3rd Annual Industry Pig Dinner Goes Down This Wed At Refuel…

News from Scout supporter Refuel

Mmm…pig dinner! Smell the camaraderie, the love, the ale! All of the relevant details ($55 per seat, etc) can be found in the image above, but to learn and see more about Refuel and what it’s all about, click on… Read more

“Clash Of The Titans” Advance Screening Tickets Up For Grabs

SCOUT is sponsoring Vancouver’s March 31st exclusive advance screening of Louis Letterier’s remake of the 1981 cult classic, Clash of the Titans. The new version, an effects-driven tale, stars Sam Worthington (Avatar), Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient), Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List), and Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects). It tells of the mortal son of Zeus defending Greece and the Heavens after Hades rises to wrest control over both. As you can see from the clips above, it looks pretty intense. Not exactly The World According To Garp, but we all make exceptions for art, and that Kraken at the end of the trailer is gnarly. If you join us with a double pass of your own (you and a date), invent your own mythical creature in the comments. Be as descriptive as you like. The best ones win tickets, starting now.

PS. Consulting your Monster Manual for aid in this contest will result in the confiscation of your 20-sided dice.

Political Genius Proposes Ban On All Salt In NYC Restaurants

From MyFox in New York (via reader LN) comes news that local Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, a democrat from Brooklyn, has put forward a bill to the State Legislature that bans all salt use in restaurants. It reads, in part…

“No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises [...]

The reported reaction from the trade is fittingly more bemused than outraged, as the chances of this thing becoming law sit at nil. Still, though moronic, you have to admire the courage.

Ethical Bean Coffee Launches New Recycling Pilot Project

News from Scout supporter Ethical Bean Coffee Company

Vancouver, BC | Ethical Bean Coffee launches a new recycling program on Monday, March 22nd that will reduce the number of coffee bags in landfills and will put a hot cup of coffee into the hands of the environmentally conscious in return.

Eco-conscious coffee lovers are invited to bring their empty coffee bags to the Ethical Bean Xpress drop-boxes located at the Granville Skytrain station and Commercial Skytrain station, or to the Ethical Bean Café and roasting facility at 1315 Kootenay Street in East Vancouver. Those who bring in 5 bags or more at a time will receive an extra treat: a cup of fresh drip coffee on the house. Additionally, all recyclers who write their name and email address on the side of their bags before returning them will be entered each week into a draw for a free pound of coffee. This program isn’t just limited to Vancouverites. Anyone across Canada can mail their empty coffee bags, along with their name and email address, to Ethical Bean Coffee, 1315 Kootenay Street, Vancouver, BC V5K 4Y3 and be entered into the weekly draw. Read more

World Water Day Observed With “Blue Gold” At Rhizome Cafe

You can count on East Broadway’s Rhizome Cafe to always come up with some pretty solid community-oriented events. This week they’re screening the documentary Blue Gold (by the same producers as “The Corporation.”) which will be followed by a discussion on local efforts to conserve and protect water. It’s all going down in anticipatory recognition of World Water Day on March 22.

In honour of World Water Day, we’ll reflect on organizing successes internationally and locally. What can we do nationally and provincially to protect our commons? We’ll screen the film “Blue Gold”. Information on other WWD events will be available. Proceeds will go to Partners in Health for water support in Haiti.

Find the Wiki on WWD here. | March 18 | 7 pm | Rhizome Cafe | Sliding scale $5 – 10

Target Marketing Attack By Heineken Leaves Fans Grateful

This is pure genius.

Let’s Hear It For The Hallmark Target Market That Waits In Line

St. Patrick’s Day is arguably the weirdest commercially non-denominational faux “holiday” going in North America today, right next to Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. It’s evolved, I think, into the baldest excuse to get drunk since becoming an alcoholic or digging the Toronto Maple Leafs. Instead of “let’s drop some LSD in the graveyard before begging for candy!” or “Christ is dead, let’s paint some eggs and scarf chocolate!” or “Jesus has been born to a mother who never had sex so here’s some lego and thanks for the stuffing” it’s something entirely even less sensical. It’s “let’s be inebriated enough by 6pm so we can beats the sunset with a Gastown soak of puke and urine!” Right on, bubba. Whatever turns your crank, religious freedom and all that. Nevermind that the 5th century saint wasn’t Irish (he was an Eton grad cricketer who dug The Who and flew Spits in the War) but was a right bloke who could neither empathize with wankers dressed in neon green Dr. Seuss hats nor even imagine post-pubescent ex-private school tarts dusting off their pleated skirts and pairing them with torn stockings a la Doc Martens. The fellow was about as Irish as most of the people in line, which means just about none at all. So cheers. Good luck functioning this morning, and be happy it was for a good cause…or something.

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