the devil and mrs. yama-jones

The Riders-Lions' game last night was a tonne o' fun with Del, Art et al (despite the final score - doh!) and the Playhouse Halloween party in the carp shop was jam-packed (with some bloody fantastic costumes too) but I confess it wasn't all that much fun UNTIL I did chance to meet a very pretty, personable and petite, blonde-haired woman named Julie (a friend of a friend of my friend Visnja who works at the VP).

I'm going to call Vish and find out if she's seeing anyone, get her number if possible. Yep, I'm smitten. It's just that easy, that fast sometimes. Mom always told me, "you're reasonable, not easy" and I admit that I can be a slow burn sometimes but this current situation demands immediate action! ; - )

Check out this cool pic of Miranda and some devilishly handsome fella at the Playhouse bash last night:

After the party and last night's tragic downpour (got totally drenched, walking from Columbia/1st to Broadway & Cambie before I managed to flag down a merciful cab driver), this afternoon's sunshine was a welcome relief. I joined my neighbour.pal.colleague pal Tracey (TC) and her daughter Raine for coffee on Denman, then made haste unto the West End Community Centre wherein I "joined the club" - who knew? Miracles do exist in this day and age.

We're going to train together and support each other for the next 5 weeks, 3 times a week plus individual efforts, to participate in the 2004 Santa Shuffle on Sat, December 4 (to raise money for Salvation Army efforts). Typically, you won't ever see me running more than 10m for a cab, so this ought to be, um, interesting. I'm gonna give it a good shot though, regardless of the outcome.

Nice knowin' ya! In lieu of flowers, please make a generous donation to The Breast Cancer Society of Canada (in honour of a great woman for whom I miss with all my heart, Jane Wright). Then y'all can smoke my remains in a big ass skookum hooka ...with a fist full of BC bud! Go Riders! LOL

So what's for dinner at your house tonight? I'm eating a chicken breast and some greens for a change - no smoking afterwards either. Miraculous, you say? Well I guess so.

oac and deservedly so

"Joni Mitchell is the woman who taught your cold, English wife how to feel."

Joni Mitchell receives Order of Canada

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 13:24:48 EST
CBC NEWS at cbc.ca

OTTAWA - Joni Mitchell received the country's highest honour on Saturday, as the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and 45 others were inducted into the Order of Canada. Full story

--

Whoo hoo! Good on ya, Joni! I'm sure anyone who has ever heard or witnessed one of your many wonderful creations (i.e. music and paintings), would be very happy to hear the news and be exceptionally proud of you today. That's my bet.

If you want to hear the most incredible cover of 'River' (a.k.a. Sophie's Song), Joni Mitchell's superlative tune about love and loss, then look no farther afield than Vancouver Island (Nanaimo) and "our" very own Allison Crowe.

This 22-year-old artist is truly the 'real deal' given her enormous musical chops and a voice powerful enough to melt mountain tops. If you get a chance to see Allison perform, I highly recommend you do so. Check out her website for plenty of background info and mp3s to download au gratis.

Cheers to you gals!

the social side of working life

Well it's about freakin' time, ain't it?

Ottawa gets set to revamp labour code

By BRUCE CHEADLE, CNEWS/CANOE

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government is set to launch a national round of collective negotiations with the potential to revamp life on the job as we know it.

Everything from the length of the work week to maternity leave, a national minimum wage and Canada's paltry two-week vacation standard will be on the table when a federal commission begins work next month, says Labour Minister Joe Fontana.

The four-person panel, to be officially launched in a couple of weeks, will undertake what Fontana is calling a "pretty monumental exercise" studying the social side of working life.

Full story here

too funny by half

thx TC!

my gotico side, you like?

title: "mi lado gotico"
description: "foto tomada con camara digital...me tenia q caracterizar algo"

...which apparently translates into:

"my gotico side"

"photo taken with camera digital... me tapeworm to characterize something"

Awk, the poor wee girly... what some people won't do for art's sake, eh? Nice pic though. ; - )

gimme a frickin' break

There's sure as hell a tonne o' injuries throughout the NBA this year - already. Makes this roundball fan wonder who's NOT hurt, out indefinitely or totally toast for the season...

Today's Heads
Nets' Mourning Looks Strong In Comeback
Elbow Injury Keeps Yao On Bench
Pacers' O'Neal Likely Out For Opener
Hobbled Christie Eyeing Kings' Opener
The "Glove" breaks thumb

The Short List
Michael Finley - Hamstring (Questionable)
Jerry Stackhouse - Thigh (Out)
Kerry Kittles - Knee (Out)
Vlade Divac - Back (Out)
Devean George - Ankle (Out)
Karl Malone - Knee (Out)
Bonzi Wells - Back (Questionable)
Jason Williams - Personal (Questionable)
Latrell Sprewell - Ankle, knee (Questionable)
Jason Kidd - Knee (Out)
Allan Houston - Knee (Out)
Doug Christie - Plantar fasciitis (Questionable)
Ray Allen - Back (Questionable)
Vince Carter - Personal (Questionable)
Alvin Williams - Knee (Ok)
Kwame Brown - Foot (Out)

Buncha overpaid lazyass couch pussies! Back to work! ; - )

world class bun fight

Such is the constitution of civil society, that whilst a few persons are distinguished by riches, by honours, and by knowledge, the body of the people is condemned to obscurity, ignorance and poverty. And rich or poor, a few persons exist simply for our amusement.

World famous film critic Roger Ebert and beseiged media mogul Conrad Black are engaged in a rather entertaining bun fight.

Ebert worked for Black when Black was CEO of Hollinger International Inc., the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times.

On the eve of a strike at the Sun-Times, Ebert in an e-mail lashed out against Black and his former publisher David Radler, who are accused of lining their pockets with tens of millions of dollars of the firm's money.

Ebert fired off his e-mail, which read in part:

"There were obviously millions of dollars winging away to the Radler and Black billfolds while we worked in a building where even basic maintenance was ignored."

In familiar Black style, Conrad replied in a letter sent to both the Sun-Times and its crosstown rival the Chicago Tribune.

"I have been disappointed to read your complaints about the former Hollinger International management," Black wrote.

"I vividly recall your avaricious negotiating techniques through your lawyer, replete with threats to quit, and your generous treatment from David Radler, which yielded you an income of over $500,000 [US] per year from us . . ."

He also used the letter to deny the allegations against him. "In the light of these facts, and the many kindnesses David Radler and I showered on you, your proletarian posturing on behalf of those threatening to strike the Sun-Times and your base ingratitude are very tiresome."

Yesterday in a full page of the Sun-Times, Ebert replied:

"Dear Conrad,

"One of the things I have always admired about you, and that sets you aside from the general run of proprietors, is that you so articulately and amusingly say exactly what is on your mind. I am not at all surprised by your letter to me, because I would assume that is how you would feel; what is refreshing is that you say so.

"Let me just say in response that I have never complained about my salary at the Sun-Times, but to describe my lawyer as 'avaricious' is a bit much; he engaged in spirited negotiations, as he should have, and he and you settled on a contract. It goes without saying that any contract negotiation includes the possibility that either party might choose to leave rather than to sign. I hope you are grateful that I did not demand an additional payment for agreeing not to compete with myself. Since you have made my salary public, let me say that when I learned that Barbara [Amiel, Black's wife] received $300,000 a year from the paper for duties described as reading the paper and discussing it with you, I did not feel overpaid. . . .

"I enjoyed immensely those times when I had dinner or conversation with you and Barbara, and with David and Rona [Radler's wife]. You are all charming, witty, and intelligent. You can imagine my dismay when I read auditor's reports indicating the company was run as a 'kleptocracy,' and that, between you, you allegedly pocketed 97 per cent of Hollinger's profits. This while the escalators in the building were actually turned off to save on electricity and maintenance. . . .

"I recall the friendly dinner we had on the day you bought the paper. I observed, 'Well, there's one thing for sure. You can't get to the right of the Tribune.' You exchanged an amused look with Barbara. You did indeed position the paper to the right of the Tribune, in an overwhelmingly Democratic city and marginally Democratic state, trumping my proletarian posturing with your own aristocratic, not to say medieval, persuasion. But I admire you for sticking to your ideological guns . . . If you had been as forthright about your finances as about your politics, we might not be having this correspondence."

Sincerely,
Roger

on the bleedin' edge

At an invitation-only, packed event in San Jose Tuesday morning, Apple Computer's Steve Jobs confirmed widespread rumors of a photo-ready, color, 60 GB version of the iPod music player. There are some unexpected twists to how Apple has implemented the new player, a second new iPod, and the event featured a crowd-pleasing appearance from Bono and The Edge, of U2.

...

"I think it is amazing that the recording industry didn't crack the piracy problem," Bono said. "It had to be a technology company," added The Edge, who was identified by Bono as U2's technologist. "That means I'm the guy to go to when a printer isn't working," The Edge responded.

sailing the open seas

Ever watch the Tall Ship Chronicles series on the Life Network? T'was an amazing series hosted by Newfoundland comedian-writer-broadcaster Andrew Younghusband. (a witty wag from The Rock, if ever there was one)

"In November of 1997, the 179-foot tall ship Picton Castle set sail on an 18-month world voyage with an eclectic 25-member crew of adventurers consisting of trainees from all walks of life. Sixteen one-hour episodes following the voyage were televised in Canada from July 2001 through December 2002 on Life Network."

Q&A with Andrew Younghusband

LN: Of all the places you visited, which was your favourite? You can name a few, if it's too hard to choose just one.

AY: There's three. I get asked this question a lot, and this is the answer I always give. Pitcairn Island, Palmerston Island, and Malekula, Vanuatu. All very isolated, all incredibly hospitable.

--

And why does this television series come to mind, you ask?

Pitcairn row gives glimpse of mutinous past

The New Zealand Herald
By Kathy Marks
26.10.2004

Pitcairn Island sex fiend's jokes turn to tears

The Herald Sun
By Claire Harvey
26.10.2004

Sometimes, paradise ain't all it's cracked up to be.

nevermind the bollocks

No news is good news. Everything is relatively peaceful now and I'm really digging autumn weather this year. Planning to fly south and see Nandita in SF, Blender in SAC next month but other than that, I'm enjoying life and maintaining my bachelor status. Aren't you glad you stopped by? LOL

Live and Let Live, Love and Be Loved,
Feck and Feck Off (Ya Daft Wee)

come fly, come fly away

The fella that operates my fave webcam in Vancouver, katkam.ca, is also a private pilot. Check out some of this stunning aerial photography around coastal BC:

http://www.telemark.net/randallg/photos/

Some cool downtown pics from June 2002:

^ Burrard, Granville and Cambie bridges
^ West End, English Bay, False Creek
^ False Creek, Kits Point, West End
^ English Bay, West End, North Shore -1
^ English Bay, West End, North Shore -2
^ Downtown Vancouver (facing east)

If you like these photos, feel free to drop Randall a line and say: "Great pics, dude!" Email: randallg@telemark.net

music to while away

I burned a pile o' mp3s for a pal o' mine to while away the day at her workplace - 448 minutes (7.5 hours) and 120 songs later. If you want a copy or a zip file, lemme know Joe.

Track List

54-40 - Ocean Pearl * Aerosmith - Same Old Song And Dance * Art Bergmann - Bound For Vegas * Beat Farmers - Happy Boy * Beatles - Please Mr Postman * Ben Harper - Burn One Down * Big Sugar - Diggin' A Hole * Bjork - Big Time Sensuality * Blue Rodeo - 5 Days In May * Bruce Cockburn - Great Big Love * The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star * Buju Banton - Not An Easy Road * Carl Perkins - Mean Woman Blues * Chris Isaak - American Boy * Constantines - No Ecstasy * The Dandy Warhols - Cool As Kim Deal * Deep Purple - Lazy * Earth Wind and Fire - September * Elton John - Writing * Elvis Costello - Let Him Dangle * Fishbone - Ma and Pa * Flogging Molly - Kiss My Irish Ass * Frank Zappa - Catholic Girls * Fugees - Electric Avenue * Fun Lovin' Criminals - Loco * G Love & Special Sauce - My Baby's Got Sauce * Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss - I'll Fly Away * Glen Campbell - Wichita Line Man * Gob - Give up the Grudge * Gordon Downie - Vancouver Divorce * Green Day - American Idiot * Guided By Voices - Of Mites and Men * Hawksley Workman - Jealous Of Your Cigarette * Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl * Joe Jackson - What's the Use of Getting Sober * John Hiatt - Memphis in the Meantime * Johnny Cash - Tennessee Stud * Judy Garland - Someone To Watch Over Me * Junior Brown - Kansas City Blues * Kathleen Edwards - Mercury * Keb' Mo' - More Than One Way Home * Kid Rock - I'm Wrong But You Ain't Right * Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes? * Lemonheads - The Outdoor Type * Lena Horne - Stormy Weather * Libertines - Music When The Lights Go Out * Liz Phair - Polyester Bride * Los Lonely Boys - How Far Is Heaven * The Lowest of the Low - Rosy and Grey * Lucinda Williams - Lonely Girls * Luna - IHOP * Luther Wright and The Wrongs - Broken Fuckin' Heart * Lyle Lovett - I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You * Madness - One Step Beyond * Marvin Gaye - What's Going On * Midnight Oil - Power and the Passion * Missy Elliott and Wyclef Jean - Party to Damascus * Morris Day and The Time - The Bird * Moulin Rouge Soundtrack - Spectacular Spectacular * The Muffs - Honeymoon * Nash The Slash - 19th Nervous Breakdown * Nat King Cole - Walkin' My Baby Back Home * Neko Case - Honky Tonk Hiccups * Old 97s - Buick City Complex * Outkast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik * Peggy Lee - Fever * Pete Yorn - Strange Condition * The Pogues - A Rainy Night in Soho * The Pretenders - Middle Of The Road * Prince - Little Nikki * The Ramones - Do You Wanna Dance * Ray Charles - I Got A Woman * Ray Condo And His Hard Gone Rockers - Sweet Love On My Mind * Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss * REM - Fall On Me * Rick James - Superfreak * Robert Gordon - My Gal Is Red Hot * Robert Palmer - She Makes My Day * Rocket From The Crypt - Made For You * Rufus Wainwright - Barcelona * Ryan Adams - Burning Photographs * The Sadies - Milk And Scissors * Sarah Harmer - Tennessee Waltz * Sarah Slean - Me, I'm A Thief * The Slackers - Munsters Theme * Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Jackson * Sloan - The Good In Everyone * Social Distortion - Pretty In Pink * Spearhead - Stay Human * Squeeze - Pulling Mussels From A Shell * Steely Dan - Cousin Dupree * Stereophonics - Don't Let Me Down * Steve Earle - I Ain't Never Satisfied * Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris - Goodbye * Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke * Stone Temple Pilots - Vasoline * Sublime - April 26, 1992 * Supersuckers - I Want the Drugs * Talk Talk - It's My Life * Teenage Head - Picture My Face * Teenage Head - Wild One * The Cure - Killing An Arab (The Peel Sessions) * The Damned - Smash it Up * The Demics - New York City * The Gits - While You're Twisting, I'm Still Breathing * The Polyphonic Spree - Five Years * The Specials - Concrete Jungle * The Thrills - Big Sur * Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Even The Losers * Tom Waits - Jockey Full of Bourbon * Tower of Power - Diggin' on James Brown * TV On The Radio - Bomb Yourself * Violent Femmes - American Music * Voodoo Glow Skulls - Steady As She Goes * Weakerthans - My Favourite Chords * Whiskeytown - Bar Lights * Wilco - Box Full Of Letters * Winnie The Pooh - Up Down Song * Wynton Marsalis - Peanuts Theme * Young MC - Bust A Move

Where's all the dancehall and dub? Ever heard of hiphop? I know! I know! Doh! Next time, pally...

love 'em to death

"Moments after the Red Sox' 10-3 ALCS win early Thursday, some 80,000 delirious Boston faithful poured out from bars and clubs. Fans went out of control, burning a car, hurling bottles and clashing with riot cops, resulting in 16 injuries and eight arrests. The chaos reached its fiery climax on Boylston Street, a block from Fenway, when a few hundred drunken hooligans attacked a parked Nissan Xterra that bore New York plates. One cop's nose was broken by a flying bottle and officials are considering banning alcohol sales during the World Series games." (New York Post)

Oh yeah, and a 21-year-old student was "killed after being hit in the eye by a projectile containing pepper spray fired as officers tried to control mobs outside the ballpark."

RIP Victoria Snelgrove - what a terrible waste of life...

--

Peeps in Vancouver still talk about the Riot of '94 - what is it about professional sports and the lager louts that love 'em?

The infamous "Stanley Cup riot" broke out in downtown Vancouver on June 14, 1994, after the Vancouver Canucks lost the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final to the New York Rangers. Tens of thousands of hockey fans took to the streets, and violence erupted. More than 500 police officers armed with batons, shields and tear gas battled looters and rioters in downtown Vancouver for much of the night. The riot cost an estimated $1.1 million. (CBC site)

shoot me, eat me, whatever

Yes, I admit it. I am slightly obsessed with US politics. So shoot me, eat me, whatever. Check out the new Bush-Cheney commercial aimed at discrediting Senator John Kerry and his record on homeland security:

Title: Wolves
Source: Bush-Cheney/RNC
Subject: Terrorism
Music: Spooky
Scare tactics: Narration of "increasingly scary world"; smoky, dark forest ruled by wolves that will eat your children; wolves are waiting to attack America when Kerry is elected
Kerry: Voted to "slash" intelligence funding; in favor of weakening American defenses, "which attracts those that are waiting to do America harm"
Bush: Can multitask by reading, holding phone, and approving this message
Patriotism: Protecting America, protecting America, protecting America
People: Not shown; they were eaten by a pack of wolves

VOICE OVER: “In an increasingly dangerous world… Even after the first terrorist attack on America… John Kerry and the liberals in Congress voted to slash America’s intelligence operations. By 6 billion dollars… Cuts so deep they would have weakened America’s defenses. And weakness attracts those who are waiting to do America harm.."

PRESIDENT BUSH: "I’m George W Bush and I approve this message. Time for lunch."

The New York Post endorsed Bush this morning - doesn't that make you feel better? Uh huh.

real anger as rare

No Jokes or Spin. It's Time (Gasp) to Talk.

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
New York Times
October 20, 2004

There is nothing more painful than watching a comedian turn self-righteous. Unless of course, the comedian is lashing out at smug and self-serving television-news personalities. Jon Stewart could not resist a last dig at CNN's "Crossfire" during his monologue on Comedy Central on Monday night . "They said I wasn't being funny," the star of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" said, rolling his eyes expressively. "And I said to them: 'I know that. But tomorrow I will go back to being funny," Mr. Stewart said, adding that their show would still be bad, although he used a more vulgar expression.

And that is why his surprise attack on the hosts of CNN's "Crossfire" was so satisfying last Friday. Exchanging his usual goofy teasing for withering contempt, he told Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson that they were partisan hacks and that their pro-wrestling approach to political discourse was "hurting America." (He also used an epithet for the male reproductive organ to describe Mr. Carlson.)

Real anger is as rare on television as real discussion. Presidential candidates no longer address each other directly in debates. Guests on the "Tonight" show or "Oprah" are scripted monologuists who pitch their latest projects and humor the host. It has been decades since talk-show guests conversed with one another, yet there was a time when famous people held long and at times legendarily hostile discussions (Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. on ABC in 1968, Mary McCarthy and Lillian Hellman on "The Dick Cavett Show" in 1980).

www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/arts/television/20watc.html

monk never said a word

Work

a poem by John Sinclair

monk once was busted along with bud powell sitting in a car with a packet of heroin on the seat between them.

they say the dope was bud's, but monk wouldn't say one way or the other when the police wanted to know.

so "new york's finest" took new york's finest pianists to court, & monk's wife nellie tried to reason with thelonious from her own understanding.

"every day i would plead with him," nellie told marc crawford, "'thelonious, get yourself out of this trouble. you didn't do anything.'

but he'd just say, 'nellie, i have to walk the streets when i get out. i can't talk.'"

monk never said a word & the judge popped him in the cooler for sixty long days & nights, which wasn't the half of it because the police took his cabaret card (& bud's too), & he couldn't work in the nightclubs for six more years.

"everybody was saying thelonious was weird or locked up," nellie remembered, "but they just talked that way because they'd never see him. he hated to be asked why he wasn't working, & he didn't want to see anybody unless he could buy them a drink at least. besides, it hurts less to be passed over for jobs if you aren't around to hear the others' names called.

it was a bad time. he even had to pay to get into birdland."

harmonie park, detroit
november 25, 1988

somewhere a hack

LOL

I have a dull wife and suddenly wanted to break away

Just so you don’t get the impression that Regret is all salt and no sugar, we offer this delightful Guardian column by Norman Moss. Moss shares a few of his favorite newspaper corrections, including this Freudian mistake from across the pond:

The old Daily Mail, when it used to be a broadsheet, once carried a correction referring to a court case in Poole, in which one Brian Smith (not his real name; he has suffered enough) had stolen a speedboat during a drunken spree and crashed it.

The item said: "Mr Smith said in court, 'I am terribly sorry. I have a dull life and I suddenly wanted to break away.' He did not say, as we reported erroneously, 'I have a dull wife and I suddenly wanted to break away.' We apologise to Mr Smith, and to Mrs Smith."

Somewhere a woman is weeping, somewhere a hack has no wife.

--

Which reminds me of a Leonard Cohen line...

"where is my Gypsy wife tonight?" (heavenly sigh)

if the sky falls mark my words we'll catch mocking birds

Wonderful article/quasi-interview by musician/scribe Jim Christy with the inimitable Tom Waits in today's GS.

"It's like taking two angry dogs for a walk at the same time and they want to go different ways."

About Jim Christy

"Call him the Canadian Tom Waits, I'm sure he won't mind. Transplanted South Philadelphia poet Jim Christy is now one of Canada's favourite sons, appearing on the CBC and criss-crossing the country looking for more stories to tell.

Christy is also a world-traveler, traveling to Honduras and other war zones as a journalist. He is also a sculptor and artist whose works are on display all over the world. As an author, he's written biographies of fellow spirits Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski, as well as a couple of crime novels set in early Vancouver. It all melds together in the end."

rip rodney

"Dangerfield was thoroughly hip; he "got" all the jokes, including the ones he didn't tell. He got all the jokes, he was all the jokes. Never did he break up at his own material, though. He was too worried about it. He slaved over it -- sometimes with co-writers -- into the wee hours, scribbling jokes on the lined pages of big notebooks.

His huge popularity may have been a reaction to all the pseudo-intellectual comics who stood before brick walls and talked about their neuroses. Dangerfield didn't talk about his neuroses; he talked about how little success he was having in bed. "I asked one girl if she was going to hate herself in the morning. She said, 'I hate myself now.' "

Or: "I remember one date I had, we ran into some guy she knew and she introduced us. She said, 'Steve, this is Rodney. Rodney, this is goodbye.' ""

Cheers to you, man. ; - )

citizen kaen spots a woody

Hilarious tale of celebrity-spotting and -potting in the Big Smoke by pal Kaen.

Check out the rest of Kaen's blog as she's a fabulous scribe and she let's it all hangout, for true. Her blog is alternately funny, sexy, sad, always thoughtful and sometimes pretty fucking intense... a total scroller.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss a couple hours goodbye!

this show is dope, yo

If you're looking for 'something' to tweak your perspective about mindblowing drugs and visual art, check this out.

Clint Burnham* joins forces with visual artist Jeremy Shaw for a lecture/discussion about DMT drug use Saturday, Oct 9 at 2pm at Presentation House Gallery in North Van.

DMT - Description
A white, pungent-smelling, crystalline solid.

Physiological effects
Resembles LSD, but sympathomimetic symptoms like dilated pupils, heightened blood pressure, and increased pulse rate are more common and more intense.

Psychological Effects
Like LSD but often more intense. Since it is not taken by mouth, the effects come on suddenly and can be overwhelming. The term "mind blowing" might have been invented for this drug. The experience was described by Alan Watts as like "being fired out of the nozzle of an atomic cannon". Thoughts and visions crowd-in at great speed; a sense of leaving or transcending time and a feeling that objects have lost all form and dissolved into a play of vibrations are characteristic. The effect can be like instant transportation to another universe for a timeless sojourn.

About Jeremy Shaw (from the PH website):

Vancouver artist Jeremy Shaw (aka March 21) interprets the youth subcultures – rave, skateboard and hiphop/grafitti – that he participates in. His new video installation, DMT, is an intense octagonal space that highlights the disjunctions of social communication. While watching the subjects high on the hallucinogenic drug, DMT, and reading their attempts to describe the out-of-body experience, we become both seduced and repelled by these hyper-real portraits.

A recent graduate of Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Jeremy Shaw (aka March 21) exhibitions include The Theme for Tonight (Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver), Video Heroes (Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montreal and Cambridge Galleries) and I Am A Curator (Chisenhale Gallery, London). He is also an electronic musician and has an extensive discography.

DMT
by Jeremy Shaw
Sept 16 - Oct 24, 2004
Presentation House
333 Chesterfield Ave.
North Van, 604-986-1351

* Clint Burnham is a writer and critic who teaches literature and popular culture at Capilano College. His most recent publication is Airborne Photo, 1999.

do hibernators have to hibernate?

Deep hibernators: chipmunks, woodchucks, box turtles, black snakes, garter snakes, toads, big wigs
Torpor hibernators: deer mice, black bears, skunks, 'coons
Non-hibernators: gray squirrels, shrews, voles, red foxes, wild turkeys

Man oh man, last week was a total blast with several sunny day real estate walkabouts and plenty of arts/ent events, socializing, tasty libations along the way.

I saw the sensational Siouxsie with some mighty fine musicians at the Commodore with DK, Visnja & Hali last Monday; enjoyed a good ole fashioned "family dinner" at the monthly perogy fest at the Ukrainian Church near Main/Broadway last Friday - followed by a grand bon voyage to our pal Hali at y eolde Railway - where else?

I caught a couple fab plays at Performance Works with the lovely Miranda on Saturday night; I thoroughly enjoyed the impromptu rooftop BBQ on Sunday afternoon with DK, W1 & CokoPop (after visiting Julie's skookum carpentry shop at the Roundhouse and new music hunting at A&B, Virgin).

Oh, and the weekly screening of 'The Wire' at Club Burnham Sunday was a ton o' fun too. Very good to see you again, Luke and Mo. Yer a kewl kouple.

I'm posting this list just to keep track of all the crap going on this/next month. At least the theatre/live music stuff...

One Man Star Wars Trilogy - Wed Oct 6 @ PW (M1)
Elisa's Skin - Oct 05-16 @ Firehall (Sat or Sun mat?)
Joni Mitchell: River - Thu Oct 14 @ Playhouse
Tom Waits - Fri Oct 15 @ Orpheum (Siobhan et al)
Value Village People (feat. Luke Meat) - Sat Oct 16 (G1)
Flogging Molly - Mon Oct 18 @ Commodore (G1 et al)
Old Crow Medicine Show - Tue Oct 19 @ The Drink (W1)
Drive-By Truckers - Sun Oct 24 @ Dicks On Dicks (G1)
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Thu Oct 28 @ Commodore
Sly & Robbie - Fri Oct 29 @ Commodore
Young & Sexy et al (WTC gig) - Fri Oct 29 @ ANZA Club
TV On The Radio - Fri Nov 5 @ Commodore (Clint, G1)
Social Distortion - Tue Nov 9 @ Commodore (G1)
K-OS - Friday, Nov 19 @ Commodore (2nd show added!)
Neko Case!! - Thu Nov 25 @ Commodore!! (oh baby)

Viva la musica! I can start hibernating when I'm dead.

rock n' roll - american style

HUGE changes announced at CanWest yesterday. I am now an employee of CanWest MediaWorks. Check out the list of heavy hitters below. WOW!

CanWest restructures in convergence push; Hires group of top U.S. execs; Creates Canadian, international units

The Toronto Star
Tuesday, October 5, 2004
By Tony Van Alphen

CanWest Global Communications Corp. has hired five top executives of U.S. media companies including former vice-presidents of Time Warner, the New York Times and Playboy magazine in an apparent bid to boost its convergence play.

The Winnipeg-based media giant announced yesterday it has split its operations into two divisions and appointed the senior U.S. media executives to capitalize on "growth opportunities" and meet "changing consumer demands."

CanWest, the country's biggest media company, said it had restructured its Canadian operations, including newspapers and television interests, into CanWest MediaWorks and its foreign properties into CanWest MediaWorks International.

One media industry watcher said the appointments show senior management is accelerating its drive to cross-sell and promote CanWest's different media offerings.

"These people were not brought in to maintain the status quo," said the analyst who requested anonymity. "They are there to effect change."

In addition to the American appointments, the company said it promoted two senior Canadian executives internally to head the two divisions.

They are Rick Camilleri, who will move from being chief operating officer (operations) at CanWest to president of CanWest MediaWorks, and Tom Strike from chief operating officer (corporate) at CanWest to president at the international division.

The American executives who are joining CanWest include Kathleen Dore as president of television and radio at CanWest MediaWorks. She was president at Rainbow Media Holdings and responsible for U.S. cable networks AMC (American Movie Classics), IFC (Independent Film Channel) and WE (Women's Entertainment).

The company appointed Michael Williams, former vice-president and chief information officer of The New York Times Co., as president of publications for CanWest MediaWorks.

Joseph Mangione will become president of sales and marketing at CanWest MediaWorks. He was a former senior vice-president at Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting, vice-president of marketing at Playboy and integrated marketing publisher at Better Homes and Gardens.

The company appointed Peter Ashkin, former executive vice-president of digital media services at America Online, to the post of senior vice-president of digital content at CanWest MediaWorks.

It also hired another America Online executive, Arturo Duran, as senior vice-president with interactive responsibilities. Duran was a senior AOL executive who focused on generating revenue through subscriptions, advertisers and content providers.

In announcing the appointments, Camilleri said in a statement that CanWest's priority is to adapt its publishing interests to reflect changing consumer demands and readership trends through the introduction of new products and "digitized delivery systems."

"The Number 1 priority of our broadcasting operations is to address challenges to the conventional television business model posed by the proliferation of new speciality television channels and certain regulatory advantages they currently enjoy," Camilleri added.

He also revealed that CanWest will continue to make "significant" investments in new programming to boost ratings and increase revenues at the Global television network.

"We will generate more Canadian television production, including profitable news and information programming," he said.

Camilleri also said CanWest is actively looking at opportunities to start new channels and expand its position in the radio sector.

The appointments and promotions pushed CanWest's class A shares up 15 cents to $10.45 in trading yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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