Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Toronto Mike'd #37

Episode Date: May 7, 2013

Mike and Rosie chat up Kevin who writes for a movie blog and a Blackberry blog.  He tries to convince Rosie to choose the Z10 over the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S4.

Welcome to the 37th episode of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything, often with a distinctly Toronto flavour. I'm Mike from torontomic.com. Joining me as always is Rosie from mytorontoscoop.com and special guest Kevin from iHeartMoviesTO.com. And hosting this audio file are the good people at Core Fusion. Hello, my friends. Two friends today. Hi, Kevin. Welcome. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Rosie, where were you last week? Well, Nicholas, my little man, started a new preschool and new school, new bugs.

He got a terrible stomach bug. He was basically just walking around the house barfing everywhere. And then I got it, which I didn't share with you. I also got the stomach bug. So what happened was you wrote me and said, I can't come. I was expecting you on last Wednesday. Yeah, I was expecting to be here. I changed the date to Wednesday.

Five minutes after your email arrived, I got a phone call from Humble Howard saying, can I come by today at 2.30 and record? And I was wondering... Did he do it like that with his arms in the air? You know, on the podcast,

they can't see that. You know that. He's gesticulating wildly. No one knows what my hands are doing that's the glory of my podcast so uh like i didn't know what i would do if you didn't cancel like would i delay you or would i cancel howard but regardless it worked out perfectly and we recorded episode 36 with uh humble howard good so my question for you and kevin welcome kevin thank you very much for having me again get Get right on that mic. Yes, I will.

I've got to do it too. I'm amateur hour. I've got to get right on this thing. I'll go right here. Beautiful. Awesome. Did either of you listen to episode 36 of Humble Howard? I did. I did too. Kevin's now my new best friend. Rosie, did you really listen? I did really listen, although I

am not quite through. I didn't get to the part about his bits getting snipped. Oh, you missed the best part. You saved that for last. But I have to say, I did listen, and I laughed out loud. I was actually eating hickory sticks, and I spit them out on the computer. Not a word of a lie. I like hickory sticks.

I'll tell you the two parts that made me laugh. First of all, I thought it was so great. Howard is so genuine. He's so lovely to listen to when he talks. He's so real. But the part that really made me laugh was, and it's probably not even going to seem that funny, but when he was talking about how he was at your home studio in the apartment

and he saw an old man in a walker in the hall. I remember that part. Did you give him a podcast? You know, first of all, that's Carl. And he does have a podcast. Came out of nowhere and I spit my hickory sticks everywhere. Howard is funny. That would be a good podcast.

I just want you to know, Carl would be good at that. And then the other part that cracked me up was you. When Amanda calls, poor girl. This is such a man thing to do. To answer your phone while you're, you know, on the air. It's just, you know, the last thing I'm sure she wanted was to have her. My phone's still on, so if somebody calls me, I'm going to answer it. But then we have to hear it, though. You've got to put it on speakerphone.

They are going to be on the show. So Amanda, like, she's so lovely, and, you know, she's trying to make her arrangements for the evening. And then you asking her if she's sent her RSDB for the wedding. That's a fair question. Who does that? She's so on the spot there. Oh my God, you're hilarious.

It's all like, yeah, so did you mail it? But you know it arrived today, so it worked. You are so funny. I got action. How are the numbers looking? Getting there. They're all my side though. I don't know what the deal is because all my friends are responsive and looking? Getting there. They're all my side, though. I don't know what the deal is,

because all my friends are responsive, and my family's responsive. Her side seems to be lagging behind. I keep a little tally. I think it's like 10 to 1 right now, or something like that. I'm sure there'll be, at the end, a mad rush. She says it's a cultural thing.

White people are really prompt. They know how to... Yes, paperwork, invitation. Yes, paperwork, invitation. That's hilarious. Yeah, like you dropped in the, why would you hold on to that? You knew you were going to go.

You dropped it in the mail the next day. What are you holding on to it for? That's what I like. I like mailing things. So if I have an excuse to mail something, I will mail it straight away. Like I love dropping things in the mailbox. I love it.

I actually like wish I had more things to mail. So what does that do for you? You just like hearing it slide down? There's a couple of things. I like putting things in the mailbox. I love it. I actually like wish I had more. So what does that do for you? You just like hearing it slide down? There's a couple of things. I like putting it into the slot and then I like hearing it drop. And then I like imagining, I wonder how long it's going to sit there. I wonder when they're going to pick it up. I've always liked mailing things ever since I was, I used to go, um, on the internet and

like look at, you know, when they track the mail, like why don't you become a mail carrier? You know, it's exercise You get exercise, fresh air. If it was this weather all year round, I would. But I wouldn't want to do it in the winter. Because that would blow in the winter. Yeah, and that's the other thing. I'm not... I actually am afraid of dogs chasing me.

So I wouldn't... Okay, so that's out as a career option. But yeah, so anyways, it was funny. Did you really... You must have really enjoyed talking to him. Well, did you listen to the Fred one? No, I haven't listened to Fred yet. He's in the queue.

Kevin, did you hear the Fred episode? No, not as of yet. Interesting. Two nothing Howard. He's keeping score. He wants daily updates on the listener counts for each episode. The other thing I like that Howard said was you guys were talking about that. You were saying you were going to, you know, put the numbers

He's obsessed with numbers. He's obsessed with them. He used to call me every day and I used to just tell him, fuck the numbers. No, and you're absolutely right. And it was funny, he said, you know,

and this is what I like about him, like these little like sort of nuggets of real person come out and he said, he goes, you know, I'm insecure. It's a struggle every day

just living being me. And I'm like, you know what, sometimes life does feel like that. He's got anxiety about who's at his table at my wedding because he feels this need to be on. And I'm like, you know what? Sometimes life does feel like that. He's got anxiety about who's at his table at my wedding because he feels this need to be on. So it's like he's an introverted extrovert.

That's how a lot of personalities are. You mean that he feels that if it... No, go ahead. No, I was just going to say he feels that he has to perform, I guess. Well, yeah, he feels like he's a big personality and that he needs to be that guy. Like everyone, oh, there's Humble from Humble and Fred. He just feels a need to be on.

And I think that sometimes that makes him sort of have to, you know, it gives him a little anxiety, insecurity maybe. It's a little difficult for people who are in the public eye because they don't know how they're going to behave in front of people. Totally. Because they have expectations that are placed on them. Get on that mic, Kevi. that are placed on them. Get on that, Mike, Kevi. That are placed on them by the public.

So they expect when they come out in the public, oh, it's Mike. He's supposed to be like Mike. And living up to that. It's hard for me as well. When I met Kevin today, I didn't know if he should get that amazing Toronto Mike guy

or that idiot Mike Boone guy. I wasn't sure. Do you consciously think that though? I wasn't sure. Do you consciously think that though? I don't have a difference because I'm not in the public realm like Howard. It's a completely different thing. So I'm just kidding. Well, I thought it was really, really

good. I'm glad that he came by. He's a cool guy. He had a good friend to you. And he was very honest on the podcast too, which is very, very... So what was your favorite part, Kevin? I don't know. You don't remember it, do you? It was not memorable.

I do remember it. I was... You know what? The way he started. Where he went from... Was it Moose Jaw? Yeah. When he went...

All his humble beginnings. Yeah. How he started. Because the way we knew him, he was a big personality in Toronto and he was humble and Fred and this and that. But everybody starts somewhere. Did you listen to him? I did.

So how old are you? Am I allowed to ask? He's a guy. Sure. Certainly. 39. Oh, you're our age. I'm younger than that, Rosie.

I don't know. Our age? Well, Mike and I are 38. Mike's six months older than me. Not that many months. No. June 27. What day is your birthday? I'm I are 38. Mike's six months older than me. Not that many months. No. June 27. What day is your birthday?

I'm not telling you. It's October. No, you didn't remember this year. July, August, September. Four months. Don't pretend like you remember my birthday. Rose is four months. I'll be able to give you birthday cards in the mail.

Nice. She likes mail. She'll be able to pick it up. She likes mail. So Kevin, you being 39, you were right in those humble years. Yes, I was. Yeah. But I tended to drift.

I never really had a, let's say, a loyalty to one radio station or another. I'd go from Humble and Fred or I'd go to The Fan when they first started out. Jesse and Gene? Yes, Jesse and Gene, of course. That was there too. And Brother Jake, Brother Jake Edwards in the Air Force Base. Edwards Air Force Base. Something that reminded me as well,

Howard brought up Good Rockin' Tonight. I loved Good Rockin' Tonight. Was it pop music or was it a country tinge? No, it was like a countdown show. I think I thought it was a country tinge and I ignored it. I remember video hits with Samantha Taylor.

That was really good. Oh, yeah. No, no, no. I remember video hits with Samantha Taylor. That was pretty good, too. Yeah, that was really, really good. But no, it was good. It was good. Very good. There are a lot of things that people, like youngsters that are growing up now that are going to miss that we had in our generation.

Nobody's going to know Speaker's Corner now. Nobody's going to know. Oh, no, of course not. You know, the electric circus. But now everyone's got Speaker's Corner in their hand. Well, it's true. I can be on YouTube, have a YouTube channel, and I can do it from my phone all day long.

That stuff's all just obsolete by technology. Oh, of course. We'll get into that. And videos, too. We don't have customized video channels at our disposal with YouTube. It's just a different era. You can't get people to watch it on TV now. You don't get to choose what's coming up next. We're going to talk a little bit later in the show.

Kevin writes for a couple of blogs. The first one he writes for, which I really quite like it, iHeartMoviesTO.com, and he writes about a lot of movie stuff there. And he also writes for Verification.com, which is a Blackberry blog. With a B. With a B. So we're going to do a little,

we're going to do a little movie and tech chat in a few minutes. Okay, let me burn through my items and let's get to Kevin here. Real quick. We haven't talked, should I close the window?

We have a lawnmower. Someone's mowing the lawn out there. Now that the weather's getting nice, we're contemplating having a podcast on the balcony, but we're not set up for that. Maybe next week. That'd be a good idea though.

So we haven't talked. You have not been here since Brian Burke sued those 18 commenters. I just want to know what Rosie thinks about it. You know, it's funny. I think that he definitely he's not going to catch them.

Needle in a haystack, all that kind of stuff. However, that being said, I don't necessarily think it is, I don't think it's that crazy to maybe want to take a stab at people having some accountability for the vitriol they spew on the internet. You can't go on a radio show and talk shit.

You can't go on TV and say the stuff that people were saying in these comments and posts. I don't think, is he going to be successful? No. But you know what? There's a grain of me that admires somebody trying to take people into account for being assholes. That's all. Actually, I have something to point out. Let's hear it.

Somebody on a comic book website actually was spewing hate towards a female. They were being very, very abusive and it got to the point where it became a criminal hate towards a female. And they were being very, very abusive. And it got to the point where it became a criminal matter. The web poster or the website... The webmaster? Webmaster, sorry.

I was trying to find the word. Ashley took them, made it a criminal matter, and they got put in jail. That's for harassment? Correct. Interesting. Wow. So there is some point to doing what Brian Burke is doing. There is such thing as slander.

Once your words are out in the public airwaves, they have consequences, no matter what you do. I don't deny that. I think it's just interesting, like Rosie said, this is a lot of time and money being spent towards getting the needle in a haystack and just bringing attention to the matter. I can't tell you how many people learned about this rumor because of this lawsuit.

I think you and I actually... Go ahead. I'm sorry. I think it's just a little bigger than that, though. I think he doesn't really care. I think there's something to be admired for. No, he clearly doesn't care. He wouldn't put so much money and time into this.

I think he's taking just a little bigger picture. You know, you shouldn't get to behave on the internet. People do, and you can, and no one will know. But why not at least make a little stab at people having some accountability? So maybe someone will think twice the next time they're hosting a website and somebody puts something disgusting.

Again, you can't call into a radio show and do that. You'd be vetted and it wouldn't go to air. Sure, but I'm just saying. So I admit I admire it. That's just my opinion. Admire it all you want. It's fine. I think one of the 18 guys we know,

so at least one of them will find out what happens because there's a Carleton University student who's basically come out and said he's one of them. They all know. So, I mean, at least one of them will find out what happens because there's a Carleton University student who's basically come out and said he's one of them. They all have strange names, right? I'm trying to remember now, like Glooberface? Well, I mean, they're, you know, that's not surprising. I mean, I'm thinking of things like... People that don't account for what they say

are going to have silly names. When I think of Twitter or Reddit or any place we collect, or any forum, big forum, forget Toronto Mike, which is a relatively small forum, but large forums and stuff, Hall of Fame, like all these hockey boards and stuff, you're going to, it's chock full every day. It's chock full of slander.

That's what anonymous people do in places, and no one puts any integrity on the anonymous commenter for that very reason. I like living in a world where maybe somebody tries to make things a little bit better. This world is just, you know, this box is open. You can't stop slander from anonymous commenters.

So we shouldn't try? We shouldn't try? No, you can't try. What's the point? I can go to the... That is nihilistic. Are you silly? Do you think... Nihilistic. I'm just telling you. Here's my thought. I want to walk through it. No, it's not nihilistic. It's realistic. And I can go to the library at Richview Library right now and I can talk about Brian Burke and Hazel May all I want. The webmaster can delete the comments.

Somebody has permission to delete it. But they'll never, ever know that Mike Boone wrote those comments. Never. Yes, we all recognize that. No one's going to know that. So somebody shouldn't try to make a little bit less, more accountability for being disgusting. You're wasting everyone's time and energy and money.

But that's not up to you to decide. Let him waste it then. Let him try. I admire him. It's not your money. It's not my money. And you know what, Mike? Yeah.

You took the comment off your site. Would you have done that if you hadn't gotten a... Because I'm a responsible webmaster, but Twitter doesn't take away tweets that are saying similar things. Twitter doesn't moderate tweets. Reddit's not similar things. Twitter doesn't moderate tweets. Reddit's not deleting comments. Right, but Toronto Mike is a website

that people visit every day. Your permalinks live, you taught me that, the permalinks live forever, long past we do. They do live forever. You took down hate, something hateful. I always do that. Without a cease and desist, I do that. But I'm sure that exacerbated it.

The point is it had a good impact. Honestly, God, it almost did the opposite. If he had just reached out and said, there's a comment that's not fair to my, can you please remove it? I would have done it in a heartbeat because I've been doing that for 10 years. Right.

But until you got the letter, it was there. Yeah, because that's the first time they told me they were offended by it. It's gone. It's gone. If they hadn't, it might still be there. But that's right. But if every website owner was me,

there would be no lawsuit right now. But they're not. So the point is I admire that he's making a little stab in the dark. That's all. I think he's a guy looking for a lot of attention and wasting everybody's time and energy. And I'm interested to see what happens with this story. Well, I'm interested too.

And you do have a unique perspective. So go ahead, Kevin. I guess for him, he's looking at the marginal value of how much money it costs him in order to defend his reputation in the public eye. And for him, I guess it's worth it. Absolutely. Oh, because he doesn't care.

He doesn't care what it costs. Yeah. He obviously doesn't have, because I can't imagine where the number will be at the end of the day. No. Because this is how I see it working, right? Now they have these bloober face and all these guys have been sued. Of course, we don't know who bloober face is.

So some judge has to order a webmaster to cough up what they have on this person, which is just an IP address, which very well could be the Richview Library. And with this IP address, they're going to see, oh, did this guy make the comment from his home account? Because then they have to do another. Judge has to order, let's say Rogers, for example. Rogers, can you give up who owns this IP address on your network? And then Rogers has to give customer identification. And then they have to kind of prove who, because grandma could be grandma's house and the grandson comes over and does it.

Who did it? Who's responsible? To me, there's so many different layers of, this is just basically a waste of energy. But just because something's hard. And all you did was tell Average Joe that there's a rumor out there that Brian Burke has slept with Hazel May because the Average Joe learned about it

because the Toronto Star and the Toronto Sun and everyone else, the CBC reports it because he sued these 18 commenters. But just because something's hard, should we not try to make something better? Like you said, it's his money. If he wants to do it, go ahead. But it doesn't make anything better because you can't put Pandora back in this

box. This is how the internet works. I saw one less nasty comment and you took it off your side. But that's not because of the cease and desist. You keep saying that, but all the, anyone. You took it down after you got the letter. Because they never, I didn't know it was a, they just had to send me a note. I didn't need a letter. But they didn't. They sent, but the point is, you got a letter. I know, but I don't

know how to say this clearer. If Aunt Lynn had wrote me an email and said, there's something about me on one of your comments. Can you please remove it? I would have done that in a heartbeat. It has nothing to do with it being a cease and desist from a lawyer. It has to do with the fact that I want to remove. It doesn't matter the method. The point is that he is trying

to take some of this down off the internet. And it worked to some extent. And I think that's good because a good website like yours shouldn't have yucky stuff like that on it. Fine, but the one comment that nobody put any weight into is gone. But now the Toronto Star is reporting on the rumor.

This is my point. You've basically traded off something nobody was even talking about anymore for huge attention. Poor Hazel. And possibly down the road, maybe someone will think twice about doing it because they don't want to face a cease and desist.

They're going to say, fuck Brian Burke. I'm going to post it 10 times more than I would have otherwise. I don't know about that. He's trying to put the genie back on the bottle. I understand you're emotional about it. I'm not being sued here. I just think that this is a waste of time. That's all I'm saying.

It's a waste of time and energy and money. It might be a lot of time expended, but I don't necessarily think it's a complete waste. All right, let's move on quickly. So real quick, before we get to Kevin, my draft, I had my hockey pool draft, and right now I'm in second place, and Pete from Core Fusion is actually in first place.

Oh my gosh, Pete, congratulations. But it's very early, very, very gosh. Pete, congratulations. That's amazing. It's very early. Very, very early. We don't know who's coming out of this first round. And I hope I can still catch Pete. I got a couple of penguins, including Malkin. And I got a couple of black hawks.

And I have four blues. So if St. Louis can knock off Los Angeles, I'm in good shape. Who won your pool last year? Oh, good question. I think it was Patino, maybe. Or I'm trying to remember. I think it was Patino maybe or I'm trying to remember. I think it was Patino. So how's he doing this year? I'm trying to remember.

He's not in the mix right now, but there's a bunch of guys kind of in the top, but I hate repeat winners. Oh, no, you know who won last year? This guy Bob. He was out of country and he couldn't draft this year. So Bob won last year. Do you find it awkward when you're running the pool and you win? Because Scott also runs a bunch of

pools and he runs a soccer pool. And he won it a couple of years in a row. And I think he also feels the same. He sort of hates repeat winners as well. But then when it's your own pool and you're running it, you feel kind of bad. But at the same time, you won. So you deserve it, right? Every money that goes in the pot goes out. So if you win, it's

all fair good. But I've never won, so I can't comment to that. I've never won. Well, to keep us on abreast of what's happening there. And my slow pitch team had its first games last night, and we've been together for well over a decade now, and it's the annual tradition. We got swept last night. We lost

the second game by one run, but it was good fun to see the guys and be out on the field again. Were you sad when you came out of the... Did you know what was happening with the Leafs? Yeah, between innings, I went on the smartphone and the score app, and then we were really up to date. We watched the seconds tick down when we were batting.

It wasn't the end of the world. When I got out of the game, it was 2-1, I believe. We were still in a good position. It was still a game. By the time I got home So we were still in a good position. So it was still a game. And then by the time I got home, we were down 4-1.

And yeah, we tried to fight back in the third. It was not a bad game. It was just a bad result. I'm so happy when Kessel scores. I swear, I... He was so happy after that breakaway. I felt so good for him. That was a great goal.

You're happy when any of the Leafs score, but there's something when Kessel scores, I just feel so happy for him. It's awesome. Very awesome. Let's move to Kevin, our esteemed special guest. Can I ask you a question right off the bat? I'm always curious. I have a blog, and Rosie's got a blog,

and we have these large staffs that we pay handsomely. So I'm just, I'm a writer and I just wondered, and I just wondered, is there money in this or is this a passion like for love of the game? That's actually kind of funny because this is just passion for love of the game, but it may eventually end up being a paid thing. So are there blogs that pay writers?

I'm actually completely ignorant on this. I don't know. I honestly don't know. Do you know? Well, I don't want to get into too much of the technicalities of it, but initially our IR Movies TO site was taken over by another site. In other words, we had a new supervisor and she also runs Toronto Film Scene.

And she pays writers. Does she pay writers for just that one site? And then you hope to graduate to that site? Is that how it works? Like a farm team? Interesting. Well, I guess that's the way it's going right now. It just depends on how much traffic you get and how big the site gets

and how many people go to see it. Have you ever thought of going out on your own and owning your ventures so you can keep all the money? Well, you know what? As it says on my Twitter bio, I'm an amateur blogger. I'm not a professional blogger just yet. There are a couple actually. There's very few professional bloggers

who can afford to pay their rent and their mortgage with a blog. Kevin, what do you write for iHeartMovies to you? Well, right now, before, I used to do reviews, and sometimes it would just be articles that come up on spur of the moment. So whether or not it's something like top five things that you would see that you don't like about current movies. In other words, it would be something that'd be interesting

that would kind of appeal to someone who's into movies. I like lists. That's fun. So would you come up with the idea? Well, any writer who actually writes for them has their own ideas, and we submit it to our supervisor and our webmaster, and she goes through it, and away we go.

How many writers do you have on IHeartMoviesTO.com? Lots. our supervisor and our webmaster, and she goes through it, and away we go. How many writers do you have on IHeartMoviesTO.com? Lots. At least 10, maybe. We're going about 12 to 15 now. I can name most of them if you like. Can Rosie get a job writing there? She likes lists.

She'd have to apply. She's a good writer. I've seen her work. Yes. Apparently Mike's my agent. No, I found out, first of all, they don't pay at this site, but I think if you did good on that site, you could graduate to the other site where she pays her writers. Very cool. Very cool. I'm just trying to get Rosie

some extra income. That's very nice of you. I am good right now. So a lot of people start blogs to get free stuff. Like, I'm this tablet. There's a laptop over there. There's lots of free stuff lying around here because I have a blog. blogs to get free stuff. Like I'm this tablet, like there's a laptop over there. Like there's lots of free stuff lying around here because I have a blog. Do you get free tickets to these movies?

At times, yes, but not necessarily through the blog. A lot of the times it's through Twitter. I mean, or through the people that I meet. Getting through this movie thing was just sort of spur of the moment. I met somebody on Twitter. You know what? You won. I actually won independently the screener for The Dark Knight Rises.

Oh, yeah. So, you know, the lineup for that, if you've been to the Scotiabank Theater, it went all the way around to the restaurant and that was at 5 o'clock

when the movie was actually at 7.30 or something. That's a big one, though. Yeah, that would be a fun one to see on the opening night. So, wait, how did you get those tickets? Through Twitter?

Yeah, actually, I did. There was actually... Like a contest? There was a contest. Okay, because not through being a reviewer guy or whatever. No, this is how I joined the actual site. Gotcha. So I actually met the guy, and he's like an 18-year-old guy, really cool.

And he said, you know what? I write for this site. Really? Yeah. We need more writers. Sure. Okay. And I met the

webmaster and away I went from there. So now that you have this badge or whatever and you can say, I write for iHeartMoviesTO.com, do you ever go to media people or whatever and just see if you can get free passes to media screenings?

Like Disney maybe? And then Disney will send you to the media screen. They have a reserved seat for you and everything. It's pretty sweet. It does happen that way eventually, depending on how big the site is. I actually got a media credential to go through the Comic-Con that happened this last summer.

So I was actually covering the Star Trek convention. Nice. All the actors were there. If you actually go on the site, you'll see my writing there. Oh, that's so cool. It was. I was actually insulted by Brett Spud, which was really neat.

How did he insult you? Well, he was teasing me. It wasn't a real insult. Don't slander him right now. No, no, I'm being very careful. Rosie will see you. I was being very careful with it. I actually asked him a question. So did he touch you inappropriately? No, no. I'm being very careful. Rosie will see you. I was being very careful with it. I actually asked him a question.

So did he touch you inappropriately? No, no. He didn't do anything like that. Data didn't touch me. Data. I know who Data is, but I actually have never seen an episode of Star Trek. I've only seen a handful. Rosie, I'm not alone.

Because we're not smart enough for Star Trek. I was going to say, my mom, oh my God. She loves Star Trek. She's much smarter than you, though. So I've seen so much. God, is that ever true? I've seen several through sort of just it being online, so I know who Data is.

And I have to admit, Data. He has the glasses, right? He's cute. He's a cute man. That's a cute man. I always liked Data. Oh, yeah. He's hot.

Okay, so. So he sounds like you have a lot of fun doing that. I have more questions about um i have more questions so you have a do you can't you i guess so you're i'm just thinking out loud okay we got you need your own site is what i'm telling you you need to have your own site you need your site and you brand it you get a logo and you get a good domain name and And then you're Kevin from moviesrockmysocksoff.com. Sure. And next thing you know it, man, you're going to all,

you're at Iron Man 3 before any of us can get tickets. Actually, that's kind of funny because I tried to get into that and I couldn't. Because you're not, you don't have that. I'm Kevin from moviesarethebestever.com. And then you own your stuff. You don't want, this 18-year-old punk who's got you writing for free. He's making money off the ads. He's stacking his wallet, right, Rose?

And Kevin here, he's got no shoes. He's walking barefoot. Just so you all know, Kevin is here with shoes on. But it sounds like Mike wants to be your agent. No, I just don't. These guys, I would now like to put out a call. Anyone who's got good, awesome content can send it to me,

and I will post it on my site for free, but I'm not giving you any money from the ad revenue that I make. You know what, though? Because when I started writing freelance stuff on the internet, I as well would write for some sort of content places just because I didn't know where to get started. And then I did realize very quickly, and I was lucky to have Mike help me out with so much of it.

You sure were, Rose. I know, and made it look so good. It's true, having your own site and all the content. And it's actually not as... It takes time to get people to come to it, but it's not as hard as it would seem. Look, Rosie, she's making mad dollars now, right? Well, you know what's really funny is I actually have had now a couple of local places pay for some promotion on the site.

And soon they'll be comping your meals. They'll be like, Rosie, you gotta come check us out. We want you to write about us. And then when that bill comes, it's gonna say zero. I'm not joking. And I mean, that's such a nice perk of it, right? It's super fun. Do you eat for free?

Sometimes. I just had a cupcake. No joke, on Friday, I get a knock at the door Friday afternoon and I'm like, hello? I'm in my robe. I said, no joke, on Friday. I get a knock at the door Friday afternoon. And I'm like, hello? I'm in my robe. You know, because unless Kevin's coming over, Rosie, I wear a robe here. And I answered the door and the guy's got this little package for me.

So I'm like, okay, thanks. There's a big chocolate cupcake from Dell celebrating one year of the XPS in my home. That's fantastic. It's just a chocolate cupcake at the door. Does that do a cupcake? Yeah. What's the connection though? Like what's the brand?

I don't get the branding. Like what does cupcake have to do? Is it just, No, it's just to give warm fuzzies to the influencers. There's no brand. Just give me a cupcake on a Friday. It's fantastic. It was a great cupcake.

That's a great surprise. I will always take a free cupcake. I know. And then Monica saw the tweet. I tweeted it with a picture. Then Monica came home and was like, you didn't save any of it for me. It's like a cupcake cupcake. I know. And then Monica saw the tweet. I tweeted it with a picture and then Monica came home and was like, you didn't save any of it for me?

It's like a cupcake came to the door on Friday. I was supposed to cut it in half? Like, tell me what am I supposed to do? What you were supposed to do is not tweet about it so you could eat it by yourself. I know, but then Del wants me to...

Del will not send you more cupcakes. No, exactly. So Rose, tell me, would you have cut that cupcake in half and saved half for Scott if it just arrived at the door because of your blogging? Actually, I would have saved the whole thing for him. Oh, but that's because you don't like it.

That's because you don't like it. No, I always give away. It's because you're fit and you don't want those empty calories. No, no. When I get a nice treat, I like to save it. Would you have shared it with Rose? All right, well, I didn't share it with Monica.

Not because I don't love her, but because I didn't think that far ahead. Like the cupcake showed up. I had it. You kidding me? It's the Homer Simpson impulse. You see the cupcake, you want to eat it. I have to admit, I would probably have devoured the cupcake. Oh, Rose, you just saved me from some stink eye.

See, Rose would have saved it. I bet you Monica would have saved Mike. Monica would have saved Mike the cupcake. See, Rose would have saved it. Although I bet you Monica would have saved Mike the cupcake. Oh, probably. It makes you more because she's awesome. It said it was gluten-free. I don't know what that means.

Some people can't have gluten, but it said gluten-free. This cupcake. But it still tasted good. I feel like gluten-free is like the I don't know. It's like the new trendy thing. We say that it gets to sell things, but I recognize there are people with gluten allergies. It's called celiac? What's it called? Celiac?

People with celiac disease can't tolerate gluten. And I'm sure there obviously are people that suffer from it, but I also feel that gluten free is just getting slept on things as a way to just, but that's, you know what? That's a whole other conversation. F trends. I hate trends, Rosie. I feel like gluten-free is like, I feel like, you know,

five years ago, they would not have put gluten-free on the cupcake. You're right. Of course you're right. That's another way. Part of yours is thinking this is another way

for them to raise the price 30%. Exactly. Exactly. And you read about even things being called organic and natural. You have to be really careful because it's just become a marketing.

They abuse those terms. They abuse the term organic. What does organic mean now? Absolutely. Exactly. It's so abused and you have to be really careful because now it's just become like a marketing tool. We should chat about Kevin's

other blog. Oh crap, Blackberries. I forgot it wasn't 2009 anymore. I wasn't sure what to talk about Blackberries. Listen to me. I had a blackberry for years. Most people have. Kevin? I think I stopped at the bold,

but I had curve and I had the blue one. Yeah. I don't know what they called the blue one. That was the, I think that was the, I can't even remember

what that one's called. But then, so then I had curve and then a bold. So Rose, you can ask the first question. I do want to hear about that. I was just going to just,

for everyone listening, so Kevin also writes for a blackberry blog. He's a blackberry fan. It's called verification.com. And right now, Kevin is wielding quite a fancy-looking BlackBerry. Tell us about this BlackBerry. Oh, that's the Zed.

I guess you call it the Z10. It's Z10 in Canada. I think here it's Z10. I heard they were going to call it Z10. Only in America. Only in the States. Only in America. Because it's Z103, you know, when you listen to Z-103.

Well, I guess it must have been an American owner. No, they just think that we, like, they just wanted us to be Z. But, yeah, they're a Canadian owner and a Canadian. That's funny. I didn't know that. They're Dundas and Queensway? I think they're Dundas. Not Dundas.

No. Dundas. They're super close. Like Dundas and Kipling, maybe? It's just, yeah, it's just in Mississauga, west on Dundas. Not Dundas. No. Dundas, they're super close. Like Dundas and Kipling, maybe? It's just, yeah, it's just in Mississauga, west on Dundas. Etobicoke. Oh. Yeah.

It's Etobicoke. It's on the border then. It's near Dundas Street Grill. Yeah, no, I drive by it all the time. Near the go station. But I didn't know they go with Z. I don't like that. It should be Z.

Yeah, I agree. Okay, tell us more about the Z10. Well, you know what? I've actually had this phone since January 30th. My cool story for this is I actually won this on Twitter. You won that on Twitter? But not as the verification guy, like as Kevin. I was already writing for verification at the time.

And you won it on Twitter. From where? I did indeed, from BlackBerry themselves. That is a good win. That is like very good. Oh, you don't know how good it was. Not only did I get the phone, I got three months of free service

as well as as many app downloads as I could make. Oh, you must have gone crazy. I did indeed. I have about 20 pages of apps on this thing already. I would have just downloaded every app. How are the apps for BlackBerry?

Because I keep hearing that it's like it's not the same and I'm still trying to decide. By September, I have to make my decision. Here, let's do this. Kevin, can you sell Rose on the Z10 as her smartphone? Go. I could, yes.

Because then I'll do my Samsung Galaxy S4 pitch. I'll get into that as well. Go ahead. Well, you know what? The BlackBerry Z10 is a very nice phone. The hub is right there. There are no buttons on this phone. It's completely clear.

It's a modern smartphone. It's got almost all the apps that you'd want. Right in front of that. And if you want to get into your messages or anything you need to, all you have to do is just flick, and it's right there in the hub. I know, but iPhone guys are going to show you similar stuff. All you have to do is just flick, and it's right there in the hub. I know, but iPhone guys are going to show you similar stuff. Tell me what's that term for the magic bullet here.

Let's say Rosie's looking at an iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, and the Z10. Tell her why Z10 beats out the iPhone and the Galaxy. Because you're always connected. But give us something different because the other two are saying the same thing. Well, they might say the same thing, but it's not exactly the same thing. Because here you can have everything running that

you'd want, whether or not it's one app or another or this or that. Somebody... Sorry. I just hit my mic. Mic or the mic? No, no. I just hit my mic. Mic or the mic? No, no. I just hit my mic, not you. Not yet. Did you do a security clearance on this guy?

He's clear. No, no. You're not wearing any firearms? No, no, no. Nothing like that. Well, I was just going to say, if there's something from Twitter or Facebook or whatever you're connected to, whatever it is that you want in your hub, you can get right to it right now. Right now I actually have a message.

But get in front of the mic. Right here. Well, I'm trying to look at my phone. You can move your mic. It's actually quite cute. Kevin is so into his BlackBerry. Oh, yeah, you don't have to show us. Just tell us.

Because don't worry, we don't have to see it. We believe you. Tell us. Part of it is me demonstrating while I'm showing. Yeah, yeah, don't demonstrate. Just tell. Part of it is the hub. Other things are if you were actually connected to a company smartphone,

you'd have something called Balance with it as well. We're unemployed, Rosie and I. For those who actually have it given to them through their company, there's an actual service called BlackBerry Balance. So there's a point where you can actually press on your phone where it's work or play. Oh, I heard about this, the work

or play. So your personal side doesn't interfere with your work side. And your work side doesn't interfere with your personal side. For all of those bring your own device Okay, if you didn't get that for free, would you buy it? Yeah, I probably would. What did you have before you get that for free, would you buy it? Yeah, I probably would. But you'd buy it.

What did you have before you got that for free? I had another BlackBerry. Oh, but you're a big BlackBerry fan. I actually won that BlackBerry too. You won the BlackBerry before this BlackBerry? Have you ever bought a phone?

What a BlackBerry winner. No, I haven't. Yeah, I did. But I think the last time I bought one was 2006. Did it look like this? No, Rose was way better than that. He said 2006.

Something like that. Something like that. Come on, Rose. 2006 phones were way better than that. It's so sad. Okay, Kevin, I'll tell you what. You're doing a good job boosting the brand, and it's a Canadian brand,

so that's the only reason I could think that Rose should consider a BlackBerry is because it's a Canadian company. Yeah, I'm going to agree with you there, Mike. So what else would you want? But that's not enough for me. And I love Canada. What would you want from your phone?

Tell us about the apps. Okay, so have you ever used an iPhone or even a Touch or have you ever used a Samsung, like an Android device? I have. I've used both of them. Do you think, do you, in your opinion, does the BlackBerry apps, do they, are they as good or better than the iPhone and Android apps? Right now?

Yeah, right now. I would say that everybody tends to be very polarized when it comes to... Do you work for BlackBerry? No, I don't. This answer sounds corporate. No, no, it sounds corporate,

but it's actually, I'm actually trying to sound impartial. Everybody's trying, it's like talking politics or religion with somebody when you talk about their phones. sounds corporate. No, no. It sounds corporate but I'm actually trying to sound impartial. It's like talking politics or religion with somebody when you talk about their phones. That is such a good point.

No, because we all switch around. It's not true. You know why? A lot of people who are on their iPhone now were on a BlackBerry three years ago.

It's true. That's true. Like a lot of people. I didn't come out. I enjoyed it. Are you kidding me? I was BlackBerry for years and years

and years until I had to make a new choice and I looked at the new, I looked at what was the best available of the three. I didn't like Apple for a variety of reasons. So it was Android or BlackBerry. And it was not like it was a runaway. I looked at that Android long and hard before I said, this is the phone for me. And that was Android 1.0.

And I don't know which Android it was exactly. But it blew away the BlackBerry. Now this Z10 is them trying to catch up now so they in 2013 they're trying to catch up after how many years in the wilderness where they basically got their asses handed to them for years until 2013 i can't deny that yeah so now today tell me and i'll let you finish your spiel there about the apps for blackberry the apps for black i think you were about to say a corporate answer, which is right now they're not as good,

but I think in six months they'll be better. That's like the Blue Jay fans do that to me all the time. Oh yeah, right now we're second last in the American League, but wait till you see us in August when we're running away with the AL East. I mean, they're pie in the sky, guys. I need some realism from you, Kevin. Tell me about the apps.

The apps are coming. If they're not here now, they will be. Are they here now? Not all of them. What's your favorite app right now on there? My favorite app right now on there? Twitter. Twitter.

Yeah, Twitter is there. So you got your big ones, like Twitter, Facebook, Skype. They're all there. Yeah, they are. So you got those, and Gmail, and those big guys. All those are there. So you're just missing out. You can't get Instagram and all that stuff yet.

Yeah. That's coming. But you know for me thinking about it those were the main truly those are the main ones that I would need. Number one

Gmail number two Twitter number three Skype after that I'm not even too concerned. I don't even care about Facebook.

Not even Facebook Rose? No. I would want it. I would want it. But I mean, that's like the main thing. So to be honest, if the apps are strong... Oh, and I want that one Shazam that picks up the songs. I like that one. Is Shazam available

for the BlackBerry? Sure it is. Oh, okay. So if you've got Shazam, that's actually interesting because that's... I actually thought maybe that wouldn't be but that's really the main ones I need and if a BlackBerry can deliver that to me with that kind of cool, I like that work play thing. Because I used to actually have to have a work phone and a personal phone. It was ridiculous.

And I like the idea of being able to separate them both. That's a cool thing. Now, does the Android do that? Have that option? Well, to me, that's the most ridiculous feature I've ever heard of. Because everyone's phone, separating the two worlds, you need a button to separate your work from your home life. I'm not even sure what that means. It's cool.

Is it? Yeah. Everybody's into security right now. I mean, I use filters in Gmail. I can see that. I think the Blackberry has always been the phone of choice for the secure corporations who need to give Blackberries to their bankers and stuff. It's always been the number one, right? I have to say I like the look of it.

I actually haven't seen a Z10 up close. That's the first time. It looks cool. Do you want me to get the Samsung Galaxy S3 in my room and you're going to tell me how good it looks? He showed me his. I'm going to show you mine. This is number one.

You show me yours. I'm going to show you mine right after this podcast. Look, I think that they've come a long way to catch up. And I just think it's too late because by now, everybody's in love. A lot of people I know won't even like, they laugh at me if I'm in an Android because they're such iPhone bigots.

Like these people, that's where it gets religious. There's a lot of iPhone bigots out there. I happen to like the Android. I'm not considering Blackberry because I'm so happy with the Android. So in 2013, everybody's gone to either iPhone or Android and got comfy

and they don't want to leave. I think your only chance are people like Kevin who are using... I have an Apple... This is a laptop's Apple. I have to tell you that I think the only people

who are going to consider the Z10 are people who are still using their old BlackBerry Bold or Curve. But aren't there a lot of people that still use those? There's still 70...

You have to find a lot. No, use those? There's still 70 million. There's Muzzin. He's still on a BlackBerry because I heard it when he was here at the draft. But you know, Fred is in love with his iPhone, just to borrow Humble and Fred as an example. Humble is in love with his Samsung Galaxy. He says his daughter

and his girlfriend swear by their iPhones. My ex is in love with her iPhone now. My current, Monica, is in love of her iPhone now. My current Monica is in love of her Samsung Galaxy. None of those people that are closest to me are even considering BlackBerry. Why would they go back? Why would they go back? They'd have to try it first to see whether or not they'd...

But who tries? You don't get to borrow it for a couple of weeks and then rent to own or whatever. Well, you're not renting to own your phone. But I mean, basically what I would say to anybody who would want to consider looking at a phone, don't discount them. Everybody has that perception

that they're still the old torch or the old blue phone that you had from before. They're not that anymore. No. And you're happy, right? I am happy. You know what? It freaking makes me happy

just to see you happy with that phone. Because you know what? Everybody has their own choice. And if somebody likes their iPhone, I'm not going to say, you know what, you're happy, right? I am happy. You know what? It freaking makes me happy just to see you happy with that phone. Because you know what? Everybody has their own choice. And if somebody likes their iPhone, I'm not going to say, you know what? You're stupid for liking your iPhone. You're stupid for liking your Android. No, of course not. You know what? Everybody has their own preferences. And you know what? All of these

different companies want to get you into their ecosystem, whether it's BlackBerry App World or it's App World or it's Google Play or whatever it is, because they want to get you and keep you there so that all of your music and all of your TV and all of your everything else that you want to consume is all on their system and makes it hard for them to switch from one to the other. You raise a good point with that because I feel like Apple's kind of already done that with me because of the iPad and I find it so awesome that I have to admit I'm leaning to the iPhone

but you're also a Google girl so you're already in the Google ecosystem which is Android so you're in those two why would you ever consider a third ecosystem of the Blackberry I don't know time will tell

I like this idea of you having choosing your iPhone I like this idea because you got this great opportunity to take the new Samsung Galaxy or the new iPhone or this BlackBerry Z10. I know. I'm excited. So can you give me a time frame of when you're going to make a decision?

Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm sorry, September. I have to decide by September. So every week I can get an update? But Mike, the reason actually, the third reason, the reason that I would consider a third ecosystem with the BlackBerry, and honestly, it is a factor for me,

is I actually like the fact that BlackBerry is a Canadian company. That actually is a factor. That is a factor for me. Now, the product has to... I beg your pardon? You said that's the first smart thing you said all day. The product has to match.

Obviously, it has to be good, right? Does Scott have a Blackberry? It's not going to be the only reason. He just got a new one, actually. Not the Z10, but I think the one before. Which was like six years ago. Yeah, it's still... Two years ago.

He's a little bit caught up. It's not as much, but you know, you get... Well, maybe he's got the Q10. He wants for Bell, so you get what you get. But it has to be good. I'm not going to buy it just because it's a as much, but you get... Or maybe he's got the Q10. He wants for Bell, so you get what you get. But it has to be good. I'm not going to buy it just because it's a Canadian company, but that is enough that it's a factor for me, that it's in the running.

That's the other thing I would say, because everybody else, or when you read things on the internet about people, oh, I wish BlackBerry would go away. I wish the company's been here for so long and it's not doing anything. I wish they just shut down. Why are they

even bothering with a phone and such well guess what there's a whole ecosystem based on ketchner and waterloo based on blackberry if you go into that that uh area that town the center for international governance and design the one that uh jim basile founded A lot of it is based on what RIM and BlackBerry actually did in that market. Very interesting. My consideration will continue. Kevin, thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining

us today, talking to us about your BlackBerry and your movie stuff. It was really, really cool to have you on. Oh, thank you very much for having me. We didn't even get into baseball. We have 10 more seconds for me to say, I'll just say my spiel real quick,

which is disappointed. How do you feel about your 2013 Toronto Blue Jays? I did that in one word, Rose. Nice big sigh. You know what? And this is after a huge two game winning streak, which ties our season high. All the injuries and all the different things. One big sigh. You know what? And this is after a huge two-game winning streak, which ties our season high.

All the injuries and all the different things. One big injury. The rest are minor. Well, they're minor, but they're still out. That's the thing. Who's out besides Reyes? Johnson. Josh Johnson.

Oh, yes. He sucked in the new one. Burley pitched yesterday. Romero is down. He's back. Yeah, but he wasn't injured. Laurie was gone. Buster was gone for a's back. Yeah, but he wasn't injured. Laurie was gone. Buster was gone for a little while.

Yeah, a few games. But that's a tough division. But that's baseball. Yeah, but it's a tough division they're in, right? So Reyes is the difference between us being horrible and us being world beaters. I wouldn't say world beaters, but we'd be decent. We'd be scoring a few more runs, I think.

Because we were under 500 when he got injured. Yeah, no, we were. We were. We weren't scoring any runs. So do we contend for a playoff spot in 2013? You know what? The way it's looking now, you'd have to play like 600 baseball in order

to get even in the game. To get a sniff, yeah. And people were saying before, all the staff people, that the Baltimore Orioles were doing really well in one run games. They were 29-9 or something last year, and it wasn't sustainable because their bullpen was so good. But guess what?

They're still contending right now. So for us to really make it. Not to mention Yankees and Red Sox are still up there, and even Tampa Bay is beating. We're last in East. Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells are beating up on the Jays on the Jays. So we don't contend in 2013. You know what?

I don't think so. Not the way it's going. Smart, because it don't think so. Not the way it's going. Smart, because it doesn't look good. Rosie, do you want to contribute? It's so sad. It's so depressing listening to everyone talk about the Blue Jays now. I wouldn't give up on them. It's too early for that, but the way it's going, it's really hard.

Well, let's put it this way. This two-game winning streak we're on, we need to kind of make that a 20-game winning streak. Yeah, you have to do like a 21-10 or something. I'd like to win a series. We've never won a series the entire season, and we're in May 7th. I think we won the first one.

No. We didn't win the first one? No, we lost the first two games, and we won the third game. It's just so disappointing for morale when you start off with so much excitement. It's Rodgers' fault, Rose, right? Well, I mean, whatever.

It's okay. Your husband's a bell guy. We can make fun of Rogers. It's... Whatever. It's just so... I hate all that, you know... I hate fake hashtag stuff,

like, you know, that... Oh, have you seen my new hashtag I was using? I saw it, yeah. Is it catchy now? Fuck this team. Oh, yeah, yeah. I didn't see that. Rogers started a thing.

I thought, actually, one of our commenters was such an awesome lady, Stephanie. She cracked me up on a comment she wrote on your site. She was like,

the Jays need to worry less about their hashtags and more about actually putting together or playing properly. But I do, I hate that stuff, that fake love this team.

Well, that stuff's supposed to come from the fans, not from the owners. Exactly, I hate when it comes from like a... It's supposed to come from the fans, not from the owners. Exactly, I hate when it comes from... It's got to come bottom up for it to work. It's like when they had that cheer. Remember Pepsi's cheer? I used to do interviews against it

because Pepsi said this is the cheer for Canada from now on. Yeah, I remember that. That stuff comes from the fans up. It doesn't come down from Pepsi or Rogers. I was so sad when I read that the Harlem Shake was actually like a complete, one of those fake corporate viral things. It's not?

What are you talking about? Remember the Harlem Shake? actually like a complete, one of those fake corporate viral things. It's not? What are you talking about? Remember the Harlem Shake? Yeah, Bauer. It was, yeah, like it was, it was, it's not,

it's not real. It didn't come from, from. No, it did. It was organic. No. Yeah. I read a whole article

that it wasn't. It's been used by, it's now being used for a whole bunch of corporate reasons, but it didn't start that way. I read that it did. So it made me sad

and I didn't like it as much, but anyways, that's. Here, go to the comments and link to that when you get home. Link to what? This article that says it was a corporate...

Oh, okay, yeah. It was on the Huffington Post and I was like, oh, because as soon as it's not... You know, you want it to be real. As soon as it becomes... There's a corporate vapor over it, it ruins it for me.

So we'll see what happens with the Jays. On this sad note... On this sad note. On this sad note. Excuse me, my timing's a little off, but on this sad note. Kevin, it was a pleasure to have you.

Thank you very much for having me. You were a much better guest than Humble Howard. I wouldn't say that. He's a pro. Thanks so much. Rosie, always a pleasure to argue with you. So much fun. Bye for now, everyone. Are you going to come back next week?

Are you coming back next week? No, she's not coming back, everybody. Bye for now, everyone. Oh, no. And that brings us to the end of our show. You can follow me on Twitter at TorontoMike. And Rosie at Rosie in Toronto and Kevin at lights. I'm geek lights.

I'm geek. See you all next week. I want to take a streetcar downtown