Get Your Riot On As Mulletheads Mug For the Camera, Vancouver Cops Play Big BrotherStop me if you've heard this one before. Two rockers go to a riot and a Guns n' Roses concert breaks out. Or in this case, gets cancelled. When Guns n' Roses singer Axl Rose no-showed his Vancouver concert on November 7, 2002, it was all but preordained that it would end in chaos for the estimated...Read More
Broken Saints Vancouver Innovators Create Online CineLitPart comic book, part anime movie, and all online, Broken Saints (www.brokensaints.com) is cresting a brave new wave of small-screen entertainment. This Flash-based epic is a story in 24 parts that was launched in January 2001, and was born on Canadian soil. Brooke Burgess, a 31-year-old former...Read More
Playing the Future Games Connect the WorldWe are done with television and movies. These archaic forms of entertainment dominated the 20th century, but are passive, linear, and devoid of real interpersonal relationships. Today's entertainment puts power in the audience's hands, turning passive viewers into active participants....Read More
Do I Want My ZeD TV? CBC Attempts "Open Source" TelevisionThe CBC wants you to know that ZeD is not just a television show. On March 18, host Bif Naked put on her best gangsta drawl to tell us "This ain't no Hockey Night in Canada." Billed as "open source television," ZeD's producers call the show an experiment in trans-media. ZeD's web site (zed.cbc.ca)...Read More
Share What You Got (Keep What You Need)Anyone who has even a slight interest in digital music making has a cheap, new option to investigate. MH20.com is a new web site offering a range of music-enabling services, from software, to theory lessons, to industry contacts. Like a good deal of high concept web sites, MH20's genesis came from...Read More
Novelist Jim Munroe Plays GamesJim Munroe writes novels to pay the bills, but would rather be making video games. A couple of years ago, HarperCollins Canada published his first novel, Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask. The experience so bolstered Munroe's hatred of the mainstream publishing industry that he published his...Read More
The Conditions of Corporate CommunityThe promise of the internet, for many, is the opportunity to be heard, be seen, and communicate with others who share similar interests. The net facilitates this sort of thing beautifully, and a zillion so-called "communities of interest" have sprung up all over the web. In many cases, these online...Read More
Big In Japan Rodney Is ComingA secret invasion has been in the planning for years now. And the orchestrators aren't just humans. Animals, plants, and robots are also in cahoots. Grinning from ear to ear, the culprits can often be found amongst chaotic shapes and patterns, or amidst scrambled architectural surroundings. They...Read More
Realtime RevolutionAll has not been well on the radio dial for what seems like a lifetime. Save for a few gems on CBC or campus radio, most people are entirely bored by the threadbare nature of the musical selection. Net radio has been the true alternative for at least two years. But is net radio a revolution in the...Read More
It's e-sabotage!Early in February, some of the most popular online business web sites were taken down for short amounts of time by what are known as "denial of service attacks." A denial of service attack is a way of shutting down a web server by making a large number of requests very quickly — so quickly that the...Read More
Of Christians and Lions and Little WizardsTo say that Christians have never appreciated magic and mythology is a bit of an understatement. After all, ancient fundamentalists used to throw witches onto the fire just to keep warm. While such violent outbursts may be ancient history, the flames of Christian ire still burn brightly. On...Read More
I Want My Net TVThe future of television is evolving right before our eyeballs. Canada leads G-7 nations in internet-wired computers per household, and the CRTC is actually considering naming high-speed Internet access (also known as "broadband") an Essential Service to Canadians. Canadian broadcasters are poised...Read More
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Two rockers go to a riot and a Guns n' Roses concert breaks out. Or in this case, gets cancelled. When Guns n' Roses singer Axl Rose no-showed his Vancouver concert on November 7, 2002, it was all but preordained that it would end in chaos for the estimated...Read More
Part comic book, part anime movie, and all online, Broken Saints (www.brokensaints.com) is cresting a brave new wave of small-screen entertainment. This Flash-based epic is a story in 24 parts that was launched in January 2001, and was born on Canadian soil. Brooke Burgess, a 31-year-old former...Read More
We are done with television and movies. These archaic forms of entertainment dominated the 20th century, but are passive, linear, and devoid of real interpersonal relationships. Today's entertainment puts power in the audience's hands, turning passive viewers into active participants....Read More
The CBC wants you to know that ZeD is not just a television show. On March 18, host Bif Naked put on her best gangsta drawl to tell us "This ain't no Hockey Night in Canada." Billed as "open source television," ZeD's producers call the show an experiment in trans-media. ZeD's web site (zed.cbc.ca)...Read More
Anyone who has even a slight interest in digital music making has a cheap, new option to investigate. MH20.com is a new web site offering a range of music-enabling services, from software, to theory lessons, to industry contacts. Like a good deal of high concept web sites, MH20's genesis came from...Read More
Jim Munroe writes novels to pay the bills, but would rather be making video games. A couple of years ago, HarperCollins Canada published his first novel, Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask. The experience so bolstered Munroe's hatred of the mainstream publishing industry that he published his...Read More
The promise of the internet, for many, is the opportunity to be heard, be seen, and communicate with others who share similar interests. The net facilitates this sort of thing beautifully, and a zillion so-called "communities of interest" have sprung up all over the web. In many cases, these online...Read More
A secret invasion has been in the planning for years now. And the orchestrators aren't just humans. Animals, plants, and robots are also in cahoots. Grinning from ear to ear, the culprits can often be found amongst chaotic shapes and patterns, or amidst scrambled architectural surroundings. They...Read More
All has not been well on the radio dial for what seems like a lifetime. Save for a few gems on CBC or campus radio, most people are entirely bored by the threadbare nature of the musical selection. Net radio has been the true alternative for at least two years. But is net radio a revolution in the...Read More
Early in February, some of the most popular online business web sites were taken down for short amounts of time by what are known as "denial of service attacks." A denial of service attack is a way of shutting down a web server by making a large number of requests very quickly — so quickly that the...Read More
To say that Christians have never appreciated magic and mythology is a bit of an understatement. After all, ancient fundamentalists used to throw witches onto the fire just to keep warm. While such violent outbursts may be ancient history, the flames of Christian ire still burn brightly. On...Read More
The future of television is evolving right before our eyeballs. Canada leads G-7 nations in internet-wired computers per household, and the CRTC is actually considering naming high-speed Internet access (also known as "broadband") an Essential Service to Canadians. Canadian broadcasters are poised...Read More
