As the Times Colonist duly noted, Alzu’s has closed it’s doors for good.
For better or worse, I knew what Alzu’s was. It was a 24 hour restaurant on Bay Street. Lets get one thing out of the way to begin with: Alzu’s was not fine dining. Are we good with that? Let’s proceed.
Victoria’s seen only a handful of 24 hour restaurants. QVs (still open, but not all night), Paul’s Motor Inn (same deal), Denny’s (still does as advertised), etc. As a night owl, a DJ who plays the latest of late night gigs, and a general coffee-consumer at non-traditional hours, I knew Alzu’s fairly well.
Alzu’s was home to all sorts of clientele. Headbangers from Langford, taxi drivers from all over town, skaters, Victoria’s version of thugs, some folks who were true believers that they were Vampires, World of Warcraft (or whatever online game – take your pick), and us, the pre-internet internet nerds.
I once saw Alzu himself in the restaurant. I asked if I could take his photo. He was confused as to why I would ever want to do that – it likely didn’t occur to him that his name was part of our freenet culture.
I wonder if the ownership of Alzu’s realized they were being talked about on the Victoria Freenet’s IRC (Internet Relay Chat) in the mid-nineties by a bunch of teenagers. We liked it because it wasn’t Denny’s, and it was pretty laid back and comically accessible. We knew the safe and unsafe menu items, we knew when the post-bar rush zoo would occur, and we would not likely be seen there when other things were open. But at night it was one of only a few options, and the ordinariness of a family restaurant was what attracted us to the place at night.
There was a waiter there that we referred to as Dave Babych, the ex Canucks hockey player, but he was not at all Dave Babych. His similarity was somewhat uncanny, at least it was to us, over and over again at 3 or 4 in the morning. He had a laugh that we believe he laughed at while laughing. Why do I bring this up? Because Alzu’s was that kind of place – home to characters.
If I went through my unposted digital archives, I could find quite a bit to post to an Alzu’s museum. Instead, I’ll leave you with this image to remember it by:
Category Archives: photography
botanical beach, juan de fuca provincial park
Botanical Beach is located in Juan De Fuca Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, really close to Port Renfrew. Port Renfrew is one of the first places I remember going camping with my family, and I remember buying some really terrible Gatorade Gum while I was there – it was called “Gator Gum” and I discovered that, yes, even something as seemingly indestructible as gum has a half-life. Also, we caught fish on the beach and cooked them over campfires. It was rad.
We didn’t bother with the town on this particular trip – we drove from Victoria straight to Botanical Beach.
I remember a wrecked school bus crashed down near the beach at some point. That or I am mis-remembering. I was quite young when we last went. Was that ever there? Does anyone remember? I didn’t see it there. I looked for it.
Maybe I dreamt it.
In any case, the lighting was great, and as you’ll see, the ocean was pretty active that day. The mountains you’ll see across the water are in the United States, the north west tip of the northwestern Washington state. The map below can elucidate relative positions.
View botanical beach in a larger map
Anyway, here are some photos:
inside my real life
I’ve had a great year – from career, to school, to family, and friends, 2010 was a banner year in almost every regard. I became clearer about what I want out of life, what I can actually get, and I challenged myself on both my assumptions about life around me, and also life inside of me. Of course, no one can truly do this on their own, because as much as assumptions, ability to challenge, and re-evaluate come from inside ourselves, they also come from those around us – what we value as groups, beliefs, ambitions, and so on.
A few events in 2010 reminded me that life is short, it’s precious, and people shouldn’t wonder where they stand around you. I fundamentally believe in this.
A week or two ago, I had several of my closest friends over at my parents for some home cooked goodness – my mom’s Indian food is one of my favourite things. My intention was to get those people together who have had a particular positive influence in my life and thank them for it. Some of them inspired me to push further in my degree, some pushed me to closely examine what I want out of a career, and some enabled me to closely examine what I want out of my life, and act on it. No, this was not a marketing pitch for anything. I brought them together to give them a simple message: “I appreciate you, and you matter to me.” That is all the night was about.
It felt great, and I cannot believe I never did it before. Due to logistics, not everyone that I would want to be there could be there, but most of the core group could be there. Many people account for the difference between a good life (as I could have) and a great life (which I do have) and I am deeply thankful for it.
Happy 1/1/11! We continue..
burns monument, beacon hill park
Tonight I went out around midnight with my dSLR and a tripod and found a patch of snow around the Burns Monument in Beacon Hill Park. The last time I shot this statue was 5 years and 9 days ago. Back then I just called the monument “Drooling lion.” In those days, the internets was smaller and had less old stuff on it. Also, my interest level was lower than it is now, for whatever reason I don’t know.
Here’s some background on the monument for anyone who is curious:
On November 10, 1900, the Burns Monument was unveiled. The subscribers of the “monument erected to the memory of Robert Burns” presented a Resolution dated November 9, 1900, transferring the monument to the City. The Resolution stipulated that the City must “forever maintain and keep the same as a Monument and Fountain for the benefit of inhabitants of Victoria.” Mayor Hayward acknowledged the gift and read out the conditions. He said, however, that “municipal law forbade anticipating the future or placing burdens on those coming after us.” He assured the group that “authorities would always be pleased to preserve this loving tribute…” (Colonist, November 11, 1900) – Source: beaconhillparkhistory.org
In the photo you’ll see I did some effects in the actual shot itself. That is me painting in 3 dimensions with a bright LED while the 25 second exposure finished. You can’t see me because I was dressed in black, and you don’t see the absence of light in a long time exposure, especially in the presence of captured light.
victoria’s time to vote
Today (after I sleep) will be the day that Victoria decides on a new city councilor, as well as the fate of the Johnson Street Bridge.
The bridge issue has been argued about a significant amount locally. It’s actually pretty entertaining and we have almost enough material for our own version of Almost Live. (Remember that?) Not quite, though.
Here are some basic facts:
- Federal funding for a replacement bridge has been applied for
- Federal funding for maintenance on the existing bridge can also be applied for by the city
- A new bridge costs more than maintaining the existing bridge, ceteris paribus
- I like new things
- I like old things
The notion about how unfortunate it would be to squander applied-for financing is illogical, since the financing was for a decision that was not properly made – hence the referendum now. In the future, perhaps our city will learn to apply for things in a logical order, lest they get their application time snagged in their own fallacy of sunk costs. Not tenable.
Cart before the horse – but would Victoria have it any other way? Go vote and decide!
in need of an exorcism?
As seen in Vancouver at Davie and Denman in late August.
I would have used red instead of blue for “You may be possessed!” – would get the fear and impatience going a bit faster.
I should note that I came across a similar flyer in Trinidad, except it was a guru there. I’m sure there are big differences, but their promise statements were essentially the same. However, this appears to be a little bit of attempted viral marketing for a movie or something to that effect. The one in Trinidad appeared “legit.” Whatever the attempt was, I did not go see the movie and I didn’t post this until .. now, so – you know, consider that.
because of this marketing
I’ve decided to get rid of OS X and install Ubuntu! Just kidding. I’d like to see some conversion numbers on this effort..
Notes on updating
Steps to update davingreenwell.com with a photo:
- Take photo with dSLR
- Go home
- Download photo to computer, catalogue
- Select photo to post in Photoshop, do stuff to photo
- Resize photo, export
- Upload to Moveable Type
- Create entry and categorize
- Save, Publish, Rebuild
Steps to update flickr, tumblr or facebook with a photo:
- Go to (flickr, tumblr or facebook) app
- Choose photo to upload from common image library OR take photo inside the app
- Press upload, and the application will resize it to the proper size at the same time.
Besides just being a shorter list, the second list does not include item #2 from the first list. As you can imagine, my desire to go home to update a website about being out is not very high. And so, mobile applications for content management gain relevance.
Of particular note: Why not just update davingreenwell.com through Movable Type’s mobile web interface? Answer: There’s no image upload field in the iPhone version of Safari, so Six Apart could not build that in. However, there is nothing stopping Six Apart from making an iPhone app. Apps seem to have no problem with resizing and sending photos away for publishing.
Trend significance: As updating websites via content management systems has become an integral part of communications, a natively mobile application to do so will make the most out of hardware and interface, resulting in websites and portals of information that are more readily used by those with a stake in activity. In this regard, WordPress’ iOS app has excelled far beyond Movable Type’s web app in mobile relevance.
So what does all this mean?
If I want to continue to update my website and divorce myself from the relatively ancient desktop way of doing things, I have to move from Movable Type to WordPress, or abandon photos. Is there another solution?
A brief update
A lot has changed.
Again.
Lets see:
- At the end of August I left Smallbox Software after 4+ years. Great people, great experience, time well spent.
- In September, I started full time courses to finish off a BBA in Marketing Communications Management. I am challenging one course, doing 3 courses at Camosun College, and one at the University of Athabasca. Mostly it is International Business. I quite like it.
- I’m planning on moving and gaining some experience working abroad. I want more diversity in my resume and why not gain it from some new (to me) part of the world? No reason not to. Every reason to do so. I’m doing it.
- I just finished producing a new Jets Overhead remix. Anand did *3* remixes for them. I just had time to do 1. But I’m very happy with it and I’m pumped to get it mastered. Mastering makes a massive difference in dance music. I don’t think it’s very easy to understand unless you do some side-by-side comparisons and then try mixing them live. The difference blows me away.
- Next on the remix schedule is DB Clifford – one of his new tracks off his yet-to-be-released new album Feet Above The Ground. Great album, I’m really excited to get my hands on the studio parts.
That is it for now. Thought I’d make the blog about something other than Trinidad photos – which are great – but also a lot of work. As a side note, next time I go there, I want to make it to Tobago. I wonder if I can sail there?
Pitch Lake, La Brea, Trinidad
So I drove down the west coast of Trinidad and found this lake made up of tar. It’s called Pitch Lake in La Brea. Good story eh?
