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It's Tuesday February the 28 around 11:32PM and
Tuesdays are going to be a pretty great night for the next few weeks. Pretty great for watching TV that is. And yes, I'm totally pop-geeking out, so stand by. First there is
American Idol. Three things here: A.
Ayla Brown. B. Mass fire the rest trump style.
Kellie Pickler. Then
Amazing Race which I tried to avoid - I don't need another show right now - that's too much commitment - seriously trying to follow Idol is a life sucker (three nights a week? How about a clip show Seacrest?).
On with the show. Am I the only one who thinks the hippies are ridiculous. Then again, on a serious note, Desiree (sigh, a writer) is like a uber hot tamale version of "Rory Gilmore". Oh yeah, my girls are on too. There, I said it.
PS: I finally stomached watching parts of Godivas tonight. If I had to go to restaurant as terrible as this show is, I would take my own food in and not tip. They should serve complimentary vomit bags and officially declare that this may also mean that Yaletown will jump the shark if this show is watched too much. Thank the maker for Crosstown. Out.
It's Monday February the 27 around 11:39PM and
Spin: "To provide an interpretation of (a statement or event, for example), especially in a way meant to sway public opinion: “a messenger who spins bogus research into a vile theology of hatred” (William A. Henry III)." Okay - maybe not the vile theology of hatred bit, but it is spin, I can assure you of that. You can tell by Friday dump time. Whatever I think, it is what the Canucks' own Kevin Kinghorn was serving up this weekend. [Via Vancouver Canucks Oped]
But yeah, it is a bunch of good news. That a about $4 will get you a coffee at Starbucks. Nothing to see here. Everything is fine. Don't panic.
Sports Extra, Extra: 1. Is it too late to trade Bertuzzi for some meat? 2. At least we aren't the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, right? 3. Hoth 2014.
It's Monday February the 27 around 10:13PM and
Finally. The Dirty Laundry Vineyard website is live. And it looks damn good, right on down the pitch perfect washing instruction-like icons for "tell a friend" and "order wine." Well played. Get some of that Pinot. Now. PS - Thanks to
Bernie Hadley-Beauregard for the heads up on this. Thanks for stopping by.
And I thought yesterday's Olympic Closing Ceremony would be Canada's shame this week. Then I endured the new shame that is Brent - the Canadian contribution to The Apprentice. Dare we click on his personal website? Oh dear god. Please tell me that either Peter MacKay is asking for tubby's passport back, or Trump will fire this weasel. Please.
Thankfully New Hampshire is keeping their kick ass state motto - "Live Free Or Die". And yes I will be checking out Matt Pond PA Thursday to hear his New Hampshire at The Red Room. [Ad Freak]
Now that Malcolm Gladwell is blogging now. The point has totally tipped.
Screenhead is just awesome. Case in point: "Mark Crisanti’s odd collage style of image-making creates a surreal mood that kinda feels like Egyptian gods woke up and took to wandering around in new york in the 50s looking for a job."
Yesterday I said Drew Lachey earned perma-d-list status. But even Defamer is suggesting c-list. This better not be a new Cold War scenario where Drew ends up totally becoming a-list. Please say no. Please say no.
Boing Boing asks two great questions: Prefab Ewok Villages, what up? Why do architect "firms' sites always suck?"
It's Sunday February the 26 around 5:59PM and
Okay, I stomached the Olympic Closing ceremonies. Dear god. My eyes. Is this really what we have to look forward to in 4 years? At least NBC's lame delayed coverage cuts a lot of the boring parts out. But still.
What was with the clown marching band doing The Village People's YMCA? That was totally c-r-e-e-p-y. In fact, there was WAY too much "clown," period.
Ahhhh...One last look at Skeleton Bronze Medalist hottie Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards. Still disapointed that she's married to some rodeo clown named Billy. And same goes for Sasha Cohen - pardon me, but how was she just walking around the closing ceremonies by herself?
Two words. Fiat? Really? How the hell did that get in there? Sorry my bad forget about that, how is Ricky Martin singing here?
Avril Lavigne looked great. Although some suggested she didn't. "What's with the Farrah Fawcett hair and froofy look? Looks like the 3rd Olsen twin. Get the handlers away from her!" What really was lame was that Avril followed a fish onto stage.
I thought this review of the thing was amusing. "Great... Igloos, salmon and eskimos... being presented as part of Canada's welcome to the world," writes GungHaggisFatChoy. "At least Avril Lavigne isn't dressed up in a parka." I would suggest that whoever organized the Vancouver portion of entertainment should go out for a hunting trip with Dick Cheney.
Am I the only one who thinks Mayor Sam Sullivan is going to come back to Vancouver with his head crammed full of all the shameless brown nosing that NBC gave him? God help us if he wins a 2nd term and gets to do it all over again in 2010.
And meanwhile, over on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, I can actually see Nick Lachey's brother Drew finally figuring out that this gives him permanent membership on the D-list. Way to go Drew. Enjoy.
Final 10-word review of the presentation Vancouver bored the world with: ice fishing, fake ice block dance sequence, a fish, Avril Lavigne. Translation: total embarrassment. Don't look at us. We're hideous. On the one bright spot, yes Avril's hair was massively 70's hot.
It's Sunday February the 26 around 10:41AM and
OLYMPICS
The Province goes for Gold (ouch) with "Canada's Greatest Olympian" (Cindy Klassen) on the front and "Winnipeg Jets" (Klassen and Gold Medal winner Clara Hughes) on the back. This is in an effort to bury the idea of
closing down a lane of the Lion's Gate Bridge during the 2010 Olympics for Olympic only traffic during the rush hours.
And Coca-Cola really knows how to party. They sent out a press release stating, "Only 1,447 days to go before the start of Vancouver 2010!" and "introducing a commemorative can in western Canada, available
for a limited time only. The 'Celebrating the Beginning' Vancouver 2010 cans feature a graphic of a downhill skier coasting down the trademark Coca-Cola wave."
Lastly, Italy's wines didn't get a lot of hype during the Olympics, which is something B.C.'s wine regions should seriously think about for 2010.
FASHION
Tiffany's is coming to Vancouver, opening a 5,000-square-foot store downtown this November. 5,000 square feet to sell tiny little diamonds. Amazing. Just think you could get something for Mandy Moore & Zack Braff's fake wedding in person rather than online. Mmmm....Fake wedding. [Via Metroblogging Vancouver]
FILM
While the gang from Infinity Features supports producer William Vince and the 5-time nominated Capote next Sunday at the Oscars with a red carpet party at Steamworks, brother Robert Vince gets some press on the next Air Bud movie - Air Buddies. It doesn't get better than this does it: "When dad BUDDY and mom MOLLY are dognapped, their five adorable pups, the AIR BUDDIES, must save the day" [Via Cinematical]
The trailer for Art School Confidential is up. Seriously, Malkovich and the guy who brough us Ghost World & Bad Santa. And the film "The Hills Have Eyes" is doing some pretty awesome guerrilla promotions.
MUSIC
Exquisitlely Bored in Nacogdoches shows us the way to World Party's "Is it Like Today" on Letterman circa 1993. What the hell happened to them?
Nice to see that American Idol Kelly Clarkson still going strong. Not so nice to see that the cuties from Vancouver's Cherrybomb have to rename themselves Yellow Light because of some hick cover band from Regina. Meanwhile, while it's not here in Vancouver, the Sasquatch! Music festival at the Gorge is pretty sweet looking.
I'm not even sure what to make of Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs doing a 60's cover album. But I like the facat that Hoffs still looks great and that Sweet is calling himself "Sid" and looks like a hobo. [Via Stereogum]
FOOD & DRINK
Heineken is bad enough. But Heineken Light? Of course at the same time you now have Diet Mountain Dew too. You might as well find out where the last remaining cans of New Coke are.
Well, I guess if they get to promote this crap, we can at least link the Guinness blog? (I love that you get the behind the scenes of their great last tv spot.)
McSweenye's has this incredible piece about six cereals arguing over which one should replace Cheerios for baby finger food. And definetly check out Andrew Morrison's Westender column this week - dishing out the crib notes on a bunch of new dinning spots around town (Century, Rare One, Bistro 1734, Limerick Junction, Ocean Club, and Chocoatl)
AD TALK
Pretty sure Nike will regret spending much time on that totally useless skier Bode Miller. Perhaps that is why they are hedging their bets with a Micheal Jordan ad called 2nd Generation. I don't care how amusing it is to hear the term, "Meatballing" I can't believe that IKEA is spending time proting their kitchens with a Swedish Chef campaign. French Connection seems to be getting a lot of mileage out of thier new kung fu kissing girls spot.
I think the prize for the most insane campaign this week has to go to Nutrigrain. The ad is described like this on Boards: "A Christopher Walkenesque marionette helps a man 'plan his snack'." hilarity ensues.
It's Saturday February the 25 around 2:56PM and
Vancouver yoga clothier Lululemon is a hot topic in the city. But imagine if they used this promotion in Vancouver. This was in The Age. "Lululemon is the rag trader giving free outfits to the first 30 customers who come to its Chapel Street store tomorrow morning stark naked."
I'm guessing that this will attract a lot of attention.
It's Saturday February the 25 around 2:00PM and
It's that time again Vancouverites. It's our weekly flip through the king of free papers and the bastion of faux alternative news,
The Georgia Straight. Sit back, and let's go throught the best and/or the worst of the city's biggest alt-weekly rag. Go:
5. The article by wine-o writer Jurgen Gothe about Bernie Hadley-Beauregard - the brand designer of Blasted Church, Lotusland, and Dirty Laundry (who still haven't finished building their website! Somebody should explain search to them as well) wines - is interesting. The whole brand over grapes debate of wines is timeless isn't it? Here's the odd thing though - why is Bernie's company website about as interesting as a root canal?
4. Single of the week - Sarah. Good lord this feature is painful. Sarah's greatest fear is "selling out". Sweetie, you just sold out by doing this - you know that right? And, please, Baraka? I thought we already dealt with this cinematic stupidity already.
3. What are you, nuts? I leave it up to you to figure out what is worse: labeling Chloë Sevigny a "fashionista" (Go to Go Fug Yourself for proof of this outrageous false claim) or that white framed sunglasses are being hailed as the next big thing.
2. It's been awile since the Sraight looked at "the man". This week's episode features a bunch of stories on the plight of minimum wage workers and the fat cat CEO's who make a fortune.
1. The best two sentences in the whole paper: "What if James Bond was a primate who was good at extreme sports? Viewers of xXx, the 2002 action film with Vin Diesel, already have a good idea. For those who have been born in the interval, there is Spymate." Please also note that while his brother William Vince is gearing up for the Oscars with his film Capote up for Best Picture, Robert Vince has his directed and produced in 2003, Spymate film is finally out. Sadly it will probably make money.
It's Thursday February the 23 around 6:45AM and
Screenhead has this amazing quote: "That’s the Sesame Street theme song in Klingon. The interent has laped itself or something."
Canada is at 19 medals and getting hot, despite the letdown of Gretzky and Bertuzzi - let us not speak of them again. And as Team Canada gets hot, closing ceremony Canadian featured artist Avril Lavigne is also turning more hot.
I'm pretty sure that I heard an ad on CKNW this morning about a Dan Cloutier appearence at a McDonald's this week. The guy hides under a rock for about two months, and emerges to see if anyone still cares. Has he heard of Alex Auld?
Ladies Figure Skating (Free Skate, 7PM Torino time).
Apparently this has been out since February 7th - but we missed it. Growing Pains first season on DVD. Do you remember how H.O.T. the theme song was? Holy. Crap.
This Life & Style rag is awesome. This week, and the second week in a row they are reporting on the supposed breakup of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Don't they get it? 7-8 month pregnant Katie just flew to Australia with her man. Against doctors advice. That's love. Or a cult. Whatever. Jossip ads, "Oh, we wish they would just go home to their planet already."
Sopranos trailer. Weeeeeeeeee....
Whitney Matheson of USA Today' s Pop Candy wraps up last night's American Idol. "Barry Manilow worshipper Bobby Bennett as the low point", "Ace Young may be a boring singer, but even I can't deny the power of his perfect, hypnotic teeth", and "Becky O'Donohue has started a mini-scandal with her photos in Maxim."
It's Thursday February the 23 around 6:21AM and
There is one story that highlights pretty much every paper will be highlighting this morning. It's the loss of the men's hockey team at the Olympics.
The Province has a little fun on the front page headlining the "Two Golds, Two Silvers, One Doh" which is pretty funny. Homer Simpson to sum up the disapointment of a nation at the hands of a bunch of pampered millionaires. The actual story goes more highbrow - odd for The Province - with a
"The best of times, the worst of times."
The Vancouver Sun tries to ignore the hockey debacle choosing instead to stay positive with stories on the record day for Canada. 24 Hours cover is the most disapointing. While The Province goes Homer Simpson, and The Sun does the "what hockey?", but 24 Hours is about as good as Bertuzzi was with it's headline: "Gasp, Canada's Out".
It's Wednesday February the 22 around 6:31PM and
Wow. Torino was dead anyway, right? Team Canada just wasn't up to the task as they lost 2-0, again, this time to the old Cold War foes of Russia. Kind of takes the lustre off the new CBC movie "Canada Russia 72". Ouch that burns.
Anyway, here are three things to consider for the Vancouver Canucks when the NHL resumes.
1. If Todd Bertuzzi plays like he did during the Olympics, he be more helpful on the bench. I think the fork is in this guy, please tell me when he's done.
2. Sami Salo got a really nice seperated shoulder in todays game, where he and the Finns ousted the Americans. Gulp.
3. Mattias Ohlund suffered some bruised ribs for Sweden today. Double Gulp.
It's Wednesday February the 22 around 6:07AM and
24 Hours gets back to the good stuff, with a cover story on the police really
cracking down on the crack - announcing plans to arrest anybody doing drugs on the street. Nothing like a good photo of a junkie to start the day, thanks 24 Hours. And then of course is the continuing drama of
Carole Taylor's budget shoes.
The Vancouver Sun does the budget and the coverage includes a Carole Taylor vs Jenny Kwan oped grudge match. I can't even imagine that Jenny Kwan is the NDP's finance critic, but that is for another day. And while Jenny didn't like the budget, the Sun called it, "a fiscally prudent, politically sensible plan for the coming year. Although it may be seen as overly cautious, in the Paul Martin vein." Meanwhile the paper deserves some sort of award for the coverage of figure skater Mira Leung. The headline, "A mira-cle on ice" is amazing, and think of what it will be in 2010 when Mira isn't in 14th place with all the other losers.
Over at The Province they go with a massive "Homeowners get a tax break" - as if to say to readers, we know this wasn't very big tax news, and we know this was about the children but we really loved Carole Taylor's shoes. And the other free daily, Metro Vancouver goes totally Mr. Hand from Fast Times At Ridgemont High with a "Don't do dope in public" headline right beside the photo of Mira Leung - also with a "Amazing Mira" headline which begs the question what kind of headline she'd get if she wasn't in 14th place. In the words of dopehead poet Jeff Spicoli, "Aloha, Mr. Hand".
It's Tuesday February the 21 around 10:23PM and
Finance Minister Carole Taylor didn't cut the PST, did cut taxes by $733 million (over 4-years cheapo), but gave cash to the kids in a boring budget without much of a surprise. We'll call it the
"little ones" budget for short.
24 Hours's Sean Holman talked a bit about the off-white pumps purchased at Holt Renfrew that Taylor was going to wear to the budget today but we didn't get this part: "What you should first know is that Holt is one of the few stores that carries my size of shoes." Small feet? Big Feet? Now we're totally on edge. Although she didn't know during one interview, the shoes (by Gucci) supposedly cost $600. The Canadian Press was not having any of it acting like Janice Dickenson on America's Next Top Model:
"Taylor, in a long string of pearls and stylish black glasses, defended her wardrobe after she was asked about wearing shoes that few British Columbians could afford."The jacket I'm wearing is from the time when the mini was popular," she shot back.
And while some are delighting in the press and irony of the fancy shoes coupled with moving the luxury tax on cars from $49,000 to $55,000, this just means we that much closer to getting that A4.
It's Tuesday February the 21 around 8:40PM and
Monty Python Personal Best starts this week on PBS as the cast picks the best nudge, nudge, wink, wink, episodes.
The follow up show to Rock Star INXS, Rock Star: The Series, will be holding auditions starting in March - Vancouverites can kick it rock style at the Roxy March 23rd. The only question is, who is the band this time?
Pitchers and Catchers are starting throw the ball around, and Vancouver's own Canadians got themselves a new manager in Rick Magnante. You might know him as the scout who unleashed Jason Giambi onto the league or who found creepy lefthander Barry Zito.
Frito Lay Canada has got a brand new bag. The chip maker is testing out bags of wasabi and curry flavored chips this month in Vancouver.
Just when I think nobody cares about Lululemon in the media, BusinessWeek rolls out a story on the athetic wear company. I'm not sure that the HQ yoga classes are something anybody needs to speak of - it could sound nearly cult-granola-creepy.
Vancouver's Mira Leung is currently 14th after the Ladies' - Short Program in Figure Skating as America's Sasha Cohen narrowly leads Russian favorite Irina Slutskaya.
Emerging Vancouver Canuck star Daniel Sedin got a little punchy - certainly a little too much so for the Swede - when asked about their loss the other niight at the Olympics, which some thought the Swedish team had thrown. DS was very un-Sedin like after the interview, "Sedin then muttered an expletive, and walked away from reporters". [Via Vancouver Canucks Oped]
Andrew Morrison, the always worth reading Waiterblog dude, has the skinny on the West Van eating spot, The Ocean Club ("if it is nicknamed “the O.C.” I’ll opt for a hotdog at the nearby Orange Julius instead") and he teases us with Glowbal's new world domination plans ("checking out a largish space just a hop, skip, and jump from Saltlik")
I'm so glad I don't work at the MetroBlogging Borg collective - this week's surprising no heads up redesign that even surprised their own writers kind of sums up the very worst of a core-periphery argument against a local blog.
Yes. Yes, I do like the new Aston Martin that new punched out James Bond Daniel Craig will be driving when he's not kissing saucy Eva Green and getting his teeth knocked out.
It's Tuesday February the 21 around 6:46AM and
The Canadian Men are almost on the ice this morning - so I can suspect some hockey sickness in this city this morning. But there are some other good things to savor today, here's some of them:
Special 30th anniversary edition of All the President's Men is out on DVD.
Boston Legal (ABC) Tom Selleck guests. Apparently he sings too. And what of Shatner?
Try to wrap your head around one of the world's most beautiful women eating french fries and smoking at the same time. Kate Beckinsale ladies and gentleman.
Ladies Figure Skating (Short Program, 7PM Torino time). The Vancouver Sun gives some ink to Vancouver's own Mira Leung - Canada's youngest team member. She won't crack the top five, and she doesn't own an Ipod. Oh my. But let's not forget about Sasha Cohen who will battle it out against Irina Slutskaya.
It's Tuesday February the 21 around 6:15AM and
The Vancouver Sun gives the big story of the day, naturally, to the Canadian Women's Hockey victory.
"Gold, What a Feeling." But that happiness is juxtaposed with the thought that the women who, "Out-prepared the opposition, cared more, and outscored them 46-2. In the Olympic Games, for crying out loud" and the news that the whole feat seems downright un-olympic. Did I mention the 8 shots on net they faced yesterday? There is also rumblings of another
teacher strike just 4 months since they did it last time. Hiding deep within the pages of the province are also
11 stories on weddings.
Meanwhile The Province confirms the dominance of the story and gives both the front page and the back page to the women gold medal winners. And when The Province does that you know there is not much else inside.
Freebie 24 Hours does like wise and gets into more literal headlines - going with "Taste of Gold" and showing one of the girls, Danielle Goyette kissing her medal. On the other hand 24 Hours, gives front page headline treatment to the B.C. Federation of Labour suggesting that B.C. needs another holiday - Canadian Heritage Day on the third Monday in February.
It's Monday February the 20 around 10:29PM and
Back on the weekend I suggested that the Vancouver Sun hire Lainey to replace Lynne McNamara. No, we're not off that kick yet and here's why. Quotes like this are, how you say, gold? "Had a horrible weekend thanks to Ted Casablanca and Team Canada. In case you haven’t heard, Ted’s sources are reporting that my lover Joaquin was making out with that skank bag Kiki Dunst at some hotel a few weeks ago. Needless to say, my Friday was ruined."
That's choice.
It's Monday February the 20 around 7:07AM and
The Vancouver Sun gives front page space to
Cam Cole's column on Team Canada's practical joking in mens hockey. The column, at least online, ends with a team roster and NHL salary amounts for Canada, Finland, and Switzerland. At $97,666,000 for Canada, there shouldn't be 120 minutes of non-scoring now, should there. They throw in a wrap up of
David Emerson news - including plenty of quotes from a senior volenteer for Emerson who doesn't even live in Vancouver-Kingsway.
The Province has a cute header on the top of the paper saying, "Emerson should resign: Poll". It relegates the hilarity of the mens hockey team to the back cover with a "It's Not Funny" headline while giving the front cover soley to Cindy Klassen who won silver in the 1,000-metre long-track speed skating.
24 Hours keeps the monday themes going with a big text headline on Emerson, "De-Election Bid Begins" and then really kicks Gretzky's Team Canada with a large "Choke" headline - the actual story is titled, "Finn-ished". The best part of the Emerson story is the quote from protestor Patty Moss, "In 35 years of voting this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me." Bonus points to the irrelevent story on Miss Universe Canada contestent Isobel Agar who for the life her can't find a boyfriend because she's too busy. Which is wierd because she had one two weeks ago when she gave the same sob story to the Richmond News. And thanks for skipping the Miss Universe Canada URL in the story.
Metro Vancouver skips the mens hockey, goes with Klassen, and then fronts Emerson with a "Emerson Outrage Builds" headline.
It's Sunday February the 19 around 8:46PM and
Pretty sure this is the definitive word on the
Cartoon Wars.
Cutting to the Chase writes about the comic Nancy and Sluggo, "C'mon, if you are going to riot and kill over a cartoon, at least make it one worth rioting and killing over..." If that isn't to your liking, this quote from the
Cutting to the Chase group also made us laugh. "Call me crazy, but torching embassies, killing people and calling for the destruction of Denmark (on the To Destroy List: Israel, America, Denmark ...) just seem to muddy the issue."
What does fast smell like? What does it eat for breakfast? And why does anything with a German accent always work when selling cars? [Project Fast and more at Ad Freak]
There have been a lot of KFC protests but I quite like the idea of this poster on Craigslist. "I would love to sit out front on those protesters with a big bucket of chicken and have a feast. Anyone else up for a counter protest that would be fun?"
I hate to break it to them, but Lululemon seriously needs a PR firm, like now. They are opening stores in Chicago and New York. You can't walk 10 feet in this city without seeing fine ladies wearing their gear - and we're okay with that. They have eye-popping yogo shows behind glass at the Oakridge Mall. But this is the best they can do to use Jennifer Heil as a promotional tool? Google News has a sum total of three articles in February including a blurb in the Georgia Straight. This is tea bag in the ocean weak. For starters can we just drop this whole Roots obsession and hook up some tight fitting Olympic uniforms for Team Canada at Beijing in 2008.
It's Sunday February the 19 around 7:18PM and
I would say that the coverage and the experience of the Torino Olympics has been, well, mixed to say the least. But there are some things I'd like to discuss in light of the Winter Games next stop, here in
Vancouver 2010 and what we can expect.
Snowboard Cross. Over at Slate, where there is some of the smartest Olympic coverage going on, Troy Patterson describes the sport as a, "Mountain Dew commercial directed by David Lean: Four snowboarders simultaneously negotiate a twisting 900-meter course, taking jumps, taking spills." I agree, this sport would only be better if they added guns, and possibly Dick Cheney. And anything that prompts people to compare it favorably to NASCAR, is worrysome at best.
NBC's coverage, what up dog? The Olympics are not testing the waters of high ratings on TV. CBC is getting some thumbs up for their coverage, but NBC has hit rock bottom with the taped delayed prime time content. And to think they have Bob Costas too. It makes no sense. Back to Slate for yet another one-liner: "next week NBC will pull all sorts of ratings stunts. They'll prod the female figure skaters to tongue-kiss each other. They'll force the ski-jumpers to eat maggots on camera. They'll award a gold medal to any athlete who can pick the correct briefcase from an identical array. Is there some means by which Johnny Weir and Seth Westcott might be marooned on a tropical island together?" See also, TV Squad who bemoans the superflouos NBC coverage of curling, describing it as combining: "the heart-pounding pace of horseshoes with the excitement of...sweeping your kitchen floor." Ouch.
Flakes like Johnny Weir. Can you wait for the 2010 version? I think not. Gawker explains, "The man describes himself as 'princessy,' applies self-tanner before performances, compares the competition to a 'shot-of-vodka-and-a-snort-of-coke kind of thing,' and skates wearing a single red glove named 'Camille.'" Seriously? Then there is the images of him showing up in a CCCP sweatshirt for practice. I totally heart you Soviet Union. Come on Johnny, grow up. [MSNBC]
What's the deal with biathlon? For some it's the quirky Zooey Deschanel event of the Olympics. And yes, it does feature guns - something snowboard cross unfortunetly does not. But this sport is the European equivalent of televised bowling - or possibly poker (okay it's not that bad). Whatever you get my drift.
Send in the Clowns. Is it me or are the costumes for the figure skaters actually getting worse? Today's New York Times asked if "Ronald McDonald became a sportswear designer." The Washington Post, not to be outdone, adds, "Oh, the horror! Enough Day-Glo to light up a small village. Tattered numbers that look like ragbag rejects. More fringe, sequins and sparkles than even a circus act would find acceptable. And colors so wild they're not even in Crayola's 64-pack." Thank goodness for Sasha Cohen.
It's Sunday February the 19 around 3:55PM and
This weekend I also finally checked out
Lift. This place has the most schizophrenic repuation in town as far as I can figure. A friend of mine famously told me that it is "overpriced, the food is not really that great, but the people watching is excellent, especially of the prostitutes." Seriously anyplace that can have things like that,
or better this, "It must have been "cougar hour" or "cougar's night out". I haven’t seen that many women with too much lip gloss and men with bad hair pieces wearing big nouveau riche watches in one setting!" has to have a certain something going for it, right? It's kind of like a train wreck, or a car crash. You just have to watch it and you can't get enough of it.
You don't get that total experience when you go for brunch, which was actually fairly tasty - anytime you can get three different kinds of meat for breakfast is certainly a time where no bad can come of it. But I question how on a Sunday between 11:30 and 1:00 that this place isn't completely full. You have this crazy view of the harbour and you are surrounded by condos and hotels. Yet sitting there at the bland tabletop next to a dirty window and you wonder where the $6.5 million they spent opening this shack really went.
PS: Dear Lift. I hate your lame website.
It's Sunday February the 19 around 3:04PM and
Friday night i checked out
Curious (52 Powell Street) the relatively new tapas lounge in an increasingly hipper and cooler Gastown. Anytime you can dine anywhere near to the wonderful streets of Carroll and Columbia it's always a good time. It's a cool, warm and cozy little spot, with different levels and areas sutiable for all sorts of tastes.
The food was less curious than you'd imagine, but it was pretty tasty. Here's the thing though, they seem to be in heavy training mode of new staff. The head waiter was orchestrating the rest of the staff and egging on a table of what appeared to be a table of 10 just old enough guys drinking Jack Daniels shots - which is always nice. Not. Back to the food. They didn't have the Glazed pork and beans - which almost sent us packing - my dining companion doesn't take that sort of thing lightly. The halibut 2 ways (one in a vanilla beure blanc, the other in a chilli cilantro) was great, the veal meatballs - keftedes - were fun (veally good?), the crab and corn fritter was excellent (never enough fritters), and the mussels with loads of bacon and creme were pretty good too (not Chambar good mind you, but good). It's just a shame about the limiting wine list - we ordered a bottle and they seemed like we were insane anyway - with a look of, "you mean the whole bottle?" After a couple of days to think about it though, the food wasn't that special, it was solid, and fun of course, butI can think of worse places to spend two or three hours at a place catching up with an old friend. The casual tempo of the food and the variety of plates make up for any over hyping of the supposed curiousness.
Our waitress was extremly nice, but seemed to be so nervous that it looked like she would crack at any moment. Maybe you shouldn't be a server honey. Although she did a much better job of presenting and serving the wine than the head waiter did. In what planet do you automatically presume that the gentleman ordered the wine and should taste it? On the other hand I think they tried explaining the whole "tapas" concept to us three times, which was silly - are there really that many people who don't know what tapas is? Really?
Lastly, and most enjoyably, making smores at your table is pretty freakn' cool. The marshmallows on skewers and graham crackers plus the small fire at your table = crazy delicious. The end.
It's Sunday February the 19 around 2:44PM and
Pretty sure that Wayne Gretzky and the Canadian Olympic overlords are popping
Imodium AD and
Tums like they are candy right now. The Canadian Men's Hockey team just
lost 2-0, again, this time to Finland. As Scott Bakula would say on
Quantum Leap, "Oh, Boy." Team Canada is totally stealing plays directly out of the Canucks inconsistent playbook which at the best of times is unadvisable. No reports on the health of coach Pat Quinn - truthfully we suspect that his head must have popped off his body after this game. Not good.
Vancouver Canucks Oped has a funny post suggesting that "Canada’s offense couldn’t find a puck in the slot in front of an open net if you gift-wrapped it, and sent it air-mail to the tape on their sticks." Zing!
Meanwhile the downfall of Gretzky continues over at Sports Goons, "Wayne Gretzky, the best hockey player in history, had his legend further tarnished on Thursday when it was discovered he ate a bag of Cheetos and had a chocolate chip cookie at lunch nearly a week ago."
Bonus: Why is the "Great One's" website so lame? We're just saying.
It's Sunday February the 19 around 1:53PM and
I can't even imagine how The Vancouver Sun continues to pay for
Lynne McNamara's senseless ramblings on the Vancouver film scene.
Yesterday's inane column featured a 487-word french kiss to
Timothy Hutton who is here to shoot the new Sharon Stone film "When a Man Falls in the Forest." How is this the big news? Timothy Hutton? Honestly. I want to know more about two things in her column and they aren't about Timoth Hutton.
1 I want to know more about the film "Sisters" starring Asia Argento and Chloe Sevigny set to film begining in March. Actually I just want to know more about Asia Argento when she gets here - she is a flat out euro-babe and we want to know more about her.
2. Why can't we get more gossip and news about Vancouver singer Michael Buble and his romance with Emily Blunt. "Emily and I have been together living in Vancouver for a few months. We are taking it slowly but we are excited about the future," said Buble on eTalk Daily this week. Can the Sun not get a paparazzi thing going on and get every last detail of when the two are canoodling here in town?
If I were the Sun, I would put Lynne out to pasture and hire Lainey to do a local gossip column.
Vancouver's Telus Corp. had a pretty craptastic 4th quarter as profits dropped 42% (22 cents per share vs. 38 cents per share a year agao). Of course service at Telus actually improved during the 4-month labour dispute that has caused the profit crunch. In the interest of Telus-ness they decided to outsourse 700 jobs. Take that union. Take that Telus stock. [Canadian Press]
Cartoon War protests come to Vancouver. Yesterday hundreds protestors joined others around the globe protesting the ongoing saga of the Danish cartoons that have ignited quite the debate on freedom of the press vs. respect for Islam. The story also featured a little spat between Western Standard (which published the cartoons) Editor Ezra Levant and Vancouver rocker Matthew Good. Levants called it the "C-List rocker takes on the D-List publisher" (and that's funny, because doesn't a c-list plus a d-list at least equal a b-lister?). It's worth the read and Levant comes out ahead, "I'm delighted to hear his attacks were merely personal, and not aimed at our freedom of the press. He meant "moronic" in a good way!"[The Province]
Meanwhile the National Post spends way too much of time writing about the 2010 Olympic Games without managing to say anything of interest whatsoever. Sigh. Blah, blah, blah this will be just as good as Expo 86. Blah, blah, blah, lots of money. Blah, blah, blah housing pricess will go up. [National Post]
It's Sunday February the 19 around 1:18PM and
This is getting old, fast. Very fast actually. I can't believe people are still belly-aching about David Emerson's cross to the Conservatives. And yet look what we have here, we have now moved onto the
"De-Elect" Emerson phase of this post-campaign-campaign, whatever the heck that that means anyway.
Apparently the de-election festivities are happening this afternoon at Emerson's office, even as Emerson made his latest attempt at salvaging the situation on CTV's Question Period this afternoon. " I'm still not much of a political person, as perhaps you can now tell," said Emerson. "I'm not the sharpest political knife in the drawer, I quite freely admit that."
The stupid thing is this. If anyone can think of one other person - just one other person - who is better suited to the portfolio of International Trade and even more important to Vancouver, the 2010 Olympics in Ottawa to be represented by Vancouver i'd sure like to hear it. And I would say that what might actually be true is what Emerson told the Globe & Mail yesterday, "In my day-to-day life, I'm getting people coming up to me in the street who I have never seen before and they've been very kind and very positive. I have not had anyone come up to me and slam me for my decision."
Sure the NDP seems to be able to get 700 people out to protest this at day 12 or 13, but who is going to care at day 60 or 90? Lastly, Jack Layton seems to be spending an awful lot of his time and political capital talking about Emerson. I can guarantee you that the issue of Emerson won't help Layton in the next election, and in the long term this is a long term strategy for Harper - even if Emerson would have to move ridings. He should buy a house in North Vancouver and he'd be elected in a heartbeat. Have you seen Don Bell?
It's Thursday February the 16 around 9:07PM and
Pour yourself a glass of red, or possibly some scotch. Sit back, and let's go throught the best and/or the worst of the city's biggest alt-weekly rag.
5. I have to say, today's Georgia Straight cover is actually fairly good. There. I said it. Too bad I couldn't find a single box at Waterfront station and the surrounding area that had them today. Nice distribution plan dummies. Sure it's the biggest puff piece on Alex Auld I've read since he went from bench warmer to staple since Cloutier, but it's fine.
4. City Single of the Week. "Dear Carolyne, I almost let you slide with the "King David, King Soloman, Aristotle" offering in response to who you'd invite to a dinner party. Quite frankly it is eye-opening when people don't say anything stupid. But you totally lost me at the Toni Morrison Beloved and then the Baraka reference just pissed me off. Come on Carolyne are you even trying to not be single?"
3. Cutting edge stuff here. The Straight has two items about, surprise, David emerson. Two things here. One, I think we should stop using "Dude, where's my..." references in articles and two, the cameo by former MLA and two-time party jumper Gordon Wilson was an interesting choice.
2.Vancouver was, "too busy eating pot cookies on Wreck Beach to complain about something in the music section." Lame. [Payback Time]
1. What a burn on Julia Kwan's film Eve and the Fire Horse. "On opening weekend, January 27 to 29, Eve earned $11,600 in Vancouver and $4,100 in Toronto, according to distributor Mongrel Media’s director of theatrical releasing, Tom Alexander," writes Pieta Woolley. "Since the film opened, it has earned $52,000. By comparison, Canadians spent $1.96 million seeing Nanny MacPhee that same weekend" Ouch.
It's Thursday February the 16 around 6:19AM and
24 Hours has another amazing cover. On the one hand they want to be taken seriously. The true top story,
"Cold spurs rush to shelters" is about the cold snap we're having and how that effects the homeless population. On the other hand, they use the cover to show a can of Budweiser and a can of Molson Canadian with the headline,
"Beer Wars."
The Province, naturally, goes for the Todd Bertuzzi $19.5 million lawsuit on the front & Olympic coverage on the back.
Over at The Vancouver Sun, the cover is an unruly mess. They couldn't really decide on a top story per se, and throw everything but the kitchen sink on the cover including the Juno Award nominations, the twinning of the George Massey tunnel, the ex-Vancouver man who won Olympic Gold for the Aussies, the Todd Bertuzzi lawsuit, and the finding of a missing girl's body near Prince George.
The Metro Vancouver freebie balances Canadian Olympic Bronze glory with the $19.5m Bertuzzi lawsuit without openly trying to make Chewbacca jokes about speed skater Anouk Leblanc-Boucher's unfortunate nickname "Wooky", in an effort to look far more credible than 24 Hours.
This week's West Ender fronts their 13th Annual "Spring Hot Tickets" edition - giving shout outs to every Tom, Dick, and Harry of the arts community, although damned if I can figure out if they have new content up or not.
It's Wednesday February the 15 around 9:19PM and
Nice to see that
while the Mayor is away, the City Hall will play. They aren't too impressed with the $3 billion highway expansion plans for the area. And seriously could it kill us to "Los Angelise" this place just a little bit. If we get some taco stands, I'm in. [
CBC News]
Have I done any Lost blogging before? Whatever. Tonight's episode of Lost (One of Them - recap at TV Squad) was kind of interesting.
And speaking of playing while the cats are away. Todd Bertuzzi and Canucks parent company Orca Bay got slapped with a $18 million law suit from Steve Moore while at the Olympics today. It includes another $1.5 million suit to cover the suffering of his parents. [CTV News]
Emerson watch, Day 9. Finally former Prime Minister Paul Martin speaks and he is "astonished" that this would happen. Oh, and I love that he comments on the situation while he is on vacation in Europe. I always love it when politicians throw back barbs while across the pond. But isn't this more astonishing? [Canadian Press]
Another website, this time Daily Candy, was sold for $3.5 Million is going to worth a lot of cash. Some are suggesting as much as $100 million. Could this be true for nine 150-200 word posts per day? Crazy? You be the judge. [Buzz Machine]
You wondering where today's David Hasselhoff is aren't you? Well, there is a third Pepsi ad with the Knight Rider, it features a large rope and a whole lotta chest. [Hollywood Rag]
It's Wednesday February the 15 around 6:20AM and
The Winter Olympics are on, it's cold - Vancouver cold, but coldish - and the
2006 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition is on the newsstands and features an all-star spread with some of the all time favorites like Elle 'the body' Macpherson.
There should be more impressarios. Vancouver's famous one, Hugh Pickett is dead at 92. "Pickett, widely known as "Mr. Showbiz" and to his friends as the "Queen of Vancouver Theater," died Monday. In his heyday, the late 1940s to the late '70s, he was the only game in town, bringing artists ranging from Stravinsky and Liberace to Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and Lillian Gish to Vancouver stages."
Can you believe that we are still talking about David Emerson.
Skip all the annoying news this morning and enjoy some funny video of Karl Pilkington, who Screenhead describes as, "the drug trip of a producer for the Ricky Gervais Xfm radio show."
It's Tuesday February the 14 around 9:29PM and
*More
David Hasselhoff Pepsi madness from the criminals down under. They have seriously lost it, and I heart them more.
The Superficial disects: "I would've loved to hear the discussion of this photo shoot. 'Well, you see David, we've got this white outfit we want you to wear. What's that? Oh, yes, that's the tire-swing, we'll want you to swing around on that like a little fairy while we throw pepsi at you. Now, how wide do you think you can open your mouth?'"
*Oh crap. Can you even imagine what the french version of The Office will be like? Going from British to American was one thing, but honestly, can any good come from Le Bureau?
*For reals? CNN's international edition is sporting some pretty fly graphics.
*Lowest lows: Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise Split. Highest Highest: Deny, Deny, Deny.
It's Tuesday February the 14 around 7:32AM and
*Just try to tell me that this
DVD release doesn't have Valentines written all over it:
Hardcastle and McCormick - the Complete 1st Season. And it's only available in Canada! OH YEAH. Or better yet, perhaps your love would be into
Charles in Charge? What a
ridiculous theme song. Or in
intro video form. Stunning 80's flashbacks. Stunning. (via
TV Squad)
*I was really starting to enjoy Lainey at Lainey's Gossip. But then she's spent a lot of time talking about her husband, her dog, and then this took the cake. "And since my husband has been so lovely, I am going to be a nice wife for a change and actually give him my full attention. Fresh smut on Wednesday. AFTER my poker game." Poker? Wow. Click.
*My faith in border security is reaching new heights. Between Canada's "run away" guards and this, "Apparently all you need to get into another country is a gym card, a fabulous smile, and the mention of lingerie." Really making me feel secure in a post 9/11 world border doods. [Jenny Good]
*Craigslist Vancouver is nothing compared to New York's. Nothing. Gawker finds the good stuff and whispers it in our ear. "I have accepted the fact that I will die alone. One day in the near future i will drop dead from some sickness and there will be not a soul there to see it. My body will rot in my dank apartment for days before anyone begins to wonder where i am. My funeral will be filled with people who cared for me , but not a single woman who will say they loved me."
It's Tuesday February the 14 around 6:03AM and
For Valentine's Day The Vancouver Sun has this story, "
Eight of Vancouver's hottest female celebs tell us what turns them on about a guy's appearance." And who were these eight 'beauties' the Sun turns to for some Valentines fun and talk about men? You can actually hear the scrapping of the bottom of the barrel if you listen closely.
Jacqui Cohen (President & CEO of Army & Navy), Fiona Forbes (Host Urban Rush), Spice Lucks (realtor), Nira Arora (Host, The Beat), Monika Deol (broadcaster & mother of 4), Gabrielle Miller (Actor Corner Gas), Simi Sara (Host Breakfast Television), Jenny Kwan (MLA). Yeah, just a bunch of a-list "celebs", talking 'bout men, nothing to see here. What no Tamara Taggart? Jenny Good? Lainey? Come on. We can only hope the Jenny Kwan has more wise things to say in the Legistlature than she does about men:
"As a rule, I prefer men dressed what I'd call casually nice. I often find that just a T-shirt (usually black) is very sexy. I like jeans on a man, but not too tight please, and certainly not the style of the younger generation where they are falling off and half their bums are showing. I find boots on men very sexy, whether it's cowboy boots or zip up boots. Jacket-wise, I would say I am partial to leather jackets, the tighter-fitting ones that look like a jean jacket but leather. I find those very sexy on men, especially with just a T-shirt and boots...oh my God!"
OMG Jenny, Zip up boots? Really.
It's Monday February the 13 around 9:22PM and
You probably know this already, but I really enjoy the insanity that is Vice magazine. Tonight they emailed me begining with a "Dear cool people at Vancouverite" and that totally worked - maybe we were just happy it wasn't another lame fake press release. Vice has a wacky promotion with Kokanee beer if you can imagine it, called: All Peaks No Valleys. Basically a bunch of hip artists have designed about 2 million cans for Kokanee - Participating artists in the series are: Karen Klassen, Andy Dixon, Andrew Pommier, Niall McClelland and Ryan Buchnea and the cans hit the street today, so that's fun. Booze & art. Well played.
Anyway, there is a Vice style party coming up this Saturday you should dig on. Mostly because it is only here and in Calgary. Better still, Vice says this, "If you’re stuck in Red Deer or something like that, visit www.kokaneebeer.com and bookmark viceland.com/kokanee, well flic a few pics so you can see all the fun you missed out on. " In your face Red Deer.
Party Details for those able to go hard Vice style below:
When: 9pm Saturday February 18th
Where: Silkhaus: 135 Keefer
What: Installation by Andy Dixon
Musical Guests: Pride Tiger, The Christa Min
DJ: Kilocee
RSVP: canadaevents@addvicemarketing.com (with 'VANCOUVER PEAKS" in subject)
"Please RSVP and show up early! RSVPing does not guarantee entry. It's Important you understand that so you don't yell at the staff, b/c its not their problem!"
It's Monday February the 13 around 6:27PM and
*Has the world gone mad? Can somebody explain to me how The Pink Panther made $21.7 million at the box office this weekend? In fact the entire slate of new movies, also the top four places at the box office is a complete embarassment. Honestly the next thing you know a Nascar movie will be the savior of the box office...[
Box Office Mojo]
*Thank the maker. The trailer for Will Ferrell's new "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is up. Funnier, I know, is the amazing under construction website. And we very much enjoyed Will Ferrell doing Robert Goulet for no reason whatsoever this afternoon. And of course, there is more Goulet. Thank you Will Ferrell.
*Damn you Steve Jobs. Damn you! Another Ipod? A new video version? Come on man, we're still rolling like an '87 Ford with the Mini. [Gizmodo]
*The strange new Nike Football - soccer football kids - video is up. And speaking of Euro, there is a new VW site up for the GTI MkV. It's crazy. Then move on over to this new Jetta spot from DDB London.
*I don't like to question HBO, but today I finally saw a banner ad for their new show, Big Love. This is their new polygamy show starring Bill Paxton. Yes, I can't wait to cleanse my palate after the new Sopranos with a hilarious show about "how challenging life as a modern-day polygamist can be." Yeah, nope, not buying it. Not even the "Polygamy love company" tagline. I can only image the vistors from Utah arriving at the Vancouverite after this. Gosh.
*Get ready kids. Office Pirates is coming. This is from your friends at Time Inc. mixed in with a former Maxim editor, and a sales team from Sports Illustrated. Open for clicking Feb 22.
*I'm having dinner with my favorite Polish person of all-time on Friday, what will she think of these genius Polish posters for American movies? (via DataWhat?)
It's Monday February the 13 around 5:59AM and
*
24 Hours leads with the David Emerson protest. Of course, they can't play the protest straight up, the go with a headline of "Protests dog Emerson" and a photo of Shannon Steele who forced her
