Six String Nation - a Canada Day story

Looking for something to be proud of this Canada Day? Want to read a kick-ass story about our culture and heritage in a way that’s never been told before? Read on...

For the second year in a row, I had the good fortune of attending Podcasters Across Borders. Despite it’s name, this gem of a conference – organized by Canadian Podcast Buffet hosts Mark Blevis and Bob Goyetche and their wives, Andrea Ross and Cat Bobkowicz – is about so much more thank podcasting. It’s really about content, creativity and inspiration. The three key elements in plain old-fashioned storytelling, the best way to engage an audience.

That’s exactly how the tone was set with keynote Jowi Taylor, Peabody award-wining writer broadcaster formerly with the CBC, as he presented an overview of his career leading up to the inspiring story of Six String Nation.

What’s Six String Nation and why should you care?

Six String Nation is many things to many people. It started with a dream in 1995 and over the past few years, it’s the result of a cross-country journey and collaboration culminating in:
• 64 pieces (hand-crafted from vast riches of our history, heritage and culture)
• 6 strings
• 1 guitar (the Voyageur)
• 1 Canada

According to Jowi, the goals are simple:

“• invite the many voices and perspectives that together define the spectrum of Canadian identity and experience to speak to one another – each in their own voice;
• celebrate the people and stories that make each part of Canada distinct;
• tell the story of a country from the roots to the trunk rather than the other way around; and
• encourage us to tell that story to ourselves and the world through music – the language that Canada speaks just about better than anyone else in the world.”

After Jowi’s story, we were further wowed when Jay Moonah, accompanied by Bob, Mark and a chorus of PAB attendees, started to play With a Little Help from My Friends on the Voyageur. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Many of us also had an opportunity to be photographed and photograph our friends holding the Voyageur as well.

What struck many of us as odd was the fact that there was no direct government support and next to none from corporate Canada. Six String Nation has really been Jowi Taylor’s labour of love.

Help support Jowi by telling others about his story, buying his book – I bought one for Mr. B as a Father’s Day gift – and checking out the Six String Nation tour this summer or a slew of visits to schools and community events throughout the year. You can even have your picture taken with the Voyageur.

Happy Canada Day!

photo credit: Six String Nation at PAB09 by lexnger on flickr, Thanks Lex!

Flex time!

Thanks to Ford Canada and Social Media Group, I was asked if I wanted to take a Ford Flex for a spin. It’s Ford’s answer to the minivan since they stopped manufacturing the Freestar a couple years ago and it’s made at their Oakville plant.

I’m no soccer mom but I wanted to test it out around the ’hood with my family in tow. I’m a minivan driver so I think I have a pretty good point of reference. The kids loved it because of the features we don’t have in our van. Mr. B. enjoyed his test drive too. I even liked the two-tone Light Ice Blue Metallic with White Suede roof colour and as Mr. B. will tell you, I usually have an aversion to blue cars. Don’t know why, I just do.

I also thought it would be a lot of fun to fill it up with some podcampers and take it to PodCamp Montreal. Joining me for the ride were Connie Crosby, Lily Mills, Jay Moonah, Daniele Rossi and Brent Morris.

The Flex is spacious and with six leather captain seats, built in DVD player, SIRIUS satellite radio and four sunroofs, it’s a more luxurious vehicle I’m used to driving.

We had a very comfortable ride but found parking and turning such a long and wide cross-over vehicle more challenging. As you can see below, at 201.8" in length, it’s somewhat long for a standard parking spot. Cool thing is, when you’re backing up and getting too close to an object behind you, an audio signal lets you know.

Seats in the middle and back rows can easily be turned down for extra storage. When all seats are in the upright position, storage isn’t as generous as I would have thought for the wide Flex design. We managed to fit all our our overnight luggage in the back.

The electrical outlet was a bonus for us geeks ’cause we could use our laptops without wearing out the batteries.
One of the cool features we wanted to check out was the “fridge”. We had planned to bring a special lunch with us instead of stopping at a fast-food place on the highway. Needless to say, although having a small fridge compartment is a great bonus for keeping snacks and drinks cold for the kids, it was smaller than we expected and not large enough to hold our lunches.

According to Ford Canada the Flex starts at $34,999 and the model I previewed retails at $44,229.

Read more about Flex features.

Photo credit: photos of me and the electrical outlet are courtesy of Connie Crosby. UPDATE: Connie also took the photo of the Flex in the parking lot.

Six random things about me

I was tagged again! It usually happens every few months and I don’t always participate. This time I couldn’t refuse the ever-so-talented Daniele Rossi who illustrated my laptop bag (pictured).

Here are six random things in random order:

1. I went to the mall today, wore a different colour of blush on each cheek and took polls at 3 different cosmetics stores before deciding which colour to buy.
2. I loved 80s fashions in the 80s but I’m not digging them now.
3. I have a hard time finding shoes that fit; otherwise, I’d spend way too much money buying them (a girl can never have enough).
4. Scallops make me violently ill.
5. I got suckered into the faceyourmanga.com vortex on twitter this weekend (my avatar is pictured)
6. Launching a podcast and public speaking help me step outside my comfort zone because I’m shy and hate the sound of my own voice.
7. I can’t count. Contrary to what some of you may think, I do have a life away from the computer. ;-)

I am tagging the following bloggers: Amrita Chandra, Rayanne Langdon, Jay Moonah, Nancy Zimmerman, Glen Farrelly and Mitch Canter

Random rules (hat tip to Connie Crosby):
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

photo credit: The Finished Product by Daniele Rossi on flickr

Announcing Community Divas!

I’m passionate about a lot of things.

One of them is Bargainista. Why? Because of you! Without you, it wouldn’t exist. If no one was here reading, leaving comments or writing guest posts, I don’t think I’d still be here doing this almost two years later. We are all part of this community.

And that leads me to another one of my passions: community, especially the ones I belong to online. They are made up of real people sharing common interests and ideas while forming real friendships. Many of us have been able to get together offline too.

The podcasting community is one of those online communities very near and dear to my heart. With the urging of my friend Connie Crosby, I joined the PodCamp Toronto organizing team last fall and attended Podcasters Across Borders (aka PAB) in June. I didn’t have a podcast but I didn’t let that stop me.

Now all that has changed. With the help and support of many of our friends, Connie and I teamed up and we decided to host our own podcast about online communities and some of the social networking tools that help build them. It’s called Community Divas. The first two episodes feature an interview with our friend and community builder, Jay Moonah. We hope you’ll listen and participate by giving us your feedback and offering suggestions on how we can make it more meaningful for you.

Follow Community Divas on twitter; join the fan page on Facebook.

If you’re interested in learning more about podcasts and social media, consider attending Niagara on the Lake Podcasting and Social Media Meetup next weekend and PodCamp Montréal, September 20 & 21. Admission is free for both events.

photo credit: Glow Bracelets on PAB Cruise by Andy Caster on flickr

After a Fashion meets PodCamp Toronto

You didn’t think I’d spend a whole weekend at PodCamp without sharing, did you?

If you’ve been following the adventures of After a Fashion, you’ll be pleased to know Jenny Bullough aka Chloe Barbosa and Paradise Wunderland (that’s me) gave a presentation: “Everything You Need To Know About Second Life”.

Of course we talked about shopping. ;) Jenny also shared her wonderful case study about eHarlequin’s book launches in Second Life. I’m leaving a copy of the slides here so you can have a look:

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There were many fascinating sessions at PodCamp. Check out the media archive you can catch up on the latest in social media and podcasting. See, sometimes the best things in life are free! Thanks to all our sponsors.

Personal note: You may know I was on the PodCamp Toronto 2008 organizing team. I want to give a big shout out the other team members: Connie Crosby, Dave Fleet, Rob Lee, Katherine Matthews, Sean McGaughey, Jay Moonah, and Tommy Vallier. You’re amazing!

Join me at PodCamp Toronto 2008

Last year I extolled the virtues of PodCamp Toronto and told you about some of the wonderful podcasts available. But PodCamp isn’t just about podcasting. It’s THE unconference for podcasting and social media. This year, PodCamp Toronto is taking place February 23 and 24 at Ryerson University in Toronto.

I learned a lot and had a great time meeting new people last year. So when Connie Crosby asked me how I felt about joining the 2008 organizing team, I jumped at the chance. In addition to Connie, this year’s team includes: Dave Fleet, Rob Lee, Katherine Matthews, Sean McGaughey, Jay Moonah, Tommy Vallier and yours truly.

Less than five weeks away, there are already more than 200 people registered and a slew of jam-packed sessions. There is an exciting new concurrent track – From Zero to Podcasting (Z2P) – offering a mix of campfire style discussions and technical presentations aimed at helping everyone, from newcomers to advanced podcasters. You can even start from nothing and learn the skills necessary to plan, prepare, produce, publish and promote your own podcast.

Have a listen to the audio promo.

Hope to see you there. Did I mention registration is FREE! Sign up on the wiki. Volunteer, it’s a great way to get involved and meet new people. If you have something to share, why not offer a session. I am.