That's All She Wrote

Well, another Winter Olympics has come and gone, and what a great Olympiad it was for Canada (apart from men's hockey). We finished 3rd overall with a [Canadian] record high of 24 medals, only one off Canada's predicted 25 medals.

As we prepare for the Olympics to come to Canada in 2010, The Canadian Olympic Committee has created a program entitled Own the Podium. The essence of the program is to win the most medals in 2010. The first part of the program laid out a plan to finish in the top 3 in Torino - which is exactly what Canada did. And owning the podium in 2010 looks like a real possibility as Canada had 45 top 5 finishes in Torino.

I am looking forward to the next four years: It will be an extremely unique experience to watch my home prepare for the Winter Olympics.



http://www.vancouver2010.com/en

It's Over...

I am not one to use vulgar language in my blog, but...

FUCK!!!

Why Not Go for the Hattrick?

Ok, so it appears that within the last 24 hours I have somehow managed to publish two blog entries about furry, little Canadian rodents. What are the odds of that? So, I may as well complete the trilogy by talking about the possible, rumoured mascot for the 2010 Winter Olympics - the Hoary Marmot. Yes, that right folks, the Hoary Marmot.

I found out about the Hoary Marmot by reading my placemat at the Spaghetti Factory in Whistler many years ago. This excerpt is from Tourism Whistler http://www.tourismwhistler.com/www/about_whistler/nature.asp:

"Whistler was named after the marmot, a rock dwelling mountain rodent. Marmots make sharp, clear whistles if there is danger or a warning to other marmots."

It seems fitting since the majority of the 2010 Olympics will be taking place in Whistler - at least that is the plan.

And thus concludes my Canadian, rodent hattrick.

Frank and Gordon

I must say, I absolutely love Bell's new ad campaign. It has been a long time since I have seen an advertising campaign that is as endearing and engaging as the Bell Beavers. It hits the nail right on the head. It is just so Olympic, so... Canadian.

For more on this awesome ad campaign check out http://www.frankandgordon.ca!

Wiarton Willy Lied...

Damn groundhog! You promised us an early Spring. The rain has finally ceased, but now the temperatures have dropped below average and winter is sneaking back into the city.

It better be a long, scorching summer.

Wiarton Willy

Might As Well Face It, I'm Addicted to Lost...

I think this past weekend has been among the busiest as of late. I never really slept in and was on the go the whole time.

Thursday afternoon I arrived home from work with just enough time to get myself ready for the WPGA play. After the play, mum dropped us home and Colin and I headed into Richmond for some late-night, all you can eat Sushi. After that we returned home and watched a couple more episodes of Lost.

Friday I had a hair appointment in the morning, then spent the early afternoon doing laundry and watching the Olympics. I watched the opening ceremonies three times, but each time somehow missed the Canadians entering. Colin said they looked like a bunch of red and white penguins waddling in, in that monstrosity designed by the Bay.

Too bad the Bay now has the rights to outfit the Canadian Olympic Team, since Roots did a far superior job. Unfortunately, the Bay is a sponsor of the 2010 games, so we are stuck with them outfitting the Canadian Olympic team for at least another four years.

Later in the afternoon I met with Tina and we walked to Starbucks. Afterwards I went back to her place and she made me garlic prawns - I didn't get food poisoning :). Thalia met me at my place later that evening and we wandered up to Rogers and rented Elizabethtown. It was ok. Actually, I was enjoying it till the end - it had one of those endings which seems more like the beginning of another movie - I hate that.

Saturday morning was split between watching the Olympics and watching the police and Hazmat team across the road from my apartment. Someone's meth lab caught fire... You can live in the best parts of Vancouver or you can live in the worst parts of Vancouver, this sort of thing (like meth lab operations) can found anywhere in the city.

I joined Tina and Jen for lunch at the Jericho Tennis Club - it had been years since I had last been there. Tina had to steer me in the right direction, as I made a bee-line for the Yacht Club - if I go down to Point Grey Road it usually means I'm going to the RVYC for some reason or other - we humans are creatures of habit. Afterwards Tina ran a few errands and then we visited her mum at a craft fair. Then we headed into Richmond and wandered around Richmond Centre for a bit.

That night Colin and I saw the third movie on our Oscar list - Munich. This, in my opinion, is my favourite so far. After that we returned home and watched another episode of Lost.

Yesterday morning my mum and I went shopping - it was good shopping day, except for the fact I couldn't find a pair of khaki pants that fit me properly.

I spent Sunday evening with my family and picked up a copy of Andrew's recently completed screen play - from what I've read so far it is very intriguing, and I personally would like to see it made into a film.

Later that night, Colin and I watched yet another episode of Lost. We now only have one episode left to watch, then we will have completed the entire first season! I am not sure what I am going to do with myself between now and the time I will have to wait for season 2 to finish and be released on DVD.

The Lost ad that aired during the Super Bowl states it best- "Might as well face it you're addicted to Lost..." (to the tune of Robert Palmer's hit, Addicted to Love).

The Olympics Have Begun...

I love the Winter Olympics. I don't wish away the four years in between, but at the same time I long for that excitement and pride the Winter Olympics bring. There is something about the Winter Olympics that is so, inherently, Canadian. Is it the hockey? The curling? The skiing?

Maybe it is the great, patriotice moments created by Canada's excellence in winter sports, namely hockey. I think the greatest Canadian moment I have experienced to date was the ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the USA in 2002.

It all started the night before that most wonderful of days, and I remember it vividly. Colin and I spent our Saturday night (Gold Medal Eve) at the Blarney Stone. We met some guys from Holland and had a great conversation with them about hockey, the Olympics, politics... Late into the evening (early morning really), Killarny began to play their cover of Where the Streets Have No Name, and in the middle rift, the guitarist kept on playing, and fluidly the Where the Streets Have No Name turned into O Canada. How many of you have rocked out to your anthem? There we were, all strangers, cramped onto the Blarney Stone's tiny dance floor, coming together as nation, partying and dancing to the national athemn in great anticipation the next day.

We were up early the next morning and at the bar (Malones) at 8 AM. It was such an amazing experience. Everyone decked out in red, white and maple leafs. The CBC was there. Everyone starting singing the Stompin' Tom Conners' classic, "The Good Old Hockey Game."

And when Canada won - wow - no words can describe it, but maybe these pictures can:

Irony

Vancouver's main newspaper publication is the Vancouver Sun...

Now that's irony.

Singing the Blues

I don't get it. I don't think any Canucks fan gets it. It is one of life's great mysteries, like how they get the Caramilk inside a Caramilk bar. Why can't the Vancouver Canucks beat one of the absolute worst teams in the NHL, the St. Louis Blues.

We can beat the best of them: Ottawa, Colorado, Detroit, Dallas. Hell, we could beat St. Louis when they were good; but now that they are bottom feeders in the NHL standings we can't beat them.

I guess there is one positive thing about not being able to beat the Blues - we know we won't have to face them during the playoffs...

When Will It End?

I do realize this will be my third (or fourth) blog entry in a row about rain, but this is all any of us of Vancouverites can think about, talk about.

I don't mind the rain, out of necessity. Vancouver is a rainy city. If you live here, you have to put up with it, and think about how beautiful the city is, when it isn't raining.

It has rained so much though, this winter, I think I have forgotten what a sunny day is like. It isn't raining right now, and the sun is peaking out, but there are still grey clouds all around, threatening to soak us Vancouverites even more.

In the last 46 days, it has rained 44 days. Yes. 44 days of rain. A month and a half of rain. I am going nuts. No more rain, please.

I saw the mountains today for the first time, in a long time. I then felt robbed. While I much prefer Vancouver in the summer time, there is nothing more beautiful then a clear winter day, with clear blue skies, and the bright sun lighting up the snow capped mountains. I have not been able to enjoy that scene this winter.

When the rain comes, it erases the mountains from sight.

You stare out into the Harbour and English Bay and see nothing but an ominous, grey mass. You know the mountains are behind it, somewhere, but you are having a hard time picturing them, because they have been hidden for so long.

We [Vancouverites] take some solace in this rain with the knowledge that these dreary, wet days have broken a few records - the wettest January ever, and the wettest month ever in Vancouver meteorogical (is that even a word?) history. Since the city started keeping weather records in the 1930's, Vancouver has never seen so much rain as it has these last 46 days.

As they say, this weather is for the ducks. And if this weather keeps up, I think we may, out of sheer necessity, evolve into water fowl. I think waterproof feathers and webbed feet may be the only way to survive this.

I love water. I am more at home on water, than on land. But I don't like water when it falls from the sky, for days and days and days and days....