CFN  -  Friday our office started getting emails about Joey Bellmore.  By this morning we’d had nearly 60 emails from people all over the world seeking our assistance in finding out what happened to the 30 year old St. Lawrence College Business grad.

It seems Mr. Bellmore has been building a You Tube Channel that has drawn over 1,000,000 million page views.

According to Mr. Bellmore the trouble started when his computer went on the fritz and he being burnt out took a mini sabbatical.

This resulted in queries and suggestions from he being “kidnapped” or arrested to simply running off with funds that his subscribers donated.

After a bit of searching we hooked up with Mr. Bellmore this afternoon at the Island Ink Jet Internet Cafe where we shot an interview and caught up with Cornwall’s other Million Man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-zoot-6YwY

Joey is like a friendlier Canadian version of Alex Jones.   His messages focus more on health and food issues according to what we talked about as well as politics and some of the standard “truther” message.

I found it interesting how he and so many other young people have become so distrustful of the system; especially the political system that they’ve evolved into these myriad beliefs?

To me, my hope is that more people become involved in politics instead of American Idol and that they ask questions and make changes to the world.

Joey says he’ll be getting a new computer soon and has high hopes for his channel.  He wants to host his own radio and video show like Alex Jones and if energy alone can make it happen he’ll probably be back broadcasting before can say Stephen Harper is a big American sell out.

What do you think Truthers?  You can post your comments below.

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Andy Rooney - Photo : Stephenson Brown

CFN -  It’s amazing how we can walk through life walking by amazing people.   Look at that picture above.  If you didn’t know it was Andy Rooney what would you think?  Yesterday I was at an event and a gentleman introduced himself to me.   I’d struck up a conversation with his brother and that led to him wanting to talk to me.

Over the course of that conversation I learned that this gentleman had a very interesting life.  A surprising one and as we sipped our beer my life was enriched by his experience.

Andy Rooney died; at the ripe old age of 92.   As he shared in the video below it was a great life; one in which he got to spend over seventy years doing what he wanted and that’s the greatest gift anyone can receive.

He also said that:

A writer’s job is to tell the truth.

Of course there are many truths.    I was at the Writer’s Guild in NY and discovered that it housed the same offices as the Sixty Minutes crew.   I met Mike Wallace which was a total rush and the late Ed Bradley.   I wish I’d had the chance to meet Andy.

I grew up with his snippets as have many of you.      I’m not going to writ his obit here. Many fine ones exist.   I want to thank Andy.   Thank you for all those years and all those words.

Andy Rooney Wiki

Andy’s last 60 Minutes clip

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGci9ec4BDA

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CFN - It’s been a hard year for the Corrie family.  Betty Driver or Betty Turpin as she’s known on Coronation street has passed away at the age of 91.    She’s vowed to never retire from the show and she didn’t.  Most of her scenes that last year or so had her seated, but her familiar torts which have been part of the Corrie fabric for 42 years are to be no more.

Her Hot Pot will survive, and the show will go on.   It’s been that kind of year as Maggie Hunt (Blanche) passed away and the show saw popular character Jack Duckworth (Bill Tarmey) join his Vera.

Betty’s Hot Pot Recipe

Three quarters of a kilogram each of neck of lamb and potatoes

A large onion

One and a half cups water

3 tablespoons of cooking oil

1 tablespoon of flour

1 bay leaf

Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

————————————————————————–

1. Brown the meat in a pan of very hot oil then set aside

2. Chop and fry the onion until it begins to brown

3. Sprinkle flour into the pan with the onions and stir to soak up the fat

4. Turn off the heat and add the water slowly while stirring vigorously to prevent lumps forming

5. Add a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper to taste

6. Mix the onion, meat and stock together and stir in a bay leaf

7. Alternate layers of meat and onion mix with thinly sliced potato in an ovenproof dish. The top layer should be potato.

8. Cover and bake at 325 F for 2 hours

9. Remove cover and continue to bake until the top layer of potato browns

Speaking of Corrie, we here in Canada are catching up to the British time lines as CBC has doubled up episodes.    The Tram crash killed Ashley, Molly, and Charlotte, but some of the story lines need some improving.    Corrie always had a nimble balance of young and old characters.   A bit of off beat comedy, and of course their holiday explosions!

Now there seems to be a competition of who can get the bigger boob jobs, and the propensity of people sleeping with each other’s best friends seems to be on the rise.

What do you think Corrie fans?  You can post your comments below.

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Cornwall ON -  We here in Canada get our Coronation Street episodes months after those aired in the UK although the CBC is now doubling up so we can catch up which is a bonus for long time fans of the British soap fave.     The CBC also airs its shows on the internet for watching on demand at no charge so it’s great for people like me that rarely have time.   I can catch up at 5 in the morning like I did this morning and sadly watched one of my favorite characters end his run in the most poignant of manners.

It’s was one of the greatest Corrie moments I think I’ve watched and a true tribute to the character of Jack Duckworth and Bill Tarmey who played Jack from 1979! I won’t give away the spoiler for those who haven’t seen it yet, but it was classic Coronation Street which for old timers like me has been sorely been lacking as the storylines keep getting younger and a bit less Corrie like.

Jack’s Final Episode on CBC 

Alan Halsall as Tyrone Dobbs did a great job too!

Coronation Street celebrates its 50th year on television and it’s been a long time hit for CBC here in Canada probably only second to Hockey Night in Canada in popularity.    I myself have been watching the show for over 30 years.    It used to be on at 3 in the afternoon here in Canada and for some reason if there was a holiday or if I was home from school there was nothing like watching Corrie.

Canadian fans you can post your comments and tributes to Jack below.

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Cornwall ON - On Wednesday September 14, the cast and crew of the /A\ Morning Show will be leaving their Byward Market studios and broadcasting live from Cornwall Ontario. The show will be live on the air from 6 am to 10 am.

“We’re excited to get out on the road and connect directly with our viewers,” said Kurt Stoodley, Co-Host of the /A\ Morning Show. “As the largest municipality in our viewing area (besides Ottawa/Gatineau), it makes sense for us to return to Cornwall.”

“The broadcast offers a great opportunity for Team Cornwall members to showcase our community,” said Mayor Bob Kilger. “The /A\ Morning Show is the number one rated morning broadcast in the Ottawa area, and Kurt Stoodley and his team have become good friends to the City.”

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Cornwall ON - One of the scary things about having Mr. Harper finally get his majority is the impacts and precedents I and many others fear it’s going to set.

Before the election UBB was and still is a very large issue.   There was a break, a delay if you will, a proroguing of the decision to allow the big media companies that ability to over charge for bandwidth.    In this case companies like Bell and Shaw can’t at the moment charge as much as $4.00 for a GB of bandwidth that can cost a little as less than one penny to deliver.

Now Sun TV or as it’s been called, Fox News North has been dropped by Bell Satellite services.   Apparently it’s over money, but I have a hunch the picture is a bit larger than that.

In the 50′s the Hollywood studio system was broken up by the US government as they essentially had a monopoly.  The studios made the movies, owned the distributors, AND the big theatre chains.

Block booking was the way things were done and the studios made money on the entire chain of  product.  This system also gave a small group of corporations and businesses virtual control over what the American public went to see in the days prior to the boom in television.

The break up of the old Hollywood system was also connected to the “Red Scare” of the Fifties where Americans were seeing Communists under ever bush and rock and were afraid of too much media control in the hands of too few.

Fast forward to 2011.    Bell owns its internet delivery system, ISP.  It owns CTV, IE a network, which in turn buys and creates programming, and it owns Bell’s Satellite service.   That’s a powerful grouping.   There are other groupings like Shaw and of course smaller players.    It’s not a fair playing table and the influence that ISP’s and companies like Bell and Shaw for example have is clearly evident in the UBB wranglings with the CRTC.

LINK

Lavoie said the issue may be taken to the CRTC on the basis of Bell (TSX:BCE) giving itself an unfair advantage, noting the telecom giant already owns three all-news channels — CTV news channel, Business News Network and CP24.

Another example is that I am a Netflix.ca client.  Love the service so far, but my Cogeco internet service is going to get dinged as my bandwidth will be higher.    While I’m contemplating moving over to a service like TeK Savvy if the CRTC allows UBB to go through essentially the big ISP’s will have won the day and really hurt Canadians ability to communicate.  WiFi in schools and hospitals would be prohibitively expensive and even medial service costs would grow as distance treatment by doctors is internet based.

These are issues facing us that need to be resolved.  Countries like Finland pass laws stating that High Speed Internet access is a right while we in Canada are trying new and unique ways to limit access for Canadians?

What do you think Canada?  You can post your comments below.

Cornwall ON - Tracy got the crap beat of her on Corrie last week.   She then swanned this story to Ken and Deirdre suggesting that her lying and trying to frame an innocent person was because of her kid!  Could you imagine someone trying to use their children as an excuse for their cravenly behavior?   Really Tracy, what on earth were you thinking?

Corrie then went on to finally rid itself of Tony Gordon.   The Crazed Scott ex-factory owner sorta weanied out before going up in smoke and flames as the factory burnt around him.

My fave, Carla had as much fake bruises and cuts as Tracy, and somehow Roy and Hailey have become a touchingly romantic couple.

I kinda wish Gail would’ve been convicted as she’s getting squirrelly as she’s aging on the show.

To catch up on the latest on Corrie here in Canuck Land you can catch the episodes nightly on CBC or my fave, the Sunday Omnibus edition.   They also show past episodes HERE.

So Canadian Corrie fans, what do you think of last week’s episodes and the new opening and closing credits.  It feels weird seeing them change after all these years….

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Cornwall ON - I just don’t get it?  Do you?  Apparently Elizabeth May is being banned from the Leadership debates…again….and so far there’s been nary a peep from the Federal Leaders.

Could Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, or Gilles Duceppe ever look at a female voter again if they don’t stand up for Ms May?

Certainly she was the most entertaining debater in the last televised debates.   The Green Party, while not having any seats, certainly runs candidates Nationally.   The Bloc Quebec doesn’t yet does anyone suggest they not have a seat at the table?
I find it odd as we help bomb Libya that we try and stunt our own Democracy by trying to ban not only our only female candidate, but a National leader who’s been to the debate last time around.

Have we not learned our lessons.

This is such a black eye on Canada today and whoever is making this decision needs to lose their job and the Federal leaders need to stand up and be accountable.

LINK

Troy Reeb, Vice President of News for Global TV and head of the committee of TV companies, also says their ruling is based on journalistic decision-making.

LINK 2

“The consortium has decided to invite the leaders of the four parties represented in the House of Commons to participate in the leaders’ debates,” said Marco Dubé on behalf of the consortium of CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Global and TVA.

LINK 3

“It’s very important that in the next few hours that Canadians from coast to coast express their concerns,” May told the Victoria Times Colonist. “Otherwise, the old-boys’ club will win.”

What do you think Canada?  You can post your comments below.

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Cornwall ON - Canadians are stunned and saddened at the passing of Canadian Air Farce funny man Roger Abbott at the age of 64.

I know that Air Farce is better known for the ageless CBC television shows, but I grew up listening to Air Farce on the radio; especially when I worked in what was then Frobisher Bay in the early 80′s and now is known as Iqualuit.

Air Farce was a connection to being Canadian in many ways.   Some of the team I’m sure could’ve done amazing if they moved to the US, but there was something pristinely Canadian about Big Bobby Clobber from Dave Broadfoot; Luba Goy and of course Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson.

AIR FARCE WIKI

Roger was one of the original Air Farce troupe in 1970 and never left.

Roger Abbott WIKI – Roger’s last appearance with the Farce was New Years of 2011.

I think the statement from Don Ferguson, his long time cohort and friend from the Air Farce website sums it up best.

I’m heartbroken to tell you that our beloved friend, Roger Abbott, died last night at Toronto General Hospital, fourteen years after being diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a progressive disease that he kept secret from all but a few close friends and family until a week ago. Roger was the guiding light of Royal Canadian Air Farce since it began in 1973, and all of us who have had the honour of working with him and the pleasure of knowing him will dearly miss his kindness, generosity, integrity, leadership, and wonderful sense of humour. God bless Roger!

RIP Roger Abbott, July 10, 1946 – March 26, 2011

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmk8iH76ckY

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Mia Kirshner

Ottawa ON – When I told people that I was going to the Genie Awards after-party in Ottawa last night, the majority of the responses were: “What are the Genie awards? After explaining that the awards honour and showcase the year’s outstanding achievements in Canadian cinema, many of these people came to the conclusion that they were the Canadian version of the Academy Awards. I left it at that.
Besides representing my employer Stroked Ego (strokedego.ca) at the after-party, my goal was to meet the host of the show, William Shatner.

I am a huge fan of the actor, especially his work on Boston Legal. The party was held at Arc the Hotel in downtown Ottawa, and I was immediately impressed with the swankiness of it all. Despite the blustering winds and rainy conditions there was a red carpet with bright lights and ice sculptures, a doorman with a guest list, and even photographers ready to take pictures of famous celebrities. (They neglected to take mine – whatever!).

Upon entering the hotel, which is beautiful by the way, I was greeted by the likes of Jay Baruchel, Kardinal Offishal, Mia Kirshner, George Stroumboulopolous, Jian Ghomeshi, and Tyler Labine.

It was a relaxed atmosphere with the party divided into two lounges and 3 bars. One side was for conversation and networking, the other was for dancing and listening to music. It was just a great party with no drama, no gags or gimmicks.

What I particularly like about the night was how approachable the stars were. There was no pretentiousness about anyone I met. They were more than happy to talk to anyone, celebrity or not, and were just looking to celebrate the night. While I did not get to meet William Shatner, my favourite part of the night, and what really drove home the point that this is a truly Canadian event, was watching a group of stars, George Stroumboulopolous, Jian Ghomeshi and Mia Kirshner included, mowing down on poutine at the end of the night. On a freezing cold Canadian night, icy roads, and pouring rain, partying with poutine doesn’t get any more Canadian!

William Hennessy

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