If U2 build it, they will come

U2 has announced that they will build an open-air stadium in Montreal capable of welcoming over 60,000 fans.

More than 300 employees will be employed in the construction of this facility, on the site of the former Hippodrome, which is slated to begin in May. Two months will be necessary to complete the site build and another month will be required to dismantle it. More than 300 trucks will transport the 40,000 grandstands coming from Canada.

With a cylindrical video system of interlocking LED panels, and a steel structure rising 150 feet from the floor over a massive stage with rotating bridges, the band has truly created an intimate 360º experience for concert goers. Keeping with the concept that this tour is more about a unique staging configuration, ticket prices ($30, $55, $95 and $250) are set so that more than half of fans will pay $55 or less for their tickets to this tremendous concert event. U2 hits Montreal in July 2010.

The neverending mosaic

OK, so this is freakin’ awesome. Click on U2 mosaic

Let it load and then you will see a picture of U2 and a white box. You can move the box around the image to select an area of the image. You don’t have to. Just click on the image. See what happens.

Then click on the image again. See what happens.

Repeat, repeat, repeat…

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I am now an examiner at Examiner.com, writing on higher education in Ontario.

Please visit my Examiner page at http://www.examiner.com/x-29248-Ontario-Higher-Education-Examiner.

I will be submitting at least 3 articles per week, so please visit often and consider subscribing (it's free).

"...tear down this wall!"

20 years ago today the Berlin Wall fell, marking the first signs of the end of the Cold War.

Enjoy a gallery of images of this historic event here.

CBC takes a stand

Loyal CBC viewers and listeners, all 3,475 of us, are in a tizzy over the CBC's much-vaunted "rebranding" of the 24-hour CBC Newsworld into CBC News Network (that's CBCNN, in case you missed it).

Apparently completely re-jigged to attract a younger (read: not about to die) audience, the new format proved nearly unbearable to watch, what with the majority of the launch broadcast last week devoted mostly to the giddy new anchors babbling about the new set and only occasionally pausing their banter to mention the, ahem, news.

The greatest amount of flak being generated is that all of the broadcasters stand around the set, which is supposed to bring us closer to them and make the newscast more "transparent". This doesn't bother me nearly as much as how every time a segment anchor talks with a correspondent they ask them if they will follow-up, and the correspondent invariably says something like "Yes, so-and-so, I will follow up and keep you posted". This is incredibly inane, insulting, and rather condescending to the viewer and the correspondent.

There is also an alarmingly high level of distracting sounds, scrolling lines of text, huge moving images, and short news bites. For me CBC was always about the stories, with in-depth and incredibly intelligent reporting from what were certainly some of the most respected correspondents in the English language. The current format reminded me of a slightly more dressed up version of Much Music. I certainly can't tell most of the new female personalities from Erica Ehm. If I wanted to watch Kelly Ripa read me 20-second news bits I'd watch...well, you get what I mean. In addition, folks are also upset that some American consulting firm is responsible for this mess.

So it is with great ironic glee that I share this hilarious clip from a BBC parody of 24-hour news programs that ran in, get this, 2005. The show was called "Broken News" (a play on Breaking News). In this clip the anchors introduce us to the segment of the news called the Standing News. Absolutely priceless.

The unsinkable Nancy Pelosi

The U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured) narrowly passed a transformational health care reform bill with a vote of 220-215.

Supporters claim the bill will extend health care coverage to 36 million Americans who currently do not have health insurance. The estimated cost of the bill, if passed in the Senate, will be $1.1 trillion over 10 years.

In a news conference late Saturday night, Pelosi claimed that they [the Democrats] have enough support to get the bill through the Senate. It was reported in various media that President Obama made a special trip to Capitol Hill to appeal for support allegedly imploring, "“When I sign this in the Rose Garden, each and every one of you will be able to look back and say, ‘This was my finest moment in politics.’ ”

This is a wonderfully historic victory for the Democrats and certainly one for Pelosi, already a history-maker as the first female Speaker of the House. May it also come to be a wonderful victory for America as well.

Yates Bound

No. 4 Queen's has just beaten No. 9 McMaster 32-6 to win the semifinal of the OUA championship.

Queen's will face either Western or Laurier next weekend in the championship game to vie for the Yates Cup.

Go Gaels Go!

Happy 40th!

This coming Tuesday will mark the 40th anniversary of the launch of "Sesame Street".

For those of us born around the same time (ahem), "Sesame Street" constituted an enormous part of our childhood. It's hard to believe that the show has been on the air that long and that celebrities of all stripes still want to guest on the "Street".

Even to this day the show emits a powerful nostalgic pull on our hearts. There are far too many wonderful clips to choose from, so I had to make a tough decision and share one of my all-time favourite sketches, featuring a lovable pair of alien visitors. Watch the clip here.

Yours truly presents...

Avoiding Financial Crisis: Money Management 101

The B2B networking guru is back with an engaging session full of hot tips gleaned from his journey from financial chaos to financial peace. With his trademark warmth and humour Stacy Kelly, Artsci'93, will share insights on the fundamentals of effectively managing your money.

Date:	November 10, 2009
Time:	6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location:	Ellis Auditorium Queen's University Kingston, ON, Canada,
Cost:	This is a free event, but space is limited so register now! Register here.
Details:	This session will be presented by Stacy Kelly, Artsci'93, who will be speaking about budgeting, credit cards, credit scores, and strategies to prepare you for the next stages in financial planning. Registration for this event begins at 5:30 PM.
RSVP By:	Nov 9, 2009

Top Trends 2009

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The worker in the mirror

According to Douglas Reid, Associate Professor of Global Business at Queen’s School of Business, employees in recession-era workplaces typically fall into the following behaviour patterns:

• The Terminated: while not physically present in the organization, their memories linger and affect those that stay.

• The Fearful: these employees believe they will be cut next. They are ready to search for a new job but cling tenaciously to whatever certainty their existing situation affords.

• The Indifferent: this group is watching the recession occur and believe it is going to affect someone else.

• The Delighted: high performers who delight in the improvement in their situation relative to the average consumer via sales and discounts in the marketplace.

• The Apocalyptic: a small group that believes that the recession presents a necessary “reset” for a myriad list of failures in the existing system of capitalism.

• The Longers: Hoping for a severance package and optimistic they’ll obtain rapid alternative employment.

• The Engaged: The core of a company’s renewal efforts. They understand the consequences of the recession and what needs to be done to help the business recover.

Source: http://business.queensu.ca/news/blog/?p=398