August 21, 2005
Shit, they're on to me!
So I was just browsing through my log files and I noticed that early this morning in a period of about one minute, my blog was viewed by four different computers with ip addresses registered to the Canadian Department of National Defence. Christ, they're on to me - I'm doomed!
August 15, 2005
Management layoffs at work
So I got back from two weeks of vacation to find out the con had laid off a senior operations manager (and demoted another), 3 operations managers, a training manager, a communications manager, and a secretary. I heard the senior operations manager that got canned was on sick leave at the time because he has cancer. Similar layoffs happened at many other Convergys centers as well, supposedly to streamline the business and encourage expansion. Hmm, interesting developments.
August 11, 2005
Please sign this petition
Please read this, and if you are interested in signing the petition visit http://www.petitiononline.com/Emery/petition.html
To: Members of Parliament
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House to the following:
THAT Marc Emery, leader of the British Columbia Marijuana Party, was arrested on July 29, 2005 in Nova Scotia at the request of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency;
THAT Mr. Emery was arrested for activities that he pursued with the knowledge of the public and governments of Canada and the United States for over five years;
THAT Mr. Emery's activities were tacitly approved by the government when Health Canada directed those in need of medical marijuana to his business;
THAT Canada has not enforced the prohibition on viable cannabis seeds in its prohibition of marijuana for over ten years;
THAT Mr. Emery faces possible imprisonment in a federal United States penitentiary for his natural life - a grossly disproportionate sentence by Canadian standards that does not even exist in Canada;
THAT the United States has chosen to enforce this law against Mr. Emery and his associates as a political statement, while ignoring other, lower profile Canadians who operate similar businesses; and
THAT, according to the Extradition Act, the Minister of Justice "shall" refuse to surrender a person when the surrender would be unjust or oppressive, or when it is requested for the purpose of punishing the political opinions of the person;
THEREFORE, pursuant to the Extradition Act, your petitioners call upon Parliament to oppose the extradition of Marc Emery and order the Minister of Justice to refuse to issue a surrender order in this case.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
August 09, 2005
Sunday Night Volunteer Party
The volunteer party on the final night of the folk fest was amazing.
First off was Johnny Clegg. It was awsome to see him in a venue like this. After he finished I went up to the quiet rooms for a bit. I caught some of a bluegrass jam session featuring a couple members of Doyle Lawsons group Quicksilver. Then I caught what started out as a celtic jam but was then joined by Josh Ritter who did a couple of songs. Maria Dunn whom I really like was involved in that as well. Then while on my way back to the party room I came upon a blues jam with Guy Davis, Allan Prosser from Oysterband and serveral others. Then back at the party room I saw Fiamma Fumana, a very energenic blend of electronica and traditional Italian music. And after that, the highlight of all the volunteer parties and perhaps the whole festival, Shooglenifty played and they were unbelievable. As they didn't start until about 3:00 am I was able to get right up to the edge of the stage. In fact I could have gotten up and danced on the stage had I wanted, as several volunteers did. I don't dance much but these guys definately had me dancing. They played until about 4:45 AM.
Click on a thumbnail for a larger image:
 Johnny Clegg |
 Quiet Room |
 Blues Jam |
 Shooglenifty |
 Volunteers dance with Shooglinifty |
Folk Fest Day 4
On Sunday I decided to try and catch up somewhat on my sleep since I only had about an hour of sleep on Friday night. So I didn't get to the grounds until about 1:30. I caught the last half hour of a gospel session with Ruthie Foster, Amos Lee, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Mavis Staples had sang with them as well but didn't stay for the whole session so I missed her. I really enjoyed Amos Lee, he's great. Then I caught Johnny Clegg on the main stage and he was awsome. He's from South Africa and he led the first mixed race band in South Africa, during aparteid, which caused a lot of controversy at the time. After the mainstage I caught concerts by Josh Ritter and Amos Lee, and a little bit of The Weakerthans. I was then going to catch a blues session, but they had lost power at that particular stage so I waited a bit then went to eat. I volunteered from 6-10 and then saw Allison Krauss and Union Station. I'm not really a big bluegrass fan normally, but their rendition of Down to the River was beautiful as were several other songs they did. One of the guys in the band was the singing voice of George Cloony in O Brother Where Art Though, so of course they did a couple of Soggy Bottom Boys songs.
Click on the thumbnails for a larger image:
 Gospel Session |
 Josh Ritter |
 Finale |
Folk Fest Day 3
On day 3 my shift was 11:00 - 3:00. At 3:00 I saw a session by Al Stewart, which was pretty neat - I used to have his Time Passages album when I was about 12, so it was cool to see him do some of those old songs. Then I caught a couple blues songs by Guy Davis before going to see a bit of Danu, a Celtic band from Ireland. After that I caught a session featuring Oysterband, and Shooglenifty. This was my favorite session of the festival, featuring the two best bands that played. I've been a huge Oysterband fan since the last time they played the Edmonton Folk Fest 4 years ago. And like I already said, Shooglenifty is blew me away. I got to see both of these bands in a variety of differnent situations throughout the festival, which was great.
The first act on the mainstage was the Warsaw Village Band, but I missed most of them because I was stuffing my face with the great food they feed the volunteers at the festival. Next up was Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. They weren't bad but nothing special. Next was Ruthie Foster, a great blues/gospel singer/songwriter from Texas. The weather started getting shitty around this point, and it rained on and off for the rest of the evening. After Ruthie Foster was an afro-cuban band called Ricardo Lemvo & Macina Loca. After their set a lot of people began leaving due to the rain. Then Mavis Staples played. She was pretty good but I was a bit pissed that her set went on a bit too long cuting into Oysterband's time. By the time Oysterband started there weren't too many people left on the hill, so I was able to make my way really close to the stage - center stage in what would have been the second row of tarps had there still been a tarp there. This was an amazing set, and what was left of the crowd was really eating it up. Definately the best mainstage act this year in my opinion and being so close was great.
I went to the volunteer party but only stayed until a little after 2:00 AM this time. Caught a bit of Alpha Yaya Diallo, then went up to the quiet rooms where I caught a bit of a Celic jam in which two of the participants were members of Oysterband.
Click on a thumbnail for a larger picture
 Al Stewart |
 Guy Davis |
 Oysterband on the Mainstage |
 Oysterband and Shooglinifty |
Folk Fest Day 2
On Day 2 I volunteered from 2-6. I hung out at stage 5 from 6-9, catching 2 sessions. One was Oscar Lopez, Danu, Beppe Gambetta, and Paris to Kyiv. The other was Tony McManus, Shooglenifty, and a couple members of Oysterband. First up on the mainstage was a Mexican singer named Lila Downs. I really enjoyed her, she has a beautifull voice and the music was terrific. Next was Steve Earle, who I'm a big fan of. He played without a band, just him and a guitar. Of course he finished with Copperhead Road. After Steve Earle was Shooglenifty. They were the big suprise of the folk fest for me this year - these guys blew me away big time (especially at the Sunday night volunteer party, but I'll get to that on day 4). They're an extrememly high energy six piece celtic band from Scotland.
After the mainstage I went to the volunteer party. The first band in the party room was Ricardo Lemvo & Macina Loca. And after that was Oysterband which was awsome - I had been really hoping they would play one of the parties. The first time Oysterband played the festival was in 1987 (before i was going). They played the volunteer party that year and people are still talking about how great they were. About 10 years after the fact one of the band members said in an interview with a Brittish magazine that their best live gig ever was at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival volunteer party in 1987. And their perfomance there this year was amazing as well.
Pictures - click on a thumnail to view a larger version
 Lila Downs |
 Oysterband at the volunteer party |
 Steve Earle |
 Shooglenifty |
