Friday, February 29, 2008

from the "peas in a pod" dept.

Improved Billboard Touts AT&T and NSA Collaboration:



From Wired's Threat Level:

The Billboard Liberation Front has struck again -- this time rewriting a billboard in San Francisco's Mission District that was hosting AT&T's latest ad campaign touting the breadth of its network coverage. [...THE REST OF THE STORY]

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

from the "ch-ch-changes" dept.

The times have been turbulent in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. And it's the rural folks who are caught in the middle and being left behind.

The Guardian has an excellent piece (with video) on the problem...

The average male life expectancy in Russia is just 59. Now thousands of 'ghost villages' contain fewer than 10 people, most of them elderly women.


The story continues HERE.

[tip o' the hat to JBu]

from the "o-bollywood" dept.

OK, political junkies, here's a weird one for you. A video mash-up of Barack Obama and a Bollywood film. This is definitely bizarre and oddly entertaining...



[Tip o' the hat to John Gushue and dot...dot...dot...]

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

from the "split personality" dept.



Two of the oddest places I have ever visited are the towns of Baarle-Hertog and Barrle-Nassau in Belgium/The Netherlands. It's essentially a Dutch town with a number of pieces of Belgium mixed in for a good measure. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle. This piece is Belgium, that one is Holland. And, to keep the tourists coming, city officials from both city halls have marked the boundaries throughout the town(s). It is very odd.



When I visit such places, I always wonder about legal issues. How do law enforcement and court officials deal with such split legal personalities?

Here's a great story about a complex bi-national murder case from the Dutch blog 24 Oranges. Set in Baarle, of course:

Imagine two detectives working on a murder case, each having to solve the same crime independently, with each only having access to half the clues: it sounds like a great recipe for a mystery novel. Unfortunately, the murder in the Noord-Brabant town of Baarle-Nassau last week was anything but fictional... [ CLICK FOR MORE ]

Friday, February 22, 2008

from the "word up!" dept.

My first article for Toronto-based Word magazine is on the internets... there's a link to the right of this page... or, for you lazy mousers, click HERE.

Please excuse any spelling and/or grammatical errors that slipped through the editing process.

Cheers!

Doug

from the "yesterday's tomorrow today" dept.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

from the "pennies from heaven" dept.



I wonder: if I put the words "Kosovo independence" on my blog, will I generate more hits?

Here's a few pictures of the Kosovo-Macedonia border from 2005.

Cheers!

from the "headline news" dept.

So, what's going on you ask?

Things are humming along. I've logged two weeks of full-time week back in the land of promo and it's going well. Roughly ten weeks remain and then it's off to Ukraine.

I've been able to save a little cash and now I'm looking at what to do this summer. The options:

1. After the roadtrip across Eastern Europe I'll likely have the opportunity to return to Vancouver and promo land.

2. I may decide to return to freelance writing and working for the online arm of our national broadcaster. I can do that from anywhere and I might look for a 2-month sublet somewhere other than Vancouver -- Halifax, St. John's, anywhere!

And now you're caught up!

Cheers!

from the "luau loser" dept.

You can't make this stuff up. But, apparently, you can make some cash off lazy, lazy people.



[h/t: CW]

Cheers!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Friday, February 15, 2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Sunday, February 10, 2008

from the "gung hay fat choy" dept.

Despite a forecast of rain, the drops held off for most of the 2008 Lunar New Year parade in Vancouver's Chinatown.

Click on the image below to see all of the photos:


Cheers!

Friday, February 08, 2008

Thursday, February 07, 2008

from the "toast" dept.


Awwwww.... spring must be here... time to put away the mittens!

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win," Mittens Romney said in his speech Thursday. "And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

What a complete ass. Jerk. Wank. Another example why the GOP is a joke.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

There was a good piece in the Globe and Mail about the disappearance of AM radio stations across Canadaland.

The story is HERE. Sigh.



Never again will we hear stuff like THIS.

Cheers!

from the "looking under rocks" dept.

Maybe Morgan will have better luck than President Dumbass:



Cheers!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

from the "super duper Tuesday" dept.


A day of U.S. political porn! Oh to be in front of MSNBC all day!! Talk about regime change!

YES... THEY... CAN!

Cheers!

Monday, February 04, 2008

from the "first day of school" dept.


And so my 3-month contract at the CBC is about to begin.

I'll be cutting promos for the supper time cast and saving coin for the upcoming roadtrip across Ukraine.

All is right in the world.

Except that I have to face morning traffic over the Second Narrows bridge. And $10 parking. Blerk!!

Cheers!

Sunday, February 03, 2008

from the "big lame" dept.

In honour of Superbowl Sunday, a little entertainment:



By the way, instead of watching the game, I headed out on yet another photo safari. The pictures are HERE.

Cheers!

from the "real football" dept.



Great news: Ghana defeated Nigeria 2-1...

The Black Stars are headed to the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations!

Cheers!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Have a seat


Have a seat
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I've just uploaded a few dozen new photos at flickr. Click the photo to go there.

from the "marketing 101" dept.

Turns out that Blendtec is a real company... and their viral marketing campaign is brilliant. They've even rated two free mentions right here!

Here's another great episode of "Will It Blend"...



Cheers!

from the "video camera tapes it's own death" dept.

More fun from the Innertubes:



Cheers!

from the "rocket's red glare" dept.

I now understand why airlines are so freaked about LI-ION batteries... I wouldn't want one in the cargo hold either.



Cheers!