Canadian public television slowly replaced by global social media
As I watched a 5' 123 lb. Om Yun Chol of the Northern Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the smallest 56 kg. weight class of the International Weightlifting Federation win a gold medal in London by lifting an Olympic record 168 kilogram or 370 pound or triple his own bodyweight in the clean and jerk competition yesterday, it occured to me all of a sudden that I did not do so on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as I usually do. It would have been my last viewing of the network on the weekend, as well as that of Television Ontario which I used extensively thoughout the week ending with the highly successful and one of the oldest ongoing programs nationally Saturday Night at the Movies and its usual 3 late night movies. Instead, I watched the record lift on an internet news feed from a foreign cable sports network, which broadcasted it without fail which is something I could never depend on in the past from the CBC or the Canadian Television Network here in the Keady area of the Bruce-Grey-Saugeen region.
Readying ourselves for the eventual decommissioning of the high powered over the air analog signalling transmitter south of the hamlet just around the corner to the west CICA-TV-12 for TVO and east CIII-TV-4 for the Global Television Network means losing rabbit ear connectivity at the camp, cabin and cottage right in the centre of Canadian cottage country, but while it means these venues now immediately lose the advertising power they dominated by a forced population in Rural and Northern regions who had no other source of entertainment over the air, their now cheaply produced and even previously cheaper distribution of that information via cow cable can now be easily be trumped with a better variety of entertainment and more accurate information through the internet and its world wide web of global social media, going beyond even the given Youtube, Facebook and Hotmail one can go pretty far online with just Google. From the analog to digital reality, one loses a narrow form of entertainment provincially and gains a wider view of information globally, kind of like an informal freeing of the mind. So their plan not to replace them with the usual digital transmitters to allow TVO Channel 12 and CBC Channel 20, 45, 71 and 101 work for the old black and whites in the bush just gives us two less reasons to turn the old noise box on, as this region is not a market that has been giving a mandatory designation by the Canadian Radio Television Telecommunications Commission market for digital television conversion, the remaining 3 analog broadcasting stations being CTV Channel 2 or CKCO-TV-2, GTN Channel 4 or CIII-TV-4 and CTV Channel 8 or CKNX-TV, CTV Two are just repeated broadcasts from abroad based from other stations down south from Kitchener, London and Toronto.
Though most people would be lead to believe 3 out of 5 ain not bad when 2 of the 3 are basically sending out the same content and the other 1 might as well be then you know where this mininarrative is headed, luckily even without the internet, one has so many sights to see, books to read, broadcast radio communication, tapes, discs and various digital audio media files to listen to, films to watch on VHS or DVD that can still be used on those little black noise boxes and of course the good old fashion human touch through those local meetups with others within the community at large. At the end of that analog era and into this brave new ditigal world, the old boys network from the old broadcast media have become powerless by their own hands, leaving the 1.7% or less of country folk to be more freer with their spare time yet keeping the over 97% of city folk kept long and stronger into its bondage via pay to play digital cable television. So just remember, nothing in this world is free and though we may over 57 channels, there still really is nothing on.
London knows Lightening Bo in 2012 as the Beast Blake and Bolt battle for Olympic fastest human world title
Still can not get over the shock of living in a sub 9.7 era for the 100m event, personally ran under 10.7 once at 10.69 yet averaged 10.79 between high school and post secondary collegiate years, I can not imagine the kind of push against then pull with the wind one must be making to get there. As the spirit of the Olympics makes its way into London, by way of its torch through the Trafalgar Square roundabout, one question burns as intensively as it. So just who is the fastest human on earth for another four years going to be?
Well Jamaica's Usain Bolt would have been my favourite, if his Berlin 2009 12th IAAF Athletics World Championship time of 9.58 and Beijing 2008 XXIX Olympiad Summer Olympic time of 9.69 seconds were the reality today, the Jamaican lighting Bolt has gone the way of Mission Impossible Phelps and the Beijing beauty Michael is no longer. But seeing that Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago and his 9.89 silver medal time within, then Walter Dix of the United States of America with his 9.91 bronze medal time without, both of these factors will only makes things harder in educimating. Where I would have said American Tyson Gay should have bagged it, considering his top time at Shanghai 2009 IAAF Golden League Grand Prix time of 9.69, but he too has changed since yet began using a brand new spiraling fascia sprinting technique over the old hips to lips movement with simple tomahawk action plus both sides up stability bodyweight training exercises.
Throw into that heap veteran Asafa Powell of Jamaica, who as an Olympic finalist with a Beijing 2008 time of 9.95 and top time at Lausanne 2008 IAAF Super Athletissima Grand Prix time of 9.72, along with Jamaican Michael Frater's 9.97, Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago's 10.01 and American Darvis Patton's 10.03 who will not be competiting. Which bring to mind, just whatever happened to Jamaican Nesta Carter, who ran at the Rieti 2010 IAAF World Challenge Grand Prix time of 9.78? Onward, upward and forward, I believe that sadly Yohan Blake of Jamaica, as a junior who has been besting Bolt on the track all year in Kingston including a 9.75 victory in national trials this year, will be winning it all in London and stay golden until the worlds. After the Jamaican Golden Blake comes the American Tyson Gay for silver, with bad hip and new training yet, over his archrival Jamaican Usain Bolt who should finish out the medals with bronze.
Having now served a four year ban from track and field for testing positive for the banned substance amphetamine in 2001, which he initially appealed and was denied, then later tested positive for excessive testosterone in 2012, American Justin Gatlin should come close to medalling after winning gold at the Athens 2004 XXVIII Olympiad Summer Olympics time of 9.85 seconds and the Helsinki 2005 IAAF World Championship time of 9.88 seconds, recently becoming the fastest man over 30 time in 100m history with his personal best time of 9.80 seconds at the Eugene 2012 United States US Olympic Trial Championship. Being the winner of gold at the Monte Carlo 2004 2nd at 9.98s, Stuttgart 2006 4th at 9.89s, Stuttgart 2007 5th at 9.83s, Stuttgart 2008 6th IAAF Athletics World Championship time of 9.87 seconds, Jamaican Asafa Powell, who shared the 100m world record of 9.77 with Gatlin in 2005, consistently breaking the 10 second barrier legally in competition more than any other competitor at 79 times, with his personal best and fifth most time in history at 9.72 second, for 5th place. Finally, picking Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago for 6th, Dutch Churandy Martina formerly of the Dutch Antilles for 7th and American Ryan Bailey for 8th place for good measure.
As per usual, I will now also predictate which men will grab their gold, for the 200m Usain Bolt of Jamaica, for the 400m Oscar Pistorius of South Africa, for the 800m David Rudisha of Kenya, in the 110m hurdles Liu Xiang of China, in the 400m hurdles Angelo Taylor of the United States of America, in the 4X100m relay Team Jamaica and in the 4X400m relay Team United States. I believe for the women who will win gold, for the 100m Carmelita Jeter of the United States of America, for the 200m Allyson Felix of the United States of America, for the 400m Dehashia Trotter of the United States of America, for the 800m Caster Semenya of South Africa, in the 100m hurdles Lolo Jones of the United States of America, in the 400m hurdles Lashinda Demus of the United States of America, in the 4X100m relay Team United States and in the 4X400m relay Team United States. No matter what, it shall be one interesting set of events, with another Olympic record to be made hopefully!
