<root>
  <fields>
    <field_abc>
      <name>field_abc</name>
      <value>1</value>
      <enabled>true</enabled>
    </field_abc>
  </fields>
  <fields>
    <field_def>
      <name>field_def</name>
      <value>2</value>
      <enabled>false</enabled>
    </field_def>
  </fields>
</root>

Note how all the nodes under /root/fields are named after the field name, rather than each node being named <field>. So I can’t just ask for all the nodes named field or all the field nodes in the fields collection, and I don’t know what the field names are or how many there are either.

I can’t easily change the format of the XML to conform to a schema since this table has been in production for a few years on a few dozen Oracle instances.

So how can I query and/or loop through all the children in the /root/fields path without knowing the child node names? It turns out to be fairly easy!

Example Query:

SELECT EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE (xml), '*/name') AS "name",
       EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE (xml), '*/value') AS "value",
       EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE (xml), '*/enabled') AS "enabled"
  FROM my_table_with_xml tbl,
       TABLE (XMLSEQUENCE (EXTRACT (tbl.xml_type_col, '/root/fields/*'))) xml
 WHERE tbl.primary_key = 1234;

Example Output:

name        value   enabled
---------------------------
field_abc   1       true
field_def   2       false

The trick is this line:

TABLE (XMLSEQUENCE (EXTRACT (tbl.xml_type_col, '/root/fields/*')))

What we do is we EXTRACT() all the nodes below the /root/fields path regardless of their names (* wildcard). Then XMLSEQUENCE() will split the extracted nodes into a VARRAY of XMLTypes. Finally, the TABLE() function allows us to query the VARRAY results by converting the multiple array values into a pseudo table containing multiple rows.

We could even apply a WHERE clause against the XML data to further restrict the results:

Example Query:

SELECT EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE (xml), '*/name') AS "name",
       EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE (xml), '*/value') AS "value",
       EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE (xml), '*/enabled') AS "enabled"
  FROM my_table_with_xml tbl,
       TABLE (XMLSEQUENCE (EXTRACT (tbl.xml_type_col, '/root/fields/*'))) xml
 WHERE tbl.primary_key = 1234
   AND EXTRACTVALUE (VALUE(xml), '*/enabled') = 'true';

I love how this video challenged my expectations and turned out to be the opposite of what I would describe as a ‘normal’ music video. Instead of actors (or the band) lip syncing along to the original audio of the song, the actors in this video are actually overdubbed so you can hear them singing the song. It’s a totally different song when sung by children; I think I might like the music video version more than the original! Very cool idea.

After listening to their streaming tracks I was very impressed! Their music reminds me of so many different genres and artists at the same time. So I joined their mailing list and they emailed me some selected tracks:

• Bolsheviks – reminds me of Mars Volta + Mr. Bungle + Bjork + Opeth
• Hey – reminds me of… Fantômas + Bjork + Tori Amos + Broken Social Scene
• Must Get Laid – reminds me of Mr. Bungle + Goldfrapp
• Zoo – reminds me of Mew + Metric with hints of Coheed and Cambria, but mostly of Electric Turn To Me (I really wish they hadn’t broken up a few years back!)
• Sunshine – VERY Mars Volta like + Fantômas + Coheed and Cambria
• Army of Me (Bjork Cover) – Whoa.. I mean.. “WOW!!!” Definitely check out the video to see for yourself.

OK, so the music is good, I’m digging this new find so far… then I decided to check out their music videos… WOW, now I’m totally blown away! You MUST check out their awesome music videos! “Lose This Child” and “Hey” are both extremely impressive videos but I especially like the video for “Attractive” – a soft, delicate song with a video that seems like it could have been inspired by Little Big Planet.

That took care of our primary goal, but what about my secondary goals? I wanted to include some of my favourite music! This was our day after all! What could I do without turning into Groom-zilla on our DJ (or my wife)? I toyed with the idea of giving a few favourite band names to Drew to see what he’d come up with, but as I typed out some of my ideas I quickly realized that I had too many opinions; that I’m too picky; that I really had to build some sort of playlist myself and pass it on in it’s entirety.

I had a great idea: during the time between the ceremony and dinner (roughly 1.5 to 2 hours) while we’re off taking photos and the bar is just opening up why not share some of my musical selections with our guests as they mingle? I didn’t mind that I wouldn’t be able to hear most of these songs because I knew them all by heart and I’d always have the playlist to listen to whenever I felt like it. That sounds like an easy task right, an hour or two of celebration music to psych up our guests while they’re waiting for us?

Well, the playlist grew, and grew, and grew… and soon the scope of my little project included music to play during dinner as well. I was worried that Drew would feel that I was stepping on his toes, but luckily he was ok with it, he actually complimented my taste in music! His real job for the day would begin after dinner and go into the wee hours of the morning, so really, I was doing him a favour – he could sit back and relax for the first few hours!

I took inspiration from many sources, including the CBC Radio 3 Wedding Bell’s Podcast long time personal favourite artists and tracks and of course songs that had a personal meaning behind them. I tried to group the songs such that more modern, fun and upbeat songs would play earlier when the guests were arriving, getting their first drinks and mingling in the sun. Then in the middle section when we would be arriving at the reception I chose songs with some personal meaning behind them, then later in the mix some of the more quieter and romantically themed songs would come on while guests were eating.

Here it is, my wedding playlist:

1. Broken Social Scene – Forced to Love
2. Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
3. Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes
4. You Say Party! – Laura Palmer’s Prom
5. The New Pornographers – Go Places
6. Stars – Fixed
7. Sia – Under the Milky Way (The Church Cover)
8. The Tragically Hip – Flamenco
9. Zero 7 – Somersault
10. Cary Brothers – Blue Eyes
11. The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris
12. Young and Sexy – Life Through One Speaker
13. Bonnie Somerville – Winding Road
14. The Apples In Stereo – Nobody But You
15. Big Star – I’m In Love With A Girl
16. Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
17. Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight
18. Collective Soul – The World I Know
19. The Goo Goo Dolls – Let Love In
20. The New Pornographers – We End Up Together
21. The Shins – New Slang
22. Royal Wood – I’m So Glad
23. Lamb – Gorecki
24. Metric – Love Is a Place
25. Hannah Georgas – This Is Good
26. Stars – My Favourite Book
27. David Myles – Run Away
28. Jason Mraz – Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat)
29. Sarah Harmer – Open Window (the Wedding Song)
30. Hawksley Workman – Oh You Delicate Heart
31. Constantines & Feist – Islands In the Stream
32. Patrick Brealey & the Knives – How Would You Choose to Be Loved?
33. Hannah Georgas – Shine
34. Jill Barber – Chances

You’re probably wondering what the grand finale was, the song that rose above all others and was selected to be the soundtrack for our first dance. This was a tough choice, there were many contenders, but in the end we chose Celebrate by Rose Cousins. It was wonderful and amazing; everyone loved it!

I hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I do.

I was listening to their incredible 2007 album In Our Bedroom After The War while driving on the highway the other night and a few thoughts went through my mind:

• This is my favourite Stars album. I hadn’t listened to it for a while so it immediately felt like I was connecting with an old friend. Newer releases always bump the older ones out of the CD wallet in my car but I wish I had never taken this one out.
• This is an excellent CD to listen to while driving! With a wide variety of beats and melodies you can listen to it loud or soft, whether you’re alone with the stereo cranked up or listening to it in the background while having a conversation.
• My favourite song on the album is the second track The Night Starts Here. It’s a beautiful male/female duet that starts out light and dreamy but ends in an epic bass driven alt-pop orchestra – I love it!
• I enjoy whistling along to most of the songs on this album when I’m alone. I didn’t really realize I was doing this at first, it just felt natural.
• I think this would be a fun album to sing along to… especially the duets.
• This album is upbeat enough to keep you awake yet smooth and calming enough to prevent road rage and traffic frustrations from making my drive unpleasant.

In conclusion, this album is wonderful and it deserves more attention, go listen to it right now!

You get the picture, I enjoy and value music in my life! Maybe it’s because I respect musicians so much. I have never played any instruments with a measurable proficiency myself so I look up to those who are experts in their craft. Now that I think about it, really, I look up to anyone who is an expert in their craft.

Another reason I love music so much is that it is one of few asynchronous activities I can do. For example, I can listen to music while working, cooking, exercising, reading, etc. It’s not so easy to cook while exercising, or to read a book while riding a bike, etc! So, because music is so important to me I would like to share some of my personal favorite artists and tracks. Once in a while I will publish some of my playlists on this blog under the Music category. Stay tuned!

I am pleased to be joining the (Athletics Canada) team and am truly excited about bringing my experience to the fold in continuing to assist in the development of Canadian Officials to be the best in the World.

This is why I’ve started this blog. So I can say what I want to say. So I can be proud of who I am and stand up for the thoughts and opinions I have. So I can help spread interesting information and promote new ideas. So I can connect my network of projects, hobbies, interests, peers, beliefs and opinions together under a single personal website. So I can help people better understand who I am and what I stand for.

I hope this will benefit me by activating parts of my brain that are usually on auto pilot. It’s time for me to put more effort in. It’s time for me to make my future what I want it to be. I’d like to invite you to subscribe to this blog, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on LinkedIn. Let’s see what happens next!