3000 WHEELS!!!

the last friday of every month is critical mass day, and cyclists from all around Vancouver come to ride through the streets. but the last friday of BIKE MONTH is extra special so HUNDREDS of people come to play! the goal was to get 3000 wheels taking it to the streets. we heard that 1700 heads were counted cycling over the granville bridge!!!
it was a beautiful day for a ride.















"the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways.
the point however, is to change it." :: Karl Marx ::

for the price of an orange mocha frappuccino...

you can purchase Helen Stellar's 4 song release I'm Naut What I Seem.

and say you had planned to biggie size that icy frappallappa beverage, and maybe hit it with a few extra shots of espresso - you could instead purchase yourself their 2004 release Below Radar.

me and you and everyone we know

i am actually not sure that i have EVER laughed this hard.



see this film.

homeless

a collaboration between 2 musical heroes of mine :: Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings with Sarah Mclachlan.

my mom and i used to watch a VHS recording of the Graceland concert, while she folded laundry on the weekends.

there is a Sarah Mclachlan song connected with every major event in my "adult" life.

I have never seen either of them in concert. Mambazo will be in Vancouver on October 29th of this year, and i will NOT miss it!

salad or salsa?

SALALSA...?
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can corn
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped tomato
as much as you desire chopped fresh cilantro
(i toss in the whole bunch cause i'm crazy for the stuff)
splashes of lime juice
splashes of balsamic vinegar
pinches of ground cumin
salt to taste

15 minutes - "delicious and nutritious"
use as an appetizer with chips, or serve with quesadillas as a meal.

tea marvelous tea

and speaking of best "evers"...

as it says on the box: "Bengal Spice has a sweet, creamy flavor that adds a sumptuous quality to this medley of herbs and spices! This zesty blend is an exotic taste adventure with cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to awaken your senses. A hint of vanilla smoothes the flavor and adds a bit of sweetness."

"There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea." :: Ralph Waldo Emerson

warning: beyond ridiculous content

these are the dudes of The Lonely Island.
i think i could really build a life for myself in Awesometown.
you may regret watching this video.

chocolate divinity

i know of no other dark chocolate that is so rich and so smooth (yet affordable) as Lindt's Swiss Dark Chocolate (and i am irrefutably THE expert on the subject).

you won't be disappointed.

"And, God forgive me, it melts ever so slowly on your tongue and tortures you with pleasure..." (Chocolat 2000)

goûter le rêve

montage of highlights from Franco Dragone's awe-inspiring show at the Wynn in Las Vegas. most recommended for those who have already seen it and those who will never get to see it.

beware the time vacuum

click and click and click some more. go!

evil genius

seriously. watch your back.

(i can't stop laughing. this lil devil is so dang CUTE!)

gusto de trozo

check it out. some kickin mixed media that i stumbled upon.

cbc archives

A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools
numbers 1 and 8 are particularly worth watching.

watch them because we need more peace, hope, and understanding.

taste of ian ross

see his play fareWel. it will challenge and sadden and amuse you.
Ross on the character named Nigger:

'There's a lot of internal racism on reserves, and that's a common nickname if your skin's darker. But by using it I'm also reinforcing one of the play's themes, the power of language. The word has a history and a context, but we still choose to give it power. Some believe you shouldn't use it, others believe you should reclaim it. I'm in the second camp. We can't just not say a word and have it go away. Then you're giving it more weight.'

i'm torn. words like gay, retarded, faggot, and bitch have all been used in the past to persecute and take power away from groups of people. many people, including myself, simply choose not to use these loaded words. but if my goal is to remove the power from the language, is not using it enough? do we need to go further, and "reclaim" these words, as ian ross has suggested? if so, how do we go about doing that?

visit to the lake

i breathe more deeply when the lake is in my lungs.
thank you erin for giving me that calm.
now your lake is within.

my last visit to the vancouver art gallery

Brian Jungen produces works of transcendent beauty and stabbing social commentary. Cetology (2002), the massive whale skeleton of white patio chairs (yes those cheap, plastic, everywhere chairs), is both heartwrenchingly, and structurally impressive. taste his art.

the music of sheena grobb

sheena's beautiful voice was grown on the manitoba prairies, just 3 miles from my front door.
have a taste.



(photo by Chad L. Friesen)

i can afford to be less selfish

my hero David Suzuki has made a list of 10 things we can all do to improve our home. and shoot! are they ever easy. all he asks is that we take on THREE over the next year. i am publicly committing to the following ::

1. Reduce home energy use by 10%: A more energy-efficient home will lower your utility bills and reduce your impact on the environment. Heating accounts for nearly 60 per cent of energy use in the average Canadian home.
2. Eat meat-free meals one day a week: The production and processing of grains requires far less water and land than does meat.
3. Buy locally grown and produced food: Buying locally reduces greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants from food transportation. One study estimates that the average meal travels 2400 km (1500 miles) from the field to your table.

let me know which three you choose.

tread lightly as you travel

i commute by bicycle, but my roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Las Vegas released 800 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air! (the equivalent emissions of driving my 1997 Subaru Impreza wagon to and from work, everyday, for OVER a year)
...but i've GOT to fly!! so, carbon offsetting is the way i will continue to travel, without negating all my other environmentally conscious efforts. there are many options, but i chose the Vancouver Energy Renewal Cooperative because they are local.

we must change

see it, then tell me what excuse you have left. though we may not want to An Inconvenient Truth should change our lives. as a good friend of mine once said, "I don't go into throws of ecstasy every time I brush my teeth, but I do it because it's good for me."