CBC's Wiretap: David, Goliath, and Superman

CBC Radio has a show called Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein that I've been enjoying over the past year. Wiretap is a series of monologues written and performed by Montreal's own Jonathan Goldstein, as well as listening to bizarre telephone conversations he has with his friends and other invited guests.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I find it tremendously funny. I found myself bewildered in the first few episodes of Wiretap, unsure if this was for real or if it was comedy before I realized I was enjoying it.

Recently, the last couple of seasons have been but up on the site as downloadable MP3s, so I've been catching up on episodes I missed. There are two episodes that are exceptional that I'd like to share with you:

David and Goliath (22:24 minutes)


We Are Not Supermen (25:31 minutes)

Commentary from "Standing Stone and Garden Gate"

My good friends Brendan and Juniper have a podcast called Standing Stone and Garden Gate where they discuss music, tea, and spiritual/philosophical topics. They are kooky and fun.

In episode eight of their podcast, they interviewed a friend of mine who spoke of the power of the bards and their role in modern society. It was a great interview, but I disagreed with a central point and posted a comment on their website.

In episode ten of their podcast, Brendan read my comment and commented upon it. With their permission, this is the segment in which they talk about my comment.

Bardic Commentary (4:44 minutes)

Article on Storytelling and a New CD!

Our good friend Laurent Castellucci has published an article on the storytelling we've been having at Cafe 92 Degrees in the past few months. You can read it here.

In other exciting news, I've made the final selections in a new CD of stories I'll be publishing in the spring. I just need to finalize the layout of the CD package and send it off to be produced. Stay tuned to find out when my new CD will be launched! You can read more about this new CD here.

April Story: The Giant's Garden

Seeing as it is Easter Sunday for many people, I've decided to post my version of Oscar Wilde's classic tale The Selfish Giant. As I recall, I would often watch the animated version of this story around Easter, so I always associate it with Spring. You can read more about the animated film on Wikipedia or watch it on YouTube.

The same production house (Potterton Productions) also produced The Littlest Mermaid and The Happy Prince. I really need to learn the Happy Prince someday.

I told this story to a small audience at Cafe 92 Degrees in Montreal during a show called 92 Degrees of Foolishness. It was a great night of tales and music and I thank everyone who was able to share that evening with us. The magical, mystical Shayne Gryn can be heard providing the music ambiance.



Happy Easter Sunday everyone and welcome to Spring.

March story: Indra and the Blind Shaman

I've been a bit at a loss to know what to post for March, which is why this posting is so late. The recordings I have don't really suit this time of year and I've already posted the others. Of course, I have those two shows in April (April 2nd and April 3rd), so I should get more recordings for the months to come, but in the meantime...

I first heard this story from my friend Dylan, who tells it masterfully. I always liked this story, especially Indra's reaction to getting shot down. This story also allowed me to win third place in the KG Bardic in 2009, so I've grown quite fond of it.

This was recorded during the 92 Degrees of Love show in February 2010 at Cafe 92 Degrees, featuring Shayne Gryn on guitar. We had about 30 people in the audience.

News: This story was published on my new CD "The Bard's New Hat". Read more about it on my website.

Indra and the Blind Shaman (7:33 minutes)

Beautiful Blogger Award!

I want to give a shout-out to Analea who bestowed this beautiful award on my humble blog. Recognition at last! Thanks for thinking of me Analea and introducing me to your blog!

Here are the rules of the award:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Seven things about myself:

1. My favorite colors are dark blue, green, and black.
2. I'm a proud pseudo-uncle to three girls in Quebec city, one of whom is my goddaughter.
3. I would wear my Utilikilt 24/7 if I could.
4. I've been an eccentric my whole life, much to the frustration of my family and loved ones.
5. I have no tattoos, but I'm still trying to design one I'd like.
6. I feel the most alive and happy when I'm performing.
7. I still feel like I'm in my 20s when I'm really in my 40s.

I'll be taking some liberties here with the 15 Bloggers I like and including some podcasts I think are fantastic:

• Standing Stone and Garden Gate
• The Moonlit Road
• Stories Retold 
• Shayne Gryn 
• The Age of Persuasion
• The Moth
• Zero Punctuation
• Spirits Cast
• Ted Morrison Writes
• A Pagan's Blog
• Cake Wrecks
• Mindful Table
• Stupid Evil Bastard
• Boing Boing
• Brass Goggles

 I'm not sure all these people will respond to this award, but I'll do my best.

New Promotional Spot

I've recorded a new promotional spot to, oddly, promote this podcast. You can download this MP3 and use it in your podcast, your website, or your radio show. Please let me know if you intend to use this promo spot just so I can link back to your show.

My thanks to my friend Shayne Gryn for providing the music for this promo. Here it is:

Shortening the Road Promo Spot

Thanks for your support!

EVENT: 92 Degrees of Foolishness

Dates: April 2nd and 3rd 2010
Time:   6:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: Cafe 92 Degrees
6703 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC
Google Map

Join us at Cafe 92 Degrees in NDG for an evening of tales of wisdom, fools, and Spring. Shayne Gryn will be providing the music and special guests include LC, Sarah, and Jack Nissenson.

We will be performing this show over two evenings: April 2nd and 3rd. So if you can't make one show, you can attend the other!

Admission: Free, voluntary contribution
Space is limited (30 people), so get there early!

Facebook Event page April 2nd
Facebook Event page April 3rd

A Story of Love and Madness

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Valentine's Day, however you have chosen to mark this day. This year, Sarah and I, along with a few good friends, told tales at Cafe 92 Degrees in NDG (see previous post). The two evenings of storytelling were enchanting and well-received, so we hope everyone had a great time. We're already planning our next evening of stories for the spring (maybe an evening of Wise Fools stories for April Fools Day).

I'm very excited to have had the chance to record this story which I have told fairly often over the years. I first heard this story told by British storyteller Ben Haggarty who visited Montreal a few years ago during the Festival Internationale du Conte du Quebec. Since then, I have made a few tweaks here and there and come up with my own version of Love and Madness.

News: This story was published on my new CD "The Bard's New Hat". Read more about it on my website.

Love and Madness (4:38 minutes)

If you enjoy this story, please pass this post on to all your friends!

EVENT: 92 Degrees of Love

Dates: February 12th and 13th 2010
Time:   6:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: Cafe 92 Degrees
6703 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC
Google Map

Join us at Cafe 92 Degrees in NDG for an evening of love stories and music with Hobbes, Shayne, and friends. We will be performing this show over two evenings: February 12th and 13th. So if you can't make one show, you can attend the other!

Admission: Free, voluntary contribution
Space is limited (30 people), so get there early!

Visit the Facebook Event pages
February 12th
February 13th