headspace | Dave's Not Here

Another year has passed, and as usual on the West Coast there have been a few stories about the Drug Culture. For a flight down memory flame, here's how we saw the year...

[HEALTH]

A study was released that shows smoking pot causes cell damage that could make a person more likely to develop cancer. [webMD] Good thing Health Canada is cracking down on deadbeat patients who use government-certified medical marijuana, demanding full payment in advance before shipping the weed, to halt the rising number of accounts in arrears. [ctv]

[GROW OPS]

People who grow drugs can be smart or stupid, sneaky or blatent, or any host of opposing words that I probably am unable to think of right now.

From the "hide-in-plain-sight" file, according to experts some organized crime groups are using an exemption from Health Canada to grow medical marijuana as a way of hiding illegal grow-ops. [ctv] An espresso machine repair company operating from a warehouse across from the Port Moody police station appears to have been the hub of a major marijuana distribution network. [VanSun] Nobody is safe... Sooke RCMP shut down a marijuana grow-operation in August, destroying almost 1,000 plants at a location about 30 minutes north of Port Renfrew and about 90 minutes west of Sooke. [VanSun]

Best "hide-in-plain-sight" story: Vancouver police dismantled a marijuana-growing operation located a few blocks from their own front door, after firefighters found about 1,000 marijuana plants while putting out a fire in the space. [VanSun] [cbc] But it's because grow-ops are getting more sophisticated... say the cops, wiping the egg from their faces. [ctv] (I shouldn't make fun of them. It could've happened to anybody.)

Can't hide from the sky, though. "Led by the RCMP Federal Drug Enforcement Branch with the assistance of the Canadian Forces, officers from detachments across Vancouver Island are hoisted from helicopters to destroy plants in areas that are often remote with rugged terrain. Police expect to eradicate at least 30,000 plants this season." [VanSun] Still, by October 9th the papers were already saying this was the "best year ever" for outdoor marijuana crops on Vancouver Island, with both growers and Mounties hauling tens of thousands of plants out of the forests. [VanSun]

Can't hide, also, it seems, from the damn bears. A pair of outdoor marijuana growing operations were found in Langley in September... and one of them was found when the officers responded to a resident's call about a black bear. After some time looking for the bear, but being unable to find it, they did find a property with both an outdoor and indoor marijuana growing operation. [VanSun]

A secret pot room was found in an "upscale" house in Surrey. [cbc] [VanSun] And yet Surrey recorded a drop of over 80 percent in the number of residential marijuana growing operations between 2004 and 2008, according to a study. [VanSun] Maybe they've gone into the "clone" business. [VanSun] And the City of Surrey wants to know which of its residents have licences to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. You know, so they can make sure the public is safe with the facilities having the proper modifications and all. [VanSun]

And the police in Richmond decided to bust some people, in "a series of busts". [VanSun]

And we mustn't forget Chilliwack. [cbc] [ctv] And when it pours: Chilliwack RCMP investigating a major marijuana-growing operation in an underground bunker arrested six people on the neighbouring property after discovering it, too, was being used to grow drugs. [VanSun]

And Abbotsford, after police arrested one man and uncovered a marijuana growing operation when they responded to reports of gunshots in a residential area. [VanSun]

And while this isn't exactly a "grow-op"... it's actually a "bakery"... I'm still going to put it in here among all the regional news, because this raid happened at the beginning of December, in Victoria. [VanSun]

And in many cases the residents of BC end up footing the bill on power consumption stolen during grow-ops. [ctv]

But in a landmark ruling, Canada's Supreme Court decided a convicted marijuana grower in North Vancouver wouldn't lose her house as part of her sentence. [cbc] But there were other whoops: The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia sold three utility trailers that had been used as marijuana grow-ops — with many of the illegal modifications still in place. [cbc]

For something different but fascinating, here's a photo-journal by photographer Mathieu Young in GOOD Magazine about The Harvest. [good]

[The MARC EMORY Saga]

The self-professed Prince of Pot kept in the news. In June he declared he was going to plead guilty to the drug charges in the US. [VanSun] And in his own words: [straight] Then he announced he would continue running the B.C. Marijuana Party from his jail cell. [VanSun] And two of his associates were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years of probation for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. [VanSun] So he launched a "Farewell Tour" across Canada. [VanSun] That saw him giving speeches in Vancouver on August 17th. [VanSun] Then on September 28 he surrendered to authorities for extradition to the United States. [straight] [VanSun] [ctv] Newspaper calls him Canada's first Marijuana Martyr. [VanSun]

In related-unrelated news, an Abbotsford pot activist was fighting to keep his municipal business licence after being charged for allegedly selling the drug to teens. [cbc]

And in further related-unrelated news, veteran Vancouver pot activist Marc Boyer, who seems to run in every election that comes along, failed in his second attempt to have marijuana-trafficking charges thrown out because he doesn't have a valid birth certificate. [straight]

And continuing the theme, David Malmo-Levine, one of Canada's most flamboyant marijuana activists, was led off to jail at the end of October to serve a six-month sentence for a pound-a-day trafficking operation he ran for three years. [VanSun]

[DECRIMINALIZATION]

There are always articles on the pro and con sides of the legalization/decriminalization coin.

PRO-ers: [MindHack] [Freakonomics] Mexico legalized drug possession. [nyt] The supreme court in Argentina ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption. [bbc] And some fine editorializing from Beyond Robson. [br]
CON-ers:
FENCE-ers: [good] [PaulHillsdon] [good]

Slate asked how much tax revenue would be raised if governments legalized marijuana. [slate]

[UNCLASSIFIED STUFF]

Vancouver Sun's "marijuana issue" section. [VanSun]
And a list of the Top 10 Most Popular Recreational Drugs. [ListVerse]
Not sure where to put this, so I'll put it here: Ross Rebagliati says the whole pot controversy that temporarily stripped him of his Olympic gold medal for snowboarding in 1998 just prepared him for politics, and now he's going to run federally as a Liberal against Stockwell Day. [ctv]

[AMERICA]

As usual, there were some downer-news from the down-south... A 44-year-old Washington State man plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiracy to import more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana from B.C. [VanSun] And a Canadian helicopter pilot who brought about 70 kilograms of marijuana into northern Idaho was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. [ctv]

But there was some upper-news as well... A bill was introduced to allow students convicted of pot possession the ability to get student loans, which they had been barred from for over a decade. [good] [mcclatchy] And passing in a landslide vote Oakland became the first U.S. city to tax proceeds on medical marijuana. [cnn] The California State Tax Board announced that if marijuana were to be legalized for recreational use, it would raise nearly $1.4 billion for the state. [laist]

Ever the investigative reporters, Slate takes the time to visit LA's THC Expo, the convention for the (medical) cannabis industry. [slate]

And the first Marijuana Cafe in the United States opened on Friday, November 13th in Portland, Oregon. "Posing an early test of the Obama Administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug," reports Fox News. [fox]

[HEMP]

Last August, Oregon signed into law a bill permitting the production, trade and possession of industrial hemp. [treehugger]

[IN OTHER DRUG NEWS]

According to an analysis of crime statistics, the "free heroin" addiction treatment centre that opened in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in 2005 did not cause any noticeable impact on neighbourhood crime rates. [tyee]

And in the Freakonomics blog of the New York Times, there's a story about how decriminalization of many drugs (including marijuana, cocaine and heroin) by Portugal in 2001 has resulted both in a decline in overall drug use (!) and HIV-infection (from people sharing dirty needles). [freakonomics]

And according to a Tazmanian government spokesperson, Australian wallabies are eating poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". [bbc]

The use of ecstacy is on the rise. [cbc] And death from Opioids (like OxyContin) is on the rise: almost double what the rate was in 1991. [cbc]

Oh, and cocaine has been found on 95% of U.S. banknotes. [NatlGeo]

In some news about The Original Drug... Pubs and bars in British Columbia are routinely failing to meet a requirement by the province’s Liquor Control and Licensing Branch to provide customers with a list of drink prices and serving sizes upon request. [VanSun] But now Vancouver eateries have the option to serve liquor past midnight. City council voted unanimously to extend liquor hours for restaurants, allowing liquor service until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends for restaurants across the city. [ctv]

Good Rawkin' | Led Zepplin at Gonzaga University on Dec 30, 1968

crazy musician | Maxence Cyrin, cover of Pixies' "Where is My Mind?"

crazy musician | Claudio Montuori, Birdman in Lisbon, Portugal

headspace | optical illusion

Interlude | San Francisco in 1906

A film taken from a streetcar moving down San Francisco's Market Street in 1906, only four days before the Great Earthquake. According to flixxy the film was originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out when it was shot... get this... from proof including: (1) New York trade papers announcing the film-showing, (2) the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall plus shadows (indicating the time of year) compared to actual weather and conditions on the historical record, and (3) when the cars that being driven were registered (he even knows who owns them and when the plates were issued).

The soundtrack to this is La Femme D'Argent, from the Moon Safari album by Air. You may remember them from an earlier post of mine.

Crazy Band | Deftones

The boys in the band love the Deftones. Here's a new tune, sent by Red.

Crazy Filmster | Chris Cuffaro's Pearl Jam Video for "Jeremy"

Red sent this to me, thought it was interesting and would pass it along:

Little interesting piece of Pearl Jam history:

In July 1991, Vedder became acquainted with photographer Chris Cuffaro. Vedder suggested Cuffaro film a music video for the band. On Vedder's insistence, Epic gave Cuffaro permission to use any song off Ten. He decided on "Jeremy", which was not intended to be released as a single at the time. Epic refused to fund the clip, forcing Cuffaro to finance it himself.

Cuffaro raised the money by taking out a loan and selling all of his furniture and half his guitar collection. He first filmed several scenes of a young actor, Eric Schubert, playing the part of Jeremy. Cuffaro and his crew spent a day filming Schubert playing the part of Jeremy. The scenes with Pearl Jam were filmed in a warehouse on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, California on October 4, 1991. A revolving platform was rigged at the center of the set, and the members of the band climbed on it individually to give the illusion of the song being performed as a crew member spun the giant turntable by hand. Vedder appeared with black gaffer's tape around his biceps as a mourning band for the real Jeremy.

To save money, Cuffaro did all of the post-production himself. He finished the video after six months, but it was ultimately rejected by Epic. Cuffaro's version was never broadcast, and lived on only in bootlegs.

By the time Cuffaro finished his music video, Epic had warmed up to the idea of releasing "Jeremy" as a single. Music video director Mark Pellington was brought in to handle the project. Pellington said that he "wasn't a huge fan of the band, but the lyrics intrigued me—I spoke to Eddie, and I really got connected to his passion." Pellington and Pearl Jam convened in Kings Cross, London, England in June 1992 to film a new version of the "Jeremy" music video.

Click on the "Directing" link to see the original Jeremy video: Chris Cuffaro site.

Conspiracy Analyst | Vigilant Citizen

Just dropping a heads-up to one of my new favourites on the abomb&thecorpse WatchList.

It's the Vigilant Citizen site, which caught my eye with an exceptional essay entitled The Hidden Meaning of Lady Gaga's "Telephone".

I suggest also checking out the "sinister sites" series. Fantastic.

headspace | Marwencol

If you happen to be at SXSW there's a screening of Marwencol tonight. It's a documentary about the fantasy world Mark Hogancamp created (and photographed) as home-made therapy after being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar.

Built in his backyard, Marwencol is a 1/6th scale World War II-era town, populated with dolls representing his friends and family. With this he creates life-like photographs detailing the town's many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helped Mark recover his hand-eye coordination, deal with the psychic wounds from the attack, and begin the long journey back into the "real world" (both physically and emotionally) -- something he continues to struggle with today.

It's way cool. Visit MARWENCOL to see the photos.

Here's the listing at SXSW.

And some video snippets. (thx kottke)

TEDDY BEAR THERAPY from marwencol on Vimeo.

In this video Mark explains one of the ways he deals with the anger stemming from his attack...

For more information on Mark Hogancamp and Marwencol please visit http://www.marwencol.com

PHOTO THEORY from marwencol on Vimeo.

In this video Mark explains a little bit about his process as a photographer.

For more information on Marwencol and Mark Hogancamp
please visit http://www.marwencol.com

Crazy Animator | Ferguson Winston's "Super Smash"

Cool animation by Ferguson Winston.




thanks to haha.nu

crazy musician | Julia Dales (reprise slick marketer version)

SammJ sent me a link to an interesting Julia Dales thing. You might remember Julia from a way-back post, she's a beat-box girl, and damn good at it. This is an odd thing, a sort of personalized beat-box vid for a media consultant firm headquartered in Washington DC. It's a marketing thing: sign up for the agency's YouTube Channel and get entered "to win a personalized Julia Dales video." How odd. But what can I say... sure, I'll sign up.

Crazy Band | OK GO

I can't remember if this is the first video I've put up, or if I (like many) put up the "running on the treadmill" video that shot these guys to internet stardom (and then into actual record labels and such). But it's a good one, and these guys seem to put together some good stuff with regularity. (I should mention that had Red not forwarded it to me, I likely wouldn't have bothered to watch it... so thanks Red!)

Respect | Abraham Lincoln

useless mental tidbits | fantastic lists

Another collection of lists...

10 Vilest Villians of Fictional Literature. [ListVerse]
12 More Insanely Titled Books. [oddee]
Top 10 Bathroom Reads. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Best Books for Inquiring Minds. [ListVerse]
10 More Bizarre Music Videos. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Firsts in Feature Films. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Action Movies to Laugh Out Loud To. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Strangest Moments of Movie-Monster Science [ListVerse]
Top 15 Greatest Composers of All Time. [ListVerse]
8 Cool Social Media InfoGraphics. [econsultancy]
Top 10 Emotional Olympic Moments. [ListVerse]
10 Incredibly Significant Moments in History. [ListVerse]
10 Historic Events Then and Now. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Individual Protests. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Legacies of the Middle Ages. [ListVerse]
10 Great Non-European Achievers. [ListVerse]
15 Failed Predictions about the Future [oddee] [via kotte]
20 Most Amazing Coincidences. [oddee]
Top 10 Scientific Achievements We Are Waiting For. [ListVerse]
15 Quite Bizarre Factlets. [ListVerse]
Yet Another 10 Commonly Believed Myths. [ListVerse]
Top 10 Famous Real Ghosts. [ListVerse]
12 Outrageous Racist Vintage Ads. [oddee]
15 Most Outrageous T-shirts You Can Buy. [oddee]
10 Wierdest Wedding Invitations. [oddee]
15 Worst Catwalk Fails. [oddee]
6 Adorable Cat Behaviours With Shockingly Evil Explanations. [cracked]
10 Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer [PickTheBrain]

Happy New Year!

People We Outlived | 2009 Roundup

Another year has passed, and another swath of humanity has passed along wth it. In honour of the "2009ers" here is the 2009 Roll of the Dead.

Neda Agha-Soltan, Iranian 2009 election protestor, at 26. [cbc] [cbc.2]
Yitzhak Ahronovitch, captain of Jewish refugee ship "Exodus", at 86. [nyt]
Al Alberts, founding member of The Four Aces, at 87. [wikipedia]
Rashied Ali, jazz drummer, at 74. [cbc]
Henry Allingham, third-last British World War One veteran, at 113. [nyt]
Dee Anthony, music manager to Peter Frampton, at 83. [wikipedia]
Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, at 61. [wired] [nyt]
Bea Arthur, actress, at 86. [cbc] [ctv] [nyt] [youTube]
Vasily Aksyonov, exiled Soviet writer, at 76. [nyt]
George Atkins, former CBC farm radio commentator, at 92. [cbc]
Susan Atkins, Charles Manson follower, at 61. [cbc]
Kenneth H. Bacon, American advocate for refugees, at 64. [nyt]
Carl Ballantine, Comedian who played a Magician, at 92. [nyt]
Sydney Banks, Saltspring Islander and international spiritual teacher, at 79. [VanSun]
John Barry, entrepreneur of WD-40, at 84. [autoblog]
Pina Bausch, German choreographer, at 68. [nyt]
Barry Beckett, Muscle Shoals sound keyboardist, at 66. [nyt]
Hildegard Behrens, soprano acclaimed for Wagner, at 72. [wikipedia]
Bernard Birnbaum, Emmy-winning CBS News TV producer, at 89. [cbc]
Terry Black, 1960s Vancouver teen idol, at 60. [vansun]
Hyman Bloom, painter of the mystical, at 96. [wikipedia]
Bob Bogle, Ventures' guitarist, at 75. [nyt]
Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize winner, at 95. [cbc]
Jake Brockman, keyboardist for Echo and the Bunnymen, at 53. [cbc]
Ernest Brown, tap-dancer and member of Original Copasetics, at 93. [wikipedia]
James F. Brown, former director of Radio Free Europe, at 81. [nyt]
Dennis Brutus, South African poet, political prisoner and activist, at 85. [cbc]
C.D.B. Bryan, Friendly Fire author, at 76. [cbc]
Yvonne King Burch, vocalist in King Sister, at 89. [nyt]
Rafael Caldera, ex-President of Venezuela, at 93. [wikipedia]
Robert Cameron, aerial photographer, at 98. [nyt]
Douglas Campbell, actor, at 87. [cbc]
J.M.S. Careless, Canadian historian, at 90. [cbc]
Gilles Carle, Quebec filmmaker, at 80. [cbc]
Jim Carroll, punk-rock poet, at 60. [cbc]
Johnny Carter, doo-wop falsetto and member of The Dells, at 75. [wikipedia] [cbc]
Marilyn Chambers, adult film actress, at 56. [cbc] [nyt]
Vic Chestnut, songwriter and singer, at 45. [cbc]
Liam Clancy, Irish balladeer, at 74. [cbc]
Earl M. Coleman, publisher and poet, at 93. [nyt]
Don Dongdon, Literary Agent for Ray Bradbury, at 91. [nyt]
Chris Connor, American jazz singer, at 81. [wikipedia]
Jack Cooke, Bluegrass musician, at 72. [nyt]
J. Nicholas Counter III, Hollywood labor lawyer, at 69. [nyt]
Art Cowie, Vancouver politician and planner, at 75. [VanSun] [CityCaucus] [bula]
Sir John Crofton, medical pioneer in TB research, at 97. [nyt]
Walter Cronkite, American Newscaster, at 92. [nyt] [cbc]
Merce Cunningham, American choreographer, at 90. [nyt]
James "Jay" Daly, creator of QuickDoc, at 62. [boston.globe]
Jean Dausset, Nobel Laureate, at 92. [nyt]
Lionel Davidson, British author of complex thrillers, at 87. [nyt]
Harvey Dawes, former CBC Vancouver news anchor, at 82. [vansun]
John Dawson, country-rock songwriter, at 64. [nyt]
Fletcher Day, guide in northern BC, at 79. [VanSun]
Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, wife and collaborator of artist Christo, at 74. [nyt]
Antonio Luis Alves de Souza, Brazillian Drummer, at 54. [nyt]
Millvina Dean, last Titanic survivor, at 97. [ctv] [nyt]
Robert Degen, supposed-songwriter of Hokey Pokey, at 104. [nyt] [wikipedia]
Willy DeVille, singer and songwriter for 1970s punk group Mink DeVille, at 58. [nyt]
Adrian W. DeWind, Human Rights Watch founder, at 95. [nyt]
Jim Dickinson, Memphis musician and producer, at 67. [wikipedia]
Roy E. Disney, Walt's nephew, at 79. [cbc]
Sheldon Dorf, Comic-Con founder, at 76. [cbc]
David Drew, musicologist, at 78. [nyt]
Muriel Duckworth, Canadian peace advocate, at 100. [wikipedia] [cbc]
Dominick Dunne, celebrity chronicler and Vanity Fair writer, at 83. [cbc]
Marek Edelman, Commander in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, at 90. [wikipedia]
Heinz Edelmann, "Yellow Submarine" artist, at 75. [nyt]
Max Eisen, press agent during Broadway's Golden Age, at 91. [nyt]
Arthur Erickson, architect, at 84. [bula] [cbc] [ctv] [cbcPhotos]
Sam Etcheverry, former CFL quarterback, at 79. [tsn]
Philip José Farmer, science-fiction writer, at 91. [nyt]
Patrick Farrow, sculptor and brother of Mia, at 66. [cbc]
Farrah Fawcett, American actress, at 62. [nyt] [nyt.2] [cbc]
Raymond Federman, novelist and becket scholar, at 81. [wikipedia]
Konstantin Feoktistov, Soviet spacecraft engineer, at 83. [wikipedia]
Steve Ferguson, guitarist and NRBQ founder, at 60. [nrbq] [wikipedia]
Nat Finkelstein, 'Court Photographer' of Andy Warhol's Factory, at 76. [wikipedia]
Douglas Fisher, Canadian political columnist, at 89. [cbc]
Peter Forakis, sculptor of geometric forms, at 82. [nyt]
Ruth Ford, actress and muse, at 98. [nyt]
Gerhardt Fuchs, independent musician and drummer, at 34. [nyt]
Tempest (Pest) Grace Gale, Hornby Island performance artist, at 25. [vansun]
Larry Gelbart, creator of TV show MASH, at 81. [cbc]
Gidget, Taco Bell chihuahua, at 15. [fox]
Vitaly Ginzberg, Russian physicist and H-Bomb developer, at 93. [cbc]
Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, at 36. [ctv]
Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian sci-fi writer and poet, at 83. [cbc]
Ellie Greenwich, pop songwriter, at 68. [wikipedia]
James Gurley, 60-psychedelic guitarist, at 69. [cbc]
Donald Harington, novelist about surreal Ozark community, at 73. [nyt]
Paul Harvey, radio broadcaster, at 90. [cbc] [nyt] [youTube]
Knut Haugland, Kon-Tiki crewman, at 92. [wikipedia]
Bess Lomax Hawes, folklorist and folk musician, at 88. [wikipedia]
Don Hewitt, television news-program 60-Minutes creator, at 86. [cbc]
Francisco Hidalgo, cartoonist and photographer, at 80. [cbc]
Hugh Morgan Hill, storyteller known as Brother Blue, at 88. [wikipedia]
Evelyn Hofer, photographer, at 87. [nyt]
John Hughes, 1980s Teen-Film Director, at 59. [cbc] [nyt]
Waldo Hunt, master of the pop-up book, at 88. [wikipedia]
Mohammed Ismail, father of Slumdog Millionaire star, at an unknown age, because no media actually cares about him. [cbc]
Michael Jackson, pop music singer and icon, at 50. [wired] [nyt] [hnn] [cbc] [ctv] [economist]
Wycliffe Johnson, Reggae musician and producer, at 47. [telegraph.co.uk]
Jennifer Jones, siren of Golden Hollywood, at 90. [cbc]
Maggie Jones, known as Blanche Hunt on Coronation Street, at 75. [cbc]
Brenda Joyce, 1940's Tarzan's "Jane", at 92. [nyt]
Bob Keane, music producer known for discovering Ritchie Valens and Sam Cooke, at 87. [cbc]
Elmer Kelton, novelist, at 83. [wikipedia]
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, American senator, at 77. [wikipedia] [hnn] [economist]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, co-founder of Special Olympics and sister of JFK, at 88. [cbc]
Kim Dae-jung, ex-President of South Korea, at 83. [wikipedia]
Allan King, film and documentary maker, at 79. [cbc] [cbcArchives]
Bela Kiraly, 1956 Hungarian revolutionary, at 97. [nyt]
Allen Klein, music manager of Beatles and Rolling Stones, at 77. [nyt] [cbc]
Larry Knechtel, rock keyboardist with Bread, at 69. [wikipedia]
Marie Knight, Gospel singer, at 84. [cbc]
Alfred A. Knopf, publisher, at 90. [nyt]
William Korey, B'nai B'rith lobbyist, at 87. [nyt]
Irving Kriesberg, abstract expressionist painter, at 90. [nyt]
Erich Kunzel, conductor of Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, at 74. [cbc]
Karla Kuskin, children's book writer, at 77. [wikipedia]
Lino Lacedelli, Italian mountaineer who shared first conquest of K2, at 83. [wikipedia]
Howard Chandler Robbins Landon, Hayden and Mozart musicologist, at 83. [wikipedia]
Joy Langan, former NDP MP and women's rights advocate, at 66. [VanSun]
Romeo LeBlanc, former Canadian Governor General, at 81. [cbc] [cnc]
Nelson Leeson, President of Nisga'a First Nation, at an unreported age. [cbc]
Jan Leighton, unknown actor but won Guiness-Record for Most Roles (3,372), at 87. [wikipedia]
Sylvia Lennick, actress with Wayne and Shuster, at 93. [cbc]
Drake Levin, lead guitarist of Paul Revere and the Raiders, at 62. [nyt]
David Levine, New York Review of Books biting caricturist, at 83. [nyt]
Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist, at 100. [VanSun]
Robert Lewis-Dreyfus, turn-around specialist, at 63. [nyt]
James R. Lilley, Ambassador to China during Tiananmen Square era, at 81. [nyt]
Bill Lister, Radio's Tallest Singing Cowboy, at 86. [nyt]
David Lloyd, award-winning television sitcom writer, at 75. [cbc]
Huey Long, guitarist (Ink Spots), at 105. [nyt]
John Daido Loori, Catskills zen monastery founder and photographer, at 78. [nyt]
James Lord, biographer and memoirist, friend of Picasso, at 86. [nyt]
Harvey Lowe, Vancouver yo-yo king, at 90. [cbc] [VanSun]
Les Lye, Canadian TV Comedian, at 84. [nyt]
Karl Malden, American actor, at 97. [nyt] [cbc]
Joe Maneri, experimental musician and composer, at 82. [wikipedia]
Donald Marshall Jr., Canadian symbol of bias in justice system, at 55. [nyt]
Al Martino, singer and actor, at 82. [wikipedia]
Frans Masango, South African rebel, at 51. [nyt]
Doug Matheson, retired Alberta judge, war hero, and pilot, at 88. [cbc]
Oscar G. Mayer, Jr., chairman of hot dog giant and grandson of founder, at 95. [wikipedia]
Billy Mays, infomercial entrepreneur, at 50. [economist] Addendum. [cbc]
Michael Mazur, artist, at 73. [nyt]
Frank McCourt, author, at 78. [cbc] [nyt]
Virginia Davis McGhee, early Disney film star, at 90. [wikipedia]
Ed McMahon, Tonight Show sidekick, at 86. [cbc]
Robert Strange McNamara, JFK's Secretary of Defense, at 93. [hnn] [slate] [nyt]
Lorie McNaughton, former CBC Calgary news anchor, at 48. [cbc]
Daniel Melnick, movie producer, at 77. [wikipedia] [cbc]
George Michael, sportscaster, at 70. [cbc]
Sergei V. Mikhalkov, lyricist of Soviet and Russian anthems, at 96. [wikipedia]
Vic Mizzy, Adams Family theme songwriter, at 93. [cbc]
Mathieu Montcourt, French tennis player, at 24. [nyt]
Jeremy Morris, British epidemiologist and Father of Modern Aerobics Movement, at 99. [nyt]
Neil Munro, Canadian actor-director, at 62. [cbc]
Brittany Murphy, actress, at 32. [cbc]
George Na'ope, master of Sacred Hula, at 81. [nyt]
Haydain Neale, lead singer of Jacksoul, at 39. [cbc]
Ray Nettles, former B.C. Lions football star, at 60. [cbc]
Harold Norse, beat poet, at 92. [nyt]
Robert Novak, American political columnist, at 78. [cbc]
Dan O'Bannon, screenwriter for Alien and Total Recall, at 63. [cbc]
Ken Ober, host of MTV game show "Remote Control", at 52. [nyt]
Georgina Parkinson, star of 1960s-era Royal Ballet, at 71. [nyt]
Henry John "Harry" Patch, second-last British World War One veteran (and last from trenches), at 111. [wikipedia]
Les Paul, guitar legend and "father of the electric guitar", at 94. [rs] [nyt] [cbc]
Kim Peek, savant inspiration for Rain Man, at 58. [cbc]
Irving Penn, fashion photographer, at 92. [nyt]
Richard Poirier, scholar of literature, at 83. [wikipedia]
Jack Poole, Vancouver 2010 Olympic chairman, at 76. [cbc]
Don Ivan Punchatz, artist of fantasy book covers and Doom video game package artwork, at 73. [wikipedia]
John Quade, American character actor, at 71. [cbc]
Alaina Reed-Amini, Sesame Street actress, at 63. [cbc]
Billy Lee Riley, rockabilly singer and Sun Records artist, at 75. [nyt]
John Rivas, known as Mr. Magic, disc jockey for early hip hop, at 53. [nyt]
Donald Rix, British Columbian physician and philanthropist, at 78. [bc.gov] [PMI]
Ken Roberts, 1930s and 1940s American radio announcer, at 99. [nyt]
Oral Roberts, TV evangelist, at 91. [cbc]
Yves Rocher, cosmetics pioneer, at 79. [nyt]
Abraham Rogatnick, Vancouver actor and man-about-town, at 85. [VanSun]
James S. Rossant, architect and planner, at 81. [nyt]
Daniel Rowen, modernist architect, at 56. [nyt]
Jan Rubes, opera singer and actor, at 89. [cbc]
William Safire, New York Times columnist, at 79. [cbc]
Sky Saxon, bass guitar and lead singer for The Seeds, at (best guess) 71. [nyt]
Mike Seeger, folk musician, at 75. [cbc] [nyt]
Ron Silver, actor, at 62. [nyt]
Alice Schiller, former owner of Pink Pussycat burlesque house, at 95. [nyt]
Bud Schulberg, "On the Waterfront" screenwriter, at 95. [nyt]
Issac Schwartz, Russian film composer, at 86. [cbc]
Goldie Semple, Vancouver actor, at 56. [VanSun]
Shi Pei Pu, singer, spy and "M. Butterfly", at 70. [nyt] [nyt.2]
Loren Singer, Parallax View author, at 86. [wikipedia]
Shelby Singleton, Nashville record producer, at 77. [wikipedia]
John Edwin Smith, philosopher and author, at 88. [nyt]
Hale Smith, composer and blender of classical and jazz, at 84. [wikipedia]
Elisabeth Soderstrom, Swedish soprano, at 82. [nyt]
Manuel Solis, Ex-Leader of Panama, at 91. [nyt]
Richard W. Sonnenfeldt, Nuremberg interpreter, at 86. [wikipedia]
Nancy Spero, feminist artist, at 83. [wikipedia]
Ray Dennis Steckler, American low-budget filmmaker, at 70. [nyt]
Gojko Stojcevic aka Patriarch Pavle, leader of Serbia's Christian Orthodox Church, at 95. [cbc]
Gale Storm, 1950s American TV star, at 87. [nyt]
Martin Streek, Toronto DJ, at 45. [cbc]
James Owen Sullivan, drummer for Avenged Sevenfold, at 28. [cbc]
Larry Sultan, California photographer behind 1977's Evidence, at 63. [nyt]
Samak Sundaravej, former Prime Minister of Thailand, at 74. [wikipedia]
Molly Sugden, "Are You Being Served?" actress, at 86. [nyt]
Milton Supman, comedian known as Soupy Sales, at 83. [wikipedia]
Patrick Swayze, actor, at 57. [cbc]
Tomoji Tanabe, former "oldest living human", at 113. [nyt]
Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Russian actor best known in West for War and Peace, at 81. [nyt]
Richard Todd, Oscar-nominated actor and almost-first James Bond, at 90. [wikipedia]
Stephen Toulmin, philosopher who developed a new approach to analyzing arguments, at 87. [nyt]
Fred Travalena, comedian and impersonator, at 66. [nyt]
Mary Travers, folk musician with Peter, Paul and Mary, at 72. [cbc]
Edward Upward, British author, at 105. [nyt]
Venice, city in Italy, at about 1,850 give or take a few hundred. [cbc]
Deitrich von Bothmer, curator and art historian, at 90. [wikipedia]
Gordon Waller, half of musical group "Peter and Gordon", at 64. [nyt]
Jackie Washington, Canadian bluesman, at 89. [cbc]
Keith Waterhouse, author, at 80. [wikipedia]
Malcolm Wells, advocate of environmentally-responsible architectural design, at 83. [nyt]
Paul Wendkos, American director of Gidget surf movies, at 84. [cbc] [nyt]
Collin Wilcox, To Kill a Mockingbird actress, at 74. [wikipedia]
Tom Wilkes, album cover designer, at 69. [nyt]
Charis Wilson, wife and model for photographer Edward Weston, at 95. [nyt]
William A. WIlson, U.S. Ambassador to The Vatican during Reagan era, at 95. [nyt]
Joseph Wiseman, Canadian actor known as Bond villian "Dr. No", at 91. [cbc]
Edward Woodward, British actor best known as television's "The Equalizer", at 79. [nyt]
Eric Woolfson, co-founder of Alan Parsons Project, at 64. [wikipedia]
Qian Xuesen, Father of China's Space Program, at 98. [nyt]
Rex Yetman, Newfoundland bluegrass legend, at 76. [cbc]

In conclusion, I have to say that tracking the obituaries over the year has been an interesting exercise, which I will not continue. Next year I'm just going to use the excellent list that Wikipedia maintains, which this year is reasonably called Deaths in 2009, and perhaps single out a few highlight corpses.

useless mental tidbits | Year (& Decade!) in Review!

We're into our last couple of days of 2009, and of the 2000s.

(There are, of course, arguments that 2010 is the last year of the decade... but I am going to just go on the fact that I've seen a few "Best of Decade" lists and want to share them.)

Here are some of the Best of 2009 lists I've ran across, and some of the Best of the 2000s lists I've ran across. Enjoy.

CTV BC's Top 10 News Stories of 2009. [ctvbc]
Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2009. [ForeignPolicy]
Great Moments in 2009 World Buffoonery. [ctv]
10 Worst Predicitons for 2009. [ForeignPolicy]

Best Songs of 2009. [SaidTheGramophone]
2009's Best Unheard Music. [wired]
Worst Album Covers of 2009. [pitchfork]
Black List (Movie Scripts) 2009. [deadline]
30 Freakiest Commercials of 2009. [AdFreak]
15 Funniest Local News Reports of 2009. buzzfeed]
Most Watched and Searched-For on YouTube in 2009. [google]
Top 5 Video Games of 2009. [cbc]
Pop Culture's Finest Moments of 2009. [wired]
Best New Blogs of 2009. [BygoneBureau]
Top Internet Memes of 2009. [mashable]
Top 10 Google Sightseeing Posts of 2009. [g.sightseeing]
Top 10 Discoveries of 2009. [NatlGeo]
Top 10 Archaeology Finds of 2009. [NatlGeo]
Top 10 Space Finds of 2009. [NatlGeo]
Top New Species of 2009. [NatlGeo]
Lifehacker's Most Popular DIY Projects of 2009. [lifehacker]

The Noughtie List: the 2000s in Review. [kottke]
Started by Jason Kottke and curated by Jenni Leder, this list is likely to be the most-thorough List of Lists to collect all the lists related to the years 2000-2009.

Top 50 Vancouver Bands of the Decade, 50-31. [discorder]
Top 50 Vancouver Bands of the Decade, 30-11. [discorder]
Top 50 Vancouver Bands of the Decade, 10-1. [discorder]
Best Music of the Millennium... so far... [wired]
The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings. [npr]
One-Liners of the Decade. [buzzfeed]
Rolling Stone's Best of he Decade. [RollingStone]
50 Best Albums of the Decade. [paste]
25 Best Album Covers of the Decade. [paste]
50 Best Music Videos of the Decade. [paste]
101 Best Music Videos of the Decade. ['ville.2k]
Vimeo's 25 Favourite Videos of 2009. [vimeo]
100 Best Films of the Decade. [times.uk]
Most Unfairly-Overlooked Films of the Decade. [cinemablend]
TV Decade in Review. [wired]
15 Most Influencial Games of the Decade. [wired]
Evolution of the Hipster, 2000-2009. [paste]
10 Best Fashion Designers of the Decade. [paste]
imomus' "Mister Narrative" of the Noughties. [imomus]

And here is Newsweek's "Decade in 7 Minutes."



And finally, The Onion put out their list of the
Top 10 Stories of the Last 4.5 Billion Years. [onion]

headspace | Poker Faces

I'm starting to consider Lady Gaga as the most over-celebrated-under-respected artist of 2009. Too easily dismissed as another Made-By-Industry Cash-Cow, the depth of her music, and the spectacle she invents, is subsequently overlooked. I think she's actually a normal (as normal as any artist can be) person that likes to create an over-the-top circus act. Time will only tell if she has the depth to bring out quality products over a longer term, but she's definitely raised my opinion of her work this past year.

Some funny bits that relate to Lady Gaga... first... University of California at Berkley has an a cappela group called Noteworthy... and they performed this jewel:



And there is Christopher Walken doing a reading on Halloween:



And finally, the actual video.

Dossier Z | Radiohead

All the Radiohead News that's fit to rip off and re-publish.

A new record label, named Polyphonic, created by Radiohead manager Brian Message and other partners will help artists launch their music digitally, without having to release copyright on their work. [cbc] Vancouver-based Nettwerk Management is a partner. [cbc]

There were rumours that a new EP, called Wall of Ice was coming out in August. [stereogum]

But there was These Are My Twisted Words. [pitchfork]

And that the band was no longer interested in albums, just singles. [nyt]

And the Thom Yorke single in September. [exclaim] [pitchfork] Then, in October, he played with his new band. [nyt]

And the old people at Sulimay's review Radiohead. [stereogum]

And Sasha Frere-Jones talked with Jonny Greenwood for her Dithering series in the New Yorker, asking if the quality of mp3s was a satisfactory medium for music. Jonny replied, "They sound fine to me. ... We had a few complaints that the MP3s of our last record wasn’t encoded at a high enough rate. Some even suggested we should have used FLACs, but if you even know what one of those is, and have strong opinions on them, you’re already lost to the world of high fidelity and have probably spent far too much money on your speaker-stands." [NewYorker]

Conspiracy Analyst | This Year in Wacko-ville

As we stumble out of the holiday-cycle set up by The Church (so Western Civilization could be subsumed away from the previous Pagan Establishment in as orderly and non-violent fashion as possible) and into a new (arbitrarily-chosen beginning to the) year, I feel it is best time to share the tidbits I've collected over the last while related to the Study of Ongoing Conspiracy.

But before we get into it, I suggest you take a look at Wired Magazine's list of 51 Conspiracy Theories That Don't Exist But Should. (I'm not convinced they don't. What is Wired up to? What sort of game do they think they're playing...?)

The Illuminati are always well-represented. Slate had an interesting article about how the 18th century composer Beethoven was influenced by the Illuminati. [slate]

There is an increase in Big Brother activity in the United States. Wired reports on the activity. [wired] And the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) started a website called You Are Being Watched to discuss the issue. Will it matter...? Slate Magazine asks how America is going to end, and describes the five steps to totalitarian rule. [slate]

Elections Canada has been keeping information on individuals that are under the age of 18, even though they are not eligible to vote. [cbc] And one's privacy online is almost non-existent, according to Canadian courts. [tyee] As is one's anonymity, according to studies. [cbc] And all that's just going to get worse (or better, depending upon which side you're on...) as me move to electronic medical records. [tyee] Which reminds me: your telephone has been secretly tapped by The Police. [cbc] (Sting has been unwilling to comment. Kidding. Couldn't resist.)

But there's been activity by Little Brother as well. [wired] But who watches the watchers of the watchers who are watching you? (Next time I just get a pocketwatch.) Which reminds me... a group of volunteers from Vancouver's Public Space Network mapped out as many of Vancouver's surveillance cameras as they could find. [ctv] [VanSun] But I can't seem to find the map...? Are They keeping it to Themselves...?

The Cloud! The Cloud! [LifeHacker]

Wall Street is rising in the Conspirator Ranks, with a Rolling Stone article about how they're using the Economic Bailout as a means to stage a revolution. [RollingStone] They also put together a very handy biographical cheat sheet outlining the bankers and brokers responsible for the financial crisis and the officials that let them get away with it. [RollingStone] As as additional treat, No Impact Man shoots from the hip describing the problem with corporate structure. [no.impact.man] But, as Jason Kottke reports, there is always the "living with no money" option. [kottke]

There's also been a good rise in the heat coming from the Global Warming group. Through it all, Gizmodo asks How many solar panels would it take to power the entire world? Turns out, "just under 500,000 square kilometers, or about the size of Spain."

The heirs of Geronimo have sued Yale's secret society Skull and Bones for the return of his skull, which they claim Skull and Bones grave-robbed in 1918. [nyt]

And the Police are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the 1969 death of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones. [cbc]

Here's a good one from Adbusters about the impending Pornocalypse. 'Nuff said. (Though it may not be appropriate to read while at whatever Capitalist Slave Organization you call your "work", or in front of the kids.)

I won't say too much about The Religious here, since there's always way too much to follow without a crib-sheet. But the History News Network had an interesting article reviewing a book by Michael Baigent (who also wrote Holy Blood, Holy Grail, like you already didn't know) about how "the three great religions" are plotting the race to Armageddon. [hnn]

And for the Star-Gazers: there is compelling speculation that Humans and Aliens might share the same DNA roots. [wired] Don't laugh: its thermodynamics. And from what I understand, that's a science. And there hasn't been a peep of this in The Mainstream Media, but SETI has picked up regular laser pulses emanating from space. [io9] Though don't get too excited, Some Scientists have reported they calculate there can only be fewer than 10 extra-terrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. [slashdot]

And finally, I emplore you to check out GOOD Magazine's "Guide to Shadowy Organizations." They have excellent primers on such Conspiracy Establishment organizations as The Bohemian Grove, the Order of Skull and Bones, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group, the Freemasons, and more.

ThreatWatch | Santa Claus' Family

Respect | Pink Glove Dance

Crazy Animators | Accro by Opron Marie, Leonard Cohen and David Martin

Accro
by MarLeoDav

Crazy Musician | arjanM "Blackhole"

blackhole from arjanM on Vimeo.

This is an animated music video for a new song of mine. You can check http://www.arjanM.com for more music or new videoclips.

Crazy Filmster | Charlie McCarthy "Flight Patterns"

flight patterns from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.

citiZEN | If you oppose Vancouver budget cuts...

This comes from one of my favourite local political watchdogs/advocates, ThinkCity. (My other favourite is City Caucus.) I'm supposed to send this to my "email contacts" (hence the supposedly personal perspective) but already know anybody who's anybody reads it here first. But I did send an email to the Mayor, and I do think it is an important issue... so if you have two minutes available, please pitch in, fellow citiZENs!

Subject: Send Mayor Robertson a message opposing deep cuts to city services before Dec 18!

I need your help right now. I am very worried about proposed plans to make deep cuts to the 2010 Vancouver budget.

The final decision will be made at city hall on Friday, Dec. 18, but it is not too late to show your opposition to the cuts.

I sent an email action message to city council here http://thinkcity.ca/budgetactionemail and am urging you to do the same.

Here's what's going on.

On Dec. 1, city council conditionally approved $20.3 million in cuts to community centres, fire and rescue, libraries, parks, youth programs and other frontline services. The three NPA and COPE councillors voted against the budget, while the mayor and his seven Vision councillors supported the deep cuts.

Coming at the height of the recession, these are some of the harshest cuts our city has faced for quite some time. Plus, this goes against everything the public is telling the mayor and councillors at packed budget hearings, in letters to the editor and at weekly rallies in front of city hall. Even the city’s own scientific polling and online survey show a majority of businesses and citizens were "reluctant to support reduction in specific services.”

Please go here http://thinkcity.ca/budgetactionemail to send council an action email right away -- it will only take a minute.

Nearly 900 messages have been sent to council since last Thursday, so we need to keep the public pressure on the politicians to do the right thing!