Crawling From the USA

COW XX -- 20 Years of Crusty Old Wave!

2011-10-03T02:45:00.002-07:00

WPRK threw a party and invited me ... and, by proxy, you ... to a celebration of 20 years since the first episode of what would become Chas’ Crusty Old Wave. I returned to Florida for the first time in nearly two years, and we did not one but two two-hour shows featuring the music we all love so much -- the red-headed stepkids of the 80s!

Today, three months after the event, we present the first of the two anniversary shows, hosted by Phantom Third Channel and myself. We get on terribly well and giggle like schoolgirls reading Tiger Beat magazine when we talk about music and bands and records and stuff, and this shows in our several extended conversation breaks -- but don't worry, there's lots of great music there, with an emphasis on Brian Eno, David Bowie and Elvis Costello. A lot of the tunes on this episode slot neatly into that all-too-brief era between the fall of UK punk and the rise of commercial "alternative" music. For a bit there, before MTV and in a few cases even before punk rock, there was a period where Weird Was Good. We touch on a lot of that with things like the Stiff Records single You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties by Jona Lewie, or Bruce Woolley's original take on Video Killed the Radio Star, or Bow Wow Wow's call for sonic revolution, C30 C60 C90 Go!.

We also hit some songs that are sheer nostalgia for me personally, within and without the New Wave movement -- such as Love and Loneliness the most over-produced record in the world, and Monochrome Set's odd little B-I-D Spells Bid, one of the very few songs written by and about the lead singer of the band. There's also some Ultravox from both "eras" of the band, some bona-fide classics like Gary Numan's Me! I Disconnect From You and more. You can grab your copy from the website or directly from iTunes.

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday, USA!

2011-07-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

Wishing the US and all our friends and family who live there a happy 235th birthday! I can hardly believe it was 35 years ago that the country celebrated its 200th birthday -- I remember it all very well.

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

Yes, the whole country celebrates the birthday of this blog, four years ago! :)

Actually, the country turns 144 officially, and although the Queen isn't in Canada this time as she was last year, she sent Prince Phillip and his bride Kate instead. Hopefully they are having a good time, Canada loves its royals.

We’ve been sparse with updates to the blog, as the main mission of it was accomplished last year, but I did want to update a few details: believe it or not we are STILL waiting on that Permanent Resident card (the actual card only; the legal status has been achieved). Ironically, after waiting almost three years for a Canadian Work Permit, I find myself with a (lovely!) job that's actually based in the States (though I'm not required to go there to do it, it's an internet-based job).

The only reason I don’t have the PR card yet is (probably) due to the postal strike that just ended this week. I’m not sure who was “right” in the dispute, but I fear the government has just put a band-aid over the real problem.

I’ll try to at least post more links to Canadian news stories of interest, just in case some of you need a break from the wall-to-wall Casey Anthony trial coverage. (rolls eyes)

COW your head -- epic Episode #19 is complete!

2011-06-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Like the relief felt at the completion of the end of the Lord of the Rings, I have managed to split a massive six-hour (well, five after editing) show into two parts, including artwork and for the most part very high audio quality into two great new episodes of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave (actually, its predecessor Chas n Gwen’s Pop Pajama Party), both parts of which you can now download directly from the website or via iTunes.

As was the case with Chas n Gwen’s Pop Pajama Party more so than the later solo show, we mix up the 80s songs with a healthy helping of music from the very early 90s, to great effect in my opinion. This far on, only the most dedicated collectors and historians of the New Wave era will remember specifically that bands like They Might Be Giants (for example) weren’t part of the original New Wave movement, but of the first wave of great stuff that came after it, so it all ends up a bit of a wash of nostalgia. Looking back, it’s kinda cool to see the obvious impact the punk aftermath had on artists that were actually paying attention -- before that awful grunge crap came around and ruined everything for a while.

I'd suggest -- if you think you can stand five hours of 80s, 90s and Chas with his multiple personalities -- downloading both parts of episode 19 and use them as a good workout tape or just for revelling in memories of your own misspent youth. There’s a heck of a lot of great stuff in there. Enjoy.

Canada's 41st Federal Election Explained

2011-05-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Credit to ALL_CAPS on Flickr.

Fall Back, Spring COW

2011-05-02T00:36:00.001-07:00

With the flowers and warmer weather comes a great new episode of Chas' Crusty Old Wave (actually, its predecessor Chas n Gwen's Pop Pajama Party), part one of which you can now download directly from the website or via iTunes. Part two of this (originally) six-hour funfest will arrive next month, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new somewhat-monthly-ish episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

I’m very pleased in particular with the audio quality on this episode, given the age of the tapes -- there is still a hint of carrier-wave static and normal FM compression as always, but for the most part you won’t even notice it. Mainly because you’ll probably be dancing around your kitchen a lot -- this is some seriously great tunes.

Meanwhile ... in Canada

2011-02-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

see more Very Demotivational

Want to find out more about Victoria? Got an iPad?

2011-02-03T02:49:00.000-08:00

If you said “yes” to both questions, there’s an app for that.

A nice little free app, actually, that allows you to read our local paper the Times-Colonist, or TC as everyone calls it.

If you don’t have an iPad, you can of course still read the TC online at the link above, but really it’s a lot more like reading the newspaper when you read it on an iPad.

There’s three sound logical reasons why you should occasionally read the TC:

1. Gives you a lot of insight into the triumphs and tragedies of our community, so you’ll be well-informed when you come visit.

2. You’ll be stunned at how little actual news or drama there is up here compared to some places. :)

3. At last, the excuse you were waiting for to buy an iPad!

How the (Holiday) Time Flies!

2011-01-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

Oh dear, I haven’t posted anything here in a while, sorry about that.

The good news behind our relative silence is that everything is going really well for us, and we haven’t much news to report of late. We’re both working full-time, making a decent living for the first time in three years. It’s great in many ways, but of course it means we’re both much shorter on free time (particularly me) than we used to be.

On the immigration front, I still haven’t formally gotten my Landed Immigrant (Permanent Resident) card yet, but I did get my FBI file turned in so that may be the last hurdle. One possible snag is that the process has taken so long that they may require me to do the medical exam part over again, but I'm certainly no worse than I was a year ago apart from a few more grey hairs in my beard, so if they want it done again I guess I’ll do it again, even though it is their fault it has taken so long.

We are planning a trip down to Los Angeles to see many of our “fan friends” at the US’s largest Doctor Who convention, Gallifrey One. This will be their 22nd year and we’ve had to miss the last two, so we are really looking forward to this. It happens over President’s Day weekend. We’re trying to arrange a way for Heather to go on to Orlando after the convention (I have to return to Victoria so I can get back to work), but it’s rather complicated co-ordinating her work schedule and the travel so we’ll have to see about that.

Because of all the nonsense regarding the overbearing TSA, we’re paying extra to fly directly from Canada. It costs more, but we’ll have less indignity to go with it. I have to say we originally had much more ambitious travel plans for 2011, but frankly we’ll be avoiding flying to or from the US as much as possible until someone down south comes to their senses and implements more rational security procedures.

On a different topic, so far we've had a reasonably warm (for here) winter. We’ve been much amused to read from our Florida friends of temperatures that match (or drop below!) what we’ve had here. We do get a few blustery icy-cold winds, however, but most days its pretty bearable if you're actively doing something. This town rarely gets much below freezing (32°F/0°C) but we might get a little taste of snow soon -- yesterday I got (briefly) hailed on (little itty-bitty hail, but definitely hail nonetheless). Today it was sunny and beautiful. Still chilly but brisk rather than grey.

This month promises a few new adventures, so I’ll leave those for when we get to them. Happy new year, everyone!

Family Guy Yesterday, Our Blog Today

2010-12-13T17:57:00.002-08:00

A Victorian Christmas

2010-12-12T00:43:00.001-08:00

Here’s another charming photo from our local paper, the Times-Colonist. No, we don’t go round dressed like this all the time: a local theatre hosted a “Sing-Along” screening of Disney’s Mary Poppins, and this family turned up (like many) in costume for the event. By all accounts a splendid time was had.

Just at the moment here it’s Victoria at her worst: cold (but not freezing), wet (very wet today!), barely any light all day. Luckily, this doesn’t last for long in December, and we should be getting back to alternating rain and sun before long. I have some hope for snow this xmas as it did year before last, but we’ll see.

Torture, WikiLeaks and our lost sanity

2010-12-07T03:42:00.001-08:00

Torture, WikiLeaks and our lost sanity is a remarkable essay that recently appeared in our local paper, and neatly sums up a lot of what I’ve been thinking about recent events. I don’t agree with every sentence of it, but I must bow to the logic of it and wonder whatever happened to rational leaders ... and the public that was supposed to hold them to account. When we express our contempt for politicians, aren’t they for the most part the easy targets hiding the real problem -- an apathetic public that whines a lot but doesn’t actually maintain their end of the "checks and balances" needed for government and society to function effectively?

Wish I'd Taken These

2010-11-22T01:52:00.004-08:00

One of the photographers from our local paper, The Times Colonist, took this lovely shot of Swann’s brewpub and hotel earlier this week. Great shot of a beautiful old building that’s coming up on its 100th birthday. If you’re ever visiting us here (hint hint!), I recommend this place.

Here’s another stunning picture from the paper: Seventeen-year-old Cameron Harris — the great, great, great, great grandson of George Davies, the first Fisgard Lighthouse keeper — surveys the sea during a ceremony to commemorate the first time the lighthouse was lit in 1860 at the entrance to Esquimalt Harbour. Wow, huh?

Three Years, Part Two

2010-11-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Almost to the border ...

Three years ago today, we crossed the border into Canada. There is quite a story to go with that, but I’m saving it for another anniversary, so I’ll just say this: kids, don’t cross the border into Canada with the declared intention of moving up here on the eve of a major American holiday. Just take my word on this -- it’s a bad idea. Particularly if you don’t have all your ducks in a row, paperwork-wise.

That said, we somehow did manage -- with the help of some very-friendly Canadian authorities and some more-grumpy-but-very-kind American authorities to achieve our goal only a few hours behind schedule.

This is Huntingdon, near Abbotsford, where we crossed.

One memory that really comes to mind is that once we made it over the border (not a big deal if you’re visiting, but if you declare your intention to move here permanently as you are legally required to do, it’s a much bigger deal!) was seeing a sign that said Vancouver was further away than we thought it would be, meaning we’d be even later arriving than we already were -- only to realise a few moments later that oh yeah, we’re (back) on the metric system now -- so Vancouver wasn’t 30-something miles away, it was 30-something times 0.6 -- the conversion to kilometres. Suddenly the “time” we thought it would take us to get there was cut in “half!”

Of course, the next thing we did was adjust the settings on our very-cool van to metric settings. That was a good feeling. Things had changed.

It's Fall, and the COWs are Turning

2010-11-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

The (ahem) October episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new more-or-less monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

I want to particularly highlight Liz Langley’s contribution to this (and other) episodes, her “Horror-Scopes” are always a comedic delight and this show features a specially-written one for the holidays that’s just plain hilarious.

Oh, and there’s also a crapload of great 80s tunes, a nice mix of stuff you’ll have heard before and maybe a few songs or artists you aren’t that familiar with. Please do check it out.

Shortly Afterward, the Subject in this Picture was Killed

2010-10-16T22:02:00.004-07:00

Whilst randomly surfing on the internet, I came across this picture, which happens to have been taken just a few steps down the street from us:

Three Years

2010-10-07T01:29:00.014-07:00

It was three years ago today* that we set forth on our adventure across the United States, eventually ending up here in Victoria. Looking over some of the early entries we made as we travelled was great fun, I should do that up in a book someday ...

Anyway, as we head into the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, one of the things we give thanks for are the people who helped us get on our way, the family and friends we saw along the way, and all the wonderful places we got to see. It was the vacation of a lifetime, but only the beginning of a larger journey.

*I actually retro-tagged this to be on the correct day, we didn’t realize it till the next day! Doh!

Working Ironically

2010-09-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

The good news: I finally got a real, identifiable job.

The ironic news: despite being the owner of a shiny new Canadian work permit, my new job is as an American “independent contractor” so I didn’t end up needing the permit (at least, not yet). Even more ironically, my new job is with a company I have worked for before (albeit a long time ago).

I have signed on as a staff reporter (again) for MacNN.com, the leading Mac news website on the inter-tubes. People who know me will need a short break to roll their eyes at the obviousness of my suitability for this job. :)

Here’s a link to my first story for the site in over 10 years.

For now, my job will mostly be machete-ing my way through the thick haystacks of press releases looking for needles of real news relevant to the larger Mac community. Eventually I'll do other stuff with/for them.

It’s a great, popular web site (about 60,000 daily readers) that I’ve been reading regularly since before I worked for them last time (back in the very early days of the site). I’m very proud to be associated with them and look forward to being a regular newswriter again. It is, after all, what I’m trained to do.

This new job is in addition to the forum moderation and “evangelism” duties I perform for ACD Systems, but that is a part-time gig (though it’s going to expand in 2011).

Of course it will be a while yet before the money is flowing regularly and things stabilize, but it will be so good to be able to more evenly contribute to the income of the household. My wife has done yeoman service in keeping our heads above water for quite some time, and while she hasn’t been our only source of income she has been the most consistent one, and I owe her much gratitude; I look forward to spending some cash on her above and beyond the bare necessities of life.

Light Summer Listening ... the August Episode of COW

2010-08-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Back on schedule, or at least my schedule ... the August episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

Not many shows have the cahones to play The Fabulous Poodles in this day and age, no sir. Plus there’s a nice set of International (read: non-English) New Wave at the beginning, plus plenty of familiar favourites from bands like A Flock of Seagulls and Bananarama. Toss in a pair of Naked Weather Girls™ and now we’re cookin’ with gas.

But it’s not just great 80s music, you know -- there’s also some goofy government PSAs, a bit of Monty Python and some Barnes & Barnes, and a pro-life message from the Pork Institute as well. But yes, it’s mostly light, fun 80s music. Enjoy.

Disturbing

2010-08-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

This chart should absolutely floor most Americans, not only because of the ominous consequences of not doing anything about it, but also because most of the US’ staunchest allies (ahem, save one or two) are in much the same trouble.

I hope that this problem gets the focus it deserves after this next election is done. To put in terms most people understand: this is real bad, mmmkay?

Via: Credit Score

Dragon Boat Festival!

2010-08-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned this last year, but during the summer we are absolutely filled to the brim with festivals and special events -- so much so that they sometimes overlap!

This weekend was mostly about the Dragon Boat Festival in the inner harbour. It’s a fun celebration of the Asian population here (one of several, Chinese New Year is a pretty big deal as well), but by no means limited to the Chinese population. This year a Dragon Boat actually got swamped, but by and large it was another large outdoor gathering of fun and culture. Here’s a couple of nice photos I made at the end of festivities on Sunday.

Victoria in the News: Breaking and Updates

2010-08-15T05:59:00.000-07:00

Suddenly all the fun in BC seems to be right here in Victoria. :)

Of course the big story around here is the recent arrival of a ship of Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka. Remarkably, they are generally in good health (490 of them, eight needed some form of medical attention, nothing serious though) for having been some 90 days at sea.

Canadian forces intercepted and boarded the vessel and helped steer it to safe harbour just a few miles away from us in Esquimalt (es-KWAI-malt) lagoon.

The MV Sun Sea being escorted past Fisgard Lighthouse by Canadian Navy vessels.

Canada will detain the refugees for a few days while checking their backgrounds and other claims for immigrant status. Assuming they can clear those hurdles, they will probably be allowed to stay at least temporarily. They will not be sent back into a civil war, as they would be in the US. Canada already has taken in some 300,000 Tamil immigrants over the years, most of whom have settled in the Toronto area; they now make up about 1% of the total population here.

Most Tamil refugees so far have been integrated into Canadian society very well, probably due to rigorous background checks and our various other requirements. The Canadian government is put in a difficult position with situations like this; the people aboard are largely war victims and should be treated humanely, but they don’t want to encourage human smuggling which finances the Tamil Tigers, considered a terrorist organization here.

As long as these sorts of arrivals remain unusual, refugees who arrive this way will likely get a fair and healthy welcome from Canada.

In other news, the city council has finally settled one of the most contentious issues facing the downtown area: they have voted to replace, rather than repair, the large blue Johnson Street Bridge. It has been a contentious issue, with some people complaining about the cost (with some grounds, it must be said) while others opposed because of the historic age of the bridge (86 years!) or because they like the colour. Polling reveals that most people prefer replacement over repair, even though its cheaper, because the fact of the matter is that the bridge is gawdawful fugly and almost totally rusted out to the point where its a genuine safety hazard.

The “Big Blue Beaver” as we call it. The “teeth” seen here are counterweights for the drawbridge.

As someone who has to look at the thing all day every day, I couldn’t be more pleased with the council’s decision (which must still pass a public referendum on Nov. 20th). The current bridge was built in a hurry as a basic functional replacement of a bridge that collapsed, killing many dozens of people because nobody wanted to do anything about it until it was too late. I fear history may repeat itself if the referendum doesn’t pass, not to mention that the cost of any other options will rise dramatically due to timing and grant issues.

The new bridge will have expanded facilities for pedestrians and bikers as well as the ships that sail under her, but omits the rail link that currently exists (unless another source of funding can be found for that). This is the only part of the project I’m opposed to: rail is already criminally neglected as a transportation option here, and should be expanded rather than jeopardized. That said, the urgency with which the bridge needs replacing renders the objection moot. I’ve seen the underside of that bridge, and I think most people who have would agree with me that replacement can’t happen fast enough.

Finally, we wanted to update you on a story we have written about before: animal activists have won a court order to stop the culling of the bunnies on the UVic campus, at least temporarily (the college is fighting it). The activists say they are fighting for more time for alternate facilities to get certified to take the rabbits; the college says they are stalling so that returning students will be more mobilized to stop them come the fall.

In either case, we can see both sides of the arguments regarding the animals. We think they add a charm and unique vibe to the campus, but the population needs to be strictly controlled and not allowed to roam freely. There should be a better option than the draconian plans of the college, and the students (and community) are right to hold their feet to the fire to think more creatively. That said, its certainly true that the bunnies are unwelcome pests that can be a safety and health risk, and students have an emotional “blind spot” about this, so something does need to be done.

But we sure would hate to see no bunnies when we drive through the campus. They are an instant day-brightener and part of the overall greater connection to nature we feel living here.

A New Governor General

2010-08-09T03:10:00.001-07:00

This post will probably start out boring and educational -- but stick with it, because it will end up amusing, I promise.

David Lloyd Johnston

So anyway, on October 1st of this year, David Lloyd Johnston will succeed Michaëlle Jean as Canada’s Governor General, aka the personal representative of the Queen of Canada (Queen Elizabeth II). Since the Queen is also queen of 15 other nations (aka “The Commonwealth,” aka “not bad for a collapsed empire”), she appoints someone to carry out her traditional and constitutional duties (the candidates are generally selected by the Prime Minister of the country in question, but the Queen actually makes the appointment). A new one is generally selected every five years, though they actually serve at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Mostly, the job involves a lot of travel, diplomacy and ceremonial function. Current GG Michaëlle Jean was most recently here in Victoria to “review” the Pacific Canadian Fleet on the occasion of its 100th anniversary -- but the job does have a few actual teeth left.

For example, it is the job of the GG to set the legislative agenda for the year via a “Throne Speech,” it is she who convenes and dissolves Parliament (or, as seen twice last year, prorogues it) and she has the power to actually nullify a passed law if deemed necessary (it hasn’t been deemed necessary in living memory).

There are always arguments as to whether the job of GG is actually meaningful in the 21st century, but my personal position is that if you’re going to have a monarch who doesn’t live here be the head of state, then you need a representative. So I guess I’m pro-GG.

Okay, history/educational lesson over. In the most recent process of finding a nominee to get the Queen’s approval, a committee looked at many worthy candidates, and a few left-field ones. I don’t know if he was ever a serious candidate, but one name that caught a lot of people’s attention followed by the musing “well why the hell not?” was one William Shatner.

Given that the job has both a personality element and a constitutional element, I sincerely thought Shatner would make a great Governor General, giving more (much-needed) meaning and attention to the role. No matter what you may most associate him with, he actually does have a serious side, the necessary gravitas and certainly the drive to accomplish great things -- and the people of Canada and the world would love him as they have always done.

To that end, I recently made my impassioned pitch for why I think he should have been given the job (albeit too late of course) as part of my standup performance last night in downtown Victoria. Have a look:

Symphony Splash 2010

2010-08-02T01:31:00.000-07:00

We live close enough to the Inner Harbour that we never have to leave our house to hear the wonderful sounds of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra at this annual event as part of the BC Day long weekend. This year's was very good, with an afternoon concert by the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific (it’s the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy, which they mentioned all evening, repeatedly!) then a break before the main event, a evening of pops from a very high-quality symphony, ending with the 1812 Overture accompanied by fireworks and genuine cannons. Wow.

Yes, the picture does not lie; the orchestra performs on a floating barge, with the grounds of the Legislature forming an amphitheatre. We can’t actually see the orchestra too well from our perch, but we hear them perfectly and of course the fireworks are fabulous from our high-rise.

I mentioned the concert from earlier in the day, which included the following song I was previously unfamiliar with, called “The Northwest Passage.” Canadians do have a knack for writing anthemic songs about their country, and legendary baritone Stan Rogers was responsible for this one, which I find just outstandingly gorgeous, particularly as its draped with all kinds of genuine historical references and people. Here’s a video of a version by famed tenor Ken Lavigne and a full orchestra that comes closest to the version I heard, I hope you'll enjoy it:

Summer COW At Last!

2010-08-01T14:09:00.002-07:00

So yeah, took a little bit of an unexpected break in June there -- sorry about that -- but the now-renamed “June/July” episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

How long has it been since you last heard Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill?” Or “Waterfront” from Simple Minds? Or, for that matter, Monty Python’s song “Sit On My Face” on a radio broadcast? We’ve got all that and much more, including a record-breaking three Naked Weather Girls in attendance, serious public service announcements gone hilariously wrong, and a few songs you’ve probably never heard before despite having living through the 80s and 90s. Not to mention our usual mix of popular and obscure gems from throughout the Alternative era.

Two and a half hours of good radio. Hard to find these days, so download it and enjoy.