Victoria Spring 2011 Observations Murder of Crows · Tuesday March 29, 2011 by colin newell
Nothing like a murder in Rockland near Victoria B.C.
A murder of crows that is – and I found myself near ground zero of a crow convention this morning – around 5:30AM – or when it was getting light.
And it was distinct in an entertaining kind of way – there were approximately 50 crows in a variety of perches – and what sounded like one head crow speaker on the hustings.
A main crow speaker who would cackle a couple of phrases with a clatter or derisive caws from 1 or 2 in the crowd.
Eventually, the main crow uttered something that the stadium liked because they all went wild — in a good way. I have never heard quite an eruption from a flock like this before. It was like the Justin Beiber crow hit the stage and all the crow girls and boys went nuts.
Translated
Main crow: “What say we all go down to Clover Point and look for garbage?”
Handful of crows: “F*ck that. We are SICK of garbage and picking floaters out of the water!”
Main crow: “Alright, alright… how about the Sooke Hills?”
All the crows: “HELL YA! SOOKE HILLS! YEE HAAAAAAAAAA!”
Assorted crows: “Awwwwwwww f*ck!”
And then everything went quiet – apart from the occasional clutter from some of the birds that were talking amongst themselves.
It is well known that crows are family oriented, cooperative, have social values, are generally monogamous and they share intelligence on the subject of food and drink.
Something we do not seem to find in our politicians… Federal or Provincial.
Colin Newell lives, works and writes in Victoria B.C. on the subject of nonsense – and this is how he sees it.
Winter to Spring Pop Culture 1 Facebook Face off · Saturday March 19, 2011 by colin newell
Just decided that my blog and websites have been neglected long enough – and the web stats show it.
This blog averages around 75,000 unique visitors a month – and that is not hits – that is actual people. Thanks folks!
But those reader levels have been dropping faster than the water level in the spent fuel rod baths… and it’s all my doing.
Dang you twitter.
Because if you do the math — and I am fond of my core twitter followers, that is a small audience relative to here — but it is there that I am putting my energy.
Foolish huh? Yea. It is.
And it is not like there are lots of people out there sitting on their hands waiting for me to write something – I mean, I hope not.
Still, writing pulp blogs here is way better that firing quips into the wind on Twitter.
As much fun as that is.
So my new rule is: Before I utter a beak full of tweets, I am going to bash the side of my head and think up some observation on the human condition…
Like this one.
Good start. But I am not finished.
Facebook – it has been way useful for keeping track of events of my actual friends in almost real time – with alarming regularity and reliability that rivals gravity.
But what of those special friends… you know the ones… the ones you have stalked on facebook from your past. The people you went to High School with. The friends of the people you may have dated 25 years ago… etc.
Well, I ask myself. Why am I peering into their lives. I have a cluster of friends on Facebook who are part of my distant past and I am pretty sure I will never, ever get together with them – for any reason… ever. So why do I look into the window of their lives? Or why do I continue knowing what I know?
Hard decision.
Time for a Facebook cleanup. People do it all the time. Different reasons. You have yours, I have mine.
It is time to let the past go and let people get on with their lives.
It is the right thing to do.
Colin Newell lives and writes in Victoria B.C. Canada and is often the go to guy for opinions on the subject of Canadian Cafe and Pop Culture
Summer Fun Food and Drink 19 Cafe Conversations · Sunday August 8, 2010 by colin newell
Good cafe conversations are like a mountain stream – your best bet is to sit on the edge and listen to it babble gently – and occasionally toss a small stone in and watch the ripples.
And I had a lively converse over cups of exotic HABIT coffee with writer and raconteur Brennan Storr this afternoon.
Brennan Storr is a twenty-something amalgam of a Mickey Spillane character with a bit of Hunter S. Thompson’s DNA thrown in for good measure. Razor sharp social observation and witty quips and retorts fly randomly like a scattered stacked deck of playing cards.
And that is before the first sip of superb single origin what-cha-ma-call-it from somewhere in central Africa. Sorry hipster HABIT coffee brewers. Not paying attention.
Brennan is the kind of guy who is just as comfortable in a hipster cafe as he is at an anonymous motel room on Main Street, Big City, Canada – up to whatever writers and raconteurs do in their spare time. For the faint of heart – you probably don’t want to know. Let’s assume that he, like me, likes to wander the streets of Vancouver, Los Angeles or Toronto draped in the cloak of anonymity that only the large urban melange can afford.
Mister Storr is also better known, perhaps, for his twisted and quirky food writing on Largely the Truth – A site that relies as much on being alert and prepared when you are reading it and also maybe holding a glass with a finger of Scotch and a Cuban cigar with your free hand.
It is heavy reading at times but rewards the reader with a wild-card or two of genuine funny with the tasty aspect of his muse and impression of Food in Western Canada.
Brennan is also a regular on the social medium known as Twitter – and if you are not following him, you are not really living. He is funny, spontaneous, irreverent and unpredictable in 140 character measure. Drinking coffee with the man has its occupational hazards – unless of course you mind being subjected to the free form style normally reserved for open mike comedy night.
Which I am always up for – because I like conversational stimulation – like I like my coffee… hot, fresh and from a mysterious corner of my cerebral cortex.
And as it has turned out, Twitter and social networking has turned out to be beneficial. I find inspiration in the oddest places and it takes me to the next level in my writing – wherever that might be.
Meantime, watching the mountain stream… making its way to the Sea.
Long time resident of Victoria, Colin Newell, eats drinks and lives popular culture on an Island called Vancouver – and finds the life and times of the Cafe Modern most interesting.
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Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 16 No Normal · Friday July 30, 2010 by colin newell
An updated edition of a mental health journal for doctors may include diagnoses for “disorders” such as child rage, binge eating and internet addiction. Experts observe, “This could mean that, soon, no-one will be classed as normal.
(I) Could have told you that. For free…
The new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is being tuned now for release in 2013, could devalue the seriousness of mental illness and label almost everyone as having some kind of disorder.
Like obsessive compulsive blogging or hummingbird speed twitter.
Many people previously seen as perfectly healthy could, in the future, be told they are ill.
The DSM, published by the American Psychiatric Association, contains descriptions, symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. I imagine there should be something, perhaps a chapter on Facebook. At least a chapter.
The criteria are designed to provide clear definitions for professionals who treat patients with mental disorders, and for researchers and pharmaceutical drug companies seeking to develop new ways of treating them.
Members of the psychiatric community worry that the further the guidelines are expanded, the more likely it will become that nobody will be classed as normal any more. Worried? This is job security!
With the classification of so many new disorders, we will all have disorders.
Comforting.
There was a time that the phrase “If you have 9 friends and they are all normal… then you are messed up…” would give me a chuckle.
Now, it seems, we all have a screw loose.
So. The Earth is one great big asylum.
Also comforting. Anyway. Enjoy your neurosis – who knows… like coffee, at some point this new normal might be considered healthy…
Summer Food Fun and Drink 13 Thirteen is bad luck - get insurance · Tuesday July 27, 2010 by colin newell
Sometimes a little gamble is a good thing. It’s a fun thing. Like rolling the dice on a $1 lottery ticket or 15 minutes in a local casino with a roll of quarters. No harm right?
But who would venture South of the border to the U.S. without any personal health insurance or supplemental insurance for a loved one – particularly an elderly or at risk person?
But we Canadians roll the dice with extended health benefits. Lots apparently.
A recent survey by Ipsos Reid found 42% of Canadians always purchase travel insurance for leisure trips to the United States. The risks are somewhat higher for the other 58%. So what are they thinking?
A two-day stay in a hospital in the United States to deal with chest pain will cost you around $11,000, with only US$400 covered by your Canadian provincial health plan. Have an auto accident putting you in an ICU for 7 to 10 days and you can expect a sweet tab of around 100 grand! And your Provincial plan will cover about 6000 of that.
Doing the math?
A dear friend of mine went down to “The Islands” for a mere 4 hours last week. The “Islands” being a spot in the N.W. – in the U.S. of A.
She went with her sparky old mom – age 82.
And she had no extended health care beyond her basic Provincial coverage…
Risky? Maybe not if you are, like me, young healthy tall and generally awesome.
And even with my irrepressible awesomeness I still like to cover my back – with extended health coverage from Blue Cross – and trust me folks, that little card opens doors at virtually any first class hospital in the continental USA – and the Hawaiian Islands. And not only the doors, but the corridors to the private rooms!
Anyway – sparky old mom was minutes away from getting on the Ferry to Vancouver Island-Land and fell… hitting her head, ending up being helicoptered to a suitable American hospital with an ICU. Ka-Ching. Sparky’s daughter had to charter a flight of her own to catch up with Mom. Ka-Ching Ka-ching.
Mom was in American ICU for three days before being stabilized and moved into the general hospital population. Ka-ching, Ka-ching, Ka-ching, ka-ching!
And all of this impending financial pain could have been eliminated with about $40 of insurance for the duration.
Sparky is going to be OK. She is on her way back to Victoria and we will all celebrate with her… and her daughter. And maybe throw a benefit concert when we get around to it.
So bottom line folks – save your quarters for the slot machine and put a few dollars into prevention. Travel insurance will treat you right – and spare your pocket book a debilitating whack if you don’t.
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