfaction, room for personal growth, and alignment with whatever it is that you’re doing.” Whatever you decide suits you, don’t settle for less. And if you still can’t put your Dorito-covered finger on it, then as Theresa MacDonnell says, “Think about the best day you ever had at work…then ask why it was the best.”

Feeling grounded yet? Flushed? Don’t worry - people often change careers, their majors, or simply their mind about what’s important to them.

If you’re still choosing subjects then make sure you’re not constrained by circumstances or commitments. As Schmidt says, “Were you under any pressure from parents, peers, or anyone else when you made your career choice?” He adds that the main age group seeking careers consultancy is 25-45, meaning that you, dear reader, are slap-bang in the middle of the consequence-choosing time preceding that. If you’re working but already watching the clock more than porn then that’s bad. “It’s possible you’re under-employed,” explains Dowell. “But if work feels repetitive or you’re being micro-managed then that’s usually a sign.”

Leave it too long to deal with, and you may also find your confidence and self-esteem slipping.

Knowing what you’ll be good at and enjoy is about knowing yourself. The most thorough way is to get yourself tested (see box out) or try, “…tapping into your childhood,” explains Graves. “What was important to you? Who were your role models?” Over time, Lucas advises treating your career like a personal relationship: “Does it feel strong? Is there room to grow?”

Just remember though, as McDonnell says, “Not everyone can have a dream job for life. Over time, you and the world around you will change.” For you, variety might be the most important thing.

Steadddy! Don’t cod liver oil things in the wrong direction:

Make sure your ideal job will exist long-term.
Know yourself, your money situation, audience, and what a business plan looks like.
Surround yourself with supporters, not critics (maybe not in the stall though).
Remember to thank people for their time, and that, yes, they will check your Facebook page.
Don’t rush for (even) further education if job experience might…ahem…work best.
With online resume-style content McDonnell says, “Use STAR as the guide: Situation; Task; Action; Result.”
Network with friends first, then expand to people already doing your ‘wet dream’ career.
If applying online, use key words from the job posting in your cover letter and/or resume. You’ll get under the radar of resume-sifting software.

Over-the-counter remedies:

Farrah Meherali, senior account executive, Kinross + Render

2009-07-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

Farrah Meherali, senior account executive, Kinross + Render (worked with Glyn at Kinross + Render Public Relations):

“Glyn is a great guy to have around the office. He's professional, polite and courteous, and always has a kind word to say to people. I very much enjoyed working with Glyn.” 13th July 2009.

Sara Render, Chief Executive, Kinross + Render Public Relations

2009-07-13T15:00:00.000-04:00

Sara Render, Chief Executive, Kinross & Render Ltd (managed Glyn at Kinross + Render Public Relations):

“Glyn is intelligent, hard working, highly competent and extremely nice to work with. I have no hesitation in recommending him.” 13th July 2009.

solomag.ca team bio

2009-06-29T18:03:00.003-04:00

Published on solomag.ca, June 2009.

Glyn was born in England in 1971, emigrated to Canada in 2005, and has lived in Toronto ever since. His teeth are just fine, thanks for asking. Glyn's background is in communications, with emphasis on public relations and writing. However, having met and worked with JP in a downtown PR agency circa 2007, he decided he'd prefer to write for a living, rather than just being poorly paid to annoy other writers. Witty, analytical, and sometimes purposefully provocative, Glyn currently covers solomag.ca financial beat, taking great pride in striving to make it funny, or at least interesting to read.

Learning to be Income Tax Savvy

2009-06-26T11:04:00.005-04:00

Published on solomag.ca, June 2009.

Income tax time came and went and we’re happy to have another year ahead of us before we have to start thinking about it again. Or do we? Perhaps we should be thinking about it in advance so that it isn’t such an odious task. By knowing a few ins and outs, tax time can be a lot less stressful come next spring!

Tax. It’s a horrible word, and mentioning tax returns in front of any Canadian often incurs eye-rolling, tutting, and a resigned sigh about yet another thing on the to-do list. But, imagine if the federal government suddenly ceased referring to “tax returns” and began to use the term, “free money” instead?

As Cleo Hamel, senior tax analyst for H&R Block says cheerfully: “Tax is bad enough, but why would you sit back and give the government more than you have to?”

It seems like a rhetorical, almost condescending question. But I’m more than happy to take that from the woman tasked with reading the federal budget every time the government publishes one.

Hamel’s role at H&R Block is precisely that, and with the ongoing objective of – amongst other things - identifying where and how Canadians can claim for every single tax-deductable cent that’s up for grabs.

So why am I telling you about tax in June? Well, the majority of tax-related consumer stories, published often in March or April, don’t help much. One month’s notice isn’t enough when you realize the scraps of paper you need to find in the next 28 days are on the dresser, in the car, in the closet, in your desk drawer at work, incommunicado, or already long gone to that same parallel universe where missing socks and the cable controller go. And, if the recession already has you shying away from Starbucks in favour of home brew, or considering cutting your own hair, then can you really afford to say ‘no’ to potentially thousands of dollars?

Yes, thousands. “As a rule of thumb, your tax return should always be within $100 either way”, explains Hamel. However, there are specific situations in life that may cause you to be taxed incorrectly, that is to say over-taxed.

That’s right, you could be paying too much right now, as you read this. And you can get it all back.

“The key is to be very thorough,” says Hamel. “There isn’t a solitary, windfall payment available but the Tax Act basically encourages people to take back more in return for claiming more.”

So how do you know whether you’re one of the lucky ones? The cool news is that the majority of people are. Are you working? Saving any money at all? Been ill lately? Got a house or kids? Best of all, have you been spending money moonlighting in your dream job whilst putting in the 9-5 grind in your beige, Dilbert-style cubicle? Then there is money for you.

Check out solomag.ca over the next few issues to for more tips on how to get more and give less. In the meantime, go find yourself an empty shoe box. Don’t have one? Time for a new pair of shoes!

Delightful house built on bedrock of positivity

2009-01-21T18:01:00.008-05:00

Do not trust the man whose pay-check depends on you taking his advice. Al Gore said similar during “An Inconvenient Truth” and the same thought occurred to me as I leafed through a discarded ‘dream’ houses and condos supplement on the 506 streetcar towards the East end. Doom and gloom sells newspapers, but here was realtor after realtor, lining up to enthuse about the property market in Toronto. I guess whether you’re a glass half-empty or glass half-full kinda person dictates who you believe – realtor, or politician?

Not much of a choice between them though – a clash of the ‘liar’ titans one might even be tempted to say.

And so a similar clash of the titans between full and empty began. The cynical, jaded writer versus the self-made entrepreneur 10 years his junior. To be honest, I didn’t expect to hear such good news for house music lovers when I interviewed Lindi Delight Masunda. After all, regardless of how hedonistic you might be, are you really going to go out and party if you can’t make the mortgage payment?

However, not content with creating – to my knowledge at least – one of the first deep house-specific nights in downtown Toronto, the entrepreneur described predominantly as “positive” on Facebook hopes to be promoting Canadian DJ talent internationally, to add philanthropy to her already successful “TenaciouSoul” venture, and to launch a website that enables anyone else to do what she’s doing…all before the end of 2009.

In addition to TenaciouSoul, managing Canadian DJs to get them on the global map and out of the Great White North, and teaming up with a selection of womens’ charities, her website is planned to be a proverbial online directory of bartenders, DJs, security staff, sound and lighting technicians, plus whatever else you can think of to throw a mini-rave of your own. Oh – and she’s going to learn to DJ herself too. Well, it is only January I guess, but then this is a 27 year-old who gets fidgety if she’s not doing umpteen things at once. “I need variety,” she grins from the other side of a pint.

I suppose it’s not surprising for someone who graduated in electronics & telecommunications on the West coast, and then turned up as the brains behind TenaciouSoul – which isn’t even her day job – on the East coast some years later. “I believe in fate,” says Masunda. “My last night in Toronto before flying back to Vancouver for good, I walked into a bar and asked the manager there if I could help out. He asked me whether I had bartending experience, I said yes, and that was that. I was working in there the next evening as my empty seat on the plane headed West.”

We’re now six-and-a-half years down the road.

Perhaps that puts Masunda’s ambitions into perspective, although she hasn’t been at the single-handed event management and promotions game for all that time. “I decided in about March 2006 that I wanted to throw parties,” she explains. “I was doing it all myself, which made it hard work but also meant that there was no-one around to tell me I shouldn’t do it, or that I was doing it wrong!” And that’s how it went for a year or two. No qualifications, no training, no sponsorship, no grants, no loans, no counsel, no helpline, nothing: “I’ve learned the hard way over the last two-and-a-half years, but I’ve learned fast too. Now I feel more like I’m coming into my own as a promoter, improving my focus, and – at the same time - getting to know myself better as a woman.”

Masunda steals off to the bathroom mid-interview, giving me time to reflect. She’s confident, yes, but not arrogantly so. She’s decidedly cheerful, and the persistent “positive” description from Facebook is being slowly but surely being put into context. She’s going to be one of those people who makes you feel good after you’ve spoken to them. Maybe that’s why Joel Smye, the owner of ‘Footwork’ on Adelaide West, agreed to let her single-handedly promote a Robsoul Recordings night there. Masunda achieved this with good old-fashioned person-to-person networking, via the DJ Phil Weekes, and proceeded to complete the flyers, promotion, and even the guest list for that evening. Needless to say it was a tremendous success, so successful in fact that Robsoul Recordings retained Masunda’s services for the rest of that month, and their other planned gigs.

She’s back, and a simple question I missed occurs to me: “Why deep house in particular, and why ‘TenaciouSoul’?”

“I have to promote something I’m passionate about,” she smiles. “I live and breathe house music. It’s what I wake up to in the morning, and what I go to bed at night to.”

“I didn’t know what to do about a company name. So, I just made two columns of different words that I wanted the music to feel like. I came up with various combinations before TenaciouSoul, but couldn’t believe my luck when I Google’d it and found the company name wasn’t already registered somewhere.”

What does TenaciouSoul the brand actually mean though? For once, Masunda has trouble articulating: “It’s sexy, sensual, classily-dressed women in afros…” But, there’s more to it than that, as the emphatic feedback on Facebook demonstrates. Were TenaciouSoul the end of a battery then it’d obviously be positive. If a car, then imagine a Volkswagen Beetle with a subtle, stylish paint job, and understated but cool chrome rims. Why? Because – like the DJs and music choices that go into each of the gigs – they’re known globally, vehemently reliable, and potentially iconic. However, whilst the bug would definitely be souped-up, it would still be approachable somehow, most likely packed with 20 and 30-somethings, picking up willing hitch-hikers to take them to a festival somewhere. Most of all, there would be no tinted windows. There’s nothing aloof about Masunda or the gigs she crafts, so the only hidden aspect of this particular Volkswagen would be the punching-above-its-weight, hand-tooled power station lurking under the hood.

After all, Masunda has already managed to secure a couple of all-time DJ debuts for Toronto clubbers, most notably perhaps John “Jellybean” Benitez – a name old enough for even me to recognise from a high school disco. Jellybean has had his hands on everything from Madonna’s debut album in 1982, through the Pointer Sisters, the soundtrack to “Flashdance”, Fleetwood Mac, to Sting, and even Whitney Houston in 2000 (remember her before she met Bobby Brown?). It also took her less than two years of promotions to persuade Groove Assassins to come to town for the first time.

I bet that was a good night.

Then there’s Masunda’s ability to persuade DJs to play outside of their typical genre (imagine lifting the hood of said Volkswagen to find a Kawasaki or Sherman tank engine inside). DJ Sneak is best known for a raw, minimal, percussive-almost-dub style house, championed by the likes of Trade in London, UK. DJ Aleksandra doesn’t often stray far from techno. However, both were persuaded to play an out-of-character deep house set for the TenaciouSoul regulars, and both were enormously successful nights. This, combined with Masunda’s method of briefing DJs for their sets is what makes describing the TenaciouSoul vibe so tricky. OK, so we’ve got afros, but then imagine DJs whose only guidance is to, “…play from the heart,” as Masunda puts it. “I wouldn’t expect to have to brief a DJ anyway,” she insists. “It’s their job to figure out whether the crowd is feeling a particular tune, and change it up a bit if it’s not working.” Maybe if TenaciouSoul were a proverb, it’d be, “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know whatcha gonna git.”

I digress.

Picking a company name was the easy part. What followed was the administrative hard graft: getting business cards organised; striking deals; balancing everything with the needs of the day job; painting more than 300 front door keys and attaching a label with the gig details instead of using paper flyers; and networking. Lots of networking. It paid off though, with Masunda running into Eddy K of YYZ Entertainment in early 2006. This gave her the necessary backing to be able to host a night of her own, but she still needed DJs.

“I spent ages familiarising myself with the local DJ talent, scouring online, collecting cards, and asking people for recommendations,” she recalls. “From these I chose DJ Dirty Dale, most of all for his sound, which I felt fitted the TenaciouSoul ideal. It didn’t go smoothly though! The first time I met him he just told me to call him back in the morning if I was still serious!” Through Masunda’s persistence, things worked out though. Jason Ulrich was later secured for the warm-up set at TenaciouSoul’s maiden musical voyage, a humble but packed-to-the-rafters loft at Queen and Spadina in May 2006.

This strikes me as one of those times when you review your resume and think, “Sheesh, did I really do all that?” But there’s still more to come. Each new gig requires another reinvention of the humble flyer and fresh DJ talent for the growing Toronto house scene. Thankfully some things stay the same though. “One thing I’ve learned is that you have to work with people you trust,” states Masunda, possibly in her most serious tone of voice all day. “I have a core list of experienced and reliable suppliers that I go back to time and time again – sound, talent, logistics, work permits, bartenders, security – everything you can think of.”

I suppose if one has trust, then one can relax. And, although Masunda admits to, “…feeling tense until the room is full,” each time she promotes a night, by that point the necessary hard work has already been done. Thus the punters can also relax, which is probably why TenaciouSoul has already become something typically Toronto – relaxed, multicultural, but with a sense of pride that demands attention over the noisy neighbour to the South. In her words, “The music is key. TenaciouSoul is all about having somewhere to go where people can experience a musical journey and forget their worries for a night.”

I guess some houses may vary in price, but well-chosen house is always priceless. Put a value on it yourself at Footwork on 7th March 2009 when TenaciouSoul will be hosting DJ Heather and Colette.

Five cent fine on wastrels the first step in a social change marathon

2009-01-16T15:42:00.004-05:00

Wannabe environmentalists such as I, who are tempted to celebrate Loblaw’s announcement this week that it will charge shoppers five cents per plastic bag, may have to put the bubbly back in the fridge.

I know that corporations in general are worse polluters than consumers, but there’s a difference between landfill litter and other weapons in the polluter’s armoury. The City of Toronto told me on Wednesday that shopping bags akin to Loblaws’ make up only a proportion of one type of litter collected from the streets of Toronto, which in turn accounts for only 27 per cent of annual Toronto litter.

I shouldn’t disparage the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee though. With 44,000 cubic metres of landfill-bound rubbish yearly, it has – literally – a mountain to climb, albeit an underground one. Unfortunately the real culprits, all 3,000,000+ of them, are much closer to home. Actually, they’re in the home – mine and everyone else’s in the GTA. The majority of that 27 per cent is from a grubby smorgasbord of retail and non-retail items that, when put together, spell fast food packaging. What annoys me even more is that a significant proportion of them are plastic bottles and jars that could have been recycled, if the previous owner had managed to carry them that marathon distance to the nearest garbage bin, and mustered the staggering concentration required to pick the correct hole of the three. As I discovered, once whatever-it-is hits the street, then the city has to regard it as “contaminated,” and it goes the way of the bubblegum and everything else.

Thus I don’t make myself very popular giving people the ‘hairy eyeball’ when they grumble that there’s no school close enough to them for their first-born, that the ambulance should have arrived one minute sooner, or that there’s a massive power outage on the West side of Toronto. I just quietly wonder how many schools, hospitals, or power stations could be bought with the $20,000,000 that the city wastes every year clearing up after Torontonians.

RocknRolla will never die

2008-11-10T21:15:00.004-05:00

Movie review of "RocknRolla".
Published on facebook.com, 10th November 2008.

Definitely a pleasant surprise, particularly when the choice to see this over 'whatserface gets married' (sic) was decided by a coin toss.

Like The Matrix and The Game, RocknRolla was one of those movies I knew nothing about before seeing it (thanks Terri). Snatch seemed a little like 'more of the same' when I saw it, and I won't mention the effort with Madonna in-between, but this movie feels as if Guy Ritchie went for the safe bet and then directed the s**t out of it.

The cast is a nice mixture of known actors, for example a much more charismatic character for Butler than his stiff (pun intended) mythological king in "300". Also Newton's character has a bit more zip about her than the doe-eyed and dappy Tom-Cruise-beard in Mission Impossible 2.

Of course, Wilkinson's gangland boss is also a far cry from the tormented and redundant pressganged stripper in "The Full Monty", although a pair of Ray-Bans, colourful language and a teaspoon of cockney rhyming slang isn't quite enough to make his character go down in the most delightful way as Mary Poppins would say.

I guess there's a lesson for straight men here in that Butler's charm, ultimate desire to get Newton into bed, and knack for luring her into underestimating his grit - if nothing else - demonstrates how Ritchie can make an armed robber seem like Casanova. This, chaps, could be what women mean when they say they can't help but like bad men.

It's really the newbies that shine though. We have a convincingly closeted gay, but that just has the women cooing all the more. There are various ensemble actors and henchmen, and Quid as both the elusive plot lynchpin and deus ex machina-cum-narrator nailing his various scenes. However, it would seem that Ritchie teases the most considered performances from his cast and this, along with the Beluga of irony and seminal East/West-end London sets, glues everything together nicely. All in all it's a gangster flick without the gore, sufficient swearing and pyrotechnics to keep things ticking over nicely, and while - yes - it does seem to sag a little in the middle, Ritchie manages to escalate each of the passing minutes enough to hold the attention.

In the end I think it's more than just brain candy and, dare I say it, not just a 'guy' movie, so I hope there will be a follow-up as the final scene alludes. Can Ritchie stay consistent though?

Jacqueline Parker, consultant, DDB Public Relations

2008-08-26T14:50:00.000-04:00

Jacqueline Parker, Consultant, DDB Public Relations (worked indirectly for Glyn at DDB Public Relations):

“I worked with Glyn for a year at DDB Public Relations. During that time, while I did not report to Glyn, I often went to Glyn for advice on direction and to have him proof read materials I had written for clients. Glyn was not only a great mentor, his knowledge of the industry was immensely helpful to me in my own position. Glyn was always very strategic and had a firm grasp of his clients need and how to manage them.” 26th August 26 2008.

Richelle Gillett, senior consultant, DDB Public Relations

2008-06-21T14:47:00.001-04:00

Richelle Gillett, Senior Consultant, DDB PR: worked indirectly for Glyn at DDB Public Relations:

“Glyn is organized, conscientious and enthusiastic, a pleasure to work with. A good leader and team-mate. He's a sharp ideas-man, has lots of initiative and is motivated to get the job done & done well.” 21st June 2008

"Balls" is right, all else is just plain wrong

2008-06-20T21:39:00.000-04:00

Movie review of "Balls of Fury".
Published on facebook.com, 20th June 2008.

I'm not going to spend much time reviewing this - it's not worth it. Spoof of one of the Bruce Lee movies (Game of Death?) where table tennis replaces Kung Fu. Even Christopher Walken couldn't save it, and I didn't laugh much despite being wasted when I watched it. Avoid.

Heather Boissoin, director of Sales & Marketing, Org Matters Solutions Inc.

2008-06-17T14:41:00.000-04:00

Heather hired you as a Agency in 2006 (DDB Public Relations)

Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Creative

“Glyn was wonderful to work with as a Manager at DDB in Public Relations. He had some very good "out of the box" ideas and came up with a very creative approach to our business problem. He completed a business proposal on time and within the budget discussed during the briefing. I would work with Glyn again and found him to be extremely detailed and task oriented with a better than average personality.” 17th June 2008.

Disadvantaged, alas

2008-04-17T17:57:00.001-04:00

Movie review of "Vantage Point".
Published on facebook.com, 17th April 2008.

A good idea, poorly executed and hammily directed one must say. Chances of a chubby American tourist, clutching a digicam, keeping up with two secret service agents as they pursue an assassin through Madrid? Unlikely.

Likelihood of two secret service agents firing off handgun rounds in a busy Spanish street like it's the Wild West? Pretty low I'd say.

Likelihood of a secret service agent marching out to presidential protection duty without even a bulletprooof vest, particularly after being shot by a would-be assasin in the recent past? You be the judge.

All in all there are fair performances from the actors involved, though Whittaker's performance is a long way from his brilliant portrayal of Idi Amin, and poor Dennis Quaid has a permanent scowl that nothing seems to remove. It is the director, however, that should probably foot most of the blame though. 11.59 and 58 seconds...AGAIN?! "OH MY GOD" exclaimed one cinema-goer in the theatre where I saw the film, and he's probably right.

No fish out of water here, except the director

2008-04-11T14:11:00.001-04:00

Movie review of "Lady In the Water".
Published on facebook.com, 11th April 2008.

Well, it's not BAD I suppose. Doesn't have the epic "Eureka" moment of The Sixth Sense, that's for sure. But, think along the lines of Pan's Labyrinth or even The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in terms of kiddy-esque suspension of disbelief and you're on he right track.

Strong screenplay and good performances all round, though the director's cameo I found a little annoying, similar to Tarantino not only relentlessly popping up in the middle of the Grindhouse double bill, but also blatantly copying George Clooney's mannerisms expressed in "From Dusk 'Til Dawn".

Suspense is kept simmering away as the various tenants - and the viewer - try to figure out who has which 'other world' role and the lack of bad language or gore, though not necessarily adult themes, make it innocuous enough for family viewing. Giamatti is, as ever, a real pleasure to watch.

One way to make ironing fun

2008-04-02T14:04:00.003-04:00

Movie review of "Iron Man".
Published on facebook.com, 2nd April 2008.

Wow. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Isn't this just another Marvel/DC Comics cash-in?" Well, I have to say that this movie fills the void between the last Batman and the next (Dark Knight) one quite nicely.

Equal measures of action, plot, character and screenplay, this is a very smartly- formed package of a summer blockbuster.

Excellent casting too, by the way. Downey is superb as an authentic immoral playboy, and there are no highbrow, Batman or Fantastic Four-esque moral issues at play here. He's flawed, he's selfish, egotistical, and more of an anti-hero for the majority of the film. And, whilst all the high-tech requires suspension of disbelief, his character does not. The same can be said for Paltrow, who plays his long-suffering assistant. This is not your regular, fall-at-the-feet of the hero bimbo role, but a punchy portrayal of a modern, intelligent woman in full control of her emotions and urges. The fact that they DON'T get together is another credit to Favreau. It's also nice to see Bridges in a villain role rather than his typecast bla bla do-gooder variety.

The script too is above average, with a fair smattering of laughs and some real zinger lines. My own favourite is Paltrow's, "Sometimes, I even have to take out the trash". More witty dialogue comes about with Downey, who in the absence of any friends builds an almost human relationship with the various powerful IT devices around him.

All in all it's an excellent value package of entertainment, and the effects et al make the trip to the cinema well worth it - don't wait for DVD on this one.

Key To Life: "Find Our Way (Breakaway)" (The Elusive Peppermint Jam Remixes) 12" single

2008-03-25T20:41:00.004-04:00

What starts as your basic deep house, 4/4 time, bla bla turns into something far more luscious. Well, I say basic but you're only a few bars in when you realise the snappy percussion has had your feet moving for several seconds. String stabs followed by the "Punch it out!" sample already have you grooving, when everything stops for the chord stabs.

Note you may have experienced goose pimples by now. You may be smiling and nodding your head in time. This is quite normal.

I won't dwell on the detail and spoil all the surprises but safe to say, this will be a tune I will keep for a very long time. The dub on A2 has all the above less the full lyric and some of the goosepimples. It does a good job of separating the mid-range from the top end and bass enough to accentuate both, rather than making it sound hollow. Think Boris Dlugosch meets Kathleen Murphy, they have a drink, one thing leads to another...

more images

Label:	Sub-Urban
Catalog#:	SU-23
Format:	Vinyl, 12"
Country:	US
Released:	1996
Genre:	Electronic
Style:	House
Credits:	Producer, Mixed By - Tommy Musto Remix, Producer [Additional] - Boris Dlugosch , Mousse T. Vocals - Kathleen Murphy
Notes:	Produced & mixed for Northcott Productions. Additional production & remix by Boris Dlugosch for Elusive Productions & Mousse T. for Peppermint Jam Productions, Germany.
Rating:	4.6/5 (18 votes) Rate It
Submitted by:	moogman.de

Tracklisting:

A1		Find Our Way (Breakaway) (Club Path Remix) (6:35)
A2		Find Our Way (Breakaway) (Club Path Dub) (6:14)
B1		Find Our Way (Breakaway) (Jazz Path Remix) (7:02)
		Bass - Jürgen Attig
B2		Find Our Way (Breakaway) (Jazz Path Dub) (5:32)
		Bass - Jürgen Attig

More fleeting than Fleet Street

2008-01-28T15:21:00.001-05:00

Movie review of "Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street".
Published on facebook.com, 28th January 2008.

Typical Burton in tone and gloom, though with all that pantomime it's surprising between them that Depp and Bonham-Carter couldn't seem to make it black comedy so much as, well, just black really. Good if you know and love the songs (and can live without the narration from the stage version), and worth a visit if you're a Burton fan.

Otherwise, one to wait for on DVD and see what the bonus extras are like.

Atone for Seeing a Chick Flick

2008-01-26T21:23:00.004-05:00

Movie review of "Atonement".
Published on facebook.com, 26th January 2008.

They say it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, having seen the trailers and heard a little of the soundtrack I knew I was pretty much in for a tear-fest with this film. That said, I think enough of McEwan's writing translates into the movie version for this to be a sublimely heart-aching experience.

Pretty good performances from all actors concerned, with McAvoy and Blethlyn probably coming out on top. Knightley also does a good job but the problem with her is that I can't watch her on screen - despite her stunning looks - without wincing. The poor girl is practically skeletal and I'd mail her a cheeseburger or two if I only knew where she lived.

Anyway, the movie manages to extend and hang on a simple premise that stretches excruciatingly for nearly two hours having been set up close to the start of the film. It's not without humour either, though if you're like me and prefer a happy ending then find something else to watch.

Great screenplay and special effects used with restraint give an excellent backdrop of pan-European warfare principally in France and London to the romance, remorse, guilt and ostricisation in the foreground.

BACKGROUNDER: EnWise Power Solutions Inc.

2007-12-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

EnWise Power Solutions Inc. (EnWise) is a privately-owned, Toronto-based environmental company built on the principles of sustainability and social responsibility. EnWise launched with the sole purpose of providing Canadian homeowners with a means to turn their environmentally proactive wishes into a carbon-reducing reality. The 80 person-strong company assists consumers who have the will but lack the know-how to radically improve the energy efficiency and comfort of their home, reduce their home’s ecological footprint, and save money on household utility bills in the process.

The company’s unique business model affords it an unrivalled entry into to the market. EnWise is the only Ontario company of its kind to go beyond merely advising homeowners about how their house is energy-inefficient, and what products they might need to improve it. The first step, known as a ‘home energy audit’ is where other companies stop, but with EnWise, this is just the beginning of their four-step, one-stop shop solution that ends with homeowners saving money and the environment, while improving the quality and comfort of their home.

Once a homeowner contacts EnWise, their Residential Energy Professionals (REPs) are certified by the Government of Canada to advise customers proactively on best-in-class solutions for their home’s environmental and energy use shortcomings. The process continues with the EnWise installation team making those improvements so the homeowner does not have to. The company also offers financing via EnWise Capital Corporation if of interest to the homeowners. Depending on the particulars of the home energy audit, the improvements implemented will offer guaranteed savings on the utility bills from the onset. Improvements may even result in positive cash flow as the energy savings may actually be greater than the monthly payment financed through EnWise Capital.

The company embodies a relaxed, altruistic corporate culture, reflective of its leaders Peter Hwang (president & CEO) and Phil Winters (chief sustainability officer). A small group of investors co-funded the company’s inception with a vision of creating a national culture of conservation and ultimately providing leadership in developing sustainable market driven environmental solutions.

The launch of EnWise is particularly auspicious as it catches a change in social attitudes towards the environment, and the federal government’s EcoEnergy Efficiency Initiative of April 2007. The latter is a $300 million program that entitles Canadian homeowners to receive rebates as high as $5,000 to make their homes or businesses more energy efficient. In June 2007, the Ontario government announced that it would match the Federal commitment therefore making homeowners eligible for up to $10,000 in grants and rebate incentives which offset the cost of energy conservation efforts. EnWise is a certified delivery agent of the ecoENERGY program and facilitates access to these rebates to their customers as part of its offering. EnWise guarantees its customers a significant reduction in home energy consumption if its recommendations are carried through to implementation.

EnWise’s initial target market is people who own houses that are 10 years or older within Southern Ontario, with plans to expand this service territory to other provinces and select US States during the coming months.

In the future, EnWise plans to grow into new home construction and commercial markets assisting both home developers and businesses to embrace a culture of energy conservation while minimizing their impact and highlighting their environmental benefits and improved comfort and reduced operating costs.

Further information on EnWise Power Solutions is available on the company’s website at www.enwisepower.com.

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For further information, photography or to arrange an interview, please contact...

In the right compass direction, but the journey has barely begun

2007-12-08T15:51:00.001-05:00

Movie review of "The Golden Compass".
Published on facebook.com, 8th December 2007.

Interesting and attention-keeping for adults though at times seems a mish-mash of Lord of the Rings and the Narnia Chronicles. Great acting from DB Richards who succeeds in giving her character the right level of annoying brattishness. Kidman looks nauseatingly thin apart from her lips but does a good enough job of balancing the conflicting objectives of baddie and mummy. Little else to say except that this is a whimsical enough kids' movie, but with little time to explore any character in great depth. All more akin to placing chess pieces on the board before the game really starts, as the first film of a trilogy franchise sometimes is.

Current king of Scottish movies

2007-12-05T16:02:00.001-05:00

Movie review of "The Last King of Scotland".
Published on facebook.com, 5th December 2007.

Thrilling all-the-more because you know it's based on actual events. Brilliant performances from the two leads, and the right balance of suspense that ensures you're both left to your own imagination as to the events happening in the background of the film without an unnecessary gore-fest from the beginning. Excellent movie.