The Long Road

**UPDATED Sept 27. Click on the picture to hear the new single “In View”.**

Well, The Hip are out with a new album in a few days. We heard 3 of the new tracks last May at the Sasquatch Festival, and really liked them. The really cool part of this is that they are doing a slightly different tour this time, playing multiple dates at very small venues… like the Commodore in Vancouver. I have ALWAYS wanted to see a show there - the place is legendary. And… wait for it… now I will as this morning we got tickets for a Saturday night show. Very pumped! The Hip at the Commadore. Scratch another one of the list!

Grace, Too (live)
(thanks to Out the Other for the mp3)

Yes, yes. Beware, be wary, Be aware.

‘Cause you just never know who is lurking behind that door.

Well Fox News aired this story tonight. The dubbing is off on this clip, and it’s 10 minutes long, but worth watching. Bill tears a strip off of Chris Wallace when asked why he didn’t do more to stop bin Laden. Check it out.

If you don’t want to watch for 10 minutes, there are lots of shorter clips on YouTube.

Today is my parent’s aniversary. So happy Aniversary Mom and Dad. Sorry we aren’t there to help you celebrate. But rest assured we will tip a glass or two of red in your honour tonight!

One of the things I’m really missing about China is the self-proclaimed “Photo Geeks”. As you can see from the above shot, we were aptly named. The only reason I’m not personally looking as geeky as the guys in the pic is that I’m taking it! Paul, Blake, Hubert and I enjoyed many, many days of wandering about with a crazy arsenal of plastic, metal and film hanging around our necks. The above shot was taken in an old neighborhood that was on the way into Dalian. It was steps from the Qing Guay (pron. ching gway - basically the Dalian skytrain) station called Ho Yan station. We had a great time poking around there for an afternoon.

Anyway, we don’t get much time to get together anymore as Paul and I are now in Canada while Hubert and Blake are still in China. Below are some shots that were taken this summer as we tried to rekindle the magic!

Great shot taken by Paul on his 4x5 during a visit to Kamloops. Paul and Ally saw this cool site between Vernon and Kamloops. He and I went back the next day hoping for good light.

This is my effort on the same day, same location. My very first attempt with a 4x5 camera! This shot is geotagged! - click on it to see a map of where it was taken.

Earlier in the summer, Hubes and Paul got together and did this great shot. Again on the 4x5.

Now Blake didn’t get a chance to team with Paul and his 4x5 this summer… so I included a great Blake shot of Jilin City, Jilin from his archives. You can see more of his great work by clicking here.

Finally, here after all this talk of the 4x5, here is a shot of Paul taking a pic with it…

… the plan is to start to post more shots that were taken with the Photo Geeks soon…

Well, I’m gonna try something new here on The Long Road. I’m hoping to increase our Michelle Time here. So I’m starting a new category called See the World and am throwing out a little challenge for her to share a bit about our travels together. I think what I’ll do is post a picture here and she can respond with the story that seeing it inspires. I’ll also geotag the pic so that you can see where in the world it is! I’ll start with this one that I call The Fantastik! Click on the picture to see where it was taken. The map starts pretty close, so look to the right, and use the slider to zoom out to see where in the world it is! Hopefully we hear the story from Michelle soon…

In the meantime, enjoy this mp3! Gomez - See the World (Live) via The Late Greats

Well this one goes out especially for Craig. (You can have a glimpse into his twisted world by clicking here)

He and I both love the musical libations of one Beck Hanson. So here you go buddy, two hot new tracks from the yet to be released… “The Information” (coming in October).

Click to download Elevator Music and Nausea

(mp3’s courtesy of a soundtrack for everyone)

And as a bonus, just ‘cause it’s so weird, how ’bout Willie Nelson covering Smells Like Teen Spirit? (thanks to I’m so Sorry for this)

Well, I know it is so last year, but for the last few weeks I just can’t stop playing Funeral by The Arcade Fire. I’m thinking that this album should be in everyone’s collection. This effort from the Montreal group has a unique sound, great lyrics and a fabulous driving energy that makes it so hard to turn off - no matter which track is playing!

So if you don’t know this music, click on the link below to download the openning track of Funeral. If you like it, I would recommend picking up the CD. It’s great!

MP3 The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (via post)
(courtesy of Music is Art)

We’re off to see the Dali Lama this afternoon. Should be very interesting and inspiring. Debrief to follow…

OK, we are back. Have to say it was a cool experience. His holiness didn’t say anything mind blowing or profound. That surprised me, and yes, I’m sure there are those that may disagree with me. What he did do, was say many things that are common sense. That being said, his message was an excellent reminder of what our values should be. Countless times he would make a simple comment and the 20 thousand some odd people on hand would burst into applause… like we all were saying together “Oh… yeah” (insert lightbulb over head here). For me, his underlying message was simply that we should all just be nicer, more respectful, considerate, tolerant, compassionate and content. He said that although he is buddhist and thus has certain beliefs, he really doesn’t care what religion you are or are not, we all should be and can be better humans. Simple eh?

Again, really none of this is, well rocket science, but it really needs to be said. And he is the perfect one to deliver this message. I don’t think anyone who was in the building left without being seriously touched on some level, and changed, if only a bit. Really, someone should give this guy a Nobel Peace prize.

Well, we are sad to report that Blake Defieux, citing artistic differences over at Now You See Us, has ceased operations at the site (one of our favourite haunts). Our loss. And yours.

Happily he makes his triumphant return to the Blogosphere at …Now You Don’t. Check him out.

Michelle and I while enjoying lunch in a stunning location got to talking about some of the coolest places we’ve lunched together. We were at one of the time! See video.

Not bad eh? Glacier National Park. Our hike began at the bottom of the valley, past where the river disappears into the trees. The spot we stopped for lunch afforded us a view that was, well, simply stunning. Anyway, I think I might start a new segment here on The Long Road about great lunch spots Mich and I have enjoyed.

So this weekend saw us capping off the summer at Glacier National Park and Revelstoke National Park. Above are shots taken on the Perley Rock trail on a stunning day. It was a grunt to get to the glacier on this over one hundred year old trail, but well, well worth the effort. It reminded us of the hike to Wedgemount Lake, pictured above in the banner for The Long Road. Below is a pic of Mich at the toe of the glacier. Can you pick her out… ? She’s pretty small!