Margin Notes: Holidays, Crate, KGO, Rankings

A wreath was prepared at the TD Canada Trust branch at Bay and Wellington in Toronto, Ontario on 13-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Whether we like it or not, the holiday season is upon us. The decorations are going up all over Toronto; in addition to the wreaths and other holiday displays being erected at the TD headquarters downtown shown above, I noticed that the tree structure has been placed over the Alex Ling Fountain in my neighbourhood, seemingly the same as last year's edition, though its lights have yet to be turned on. eBay is kind enough to remind us that there are only 41 more days until Christmas.

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The iconic holiday tree to many is the Douglas Fir, native to the Pacific Northwest. I did not learn until this week, from a segment on KUOW's The Conversation with Ross Reynolds, that the tree was named for Scottish explorer and botanist David Douglas, who explored the region in the 1820's and 1830's. Why didn't I learn that in Washington State History class?

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An interesting advertising campaign featuring a crate was noted above a bus stop at Front and Bay in Toronto, Ontario on 13-November-2010

I have yet to see a Douglas fir decorated around Toronto, but what is apparently a clever marketing campaign has appeared a bus stop at the northeast corner of Front and Bay in Toronto. A crate, with the markings "Destination: Haiti" has been mounted above the bus shelter. The crate is rather neurotic, if we read its web site at whatsupwiththecrate.ca. (I note that this domain was not even registered until 1-November.) Presumably, there will be some sort of announcement about this crate and two others tomorrow, involving Haitian aid.

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No official announcement has been forthcoming from station management, but changes are afoot at KGO radio in San Francisco. It has leaked to the ba.broadcast newsgroup that Dr. Dean Edell's syndicated show, for which KGO was the flagship, will be moved from its live weekday 1 pm slot to tape-delayed (apparently) on Saturdays, with radio lawyer Len Tillem moved into Edell's time slot and the Noon News returning to what is now Tillem's slot. Meanwhile, on his show today, God Talk host Brent Walters announced that the 30 year run of that unique institution will end this month; the replacement is not yet known. Want to know what the death of a great radio station looks like? These are some of the first steps.

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Those changes will likely have an impact on KGO's rankings amongst radio stations, but it was college football rankings that surprised me this week. I haven't watched a single game of NCAA football this season, so it came as quite a shock to me to find that my alma mater, the Stanford Cardinal (yes, that's singular and represents a color, not a bird) are 9-1, losing only to #1-ranked Oregon, and in the top 10 in all the major polls. We all thought Jim Harbaugh was going to be a good coach and that the team would make some bowl games, but nationally ranked? The Big Game next Saturday--against California in Berkeley--will really mean something for a change.