Anthony Augustine

Uptown Magazine - February 16th

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:26:23 -0600

8 MegaUpload & MegaVideo alternatives
With the FBI shutting down extravagant web millionaire Kim Internet’s MegaUpload and MegaVideo empire — seizing and freezing access to one of the biggest file-sharing sites around and one of the most popular sites for TV streaming — users have been scrambling to find other outlets to get their video fix. While there are plenty of options for those looking to store, back up and share files online (Dropbox, Box.net and Divshare, to name a few), sites that operate in the grey area in which MegaVideo existed are a little harder to come by. Sure, they’re out there, but with the FBI doing a full-court press on copyright-infringing sites right now, who knows how long they’ll be around? Here are eight alternatives to check out. Until the dust settles, use a more legitimate service such as Dropbox for your important files (as there’s little chance it will go offline) and, if you need to upload some video files or want to catch up on what you’ve been missing on TV, you should be able to find something that works for you off this list.

Food Blogger Event
If you are a food blogger in the 204, you’re probably going to want to check out this free event on Feb. 29 at Elements restaurant. More than just a meet-and-greet for Manitoba food bloggers, camera wiz Ian McCausland will also do a quick presentation on how to take better photos of your food. If you are looking to meet and mingle with other food bloggers, learn how to shoot mouth-watering food porn, and enjoy some samples from Diversity Food Services and the University of Winnipeg’s new hotspot, Elements, make sure you register for this event.

Winnipeg Tips
Sometimes Winnipeggers can be our own worst critics. Winnipeg Tips is a recently launched Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter account that aims to “promote and celebrate the unique cultural awesomeness of our city.” This site takes a simple idea and uses the power of the web to bring it all together.

MP3 of the Week: Cannon Bros. - EP
Playing the Lo Pub on Feb. 17 as part of the Disintegration Records showcase for CKUW’s annual Fundrive, the Cannon Bros. released this free EP before signing onto Greg MacPherson’s fledgling label.

Video of the Week: araabMuzik - live

Considering his stock is on the rise (especially with a profile in hipster bible Pitchfork last week), Winnipeg audiences are lucky that MPC king araabMuzik is set to perform in Winnipeg for the second time in less than a year. If you missed him tear up Big Dancing at Ozzy’s with his lighting-fast, real-time concoction of supersized beats, shock-and-awe bass, gunshot breaks, speaker-rattling dubstep and even elements of hands-in-the-air trance, head to The Greenroom on the 18th and see if he measures up to the hype.

Winnipeg Free Press - February 9th

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:57:53 -0600

Facebook Still Not Deleting Your Photos

LOVING Facebook’s new Timeline feature? Eager to upload hundreds of pictures to fill in the social story of your life? Wondering if you should delete those photos from your week-long bender in Vegas?

You may want to think twice about what photos you put online, as it appears that Facebook still isn’t as keen to delete photos as users may be. This isn’t anything new: for the past three years, users have been upset that deleted photos can still remain online, despite the user wanting the photos removed. It’s just become a hot topic again as the push towards moving users to the new Timeline page is underway.

Facebook claims that deleting a photos is like emptying the recycle box on your computer. Even though the company claims no one else will be able to view the photos, that hasn’t always been the case and there have been numerous reports of photos still being available through direct links, even after they were apparently deleted.

Until the social media giant sorts this out and has a more clear policy on content uploaded to the site, think twice about the type of photos you want online.

My Oscar Picks: Anthony Bourdain

FORMER chef (Les Halles), author (Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw) and TV host Anthony Bourdain has never been afraid to share his opinion, whether it be about other celebrity chefs, cities he has visited, places he has worked and now the Oscars.

While the sharp-tongued New Yorker is known as a punk-rock-loving foodie, he is also a diehard film junkie and comes from a family of “huge, huge, huge film nerds.” From a young age, Bourdain was exposed to a wide range of cinema. His father worked at Willoughby’s Camera Emporium and would hold private 16mm screenings for his family.

“I grew up in a house with lush picture books about films; my parents were both very serious about them. Foreign, art, everything,” explains Bourdain.

On a break from his Travel Channel show The Layover (which is pretty similar to his other show, No Reservations), Bourdain is scheduled to appear as a guest programmer for Turner Classic Movies in April. He also sat down to discuss the Oscar contenders this year and give his picks for the annual awards show.

Change Your Password

MORE and more of our lives are being lived online, but how secure is the information we have stored in the cloud?

From banking and email to photos and social networks, pretty much every site we frequent online is only as secure as the passwords we use. You can complain all you want about online services when they screw up and are hacked (see Sony Playstation network), but sometimes when sites are breached, it’s because the users were sloppy with their passwords or decided to use something like straightforward like 123456 on all the sites they visit. Sure, passwords like that are easy to remember, but they are about as secure as leaving your front door wide open when you go away for a week of holidays.

Feb. 1 was Change Your Password Day. If you haven’t changed your passwords in a long time — or in some cases, ever — it might be time to take a look at Lifehacker’s password guide. From creating secure passwords, to using centralized lockers to keep all your passwords secure, spending a few minutes today could save you headaches down the road.

Uptown Magazine - February 9th

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:40:44 -0600

Cooking with Skrillex
Dubstep wunderkind Skrillex is a meme machine. The latest site to pop up using his likeness is Cooking with Skrillex. Considering his animated performances, unique look and legions of Tumblr-loving fans, this won’t be the last Skrillex-inspired site you’ll see. Most artists would kill to have this type of viral presence across the web. Love him or hate him, Skrillex is one of the most recognizable electronic artists in the world right now.

Bad Rave Flyers
Back before the web and social media changed the way promoters got the word out about their parties, rave flyers were a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-distribute communication tool that helped keep parties off the radar. While physical flyers are becoming increasingly rare, there are still thousands of ugly digital designs created to promote events on the web. Except in rare cases, most flyers created for electronic music events — club nights, in particular — are riddled with clichés and look like they were thrown together in 10 minutes after borrowing bad ideas from every other design out there. Someone could easily do a local version of this site.

MP3 of the Week: Joe Nice Mix
Broadcasting at 95.9 on the FM dial for the past 13 years, CKUW looks to the community for support every February during its annual Fundrive campaign. Since it launched in 1999, over $400,000 has been donated to the listener-driven station. You can make a donation by calling 774-6877 or online at ckuw.ca. The station also has a slew of special events during Fundrive that you can check out between Feb. 10 and 17, including U.S. dubstep ambassador Joe Nice at 91 Albert on Feb. 11. Coda, Pucuna, Theo Tzu and Turtilian are also on the bill that evening. Visit ckuw.ca/events for info on all of CKUW’s special events during Fundrive.

Matthew Dear - “In The Middle (I Met You There) [ft. Jonny Pierce of The Drums]

Detroit native Matthew Dear has shifted his focus again from underground techno producer (Audion/False/Jabberjaw) to purveyor of more stylized electronic pop. Featuring Jonny Pierce from The Drums, the first single from Dear’s new EP doesn’t feel as dark as his previous work, but retains the slow-burning, quirky feel that seems to run through most of his recordings done under his own name.

Interview with M.I.A.

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:54:00 -0600

Here is an interview that I did with M.I.A. three and a half years ago for Uptown Magazine. Seems fitting to repost it.

A portion of this interview was also used as a Quote of the Day on Perez Hilton.

When you have one foot in the underground and one in the mainstream, it can be a difficult battle trying to maintain your identity and still continue to reach out to new audiences. Few musicians have been able to navigate this minefield better than Sri Lanka-born, England-based MC/producer/artist/fashion designer/label owner Maya Arulpragasam (aka M.I.A.).

It’s obvious from M.I.A.’s politically charged lyrics and outspoken views that she is not only challenging the status quo - she’s out to smash it.

“The biggest thing coming out of England right now are singers like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen,” says the 30-year-old MC over the phone from New York, prior to a five-hour photo shoot for the Sonar festival. “I think questioning the status quo for them is doing lines of cocaine in the toilet.”

Although Arulpragasam is fiercely independent, making some of her own beats, building her own websites, making her own videos and handling all the art work for her albums, tours and merchandise, there are immense pressures on her to start bridging the gap between her faithful underground fan base and her new mainstream following. Even though her genre-bending music explores universal issues of suffering, struggle and revolution, she is still courted by fashion magazines and designers who want to her to model and strut her stuff on the red carpet.

“I fight for creative control every day. I wake up and the first two hours of my day are fighting for that little bit of space to do what I feel is right. It’s really weird. It’s a fine line. Half the time I don’t do shit because I am actually genuinely busy doing crappy little things that make me happy,” Arulpragasam says. “I want to make my little pictures, do my little paintings, build my own little website and do my little videos. That actually takes time. I think that works out for me in the long run because it means that I don’t have time to sit around and do fashion spreads in magazines, which is a good thing.

“You just have to prioritize and realize what is important. At the end of the day, I have to make music or art because it actually helps me. It is the only therapy that I can afford to do. If I am trying to work shit out to try and help myself figure shit out and you help other people in the process, than that’s a good thing. I don’t know if I am helping anyone by looking good in a magazine.”

While Arulpragasam has been able to live in these two very different worlds successfully, it hasn’t come without a price.

“It is really difficult. There are sacrifices you have to be willing to make,” she says. “You have to understand you are never going to fucking be U2 and fucking sell out stadiums.

“At the end of the day, bands like The Clash could question the status quo, but it helped that they were white. I think it is really difficult to be the other voice and get away with questioning shit without people getting pissed off. You have to be able to take the fucking punches as well.”

Winnipeg Free Press - February 2nd

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:28:00 -0600

Foodpairing

IF you’re still trying to understand the subtleties of pairing wine and food and are aspiring to be a dedicated foodie or know-it-all home chef, this new web app is going to come in handy when you get serious about connecting flavours.

While you may have the basics down, Foodpairing is a new way to explore flavour combinations. The Foodpairing tree gives you an interactive visualization of each ingredient, allowing you to see and explore connections between food and drinks you may not have thought about before. The tool aims to help you be more creative with food and beverages, create your own unique recipes on the fly and help you explore new ingredients.

A free account will get you access to a small portion of the database or you can subscribe to the full site for $15/month or $129/year. Web users aren’t used to paying for access to info, so it will be interesting to see how long Foodpairing can keep this revenue model going.

Catching up with Madonna

SINCE the release of her debut album in 1983, Madonna has never been afraid to reinvent and reimagine herself as an artist. While she’s been out of the spotlight for the past four years, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy. W.E., a romantic drama she co-wrote and directed will be in theatres on Friday. She is also poised to release her 12th album, MDNA, in March and will headline the halftime show at the Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

“I don’t like to repeat myself,” explains the singer/director/dancer. “I’m a curious person who’s interested in learning, and I like to take the road less travelled by. That’s just my nature, so perhaps that leads me to subject matter or controversial or subversive waters. I don’t know. It’s not something that’s intentional. I’m not calculating being subversive or trying to be ahead of people. I just work on things that interest me.”

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the 53-year-old pop icon sat down with Rebecca Keegan to discuss W.E., MDNA, her world tour and the pressure of performing at the Super Bowl.

“I have 12 minutes and 40 seconds to do something extravagant and exciting in the middle of something that’s quite sacred to all of America,” she said. “No one’s asked me to tone down my moves. They were curious about my costumes and the costumes of the dancers….They were very clear with us up front that they don’t want nipples or anything like that, and I didn’t have any intention of doing that, so I was like, ‘OK, we’re cool.’

“I’m more nervous about this than most things I’ve done, simply because … it’s not how I’m used to working. I’m a perfectionist. I like everything to be done just so, and I like to run things and run things and run things until people can do it with their eyes closed.”

Game of Thrones — Season 2 Trailer

FANS waiting for the second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones will be pleased to know a new teaser trailer, You Win or Die, was released last week. If you missed the first season of the riveting fantasy drama, Game of Thrones returns to the air on April 1, so you still have plenty of time to power-disc the first 12 episodes.

Uptown Magazine - February 2nd

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:24:20 -0600

Mixmag’s Greatest Dance Act of All Time
The web votes have been cast and counted, and Mixmag has recently crowned U.K. breakbeat ravers, The Prodigy, as the greatest dance act of all time, edging out robot house-loving Daft Punk in an apparently close race. Veterans The Chemical Brothers, Faithless and Canada’s Deadmau5 round out the top five. Other artists who made the list include former Windsor producer Richie Hawtin and his Plastikman alias (No. 6), Kraftwerk (No. 12), Justice (No. 15) and The KLF (No. 20).

Cook’s Thesaurus
If you’re trying to improvise that recipe you saw on the Food Network or read about in Uptown’s Allez Cuisine! column and aren’t sure what you can use to substitute for a certain ingredient, the Cook’s Thesaurus is the perfect resource to help you out. With handy descriptions, pictures, synonyms and substitutions, it’s an easy way to introduce new vegetables, meats, fruits and other ingredients into your diet, or figure out how to modify recipes on the fly with a bit of a safety net.

Witch House and Chill Wave Name Generator
Depressed and thinking about becoming a witch house DJ? Starting a chill wave band with some people you met on some message board? Use this online generator to ensure you have the perfect name for your new project. What’s the point of your new SoundCloud account if you don’t have a memorable name?

MP3 of the Week: Pip Skid – This Year feat. Charlie Fettah
Before heading out on a tour of Western Canada with DJ Co-op and The Greg MacPherson Band (MacPherson, Cole Woods and Rob Gardiner), Pip Skid and friends will perform tracks from his new release, People Are The Worst, and old favourites at the Lo Pub on Thursday, Feb. 2. Special guests for the evening are relative newcomer The Happy Unfortunate and the reclusive Nestor Wynrush. Tickets are $10 and available at Music Trader and The Urban Bakery. Download Pip’s new album from marathonofdope.com. Don’t forget to throw the label some cash for all the music you have been downloading from it over the past couple years.

Video of the Week: A$AP Rocky – Wassap
New York MC A$AP Rocky finally has a new video out, this time for the Clams Casio-produced Wassap. Directed by Vice’s Andy Capper and A$AP, the clip includes every rap video cliché from the last 20 years, but A$AP is still mesmerizing as he spits his stoner slow rhymes over Clams Casino’s hazy beats. The brash Harlem MC continues to be on a roll after the release of his debut mixtape, LIVELOVEA$AP. Just in case you were thinking of firing this up over your lunch hour in your cubicle, the video is NSFW.

January 26th - Uptown Magazine

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:36:46 -0600

Did the Wizards Win Last Night?
While Winnipeggers lament about the fact that the Jets are a horrible road team that can’t win back-to-back games if their lives depended on it, it could be way worse. You could be a fan of the Washington Wizards. Formerly known as the Washington Bullets (before the name was changed because it was deemed too violent), the team has been stinking up this shortened NBA season — and there’s even a dedicated website to help you know how it did the night before. The Wizards may have won a few games now, but they are still a struggling team and the grind of the shortened season is going to start showing up again. Don’t go crazy and bet your mortgage payment with your bookie thinking they aren’t as bad as their record seems.

Fundweaver
Fundweaver is a new online project that hopes to become the Kickstarter.com for Aboriginal business ideas. Launched last week, no projects have been submitted yet, but it’s only a matter of time before this interesting approach to raising some cash takes off. With Canada’s growing segment of Aboriginal entrepreneurs, Fundweaver could play an important role in helping bring some of their ideas to fruition.

Internet 2011 in Numbers
If you are a number nerd, tech lover or just want to drop some interesting facts at your next dinner party, this look at the web is both fascinating and revealing. While some tidbits aren’t that surprising — people love YouTube, most of the email floating around the web is spam, China has the most Internet users — other data gathered might shed some light on just how rapid the growth of the Interwebs has been over the past few years. You can look at information dating back to 2008.

MP3 of the Week: The Lytics – I’m Here
With a new album due out this spring, a track in the upcoming flick, Chronicle, out Feb. 3, and a gig at The Atomic Centre (167 Logan Ave) with Rebel Yell as part of the inaugural Big Fun Festival on Jan. 28, this local hip hop act is definitely on the move again. While it has taken The Lytics some time to build on their early momentum, it looks like their patience is paying off.

Video of the Week: oldseed – Witness
Former Winnipegger oldseed (Craig Bjerring) performs his song, Witness, at The Folk Exchange back in November. Known for his time in acts such as The Vagiants, The Hummers, A Band Called Horse and even improv group Crumbs, Bjerring now lives in Germany and tours Europe extensively on the strength of his live show and a few 10-inch records he has put out.

January 26th - Winnipeg Free Press

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:30:51 -0600

Five Great Alternatives to MegaUpload

THE swift and massive multi-country raid and shutdown of file sharing giant MegaUpload caught a lot of people off guard last week. Everybody knows that digital lockers like MegaUpload were used to get around piracy laws and contained content with questionable copyright. But on the other hand, it was a very effective tool to store, share and send large files whenever you needed to. Caught up in this takedown were people who were using the service for what it was intended for. Hopefully most people were not storing a lot of valuable files and information on the site, because as part of the FBI lead raid, all the servers are currently offline and no one has access to their accounts. If you still need a way to store, share and access your files online, Lifehacker takes a look at five alternatives to MegaUpload. From old-school solutions like YouSendIt to more obvious choices like RapidShare and MediaFire. It will interesting to see the game of cat and mouse between website operators and the government after this Pandora’s box has been opened

Shorty Awards 2012

IT’S awards-season time and the web is no different. The annual Shorty Awards “honour the best of social media, recognizing the people and organizations producing real-time short-form content across Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare, and the rest of the social Web.” With dozen of categories to register that cover everything from entertainment to sports to activism to special awards like Foursquare Location of the Year to industry awards such as Best Branded YouTube channel, there will be at least a few categories you should be interested in. You still have time to register your vote. If you don’t spend a lot of time surfing the social web, The Shortys are a good way to discover new spots and content worth checking out.

iPad Board Games

IF you are a new to the tablet world and recently got an iPad, this site can help you navigate through the seemingly endless supply of board games that have been reformatted or created specially for Apple’s ubiquitous device. From classic crossword puzzles to slick new games that make the most out of your new device, iPad Board Games is a great resource to check before you start blowing your cash in the iTunes app store.

Sundance Film Festival Streaming Online

WHILE local filmmakers Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky are making the most of their first time at Sundance with their project, Indie Game: The Movie, picking up an option from HBO, that includes Scott Rudin — the producer behind The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Moneyball, among other films — signed on to the project. While you won’t be able to stream the movie online, it will premiere in Winnipeg on Feb. 3. In the meantime, nine short films that are part of Sundance this year can streamed on-demand. Covering a wide range of topics from documentaries like Aquedettes, which is described as “a meditation on life, death and synchronized swimming,” to the The Arm, which follows a guy involved in a texting relationship and finally Henley, which centres around a nine-year-old “budding motel manager and roadkill entrepreneur.”

CKUW's Annual Fundrive: Feb 10th - Feb 17th

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:02:12 -0600

phaseone:

CKUW is gearing up for our annual Fundrive which kicks off Feb 10th at noon.

Our volunteers are busy preparing special programs, arranging live performances, special donor incentives and more! Our goal this year is $53,000 in pledges and we’ll need your help to get there.

Phase One Radio’s Fundrive show is February 16th from 10pm to midnight.

Support community radio. Phase One: Your source for house and techno for the past 12 years.

| Make A Pledge |

January 19th - Winnipeg Free Press

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:51:37 -0600

Payoff.com

Getting a handle on personal finances might have been one of your resolutions at the start of new year. Whether you are trying to save for a specific purpose, get your spending in check, put some money away for retirement or just trying to find out where all your money goes, Payoff.com may be just the type of online financial resource you are looking for. There are numerous financial management tools (if you don’t end up liking the novelty of Payoff.com, try Mint.com), but Payoff is unique in that it mixes serious money management tools with “fun and dynamic” elements that you would find in games to help you reach your goals. Gamification is a new buzzword and you are seeing elements of it pop up everything from personal fitness tools to weight-loss programs to websites looking to attract more users. Payoff.com’s CEO and founder Scott Saunders explains his two year old start-up as a tool that “enhances people’s intrinsic motivation to achieve financial goals through rewards and by illustrating the connection between short-term financial behaviours and long-term goals. We want to help more people sleep better with funded savings and lighter debt loads.” If you are looking for a unique way to keep more money in your pocket, Payoff.com might be right for you.

Shut Up and Play the Hits

Back in April, James Murphy and his art-project-turned-band, LCD Soundsystem, wrapped up their 10-year run with a sweaty, nearly four-hour-long dance party at Madison Square Garden. Considering the tickets sold out almost instantly (mainly due to the fact that scalpers and brokers wrangled most of the available tickets) and the whole confetti-filled concert was streaming live to the web, the fact that the whole project ends with a documentary film isn’t that surprising. For fans of the proto-dance-punk act, it’s a fitting final chapter and for Murphy, it is the perfect way to end the band. Although Shut Up and Play the Hits is supposed to be the end note for LCD, with the type of money being thrown around for reunions, they’ll probably be back together to play Coachella in 2021. The film is narrated by Grantland’s Chuck Klosterman.

Frugalo

As we all know, penny-pinching Winnipeggers love a good deal. If you are like most people who likes to save a buck, you probably signed up for every daily deal site you came across last year. At first, the deals are a novelty, but after a while the emails start to clog up your inbox and become more of a nuisance than something you actually want to look at. You either end up deleting them without looking at them, archiving them in some folder or unsubscribing. Here is where Frugalo comes in. It is a new web app that centralizes all your daily deal subscription in one location. It lets you manage your deal accounts, send bargains to your friends (through Facebook, of course) and ultimately free your inbox from the deluge of daily deal emails, but still be connected to the bargains in your city.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 19, 2012

January 19th - Uptown Magazine

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:45:25 -0600

Crashed Ice
If you’re crazy enough to think you can compete at Red Bull’s annual Crashed Ice event — a combination of ice hockey, downhill skating and boardercross — in Quebec City on March 17, there will be a local qualifier on Feb. 4 at Canlan Ice Sports at 1871 Ellice Ave. Note that, there are 200 potential slots for men and 20 for women, and that you need to register online by Jan. 26. Spots will be randomly drawn to determine who gets on the ice for the local qualifier and gets a shot at competing at the main event. If you are one of the lucky ones selected in Winnipeg, you will battle it out in time trials to see who makes the final cut and gets to represent Manitoba in La Belle Province.

ANIMALS TALKING IN ALL CAPS
There isn’t much to say about this Interweb gem except that it’s exactly what it sounds like and your productivity level will equal zero once you start reading it. Brilliant!

MP3 of the Week: At the Drive-In – Alpha Centauri
When influential post-hardcore outfit At the Drive-In called it quits 11 years ago, Mars Volta and Sparta rose from its ashes. Mars Volta was OK if you were into prog rock, and Sparta had its moments but lacked the knock-out punch ATDI had. It’s no surprise (giving the amount of money being throw around for reunions) that At the Drive-In is getting back together. The band will play Coachella this spring, but no word yet on any other tour dates.

Video of the Week: DJ Brace - Synesthasia

Nobody has ever called former Winnipegger DJ Brace (Mike Topf) an underachiever. Along with winning the Canadian DMC Championships in 2004, he took home a Juno for his debut album in 2009. Last year, his second album, Synesthasia, received a Felix nomination (Quebec’s music awards) for Electronic Album of the Year. While he didn’t win (something he isn’t used to doing), he’s kicking off 2012 with an innovative new video from the album. Pushing turntablism forward, Brace’s nimble cuts are the the anchor to his melancholic soundscapes and carefully chopped beats. The slick clip was shot, edited and directed by local jack-of-all-trades Bill Acheson and also features art from Graham Landin, along with Topf’s 26 collaborators, Shaun Morin and Fred Thomas.

January 12th - Winnipeg Free Press

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:14:00 -0600

Indie Game: The Movie

IF you need a prototype of how modern films are made, there is no better example than the Winnipeg-produced Indie Game: The Movie.It used two successful bids on Kickstarter, a crowd-based funding site used to raise money for anything from innovative products to businesses, and in James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot’s case, a documentary. Kickstarter not only helped raise the profile of the project, but infused some of the cash needed to realize the filmmakers’ dreams. Before they were accepted to their first festival, they already knew they had a market for their film.

Swirsky and Pajot’s documentary about the burgeoning indie game scene is being premiered at a coveted slot at the Sundance Film Festival and will be screened locally at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Feb. 3 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. The 7 p.m. screening is already sold out; tickets for the other screening are only available online at www.indiegamethemovie.com. Buy your tickets to the second screen quickly— chances are it will sell out as well.

Instructables

EVERYONE loves to waste time on the Internet, but sometimes you want to feel productive, too. Instructables.com covers a wide range of topics, from food to technology, with step-by-step instructions, ebooks, videos, guides and more.

Not sure about canning? Need a refresher on installing trim? Forgot how to fix your bike? Instructables features crowdsourced projects that you can follow along, or you can upload your own innovative project for others to try. Even if you don’t end up making something from the site, it might provide some inspiration the next time you need a DIY fix.

YouTube Slam

WHAT’S better than the endless black hole of videos known as YouTube? How about a head-to-head battle between videos using YouTube’s new Slam feature? Vote for your favourite clips and watch the popular ones climb and the others fall.

Peel Player

BBC broadcaster John Peel had an enormous impact on the music scene. From breaking new bands and his legendary Peel sessions, to his popular radio program, Peel’s mark on music is undeniable. The Peel Player is loaded with every track that was part of the broadcaster’s Festive Fifty, a year-end list that the radio jock compiled while he was on the air. The Peel Player is a great way to discover new music or be reminded about an old favourite.

Eastbound & Down: Season 3

FOR HBO’s Eastbound & Down, spring training is starting early this year. Down-on-his-luck pitcher Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) is back, and this time his road to redemption starts with the Myrtle Beach Mermen. Season 3 begins Feb. 19 and for fans of the show, it couldn’t come soon enough. This quick teaser has everything you’d expect from Eastbound & Down.

If you haven’t given Kenny and his dreams of the big leagues the time of day, it’s time to power-disc the first two seasons before he gets back into action next month.

Anthony Augustine is a freelance music, technology and pop culture writer who spends way too much time in front of a computer. Got a site you think he should see? Email him at anthony.siteunseen@gmail.com or follow him at twitter.com/anthonya.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 12, 2012 E3

January 12th - Uptown Magazine

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:08:00 -0600

Things Stephen Harper Does to Seem Human
A clever play on the Kim Jong-il Looking at Things Tumblr, Things Stephen Harper Does to Seem Human is a brilliant photo blog that captures the awkward moments of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as he tries to seem like a regular Canadian as opposed to a bland political cyborg that lacks any form of real human emotion and struggles to make even the most basic connections with people.

Winnipeg is Beautiful
Winnipeg is Beautiful is a crowdsourced photo blog organized by the United Way that aims to show the world just what an amazing city we live in. We may be the geographic centre of North America, but we are usually forgotten about and that needs to change. Sure, the Jets are back, we are getting a new stadium, the Human Rights Museum is emerging at the Forks and IKEA is finally going to open, but those aren’t the real reasons why people live here. Submit your photos of the places that make your Winnipeg beautiful, or browse through the other shots that have already been uploaded, from sunrises in St. Boniface to buildings in the Exchange.

Interesting Things Explained in Soothing Voices
Interesting Things Explained in Soothing Voices is the perfect site to escape to during stressful times. Need a break from your daily grind? Fire up your laptop or smart phone and watch a bunch of videos on subjects you may not care about, but are interesting enough to keep you entertained. You may even learn a few things you can use the next time the conversation hits a lull around the water cooler.

Video of the Week: Flying Down Thunder and Rise Ashen – Kijigog Nimiwan / Galactic Dancehall
Balanced Records’ Rise Ashen and Flying Down Thunder have released the first video from their collaborative album that blends a modern electronic palette of sounds with the traditional Anishinabe chants.

MP3 of the Week: Clams Casino – Instrumental Collection
If you’re looking for the most buzzed-about beats of the past year, Clams Casino is your man. The rookie producer’s moody, bare-bones beats and eclectic soundscapes have been sought after from every rapper from Soulja Boy to Lil B to ASAP Rocky. Even ambient icon Brian Eno has been heaping praise on the young producer, telling the BBC in a recent interview he was impressed with CC’s synth work and vocal cutups.

animalstalkinginallcaps: I ASKED FOR A VEGETARIAN OPTION, NOT A...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:27:11 -0600

animalstalkinginallcaps:

I ASKED FOR A VEGETARIAN OPTION, NOT A SMORGASBOARD OF SIDE DISHES! CAN I GET A PROTEIN? SOME FUCKING QUINOA? ANYTHING REMOTELY ROBUST? THANKS FOR DOUBLING UP THE GARNISH BUT I DON’T ACTUALLY EAT ROSEMARY. IT’S 2012! CAN WE PLEASE JUST GET OUR SHIT TOGETHER? GO TO GRAMERCY TAVERN! GO TO PER SE! TAKE SOME NOTES! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! AND WHERE THE HELL IS MY WINE? WHAT PAIRS WELL WITH COMPLETE AND UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT? I’LL HAVE TWO GLASSES OF THAT WHENEVER YOU GET A CHANCE!

Winnipeg Free Press Best Albums of 2011

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:20:00 -0600

1. Art Department, The Drawing Board

This Toronto duo seem like they came out of nowhere, but Jonny White and Kenny Glasgow had been quietly paying their dues on their own until they got together in the studio, released a couple of monster singles and a stunning debut album that made everyone else take notice. Their dark, stripped-down, vocal heavy tech-house vibe is just what electronic music needed.

2. ASAP Rocky, LIVELOVEA$AP

2011 seemed to be the year of the mix tape and nobody made bigger waves than Harlem MC ASAP Rocky. The mayor of Swaggerville dished out a taste of his New York state of mind with stoner slow rhythms, hazy melodies and boastful proclamations getting served up with effortless ease on the near perfect debut.

3. Explosions in the Sky, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

More than just the band that provided music for Friday Night Lights, this Texas instrumental act is the best at what they do. Take Care, Take Care, Take Care takes you on an emotional roller coaster that gets more rewarding every time you hear it.

4. F—ked Up, David Comes to Life

5. M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

6. J Mascis, Several Shades of Why

7. Cannon Bros, Firecracker/Cloudglow

8. The Weeknd, House of Balloons

9. Police Teeth, Awesomer Than the Devil

10. Diamond Rings, Special Afflictions

2011's Top 10 (Uptown Magazine)

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:03:05 -0600

Anthony Augustine, Uptown
Top 10 albums, in order
1. Art Dept – The Drawing Board
2. ASAP Rocky – LIVELOVEA$AP
3. Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
4. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
5. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
6. J Mascis – Several Shades of Why
7. Cannon Bros. – Firecracker/Cloudglow
8. TIE: The Weeknd – House of Balloons & Thursday
9. Police Teeth – Awesomer Than the Devil
10. Various Artists – The Starter Era, mixed by Skratch Bastid

scottlava: “Now that we’re official, you think we have room for...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:03:05 -0600

scottlava:

“Now that we’re official, you think we have room for one more on the Rad team?”

Year in Review: December 29th - Uptown Magazine

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:13:00 -0600

Site of the Year: Dear Photograph

dearphotograph.com — Dear Photograph pulls at the heart strings in just the right way.

Runners up: Grantland.com, Longform.org

Best Tumblr: Feminist Ryan Gosling

Feministryangosling.tumblr.com — With a cool Tumblr being created every few minutes it seems, this was a tough category to nail down, but Feminist Ryan Gosling was a big viral sensation in 2011.

Runner up: Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Best Meme: Tebowing

tebowing.com — Tim Tebow has been the talk of the sports world lately, not just for his performance on the field for the Denver Broncos, but for always referencing God and openly praying in a way that has become known as Tebowing. Forget planking — it’s all about the big T. This crowdsourced site has examples of people Tebowing in some great locations, including all seven wonders of the world.

Runners up: Pepper Spraying Cop, Kim Jong-Il Dropping the Bass

Best Music Site: Soundcloud.com

Soundcloud has been described as a YouTube for music and, in many ways, that’s accurate. It has a very active community of users and, although it started out as a way for DJs and people in the industry to share music, it has become so much more. With streaming, embedding and downloading capabilities — and an effective mobile app that also allows listeners to record using their phone and instantly upload to the site — Soundcloud is on track to become one of the major players in the online music world.

Runner up: Last.fm

Best Sports Site: Grantland.com

Backed by ESPN’s cash and stocked with a crew of hip writers hand-picked by Bill Simmons, Grantland’s in-depth style may may not appeal to everyone, but it’s the No. 1 destination for discerning sports fans and pop culture junkies. The Fake Grantland Twitter feed is pretty awesome, too.

Runners up: Sportsfeat.org & Fiftymissioncap.ca

Most Useful Site: Lifehacker.com

If you’re a curious keener, do-it-yourself-er or someone like me who is constantly reading about how to get things done but never actually doing them, Lifehacker will be your new favourite site. From tech tips and DIY projects to personal improvement and a range of endlessly helpful lists, Lifehacker is a daily destination for all the right reasons.

Runner up: Howcast.com

Best Photo App: Instagram

You could say that camera apps such as Instagram are ruining photography (and that may be true), but you can’t deny the ubiquity of the photo-sharing community in 2011.

Best Mobile Application: Flipboard

Cancel your magazine subscriptions and fire up Flipboard for your iOS device. This may be the first app that makes you think twice about spending all that cash every month on glossies — especially since you spend all your time reading stuff on your tablet or phone anyway.

Runner up: Instapaper

Most Improved Site: Netflix.ca

For $8 a month, it’s hard to complain about Netflix, but its selection definitely got better in 2011. New content providers and a wider selection means more customers — which will hopefully continue to translate into more even more partners coming on board the Canadian version. If you don’t think Netflix and streaming content is a big deal, try telling that to anyone with Blockbuster stock right now.

Biggest Tech Blunders: BlackBerry & Sony

Between the mega flop that the BlackBerry Playbook has become, uninspiring phones and poorly timed network outages, Canada’s Research in Motion (RIM) had a tough year, followed closely by Sony. After a breach forced the company to shut down the Playstation network for an extended period, customers who use the PS3 as a way to purchase digital content were left wondering how long the service would be down and how safe their information was. Gamers were stuck in isolation or were firing up their Xbox to play online.

Runner-up: Netflix and its aborted Qwikster plan

Best Twitter Feed That Should Be a Reality Show: Paulina Gretzky

www.twitter.rs/PaulinaGretzky — Forget Shit My Dad Says, how has some TV producer not given Paulina Gretzky a reality show yet? Can you imagine how huge that would be? We already know she could provide some of the songs for the soundtrack. I suspect the Great One probably won’t allow it, but if I was a producer with CBC or MTV Canada, this would be my No. 1 priority in 2012.

Best Site Canadians Can’t Access: Turntable.fm

Social listening on sites such as Turntable.fm was a big trend in 2011, but you wouldn’t know it if you lived in Canada. Users north of the border are locked out of the collaborative, crowd-driven, Turntable.fm and have to use workarounds and pay-as-you-go-credit-cards to have access to some online streaming services such as Spotify.

Runner up: Spotify.com

Underachiever of the Year: Google+

With Facebook in a transition period and the fact that Google+ has some cool features, it’s too bad more users haven’t migrated to the latest social network in any serious way. Sure, people have signed up — but until a good chunk of their friends start to post and interact through the site, it’s going to remain a wasteland for tech geeks and early adopters. It’s currently the world’s biggest sausage party, but there is still hope it will turn around.

December 29th - Free Press

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:20:00 -0600

The 10 Best TED Talks of 2011

IF you think the web is a big waste of time and all the videos on YouTube are of cats doing weird things, kids doing things they shouldn’t and video blogs about stuff you don’t care about, you may want to watch some of the Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) talks from this list. Touching on a wide range of topics, TED talks are usually fun, inspiring and informative. Add the TED app to your smart phone or stream the videos on demand to your computer and check out offerings from Try Something New for 30 Days to Three Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed.

TEDx Manitoba is set for Feb. 9. You can watch all the talks from last year’s inaugural event online.

Arcade Fire — Sprawl II

LAST year, Montreal’s Arcade Fire dazzled web viewers with their Google Street View-powered video for the single We Used to Wait that pulled on your childhood heartstrings. For their sequel, they’ve produced an interactive piece for the track Sprawl II that uses your web cam to control elements of the video. Another interesting way to get people to take notice of the band and feel connected to the music.

Filmography 2011

THE video wizard behind the Filmography project, a mega-mash-up of movies from the past year, is back with his new instalment. Packing 230 clips from 2011 into a glorious mélange from the past 12 months, Hollywood gets carefully stitched together in ways you probably never thought possible. Essential viewing for any movie lover.

No mega spoilers, so don’t avoid watching it just because you are worried major plot points might be revealed.

Top 5 Online Music Trends for 2011

WHILE the music industry is scrambling to keep up with the different ways people are consuming music and changing the way they interact with digital media, there were a number of important trends this past year. Cloud storage became a hot topic, with major players like Google, Amazon and Apple all offering up their own solutions. Social discovery and increased social integration of music into Facebook and other social networks is also impacting how we listening to music and find out about new bands.

The way some music tools recommended music to users also improved in 2011. While music algorithms are nothing new, better integration and improved matching seem to make all the difference. Although Canadians are shut out from group listening services like Turntable.fm, you’ll see more services pop up that have these type of features. The past 12 months also saw a trend toward more effective mobile music creation with apps such as Garage Band, iMaschine and some of Korg’s virtual digital workstations all breaking new ground on touch devices and mobile phones at rock-bottom prices.

December 24th - Free Press

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:21:48 -0600

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Fabric 61: Mixed by Visionquest (Fabric)

THIS was a breakout year for the four DJs/producers who record and perform under the name Visionquest. Since getting together, Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves have played a pivotal role in reshaping the sound of house and techno, manoeuvring between trippy, late-night sounds, vocal-driven indie pop and sweaty, low-slung grooves with relative ease.

On their first official release as a collective, the Motor City expats string together wormhole synths, drum machine whirls, spaced-out vocals and sublime bass lines into a well-paced mix that highlights their underground pop sensibilities, techno’s need to keep pushing forward and house music’s understanding of what makes people move. Tracks like My Favorite Robot’s Forest Fires, Footprintz’sHeaven Felt Like Night (both are Canadian artists) or Soul Center’s Hal 2010 are the type of attention grabbing cuts the Visionquest crew have been dishing out to dance floors for the last few years. Fabric 61 is the perfect synthesis of their anything-goes after hours vibe and hedonistic tech-house sound. ‘

4 stars

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 24, 2011 G4