Morning Brew: July 17, 2008

Well, no Brew first thing this morning... here's hoping Sean didn't get assassinated by a bunch of hipster haters. As far as that goes, I say come on down to Yaletown; I get the urge for a game of soccer like six times a day with all these ratlike pooches being dragged about.

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.

Is the Dziekanski taser probe all one big RCMP masquerade? I'm pretty confused as to why we don't automatically bring in a foreign third party to perform this kind of investigation...

Oh and to fuel those spindly soccer legs: here's a nice profile of the Rhizome Cafe, an East Van establishment that's been experimenting with a few dishes at a 'pay what you feel' price. I've been there for a few events in the past, and while I may need my meat and diet coke, I can definitely get behind such socially concious business experimentation (though who knows if it'll work in the long term.) Expect lots of lentils and some hairy female armpits, these chicks are for real.

Seattle trashes their self-cleaning washrooms. There's one of these things in the park across the street, but I've never taken the plunge. How many do we have and has anyone ever used one? Or I guess more importantly, anyone ever stolen a quick hit of crack or found a dead baby in one?

In the Tyee, Only Magazine's Adam Thomas talks to Crispin Glover about his 2005 experimental film "What is It?". The film features a cast of actors with Down Syndrome playing the lead roles, has been compared to Bunuel and Lynch, and without distribution can only be seen whenever Glover tours the movie himself. This weekend might be your only chance as he'll bring the film, q&a session, and book signing to the Pacific Cinematheque from Friday till Sunday. I'm there.

Since finally scoring an account, I'm now even more addicted to ffffound than I was before. You're lucky I gave my morning attention to you instead... now go get lost in some images.

photo by sp_clarke of the BR flickr group