26 Jul 2010
![pigeon-shit-human[1]](http://thefuturists.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/pigeon-shit-human1.jpg)
You may have heard that carefully coiffed indie rockers turned international superstars Kings of Leon cut their set short after getting shat on by a couple of incontinent pigeons at a St. Louis show last Friday (23rd of July). Well… thefuturists.ca bring you the story behind the story.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 6:50pm on Monday, July 26, 2010
16 May 2010
Considering the ratio of Twitter users in North America compared to Europe, it’s strange that I’d never heard the term “Twitter Wall” before crossing over to the old continent. Now that I know what it is, I can’t help but try and share this cool little product with you… my faithful readers. I don’t usually pimp products on here, being more disposed to ranting and raving about the squalls blowing through my tired head, but this one I found so interesting and applicable to Vancouver’s nightlife and events, that I couldn’t resist. Add to that the fact that I’ve been working for a little web-startup in Belgium that is in the final stages of developing their own multi-faceted Twitter Wall — TweetWall Pro — and we’ve got ourselves a full blown tech-geek post!
Posted by gunslingrrr at 6:25am on Sunday, May 16, 2010
6 May 2010
The last few days have been wild. A shocking railway exit from England led to a feverish night spent wandering the dark streets of Paris, searching for a safe place to sleep outdoors. You don’t really sleep on the street. You simply close your eyes and listen for footsteps, or voices. I heard some unfriendly ones and moved on, finally finding shelter in the basement of the Tunisian dorm at the Universitie de Paris, thanks to some kind soul willing to look past the desperation and whiskey stink of me. Morning was rough in the city of lovers. Rougher than I care to describe. Walking like a man defeated, the passers-by thought me untouchable, or psychotic probably, as I stared out at them with the eyes of one who’d risen from the grave and hadn’t bothered to wipe the grime of it from his face. Then a ticket to Belgium, a warm train, the anticipation of food and some friendly faces. Here I am now. I don’t feel ready to properly approach the story of these last few days, so I’ll leave you with some [unedited] scribblings from my notebook, which might more honestly (if cryptically) represent my experiences.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 2:30pm on Thursday, May 6, 2010
29 Apr 2010
I woke up late. I woke up a few times during the night, once to shit, another time to drink. I woke up early with Carmen. She had to go to work. I didn’t. When she left she kissed me once and closed the door behind her. I slept some more. I woke. I looked at the clock. Carmen came back in. We kissed some more. She was wearing different clothes. Day clothes. Clothes to take to work. She always dresses in black. When she left (this time for good) I said, “Good-bye dark lady.”
Posted by gunslingrrr at 10:18am on Thursday, April 29, 2010
20 Apr 2010
Over the last few days I’ve come up with many different excuses on why I shouldn’t write this update — right here, right now — and even now I’m not entirely sure it’s the right time, but hell… why the fuck not. In one palm: there is sickness, this foreign keyboard that slows my fingers and inhibits the natural tempo of my mind, arguments between the founding fathers and I, and a complete disbelief in my ability to accurately recount the history of this last week and a half. In the other palm: the pure need to express what is in my heart and what weighs so heavy now on my feverish mind. Let’s begin as we should, at the beginning.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 11:42am on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
6 Apr 2010
Boy am I ever tired of your store-bought platitudes. Woman. You speak to me as if I were a child, wandering and fruitless and willing to give everything away for one suck of the lollipop. Enough. My head is squeezed and pressed to mush and my mouth is bleeding. This brain thrums like a rotting tooth and still I ask for more. Oh god. I stayed up too late last night. Waiting. Listening. Ears a quiver, whiskers jumping and twitching. I think I’ll pour myself another drink. I shouldn’t. But I will regardless.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 11:55am on Tuesday, April 6, 2010
3 Apr 2010
And now that I’m here, I’ve got the distinct feeling that I’m never coming back. Or at least… if I do, it won’t be for good. Originally, my return ticket was booked for the end of April. That was no good. Three weeks gallivanting around this wonderful continent is not nearly enough, especially when one of those weeks is spent making long-overdue house-calls to family members who have barely seen my face since I was born.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 10:05am on Saturday, April 3, 2010
27 Mar 2010
In certain circles (okay in most circles), when you mention Ska music, you’re apt to be greeted by a lot of blank stares and some shaking heads. It seems that the genre is something most people pass through, and leave behind, at an early age. Well The Valuables ain’t Ska at all. Okay maybe that’s a lie. But when you hear them describe their band, their genesis, their sound…the imagery evoked is that of a phoenix, born from ashes to rise from the crackling waste of Ska influences to become so much more.
Words by Gun
Fotos by Hart
More after the jump
Posted by gunslingrrr at 5:41pm on Saturday, March 27, 2010
24 Mar 2010
So spring has sprung, and love is in the air. At least I think that’s love. It could very well be pollen. I have a terrible time distinguishing between the two, since they both seem to make my nose run and my eyes water. Where does that saying come from anyways? “Love is in the air”. What a steaming pile of cow-pie. The only place I’ve ever seen love is in the dictionary, somewhere between listless and loathsome (okay, maybe somewhere behind listless and loathsome if you’re picking nits). Alright… irrespective of all that, spring HAS sprung. And so have I. That is to say, I’ve sprung a leak somewhere in the back of my head, and my mind is leaking out like water from a tiny, hissing hole in a garden hose.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 8:59pm on Wednesday, March 24, 2010
23 Mar 2010
Sure.Why not. I’ll try my hand at writing an entire post while I’m baked. What’s the harm? It won’t be a real post anyway. We’ll call this The Leather Playlist III: Burn Out Edition. And go from there.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 10:42pm on Tuesday, March 23, 2010
20 Mar 2010
Here I am sitting on the ferry with my laptop open, bored as all fuck. Lately I’ve taken to trying to get some writing done during my commute, rather than simply pigging out at the Coastal Buffet. (side note: buffets are totally my undoing, I simply can’t control myself when I’m at one, and tend to eat until I feel sick to bursting). It’s turned out to be pretty fruitful, and most of the pieces I’ve published lately have been written as I cruise the waters between Vancouver and Victoria. So here I am, giving it another crack… and all at once… I feel like… The. Words. Just. Won’t. Come.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 7:08pm on Saturday, March 20, 2010
3 Mar 2010
We all do it, but few of us will admit to doing it unless we’re caught. There are many ways it can be done. There are small lies, big lies, white lies and tall tales. There are those we give quietly and those again that we shout and proclaim with great fervor. We lie to ourselves, we lie to those close to us, and we even lie to strangers. But why do we do it? What compels otherwise trustworthy, honest individuals to bend and break the truth with impunity?
Posted by gunslingrrr at 7:35pm on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
18 Feb 2010
The dating game can be hard; I mean we’re all so very different aren’t we? No matter how many relationships you’ve had in the past, you’re never prepared for what comes next. Most of all, a successful relationship requires a lot of work from both sides, and any imbalance (perceived or deliberate) can mean an end to the fun before you’ve even gotten started.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 6:33pm on Thursday, February 18, 2010
17 Feb 2010
Here is some crappy story I wrote three or four years ago for a creative writing workshop, which I found on my computer recently. The class was focused on non-fiction, so it’s really more of a personal narrative than anything else. It’s pretty dumb, and won’t make sense to anyone, but I’m quite bored and it’s about time I posted something on here. So here it is, completely unedited. Enjoy, or don’t.. I’m quite sure I don’t mind either way.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 5:21pm on Wednesday, February 17, 2010
14 Dec 2009
Alright kids, it’s that time of year again. You guessed it, Christmas is back, and y’all know what that means. Snow is already starting to dust the ground and the faint tinkle of caroling voices can almost be heard in the distance. Last year, during the holidays, I was feeling the heat something fierce. Having quit my job a few months previous, I was dead broke and feeling completely disconnected from all the holiday cheer. After the yule-tide rush had passed me by, I made a firm decision to never be caught in the same situation again. Miserly or not, I’ve no intention of forming myself into some kind of modern day scrooge, humbugging his way through December and bringing down the spirits of all those in his orbit. So this year, I hatched a salacious scheme to ensure a certain level of cash-flow for the holiday season. Little did I know, how important, or lucrative this scheme would turn out to be.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 11:32pm on Monday, December 14, 2009
29 Nov 2009
Alright, so this week, with the second installment of The Vinyl Review, we’re going to cut straight to the point. This is how it works. On a semi-regular basis we’ll be reviewing two albums from theFUTURISTS.ca vinyl collection. And showing y’all some half-naked Vancouverites wearing nothing but a couple of vinyl covers and their smiles. Working within this framework we hope to inform you on an eclectic cross-section of new music that you may or may not have heard, as well as hyping some of the artists that are mainstays on our futurists playlist. This week we’ll be looking at the sophomore efforts of two relatively fresh bands: Fuck Buttons & Health.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 6:15pm on Sunday, November 29, 2009
16 Nov 2009
Up at the futurists HQ, we recently had a debate about nostalgia and how it pertains to the resurgence of vinyl audio recordings in our modern society. Just so happens that we have quite the formidable record collection up here, which we add to whenever we have some spare bucks. But why are we amassing this army of vinyl? A friend of the futurists was contesting that vinyl recordings are a harbinger of “cool” that elevates the status of the owner through some warped idea of nostalgic preference. He defined nostalgia as a false aspiration that is blind to the truth of whatever time-frame it harkens back to. His argument hinged on the simple fact that nostalgia seems to evoke only the best and most memorable parts of a certain era, rather than the experienced reality. I can’t disagree with this statement but I must contest that although nostalgia represents an amalgamation of “the fondest memories”, it never claims to be anything but; simply put, the very definition of the word invites wistful remembrance and sentimentality. (more…)
Posted by gunslingrrr at 10:30pm on Monday, November 16, 2009
15 Nov 2009
A veritable futurists favorite, you can find Helen’s Grill on the south-east corner of Main st. and King Edward ave. If you’ve never been there, you’re missing out on one of Vancouver’s greasiest spoons. A retro diner time-warp experience complete with table-side jukeboxes and framed newsprint cut-outs, Helen’s offers up the usual fare when it comes to food, but an intangible quality sets it apart from other notable east-side eateries.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 4:26pm on Sunday, November 15, 2009
10 Nov 2009
If you have lived in Vancouver for any substantial amount of time you know that this fine city of ours has but two seasons: Summer and Rainy. It’s also saddled with the altogether terrible moniker of being “The most beautiful place on earth”. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the license plates of the cars parked on your street and you’ll see this gaudy epithet smirking at you from underneath a picturesque horizon. Vancouver has always struggled to define itself between the dreamlike quality of its’ beautiful landscape and the wet reality that makes all that lush foliage possible. So this one isn’t for all you true Vancouverites who stoically accept the formidable deluge of rain that welcomes us at this time of year, but rather, for those who are new to our city, and wondering what happened to the sun; here you’ll find some tips to surviving the rainy season.
…
Posted by gunslingrrr at 9:00pm on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
8 Nov 2009
Alright, so I haven’t posted anything in a month and a half because I’ve been busy working on my first novel. Most of my energy (and patience) has flowed into this relatively new endeavor, and I’m beginning to realize that I’ve shirked my responsibilities as a founding father of this fabulous website. So, in the spirit of remorse and making amends (if half-heartedly) I’m throwing up an excerpt of the work I’ve been slaving over tirelessly these last two months. Bear in mind that it’s quite rough (having been revised zero times). Enjoy.. please.
Posted by gunslingrrr at 5:30pm on Sunday, November 8, 2009
