Installment #8

10:18 PM, Sunday 13 March 2005

There once was a man from Geneva who lived in the best city in the world. He had a friend in Zurich, who also lived in the best city in the world. Then there was a man named Stefan, who only lived in the 3rd best city in the world. So new rankings out, Vancouver placed 3rd again following the two Swiss cities. All Canadians cities placed within the top 25 or so. Pretty impressive really, whatever the hell it means. I guess you need to pay the big bucks to read the actual detailed report. Then again I suppose it is pretty easy to see, our cities are very safe, for the most part clean, quiet urbanized, and not that poluted. Not too much more one could ask for. What do you think about stats like this Kyle, do you think these ratings mean anything? Is Vancouver really a better city than say Sydney? and where the hell is Prince George on that list!

So welcome back from your trip to the 51 state. I hope the border guards didn’t give you too much trouble. How was it to be back in the gracelands of Alberta? Any thoughts of moving back? HA

New reports out saying the Himalayan glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. They say if the trend continues China and India and surrounding countries could be faced with massive flooding followed by terrible droughts. I think the signs are getting clearer and clearer, will we react, or just keep on pretending as we continue to fall farther down this montain pretending we are actually flying… What is funny is India has given a big Fuck You when it has come to reducing polution. In some ways you can’t blame them. First we tell them they have to become modernized, they have to become like us, we put them into big debts, then when they try to follow what we did to get where we are we tell them no no you can’t do that, you can’t waste energy and polute the world like these. What always gets me about all this shit is that from what I have read CO2 emmision take roughly 30 years before they make their impact on the ozone layer. Thus right now we are seeing the effects from the 1970’s. Can you imagine what things are going to be like in say 2035… Yikes… I read a book back when I was at UVIC called The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability written by Paul Hawken. It was really an eye opener to a lot of things, but even more importantly it was also provided a lot of very practical ways in which to change things, I highly suggest you read it if you haven’t already.

Whoever gets Sidney Crosby is going to be one lucky hockey team. I just read his stats, and for a 17 year old I can’t believe what he is putting up. In 58 games this year he has something like 61 goals and 91 assists, the next nearest guy has something like 106 points, and Crosby has missed 6 games this season. On top of that he recently had a 7 point night. Yikes… Maybe this is the savior hero the NHL has been looking for…

Stefan

10:39 AM, Monday 14 March 2005

Lists like that are almost totally useless. You can’t use quantitative values to measure qualitative things. I think people know what the better cities are and that Canadian cities are right up there. To actually rank them is silly, but you can certainly group them, and Canadian cities would be in that top group.

Lethbridge is a pretty nice city, much nicer than Calgary or Prince George. Their university is quite big and nicely designed. The city is attrctive and has lots of trails around to walk on. But step into a bar and you barely make it through the door before you’re overwhelmed by smoke. While ULeth is a fairly progressive fine arts university, you can also tell that good ol’ Southern AB culture is still prevalent (especially when undergraduate conference presenters who don’t know better actively insult BC in the middle of their presentations). It’s nice but nothing is BC, we know that.

Attending that conference, we listened to a lot of presentations that demonstarted the effects of pollution and ignorance on everything from tree growth to glacier ablation to water supply. Very depressing. Makes me a lot more pessimistic about the world.

I can’t wait for this lockout to end just so we can see this guy in the NHL. Maybe if Rimouski gets upset in the playoffs we can see him at the Worlds.

Kyle

10:38 PM Monday 14 March 2005

So did you go out to the campus bar then at ULeth? Also how were they insulting BC with their speach?

Today at work our new programmer was talking about how he was at a conference over the weekend for western canadian university news papers. He did a seminar on photoshop and photo enhancing, then took part in a round table discussion of all of the university papers. He was saying that the top 2 papers where the SFU paper and the U of A paper, with a very strong showing from Cap College. He then said that the worst paper he saw there was the UNBC paper. He said the layout was complete trash, their formating was terrible (no indents, no parigraphs etc) and so on. He even hated the name of your paper. So I just wanted to see what you thought your school paper, and if this guy is actually talking the truth. What is it’s name by the way?

I can’t see Rimouski getting upset that easily, aren’t they undefeated since December, set to break all kinds of QMJHL records?

So John Manley of late seems to be on a huge campaign to integrate Canada and the US (and possibly Mexico). He is calling for a completely open border, single currency, integrated military, and north american passports/identity cards. I can’t beleive this guy was ever deputy Prime Minister. Have these people zero shame for trying to sell out this nation like this? I don’t get it I really don’t. I really wish I could sit down with some of these guys and see how they justify their actions. I also can’t see how people like this are ever elected. They are suppose to be fighting for the best interests of all Canadians (or at least the majority), yet all they ever seem to want to do is dig us into a deep deep hole.

Stefan

11:18 AM, Tuesday 15 March 2005

I didn’t go out to the campus bar but I did hit a few other places that were in Downtown Lethbridge. Because Alberta still hasn’t banned smoking in enclosed public establishments, even the nicest pubs smell really bad. The first night we went to this ‘Irish pub’ that wasn’t remotely irish except for the name, O’Riley’s. They didn’t have one single Irish beer advertised on the wall. They had Pabst, Pace and a Budweiser logo inside a shamrock. The next night we went to this hotel across the street that had a martini bar. Pretty funny to be in a martini bar, especially for me, but it was the only non-smoking place we could find. Also new for me is drinking with professors. That’s very trippy. As for ‘BC insults’, there wasn’t really a lot of that going on, actually. It was just this one undergraduate presenter who hadn’t quite realized the level of formality you are supposed to convey at an academic conference. They weren’t really insult but friendly jokes at BC’s expense. In a classroom that wouldn’t even have been thought twice about. Still, that’s a no-no at a conference and all the BC delegates ripped into him. There is a conference in June in Smithers on rural resort amenty migration issues. It’s really tied to my research but because I come from a town where it’s such a huge issue I feel it would be important for me to go and get as much information as I can. For $25 registration it’s worth it; non-students pay $200! BTW, our family’s letter about the name change got in the ALN. From what we’ve heard it’s gone over really well. Reading the latest valley voice, it looks as though Councillor Curran has his reservations as well, basically leaving Bill Cowan on his own on this one. Hopefully we’re realizing the end of the topic, but you never know.

Unfortunately that’s a fair assumption of our paper, which is called Over The Edge. It’s quite small inside and concentrates mostly upon album reviews and comics. You might have two actual stories in an issue. This has changed a bit in the past months as the paper has now incorporated itself independently from the undergrad society. They have broadened now to publish a magazine, brilliantly titled ‘Edge’. It’s almost impossible to tell it apart from the paper except for the lack of headlines on the front. It’s such a small school with almost no fine arts and no funding for things like newspapers so it’s hard to develop good content. It sucks, but it’s improving. Also, no ads, which is nice. As far no indents or paragraphs, I have to disagree there. It’s actually laid out more attractively than, say, the Arrow Lakes News or the Prince George Free Press or basically any Black Press/BC Newspaper Group paper. So, yeah, I’m loyal to it.

Speaking of newspapers, I guess CanWest Global didn’t feel they monopolized Lower Mainland media enough so they had to create another one, Metro. Have you seen it and what do you think of it? lots of people are wondering how much market share Metro will take away from the Province since they have a similar tabloid format. Not that it matters because it’s still the same company. Apparently they’re having another one on top of that soon marketed to youth. Jesus Christ, I think it’s time for the government to step in because this is ridiculous.

Rimouski’s on a tear. I’m just faintly hoping that they get knocked out so that it makes the road that much easier for Kootenay or Kelowna.

People like Manley think money equals progress. Sovereignty is irrelevant if you’re rich. And of course they have no shame. Who needs shame when you have power?

Kyle

10:36 PM, Tuesday 15 March 2005

So Kyle in all this bar hopping did you have a drink at all? or was it soda’s and juice for you? I thought you were going with fellow students not faculty. What was it like hanging around with university instructors? Also where did you stay?

Glad to hear your family letter is getting good press and people are starting to realize the full implications a name change could have. It is funny how they would want to change the name of Nakusp without any statistics or research into the result such a change could do. I mean for all they know it could kill tourism, all they are going on is a hunch… funny how small town politics works. I noticed on arrowlakesnews.com they have a poll about the name change and so far disagree is way in the lead. Seems like quite a hot debate that is going on that is for sure. Maybe you can have a talk with some of the folks there when you go back about the full implications of a name change, I would imagine you would be a lot more informed on potential effects to a community such a change would do, or possibly even talk to some of the instructors up at UNBC and ask for their opinion on it. From what I read though at least the villiage is starting to look into the potential costs of a name change, if there is one thing to deter people from doing something it would be cost.

I talked with the guy at work again today and realized he wasn’t talking about your paper but rather the Omega out of Kamloops. He said your paper was actually pretty decent, except that since they have nowhere to print it (I think they get it done in Williams Lake) the paper itself comes out a little bad looking, despite the content. Anyway the paper that was trash was the Omega out of Kamloops, they were the ones who didn’t use a margin nor did any formatting whatsoever.

Ahh the Metro, I noticed the paper box for the first time yesterday while waiting for a friend coming off the skytrain. I read over the first page and thought it was kind of trashy, trying to zero in on the under 35 party crowd. What is sad is that Metro like you said has a partnership with Canwest which is also doing another paper called Dose. In addition to Metro and Dose there is also suppose to be a 3rd new paper coming out called 24 Hours. The problem with all three papers is they are entirely just fluff. The papers all have skeleton staffs in the city and rely mainly on router or Canadian Press stories to fill space. They are just branding these papers as being ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ so the yuppies will read them. Well this yuppy will stay away. If I am going to read a local paper that is outside the realm of Canwest I will stick to the Georgia Straight or the Westender. They at least have local journalists and actually have good and insightful articles, not to mention some very good reviews (of concerts, albums movies etc) and carry a lefter opinion. Only problem is these two papers are weekly’s and not dailies. Anyway I barely read the paper anyway so it doesn’t really matter.

One last thing on papers, The Tyee a pretty decent online BC paper has a pretty decent article on the new papers up at: http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/ThreeNewDailies.htm .

Stefan

9:22 AM, Thursday 17 March 2005

No, I didn’t have drinks, of course. Just water. And I was with fellow students AND faculty. Because we’re grad students, all we do is talk about school and politics anyway so it’s a much more erudite conversation then talking with normal people. We stayed at the Lethbridge Village Inn (recently divorced from the Travelodge chain). Decent hotel, close to everything, nice beds. Basically it’s a good, cheap place to crash after a night out.

You can tell people really care about this name change issue when arrowlakesnews.com get more than ten votes on one of its online polls. The vast majority of people I know don’t even know they have a website. If they did, they might be less inclined to pay $1.10 an issue. The Valley Voice, being free, puts the entire paper on PDF. So I’m glad I can still keep in touch with both of my local papers from far away via the Internet. Talking to people at UNBC I think they’re agahst that a town with the amenities and fortunate situation Nakusp has would want to try to and be like every other town, make itself generic. There is a conference in Smithers in June on resort towns and amenity migration. I’m interested in going just on a personal level as a small town guy looking for input on how we can develop ourselves in a proper manner rather than the typical golf course/strip mall route.

Yeah, like I said before, if our paper had more funding they’d be a lot better. They make do with what they have but they only have so much. Sometimes you’ll get some decent stuff but a lot of their stories are just ones pulled off of the Canadian Student Press newswire. If they really got into attacking the university for its faults (which they are starting to do more) and affecting change then it would be a pretty decent paper. Right now it’s adequate.

Thanks for that link to the Tyee article, I like checking that site out. So CanWest will have four out of five dailies. Even one they’re supposedly in competition with (Black Press’ Metro), they have a working agreement with to share staff. Lame! So don’t read them unless you want an opinion of your own. I like how these new papers are 20-30 pages long with condensed little blips of news just like the Westcoast Reader they used to hand out to Grade 2 kids and ESL students. That’s a real lack of respect for your reader. It reminds me of the Ministry of Information in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four where the Party kept control of the ignorant proletariat by placating them with cheap entertainment and pornography, and any information that wasn’t acceptable to the party line either rewritten or incinerated.

Doing anything for St. Patty’s? It coincides with one of my friend’s birthdays so I will be going out. Glad I don’t have classes Friday morning.

Kyle

9:28 PM, Thursday 17 March 2005

While the online version of the arrow lakes news does have the headlines it still lacks all the extras the actual paper has. However it is still a good way to keep current with what is happening back home. I never realized the Valley Voice was offered online in PDF, that is pretty awesome actaully. I will have to check out their archives.

I have been thinking more and more about this whole name change business and it really got me pissed off. How could the village think a little gimmick is going to bring in more tourist dollars. It is sad. There are so many more tangible and cheaper ways to bring in more tourist dollars, all that is really required is a bit of research and some work to do it. I really wonder how this Village is run if the people who are in control think that this name change is their saviour, especially come olympics time. As 2010 comes closer and closer every town in BC is going to be viaing for the tourists, and it is going to be the towns who present themselves professionally and show off all of their aminities that are going to be the ones who do the best. Granted I am no Mayor so what the hell do I know? Maybe Fauquier should change their name to Fauquier Golf Course to try and cash in as well…

Yeah the daily papers in Vancouver suck. The Province is practically a tabloid, the new dailies are even worse, and the Sun while not as bad as the Province, is still pretty sad. Hell when your two major papers are run from out of the same damn building you know that their is something wrong.

A new poll out today says that the Liberals are up ahead in the polls for a first time in months. Aparently they had been in a dead heat for the past few months with the NDP, but now with the recent job increase and tax break announcements they have pulled ahead. I think it is time the NDP actually starts making some noise, up until now I haven’t heard anything from them, let alone who is running these days and what they represent. Hell not even that ad I loved about the teachers was from them, it was paid for by the concerned teachers association. Also despite that one info package I have not heard anything regarding SVT. I really hope they start marketing this soon.

Just to go back to Fauquier Golf Course, try searching google for those three words, see what pops up? If that ain’t great marketing I don’t know what is… Maybe in a few months when I am a little less busy I will make them up a professional looking website, so when people search for the course they aren’t presented with pictures of a crazy local making the ball cleaner come.

Stefan

9:45 AM, Friday 18 March 2005

Because they have such a small site, they only put the last three months up at a time in PDF. Not that that matters, really, as long as the most recent one is up. But in any event, it looks like we’re being heard: http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?articleID=1868234&pageID=community/arrowlakes_archive It’s pretty funny that the ALN has had all of these letters against the name change and not one single letter in favour of it. I think that’s pretty awesome and speaks to how out of touch people get when they’re in power, even if it’s someone from your community.

A lot of this anonymity of the NDP has to do with the new fixed election date. It allows the Liberals, as the government, to spend the past five months putting out all of these good news press releases. Since it’s all government-related, they don’t violate any election campaign rules. Meanwhile, the NDP can only depend upon interviews with media. Since the election hasn’t officially started yet, they can’t advertise or campaign. This is what fucks up the US electoral system (88% of incumbents get reelected). We’ve got two months, the NDP better get their shit together. It would be so easy to pick apart the BC Libs but it’s almost as if they’re not trying. Also, the public at large still has no idea who Carole James even is. You need a marketable face to do well. Say what you will about El Gordo, at least he’s out there. Fuck, NDP, get some protests going, have some town hall meetings, something! Another thing that would be lame would be people voting against BC-STV just because they don’t what it is or because they don’t understand it. Cynicism is healthy, but apathy is deadly.

Yeah, those crazy Fauquier people must have nothing better to do than cream a ball washer. That’s pretty sad that our site comes up second. Actually, they used to have an arrowlakesgolf.com site that was actually just the Nakusp course site with a little Fauquier info on it but that seems to be defunct. It’s such a great course but no one knows about it. You’d figure they’d try to do something about but I suppose the club is pretty strapped as it is.

Kyle

11:30 PM, Friday 18 March 2005

It’s funny actually because it is not like Nakusp is such a big place that if you do find yourself in a place of power you could just dissapear or move into different social scenes. I think that with all this public outcry though it is pretty obvious most people are against this name change and realize it for what it is.

Yup if there is one thing Gordon Campbell is good at it is getting his name out there, along with his party. Shit yeah I keep on forgetting that the election campaign hasn’t officially started so the NDP can’t actually campaign, is that right? Anyway your right though, I don’t even know who the fuck Carol James is other than the NDP leader.

I love the Fauquier Golf Course, haven’t played it in a few years now but it is still such a fun course to play. I would love to do its website actually, could be my way of giving back a little.

Anyway my mom is coming into town for like a week so next week is off for me. We can start back up the week after I imagine.

Stefan