Ryan Doyle's blog

Friday March27th 2009

60 MINUTES OF GUILT-THE EARTH HOUR EDITION
Remember the movie Wall Street? Gordon Gekko, the high falutin businessman played by Michael Douglas insisting to everyone that "Greed is Good". Ahhhh the 1980's, life was simple, getting rich was the main focus and the only cause celeb we had was helping the world's poor and hungry in another part of the world. Fast forward to 2009 where the mantra is no longer about money, but rather a different kind of green. In today's version of the film you would likely have a power suit wearing business type exclaiming to his staff that "Green is good". You see in today's world the priorities have shifted from doing true good, to a self righteous movement that uses guilt as its main motivator.The so called "green movement" won't be satisfied until we all have turned our homes into wind farms, our freezers into compost storage units, and our kids into miniature preachers spewing the merits of carbon offsets at the dinner table. It was clear to me some time ago that the environmentalists had not just found a way to go mainstream, they also hijacked a pretty decent colour at the same time. This Saturday the world is supposed to gather and live life like the electric showdown between Edison and Tesla never took place some two hundred and twenty years ago. According to the organizer's website they say "Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth", funny I don't remember them calling an election. If I leave my lights on, like a sane person, does that mean I have somehow voted for Mars?

Thursday March 12th 2009

YES I USED TO BE AN ANARCHIST!

So it is high time I put this part of my past to bed. It has come up too many times on the show for me to ignore or simply laugh off, so I figured I would take the time to point out my not so proud past. Besides there is a whole group of new listeners that have no clue why I am being labelled an "anarchist" or "former socialist", and I feel I should lift the curtain for them as well. A number of years ago, in my early 20's I lived at home with my parents. Like many young Canadians with little overhead cost and tonnes of disposable income I believed that the world was my oyster. The main problems I thought we had on this planet were governments focused on greed and wealth, power hungry business people, the homeless who were being ignored, and of course my pet project before it was chic ...the crisis in Africa. Not to say that Africa isn't a problem anymore, but at some point when I broke out of my parental utopia it wasn't a priority for me. The difference between me and the other 20 somethings was that I had a radio show in which to spout off these beliefs. First I co-hosted a show called "Generation Next", which was essentially a group of young people that all had their heads in the clouds debating these issues. Then once that show ended I was given my own solo project, the first incarnation of "The Ryan Doyle Show". I nicknamed that one "The Radio Revolution", and stacked it with left wing rebels, authours, even African presidents came into studio to discuss the plight of their continent. However when doing this show something didn't feel right.

Wednesday March 4th 2009

WHO'S THE BOSS?
About a month ago I casually mentioned on the show my complete disdain for those who decide to throw around the terms "Boss" and "Chief". Given the amount of e-mail I have received about the issue I feel it is time to expand on my earlier sentiment. There are certain types of people that feel the need to promote you through their salutations. Not one day goes by without the coffee guy down the street asking me "what can I get for you boss?" I respond by immediately looking around trying to find out who the hell he is talking to. I clearly don't work in the coffee business. Is this guy confusing me with someone from head office? It amazes me that although he is using such a moniker to describe me, the service still remains lacklustre. Last night on the way home from a local pub a few of us decided to take a taxi home, I got the front seat. We all packed ourselves in, the doors closed, and the inevitable question from the driver followed. "Where you headed Chief?" Chief? I don't get it, I am clearly not a Native Canadian. Nor am I the leader of this tribe of beer drinkers that have just made their way into your cab.

Friday February 27th 2009

VASELINE-GATE

As many of you know I am a huge fan of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Over the last few years I have had the pleasure of doing work with their organization, interviewing a slew of fighters from all different walks of life. My friends and I make a point of gathering for every pay-per view that is shown on Viewer's Choice, and when we get together we dish UFC dirt, talk UFC smack, and basically turn into teenage boys as soon as the octagon doors open. At the last PPV there was only one topic of discussion...Could GSP be the A-ROD of Ultimate Fighting? I know for many of you that last sentence seems like code, but let me explain. GSP is the moniker for popular Canadian born fighter Georges St. Pierre. He is an amazingly fit fighting machine that is well respected throughout the sport, but following his last fight allegations of cheating started to swirl. St-Pierre's opponent, lightweight champ B.J. Penn, who was beaten badly by St-Pierre for four rounds before the title fight was stopped, indicated that not all was kosher. Penn claimed that St-Pierre was greased up by excessive use of Vaseline during round-break rubdowns.

Friday February 13th 2009

STRAIGHT TO VIDEO

I have been asked by a large amount of people why I feel the need to do something on top of my nightly radio show. These queries are referring to the fact that I host a small after-show on cfrb.com that we have affectionately named "10:02". The reason that I feel the need to lift the curtain and let people in on the inner workings of the show is because I don't believe in selling perfection. This might sound odd, but hang with me. For too long I believe the media has been fixated on the idea of perfection, perfect hair, straight white teeth and more than anything broadcasts that are flawless. They agonize and stress, take after take, shot after shot, all in the name of putting the perfect product on the air. TV stations aren't the only guilty parties here, radio does it as well. Constantly selling the public on the idea that everything goes off without a hitch. My after-show runs counter-intuitive to the theory they are trying to make you believe. That show, just like my radio program, is me in the raw. You see the people that work tirelessly behind the scenes that try to make me sound good, it can be a tough task some days. You see me in my environment, no make-up, no wardrobe, no second takes. I work on the premise of honesty, I expect people to call into the show and be honest with me, whether it be a personal story or a gut reaction. So why shouldn't I deliver the same to all of you?

Thursday February 5th 2009

THE BIG "V"

According to a new poll nearly half of American women take Valentine's Day so to heart they would give up something special - like sex or chocolate - for a month in order to have an "awesome" holiday. You must be kidding! Although I shouldn't really be surprised, my mailbox has been full of notes from angry women that are mad that I suggested married men don't have to participate in the "V" day tradition. Could it be that I have read an entire continent of women wrong? I thought I would be hailed as a hero that preached the idea of loving your wife equally for 365 days of the year, as opposed to loading up on one commercialized day of drivel. Perhaps Hallmark and the flower biz have successfully brainwashed the masses? How else can you explain the 44 percent of 13,192 surveyed said they'd sacrifice something for a month to have an out of this world V-Day: 4 percent would do without sex; and 8 percent said they'd give up "anything!"

SUPER BOWL CHILI! January 30th 2009

This is  the Texas chili recipe that I use and that I cribbed years ago from a website. It has served me well, I have tweaked a bit of it. Notice that it is bean free and doesn't use tomatoes...the way chili was meant to be made. Enjoy this Superbowl weekend!

Monday January 26th 2009

PAIN FOR PLEASURE

It started off innocently enough. A salsa here, a hot sauce there, all just harmless additions to whatever snack was in front of me. Somewhere down the road it became an addiction. Tonight while watching 24 (Yes I have to PVR Jack Bauer) I began to salivate, I was starting to crave not the chip but the salsa! About a week back I bought a salsa made by a company called Neal Brothers that must have been the most potent hot salsa on the planet. Just a small drop on my tongue left it in excruciating pain. My eyes welled up with tears, and no amount of beer could put out the fire, trust me I tried. Yet tonight as I watched a fictitious dictator play god with American lives, I needed another hit. The same salsa with the same reaction.

Monday January 19th

Welcome to DC!

After quite the trek yesterday afternoon I now call rural Maryland my temporary home. We had some delays leaving Pearson, but it was well worth the wait. This area of the world caught Obama-mania a few months back, they haven't been able to shake the fever since. As we stepped onto the tarmac at BWI (Baltimore/Washington-International) our plane was greeted by some very serious U.S Marshall's. I am told that is how every plane this week is greeted. Bridges, roads, every route into the capital will soon become overrun with security checkpoints. This may be the most secure place on earth.

Monday January 12th 2009

WHO'S HOUSE???

House arrest. What a funny form of punishment to some who may have committed very serious crimes. Today accused Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff will remain free on bail - but still under house arrest - after a judge denied prosecutors' request to jail him because he gave relatives more than $1 million worth of watches and other items in a possible bid to hide assets. This means "The Ponz" will be allowed to remain in his $7 million Upper East Side penthouse while he awaits trial on a fraud charge. Sounds pretty schwanky if you ask me.Madoff will be spared having to spend his days and nights in a dreary Manhattan lockup that has been home to terrorists, mobsters like John Gotti and range of other criminals who have gone through the Manhattan system over the years.Now I realize that everyone is entitled to some sort of bail and if the judge doesn't deem Madoff to be a flight risk he is allowed to return to his life of luxury. That being said the term "house arrest" in this situation is sickening.