Part 2 of my new series, Things I Swear By. If you have things that you swear by, I’d love to hear about them whether it’s something that you use, something that you do, somewhere you go, etc. etc. Drop me an e-mail and let me know about it. I’d enjoy featuring some of the things that my readers swear by as well.

CBC Radio One

I can’t remember precisely when I began listening to CBC Radio 1 but it must’ve been sometime in late high school or early university. I was actually first turned on to talk radio through NewsTalk 1010, a Toronto station, on the AM dial. A certain show host named Michael Coren won my heart with his dry sense of humour, his love for politics and his tendency towards controversy. I became a frequent listener for a while. From AM I jumped to FM and discovered our commercial-free national broadcast radio CBC Radio One. I have lived there ever since.

I’m not a big radio guy, in the traditional sense. When I say I live at CBC Radio 1 I mean that the presets in our car are set only to Radio 1—the 4 different frequencies that we find ourselves using as we travel around. I only listen to Radio 1. No other stations. I’m not big into regular radio stations because I don’t care for the music or the material, and all the commercials can be nauseating. CBC Radio 1 is commercial-free, worthwhile and interesting.

While there are a few shows that I don’t much care for on the CBC, most of its programming is engaging and entertaining. From our national science show Quirks & Quarks, to Stuart Maclean’s Vinyl Cafe, or Metro Morning as I’m driving to work. It’s good stuff, good radio, and it’s such a joy to listen to. There is always an interesting interview or story or song and it’s informative. CBC Radio’s journalistic consistency is something that it’s been praised and award for again and again. It’s reliable news and information and shows like The Current and As it Happens go behind and beneath the headlines to dig deeper—something that we’re in desperate need of.

What’s more, CBC Radio is on the cutting edge of new technology. They were among the first stations to be available online, to have podcast feeds, and now to have an iPhone/iPod Touch application enabling listening through WiFi or anywhere if you’ve got a data plan. I think it’s safe to say that among wonderful gems of Canadian media, our national radio broadcaster is certainly among the top. At least, it’s something that I swear by.

Well, folks, it’s been a slice but my time is up.

In the seven years that I’ve run this site, it’s been a lot of different things. Most recently, and for the past many years, it’s been an on-again, off-again place for me to post reviews and previews and commentaries about stuff. I’ve liked it that way and even while it fell into a particular bit of disuse in the fall, leading up to my wedding, my campaign to bring it back to its former glory, and to pack it full of almost daily content, has been successful. It’s been a good last two months. My readership has increased, new and unique visitors are on the rise and the number of people brave (or stupid) enough to leave a comment is slowly creeping up. It’s been good, and it’s felt good to get this site moving and shaking again. I like writing, so it’s been fun.

But, much to my horror and surprise, an e-mail that would change the course of this little site’s life arrived in my e-mail box this morning. And, of all the ways I imagined this site might one day expire, this was certainly not one of them. Surely even I am not this creative. Here is an exert:

Dear Mr. Keith Little,

As a representative of Disney Enterprises Inc., the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate, I must advise you to immediately cease and desist your use of the “Corch” brand. This includes, primarily, the website — http://www.thecorch.com — which is currently hosted at the address of…

…since 2001, the “Corch” name and brand have been the property of Disney Enterprises for the purposes of children’s entertainment and development. According to internationally recognized intellectual property laws, our prior claim on this brand, for use in our Disney TV programming package, renders your subsequent use of the brand to be unlawful.

…failure to comply within a reasonable time frame will result in further legal action. Enclosed is legal contact information and our communications department will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please be advised that for legal purposes, all calls regarding this matter will be recorded.

So the “Corch” is a Disney character all this time? I thought I made the term up…

I haven’t decided if I’ll recreate this site somewhere else, or what, but it’s a lot of work to move servers and a bit disheartening. I’m obviously not up to the challenge of fighting a potential law suit against the “world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate” since I will surely lose so I really have no other choice. I plan to leave this message up for a few more days and then close down the site.

It’s been good, it’s been strange, but thanks for everything, guys. At least now I can say that I once had a website shut down by Disney! What a joke!