The best shows I saw at SXSW in chronological order:
Sleater Kinney
Gorch Fock
Bright Channel
Lesbians on ecstasy
Art Brut
Sereena Maneesh
The Black Angels
Art Brut (not as good second time around)
The Go! Team
Beastie Boys (Had the feel of a spontaneous unrehearsed show, fucking incredible)
Hurrah Torpedo
Tapes & Tapes
Darker My Love (along with Lesbians on ecstasy the greatest unexpected surprise)
Subways
Arctic Monkeys
Neko Case
Watched Old Boy. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It's got everything - humor, vengeance, martial arts, angry hero wielding a claw hammer, plot twists galore, mystery, and a little love story (for the ladies).
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Ugly American
It's the simple things where you realize, "shit! This isn't Texas any more." Picking up a couple thing at the market on the corner, I stopped at the deli and asked for a 1/4 pound of potato salad. Getting a quizzical look from the attendant, I thought, "hmm, maybe that's too small a portion of potato salad." So I instead I changed my order and said "just make it a small container." As she's filling the container, it dawns on me, "Damned metric system!"
Here's a picture from outside the office building where I work. It was dark and I didn't have a tripod, but you can almost see the lights on the ski slope.
Right after taking that picture, while walking to the train station a rat scurried across my path. Vancouver's got everything!
Still haven't had the chance to ask a thick accented native to read aloud:
A boot
A boat
about
Curious to see how different they all sound.
I lost my profession composure the other day when Sean, who I work with, was talking on the phone as said with dreadful seriousness, "Did you take a dump this morning?" I could be 100 and still snicker at hearing that phrase.
Here's a picture from outside the office building where I work. It was dark and I didn't have a tripod, but you can almost see the lights on the ski slope.
Right after taking that picture, while walking to the train station a rat scurried across my path. Vancouver's got everything!
Still haven't had the chance to ask a thick accented native to read aloud:
A boot
A boat
about
Curious to see how different they all sound.
I lost my profession composure the other day when Sean, who I work with, was talking on the phone as said with dreadful seriousness, "Did you take a dump this morning?" I could be 100 and still snicker at hearing that phrase.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Vancouver
Well I've been in Vacouver almost a week now. I think I've almost finally caught up on sleep after an great swsw followed immediately by a long flight up here that left me leaving immigration at 2:30 a.m. local time. I'm staying in a furnished apartment downtown while I work at the Telus office. The picture is the view out the window of my living room at night.
My first day here was quite challenging. I had to wake up early in the morning after my late arrival to meet with my leasing agent. Signed the rental agreement. Got my bags from the hotel to taxi to the new apt. Once I'd loaded everything into the new apt, it was time to take a train to work. Only one problem, I didn't have any Canadian money. Tried an ATM but it rejected my bank card. Fortunately, I was able to buy tickets with a credit card. I later found out that some ATMs will work with my bank card while many won't, depends upon the banking network they use.
Everything has been pretty cool here so far. Spent the weekend wandering around the neighborhood to see what sort of stuff is close: Tons of restaurants, beauty salons, clothing stores, trendy furniture stores, a whole strip of XXX shops, bars, grocery stores. Looks like there won't be any need for me to get a car, everything I need is within a couple blocks.
I finally talked to Verizon to switch my plan to one that includes Canada, so I can stop answering my cell phone with "Hey! I'm in Vancouver and this call is international and roaming! Make it snappy!"
Saw my first person shooting up on the street today. They were tearing up caution tape from a building site and using it to tie off. Read something in the paper here where the police have been cracking down on people fixing in public, I guess it's against the law. The heroin addicts have a park designated for doing their dirty business but the crack addicts feel like they are being descriminated against because they don't have the option of hanging out in a park, so they get busted more frequently by the police, crazy city, but I kinda like it. Especially, when I'm reading in the paper up here about how TABC in Texas can bust you for being drunk in a bar. I wonder what the criteria is for drunk. Is it the same as the legal limit for driving? What's next? Are they going to go to parties and anyone but the hosts who are drunk get busted?
My first day here was quite challenging. I had to wake up early in the morning after my late arrival to meet with my leasing agent. Signed the rental agreement. Got my bags from the hotel to taxi to the new apt. Once I'd loaded everything into the new apt, it was time to take a train to work. Only one problem, I didn't have any Canadian money. Tried an ATM but it rejected my bank card. Fortunately, I was able to buy tickets with a credit card. I later found out that some ATMs will work with my bank card while many won't, depends upon the banking network they use.
Everything has been pretty cool here so far. Spent the weekend wandering around the neighborhood to see what sort of stuff is close: Tons of restaurants, beauty salons, clothing stores, trendy furniture stores, a whole strip of XXX shops, bars, grocery stores. Looks like there won't be any need for me to get a car, everything I need is within a couple blocks.
I finally talked to Verizon to switch my plan to one that includes Canada, so I can stop answering my cell phone with "Hey! I'm in Vancouver and this call is international and roaming! Make it snappy!"
Saw my first person shooting up on the street today. They were tearing up caution tape from a building site and using it to tie off. Read something in the paper here where the police have been cracking down on people fixing in public, I guess it's against the law. The heroin addicts have a park designated for doing their dirty business but the crack addicts feel like they are being descriminated against because they don't have the option of hanging out in a park, so they get busted more frequently by the police, crazy city, but I kinda like it. Especially, when I'm reading in the paper up here about how TABC in Texas can bust you for being drunk in a bar. I wonder what the criteria is for drunk. Is it the same as the legal limit for driving? What's next? Are they going to go to parties and anyone but the hosts who are drunk get busted?
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