TL;DR
2007-2010 Internet Show, ‘The Canadian Explorer’ 80 Episodes driving around celebrating Canada
Grand Finale: Canada crushes the 2010 Games, I document it is an Accredited Olympic Journalist
After visiting here, I hope you feel more excited and protective of Canada, that was the point.
Thank you!
Please – this website is designed to be read on mobile
I bold so you can skim.
It’s 2007… YouTube is reaching critical mass, video cameras with hard drives make their debut, and there’s new things called Twitter and Blogs.
I’m going to try this.
Put a tripod on the dash and declare my studio is my car. Teach myself Final Cut Budget and WordPress, then implement:
One Rule:
One take only, edit what I get
Make an Intro & Theme Song:
(Side note: advanced editing style for the time, if I do say)
And know what?
People were excited to
showcase Canada.
🚨Technical Alert 🚨
This blog is a mess.
1,100 posts but 0 tags 0 categories
2,500 broken links
Videos are worse, mixed up dates among 3 accounts – YouTube 1, 2 & Vimeo
Sorry, different era.
Best way to navigate this blog:
– previous/next post
– search
Now look how large this blog is printed out:
Search could yield gold! This show and blog were all over the place.
Exploring Ice Fishing here.
Here’s 30 carats of diamonds, and here’s Exploring Fashion Week, and the debut of Via Rail‘s new uniforms
All 80 episodes are set to
classical music. Best kind of music.
Next up is Exploring Deep Space, a small hell hole, and did you know the World’s Best Duck Decoy carver is Canadian.
Exploring the good ‘ole CNE, and an evening at Nuit Blanche. Driving in a thunderstorm, and Exploring Graffiti.
Tracking an F2000.
Some episodes were banal – going to the doctor, a luncheon.
Exploring Doors Open was fun.
As was visiting the World’s Oldest Baseball Field.
I was one of the last inside Brickworks before demolition, and see also this place. There’s a lot of time spent in Cherry Beach on this blog.
Selfies were becoming a thing.
I took plenty, search “Me Today”
L to R: turned into Butters then a hamster, beating facial recognition software, and Exploring Clubbing Seals.
Far Right: remember this 2008 joke – text a photo to a friend, “hi from inside your phone.”
My car broke down often.
This turned into adventures all over Toronto, and automotive lessons like this one.
Worked as a security guard for a few years in downtown Toronto.
Impromptu Explorations.
Tried twice to see the Petroglyphs, got lost both times – Exploring Driving to Nowhere 1 and 2
To be clear: I’m aware I’m retarded.
I was President of a Cycling Team for years.
A small, scrappy team
that medalled often
My microphone was a screwdriver.
I was never real popular. The stats are lol: 2.6 videos = 1 subscriber
More lol – two episodes account for half of all views, because both feature a guest with name recognition:
- 12,900 views – Brennen Demelo Studios, my hair sponsor
- 6,200 views – Gary Vaynerchuk
There’s a ton of TwitVids
lol remember those? Presented in no particular order, below is the playlist – TwitVids (62)
The entire three years I struggled with audio, used to say it was my nemesis. Most episodes have agitating audio, I’m sorry.
Chatting with some hockey legends, made a PSA, and gabbing with Julius more about life than pipe making.
Attending a Mobile Monday event, my first rock climb and also, our Coat of Arms has a unicorn? Gathering sand.
My laugh sounds like this.
In 2008 CBC picked up two episodes of my show: Exploring Moving to Toronto, and Exploring Parkour.
During the interview process I made Exploring CBC.
Excellent learning experience! Not getting picked up was the correct outcome.
Determined to start the year with a clear Canadian Explorer path,
I made a Manifesto and read it New Years Day, 2009.
Built a green screen studio in my condo. Used it to film this classic Christmas greeting.
Exploring the Canadian Navy – two nights sailing aboard our nation’s largest warship. Disembarked in Sarnia, hitchhiked home on a plane.
Prettiest Episodes to Edit
– classic Canadian fall fair
– Chinese Lanterns exhibit
Threw myself a Blog Party.
Looking back what even is that, but at the time was very logical.
“Thank you for attending” gifts were buttons I made.
My favourite Canada Day Episode was when I re-took my Oath and encouraged you to, too
FF to 0:50, takes 11 seconds.
Now back to the story.
It’s late 2009 &
pressure is ON
I’m at 2.5 years being a big mouth, “i aM cAnaDaS bIgGeSt fAn.”
The 2010 Winter Olympics will soon be hosted here… how can I not attend?! Exploring Failure.
Put word out on Twitter, there’s coffee meetings, I win a contest but am cheated of the prize trip.
Then hang on… I hear a small budget is being set aside for, “New Media Coverage” at the Sun Media Network.
It is explained to me, “what is a deck.”
Get help making a deck.
Get the job.
🎉 I’ll be flown out as an official Accredited Journalist covering the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games 🎉
I am to source stories and publish:
-daily 100-words for the newspaper
-daily videos for the digital network
Amazing, right?!
Here’s the kicker – I am terrible at publishing daily. Weekly even. Known for it. Panicking.
Then it hits me: be like the athletes.
I start to train.
Crowdsource Twitter for daily 100-word written assignments, and produce a daily video for my new mini-show, “Live at 5”
Had SO much fun making this mini-show, because the energy in the country was so high.
People were united & excited
about Canada
Below is the video playlist with all “Live at 5” episodes (15)
Topics varied:
Current events, lots of street interviews, and documenting the process of publishing daily.
Plane tickets and accreditation arrive, I have an editor now and there’s meetings.
Used my green screen studio a lot, until I declared it done. Had a solution for National Depression Day.
Because of this episode, I ended up on CBC’s The National as the sole sympathizer for the guy in one of Canada’s first viral cancel pics:
Sleeping TTC Man
January 21, 2010
FF to 1:55 in this episode to see how the Toronto Star printing press is run by robots, then see the Badlands at 1:03 here.
Why the increase in people getting hit by cars, and do you think this is how fast the luge goes?
Learned Vancouver facts and geography.
Canada Goose kindly outfitted me for the Games.
Total – 15 Episodes plus TwitVids, 10 articles, Twitter, blog, ok ready
YYZ > YVR
The energy these 3 weeks was Pure Canadian Beauty:
High performing & outputting host country and athletes,
who are funny &
nonchalant about it all
Everyone everywhere high-fiving the whole time ❤️
Went to watch the Biathlon.
Visited the O-Zone in Richmond, then later investigated the rumour that people were sleeping on Jericho Beach (conclusion: false.)
Olympic pin collecting was a thing, and was given this cool hat when I took the Alberta Train to Whistler.
Exploring Vancouver’s famous Seawall. About a third of Twitvids are from these three weeks.
Played my first ever game of road hockey.
This is my first time with accreditation remember, which I am thrilled to learn is basically:
Wear a rectangle around my neck
Now I can go wherever I want always GOT IT
This place was on TV a lot – the Bell Ice Cube.
Below is playlist of all Olympic episodes (14)
👆First up in the carousel is a favourite: Exploring Whistler Village.
Remember how new a concept ‘social media’ was in 2010; the newspaper called my column, Social Keri.
Headlines are above, green.
Link to all columns.
BEST part of the Games
🇨🇦 and I was SO PROUD of
Canada for this: 🇨🇦
We SIMULTANEOUSLY
– Threw the world’s longest, most peaceful street party
– While winning the most medals EVER in a Winter Games
Interviewed my team members of Vancouver 24hrs Newspaper.
We have now arrived at the
Perfect Ending
to this 3 Year Series
My final column, in which I encourage us to continue the patriotic momentum.
And the Series Finale:
Ep. #80 – Canada Wins Hockey Gold at Vancouver 2010
These 3 years were the best, I adored them.
Sincere appreciation to all who helped and cheered along the way.
Thank you for reading this far.
Have a great day, and protect Canada!
Epilogue
Turns out me yapping about cars and driving, well the automotive manufacturers are noticing.
Press cars start to be offered.
I launch a new blog.
KeriBlog.com – Cars, Security & a Peek into my Life
This turns into testing $11 million in vehicles, trips around North America, 3 years with a newspaper then a tiny segment on TV.
Blog is searchable by make & model, drove my Jetta into the ground, and for a few years got really into studying vehicular traffic.
Find also more fanny pack posts, low-level security stuff, doing home renovations and more. My new blog is also all over the place.
Cute categories include: animated gifs here, a list of Keri Owned Phrases, and the I Am Not a Hippie section scrolls well with coffee.
Same Twitter account, updated handle @KeriBlog
Okay bye!
TheCanadianExplorer.com
This website is designed to be read on mobile, please do that
© 2007 – 2010
2024 update
Fully aware now, of the DEEP level of corruption that is Canada
OMFG CDN WTF
I was so naive in my Canadian Explorer days!
Maybe it’s ok though, because maybe instead I captured why it’s hurting our hearts so hard.
Century Initiative & C-71 will not stop, make an exit plan.
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