Rites of Spring #36 - B.C. Mudslide - so what the heck went wrong · Friday June 18, 2010 by colin newell
A week ago today (Last Friday) an Osoyoos hiker near the Testalinden Lake, Oliver B.C. noticed the water was over spilling the earthen dam and contacted a local B.C. tourism office…
which in turn alerted the RCMP…
and then the RCMP notified the provincial government…
…two days before Sunday’s catastrophic mudslide…
And then. Nothing.
Until Sunday… then… Whoosh!
The RCMP informed the forests ministry because the hiker said the overflowing water was muddying a road beside the lake…
…which the RCMP thought would be a forestry road. And they were right.
Our honorable Minister of Public Safety, Mike de Jong, was not available for comment.
A dam gives way, wiping out five homes near Oliver causing millions of dollars of damage to homes, farms and infrastructure – and nothing from our leaders.
Grower Kathy Mercier, who raised grapes for Toronto-based wine giant Andrew Peller Limited, experienced a near total loss on her seven-acre property.
“Think of a giant lava flow, that’s exactly what it looks like. And it stops right on top of my Merlot,” said Mercier.
She also ran a popular B&B in the area – and it was crushed by a combination of mud, tree trunks, refrigerator sized boulders and random automobiles.
Mercier, whose insurance will not cover the devastation, said her neighbors recall regular inspections of the lake decades ago, but in recent times those checks dwindled and then all but stopped.
Affected residents in Oliver may be eligible for disaster assistance compensation of 80 per cent of their losses above $1,000 to a maximum of $300,000.
Good thing this didn’t happen here in Victoria – 300G would cover the loss of the garage… hardly a home or property.
Humor aside, this incident illustrates vividly the Provinces general disinterest in British Columbia residents, small business and so on. Gordon Campbell and his ilk are only concerned about making deals with huge corporations and bankrupting us all in the most creative fashion possible.
Currently Gordon and his boys are wrapped up in the B.C. Rail scandal (taking his eye off of what is obviously more important.)
Til that scandal and who-knows-how many other scandals wrap up (in the courts and beyond) – this is the kind of emergency response I guess we can expect.
This all makes living right here on the West Coast dead center in a subduction zone… kind of scary.
Good luck everyone.
Rites of Spring #35 - Victoria's Best coffee - come on - applause · Sunday June 13, 2010 by colin newell
Someone has to get this title… so let’s do it with a picture.
I refuse to use Twit-Pic because… hey, I have my own server and I like to keep my hands on my photos – real possessive that way…
Anyway – if you asked me right now where the best damn cup of coffee is in Victoria B.C. Canada — Victoria as in downtown or near downtown Victoria (not Vancouver Island which is another category…)
I would say… without a moments hesitation…
Discovery Coffee – either on Oak Bay (where I practically live…)
or on Discovery Street downtown.
And although the music is often too loud (even for a middle aged short haired hippie like me…)
The coffee is… I beg your pardon… Fucking dope.
It just is. Enjoy life. Drink Discovery coffee. And listen to those around you.
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Rites of Spring #32 Interview and CD review - Farrell Spence · Tuesday June 8, 2010 by colin newell
Andrea and I relax over brunch with Vancouver singer/songwriter, Farrell Spence, and her long-time friend and fellow Winnipeg ex-patriot, Boyan, at Vancouver’s Marmalade Kitchen & Grill
On, quite arguably, the first brilliant sunny day of the year we talk about the subject of travel, life in Vancouver and Ireland, Farrell’s debut album from 2007, and the final few months leading up to her anticipated follow up project and second CD that she wrote in Ireland and recorded in Italy with Neapolitan
musician, Francesco Forni.
Farrell looks out onto English Bay with her piercing blue eyes and gestures at
the grandeur… “This is the most beautiful day of the year – and me with no sun
block on…”
Despite the weather forecast, a pristine teal sky illustrates the collision of
geography and architecture that makes Vancouver what it is. Farrell muses on the balance and imbalance that international living creates– “Between living in Vancouver, Ireland and spending a great deal of time in Italy and the UK, these places and spaces, people I have met and bonded with, are the fabric that brings my music together… Each city and each person contributing a puzzle piece to the bigger picture.”
So, it is no surprise that Farrell is remembered in places like Cork, Dublin
and Rome. When you are keeping company with the likes of The Paperboys and The Be Good Tanyas – the osmosis alone is going to create some crazy good music and some even better live shows.
I played Farrell’s debut album “A Town Called Hell” about a month back while
running a gauntlet of Saturday morning errands. My Honda (with its beefed up
audio system) is where I proof audio projects: The reasoning being, if a CD sounds great in my car, it will sound great anywhere – and at the same time reveal any sonic flaws that might not reveal themselves in a more ideal environment.
“A Town called Hell” is a matrix of post-adolescent angst that is, at times,
raw in its honesty and casually literal in its invitation into Farrell’s world.
I found the 10 songs on the album thematic and contiguous – not unlike some AOR
classics from the late seventies – and resonant in its ability to reach into my
memories.
Between bites of a very good brunch at Marmalade, Farrell explains… “A Town called Hell is every small town that many of us grew up in – where progress marches on, industry breaks down, jobs are lost…where hearts are broken and lifelong friendships are forged. In ‘Those Were the Days’ the lyrics step back into the time of adolescence where a sense of wonder still reigned supreme… and in ‘I Drink’ the lyrics illustrate the
visceral universality of familial fragmentation, loneliness and resignation in its
barest form.”
Up close, Farrell is an amalgam of the classic beauty and techno-geek personified.
By being hands on with virtually every stage of production during production of
her music, and knowing the tools inside and out, there is an element of clarity
that is present on every track. Her love of Old-Time Radio and (of all things)
Shortwave Radio, are things that will percolate to the surface on some songs on
the expected new album.
Farrell loves coffee and starts her day with an Americano made in a Bialetti on
her gas-range. The special relationship she holds with caffeine imbues a creative energy into her endeavors from writing music to simply rising from bed each morning.
We wrap up our lunch with a collective sigh at the spectacular weather and beauty of Vancouver B.C.‘s skyline.
Farrell continues to work on her latest project and we are looking forward to it. You can hear some of Farrell’s work over on cbc 3 – and her CD is on CD Baby
Check it out.
Rites of Spring #33 The ups and downs of the Victoria B.C. Real Estate illusion · Tuesday June 8, 2010 by colin newell
Like Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto and other major Canadian cities, house prices go through cycles of boom and bust… up and down… near affordability and utter un-affordability.
Particularly in the Victoria and Vancouver B.C. markets.
Where a simple 2 bedroom 2 bathroom bungalow on a postage stamp sized lot can set you back 1/2 million dollars. This same house, 10 years ago, would have sat on the market for weeks or months and maybe netted 200G… a price that would have been considered obscene in any other location in Canada.
And yet there appear to be buyers eager to scope up these houses all over the lower Island and mainland… for now.
And the trend appears to indicate that a market, a mere year ago that was hotter than a stock car brake pad, seems to be cooling… a little faster than even I would have expected.
But not according to the likes of the B.C. Real Estate board, or the CMHC or our local rag, the Times-Colonist – a newspaper that seems to be little more than a trumpet for the Provincial real estate entity…
“Average home prices are anticipated to climb by six per cent this year over last, to $494,600, said Cameron Muir, B.C. Real Estate Association chief economist, said in his housing forecast released yesterday.
“That really represents the price increases that have already happened.” Prices reflect sales of all types of homes sold through the multiple listing service.
Say what?
My wife and I have been house shopping for quite a while – like hundreds of other folks on the lower Island and Vancouver – I have a computer listing of 100 houses in front of me – that are in our price range… and 53 of those houses have had price reductions of 20 to 60 thousand dollars. Some have been on the market for 60 days or more… gone are the 2 day price wars and sales markedly above asking price.
But don’t tell the Times Colonist or the B.C. Real Estate board that – they work hand in had in maintaining this illusory fever that lots of folks fall for.
And while the bubble may not burst, some of the air is getting out…
So take a deep breath. Save your money… for the time being.
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