Vancouver's shitty drivers: keepin' the stereotypes alive!

So my child is not yet 3, and she has already been hit by a car while riding in her bike trailer enroute to daycare. It happened on the bike path. How fucking stupid! I don't understand why cars need to compete for space on the bike path when there are so many other streets in the city, but there they are; racing for the lights, looking for a short cut, and downright not respecting the rights and safety of cyclists and their cargo...aka, children.
The moron who hit my husband and child was stopped at Templeton high school, and almost hit the cyclist in front of my husband. Then, still confused as to who would have the right of way, he accelerates into my husband and daughter. Does this guy have a license? He certainly doesn't understand the rules of the road.



The whole route was disrupted while firetrucks and police officers arrived on the scene. I believe that it was better that this happen to my husband, as I would have likely dragged the old man from his vehicle and induced some bodily harm. The attitudes of some drivers in this city really pisses me off. Especially as I am a pedestrian for work during the day, and I can't even cross with a green light safely. I would rather j-walk across 6 lanes of traffic and a cement divider than trust that cars will obey the signals at an intersection.

I guess I just needed a rant, but really, it's a great headache. Now my husband has to run all over the city pricing and estimating for the ICBC nonsense, and his bike, less than a month old, has a bent frame and other issues. ARRRGH!

*damn, I wish this thing had grammar check!

Too Posh to Push

I heard this phrase on the radio today and it keeps resurfacing in my brain. arrgh. no comment.

I saw these two old Chinese ladies around some knitting that I put outside, and I was trying to see what they were doing.
At first I thought it was some kids, so I was gonna tell them to take a hike, but as we got closer, it became evident that they were two Grandma's with their matching backpacks and hats. Not trucker hats, though they also are very popular amongst the senior set around here.

It got me thinking about setting this stuff free out there. I like to see it around, but don't know how to say adios. Like that excellent piece at the corner of Main and Union that was just stucco'd over one day. And to think that I had planned to liberate it. Another can of worms for a person that knows no etiquette about such things. Anyhoo...it was a great painting just mounted onto the side of a building, and there was a matching one on the other side of the building. They were awesome, but when they did the half assed Reno, they just stucco'd right over the two of them. bummer.

Some boring business owner decided that it would be better to paint over this gorgeous mural. boo to them!

Have fun at the Pink Mountain Tops tonight!
Can you do that dance?

saturday night.....

the battles played an amazing show at The Railway Club last night. It was a great night out. Saw so many folks, and even took in an opening a Lucky's beforehand.

The Battles had a completely new lineup, but no unfamiliar faces, and they rocked it out for sure! It was mostly new material, except for maybe one song that I could tell. Though the Espresso martinis had taken hold by that time.
It was impossible to miss Chloe Sevigny and Stephen Rea in the bar. All around, a great night! Even with the loss of an hours sleep!

Guilty Pleasure Mon

I'm just going to come right out and say it........I love the new Sinead O'Connor album.
It's called Throw Down Your Arms.....but she says Trow Down Yer Arms.

It's fantastic!!!!! Did I mention that it's a reggae album? Yup, but I still love it! Though I will resist playing it 'til even the very last moment as though....bleh....reggae.
But it's GOOOOOOOD, and infectious, and therapeutic; powerful and political and positive, but usually ruined by the goofs in university who play too much Bob Marley. So this is where I would insert the nifty link to my free page, which I know not how to do, where I would post some of the amazing tracks off the album....like Y Mas Gan, Vampire, Downpressor Man, War....there is some seriously good stuff here!
Check it out, and be a closet reggae fan like me.

ugly stuff

Sadly, sometimes you need to weed out the people in your life that cause you grief. I make no claims to being an expert in human relationships and all, but last night I was floored by my 3 year old. She asked perfectly by name about a certain person, where this person was, and where their kids were and what were they doing?
My husband had the same experience a day or so earlier.
It was incredibly sad...a succinct reminder of the irrationality of emotions and such....stubborness, forgiveness, trust, etc......bleh
It is very difficult to explain adult logic, to a child so I just didn't even bother. I just answered her questions to the best of my ability and carried on with the bedtime routine. It was completely flabbergasting in it's clarity.

on a lighter note, it couldn't be a nicer day!

You know how they say idle hands are the devil's playthings?

Well I think busy ones can be as well......*cue diabolical laughter....

MUAH HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
let it begin.

My mind has been officially blown by Knitta!

The Feeding Frenzy Continues

I watched some of the open houses this weekend, and then spotted some friends of ours who were scouting around here. They have sold their 2 bedroom condo, but haven't yet found anything new so they are negotiating to possibly rent out their old place. Yikes! Anything can happen.

The WISH group has sparked a real discussion with the 'parental information sharing group' that we're connectied with here in the hood. Someone had written a letter to the effect that we didn't approve of the location, and that it would cause every creepy john in the universe to just circle the building until the ladies hit the street again. So "no" we weren't in agreement with it.

It wasn't long until emails started rolling in stating the opposite in fact. That yes, we do approve of this facility being nearby. It's such a touchy subject, but seeing the amount of violence to women that goes on around here on a daily basis, you can't help but think that resources are not the problem.

We did decide that this parentall group should stick to information sharing, and not making political decisions for all.
It's easier to just stick to the real estate rants really. Argh.

Vancouver Special

With the news being extra heinous of late, I am finding it too difficult to be aware. I wish that I could just live glazed, without the burden of whatever it is that makes you recognize the supreme ugliness of humanity. It is a struggle everyday to stay positive.
I guess this is why we have music, and books, and art. They are distractions from the stuff we don't want to recognize. Or recognize, if you're into that kind of thing. I am sometimes.

I'm just going to go on a rant here for a minute, and it's mostly local, so I'll understand if you bail.I was browsing the Vancouver Heritage site today, mostly out of interest, and stumbled upon some upcoming proposals. I'm not diving into the heritage society, but I'm glad that some people out there are interested in maintaining some of the character of old time Vancouver.

It's getting ugly in East Van, where all sorts of cute post ww2 homes are getting bulldozed down at an alarming rate. And I'm not talking about the infamous, and bland Vancouver Specials. Anyhoo....what they are replaced with is atrocious to the eyes. Large mouldy stucco boxes.

Here in our hood, I passed by a place up for 1.8 million. And there are hookers literally 2 blocks away. It's ruthless. The greedy broad that purchased the place only 2 years ago got it for something a little more than half a million. It boggles the mind.

"I can't tolerate people"

Perhaps the best thing that I overheard today.

On the old dog walk this afternoon I saw some guy talking with another guy who was karate kicking the air, with his fedora hat pulled way down low, and just as I passed, I overheard,
"yeah, I can't tolerate people. I just can't tolerate them. The doctor says I'm intolerant"
So, uh yeah. He says it like it's some sort of affliction. Hahahaha. I don't know, I just find that ridiculous. And entertaining in a warped way I guess.

Anyhoo.....moment's like those, I wish I had the recorder hooked up. It would be great to have on tape.


That reminds me of the great move The Conversation.
Gene Hackman.
1974.
Definitely worth checking out!

light rain my arse

Besides, it isn't light when you're in it for 4 odd hours or so. I was fully decked out in all the gear today too. Magic wicking shirt, vest, goretex jacket, long underwear, goretex pants, and the to top things off......the G I A N T yellow cape. It is truly a sight to behold.

It was nasty, with mixed slush and rain at times. It was slippery. And I only fell once, but I'm not writing it up out of fear of some sort of hassle. So hopefully the old injuries won't flare up again.

I also found $5.
So it pays to walk around all hang dog looking at the ground.

Felliniesque

Yesterday was SO bizarre.
It started with a body under a bridge.

There was a group of men in dark clothes all standing on, and looking over this railway bridge near where I work. I was walking and looking, and knew immediately that something was up. The police tape was another indicator. So I stopped at the gas N go place, and who should walk in but the friendly neighbourhood pedophile. Of course I befriended him immediately, 'cause he seemed like a nice old guy, then some other neighbour gives me the "pssssssst, he's a serious, convicted, and served his time pediphile you know".

"Oh."

So leave it to me to meet some freak like that. He still talks to me, and I try to be civil. Guys like that should be peeled.

The day finally culminated with some Felliniesque street theatre of drug dealers and their entourages dancing and scratching in the street, as movie filming displaced them from their usual haunts. It is truly a sight to behold, but a little too close for comfort when it's right in front of your house. So I called the cops a few times, and just watched from behind the glass with my coffee cup. I am such a voyeur it's not even funny!
Cat power is finally growing on me. I have a real love hate relationship with the girl. But the music sure gets stuck in the brain!

"booooooring Sydney"!!!!!

Just found out that my old band will be playing with Jon Vanderslice in a month or so. I might have to go check that out. People seem to like the Vanderslice.

I must say that I was mocked for adding Zoilus to the old blog roll. Probably because I just heard of him. But who's kidding who, I'm a newcomer to this whole blog phenomenon, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'll save the score keeping for music or books or something else. So who cares. I was just happy to hear about him on the National Playlist which I listen to religiously every week day whilst I am strolling around at work. And now I'm there almost daily.

Sadly, my favourite virtual beardo will be on hiatus from Popsheep, but all those kids seem to be into good stuff. I have to laugh at some things though......like when I heard my friend on one of their super obscure live radio recordings. I called my friend up immediately, 'cause he's been bummed N stuff. He needed to hear that people were listening and loving his bad jokes from days gone by.

Reality vs Fiction

in my email: "XXX: I received this report from Constable Hancock
about XXX XXXXXXXX -
again. If you and neighbours are keeping track of
the goings-on at this
place, I'll pass on everything to the police. It
sounds worse than ever.
Have you heard of any of these characters? The
attack happened on 14
February at 9.00 a.m.

Thanks, XXXX

Sex trade worker was lured into XXX XXXXXXXX where
12 persons beat her,
including shaving her hair. vict had been resisting
working for a local
pimp only known as "DICKEY". victim was also
accused of ripping off 'ALFIE'
whom police believe to be susp. victim told PC's
that these 2 males have
been beating girls in the skids.

Weapons used: blunt end of machete/steel pipe


on my answering machine: "It's brenda calling from TOS HUB international. I'm just calling regarding the insurance on the Hummer which is expiring on febuary 26'th".

My ipod is making me deaf

Seriously, I think I might be causing some serious harm to my ear drums. Perhaps someone else is familiar with this complaint. I had the ipod earphones that came with the thing, and they died shortly after. Of course. Then, I got the $85 dollar ones that go into your ears. I promptly dropped the extra 2 sets of buds on Hastings Street never to be seen again. Then I tried them out. I thought they sucked for the longest time, sounding primarily tinny, and completely lacking in bass. Then, I discovered the only way to make them work is to bloody cram the things in there, creating the necessary seal blah blah blah......and still everytime you moved your head or yawned, the buggers popped out!

So I'm dealing with them mostly 'cause I want my moneys worth.
But I'm starting to think that all is not well. I know that my hearing is going.

The 2 loudest shows ever encountered:
Dinosaur Jr on the Green Mind tour back in the late 80's
Broadcast at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in the UK 2001.

Either way, it's happening, and I guess I'll just roll with it.

In the meantime, how to solve the headphones dilemma?

Happy Valentine's Day

Some friends are playing at the Railway Club tonight...so I might just head on down there with my sweetie.

It's one place I don't mind hanging out despite my ancientness.

happy day everyone

weekender

Today was an absolutely glorious day all around. I don't know what will happen this evening however, as my neighbour is having an opening at the Alley Gallery. It would be nice to go, but I'm already feeling like a nap.
We lost another nice heritage home in the hood last night to a fire. It's too bad, and I can't help but think cynically about condominiums.

I'm going crazy without my turntable. It's ok to plug the ipod into our ancient receiver, but I mean really......
I need to hear some tunes.....and LOUD!!

Pardon me while I rock

Or I would if our turntable wasn't on the fritz.

I was listening to Love and thought their song No Matter what You Do sounded extra messed up! It kept changing speed, but I just thought it was the band. Too funny!!

Is this anyway to start the weekend?

Jeebus Mary and Joseph!!!!

Reality is too much with me right now.
I had to stop at my favourite crack stop, "20 hour Grocery" today to call an ambulance on some girl doing the crack dance on the street in front of the thrift store. It was really upsetting. To see someone jerking and spazzing and not being aware of how vulnerable they are. Especially a young woman on Hastings street, as we watch the trial of that disgusting pig farm murderer on the news every night. It would be pretty easy to just throw her into a van. Especially when she's not even in control of her own body. It's not even a week since that last woman was murdered up by city hall. It's too much. I need a damn vacation from the neighbourhood.

Fortunately, we have an outing to go to this evening. Our buddy gave us a couple of passes to the Brian Jungen opening tonight. He's fantastic, check out the write up, he makes fantastic art out of really symbolic everyday objects. It's gonna be nuts though, 'cause we're leaving the toddler to run wild with my brother.

Pray for him.

Super Bizarro

Today I saw the weirdest thing. Well I'm always seeing weird things, but today was especially excellent.
I was just strolling down this super busy street doing my job, and across the road, which is 6 lanes of traffic AND a median, I see these two fellows talking. One is scruffy, in trackpants and a ball cap. They appear to know each other, and the one guys is really loaded down with stuff. He's holding a box of who knows what, and has at least 2 stuffed knapsacks, and what looks like a giant mesh bag with stuff in it.
All of a sudden, the one guy grabs the box and fires it into the street and the oncoming traffic. Then they're wrestling, and shoving each other, and dude loses his ball cap. So the guy that HAD been holding the box wanders out into the traffic to retrieve all that has flown up into the air there, and the other guy proceeds to nab a knapsack and runs home. I know where he lives, 'cause I see him all the time.
It was super weird. I kept thinking that he was just one of those thieving drug addicts that heads on into your place when you leave for work, so I was rooting for the guy who threw the box really.

It was SO bizarre. Neither of them had any moves at all!!