New Media

Funny stuff at Mr. Orr’s Afternoon Brew (Have a little trouble getting up this Morning, Sean?):

Conservative gov’t on edge of collapse. I’d say its about time we had some sort of election or something.

Anyone else struck by the irony of this? The opposition has been accusing Canada’s Conservatives of anti-democratic tendencies for years. Now the Liberal leader who Canadians undeniably rejected in the last election has a chance to lead a coalition government and eject the Prime Minister, who coincidentally won his strongest mandate from the voters yet.

Still waiting for the furious public backlash against this stupidity.

UPDATE: The backlash has begun.

Why bother trying to decipher the motives of the butchers of Mumbai (or worse, go out of our way to actually defend them) when an all-Canadian MacLuhanesque explanation is available? To wit:

* The terrorists targeted Americans and Britons, but were also perfectly willing to slaughter anyone else who happened to be in their way.
* The attackers murdered Jews at a Jewish center that provided services to the local community and tourists
* The terrorists attacked a financial centre of Mumbai
* The killers attacked a hospital maternity ward
* The attack occurred in a country that has overwhelmingly embraced globalization and rejected tribal nationalism

So… why is there any confusion at all about what motivated the killers?

At the corner of Broadway Avenue and Manitoba, in the heart of Vancouver, there was a little cafe where no one ever came.

Well, not exactly no one. I went in a few times just to check out the place, since it was about two steps away from my building. I try to support local businesses. But it was always dark in there and either too hot or too cold. And no newspapers for me to read. The coffee was fine (really, it’s hard to mess up plain old coffee), but in Vancouver, the beverage is almost always a secondary concern for cafe patrons. I didn’t become a regular, even though it was so close.

I hardly ever saw anyone else go in there, either. I think it lasted about two years. Then it closed its doors for good sometime at the end of summer — I’m not really sure when. I’m sure not too many others were paying attention, either.

But my wife noticed a Starbucks sign on the empty building perhaps a month ago. The place re-opened yesterday. I haven’t gone in yet, but lots of people from my neighborhood clearly have. The brightly-lit place is absolutely packed whenever we go by, in the morning or the evening.

I’m not a big fan of Starbucks coffee, but I could see myself holding the odd meeting with one of my freelance clients in there. Which goes to show that being a local business will only take you so far when it comes to winning customer loyalty. If local businesses want MY business, that sometimes means their taking a cue from the big players. The big ones weren’t always big — they got successful because they were doing something right.

It pays to look at what the busy guy on the corner is up to.

Covenant Zone’s Vancouver-based bloggers have already done a good job of summing up the trauma of the latest terror attacks in India. I hope more Canadians will extend their solidarity to our brothers overseas.

Indians long ago made their choice about whether to align with the West or the other, mostly less palatable alternatives on offer.

So sad that the enemy will never respect that choice.

The world must stand with India.

Ecodensity is happening. it’s real. Some argue that it has already made Vancouver the greenest and most sustainable city in North America.

The average Vancouverite will still see change happening very gradually. But the charter’s new LEED Silver green building standard for all new private developments in rezoned areas (retroactive to March 2008), changing to LEED Gold by 2010, gives Vancouver the greenest standards in our continent, says Vancouver city planner Brent Toderian…

For the full story, check out my latest CityView column in Granville Magazine.