As this is a blog primarily about Tristan, and written entirely by Tristan, he has decided to stop referring to himself in the third person. All other people will continue to be referred to in this manner.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of shooting and editing a short web video for the CBC Radio program Spark. It’s called How To Make a Radio Show and it has just been posted to the Spark blog. It’s also embedded below.

It’s very informative and alarmingly true. Thanks to everybody at Spark for the opportunity to help educate the masses.

Tristan and Dan’s time at PodCamp was quick, but fulfilling. I think it’s safe to say that we now know everything we’ll ever need to know about social media in a disaster.

Although not at all a part of the festivities in Toronto a couple of weeks back, Shane and Tom from Shane and Tom’s Squeezebox share a pretty funny story about Tristan and Dan, the opera, and PodCamp in their latest episode. The part they leave out, however, is that after being told by the man best known as Scarborough Dude that their podcast was great and that they were “legends,” Tristan and Dan were asked which of them was Shane and which was Tom.

There are many things happening around the world this weekend, and one of them is the 2008 installment of PodCamp Toronto, held once again this year at Ryerson University’s lovely Rogers Communication Centre. Both Tristan and Dan will be in attendance, so if you plan on attending, why not come by, say hello, and grab one of Tristan’s impractically thick business cards.

In other news, Dan will be making one of his frequent appearances on CBC’s GO! on Saturday morning. Not sure what he’ll be doing there, but the show is about Facebook, so odds are he’ll probably be talking about how he doesn’t want to use it.

Also, From the House of the Dead, the opera that features Tristan as an extra, has been getting so many ridiculously wonderful reviews and will be playing for the last time on Friday night. What will be next for Tristan? Broadway, perhaps? Only time will tell.

Well, Groundhog Day 2008 is finally upon us, and there are some things that you should probably know:

• The fourth season of the Jim Dupree: Enthusiast podcast series has started, and you can check it out right now.
• From the House of the Dead, the opera that Tristan is a part of, opens tonight at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets are on sale right now.
• Wiarton Willie did not see his shadow, so spring is here right now.
• You can download the classic Bill Murray film Groundhog Day for $4.99 right now.

Yes, this post title can be taken literally. Tristan will be playing a prisoner in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Leoš Janáček’s From the House of the Dead this February at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in downtown Toronto. He will not be singing, of course. He will not be speaking either, for that matter. He’s an extra (or, in operaspeak, a super).

Not familar with the works of Janáček? Here’s what the COC website has to say about FtHotD:

Stripped of their dignity, inmates in a Siberian prison camp cling to the stories of past lives, relating their histories and creating diversions to take their minds off their dreadful conditions.

Sounds like a fun hour-and-a-half, no?

Performances are on February 2, 5, 7, 13, 19 and 22 at 7:30 PM, February 16 at 4:30 PM, and on February 10 at 2 PM. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W., Toronto). Ticket prices for all performances range from $60 to $275, but if you’re under 30, you can score $20 tickets starting January 19. You may also be able to get rush tickets on the day of each performance at this same discounted rate, regardless of age.

All these links not enough for you? Here’s one more. Still not convinced? The cast includes a live eagle.

See you at the opera.

Torontonians in the know are well aware of Dan Misener’s Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids reading series. Not in Toronto? Or simply not in the know? Not to worry! This Saturday, the world at large will be able to experience a taste of GRTTWaK on CBC’s GO!, as Dan and a few of his fellow grownups, including Tristan, will be talking about the series, and reading things they wrote as kids.

Live in Canada? It airs on CBC Radio One this Saturday, January 12 at 10 AM in all time zones with the exception of Newfoundland, where it airs at 10:30 AM. Find your frequency. Live somewhere else? Tune in online at 10 AM ET.

What could we possibly be talking about?

Tristan makes an appearance on the latest episode of Canadian Podcast Buffet, as part of a round table discussion on video podcasting. Listen to his thoughts on buying/returning video equipment and YouTube videos about cats right now!

After two years of not bothering to figure out how to configure collectiveproductions.com to host blogs, we availed of the services of our unpaid web technician Dan Misener and now here it is, the Collective Productions blog. Amazing.

As you may have noticed, we’ve resurrected the Jim Dupree: Enthusiast blog, complete with brand new versions of all 30 original episodes, which are slightly bigger, slightly better looking, and properly cropped (in the case of the widescreen episodes). You can now also stream the episodes directly from the page, thanks to the setup at Blip.tv, which now hosts all of our video files. The crummy looking YouTube files are a thing of the past. All except for this one, of course:

There are new things on the way, and even though we’ve said this several times over the past year or so, we really mean it this time because we’re actually in the middle of doing them. Sooner or later we’re bound to tell you what at least one of them is. Until then, just keep watching that YouTube video and marveling at the awesome harmonies.

And we’re posting LOLcats!