Vancouverites.com

Whitecaps unveil new logo

The Whitecaps unveiled the club’s new look at a downtown press conference on Tuesday morning. The logo incorporates the white caps of the North Shore mountains, reflected in blue in the water. “I think it’s a true reflection of the city,” said CEO Paul Barber. It’s the sixth logo in club history. Vancouver joins North America’s top tier, Major League Soccer, in 2011.

Source ↑ www.theprovince.com/…

V.c » I see what they are trying to do with the mountains and the water and the ‘V’ + ‘W’ initials, but i’m afraid it just isn’t working for me. Too many straight lines and angles, not enough curves and soft lines. I could see it being used for the Vancouver Waterworks or something institutional or corporate but besides the FC nothing in it says anything about soccer. The name Whitecaps is great and the logo should reflect the name, there should be a surging tide in it somehow.

No Canada: What will it take for us to get back to a World Cup?

So here we are again. Canadian soccer fans in search of a team to follow for the globe’s greatest sporting spectacle.

Some will drape themselves in orange, because that’s what Grandpa always did when the Flying Dutchmen took the field. South Africa expats will swell with pride for the host Bafana Bafana. Many will back Brazil or Spain, simply because they admire the beauty in their game. And vast numbers will root for England — because everyone needs to suffer a little.

The sixth straight Canada-free World Cup kicks off June 11 — almost a quarter-century of missed opportunity since that famous run of 1986.

At least Canada will be represented this time, but there’s only so much joy in hearing K’Naan’s World Cup anthem, Wavin Flag, for the 200th time.

A chuckle, a sigh, or both greet the question — “Why aren’t we there?” — and that’s from those who have lived the Canadian game at the highest level.

The answer is not short; the solution not quick.

Source ↑ www.theprovince.com/…

V.c » I think most of the people I grew up with in Vancouver played soccer as a kid so why is it that Canada can’t produce at least a few world class athletes in that sport? We know we can do it in other sports, the recent Winter Olympics proved that. (Not to mention hockey.) Soccer might not be in our blood like hockey but there is certainly passion for it, I remember the mayhem back at Empire Stadium. There is thus no doubt that the problem is institutional starting with the leadership. I hope that one of these World Cups we can all join the party and cheer for Canada instead of leaving it to the Italians and Brazilians on Commercial Drive. In the meantime I will once again cheer for any team from Africa.

Chicago beats Nashville in game 6 so now whatever happens between Detroit and Phoenix doesn’t matter. The Canucks will be facing the Blackhawks in round 2 for the second year in a row. Bring on the redemption. This time the result will be different! I hope/pray. We all remember how the Blackhawks dismantled our defense and thus Luongo in game 6 last year. The taste is still rather bitter I must say. Our offense is better this year, just ask Art Ross. Luongo has his swagger back after making some A+ game-changing type saves against the Kings. And hey, you gotta give us the edge in goal-tending, I don’t know anybody outside of Finland who would take Niemi over Luongo. Let’s assume our penalty killing will have normalized itself after that horrible couple of games it had against the Kings. That leaves our defense which although it has played fairly well recently is still a little suspect and is one freak-Sami-Salo-injury away from being decimated. But you also have to wonder about Chicago’s defence, Brent Sopel is a major player for them, after all. I think we also have more gumption as a team than we had last year. I was expecting us to fold in game 4 against the Kings when they got those ridiculous power play goals and had the lead going in to the third period, but Luongo made a huge save and the rest of the guys got their acts together and took it to the Kings big time. The series was essentially over after that.

The first thing we need is for Edler and/or Bieksa to land a big hit on Kane and/or Toews and then we need Demitra and/or Samuelsson to blow a shot by Niemi and we will be on our way to winning the series in 6 games. Let’s just hope the refs don’t screw us. Or that our usual Canuckness takes over and we find a way to lose. Luongo is no Cloutier, that’s just not going to happen, it just smells different this year.

Is this the year the Canucks finally do it? The Sedins and the forwards look poised, but Luongo has been suspect lately and the defense, well, it wasn’t what it used to be but if Bieksa can play like he is capable of then anything is possible. Hopefully the Canucks learned a thing or two from last nights games in which 3 of the 4 home teams lost the first game. If all goes according to plan the Canucks should beat the Kings in 5 games.

Anyway, Henrik Sedin winning the Art Ross trophy is awesome. The first Canuck in our 40 year history to have the most points in a season. His 112 points also broke Bure’s franchise record of 110 points in a season. Henrik probably won’t get the Hart trophy which goes to the league MVP, but that’s okay, that is very subjective and he is at the mercy of the eastern media who don’t see many Canuck games. He has the trophy for the scoring title and nobody can debate that even if Ovechkin did play 10 fewer games. It will be interesting to see if Henrik wins the Pearson award which is given to the best player according to the players.

I was at the game against the Flames on Saturday. Thank you Flames for playing pond hockey, but that was possibly the best Canucks game I have ever seen live. It was capped off by this beauty of a goal by Daniel Sedin.

It is abhorrent to think that Campbell and the BC Liberals are going to shove the 7% HST down our throats this summer. It has been estimated by Bill Vander Zalm and the folks at the www.FightHST.com that this is going to cost us each of us an extra $500 or more per year. I signed the petition at last nights citizens initiative petition campaign at Kitsilano High School. You should do the same as Bill has received approval from Elections BC to conduct a “Citizen’s Initiative Petition” to stop the HST and requires the signatures of 10% of registered voters in every riding in BC to be successful.

In the meantime, if you need some encouragement then check out what John Belushi has to say about the HST.

The 3rd Annual Bike the Blossoms event will take you through breathtaking streets lined with cherry blossoms in a variety of Vancouver’s most cultural and scenic neighbourhoods. The event is brought to you by the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) in partnership with the Vancouver Cherry Blossoms Festival.

Registration/Check-in at the Museum of Vancouver at Vanier Park (1100 Chestnut St) and Britannia Community Centre (1661 Napier St) between 10am and 12:30pm. Finish by 4pm.

Festivities include live music and bike decorating at the Museum of Vancouver. Registration includes half-price entry into VanDusen Gardens and Museum of Vancouver.

Pre-register at www.greatrides.ca to be eligible to win the early bird prize pack. Fill your ride passport to win a bike.

Granville Street during the Olympics

Vancouverites, I think we can be proud of ourselves for successfully throwing a pretty seriously good party. There were a few hiccups early, such as the morons who broke the windows of The Bay during their protest, but thankfully there was no hooliganism let alone a riot like in 1994 the last time there was a hockey game of such importance in this city. Normally there is a pretty big yahoo quotient in this city during big events. Maybe the yahoos were still all downtown but they weren’t as concentrated, they were diluted because of all the tourists who were respectful of the city and made for a good vibe rather than a shit-show like Granville Street often is on any weekend evening.

From fire and ice to parkas to Bermuda shorts, opening ceremonies light the night

There was worry, a niggling doubt, that it would be a little too Canadian, which is to say not nearly sophisticated or worldly enough to be as memorable and critically acclaimed as its Olympic predecessor in Beijing in 2008.

But it became clear, from the first few seconds of Friday’s 2010 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony in Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium, that we needn’t have worried.

Turns out, Canada knows how to strut its stuff, from the glass, fire and ice and rain and thunder to a magnificent flaming cauldron, a stunning thematic spectacle that transformed BC Place Stadium into a winter wonderland to the superstar performers, like Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan and k.d. lang, to the ballet and tap dancers, to the aerialists to the brash young snowboarders who kicked off the event to the icebergs and fantastic fiddlers, to the moving aboriginal dancers in their glorious traditional costumes and falling snow.

Source ↑ www.vancouversun.com/…

V.c » The 2010 Olympic opening ceremony may have been a half hour too long, but it was pretty darn good. Many a great moment filled with lots of Canadians to be proud of. I would have to say that k.d. Lang singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was the highlight of the night. My seven year old daughter sings that song so it has a special place in the family. Also, today we were driving down Davie Street and she was wondering why the garbage cans were painted pink so I tried to explain to her that sometimes boys like boys instead of girls and sometimes that colour represents … Then along came k.d. in her white suit and  having to explain that sometimes girls wear suits like boys and then again the questions and explanations about who likes who. I should have just said that fairies (no pun intended, she still believes in the fairy world) came along and magically turned the garbage cans pink just for the Olympics.

Anyway, the opening ceremony production crew must have been shitting their pants when the hydraulics on the cauldron apparatus started malfunctioning with Rick, Nancy, Catriona, Steve and Wayne all standing there with their torches ready to make a fire. Who wants perfection, from our flaws comes character.

Just like there was no stopping the torch relay there is no stopping the Olympics. Opening Ceremony goes tonight. Might as well enjoy the party, the bitching can commence when it’s time to clean up and pay the bill.

This was the scene at Broadway and MacDonald. I am guessing the bearer of the torch was Tracy Wilson, a former figure skater. It would have been fun to carry the torch, but I am glad wasn’t one of the people in the entourage who had to dance like a fool on a Coke truck trying to stoke the crowd.

This house is bringing beer, rock stars and ‘wow’ to its gigantic tent

Torontonians would argue that the Cathedral of Hockey was Maple Leaf Gardens. Montrealers would counter it was the old Montreal Forum.

For the next couple of weeks, Jordan Bitove wants the masses to consider it a big tent just east of GM Place.

Bitove is the brains behind Molson Canadian Hockey House, a mind-boggling bar that is being set up for the Olympics between Carrall and Columbia streets near False Creek.

Everything about Molson Canadian Hockey House is big, beginning with the cost: $15 million. That’s almost $5 million more than the Canadian government tent set up beside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on the old Greyhound bus depot site.

Because it will only be open 17 days, Molson Canadian Hockey House will have to average almost $900,000 profit a day to break even. But it might turn the trick: $99 tickets to the “Fan Zone” part of the bar have already sold out for 14 of the 17 days. However, there are still plenty of “VIP” passes left — at $450 to $725.

Source ↑ www.vancouversun.com/…

V.c » Is this behemoth bar in a tent cool or does this grandiose mutha-**** idea reek of the corporate lameness that rules the day? It is funny that they had to reduce the plebian ‘cover charge’ from $500 to $99. I guess I’d like to go check it out at some point, but the real question is are they going to have other beers available then just Molson Canadian and, shh, Rickards Red.

One week until the start of the Winter Olympics (although it should be the summer games given how balmy it was here today). Apparently the global attendance expectations are down so we are summoning the aliens. We need people, aliens included, to come here and spend their pesos, it’s expensive to host an event like this (especially given the amount of snow we have had to truck in) and we don’t want our grandchildren to have to pay for our party.

Definitely very cool to look at. Beautiful even. But all that cloud and fog might give people the wrong impression of Vancouver. The sun does shine here too. Okay, who am I kidding. You can cut down all the trees but it is still a rain forest.

Burrows gives Auger a WTF?

In a reasoned and impassioned speech that lasted precisely two minutes on HNIC’s After Hours, Vigneault knocked the CBC’s Ron MacLean for an incredibly one-sided segment he hosted which vilified Alex Burrows and exonerated Stephane Auger.

…

Then, Vigneault got at one of the real issues ignored by HNIC – the actual calls.

“There’s one penalty – the diving – which might be questionable but the second penalty is a phantom call,” Vigneault said. “The league talked about no reaction. Well, how about his reaction after the game. The emotion that was in his voice.

“You don’t make things like this up.”

Source ↑ www.theprovince.com/…

V.c »Ron MacLean and the whole tv-based media in the east have been a total joke when it comes to this issue. For some reason Burrows has a reputation of being a diver and a trouble maker, but two diving calls in almost 350 NHL games and 0 suspensions doesn’t exactly justify that reputation. Ron and his buds took that reputation and then also assumed the referee, Stephane Auger, could not bear any responsible because he is a professional and would never allow his ego, let alone his finances, to effect his impartiality. A ref would NEVER tell a player that he is going to get him. Power and ego would never go to a refs head. Yeah right. It is surprising however, that a ref would be stupid enough to tell a player they were going to get them when they could just do it and not put themselves at risk. Not that Auger really put himself at risk, knowing that the NHL would do nothing about it if Burrows spoke up about what he said because then the league would have to admit there might be integrity and impartiality issues with their officials and they would never, ever want to admit that.

The diving call in the game in question against the Predators is one thing as suspect as it is, but the interference call is total and complete BS, a phantom call if there ever was one. In the first period to the set the tone, okay. Lame, but okay. With four minutes left in the third period in a tie game. BS. Put Burrows in your teams jersey and then see what you think of it.

Auger better not be officiating another Canucks game any time soon. This story is not supposed to be about Burrows, it is about Auger and it seems that everyone who is not a Canucks fan has forgotten that.

Roberto Luongo in goal, four B.C. blueliners picked for Team Canada at Vancouver Olympics

Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo will play for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics, it was announced this morning.

And Cranbrook native Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Ducks is the team’s captain. He is one of four B.C.-based blueliners on Team Canada, the others being Shea Weber (Sicamous), Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen) and Duncan Keith (Penticton).

New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and Pttsburgh Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury are the other two goalies selected by executive director Steve Yzerman and his staff.

“We feel we have a team that will make Canadians proud,” Yzerman said at a news conference for the team’s unveiling.

Source ↑ www.vancouversun.com/…

V.c » Oh yeah, bring on the Olympic Ice Hockey. As Luongo is our local representative on the Canadian team they better play him in more than one token game against some lesser opponent or worse make him the third stringer as some of our eastern media have suggested. Guess they don’t ever stay up late enough to watch the western games. Sure he isn’t always perfect, but when he is on, he is seriously on. And need we remind  you of Luongo beating Brodeur 5-2 in New Jersey at the beginning of December.

Of course we will be cheering for the Canadian team the loudest, but it will also be great to see some of the other Canuck representatives; the Sedins who should have a prominent role with the Swedes, the pesky Kesler with the Americans, Salo and Erhoff with the Finns and Germans and of course Demitra, remember him, with the Slovaks. I wonder if Hansen will play for the Danes, do they even have a team at the Olympics?

The Official Theme song of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Olympic Games

Geoff Berner sings a swan song for the under-represented at the future site of the 2010 olympic village in Vancouver, British-Columbia. A small featurette excerpted from a film I’m working on that will boast a cameo from our favourite Klezmer revivalist.

Watch ↑ www.youtube.com/…

V.c » Okay, I don’t think this is the real official theme song of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Olympic Games, but I’m sure some of you will appreciate it if you have a wry sense of humour and don’t work for Vanoc.

To those who have listened to TALK 1410 through the many ups and downs of the talk format and changes in styles and personalities…we sincerely thank you and we also sincerely thank the advertisers who have supported the radio station as well over the past years.  I truly hope you will give our new station a try, but I also will understand if you decide that it is not for you.

We will be the new home for world class sports personalities including Jim Rome, Dan Patrick, Bob McCown and the best of the best ESPN sports insiders.  We will broadcast every BC Lions game, from pre-season to playoffs, and hopefully, all the way to the Grey Cup.  Along with that, you’ll be able to listen and join in the conversation with extensive pre and post game shows for all of the Lions games.  1410 is now the new and permanent full time home for BC lions football in Vancouver, and that starts tomorrow night with the crucial, must win game against the Eskimo’s at BC Place.  If you’re going to the game, take your radio and you can follow all the action as only Rick Ball & Giulio Caravatta can describe it, right here on TEAM 1410.

Source ↑ www.talk1410.ca/…

V.c » Is it just me or did TALK 1410 pull a fast one and change their format over night? I often listen to TEAM 1040 and rarely listened to TALK 1410 but my wife is the opposite. I think it is great that we have another sports radio station in town with a less of a homer focus than TEAM 1040 (although I love the Canuck talk when they are winning) and which syndicates American shows (except for mister pause and repeat, Jim Rome) and broadcasts some of the major sporting events that have nothing to do with Vancouver. But so much for talk radio in Vancouver that is focused on issues that are generally more of interest to women. (Is there another one that I am just not aware of?) The way women talk and talk (at least my wife and my mother ;) I’m surprised the airwaves aren’t filled with talk radio stations that cater to women.

For 14 years or so now the Georgia Straight have had an issue dedicated to the things considered the best in Vancouver in categories such as Food & Drink, Recreation, Culture and etc. You probably disagree with most things on the list or just don’t care because most of us are too busy dealing with our own little niches in this life, but it does occasionally make for interesting reading to see if your favs stack up with the masses and the pundits.

→ www.straight.com/bov

This is good tax policy for consumers, say two UBC economists, and I agree.

Don’t shoot me. I’ve come to believe that the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) introduced by British Columbia’s Liberal government was the right thing to do.

It’s hard not to think so, if you take the time to speak with tax policy experts, look at the results of HST in other jurisdictions (most notably Atlantic Canada), and consider that most other provinces are following Ontario’s example by moving to HST.

The opposition can muddy the waters, and consumers can complain that they are getting the short end of the stick, but the truth of the matter is very simple — HST was a good policy move by the B.C. government.

Source ↑ www.thetyee.ca/…

V.c » I guess we will have to crunch the numbers to really know, but this seems like a whopping pile of BS to me. Maybe it will eliminate the paying of tax upon tax that we often pay unbeknownst thanks to the production chain, but this sure reeks of a tax grab to me. A huge list of products and services that have been exempt from PST, but not GST, will now be taxed with the combined tax of 12% known as the HST. Ummm, can you say tax grab. Oh, but because of the savings businesses will get from not having to pay the tax upon tax in the production chain, they will reduce their prices to consumers which will offset the extra 7% tax we will pay at the checkout. Yeah right, nice theory, but what are the chances of that actually happening. Hmmm, anyone interested in bartering?

Protest rally September 19

That’s why I strongly urge you to attend a major rally against the HST featuring former B.C. Premier Bill Vander Zalm, NDP leader Carole James, B.C. Conservative Party deputy leader Chris Delaney, independent MLA Vicki Huntington, B.C. Refederation Party deputy leader Jordan Braun and others on Saturday September 19 at 12 noon outside Canada Place in downtown Vancouver.

Source ↑ www.thetyee.ca/…

Targeted for project: Homathko River entering Bute Inlet. Photo Damien Gillis, Save Our Rivers Society.

Memo to media: time to expose Campbell’s fallacy.

Last week I spoke of the appalling mainstream media in B.C. and how it let Premier Gordon Campbell get away with th murder of our rivers and the ecologies they support. The exception, and a major one, is Mark Hume of the Globe and Mail whose B.C. section, combined with the national edition, gives better coverage by far of B.C. affairs than does The Vancouver (Seriously West Coast) Sun, The Province and Global combined.) I need hardly add that The Tyee encourages full debate on all issues.

I want to make it clear that I’m not asking that the media agree with any or all of the positions I’ve taken. I only ask that they examine the facts plus the motives and actions of the Campbell government with the same thoroughness as, in Vaughn Palmer’s case especially, they brought to the “Fast Ferry” debacle of the last NDP government.

There are three main ways the media can deceive us: By not telling the truth or using half truths at best. By not talking about the issue at all. Or by cherry picking issues and avoiding the dodgy ones. The mainstream media in B.C. does all three.

Source ↑ www.thetyee.ca/…

V.c » If you follow Rafe Mair’s columns at The Tyee you will know that he has been going on and on about the Campbell government selling our rivers to private power and the disastrous effects this will have on our society and environment. I have read many of the articles but I haven’t crossed referenced any of them to check up on the facts but even if Mair is half-right then the media and citizens of British “The Best Place on Earth” Columbia need to get off our apolitical asses and do something about this forthcoming travesty.

No Fun City, a documentary by Melissa James: click to view website and watch trailer

No Fun City, a documentary by Melissa James and Kate Kroll, will focus on the musicians, artists, club owners, and promoters who continue to preserve and pioneer the arts despite all odds, and try to keep Vancouver’s subculture alive.

As the story unfolds we will watch as Malice Liveit, a local promoter and club owner, tries to open a new club despite his uphill legal battles; as Wendy13, manager of hardcore punk bar the Cobalt and local activist, struggles with the looming threat to her business from city hall; as Cameron Reed, a music-marketing consultant and promoter, attempts to organize the Music Waste music festival despite a lack of venues; and as David Duprey, a gallery owner and local entrepreneur, continues to contribute his time and money to creating spaces for artists and musicians. What all these people have in common is they are trying to make Vancouver a more interesting place because they believe that the city should be characterized by the people that live here, and not the local authorities. As the Olympics gets closer and the city dishes out billions trying to rebuild, we will see what becomes of the small underground arts community that barely survives under the weight of Vancouver’s current restrictions and regulations… .

Source ↑ www.nofuncity.org

V.c » It may have taken a Montrealer to create a gritty and professional documentary film about the music scene in Vancouver, but at least somebody has done it. Oh yeah, and Vancouver needs more small local, live music venues, especially not just downtown on Granville Street which has become uninhabitable unless you are 22 and from the suburbs.

Staff wait for the Canada Line train during a trial run on Friday.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for the opening of the $2-billion Canada Line in Vancouver and Richmond on Monday afternoon.

Riders will be able to take a free ride between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT on the new rapid transit line. The route will provide alternating service between Vancouver and Richmond or the Vancouver International Airport in about 25 minutes — making it Canada’s only rapid transit link from a city core to an airport.

Spokesman Drew Snider is warning people to expect long waits for the free rides, but said TransLink will provide entertainment at some of the stations.

“We’ve got buskers at various stations. I know Bridgeport’s got various entertainers like Rod Stewart and Elvis. There’s going to be line-dancing at the Richmond-Brighouse station,” said Snider, referring to musical impersonators and other talent hired to entertain the crowds.

Source ↑ www.cbc.ca/…

V.c » It is totally awesome that we now have a train linking downtown Vancouver to the YVR airport in Richmond. The first city in Canada to have this infrastructure. It is almost worth the cost of the Olympics just to have this. But why-o-why does it have to have such a lame name such as the Canada Line? Of course it goes with the other poorly named Expo Line and Millenium Line skytrains. You tell me where those damn things go, can we not use geographical based names so people know which skytrain goes where?