Beautiful British Columbia By: Lannon McGregor

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Beautiful B.C.

It's the rainy days

that are swept away,

when the sun cracks through the clouds.

It’s the haunting way

in which the beauty's saved,

from the city’s smoggy crowds.

It’s the way the world

hides precious pearls

on the shores of the roaring sea.

It’s yours, it's mine,

in rain or shine...

It’s beautiful B.C.

A piece of advice...

Next time you’re stuck in a rut of self loathing; when you feel like nothing can possibly get better because things could never be worse than they presently are. Whenever you think others, in far off tropical lands, have it so much better than you...

Take a look out your window and breathe it in; cuz you live in British Columbia - the greatest fuckin’ place in the entire world.

Images: ecotoursvictoria.com/, vantoptours.com, farm1.static.flickr.com, whale-images.com

Sasquatch Festival By: Lezah Williamson

Once again, the Sasquatch Festival is running on the May 23rd to 25th long weekend down in beautiful George, Washington.  If you've never been to The Gorge at George - well, it's worth a trip in itself, and if you have some great music to make the weekend even better... heck, that's a no-brainer!

You can find out all the information about the line-up yourself at
the Fesitval’s site, but here's just a sampler:

Saturday, May 23 - Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Decemberists;

Sunday, May 24 - TV on the Radio, Calixico;

Monday, May 25 - Fleet Foxes, Loch Lomond.

There's a comedy stage as well, and featured there is the oh-so-lowkey Zach Galifianakis ("starts with a gal, and ends with a kiss").

Not to be missed.

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Sola Caritas By: Lezah Williamson

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I'm all for things that make our world a better place, and simply by googling Sola Caritas and watching a couple of ads, you too can help to make our world a better place.

Sola Caritas is the brainchild of an amazing young guy I know, David Wen.  Along with some partners, he has created a website where you can help send money to charities - and it doesn't cost you a red cent! Gotta love that!

It's brilliantly simple:  businesses team up with the Sola Caritas website, which in turn runs ads for said businesses.  Every time you watch one of these ads on the Sola Caritas website (for free, I remind you!), 50% of the ad fees get sent to a charity.  The more clicks, the more money. This brilliant idea found Sola Caritas take 1st Place at Dalhousie University’s EcoVenture 2008, (Canada’s first ever green business plan competition.)

Easy peasy.

Earl Emerson By Lezah Williamson

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Lately I've had a hankerin' for all things Seattle, and my jones didn't let up at all once I started reading my latest Earl Emerson novel. Now, in case you've never heard of him, Earl Emerson is a Seattle-based writer (he actually resides in North Bend, Washington, where they filmed Twin Peaks, for all you fans of the quirky out there) and has a day job as a lieutenant with the Seattle Fire Department.

Emerson's the author of two series, the Mac Fontana books and the Thomas Black mystery stories; it's one of his Thomas Black books that won the Shamus award (Poverty Bay was the first novel of the Regan era to deal with the topic of homelessness). Early in 2009, the first Thomas Black book in ten years, Cape Disappointment, is being released.

The book I'm currently reading, though, is the 2002 thriller, Vertical Burn. It's all about life in the world of the modern-day firefighter. Just the information alone is interesting, but Emerson strings along a pretty good story on top of that. Add to that the rush of familiarity you get when he mentions places you've been to, and you end up with a great way to spend a dreary winter weekend.

Steampunk By Lezah Williamson

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Steampunk is currently undergoing a resurgence especially in the areas of culture and lifestyle, with the steampunk aesthetic being explored in fashion, home decor and music. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic book and movie helped to popularize steam punk, as did the book Steampunk (2008), an anthology of steam punk fiction.
Steampunk is also known as neo-Victorianism and is often associated with cyberpunk. It takes works set in the Victorian era and combines them with modern technology.

Photo of steampunk band, Outlanders from coffeeandteashow.libsyn.com

Ballet B.C. -The Goldberg Variations - Side 2: Adam & Eve & Steve

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Ballet BC, BC's premiere company, is known for bringing both traditional and contemporary dance to its audiences. Not only does Ballet BC feature its own company, but it also invites other dance troups from around the world. At Christmas, the Moscow Ballet was here dancing in The Nutcracker, and in January we were supposed to see the Korean Ballet.

Unfortunately, the financial crash during the Fall came at the worst possible time for the ballet company, and the resulting drop in ticket sales put Ballet BC into receivership. The media attention that was drawn to this, in the end, saved the perennial Christmas favourite, The Nutcracker, but the Korean Ballet Company was cancelled for January.

In the meantime, restructuring was taking place behind closed doors , and the good news is that Ballet BC is back on its feet with much firmer footing.

You can look forward to them performing The Goldberg Variations - Side 2: Adam & Eve & Steve, a world premiere by James Kudelka (along with Carmen) on Feb. 26-28 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Cultural Olympiad II By Lezah Williamson

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Whistler Film Festival Snow Screen

What could be better than being outdoors at the site of the 2010 Olympics - and watching movies for free? On Feb. 21 and 22, you can go up to Whistler and do just that as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

Cultural Olympiad : Broken Social Scene and Tegan and Sara

By: Lezah Williamson

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As part of the Cultural Olympiad, on Feb. 6 you can go hear the atmospheric, bombastic sounds of Broken Social Scene; opening for them are the boundary-bending punk/folk/pop/rock twins from Alberta, Tegan and Sara.

Image from villagevoice.com

The Bob By: Lezah Williamson

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I was quite surprised - one might even say floored - when I read a quote from celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe on the next big hair trend for 2009. Her prediction?

The Bob.That's right, Rachel Zoe, who ends up with all her clients looking like the same little size-zero, straight-centre-parted, blond-haired, oversized-sunglasses-wearing waifs that Rachel Zoe was saying the Bob is the next big thing.

Frankly, the bob is so far away from the look Rachel Zoe promotes as to be from another planet. So I guess, if that's the case, it must be true...

Image from www.dailymail.co.uk