FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH with Blake Melnick

Send us Fan Mail

We are all acutely aware of the stark polarization in our world; We have begun to lose faith In our political, social and economic systems. Our belief that our democracy can provide adequately for our citizens, is fraying at the edges.

We have lost the art of open minded discourse and it would seem that we no longer value perspectives different from our own - Cancel culture, negative labelling; distortion of the truth has prevented all voices from being heard and has splintered our citizenry around political lines

What if, instead of fighting and trying to prove the illegitimacy of each other’s political opinions, diverse groups of citizens came together to envision and then create the kind of democratic system we all  want? is that even possible?

My guest for the next episode of #ForWhatitsWorthwithBlakeMelnick and our series, #TheManyFacesofInnovation  week is Dr. Ruth Backstrom, author, speaker, and acclaimed educator who is an expert in facilitation methods that foster deeper conversations.

Dr. Backstrom's new book, IGNITING A BOLD NEW DEMOCRACY: Empowering Citizens Through Game-Changing Reforms, seeks to address this question,using historical events, policy and specific legislation to trace how we arrived at our current state and then provides us with a way forward …For What it’s Worth

The music for this episode, "How Come I Gotta" is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on #ForWhatitsWorthwithBlakeMelnick and our #ManyFacesofInnovation series, is part 2 of #EntrainmentandPowerofSound, with my guest @TomPowers. 

In part one, Tom explained the Theory of Entrainment and his “aha!” moment when he realized that something in music had changed post 1995.

We had inadvertently lost the natural  interpersonal musical entrainment, which occurs between artists and their music and their audience as a result of the mass adoption of digital technology. Tom's prior experience as a recording engineer came into play as he began to advance his hypothesis.

Could we bring back entrainment using the very technology that was responsible for its demise? And in doing so, also create new possibilities and opportunities to apply what he was learning to advance knowledge in other fields of endeavour… For what it's worth.

Entrainment & the Power of Sound Blog post

The music for this episode, "Bible Thumpin' Sundays" is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron and the Louisiana Snowblowers.

You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on #ForWhatitsWorthwithBlakeMelnick, the next instalment of our #TheManyFacesofInnovation series, called #EntrainmentandthePowerofSound with my guest @TomPowers.

In this episode, Tom explains the concept of #Entrainment - the natural synchronization that occurs in the mechanical world; the biological world; the social world and between musicians and their audience.

Entrainment is natural ....and it is something that we've inadvertently lost as a result of the over use of digital technologies in the production of music...Tom has created the means for bringing it back using the very technologies that caused its demise...For What it's Worth

The music for this episode, "Doctor  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on #ForWhatItsWorthwithBlakeMelnick, part of our Many Faces of Innovation series with my guest, Stephen Cohos from #EntuitiveEngineering in Calgary, Alberta. 

In part one of our interview, Stephen and I discussed Entuitive's innovation ecosystem, their goals and objectives for trying to create a culture of innovation in their workplace.

In this episode, Stephen and I zero in on some of the success stories, the things that have worked really well, the "ah ha" moments that have happened as a result of this drive to create an employee led culture of innovation at the Company... For What it's Worth.

Link to Episode Blog Post

The music for this episode, "High Water"  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on #ForWhatItsWorthwithBlakeMelnick, the next instalment in our series, #TheManyFacesofInnovation, we focus on innovation at the organizational level.

For those of you new to the series, here's a bit of a recap. #TheManyFacesofInnovation Series is designed to make innovation more understandable, accessible, and actionable to both individuals and organizations alike.

In our first two episodes of the series this season, we profiled the ground-breaking research of Dr. Terry Soleas from Queens University around what motivates people to want to innovate, and conversely, why do some people struggle with it? And if we can understand this dynamic, then it's possible to design conditions that allow innovation capability to take hold, both for individuals and within organizations

We're doing this through the telling of stories of innovators across multiple fields of endeavour and their innovation journey's and the lessons they've learned along the way

In this two-part episode, we're going to hear the story of a young engineer who joined a firm in Calgary, Alberta five years ago, and has quickly  become a catalyst for innovation at his firm ...For What it's Worth

Link to Episode Blog Post

The music for this episode, "High Water"  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Well, Happy New Year and welcome to this week's episode of #ForWhatIt'sWorthwithBlakeMelnick. This is part two of our episode, #UnderstandingthMotivationtoInnovate with my guest, #Dr.TerrySoleas from #QueensUniversity. Dr. Soleas's seminal research on the factors which motivate people to innovate is key to making innovation more understandable, accessible, and actionable to individuals and organizations alike.

We need to resist thinking about innovation as the preserve of geniuses, and we need to avoid lionizing individuals and giving them singular attribution for large scale innovations and inventions. We need to begin to focus on the process of innovation as a collaborative knowledge building effort to address complex social challenges.

In part one, Dr. Soleas and I attempted to clarify the difference between invention and innovation. We discussed his personal motivations behind his research, the desire for social justice to ensure that those who have the drive to innovate are able to do so. In part two, we explore the dimension of cost and and expectancies from and motivations for innovation, as well as the design considerations which formed the basis for his research ...for what it's worth.

Link to Episode Blog Post

The music for this episode, "How Come I Gotta"  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of #ForWhatitsWorthwithBlakeMelnick, the #MotivationstoInnovate, my guest is #DrTerrySoleas from #QueensUniversity in Kingston Ontario. Terry and I discuss #Innovation, Invention and the difference between the two. We share stories and insights about innovation with the collective goal of making innovation more understandable, accessible and actionable to individuals and organizations alike ...For What it's Worth

Link to Episode Blog Post

The music for this episode, "Queen of Queen's"  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

This week on #ForWhatitsWorthwithBlakeMelnick, the season 4 trailer for our series, #TheManyFacesofInnovation, #EmployeeLedWorkplaceInnovationand theQualityofWork, where we speak with innovators from across multiple fields of endeavour to hear about their innovation journey and through their stories, seek to better understand how to unlock  and support Innovation dynamic within yourself and your organization regardless of its nature or size ...For What it's Worth

The music for this episode, "High Water"  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, #DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

 This week on  #ForWhatItsWorthwithBlakeMelnick an episode of #TheSpaceinBetween  called #LittleFeatAG.

As our listeners know, we've been doing a fairly deep dive into the music of Little Feat. I had a great interview with Mr. Bill Payne, co-founder and pianist for the band, and during that interview we  discussed the need to encourage new listeners to Little Feat. What came out of the interviews, both with Bill and with some of the fans on the street before their show in Seattle this past summer was Little Feat fans are a little bit stuck in the past.

For many hardcore Little Feat fans, the band essentially ended with the death of Lowell George in 1979. And yet the band has continued to evolve and progress and introduce new musical stylings along with a range of new vocalists following the death of Lowell George over 40 years ago.

In this episode we're going to take you on a interactive musical journey into the music of Little Feat A.G.  We've created a public Spotify playlist with all the songs that we discuss in this episode.

In the show information  we've put chapter markers for each of the records  we discuss. If you want to listen to part of the episode and then listen to a couple of songs from a particular record and then flip back again and listen to the interview, you can use the markers for each record in the show notes and get right back to where you left off.

Two of the records we talk about, "Shake Me Up" and "Kick'n it at the Barn" are currently unavailable on Spotify, but we are working on another way to let you here them. Once we've got that altogether we will update the show notes, the show blog and our FB Group page with the links, so make sure you check back in a few days.

Note: Not all listening channels allow for "chapters" but for sure our podcast site https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com does, as does Apple Podcasts

Link to the Episode Spotify Playlist

Missing Links

Links to songs we discussed that are not available on Spotify

• Bill's River Blues on Kick'n it at the Barn
• Stomp on Kick'n it at the Barn 
• Shake Me Up
• Clownin'
• Boom Box Car

Link to Blog post

Click HERE to purchase a signed copy of Moments in Time by Tom Locke

And if you like the show, please share it out , and consider making a small donation to the cause by buying us a coffee, using the Support the Show link

Music from this episode is Sailing Shoes by #LittleFeat was recorded live at the historic #MooreTheatre in Seattle Washington in Aug. 2022

A special thanks to @DennisMcNally and @BillPayne for their generosity of spirit and time without which this episode, and the ones that preceded it, would not have been possible ...Hanging on to the Good Times! - Thank you Amigos!

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to this week's episode of #ForWhatItsWorthwithBlakeMelnick, part 2 of my interview, #StraightfromtheHeart with my guest, the great #BillPayne from #LittleFeet.

In part one, Bill and I discussed the recent tour, his early musical influences, the renewed power of music in our tumultuous times, and his short lived career as a drummer

In this episode, Bill and I pick up from where we left off and do a deep dive into the art and craft of songwriting, the growth of the band, the joy of playing together, the importance of legacy as part of the evolution of the band, and what's next for #LittleFeet ...For What it's Worth.

Link to Blog post

Click HERE to purchase a signed copy of Moments in Time by Tom Locke

And if you like the show, please share it out , and consider making a small donation to the cause by buying us a coffee, using the Support the Show link

The intro music for this episode, "Bible Thumping Sundays"  is written and performed by our current artist in residence, @DouglasCameron. You can find out more about Douglas by visiting our show blog and by listening to our episode, #TheOldGuitar

Music following the show break and concluding the episode is by #LittleFeat recorded live at the historic #MooreTheatre in Seattle Washington.

A special thanks to @DennisMcNally and @BillPayne for their generosity of spirit and time without which this episode, and the ones that follow, would not have been possible ...Hanging on to the Good Times! - Thank you Amigos!

Support the show

review us on Podchaser
Show website - https://fwiw.buzzsprout.com
Follow us on:
Show Blog
Face Book
Instagram:
Support us
Email us: [email protected]