While 'shock horror' has existed for a long time (did someone say 'Texas Chainsaw?'), it's never been near as popular as it is today. I'm not here to perform a deep social analysis, but I can tell you about one new Canadian made film that works against the grain, hearkening back to the days when horror was about cool monsters, buckets of blood, and weekend escapism (i.e, the 80s?). Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is the work of a trio of Ottawa based independent filmmakers (and VFS alum) who grew up on a steady diet of 'Nightmare on Elm Street' and were put off by the "recent trend towards R-rated torture porn." After five short films, Monster Slayer may still be a decidedly R-rated debut feature, but this tale of a reluctant young antihero battling the mythical (and bloodpack-loaded) forces of latex evil in the halls of his own night school is ultimately more gut-busting than it is gut-wrenching, and will appeal to anyone sick of pseudo-snuff and still crossing their fingers for an 'Evil Dead 4'.

Echoing a number of callers who phoned into the postgame show on the TEAM 1040, I was disheartened to find out only 37,000 and change showed up to the game that also served as a public memorial to late-Prez and CEO Bob Ackles. (Pics inside)

When you arrive at the Beaver you will note the industrial surroundings with the BCIT Aerospace Campus just to the north. Busses are few here so good luck walking that distance - I certainly wouldn't want to do it. Convince a friend to drag their oil wagon out of the driveway, or ride you bike already, and head down to the south side of Sea Island and you will be well on your way.

Anti-poverty activists accuse Vancouver's downtown ambassadors of discrimination. You had to throw that in there, eh? You couldn't have just said "Vancouver's downtown ambassadors accused of discrimination", noooo.

CanWest huffs and puffs while free speech burns. I'm sorry I can't the image of a cartoon wolf dressed as a paper boy blowing down this little Palestinian refugee camp.

Blackout offers leaders a wake-up call. Foremost being the revelation that you can't vote without electricity.

B.C. books $2.9 billion budget surplus. Sweet! Bank that shit. Don't give any of it to Cambie Merchants, don't use it for light rail into the Fraser Valley, don't compensate forestry workers, don't use it for land claims, and don't invest it in alternative energy.

Concert BReak returns (and with a bang)! Miss me? For those just joining me, Concert BReak is where you can find Vancouver's best beats, from stadium concerts at GM Place to indie shows at 1067.

This week, the Whistler Music Festival and the Vancouver Folk Festival are are running at the same time—that's my kind of dilemma! Thievery Corp., The Roots, James Taylor, Mark Farina, Girl Talk and many more after the jump. Enjoy the music and the sunshine!

Thursday, July 17
♦ The Bloody Beetroots @ Caprice: Italy's the Bloody Beetroots spin with Expendable Youth and Paul Devro.
♦ Dubmatix @ Fabric Night Club: Toronto reggae and drum and bass.

Friday, July 18
♦ James Taylor @ GM Place: I didn't realize this Sanyal family favorite had put out a new album last year (titled "One Man Band"). I wonder if he can still fill stadiums.
♦ Mark Farina @ Commodore: House lovers are going to be out with a vengeance as downtempo beats stir up the Commodore.
♦ Guilty About Girls @ Biltmore: Vancouver's own Guilty About Girls is a trio of local alt pop boys.

Beau Jarvis, the vice president of development, has stated that Onni spent $15,000 on security, however I would be very interested to know how much of that was actually spent on security for its four construction sites at Victoria Hill. I live in a condo directly overlooking the old building and I have not seen anyone conduct a perimeter on the asylum site this year. As others have pointed out ---if four fires were set and the entire building covered in graffiti the "phantom security" was pretty hopeless. Just look at the number of photos on facebook and flickr to see how easy it was to gain access. In fact some days there was a line up to get through the main hole in the fence.

Regardless, I'm giving you a short, impromptu one once again. Sean probably just got sucked away last night by the downtown glow now that powers back and businesses can tally the lost earnings, not that they'll be getting anything back. Good thing Rogers wasn't letting Future Shop sell the iPhones, or there would've been... more angry geek blog posts to deal with?

It takes 11 date rapes in the Downtown Eastside before it gets any attention. And on a similar note: not every sex crazed man stalks prey in seedy downtown bars, so maybe you should think twice before you accept that glass of water from your MD next time you're in to reload on birth control.

Learn about Velib, the new bike sharing program in Paris which "has generated more than 25 million new bicycle trips in its first year, 10% of which substitute former car trips." There's also now a bike share program starting up in London and a few other European cities. Is this kind of thing feasible for Vancouver? Someone more inclined to pedal wanna inform us? I don't have the time to research this morning... and my only experience is drunkenly throwing 'purple-yellow's off the top of the UBC Parkade.

All the evidence you need that we have to get that Omar kid out of Guantanamo: the torture playlist. I reckon the 'Meow Mix Theme Song' on repeat would would break my will faster than anything else. Listen all the way through to find out just how much Metallica loves it when "Enter Sandman" gets used to set the mood for some good ol' fashioned waterboarding.

The ladies who run Momentum are putting on an event called Bikeosphere on Friday night, so if you get a chance to drop by the Centre A Gallery, you'll enjoy a whole mishmash of stuff aimed at highlighting city cycling as a lifestyle choice. There will be music, art, a fashion show, refreshments, and valet bike parking! It's only $5, and proceeds will go to the artists and to the magazine. If you can't attend, make sure to look out for Momentum (it's free), or subscribe to it.

While I'm on the bike thing... check out this Vancouver cyclists' map. I just found out about it, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to be my Bible.

But with performers like Thievery Corporation, The Roots and Broken Social Scene on the ticket, it's the kind of weekend to make an exception for an early start. Even more so if you have free tickets - and we have three double passes for either day to give away to three lucky winners right now.

Let's just hope no crazies are taking notes with some epic Olympic shenanigans in mind. Meh, the riot clock shall tick on regardless of downtown power levels, though I'm sure as long as the "french quarter" doesn't blow up everyone'll be as happy as an island of inebriated tourists.

Here's my favourite blog-reaction to the event. A few of those lines are definitely getting added to my found-ESL-poetry collection. And this must be the guy who was actually responsible. Cmon', his mood is 'amused' and he writes in a language I can't even confidently identify.

The Happy Frog have a good interview up with panelists form Saturday's Peak Oil & The Media discussion. Some important stuff that you won't be able to ignore for much longer.

So any takers for solar power yet? Though if BC Hydro does decide to embrace it full force, can we stick the inevitable bundle of combustible wires underneath Surrey?

I say you might as well sell the car now and start saving up for that private island, especially since we'll all be living on a bunch of glorified lily pads sooner or later...

Being the resident theatre critic here at Beyond Robson, I was the natural choice to cover this year's Under the Stars offerings. But, I'll be perfectly honest: I'm not usually a huge fan of the musicals. I've reserved my musical-theatre experiences for situations that seem to demand it (i.e. seeing "Rent" in New York and "Cabaret" while visiting London with my sister, the actress -- both of which I ultimately enjoyed). Soon after donning the theatre hat for BR, I had the chance to take in the amazing Black Rider, and reviewed the Arts Club's wonderful rendition of The Producers. After seeing how well one Vancouver company managed to pull that show off, I was actually kind of excited to check out two more homegrown Broadway adaptations. Would this year's TUTS complete my conversion into a full fledged fan of the song-and-dance storytelling?

With 20 finalists representing each Canadian region, the 10 trend watchers with the most votes will be awarded the chance to give their weekly opinions on the hottest spots to shop, flaunt and horde fashion in their area.

I figure Vancouver, who is being represented by Craig David Long and Terri Potratz, has a good chance of winning the contest. With our growing number of independent shops and increasingly more fashion savvy individuals, Vancouver is finally starting to break out of the simplistic trends of yoga gear and plaid.

Keep in mind though, it's worth it to look at all the finalists. Good fashion is by no means restricted to one city or region. There are some talented writers from across Canada that are in the running to win the reporter challenge including a dear childhood friend of mine, Meghan Tooley, from Winnipeg.

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to voice your opinion. Voting ends tomorrow morning. Happy voting! Photo from FashionMagazine.com

I remember back in the nineties when we used to go to B.C. Lions games; we would buy nosebleed seats and sneak down to the lower section.

B.C. Place was so empty back then the security guards didn't really care.

When I caught the Western Final back in 1999, the announced attendance was only around 29,000 if memory serves me correctly.

Under 30,000 for a West Final? Numbers unheard of considering the last few Western Finals under the Dome have been near capacity (but not sold out).

We've come a long way baby.