from the "catching up" dept.

The week has come to an end. And what a week!

I managed to get a few more things sorted for Ghana, but there is a considerable amount of entries remaining on my "to do" list.

This was a week about meeting people. On Tuesday I attended the a party for the television premiere of "The Rock and Roll Kid," a documentary about a 12-year-old guitar wonderkind.

It was produced and written by a friend of mine... LONG story there.

At the premiere, I met Danny - the kid, his parents, as well as a cool group of like minded folk.

On Thursday I met Donna, who is a friend of a friend and very like minded. We enjoyed poutine as we got to know each other. The fun continues next week when Donna, Randy, Christian and yours truly go Whisk(e)y sampling at the Irish Heather.

Tonight was the blooper party. The annual get-together of Vancouver media types (mostly TV). Folks from all the newsrooms converge for one night of watching each other's blooper tapes. This was my 9th.

Global "won" with the Best Tape, but I thought CTV should have been the winner.

I ran into a bunch of colleagues from CBC, CTV and Global, including some that I started with in this business back in '88!

Well, that's enough button pushing for the night. It's 1:12 a.m. and I have to be up in 5 hours.

More to come.

Cheers!

Doug

F*** you Commercial Drive.

THIS post on Craigslist is priceless.

If you don't like the F-word, you best avoid the link.

h/t Donna

A Ghana Primer

Ghana Notes
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Questions about Ghana?

Here's a Dandy little website that answers the basic questions.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Ghana

Cheers!

Chillin'

Chillin'
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Reserved

Reserved
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Closed for the season

Closed for the season
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

More winter views... from Tuesday afternoon.

Cheers!

from the "TPOH" dept.

With my buddy Scott (aka Scooter) on the cusp of 40, here's a throwback to our younger days. The video is grade-A gouda (heck, it was 1986!)... but the lyrics are as true today as they were then. In fact, they actually apply now.

from the "idle hands" dept.

There's hope for me yet after taking the movie buff test:

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 82%

You are a movie buff of the most obsessive variety. If a movie exists, chances are that you've seen it. You're an expert on movie facts and trivia. It's hard to stump you with a question about film.

Are You a Movie Buff?

h/t John Gushue (required daily reading)

from the "pennies from heaven" dept.

roadspill news
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

After the surprise cheque from CRA yesterday, I am pleased to report there are some more funds that I can earmark for Africa.

I've just added 7 CBC days in December -- which means I am getting pretty booked up.

I have to be careful not to overdo it because:

a) I want to enjoy some of the Christmas Season.
b) I have a list of things to do to get ready for Ghana.

With a little bit of balance, everything should be fine.

Cheers!

from the "goofy government" dept.

My Mom sent me an interesting op-ed item about the Canada Revenue Agency and some of their wacky proceedures:

Read it here.

This dovetails nicely with a little surprise the mailman brought today.

You see... this summer I was audited by CRA for three tax years and a determination was made that I owed a little bit more than originally thought. How much? We're not yet sure.

This morning, my friendly mailman presented me with two envelopes from CRA. The first contained a letter notifying me that I had been credited $99 in GST payments based on changes to 2002 net income. Okaaaay....

The second envelope contained a cheque! $99, I thought. Nope. Nearly $450! Why? More changes to my income. This time 2003.

I guess I can afford that 10.5 lens for Africa now. :)

And, I look forward to additional funds based on 2004 changes. Although the negative part of me expects a bill for nearly $450.

We'll see!

Cheers!