Catchy two piece garage rock from Vancouver. Their debut LP just got picked up by Polyvinyl, but at 8 tracks, is really more like their 3rd EP. Short and sweet. Summer fun. Bloc Party - thick accent + Canadiana - two members. Possible shortlisters, but impossible winners. Fabulous album title.
An “explosion” of potential violations added up to a bad year for privacy rights in Saskatchewan, the province’s information and privacy commissioner said Tuesday.
In his annual report, Gary Dickson called 2008-2009 “the year of the privacy breach in Saskatchewan.”
The commissioner’s office opened 62 privacy investigations in 2008-2009. In comparison, the office conducted only two investigations four years ago.
Dickson said in a news release that the situation was “serious and troubling” and noted the cases “undermine public confidence in our public institutions.”
Among the commissioners cases were 14 investigations into abandoned patient files; the City of Regina mistakenly sending personal information on 2,000 employees and citizens to a researcher; inappropriate sharing of personal health information by health professionals; and unsecured personnel and inmate records at a correctional centre.
Dickson did note that his office oversees 3,000 organizations and that many cases are self-reported by the institution.
But many organizations lack a clearly-defined privacy policy, he said, and there is a “gaping hole” in provincial legislation because there is no provision requiring a public body to take reasonable steps to safeguard personal information.
The commissioner said Saskatchewan is an anomaly in that local police services are not covered by access to information and protection of privacy legislation.
That is a significant oversight since such legislation “is an important feature in ensuring that police services meet high standards of accountability and transparency to ensure high levels of public trust.”
Dickson also noted that unlike British Columbia and Alberta, private sector employees are “essentially unprotected when it comes to abuse of their information privacy rights” and the government should move to change that.
He also urged the government to change the practice of the Workers Compensation Board where it denies applicants access to their own personal information.
The privacy commissioner is an independent officer of the legislature. The Saskatchewan Party government is expected to respond Tuesday.
"Pundits Pick a Pack of Polaris Prize People Pleasers" @ 3:46 AM
With exactly a week to go until the Polaris Prize shortlist is announced, we thought we'd take a little look at the 40 longlisters and make our call on who should and shouldn't make the cut. Join us this week as we separate the wheat from the chaff. Hopefully that's literal.
* Arkells, Jackson Square * Jill Barber, Chances * Beast, Beast * Bell Orchestre, As Seen Through Windows * Bison B.C., Quiet Earth * Bruce Peninsula, A Mountain Is a Mouth * Coeur de pirate, Coeur de pirate * Leonard Cohen, Live in London * D-Sisive, Let the Children Die * Elephant Stone, The Seven Seas * Elliott Brood, Mountain Meadows * Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life * Great Lake Swimmers, Lost Channels * Handsome Furs, Face Control * Tim Hecker, An Imaginary Country * Hey Rosetta!, Into Your Lungs * Japandroids, Post-Nothing * Junior Boys, Begone Dull Care * K'naan, Troubadour * k-os, Yes! * La patère rose, La patère rose * Land of Talk, Some Are Lakes * Lhasa, Lhasa * Malajube, Labyrinthes * Metric, Fantasies * $100, Forest of Tears * Pink Mountaintops, Outside Love * Joel Plaskett, Three * Snailhouse, Lies on the Prize * Charles Spearin, The Happiness Project * Rae Spoon, superioryouareinferior * The Stills, Oceans Will Rise * Think About Life, Family * Timber Timbre, Timber Timbre * Chad VanGaalen, Soft Airplane * Martha Wainwright, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too * Patrick Watson, Wooden Arms * Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer * Women, Women * Woodpigeon, Treasury Library Canada
Srsly, if Beast wins I'll gouge my eyes out with a wooden spoon. My butt could make a better record than that with a butt tied behind its butt. Cheers to Women though. The band and the gender.
The Dirty Projectors released their Domino debut on June 9th called Bitte Orca, and somehow not only did I not get around to listening to it, but I didn't even know it was released. How did I not catch them at SXSW? How has this masterpiece remained under my radar for almost a full month? How are the Dirty Projectors not constantly on everyone's lips all the time? DFSAHGLSDFHGKAHDSFGLKJHA!!!!!!!!GOSHG#IHGOSIJ:GJHSD!!!!!
I randomly came across this picture and instantly fell in love with it. Its from 1973 of two friends from Saranac Lake, NY; James "Rudi" Snyder and Billy Allen. After perusing one of the worst websites in the history of balls, I uncovered the following information about these two beauties...
"DURING THE SENSATIONAL SEVENTIES RUDI SNYDER TOOK UP HIS CAMERA AND CAPTURED THE CHARACTER AND CHARACTERS OF SARANAC LAKE IN HUNDREDS OF IMAGES. WHEN RUDI LEFT TOWN HIS OLD BUDDY, BILLY ALLEN, CONTINUED IN THE VENTURE OF RECORDING THE PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THAT ERA. RUDI HAS SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS OF HIS SPARE TIME SCANNING AND SUBMITTING THOSE EXCELLENT IMAGES TO SHARE WITH YOU. I'M GRATEFUL THAT RUDI AND BILLY CHOSE BUNKSPLACE (the aforementioned shitty webbed site) AS A HOME FOR THESE GREAT MEMORIES OF SARANAC LAKE.
RUDI'S FATHER, ROY SNYDER, TAUGHT AT NCCC DURING IT'S GROWING YEARS AND RUDI HAS INHERITED HIS FATHER'S SKILLS AT TEACHING. RUDI VOLUNTEERS MANY HOURS OF HIS SPARE TIME TUTORING POOR, YOUNG IMMIGRANTS IN NYC. HIS ONLY PAYMENT IS THE SINCERE DEVOTION OF HIS STUDENTS. THE WORLD COULD USE MORE CARING PEOPLE LIKE RUDI SNYDER.
AMAZINGLY, WITH ALL HIS ACTIVITIES, RUDI STILL HAS TIME TO VISIT THE RETIRED NUNS AT THE EMPEROR'S CLUB VIP DOWN THE STREET FROM HIS HOME. THE NUNS LOOK FORWARD TO HIS SUNDAY VISITS AND HIS KIND GIFTS OF FOOD AND TRINKETS. BLESS YOU MR. SNYDER.
In the winter of 1984, Billy Allen made his famous attempt to drive a golf ball from the top of Mount Baker into Moody Pond. His theory was that because the distance from the top of the mountain to the pond was 0.68 miles and the difference in height was 885 feet and the temperature was below 32 degrees then the curvature of the flight would be --- forget it! They're still looking for the ball!
RUDI, WHO IS NOW A RACONTEUR FOR DOCKBUILDERS AND PILE DRIVERS LOCAL UNION 1456 OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY, GETS TO MEET A LOT OF FAMOUS PEOPLE."
These guys sound like absolute gems. I'd be lucky to be half that much of a peach someday. Let me know if you know these best-ies, or anything else about them.
The sheer fact that I am here to transcribe to you the events of tonight prove that I could've in fact partied harder. Adorned with earplugs and flip-flops I thought I could get away with just partying moderately, but Father WK knows no happy medium, only happy hard. He is the farm tractor forever stuck in cheetah. However, the fact that you weren't there at all proves, if you will, that you couldn't have been more of a pussy. Its safe to say we OMG'd ourselves all over that tiny Amigo's stage. For serious. It wuz epic roxorz. Wurdz failllll. (Click to enlarge)
Good music doesn't always sound "good." Sometimes the rusty charm of poorly mixed pop or the screechy serenade of untrained lungs is the perfect vehicle for a feeling or an idea. And while Nathan Williams and his so-so hype-happy project Wavves bask (and break down) in the lo-fi spotlight, there are a couple peers that don't deserve the wayside...
WOODS (when your vocalist looks like Dwight Shrute all your press photos are taken at beet farms)
THE SKYGREEN LEOPARDS ("just loungin' n shit, gettin' our faux-candid on")
If its a contest, or if your chimp rock catalogue needs a boost, the Skygreen Leopards shimmer in a way that Woods doesn't. Or they just have better songs. And the Leopard live show, while not as entertaining, feels a little more authentic. But its really not a contest.
The Woods's's (who just lost) are all 2.0 as eff at myspace.com/woodsfamilyband.
The Skygreen Leopards are pwning it to def at myspace.com/skygreenleopards, as well as streaming a free roxorz mp3 of "Dixie Cups In The Dead Grass" here.
There's a guy named Aidan Knight who plays in a band called Maurice, and lazily does some solo stuff on the side. The only thing is, that solo stuff is phenomenal. Nothing against the band, but it doesn't come close to the power of him on his own. If you're lucky enough to see him live you must.
Although there hasn't been much hype yet, I'm pretty sure these guys are touring with Phoenix, and their faces are showing up on a fair amount of banner ad space. They're fine I guess, if you like the sound of Starflyer 59 selling their souls for major label opps and TV placement.
