I really thought rock music was dead up until last night….

Mastodon, Deftones and Alice In Chains. Probably the best line up this year. Maybe even in the last two years or more. From start to finish this show was filled with unstoppable rock and roll furry.

I always start with the opening band so lets take it from there shall we?

I have to be honest. Due to two woman, I was late getting to the show. And although I didn’t see Mastodon, I did hear them. Their thunderous drums, powerful vocals and great shredding guitar’s. They were the perfect opener. I’m positive these guys will never book stadiums but they did gain more fans last night for sure. Seeing them at the Commodore awhile back, they were awesome to watch. Their new album was out and had a cool sound to it. Very flow like. Anyway, these guys hopefully have gained them more fan fare and can probably look forward to playing a little larger of venue after this tour.

I can’t count the number of times I have seen the Deftones live. Every time, they’re awesome. That chorusey heavy guitar sound, the snap of the snare, the hard bass lines and the musical ambiance in the back. Oh and did I mention the soft spoken to intense screams that are their vocals? This band to me is like a fine wine. They just get better with age. Now I just saw these guys open for Slipknot not to long ago. I have to say that the set list wasn’t that great. But I kind of felt that opening for Slipknot wasn’t an ideal choice. With that said, this setting was perfect. From playing songs off of their new album to playing Passenger, to 7 words.. What a set. The time flew by. The energy that every member delivered on stage was key. Hell even the large disco ball casting spooky green and blue lighting around GM Place.. err  Rogers Arena was cool. Take note up and coming bands. This is what it takes to be a great band. Determination, creating new sounds all the time, and a great stage show. Be powerful. Be bold!

And I mean no disrespect…    But Layne who?

From the two opening songs (which I called before the show) Them Bones & Dam That River, Alice In Chains showed no signs of ware. These guys were some of the tightest, musically sound men I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing live. I had almost forgotten what it was that I loved about the 90’s so much and boy did they kick my ass to remind me. The music, the lyrics and the show. These 4 guys showed us what it takes to be a rock star. While they brilliantly slowed into Rooster you could close your eyes and hear Layne singing away. Yet when you opened them he was no where to be found, instead you look at William who I have to say not only delivered a vocal performance above and beyond what I thought could be done, wore the stage like he’d been playing with Alice In Chains for years. His energy alone captivated the audience. He was everything a lead singer should be.

Jerry Cantrell. Thank you for saying that “Vancouver is our second home” cause man, we loved you brother. I was there at the Commodore show three days after Layne was found dead and you had raised a glass to him. Vancouver loves and respects you guys and back in 2002 when we heard Layne had passed those of us who never had the chance to see Alice in all of its glory thought we’d missed the boat. Bassist Mike Inez and Drummer Sean Kinney you guys have such a tight groove going on, I’d swear there was a click track involved. And who cares if there was or wasn’t. You two drove in thunder of what people love about Alice. Sean, No Excuses was driven flawlessly. And Mike, Would was fucking unreal. I did notice that Sean was also using two different snare’s. And I’m probably guessing one had a sample on it to give it that 90’s sound that we know, while the other one was the “actual sound”.

All in all this was a performance I am thankful to not have missed and feel sorry for those of you that did. This was a once in a lifetime chance. I can only say that I hope Jerry was right in saying “See you next year!” because I want to believe it. I have to say that although I am not a fan of their new album, the songs played live are a much better representation of what they should sound like than on the radio. I am looking forward to perhaps a better collaboration between William and Jerry on the next record. They have what it takes to get back to where they were…  Hell after last nights performance…    They’re already there. Perhaps they have always been there. They’ve been missed but now they’re back.

I’ll leave you with this final note. I’ve been saying to my friends forever that the 90’s holds something deep for me. Not because of my obsessive love for Nirvana that my friends have come to expect from me, but because of the musician ship that that era brought. You had dynamic range in the music and not balls to the walls sound. You had great lyrics, great energy and stage presence and the bands earned the titles to become rock stars. Now I agree, there have been a few bands since that are worthy of the rock star status. But no where near the caliber of the 90’s or even previous to that, the great rock bands of the early 80’s and 70’s.  The 90’s represent to me what bands should be doing today. Push yourself to write solid lyrics. Identify with people. And don’t come off as a god on stage. Be yourself. Be real. Alice In Chains proved to me that even after all this time, they’re still just four guys who love the music and love playing for people.

That should be enough for aspiring rock stars.

You have to earn it, not wear it.

For a complete view of  AIC’s set list visit here for more info.

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According to the Vancouver Sun BC may get a minimum wage increase from its current $8.00 an hour to $10.00 an hour. The Federation of Labour along with 20 mayors from around BC are asking the Provincial government to make the change. A letter will be sent to Premier Gordon Cowbell along with another suggestion to get rid of the $6.00 an hour / 500 hours training wage.

BC has the lowest minimum wage in Canada beating out Prince Edward Island at $8.70 an hour.

I personally would love to see this happen. As a bartender in a restaurant I am not afforded the luxury of tips that someone in my position would receive working at an actual Bar. So a lot of the time I do rely on my wage to help with the Mortgage, grocery’s, bills etc. On the complete opposite end however, I just switched jobs to work for a brand new restaurant. They may not be able to afford to pay staff the increase and in turn would have to raise prices or close down all together. For more established places (bars included) staff may be laid off, or prices go higher, in which case those of us that enjoy a social atmosphere in restaurants and bars make seek out other alternatives. With the HST in effect a lot of us already have.

I definitely support the increase. It will help a lot of people out for sure. But what are the negative effects? And should we be looking at perhaps capping rent increases, housing costs etc?

What do you think?

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The room around him is dark except for a desk lamp in front of him. Sam Mulligan is a prison guard.

Standing in the shadows of that same room is Warden Geoff Price.
Warden Price pulls a chair out of the shadows and sits down at the desk. His face still in shadows but his massive hands now lay in the light. They are placed calmly on the desk in front of Sam. Price pulls a cigarette pack from his shirt pocket, draws a smoke and lights it. The ember now casting a touch of light on the Warden’s face and Sam can see the wrinkles that have aged this strong man. Warden Price is set to retire next year. He’s probably seen it all working in places like these. Maybe he can’t forget a lot of it, but not having to work with convicts day in and out seems to suit him just fine.

The Warden pulls another puff of his smoke and leans forward into the light of the desk lamp.

“Go on son. I’m not here to give you any shit.” The words come out firmly but with a hint of softness to them. Like a father when talking to his son.

“Your record speaks for itself.”

“I just want to hear it straight….”

Sam leans in closer.

“I’m not sure where exactly to start sir.”

Warden Price tosses his smoke on the floor and crushes it with his shoe. He leans back into the dark, folding his arms.

“From the beginning,son. From the start. When you figure this…this story started.”

“They come from all over.” Sam said in a low tone, “the stories I mean. A man works in a place like this his whole life he’s bound to hear just about everything. But I guess, to go back to the beginning, you’d have to know a thing or two about this place, wouldn’t you? A story always needs a beginning. I’m just not sure it has an end.” Sam wiggles around in his chair to get more comfortable but the look on his face says anything but.

“Sir, do you know the history of this place? I mean what it was before the prisoners were put here?”

The Warden shifts and leans forward into the light again. One of his wrinkly eyebrows raises, pondering Sam’s question.

“This place as far as I know was built in 1904…was some sort of school at first, built by a man named Michael Author.”

Sam looks up at the Warden briefly and then down again.

“Yes sir it was a school at one time. In fact where cell blocks 148-202 are now, used to be a school. Hard to believe anyone learned in a place like this.”

“Well it was a much smaller building then.” Warden Price says matter-of-factly. “Was a school for Doctors. A lot of learning went on here.”

Sam shoots Warden Price a hard look, staring him straight in the eyes this time.

“Was more than that sir.”

“Pardon?” Warden Price seems caught off guard.

“Sir you weren’t around when we were updating the old sections. We found…books. Whole other rooms that hadn’t seen light for some years.”

“Yes I read the reports when I started here.” Warden Price says while pulling out another smoke and lighting it, “Seem to recall finding stretchers and bedding.”

“And restraints sir. There were restraints.” Sam whispers calmly.

The Warden stands up and walks the room slowly for a moment. Finally resting his side against the desk while puffing away at his smoke.

“Yes I seem to recall reading something about that, but I don’t see what this has to do with a man missing from my cell block Sam. I don’t need a history of this building. I want to know what you’ve heard about our missing man.”

Sam speaks up. “You asked me to start from the beginning sir!”

“Well, right Sam,I did,but…”

“But then you have to know what’s been going on.” Sam says with his head cocked looking somewhat distant now.

“They built that section under the pretense of some school, but there’s been talk that something else was going on.”

Warden Price nods in agreement.

“Yes, I remember some of the conversations I overheard from previous Wardens at the State Run Dinners that I like to attend.”

The Warden slides off of the desk, walks back to his chair and stops with his back to Sam.

“I recall overhearing that it used to be a school for medical doctors; some sort of new patient program…to study inner workings of the human soul or something.”

Sam–still looking like he’s elsewhere–pipes in.” It wasn’t no patient program sir. The guards and I…we found papers during the renos. We believe that they were trying to capture souls taken from convicts.”

Price starts shaking his head.

“That’s just nonsense son.” Price sits down again.

“It was a school for doctors but they tested on cadavers; you know…the dead.”

“I know what it is they say,sir” Sam says with disbelief. “I know they’d have the town thinking that this was some nice place where doctors could cut up the dead to study the soul, but that just ain’t true.”

The Warden takes a step back resting in his chair again only this time leaning heavily into the light placing his hands firmly on the desk in front of him.

“Even if that were true Sam, you can’t be suggesting that this has something to do with our missing man? It’s not like he’s found some room that we didn’t know about.”

“Sir you ever walk the old wing at night?”

“You know I’m only there daylight hours, but I read the reports from all shifts. That is where you are going with this aren’t you?”

Sam relaxes a little bit. “Yes sir it is.”

“Well my report says that while you were on duty Sam, a man went missing from his cell. And if you are about to tell me that he somehow up’d and vanished it could cost you your job.”

Sam quickly shoots the Warden a look of warning and disgust laced with fear.

Price puts both hands up in the air as if to say,“I’m backing off now.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that I’d fire you Sam, it’s just…I need to know what the hell is going on here! A man on your watch is missing, and from the reports of the guards there was quite a commotion from the prisoners that night.”

Taking a deep breath Sam leans forward looking Price right in the eyes.

“Ask any of the guards and they’ll deny it.”

“Deny what?” Price asks hurriedly.

“Things they hear. Things the prisoners tell them. Things a man doesn’t want to include in his report for fear of being fired.”

“For fear of having to explain it to The Warden.” Price says in return.

“Yea, something like that.” Sam says with a slight smirk.

“Look son, the truth shall set you free. What ever nonsense is going on here, you can tell me. And take some comfort in the fact that you’re not losing your job over this. Sam, I’ve known you for a number of years now. I put in a good word for you with the Governor; made it look like our missing man died in his cell. Had to come up with a body and everything, so you can see I too had to play magician. So the least you can do for me, is tell me just what the fuck is going on here and how Houdini just disappears from his locked cell?”

Sam starts to shiver and moves his head as if someone were rubbing his neck.

“Wheels sir.”

“Wheels?” Price says with a confused look.

“Cart wheels sir. Like the ones found in them rooms.”

“Yes, what about them?” Price says ever more anxiously.

“Sometimes, you can go through a whole shift and not hear a thing. Those are my favorite nights. Then there are the nights the prisoners and us staff alike call cart wheels. You can hear them. Baaaack and forth, baaaack and forth. The high squeak of the wheels on the floor reverberating off the walls. The squeaks from just being rusty–who knows–but the cart wheels; up and down the halls of that block.”

Sam stares down at the ground for a moment remembering the vivid sounds of some evils past.
Price just sits there listening intently as though he can almost hear the squeaking noise in his head as Sam continues.

“It’s been going on for some years, ever since they renovated this place; like the walls didn’t want to be disturbed. When I first arrived here some years ago I heard the rumors; doubted every minute of it. Six years I never heard a sound; would tell prisoners to shut up and stop talking such bullshit. Bad enough that not a man here can admit he’s guilty. It’s like they all watched Shawshank Redemption or something saying that their ‘lawyer fucked them.’ Then one night it all changed. I heard a commotion from some of the prisoners. They were complaining of hearing voices from within their cells. I was in front of cell 158 when I heard it and paused.
Sqeeaaak, squeak, squeak. Squeeeeaaak, squeak, squeak. Squeeeeeaaaakkk….. cart wheels!
Then just went deeead quiet. You could have heard a rat fart on the wing on that night. Everyone including the other two guards with me shut up. Went the rest of the night without any problems or complaints from the men. From then on, almost every other night was like that, up until recently.”

Not surprising that no one would want to tell me this, but I should of heard it from you Sam!” Price was sounding a little more upset.

“Well I wanted to tell you sir, but I just didn’t think it was something worth mentioning. At least, not until a few weeks ago.”

Price looks around the room as if he were being watched. He focuses his attention back on Sam.
“Go on son.”

“A few weeks before the prisoner went missing, inmates started complaining a whole lot more. They were asking to be moved to another block. Some even went as far as stabbing themselves with whatever they could get their hands on so they’d spend a night in the hospital ward at the other end of the building. At first it was just one or two, but next thing you know we got six guys in our care facility all with self inflicted wounds.”

“Yes and I spoke to you about that then; asked you to keep a better watch on the men didn’t I?” Price says with a forceful tone.

“Yes sir you did, and I, we did, sir. But things started getting weirder as the week went on. Into the second week our missing man started to talk about the history of this place. Shouting at the guards ‘this place ain’t holy’, asking us if we’d like our souls removed to join them.”

“Them?” Price said with much interest.
Price gets up from his chair and starts to walk around the room finally standing behind Sam.

“Said that our souls now belonged to them now; that their work ain’t finished yet.”

Price places his hands on Sam’s shoulders, squeezing them gently.
Sam begins to think he can hear the cart wheels again, very faint though.

“And then what happened?” Price mutters.

“Then the Friday of the second week, we locked prisoner 458462 into cell number 158. The next day and on my first rounds, I notice that he’s missing. Prisoners and guards all say the night was quiet.”

“And what do you think happened to our missing fellow, Sam?”

Sam, sweating more and more,hears the cart wheels again. Looking around the room he sees nothing except shadows and darkness.
Squeak, Squeaaaaakkkk, Squeak.
Sam tenses up in his shoulders under Price’s strong hands.

“I think it’s time for cart wheels.” Sam says with a calming clarity,”It’s time to take your soul.”

Sam jumps up off his chair and spins around catching Warden Price off guard, and plunges a scalpel he was concealing in his pocket, deep into the chest of Warden Geoff Price. He quickly fillets his chest open spilling blood onto the desk and to the floor below. Sam soaked in blood, whispers while cutting quick and deep.

Warden Price cries out in agony falling backward but onto what? He stares at the ceiling of the interview room trying to call out for help but chokes on the blood forced up through his stomach instead. He can feel the hardness of cold steel around him. His hands now at his side he thinks that he’s paralyzed, or is he? Looking down towards his arms then his feet he realizes that he’s being restrained and has been put on a stretcher. But from where? Price starts to hear voices coming from all around him now… Then.. Cart wheels. He can hear them squeaking as he’s pushed down an unfamiliar corridor.
Just before he passes out from the loss of blood Geoff opens his eyes one more time to see Sam, the missing prisoner and others that he doesn’t recognize whispering over top of him. He can feel the life within him slipping away… He can feel his soul empty out of him.

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When I read Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” I felt like I had been reading a chapter of my life. And I’m sure for many others out there, that is exactly how they felt when reading his book. I have to admit that when I was 18 and finished school I needed a job. The first thing I did was apply for dish washing jobs at pubs, casino’s, bars and restaurants. I was the best dish pig around and proud of the grunt work I did for so long. Over the years I moved up to prep cook, then to line cook, and kind of hovered their for awhile before changing career’s altogether, finally ending up as a  bartender later on in life.

Almost 10 years ago I remember just how it was in the kitchen. Fast paced, hot and stuffy, orders coming in like there was no tomorrow but one thing above all else was prevalent. The verbal abuse was unrepentant and brutal. It was like being bombarded with tiny bombs and land mines where ever you stepped. Having someone call you “fuck face” or “shitty cum bubble” before ever mentioning your name seemed like a right of passage. You had to earn the respect of your crew.

Sometimes all it took was for you to show up to your shifts on time, hung over or not. For others, not having any noticeable trace of Peruvian marching powder across your upper lip was another. But in most cases the unrelenting name calling and abuse was non stop until you had proven your worth on the line or in the dish pit.

Bourdain thrived on it. Pointing out that the kitchen staff were the real rock stars of the restaurant or pub. Music blaring, selection depending on rank in the kitchen. Obscenity’s flying left, right and center. This was the world in which I had lived in. It’s the world that I had been raised in and learned to take shit from everyone. It taught me a lot. Always “yes chef” and never say “no”. And if you didn’t know something, you made sure to find it out before your next shift or it meant your job.

Ah, those were the days. I worked hard. Played hard. Loved every minute of it. The dinner rush would always excite me. Having sex with the waitresses excited me a bit more. Times were good….

And now?

Now it would seem those days are gone. The kitchens of today have less of a buzz. More smiling and pleasantry’s are exchanged. “May I please speak” seems to be a common question heard in the kitchen from waitress’s to the line, rather than “Where’s my fucking order at?” Jazz, blues, rap and Michael Jackson are blared out in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, there are the metal heads still running kitchens cranking their love for Satan while cooking, but even they are just a shadow of what formerly was.

I started to wash a pot in the kitchen today after I had signed out of my shift. Putting in some extra work never hurt me. I was told that I “didn’t have to scrub that pot” as if it were beneath me. If this were 10 years ago, I would have been told to finish everything, and for the record, I did finish cleaning everything.

Don’t get me wrong. A kinder, gentler kitchen seems to be a more productive one. People working together spending more time concentrating on what’s going on in front of them rather than cursing the brother or sister in arms next to them. It’s kosher and comfortable and even friendly. But honestly, it kinds makes me wanna puke into a large bucket and then throw it on line.

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Mill #3 Circa 1929 - Photo Courtesy Of The BC Mining Museum.

When I was growing up I was very proud to be a Hawkins. From my Grandad fighting in WWII to hearing about lost land in England, there always seemed to be an abundance of story’s about the Hawkins family. One story in particular dates back many years ago. In fact all I really new was that my Great Grandma had died in Britannia from a flood. As I got older I got in touch with more and more family that I hadn’t met before. From them I’ve learned that not only did my Great Grandmother die from a flood in Britannia in 1921 but my Great Grandad had been a miner their. My Grandad and Great Uncle also grew up at the base of the mine until their mother was killed in the flood. From Britannia they were both sent to England. As for my Great Grandad I’m not too sure what happened to him.

07-2010 - The Mine As It Is Today

The Britannia Mine is definitely an important piece of North American History and of Canadian history. It was once the largest copper mine in the British Common Wealth. It had over 210 Km (150 Miles) of tunnels. Stretched out that would be like going from Vancouver, BC to Seattle, WA.

Miners in the early 1900’s worked 7 days a week and 12 hours a day. 1 candle was given out per four workers for light in the dreary, damp tunnels. Conditions were not very pleasant to say the least. These early miners were given nothing but hammers and chisels to mine the ore.

Because of the lack of lighting many minors were injured using the single and double jack method’s. Being in the tunnel and seeing first hand as to what the miners had to go through gives you a weird feeling. Thinking that one of my relatives had to work this hard to keep his family fed is unbelievable.

What is harder to imagine is losing your wife to a flood and having to go back to work to care for your two children.

The link above is of pictures that I took during my visit to the mine. The two links below are videos of the machines used for mining the ore. Turn your volume down a bit as they are noisy and would often deafen the minors.

Porteau Cove

What a fascinating little place this was. On the way back from the Britannia Mines my girl friend and I stumbled upon this place. I was actually really curious about the ferry dock that looked like it hadn’t been used in sometime or perhaps never at all. What I learned after I had visited this beautiful spot was interesting. It turns out that the BC government back in 2002 built this ferry ramp in case of a rock slide between Squamish and Porteau Cove. If they felt like no one from Vancouver or the lower main land would be getting home for quite some time a ferry from Horseshoe Bay would then be dispatched to a dock in Squamish, loaded with cars and sent to Porteau Cove to offload. Now since the construction of this very ramp there have been two land slides and neither time has a ferry been dispatched and the ramp used. I will point out that in the picture below, notice that the deck has been recently paved! Other than that Porteau Cove offers a great view and some fantastic camping. It has a boat launch and for scuba divers I believe it has three wrecks not to far from the shore to explore. Old navel boats if I remember correctly. Either way I highly recommend taking a trek out to visit this spot and stay the night or even a few hours. They do have designated areas for those who wish to have a fire.

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Photo - Coquitlam Now

The Mayor of Coquitlam is looking into the possibility of charging Coquitlam residents 10 fold in fines after the fourth killing of a bear this weeks. “If they’re in your garbage when the bear is shot, I’m proposing a $5,000 to $10,000 fine,” Stewart said Thursday

The city’s current bylaw is a fine for $500 which no resident has received yet. Stewart said the city prefers education over enforcement, and the city will likely engage in another round of public education before issuing fines. “The bear gets shot, the resident gets a warning not to do it again,” he said. “There’s an imbalance there. The consequences don’t seem to match.”

“If you don’t reward them, they don’t come — garbage is the No. 1 problem,” he said.

Stephens said the city is seeing poor compliance rates with its solid waste management bylaw in the Chineside and Ranch Park neighbourhoods in particular.

The bylaws stipulate that garbage, recycling and yard trimmings can only be placed curbside between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on collection days in the city’s “Identified Bear Activity Area,” which encompasses almost all of the city with the exception of areas around Austin Avenue.

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This is an e-mail I received from Fight HST yesterday. I’m very pleased with the progress thus far and can’t wait to hear more from the Hearing in August.

Fight HST Update July 2010 – Petition Counting, Legal Challenge and Recalls:

The Petition:

Early reports from our “observers” indicate the process for counting the petition at Elections BC is going well. While the observers are under confidentiality agreements, we have been assured that the counting is being done according to the rules, and that every effort is being made to validate signatures.

The vast majority of rejected pages and signatures took place during the first 5 days of “manual counting” during which obviously incomplete petition pages were removed. The fact that none of the ridings fell below the EBC 10% requirement is a testament to the thoroughness and dedication of our canvassers, Captains and Regional Organizers.

The Legal Challenge:

Our lawyers advise us that we have been given a hearing date of August 16, 2010.  This is good news, as it allows our lawyers to prepare both the defense of the suit brought by the Big Business lobby, as well as our challenge that the HST legislation was unconstitutionally implemented.

While legal challenges are never guaranteed, we feel confident that regardless of how the court rules, we will have the final say on the HST. That is because if the court rules in our favour, and strike the HST down, then it will be extremely difficult for the BC Government to re-instate it against the wishes of most British Columbians.

If they re-instate it, or if they win their challenge against the Initiative petition, then it will mean Recalls of selected MLAs, or perhaps the whole government should the people so decide. Especially if the petition has already been validated by EBC – the outrage that will result would be difficult to contain.

Recall Strategy:

We will be contacting all of our organizers and supporters beginning in August to solicit opinions and ideas for the Recall Strategy. Of course, exactly how we proceed will depend on what happens over the summer with the petition and the court challenge. But no matter what, rest assured we will not stop until the government listens to the people and repeals the HST.

We’ve said all along that they can do it the easy way (abide by the petition) or the hard way (Recalls). Nothing has changed that.

We are restructuring the web site to begin developing a Recall strategy and to provide information for Recalls. We will send you another update once that is ready to introduce everyone to it.

Thank you to all who have donated to our legal challenge. We sincerely appreciate it, and welcome and need all the support we can get.

Sincerely,
Chris Delaney
Lead  Organizer
Fight HST

I’ve also included an updated list of everything that now has HST.

This HIT List is a guide only, and is subject to change, Corrections have been made to conform with Mr. Hansen’s complaints to Elections BC about accuracy.

Fight HST Hit List

Accounting
Admission Fees
Airline tickets
Appliance repair & maintenance
Architects
Art Galleries Admission
Attractions / Events
Ballet Lessons
Basic Cable TV
Bicycles
Campgrounds
Catering
Chinese medicine
Cigarettes / Cigars
Clothing – used adult (less than $100)
Clothing –adult sized children
Coffee shops
Commercial Leases
Compost
Computer servicing
Concert Tickets
Condo management fees
Consulting services
Conveyance fees
Dietary supplements
Driving Range fees
Dry cleaning
Electronics repair
Energy equipment
Esthetician Services
Fast food – Beverages
Fire extinguishers
First aid kits
Fishing charters
Fitness Club memberships
Fitness Trainers
Food producing trees and plants
Funeral services
Golf fees
Grass Cutting
Hair cuts
Hall rental
Health equipment
Helmets
Hockey rink rentals
Hockey tickets
Home appraisals
Home inspections
Home maintenance
Home renovations (Labour)
House Cleaning services
Insulation
Interior design services
Investment Counseling fees
Landscaping
Life jackets
Limousine rentals
Magazines/ newspapers
Marketing services
Massage therapy
Membership fees
Moorage
Movies / Theatre
Moving Costs
Museum admissions
Music / Video MP3 downloads
Naturopathy
New Homes (some rebates applicable)
Nicotine replacements
Non-prescription meds
Painting
Parking
Photography
Private Bus fares
Rail travel (originating in BC)
Real estate fees
Reflexology
Rentals for Weddings, Canopy, Tuxedo etc.
Reroofing House
Restaurant meals
RV parks
Safety equipment (Not all safety and Energy Equipment is affected)
School supplies
Shoe repairs
Skiing
Smoke detectors
Snow removal
Solar power
Some groceries
Spa services
Sports Training / Lessons
Storage lockers
Tailoring
Taxi fares
Telephone (Basic Charge for landlines will be affected)
Theatre admissions
Veterinarian
Vitamins
Wedding Planner
Windows (energy star)

Rentals / Strata fees (Though they are HST exempt, most people will notice increases brought on by an increase in maintenance costs and other costs associated with owning Rental and Strata properties)

Used cars / trucks / boats / non-turbine aircraft (Private Sale will have an additional 5% tax, it is not called HST)

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As of July 31st, Vancouver will get a taste of it’s first pilot project of bringing healthy, street meats and veggie to corners everywhere. Out of 800 applications for a cart, 17 were chosen by a random lottery. So here you have it, the list of what corners get what eats!!!

- East Side of 200 Howe St – 100 metres North of W Cordova St: Chinese Dim Sum
- South Side of 400 W Georgia St – 12 metres East of Richards St: Korean food with meat and vegetarian options
- North Side of 700 W Cordova St – 14 metres East of Howe St: Burritos, whole wheat, rice, beans, sauces, fillings
- East Side of 700 Homer St – 20 metres South of W Georgia St: Chicken salad with lettuce, tomato. Fruit cup with melon, kiwi and mixed fruit.
- East Side of 700 Hornby St – 22 metres South of W Georgia St: Southern BBQ, Rice, Veggies
- South Side of 700 W Georgia St – 20 metres West of Granville St: Traditional Chinese and Japanese Cuisine
- South Side of 900 W Hastings St – 24 metres East of Burrard St: Skewers of beef and pork
- West Side of 1100 Burrard St – 28 metres South of Helmcken St: Greek Donair
- West Side of 1100 Burrard St – 25 metres North of Davie St: Modern Satay Barbeque
- South Side of 2000 Beach Av – 30 metres West of Chilco St: Fresh squeezed Lemonade
- East Side of 600 Granville St – 50 metres North of W Georgia St: Fresh Bakery
- West Side of 600 Granville St – 95 metres North of W Georgia St: Healthy meals and snacks, roll ups, sandwiches
- East Side of 6400 Cambie St – 20 metres North of W 49th Ave: Specialty noodles
- East Side of 1300 Main St – 12 metres North of Terminal Ave: Falafel
- West Side of 1100 Station St, or West Side of 400 Burrard St: Authentic Italian stone ground pizza
- West Side of 1200-1300 Arbutus St, or North Side of 1000 W Georgia St: Fresh and frozen fruits, chocolate dipped fruits
- West Side of 1400 NW Marine Dr, or East Side of 800 Hornby St: Central European foods from Poland, Russia, using local organic products, borscht, schnitzel

I’m very excited for this. I really hope this takes off creating more and more opportunity for entrepreneurs and chefs, but also creating more and more of a diverse food culture in Vancouver by doing this. It’s about time.

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BC Place Stadium home to the Vancouver Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremony’s, The BC Lions and countless concerts is getting a name change. Although we’re not sure which corporate sponsor is getting its giant name behind this building I do know that I don’t care. BC Place Stadium says it all. It’s a thing of pride for me. It’s known world wide now. Why sell out? If you didn’t have the money to put a retractable roof on the bloody thing, then why not have just left it the hell alone instead of racking up money and getting a sponsor to pay off the hefty bill so that they can put their name on this piece of Canadian history? Anyway, I Vlog’d about it, you can view it below.

So I am guessing that because GM Place is getting a new name change to Rogers Arena for the 2010 start of the Hockey Season, the new corporate owners wanted to do something big celebrate. Someone, somewhere has decided to retire Markus Naslunds jersey of #19 above the rafters to join Stan Smyl’s and Trevor Lindens. I really can’t believe this. Markus Naslund? Are you serious?!?! The guy had one good season, was a horrible captain, barely spoke to the press, didn’t want to stay in Vancouver, didn’t like playing for the Canucks… The list goes on.

Getting your jersey retired is something for the honored in the NHL organization. The player that receives this special parting gift, should be a player of outstanding ability, great in the community, was an amazing player of the sport, and someone who provided years of leadership and hard work. I can’t say any of things when I think of this guy. Considering that Vancouver is relatively a new team, I think the two names we have up their are completely justified. And if anyone should have their name put up their it’s Kurt McLean or “Captain Kirk” as we once called him. And he’s just the tip of the ice berg of people whose names could potentially be up there, well before the likes of Markus Naslund.

If Rogers Arena wanted to open the Hockey Season up in Vancouver with controversy they’ve done a good job. Markus if you have any decency… Say NO!

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