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Below is a an opinion piece I sent to the Telegraph Journal. It was in response to their editorial There's an app for urban growth. At the end I reveal one of my many biases in producing the UNBSJ documentary.

I'm wrapping up production on a short documentary that will be released this fall, which will hopefully lead to a longer more in-depth version to be produced in the future. Here's what the project is all about.

What the documentary is about (and what it's not)

Video by Great Balancing Act

Good news everyone! David Alward's government fixed gender equality. No need for that advisory council anymore. The miracle workers didn't stop there. The PCs also ended the ongoing tax revenue robbery known as the NB Film tax credit. Your welcome New Brunswick.

This is the first chapter in a three part travel tale. Last May, I found myself alone in Karlstad with nothing to do. All of my friends were either travelling or occupied with school. I decided to go on a solo adventure that ended up having a number of note worthy interactions. The trip began with a concert ticket to see the Almighty Defenders in Oslo. That was the only certain detail of the journey. Everything else would be on the fly.

Below is the first chapter which details the Oslo portion of the trip.

The following is a letter I sent to the editors at the Telegraph Journal. It is in repsonse to an article titled Maximizing government productivity with technology written by Peter Linfield of the Carlisle Institute.

The letter runs a little long for print, so here it is!

Hello,

I am writing in response to Mr Linfield's editorial "Maximizing government productivity with technology." I am concerned about how some of his information was presented.

A few nights ago, Uptown Saint John invited the public to UNBSJ's Grand Hall to share their ideas for the old Paramount Theatre building. The room was arranged with a couple dozen round tables. Each was full, with people standing at the back of the room. After presentations, the mic was passed around to anyone who wanted it. The atmosphere was calm and collected yet bouncing with enthusiasm. I can honestly say there wasn't a "bad" idea ... but maybe a wacky one or two :)

An arts and craft training centre.
An interpretative centre for cruise ship passengers and other tourists.

A few weeks ago, the Ekobuss embarked on yet another 5 day excursion. This time the plan was to tour Lake Vänern. We would begin in Karlstad, of course, which sits on the north shore, and travel counter clockwise, spending most of our time on the south shore. Our first night was spent dead center in the middle of the lake on an island called Lurö.

Two weeks ago, I spent five days hiking through the mountains and swimming in the cold clean lakes of Norway. I stayed in cabins with varying levels of facilities, from one with a private sauna to another with no electricity nor running water. I'm not describing my vacation, but a class of mine: Nordic Environmental Studies. The aim of this course is to familiarize students with Scandinavian environmental policy and the landscape itself. Like any course, there are lectures, group projects and papers to write, but there are also excursions!

So why fly to Gothenburg when Oslo is an hour closer to Karlstad? Way Out West, of course! It's recently been ranked one of Europe's top 20 music festivals.