Operation Disc Drop

Do you remember the good old days when you used to make "mix tapes" of your favorite songs for all your buddies? Yes, this was a long time before there were Discmans, iPods and Napster. George Stromboulopolos and his cohorts at The Hour have come up with an incredible marketing strategy to expose the general public to new, exciting music. It's called Operation Disc Drop.

The premise is simple: You burn a CD of your favorite music, and you leave the disc in a public place for a complete stranger to pick up. On the disc are a list of tracks and artists, plus a link to Operation Disc Drop. A complete stranger picks picks up the disc, listens to it, logs into Operation Disc Drop, and informs the site where and when they found the disc. The recipient then can drop that disc in another public place for someone else to pick up, or make a mix CD of their own, and leave it in some public place for someone else to discover.

The premise is, of course, if the recipient likes the music on the disc, that they will go into music stores and buy the music for themselves.

This is a fantastic idea. I have been toying with the idea of leaving a disc somewhere in my hometown, but I may include the caveat that I will only include Canadian artists on my disc. Knowing me, I would include such a cross section of Canadian artistry, that I am unsure what the recipient would think of my musical tastes. I am certain that Canuck artists such as Matthew Good, Bruce Cockburn, Holly Cole, and Sarah Harmer, as well as a dozen others, would make it on the disc. Sorry, there will be no top-40 rock or pop on the disc; just pure good music that almost anybody can dig.

So far, over 100 discs have been 'discovered' by Operation Disc Drop, but there are room for hundreds more. For further details, check out the Operation Disc Drop site here, and see what the buzz is all about.

P.S. George's interview with Matt Good tonight was sweet.

The Greatest Canadian

A new television series has been launched on CBC television this fall. Entitled "The Greatest Canadian", the show is a series of biographies on some of the most prominent and influential heroes of Canada's history.

Over the course of this past summer, viewers and listeners of CBC were asked to submit their nominations for the title of the Greatest Canadian. Last night's episode listed the top 50 candidates, which were reduced to ten finalists for the title. They are (in alphabetical order):

1. Frederick Banting - Scientist whom discovered insulin
   
2. Alexander Graham Bell - Inventor of the telephone
   
3. Don Cherry - Hockey coach and television personality
   
4. Tommy Douglas - Politician and "Father" of Medicare
   
5. Terry Fox - Athlete and activist for cancer research
   
6. Wayne Gretzky - Hockey legend
   
7. Sir John A. MacDonald - Canada's founding father and driving force behind a railway that stretched from coast to coast
   
8. Lester B. Pearson - Prime Minister and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
   
9. David Suzuki - Geneticist and television personality
   
10. Pierre Elliott Trudeau - Prime Minister and force behind Canada's new Constitution
    

While viewing last night's broadcast, I was generally pleased with the selection of the fifty honorable mentions. That being said, I also felt that there were many names mentioned that likely did not deserve to be on the list. Many on the list were celebrities or athletes, and although I cannot argue the fact that they are all "great" in their professions, I somehow cannot conclude that they be considered "Great Canadians".

Yes, they are all great at what they do, and they are Canadian citizens (in some cases were), but I think something has been overlooked in what CBC was trying to allude to in their definition of a "great Canadian".

The successful candidate should have done something noble and selfless, something of such magnitude that the effects are still felt today. This person, and his achievements, should give us a sense of pride; a sense of what it is to be Canadian. This person's crowning achievements should strike us with feelings of patriotism; to make us proud to have him as an icon and as an ambassador to Canada. Yes, they should have changed the world, but more importantly, they should have changed Canada, and be more than just a successful athlete, actor, comedian or musician.

By my criteria, this should knock the athletes off the list. This is in no means a way of being disrespectful to Misters Cherry and Gretzky (or any of the other athletes on the top 100), I have a lot of respect for them; I just don't think they are worthy of the title. Furthermore, I do understand that Hockey is about as Canadian as sports go; but there is more to Canadian pride than hockey. Terry Fox, on the other hand, did something selfless with his life that I would consider himself worthy of the title. His perseverance and determination in the face of cancer should evoke admiration and sympathy in all of us. If I were a young athlete whom lost a leg to cancer, I imagine that I would just give up on my dreams and wait to die. Terry fought to raise awareness for cancer and did so by running a marathon across the country. That is, he ran until he could no longer run, when cancer was discovered in his lungs. He died never completing his marathon, but his legacy lives on with the annual Terry Fox Run, which takes place in countries around the world. I would consider Terry a candidate for sainthood, and we could all learn a lesson from him. Whether or not he will win the title of the "Greatest Canadian" is yet to be seen.

Now for the scientists. Being one myself, I hold a certain kinship with them. I cannot deny the societal implications of such discoveries as genetic research, the discovery of insulin or the invention of the telephone -- these achievements have changed the world. These researchers have given us, and generations to come, a better, safer world to live in. I cannot deny their greatness; but they do not fit the criteria of what I define as a "Great Canadian". They are in a league all their own. They all deserve Nobel Prizes, if they do not have one already -- but I can't see myself giving them a title of "Greatest Canadian".

That unfortunately leaves the politicians left in my truncated list. Love them or hate them, the remaining candidates have done much for our great nation. Their achievements are as diverse as the times they held office. Choosing a winner out of the remaining four candidates will not be an easy task. To simplify things, I have been considering their crowning achievements if they took place today. What I mean by this (especially with respect to Sir John A. MacDonald), is consider the magnitude of their greatest achievements if they were Prime Minister today. First of all, to create a country in the first place is an accomplishment beyond my imagination. It must have been a huge fiscal undertaking in the very least, not even considering the uniting two cultures that have been at war for centuries. Second, consider the costs associated with creating a railway that stretches over 4000 kilometers across this country (east coast - west coast). If a railway of that magnitude was constructed today, the costs would be in the trillions of dollars, a cost that would be both incomprehensible and prohibitive.

The benefits of the Canadian Pacific Railway is beyond the initial liabilities. It helped unite a huge land mass, both physically and culturally. Even though other Prime Ministers have accomplished some commendable feats for the greater good of Canada, I don't think any of them have accomplished anything as massive as a cross-country railway.

I am not going to put any money on who I think will be crowned the "Greatest Canadian". But I would consider the following to be the two finalists: Sir John A. MacDonald and Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Both were considered great leaders of our country, and both were immensely charismatic, liked by both the English and French citizens of our country.

If you would like to provide input into who you feel is worthy of the title of the Greatest Canadian, you may cast your vote over the course of the next six weeks. Episodes documenting the life, times and achievements of the ten finalists are being aired on CBC every Monday and Wednesday evening. I would suggest checking your local television listings for showtimes.

There can be only one Greatest Canadian Idol; let's all cast our votes intelligently.