Even though the BOC rates have yet to rise, there is evidence of tightening from lenders. RBC recently increased terms on LOC loans (from prime +1% to prime +2% for many borrowers). This without a change in prime. Now comes news that may herald the beginning of hard times for speculators.

This from McLovin on robchipman.net 29 Nov 2009 12:29 pm -

“An interesting side-bar on “banks tightening up”… HSBC will [now] only finance 60% of the first $500K for a non-owner occupied [investment] (Rental unit), and 50% of the remainder. Even to a mega-bear like me that is excessive. Either they don’t really want to lend money, or they see bad things coming. This means that, for a non-owner occupied $1,000,000 property, HSBC is asking for 45% down.”

Speculators continue to bet on rising Vancouver RE prices, and some still appear to be anticipating that the effect of the Olympics is not yet priced into the market.

Here are extracts from a report by Sam Cooper in The Province 29 Nov 2009 -

“The buzz is back. In scenes rarely seen since the Vancouver real-estate market peaked in early 2008, a horde of hungry investors lined up for hours in a downpour Saturday [28 Nov 2009] to get first dibs on pre-sale condo units in a tower to be erected in Yaletown. Cam Good, who is heading up marketing for “The Mark” by Onni, said some investors even slept outside Friday night to ensure prime line-up positions. “We’re blown away by the turnout,” Good said from inside the downtown pre-sale centre as about 50 investors scrambled around a model of the building.”

“While the global debt and credit crisis continues to haunt developments in former real-estate hotspots like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Good said Vancouver is back in boom times.”The [real-estate] strength in Vancouver is unlike anything in the world,” Good said.”

“Mayur Arora, who told The Province he hoped to land a top-floor unit, and his realtor K.D. Dhaliwal, said location and scarcity make the site an attractive investment. “I’m here because they are selling Yaletown at today’s prices, but the speculation is [that] prices will go up after the Olympics,” Arora said.  Steve Dhana was amazed by speculator interest as he watched investors rushing to place bids on units. “The prices went up $50,000 last night,” Dhana said. He hoped to buy a unit in the $500,000 price-range, and also expected prices to surge in February 2010.”

This is a Great Blue Heron, a common bird in the lower mainland of British Columbia and Vancouver Island.   This guy was sitting on the top of a tree near the entrance to Stanley Park in Vancouver as though he was some cynic standing disdainfully aside and above the common throng below.  He definitely wasn’t a “people person,” an extrovert.  In a way, he reminded me of myself – getting older and more watchful of the world at a somewhat safe distance.

Here I have used the masculine in describing this bird.  But, the truth is, this introverted attitude or extraverted attitude is not something that is gender-related in the least.  Nor, does this attitude have anything to do with social class or education or age.  As C.G. Jung noted:

Such a widespread distribution could hardly  have come about if it were merely a question of a conscious and deliberate choice of attitude.  In that case, one would surely find one particular attitude in one particular class of people linked together by a common education and background and localized accordingly.  But that is not so at all;  on the contrary, the types seem to be distributed quite at random.  In the same family one child is introverted, the other extraverted.  Since the facts show that the attitude-type is a general phenomenon having an apparently random distribution, it cannot be a matter of conscious judgment or conscious intention, but must be due to some unconscious, instinctual cause. (Jung, CW vol. 6, par. 558.)

Thinking on this, I come to realize that I have often erred in being critical of others when it comes to attitude as others have too often erred in finding some deliberate negative intention because of my introverted attitude.  I do not deliberately stand outside the crowd.  It just happens naturally.  It isn’t about intention, it is about avoiding extra anxiety that the crowd induces.  It isn’t about a self-perceived superior attitude, it is about space so that I don’t get lost and become invisible even to myself.

I am beginning to see where this look at psychological types using C.G. Jung’s work is taking me.  The intention was to re-investigate the topic here with conscious intention; unconsciously, it is again about re-self discovery.

During asset bubbles, it is relatively easy for participants to almost imperceptibly leverage themselves into more and more exposure to the inflating asset class, thus putting themselves at risk of complete wipe-out when the bubble pops. Participants actually believe that they are being prudent, and their ever expanding paper-profit bottom line reassures them and reinforces their behaviour. The fact that they are taking substantial risk and speculating on ongoing price appreciation may not be obvious to them. -vreaa

The Bill Good show on CKNW Friday 27 Nov 2009 at 10.30 am featured discussion with Garth Turner (greaterfool.ca) and realtor Tony Ioannou of Dexter Realty Vancouver (author of ‘Buying and Selling a Home for Canadians For Dummies’). These excerpts -

Tony Ioannou – “[We are] dealing with a lot of people who think that they have to buy now because the market is running away from them. Most of the people we are dealing with are buying a property to live in… a principle residence… very little speculation in the market.. Very few of our clients are going to ‘the end’ of what they can afford.. They might be approved for a 500K mortgage, [but] they’re taking out a 300K mortgage.. They’re not overextending themselves as they might have done a couple of years ago… We still have some off-shore money coming into Vancouver and the lower mainland but much, much less than in the past. Most of the people we are dealing with are local people just upgrading, mostly move up buyers from a small apartment to a townhouse, townhouse to a house, or up to a bigger house. We’re still dealing with a lot of first time buyers.. [they are] very cautious,… they’ve worked hard to make a downpayment they’re not going to throw it away… So they’re very very cautious and slowly entering the market.”

Garth Turner, in response to the above, said that there was a “giant argument that interest rates would not stay low”. He also pointed out that the average abode cost “between 7 and 10 times the average family income” in Vancouver which was “by world standards, severely overpriced”.

Tony Ioannou continued – “A lot of our clients do have a huge amount of equity, especially if they are in the market, trading up. One quick example, I’d sold a property to a young couple in 2000, a $300,000 townhouse, [with] conventional financing, I went to meet with them last week, they now have paid off their mortgage, [their property is] now worth about $500,000 , they now have a half-million-dollar down payment to go and buy their first house”.

Garth Turner retorted – “Well, that’s exactly what scares me about this whole thing, when you have people who are taking… and in the case of that couple, I’m sure that constitutes the bulk of their net worth… anytime I see people taking the bulk of their net worth and dumping it into one asset and then trading up exactly the same asset class, and increasing their exposure as they go on and on and on…// If we do have an interest rate increase,.. if we have taxes go up,.. I cannot see the Vancouver real estate market sustaining its value going forward.”

Foreign buyers may not be influencing RE prices as much as immigrants with money. This from The Chinese at robchipman.net 26 Nov 2009 8:21 pm -

“Me and my wife came to Canada [from China] with $3,000 10+ year ago. We bought an apartment in 2000, and worked hard, and paid it off in 4 years. Then we bought a house in 2005, and again worked hard and paid it off a year ago (before we reach our 40s). The house has a market value around $1 million in today’s market. Now we bought another house in a much better neighborhood on the west side, with very good schools, so our kids can receive a good education. We are not alone, lots of people from China are in similar boat as us. This is a culture value real estate, willing to work hard, willing to live below the mean to invest for the future and their kids, and willing to take calculated risk, and sometimes enjoy gamble. Now, more Chinese are coming, bringing way more than $3,000 – and they all share the same culture…”

Comments section at robchipman.net (26-28 Nov 2009) is liberally peppered with anecdotal observations of slowing RE markets in and around Vancouver. Perhaps it’s all attributable to the 25 days straight of heavy rain we’ve endured. This from Anonymous 28 Nov 2009 6:57 pm -

“Third offer on my place has fallen through. Reason was the same each time.  Failure to get financing. Banks may be tightening up.  I know my line of credit interest rate just went up. I’m dropping my price on Monday and will get out fast before this market turns sour on me.”

CAVEAT: Rob Chipman, in a posting at his blog (the source of this anecdote) 29 Nov 2009 10:04 am, expresses doubt regarding the veracity of this anecdote (based on IP address of a multiple-poster). Híppos Purrós in the same thread 29 Nov 2009 11:08 am also expressed doubt but, interestingly, added their own anecdote – “Both of [my] girlfriend’s recent YVR RE disposals have fallen through. Buyers’ financing was withdrawn at last moment by lenders concerned about pending special assessment”.

One of the most noticeable things about southern Vancouver Island is how dry it is for long periods of the year. We often have little or no rain from late May through until the end of September. This is a very tough situation for most plants to endure if they are not adapted to it. I have seen many shrubs and trees scorch from the heat combined with lack of sufficient water. Luckily for us many native plants here are unusually attractive and grow well in the stony ground on the island. One tree which is endemic here is the Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) which stands out at this time of the year. it is also known as the Oregon Oak or Oregon White Oak.

Garry Oaks at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.

There are 3 varieties of Garry Oaks which live in Western North America. Quercus garryana var. garryana is found here and lives in the largest area which ranges from Southern California, along the coastal mountain ranges up to southern Vancouver Island and the gulf Islands. The variety var. breweri is found in the Siskiyou mountains in Oregon  with the final variety var. semota found in the Sierra Nevada area. This Oak was named by David Douglas to honor Nicholas Garry who helped him in his collection of plant samples in the Oregon area. Nicholas Garry(1782?-1856) was employed by Hudson’s Bay Company and later rose up to be the Deputy Governor of the company. Garrya elliptica is also named after him.

There are some majestic Garry Oaks found at Holy Trinity Church in North Saanich.

Garry Oaks are the only Oaks found in Western Canada and they are part of an endangered ecosystem which is in a very small area of southern British Columbia. Garry Oaks are very representative of the 116 species of plants, animals and insects which are found here and no where else in the world. This delicate ecosystem is under attack  mainly from expansion of human settlement and introduction of invasive and destructive species  from other places. large areas have been altered and changed and it is just recently that we have started to protect some of these remaining sites.

Sea Blush, Common Camas and Shooting Stars are but a few of the species growing amongst the Garry Oaks.

Garry Oaks have never really been important to the survival of native groups here.  They made combs and digging utensils with the wood or used it for fueling fires. The acorns were eaten but were not considered a choice food, but could be roasted or steamed and eaten.  Garry oak was known to be used medicinally for a treatment for tuberculosis and used as a drink for women before child birth.

The thick ridged bark protects the tree from fires which were used in creating Camas fields that native peoples farmed.

Quercus garryana generally have broad spreading rounded crowns which are made up of thick ascending crooked branches. These trees grow to 40-90ft (12-28m) tall  and nearly as wide. In areas where there are other competing plants these trees will often grow tall and gawky but in an open meadow their true form is seen. Young trees to around 25 years of age often look scrubby and will often be seen growing in groups.

These Garry Oak are found in Playfair Park and in the spring a sheet of blue Camas bloom underneath them.

Garry Oak are slow growing trees which will grow 8-12(20-30cm) in a year. They develop long tap roots and are amost impossible to transplant after they have been in the ground a few years. They need a sunny open site with very well drained soil. They do not make good lawn trees as they resent being watered during the summer and it can also cause them to become diseased. They do have natural insect pests which are often seen on the undersides of the leaves. These can become disfiguring  to the leaves some years but in others are hardy present at all. If you have the right site and would like a tree which needs little attention during the year, you might want to look into to this species or one of the other Oaks. Garry Oak grow in zones 6 through 10 (-10 f or  and higher temperature).

Male flowers are separate from the females on the same Garry Oak tree.

Learn more about Garry Oaks:

Garry Oak Ecosystem: http://www.goert.ca/

Where is Holy Trinity Church: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM65KB_Holy_Trinity_Church__North_Saanich_BC_Canada

wiki on Garry Oaks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_garryana

The second installment of Whiskey 2: The Adventures of Boozy the Clown

Photo: Stephen Hui, Georgia Straight

David Schreck summed it up quite well in the Tyee yesterday when he suggested that Gordon Campbell is asking voters in B.C. to believe a paradoxical statement from the Liberals:

The Gord giveth and the Gord taketh away. In the legislature Wednesday, the Premier stated: “Let me reiterate that during the election campaign we had no intention of dealing with the HST… There’s no question that the HST is going to strengthen our economy. One of the things that we were clear about during the campaign is that we had every intention to strengthen our economy as it came out of this economic downturn.”

In case you missed it, you were supposed to read Gordon Campbell’s mind and understand that when he said he would “strengthen our economy” he meant that he would introduce the HST even though he said he wouldn’t do that.

You were also supposed to infer from his statement that when the Liberals said they were not exploring the HST during the election, that they actually meant they would be implementing it shortly afterward. If we’re to believe Gordon Campbell’s tortured logic, even though they said they had no intention of visiting the HST, we should have realized that the government had the intention to “strengthen” the economy by doing exactly that.

As Vaughn Palmer writes in the Vancouver Sun, Gordon Campbell has given the NDP their new slogan: “What’s he hiding from you this time?” There is a serious deficit issue with the Liberals here in B.C., and it isn’t just the fiscal outlook.

The main argument the Liberals are forwarding now appears to be that the taxes are a shift into consumption. As companies save $1.9 billion from the HST simplification method, the savings are supposed to be passed onto consumers. As David Schreck writes, the problem with that theory is that most consumers don’t purchase products from the beneficiaries of the HST: forestry, mining and construction.

If it were true that the tax changes represented a shift from income to consumption [the main argument behind the revenue neutral carbon tax in B.C.], then the Liberals would enact rebates and exemptions in the way that Ontario has done. Finance Minister Colin Hansen wrote a letter to the Victoria Times Colonist which was published November 21, which explained that B.C. has lower taxes than Ontario does, and that’s why Ontario is able to offer the kind of rebates it is.

I generally support consumption taxes, but they have to come in conjunction with income tax reductions or other tax shifts which do not put undue burden on the population for basic necessities. Since the BC Liberals haven’t yet offered anything like this [or even released anything detailing exactly how they expect it to work], we can assume that this province will have a much more difficult time adapting than our cousins in Ontario.

Some of you may have Spacecraft wallets and belts your stores or in your pockets. You know the ones that are one-of-kinds and have the “Made From Trash” tags. Did you know that stuff came off the beaches of Bali? The coolest e-manufacturing story I have heard so far. Check out this ‘60 Second Sell’ courtesy of TW Business.

M Blanket was one of the earliest BC emo bands. Sometimes more punk, sometimes some ska thrown in (i know this doesn’t sound to their advantage, but I assure you, you will fall in love with them).I’m not sure why they always labeled their albums as just M Blanket, but in a live set I once heard them say “We’re Morphine Blanket”.

They formed in 1992, and had a four song demo. Their early material was more chaotic. They appeared on a few compilations and put out their first 7″ on Spinout 360 Records. I heard this was a split with Slinky, but after seeing the artwork, I don’t think it was. Someone could clarify this for me? Did this split exist? They then hooked up with Slow to Burn Records, BC’s leading emo label at the time. The first of these collaborations is the “Seen it Coming” 7″. The last of these, which is also their final ep, and my favorite release of theirs, “Safety”. The band’s last output was released on “Attending the Supreme” compilation in 1995. They changed drummers and became Ache Hour Credo (which would itself change drummers and become Daddy’s Hands).

M Blanket Discography pt1
M Blanket Discography pt2

Ride recently released the graphic for the Limited Edition DH2.3. Check out the video below to see some details about the artist behind this bitching board graphic. This rigs are hella limited with only a 345 made. They will be dropping in stores December 1st 2009 and are going to go fast. I am going to be riding this on in a 155 for the locals this season and I can’t wait to get my bindings on this thing and start the shred!

In BC these boards will be available at The Boardroom, Pacific Boarder, Comor(Whistler), Mountain Riders Pentagon Boardshop. To find out what other stores will have the wicked rigs… click here.

James Moore with North Vancouver MP Andrew Saxton

James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and the Member of Parliament for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, was on hand in Vancouver today to announce a new $21 million refurbishment of the roof and “iconic” sails of Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. According to the press release, the tensioned fabric roof of Canada Place is long overdue for replacement, having been built back in 1985 in time for Expo 86. The outer roof fabric will be replaced with material of “current technology.”

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, our Government is focused on creating jobs and stimulating the economy,” said Minister Moore. “By investing in the Canada Place roof, we are creating local jobs and ensuring that this building remains a world-recognized Canadian landmark for decades to come.”

Exactly how it will stimulate the economy, or how many jobs it will specifically create, there is no official word as of yet. This construction won’t be completed until March of 2011, and so it falls under the federal Infrastructure Stimulus Fund.

What you might not know from reading the press release, however, is that North Vancouver MP for the Conservative Party Andrew Saxton was on hand as well. Since this specific infrastructure spending falls under the riding of Liberal Hedy Fry, it’s unusual that the news release doesn’t mention whether she was present for the announcement, or why Mr.Saxton was on hand. Nor is there any information on her website about it, or any news involving her off the wires.

When I expressed surprise at the cost of $21 million to repair a roof, James Moore responded via Twitter:

“That’s what it costs. The facility generates over $1 billion in economic activity per year. The new roof will last 30 years.”

Given the confusion over whether this is a Liberal riding infrastructure spending announcement, or a Conservative one, I think this Rick Mercer skit is a nice segué into the comments section:

Last night, Friday, I went to a dinner party with the upper crust of the mining community in Vancouver.  My small Civic cowed out of sight amongst the BMWs and other large cars that hogged the impressive driveway up a steep incline to an imposing house tucked away high in the hills of West Vancouver. 

At first, the conversation was of the best seats at the upcoming Olympics, Christmas in Hawaii, real-estate investing, Tiger Woods and the local golf club.   As the wine flowed, the conversation became more interesting: how the local Olympics Committee intends to prosecute innocents who display the five rings,  how “sweet and charming” it is to see the lower classes delight in the passage of the Olympic torch, why ex-teachers in British Columbia deserve better medical coverage than mere miners, and ignorance of Americans about the wonders of British Columbia. 

Desperate to flee this arrogant belly-gazing, I asked what these intelligent and informed folk thought of Bill C-300.  That set a gentle cat amongst the pigeons.   Sad heads were shaken in despair about how Canadian mining has a bad reputation; about the silliness of common folk in not realizing where the good things in life come from (mining of course); about those venial NGOs trying to make a case–”just like the people who threw marbles beneath the horses hooves at the start of the Olympic torch parade in Victoria.”  Then the loud, repetitive lady remarked that she thought Canadian mining companies should be held to account for their behaviour overseas.   Reminded that mining had paid for her BMW, she backed off just a bit. 

Luckily the wine continued to flow.  Conversation turned from Chinese mining to Chinese foot-binding: “It was barbaric and resulted in the death of one in ten whose feet were bound.”    A sweet lady noted that the bound foot had a certain sexual look to it.  I opined that it was all part of the evolutionary principle called the handicap principle.   The loud lady remarked that one night, unable to sleep, she had Googled foot binding only to land up on a number of porn sites.  “I did not look at them, of course,” she protested.  All the gentlemen present nodded in agreement—no looking at porn sites on the web.  Sort of as nasty as watching American TV, they agreed. 

Except me.  Getting drunk and desperate for honesty at this stage of the farce, I told of the statistics of this blog.  It is interesting that some very old pieces on this blog, written a long time ago, continue to get a substantial number of hits.  The keywords for one of them include “ladies in hard hats.”  Keywords for the other blog posting include “mining machines”.    Curious to establish the reasons for the continued popularity of these postings, I undertook Google searches using the same keywords.  I was delighted to see that the resulting lists included this blog, but also a substantial number of porn sites.  I confess, in the interest of research of course, that I examine those sites.   Throws a whole new light on mining, machines, and hard hats, not to speak of foot binding. 

By this time the upper crust was discombubulated.   Opinions and invective flew free and fast and the truth seeped out.  In the interests of the reputation of miners everywhere I will tell no more.

There are many important variables affecting the Vancouver RE market that are very difficult to measure. What is the effect of intergenerational wealth transfer? How many Vancouverites own houses in lieu of RRSPs? How many current owners are planning on ‘cashing out’ in one or five or ten years time? Anecdotes serve as an imperfect window into some of those factors.  This from pianoexcellence at RE Talks on 28 Nov 2009 9:56 am -

“Over the last two weeks, I’ve been hearing lots and lots of people in the ‘nearing baby boomer’ generation, of all socio-economic classes, talk about selling and downsizing. Many are not talking, but have already done it.  I still do a number of piano tunings and repair engagements. A lot of these are for previous piano students parents. I taught mainly Gr 10-12 high school students, and many of them are off to university. I’ve been getting a lot of calls right before thanksgiving to get the piano ready so they can play when they come home for thanksgiving. To my suprise, a number of [these families] had moved to a smaller place. A number of my other acquaintances, even my parents, are talking about it too.”

This from anonymous at vancouvercondo.info 27 Nov 2009 10:29 am -

“My friend works at HSBC and they just laid off ALL of their ‘Premium Wealth Managment’ staff yesterday [26 Nov 2009]. I don’t think this bodes well for the ‘rich Asians will save the market’ theory….”

Long Beach was our last stop on the way out of town. We got there after the sun had fallen below the horizon but nonetheless, what a sight to behold!

I made this long exposure with my “tripod” for the trip, a Gorillapod SLR-Zoom outfitted with a small Flashpoint ballhead (we had travelled by float plane and luggage restrictions meant leaving the normal ‘pod at home). Thank goodness for driftwood. The only stump on the beach provided enough elevation for an adequate POV.

Tofino, British Columbia, Canada.

Just stumbled on this page that sells British Columbian (B.C.),pot seeds on line.

Well, if you don’t know, B.C. is in Canada, and Canadian pot is considered some of the best in the world, and now you you can get your seed to grow your own stone!

Now, I have never ordered from these guys, so i have absolutely no idea as to how legitimate they are. I just though it was a cool …ummm… service.

So, go to the site and start you’re own happy place!!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK

Today, in a ceremony in Vancouver Al Etmanski the Co-Founder and President of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) was named as a first torchbearer for the 2010 Paralympic Torch Relay.

“For its first Paralympic Torchbearer, RBC selected Al Etmanski, an author and co-founder of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN), which was instrumental in advocating for the new Registered Disability Savings Plan and assists families across Canada and globally in addressing the financial and social well-being of relatives with a disability.

Graham MacLachlan, regional president, RBC, British Columbia, said: “Al Etmanski has long demonstrated his commitment to helping people with disabilities and their families succeed through his work as an advocate and social entrepreneur. RBC is proud to select him as our first Paralympic Torchbearer on this historic relay.”

To view the press release in its entirety visit: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2009/27/c5788.html

To apply to be a Paralympic torchbearer visit: http://www.yougottabehere.com/

Amy Goodman, host of the American public radio show Democracy Now, was detained with her producers at the Canadian border and interrogated for more than an hour. The reason, according to her, is that border agents were afraid she was visiting to criticize the 2010 Olympic Games.

She was actually visiting Canada to promote a new book about health care, global warming, the economic meltdown and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. She says that border agents didn’t believe she wasn’t visiting Canada to speak negatively about the Olympic Games, and searched her car and laptops.

“It really disturbs me that when you start questioning a journalist, it certainly has a chilling effect,” she said. “It sends a message that we’re being monitored, watched.”

The story would be more surprising if it wasn’t already a hot news topic here in Vancouver. There have been heavy indications from the province and the city of Vancouver that dissent and criticism of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games here will not be tolerated.

Some “temporary changes” being proposed by the City of Vancouver in a revised 2010 Olympic Winter Games bylaw that will go before city council Tuesday, would allow for adjustments to 10 city bylaws for the duration of the Olympics. These include some normal moves, like relaxing noise laws, keeping bars open longer, but it would also allow to crack down on “illegal” advertising.

The main problem here stems from what might be considered illegal advertising. The new legislation is being amended to exclude non-commercial signs [for instance one saying "IOC go home"], which can still be removed under the existing bylaws, but would take up to 30 days.

The city has assured people here that it will not be enforcing compliance on signs expressing political dissent to the Olympics, but civil rights groups don’t believe it. These groups are concerned that the demands of the International Olympic Committee, under the so-called “security agenda”, and as dictated by the multinational sponsors of the Olympics, will supersede the rights of people living in Vancouver.

Activist for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association David Eby raises a good point:

When talking about accountability, what am I to say to representatives of VANOC, an organization that is funded by government, the majority of whose board is appointed by government, whose business plan is directed by government, and who, despite this, spent at least tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars convincing a court that they were exempt from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Now of course I realize that the B.C.C.L.A. and Amy Goodman are mainly proponents of the leftwing, anti-war movement, two agendas for which I’m not either a fan, or a follower. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to criticize and express their views, both about civil rights and the Olympic Games [or in the case of Ms.Goodman, her new book]. Those rights will be put to the test in February when the world’s eyes focus on Vancouver.

We finally got Abby’s “documents” in the mail, and practiced her alias and alibi a few times.  After a few last minute stops in Seattle to drop off post cards and check out some thrift stores, we got over the Canadian border halfway legal with no problem what so ever.  We got in touch with Leon at Shop-Task and he was gracious enough to host us, but under one condition.  He was throwing a Halloween party so we couldn’t stay without  costumes.  Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Vancouver is a beautiful city, with lots of nice upgrades with the winter Olympics coming soon.  There are also over 40 skate parks in the city, and we made sure to take advantage of a handful of them.  Value Village helped us put together the finishing touches on the Halloween costumes, and we got ready for the party.    We were only in the city for about 48 hours, but it felt like a lot longer.

the view from Shop Task

beautiful city!

these guys do it right!!

keeping it simple… NO CRIME!!

this spot was apparently for the Vistor King

out skating before noon, Canadians are crazy!

Leon pointing out an old stunt he fakee rolled to backflip

testing some RB flatrockers in the bowl

as if 45+ skateparks weren’t enough, skateboarders built this too in their spare time

Leon got the glasses for his costume but could barely see out of them

love it

rejected costume #1

rejected costume #2

Ellie (or Ely?  or Elly?) with the cobweb decoration

spooking up the loft

party time!  costumes below

rooftop view with a fireworks show later in the night

somehow I got cut, and for some reason somebody decided I needed a butterfly stitch haha

caught in the web

we moved the party to something John and Yoko were more familiar with

the vision

me, john, and yoko

zoolander and lady gaga

care bears patrolling the street

peggy bundy brought a pistol too

the old “abby’s face in a bowl”

spent the hangover morning at the elbow room, one of those places where the staffs job is to make fun of you and be as obnoxious as possible.  always a good way to cheer up your day.