I'd been stockpiling for weeks: B12, felt markers, weapons, weed and T3s. I'd never felt doom so palpably. Even the clouds looked a sickly yellow foreign to our cool blue westcoast UV. The Guardian got it right -- helicopters constantly whirring, security perimeters, cops on each block. But my angst soon eased into a mechanical ambivalence, and then into a sort of duty. I had not met with any group, and that was my biggest strength. If they were watching, they knew not what I had planned. Not even I knew. I thought it might have something to do with climbing fire escapes, but that was about all.

The anti-psychotic Seroquel was really kicking in and I felt a warm paranoia settle in as I chain-smoked reefer. It was 8am and I could hear them gathering -- one man in particular -- his voice a nauseating monotone. I scribbled a quick sign (This is not an anti-Olympic sign, I'm just getting some catfood) and walked out onto my stoop which landed right across from Gastown's fabled Steam Clock which does not run on steam. My eyes adjusted to the blaze of red as a massive Coke truck blasted techno and demanded that the crowd get into it. I made my way to Army and Navy through the throngs of the Great Unwashed. On my way back the Olympic torch -- that wonderful flaming joint -- made its way down Water, right past the Taylor Building. I stopped on my stoop with my bag of catfood and grinned a shit-eating grin as cameras flashed and the hoi polloi went mad. Then! Mass confusion erupted as the torch got re-routed due to anti-Olympic protesters! So far so good...

An Open Letter to Minister of Arts Kevin Krueger. Man, fucking Chad Kroeger could do a better job.

Oh, and because we care so much about culture in our city... Venerable Ridge Theatre's future in doubt. Haha yeah, let that place rot like the Pantages. Happy World Theatre Day, suckers.

Mayor says Vancouver is the place for green business. Well, at least the fifth best place for green business: Vancouver trails Portland in 'green city' ratings.

Duo swims against fin soup stream. I didn't even know there was a fin soup stream that one could swim against. Furthermore I have no idea what that means. Also: what?

Although I only skimmed the article, Texts Without Context gives an invaluable insight into the Manichean machinations of Morning Brew. I can however, succinctly and with an adolescent charm sum up the entire article so you don't have to read it (its really long and boring and talks about the internets) as follows: I had a niche, but I got some ointment. Thank you everyone, I'll be selling shirts on Ebay.

Heated HST debate threatens to force issues off government's agenda. It has nothing to do with the fact that the Legislature is closed half the fucking year.

Documents raise new questions about what the Liberals knew about the economy and when. Unfortunately, the documents are completely blank.

More cops acting like cops: YouTube video prompts police probe. Man, Jamie Graham is either a street-tough, renegade warlord or just has the worst PR team in the world.

Transit ridership up 31 per cent during Olympics. How could it not be? You'd have to try to not have an increase. Oh wait, I forgot we were dealing with Translink.

Remember when everyone wanted to be in Richmond? Nope.

BC anti-deforestation bill won't apply to timber harvesting. Wow... okay... that sounds like a total contradiction. Does that mean we're just going to start pumping out raw logs for export? I pumped out a few raw logs last weekend if you know what I'm saying. No, no of course you don't.

Tsawwassen land development proposal rekindles decades-old debate. A debate about whether or not we should save a bit of land in case maybe the suburban experiment fails and we have to start growing our own food again in which your trusty workin' class rag the Provo has solidly claimed as a bad idea and a reason why land values are so high. Speaking of being so high...

Paralympics come to a close. I didn't even know they had started. I didn't hear anybody cheering so I thought they hadn't begun. Sorry, I've been sequestered in an abandoned warehouse under Mount Pleasant for the last 10 days.

Olympics won't lose money: VANOC. The numbers aren't in, but you should trust VANOC -- they wouldn't lie... again. I mean, they wouldn't purposefully say something and then just change their minds completely, would they?

White supremacists fail to show at their own march. Hey are those the same black-clad anarchists you guys were going on about a couple of weeks ago?

What's next for Vancouver?. Oh man, we could get some monster truck rallies in BC Place, we could have some c-list celebrity sightings, we could have some aging rocker on a bankruptcy comeback tour at River Rock Casino, we could have a Wedding Show at Canada place, we could host the International Cheerleading Competitions 2010, Apr 10 - 11. You know, just all sorts of things. We could go to a climbing wall, even. Or have a day where we turn off all the lights!

Not exactly, but the streets did feel a little empty after that fateful Sunday where we supposedly reverted to "No Fun City." Sure, the cops closed down the liquor stores at 2pm the day of the gold medal game, and sure, that very Sunday, bars shut down at 10pm -- normal Sunday hours. But let's be real, this city has struggled to create a flourishing scene with or without some corporate charade in town. Just imagine how many festivals we could have thrown each year for decades with the amount of money spent on the five ring circus.

Meanwhile, on Urban Diner, a conversation about the gentrification of Blood Alley erupts with the announcement of the opening of Judas Goat Taberna wherein I argue that even the name Blood Alley is a product of gentrification. Meanwhile the corporatization of public amenities continues with the announcement that the English Bay Bistro Leased to Cactus Club. Next, Fabutan is going to buy Third Beach and rent out plots of prime suntanning space.