COVID-19

[DzM]

Well NOW this shit is serious.

Storm Crow tavern, Vancouver's beloved east end geek bar where DzM once got me very drunk ordering drinks by rolling a 9-sided die, has permanently closed.

There's still Storm Crow ale house out in Kitsalano (west side), I guess I'll hafta make the trek out there some time.

Well now that is just bullshit. It was a 20-sided die!

Also, that's a damned awesome place. I am extremely bummed it's closing. It gave me something to look forward to should I end up in Vancouver again.

[Low D]

Well now that is just bullshit. It was a 20-sided die!

Oh, thought I was just seeing double.

Also, that's a damned awesome place. I am extremely bummed it's closing. It gave me something to look forward to should I end up in Vancouver again.

Well, in good news there's a second over in Kitsalano (the west side of town), "Storm Crow Ale House", so I'll make the trip with you if you're here.

But East Van's "Storm Crow Tavern" was the more intimate original location, and more importantly RIGHT by my work!

[Frances]

There's still Storm Crow ale house out in Kitsalano (west side), I guess I'll hafta make the trek out there some time.

I'm moving to a state with two Canadian border crossings an hours drive away, I think. One of my favorite relatives is moving to Seattle (a five hour drive).

Never been to Canada. Will be happy to check it out.

Have been spending as much time as possible out of California. Everyone I know that has moved on is happy they did.

It's too hot and everything else. No more raging fires and evacuations is fine by me.

[firehazard]

Well NOW this shit is serious.

Storm Crow tavern, Vancouver's beloved east end geek bar where DzM once got me very drunk ordering drinks by rolling a 9-sided die, has permanently closed.

There's still Storm Crow ale house out in Kitsalano (west side), I guess I'll hafta make the trek out there some time.

Well now that is just bullshit. It was a 20-sided die!

Also, that's a damned awesome place. I am extremely bummed it's closing. It gave me something to look forward to should I end up in Vancouver again.

Sounds like a great place, it is indeed a bummer when favourite haunts close. I suspect there may be many going the same way as a consequence of all this crap.

Big concerns about the survival of music venues too here. Especially the smaller independent ones: https://saveourvenues.co.uk/#/

[Low D]

Never been to Canada. Will be happy to check it out.

Have been spending as much time as possible out of California. Everyone I know that has moved on is happy they did.

It's too hot and everything else. No more raging fires and evacuations is fine by me.

Hah we have plenty of those here don't worry!

I am despairing of *ever* visiting the US again. If there's a 2nd wave of COVID-19 AND Trump wins the next election then I feel like the country will just never recover.

I have one last bottle of Juniper 8 gin from Trader Joe's. Gonna break it out someday out to either celebrate or mourn my continental neighbours.

[DzM]

There's still Storm Crow ale house out in Kitsalano (west side), I guess I'll hafta make the trek out there some time.

I'm moving to a state with two Canadian border crossings an hours drive away, I think. One of my favorite relatives is moving to Seattle (a five hour drive).

You're moving to northern Idaho? Interesting choice. Beautiful.

I know a lot of people that have moved from CA to ID using the rationale of "there are fewer laws; you can do what you want; lotta 'W' and 'Trump' stickers on the trucks."

[DzM]

“And don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing.”

Next, he clarified: “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.”

Well that makes sense. If we weren't testing then we wouldn't KNOW about COVID-19 cases, and if we don't KNOW about them then they don't exist.

[Low D]

“And don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing.”

Next, he clarified: “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.”

Well that makes sense. If we weren't testing then we wouldn't KNOW about COVID-19 cases, and if we don't KNOW about them then they don't exist.

See this is the sort of reason i despair ever being able to travel to your country again!

[Low D]

There's still Storm Crow ale house out in Kitsalano (west side), I guess I'll hafta make the trek out there some time.

I'm moving to a state with two Canadian border crossings an hours drive away, I think. One of my favorite relatives is moving to Seattle (a five hour drive).

You're moving to northern Idaho? Interesting choice. Beautiful.

I know a lot of people that have moved from CA to ID using the rationale of "there are fewer laws; you can do what you want; lotta 'W' and 'Trump' stickers on the trucks."

Not to mention the historic home of James Butler's Aryan Nations movement & compound, and current home to two different factions of same:

Shaun Patrick Winkler — who studied the Christian Identity message of hate under Butler until the iconic racist leader’s death in 2004 — purchased 17.3 acres of timbered property last year in the Hoodoo Mountains of Bonner County, Idaho, not far from the former site of the Aryan Nations “world headquarters” in adjoining Kootenai County. He reportedly plans to open it up for families affiliated with the Klan or Aryan Nations to move in and build residences.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate ... an-nations

In 2009, Aryan Nations Revival which was based in Texas merged with Pastor Jerald O'Brien's Aryan Nations which was based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, since both parties were ardent Christian Identity adherents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Nat ... nd_decline

In good news, the original Aryan Nations property is now a cow pasture, having been sold after the group were successfully sued for USD6.3million in a human rights lawsuit filed by, appropriately enough, Native Americans from the area.


Yeah sorry I'm sure Idaho is beautiful, but as an old anti-fascist activist I can't shake the association! Never been there despite living sort of close. Love me some Cascadia states though! Washington, Oregon & California are lovely, what little i have seen of all three. I believe your Orange Baboon in Chief considers California "a disgrace to our country" with "strange ideas and values" and Washington's Governor to be a "nasty person". To me, those are solid recommendations. Doesn't seem to think much about Oregon one way or another, apparently.

[DzM]

Idaho has more than it's fair share of dipshits. Still, Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint are lovely. Just, you know - better without the people.

My great grandparents lived in St Maries just to the south of the lake, and my grandparents raised the family in Spokane Valley in WA. They did many summer vacations in Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint, and I got dragged along to those places as a kid in the 70s and 80s.

I went and visited briefly in March/April of 2019. They are considerably less charming now than I remember (much more strip-mall sprawl), and there's a lot of poverty around the edges. Lot of drug problems that stretch all the way from Spokane through Post Falls and on to Coeur d'Alene (and probably beyond). Overall - beautiful place and geography. Socio-economically - struggling. Politically, does not overlap with my own views of the world at all well.

[Frances]

You're moving to northern Idaho? Interesting choice. Beautiful.

I know a lot of people that have moved from CA to ID using the rationale of "there are fewer laws; you can do what you want; lotta 'W' and 'Trump' stickers on the trucks."

A former employer is setting me up for work. Getting out of California with a job waiting in these times seems preferable to winging it. I was looking at housing in Reno, which I love. Fucking Elon Musk and his stupid Tesla battery factory or whatever it is will continue to change the city for the worse. I actually can’t believe Harrah’s is closing and being turned into a techie apartment fantasy Barbie dream house. They are furloughing 75% of their workers in Sparks and CA is supposed to continue to tremble in fear of losing them here?

I have spent as much time as possible in NV with a family member who works in legislature making sure all their new laws are constitutional or something like that. I’ve noticed that whatever the political leanings of the city’s residents, no one bothers me and I don’t bother them. They love putting cut outs of John Wayne up, that’s for sure.

Work sites are in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene. I need to learn how to spell Coeur d'Alene.

Last time I saw my old bosses they paid me for a week to hang out, play Elvis records and talk shit. Like The Toy without the racism.

Hayden Idaho looks scary. I’m scared of lakes and pine trees and stuff like that. Would probably cry if I missed the bus back from Pooh sticks bridge in Britain, so I just don’t go.

Everyone I know who has moved to Arizona, Nevada and Idaho has done it because of housing costs in California.

Having worked with some fellow Californians on a little project during my short-ish furlough, I will say that California’s Governor Newsom is a vapid, worthless fame-seeker catering to the wealthy or any celebrity he can associate himself with. He makes Ryan Seacrest seem sincere. I say this after actually having gotten the results we wanted.

[Low D]

I will say that California’s Governor Newsom is a vapid, worthless fame-seeker catering to the wealthy or any celebrity he can associate himself with.

In fairness, he's probably just insecure because that state has had ACTUAL celebrity governors.

[DzM]

A former employer is setting me up for work. Getting out of California with a job waiting in these times seems preferable to winging it.

Cool. Good luck to you.

Work sites are in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene. I need to learn how to spell Coeur d'Alene.

Family trivia - Evidently a great-uncle (great-great? Who knows. A long ways back) of mine was the dude that founded/established Post Falls. The "Post" for which the town and falls are named. Supposedly.

Last time I saw my old bosses they paid me for a week to hang out, play Elvis records and talk shit. Like The Toy without the racism.

I must admit that I am frequently curious about what it is that you do.

I’m scared of lakes and pine trees and stuff like that.

Being scared of lakes and pine trees and moving to northern Idaho is a bit like being allergic to wool and becoming a shepherd. I'm not positive you've thought this through.

[left]

Last time I saw my old bosses they paid me for a week to hang out, play Elvis records and talk shit. Like The Toy without the racism.

I must admit that I am frequently curious about what it is that you do.

Same here. This sounds like a job for Sal Paradise.

[Frances]

I must admit that I am frequently curious about what it is that you do.

Same here. This sounds like a job for Sal Paradise.

Kerouac and I were born in the same city. Bette Davis as well. Cool, cool, cool.