Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Smiling Buddha Cabaret pin

by Carol Browne on March 9, 2010 · 2 comments

in General, Photos, Vancouver

I was very excited about getting this pin. I first heard about these pins from someone (who shall remain nameless, as requested) who knows someone who received one as a form of a thank you. And that person passed it on to me. Pins are just falling in my lap for some reason. They seem to be finding me. I didn’t think they’d be of interest to me after the Olympics, but I could not be more wrong. This is a cool one. This pin is a photo of a neon sign for an old dive bar in Vancouver – located in the Downtown East Side = skid road = a part of town with “character” or “history” or “rummies”. It looks like the sign was installed for the bar in 1953 and stayed up until the bar shut down in 1987. I think the sign now lives in the Museum of Vancouver. I should go over there and see it. Actually, I definitely have to get over there. They are having a display about Handmade Nation over there. I gotta get to that.

But back to the Smiling Buddha – the history of that place is pretty excellent. I am very sad I missed the experience, but I didn’t get to Vancouver until 1991. Some of my friends, however, who resided in Vancouver during this time filled me in on the place. Here are some of their stories about this seedy bar:

- There were go-go dancers in cages at that bar -Cathy Mechanic

- Alcohol wasn’t served, but people brought their own, and the establishment put tablecloths on the table so you could hide your bottles under the table. – Uh. Should I put the person’s name who divulged that? Maybe not.

- Now there was a dodgy place – Suzanne C.

- I know someone who was so drunk, she fell out of her car in front of that place, casually got up and asked the bouncer who witnessed the whole thing if he’d light her cigarette. – I think that person should remain nameless as well.

But the best comment left on my facebook profile about this raunchy place? It’s this one from Fiona:

Ha ha, I got spit on by Joey Shithead in that place. No lie. That was the end of my punk rock days – no random bodily fluids, ewwww!

What a glorious place the Smiling Buddha Cabaret was! I’m so sad I missed it.

If you’re interested in some other interesting facts about this place, there’s some info in this article. And if you’d like to be a fan of the Cabaret on Facebook like I am, you can do that right here.

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We found the way to Donner’s heart.

by Carol Browne on March 9, 2010 · 1 comment

in Family and Buddies, Photos

The way to his heart? Bacon. I was cooking up some bacon for dinner tonight, and looked up, and there’s Donner at the doorway to the kitchen, sniffing the air. This is amazing because this morning we found him all tightly tucked into a little ball in between the couch and the wall. But we knew he was okay because we heard Donner and Oscar tearing around the house off and on all night long. It’s just us that makes him nervous now. But not when we have bacon. While he won’t take treats out of our hands, he was happy to eat a couple of tiny pieces of bacon off the floor while I stood over him and watched. Even Mike shared his bacon with him. That is quite a feat. Mike doesn’t share his bacon with many individuals, that’s for sure.

After his bacon snack – which Oscar could totally care less about – Donner and Oscar lounged casually under the dining room table together. D’OH! I’m sure I’m going to see them snuggle each other very soon. And then I will melt from all the cuteness.

Speaking of dinner, we watched Julie & Julia tonight. I completely loved this movie! In fact, I think it was better than Best Picture of the Year, Hurt Locker. We watched that on Saturday night. I didn’t get it. I don’t understand how or why it won the awards it did. In fact, I didn’t understand much of the Oscars last night – the only exception being Christoph Waltz winning for Inglorious Basterds. He was awesome.

I’m not sure if this information officially makes me an old lady or not. I sure don’t feel like an old lady, so that must count for something. Now can I say I’m not a cat lady? Uh. Nope. So much for me just being dog person. I like kitties now just as much as dogs.

I also want to point out that I am going to get 1 photo of Donner completely in focus in the very near future. But under the circumstances, I’m pleased to get just one paw in focus. He’s a speedy little guy and I’d be surprised if he weighed more than 6 pounds. He’s Skinny Minnie Miller alright. But he does have long legs and I think he may grow a bit taller than Oscar. But for now, Oscar is showing him the ropes and I hope he gets more and more confident each day. He made quite the leap this evening. I guess I’d better stock up on the bacon.

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