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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In Heaven there’s no lamb chops, Queen Guineveres for handjobs, marijuana, Kenny Rogers, or ecstasy

I’m in a fantastic mood. The sun is shining (five full days and counting!); flowers are blooming; the Canucks are winning; dogs are out walking their people; couples are making out on street corners; and I have thus far managed to successfully (and politely) stave off all solicitation attempts from the plethora of enthusiastic, clipboard-wielding, vest-wearing, non-profit fundraisers scattered around the city. But, while all of this is indeed cause for celebration, what really put me over the top was Friday night.

Unfortunately, delving into this euphoria will mean that, once again, I’m going to be writing about life and not shark trade legislation. I know this is a crushing development but, on the bright side, today’s post will at least provide something good to listen to for when you finally do read my unwritten post on the CITES shark shakedown. Too optimistic? For once, I think not.

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