Grandpa loved to hunt

Another reminiscence from dad:

Father loved to hunt. When they moved to Bella Coola and someone would suggest going hunting he'd get all gung-ho. "Heck yeah!" he'd say, grab his gun and off they'd go.  Problem was he wasn't as young and limber any more, and so once he was out with someone, he slipped, fell down the mountain and broke his back. I got a letter from mother, I was in England (dad was stationed in England during the war) and she wrote that he had fallen down the mountain, but he was doing fine and the doctor was going to fix him up. And so I guess he did. I don't know how they got him down the mountain.

Anyway, after the war we were up in Bella Coola and father said, "Herman, you have to go hunting." Father's back had healed but he was a lot slower. We were in this old cabin up the mountain, and there were all sorts of animals in there. I was in corner on the floor and you could hear them moving around on the ceiling. The problem was you had a cabin full of guys who loved guns, so the first thing they did when they heard these animals was start shooting! I think it was Albert who had his gun out shooting at the ceiling.

We went out in pairs, and I was with Albert. We split up around this clearing and I saw this deer. So I shot at it and it went down. I yelled to Albert "I got it! I got it!", but then it got up and started moving away. We shot at it a couple of times, and then we followed it around. That was the only deer we got. I don't know who finally killed it, me or Albert, but I took the credit for it and took the horns. Where are those horns? Did we leave them at the other place? Maybe they're in the shed. Anyway the horns had bullet holes in them, so I was filling them up and I cut a nice shield to put the horns on. Father said "You'll never sell those!" To him they were worthless.

Expelling the demons within

The guy didn't look crazy. He had clean clothes, he looked kempt. He was standing outside the Safeway with a cart full of groceries, as if waiting for his wife to pull up with the car she had gone to fetch from the other side of the lot.

The thing though is that he was talking. He stared out across the lot and talked about taxation. I didn't stop to listen, but it wasn't a ranting rant. There were no obvious expletives, but it was clear he didn't agree with something. 

He wasn't shouting, either. It was a conversation that was missing the other, like so many conversations, except here, instead of two people taking turns talking and politely and impatiently waiting for their turn to talk some more, it was one man taking all the time in the world to talk about this thing that was bothering him.

Twenty minutes later, as I exited the store, he was still there. Still talking, still standing next to his cart of groceries. Maybe his wife had had enough and had taken this moment, this opportunity to leave him for good.

It was here that I had an epiphany: crazies who talk to themselves are always talking negative things. They're angry and upset. They want to set things right. But none of them are ecstatically shouting for joy. Why is that? Why is it always negative?

Maybe it's because the positive people are in sales. Just as crazy, but flogging something.

Aphorisms from tweets, volume 12

"Why Left to Right Punches Are More Aggressive, Powerful and Shocking" It's the way we 'read' things. http://viigo.im/05d5
8:47 AM Jun 30th from Viigo

#NewWest filming at 3rd Ave and 6th St - "State Police" car sighting.
8:06 AM Jun 30th from TwitterBerry
Delete

@punkvspunk @ruthseeley re: touching the egg - they should turn it into a van graaf generator
6:42 AM Jun 29th from web in reply to punkvspunk

@ruthseeley re: coatrack for giants - or perhaps it's a trap for a giant bird that's lost its egg.
9:52 AM Jun 28th from web in reply to ruthseeley

A rant about the failure of the sculpture at Hyack Square in New Westminster: http://is.gd/1gVvz #NewWest
5:31 AM Jun 28th from web

@jenarbo re: Royal City Record - does publish Wed and Sat, the deadline for material is the day before. I suspect earlier is better.
4:31 PM Jun 27th from TwitterBerry

@jenarbo re: coffee grinders - I didn't know there was a commercial product, although it makes perfect sense.
2:18 PM Jun 27th from TwitterBerry

Central Valley Greenway opening: Ethical Bean has a pedal-powered coffee grinder from Our Community Bikes on Main. A different sort of shop.
1:35 PM Jun 27th from TwitterBerry

At the Central Valley Greenway opening. Black jeans were a bad idea. Big line-ups for the hamburgers.
1:22 PM Jun 27th from TwitterBerry

@ruthseeley re: printing consult? I'm all ears.
10:25 PM Jun 26th from web in reply to ruthseeley

Yesterday it made sense, but today I missed not going to the tweetup. In fact, I was there briefly, but pulled in other directions.
6:20 PM Jun 26th from TwitterBerry

Sighting: giant stretch SUV limo parked at McDonald's. Quality.
5:31 PM Jun 26th from TwitterBerry

"Oh, to be the Economist" Best. Magazine. Ever. I think it's their phrase 'your correspondent...' http://viigo.im/02qu
7:52 AM Jun 26th from Viigo

"20 Notes on 365 Days on 2 Wheels" This makes me nostalgic for when I commuted by bike. http://viigo.im/02qb
7:42 AM Jun 26th from Viigo

Reading: "An Ungodly War: The Sack of Constantinople & the Fourth Crusade" by W.B. Bartlett. Writing sometimes turns a bit lavender.
6:36 AM Jun 25th from web

@jamescrockett re: photoshopping spelling: 2 p, or it's 'show-ping', but misspelling is fun. I like the franglais 'faux t'eau chauping'
8:51 PM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

It looks like soapy water running down Main Street. Must be the wash cycle.
8:25 AM Jun 24th from TwitterBerry

"On the road to mediocrity" This is my life. http://viigo.im/00Pn
8:18 AM Jun 24th from Viigo

http://feedafever.com/ - sort of an editor of your rss feeds. Helps you decide what's hot (and therefore should be read).
7:03 AM Jun 24th from web

Central Valley Greenway opens this Saturday. http://is.gd/1bVvr #NewWest #Burnaby #Vancouver
6:54 AM Jun 24th from web

Lemon or Mango gelato? Ooh, but there's red orange too. P takes the orange, I the lemon.
1:18 PM Jun 23rd from TwitterBerry

"The CPI release: Ignore the headline, and look at the core" The effect of partial publication of statistics http://viigo.im/Zvh
6:17 PM Jun 22nd from Viigo

"Florida town orders employees to wear underwear and cover wounds" http://viigo.im/Zv6
6:11 PM Jun 22nd from Viigo

"Social media succession planning" Maybe we need apprentices for this sort of thing. http://viigo.im/ZuS
6:07 PM Jun 22nd from Viigo

@donambridge re: drum bashing - I haven't been there, but have you tried Bully's on 6th near Columbia?
6:45 AM Jun 22nd from web in reply to donambridge

#NewWest - last two days have seen a largish increase of the tag #NewWest, from about 10/day to 20/day
10:06 PM Jun 20th from web

#NewWest Hyack Square - in fact a few (3 or 4) people started dancing: all young (6-20something), all female.
6:37 PM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

#NewWest Hyack Square reopening. Us Anglos are so square. No one is dancing despite the groovilicious Zimbabwe marimba band.
5:51 PM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

@jenarbo re: beer - true, but the newly legal will also be more likely to leave friends behind (passed out). At least, we did...
1:53 PM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

#NewWest 150 year thing - tents spread around uptown. Bus tours. Dixie bands and trampolines. Oooh, circus school!
12:36 PM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

"Here's to never leaving a man or a beer behind." I don't get it. Shouldn't you leave the undrunk beer at your host's?
11:02 AM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

@ruthseeley re: outliers - still haven't read this one, but it's on the list
10:24 AM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

At Pro-Organics for the Saturday morning open market. Haven't been here for years. We recognized many of the same people.
10:23 AM Jun 20th from TwitterBerry

"The People Have Spoken"-newspapers not as trustworthy as online news. But wait, where does online news come from? http://viigo.im/XxX
5:55 PM Jun 19th from Viigo

"Study says 85% Online Canucks have Facebook Profiles" ...and therefore marketers MUST use this somehow. http://viigo.im/XxL
5:46 PM Jun 19th from Viigo

"Can the Unconscious Outperform the Conscious Mind?" Re-assessments of "Blink", an eye-opener of a book. http://viigo.im/XbA
7:57 AM Jun 19th from Viigo

The long-haired kid bounced up the street into the sunset, wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt.
5:50 PM Jun 18th from TwitterBerry

The smoky Paris cafe is dead: Long live the smoky street http://viigo.im/VBz
7:36 AM Jun 17th from Viigo

@josiejose re: busy weekends - the key word is "stuck", as in "not in control". My sympathies.
8:41 AM Jun 15th from TwitterBerry

"Can An Aspirational Web Character Sell Cognac in China?" Interesting. http://viigo.im/U43
8:38 AM Jun 15th from Viigo

@gnb re: bridge car free-This day, when they were walking across, will stay with them more than any other day in a car. Ironic or something.
8:22 AM Jun 15th from TwitterBerry

The two bums who lived behind the restaurant were removed the other day. It's too bad because they kept the alley & parking lot clean.
8:18 AM Jun 15th from TwitterBerry

I like how the Golden Ears Bridge opening is happening the same day as the Car-Free Day.
2:34 PM Jun 14th from TwitterBerry

There's a bridge opening, Sapperton Days, and Car-Free Day activities in several locations. I can't go to any.
2:33 PM Jun 14th from TwitterBerry

The Community Manager Role Unplugged - 15 Essential Roles, with descriptions http://viigo.im/SCC
5:45 PM Jun 12th from Viigo

"Newspapers Are Committing Suicide With The Paid-Content Rope" one of the few refs to Newspaper Next I've seen. http://viigo.im/Sik
8:13 AM Jun 12th from Viigo

@ruthseeley re tv dinner - maybe "dinner" is too loaded with connotations of family time. Plus everyone eats at different times. I eat 8-ish
7:01 AM Jun 12th from web in reply to ruthseeley

@ruthseeley re: dinner tv -- isn't that prime time?
6:57 AM Jun 12th from web in reply to ruthseeley

Google Reader Power Readers, and Canadian politicos shared items. Must check out when I get to a computer. http://viigo.im/RYI
9:36 PM Jun 11th from Viigo

Sunglasses, especially the large roundish ones now in vogue, make people look like insects.
8:12 AM Jun 11th from TwitterBerry

@10thToTheFraser re: hyperlocal - aggregating has its uses too. "Passion" is essential but hard to define or put into a business plan.
5:57 PM Jun 10th from TwitterBerry

Eventually we'll all be automatically connected with everyone else and the trick will be to find the right filters to get what we want.
5:53 PM Jun 10th from TwitterBerry

The Dirty Little Secret Of The Twitter Elite - eventually we'll all be automatically connected with every one else http://viigo.im/R6y
5:46 PM Jun 10th from Viigo

Seen: an English Sparrow chasing a moth over morning rush-hour traffic at Quebec and Terminal. Intense.
8:34 AM Jun 10th from TwitterBerry

How the Social Media Converges with Mass Media What’s Missing from Today’s Hyperlocal Sites - Community Leadership http://viigo.im/QLN
8:26 AM Jun 10th from Viigo

The Digital Magazine: Has its Time Come? The comments are instructive. My fave: 'overtransliteration of metaphor' http://viigo.im/Qny
5:21 PM Jun 9th from Viigo

@ruthseeley The beauty of advertising is that you can never prove conclusively it doesn't work in some way or another. It's the perfect scam
10:21 PM Jun 8th from web in reply to ruthseeley

RT @10thToTheFraser #NewWest neighbourhood profiles for statistics geeks & curious cats http://bit.ly/7Ohwj
10:18 PM Jun 8th from web

"What if, basically, advertisers don't need media to reach audiences?" http://viigo.im/PGH
5:18 PM Jun 8th from Viigo

Product v. process journalism: The myth of perfection v. beta culture http://viigo.im/Ppy
8:46 AM Jun 8th from Viigo

Is Your Website SNOWED? (Stakeholder Needs Overwhelm Web Experience Design) - So true! http://viigo.im/NNG
8:22 AM Jun 5th from Viigo

"Investment" in housing - discussion of durable goods http://viigo.im/NNt
8:18 AM Jun 5th from Viigo

1922: the Province and the Sun create the city's first radio stations. http://is.gd/N8H0 Seize control of the new media!
6:08 AM Jun 3rd from web

Yaki Joes Pizza and Subs. I'm not enticed.
8:22 PM Jun 2nd from TwitterBerry

the fight. A true story with a surprise ending: http://is.gd/MOoc
8:03 PM Jun 2nd from web

What makes a good Spielberg movie? Cobwebs!

It was while watching the latest Indiana Jones film that I realized a good Spielberg film needs a few things: an old unsolved mystery, some underground scenes, some bad history, intricate ancient machinery (preferably made of stone) that still works, creepy bugs, and, best of all, cobwebs. Well, I guess there weren't any in Schindler's List, but was that a real Spielberg film?

Aphorisms from tweets, volume 11

A lot of people doing the heritage home tour in #NewWest. Not sure I'd want strangers checking out my mouldings.
3:14 PM May 31st from web

Flamenco Contigo. A guitarist (very classical) and a dancer. Her posture is very straight. Reminds me of a bull-fighter in an odd way.
9:38 PM May 30th from web

Flamenco dancing is loud!
9:20 PM May 30th from web

Bad economics du jour "Expenditures as a share of GDP are still below levels that Diefenbaker's government saw" http://viigo.im/Jf5
5:53 PM May 29th from Viigo

Info tubes — send us your feedback! Translink is removing bus info from bus stops, they can't keep them updated. http://viigo.im/Jeq
5:28 PM May 29th from Viigo

More Browser-as-Website-Editor Fun - Will this lead to something like how Word clericalicized desktop publishing? http://viigo.im/IXW
7:51 AM May 29th from Viigo

Best value for reading material is The Globe and Mail, last Fri of the month. $1.50 gets a thick paper and Report on Business magazine.
7:44 AM May 29th from TwitterBerry

Iconography Dominates in the Age of the Attention Crash - shiny objects attract. http://viigo.im/GWp
8:40 AM May 26th from Viigo

Hyack parade in New Westminster follow-up: http://is.gd/EZ2T #NewWest #Hyack
7:30 AM May 26th from web

#NewWest trivia: astronaut Bob Thirsk was born in New Westminster. http://is.gd/Dc67
6:58 AM May 25th from web

Reporting LIVE from the Hyack parade 6th and about 7th. Citizen journalism at its best. #NewWest #Hyack

10:24 AM May 23rd from TwitterBerry

Applications becoming invisible "Quickly Moving Beyond The Web Browser" http://viigo.im/F2o

3:31 PM May 22nd from Viigo

Reviving the Press Release: "provide the tools and services they need to retell your story their way". Great ideas http://viigo.im/EON
8:24 AM May 22nd from Viigo

Why Thought Suppression is Counter-Productive http://viigo.im/EOq
8:15 AM May 22nd from Viigo

Canadians: Globe and Mail wants you to rewrite the Copyright Act. http://viigo.im/Eye
6:48 PM May 21st from Viigo

This is interesting: domestic truck sales in BC up in March 8.4%; imports down 5.8%. From BC Stats. Vroom vroom vroom

6:53 AM May 21st from web

Is Cascadia's train coming in? The Walrus also had a lament on the lack of high-speed trains in Canada. http://viigo.im/DOE
4:51 PM May 20th from Viigo

Battle of More vs Many for "influence": Rob Diana Shares 51.2 Items to 72 People; Scoble 0.4 to 5,880. Louis Gray:... http://ff.im/34EzL
7:29 AM May 20th from FriendFeed

BC trade balance tips in favour or more imports: http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.c... http://ff.im/34Eex
7:26 AM May 20th from FriendFeed

Twenty Years of Free Trade with the US. Twenty years already? What happened to the horrifying predictions? http://viigo.im/D7p
5:26 PM May 19th from Viigo

RT @themediaisdying: "Why journalists deserve low pay" — economics of journalism, brilliantly explained : http://tr.im/lOmf (via @amonck ...
2:22 PM May 19th from TweetDeck

After a long weekend I often feel as though I missed out on something. I should have done more.
6:20 AM May 19th from web

How the Social Media Converges with Mass Media What’s Missing from Today’s Hyperlocal Sites - Community Leadership |... http://ff.im/2ZdJc
5:51 PM May 17th from FriendFeed

Watching Die Hard 1. Still the best one, but for different reasons than when it first came out.
11:27 PM May 16th from TwitterBerry

Coming Attractions: False Creek streetcar. It would be nice to include that antique streetcar they used to run. http://viigo.im/ATp
5:27 PM May 15th from Viigo

#SkyTrain Q&A: Trains switching at Edmonds; "During weekday morning commuter hours, SkyTrain operates 57 trains" http://viigo.im/zvt
6:06 PM May 13th from Viigo

"lessons I learned about marketing" "13. The average business person...is not as computer literate as you think." http://viigo.im/z4u
8:50 AM May 13th from Viigo

"Holy crap! It's Jaimie from Mythbusters!" That's the second time that's happened to me.
9:48 PM May 12th from TwitterBerry

Open Mic at the Orange Room in #NewWest
9:30 PM May 12th from TwitterBerry

You know who'd make a great Captain Kirk? Jason Statham.
9:42 AM May 12th from TweetDeck

AXE HANDLES. A litererary and metaphorical excursion. http://viigo.im/yjT
8:41 AM May 12th from Viigo

Vancouver needs a pedestrian advocate, says SFU prof. Non-car/truck transpo shouldn't NEED advocates http://viigo.im/yjG
8:33 AM May 12th from Viigo

"Resuming normal service shortly" I guess they put the pieces in garbage bags and mopped up the mess. I'm imagine that's what happened.
8:27 AM May 12th from TwitterBerry

#Skytrain medical emergency - the voice of god slipped and mentioned they had to get it "cleaned up"
8:24 AM May 12th from TwitterBerry

Reading: Thucydides, an introduction for the common reader by Perez Zagorin.
5:46 PM May 11th from TwitterBerry

This is unnerving: the local (hyperlocal?) crows have developed their own dialect that mimics northern flickers EXACTLY. Only in this block
7:44 PM May 9th from TwitterBerry

Council decides: One lane for bikes on Burrard Bridge. Got to watch how this goes. http://viigo.im/wf2
5:36 PM May 8th from Viigo

Why your Twitter and Social CRM efforts will fail http://ff.im/2Ipg3
7:39 AM May 8th from FriendFeed

Your private conversations ain’t so private - It's like 1984, but democratically self-imposed and self-monitored. http://viigo.im/vsm
4:45 PM May 7th from Viigo

Time spent sitting increases risk of premature death: study. Good thing Skytrain is standing room only. http://viigo.im/v9p
8:32 AM May 7th from Viigo

Market Segments Are Not Communities. The title says it all. Example of variability in language; think 'WOM' too. http://viigo.im/tIQ
8:20 AM May 5th from Viigo

Reading: The Gracchi, by Henry Boren. Two brothers try to reform the Roman Republic and are killed for their pains. A lot of angry mobs then
7:17 PM May 3rd from TwitterBerry

Things to remember when I lie dying: the smell of rain in spring.
3:33 PM May 2nd from TwitterBerry

Helping the boy study for history I noticed there were some facts he could not learn. They would not stick.
6:09 PM May 1st from TwitterBerry

Don't speak AT me - I like the idea of comparing sites (& all promos?) By removing all graphics & design. http://viigo.im/rJh
8:19 AM May 1st from Viigo

Is Captain Ahab a prototype for Kurtz? Vengeance without boundaries/Ends justify means.
8:01 AM May 1st from TwitterBerry