Not everyone is thrilled that the Argonauts have signed Ricky Williams. This should come as no surprise. Williams has caused many headaches within the Miami Dolphins as well as the National Football League.

Many such as Joe Theismann, have voiced their concerns. Theismann, a former Argo and Washington Redskin, stated that what Toronto has done is an absolute disgrace to the sport of football. In an interview with the FAN 590, Thiesmann expressed a deep sense of embarrassment for playing with the same team that has "stooped to this level to sell tickets, to bring in someone who is not worthy of playing professional football."

For their part, the Argos are arguing that people do make mistakes and no one is perfect. Head Coach Mike Clemens noted that his team does not go out and show people how to behave; instead, his players make up any mistakes they have made by going out and making a difference in the community, trying to prevent people from making similar mistakes. This will be Williams' role off the field.

Andy Barrie brings up an interesting point which deals with how we view those who use Marijuana. In Canada (and this does not represent the opinions of all Canadians), we do not necessarily condemn because we view Marijuana as a less harmful drug compared to Cocaine or Crystal Meth. We understand that some people smoke because they are going through a tough medical condition or that they need a "vacation" from the daily stress. In the U.S., they view Marijuana as an extremely harmful drug. Americans (and this does not represent the opinions of all Americans)tend to put their "heroes" on gigantic pedestals. When these so-called heroes conduct activity such as drug use, it causes a moral panic. Therefore, it is understandable why Williams is not viewed in the kindest of lights.

In the meantime, the only real concern should be how Ricky Williams performs this year. Will he lead the Argos to the Grey Cup; or, will he be a complete bust in Canada? Time will tell.

The Hek

That's odd.

I could have sworn that both Billy Ruffian and I made comments on this particular entry. Weird, very weird.

Last night, I watched X3. While most X-Men purists absolutely despise the film, I thought it was entertaining. It's not the best film in the series but rather, one of those films where if you go in with no expectations, you'll enjoy yourself.

It got me thinking: If I was a member of the X-Men, what type of mutant power would I want? I'd have to say that first and foremost, I'd want to have X-ray vision. That would give me the power to see things and get a clearer picture of my surrounding before anyone else. I would also like telekinesis. If I could read minds, my life would be a lot easier. Finally, I would love to have the power to jump over tall structures. I don't know exactly why I would want that trait. But I do feel it would separate me from the other mutants.

Now all I need is a mutant name like Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Any suggestions?

The Hek

I don't know about the rest of you but, I'm really concerned about the Detroit Tigers.

sing me to sleep
with a tenor note
dancing into my ears

The Hek

All I have to say right now: Let's Go Oilers!

I also find it hilarious how the Argonauts are calling Ricky Williams a role model.

The Hek's Podcasts

Normally, I record through Odeo's website. This time, I uploaded an MP3 file into Odeo using my new editing software. The volume is almost perfect. The reason as why I describe it as "almost perfect" is because of the noticeable hiss that accompanies my reading of a poem; the normal result of amplifying a very quiet recording.

Experimental Podcast #7 MP3 file

Experimental Podcast RSS feed

The Hek

Nothing new to report except that I have finished reading The Da Vinci Code and I highly recommend seeing Over The Hedge.

In the meantime, here are three video clips for your amusement:

First, for all those who watch The National with Peter Mansbridge, here is what the intro looked like in 1978.

Second, the BBC wanted to interview an expert on a recent ruling between Apple and The Beatles. For some reason, instead of actually interviewing the expert, they mistakenly interviewed the expert's cab driver. Watch as the cabbie holds his own.

Finally, here is something that is so over the top, it's gold.

Enjoy

The Hek

The Hek's Podcasts

Props to Odeo for putting in a function that allows a podcaster to upload recorded MP3 files from his or her computer. Boo-erns to certain editing software that won't allow The Hek a second "thirty-day trial."

Here's the newest experimental podcast. The Hek shares his feelings on the American Idol finale and updates some sports scores. The whole thing clocks in at 2:32. Once again, the ending is caught off and the volume is low (I really need to get a real microphone).

However, what excites me about this podcast is that I'm adding a new RSS feed. This new feed will take you to a page set up by Feedburner. On this page, you are provided with a number of options to subscribe to my experimental podcasts. These options include My Yahoo, Podnova, Newsgator and........................iTunes!!!!!

Experimental Podcast #6 MP3 file

New Experimental Podcast RSS Feed

I'll hopefully be back at CHEV tomorrow reading the news from 6-9pm.

The Hek

Tonight, American Idol will crown its season five champion. Experts are predicting that the new idol will be Taylor Hicks, a 29-year-old with silver hair and lots of spunk. Normally, I would spend my Tuesday and Wednesday nights watching the show. However, I have missed many of this year's episodes. There is only one logical explanation: The Hek is officially board of American Idol. Season one was special because the show was a unique concept; season two was awesome because of the talent they had; season three was not bad; and, season four was okay but the intrigue and excitement was gone. Season five does have its moments but I feel the show has lost its uniqueness and has simply become redundant. The question now is will have I the same feelings for Canadian Idol which begins its fourth season very shortly.

The Hek's Podcasts

As you probably can tell, I have not made any new experimental podcasts. That's simply because my voice is not quite 100% just yet. In the mean time, I checked out the website Feedburner, which offers free RSS subscriber feeds for blogs and podcasts. You might have noticed the new icons that have appeared on this page. This blog now has a its own RSS feed as well as RSS feeds for anyone who uses the personalized pages provided by Yahoo, Google and AOL (My Yahoo, My Google, etc.). Every time I make a new entry, a portion of the physical text will go to the personalized page. If you decide you want to read more, you click on the link and it gives you the full entry. It's essentially a way for you to get the new content without having to always check the actual blog to see if I made a new entry. Ain't technology great?!

The Hek

It has been seven years and he is still sorely missed.
He did not want to be a wrestler.
But he chose to become one so he would not disappoint his family.
He always put the needs of others before his.
It was this unselfishness that earned him the respect from his co-workers and the love of his fans.
It was also this unselfishness that lead to his unfortunate death.

Always remembered and never forgotten.
Sleep well, King of Harts.



The Hek

Last night at the Judgment Day PPV, the WWE Tag-Team champions, MNM, lost their titles to the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Following their defeat, Johnny Nitro along with Melina turned on his teammate, Joey Mecurey.

Once again, an actual WWE tag-team gets broken up after only being together for just over a year.

If I ever wrote for the WWE, one of my goals would be to rebuild the tag-team division. This once productive division has fallen by the waste side. These days, if there is a popular tag-team, the wrestlers are soon put into singles competition and quickly find out they were better as a team. Of course, the WWE never admits an error in booking and doesn't bother to correct the situation. There are so many wrestlers in the WWE that are not being used. So why not put them into a tag-team. 5-6 teams per television program is all you need. Here's what I would do:

Smackdown
- Paul London & Brian Kendrick
- MNM
- FBI (Vito and Nunzio)
- Mexicools (Super Crazy & Psychosis)
- Gymini
- Stevie Richards & Simon Dean

RAW
- Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
- Goldust & Snitski
- Viscera & Val Venis
- Basham Brothers
- Johnny Parisi & Rob Conway

Now the WWE is not wasting their talent. If they would just do something about the tag-teams, I'm very sure the fans would buy into it.

The Hek

The fever has gone down quite a bit. I'll be fully recuperated by tomorrow. Last night was no walk in the park. I was in bed by 8pm and didn't rise until 9am, today. I was practically in and out of consciousness the entire night. When I was awake, I at least had the fortune of listening to the Blue Jays game as well as a program at 3am that taught me how to make a "Flying J;" which, is a retro Swedish meal involving chicken, chilly sauce, rice and bacon.

I have also chosen my dream car.

The Hek

102 degrees.

That's my current body temperature.

Yes, The Hek has got a nasty fever. Started with a funny feeling in my throat on Thursday. Friday, featured lots of sneezing. I thought it was allergies but started to change my mind when my throat started to swell.

Then came Saturday when the fever made its appearance. If you're adding this at home, that's a swollen and sore throat making it tough to speak along with a fever and to top it off, teaching 5.5 hours of basketball classes.

Needless to say, The Hek is going to be out of commission for a couple of days.

In the meantime, I was listening to Big City, Small World and they featured this great artist called, Deesha. She gave this great quote and I would like to share it with you:

"A paycheck doesn't always have to equal to happiness."

The Hek

Starback has created a unique poetry style. The Hek will now try his hand at it:

Apparently, Bobby Corson doesn't eat fried green hamburgers,
instead, justified killing literally merits nonsense over prescribed qualifications,
rightfully superstitions together underlines vicious warts xfoliating yet zooming pretty well.

Clickity-clack, Booyah!

The Hek

Some important briefs:

I was cruising around You Tube and I came across this weird, disturbing, yet funny clip. It's from a show called What its like Being Alone. I did some investigating and it turns out its a television program that's going to be on the CBC. Apparently it hits the airwaves on June 21st at 9:30pm.

CHEV Radio is off for the Long Weekend so I won't be on air this Friday.

And, it turns out that I'm going to be finishing the Saturday morning basketball classes that I filled in for last week.

The Hek's Podcasts

For some reason, the recorder I use keeps cutting off the ending. I'm not sure if its the headphones or the website. There are a couple of other podcast software websites I'll be checking out very soon. In any case, this new podcast is much longer then the previous ones. The best way I can describe it is two minutes of solid improvisation. Enjoy, if you dare.

Experimental Podcast #5 MP3 file

RSS m3u xspf

The Hek

It's a very unfortunate coincidence that a female Canadian Soldier has died in combat on the same day parliament votes on whether to extend Canada's presence in Afghanistan.

I believe that the majority of opinion on this issue is similar to that of a caller on the radio who said, he was for the idea that the troops should be pulled out, while also being against it because of the positive work our military has done in Afghanistan.

The Canadian military and the rest of the coalition forces should remain in Afghanistan for as long as it takes to bring peace to the country. Until the Afghan Government is able to run on its own and the threat of the Taliban and other violent opposition is eliminated, there should be absolutely no plans to remove our soldiers. If the troops are taken out then the so-called "enemy" that our soldiers face, will have an excellent advantage to take control and Afghanistan will be right back where it started five years ago.

What needs to be understood is that a structure of a nation does not change overnight; nor does it change in a year or two. The United States is finding that out the hard way with Iraq. Bringing peace and freedom to Afghanistan has to be a long-term commitment. It takes time, it takes patience and unfortunately, it takes sacrifice.

The Canadian public is also aware that there is a strong group of afghans who do not like the sight of foreign soldiers patrolling their streets or any form of occupation. One can certainly not blame the people of Afghanistan if they choose to take this stance. Therefore, what needs to remembered is that in politics, there is never a "perfect" or "correct" solution. Every political resolution will always have its opposition and consequences. It is essentially, the lesser of many evils. Afghanistan might not like foreign occupation. However, it is better then certain alternatives.

Regardless, any decision made about the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan needs to be fully evaluated and cannot be rushed.

*Normally, the journalist in me usually sits on the fence. However, there are some issues where I turn into a commentator. If you disagree with what I just wrote, that's totally cool.

The Hek

First off, major props have to go out to my friend Blake in the CP for sending me this link: American Dad vs. Family Guy Kung Fu

Yesterday, Doug Flutie announced his retirement from pro football. Following a great career in College, Flutie spent 21 productive seasons in the USFL, NFL and CFL. Now, I don't mean to be bias but it was in Canada where his talent was truly shown. In his eight CFL seasons, Flutie lead the league in many offensive categories and was part of three Grey Cup winning teams. Perhaps the most amazing statistic was that he won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award, six times.
Many people feel Flutie is the best Quarterback ever to play in the CFL. I would certainly agree. I had the great fortune of watching Flutie when he played for the Toronto Argonauts. I was at the Rogers Centre in 1996 when the Argos beat Montreal to advance to the Grey Cup finals. Not only did Flutie have a great command of this particular game but, he also kicked a field goal to show he could score without even having to throw the ball. He captained a group of players that could be considered as one of the best teams ever assembled. If I were ever asked to form a list of the best sports teams, the 1996-97 Argonauts would definitely be near the top.

Another great thing about Flutie was that he did all this despite being only 5'9 which is considered to be very small in professional football. When he left Toronto to play for the Buffalo Bills, people were literally writing his obituary. "He's too small; he'll get eaten alive in the NFL." Flutie proved them all wrong, putting up some decent numbers with the Bills, Chargers and Patriots.

He might not get a spot in Canton, Ohio; but Doug Flutie will no doubt be inducted one day into the CFL Hall of Fame.



The Hek

Today, I tried a couple of things for the podcasts. First, I wanted to see if any other sound files would be recorded along with my voice. I used an instrumental song and played it off the sound recorder on my computer. Unfortunately, it barley got picked up by the podcast software. I'm going to be tinkering with this over the next few weeks to see what I can get. Second, I clicked on a button that would reduce echoing. Fortunately, this allowed me to record at a perfect volume. Unfortunately, when I played back what I recorded, there was a very noticeable and annoying hiss.

Along with the RSS link, I'm also adding an "m3u" and "xspf" link. They do the same thing as RSS and iTunes. I'm not sure about xspf but, I can tell you that m3u takes you to your Windows Media Player and puts on every Podcast I have made so far.

Podcast Subscribe Links: RSS m3u xspf

Experimental Podcast #4 - MP3 file

The Hek

It pains me to do this...








Choke

Definition:

1. To interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea.
2. 1. To check or slow down the movement, growth, or action of: a garden that was choked by weeds.
   2. To block up or obstruct by filling or clogging: Mud choked the drainpipe.
   3. To fill up completely; jam: Major commuter arteries were choked with stalled traffic.
3. To reduce the air intake of (a carburetor), thereby enriching the fuel mixture.
4. Sports. To grip (a bat or racket, for example) at a point nearer the hitting surface.
5. The Ottawa Senators' 2005-06 season.
   

The Hek

Well today my voice is a bit shot thanks to 5.5 hours straight of teaching children how to play basketball and other fun games. Big space + 20 talkative kids (x four classes ranging from 60-90 minutes each) = one shot voice. Sometimes I question myself why I still teach children's programs and camps. I think its because of the money and this small fleeting hope that I am actually making a somewhat small impact on their lives.

Also, this weekend is quite significant for three reasons. First (and this is in no particular order), today is Abigail's birthday. Second, tomorrow will mark the first year anniversary of Noel and Leslie's wedding. I for one cannot believe it has already been a year; time certainly flies by. And third, it's Mother's Day; the Mother of all holidays.

Now on to: The Hek's Podcasts.

I tinkered with the sound recorder on my computer and was able to increase the recording volume on the makeshift microphone (aka my headphones). So the volume on this next experimental podcast is slightly better. However, the sound is the still the same.

I'm also adding the RSS link. Now for those that don't know, RSS acts as a free subscription service. When you click on it - or cut and paste it into your MP3 content provider/media player - what will happen is that every time I make a new podcast, it will automatically download to the content provider. You then have the option of downloading the program onto to your iPod or any other portable MP3 player. Now this RSS link should work with any content provider (like Juice, Doppler, or Transistr), except for iTunes as I have a feeling I would have to contact the company and pay a small monetary sum in order to be listed on their service. Of course, that's what I think is suppose to happen. For a better explanation, click here

Experimental Podcast RSS Link

Experimental Podcast #3

The Hek

Let's start with the quote of the day. This was said by a young boy who was in a science class The Hek was helping to teach at the Thornhill Community Centre. The kid looked at me straight in the eye and with great astonishment, exclaimed:

"Hey! You're not Jamaican!"

I kid you not.

I'll be heading back to CHEV Radio tomorrow to help with the 6-9pm show. As far as I know, I'll be doing the news and sports report again. If you're on the web, you can catch me at the top and bottom of the hour starting at 6:30. The show is called Between The Lines and offers lots of insightful sports talk. Tune in: 6-9pm on CHEV RADIO.COM.

The Hek

Alright...

You might notice at the bottom of this page is a media player. It's from the website where I put together the experimental podcasts. I thought it was going to be a caption with a number of links to hear the podcast I just made. However, it turns out to be just a media player that simply plays what I just made.

I'm fully capable of producing an MP3 podcast. What I am trying to figure out is how to upload the file to a website and then, have it in a way where you can either listen to it just as an MP3 file or download it to your iPod (which means an RSS/XML link). The website I'm currently using takes care of those two step. The only draw back is that you can only use their recorder which has no editing techniques (unlike Adobe Audition/Cool Edit Pro) and, there does not seem to be a function where you can upload from your hard drive to the website.

In any case, thanks to those who listened to the first experiment. I must repete that I'm using a set of headphones for a microphone which explains why everything sounds nasally and quiet. To show how bad it is, even when I turn the recording volume up, it still sounds quiet. Once I get a proper computer microphone, it should should normal.

And now: Experimental Podcast #2

Be sure to have the volume up.

The Hek

The Future of Radio: Podcasting

One of my goals for the summer was to figure out how to podcast. I'll be using this site to conduct experiments. This should hopefully lead me down the right path where I am constantly putting together a well sounded podcast that you can listen to on your compy or, download to iTunes. With that, let's begin our first experiment.

Now, I do not have the proper microphone so, I used my headphones. This a 26 second clip of The Hek reading a poem. The volume is really, really crappy; might have to turn your speakers up. If this works, please let me know in the comments. It would be much appreciated.

Experimental Podcast #1

Thank you very much.

The Hek

On Saturday, The Hek, Mr. Wood and Steven watched this great film from Hong Kong called, Infernal Affairs. It tells the story of two men. One is a member of the local Mafia who has been planted as a mole in the police force; and the other, is a cop who has been planted as a mole in the local Mafia. Their bosses, the police chief and the Mafia boss, have both found out that their group has a mole in it and assign both men to find out who the mole is. This of course leads to many twists and turns as both men are forced to do some internal soul searching to figure out which side they really want to be on. It's an action paced and well thought out plot and thus, receives The Hek Seal of approval.

Now, The Hek realizes not all of you can get access to Hong Kong cinema. So, you'll be happy to know that Martin Scorsese is making a Hollywood version of the film. It will be called The Departed and will have Matt Damon and Leo Decaprio star as the two men. The film also has Martin Sheen and Jack Nicholson playing the police chief and Mafia boss, respectively; and, Mark Whalberg will be in it as well. On an interesting note, the film will take place in Boston which is rather odd since Scorsese usually uses New York as his backdrop.

In other news, I spotted Mario Lopez playing a doctor on The Bold and The Beautiful. He certainly knew his stuff. I guess I missed Saved By The Bell: The Med-school years.

The Hek

The CBC has announced that they are canceling ZED.

Zed was a creative arts television show that had been airing in the 11:25pm - 12:25am time slot, on and off for the last five years. The program featured documentaries, short films and a solid amount of independent music. It's most unique feature was its website where people could watch clips and upload their own material which had a chance to be shown on television. The website was a hub of creative output. Numerous hosts of the show included Kardinal Offishall and Janet Chow.

Zed was also the program I had been freelancing for this past March.

This is what frustrates me about the CBC. Sometimes there is a program (such as Zed or the recently cancelled National Playlist) that may not be the most popular show, but develops a strong cult following. Although the CBC's mission is to serve cultural interests and goals, sometimes it takes on the goals of a commercial broadcaster which is to have the highest ratings and the most advertising revenue. This means that shows like Zed or the National Playlist are likely to be cancelled. Don't get me wrong, I love the CBC and I'm all for public broadcasting. But like most organizations, not every decision made is viewed as a "smart decision."

Tod Maffin also brings up a good point: most of the people who are currently working at the CBC are baby boomers and will soon be retiring. Eventually, the CBC will have to bring in a lot of "young" blood. In order for this to occur, there needs to be content that attracts young journalists, broadcasters and artists. Zed was a great way to do this. Unfortunately this will no longer be the case.

However, for what it is worth, Zed can be put to rest knowing that it probably lasted longer then most people would have predicted.

The Hek

That went well....

You might recall that I found out about a radio station in Markham/Thornhill called CHEV Radio. I checked it out on Wednesday. Turns out the station is broadcasted only on the internet and does lots of sports coverage. I spoke with the station manager and gave her my resume and demo tape. She then asked me to come in on Friday night and work with the 6-9pm show.

When I got there on Friday, the hosts asked me to put together a five minute news and sports update which was to be read on-air every 30 minutes. So, I got to be a news reader and did this five times throughout the show. It was a lot of fun; especially with the sports scores which were always changing. Along with being on-air, I think my favourite part was getting to add and take out parts of the actual update. Sometimes new information on a story becomes available or the score in a game keeps changing (this was certainly the case with Sens/Sabers match). Basically, no two updates were alike.

In any case, the hosts were happy with my work and I was feeling content about it as well. Like I said, it was a lot of fun. I'm not sure what will happen next with CHEV but I'll let you all know if anything comes up. It's a really cool station and keeps getting bigger everyday.

The Hek

I've been reading The Da Vinci Code for the last week. I would say that it is pretty good. The story is flowing quite well and the topics in question are well researched. A lot of people say that Dan Brown's writing style is not that great. However, I disagree with this opinion. Brown's writes in a way that puts himself on an equal level with the reader. This also goes well with the book's early theme of male/female balance.

Anyway, in tribute to one of the main tools that are used to "crack the secrets and codes," The Hek gives you this:

Shake dear hated thug

Spurtive phallicism saboteurs

Good luck, Hekamanicas.

The Hek

Despite working and getting a fitness assessment, I spent most of the day eating crow.




I know what you are all thinking: "The Hek, what does crow taste like?"

Straight up, crow tastes like ass. Pure, bitter, ass.

My buddy Andrew (aka Shooey) who is a big Hurricanes fan, is entitled to stuff my face with more crow. He's already started (see the comments for Monday's post). Any non-Canadiens fans are welcome to do the same. I'm hoping it will be quick and painless.

The Hek

Your lesson for the day: Never walk long distances in black business/formal shoes.

Meanwhile, midway through the second period, it's tied 1-1. I'm listening to the game off CJAD's website.

Yesterday, the car my family drives, died. Of course it doesn't die in a parking lot or a driveway; it dies in the middle of Bayview Ave. during rush hour. This is the third time this has happened. The car's first death occurred in August, 2000. Simple case of a dead battery. The second death was in June, 2004; just as I was beginning my G2 exit test. Same story, dead battery.

Clearly this third death is by far the worst one. It appears that it is more then just a dead battery. The Hek will follow this story as it happens. In the meantime, it might be time for The Hek's family to purchases one of those phones that operate on a cellular network.

The Hek has also discovered there is a community radio station right here in Thornhill/Markham!

And finally, here is another example why The Hek misses Paul Heyman, Joey Styles and ECW.

The Hek

So last night, the Hurricanes took a 3-2 series lead over the Canadiens.

Now I know what all you Hekamaniacs are thinking:

"Give it up, The Hek. Carolina is just a much stronger team. Montreal had a good run but the season is finished for them."

Well guess what...

YOU'RE WRONG!

Sure the Habs have their backs against the wall and sure, Carolina has had their number this year; but let me tell you something: It still ain't over. One of the reasons why Montreal is even in the playoffs is because they always overcome adversity. There were many games where they were down by a goal or two. And yet, the Habs still came back and won a majority of those games.

Here's how it will go down. Carolina is going to be pumped up and will probably get the first goal. Then, they're going to put it in cruise control thinking that they have game six all wrapped up. Then, BAM!!! Montreal scores three goals so quickly that Cam Ward's head is spinning. The Canadiens win game six forcing a winner-take-all seventh game which, they will win hands down.
It can happen. You just watch.

The Hek