A Child's Christmas
In Neither Scarborough Nor Wales
Our Dad got home from the great big Tug Boat Sea late that year.
After dinner we walked to the lot, up the street then left on Oak Bay Ave and down past the Theatre where we would see True Grit a few months later; evening of the 23rd.
Me nine, brothers six and five. As we were lugging the tree home it started to snow.
By morning, Christmas Eve, it was knee deep. Was sent to the corner store to get Mom cigarettes. The switch to No7's had already been made. Walked right up the middle of the carless, silent street.
Kept snowing all day long and then the temperature dropped.
We had to take the city bus to Grandparents house for Christmas dinner.
Apollo 8 circled the moon. Built a Command Module Cockpit in the closet while Dad built an ice-rink in the back yard.
Temperature stayed below zero right past New Years and through the first week back at school. Sledding every night on the golf course hill and we actually learned to skate in the back yard.
1968 in Victoria.
Best Christmas.
Ever.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The Weakerthans Shall Inherit The Earth
Winnipeg, Manitoba
49° 53' North; 97° 10' West
I am no longer the young man I used to be.
But this afternoon I took off from work, hopped on my bike, and headed down to 4th Ave. to find an album for a friend.
Well, a relative and a friend, actually.
The younger me remembers West 4th Ave. in Vancouver as a scratchy, get up early at the crack of noon on a Saturday after posing punk at the SBuddha the night before, kind of place where you went to buy albums by 'The' Somethings and/or Anythings at Quintessence Records.
Which is long gone now. But Zulu is still pretty cool and despite the high whipper-snapper quotient they don't give middle-aged folks a hard time when they stroll in and ask for old Pointed Sticks EPs. And besides, my daughter likes to go there to play Pong after we buy Chumbawumba CDs.
Anyway, today I wanted to find the disc by the Weakerthans that has that tune about hating Winnipeg on it.
But I couldn't remember what the song was called, so rode up the street to the Magic Flute and bought a very different CD for my Dad for Christmas instead. Well, maybe not so different, except in genre.
Then, tonight for some reason I ended up at Warren Kinsella's blog. Don't know why really; maybe it had something to do with the oblique Snowman and Falcon reference involving another Mr. K. from earlier in the day.
Anyway, W.K. has this riff on songs about Winnipeg and a link. So I followed, and there it was. It's by John K Sampson and it's called 'One Great City' and it's a masterpiece, ironical or not.
And I'd forgotten - this Sampson guy is a genius, and everything a Real Canadian should be.....
....which was another of the 'The' Bands from Quintessence days gone by.
___
Update: Darn! Had it wrong. Should have been 'The Young Canadians' which was Art Bergmann's post-K-Tels vehicle. 'The Real Canadians' was a similar era Trooper single (sheesh, thought that group had been expunged from limbic system). Get the whole story, sans Ra McGuire et al., from local media maven Michael Klassen here.
49° 53' North; 97° 10' West
I am no longer the young man I used to be.
But this afternoon I took off from work, hopped on my bike, and headed down to 4th Ave. to find an album for a friend.
Well, a relative and a friend, actually.
The younger me remembers West 4th Ave. in Vancouver as a scratchy, get up early at the crack of noon on a Saturday after posing punk at the SBuddha the night before, kind of place where you went to buy albums by 'The' Somethings and/or Anythings at Quintessence Records.
Which is long gone now. But Zulu is still pretty cool and despite the high whipper-snapper quotient they don't give middle-aged folks a hard time when they stroll in and ask for old Pointed Sticks EPs. And besides, my daughter likes to go there to play Pong after we buy Chumbawumba CDs.
Anyway, today I wanted to find the disc by the Weakerthans that has that tune about hating Winnipeg on it.
But I couldn't remember what the song was called, so rode up the street to the Magic Flute and bought a very different CD for my Dad for Christmas instead. Well, maybe not so different, except in genre.
Then, tonight for some reason I ended up at Warren Kinsella's blog. Don't know why really; maybe it had something to do with the oblique Snowman and Falcon reference involving another Mr. K. from earlier in the day.
Anyway, W.K. has this riff on songs about Winnipeg and a link. So I followed, and there it was. It's by John K Sampson and it's called 'One Great City' and it's a masterpiece, ironical or not.
And I'd forgotten - this Sampson guy is a genius, and everything a Real Canadian should be.....
....which was another of the 'The' Bands from Quintessence days gone by.
___
Update: Darn! Had it wrong. Should have been 'The Young Canadians' which was Art Bergmann's post-K-Tels vehicle. 'The Real Canadians' was a similar era Trooper single (sheesh, thought that group had been expunged from limbic system). Get the whole story, sans Ra McGuire et al., from local media maven Michael Klassen here.
Willcocks Weighs In
Victoria, British Columbia
48° 39' North; 123° 26' West
The normally very careful and balanced Paul Willcocks has let himself off the leash a little on the charge-a-thon issue and, like us, he figures that yesterday's events just might be pretty bad news for the SS Gordo.
"....The talk around the legislature for months has been that there was less to the case than meets the eye. Charges - if there were any - would be petty offences, based on the boastful tendencies of would-be political wheels.
Wrong.
The charges are explicit, and raise doubts about the legitimacy not just of the sale of BC Rail's Roberts Bank spur, but of the whole $1-billion deal to sell the Crown corporation...."
Wow!
Can't wait to watch The Falcon (Heavy Kevvie) and The Snowman (Mr. K.) try to weasel their way out of this one.
48° 39' North; 123° 26' West
The normally very careful and balanced Paul Willcocks has let himself off the leash a little on the charge-a-thon issue and, like us, he figures that yesterday's events just might be pretty bad news for the SS Gordo.
"....The talk around the legislature for months has been that there was less to the case than meets the eye. Charges - if there were any - would be petty offences, based on the boastful tendencies of would-be political wheels.
Wrong.
The charges are explicit, and raise doubts about the legitimacy not just of the sale of BC Rail's Roberts Bank spur, but of the whole $1-billion deal to sell the Crown corporation...."
Wow!
Can't wait to watch The Falcon (Heavy Kevvie) and The Snowman (Mr. K.) try to weasel their way out of this one.
The Door is Open
Vancouver, British Columbia
49°15' North; 123°08' West
All welcome the Kilbournes!
(Here's hoping we keep doing the right thing on all fronts.)
____
Apologies for the pseudo-Freeper link (there's actually a real one as well, but couldn't quite make myself do it), but the original CBC page has disappeared .
49°15' North; 123°08' West
All welcome the Kilbournes!
(Here's hoping we keep doing the right thing on all fronts.)
____
Apologies for the pseudo-Freeper link (there's actually a real one as well, but couldn't quite make myself do it), but the original CBC page has disappeared .
The Sandwich Board Conspiracy
Victoria, British Columbia
48° 39' North; 123° 26' West
As usual Sean Holman at Public Eye does us all a great service by posting up raw feeds on the Basi/Virk/Basi sandwich board conspiracy on a number of fronts. At the moment we'd like to comment on three.....
First, directly from the charges:
Second from a rush transcript of the Media's post charge-a-thon scrum with Generalissimo Geoff Plant:
Attorney General Plant ..... I don't know a whole lot really about what's happened today other than the information that I received a copy of an hour or so ago..... And the question of how this relates to various aspects of B.C. Rail and the CN Rail partnership is a question that is more appropriately directed to Kevin Falcon.
So is this the opening salvo of an open war between the Martinis and the Neandercons on the slippery and slime-covered decks of the SS Gordon Campbell?
And finally, it was good to see/read Paul Willcocks to go back at the Generalissimo in an effort to get to the heart of the matter:
Media You've read the information. Were you surprised? I think the public had been led to believe that anything that happened related to the Roberts Bank line. Were you surprised, as a member of government, when you read the information that it was much more extensive?
____
Update: For a succinct primer/reminder of the affair, see the timeline of major events from Martin McCarvill in UVIC's The Martlet.
48° 39' North; 123° 26' West
As usual Sean Holman at Public Eye does us all a great service by posting up raw feeds on the Basi/Virk/Basi sandwich board conspiracy on a number of fronts. At the moment we'd like to comment on three.....
***
First, directly from the charges:
Count 1
Udhe Singh (Dave) BASI......directly or indirectly, being an official, demanded, accepted or offered or agreed to accept for himself rewards, advantages and benefits being money, meals, travel and employment opportunities as consideration for cooperation, assistance, exercise of influence or an act or omission in connection with matters of government business including a bid by OmniTRAX Inc. to obtain the operating rights of BC Rail from the Government of British Columbia, contrary to Section 121 (1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code.
***
Second from a rush transcript of the Media's post charge-a-thon scrum with Generalissimo Geoff Plant:
Attorney General Plant ..... I don't know a whole lot really about what's happened today other than the information that I received a copy of an hour or so ago..... And the question of how this relates to various aspects of B.C. Rail and the CN Rail partnership is a question that is more appropriately directed to Kevin Falcon.
Media Will Kevin Falcon be made available today?
Attorney General Plant I'm not responsible for Kevin's whereabouts.So is this the opening salvo of an open war between the Martinis and the Neandercons on the slippery and slime-covered decks of the SS Gordon Campbell?
***
And finally, it was good to see/read Paul Willcocks to go back at the Generalissimo in an effort to get to the heart of the matter:
Media You've read the information. Were you surprised? I think the public had been led to believe that anything that happened related to the Roberts Bank line. Were you surprised, as a member of government, when you read the information that it was much more extensive?
Attorney General Plant Well what I can say is to confirm the second part of your statement Paul (Willcocks). Which is to say, on the face of it, the charges here are not limited to the port subdivision contract. And I don't know anything about these charges beyond what's on the face of the information. But they clearly appear to be more general - although they appear to only relate to OmniTRAX.
Now, of course, one of Gordo's biggest stonewalling talking points from the beginning has been the fall back position that this debacle, while diversionary, was never really damaging because OmniTrax was not the chosen one. But here's a question we haven't seen asked before..... Did the meddling of the BasiBoys doom the OmniTrax bid for BC Rail from the inside, even unintentionally?____
Update: For a succinct primer/reminder of the affair, see the timeline of major events from Martin McCarvill in UVIC's The Martlet.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Polling For Dollars
Vancouver, British Columbia
49°15' North; 123°08' West
Remember when the local media went gaga earlier in the fall after a spate of polls suggested that the SS Gordon Campbell had managed to temporarily patch over some of the holes in its rusting hull just enough to take a slim, albeit statistically insignificant, lead on the NDP?
Well, at the risk of invoking the wrath of Ian King, we post the following figures below, taken directly from last week's Mustel Poll.
Now, some might argue that the Lieberal's one month precipitous drop is nothing more than an anomaly caused by the Ferret's demented decision to desert a decrepit, if not literally sinking, ship.
But forget all that and just have a look at the NDP's three month trend. And then remember that this solid, continuing increase in popular support has occurred in the face of the non-stop onslaught of the Lieberal's Mighty Propaganda Whirlitzer. Further, when you couple that with the Mustel poll's internals showing that our fearless leader's high disapproval ratings have not budged and that the Lieberal's traditional base of conservative support (ie. men) is softening you've gotta wonder.....why no stories of doom and gloom from the mainstream media sheeple lamenting the return of a socialist juggernaut that is going to destroy us all?
___
Original link to the Mustel Poll, with an interesting analysis of their own, was courtesy the good folks at Have You Had Enough Yet?
49°15' North; 123°08' West
Remember when the local media went gaga earlier in the fall after a spate of polls suggested that the SS Gordon Campbell had managed to temporarily patch over some of the holes in its rusting hull just enough to take a slim, albeit statistically insignificant, lead on the NDP?
Well, at the risk of invoking the wrath of Ian King, we post the following figures below, taken directly from last week's Mustel Poll.
| Sept. ‘04 | Oct. ‘04 | Dec. '04 |
| Voter Intentions | |||
BC Liberal | 43% | 45% | 40% |
NDP | 37% | 39% | 43% |
Now, some might argue that the Lieberal's one month precipitous drop is nothing more than an anomaly caused by the Ferret's demented decision to desert a decrepit, if not literally sinking, ship.
But forget all that and just have a look at the NDP's three month trend. And then remember that this solid, continuing increase in popular support has occurred in the face of the non-stop onslaught of the Lieberal's Mighty Propaganda Whirlitzer. Further, when you couple that with the Mustel poll's internals showing that our fearless leader's high disapproval ratings have not budged and that the Lieberal's traditional base of conservative support (ie. men) is softening you've gotta wonder.....why no stories of doom and gloom from the mainstream media sheeple lamenting the return of a socialist juggernaut that is going to destroy us all?
___
Original link to the Mustel Poll, with an interesting analysis of their own, was courtesy the good folks at Have You Had Enough Yet?
Monday, December 20, 2004
The Anti-Canada Conspiracy
New York, New York
40° 45' North; 74° 00' West
At first we thought it was just another Random Act of the Bozo that led Bill O'Lielly to blame Canada for destroying Christmas in America.
But then we got a note from Kate Storm, one of the denizens of the AllSpinZone, that stopped us in our tracks.
Because it turns out that other hard right media darlings from south of the line have been flinging their jingoistic hoops of hate at us of late.
One of them is Tucker 'Bowtie Boy' Carlson who has been saying things like:
Another is Ann 'The Adam's Apple That Must Be Obeyed' Coulter who's utterances have been even more vile:
Initially, we found all of this nonsense to be laughable in the extreme.
But then we remembered that mouthpieces of this magnitude are only instructed to slime that which the Big Neandercon Machine fears most.
Which got us to thinking....just what is it that the Kleptofascista have to fear from us anyway?
40° 45' North; 74° 00' West
At first we thought it was just another Random Act of the Bozo that led Bill O'Lielly to blame Canada for destroying Christmas in America.
But then we got a note from Kate Storm, one of the denizens of the AllSpinZone, that stopped us in our tracks.
Because it turns out that other hard right media darlings from south of the line have been flinging their jingoistic hoops of hate at us of late.
One of them is Tucker 'Bowtie Boy' Carlson who has been saying things like:
"Canada's essentially ... a made-in-Taiwan version of the United States"
"I think if Canada were responsible for its own security [it] would be invaded by Norway"
"Without the U.S., Canada is essentially Honduras, but colder and much less interesting"
"I think if Canada were responsible for its own security [it] would be invaded by Norway"
"Without the U.S., Canada is essentially Honduras, but colder and much less interesting"
Another is Ann 'The Adam's Apple That Must Be Obeyed' Coulter who's utterances have been even more vile:
"Conservatives, as a general matter, take the position that you should not punish your friends and reward your enemies. And Canada has become trouble recently."
"....when you're allowed to exist on the same continent of the United States of America, protecting you with a nuclear shield around you, you're polite and you support us when we've been attacked on our own soil.
They [Canada] violated that protocol."
"They better hope the United States doesn't roll over one night and crush them.
They are lucky we allow them to exist on the same continent."
"....when you're allowed to exist on the same continent of the United States of America, protecting you with a nuclear shield around you, you're polite and you support us when we've been attacked on our own soil.
They [Canada] violated that protocol."
"They better hope the United States doesn't roll over one night and crush them.
They are lucky we allow them to exist on the same continent."
Initially, we found all of this nonsense to be laughable in the extreme.
But then we remembered that mouthpieces of this magnitude are only instructed to slime that which the Big Neandercon Machine fears most.
Which got us to thinking....just what is it that the Kleptofascista have to fear from us anyway?
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Whose Mustard Was It Anyway?
Baghdad Iraq
33° 14' North; 44°22' East
The fact that Donald Rumsfeld is currently battling his pesky guardian Angel hasn't stopped the Big Neandercon Machine from doing what it does best - spinning reality one newsycle at a time.
This time around they've managed to focus the mighty Whirlitzer on the showtrial of Ali Hassan al-Majiid in an effort to return FOX-addled hearts and minds to the task at hand, the democraptactic installation of the latest puppetary regime in Iraq.
Which begs the question asked by Eric Margolis:
"Who was the first high government official to authorize use of mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq?
Now don't get us wrong. We are not suggesting that Chemical Ali was not a barbarian. All we are saying is that we would like to see the trial be the real thing, taking place in, say, the Hague. Because that would ensure that all, rather than just the Rovian/Wolfman version, of the facts come out.
And if Mr. Margolis is right some of those facts point in very uncomfortable directions indeed.
33° 14' North; 44°22' East
The fact that Donald Rumsfeld is currently battling his pesky guardian Angel hasn't stopped the Big Neandercon Machine from doing what it does best - spinning reality one newsycle at a time.
This time around they've managed to focus the mighty Whirlitzer on the showtrial of Ali Hassan al-Majiid in an effort to return FOX-addled hearts and minds to the task at hand, the democraptactic installation of the latest puppetary regime in Iraq.
Which begs the question asked by Eric Margolis:
"Who was the first high government official to authorize use of mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq?
If your answer was Saddam Hussein's cousin, the notorious "Chemical Ali" -- aka Ali Hassan al-Majid -- you're wrong.
The correct answer: Sainted Winston Churchill. As colonial secretary and secretary for war and air, he authorized the RAF in the 1920s to routinely use mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq and against Pashtun tribes on British India's northwest frontier."Now don't get us wrong. We are not suggesting that Chemical Ali was not a barbarian. All we are saying is that we would like to see the trial be the real thing, taking place in, say, the Hague. Because that would ensure that all, rather than just the Rovian/Wolfman version, of the facts come out.
And if Mr. Margolis is right some of those facts point in very uncomfortable directions indeed.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Cherry-O, Chaps!
Toronto, ON
43° 30' North; 79° 22' West
Ralph Klein hate's 'em, or at least pretends to for purposes of www.expediency.redmeat.ca.
But Don Cherry? Well, he couldn't care less about 'em.
Gay marriages that is.
....Controversial Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry appearing on TSN tonight was asked about same-sex marriage. "Why should I care," he said, "Is it going to cost me money, no."
Cherry is an Anglican and went onto say he didn't think they should be married in church, but going to a Justice of the Peace was okay....
Clearly, Mr. Cherry has much better focus groups (real folks perhaps?) than the Harper/Klein HateFestiva.
_____
Original Link Source: AgainstAllFlags
43° 30' North; 79° 22' West
Ralph Klein hate's 'em, or at least pretends to for purposes of www.expediency.redmeat.ca.
But Don Cherry? Well, he couldn't care less about 'em.
Gay marriages that is.
....Controversial Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry appearing on TSN tonight was asked about same-sex marriage. "Why should I care," he said, "Is it going to cost me money, no."
Cherry is an Anglican and went onto say he didn't think they should be married in church, but going to a Justice of the Peace was okay....
Clearly, Mr. Cherry has much better focus groups (real folks perhaps?) than the Harper/Klein HateFestiva.
_____
Original Link Source: AgainstAllFlags
Blame Canada!
New York, New York
40° 45' North; 74° 00' West
According to noted Canuckistan basher, Bill O'Reilly, overindulgent secular Christmas shopping has nothing to do with Madison Ave., which is right around the corner from his FOX Snooze Bunker.
Instead, it is all our fault.
" The Canadian model is what progressive Americans are shooting for, and, so, religion must be dealt with. Since Christmas is the most demonstrative display of organized religion, the strategy of minimizing the birth of Jesus makes perfect sense."
His Liarness has much more to say about our degenerate, godless society but if you decide you want to read it make sure you put on your anti-slime suit before going there.
What's next....blaming us for the Grinch?
Oh, wait, forgot for a second there that Jim Carrey is one of us too.
40° 45' North; 74° 00' West
According to noted Canuckistan basher, Bill O'Reilly, overindulgent secular Christmas shopping has nothing to do with Madison Ave., which is right around the corner from his FOX Snooze Bunker.
Instead, it is all our fault.
" The Canadian model is what progressive Americans are shooting for, and, so, religion must be dealt with. Since Christmas is the most demonstrative display of organized religion, the strategy of minimizing the birth of Jesus makes perfect sense."
His Liarness has much more to say about our degenerate, godless society but if you decide you want to read it make sure you put on your anti-slime suit before going there.
What's next....blaming us for the Grinch?
Oh, wait, forgot for a second there that Jim Carrey is one of us too.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Three Dots In the Fountain
Boxed Compass
All The Lats And Longs That Fit
...B.C. Lieberal BackBencher Sheila 'I've Got Bad Knees Like Bobby' Orr denying everything after being caught, again, parking in a handicapped spot at the Legislature on Deny, Deny at Have You Had Enough Yet.
The suspended doctor who administered the shots, Bach McComb, used the material as if it were lower-strength Botox, a derivative of botulinum toxin..... McComb and his girlfriend are among the four people who remain hospitalized after getting the shots.....
Repeating.....it's a toxin! It's botulism! It paralyzes you! Stop injecting it in your face!
Heather Mallick taking on the "Ozone-Depletion Is Good For You" lobby at the Rabble Columnist page.
All The Lats And Longs That Fit
"...I drove in, I didn't truly constitute it as parking.
I left the car running, I ran in, I dropped something off.
I got in my car and came back...."
I left the car running, I ran in, I dropped something off.
I got in my car and came back...."
...B.C. Lieberal BackBencher Sheila 'I've Got Bad Knees Like Bobby' Orr denying everything after being caught, again, parking in a handicapped spot at the Legislature on Deny, Deny at Have You Had Enough Yet.
***
March2004: Surrey-Whalley MLA Elayne Brenzinger resigned from caucus and blasted Campbell in a news release, only to disappear and not make herself available to the news media. The hottest part of the story was an admission by caucus whip Kevin Krueger that MLAs were routinely suspended from caucus but who, when and what for is kept secret.
....Just one month of David Shreck's The Year of Living Scandalously at Strategic Thoughts.
***
OAKLAND PARK, Fla. - Four people paralyzed by botulism were injected with large doses of a raw, unapproved botulinum toxin that someone at their anti-wrinkle treatment clinic bought from a California laboratory, federal documents show.
The suspended doctor who administered the shots, Bach McComb, used the material as if it were lower-strength Botox, a derivative of botulinum toxin..... McComb and his girlfriend are among the four people who remain hospitalized after getting the shots.....
Repeating.....it's a toxin! It's botulism! It paralyzes you! Stop injecting it in your face!
***
From the 'How Evil Is The Empire?' Dept.......Word has it that FOX News and the Clear Channel Radio Hegemony have teamed up to bludgeon reason to death every hour on the hour. But Clear Channel CEO John Hogan says there's nothing to worry about because:
"We don't have a political agenda.
What we have is an agenda to get the greatest number of listeners for the longest period of time."
Which, of course, is kind of like Joseph Gobbels saying that his only motivation in life was to increase market share.
What we have is an agenda to get the greatest number of listeners for the longest period of time."
***
"SUVs are like Etch-a-Sketches. They only do straight lines.
Furthermore, they roll over more easily and tend to kill their drivers.
I wonder what the cellphone therapist says at a time like that."
Furthermore, they roll over more easily and tend to kill their drivers.
I wonder what the cellphone therapist says at a time like that."
Heather Mallick taking on the "Ozone-Depletion Is Good For You" lobby at the Rabble Columnist page.
***
Half A Canuck Ross Thomas (no RossRelation) was at his kid's Christmas concert recently and decided he just had to describe the experience:
"I believe "like hell, only cute" captures it pretty well. It was like being raped by a kitten.... My personal favorite was "The Twelve Months of Christmas." At least, I think that's what it was called. It sure felt like it."
Wow! That's some imagery, captures all the power and the glory pretty well I figure.
Rook Ranting, again. Can't remember exactly what it was about now, but it was a good one.
"I believe "like hell, only cute" captures it pretty well. It was like being raped by a kitten.... My personal favorite was "The Twelve Months of Christmas." At least, I think that's what it was called. It sure felt like it."
Wow! That's some imagery, captures all the power and the glory pretty well I figure.
***
And finally for everybody out there that is wondering....why the heck do we do this anyway?
"As social creatures, we really do dread being left alone. You think our citizenship in Blogstonia is a desire to avoid people? Right, go ahead, don't show any interest in your hit counts. Seriously, go ahead."
Rook Ranting, again. Can't remember exactly what it was about now, but it was a good one.
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Vancouver, British Columbia
49°15' North; 123°08' West
This is one of the greatest Christmas get together ideas we've ever seen, and it comes from an interesting and decidely youthful local site that is way, way more chatty than ours (see post below for explanation).
From Breebop, it's a "lit geek gift exchange/drinking game party" that goes like this:
"Each invitee brings a wrapped book that must have come either from his or her own library or from a used book store. If bought from a secondhand store it must have cost less than $10.
49°15' North; 123°08' West
This is one of the greatest Christmas get together ideas we've ever seen, and it comes from an interesting and decidely youthful local site that is way, way more chatty than ours (see post below for explanation).
From Breebop, it's a "lit geek gift exchange/drinking game party" that goes like this:
"Each invitee brings a wrapped book that must have come either from his or her own library or from a used book store. If bought from a secondhand store it must have cost less than $10.
We spin a bottle or draw names out of a hat or something to pick who goes when, and then take turns either picking a mystery book from the pile or stealing someone else's book.
If your book is stolen, you get to take a shot of a yummy liqueur to dull the pain of your loss. If you are evil and steal a book -- covetous knave! heartless bandit! -- you have to take a shot of something punishing (Fireball whisky maybe?).
On it goes until the last wrapped gift is opened.
The hope is that everyone will bring good books, which will hopefully stimulate discussions about authors and spark suggestions for must-reads."
Wow! The kids really are alright.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
There's No Chun In This King
Vancouver, British Columbia
49°15' North; 123°08' West
The proprietor of the blog formerly known as the Vancouver Scrum, which still lives on in print form at local alt.weekly Terminal City, Ian King, is back in business online.
In some ways No Chun works similarly to Sean Holman, but his beat is a little different. Specifically, as well as interests in Provincial Politics, Mr. King also covers the Greater Vancouver scene and has a penchant for bashing members of the local press/media up the side of the head when they deserve it. The latter activity may be facilitated by the fact that the journo-game does not appear to be King's fulltime day job (seem to remember Ian letting slip somewhere along the way that he is involved in biology/biotech, which might explain his very strange recent 'sensory vs. motor' hommunculus post).
Anyway, glad to have Ian back at it even if he did flame Left Blogistan recently and, even worse, had the gall to describe this small, small corner of same as 'chatty'.
____
Update 7:00am Thurs Dec 16th. Apologies to PublicEye proprietor for intimating in 1st edition that work schedule influences media relations. Also apologize to the the 3, maybe 4, people that read same edition; has now been edited.
49°15' North; 123°08' West
The proprietor of the blog formerly known as the Vancouver Scrum, which still lives on in print form at local alt.weekly Terminal City, Ian King, is back in business online.
In some ways No Chun works similarly to Sean Holman, but his beat is a little different. Specifically, as well as interests in Provincial Politics, Mr. King also covers the Greater Vancouver scene and has a penchant for bashing members of the local press/media up the side of the head when they deserve it. The latter activity may be facilitated by the fact that the journo-game does not appear to be King's fulltime day job (seem to remember Ian letting slip somewhere along the way that he is involved in biology/biotech, which might explain his very strange recent 'sensory vs. motor' hommunculus post).
Anyway, glad to have Ian back at it even if he did flame Left Blogistan recently and, even worse, had the gall to describe this small, small corner of same as 'chatty'.
____
Update 7:00am Thurs Dec 16th. Apologies to PublicEye proprietor for intimating in 1st edition that work schedule influences media relations. Also apologize to the the 3, maybe 4, people that read same edition; has now been edited.
It is a Martini Thing
Victoria, British Columbia
48° 39' North; 123° 26' West
In our previous post we suggested, tongue in cheek, that soon to be former Provincial Budget Puppeteer Gary Collins might be expected to 'bring home the Federal Airline Equalization Bacon' for his new company, Harmony Airlines.
Paul Willcocks, as usual, has the deeper story, and if he's right we may not have been that far off the mark after all:
"......(Harmony) owner David Ho has his sights set on a much bigger prize. He wants Harmony to win the right, along with Air Canada, to fly into China, targeting several booming cities.
That will require a major effort in lobbying the federal government. Collins, with good federal Liberal ties and support from the B.C. government, is a good choice to make that happen...."
48° 39' North; 123° 26' West
In our previous post we suggested, tongue in cheek, that soon to be former Provincial Budget Puppeteer Gary Collins might be expected to 'bring home the Federal Airline Equalization Bacon' for his new company, Harmony Airlines.
Paul Willcocks, as usual, has the deeper story, and if he's right we may not have been that far off the mark after all:
"......(Harmony) owner David Ho has his sights set on a much bigger prize. He wants Harmony to win the right, along with Air Canada, to fly into China, targeting several booming cities.
That will require a major effort in lobbying the federal government. Collins, with good federal Liberal ties and support from the B.C. government, is a good choice to make that happen...."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
