Deep Thoughts

Deep Thoughts
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

It's easy to let the mind wander at Deep Cove. If only I had $1 million to buy a tiny home.

Spin-o-rama

Spin-o-rama
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Getting dizzy with the fall colours at Vancouver's Trout Lake.

Sunday in Deep Cove

Reflecting
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

It's been an amazing fall...

from the "bleeding money" dept.

ghana spending blog
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

$53.56 for pills today. The pre-departure spending continues.

I had no idea that you have pay $10.60 for EACH bottle of pills they fill at the pharmacy.

So ten pills cost $53.56 -- $21.20 of that going to the pharmacy. What a joke and a rip.

Oh yeah, and I pay $1000+ a year for my so-called universal healthcare. Joke.

Let's look at the tote board... today's new total is:

$625.82!

Sheesh!

Sunday Drive

Goin' for a spin in Big Doug's new '65 Chevelle.

Closed course. Stunt driver and passengers. Don't try this at home.

Bird of Prey

Bird of Prey
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Ah yes, the Parade of Lost Souls!

Back after a one year hiatus, I dare say it's bigger and better than ever. The big change? The closing down of a huge chunk of Commercial Drive for ghouls and freaks of all kinds to mingle and tingle.

The evening started hours earlier in Kitsilano at Jazz's place. We were slow in getting our costumes together but a few beers took the pressure away.

Once suitably scary, we drove over to the east side via a stop at City Cigar for some Cuban goodness.

The Parade was in full swing upon arrival -- and we quickly joined in. After a couple of hours of wandering around with thousands of other costumed crazies, we snagged an outdoor table at Stella's.

This gave us a view of Grandview Park, a supply of fresh beer and food, and most importantly, a giant umbrella over our heads.

The rain held off until close to 10 when the heavens let loose. We sat protected, eating roast lamb and sipping Belgium's finest as people and monsters scurried to get out of the rain.

You'd think they were made of sugar.

After that we all went our own way. I grabbed a $2.25 bus ride home... and was asleep before the time changed.

Nice to see Vancouver can actually have an event like this and not shut it down. In fact, we didn't see a single cop -- though I'm sure they were around somewhere, just in case some morons decided to get stupid.

More pictures below...

Cheers!

Mache

Mache
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Tippler

Tippler
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Ghost town

Ghost town
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The action heats up

The action heats up
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Jazz and Lorne

Jazz and Lorne
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Jazz and Lorne

from the "long distance" dept.

Ghana Notes
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I'm still healing from 4 shots yesterday - two in each arm.

As strange new serums mix with my innards, I must admit I feel blah.

On another note, my stuff is now out of storage and ready for the big sort. That will take place over the next month or so.

The good stuff will go back into storage in early January.

In case you were wondering how far I am moving... Accra is 11,822 kilometres east of Vancouver.

See the distance here.

Wow!

However, this is not the furthest I've travelled. That would be Vancouver - Sydney... which clocks in at an impressive 12,481 kilometres.

Cheers!

From the "medicare my ass" dept.

Ka ching
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The paperwork and costs from my first round of shots at Vancouver's travel medical clinic.

Much more to come.

I thought Canada had free healthcare. Hahahahahahahahahaha!

Right.

New Home

New Home
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Takoradi is located SW of Accra, Ghana's capital. It's a city of about 300,000 and I know little else, other than it will be my home for most of 2007.

Guides

Guides
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Sorting

Sorting
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The sorting has begun!

Packing

Packing
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The "Africa Bin" doesn't have much in it yet. A CBC hat, a new mosquito net, a small roll of toilet paper, and a bottle of mosquito repellant.

I'm also packing audio gear, camera equipment, and my laptop. But that stuff will get packed last.

Africa Bin

Africa Bin
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I have officially started packing. Two and a half months early!

from the "big parking lot in the sky" dept.

Bye Bye Big Blue
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I haven't driven the tank for some time, but it remained in the garage taking up room and reminding me of how long a $400 car can last. More than a year!

With Ghana on the horizon, it is time to get rid of stuff. First up, the Park Ave. *sniff*

Cheers!

Ghana Notes

Ghana Notes
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The fun has started as the adventure of a lifetime draws closer.

It's been a surreal experience since I accepted the job, and as I tackle the long list of things to do, it becomes even more surreal. And unreal.

First up -- a new passport. Because my current passport expires within 6 months of leaving Ghana, I have to get a new one. The current one expires next December, meaning I got less than 4 years use out of it.

Photos were taken on the weekend, paperwork was filled out Monday, and I stood in line for a couple of hours Tuesday.

After forking over $94 and having my current passport cancelled, I now wait until Nov. 7 for the new one. If it's any consolation, it'll be delivered via registered post.

Up next: my old Buick. As I write this, I'm waiting for the towing company to come pick it up and cart it off. That will leave the garage empty meaning that I have a place to put all my stuff when my storage unit is delivered Thursday.

Also Thursday: shots and pills.

Can you hear the money fly out of my wallet?

I'm also working on scheduling for early January. It looks like I will be leaving around Jan 4 to attend a week of CIDA training in Toronto.

There's the tow truck now... more to come!

Golden

Golden
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Hidden Lower Mainland

Hidden Lower Mainland
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

A massive bank of fog enveloped the greater Vancouver area early Sunday morning. Looking SE from Cypress Mountain. Best B I G!

Foggy Trees

Foggy Trees
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

A massive bank of fog enveloped the greater Vancouver area early Sunday morning. Looking SE from Cypress Mountain.

Vancouver Sprouts

Vancouver Sprouts
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Eastward Ho!

Eastward Ho!
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Pictures from Sunrise Sunday morning. Taken from Cypress Mountain. Lots of fog down below. Lots of sunshine up above. A spectacular day. When will they end?

Rough Landing

Rough Landing
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The amazing fall continues. Today (Saturday) was almost hot and there was no shortage of sun.

I got out of the house early, grabbed the camera, and went shooting around Lonsdale Quay and Jericho Beach.

And now: sleep.

Cheers!

Fall Fog

Fall Fog
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

A foggy fall day at Cates Park in North Van.

Special Comment

Olbermann (for blog)
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Check out Olbermann's most recent special comment on the hackery and constitution mauling going on down south.

It's a Quicktime video... oh, heck. Here's the Windoze version for you Luddites!

Tip of the ol' hat to Crooks and Liars. Required daily reading.

Cheers!

Rainy Thursday

Meet the Beckles
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

It's a typical grey and blah day today in YVR.

However, it's good motivation to get to the tasks at hand -- the planning for Ghana.

Of course, life goes better with music.

Cheers!

Jackpot

Jackpot
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I finally found my fresh and local made tortilla supplier -- way out in Richmond, BC... but not as distant as America (though only a few KM short).

Want some?

www.quepasafoods.com/store.htm

As Stewie says: "Victory is mine!"

Shocking

Shocking
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

This guy is a fixture on Commercial Drive. He's reading the gay press. Discuss.

from the "done deal" dept.

It's official:

I've accepted the job in Ghana.

The new adventure starts early in the new year.

Donations gratefully accepted!

Cheers!

Why is it so hard to find tortillas in Vancouver?

You can buy almost any kind of food product almost anywhere in Vancouver.

Except frickin' tortillas.

Yesterday I went to four different stores on Commercial Drive looking for small plain or whole wheat tortillas.

The fourth store -- Food Fare or whatever -- had the bland crappy big bread company circles of cardboard. That was it.

Nothing local. Nothing tasty. Nothing good.

For the past few months I've actually been buying my tortillas in the USA. How lame is that?

Grrr.

Today I will take a chance and head to the Que Pasa store in Richmond in hopes of finding real, locally made tortillas.

You'd think one of the most popular food items on the planet would be easily available here. No?

Cheers!

Bonfire on the Beach

Bonfire on the Beach
Originally uploaded by chris_wilson.

I found this image of my new home on Flickr.

Home won't be a bonfire, of course. But it should be near the beach.

I hope!

Cheers!

from the "ch-ch-ch-changes" dept.

BREAKING NEWS:

I have been offered an 8-month journalism training gig in the West African nation of Ghana.

The job is based in a smaller city, Takoradi, west of the capital, Accra. The position is with a television station in Takoradi and runs from Jan. 15 through Aug. 15, 2007.

The offer arrived this morning, and I have until Monday to accept.

There are some logistics to consider, but I am fairly certain I will go, barring any last minute occurances.

Talk about a change of life!

Cheers!

Doug

Fenced in

Fenced in
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Dockside

Dockside
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

All's quiet on the south beach at Buntzen Lake.

Transition

Transition
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Fall in B.C.

Table with a view

Table with a view
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

It felt like summer at Buntzen Lake Wenesday, but look more like fall. Hardly a soul to be found. Tres nice.

from the "retirement" dept.

A short one tonight:

- finished writing online news for the North today. No more shifts anywhere scheduled until... ? However, I do have a 4 hour training session Thursday at the Corp. Phew!

- the weather is fantastic. I headed out to Buntzen Lake this afternoon to flake in the warm sun and read travel magazines.

- the film fest winds down this week. Tomorrow, I am off to see a doc called Iraq for Sale.

That's it for now!

Cheers!

from the "Benny Hill" Dept.

Benny Hill Thriller Everything is funny when you put the Benny Hill music with it.

The end? Or the beginning?

Getting nowhere fast
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Tuesday. The day after Thankgiving.

Thanksgiving dinner consisted of a Romanian comedy at the Vancouver International Film Fest followed by an early bedtime.

The work day started at 6 a.m., but I rose at 4 a.m. to bone up on my telephone interview with Journalists for Human Rights.

It lasted about 45 minutes and I answered tons of questions about human rights issues, working in a culturally different environment and if I could handle being placed outside of Accra, the capital of Ghana.

How did it go? Hard to tell, as these things always are. I'm just not sure.

Honestly, I'll be very disappointed if things don't proceed. I truly need a change direction. If only a temporary one.

Anyway, I should know in about a week. And until then, my toes, fingers and other things will remain crossed.

Cheers!

Live

Live
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Hey! Remember me?

He's baaaack!

Faux wisdom?!

Food for thought from Roger Ailes, the big cheese of the cheesy Fox News Channel:

"I think all of us over-hype the news, all the 'news alert, news alert, news alert.' The other day they had a funny news alert on CNN: Hillary supports Bill in attacking Fox, and I thought, Well, jeez, the news alert would have been if she didn't...Maybe there should be a little unilateral disarmament. If somebody had the nerve I'd let CNN go first, but all of us ought to get together and say, 'Look, let's try to make news alerts news alerts.' But nobody can afford unilateral disarmament, so we all stay in the fight, and I don't think it's necessarily to the viewer's benefit."

- Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel...comments to TV WEEK

Holidaze

Cover up
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Thanksgiving. Already. Wow.

I can't believe how fast this fall is flying by. Before we know it, it'll be ski season.

My housesitting duties at Lisa's end today. But not before I get outta the house and shoot more stills. Lots of interesting things to snap pictures of. Lurrve it!

On tap: more Eastern European cinema at the VIFF tonight. Then boning up for the JHR (Ghana) interview tomorrow. And scanning the Northern Canada landscape for news... as I am "North Boy" tomorrow and will be covering the far reaches of this great land in an online kind of way.

The sun is out. The air is cool. Another perfect day!

Cheers!

Albanian Watchtower

Albanian Watchtower
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

During the early summer of 2005, I road tripped across former-Yugoslavia, including an area near the (what is now) Macedonian-Albanian border. While driving through the quite stunning and mountainous countryside, we (I was with friends) drove past a Yugoslavian army base of some sort.

We found this very odd, as Yugoslavia had ceased to exist -- and Macedonia had been independent for some time.

I filed it away and forgot about it.

Fast forward to tonight. I went to see a film by a Croatian director called "Border Post". It is about a Yugoslavian army post on the border with Albania. And... it turned out that the base I had seen last year was... the set!

The director, Rajko Grlic was there. After the film I went up and told him my tale. He laughed.

Now, a big part of the film was about an Albanian watch tower. I told him that I am a photographer and my business card (I have several versions) has an image Albanian watchtower that is similar to the one in the movie.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/borderfilms/92889094/

I handed over my card and both of us laughed our heads off.

Certainly, an interesting moment!

Cross

Cross
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

A rather appropriate image for Sunday... on the (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend. Cruscifing power. Hmmm.

Linus Alert

Linus Alert
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Sad.

Brunch

Fav
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Had a deeelicious brunch with Lorne and Katrina at Caffe Barney Sunday morning.

Love Barney's...

Tired

Tired
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The week is done... and three days off have arrived. Hurrah!

There's good news on the work front -- a couple bonus days writing online news.

And then some time off to deal with my piles of stuff and general organizing that I've been putting off.

The Ghana interview is Tuesday morning, which should be interesting. I've spoken to other people who have gone through the process and I feel pretty confident.

So. Africa in January? I'd say the odds are pretty good.

I'll have to work some fiscal magic to make it happen... like paying my Canadian bills when I'm away. But I'll figure out a way.

The fall weather continues to surprise. I've forgotten what rain is!

Thanksgiving is apt to be low key. A film premiere Saturday night is the biggest thing in the works.

I'm also house sitting my old hood again. Heading over there in minutes, actually.

And still nothing from the taxman!

There's the shorthand version. You're caught up!

Cheers!

Wall of power

Wall of power
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

The latest sale!

Yahoo!

Grin
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

It's FRIED-DAY!

Are you 'aving a laugh?

Extras. Season 2. Simply brilliant... enjoy this clip before the copyright cops nuke it.



Cheers!

Doppelganger Rookie Card

Doppelganger Rookie Card
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).