The Bourbon Logs

You might think that is an oxymoron, if only because most politicians appear as morons most of the time, but it happens. Al Gore comes to mind, reinvented as he is with his documentary and his ongoing road show regarding the environmental crisis we are facing.

Vancouver just played host to something called the World Urban Forum, a gathering of city planners, officials, politicians with the aim of improving the lot of urban dwellers around the world. One speaker was Enrique Penalosa, mayor of Bogata, who seems to fit the “enlightened politician” mold as well. Mr. Penalosa has declared “war on cars” in Bogata, and the effects are nothing but inspirational.
Check out this link for a nice piece on the man and his achievements in Bogata. http://thetyee.ca/Views/2006/06/23/Mayor/

Not sure what’s got into me, maybe world cup fever or that sonuvabitch bush, but in any case i have a “cable guy” coming on Sunday to install a high definition receiver and pvr. We’ve had a high definition-ready tv set for a couple of years now, having purchased a crt-based model (a Toshiba) when our old tv simply stopped working (also a Toshiba, and one that was, to quote a favorite phrase of my mom, “old enough to vote”). We figured at the time that high definition was coming soon, and shopped ahead, so to speak.

So we’ve been using the tv for a couple of years but have not viewed any high-def at all because we haven’t had a receiver. I made the call today to bring one in, along with the requisite (and dreaded) “cable bundle” that will cost me an arm and a leg no doubt. The pvr itself is a 750.00 piece, which is ridiculous really. I’m embarassed to be admitting that i’ve bought one. Actually i’m going to take everything back. I’m just kidding. I really don’t have a tv at all. I just sit around at night in my underwear, drinking bourbon and listening to old jazz records. Really….

Some heart-stopping video footage from the backyard. Rain was falling from the sky, people were indoors, it was totally wet out there! 9 out of 10 bloggers agree: this is more fun than watching paint dry!

The Gateway Project is (mostly) a go, with the centerpiece being the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge and the widening of the Highway #1 from Langley to the First Avenue exit into Vancouver. Isn’t it terrific that even here, at the beginning of the end of (mostly) Western Civilisation on account of Global Warming, our provincial government can still find billions to throw at the root cause of the problem.

Gordon Campbell claims that the project will reduce pollution because cars will be doing less idling in traffic. They will simply zip along, singing a happy little ditty, on their way to a comfortable parking spot in the parking lot formerly known as Vancouver. This is a little like a gardner trying to curtail a bad weed problem by fertilizing the weeds. “They’ll eventually choke themselves off and die” being the perverse logic.

How often do we have to have this old logic thrown at us? One more war and then we’ll have peace. One more highway and then we’ll be done. One more bad thing and then we’ll be good.

I’m extremely frustrated with all of this. I’m going to drink a lot and not drive in a silent sort of protest.

KEVIN FALCON CAN LICK THE BACK OF MY SAC.

We installed a rainbarrel in our backyard recently, and today when i opened the top spigot a few drops dribbled out, meaning that the water level has risen in the thing thanks to recent rains. This is very exciting, as now we can appreciate the rain even more.

The City of Vancouver is selling these things to residents at the rock-bottom price of $75.00. You pick them up form the Kent St. Transfer Station. It’s a simple thing to do and a good way to take advantage of summer rains. Despite our (deserved) reputation as a rainy city, our summers are often dry as a bone. As the globe continues to warm, we can expect more of this. The city has contemplated water restrictions in the past, and i suspect we’ll get more of that moving forward. The rain barrel will help keep our little backyard garden nice and hydrated.

Here’s a link to a more photos.

Update:

Buffalogal has corrected me on the water restrictions business. Here is what she said:

Vancouver has not just considered water restrictions, they occur every year depending on the status of water available in the reservoirs. I think that the GVRD sets the water restriction level, and the cities enforce them.

The Globe and Mail published a nice piece today regarding Battlestar Gallactica, which just ended season two on the Canadian Space channel. One of the good things about working with zebralicious and cynical Damin was that they helped bring me into the 21st century in geek terms, turning me on to such things as bittorrent and the important concept of the “neck punch”. I remember casually asking them one morning what the new Battlestar was like, having heard it was in production but never having seen an episode. A few clicks later and i was brought up to speed.

The series has been terrific, and suprisingly topical in terms of current events. I am looking forward to next season, and the development of the “insurgency”.

Well, if i wasn’t so busy drinking maybe i would have heard that Fisk was in town this weekend promoting his book, The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East. I wish i had known he was in town because i would have really liked to hear him speak.

I can’t say i enjoyed reading the book - it’s not really that kind of book. Definitely not “summer reading” in the traditional sense of what that means, but i consider it required reading for anyone who likes to express strong opinions on “the situation in the Middle East.” The book sits halfway between history and journalism in documenting the last 20 years in the region as seen from a journalist who has been on the ground for most of that time. He is a native of England, has interviewed Osama Bin Laden three times, was there when the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1980, and makes his home in Beirut of all places. His writing is often erudite, sometimes repetitive, occasionally polemical, and at times a bit arrogant, but for everything reads to me as honest and balanced, which is rare for anyone writing about these events.

Ah well, my loss. If you haven’t read this thing, go pick up a copy. Take it with you to cottage country this summer. At 1300 pages, it’ll make a nice boat anchor if nothing else.