I'm an RSS guy, but I'm also a realist. I get the fact that most people still don't know what the hell RSS is, how to subscribe to an RSS feed and why somebody would ever want to do that. My RSS feeds are how I read 90% of my daily web content but I understand that most people simply visit sites and blogs in their browsers, you know, the old fashioned way.

For those of you who don't want to dive into the world of RSS but like the idea of having these entries pushed to you, you can now subscribe to Toronto Mike blog entries by email.

Go ahead and give it a shot. You can always unsubscribe later...

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Canadian Thinker is calling it "scary stuff". I think that's an understatement. The CRTC has reversed it's 1999 promise to stay out of the realm of cyber space and is now looking at limiting Canadians' access to online broadcasters and Internet-based radio stations. It may also see a levy charged to Internet service providers to pay for the creation of more Canadian content online and they're looking at the practice of "traffic shaping" by ISPs in this country.

Net neutrality is important and our right to view content regardless of country of origin via this medium is now threatened. As Canadian Thinker said:

The CRTC has enough trouble handling what's on it plate already, without wading into the murky waters of cyber space.

As it stands, the CRTC is nothing more than a lackey for the major broadcasting companies in Canada, I'm sure Canadian internet providers would like to have their competition squashed as well.

Before it's too late, let's tell the CRTC that CanCon has no place on the world wide web.

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Andy Baio dove into the Whitburn Project data and came up with some interesting facts about one-hit wonders.

For the last ten years, obsessive record collectors in Usenet have been working on the Whitburn Project — a huge undertaking to preserve and share high-quality recordings of every popular song since the 1890s. To assist their efforts, they've created a spreadsheet of 37,000 songs and 112 columns of raw data, including each song's duration, beats-per-minute, songwriters, label, and week-by-week chart position.

Although we always associate the 1950s as the decade of one-hit wonders, this analysis shows that we're actually living in an era of the one-hit wonder as significant as the 50s. Almost 10% of the artists you'll find in the top 100 will never be there again.

Baio closes with a few facts about one-hit wonders that I found interesting. The longest-charting one-hit wonder to hit the #1 spot is Canadian Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" from 2006, which stayed on the charts for 32 weeks. And here's one that hits even closer to home. The longest-charting one-hit wonder to appear anywhere in the Top 100 is Duncan Sheik's "Barely Breathing" from 1997, which peaked at #16 but stayed in the top 100 for 55 weeks. Yes, Duncan Sheik, the very same Duncan who played the slide guitar on Custom's "May 26", which you'll find in the note Custom wrote to me and I shared on Wednesday.

See how it all ties together?

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Browsing the news at CBC.ca, there was a headline I had to read twice. Actually, I had to read it three times.

Sean Avery starts internship at Vogue

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Our Blue Jays are a little streaky this season. After a dismal stretch when our bats turned to dust, we've now won four in a row.

Since we're doin' it right, it's time for another Blue Jays song. This is "Doin' It Right (On the Jays Side Of Town)" by Brother Jake Edwards and the Q-107 Q-Jays.

If Brother Jake sounds familiar, it's because he was The Champ. Go Jays Go!

Other awesome Blue Jays audio:

• Tom Cheek's Greatest Hits
• OK Blue Jays (Let’s Play Ball!)
• Home Run - We Got The Blue Jays (R.B.I. Single Version)
• Help Us Mookie
• The Blue Jays Rap
• The Ballad of Tom Henke
• Sunny Jays
• Jays To The Top

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My favourite Beck songs

1. Where It's At
2. Pay No Mind (Snoozer)
3. Devils Haircut
4. Fucking With My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)
5. Loser

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I love to camp. When people talk about vacationing and getting away from it all, they speak of resorts and five-star hotels and casinos and I cringe. I far, far prefer the idea of pitching a tent and roughing it in nature as a fun escape from it all.

Many tent campers consider the May 2-4 long weekend (also knows as Victoria Day in some circles) as the ideal time for the inaugural camping trip of the year. In my experience, it's far too often cool and wet and it's far wiser to wait a month before packing up the sleeping bag.

Tonight, for example, it's 9° and rainy. Tomorrow it's more rain, and Monday, although sunny, has a low of 6°. It's too early.

Just say no to the May 2-4 camping trip... unless you've got a cabin or cottage.

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I'll bet at least 95% of all visitors to this blog are packing more inches than I am. The largest television in my house right now is 27". It's a Sony Trinitron and it's been my primary TV for over seven years.

At the time, 27 inches seemed like a decent enough size, and I'm not complaining, but I now realize that everyone I know has a television with a larger screen. Both brothers, my mom, my friends, they all own televisions bigger than my 27" Sony.

Is there anyone out there who's beat by my 27 incher?

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I'm submitting a song for SLS19 consideration. I'm submitting "This Respirator" by The Flatliners.

Is it wrong to favour local talent? Sometimes I'll hear a song and dig it, but when I find out the band is from Mississauga or Burlington or Newmarket or wherever, I'll dig it just a little more. "This Respirator" is a cool new tune from The Flatliners and these guys are from Richmond Hill and Brampton. Ya gotta love it.

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Readers of the blog will know how much I enjoy Flight of the Conchords. It was actually my third favourite show of 2007. I can't wait for season two, but in the meantime, I have this new video to tide me over.

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Last season, I managed my slo-pitch team for the first time. It's a lot more work than you'd realize, but it was also a lot of fun and we ended up winning our division and graduating into the comp division, the highest level of play in the RSPA.

This season, I'm still managing Raging Storm, but I've taken on a new challenge. I've put together and entered a brand new team into an Etobicoke recreational softball league. We're calling ourselves the Piranhas and we just finished our first practice. Our first game is scheduled for next Thursday.

I'm now responsible for the admin and on-field management of two teams at opposite ends of the competitive spectrum. One team's in comp, one team is in a beer league and never the two shall meet.

Raging Storm would kick the Piranha's ass, but the jury's still out on which team would have more fun. Either way, Cito deserves all the credit and none of the blame.

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I remember the 1992 Stanley Cup Playoffs well. I remember it because Pittsburgh swept the Wales Conference final 4-0 against Boston and Chicago swept the Campbell Conference final 4-0 against Edmonton. That hasn't happened since and it won't happen this season because the Stars actually won a game last night to force a fifth game.

The battle for second in our pool is really heating up. Patino and Pops have 82 points apiece and Ryan and Alexi have 80. That means at least 5 people have a solid shot at making some cash.

For the rest of the story, visit http://www.torontomike.com/2008hockeypool.html.

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I'm submitting a song for SLS19 consideration. I'm submitting "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab For Cutie.

It's 8:31, pretty lengthy for a tune these days, but the first 4:40 are just to warm you up. The first time I heard this new DCFC song, I wasn't sure. But after a few listens, I'd lovin' it. If this song makes the cut, it will be their 3rd appearance on SLS.

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Writing about games we played in the schoolyard, like Butt's Up and Handball, I remembered Running Bases.

Running Bases was a game I played often as a kid. There would be two bases, and someone wearing a baseball glove and manning each base. Everyone else would then run back and forth between the two bases while the fielders threw the ball ahead to try and tag the runner out. Yes, Running Bases was exactly what it sounds like. We'd run bases and try and beat the throw before we got tagged.

It was best to play Running Bases on grass because you could slide. Every base you reached safely got you a point and when you were out you'd take over as fielder and someone else would run.

Running Bases was simple, but it was a lot of fun.

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I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

Custom - May 26
I just wrote about Custom, and it's May, so it seemed like a good time to share May 26. I once asked Custom to throw me a note on every song on Fast. Here's what he said about this pretty little ditty.

this one is cool because I wrote and recorded it on may 26 about something that actually happened. it's a true story. I only sang it once on the day. later, i tried to resing it to make it better but the honesty of the original was the best so remains on the record to this day. Duncan played the slide guitar on this track which I love. Somehow the slide file got damaged and some mastermind who is credited on the record saved it.

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John saw Saint Ralph and got chills when Gord Downie sang "Hallelujah" at the end of the big race. I know how John felt because I felt it too. John followed up his chills the way everyone follows up these chills. He Googled the song, hoping to hear it or buy it.

John quickly found my many entries on the song and requested the MP3 I share of the song. I passed it on, as I always do, and received this great reply.

Dear Mike

I can't thank you enough. Gord Downie's version give's me chills every time I hear it. The film and the music must have had a big impact on you too.

Well, you may not realize it but you too are creating a lot of positive impact out in this world - and that's a truly wonderful choice. You can't have any idea of how happy I am right now. Not only because I can listen to this moving and inspiring music, but also what you do is just as inspiring. Trust me on that point - it's way bigger than you can know.

Thanks again

John C

PS I don't know if you are a "great Canadian" (I don't know what the qualifications for that are) but you are definitely in my book of great human beings.

If this blog can inspire just one person a day, mission accomplished.

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Buffalo Boy just wrote about the Fraggle Rock movie and it caught me off guard. I had no idea there was going to be a Fraggle Rock film.

I hit up Wiki for the 411.

In May 2008 it was announced that The Weinstein Company will be distributing the Fraggle Rock movie. The film is being written as a live-action musical by Cory Edwards, who will also direct. The film will be produced by The Jim Henson Company; Ahmet Zappa is still executive producing along with Brian Inerfeld. The film will involve all of the core characters from the series. The story will take the characters "outside of their home in Fraggle Rock, where they interact with humans, which they think are aliens."

I was a big Fraggle Rock fan, and I'd love to be able to take my kids to a Fraggle Rock movie. I just hope it's good.

Please be good.

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I'm submitting a song for SLS19 consideration. I'm submitting "Hollowpoint Sniper Hyperbole" by USS.

I'm told USS stands for Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker. I heard these guys talking to Bookie tonight on 102.1 and their stuff has a great sound. They'll be at Edgefest, so I'll see them July 19. This is their breakthrough single.

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"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that." ~ Homer Jay Simpson

CRACKED.com has a nice list of the 6 most frequently quoted bullshit statistics. The six are:

• You Accidentally Swallow About 8 Spiders a Year
• You Only Use 10% of Your Brain
• Men Think About Sex Every Seven Seconds
• Spousal Abuse Skyrockets on Super Bowl Sunday
• You Must Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Swimming
• Christmas Causes Suicide

Only fools believe that men think about sex every 7 seconds. I mean, who can make it that long?

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In late December 2004, I wrote about the 23,000 who perished in the Boxing Day tsunami in south and east Asia. That 23,000 total ended up being a small fraction of the actual number of casualties. Over 225,000 died as a result of that Indian Ocean earthquake.

Earlier this month, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma (also known as Myanmar) and at least 23,335 people have died with a further 37,019 people still missing. The U.N. has suggested the death toll is likely to be more than 100,000.

My question is simple. Why did the tsunami strike such a chord and result in numerous celebrity benefits and an overwhelming outpouring of united relief when I sense the attention and eagerness to assist Burma (also known as Myanmar) pales by comparison?

The simple answer is to blame Burma's military junta who declared that their acceptance of international aid relief would be limited to food, medicines and other supplies as well as financial aid, but would not allow additional foreign aid workers or military units to operate in the country.

More than a week after the disaster, only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid. These delays are killing thousands. This secretive and selfish military junta is a bottleneck that needs to be removed.

We can't collectively throw up our arms and declare the situation helpless, but I'm not sure what alternatives will bear essential fruit.

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