is your life worth a painting?

robotindisguise: The Ship’s Cat The ship’s cat has been a...

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:45:22 -0700

The Ship’s Cat

The ship’s cat has been a common sight on many trading, exploration, and naval ships, and is a phenomenon that goes back to ancient times. Cats have been carried on ships for a number of reasons, the most important being to catch mice and rats. These rodents, when aboard, could cause considerable damage to ropes and woodwork. More serious was the threat rodents posed to the stores the ship carried. Not only could they devour the foodstuff carried to feed the crew, they could cause economic damage if the ship was carrying grain or similar substances as part of its cargo. (Pictured above: Convoy sleeps in a hammock aboard HM Hermione, whilst members of the crew look on)

Useful Noise: Did New York Kill Indie Rock?

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:39:09 -0700

Useful Noise: Did New York Kill Indie Rock?:

solarflares:

usefulnoise:

Moving to New York may be the least imaginative decision an aspiring young indie-rocker can make. That’s not to say it’s a bad decision. After all, going to med school may be the least imaginative decision an aspiring brain surgeon can make, but it’s still probably a super-useful one. And though practicing indie-rock, unlike practicing medicine, doesn’t yet require a license (though a guy can dream), it does require nurturing those sorts of professional connections that your career counselors kept saying were so important back when you were an undergrad. At the very least, it requires the presence of other indie-rockers. And New York’s probably got as many of ‘em than anyone these days.

That wasn’t always so. New York’s near-monopolization of indie-rock — or, more specifically, Brooklyn’s, or, most specifically, Williamsburg’s — is a relatively recent phenomenon. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, the action was in college towns like Chapel Hill and Athens and in second-tier cities like Minneapolis and Seattle. There, thriving local independent rock scenes burst out of geographic isolation to attract national attention. Over the past decade, by and large, they did not. Instead, New York City reasserted its traditional role as the cultural center that dictated tastes to the periphery, its dominance bolstered by an influx of musicians, critics and fans. In mid-sized towns, facsimiles of the Brooklyn “hipster” became as common as Yankee caps, and as universally disparaged.

Long read and well worth it.

OPENING DAY! Very excited for a new season of baseball and all...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:15:28 -0700

OPENING DAY! Very excited for a new season of baseball and all that it brings with it. Sunshine, hotdogs, and beer. Go Dodgers! Go Jays! Go A’s!

The React spring mixtape

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:23:08 -0700

The React spring mixtape:

Soaking up the sun and listening to the React’s spring mixtape. Good stuff boys!

standardgrey: delisandwich: Los Especiales #menswear Yes!

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:57:35 -0700

standardgrey:

delisandwich:

Los Especiales

#menswear

Yes!

crushrecords: LUST have been hard at work over the winter...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:39:26 -0700

crushrecords:

LUST have been hard at work over the winter writing new songs and should have some new singles ready to go in the coming months. In the meantime our good friend David Ullock has put together a video for the song Tunnel Vision from LUST’s Heartbeat EP.

My band LUST has a new video.

youmightfindyourself: The Hobo Code Decide your own life, don’t...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:17:41 -0800

youmightfindyourself:

The Hobo Code

Decide your own life, don’t let another person run or rule you.

When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.

Don’t take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.

Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but ensure employment should you return to that town again.

When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.

Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals treatment of other hobos.

When jungling in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.

Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.

If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.

Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.

When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.

Do not cause problems in a train yard, another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.

Do not allow other hobos to molest children, expose to authorities all molesters, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.

Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.

Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.

More people should live by this code.

pasttensevancouver: Immoral Combinations, Friday 4 September...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:49:56 -0800

pasttensevancouver:

Immoral Combinations, Friday 4 September 1931

Reposting after hearing that the Rio Theatre’s liquor licence means it is no longer allowed to show movies.

Source: Vancouver Sun

Seriously, what is wrong with our province?

Hunter S. Thompson's 1958 job application to the Vancouver Sun

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:28:58 -0800

Hunter S. Thompson's 1958 job application to the Vancouver Sun:

pasttensevancouver:

Vancouver Sun
TO JACK SCOTT, VANCOUVER SUN

October 1, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City

Sir,

I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Time magazine did this week on The Sun. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I’d also like to offer my services.

Since I haven’t seen a copy of the “new” Sun yet, I’ll have to make this a tentative offer. I stepped into a dung-hole the last time I took a job with a paper I didn’t know anything about (see enclosed clippings) and I’m not quite ready to go charging up another blind alley.

By the time you get this letter, I’ll have gotten hold of some of the recent issues of The Sun. Unless it looks totally worthless, I’ll let my offer stand. And don’t think that my arrogance is unintentional: it’s just that I’d rather offend you now than after I started working for you.

I didn’t make myself clear to the last man I worked for until after I took the job. It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham. The man despised me, of course, and I had nothing but contempt for him and everything he stood for. If you asked him, he’d tell you that I’m “not very likable, (that I) hate people, (that I) just want to be left alone, and (that I) feel too superior to mingle with the average person.” (That’s a direct quote from a memo he sent to the publisher.)

Nothing beats having good references.

Of course if you asked some of the other people I’ve worked for, you’d get a different set of answers.
If you’re interested enough to answer this letter, I’ll be glad to furnish you with a list of references — including the lad I work for now.

The enclosed clippings should give you a rough idea of who I am. It’s a year old, however, and I’ve changed a bit since it was written. I’ve taken some writing courses from Columbia in my spare time, learned a hell of a lot about the newspaper business, and developed a healthy contempt for journalism as a profession.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you’re trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I’d like to work for you.

Most of my experience has been in sports writing, but I can write everything from warmongering propaganda to learned book reviews.

I can work 25 hours a day if necessary, live on any reasonable salary, and don’t give a black damn for job security, office politics, or adverse public relations.

I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of.

It’s a long way from here to British Columbia, but I think I’d enjoy the trip.

If you think you can use me, drop me a line.

If not, good luck anyway.

Sincerely, Hunter S. Thompson

I think I might try this approach the next time I apply for a job. What could it hurt?

perfectmidnightworld: “Age of Consent” by The Golden Filter //...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:00:09 -0800

perfectmidnightworld:

“Age of Consent” by The Golden Filter // Power, Corruption, & Lies: Covered (2012)

MOJO’s excellent new collection of covers based on New Order’s synth pop classic Power, Corruption, & Lies contains a lot of songs that are great and play it easy on the cover. No surprises, just solid interpretation. Then there’s The Golden Filter’s take on fan favorite “Age of Consent” - and it’s almost completely unrecognizable. I say this not as a slam, but mostly just to give you a heads up that you could possibly listen to this synthed out electronic take on the track and never realize that you were listening to a cover of a beloved New Order song. The melody is almost entirely deconstructed, and it’s not until about three minutes in that everything starts to click - then the melody finds its way back to the original and in the last half something truly special happens when the track shifts into an ethereal dream for the dance floor. It takes a minute to get going, but the payoff is worth the effort. Pick up the entire compilation in the latest issue of MOJO, available now.

I’m really digging this Golden Filter version of Age of Consent. Some of the covers on this comp play it a bit too safe. I like that they tried to reinterpret the song rather than just play it.

redsuspenders: ☑ Saddam Hussein ☑ Osama Bin Laden ☑ Gaddafi ☑ Kim Jong Il ☐ Internet Explorer

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:58:09 -0800

redsuspenders:

☑ Saddam Hussein

☑ Osama Bin Laden

☑ Gaddafi

☑ Kim Jong Il

☐ Internet Explorer

marathonpacks: Numbers

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:19:49 -0800

marathonpacks: Numbers:

towerofsleep:

marathonpacks:

The sales numbers of Pitchfork’s top 50 albums. The ones with suspiciously round numbers are estimations based on when an album dropped out of the top 200 and the fact that it has to sell less than 300 copies in a week to do so. If you have verified numbers to fix any mistakes or omissions, send…

Interesting! Across the board, sales figures are pretty dismal. Also, I forgot Tim Hecker’s Ravedeath, 1972 came out this year. That was a good album.

CRR002 -The Fax - Mexico (LUST remix)

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:18:31 -0800

crushrecords:

Vancouver Loop Pop band The Fax, have undergone a sonic alteration care of LUST producer Tyler Mounteney. Big bass and haunting vocals remind you that shorter days mean longer nights.

Download the mp3 here.

Check out the original version of the song at thefaxshow.com

I’m very excited about this remix I just finished for The Fax. I can’t wait to do some more. Who’s next?

The Rap Board

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:15:20 -0800

The Rap Board:

This is amazing! Someone needs to make one of these for Jamaican DeeJays. So good.

Which is better? waking up when it’s still dark or getting...

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:32:44 -0800

Which is better? waking up when it’s still dark or getting off work and it’s dark already. Wait, in a month I’ll be doing both. At least I got an extra hour of sleep on Sunday. I think this lady has it right.

Lust 11:30 tonight!

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:58:14 -0700

If you’ve got an Olio pass you should stop by the media club on your way to Chromatics and Glass Candy for more synth pop c/o Lust. We’ve got some new songs, new synths, more vocals and Zoe will be joining us for our entire set. Basically, we have a whole new approach. Come dance with us!

fleetobjects: Come and visit Fleet at IDS West taking place in...

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:52:55 -0700

fleetobjects:

Come and visit Fleet at IDS West taking place in Vancouver September 29 - October 2. We are excited to be exhibiting in molo design’s softshelter. Fleet will be showcasing ceramics from the Pools and Shell collections as well as ceramic prototypes and experiements.
http://idswest.com/
http://molodesign.com/softshelter/

jennilee: out of the blue (1980) Best Vancouver band ever?

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:00:26 -0700

jennilee:

out of the blue (1980)

Best Vancouver band ever?

Lust show Thursday, Sept 22nd

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:02:58 -0700

crushrecords:

Lust are playing at The Media Club (695 Cambie St) this Thursday, Sept 22nd with Young Liars and Bleating Hearts as part of Olio Festival. Lust will start at 11:30 sharp. Lust’s set will feature more vocals, more synths and more Zoe than ever before. Come on down!

ninakix: Timmy Thomas in a 12 acre corn maze? This is real...

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:06:21 -0700

ninakix:

Timmy Thomas in a 12 acre corn maze? This is real dedication. (via Corny Tim Thomas tribute? No, it’s actually amazing - Puck Daddy - NHL Blog - Yahoo! Sports)

As much as I hated the guy in the finals, he is a class act. Totally deserving of this dedication. When do you think we’ll see a Luongo corn maze?