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Alberta Burning
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2330
Another beautiful day in Alberta, Calgary, and you can see the haze over the city, smell the smoke from the wildfires, Fort McMurray's on fire and it's the perfect metaphor for what's happening to this province...
...business, at the restaurant, up and down, still don't think he's turning a profit but he's hopeful. Oil's up to $45.00 a barrel. Everywhere on buses and the radio there are ads for debt consolidations, restructure, reorganize, house prices are 10% down and there's still a long ways to fall, no one can remember ever having seen it this bad...
The landlord, meet him in the hall, this building, 4 stories, 6 units per floor, at the moment 7 are vacant. That's 25%. "There's a lot of competition out there now," he tells me ruefully, "We've managed this building for 30 years, never seen it like this...". Now would be a good time to bargain on the rent, but I haven't the heart, the fuse is lit...
We have our busy nights, the waves of people not related to oil and gas, but they're few and far between. In the afternoon, trying to doze, the phone rings, short term business lenders wondering if we need a quick injection of cash, everywhere the vultures, the scavengers are circling, there's a whole economy devoted to mining the chaos and misfortunes of others...
"Blame the NDP", "Blame the Liberals", ""Blame the Saudi's", the finger's quick to point, never a thought to blame ourselves, our province, like it's citizens, has overspent, lived beyond it's means for too long, and now we're all beginning to pay the price...
The lunch customers, lone stragglers, all complaining, there's a lot to complain about, a good many of them are here on stolen credit and borrowed time, filling our ears with denials about climate change, merely a good warm winter, El-Nino, it's propaganda, this carbon tax, environmental bullshit, Alberta needs industry, business, Oil and Gas, Coal, and the sky fills with smoke and I'm thinking it's time to get out of town...
Alone, Prospectors, and other bad entertainment choices
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 2057
And a long week, but I've found ways to squander my time. First choice - Alone - a reality TV show, in which 10 contestants are dropped on the remote NW shores of Vancouver Island to fend for themselves. The last man standing wins half a million dollars (US Funds). They are alone (not together) and film their own struggles. It's brilliant. I mean, there are an awful lot of layers to this, and the survivors - by several orders of magnitude - demonstrate less skills (although these are admirable) but as much, or more, the qualities of integrity and character. You'll either get it or you won't...no spoilers here...
Alone - Watch Here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2uqwvv
The next, can't believe I haven't seen it before, a YouTube recommendation based on my propensity for watching prospecting porn, standard "reality tv", in short, complete and utter bollocks, over dramatized and imaginary conflicts, complaints about weather, overvaluing of finds....for all the things that interest me it could be condensed to about 3 minutes per episode. The rest is added to bulk it up and "add drama". And is that her kid acting as the "claimjumper" in the same episode? The Weather Network? Really?
Prospectors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPw84n0KuMQ
And finally, another YouTube recommendation, I haven't watched yet, but I will, I will...
Meteorite Men: Yeah, you can find this I'm sure, if you're interested.
Still there? Follow the read-more if you want, but there are definitely spoilers ahead...
Read more: Alone, Prospectors, and other bad entertainment choices
The Lobster
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1851
The boy's back, and my arts and culture budget is being well used. Tonight, film, going in blind (no pun intended) - "The Lobster". And if you've ever been single you'll get it - brilliant, darkly satirical, stylish and funny as hell.
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Sunday
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2467
And the day, filled with the expectation of rain, grey clouds, cool, low hanging, the river the color of a cold mountain stream, the anticipation of rain...
This morning - Beano, coffee, the usual suspects, read my book, love my book, Trout Fishing in America. It's a slim book, that and the title and the vague recognizance of the author the reasons I bought it. I hope one day I write a book this long. From here, drive to the flea market, the police have blocked off a block, 13th or 14th Ave, there's a "Parade" of sorts, a dozen cop-cars maintaining order while a couple of dozen veterans in uniform play the bagpipes to send off a colleague. Here I was complaining about the incompetence and uselessness of the police, but should I go to war I can expect they'll guard the pallbearers at my funeral with exceptional due diligence...
...dodge the traffic and the police out not-policing, to the flea market. Today's finds, a geologists hand-pick, new-ish, $25.00, a book by Hunter S., to the thrift shop, here, a camo-raincoat, by an authentic manufacturer, I am slowly by turns becoming that which I ridicule, and two pairs of fish inspired cufflinks, thank Richard Brautigan...the day now barely half over, not even half over, barely beginning, it's time for a nap...the rest will follow...
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