February 12, 2010

February 12, 2010
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

After waiting for years, it's finally Vancouver's (and Canada's) time to shine. Good Morning 2010 Winter Olympic Games! Welcome, world! Let the party begin!

February 11, 2010

February 11, 2010
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Framed in Vancouver's Chinatown.

from the "peeling back the curtain" dept.

If you know anything about Vancouver, you just had to know that the stories of the city's dark side would start appearing in the global media. I don't mean the idiot "hate everything" protesters. I mean the drugs, the poverty and the violence. It's true. Vancouver is amazing on the surface, but struggles with some very serious social problems.

This morning I watched a report on BBC World about Vancouver's dark side.

As Vancouver prepares to host the Winter Olympics, the city continues to struggle with a vicious drugs war. Dozens have been killed in escalating turf battles that have spread far beyond the city limits. But it is a war that has its roots even further away, in Mexico.

The rest of the story is HERE. What do you think?

February 10, 2010

February 10, 2010
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Photo of the Day: Deep thoughts near high end shops in Vancouver.

from the "sesame street" dept.

Even at my creaky old age, I love Sesame Street. It's more than just a kids show -- and after all these years remains fresh and relevant. And then there are the guest stars. If you haven't been on Sesame Street, you're not a big star (see Ricky Gervais, below).

Watch the following clips and see if you don't feel decades younger. I believe this may just be the fountain of youth.

Here's Ricky Gervais helping Elmo fall asleep in Celebrity Lullaby:



And Paul Rudd saving Planet Earth:



And Richard Pryor teaching the alphabet:



And Tina Fey as a BOOKaneer (or is that Sarah Palin?):



And Ben Stiller meeting his neighbours:



And many more HERE.

February 9, 2010

February 9, 2010
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Photo of the Day: The Grandmaster. Belize City, Belize.

from the "Vancouver 2010 Olympics Openings" dept.

Russian broadcaster RTR is carrying the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games games back in the motherland. Unlike the BBC, which went with cool graphics for their Olympic promotional bits, these promos feature very different versions of Queen's We Are The Champions. Enjoy:







Cheers!

February 8, 2010

February 8, 2010
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Mustachioed bride dons the sign for an Edmonton bridal shop.

from the "CJOH Ottawa goes up in flames" dept.

A massive fire destroyed CTV Ottawa's (aka CJOH) newsroom this morning. The station's video archive was also destroyed.

From CTV Ottawa's website:

Firefighters are on the scene of an overnight fire that ripped through CTV Ottawa's newsroom and caused more than $2.5 million in damage.

Flames began on the second floor of the Merivale Road building sometime before 4:30 Sunday morning.

It took 70 firefighters and 18 fire trucks more than two hours to bring the blaze under control.

The rest of the story and video are HERE.

February 7, 2010

February 7, 2010
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

Mary's Shoppe. Takoradi, Ghana, West Africa