Now, it's almost like we don't even want people to come. Especially Americans, which I'm all for, its just, you know, we should probably have this thing paid off before the next recession hits.

Is budget deficit much greater than predicted? "Hansen told a Kamloops radio station yesterday that he 'wouldn't bet the mortgage' on hitting his pre-election targets". Yeah don't bet the mortgage, because that's what got us into this whole mess in the first place. Great choice of words there bud.

Heroic man gives life to save his car. A truly remarkable story of courage and sacrifice.

Council considering a bike bridge over False Creek. Probably a good idea (see above).

Meanwhile the Vancouver Sun is doing its part to encourage people to stay in their cars: The cheapest places to park your car

Shelter fuss exposes amateurs. Would that be the people living next to those shelters? Those people suck at living in a city.

Hunt is on for heiress who's gone missing from Vancouver's streets. But whom we only realised was missing when there was a large sum of money involved.

Go east young man: Assaults skyrocket in frustrated neighbourhood. Hmmm, weird, assaults have actually decreased downtown. Why would that be?

Will security cameras become an Olympic legacy? Are you asking me? Oh, um, yes. Yes they will. Did I get the answer right?

Mounties appealing decision on Taser inquiry. Why don't you try appealing to the public whose trust you've destroyed instead? Just an idea.

These are the same people that think Insite encourages drug use, despite yet another report to the contrary.

Are you middle class? Are you serious?

Province doesn't have promised cash for leaky condos. Something poetic about taking money from new construction projects to pay for old ones done wrong.

Heil Harper

B.C. housing minister apologizes to Vancouver mayor for calling city's tactics on homeless 'amateurish'. What you're supposed to do apparently is buy a bunch of hotels, say that you've solved the housing crisis, win an election, then cite the economic woes as the reason they're not getting built. Duh.

I just don't get it. These two articles in the Courier illustrate such a bizarre contrast in my mind: Police rate high in public opinion poll + Temporary shelters' future in doubt. Shelter attracts crime> citizens complain> shelter shut-down. Gangs run wild> citizens complain> more cops needed. Drugs everywhere> blame drug addicts> praise cops.

Whistler Olympic party zone producer wanted. "A river of 20,000 people will flow through Whistler village as part of a $17.8-million party of Olympic proportions, which will run 16 hours a day for 17 days during the 2010 Winter Games". Doesn't that just sound enticing? A river of fanny-packs and matching North Face jackets streaming past vinyl pavilions with credit card companies trying to win you a new car filling up on Monster Energy drink, looking for authentic native art and smoked salmon. Fucking kill me. PS you people need to stop using Olympic as an adjective to describe the size of things during the Olympics.

2010 Olympic posters revealed. "And in a smart marketing move the Paralympic poster, featuring the other half of the maple leaf, can be put beside it to make a complete image". Fitting since we'll probably end up paying double for the Olympics.

There were some crazy slideshows of fancy bicycle 'vending machines' called Bicebergs, but also simpler solutions like bike cages, and your good old fashioned bike tethering posts, which always remind me of a place to hitch your horse. Or, there's Japan's crazy underground bike storage if you want to trust your bike to a robotic machine.

One of the things that surprised me about Vancouver is that, though the city is pretty bike friendly, there is a lack of vision surrounding the parking option. Where there is bicycle parking there is often not enough of it, or it's in disrepair. Even areas like Commercial Drive and Main Street, where I imagine a lot of bikers reside, don't seem to have enough spots to lock up bikes, leaving people crossing the street, going around corners, or locking up to, ironically, no parking signs.

Meanwhile, local media turn to Twitter, further cementing the death of Pop Media (says he with a straight face while linking to a Tumblr page).

Ministry removes controversial Middle East question from B.C. history exam. "They have been fighting to regain a homeland since they were driven out in 1948. Some have lived their entire lives in refugee camps. Forty years later, Israel still refuses to recognize their right to exist as a nation." The question should have read: which group of rock-throwing terrorists hate Jews the most? Duh.

RCMP using intimidation to silence Olympic protest, group says. I do not think that this is true. That being said, I'd like to, um, voluntarily list a few items of public record:
I am a big, big, fan of the RCMP.
I hereby do not condone violence of any sort except for in hockey.
I never once said that I was going to throw human feces at the Olympic torch parade.

Don't

Well, a new study from BTAworks, a research and development division of Bing Thom Architects, suggests that it's just a big urban myth.

Meanwhile, Pivot has a petition going to save the shelters, which run out of funding at the end of this month.

B.C. issues first smoking-in-the-car-with-your-kid ticket. $109?? Come on, the guy was clearly under the influence of alcohol and far from framing any rational decisions. And any parent-smoker knows that a passenger side 13-year-old (not to mention drunkenness) causes cigarettes to light themselves. Have the police no mercy??

Plans for six new waste-to-energy plants around the Lower Mainland. "Instead of seeing garbage as garbage, we're seeing garbage as a resource that we can actually use." We of the Morning Brew firmly support said perspective. Only meta-Canwest-phorically, of course... burning our garbage is probably not the best idea.

Marijuana activist Tim Felger shunned by Abbotsford. I'm convinced this guy was hired to make Marc Emery seem intelligent. I mean seriously man. I still call dibs on that bike when it turns up at a police auction though.

ALERT: Two local reporters and three UBC studies confirm that Immigrants who speak English find better jobs. Meanwhile, cabbies and convenience store clerks continue to enjoy higher job security than Sun staffers, provide more for community than UBC Geographers. Literacy is so overrated...

Here are some things I have learned in the past 365 days:

The following logic went through someone's head: Hmmm, what would we rather have: a First Nations population ravaged by the swine flu because they have no running water or give them hand sanitizer containing alcohol that a few of them might attempt to drink? Tough one.

Downtown brothels difficult to detect, according to expert. Really? Did you guys check the back of the Georgia Straight?

Meanwhile First of 69 missing women portraits unveiled by Vancouver artist.

Survey: Most Canadians link B.C. with Olympics. "But the same poll showed most Americans don't even know the Olympics are coming here". Going a little deeper, we also discover that most Americans didn't know what a Canada is.

Then again what does it matter when all people fucking care about is Jon and Kate Plus 8.

Tragically Hip offers new songs to loyal Orpheum crowd "The first of three nights of sold-out shows started with a standing ovation. No surprises there. This is, after all, Canada's favourite band". And here I was thinking it was 2009 and not 10 years ago. Look at that dude's face. He looks like a washed-up alcoholic, born-again preacher taking a dump. Not my Canada.

Olympic gala includes ballet, virtual fun and uplifting stories. All they're missing is a puppet show describing the horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Oh no wait, they have that too.

Big bucks spent on Olympic car rentals. How much do you want to bet they aren't hybrids?

Should Mandarin Immersion be offered in BC schools? Hey I know! Let's stoke fear and racial tension during an economic downturn!

Silent vigil held in Vancouver as crisis in Iran grows. Hey that's great. I wonder how many of those people voted in the provincial election?

The art of asking Barack Obama to the Olympics. Don't bother, all the hotels are full.

Mats Sundin to skip Olympics: report. Not citing Vancouver's housing crisis as his reason.

Shelters to shut down. Of course. That makes total sense.

Job cuts at program helping psychologically-troubled Vancouver students. So wait, the job cuts are helping? I'm confused. And a little bit sad. Also, terribly, terribly alone.

DTES rents through the roof says report. Through the moldy, rat-infested, badly leaking roof.

Province stalls on low-cost housing. Its ok. Its summer man. Don't worry about it. We'll be at the beach.

Credit Check: -10 The downsizing of newspapers and magazines is causing a great loss, so the Federal Government wants to bail them out. Not bail out journalism - but the mills that are failing due to lessened need for pulp and paper.

From Crisis Comes Hope. Maybe we can learn from being unable to learn from things.

And from hope back to crisis: Recession may create new baby boom. Thanks Misty Harris for ruining my life. And by life I mean day. And by day I mean I already forgot what has made me so upset.