Archive for December 12th, 2007

Today is day 2 of Nat and Drew’s Food Bank Fillup. Sure, many radio stations do this sort of thing this time of year, but ours is different.

Each municipality has its own Food Bank. The Vancouver Food Bank gets a lot of the hype, but they’re not the only game in town.

So for this entire week, we’re broadcasting from the following Safeway stores to collect food and cash for each of those communities’ Food Banks.

• RICHMOND: 6140 Blundell Road (No. 2)
• SURREY: 7450 - 120th Street (Scott Road North of 72nd Avenue)
• TRI-CITIES: 3025 Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam (Just east of Coquitlam Centre)
• VANCOUVER: 990 West 25th King Edward (King Edward and Oak Street)

This is truly a chance for you to “help your neighbour.”

I’ll be in Vancouver this afternoon from 3p-7p. I hope to see you there.

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?

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You want to know why we don’t have the iPhone yet in Canada?Data plans. Canadian ones are too expensive.

While you can run an iPhone in the US for less than $100 a month, it would cost you many times that in Canada. Our mobile carriers are too few, so there’s not a lot of inspiration for competition.

Need proof? Check out the Calgary kid who just got a bill for over $85 000.

The Motorola Krzr model Piotr Staniaszek bought from Bell Mobility allows him to use the phone to connect with his computer; downloading data to the computer resulted in the shocking charges.

“I didn’t know what to think. I thought there was probably a mistake,” the 22-year-old oil-field worker said of the extraordinary total.

“What happened is that the client used the cellphone as a modem linking it directly to the computer and downloading huge files, … high-res movies for instance.”

Staniaszek said he pays $10 a month for unlimited mobile browsing on his cellphone. “So I figured that was the same thing, but I guess not.” [source]

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?

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Jessica Alba is pregnant.

This is good news. She’ll actually look human for the next 5 months, instead of the rail thin Hollywood bobblehead look she has right now. Check out what pregnancy has done for Nicole Richie!

Next up is the wedding announcement. They haven’t announced it yet, but you know it’s coming cause that’s what Hollywood does.I don’t know why.Okay, so Luongo let one in, big deal. You love each other, you’re going to be great parents, but just because you got pregnant doesn’t mean you have to get married. Ask Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe etc etc how well that works.

You got pregnant because you were careless, fine. Get married because you’re committed and want to, not because the right wing says you have to.

The Blogs According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?

There hasnt been a decent new Christmas song in almost 10 years.

Not since Britney and Boy Bands ruled the charts in the late 90s. Christmas albums from Britney, NSYNC, Christina Aguilera and others were all released.

Since then Destiny’s Child put out 8 Days of Christmas - meh. Hilary Duff’s Santa Claus Lane? No thanks.

The Barenked Ladies put out a holiday album recently, but the original songs, like Green Christmas are kinda lame. Sarah McLachlan’s Wintersong album is a nice one, it came out last year, but even the single she released, River, was a cover of a Joni Mitchell track.

Yes, there are classics that stand the test of time and Michael Buble’s new album serves up some great versions, so do albums from Chris Isaak, Clay Aiken, Josh Groban etc etc etc.

But it’s the same old holiday hymns recycled by different people.

Did you know there are more than 200 versions of Wham!’s Last Christmas? Hell, a blog about all the versions has even cranked up.

The last great original Christmas song was Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. Why was that the last great original? Because this week it’s in the top 10. With digital downloads now counting towards chart position, this 15 year old song is #8 this week.

This year Colbie Caillat has a nice new song, Mistletoe, but do you hear it anywhere?

Remember the Hugh Grant flick, About a Boy? He was a rich wayward man living off the royalties of a Christmas song his father wrote.

People - there’s money in Christmas music. When will somebody write a new classic?

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?

If you’re in the market for a new computer for the holidays, make sure you check out today’s edition of 24hrs.

My latest cyberbuzz column has an interview with Leo Laporte where he runs down all the specs you need for the best possible box.

(Hint: get a Mac)

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?