The Griffintown development issue sure is on everyone’s mind, these days. In brief, Griffintown is now a hot topic for Montreal. It’s a great up-and-coming area between University and Guy (some say all the way to Georges-Vanier) from Notre-Dame to the waterfront. Imagine a bustling and friendly new neighbourhood right south of the downtown core. Unfortunately developers have come in and are keen to make it into another short-sighted Dix30 eyesore, fraught with gigantic condo buildings and big-box stores, alienating residents. This decision was taken with no real public consultation whatsoever.

There will be a march to from Griffintown to the Hotel de Ville organized this Sunday April 27 at 3pm starting at the horse palace at 1220 Ottawa, down by the canal. I personally, have never been one to rally for causes, deferring to other more zealous individuals to fight for common beliefs. However, the Griffintown cause is one that affects all of us in this city, and more importantly, I’m convinced that the strength of the people actually might just make a difference. So if you’re interested in keeping Montreal beautiful with well-thought out urban planning and attention paid to those of us who love and live in this city, come join us on the march!

Sites of interest:
Save Griffintown
CSRG
Facebook event

Help support the cause!

Well… what a day! The Habs won last night. One step closer to the cup. So much joy and a great reason to celebrate, but of course, human nature dictates that people shouldn’t just feel joy and happiness, but they must also disturb everything around them through senseless riots. What’s wrong with tasers? Nothing. It’s just people.

Next, we have a possible shooter at the Cegep du Vieux-Montreal according to American authorities. The school is closed and the doors are locked. All measures for prevention seem to be paying off since nothing has happened yet and hopefully, nothing will happen.

Like I said, what a day!

Next game, Thursday!

It’s been a long winter made even worse by the fact that I missed 4 Yulblog meetings in a row. Sometimes I had a good reason (snowstorm, trip to Rome) but other times I was just too lazy, tired, depressed. This is why I decided on the following question of the night: What was the biggest mistake you ever made?

Debbie: Having broken up, then going back with my ex. I learned and kicked him out of my life!
Jean-Luc: Avoir internet!
Pluche: Avoir decide d’aller chercher de l’eau, loin de la tente a 10h PM du soir, au milieu du parc de Jasper en Alberta. Un ours brun en liberte c’est l’fun dans Yogi mais pas dans la vrai vie.
Emile: Ecrire ce que j’ai en tete, a ce moment precis, serait - je crois - ma pire erreur, ever!!
Karo: Ne pas partir faire un voyage backpack en Afrique quand j’avais le temps et l’argent.
Chris Baum: Took a full-time job when I had a great contract with the best firm out there. My path remains the same, but took some detours.
Fred: Ne pas avoir tente l’aventure aux USA qunad j’etais plus jeune.
Tanya: Not going to more Yulblog events.
Frederic: Growing old.
Mikel: Moving from a perfectly nice house in Montreal…to Ottawa! Came back 2 years later.
Zeke: Walking out of the LMMC concert on March 4th.
Le lapin blanc: Avoir une vie sociale au cegep!
Steve (Fagstein): Not asking Chez Nadia out on a date. Wait a second, she’s right here! Nadia, do you want to go out some time?
Vero: Refuser l’invitation de Guy A pour aller a “Tout le monde en parle”.
Carl: Avoir force mon coloc a faire jouer une piece d’Annie Major Matte un peu trop souvent.
Max: Avoir laisse une fille qui presentait une magnifique disparitee.
Martine: Getting my third facelift.
Ed: Falling for Frank H.’s April Fool’s blog post (three years in a row!).
Laurent: J’ai insulte la mere d’un ami sans savoir que c’etait sa mere.
Long: J’ai dit un gros mensoge mais ca m’a rapporte $10,000.
J. Ruttan: Coming here.
Eric D. : That condom that time…
Patrick: De ne pas avoir achete de condo en arrivant a Montreal en 1999.
Maggie: (Written by Chris before he wa sknown as Zeke: It happened on May 4th 1995)…and it involved a pair of galoches and an Elvis Costello Concert.
Nadia: Fagstein.
Etudiant Alpha: J’ai rit d’une leucemique de 6 ans sans savoir qu’elle etait malade.
As for me, I took the fucking blue pill which explains why I’m still here.

By now, a lot of the local media has been covering the misadventures of all of those “poor” travelers who were returning from a week (or more) in the sun only to fall victim of The Storm of 2008 (trademarked). I still don’t understand why some companies still consider it normal to keep their passengers prisoners of their metal tubes for 12 hours as the water runs out and the toilets start to overflow. What do you think will happen when next year’s clients start their research by googling “Air Cubana”?On Saturday, we were on our way back from Rome via Amsterdam on a KLM MD11. We’ve known since Wednesday that we would be coming in during a storm but the captain was hoping to get us in just before the worst of it. Unfortunately, the position of the jet-stream forced us on a flight path that was much further north than usual (seeing Greenland was immensely cool) and KLM lost their bet.We were initially diverted to Detroit but, as we flew over Ontario, the captain was told that the weather over Toronto was “barely” acceptable. Since many of his passengers didn’t have a visa to enter the US, he decided to give Pearsons a try. That guy was one great pilot, although the visibility over YYZ was atrocious, this was the smoothest landing I’ve seen in years. Not everyone was so lucky, while we were taxiing to our gate, we could barely see the landing lights of another plane as it came in but then aborted its landing.From that point on, we would spend many hours simply waiting. Waiting to be allowed to disembark (1 hour), waiting for our bags (2 hours), waiting in line at the check-in the next day (4.5 hours), waiting for our departure authorization after boarding (1.5 hours) and waiting for the stupid people movers (1.5 hours) at Trudeau Airport because we were now a “domestic” flight. Total travel time from our Rome appartment to our house in Pierrefonds, 50 hours. Nevertheless, we were always kept informed, the water, booze and juices didn’t run out, the toilets didn’t overflow and, even through they were under no legal obligation to do so, KLM got all of their passengers to spend Saturday night in a nice hotel in downtown Toronto. They even paid for a breakfast buffet on Sunday which did wonders for our mood. Furthermore, we could really tell that they were doing all that they could to get us at our final destination. No bullshit, if they didn’t know about something they told us so. Importantly, if they told us a time estimate they also told us where the info came from and whether we should believe it or not. Sometimes the captain would get so frustrated with ground control that his communications were almost funny but we appreciated being treated like adults for a change. All in all, the crew performed admirably under very difficult conditions.The moral of the story is that sometimes you get what you pay for. Cheap flights are cheap because they can’t afford to plan for anything else than optimal conditions.

Dave Phillips of Environment Canada says Montreal, as of the morning of the 8th of March, is but a measly 60cm from breaking that 70-71 snowfall record. You’ve heard of that record right? It’s the one your parents (if you’re my age) go on and on and on about.. “Ya, Justin but this is nothing like 1971″. Well, we are 60 cm from being able to say, BAH! ‘71 was a joke compared to ‘08. Or worse yet, to be able to nag our kids with “nothing like ‘08 son.. I remember ‘08″

It has snowed 80% of the time this winter. Which is to say, 8 out 10 days this year, there’s been some snow falling. And take it from a guy who rides his bike into work, I can believe it. One thing I plan on doing next fall is getting another frame that actually makes for proper mudguard clearance. I am fed up with having my feet and shins coated with salty water. Luckily I invested well enough in decent cycling boots and shoe covers but still.

So what’s gonna fall today into tomorrow? 30cm? That leaves us another 30cm to break the record. Ha! We’ll do that in a few days with the way it’s going.

So listen Montreal, hang tight, stock up on scotch, wine, and cook up something great for dinner and then sit back, look out the window while watching the Habs sit atop first place.. Spring will arrive. I swear.

St-Patrick’s parade is next week BTW. Just thinking about it cracks me up.

Oh, and don’t forget to move your clocks forwards tonight.

A lot of planets needed to be aligned for this shot to happen: A new steadier tripod, a clear sky, no wind, great visibility, new HDR software and, especially, no teenage daughters urgently asking for a lift on this Saturday evening. My sister commented that it almost looks like these images of a vibrant and futuristic Tokyo that you often see in anime movies.

The image above is only a small part of a much larger photograph. Click on the image to see the original version, and, if you’re blessed with a large-enough screen, check out this link for the full panoramic version.

Yesterday, after a very lengthy day’s work, instead of going home and collapsing aimlessly in front of the TV I decided to take up the offer of a friend and make it out to the Kalmunity Tuesday night at Sablo Café. The perfect soulful balm to the kind of day I had had. An evening of fantastic live organic soul-funk-jazz improv rendered by great musicians all feeling and channeling the Vibe. It did the trick. I got home by midnight, my soul full, my mind relaxed. As for the café, it’s located on the corner St. Dominique and St. Zotique (metro Beaubien), the drinks are relatively cheap and the sandwiches are notably yummy. Cash only and cover is 5$ at the door. Check it out one of these Tuesday nights. :)

I arrived back from holiday in France where I stayed with my girlfriend’s parent’s and friends. Still jet lagged and getting a little annoyed at waking up at 3am all the time.

One thing I love to do in France is regale our French friends at our Canadian winters. “Snow up to our eyeballs.. -25c and that’s considered warm!” And other such white lies. I sure as hell ain’t gonna convince them that we make great bread.. or better foie gras or have cheaper wine. So I gotta brag somehow.

We arrived Sunday and while it looked like Montreal, it felt more like Paris. What gives? Well at least there’s still snow on the ground.

That was Sunday. Today? The snow is pretty well gone and the temps are about spot on with Paris. So really, they have the great foie gras, the baguette with a crusty crust AND a light crumb and what do we have ?

Oh well, the good news is if it rains again tomorrow, I’ll be able to train on my bike outside.. Kinda like I did in France.
Ok, ok I’ll stop.

• I remember the second week of January 1998, as we lived through the great ice storm.

• I remember that this was the first winter in our house in Pierrefonds. At the time, our daughters were 6 and 5. We also had a corn snake named Gumby. Need I remind you that reptiles don’t like cold?

• I remember driving to work on the 520 east, when a truck going in the opposite direction lost an inch-thick sheet of ice the size of a king-size bed which crossed the median and smashed into the car ahead of me. Fortunately the driver made it ok but his windshield was all cracked.

• I remember my wife calling me shortly afterward to tell me that the power was out and that she was pissed because she had a big laundry in the washing machine.

• I remember walking around the neighborhood with my daughters later that night and seeing dozens of blue flashes on the horizon as all of the transformers in the West Island were shorting out.

• I remember moving to my mom’s townhouse on Ile des soeurs along with my brother and his family who were living in Kirkland at the time.

• I remember the next day as the four of us driving west on the 20 to check on the house. A foot of water had accumulated in the curved tunnel at the entrance of the 13 and I plowed into it at about 25 kph. I still wonder how I managed to maintain control of the car and not slam into the wall.

• I remember when I was walking toward my mother’s townhouse with my oldest daughter ahead of me and hearing a loud creaking sound coming from above her. An ice-laden branch gave way and fell toward her. I jumped ahead and essentially body-slammed my daughter into the snow bank thus shielding her from the branch and large pieces of ice that fell on my back. I’ll never forget the faces of my wife and mother who saw everything from the kitchen window.

• I remember Black Friday, the third day of freezing rain, when the power finally went out on Ile des soeurs and most of the city. My bother’s son was getting sick so he decided to drive up to my father’s place in Quebec city while we moved back out to our cold and dark house. At the time, the authorities were considering evacuating the island since they almost lost water pressure and were worried about all of those people using candlelights. It truly was our darkest hour.

• I remember the four of us sleeping in the living room and waking up every two hours to put a log into the fireplace.

• I remember waking up one night to the sound of chunks of ice falling off the branches of our large oak tree onto our victorian windows. Trying to find some cardboard and duck tape in the middle of the cold night was not fun.

• I remember wearing my corn snake under my clothes to keep him warm.

• I remember running out of firewood. My brother had an extra cord of wood in his garage but I had to get into his neighbor’s house to get his spare key. I almost pissed in my pants when I saw a police car driving down the street.

• I remember seeing a huge convoy of trucks from Con Edison coming up on the 40.

• I remember being invited to my brother-in-law’s appartment on the Plateau the day he got his power back. He made enough food to feed an army.

• I remember kissing an electrical engineer from Connecticut when I saw him walking down my street after 6 days without power.

• I remember this period as one of the most stressful of my life.

• I also remember that we got out of it fairly easy, being without power for only 6 days and sleeping only half of those in the cold. Some people in the dark triangle went a full month without electricity.

• The following autumn, I bought so much firewood, that it has lasted us to this day.

And it’s the one I went to… Cheering for the opposite team: the LEAFS! But yea, both teams really played well, a nice fast-paced game with so many great shots on goal (some that turned into goals, mostly for the Habs… 4-1 being the final score)!

A faceoff…

The final score board…

Pictures (c): Christelle