Sean and Justin regrouped rather quickly after Episode 15 to get in another podcast before the Beijing Olympics were over. It was a major topic of conversation this time around. Plus, they tackled as promised, the topic of Liberalism with particular verve. Also on tap before time ran out (and over!), President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan resigning, Obama and McCain’s interviews with Rev. Rick Warren, and the Russia/Georgia crisis. Sean will just have to wait to share his camping and Tegan and Sara stories until Episode 17…
Episode 15 - “Two words - Recreational Sports”
A chat on the lighter side this time out for Sean and Justin. Having the recent memory of a great time on the beach with their closest friends, the relaxed and energized duo chat about audio versus video podcasts, which lead to a bit of nostalgia about the audio format - like CBC’s radio dramas. The main topic of conversation - a holdover from a chat on the beach (where is a digital recorder when you need one?) - was about Justin’s recent interest in joining a recreational sports team (here’s a link to one org here in Vancouver) of some kind. Again, missing the good old days of high school sports. The only problem is that neither Sean or Justin did any high school sports! Entertainment news took up the rest of the half hour - with the two paying tribute to Estelle Getty and wondering what the phenomenon of Dr. Horrible means about the business model in Hollywood.
Episode 14 - “Look Ma, no lists!”
It was bound to happen - an episode where neither Sean and Justin had a list of topics to talk about prepared before casting. Well, it happened this time and still the duo went over 30 minutes. The conversation took a very political bend - starting with the Omar Khadr interrogation tapes, moving inevitably to some commentary on Bill Moyers’ latest podcast on conservatism in the US, to a NY Times article about why it’s so hard to make fun of Barack Obama. Plus the two promised some links to an SNL Saturday TV Funhouse clip (we couldn’t find it, but the title of the clip is “The Obama Files”), a clip of George W. Bush on the Today Show, and a link to the Meet the Press website.
Episode 13 - “No. 2, right?”
After almost a month of life taking over, Sean and Justin finally sat down for podcast number 13. Although they had plenty to talk about, they did manage to get it under the golden 30 minute mark. Sean reminisced about Vancouver’s Car Free Day and his participation in the democratic process that was the Vision Vancouver Mayoral vote - although at times it seemed more like a party than a vote. But hey, energy is energy! The boys also discuss their recent adventure out together - including surviving the retail art experience that was this year’s Cheaper Art Show and eating sandwiches at the Greedy Pig. And they ended by discussing the demise of the CBC Radio orchestra - the last of its kind in North America. At least their website is still up…
Episode 12 - “We love you Mike!”
Food is on the minds of Sean and Justin (go eat at Stix out on Commercial Drive), and so was their mutual love for their good friend Mike - a true renaissance man! How soon these social commentators forget about their love of Bill Moyers! Justin also had love on the mind - for Melanie C, who gave a blow by blow account of her concert. Yes, that was him on the dance floor! And on the subject of shows, Sean took the opportunity to plug The Neins Circa big show at the Jericho Sailing Club and Culte du Cargo’s historic show during the Vancouver Jazz Festival. Go support our favourite drummer/synth player - that’s an order! The duo finished Episode 12 talking about the Vancouver Mayoral race and their encounter with Gregor Robertson, and ended with a little preview of a topic for their next podcast.
Episode 11 - “Bill Moyers, we love you”
It has become a running theme throughout the previous 10 podcasts, but in podcast 11, Sean and Justin’s love and respect for Bill Moyers and his program/podcast the Bill Moyers’ Journal was so prevalent that it had to be the title of episode! The “social commentators” spent time cooing over his extended interview of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and even take a moment to give some kudos to another podcast - Democracy Now.
Other than Bill Moyers and the usual talk about the continuing Democratic primaries, the duo also contemplated what it really meant to them hearing the news that Scarlett Johansson is getting married, dissected more about passion, this time as it related to art and architecture, which for Justin was re-sparked by the program e2, which surprise surprise is another PBS show, this time about architecture, the environment and real sustainability.
Episode 10 - “Let’s Talk About It”
Apart from being a milestone podcast (episode # 10!), Sean and Justin marked this momentous occasion with their most engaging discussion yet (at least from their point of view!). It started with praise for one of Sean’s favourite US Presidents - Jimmy Carter, then took a detour into a brief discussion of Justin’s closeted admiration for Anne Murray’s music (Justin had it wrong, she sang at the 1992 World Series, not 1994), then the two social commentators settled into a good discussion about the Olympics coming to Vancouver.
Episode 9 - “Making Mondays Cool”
The boys get it back down to a manageable 35 minutes this time around. But it’s still a podcast full of content! Justin finally has the time to explain his baseball pitcher analogy about relationships - another step in his year-long commitment to figure “relationships” out. Bigotry, Charlton Heston, the Lady Diana inquest verdict and the Beijing Olympics were also on their minds.
As always, here are some links to keep yourself interested and educated:
- See the new Yankees and Mets stadiums
- Find out what MP Tom Lukiwski actually said
- An interesting op/ed piece talking about the polarizing figure that Charlton Heston was and about how Hollywood might remember him
- Read up on the Diana inquest verdict
- And read up on the Olympic torch relay and all the protests it is sparking
Episode 8 - “Lots of passion, it’s pretty”
After three successful half-hour podcasts under their belt, Sean and Justin fell off the wagon - in a big way! Clocking in at a massive 50 plus minutes, this is a high octane almost hour of great conversation! So you’ll just have to excuse their ignoring of the clock.
Topics were wide-ranging this week, including yet another plug for the Bill Moyers podcast (it deserves every kudo it gets), a bit more Vegas discussions, plus the centerpiece of the podcast - a thorough debrief of last week’s Federal by-election right in their hometown of Vancouver. Oh yes, and something about girls with passion being pretty, and 4000 US soldiers killed in Iraq. We said it was an action packed convo!
Here are some links for you:
- Bill Moyer’s podcast
- Green Party Candidate Dan Grice’s website
- And just to compare, look at the lack-luster site for Conservative Deborah Meredith
- Here’s a clip of Wayne Brady on the Chappelle Show - brace yourself for peeing in your pants
- A link to last weeks’ Responsible Consumption Week at UBC
Episode 7 - “All About Our Vacation Adventures”
Sean and Justin are back -this time waxing poetic about their separate trips away -San Francisco for Sean and Las Vegas for Justin. Hear all about their adventures on this edition of The Dot Matrix, including Justin’s version of the Vegas all-nighter. They kick it off with an exciting conversation (well frankly a rather rambling one!) about the lucky number 7! It seems also that Sean has a penchant for clapping his way into the podcast and oooing at least once. He’ll work on that.
And as always, some links:
- The Rubicon -San Fran dining at it’s best
- Peju -amazing wine at Napa Valley
- The Venetian -the most luxurious hotel Justin has ever stayed in!
- O at the Bellagio -spectacular, but incomprehensible!















