The Police in Vancouver (follow-up) · Monday May 28, 2007 by colin newell
One for the “didn’t see that coming” files…
This just in:
“My name is Pete Paphides and I work as the chief rock critic for The Times in London. I am currently in Vancouver covering the first night of The Police’s world tour. I was intrigued by your posting about the difficulty you had in purchasing tickets at a reasonable price – especially the bit about having to join the fan club. Having arrived here yesterday, I noticed that The Police were playing a “fan club” only show in front of 5000 fans. It seemed odd to me that a band that had remained dormant for over 20 years should still have so many people in their fanclub that 5000 of them would be willing to schlep to Vancouver to see them play. Then I remembered what you wrote about having to pay $120 to join the fan club in order to get a chance to see the band live. Did you manage to get tickets in the end? Are you interested in having a chat about your experiences? I am reviewing the show anyway – which, I’m sure, will be enjoyable – but I would nonetheless like to write a small news story to run alongside it, talking about the lengths that some fans have had to go to in order to get tickets. If you would like to talk about any aspect of this, I can be reached on +—————. I am staying at the Westin Bayshore. I can be reached at Room —— if you call 604 ————. My email address is ——————-
Many thanks
Pete
never underestimate the power of the blog
Comment [2]
Politics, Gas and the World... · Wednesday May 2, 2007 by colin newell
So. A panel of 3 people set out to decide what kind of money British Columbian MLA’s should get…
and the best they could come up with was 29%
for the MLA’s no less.
Don’t ask what they have suggested for the Premier…
link
Okay. 53%.
A 53% increase for the leader of the Liberal party and our Province’s Premier.
Sick people are sleeping in hospital corridors and this is on the table.
In other news, gas prices are increasing in Canada almost daily. For some reason the price of gas in Vancouver is just shy of $1.30/litre.
There is a 35 cent variation in the price across Canada.
Meantime the weasels in the refining industry claim the following reasons for high prices at the pumps.
-fires at the refinery
-refinery is down for maintainence
-the dog ate the refinery.
Whale Oil Beef Hooked anyway.
Oil companies are reaping mind boggling profits and we are taking it up the hoo-hoo.
Sing a happy song.
I had a friend head down to Australia for a couple of weeks. They had to transit through LAX on their way from Vancouver to Honolulu and Fiji. While in LAX they were forced to give finger prints and a retinal scan…
One more reason we will not be travelling to America anytime soon. I have another dear friend and colleague who is travelling overseas via the U.S.A. and will go through the same intrusive song and dance over what?
As Naomi Wolf writes in her blog on HuffingtonPost.Com – America is taking one significant step after another down an obvious path to a police state.
We shouldn’t be afraid friends. We should be angry… very angry.
Mister Bigley`s big adventure · Sunday August 27, 2006 by colin newell
It has taken 3 or 4 years of gentle prodding by my wife to get me to upgrade my (our) home mobile phone.
3 to 4 years…
Of gentle prodding.
So I broke down a month ago and got a Motorola Razor.
A damn fine phone.
A tough phone.
A phone up for some adventure.
And so it was to be.
While at Jordan River and Port Renfrew this weekend (with one fully loaded camera bag), my shiny new phone went sailing.
Without my knowledge.
Sailed right out of my bag.
Into the air.
Landing on a rock.
Without me hearing a thing.
It was only an hour later when we got back to the cabin that I noticed that it was not snuggled in my Lowe-Pro mini-trekker anymore.
Within minutes of this discovery, I was on the phone to Telus Mobility, cancelling my service.
I guess you might say I was crestfallen.
I mean, what is the likelihood of recoverying a phone lost on the wild west coast?
Higher than I thought.
24 hours later and the phone rings.
“Hello Sir, this is Telus Mobility calling…”
“We found your phone… you can pick it up at the downtown store…”
Within a half-hour I am cradling my little phone again…
and buying a 26er of Irish Whiskey for the guy at Telus Mobility for bringing me such good news.
Ladies – his name is Connor and he is single, 21 – looks a little like Keanu Reeves… works at the Bay Centre in downtown Victoria and he will keep a lid on that bottle of Irish Whiskey til you come down and introduce yourself.
Tell him I sent you!
Meantime, our phone (now nicknamed Mister Bigley ) is back home, safe and sound.
To whomever or whatever brought the phone back, thanks!
Regina, Saskatchewan Coffee - the short report · Thursday August 17, 2006 by colin newell
I had been warned about Regina, Saskatchewan – about their coffee scene at least.
And there are two ways of looking at this folks.
It may be the least evolved urban coffee centre in Canada.
It also provides a golden opportunity for anyone with a lick of business sense to open a cafe concept that will kick ass.
What I saw in Regina could be summed up thusly:
The people running the cafes here…
no wait. Let me start again.
I do not believe I actually experienced Specialty Coffee in Regina, Saskatchewan.
I experienced lunch places, that just so happened to have an espresso machine.
Or Coffee places that thought they were espresso places but were lacking the skill or identity to pull it off.
You see, espresso places should not necessarily sell; art… or stick candy… or jams and jellies… or country art.
This is called an identity crisis.
Regina cafes do not know what they want to be.
Solution: The owners or potential owners should jump on a plane and come to Vancouver, Seattle or Victoria… or Calgary even.
There is a stunningly brilliant opportunity for coffee-house success in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Finally, think about this:
If you were served a bad glass of beer in a pub or a cold meal or raw steak in a restaurant, what would you do?
You would raise a fuss.
How is it then, that a insipid, bitter, battery-acid tasting shot of coffee can be served in a nice little town like Regina without the Barista even flinching or asking the simple: How is your espresso, Sir?
Exactly!
Comment [3]
