Best Sam Mitchell Shot Ever!

The Hek

Webding Haiku

scared of rejection
just throw your fear far far away
I care about you

The Hek

Don't forget to vote for the Canadian Blog Awards.

Does Anyone Get Garden State?

The Super Playlist is back. As always, new entries are in red.

1. Kennedy Killed the Hat - Buck 65
2. I bought some books - Black Boot Trio
3. Watching the Wheels - John Lennon
4. Vacation - The Go-Go's
5. Like a Prayer - Madonna
6. Night Swimming - REM
7. Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
8. Ring, Ring - Abba
9. Call on Me - Eric Prydz
10. November Rain - Guns N Roses
11. Cruel Summer - Bannanarama
12. Hung up - Madonna
13. 463 - Buck 65
14. Judy is a Punk - The Ramones
15. The Laws have Changed - The New Pornographers
16. Portland, Oregon - Loretta Lynn feat. Jack White
17. Suzanne - Leonard Cohen
18. The Card Cheat - The Clash
19. Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot
20. Boys in the Bright White Sports Car - Trooper
21. Mandy - Barry Manilow
22. Let's Get Together - Al Green
23. Mickey - Toni Basil
24. Bodies - Drowning Pool
25. Folson Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
26. Bawitaba - Kid Rock
27. Losing Grip - Avril Lavigne
28. City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie
29. Pump it - Black Eye Peas
30. Lonley Old Eyes - Neko Case
31. Immigrant Song - Led Zepplin
32. Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John
33. Don't Walk Away Eileen - Sam Roberts
34. Bring the Noise - Public Enemy & Anthrax
35. Maneater - Nelly Furtado
36. Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves - Cher
37. My Immortal - Evanescense
38. Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
39. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns and Roses
40. Bad Habit - The Offspring
41. LDN - Lily Allen
42. Man I use to Be - K-OS
43. Lolipop - Aqua
44. Banquet - Bloc Party
45. The Sign - Ace of Base
46. Rise Above - Black Flag
47. Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band
48. Thank God I'm a Country Boy - John Denver
49. Hello - Lionel Richie
50. River - Joni Mitchell
51. Romantic Rights - Death From Above 1979
52. Knock on Wood - Amy Stewart
53. My Heart Skips A Beat - Buck Owens
54. Levon - Elton John
55. Use It - The New Pornographers
56. The Boy In The Bubble - Paul Simon
57. Graceland - Paul Simon
58. Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac
59. Head Over Feet - Alanis Morrisette
60. Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
61. Inside And Out - Feist
62. Crosseyed And Painless - Talking Heads
63. Give It To Me - Timberland feat. Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
64. Intervention - Arcade Fire
65. I'm Afraid Of Brittany Spears - LiveonRelease
66. For Whom The Bell Tolls - Metallica
67. Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
68. Hard To Concentrate - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
69. Sabatoge - Beastie Boys
70. Diamonds From Sierra Leone - Kanye West
71. One Thing - Finger Eleven
72. Changes - 2pac
73. Gone Away - The Offspring
74. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk
75. 1234 - Feist
76. Relax, Take It Easy - Mika
77. God Save The Queen - The Sex Pistols
78. The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
79. Miami - Will Smith
80. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
81. TV Party - Black Flag
82. Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead - Crash Test Dummies
83. 99 Problems - Jay Z
84. Sorrow - Bad Religion
85. Body Count - Body Count
86. What's the Frequency, Kenneth - REM
87. What Do I Get - The Buzzcocks
88. 9 Crimes - Damien Rice
89. New Slang - The Shins
90. Wait For You - Elliot Yamin

Don't forget to vote for the Canadian Blog Awards.

The Hek

*A sweet sound! Episode 69 of the Audio Circus*

Check The Penny Saver

Episode 69 of the Audio Circus is now available.

This week, my review of Juno; Music by Norine Braun.

To download, subscribe, or for more information, visit the show's website.

After the Audio Circus, check out the CanCon Cast.

And after all that, vote for the Canadian Blog Awards.

The Hek

Three Beautiful Songs

A nice way to start your weekend:

Regina Spektor - Samson



Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us



Will Smith - The Family Guy Rap



Okay, the third song doesn't go with the other two. But it's pretty funny ;-)

The Hek

Vote for the Canadian Blog Awards

Canadian Blog Awards - Round 2 Voting Underway

The Audio Circus has made it to round two of the Canadian Blog Awards. The program has been nominated in the "Best Podcaster/Vlogger" category.

To vote, click here.

The second round of voting will end on January 30, 2008. You can only vote once per category/per round.

For more information, visit the Canadian Blog Awards' website.

Once again, thank you for your support!

The Hek

MLSE = Disgrace

Yes, there needed to be a change in the Maple Leafs' front office. Yes, John Ferguson Jr. was not getting the job done and needed to be replaced. However, the way Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) handled this situation was absolutely disgusting.

Just imagine what it would be like to be John Ferguson Jr. For the last few weeks you have had to endure scathing comments from the fans, the media, and your employer.

The lack of confidence from your employer has to be the worst; especially when that employer is subtlety letting everyone know that you're not a good General Manager, you're going to be fired shortly, and a number of replacements have already been contacted. MLSE openly made all the preparations for JFJ's execution. Fortunately, their actions have been condemned by many high-ranking officials in the NHL.

The majority of Leaf fans can be very irrational sometimes. They have insulted and ostracized JFJ to a point that is disrespectful and downright disgraceful. I understand his track record was less then stellar, but that does not give people the right to go on Facebook and create groups such as "John Ferguson Jr Must Die" and "John Ferguson Jr has royally f**ked over the Toronto Maple Leafs." I don't like J.P. Richardi. I don't like what he's done to the Blue Jays. I think he should be fired. However, I don't want him to die and I'm certainly not going to put the blame all on him.

Making JFJ the scapegoat for forty years of futility is ridiculous. Most of the blame should fall squarely on MLSE.

Like any other corporation, MLSE only cares about making profit. Regardless, of how the Leafs fare every season, MLSE will always have financial success. If doesn't matter if the Leafs are the best team in the NHL or the worst, fans will still fill up the Air Canada Centre. Therefore, in the eyes of MLSE, there's no need to fix the product because people are willing to pay outrageous prices to watch a mediocre hockey team. Even if one person canceled his/her season tickets as a way of protesting the on ice product, there would be 100 people waiting to take that person's place.

The real victims - along with the fans - are MLSE's "neglected children:" the Raptors, the Rock, TFC, and the Marlies. These entities have had to fight for attention while the Leafs get the majority of support. There are probably people at MLSE who only care about the Leafs and wouldn't mind if the other teams disappeared. Fortunately, the neglected children understand that in order to have financial success, you have to have a winning product. Some have found that success (Raptors and Rock), some are building towards that success (TFC), and unfortunately, some have floundered (Marlies). However, this in turn allows the four teams to have a loyal and intelligent fan base.

To his credit, JFJ acted very professionally despite the way he was treated. He will probably find work somewhere else very soon. Truth be told, he was probably relieved he would never have to work for MLSE ever again.

The Hek

Fill In The Blanks.....Is BACK!

1. Barack Obama would be a _________ President.

2. Hillary Clinton would be a _________ President.

3. Amy Winehouse should go to __________.

4. The winner of this year's Super Bowl will be ____________.

5. The winner of this year's Royal Rumble will be ___________.

6. I wish _________ would make a comeback.

7. The greatest X-Men character was __________.

8. Reach for the ____.

9. Kenny vs. _____.

10. The most underrated politician in Canada is _______.

Thanks for playing!

The Hek

*After filling in the blacks, check out Episode 68 of the Audio Circus*

Let's Talk About This

Episode 68 of the Audio Circus is now available online.

This week, Ray Libman kicks me out of my own studio and runs the show.

To download, subscribe, or for more information, visit the show's website.

After the Audio Circus, check out the CanCon Cast.

And after all that, vote for the Canadian Blog Awards.

The Hek

Spam Of The Week

This week's spam comes from the "Lottery Draw."

Subject line: ! ! ! FÉLICITATION ! ! !

LE ROYAUME-UNI EN COLABORATION AVEC LA COMPAGNIE D’EXPLOITATION
DESMINES D’OR. RECOMPENSE INTERNATIONALE DE LA PROMOTION DE LONDRE.SIEGE/
OUAGADOUGOU AU BURKINA-FASO,12EME. AVENUE KWAME N'KRUMAH 01 BP.RÉFÉRENCE
DE GAGNANT:LP/26510460037/03.
GROUPE : 24/00319
www.acculotto.com
AVIS DE GAIN ACCORDE
IL EST NOTRE PLAISIR DE VOUS INFORMER PAR CETTE DECLARATION DES
GAGNANTS DE LONDRES DES MILLIONS DE RÉCOMPENSES INTERNE DE LA LOTERIE TENUE A
LA DATE DU 29 DECEMBRE 2007. VOTRE ADRESSE EMAIL A ETE SELECTIONNE PAR
NOS COLLECTEURS ELECTRONIQUES DE VISITEURS DE SITE WEB DANS
L'IDENTIFICATION DE VOTRE PATRONAGE AUX SERVICES D'INTERNET.

DANS L'ASPIRATION FINALE, VOTRE NOM A ETE ATTACHE AU BILLET LE NUMERO
6325698-44596-222, AVEC LE NUMERO DE SERIE 410-32659, DESSINANT LES
NUMEROS CHANCEUX 4014-236985744-596 QUI A PAR CONSEQUENT GAGNE DANS LA
22EME CATEGORIE.

VOUS AVEZ ETE DONC APPROUVE POUR UNE SOMME FORFAITAIRE DE
(EUROS €850,000.00 HUIT CENTS ET CINQUANTE MILLE EUROS), COMPTANT N°
ACCREDITE DE DOSSIER:LP/26510460037/03. C'EST UN PRIX TOTAL COMPTANT DE
(EURO €48.000.000.000 QUARANTE HUIT MILLIARDS D'EURO) MIS EN COMMUN
ENTRE 22 PAYS INTERNATIONAUX DANS CETTE CATEGORIE. TOUS LES PARTICIPANTS
ONT ETE CHOISIS PAR UN SYSTEME DE VOTE A PARTIR D'ORDINATEUR TIRE DE
25.000 NOMS D'AFRIQUE,D'AUSTRALIE, DE NOUVELLE ZELANDE, D'AMERIQUE, EUROPE,
D'AMERIQUE DU NORD ET D'ASIE EN TANT QU'ELEMENT DU PROGRAMME
INTERNATIONAL DE PROMOTION QUI EST CONDUIT ANNUELLEMENT POUR ENCOURAGER
L'UTILISATION DE L'INTERNET ET DES PROGRAMMES BASES PAR INTERNET.

NOUS SOMMES ENCHANTES DE VOUS EXPRIMER NOS FELICITATIONS SINCERES.
NOUS ESPERONS QU'AVEC UNE FRACTION DE VOTRE ARGENT GAGNE, VOUS AURIEZ
AU MOINS LE PRIVILEGE DANS VOTRE SOCIETE ET PARTICIPER EGALEMENT A NOS
PROMOTIONS DE HAUT PRIX L'ANNEE PROCHAINE, PLUS DE 100 MILLIONS D’EUROS
DE LA LOTERIE INTERNATIONALE.

POUR VOS INFORMATIONS SUR LA FAÇON DONT VOUS COMMENCEREZ LE TRAITEMENT
ET LE VIREMENT DE CE FONDS VERS VOTRE COMPTE INDIQUE DE VOTRE CHOIX,
VEUILLEZ CONTACTER LE DIRECTEUR DE RECLAMATION INDIQUE CI-DESSOUS POUR
RECEVOIR VOTRE ARGENT DE GAIN IMMEDIATEMENT :

LOTERIE NATIONALE PROMOTIONS/PRIX DONNANT LA RÉCOMPENSE
12EME .AVENUE KWAME N'KRUMAH
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO.
NOM : Mr.Mohammed Salif.
Email :claiiming_info_bf01@yahoo.fr

RAPPELEZ-VOUS QUE CETTE RECLAMATION DE GAIN EST FIXE A 14JOUR
OUVRABLE,A DEFAULT TOUS LES FONDS SERONT RETOURNES AU MINISTERE DES AFFAIRES
ECONOMIQUES COMME NON REVENDIQUES.

NOTE : AFIN D'EVITER UN RETARD INUTILE ET DES COMPLICATIONS,
MENTIONNES VOS REFERENCE ET NUMEROS DE LOT DANS CHACUN DE VOS
CORRESPONDANCES AVEC NOUS OU VERS LA BANQUE DE NOTRE COMMANDITAIRE DU MEME RANG.
A CAS OU IL Y AURA UN CHANGEMENT QUELCONQUE DE VOS ADRESSES, INFORMEZ
LE DIRECTEUR POUR TRAITER VOTRE TRANSACTION AUSSITOT QUE POSSIBLE.

! ! ! FÉLICITATION ! ! !

LES FELICITATIONS DE TOUT NOTRE PERSONNEL ET VOUS NOUS REMERCIONS DE
FAIRE PARTIE DE NOTRE PROGRAMME DE PROMOTIONS. N'IMPORTE QUELLE
INFRACTION DE CONFIDENTIALITE DE LA PART DES GAGNANTS RESULTERA A LA
DISQUALIFICATION.

NOUS SOUHAITONS QUE VOUS AYEZ CONTINUE A GAGNER DE BONNES FORTUNES.LES
MEILLEURS VOEUX.
LA DIRECTION DE L’ORGANISATION DE LOTERIE.

Thanks. We salute you

The Hek

Vote for the Canadian Blog Awards

Facebook Asked To Pull Scrabulous Game

According to CBC News, the makers of Scrabble have asked Facebook to remove the Scrabulous application. Apparently, it infringes the game's copyright.

Outrageous I say!

But understandable.

Still, I love Scrabulous. I'm addicted to Facebook, but I'm more addicted to Scrabulous. If I spend an hour on Facebook, 40 of those 60 minutes are spent on Scrabulous.

Let's hope Hasbro and Facebook can work out a deal. Scrabulous is awesome, especially when I dominate my opponents (and sometimes get dominated by my opponents, but that is not important).

The Hek

Vote for the Canadian Blog Awards

Canadian Blog Awards - Voting Underway

The Canadian Blog Awards are underway and a couple of my projects/collaborations have received nominations.

- And Now, A Word From The Hek has been nominated in the "Best Blog" category.

- The Audio Circus has been nominated in the "Best Podcaster/Vlogger" category.

- PublicBroadcasting.ca (a website I contribute to) has been nominated in the "Best Entertainment/Cultural Blog" category.

To vote for the Best Blog, click here; to vote for the Best Podcaster/Vlogger, click here; and to vote for the Best Entertainment/Cultural Blog, click here.

The first round of voting will end on January 21, 2008. You can only vote once per category/per round.

For more information, visit the Canadian Blog Awards' website.

If you do vote for me, thank you very much. I really appreciate the support.

The Hek

Glaus For Rolen

It's official.

The Blue Jays have acquired 3B Scott Rolen from the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for 3B Troy Glaus.

When you break it down, it's a fair trade. Both players are around the same age and earn roughly the same salary. Both players are coming off seasons that were cut short because of injuries. Both players needed a change of scenery. There are some differences. Glaus is more of a power hitter, while Rolen is more of a contact hitter.

Unfortunately, I am a bit skeptical as to how this trade will improve the Jays.

Don't get me wrong, Rolen is a great player. He used to be one of the top players in the National League (check his stats from 1997-2004; they are phenomenal). However, over the last few seasons, Rolen's statistics and physical health have diminished. He'll probably make at least one trip to the disabled list in 2008. There's nothing you can do when you're banged up. You can't help your team.

With Rolen, the Blue Jays are taking a risk. Fortunately, it won't be a big loss as Glaus is in the same boat as Rolen.

It will be interesting to watch Rolen play the hot corner in the American League. If anything does happen to him, John MacDonald will be there to fill in.

The Hek

*Never injured: Episode 67 of the Audio Circus*

Tell Me A Story

Episode 67 of the Audio Circus is now available!

This week: Some good ol' fashion bedtime stories.

To download, subscribe, or for more information, visit the show's website.

After the Audio Circus, check out the CanCon Cast.

The Hek

Spam Of The Week

This week's contribution comes from Suleman Muhammed:

My Dear Good Day,

PLEASE URGENT ATTN.

Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal ethics.I am Mr SULAMAN MUHAMMED The manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of my Bank.

In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US$8.5M, (Eight Million, Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with account number 14-2558-5976 that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his wife and only daughter in a plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight number 261 which crashed on January 31, 2000. You shall read more about the crash on visiting this site:
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/

The owner of this account is Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great industrialist and a resident of Alaska. It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and for our bank to release the money to you. You have to follow the instruction which I will be send to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into our bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after nine 9 years, the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The money has now stayed more than seven to eight years and I am preparing documentaion to prove that this money has been transfered to our bank treasury. It will be between me and you only that will know that the money is not transfered into our treasure.

This request of foreigner as next of kin in this transaction is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and as an insider i cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. In appreciation of your assistance, I am offering you 40% of the total sum. 10% for contingencies (cost of transfer/other charges) likely to be incurred during the course of transaction, while the remaining 50% is for me.Upon receipt of your reply.

I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application which you will complete and forward to our bank asking for this money to be paid to you as the next of kin to Mr;Morris Thomson. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer. You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this mail through the above email. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER MY URGENT REQUEST.

Yours Faithfully,
Mr SULEMAN MUHAMMED

Thanks Suleman. We salute you.

The Hek

Hoffa's On A Tear

Here's your shock of the day

According to Doug Smith, former Raptor Rafael "Hoffa" Araújo is living up to his potential......in Russia.

Playing for Spartak of the Russian Basketball Federation, Hoffa is averaging 11.4 points/game, has a 57% field goal percentage, and is 61% from the line. You probably don't believe me, so here's the link to prove all this. Ignore the fact they spelled his name wrong.

This leads me to one of two conclusions: Either A) Hoffa plays better in an non-NBA setting; or B) RBF players are really that bad.

The Hek

What If We All Loved Bush?

When someone says, "I hate George W. Bush," do they mean the person or do they mean the politician?

If you hate the person, then you're being callous. If you mean the politician, then you might have some legitimacy. However, 'hate' is a strong word. A more appropriate word would be 'dislike.' And why would you want to hate George W. Bush, the politician? What did he do wrong?

Oh wait...

Seriously, if you're living in Baghdad and the President allows an air-strike that misses it's intended target and instead, kills your family, then maybe you have a reason to hate him. But if you're living in a swanky condo or your parents' basement (take your pick), eating Cheetos, drinking a can of Red Bull, and looking up Mr. Plow clips on YouTube, then what the hell gives you the right to say "I hate George W. Bush?"

Think about this, you're chilling in your palace (again, take your pick), balancing your laptop on your stomach, waiting for your significant other to arrive so you can have passionate sex, which means you're having more sex then I am. Life is good and you have the audacity to say that you hate the President of the United States?!

Look, if you want to hate him, that's your business. But at least have some justification for your hate. For example, health care, poverty, etc. But that still falls under the category of 'dislike.'

The Hek

Shameless Self Promotion

Check out my latest article in Afterword.

The Hek

*No Shame at all: Episode 66 of the Audio Circus*

You Might Be A Canadian

Episode 66 of the Audio Circus has been released.

This week: Some Canadian humour and a dip into my voicemail.

To download, subscribe, or for more information, visit the show's website.

After the Audio Circus, check out the CanCon Cast.

The Hek

Spam Of The Week

How did Mike Huckabee take the Iowa primary? Two words: Chuck Norris.

Anyway, our spammer this week is Zam Taamar.

I am Zam tamaar, I am 45 years old married with three (3) children the Bank Manager of BANK OF AFRICA BURK,INA FASO I obtained your address particulars from an Internet address listing, and hence I contacted you in confidence on this very urgent and confidential proposition that is of mutual benefit to us all and our children.

On 27th of May 2001, a Foreigner Mr. Albert G. Hudson A Gold Consultant/merchandise here in my Country (BURKINA FASO) operated a domiciliary Account, which its value is USD$15, 000,000.00 (Fifteen Million United States Dollars) in my branch, without presenting a usual information on his Next of Kin beneficiary, we accepted this due to the fact that Banks are conservative and will always honor a customer's wishes, especially high net worth customers.

For about four (7) years now, we have been looking forward to any vital information on the depositor, but it has been confirmed that the original depositor (Mr. Albert G. Hudson) has died in London, on making this discovery my Bank has been expecting the relative or next of kin of the original depositor to come up for the claim of this funds, but since no one has turned up for the claim and fund is still sitting in my Bank in the Dormant Account Portfolio, which I have been protecting awaiting the appropriate time to convert this fund for personal utilization.

I see it as the appropriate time to actualize the arrangement, but this could not be actualized without the help of a Foreign Partner, hence I have resolved to contact you in confidence to work as my Foreign partner as to have this claim processed in your favor, by presenting you as a distant relative of this customer for the immediate transfer of the funds into an Account that will provided by you as the beneficiary, pending my arrival there in your Country for sharing and investment purposes, which will be carried out without your assistance there in your Country.

This call is important due the Banking Law here in my Country, that domiciliary Accounts that have been Dormant for 7 Years, should be revert to the Federal Government Treasury, hence the partnership is essential as I have rehearsed and perfected all arrangement on this, that it is not necessary you come from the same country with him as you will not be required to visit my country.

The method of achieving the objective of transferring this money abroad in your favor as the beneficiary, is completely legal and proper way is simple, we should operate under an accredited Law Firm of this Bank (representing you as BENEFICIARY) to execute a series of affidavits in support of your claim. These will be approved. The money transfer paperwork itself will include a certificate of origin so that the receiving bank does not ask questions or refuse the money as money laundering. Also, the paperwork will include proper certification that the funds being transferred are from non criminal sources. In short this will be a proper and legal money transfer and there is no risk, hence the confidentiality is maintained on your side as the beneficiary to the Estate of the late Mr. Albert G. Hudson.

To actualize this arrangement, from your side as a partner I will require the following details:-

NAME IN FULL.

ADDRESS IN FULL.

YOUR MOBILE NUMBER.

AGE.

MARITAL STATUS AND NATURE OF JOB.

This transaction is guaranteed to succeed without any problems. On the receipt the above requested information, I will give you my complete address, including phone/ fax etc and any further clarifications and step you may require.

I have resolved that the sharing should be thus:-

55% is for me as the Initiator and the Bank Manager.

40% is for you as my Foreign Partner.

5% is for reimbursement of every expense that we may incur in the course of actualizing the arrangement.

Forward your response to this my confidential e-mail: (zam_tamaar@myway.com).

Yours Truly,

zam tamaar

Thanks Zam. We salute you.

The Hek

Vote For Bosh

Chris Bosh needs your support.



He's got my vote. 20.3 points/game. 9.2 rebounds/game. Heart and soul of the Raptors.

The Hek

Drastic Measures

You might remember this post I made at the end of 2006.

Now that it's 2008, it's time to ask the following questions:

Did I follow through on my 2007 resolution? Not really. Taking charge and pursuing your goals is easy. It's the outside factors that make things difficult. I applied to so many media jobs and sent out so many proposals. All I received was "thanks, but no thanks" or no response at all. What really bugs is me finding out that friends of mine who still go to University are getting co-op placements, internships, or lining themselves up for "post-grad employment." I wonder how they can easily get into their field of work, while I've been struggling for the last two years sending out thousands of applications. Am I bitter? Absolutely. Am I jealous? You bet.

Is it time to take drastic measures? Not sure on that one. There's a fine line between taking a chance and doing something stupid. It's all a matter of weighing your options.

Has life gotten better or worse? A little better, but I am nowhere near where I want to be. In May, I started a new "non-radio" job and it was the best thing that happened to me this past year. It's steady work, steady pay, my co-workers are phenomenal, and I get a lot satisfaction out of it. I'm very lucky to have this job.

I still have to deal with the pressure I put on myself as well as outside pressures. I still have to deal with people who tell me that radio is "a garbage job in a garbage industry." If I wanted to throw away my goals, I would have done it by now. But I refuse to quit. I'd rather die trying then capitulate.

What will happen to me 2008? I don't know. I really don't know and I refuse to make predictions. We'll just have to wait and see.

Fasten your seat belts.

The Hek

*Tune in: Episode 65 of the Audio Circus*