Tag Archives: Travel

Reviews

I’ve Seen All Good People – Ex-Yes Frontman Jon Anderson

Leave a comment

Any veteran professional athlete who has performed at a high level for many, many years knows that a career threatening setback can occur at almost anytime. Given a long and reliable service to his team, he can reasonably be assured that if something grave happens, he’ll be allowed a chance to reclaim his position once back to good health.

Not so for lead singer Jon Anderson of classic 70’s progressive rock band Yes. Anderson was struck down in 2008 with an acute respiratory failure that left him without his voice and close to death. His band mates, eager to cash in on a reunion tour, cast him aside and scoured Youtube for a replacement. They captured Benoit David, a Canadian and singer for Yes tribute band Close to the Edge, and they went on their merry way. Fans cried foul and Anderson was left miffed and alone to face his illness.

That unfortunate story made Anderson’s August solo show and return to health at Festival of Friends in Hamilton all the more triumphant. Armed with only his magical voice, an acoustic guitar and his supportive wife side-stage, at age 66 Anderson showed us all that he can still deliver the powerfully high alto vocals that personified the original Yes sound. He ran through a 15 song set that included Yours is No Disgrace, Owner of a Lonely Heart, I’ve Seen All Good People and the mega-hit Roundabout among many others.

Stripped of the power of his supporting players, Anderson re-invented the songs- exposing the soul of each one at its very core. It was a magical show and although Anderson’s tenuous situation with Yes is quite well documented, he took nothing but the high road when interacting with the audience between songs. He only expressed gratitude for getting his health and voice back, and more thanks for all the support afforded him by those that truly loved him at time when he was deathly ill.

Anderson earned enormous applause from an appreciative audience throughout the entire set. It was a wonderful sight to witness at the end of the night- a waving Anderson beaming from ear to ear- a man betrayed leaving the stage with the most important thing of all- his integrity intact. I’ve Seen All Good People by Silo contributor and songwriter/performer John McIntosh.

Go check out his new video “Together’s All We Got” and feel free to ‘like’ Johnny Mac’s Music Kitchen on facebook.”  Silo Direct Link to Johnny Macs Music Kitchen on Youtube and Silo Direct Link to Johnny Macs Music Kitchen on Facebook CP

Art

Remembering The Children Of Terezin

Leave a comment

The first thing I noticed was the pebbles. There had to be a hundred. Maybe more.

All perched lovingly atop the unmarked grave. I took a deep breath and went closer.

Each step taken with respect. To those underneath the pebbles, their families, their communities, their lives.

Time stopped.

I knelt.

My hand reached out. Hovered over the pebbles asking permission to enter their world for just a few hours.

I was humbled. I was ready.

I will never forget.

So began my journey to Terezin in the Czech Republic that November day. I knew it would change me. I knew what I would see.

I knew nothing. Absolutely nothing.

How could I know? I had not yet seen. I had not yet felt. I had not yet heard the door slam behind me.

I didn’t know about the children. I didn’t know they drew pictures. Pictures of flowers and trees, family and dogs. Pictures like all kids draw. Only they weren’t all kids. They lived at Terezin.

I was ready.

I had watched the movies.
I had watched the documentaries
in my comfortable chair in my warm living room.

Now I’ve stood where they stood.
Sat where they sat.
Cried where they cried.

I know it’s not enough.
But I will never forget.
Will always speak up.
Will always remember the pebbles.

There were a hundred of them.
Maybe more.

IF WISHES WERE PEBBLES by Karen Wilson

Politics

Ontario Greens Pledge To End One-size-fits-all Family Farm Regulation

1 Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GREENS TO END ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL REGULATIONS THAT PUNISH LOCAL BUSINESSES

DUNEDIN, ONTARIO – Today, Green Party of Ontario (GPO) Leader Mike Schreiner joined Neil Metheral, owner of Dunedin’s Metheral Meats, to announce the Green Party’s plan to end the one-size-fits-all regulations that punish local businesses and limits access to local food.

“Local food processors are an essential part of building strong local economies with good local jobs,” said Schreiner. “We must create a level playing field for local food processors and family farms by introducing regulations that recognize the differences in the size and scope of operations.”

The decline of local processing facilities in Ontario makes it difficult for farmers to access higher value markets and to brand local products. The loss of local processors also restricts consumer choice and access to healthy local food.

Over the last decade, governments have written regulations to address health and safety concerns at large operations without consideration of the unique needs of small and medium sized processors. The number of small and medium sized abbatoirs, like Metheral’s, in Ontario has declined by approximately 70% in the last
decade.

“The cost of regulations imposed on processers will most affect the profit for the farmer and the price for the consumer,” said Metheral “With better support we could hire a student to oversee HACCP to assess our quality at a decent wage. In most small plants we can’t keep up with these costs.”

The Metheral’s small Dunedin processing plant was founded in 1991. It is an essential part of the family’s farm – in operation for 8 generations – and the local economy.

As part of the Ontario Food and Farming Strategy, the Green Party will work with the food and agricultural sector, as well as other levels of government, to develop regulations, by-laws and zoning laws appropriate for family farms and farm-based businesses.

“We have to reverse the closure of local food processing facilities since they are essential to building a local sustainable food system,” said Schreiner “We need smart regulations to promote food safety while putting local processors on a level playing field.

According to a 2010 survey conducted by Farmers Feed Cities, an overwhelming 99% of Ontarians agree that farming is important to Ontario’s well-being. It’s time to ensure that local farmers are supported so that all Ontarian’s have access to healthy food grown close to home.

GREEN MPPS WILL:

· End one-size-fits-all regulations for family farms and local food processors

· Implement smart regulations that recognize differences in the size of operations.

· Eliminate tax penalties and reduce zoning restrictions to facilitate local, on-farm food enterprises and innovative sources of farm income.

· Improve income stabilization programs so they are more accessible for family farms, cover a wider range of products and don’t penalize farmers who experience bad years.

For more information on the Green Party’s 5 Point Plan visit: Silo Direct Link To Green Party’s 5 Point Plan

Rebecca Harrison
Director of Communications
Green Party of Ontario
905 999 5479
rebeccaharrison@gpo.ca
http://Silo Direct Link to Green Party of Ontario’s Press Site
Sent from Green Party of Ontario

PO Box 1132
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Canada

Links:
——
[1] http://www.gpo.ca/

Culture

Jukasa: World Class Music Studio Open For Local Artists

Leave a comment

From our Sept/Oct 2011 PRINT Edition (Jukasa has a whole new team of amazing people on board! Please check their website for a list of their amazing staff CP)

If I were to tell you that musicians like Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler, Snoop Dogg, Derek Miller and The Tea Party have spent time in Ohsweken Village, what would you say?
I know what I said: “Wow, why haven’t I heard about this place?” The place I am talking about is Jukasa Media Group. Jukasa Media Group is a $3 million dollar studio complex that is currently expanding – and rapidly I might add. Upon its construction in 2009 Owner Kenny Hill wanted a place for his son and friends to record their music. In 2010 Mix Magazine named Jukasa as 2010’s “top three new studios on the planet.” What brings such talented musicians to Jukasa? The Gear? The Studio? The Staff? The Price? All of the Above?


The answer is all of the above. Jukasa currently features 2300sq ft of beautifully architectured live recording space, their famous sound board the SSL 8072 Console that spent a decade Abbey Road Studio 3, living accommodations on site, a space for editing daily recordings, and they are currently building a second recording studio, and will be opening a private Recording Arts School as of October where students will be in classes of no more than 9, learning the theory of sound, while recording real artists with the mastering engineer Nick Blagona and other staff.


Mixer and Mastering Engineer Nick Blagona has been in the music industry for decades and brings his experience around the world to Jukasa. Blagona has worked with Chicago, The Beegees, Cat Stevens, Nazareth, Alexisonfire (R.I.P.), Kim Mitchell, Protest the Hero, The Police, and Deep Purple to name the tip of the iceberg. Also under the Jukasa roof is Stevie Salas, Director of Aboriginal Development and U.S. Operations who has received the Life Time Achievement Award from the Native American Music Awards, and has the largest deal Island Records has ever signed. Salas has also brought his long time friend Rob Lamothe into the mix. Rob Lamothe is the General Manager of Jukasa, he has received an Edison Award from Holland, and has toured over 30 European tours.


Aside from the Gear, the staff and the facility itself, what makes Jukasa so unique is the price for the quality. Prices for recording at Jukasa are comparable to prices to record in basement studios in the area however the final product is the highest of quality production, thanks to the experienced staff and incredible equipment available.  For the Silo, Lacie Williamson

 

Okay you didn’t think we were going to NOT show you the famous SSL 8072 did you? Here it is-

Click to view on I-tunes
Click to view on I-tunes
Culture

A Dollar For Compressed Air – Are You Getting Gouged?

Leave a comment

The Silo does a lot of travelling and we take notice of the highs and the lows that go along with working in parts of four counties.  Some standouts are the comparative condition of the roads, the comparative prices of gasoline and diesel and one thing that surprised us: the rising cost of compressed air and the variations in the amount of time you get for the compressed air.

But why do we notice these things?

You see, we live in a wonderfully exotic environment. In just a few months time, air temperatures can vary between -20 degrees C to + 25 degrees C and this temperature jump combined with a (seemingly) growing number of potholes means checking your vehicles tire condition and pressure is a must. If you want to drive safely and economically and comfortably.

And that’s the rub

The vast majority of service stations are no longer Ma and Pa operations that cater to the automobile enthusiast. Sure they have candy and coffee and DVD’s and scratch lottery tickets. But what about putting the word ‘service’ back into service station? None of us on staff are old enough to remember a time when pulling your car into a gas station meant at a minimum a check under the hood. None of us are old enough to contemplate a time when your car was jacked up and inspected like a ship in dry dock. But all of us are aware of the rising cost of not only fuel but compressed air.

As we make our way around the different county lines and roads, our vehicles are taking a toll. On average, the roads are spotty and checking tire pressure has become a bit of an obsession. [If any of you are driving a vehicle with Nitrogen or another gas in your tires, please let us know if you’ve noticed a difference]

We are shocked by the rising costs of air pumps. The average cost of filling your tires is now 1$. The fill rates vary between pump manufacturers and it’s plausible that station owners may adjusting the length of time that 1$ will buy. We will report back our findings.  In the meantime- visit Burcham’s Service on Main St. in Port Dover for FULL service gas [sorry no diesel] and FREE compressed air. Pay attention to the warning sign above the air pump- this is a high pressure nozzle but when used properly, does a great job of filling your tires at no cost.  CP

 

Culture

Terroir

Leave a comment

Wine and cheese pairing is not just for the snobby connoisseur or the elite diner. Anyone can be a part of this wonderful dining experience and spend an evening savoring it yourself. Since all of us are different and more importantly, all of our taste buds are different, what master vintners and world class fromagiers may say is a correct pairing, may not work for the rest of us. By all means listen to what they might suggest, because they have a lot of experience with taste –but, remember they are just suggestions.  It’s the differences that make life interesting.

Cheese and wine by their very nature are even different from vat to vat. You may be making the same product, but in the food world, there are many variables to production. Terroir plays a significant role in both wine and cheese.  Grapes taken from sunny slopes of Italy have a different terroir than grapes taken from valleys in France. It’s the same with cheese. Milk coming from animals in Swiss Alpine regions possesses distinct flavors that differ from milk from animals on Canadian Prairies.

Understanding the basic concepts of flavors and how they pair, will give you a platform to make your own pairing decisions.  Cheese influences the taste of wine more than vice versa. Wines with lots of flavour work with cheese that also have lots of flavour.  Subtle wines work with delicate cheese; therefore hard cheese with red wines and soft cheese with white. Fruity wines pair nicely with tangy acidic cheese. A sour salty cheese makes a wine taste milder. Sometimes, pairing wines with cheese from the same area works well together. Spicy flavored cheese work well with sweet desert wines.

Sometimes a heavy sugar wine works with a blue cheese. But, in the long run, it’s all up to you to try it out, and find out what sits well with you.  Your goal is to create a balance of flavors of wine and cheese together.

Here are a few pairings of wine and cheese that you might care to try out.

Florence Estate Winery from Langton has a delightful chardonnay -with its light oak and hints of fruit pairs well with the Swiss Alpine Gruyere from the Canton of Fribourg. The subtle textures of the cheese draw out the fruity hints of the wine.

Villa Nova Estate Winery has a Riesling that is clear and floral, and the terroir of their region adds a slight twist of richness that differs slightly German Rieslings. This makes pairing with the English Double Gloucester a true experience. The saltiness of the cheddar takes the edge from the sweetness of the wine.

I am looking forward to sampling the other Norfolk County wines from Burning Kiln, Burning Mills Villa Nova Estate and Wooden Bear-L , when I get the chance. Maybe this weekend I can give it a shot with some close friends and a board of cheese. For the Silo, Scott Jensen. 

 

Reviews

Moon

Leave a comment
Art imitates rural life.

If you’re like me and grew up on a rich diet of 1980’s science fiction films, you should walk (no make that moonwalk) to your nearest video store and ask for MOON. This little gem is an existential journey into the mind of a lonely farmer-astronaut and hits close to home. Sure there’s the usual high contrast and gritty sci-fi production values, but there are also some poignant connections to our rural habitat. Picture a massive, rambling, white combine harvester gathering hay under a full, late fall moon, except that in this case the moon is the earth. A tiny, lonely man is hunched over the controls in an elevated and sealed cockpit. Now remove all semblance of colour, add a few craters and hills, and you get part of what makes this film so familiar and, dare I say, rural.

Growing up here as a boy I imagined that the once plentiful silos and drive-sheds in Norfolk (especially the aluminum ones) were rocket platforms and moon bases. Even the large, four wheeled crop sprayers had a space age look to them. And that is why I felt especially connected to Duncan Jones’ incredibly moving MOON. It pulled me in and felt familiar.

If I had to bet the farm I’d say the production designer looked at both farms and farm machinery while working out the aesthetics of this movie. But more than that, the story pulls at your heartstrings.

Sam (played by the remarkably versatile Sam Rockwell in a breakthrough role) is a lonely astronaut working on the moon, farming the soil for energy until he begins to suffer from extreme isolation- complete with lucid dreams and hallucinations. What follows next is one of the finest surprise plot twists in contemporary cinema.

Satisfying space fiction from son of iconic rocker David Bowie. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.