If music could save the world

IMG_5245First off, stoked to hear that the BC Government has officially rejected the Northern Gateway Project. Knowing that the suits at Enbridge are currently sweating buckets is excellent news heading into the weekend. On a broader note, a lot has been happening in my life. Nearly all of it good. It also feels like it’s been a while since I had a date with the awe-inspiring WordPress blog interface, so in many ways I feel like I am discovering it anew. Thus, before I get into the main post, allow me to go over some things that are going on with me these days/ are somewhat relavent to past entries.

  • Izzy is still alive. He appears to be very happy and is eating roughly a colony’s worth of dried mosquito larvae on a daily basis. The plants in his tank are not doing as hot. (Surprise, surprise.)
  • I’m reading an interesting book called A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies. It’s a collection of short stories (I don’t know if it actually falls under the category of ‘anthology’ though since the tales are all sort of connected in theme) and would highly recommend it. Especially to those who like to read en route to work but find that a 15-minute bus ride does not provide sufficient time or comfort to indulge in a novel with more than a few characters.
  • The BBC One series Sherlock is amazing. I have just seen the first episode and the only criticism I have thus far is that it lacked fish. No doubt this will be remedied in episodes to come.
  • Some of my FC colleagues recently evaluated the economic benefits of shark ecotourism and how these compares to the value of sharks killed for food and fins. Interesting read for anyone who likes sharks and/ or ideas on marine conservation. Check it out here.
  • I am no longer single. This is undoubtedly the biggest news, although it probably comes as no surprise to anyone at the Fisheries Centre. Or anyone in general. I don’t really want to get too detailed with my personal life (amazingly, when it comes to anything beyond eHarmony, I am surprisingly shy and private with matters of the heart), although I assume I will ultimately get over this in the posts ahead. So for now, I’ll touch on it only briefly.

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Street beats & the exorbitant cost of having a research assistant

IMG_8660Yesterday I tried to give a little love back to the world.

I recently stumbled across (literally) a mix CD on the street in Gastown. The maker left no information other than a wish for me to listen and share a mix of my own. Since I absolutely love music and surprises and random acts of kindness, I was pretty stoked with this discovery. I was a little less stoked to find that the “mix” was actually just The Tallest Man On Earth’s most recent album, There’s No Leaving Now (with a few random songs thrown on the end). But I still thought it was a pretty awesome idea and having any real complaints regarding such a sweet gesture would be totally ridiculous.  Anyway, I chose to make a mix of my own (including one track from There’s No Leaving Now) based on a year in Vancouver (i.e., I tried to capture the mood of the city in a seasonal playlist). I made only one hard copy and left it down by Canada Place last night. I felt that this location would allow for a diverse array of potential discoverers. But, because I believe music in all its forms is worth sharing, I also chose to upload a digital version called seasons by the sea to 8tracks for interested friends to link to, and for strangers to stumble across.

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