Month: April 2008

I Parlayed My CBC Email…

… into front-row Raptor’s tickets, ha!april 10 2008

I thought a fun episode would be “Exploring Canada’s NBA Team”, so I wrote to the guy in charge telling him that and asking for a ‘one-day media credential’ (that’s industry speak for “press pass” I learned).  He wrote back saying no problem, there should be room for me in the press area up in the nosebleeds.

Last night I arrived at the gate, hung the pass around my neck and after that no one looked at me twice.  

So I wandered all over the place… backstage, the staff cafeteria, peeked into the dressing room corridor and then settled into the front row and took in the game. 

Exploring Pipe Julius

Meet Julius Vesz, a world premier pipe maker for 50 years.  His shop in the Royal York is unique, gorgeous and worth a walk over.  

It’ll probably be the only place you’ll ever see pipes made from dead-root briar since he’s probably the only guy in the world who has any.

Born in Hungary, he was in the army during WW2, put in jail for saying communism sucks, competed in the Olympics (track events) and then he emigrated here age 23 and set about becoming a master craftsman.  He is completely self-taught.  

He’s made pipes for Bing Crosby, Gerald Ford, Pavarotti, and more. He thinks cigarettes are horrible little things, and would love to convert all cigarette smokers to pipes.  And did you know you don’t inhale pipe smoke?  Me neither.a

That’s sick, but what I liked best about him was his outlook on life… he’s so… relentless. He walks 4km to work everyday no matter the weather and his strongest advice to me was to reacquaint myself with nature. But oh Julius, I’m not natural with nature.

If you need a reality check, to be set straight, or some plain old motivation, go visit Julius. I mean this in the nicest way possible, like, he’s really direct and will tell you how it is, and then you’ll leave feeling like you too can conquer the world.

I’ve Become Obsessed With These

april 7 2008
It’s a QR Code.  Basically it’s an elaborate bar code that can hold a crazy amount of information.  

You scan it with your cel phone and then it kicks you to a webpage, offers you a coupon for the shop across the street, really whatever you dream up.  They’re huge in Japan.

I’ve been racking my brain on how to incorporate them into my show. Any ideas, let me know.