Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Green Motors?
While the CEO’s of Ford (Mustang!), Chrysler (LeBaronski!) and GM (Caddilacky!) are presenting hats-in-hand while getting paid millions in bonuses every year for their accumulated losses, may I make a teensy suggestion that might have a very nice compact... impact, impact! Chevy chevy, eh, ya know? Sawee.
Go ahead and take 50 million out of the original 750 million the feds were going to use to bail out the mortgage holders or buy bank shares (or roll dice) and hope the Americans take this rare opportunity to insist on a couple of conditions:
1. No more golden parachutes for exiting executives and keep their salaries and bonuses within a range that doesn’t appear obscene to the rest of those taxpayers whose money they’re pleading for;
2. Pay back this principal amount at bank prime + one (devilishly ironic, bank shares et al);
3. And by far most importantly: insist that these Big Three - whose cars look like each other's and who could not, or refused to see the inevitable consumer trend to smaller, less gas guzzling vehicles of lesser emissions - just go green.
And that’s what this 50 million should be used for: retooling their factories to create electric and crossover, city-friendly vehicles. Then all those zoom-zoomers at every little red/green light in cities, braking hither and thither can finally relax and stop counting their gas-fueled frustrations amidst all their noise.
I always did know: the louder your vehicle the smaller your ... (ahemski). Just ask the Hell's Weenies. "Vroom, vruh, cough, cough, see my big belly and hairy ass hangin' out. WOW am I cool!" I suppose it's too much to ask those morons to just give us all some relief from their means of coping with their shortage in the manly dept.
After all this minor revolution directed by goodness, we can finally and legitimately ask GM to change its name: Green Motors.
BoobToobitis?
The University of Maryland analyzed 34 years of data collected from more than 45,000 participants and found that watching TV might make you feel good in the short term but is more likely to lead to overall unhappiness. - Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
You mean after watching all those gratuitously violent, shamelessly vulgar, intellectually vapid, joyless programmes we might actually not feel so hot after a big dose of viewing?
As if the so-called TV Standards people didn't know this for decades. Now that these programmers, producers and celebrities have created this embarrassingly massive appetite for crap, me-wonders how we get back to genuinely interesting and rewarding television viewing?
Go ahead and take 50 million out of the original 750 million the feds were going to use to bail out the mortgage holders or buy bank shares (or roll dice) and hope the Americans take this rare opportunity to insist on a couple of conditions:
1. No more golden parachutes for exiting executives and keep their salaries and bonuses within a range that doesn’t appear obscene to the rest of those taxpayers whose money they’re pleading for;
2. Pay back this principal amount at bank prime + one (devilishly ironic, bank shares et al);
3. And by far most importantly: insist that these Big Three - whose cars look like each other's and who could not, or refused to see the inevitable consumer trend to smaller, less gas guzzling vehicles of lesser emissions - just go green.
And that’s what this 50 million should be used for: retooling their factories to create electric and crossover, city-friendly vehicles. Then all those zoom-zoomers at every little red/green light in cities, braking hither and thither can finally relax and stop counting their gas-fueled frustrations amidst all their noise.
I always did know: the louder your vehicle the smaller your ... (ahemski). Just ask the Hell's Weenies. "Vroom, vruh, cough, cough, see my big belly and hairy ass hangin' out. WOW am I cool!" I suppose it's too much to ask those morons to just give us all some relief from their means of coping with their shortage in the manly dept.
After all this minor revolution directed by goodness, we can finally and legitimately ask GM to change its name: Green Motors.
BoobToobitis?
The University of Maryland analyzed 34 years of data collected from more than 45,000 participants and found that watching TV might make you feel good in the short term but is more likely to lead to overall unhappiness. - Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
You mean after watching all those gratuitously violent, shamelessly vulgar, intellectually vapid, joyless programmes we might actually not feel so hot after a big dose of viewing?
As if the so-called TV Standards people didn't know this for decades. Now that these programmers, producers and celebrities have created this embarrassingly massive appetite for crap, me-wonders how we get back to genuinely interesting and rewarding television viewing?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
NO POPPY FOR ME
My Dad was a war hero. Last one left for dead at Rimini. And then his letters show he was prepared and expecting to return to the front.
After the war he suffered the memories of his dead fellows in the river of blood. As to his command: “The failure taught a useful lesson: not again in Italy in the 11th Brigade was a Company dispatched to take a Battalion objective.”
My Dad suffered and was hospitalized for 24 years as a veteran. After his death, successive federal governments stole his and other veterans’ estates from their families by not allowing them interest on the monies accrued and not permitting their families an inheritance.
My eldest brother has been waiting four years to receive from the Veteran’s Affairs Dept my Dad’s war record. So far nothing.
So much for all this weepy sentimentalism.
Blow somebody else’s horn.
After the war he suffered the memories of his dead fellows in the river of blood. As to his command: “The failure taught a useful lesson: not again in Italy in the 11th Brigade was a Company dispatched to take a Battalion objective.”
My Dad suffered and was hospitalized for 24 years as a veteran. After his death, successive federal governments stole his and other veterans’ estates from their families by not allowing them interest on the monies accrued and not permitting their families an inheritance.
My eldest brother has been waiting four years to receive from the Veteran’s Affairs Dept my Dad’s war record. So far nothing.
So much for all this weepy sentimentalism.
Blow somebody else’s horn.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Winning Back Our Earth
This morning as I strolled I noticed a patch of ground, ¼ block perhaps, that had been transformed into an urban garden. I couldn’t make out exactly which vegetables were growing as the gate was locked but it reminded me of my mentor’s comment: “All you need is food, shelter and the company of loved ones.” In this holus bolus part of Vancouver (downtown eastside, Hastings) it is well to bear those words with us day to day.
And why are we so busy as a society exporting crap, importing crap from China and manufacturing jobs that have nothing to do with “the company of loved ones” or eating?
It is time to deindustrialise. Industrialisation was born only 100 or so years ago and born from greed. And now it is consuming our earth in harrowing ways (ask the polar bears).
Deindustrialise now. Make more gardens until the urban area is full of brightly coloured veggies for all. And easy on the eyes.
And why are we so busy as a society exporting crap, importing crap from China and manufacturing jobs that have nothing to do with “the company of loved ones” or eating?
It is time to deindustrialise. Industrialisation was born only 100 or so years ago and born from greed. And now it is consuming our earth in harrowing ways (ask the polar bears).
Deindustrialise now. Make more gardens until the urban area is full of brightly coloured veggies for all. And easy on the eyes.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Of Principles and Fundamental Value…
After watching closely the presidential race for the most powerful position in the world and witnessing the occasional gaffes of both candidates (McCain parading around the TV debate stage was hilariously unpresidential - wound up with too much gravitas maybe), I have concluded that the Americans need the leadership presented in the qualities of Mr Barack Obama.
Qualities of leadership are sometimes hard to define but not really hard to spy. When a man speaks consistently with passion about what he believes and his content returns regularly to the human condition, and he seems to yearn for a better world for all, inclusive even of the disenfranchised, then his integrity may begin to become visible. And that’s who you want to support in any field, associate with and point your children to as an example of successful living – even if that individual has suffered most of his life for his principles, to wit: Nelson Mandela.
We use in our society a kind of rewards system and too often unfortunately short term greed is rewarded with a quick buck, and inevitably a golden handshake and the keys to an escape hatch.
For our society to be more effectively fortified to withstand major upheavals like the current financial collapse, we need to reward more people of principle who demonstrate their will for peace and the intelligence to bring it about and show daily their commitment to goodness, charitableness and the promotion of universal love. This is not, I believe, a namby pamby or pollyanna approach. Quite the contrary: by supporting such individuals and representative organizations we can eventually divine the inherent power of righteousness as it transforms, subtlely but certainly, the moral fabric and colour of our global society from a kind of grey bleakness to that of an astonishingly bright sunrise rife with fresh ideas and the sweeping hues of hope.
It is sad to say that as I work within the Canadian junior mining industry I find very little of this newness and strength of commitment to long-term gains of happiness and joyously righteous business. Where are the leaders who are prepared to stand up and have their company counted now as one of fundamental, long term value? The rather disgusting truth of it is that more 90% of my initial contacts with this group of CEO’s is met with a lie: that voice mail which informs me, “And I’ll get back to you shortly” or some such empty promise. They don’t, which is just rude and reflective of their lack of interest in any decency of humanity and clearly indicative of their single-minded, narrow drive and blind greed. If I were, however, to call and leave a message on their deceptive little machine that I was actively interested in laying out some serious moolah for them to manipulate, methinks I would be graced with a return call.
And now that their shit is hitting the fan, these CEO’s, once all full of promises of heydays, are hiding on tall limbs in high trees somewhere in the general vicinity of their splashy offices, licking their wounds and mapping their escape route.
Is it any wonder then that our global economic circumstance - somewhat billowing out from a Wall Street obscenely populated as it is with clowders of fat alley cats - is in such dire condition? With those lords of the iniquitous at the helm, we can all expect more of this short term desperate lurching and little of the long term success that principled men and women might bring to bear upon our current, rather pathetic situation. The steady-handed and clear-headed can be found among those exasperated people who have been trying to ring the bell of righteous business for their lifetimes. Find among them your leaders.
The voices of these principled gentlefolk are still being muzzled by the recent wailing and breast beating of those former glad-handers and back-slappers of the old regime who chortled shamelessly in dark corners and sneered at the people who abide by “the still small voice.”
Mr Obama, I suspect, wouldn’t last long in that company of patented shit-eating grins, and thank God for that and good luck to him. In this climate of impossible avarice he’s going to need all the luck the sun can muster.
Qualities of leadership are sometimes hard to define but not really hard to spy. When a man speaks consistently with passion about what he believes and his content returns regularly to the human condition, and he seems to yearn for a better world for all, inclusive even of the disenfranchised, then his integrity may begin to become visible. And that’s who you want to support in any field, associate with and point your children to as an example of successful living – even if that individual has suffered most of his life for his principles, to wit: Nelson Mandela.
We use in our society a kind of rewards system and too often unfortunately short term greed is rewarded with a quick buck, and inevitably a golden handshake and the keys to an escape hatch.
For our society to be more effectively fortified to withstand major upheavals like the current financial collapse, we need to reward more people of principle who demonstrate their will for peace and the intelligence to bring it about and show daily their commitment to goodness, charitableness and the promotion of universal love. This is not, I believe, a namby pamby or pollyanna approach. Quite the contrary: by supporting such individuals and representative organizations we can eventually divine the inherent power of righteousness as it transforms, subtlely but certainly, the moral fabric and colour of our global society from a kind of grey bleakness to that of an astonishingly bright sunrise rife with fresh ideas and the sweeping hues of hope.
It is sad to say that as I work within the Canadian junior mining industry I find very little of this newness and strength of commitment to long-term gains of happiness and joyously righteous business. Where are the leaders who are prepared to stand up and have their company counted now as one of fundamental, long term value? The rather disgusting truth of it is that more 90% of my initial contacts with this group of CEO’s is met with a lie: that voice mail which informs me, “And I’ll get back to you shortly” or some such empty promise. They don’t, which is just rude and reflective of their lack of interest in any decency of humanity and clearly indicative of their single-minded, narrow drive and blind greed. If I were, however, to call and leave a message on their deceptive little machine that I was actively interested in laying out some serious moolah for them to manipulate, methinks I would be graced with a return call.
And now that their shit is hitting the fan, these CEO’s, once all full of promises of heydays, are hiding on tall limbs in high trees somewhere in the general vicinity of their splashy offices, licking their wounds and mapping their escape route.
Is it any wonder then that our global economic circumstance - somewhat billowing out from a Wall Street obscenely populated as it is with clowders of fat alley cats - is in such dire condition? With those lords of the iniquitous at the helm, we can all expect more of this short term desperate lurching and little of the long term success that principled men and women might bring to bear upon our current, rather pathetic situation. The steady-handed and clear-headed can be found among those exasperated people who have been trying to ring the bell of righteous business for their lifetimes. Find among them your leaders.
The voices of these principled gentlefolk are still being muzzled by the recent wailing and breast beating of those former glad-handers and back-slappers of the old regime who chortled shamelessly in dark corners and sneered at the people who abide by “the still small voice.”
Mr Obama, I suspect, wouldn’t last long in that company of patented shit-eating grins, and thank God for that and good luck to him. In this climate of impossible avarice he’s going to need all the luck the sun can muster.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Leadership Credentials?
The following letter was posted to the Vancouver Sun and The Globe and Mail on Sept 26th.
The only way this amateur pundit can imagine the victory of the Liberals is if Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae step up to the plate more aggressively; or if they have, that the general media cover their speeches. Otherwise, ordinary Canadians are being shortchanged as to the qualitiies and benefits of these particular statesmen and the real contribution they can make to all Canadians.
To focus soley on the leaders of the respective parties seems too much inclined to personalities (Harper the Mortician and Dion the fussy professor) and not the principles of those parties. While it seems so cheap for people to hop parties, regardless of principle, I felt I understood Rae's swapping parties. Why not have sway to bring about good change? Not an unusual dilemma I suppose.
Let us not discourage too many worthy potential candidates. Just keep an eye. Keep an eye on the moral compass of your candidates.
To paraphrase the core statement of the Vedic Sciptures re politics as found in the Baghavad Gita: "Politics is the eternal sea of Maya (darkness and confusion, up and down chaos)."
But what choice do we have? Hobson's choice is all. Hope is our ultimate and only choice and intellect is a reasonable guide. Why not sail on with some comfort? -end
So now we can not only see what little role did these two play in the campaign but we can now reasonably presume that by their quietness they were angling for leadership positioning since having allowed the captain of their ship to steer into the fog, and likely political oblivion. I can't imagine worse leadership credentials than the sharpness of your blade and skill at shoving it in from behind.
The only way this amateur pundit can imagine the victory of the Liberals is if Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae step up to the plate more aggressively; or if they have, that the general media cover their speeches. Otherwise, ordinary Canadians are being shortchanged as to the qualitiies and benefits of these particular statesmen and the real contribution they can make to all Canadians.
To focus soley on the leaders of the respective parties seems too much inclined to personalities (Harper the Mortician and Dion the fussy professor) and not the principles of those parties. While it seems so cheap for people to hop parties, regardless of principle, I felt I understood Rae's swapping parties. Why not have sway to bring about good change? Not an unusual dilemma I suppose.
Let us not discourage too many worthy potential candidates. Just keep an eye. Keep an eye on the moral compass of your candidates.
To paraphrase the core statement of the Vedic Sciptures re politics as found in the Baghavad Gita: "Politics is the eternal sea of Maya (darkness and confusion, up and down chaos)."
But what choice do we have? Hobson's choice is all. Hope is our ultimate and only choice and intellect is a reasonable guide. Why not sail on with some comfort? -end
So now we can not only see what little role did these two play in the campaign but we can now reasonably presume that by their quietness they were angling for leadership positioning since having allowed the captain of their ship to steer into the fog, and likely political oblivion. I can't imagine worse leadership credentials than the sharpness of your blade and skill at shoving it in from behind.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The No-Vote Smart-Asses
Of eligible voters, 49% were no-shows at the ballot box. So here comes your local news reporter asking if you voted today.
"Nope. I don't vote."
"No. I never have."
"No. I don't understand the politics."
"Sawee." (Vancouver)
Etc etc.
When these nicely dressed smart-ass nobodies find themselves in a foreign jail, maybe they will reconsider the value of the government they might have voted in.
Or during their next defense against being crowded by bad opinion they might appreciate the ultimate social value of democracy.
But methinks they play video games too much (97% of our teens) and us adults watch Disteria Lane (or something). There is a form of intellectual debauchery in which animated corpses might have membership and those no-thinkers are goose-stepping with the best of them.
"Nope. I don't vote."
"No. I never have."
"No. I don't understand the politics."
"Sawee." (Vancouver)
Etc etc.
When these nicely dressed smart-ass nobodies find themselves in a foreign jail, maybe they will reconsider the value of the government they might have voted in.
Or during their next defense against being crowded by bad opinion they might appreciate the ultimate social value of democracy.
But methinks they play video games too much (97% of our teens) and us adults watch Disteria Lane (or something). There is a form of intellectual debauchery in which animated corpses might have membership and those no-thinkers are goose-stepping with the best of them.
Discovering the Depth of the Moral Black Holes
Well, well.
How deep the people are now paying where it hurts to have discovered the moral black holes of their communities. They used to be visible at every corner but as they retreated, consolidating their so-called services (charging you to give you your money and colluding among themselves about those fees), we are now witnessing this humongous "bailout" of the banking industry. Those very places which make you cue up in herd-like fashion waiting dumbly for the slaughter. And they make you wait so long that whatever illusion you may have had about seeing your deposits increase goes up in smoke and mirrors but not before golden handshakes of zillions of dollars handed over to those very same people who have caused this economic collapse and the loss of peoples' pensions, investments etc.
And they still (those bankers) have those silly little Charity ads on their counters while you're attempting to conduct your business in some privacy (gooda lucka).
Yeah... it was just the more obviously greedy U.S. bankers who needed the 'bailout' because our Cdn fellows were so much more shrewd... keeping us waiting and upping their fees. And more tightfisted about supporting the entrepreneurs who ultimately make their system tick. The shame belongs easily as much to the Cdn banks as it does to the other world banks being nationalized (good thinking. Nationalize the pharmaceutical industry while you're at it!).
How deep the people are now paying where it hurts to have discovered the moral black holes of their communities. They used to be visible at every corner but as they retreated, consolidating their so-called services (charging you to give you your money and colluding among themselves about those fees), we are now witnessing this humongous "bailout" of the banking industry. Those very places which make you cue up in herd-like fashion waiting dumbly for the slaughter. And they make you wait so long that whatever illusion you may have had about seeing your deposits increase goes up in smoke and mirrors but not before golden handshakes of zillions of dollars handed over to those very same people who have caused this economic collapse and the loss of peoples' pensions, investments etc.
And they still (those bankers) have those silly little Charity ads on their counters while you're attempting to conduct your business in some privacy (gooda lucka).
Yeah... it was just the more obviously greedy U.S. bankers who needed the 'bailout' because our Cdn fellows were so much more shrewd... keeping us waiting and upping their fees. And more tightfisted about supporting the entrepreneurs who ultimately make their system tick. The shame belongs easily as much to the Cdn banks as it does to the other world banks being nationalized (good thinking. Nationalize the pharmaceutical industry while you're at it!).
Friday, October 10, 2008
Defying 'Black October'
My message to CEO's first week of 'Black October'
“Keep a level head and see the opportunities that are there.”
–Fred Ketchen, Scotiabank Investment Guru.
This is an extremely tense but exciting time to be involved in mining in Canada and the choices we make today about our Jr Mining Cos or our investments will tell our tale in years to come.
I feel very strongly that recovery is on its way now that the 850 billion dollar bill passed in Congress and banks and governments internationally are cooperating. Hobson’s Choice or Global Economic Collapse. Duh?
Now is the time to pitch to the “cherry-pickers” looking for the hot deals, buying low. Now is the time to show that your enterprise has fundamental value, a sound rationale for valuing its properties, and this moment as an excellent time to jump into the game.
Great opportunities are abounding now especially with those companies which boast promising properties and a management team of unadulterated integrity.
That’s the message I believe you, as CEO, should be getting out now, defying the pessimists and reminding investors everywhere how much you believe in your operations. Besides, panicking doesn’t become the CEO of an important and prestigious corporation.
Call me today and be part of my inaugural issue, Harry Langen’s Mining.NOW. The astute in the industry will be sure not to miss this provocative new magazine. All 40,000 of them.
“Keep a level head and see the opportunities that are there.”
–Fred Ketchen, Scotiabank Investment Guru.
This is an extremely tense but exciting time to be involved in mining in Canada and the choices we make today about our Jr Mining Cos or our investments will tell our tale in years to come.
I feel very strongly that recovery is on its way now that the 850 billion dollar bill passed in Congress and banks and governments internationally are cooperating. Hobson’s Choice or Global Economic Collapse. Duh?
Now is the time to pitch to the “cherry-pickers” looking for the hot deals, buying low. Now is the time to show that your enterprise has fundamental value, a sound rationale for valuing its properties, and this moment as an excellent time to jump into the game.
Great opportunities are abounding now especially with those companies which boast promising properties and a management team of unadulterated integrity.
That’s the message I believe you, as CEO, should be getting out now, defying the pessimists and reminding investors everywhere how much you believe in your operations. Besides, panicking doesn’t become the CEO of an important and prestigious corporation.
Call me today and be part of my inaugural issue, Harry Langen’s Mining.NOW. The astute in the industry will be sure not to miss this provocative new magazine. All 40,000 of them.
Harry's New Venture
LEAD EDITORIAL
With the oceans of grief and the prevalence of conflict being sustained by almost all forms of the popular media, it is the intent of Mining.NOW to enjoy and bring a sense of pleasure and relief to an otherwise staid industry.
Mining.NOW will deliver a readership by consistently showcasing the happier side of the business of promoting with which most junior mining CEO’s are pre-occupied. The stories featured in these pages will be forward-looking without being wishy-washy and will include those words of the CEO’s as they elucidate their vision and strategy for success of their companies.
Also though, and as importantly, hilarious anecdotes of their early days as prospectors and their misadventures will be included. The forests of North and South America veil many of these stories and the mists of time will cloud them forever if writers don’t unearth them.
New land leases, junior mining plays, mergers and ore-producing enterprises will be covered in all the heroic or checkered details.
It is commonly the objective of the junior mining executives to secure takeover by the majors and that is their definition of success. It’s the thrill of these deals as they are being constructed that we hope to capture. And to remind us all of the necessity of ethical conduct to guide us through the complicated maze of deal-making, number-crunching and huffing fly-by-nighters we will focus on some of the more derelict deeds of the VSE in its shameful heyday. When playing the shell game you really are supposed to find a peanut eventually.
As for myself, I was recently canned by one publication after I attempted some due diligence and asked to see their distribution credentials and print run docket. I was met with significant (and telling?) hostility. So Mining.NOW will show the print docket for each issue – starting at 20,000 – and will offer a transparent documentation of our distribution strategy.
Our rates are 20% less than that dubious Brand X for which I worked and our credentials will, as mentioned, be made irrevocably clear. To publish means to distribute. No argument there.
Our management will be client-focused as opposed to a kind of arrogant pro-management characterized by mindless bullying; and our commitment to service will be relentless in accommodating the client requirements. Welcome. To the adventure that is Mining.NOW.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Far and Away... Vancouver's Best Menu
Back bacon and eggs: Two eggs cooked any style, three slices of grilled back bacon oven roasted savory hash browns and buttered toast $5.50
Maple Sausage and eggs: Two eggs cooked any style, three links of grilled maple sausage oven roasted savory hash browns and buttered toast $5.50
Soup & Sandwich of the Day: Randie’s fresh daily creation. $5.50
Salad of the Day: Ask your server what Randie has created today. $5.50
Butter Chicken: Randie’s own creamy Butter Chicken served over steamed Basmati rice surrounded by Naan Bread. $5.50
Honey Bourbon BBQ Chicken: Fresh oven roasted breast of chicken smothered in Randie’s BBQ sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Roulade of Beef: Slow roasted AAA Alberta beef and rosemary red wine jus served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Fraser Valley Turkey: Tender juicy medallions of fresh roasted Fraser Valley Turkey Breast, Golden Tarragon white wine sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Apple Brandy Pork Loin: Carved pork loin cooked to perfection draped in tangy apple brandy sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Dill Chardonnay Salmon: Char broiled filet of salmon coated with creamy fresh dill and white wine sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Randie’s $5.50 Café Located at 340 Cambie Street inside Pub 340, Vancouver
Open 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday
Maple Sausage and eggs: Two eggs cooked any style, three links of grilled maple sausage oven roasted savory hash browns and buttered toast $5.50
Soup & Sandwich of the Day: Randie’s fresh daily creation. $5.50
Salad of the Day: Ask your server what Randie has created today. $5.50
Butter Chicken: Randie’s own creamy Butter Chicken served over steamed Basmati rice surrounded by Naan Bread. $5.50
Honey Bourbon BBQ Chicken: Fresh oven roasted breast of chicken smothered in Randie’s BBQ sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Roulade of Beef: Slow roasted AAA Alberta beef and rosemary red wine jus served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Fraser Valley Turkey: Tender juicy medallions of fresh roasted Fraser Valley Turkey Breast, Golden Tarragon white wine sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Apple Brandy Pork Loin: Carved pork loin cooked to perfection draped in tangy apple brandy sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Dill Chardonnay Salmon: Char broiled filet of salmon coated with creamy fresh dill and white wine sauce served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable of the day. $5.50
Randie’s $5.50 Café Located at 340 Cambie Street inside Pub 340, Vancouver
Open 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A Weekend Day, Downtown, Last Day of Summer
I travelled by bus, alongside all the zombie-like passengers looking out at the downpour on a Saturday (that morning the weatherwoman proclaimed gleefully that we were in for a grand day). After having phoned ahead and speaking to the proprietor and making a verbal deal I got skunked anyway at the store on Main by 14th for $10.
On the way out nature called and as soon as I went into a Starbucks to relieve myself my bus had come and gone. A fellow rushed from behind me and managed to catch the bus while I was running after him and missed it. I walked toward Kingsway to give myself the option of more busses at that stop and just before I got to the junction there, the Kingsway bus passed and I was getting soaked while starting to fume. I was tempted to walk the rest of way in the rain but my nice suit jacket was becoming a bit weepy.
The bus finally came and I trudged on and joined the melancholy lot. I got off at Chinatown and wound my way through the milling crowd of Asians oblivious to my presence, so I had to duck and dodge their pointy umbrellas.
When I got to Cordova I observed a blind woman I had seen before walking alone and looking quite disoriented. She finally cried: "Can anyone help me?" I felt compelled to assist her and we walked and chatted three blocks out of my way through crowds of addicts and idiots who made the going rough; worse than Chinatown. But Brenda was a delight. I escorted her to the Carnegie Library where she wanted me to lead her to an outside post where I suppose she was going to meet someone. I felt for her situation. She was in the thick of the downtown eastside with desperate crackheads swarming about and entirely vulnerable. I left her there.
As I crossed Hastings Street I recognized my young friend Sean whose countenance betrayed being crestfallen about something. He informed me that he discovered his half brother yesterday hanging. Sean called the coroner and the police. He was then apprehended by the police and insensitively interrogated for three hours. He said he was all cried out. I gave him a small hug and told him to call me later.
My dearest and most troubled friend called when I got home and I said I could see him in three hours. He showed up an hour later at the door downstairs and while he's not allowed in the building and I could get evicted if I let him in, in his intoxicated state he couldn't give a rat's ass as he was quite insistent about coming up. I resisted him and just left him standing there by the door and I walked away alone. I was getting rather despondent and just walked it off in Gastown where all the moronic tourists gather around that silly steam clock and each snap their little cameras when the thing blows off a teensy puff of vapour. To me this fascination is plainly infantile.
Eventually I returned home and received three calls from my troubled friend who sounded delusional and again insistent about sneaking in. I just turned off the intercom for a while and when I clicked it back on Sean buzzed and I shared dinner with him.
In retrospect, the most pleasant aspect of that Saturday was the stroll through the hordes of maniacs with the brave and delightful Brenda. God keep her safe and may Sean's step-brother rest now in peace.
Almost forgot: I got a rare visit from a neighbour in this building who wanted to pick up a splitter for his TV. He was unusually talkative and he shared his background: from Winnipeg, raised as a polite, well mannered child; was born from an alcoholic so suffered attention deficit; abused at home by a relative; and after arriving in Vancouver as an adult became addicted to heroin which he now declares as his means of getting anything accomplished. Occasionally he spray-paints arenas for employment. With his straggly blonde hair and jerky manner he reminds me of the scarecrow from Oz. This two-time manslaughterer was pleased to inform me that to this day he stands for the elders on busses relinquishing his seat and opens doors for women. Gotcha.
On the way out nature called and as soon as I went into a Starbucks to relieve myself my bus had come and gone. A fellow rushed from behind me and managed to catch the bus while I was running after him and missed it. I walked toward Kingsway to give myself the option of more busses at that stop and just before I got to the junction there, the Kingsway bus passed and I was getting soaked while starting to fume. I was tempted to walk the rest of way in the rain but my nice suit jacket was becoming a bit weepy.
The bus finally came and I trudged on and joined the melancholy lot. I got off at Chinatown and wound my way through the milling crowd of Asians oblivious to my presence, so I had to duck and dodge their pointy umbrellas.
When I got to Cordova I observed a blind woman I had seen before walking alone and looking quite disoriented. She finally cried: "Can anyone help me?" I felt compelled to assist her and we walked and chatted three blocks out of my way through crowds of addicts and idiots who made the going rough; worse than Chinatown. But Brenda was a delight. I escorted her to the Carnegie Library where she wanted me to lead her to an outside post where I suppose she was going to meet someone. I felt for her situation. She was in the thick of the downtown eastside with desperate crackheads swarming about and entirely vulnerable. I left her there.
As I crossed Hastings Street I recognized my young friend Sean whose countenance betrayed being crestfallen about something. He informed me that he discovered his half brother yesterday hanging. Sean called the coroner and the police. He was then apprehended by the police and insensitively interrogated for three hours. He said he was all cried out. I gave him a small hug and told him to call me later.
My dearest and most troubled friend called when I got home and I said I could see him in three hours. He showed up an hour later at the door downstairs and while he's not allowed in the building and I could get evicted if I let him in, in his intoxicated state he couldn't give a rat's ass as he was quite insistent about coming up. I resisted him and just left him standing there by the door and I walked away alone. I was getting rather despondent and just walked it off in Gastown where all the moronic tourists gather around that silly steam clock and each snap their little cameras when the thing blows off a teensy puff of vapour. To me this fascination is plainly infantile.
Eventually I returned home and received three calls from my troubled friend who sounded delusional and again insistent about sneaking in. I just turned off the intercom for a while and when I clicked it back on Sean buzzed and I shared dinner with him.
In retrospect, the most pleasant aspect of that Saturday was the stroll through the hordes of maniacs with the brave and delightful Brenda. God keep her safe and may Sean's step-brother rest now in peace.
Almost forgot: I got a rare visit from a neighbour in this building who wanted to pick up a splitter for his TV. He was unusually talkative and he shared his background: from Winnipeg, raised as a polite, well mannered child; was born from an alcoholic so suffered attention deficit; abused at home by a relative; and after arriving in Vancouver as an adult became addicted to heroin which he now declares as his means of getting anything accomplished. Occasionally he spray-paints arenas for employment. With his straggly blonde hair and jerky manner he reminds me of the scarecrow from Oz. This two-time manslaughterer was pleased to inform me that to this day he stands for the elders on busses relinquishing his seat and opens doors for women. Gotcha.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
President Hockey Mom?
The first decision of the next Captain of the World...
"Duh?"
Hey Vlad, you ready for her?
"Duh?"
Hey Vlad, you ready for her?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
China Gushing
The Globe and Mail,
The Vancouver Sun
Dear Editors,
All this gushing in the general media about how niftily the powers-that-be in China handled the Olympics and the assorted sentimental ceremonies serves to eliminate or diminish the memory of their brutal management of the students at Tiananmen Square.
How about some real investigative reporting and find out what happened to the lone rebel student who faced down the line of tanks that day (like yesterday) on June 5th, 1989.
His name remains obscured and his fate unknown.
Why not let us all see what became of him and then give the Chinese government their due?
The Vancouver Sun
Dear Editors,
All this gushing in the general media about how niftily the powers-that-be in China handled the Olympics and the assorted sentimental ceremonies serves to eliminate or diminish the memory of their brutal management of the students at Tiananmen Square.
How about some real investigative reporting and find out what happened to the lone rebel student who faced down the line of tanks that day (like yesterday) on June 5th, 1989.
His name remains obscured and his fate unknown.
Why not let us all see what became of him and then give the Chinese government their due?
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