Radio Pick: Political Satire

TORONTO, ONTARIO - There was entirely too much political coverage in both the United States and Canada this week, and while some of it was excellent, I was more interested in making fun of it. Surprisingly, this did not mean the Capitol Steps became my weekly radio pick. Instead, Harry Shearer's LeShow received the nod. An amusing episode of "Clintonsomething" and the inclusion of "Yes We Can But" by Will.i.never were amongst the highlights of his 59-minute Halloween broadcast.

Listen to LeShow "Pre-Election Show"

Heritage: Films from the Archives of Ontario

Stewart Boden (right) of the Archives of Ontario received recognition from the West Toronto Junction Historical Society after a presentation in Toronto, Ontario on 4-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - In April 2009, the Archives of Ontario moved to a new location on the Keele campus of York University. As the new purpose-built facility is less accessible to many than the previous location in the core of Toronto, the archives have tried to do more outreach, and Stewart Boden of the archives provided one such experience with a talk at the West Toronto Junction Historical Society on Thursday night.

The presentation focused on some of the films from the archives, and they were quite a cultural tour. The first clip came from an early provincial production called "Her Own Fault" which showed two independent women, one of which was a very proper and good employee with hygienic habits and the other who did everything wrong. The latter ended up with tuberculosis (though was well cared for by the provincial health care system, of course)--can one imagine such a message being delivered by the government even a generation ago?

Probably my favorite public health clip from the presentation, though, featured a borrowed character. Apparently "Murphy the Molar" was the mascot of the Ontario Dental Association, and the province adopted him for a series of spots on dental hygiene. A particularly amusing example showed Murphy recommending the use of a mask when playing hockey, complete with music from the famous Canadian folk group The Travellers.

Another great set of ads, somewhat more modern in origin, warned motorists to respect snow plows that moved slowly with their blue beacon lights on while removing snow. While the sample shown on Thursday was rather amusing, featuring a sports car snow plow, there was apparently a spot produced that featured a snow plow that fired upon any cars approaching too close. That one apparently didn't last very long on the air.

Of course, no summary of Ontario government-produced films could be complete without the only one that actually won an Academy Award. I had heard many things about "A Place to Stand," used as a promotional film by the province at Expo '67 in Montreal, Quebec (a short clip is here). However, I had never actually seen more than a brief snippet of the film with its famous lyrics, "A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow, Ontari-ari-ari-o" and then-innovative split-screen visuals. That wasn't the case for the rest of the audience on Thursday. Once it started, everyone else started to sing along.

I can't think of a reason why I will need to go to the Archives of Ontario in the future, but with 15,000 feet of year of new documents being added, maybe someday I will. After the presentation on Thursday, I certainly view it as more than a repository of genealogical information for the province of Ontari-ari-air-o.

Media: Goodbye Hot Talk, Hello Greatest Hits

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week, Fisher Broadcasting in Seattle, Washington announced that it would be changing the format of one of its radio stations. KVI at 570 AM will no longer have the conservative talk radio format that it has aired since 1993 and instead will become a full service (yes, that means news breaks) station airing oldies music, not entirely dissimilar to the format that aired on the station before it became a talk station in 1992.

KVI is not just any radio station in Seattle. With roots dating back to 1926, the station has competed for top ratings in the market in several eras, most notably the 1970's and mid 1990's. It was once part of Gene Autry's radio holdings. The Seattle Mariners baseball team was broadcast on the station from their first season in 1977 to 1984--somewhere in my possession I have an old Mariners cap with a KVI logo on it.

My first memories of KVI were in its oldies era, when it went by the slogan "Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll, KVI." It had lost the Mariners to KIRO by then, but it ran the Unlimited Radio Network with unlimited hydroplane coverage, which was still reasonably popular in Seattle at the time (though those races would spend some years on KIXI and even KWYZ out of Everett before returning to KVI), so that drew me to the station.

Then, in 1992, the station went all-talk. Rush Limbaugh was aired live 9-noon, the first time the already-famous conservative talker aired on a significant Seattle signal (Seattle listeners had previously been best off listening to him on a midnight replay on KNBR out of San Francisco). I started listening to the weekend re-runs of Limbaugh's programs. Initially, there was some political balance to the station, but then, in 1993, KVI went to all conservative talk. It became the first major-market all-conservative talk station in the entire country. Now there are too many to count.

Despite the liberal nature of the Seattle area, KVI thrived, competing with KIRO and FM music stations KMPS and KUBE for top ratings in the market. Much of the competition centered around the 9-noon slot, where KIRO tried various local hosts to try to go head-to-head with Limbaugh, removing Jim French from his long-standing slot in favor of San Francisco transplant Lee Rodgers (from KGO, who would later return to KSFO) and eventually settling on their own homegrown talent in Dave Ross. KVI was so successful that it attracted copycats; at one point, KTTH "The Truth", KKOL 1300 AM, and KVI were all running exclusively conservative talk.

In 1994, KVI and KPLZ-FM were sold to Fisher Broadcasting, which already owned KOMO-AM. As time went on, KVI received less and less attention from its new owners. KTTH stole Limbaugh away, leaving KVI with Tony Snow in the morning. Ratings started to decline. Meanwhile, it also had fewer and fewer local hosts. KOMO increasingly received the best talent, with a final straw earlier this year being the move of "The Commentators" (Ken Schram and John Carlson), then airing on KVI, along with Carlson's former afternoon drive show, to KOMO. That left morning drive host Bryan Suits as the last remaining local talent. With syndicated programming repeating during the day, it was clear something would need to change before KVI was left with no listeners and advertising revenue.

On Monday, the change will occur with the beginning of the oldies format, this time not as "Solid Gold" but as "Seattle's Greatest Hits." Fisher is actually bringing back DJ's identified with the 60's and 70's music, with Tom Hutyler (KJR/KOMO, as well as the PA voice of the Mariners and a KVI news voice) and Marina Rockinger (KBSG and KOMO) in the mornings, Mark Christopher (KBSG) in the afternoons, and Ric Hansen (KJR) at night. The prospects of an AM oldies station garnering an audience in a market with an FM oldies station (albeit a rim-shotter, KMCQ from Covington at 104.5 FM) seems remote.

Still, I've been an advocate of full-service stations, and perhaps the element of adding news to the music will allow the new KVI to find a niche. Fisher was one of the last owners to re-format a full-service station in a major market (KOMO in 1995), and now it is the first to bring back a full-service station. It's certainly an interesting experiment.

Heritage: Toronto the Warrior City

Paul Federico, an expert on military history and artifacts, spoke to the Swansea Historical Society in Toronto, Ontario on 3-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - In the modern era, thinking of Toronto (or even Canada as a whole) as a place of warriors seems rather bizarre. However, in his presentation to the monthly meeting of the Swansea Historical Society last night, Paul Federico made the case that Toronto has long been a city of warriors, dating back to pre-Colombian times.


Uniforms including silver leaf were amongst the artifacts brought by Paul Federico to Swansea Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario on 3-November-2010

That thesis might be a bit of a stretch even in Federico's eyes, but there are definitely some great stories in Toronto military history, and he told quite a number I had never heard before. The term "sedentary militia," for example, refers to those in the era of the war of 1812 that were assigned to stay and defend their local communities instead of being commanded on a campaign. He pointed out some of the ridiculous uniforms worn in that era as well, with ornamentation that actually made it easier for the other side to take aim. He also mentioned that during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the "English" troops actually included 1,500 Scots and 900 Irish amongst 4,800 total--and that John Graves Simcoe had been designated to lead the fight against Napoleon until he died prior to taking command. Imagine how that might have changed history, or at least the perception of Ontario's (er, Upper Canada's) first Lieutenant Governor.


Paul Federico held up material used by British troops to make socks in the nineteenth century while speaking to the Swansea Historical Society in Toronto, Ontario on 3-November-2010

Another interesting anecdote was that 350 local Mohawks had been sent to paddle up the Nile during the Mahdist Revolt of 1884, since they knew how to handle themselves on Ontario waterways--but they did not arrive in time to save Charles George Gordon. Probably my favorite story from Federico related to the blue laws that once so defined Toronto. As troops were not allowed to purchase alcohol in the city, they came up with the idea of sending out a dog with a money pouch, who was trained to go a specific store, where he would be outfitted with two kegs of ale and would then return to Fort York. The practice proved controversial, but was ultimately ruled legal since dogs had the "freedom of the city" and were allowed to carry alcohol, and certainly the practice improved troop morale.

Some stories went beyond the troops. After the United States captured Toronto in the War of 1812, they made the captured troops sign a parole document saying they would not fight for the next year before they were released. There were only 300 troops at Fort York at the time--yet 1300 people signed parole documents. It seems potential draftees from all around Toronto came into town to sign the documents in order to avoid being called up to military service for the next year.


A variety of World War I through 1990's artifacts and accouterments provided by Paul Federico were found in Swansea Town Hall on 3-November-2010

The future for military artifacts in Toronto may be quite bright. Currently, there are quite a number of things preserved, but they are located in scattered locations, mostly active or retiree posts of various kinds. However, the Stanley Barracks from "New Fort York," which has most recently been a vacant building on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, is slated to become a military museum under the care of the 32nd regiment as part of the construction of a new hotel. When that opens, it won't be necessary to find Paul Federico to learn about Toronto as a warrior city.

Politics: Rational Decisions

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Much has been made in the media of the substantial gains made by the Republican Party in yesterday's elections in the United States, with that party taking control of the House of Representatives by a comfortable margin, gaining a clear majority of governorships, and gaining six seats in the Senate (with two races technically uncalled). Yet, while there was a clear mood of discontent and desire for change, there also seemed in the results to be a tremendous reminder that all politics is local, as looking at most races revealed a lot of rational decisions by voters.

If the best one-sentence summary of the mood of the electorate was "we want government to work better," that led to a hard choice when the options were the party in power and the party that was in power until two years ago. When other choices were available, the voters often took them seriously. Lincoln Chafee, who has been heavily critical of the Republican party of which he once was a member as well as the Democratic Party, ran as an independent and won the governorship of Rhode Island. Chafee, once described as a moderate Republican, was supposed to be symbolic of the changes in that party as it seemed he had no future--yet voters decided he was actually the best person to run his home state. His political career was hardly over.

Yet, most states did not have a viable third-party, new-thinking alternative with the name recognition of Chafee. (Notably, Maine's Eliot Cutler lacked only name recognition and almost defeated Republican Paul LePage, but came up short.) In those cases, when it came down to a Democrat and Republican, it often came down to local issues and candidate quality, which is why Connecticut went all-Democratic at the Federal level, and Pennsylvania substantially Republican.

If there was a long-standing Democratic incumbent (like Representatives James Oberstar and John Spratt or Senator Russ Feingold), that person tended to be quite vulnerable to the discontent of the voters. But, if the alternative were perceived as somewhat fringe (such as Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, or Tom Tancredo) or simply not politically experienced enough (Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, and arguably even Dino Rossi), then the incumbent Democrat tended to be chosen anyway.

Much has been made of the rise of the TEA parties, but in the Senate, there were really only two TEA party victories, and neither of those may have had much to do with the TEA parties per se. Both Marco Rubio in Florida and Rand Paul in Kentucky are gifted politicians, whatever one thinks of their policy ideas, and would have been strong candidates in any year. Compare that with O'Donnell and Angle, who appear to have cost the Republicans easy-to-win seats, and the fact that Lisa Murkowski appears to have won a write-in campaign over the Sarah Palin-endorsed Republican nominee Joe Miller in Alaska, and it's not at all clear that the TEA parties made a big difference in general elections.

Instead, what I see is a country of discontented voters looking for fresh ideas that were moderate and productive in nature, and when they couldn't find that, trying to make a rational choice between the two main parties. In a year in which so much outside money was spent on the election, that's not a bad thing to observe.

Media: Quirks and Quarks 35th Anniversary

Ten scientists joined host Bob McDonald for the taping of the Quirks and Quarks 35th anniversary show at the Glenn Gould studio in Toronto, Ontario on 2-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - The first Canadian radio show that made it into my permanent listening habits was CBC Radio One's science show, Quirks and Quarks. The program, traditionally airing at noon on Saturday, is only a matter of months younger than I am. While I didn't discover it until 1993, it had been airing since 1975, meaning that it turns 35 this fall.


Host Bob McDonald introduced the 35th anniversary Quirks and Quarks taping to a live audience in Toronto, Ontario on 2-November-2010

Originally hosted by David Suzuki (its second host, Jay Ingram was in attendance), the program has been hosted for the last 19 seasons by Bob McDonald, whose enthusiasm for space and physics and propensity to use very simple props in television appearances has inspired considerable satire. To open the evening, McDonald asked questions based on this season's programming and gave away Quirks and Quarks t-shirts; a particularly smart couple sitting in front of me each won a shirt to go along with the "Corporate Ladder" puzzles given to each attendee.


Each attendee of the 35th anniversary taping of Quirks and Quarks received a "Corporate Ladder" puzzle seen on 2-November-2010

The audience of the show, and in particular this taping, tends to be quite educated and technology-savvy. Quirks and Quarks was the first CBC show to offer on-line streaming audio, MP3 downloads, and a podcast--I remember each. High-powered scientists fit right in the group--someone who turned out to be geneticist Marla Sokolowski actually spent some time with the general audience line trying to figure out where she should go as a guest on the show!


Geneticist Marla Sokolowski spoke with host Bob McDonald during the 35th anniversary show of Quirks and Quarks on 2-November-2010

The person that really stole the show, though, was Dr. Lee Smolin. The theme of the show was the greatest change or discovery in a variety of fields in the 35 years that Quirks and Quarks had been broadcasting. Smolin stated that for basic physics, the biggest surprise was that there had been no surprises in those 35 years--relativity theory had largely held up, and no unified theory had emerged. What resulted was a wonderful exchange between host McDonald questioning whether the field was progressing and Smolin talking about his excitement about experiments about to be run in supercolliders.


Lee Smolin and host Bob McDonald shared enthusiasm for physics in a great exchange during the 35th anniversary show of Quirks and Quarks on 2-November-2010

Quirks and Quarks may last another 35 years. In her introduction, Denise Donlon, Executive Director of English Radio Services, pointed out that the Australian science radio show on ABC, The Science Show, is equal in age with Quirks and Quarks, and she wants the CBC show to last longer. In any event, the 35th anniversary show itself will air on 13-November-2010.

Culture: Halloween in Roundhouse Park

The steam-powered miniature train at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre in Toronto, Ontario prepared to leave Don Station past a giant pumpkin on Halloween, 31-October-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Amongst the changing social expectations of suburbia in the 1990's, it was possible to put out a Jack o'Lantern and even decorate one's house and still have few or no local trick-or-treaters stop by, in particular if the weather was unseasonably cold or wet. On the other hand, one could simply leave the porch light on and get dozens of costumed youngsters. Therefore, it was not entirely predictable how many children would come to Roundhouse Park in Toronto, Ontario for a scary, after-dark train ride and treats.


The windows of Don Station in Toronto, Ontario were decorated with scary Halloween imagery on 31-October-2010

The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre was not going to be caught unprepared. Volunteer Bob Dickson led an extensive decoration of Roundhouse Park with holiday decorations. Halloween-themed music videos played inside Don Station, pumpkins of various sizes appeared along the tracks of the miniature railway, and a graveyard suddenly appeared in a desolate portion of the park.


A dancing skeleton entertained a child at Don Station in Toronto, Ontario on Halloween, 31-October-2010

For a day that started with snow showers, visitors to the park provided a reasonable stream of business for the miniature railway. A few came in costume and enjoyed the displays around the station, including a dancing skeleton that sang Halloween-themed music whenever anyone passed nearby.


A diesel-powered miniature railway train ran through the "graveyard" in Roundhouse Park set up for Halloween on 31-October-2010

The steam engine came out for the evening in the late afternoon, with cool temperatures allowing it to more visibly emit steam through the park. A few more children arrived in costume around dinnertime. When darkness came, though, the flow had stopped. This would be one of those nights without trick-or-treaters.


The miniature railway train sat amongst the ghosts and goblins in the graveyard of Roundhouse Park in Toronto, Ontario on 31-October-2010.

So, the gathered volunteers went to a backup plan--turning the evening into a night photo session. The steam train was posed amongst the various Halloween displays and in front of the light show put on by the CN Tower, with special attention paid to the graveyard.


The miniature railway train itself looked like a translucent ghost, as a timed exposure captured its departure from Don Station in Toronto, Ontario on 31-October-2010

Next year, with more publicity and likely a different plan, the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre will probably be again prepared for Halloween. For more coverage of this year, watch the TRHA web site.