Google Labs has just recently launched city tours and it’s pretty interesting to see what it suggests when you punch in Vancouver.

The system generates a schedule complete with maps and walking times as well as time spent at the various attractions.  Whether you’re a visitor or a local it provides some pretty solid suggestions for everybody.

Depending on the date you select there may or may not be a “tour” set up but it also allows you to play tourguide and input your own.

http://citytours.googlelabs.com/

In late May, generally, according to the quick research I’ve done, crows turn into death from above. And by death, I mean “scare the hell out of you”. This is the time when their chicks turn into fledglings, getting ready to pop out of the nest and get ready to fly. Obviously they’re pretty vulnerable, so the crow community goes into red alert.

For some reason, this season is still in full swing in Vancouver, having either started later, or lasted longer than normal - if you live anywhere with trees near sidewalks, you’ll know what I mean.

Here’s the good news - like all animals, attack is never the first option. Attack risks harm, and being harmed only makes sense when warnings don’t work. Which is what this is - warning behaviour.

Now, I’ve tried to have a reasonable discussion with them, carefully explaining that the sidewalks are city owned and available to all. As well, I tried to point out that humans aren’t big fans of eating crow babies, doubly-so here in Vancouver, with it’s notable vegan demographics. But their reply was alway, “KAW!” (wing in face.) Jerks.

So, here’s what you do;

1) Don’t freak out. That rush past your neck wasn’t a missed attack, it was a warning. And you’ll want to be calm because you’re going to do one of two things, and one option involves cars, and you want to be thinking straight.

2) Move on as fast as you can, calmly. You’ll get swooped again, but the point is to not turn spaz (which never helps with the crows) and get out of their nest area fast. A second option is to veer off and cross the street. Remember: cars. The internet says carry a stick or an umbrella to wave at them, but that sounds like escalation to me. Just get out of there.

3) Enjoy your rare, urban interaction with the wild that doesn’t involve skunks and raccoons.

It’s this day, this year, and you get free comics at your local comic shop. Pretty straight forward, eh?

But seriously - Free Comic Book Day is an annual event, held on the first Saturday of May. Besides being a great way to promote comics and reading, comic shops have individually turned them into mini-conventions, with prizes, costumes, local creators, games, special sales, and even charity work.

While to you it is a day of free comics (check the list!), each store buys these comics. The publishers have discounted them to varying degrees (as gold and silver sponsors) , but the shops still pay for them (and considering they bring in hundreds of books for the event, that can add up), so please check your store’s preferences - most have a limit per person, which you can then exceed by paying a nominal price, making a donation to charity, etc. In fact, some regular customers make it a point to toss them some coin anyhow - what’s a couple of bucks, a fiver, or some cans of soup for a fistful of comics?

Find Your Local Comic Shop!

Big shouts out to RX Comics, The Comic Shop, Golden Age, Imperial Hobbies, Lucky’s, and Elfsar, which I’m linking to because a) I have an account there, and b) the sheer volume of stuff they pack into their FCBD is insane - be sure to bring non-perishable offerings for the Vancouver Foodbank.

…allergies and bike tuning.

So, I popped Loratadine for the allergies and took the bike to the local bike shop. Actually, being Vancouver, it turns out there are a lot of shop. Friends I quizzed each have their own favorite, but all shops appearing roughly equal, I ended up taking the bike to Our Community Bikes on Main and 17th - the closest one to my house. It seemed a decent place to check out, not only because it’s close, but because they open their workshop up to the public, helping to teach people bike repair. They also have an amazing amount of serviceable, but previously owned spare parts - so if you’re fixin’ on a budget…

I got my bike repair badge in Scouts, so someplace that had helpful brains to guide me through anything I didn’t fully grok seemed perfect.

This time however, I opted to get them to do the work - the bike in question (see above) is a fantastic, Olypmpic era (as in Montreal) Iverson that’s been sitting in an old shed for 20 years, and tires (not to mention the crazy, hub-enclosed 3 speed gear system) are beyond me at this point. Plus, paying them keeps them afloat - keeping them afloat means continued access to their skills and their programs of training and, for lack of a better term, pedal-empowerment.

Ideally I’d be familiar with several stores and could compare and contrast, so this wouldn’t seem so one-sided, but the fact is, I’ve been hear 10 years, I’ve only just gotten a bike again. But, to be fair - Vancouver is full of shops!

Got one you like? Don’t like? Isn’t on the Google map provided? Then comment!

Meanwhile, I have to go - I got a call today that my bike is ready. I want to try this wacky 3-speed out.

The Vancouver Whitecaps recorded their win of the still young 2009 United Soccer Leagues (USL) season last night with a one - nil win over the Portland Timbers.  The only goal of the game coming from a 63rd minute strike early in the second half from Whitecaps captain Martin Nash.

With the Whitecaps looking forward to the 2011 promotion to Major League Soccer (MLS) [mbv], they’re looking to build up the momentum of a few strong seasons in a row to help carry them up to the top North American league.  The chance of playing in the MLS if they can prove themselves now, is an extra motivating factor for the Whitecaps players.

Early on however it seemed more likely that the Timbers would be doing the scoring.  With one of the largest, and most vocal, traveling supporters groups I’ve ever seen at Swangard Stadium they had the best of the early going and after the first 45 resumed controlling the game.  Pinned back into their own zone the Whitecaps rode their luck a little until Nash’s goal eased the pressure off of them.

The Timbers kept pressing, with goalkeeper Steve Cronin joining the attack in the dying minutes as they searched for an equalizer.  However the Whitecaps defense managed to hold on for the victory.

Having missed the first game due to attending a wedding in Victoria, I was glad to be there for the Whitecaps first win.  With the team set to change both league and venue in 2011, it would be easy to start getting nostalgic for Swangard.  However it would be nice to see more turnout for the games.  With the Whitecaps setting a new MLS record for season ticket deposits for their major league debut season having sold 5,000 in 48 hours, seeing Swangard packed would ease any lingering concerns I have over the forthcoming change.

Having said that it was a great night, and a great game.

I understand both the Christian, Pagan, and marketing aspects of the Easter egg hunt tradition, but this year I’m a little puzzled - we got a flyler/invite in the mail to take our kids (which we don’t have) to Cambie Village for their annual egg hunt. A little more digging and it turns out there are a lot of community level oeuf hunting events, many with limited tickets - first come first served.

Is this typical? Is it more of a now thing than yesteryear? I hunted for chocolates in the living room. My parents hunted for real eggs in the yard. So, when did it become The Thing to attend the local equivalent of the White House egg hunt?

And just how many hiding places are there in a community center gym?

Having just returned from the annual whirlwind that is the Game Developer’s Conference (typically held in either San Francisco or San Jose), I’m ready for a nap, even three days later. But, part of me is looking forward to mid-May, when the GDC comes to Canada. Recent years have seen a lot of shuffling in tradeshow circles, particularly video games, as several large, annual gatherings hustle to attract attendees, and GDC is in like a dirty shirt, splitting itself into the usual US show and adding shows in Austin, Europe, China, and Canada.

The shows, in short, are open to anyone and are designed to facilitate the opportunity to learn various tracks. There are seminars and sessions for artists, programmers, designers, sound engineers, management, business devleopment, and so on and so on. Shows are often an eclectic mix of established developers and publishers, along with students looking to make contacts and learn some things their curriculum won’t cover.

Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a basic expo pass, something that just allows people to wander the show floor, talk to companies, and see a few things they’re working on. However, the pricing, particularly the early pricing, for the fuller access passes is quite good. It’s still a ways off, but as mentioned, the pricing is better for early birds than waiting until we get to May.

This is a bit of an experiment - there hasn’t been a GDC Canada before, but it’s long overdue.

I remember a little while back castewar wrote about a monthly perogy dinner at the Ukranian Orthadox Centre. Never got the chance to try it but it got me thinking of the many different restaurants available in the Metro Vancouver area.

I’ve had my joyful fill of Japanese, and so-called “West Coast cuisine”. Not that there’s anything wrong with them. But I was wondering if anyone in the Vancouver blogosphere could recommend something different, preferably not too expensive. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Indian Food

Thai

Filipino

German

African

Carribean

English Pub Food

Anything wacky, but great tasting.

Thanks!

Link via Beyond Robson [br].

To be filed in the “completely too ironic interview” catagory, is this article on local internet celebrities, including Jennifer Lowther.  I’m not quite sure if Lowther knew how oddly clueless this was going to come off when she was talking to the Vancouver Sun [vs].  I don’t know her, I’ve never met her so it’s hard for me to judge exactly what she was thinking when she agreed to talk about how famous she is because of being on the internet.

I will say however that if you’re going to sit for an interview where you basically complain about the troubles of being “famous” thanks to your blog, Twitter and so forth aren’t you kind of asking for it?  Especially when you let the newspaper, which let’s face it still has a print run that rivals any local blogs, post a picture of you?

It’s a very meta-picture, because you can see the cameraman in reflection, it’s like a comment on how ‘net celebs get cyber.. not stalked.  But you know have people who follow them on Twitter.

And please someone explain to me this from Rob Cottingham talking about being a celebrity within your own circle, “”More interesting than the people who become instant celebrities are the people who become famous in a particular niche or within their own social networks. When you are able to rise to a level of prominence but just among the people you know.”   So when you become so famous that people who already knew you, know you, that’s real fame?

Back to Lowther, “People can know a ton about your life and you have no idea who they are.”

I really wish that emoticons were a respetable manner of conveying yourself in blog posts, rather than something used by tweens on Jonas Brothers’ fan boards.  If they were I’d use one of those smiley faces that shows deadpan blinking.

Is this really the stuff of newspaper articles in 2009?  I mean in 1999 I would have thought that this was all self-evident.  If you write a lot about yourself online then sometimes people are going to read it.  If you write a lot about yourself in the stalls of public toliets, some people are going to read it.

Now I’d blame this on the article’s writer Gillian Shaw, but from the (very few) conversations I’ve ever had with her (on Twitter / shock / horror) she doesn’t seem like she’s completely out to lunch.  Having written for tech for a daily city newspaper myself, not in Vancouver don’t bother guessing which, I have to say that this is probably not her fault.  By the time something filters up (or down) to the people who assign and approve stories often as a tech writer you kind of know that the world has moved onto something else but money is money.  Especially in this economy.

Now excuse me I have to go out wearing dress slacks and a pair of Crocs.  Oh my God, I hope nobody tweets about it.  Don’t worry, I only wrote it on this blog not in a bathroom stall.

If you missed it yesterday Major League Soccer is coming to Vancouver in 2011 [mbv], and you can reserve your right to be the first in line for seasons tickets starting tomorrow at the official site of Vancouver’s embryo of an MLS team [vm11].  Meanwhile the Seattle Sounders, who last year played in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) first division with the Whitecaps, played their first game in the MLS having made the jump to the big leagues this year.

They beat the New York Red Bulls, though I haven’t been able to figure out whether or not former Arsenal winger and Calvin Klein underwear model Freddie Ljungberg played for them [av].  He’s been nursing an injury, and basically has spent the last few years of his career in various states of injury.  Arsenal fans will remember him fondly, especially for this great goal in the FA Cup against Chelsea [yt].  Here’s another video of it and this one includes Ray Parlour’s goal [yt] and some nice shots of Tony Adams being Tony Adams and thus awesome.

Hmm… sorry wrong blog for that sort of thing.

After years of rumours [mbv] it seems like Vancouver is going to get an Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise.  Granted it’s at a slightly low point for the MLS, after the David Beckham experiment which was meant to prove that soccer in America was on its way to becoming as much of a force as it is in Europe has failed.  Beckham’s decided he prefers playing in the semi-retirement league that is Series A in Italy and is paying out of his own pocket to stay there.

 Meanwhile what this means for the Whitecaps we’re not sure.  The ownership group of the new team is largely the same as that of the Whitecaps with owner Greg Kerfoot heading the group that paid the $35 million dollar fee for an MLS franchise, but it seems like it’s not a sure thing that the new team will be called the Whitecaps and there’s clearly not enough soccer support to keep the two teams going in Vancouver. 

The new team will play in BC Place as opposed to Swangard, because if you can’t sell out Swangard you’re might as well go big and not sell out  BC Place.

The example of Toronto FC [mbv] shows that a Canadian city can support professional soccer, but the population and demographics are a lot different in Toronto than they are Vancouver.  The success of the new MLS team is hardly a sure thing, on or off the pitch.

Of course now this also means that there’s no way that we’ll ever get any sort of media accreditation for the Whitecaps.  While the team is great at calling me back to renew my season tickets, they’ve never once returned an email or a call about press accreditation for covering the Whitecaps games.  Any of the photos for the posts on the team I’ve taken have been with a camera that I’ve learned how to smuggle into games.

As a former (damn economy) season ticket owner I hope the new team succeeds.  I do think Vancouver hast the potential to support another major league sports franchise in town, and this will certainly be less of a fiasco than the Grizzlies were, and I am very eager for some higher level soccer to be played in town.  Even if there will be no David Beckham.  Even if I have to assemble my camera in a washroom stall so that I can cover the games.

“Love, marriage, fidelity - what’s the real thing? In this play of marital maneuvering, Britain’s preeminent playwright explores the mysteries of love, commitment, and authenticity.” - Arts Club Theatre. Generally, when I read a synopsis such as this, I cringe in anticipation of the pretentiousness I’m about to bear witness to. I caught this play last Saturday, and it is hilariously funny.

Written by Tom Stoppard (whose credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love), the play centers around Max and Annie, and their taste for infidelity. Think Closer, substituting tears for hysterical laughter.

Tickets range from 25-40 dollars, playing now at the Granville Island Stage, courtesy of the Arts Club.

After it looked like the end of the road for Vancouver’s better-than-the-rest-of-the-world fireworks display, The Celebration of Fire Lights Festival, The Keg has stepped in to save the day. Details aren’t known, but apparently the old sponsors have signed back on as well, making it look a lot like they were previously willing to pay some, but not all of the pricetag, and the addition of The Keg’s support made it more feasible for all sponsors. So, get out your beach blanket, and fire up the police helicopters, the fireworks will be back this August!

 With the fate of General Motors in doubt [nyt] the Vancouver Canucks’ home ice may soon be needing a new sponsor, or at least a new name.  Here are a few ideas for what we may be calling GM Place next season.

1. Money Mart Place: In this economy Money Mart might be the only business with cash to spare. 
2. Fat City Arena: See this eariler Vancouver Five for explanation [mbv].
3. Rogers Place: There was a well fairly decent rumour that Rogers tried to buy the naming rights to BC Place, but the city would not let them change the roof’s colour to Rogers’ red.  But hey they need to do something with all that iPhone money.
4. Happy Planet Juice Centre: I think the founder of that company might have some pull with city council [wp].  Plus wouldn’t that just please the pants off the rest of Canada who see us all as hippies anyway?
5. Trevor Linden Memorial Rink: In the future when Trevor Linden signle handedly fixes the economy before leading the negotiations that see our alien invaders surrender, we’ll be quite happy to name the Canucks’ home ice after him.

Yeah, me either.

And yet Mayor Gregor Robertson is in trouble for proposing to turn some of the municipal HQ’s lawn space, which is currently lined up for improvement, into a community garden.

It might be just me, but isn’t turning it into a garden an improvement, and a good one at that? And also, it seems a little hair-up-the-nose to pick a procedural slapfight over a chunk of land none of us have ever really considered let alone enjoyed.

Coming on the thematic heels of Herb’s recent post, in a town filled with community gardens, isn’t it a good idea to promote the idea on the most high profile lawn around? And do we really want the mayor spending even a half hour debating this in council session, all things considered? Which is to say, isn’t this a non-issue?