Weird day today:

I had an email from a national Canadian network (Vision) inquiring about the Great Central European Border Expedition film. Totally out of the blue. Totally unexpected.

I am chatting with my peers about how to proceed. An interesting and exciting development.

Then, later, when I went to check my snail mail - another surprise (although expected): a nice fat cheque from National Geographic for some of by border photography.

Very nice!

And then... I had a great motivating chat with friends in Toronto who are making good returns on their website projects. More on that soon. But do check www.allercards.com out.

It has now moved from the back-burner to the front burner.

One more day off tomorrow before heading back to CTV for 3 days.

Oh, did the hike again, too.

Nice stuff... on such a summers day.

Cheers!

Sunday...

A day off. Aaah.

Worked last night at CTV... same old, same old. Stayed at Lisa's last night - the final night of housesitting and hanging out with "Kitty."

It was nice not to have to get up this morning... and then to have the luxury of nothing on the agenda.

Today was Deep Cove Daze, so I did want to get back to my home before too late in the day, which I managed to do around 2pm.

It was a cloudy day, but dry. Lots of activity at DCD... but very kid orientated. I spent the afternoon doing more of nothing.

Then Lorne and Katrina and another Lisa came over and we hit the Raven for a dinner.

Now it's 23:30 and time for some rest.

I have no work scheduled Monday or Tuesday - so my attention will turn to taxes and house work.

Not very interesting stuff to report...

zzz

Cheers!

Wise Up...

Save Me...

Takin' Care of Business...

These are just three of the tunes that Aimee Mann played at the Commodore this evening. She is SO underrated... and despite her melancholiness she has the voice of an angel. And she covers BTO (a kick ass version too, I might add).

Her contributions to the Magnolia soundtrack are but a small example of how great she is. And I heard that Magnolia was actually based on her songs!

It was a busy day again, of course. Writing the CBC North site all day (6am until about 3pm)... then I had to get my cellphone replaced. And what a battle to get a discount. After 7 years, you'd think your cellphone company would appreciate your business. Guess again!

After that joy, Lorne, Jazz and I went for a feed of sushi. And then Lorne and I went to see Aimee Mann.

It's now midnight - and I have to be at work at 6am. But John Kerry is on the Daily Show. How can I miss that? Exactly.

Later in the week I am going to be doing some housesitting -- that will be a nice change of scenery.

It's also monsooning again... love the cool and the sound... aaaah... it seems to be scaring the traffic away.

We'll, Jon's on -- until the next time...

Cheers!

After the monsoon this past weekend, I've been itching to get back into the woods and hike to the look-off.

The day was flying by today, so around 6pm I threw on the shoes and off I went.

What a difference! First, it wasn't oppressively hot - it was cool and damp. But what struck me was the smell of the forest. It was amazing.

And then the greenness. It was like a someone injected all the plants with some Leprechaun steroid. I don't think I've ever seen so many shades of green. And just from some rain.

There were only a few other hikers on the trail. Many of them had seen bears and cubs, but I didn't notice any. All I know, is I don't want to come across any cubs!

The view was spectacular. The TV ads call BC "the best place on earth," and I would have to agree. It still blows me away - even after seven years.

The KatKam, which faces west from Vanier Park (just west of Downtown) has undergone an upgrade. The images are absolutely stunning - have a look!

If you read my posting about Americans watching CBC coverage of the Olympics, I have some more on the subject.

Globe and Mail TV critic John Doyle takes the opposite view to mine. I'd think him an idiot if not for the fact that he's Irish and he is usually bang on.

In fact, he wrote about the endless repetition of inane Canadian commercials during the Olympic broadcasts. One, for Tim Hortons, shows a young backpacker galavanting around Europe, a Timmy Ho's mug swinging from his pack. "I met so many Canadians..." he writes in a letter to mom and dad.

Here's Doyle's take (click on his words for the full article):

"Here's the message: Meet some foreign people! I mean, the geek's going around Europe getting excited about meeting Canadians who recognize his coffee cup. How dorky is that? Enough with the coffee mug. Go have an espresso and chat up some Italian girls."

Exactly!

Slainte!

Aaaah.

A day off. Following 7 days of writing news, one whole day to... gee, write my Blog? Do my taxes?

Sort of. More like sleep 10 hours... and laze around all day watching the Olympics. I sort of feel like I'm wasting a day - but I think it's deserved after 7 straight. And I don't get another one until Sunday.

But then things slow down. Not necessarily a bad thing. I do look forward to more than a single day or two away from the world of news.

It's still rainy, which is also a nice break from the blast-furnace summer we've had. I was going to hike to the look-off, but the rain has forced me to delay my ascent. I will do it later this avro.

I've noticed that it is very dark in Deep Cove when it rains. Being surrounded by mountains doesn't help, and the clouds hang low.

Locals tell me that in the winter it is really dark. Because there are mountains to the west, the sun disappears early. And in the winter it is really early.

We'll see.

No firm decision about staying here or moving. I have the opportunity to move in with a friend of a friend back on the Drive. The money savings would be substantial, but the cost and time and effort of moving again is hardly attractive.

I've come to accept the traffic noise, and really have no desire to relocate. Although saving $500+ a month would be nice.

That's enough blogging for today.

Cheers!

"Thank God for Canadian TV!" - American Olympics viewer

More on that soon...

Sunday morning. How exciting!

I'm working at CTV this weekend - 2 to 11, cranking out the local news. Today is day 7 in a row, but I am off tomorrow. And not having to start until 2 is like a holiday.

The heat has finally broken. And with a vengeance. Yesterday it rained so hard it was like a monsoon. It was great.

Today is cloudy and damp. Clouds hang low on Mount Seymour. The look-off beckons, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow.

I still find myself watching the olympics all the time. I've had a chance to watch NBC's HDTV coverage. It's not a great looking as you would think. Lots of quality issues due to compressing the signal. And NBC can only cover certain sports. And they're at least a day behind. HD hasn't really arrived.

I've discovered articles in the Seattle and Detroit papers praising CBC coverage. Only the border states get CBC and Seattle and Detroit are the only major US cities to get access to CBC off-air or on cable.

In the Aug 22. Seattle Times, a reported actually made the trek all the way to our Great Dominion to watch live Olympic coverage. I guess she doesn't have cable at home.

Other articles raved about CBC's coverage compared to NBC's:

"Once again Canada's CBUT-TV network offered a more-sophisticated live broadcast, while NBC aired a seriously edited prime-time program fit for "Mystery Science Theater 3000," considering all the wisecracks veteran announcers Katie Couric and Bob Costas made," said the Seattle Times after the opening ceremonies.

One US viewer emailed the Times his feelings: "Tom Morgan of Puyallup said it best when he wrapped up his e-mail this way: "Thank God for Canadian TV." Yep, that alone is worth the skyrocketing cost of living in the Emerald City. "

And over in the motor city, the Detroit Free Press noted, "The usually superb, more internationally aware and less hyperbolic CBC Olympics coverage begins at 7 p.m. on CBET-TV, Channel 9 in Windsor."

They like us, they really like us!

I heard from National Geographic today... the cheque is in the mail!

Copy to appear here soon.

Cheers!

You know those days where a million things come at you all at once?

That was today.

I've been writing the CBC Saskatchewan website news content all week - and it's been going well. But today, it was one thing after another after another. All at the same moment.

But it's all over. Phew.

Another hot and sunny day here. They just keep coming. I don't think the forecast has changed since March.

It's weird too, because I'm writing stories about frost warnings in Saskatoon.

Late in the day I decided I had to get some exercise. I did the hike up to the look-off and actually met someone I know - Pam Newton, whom I used to work with at CTV. Small forest, no?

After the hike, I was hotter than hell - so I had a Belize shower - cold water only.

I ain't cold no more.

Time to go read more about Bulgaria.

Cheers!

Can it be true? Yes, if you're on Doug's American adventure!

[Something is wrong with this picture!]

But before we get to that... let's go back to the beginning. In this case, about 60 minutes after leaving Deep Cove.

Not wanting to totally miss summer, I am taking every opportunity to get out on the road. When Randy suggested driving back down to Washington State, I jumped at the chance.

So we headed south, visions of Chuckanut Drive dancing in our heads. But first, this:

[The waiting is the hardest part]

We had a pleasant enough Customs Officer who waved us through in short order - we had arrived!

[Welcome to America!]

There isn't much as you cross the border other than duty free shops, gas stations, and line-ups. But, in just a few kilometres - wait! miles!! - south lies the quiet community of Blaine. Blaine is a town-on-the-move. And like all towns-on-the-move, it has a great slogan: "Where America Begins"

[Where America Ends must've been taken]

Now, being a normal person, you might visualize two things when I say Washington State: Seattle and mountains. Ok, and maybe Curt Cobain. Get over it! He's *so* dead.

Chuckanut Drive was great. Twisty and turny - it hugs the coast and is enveloped by huge trees. Driving this is a ragtop is a blast. And that's what we did.

I remembered back to 2000 when Angela Wade decided to cycle from Vancouver to Los Angeles. She would have ridden along here.

After a lengthy drive, we're deposited in the middle of flat farmland. The flatness stirs up memories of Manitoba.

The now nap-inducing drive has a couple of rewards. One is Edison, a small town made up of nothing but bakeries (so that's where BC Bud goes)... and reward number two is La Conner.

La Conner is kinda touristy, but it's still quaint - like any touristy town in New England. As a bonus the La Conner brewing company has excellent salsa, spinach salad, and a hoppier than hell beer. Man, there is good beer down here.

[La Conner - French in name, excellence in beer]

La Conner has all sorts of cool stores too. Antique shops are big, and have great stuff at reasonable, but not cheap, prices.

I bought 4 musty old magazines: Life magazine from the week of the 1968 chushing of the Prague Spring (amazing), an issue with a story on escaping East Berlin via a tunnel (1965), an issue of the Saturday Evening Post with a cover showing a painting of a US-Canada border crossing, circa the mid-60's. And an issue of Look magazine from 3 days before I was born. I now have Life and Time issues from the day of my birth, and now the Look. Geeky, but I think it's neat.

Randy picked up an issue of Life from the week he was born. Am I a trend setter or what?

After a couple of hours of poking around, it was time to head home. I wanted to stop at mall in Bellingham to return something I bought last week. But first, we had to figure out where we were going.

[Traffic circle? In Washington?!]

As we were leaving La Conner, we spotted a big 'ol Bush sign. You've seen the picture above... but here's the rest of the story:

We're posing and taking pictures of each other, acting like little kids... when a passerby looks at me giving the thumbs up - shoots a dirty look - and spits towards me! I kid you not!

I wonder if La Conner leans a little towards the left. I was going to say something... and then I thought... heck, this is what democracy is all about: spitting.

I've been searching for a George Bush 2004 t-shirt, but I still haven't found the perfect one. All I want is something with a big logo on the front, so I can wander around Vancouver and see how people react. I think it would be very interesting. And make for a great story.

Traffic was heavy and it took forever to get to I-5. It was getting late by the time we reached Bellingham. I did my stuff at the mall, but we were disappointed that we could not find the Republican office or nor the larger Democratic office. I hope that I am able to get down to the US again before the election.

I enjoy these trips to America. I think it's a good thing to get in touch with the real Americans - not the annoying TV Americans that dominate Canadian cable.

We headed north to the border and waved goodbye...

[Waving goodbye]

At the border there was only a small line-up. Some images...

[Line-ups are the same in either nation]

[The Line]

Now here is something weird: some sort of strange sensor thing that points downwards towards cars entering Canada. Is it a Target purchase detector?

[A Canadian Zap-o-matic]

Customs were a breeze, although the officer poked fun at my CBC hat, wondering if I worked in Iraq or somewhere like that. And no duty on the musty mags!

Traffic was light and we made it back to Deep Cove before the Sushi joint closed.

It was a good Sunday.

Cheers!

I've been tinkering with the blog. The old look had gotten old, and I thought I would try something new. Trouble was, I didn't like anything new - and then it was too late to go back to the old look.

So this one will have to suffice for now.

*** NOTE ***

You can now leave comments.... !

*** END NOTE ***

My pal Brent has started his own blog - should be an interesting one. Visit it often!

This morning was amazing. I was able to sleep in until after 7am. After dragging my ass out of bed, I threw a cap on my tete and headed to Honey's for the requisite Americano and quickstart muffin.

Armed with the Globe and Mail, I walked in the early morning sun (yes, yet another sunny and warm day) down to the public dock at the end of the street.

It juts about 100 metres into the waters of Deep Cove. There were no people around, so I planted myself and took in the view. A single kayaker broke the water as he headed off into Indian Arm. The mountains were shrouded in a morning haze. But they took on a layered effect, almost like a painting. Rows of overlapping mountains, the most distant ones a little softer.

It was another day to play actor. I met up with Steve, the director, at Dr. Rhonda Low's office. We shot one scene... and that was it. I am playing a doctor who, in todays scene, was off in another world while he saw a patient.

After the filming, I called Lorne. He and brother Steve Murray were having breakfast at Bert's. It's been a long time since I've dined there... so I blasted over right away.

After breakfast, we went to the East Side farmer's market. I loaded up on cherries, corn, and local peaches. YUM!

The three of us had the luxury of being able to kill time. We hit Commercial Drive. Steve bought a whoopie cushion, which we used to great effect.

Then we headed to the Jericho Sailing Club out at Jericho Beach. There we sat and watched all the action on English Bay as we enjoyed a pint in the sun.

Later, we were heading home when we ran into Cheryl and Tom. After a quick visit to a book store (I bought 2 books: Rough Guide Bulgaria and Microcosm.


I also looked for some Albanian tour books, but found nothing exciting. I did find a map, but it was expensive... so I will wait.

We had a pint with Cheryl and Tom in Kitsilano at a place called Hell's Kitchen. They have a patio on 4th Ave, so it was a good place to watch the world go by.



And then it was time to go our separate ways. I came home and worked on the blog and ate corn.

I've had a digital camera for the last week, but still have not found an easy way to put the images here. Stay tuned.

Sunday is another trip to America...

Cheers!