the dot matrix

Episode 19 - “It’s about still keeping a woman in that position”

thedotmatrix — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:24:44 +0000

In Sean and Justin’s post-elections wrap-up, surprisingly the focus was on the Vancouver city elections (which was the freshest in their minds) and not the energizing US presidential contest. As promised by Sean, here are links to both Peter Ladner’s concession speech, as well as mayor-elect Gregor Robertson’s victory speech. The duo discussed the two controversies of the campaign - the leak of the $100 loan decision by council to the developers of the Olympic athletes’ village, as well as Gregor’s transit fare evasion. When the US elections finally came up in conversation, the focus was on Hillary Clinton and her potential role as President-elect Obama’s Secretary of State. What an interesting administration this will be…

Episode 18 - “With Glowing Hearts”

thedotmatrix — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:18:50 +0000

Life and other excuses for being lazy has caused a long delay in posting ths long-awaited and over a month-ago recorded podcast of the dot matrix. Justin had just returned from a trip to Calgary and was swooning over all the attractive cowgirls. Sean shared his experience of having his band’s name being VANOCed. And both of them discussed what seems to be the only topic of recent weeks - Sarah Palin, in particular the US Vice-Presidential debate. Both commented on the sadness that is Rudy Giuliani, and Justin ended with some thoughts from watching a documentary called Mr. President.

Episode 17 - “We’ve got a movie to go to”

thedotmatrix — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:33:32 +0000

Sean and Justin try to squeeze in a quick podcast before catching Woody Allen’s latest film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but when politics is the topic of discussion, they found as usual that it was hard to rush that. Both the Canadian and US elections were vigorously discussed, particularly Gov. Sarah Palin’s surprise nomination as the VP candidate for the Republican party, and how on the Canadian side the Green Party was almost excluded form the televised debates. Also, the duo question what exactly is small town values?

Episode 16 - “If you want to be Labrador, you be Labrador!”

thedotmatrix — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:29:29 +0000

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”

thedotmatrix — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:19:38 +0000

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!”

thedotmatrix — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:37:19 +0000

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?”

thedotmatrix — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:07:38 +0000

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!”

thedotmatrix — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:52:34 +0000

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”

thedotmatrix — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:07:42 +0000

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”

thedotmatrix — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:28:09 +0000

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”

thedotmatrix — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:09:02 +0000

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”

thedotmatrix — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:09:05 +0000

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”

thedotmatrix — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:23:22 +0000

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!

Episode 6 - “You Can’t Tell, but I’m Moving My Hand From Side to Side”

thedotmatrix — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:50:36 +0000

Another successful 30 minute podcast from Sean and Justin. Their post-Valentine’s Day wrap up included discussions of upcoming trips – San Francisco for Sean and Ottawa/Toronto for Justin (guess who is more excited?), relationships (again!), and Kosovo independence. Plus there’s also a Mutton Chop update thrown in for good measure.

Here are some other interesting links from our discussion:

City Lights Books (correct spelling of co-founder -> Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

Napa Valley

Kosovo independence -one of thousands of articles on the subject. This one specifically involving Canada.

Mutton Chops -examples

Episode 5 - “It’s All About the Mutton Chops”

thedotmatrix — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:47:19 +0000

Sean and Justin sat down for Episode 5 with a renewed commitment to, “get it under 30 minutes!”

As you can see, they did just make their time goal successfully (the dialogue minus theme music), while still managing to talk about Sean’s new sideburns, the fact that Justin was tired of talking about relationships (but did anyway!), and did a bit of prognosticating in advance of Super Tuesday down in the US.

Oh and of course, another plug for the Bill Moyer’s podcast (you’ll be smarter just by listening to it!) but failing to find a YouTube clip of Ted Danson with white hair that satisfied Sean’s image of Ted in his head.

Episode 4 - “Comments on anything ER related please…”

thedotmatrix — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:25:04 +0000

After having to cut their last podcast short, Sean and Justin picked up where they left off - looking back at 2007. The two of them listed their top event of 2007. For Sean, it was the taser death at the Vancouver International Airport. Click here for one in-depth story about the incident. For Justin, it was the birth of his first niece. Awww!

Then the conversation switched to the US primaries - particularly the frank comments of Mike Gravel and an interview on CBC News Sunday with Maya Angelou - and finally they ended with some 2008 commitments (NOT resolutions!) for themselves.

Here are some other links that Justin and Sean promised to provide:

The Neins Circa - one of Sean’s bands
The Roots of Empathy program - babies can teach us lots
The Oscar Peterson Tribute Concert - listen and judge for yourself Nancy Wilson’s performance of “Goodbye”
Shirley Horn’s I Love You, Paris album - where you can hear her amazing version of “Goodbye”

Episode 3 - “That was my revelation about… (or What moved Justin and Sean in 2007) - Part 1”

thedotmatrix — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:28:06 +0000

In this episode, Sean and Justin count down their top fives for 2007 and reminisce a bit (or actually for a long time!) about the year that was. It’s a long one, but a good one. Enjoy and here are a number of links to stuff mentioned in this engrossing year-end conversation.

Sean’s Top Five Canadian Albums Released In 2007:

The Con by Tegan and Sara
Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire
1971: Live at Massey Hall by Neil Young
Andorra by Caribou
The Reminder by Feist

Justin’s Top Five Things in the Cultural Realm that Inspired Him in 2007:

Song: Save Your Love for Me from the album Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley
Movies: Juno and Once
Movie: Finally understanding the movie Elizabethtown
Painting: Francesco Hayez’s Il Bacio
TV: Extras Christmas Special - don’t watch any clips beforehand. Just watch it!

Before running out of time, Sean and Justin also reminisced about the loss of musical giant Oscar Peterson, who died on Dec 23rd this year. A great editorial about Oscar appeared in the Ottawa Citizen.

Be sure to listen to Part 2!

Episode 3 - “That was my revelation about… (or What moved Justin and Sean in 2007) - Part 2”

thedotmatrix — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:26:03 +0000

Justin and Sean continue their year in review.

Episode 2 - “As long as we can get it under 40 minutes.”

thedotmatrix — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:58:16 +0000

In this episode, it’s easier to talk about what Sean and Justin didn’t talk about! They touched on everything from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascots to Led Zeppelin, from www.tmz.com to the Ricky Gervais podcasts (they are hilarious!), from a book launch Sean went to to the Canucks-Penguins hockey game Justin was at. There’s even a conversation about the movie “The Constant Gardener” that goes almost nowhere! Enjoy everyone!

Episode 1 - “Don’t get me wrong, but marriage is a wonderful thing.”

thedotmatrix — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:59:04 +0000

In this episode, Sean and Justin introduce themselves and explain why they decided to start the dot matrix podcast.