As a few of you snidely stated in my last post about Vancouver's anti-fun squad, facebook groups are meaningless and contribute nothing to the myriad causes they speak to.

Well, now there's a website. And while your logic is completely faulty (What's so different about a website and a facebook group?), at least now - for whatever reason - you can get off your ass and check out this website which seeks to end Vancouver's historical problem of early closing times.

With the recent Biltmore shenanigans and the mayoral election almost upon us, I felt it was time to talk about a story that I've been following for awhile and that's really started to piss me off. I'm not a crazy party-junky (anymore) and I don't want to stay up until god-knows-what hour in the morning standing on the street preaching incoherence and peeing on the sidewalk (again, not anymore), but would it kill this shitty city to have later closing hours?

Yeah so I'm back or whatever and man, I don't know. Is there any point? My unintentional computer sabbatical has left me wondering, do the kids over at The Only have it right? Is that how they stay so positive and free from the traps of sarcasm and cynicism? Because right now it seems like "news" only happens in the winter. I've spent the last few weeks breaking onto roofs and wandering around aimlessly.

I'm a traveler again. Alone in my city for the first time. I will have my coffee to stay. Take my time. Smear the dirt and the smells of back alleys on my clean clothes, get lost in the mire of moss cracked industry. In Belfast, after the troubles, I was there, and I was lost, and I grew strong and bold, booking beds in hostels, buying books of bus tickets. Or, when the walls opened, and the siege was lifted, and the Apprentice Boys stood aside, I walked the old city of Londonderry, confident and proud among the paint-splattered outposts and martyred walls. Now I drift. I wander to live. I let the city's doors open, I listen to the whispers in the cobblestones, I follow the underground streams to their source, like a sockeye, I've been here before. Only this time, I've grown even bigger, in a spiral outwards, drawing in the detritus of seasons. Count the rings, you'll see, its all circular, Fibonacci was telling the truth. Even in smoke and mirrors there are smoke and mirrors. Mother, please believe me, like you believed in me once before, I will smash them again, these mirrors.

This week, Vancouver will be hit with two completely opposite acts of the electronica variety. First up are Treasure Fingers, Kill the Noise, and Datarock, who will grace us with their presence this Thursday. The following night is Superstar DJ Keoki, who hasn't been to Vancouver in years, and whose career has been spanning for a lot longer than that of your average DJ. The two shows are going to be totally different, but both will hopefully get people moving and talking...

Hey apparently Canada has a second official language! It's not Mandarin or Cantonese! Crazy, right?

I've received news that French speakers, a species so rare in Vancouver that they have to be seen to be believed, gather once a month at the Backstage Lounge to listen to music, mingle, and dance. They'll be out in full force tonight, and so will I. The night is called C'est Extra, and there are shots of Jäger on special to make you that much more confident in speaking. Personally, I'm hoping for lots of hot men standing six meters away from the entrance, smoking cigarettes, and, if I'm lucky, doing the poutine dance captured above.

Saturday night, Ion celebrated its five-year anniversary. The magazine has been a welcome addition to Vancouver, it's mandate being to provide an 'unpretentious look at independent culture.' Whether it does that or not depends on who you ask, but I would argue that it's one of the few publications in town that's been great at delivering interesting content along with high production quality. Plus the horoscopes don't pretend like they're true. Plus it's free. Whoo!

The birthday party was held at Railtown, a warehouse that seemed more fit for a rave than anything else. The room started to get packed around the 11 o'clock mark, with more and more people showing up in a steady stream. Drinks were well-priced, which kept the bar with a constant crowd hovering around it. The music was good, with all the usual indie suspects (and some bits of 80s, 90s, whatever) provided by VND&LSM, Trevor Risk, and Tyler Fedchuk.