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December 2005 »
It's Wednesday November the 30 around 8:15PM and
Ready? Set. Let's go:
*Craiglist post about B.C. Finance minister (and cover girl & #5 on the Vancouver Magazine Power 50) Carole Taylor is just too good to be true: "Smoking hot...great librarian look. She makes Carol James look-a-like-a-man-a."
*Watching the Conservatives in any election is so much fun, isn't it? Five Reason for saying that, just today: 1. MP James Moore is being challenged in his riding by an old member of the local constituency association who doesn't like Moore's thumbs up to same sex marriage. 2. Three men now in the running to replace the stink of MP Gurmant Grewal (bonus points to formal failed Liberal Shinder Purewal!) 3. Conservative website being programmed by someone to left of Matthew Good (Bonus points for it looking like the Republican's website) 4. Two words: Jason Kenny. (And yes, he was much cooler when he was fat.) 5. Seriously, the Conservative secret weapon, Rona Ambrose, doesn't have her website up. What up yo? (we're we not totally preparing for this for like 17-months? Hello? Bueller?)
*The Hottest thing in the election thus far? The Liberal Party blog. No, that's not a joke. Wink.
*This makes no sense to us. The first debate is set for"Vancouver, [and] will be broadcast Dec. 15 in French and the following day in English. Each will be broadcast between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST and include videotaped questions for the leaders from voters across the country." On the other hand, more Gilles Duceppe.
*Unintentionally hilarious: The Green Party signs made of plastic?
It's Wednesday November the 30 around 7:27PM and
Wow. The new
Vancouver Magazine is out with it's Power 50 list (yes Vancouverites, revel in our Gordo overlord once again). But then in the middle of the spread is an article about
Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, calling him "A God". Okay, he wasn't really on the power list, but they do say that Chad Kroeger is, "the most famous and culturally powerful Vancouverite in existence today."
Wow. I think we just passed out, or threw up in our mouths a little bit. Writer Mathew Mallon goes on with his love letter to Chad, "To our deluded selves we may be elegantly coiffed latte-sippers perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in our century-defining-city-but Chad knows what [Bruce] Allen knew; that thousands and millions and billions of world citizens view as the land where the mullet never died..."
Don't you feel like Luke Skywalker at the end of Empire? "No. No. It's not true. That's impossible." What a nightmare.
Vancouver Media Fun Quiz: How many days will it take for Vancouver Magazine to update thier website with the new cover? Mmmmm....
It's Tuesday November the 29 around 11:46PM and
Our
Metro Blogging buddies found this absolutely amazing
David Suzuki My Space site. Stop the presses! We won't even question it's legitamacy. At all - not fun and we don't even care. But the irony of the banner ad for "Live and Work in the USA" was so hilarious we just had to blog this.
Serious bonus points must be given to both the Canadian anthem playing non stop and the sassy cheesecake photos of Bruno Gerussi and Pat Mastroianni. Kevin Smith would have a heart attack even thinking about the young nubile Joey Jeremiah. Yes, we just went there.
Yahtzee! We could hardly care if this a fake. It's so amazing, it totally has to be true.
It's Tuesday November the 29 around 11:38PM and
Thank the maker. All is right with the world and the Canucks didn't even play today. Jennifer Good, er "Agent J", is talking about opening a fun lingerie store. "I’ve decided that we are in dire need of a decent lingerie store here in Vancouver," says Jenny. "Not a normal lingerie store like La Senza or La vie, nah those are fine for what they are, but a 'fun' one."
For the love of god, can somebody hook this up please, pronto. Thanks. We're looking at you Mr. Good.
It's Tuesday November the 29 around 7:54AM and
We found this pretty hilarious this moring. Jonah Goldberg writing about the new Peter Jackson King Kong movie:
"But explain to me one thing. A bunch of explorers go to an island. They find a giant gorilla. That's cool. But they also find dinosaurs. They go crazy for the giant gorilla -- which is totally legit. But they're completely nonchalant about the dinosaurs. "Ho, hum, found a T-rex zzzzzz....But did you see that monkey!?!""
It's Tuesday November the 29 around 7:43AM and
Signs of impending doom are everywhere today. Warren Kinsella is predicting a Conservative minority, it's snowing in Vancouver, Mount St. Helens is quietly erupting, the Rolling Stones are playing the Super Bowl and if the Canucks don't win soon I fear we won't have a very happy Jenny Good. That is all.
It's Monday November the 28 around 11:07PM and
We didn't get to see the papers today until now. But it seems to us that 24 Hours really loves guns, since they featured this story,
"Guns barreling North Vancouver" on the cover rather than the Grey Cup frivolity. It's an interesting choice for a paper like this. Who knew:
It's lunchtime at the family-run PHo 66 Vietnamese restaurant on Kingsway and the place is bustling. Service is friendly, and a smiling waiter drops off a bowl of noodle soup along with a plate of stir-fried prawns, then quickly melts back into the kitchen.
It's a typical lunch rush, and the buzz in the restaurant probably compares to that of a month ago, just before a gunman in his 20s walked in and opened fire on two Indo-Canadian gang members who happened to be eating there.
Now of course they are talking about illegal guns, but with some quick Google fun, you get the idea that Vancouver likes it some fire arms. But it is an interesting story nevertheless.
It's Monday November the 28 around 10:17PM and
So we watched the big ticket CBC movie
Intelligence tonight. It is kind of smaller scale traffic with perhaps not enough storylines. The more the merrier, actually. But it certainly did its job well, and made the most out of the subject matter. The main character on the crime side Jimmy Reardon (Is there any connection to the 1988 River Phoenix film
"A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon") is a Tony Soprano-esque worrier who isn't totally comforatable in his place in the world - but aren't all drug kingpins. But that always helps when the show calls for dirty work endings - that they pull off with no problem or remorse whatsoever.
The musical score choice - with just a slight hint of a middle eastern vibe - was a nice surprise and fits in well with the darkness of the story and the setting of Vancouver. The main characters were well played, although some of the lessor ones - Reardon's brother for instance - could have been better served with some better motivations. Overall, they should probably make this into a series - although a suggestion might be to do it Soprano style and blow it up larger for maybe 10 episodes a season, rather than more and spend more money on it. It was also nice not to have a show end, OC style, in a music video montage of all the characters to say Death Cab For Cutie or something more Vancouver. In the words of Matt Stone and Trey Parker In Team America:
The hour's approaching to give it your best / And you've got to reach your prime / That's when you need to put yourself to the test / And show us the passage of time / We're gonna need a montage / Ooh, it takes a montage / Show a lot of things happening at once / Remind everyone of what's going on / In every shot, show a little improvement / To show it all would take too long / That's called a montage / Girl, we want a montage / In anything, if you want to go / From just a beginner to a pro / You need a montage / Even Rocky had a montage / Always fade out in a montage / If you fade out it seems like more time has passed in a montage...
Oh, and last but not least. The show may also benefit from the whole "Fat Clooney" adventures with Syriana, set to open up in the next few weeks. (Completely unrelated, if you look closely on the Syriana website the first review pull quote is from Ain't it Cool News, not some big media company. Interesting. Oh and they have an interesting podcast).
It's Monday November the 28 around 6:04PM and
We couldn't help but notice that during the
171-133 no-confidence vote this afternoon there were some amazing high fives going on on the liberal benches as thier govenment waas being toppled. The back bench in particular there was some pretty amazing ones. And Paul Martin then gave some high fives of his own in the wake of his speech. This probably rivals what
Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross said after Martha Stewart's Apprentice show was cancelled, "Donald Trump and George Ross just took part in history's most painfully awkward old-white-guy high five."
Nope. Paul Martin just took that title. Let the campaign games begin.
It's Monday November the 28 around 2:56PM and
Just how bad were the Black Eyed Peas during the Grey Cup half time show yesterday? Well, it took us almost 24 hours to digest just how bad. Worst. Halftime. Show. Ever.
Well, it could have been so much better, if only Fergie had actually fallen down - which she nearly did during one song. Fergie is so classy isn't she? How is it exactly that they are Canada's #1 band anyway. We really like how Darren Barefoot describes the band: "On a related note, I see that the Black Eyed Peas’ corporate whoredom continues." Indeed.
It's Sunday November the 27 around 2:05PM and
It is interesting see that during this weekend's NDP Celebration 2005 fundraiser the lefty kids noshed on Memphis Blues Barbeque meats (how delicious is that stuff.) Oh, the irony of American imperialism hanging over the NDP convention is just too much isn't it. How delicious.
Public Eye Online has the details on the event and the special royal guest there strickly for the medicinal purposes as it were.
It's Sunday November the 27 around 11:52AM and
COLD WAR ROCK
Can you believe that this excellent box set even exists?
Atomic Platters: Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security. Johnny Cash civil defense spots, songs about uranium and Krushchev. It's almost too good to be true.
DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE MOOM, ALICE?
Coudal Partners, the chicago based design firm, has developed the Museum of Online Musuems. Huh? This is a collection of the wonderful things in museums, especially the cool factor of current shows - which send you around the web to say, a collection of Blue Note album covers, a collection of vintage American Steel and Coal Advertising, or maybe even Matchbox cars of the 1970's.
SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES RIPOFF SECTION
Since we don't have a great paper on Sunday's in this country, we read papers that do. The New York Times Sunday is utter joy. And yes, that is smug. Who knew that Matt Pond PA didn't even live in Philadelphia or Pennsylvannia at all, but in New York (Matt Pond). We like where chess is going with thier new focus on cute chess girls. Smart and Sexy, check mate. And because we love suits so much, learning about a new Wall St. blog, Under the Counter, is way cool.
REFINERY 29 ETC.
This guide to New York's great shops is a very interesting site. As if to confirm the stink of coolness, the site has a handy guide to trendy shops in Paris this week as they explore the Marais area. Speaking of cool, Etsy.com is a beta site for buying and selling handmade things, Ebay style.
WORTH WATCHING
There are some great things to watch this weekend. For starters director
Neill Blomkamp's Alive in Joburg short is worth the download. He directed the Citreon Transformer ad you've probably all seen. This time it's sort of a creepy Alien Nation takes over South Africa kind of thing. (Via
Drawn! who says this is "what War of the Worlds should have been like."). And we can't stop watching the
Sony Bravia commercial, that News Today reminds us to watch again. So we did. And now there is a lot of
behind the scenes stuff, which is amazing. Oh, and if you can bear to watch it
Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning is an insane parody of Star Trek that
Screenhead describes like this: "Star Wreck may be a fan film, but it could well be the Citizen Kane of fan films… well, if Orson Wells was funny, and from Finland."
It's Saturday November the 26 around 8:59PM and
Over at the Shotgun there is a post worth reading. It would seem that the Conservatives, simply not satisfied that they are completely unready for governing this country thought it might be fun if they got explosive former local Rachel Marsden to run as a candidate against Jack Layton in Toronto Danforth. Kevin Libin writes this mind blowing bit of political news:
I was probably one of the 10 non-socialists that did. It's full of CBC journalists, public school teachers, gay and lesbian couples and immigrants who came over 30 years ago but still think they owe Trudeau a favour for it. The Tories wouldn't stand a chance in that riding if Shania Twain was their candidate. But sticking a loose cannon who revels in making obnoxious comments about gays and Muslims, smack dab in the backyard of the Toronto media would not only earn the Conservatives no points in that riding, but would almost certainly ruin their campaign nationally.
So even the Consertives thought twice about this extremly bad idea and they decided against it. Shorter Election Theme of the Day: Charlie Brown meet Lucy. Good Grief.
It's Saturday November the 26 around 7:51PM and
We are pretty lapse followers of The Canucks at best, so we are trying to keep up with them for our readers. Jeff and Alanah at
Vancouver Caunucks Op Ed is a good place for Canucks news. Tonight they have the goods on the unintentionally hilarious public exchange of words between
Todd Bertuzzi and Dick Pound.
Bertuzzi's quote is totally hilarious: "Who's Dick Pound? Tell him to come in our dressing room with our shirts off and we'll see how performance enhanced we are. Tell him he can come hang out with me and see my workout. Trust me, we're not [using steroids]."
Oh my that is so awesome (Oddsnark has more commentary). PS: Thank god for Canucks Op Ed, since there are websites out there like this: The Canuckfanatic's World which are hurting both my eyes and ears. Oh and there are trade rumors about Bertuzzi too.
More: Here's tonight's GLOG at Canucks.com.
It's Saturday November the 26 around 6:48PM and
"Paparazzi Pam" photographs from our own Vancouverite Correspondent Dan Hirner who actually dared to go into the circus of downtown. But we ask, what gives with the unbelievably massive sun glasses Pam? 100,000 showed up for the big parade and Pam "thrilled crowds" all along the route claims the press release. You can watch it from the safety of your own home 10:00am before the big game tomorow.
It's Saturday November the 26 around 2:56PM and
We were reading the latest
BC Business magazine and there was a pretty interesting article about
Cupcakes by Heather and Lori. The idea of a store dedicated to the selling of cupcakes is amazing on its front. Not to belittle the idea, as we have always believed that the cup cake is the superior, more cool, older brother of the muffin - since muffins are really bad cupcakes without icing aren't they?
"Through hard work (12 to 14 hours a day), some astute marketing alliances adn lots of persistent promotion that included personal delivery of cupcakes to anyboyd in Vancouver who had even a passing connection with the media, Cupcakes has grown to the point where it now employs 18 people and is approaching the sweet mark of $1 million a year in revenue."
Holy crap. $1 million in cupcakes? Damn, we're in the wrong business with this blog aren't we. And we imagine that with sugar and flour the profit margin has to be pretty good too.
More on these cupcake babes: BC Business & W Network.
It's Saturday November the 26 around 2:16PM and
This week's Georgia Straight is another rather delicious bit of amusement. The cover seems nearly identical to last weeks, except no cultural Icon, Gwen Stefani, this time. But here are five things we found totally fun in this week's pages of The Straight:
5. The Ginch Gonch single of the week feature. This week it is Alastair. This is all you need to know: "IF YOU COULD HAVE A DINNER PARTY AND INVITE ANY FOUR PEOPLE, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO'D BE COMING?
Socrates, Rob Zombie, Leonardo Da Vinci and Jesus." No comment really needed is there. PS: Who would really wear anything called Ginch Gonch anyway?
4. Charlie Smith's straight talk on Gail Davidson's case against George W. Bush in Vancouver court. That is so adorable.
3. Shameless love for Gwenny. The headliner for the review of last week's concert is laughably, "Stefani leaves no doubt that she's amazing."
2. Make your own hilarious post election headline: "COPE politicians say they'll stay the course."
1. Profile of NDP candidate for Esquimalt - Juan de Fuca, Randall Garrison. Especially this part: "The problem is a debilitating legacy within the NDP, and within the left in Canada, generally, that has resulted in a kind of political and cultural illiteracy about military policy."
It's Saturday November the 26 around 1:12PM and
Monday night will be the premier of the new Chris Haddock penned tv movie/pilot/series
"Intelligence" on the CBC. We saw a few somewhat interesting print ads last week - enough to make us type in the url. Only to be totally disapointed by the quality of the website or maybe it was simply because I saw that one of the stars was Matt Frewer (Max Head Room, really?). And the trailers and clips don't seem to work very well either, so it's hard to see what it will look like.
The premise sounds a little bit forced, but if anyone can do it, maybe Haddock can. "The movie is a fictionalized version of present day Canadian criminal and intelligence realities," says Haddock. Well, we'll be the judge of that. Review of the show coming Monday night.
It's Saturday November the 26 around 1:00PM and
Nice to hear in late 2005 that the Olympic games is going to have increasing capital costs - as much as 40 - 50 per cent more than anticipated. According to the Canadian Press, "The organizing committee — know as VANOC — is worried about future labour availability and the cost of key materials such as steel and concrete as it tenders the major contracts starting for Vancouver and Whistler venues next spring."
They organizing committee has dealt with this by altering the designs of some of the projects and saving a full $85 million.
More: Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun.
It's Saturday November the 26 around 12:21PM and
Well we are about 24 hours away from the
93rd Grey Cup. We have some Vancouverites that aren't really enjoying the excitement and the party that has come along with it. Sure some people are bitter that the B.C. Lions choked again and aren't in the game, again.
Mostly our sources liken the core of the city as being more like the Cloverdale rodeo with guys in terrible large cowboy hats or other ridiculous fanwear "walking around with cans of pilsner in their hands." Then again, that's kind of how you'd expect people that live in Yale Town to act when being overrun like that. The Province told us to play nice: "And to the fabulous citizens of the Lower Mainland: Be good to our visitors. Try not to be too smug about the tee time you have booked next week. Be patient. And, most importantly, when you are asked for the hundredth time "which way to the beer tent," tolerantly smile and point our guest in the right direction."
Smug? Like that is a problem and thanks but we'll keep our smugness and pretentions thank you very much. Pete McMartin calls this a chance for Vancouverites to enjoy a "cultural field trip". Come on. I was at the Granville Room last night and it was like a three hour parade of large foam cowboy hats and guys who looked like they were ready to be shot out of a cannon.
You can find out where the events are here.
It's Friday November the 25 around 4:47PM and
We're still a little broken up about the whole Pat Morita passing away business and that is our excuse about the lack of blogging.
It's Wednesday November the 23 around 10:31PM and
*Thank the maker for the return of
Cindy Crawford. She makes a return to the model spotlight on the new cover of
Maxim. We just happened to fall in love with the article title:
"Still Cindy: Like a fine wine of Andy Rooney, fashion's first lady just gets better with time."
*Well, the mighty Gawker Empire has annouces the first casualty, with the canceling of Oddjack. Apparently gamblers don't know how to read. Nick Denton takes it in stride too, "Blog titles are like new TV shows. Some make it; some don't. Oddjack, Gawker Media's gambling site, was one of the ones that didn't. And it's best to cancel the show sooner rather than later." We hope the often hilarious and quite snarky in his own right A.J. Daulerio finds another blog gig soon. You see what can happen here kids?
*Speaking of cancelations. Alias is done. What are we supposed to say about this? Truthfully we are surprised it even limped into this season what with Jennifer's bun in the oven and relationship with buzzkill Ben Affleck.
*We take back anything we ever thought that might have been remotely critical of Wil Wheaton or poker or online poker or even spelling his name with two l's. We're so done with that. Mostly because this sweater is so amazing we can't even deal with it.
It's Wednesday November the 23 around 8:42PM and
It is amazing how boring talking about weather is. When it is the rain, we talk about how it will never stop. But then it is fog, and we stop talking about the rain.
Beyond Robson calls fog, "The New Rain", Metroblog says it is like a "bad vampire movie", and over at Urban Vancouver, they haven't seen this much fog since 1998. We have nothing to add, other than this. Weather blogging is pretty boring. Somebody had to say it.
It's Wednesday November the 23 around 8:22PM and
We are a little jealous of Craig Wong's over at My Dinner Table. He went to, and has a short but mememorable review of, the night with Neil Wyles and Marley Wines at the Hamilton Street Grill. "The power outage to start the evening was sort of a twist, but Neil didn't miss a step and dinner carried on. The highlight of the Marley Wines for me was the Pinot Noir and for the meal it was the surprise dessert, a deep fried Mars bar."
And speaking of totally awesome autumn foods, Steamrollers is running thier insane turkey burrito again. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberries. And it's in a damned tortilla. They are pretty much the greatest inventions, ever.
It's Wednesday November the 23 around 1:12PM and
Okay. So we thought that with a Canucks game - another victory no less - last night we'd be delighted with some yummy Official Canucks Blogger treats from Jennifer Good. She blogs entry number four but treats us to less Canucky insight and more about blackouts on Granville Street and her dog Little B. "My poor little monkey (who i’ve taken to calling him 'Pucky' as he’s small and black just like a hockey puck) had surgery on his back leg..."
But she is calling her dog Pucky, which is nice.
It's Wednesday November the 23 around 12:58PM and
Micheal Tippett's Now Public is a very cool site about with citizen journalism gone wild and he has some photos and news from a crime scene at 2500 Graveley this morning.
It's Tuesday November the 22 around 10:36PM and
Vanmega has a November mixtape up for listening pleasure - great stuff by the way and mixtapes bring back memories don't they? Now we call them playlists or an iMix. We checked it out and totally went mental for the new
Neil Diamond - then dangerously used out iTunes one-click purchase.
Oh my god Neil's homepage is so amazing with that personal greeting and everything. But nothing compares to his new album, "12 Songs" this week. No wonder he debuted in the top ten for the first time in his career. How much of a little Americana genuis is Rick Rubin? Philadelphia Weekly makes us wonder with this: "Let us now praise Rick Rubin, the burly bearded Buddha-man with a Slayer jones and a hard-on for Donovan's soft underbelly, for he truly is a man for our season."
More: Rolling Stone
It's Tuesday November the 22 around 9:20PM and
Step into the Pear Tree Restaurant and immediately forget that you are across the street from the old North Burnaby Inn. The recent renovations have brought ultra-modern design and funky sophistication to
Vancouver Magazine’s 2005 “Best of the ‘Burbs” restaurant. Chef/Owner Scott Jaeger, matches his bistro’s trendy interior to a tight menu with innovative creations including a delicious lobster cappuccino.
The service is impeccable and very friendly without being over the top. As a bonus the female staff are all very attractive especially the goth-esque bus girl. Appies range from $7 - $15, entrées from $28 – $32, and desserts are $9ish and they are all deliciously worth it. The wine list is also excellent, reasonably priced and included some hard-to-get Okanagan wines including Blue Mountain and Kettle Valley.
Comments from our table included:, “possibly the best beef tenderloin ever”, “possibly the best salmon ever”, and “quite possibly the best lemon-tart ever”. The Pear Tree would definitely not be out of place with the best restaurants in hipper neighbourhoods throughout Vancouver. Maybe when your restaurant is this good you don’t need a website?
The Pear Tree Restaurant, 4120 E. Hastings St. Burnaby. 604-299-2772
This review was graciously researched, written, photographed and eaten by Vancouverite Food & Wine Correspondent Daniel Hirner.
It's Tuesday November the 22 around 6:56PM and
Our post from last night about the impending
Blog War over Vancouver has generated a nice little debate. (Note to staff: graphics featuring nuclear bomb blasts are a winner.) Our friends over at
Metroblogging have a good post recognizing our attitude about playing nice with the other blogs, and calls for us to collectively make fun of CanWest. Done & Done.
Meanwhile, Richard Eriksson over at Urban Vancouver doesn't believe it's a war at all, taking the Jeff Jarvis line that, "blogging is not a battle nor is it a war, but rather it's a conversation." That's a fair point, but just becuase we're in the citizen's media era, doesn't mean that competition has to stop at the url. And what we don't want to do is to drift anywhere near this hopeless direction. Kris Krug, who needs to post more often, says, "but it is is war in that only one site can come up FIRST when you type 'vancouver blog' into google."
At anyrate, all of this is making the Vancouver blog scene a much more fun and lively place. And making fun of the Global Overlords will be good (what evil lies at the Can West Employee Store website for instance- Asper hats?), getting bought out by them (Hi Leonard!) or taking them over (realy? just $10.64/share today) will be even better.
It's Tuesday November the 22 around 6:13PM and
*We saw this ad campaign for AIDS Vancouver when we were having lunch the other day - it was on a coaster at the Fountainhead Pub on Davie. It's another product from our good buddies at
Rethink. Here is the TV ad entitled
"Admiral Winkey" It's all part of a
campaign with the message: "Whatever you call it, thanks for keeping it safe."
*Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is going to jump into the news business promising a new journalist based model that will offer the "wisdom of the masses". This is pretty much the greatest news since the Adidas store hit Granville St. and Jennifer Good discovered the Vancouver Canucks.
"The big issue in the U.S. is that newspapers are afraid to talk truth to power," said Craig. "The White House press corps don't speak the truth to power; they are frightened to lose access they don't have anyway," he said, according to the Guardian newspaper."
*Meanwhile, and just so we are clear about our editorial standards here, we show you the way to our blog crush, Gawker who has endless fun with Kate Moss today in her pre-cocaine and rehab days, "topless, performing some sort of glorious seizure-dance." it's not pretty, but qualifies her to be... Mayor of Vancouver. [Note: After tonight's "My Name is Earl" we would rather have Beau Bridges as our Mayor. We're just saying.)
*Delightfully irresponsible journalism is totally the new black. The Wonkette's headline today, "Bush Drinking Again" is pretty much the best thing we've read since like 9:00 am. "As Daily Kos and other have pointed out, Bush's hat tip to local culture in Mongolia -- drinking fermented yak's milk -- means that the poor guy is drinking. 'Again.'"
*Singing Absolute special holiday bottles? Adrants points out just how great this is.
It's Tuesday November the 22 around 6:03PM and
Wal-Mart is totally in love with the Vancouver election results. So much so that they have gotten thier mojo back and will attemp to apply again to bring the biggest box store of them all to Vancouver.
"We try not to get involved in the political issues, it's not our job," said Wal-Mart Spokesrobot Andrew Pelletier to the CBC. "Our job is to listen to the community and ... put together the [best] absolute proposal for a store on Marine Drive in Vancouver that we can."
It's Tuesday November the 22 around 5:49PM and
This is excellent news. Vision Vancouver is calling for an inquiry about the dualing Mister Greens in the election on November 19th. While Sullivan has denied any wrongdoing, it appears that he asked if he could help James Green out when he was evicted from his office space. But Sullivan's credibility is pretty much debatable since he has a penchant for helping people buy crack and also has a weak spot for prostitutes in need. As Mr. Burns would say, "Excellent." [CBC]
Update: Darren Barefoot commented on this post below that we didn't give you the follow up story or give nearly enough background information on Sullivan's, how shall we put it, 'exotic tastes'. He is absolutely right, we were distracted by all the pretty Kate Moss movie watching, but any additional excuse to post more on Sammy is simply a great idea. More cowbell, as it were. He mentions this backgrounder on the situation from The Courier. We also liked this Bill Tieleman take down in 24 Hours too: "But that's the same Sullivan who is apologizing all over town for giving money to and assisting a drug addict buy and smoke crack in Sullivan's van. The same Sullivan who also gave a prostitute money to buy drugs."
This one at the National Post includes our favorite headline from the election, "Quadriplegic, draft dodger vie for mayor" and is a good backgrounder. Oh, and you shouldn't leave out a nice little Fox News post on a subject like this. But if righty Brit Hume isn't your bag, The Tyee has got you covered.
It's Monday November the 21 around 10:05PM and
Just read this post:
Do you have a 4x4 and would like to do some four wheeling? Are you into eating healthy and would like to fill up a freezer with the best wild (organic) meat? Do you like to hunt or at least are not adverse to the idea of killing your own meat? I am looking for a partner to go deer hunting with before the season closes, i.e. within the next two weeks. It would involve driving for several hours, camping out and spending two days hiking, spotting, stalking and hopefully shooting a buck. We would pool our resources, share the adventure and the meat.
Ah, yes, share the meat.
It's Monday November the 21 around 8:06PM and
Architecture
Palm Springs, what up? Apropos of nothing,
News Today brings to our attention a nice looking, newly reinvented hotel,
"The Parker" Palm Springs. Which is wierd since we were at
Browns on Friday and really enjoyed looking at the photo of
Richard Neutra's "Kaufman House". What sweet joy.
Hollywood Un-North
Set photos from both the insane looking Nacho Libre. Creepy Tom Cruise and the Felicity (Keri Russell) on the set of Mission Impossible 3. The delightful looking Kate Beckinsale and Michelle Rodriguez.
Food & Wine
Waiter Blog writes about Hamilton Street Grill's Marley Farm Winery night: "celebrate the down to earth wines of the Marley Farm Winery (yes, the Bob Marley family!) along with Hamilton Street Grill’s, Executive Chef Neil Wyles, wine-inspired appetizers." Get Jaming December 12th. $20. Damn.
Design, Trends, Etc.
*92 pages of Tyler Durden creepy. The Pink Flyer.
*Industrial Brand Creative. A local Vancouver design studio that blogs some really great stuff.
*The curious tale of the Hurra Torpedo. It's driving Ad Jab insane. Ford Propaganda vs. Insane Norwegian Band? You be the judge.
*Saul Bass's famous "Death Star" logo for AT&T has been updated. Ad Freak has the details.
*The Work Less dude writing at West-Mart recaps the election results by writing about sexing up sustainability. The subhead of a recent Tyee article is awesome: "Because life and death issues can't afford to bore."
It's Monday November the 21 around 6:48PM and
It's nice to see that the BC Liberals got the NDP really drunk and took advantage of them last week when they rammed through that cushy raise for each other. Worst. One Night Stand. Ever. But now the NDP is feeling guilty about it, and want to change their minds. Jak King breaks it down for us: "They will pitch it, no doubt, as 'listening to the voices of the people'. Bullshit! If they had really wanted to know what the people thought, they wouldn't have connived their secret deal in the first place."
Or if they could hire John Kerry's strategist people: "We actually voted for the pay raise, before we voted against it."
Update: The Liberals drank the Kool-Aid too. The pay hike is toast. So now they both just come off smelling like garbage. Bravo.
It's Monday November the 21 around 6:39PM and
Oh, and while we are talking about the every competitive Vancouver Blog world, here's something to think about. While we will be adding more writers shortly, what we really need is an intern!
If you are interested in getting us glasses of Pinot Noir, making runs to Starbucks, ironing, and doing some real research and reporting this could be your calling! Duties may also include closely following CTV's Tamara Taggart, watching Breakfast Television, and calling the Bill Good Show on a daily basis to leave messages just like Bart Simpson does to Moe. And no, we're not joking. 10-15 hours a week of work, sweatshop conditions. Send your resume and a headshot to us and we'll get in touch if you're the right Vancouverite.
It's Monday November the 21 around 5:58PM and
Thanksfully the Vancouver Blogosphere seems to be heating up. Today while we were visiting the lovely
Jennifer Good, we came across someone in her comments section talking about thier new Vancouver blog and asking her to be a part of it (Don't do it. Seriously let's just let Jennifer be Jennifer okay - like a public good we all can enjoy).
Anyway, the Vancouver version of a large blogging group MetroBlogging is setting up shop soon. They claim to be, " the largest and fastest growing network of city-specific blogs on the Web. From San Francisco to Bangkok, from Karachi to Toronto, Metblogs are a hyper-local look at what's going on in the city." Perhaps, like Wal-Mart, they will be asked to leave - we kid, because we love.
It's weird, we must live under a rock or something because we never hear anything about this company - even if Will Wheaton does write for thier L.A. version (then again, he writes all over the place, and let's not forget it's Wesley Crusher for god's sake.) Who knew something existed beyond awesomeness of Nick Denton's Imperialist Blog Universe? Our bad.
So here we go people. The battle for the Vancouver Blogosphere just got kicked up one more notch. Sweet. Bring it on. Seriously though competition is so awesome, and we've already been told to "grow up" and that we are offering only, "Uninformed cynicism. Just what we need more of in the blogosphere" - so this is all really good news. We're psyched!
It's Monday November the 21 around 10:56AM and
One thing we really like about Vancouver is the often funny front pages of the NY Post-esque
"Province". Today's front page is totally incredible. The thing about losing in the playoffs is that a headline like "So Close" is such a silly thing to say - sort of like saying you finished second out of a field of two. The And it's pretty hot that some of the fans feel like they were robbed. "The Lions should have won," said one
longtime fan of the Lions.
And here's a quick reminder of the awesomeness of the upcoming Grey Cup: "The streets of downtown Vancouver will be turned into a festival beginning Thursday, with pancake breakfasts, concerts, block parties and boat cruises on an entertainment schedule that should peak around halftime on Sunday, when The Black Eyed Peas take the stage at B.C. Place."
It's Monday November the 21 around 10:40AM and
Well maybe it wasn't Sam Sullivan, but whatevs, somebody doesn't like Jim Green very much. Maybe it was Philip Owen. [Craigslist]
It's Monday November the 21 around 10:25AM and
Gwen Stefani hit GM Place last night - I wonder if General Motors will drop the sponsorsip of the arena along with the 30,000 workers they dropped right before Christmas. Our reporter on the ground was there and comments that, "some of the bridge and tunnel outfits were fantastic - lots of crinolin and leg warmers" which made for "cold thighs but warm calves." That rules.
Gwen seemed not to dissapoint the crowd as she changed 10 times during the show. Our intrepid reporter also pleasantly reported that there were lots of men in the crowd, obvioulsy enjoying the fact that Gwen's legs went on "forever."
From Blown Speakers has a photo and review.
Update: Finally Jennifer Good has posted her review/photos at her website. She pronounces it, "Best show I’ve ever seen" and has a bunch of yummy Gwenny photos.
It's Sunday November the 20 around 2:56PM and
Whatever your opinion is of the current war in Iraq, and the Global War on Terror more generaly, one journalist is always worth reading. John F. Burns who has been working the Iraq beat for the New York Times since the war began has a very sober and interesting piece in today's paper entitled,
"It's Still a Mystery".
Not only have American forces recently found a secret Interior Ministry torture center in Baghad, with it's 173 starving inmates, the word is that they are slowing uncovering a shadowy Shiite religious movement that has infiltrated the police and is responsible for this and other dangerous developments.
What is interesting about Burn's piece is just how realisitic it's assessment is. That unlike the current political debate in Washington over the war, he tells it like it is on the ground - including the good, the bad, and the ugly, which is refreshing. It's especially refreshing to read, since getting accurate news on Iraq is difficult at best. For instance, while talk of some sort of pull out reaches a boiled water pitch, Burns is reporting this:
"Compared to 18 months ago, the American grasp of the war's complex tribal, ethnic, political and religious hinterland has advanced considerably. Intelligence officers now talk assuredly about inter-tribal rivalries and links between Baathist financiers, Islamic militants and criminal gangs. They display "rogues' galleries" of insurgent cell leaders and where they operate."
Austin Bay - someone we read regularly and respect - has some great information on the disconect between reality and the news we watch or read and part of it is recognizing that there is a terrorist problem in Iraq. He points to an article today at Strategy Page by Jim Dunnigan breaking it down. "First, there is definitely a terrorism problem. Not an insurgency, not a guerilla war, not a resistance. A portion of the Sunni Arab population refuses to recognize the Sunni Arab loss of power in early 2003. They are supporting a campaign of terror to either get back power or, more pragmatically, to get immunity for most Sunni Arabs for crimes committed during Saddams decades in power."
And this translates into pretty positive news, suggesting that American commanders on the ground have now been able to broach the real crusp of the problem: coming to terms with who or what they are fighting. The reality is that more and more Iraqis, and therefore Americans, are coming to speak openly about who they are fighting. It's not just forces from without, but also from within, and Iraqis are increasinly uneasy but honest about the fact that thier own people are now bombing and killing them.
And while the death tolls mount, and pressure on America to pull out increases, there are things that the media, and the activists seem to completely leave out of the debate - which is completely frustrating. Newsweek for instance seems to have burried the real story of the situation in thier latest article on the situation.
"it's not entirely clear that U.S. policy has "failed." The TV news, not to mention Al-Jazeera, doesn't regularly summarize the stunning changes in Iraq, many of them morally and politically worthy. Saddam Hussein is gone and awaiting trial. Schools, hospitals and other institutions are operating in most parts of the country. Voters have adopted a constitution. And even many Sunnis are gathering in political parties that are maneuvering in advance of the Dec. 15 national elections. After the elections, the plan is that Coalition forces will use the growing number of capable Iraqi units to "clear, hold and build" a peaceful Iraq." (Via Riding Sun)
So like most subjects these days, a real and more complex debate should be taking place on this - we should be able to handle it. And yet we are completely bombarded with superficial and doomsday reports coming out of the region. What is most surprising is just how much some people want George Bush to fail so badly that it overides any thought or consideration for the long term consequences - and that is a shame whatever your position is on the war may be.
It's Sunday November the 20 around 2:00PM and
While
everybody in the free world was seeing yet another Harry Potter film (don't get us started, we don't get the whole thing at all and no, we haven't read, watched, or even care about any of it.) Thankfully people still found time to go out and make
"Walk The Line" the second biggest movie of the weekend, with over $22 million at the box office.
Pretty much every review of importance, save The New York Times A.O. Scott who suggests that it, "settles down in the fat middle of the bell curve, providing, if nothing else, an excuse to go out and buy some CD's", have fallen in love with this biopic love story of Johnny Cash and June Carter. And once you get used to Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon doing the singing - and you quite nearly do until the end credits - the movie is far superior to last year's overhyped "Ray." Maybe that's just because we like Cash's music more than Charles'.
One thing that could have been a movie in it's own right was the road tour of Cash along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Roy Orbison, and Waylon Jennings. That could be the greatest road movie of all time, and a timeless slice of American lore. Instead that storyine is scenery for what is a typical musician story including the drugs and comeback that are naturally key.
Is Cash, as Kris Kristofferson once described, "Abraham Lincoln with a wild side?" Possibly, but with every character like Cash, the most interesting things is always imagining how it was that he came to be who he was in a place like America - people who blindly dimiss the cultural hegemony and damage America does, who do well to explore the fact that both Johnny Cash and Wal-Mart came out of Arkansas in the 1950's and 60's.
Ultimetly this movie is about as conventional, and as Hollywood, as it gets, and that will probably be its undoing at Oscar time. The New Yorker asks if it possible that, "the central lesson of Johnny Cash’s life really be that he was a loser until a good woman shamed him into growing up?" But that question makes it at least worth watching, and certainly more so than any of this Harry Potter nonsense.
It's Sunday November the 20 around 9:38AM and
It was a close one, but Vancouver held it's nose, and returned the NPA to govern the city,
electing Sam Sullivan Mayor. Generally those who voted across Vancouver opted to change horses and kicked out at least five incumbent mayors (West Vancouver, North Vancouver City, Surrey, Coquitlam, and Maple Ridge.
The best part was that since Larry Campbell's Vision Party split the left vote it ended up losing the mayor's place and at the same time destroyed the COPE party, which is always a good sign of an election. They gained a lone council seat, and set up a 5-5 right/left split on Vancouver's political scene.
Of course, being Vancouver and politics the vote wasn't without controversy. "Another factor may have been James Green, a political unknown who ran for mayor and whose name appeared just ahead of Jim Green's on the ballot. James Green drew 4,273 votes -- more than the 3,747 votes by which Jim Green lost to Sullivan." That will give the COPE/Vision supports something to bellyache about for the next few years, which might add some spice to the political scene. It's already making conservative publisher/ringleader Ezra Levant giddy with excitement that the right wing has captured the city council.
This is the real good news about all these results, is a super healthy dose of politics is upon us - so thank you voters for giving us our cake, we'll eat it as soon as we can.
It's Saturday November the 19 around 10:41AM and
Every once in awhile, somebody writes something that makes you just smile. This morning that is Colby Cosh. "Nothing against the Accordion Guy, but his headline "Pillow Fight in Dundas Square This Sunday" suddenly made me loathe my own generation. Flash mobs, cuddle parties, neo-burlesque, robot pets, emo, speed dating, network gaming tournaments, live-action remakes of cartoons."
