i’m writing to my best pictures, broadcast bread conspiracy journalism 101
Vancouver journalist. Currently decompressing after going to 52 countries in 52 weeks. Strives to tell unique stories. http://moremcbarges.ca http://instagram.com/justindmcelroy
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i’m writing to my best pictures, broadcast bread conspiracy journalism 101
celebrated a friend’s 35th birthday by creating an x-files murder mystery scavenger hunt around dunbar where a bread monster was killing people and turning them into his own creation me and my friends are very cool, why do you ask
hell, make it a triple
I can
pov: you trespassed to a site in golden ears park that was closed off because people kept dying or getting seriously injured but your narcissism and desire for a mediocre influencer career led you to this
but what if you had the intelligence of a newt
the steamclock is iconic, the x-men castle is hidden, buchart gardens is clickbait influencer slop is everywhere these days
how many years do dozens influencers have to do the “omg chilliwack made two blocks of its old town like europe, must visit” before we stop calling it a hidden gem
A B.C. mayor that has feuded with councillors and staff for years and argued that everyone else was in the wrong did the rarest of things today. He publicly apologized.
This story is a fun case study in "how do you get stories?" Step 1: Notice your kid (whose school has many low-income and Indigenous kids) gets school supply after the school covering that in recent years. Also the school's 10 Free Books program mysteriously didn't happen last June.
Big news in development world. The Squamish Nation and OP Trust (Ontario pension) now the only partners in the Senakw development, after OP Trust takes on the 30 per cent Westbank Corp (Ian Gillespie) share for Phases 1/2, Squamish 100 per cent developer for Phases 3/4
@jmcelroy.bsky.social This just keeps getting better and better!
well, it's a chain, but not actual blocks like we see in buildings, and i know a lot about making great buildings, but these are (soft voice) *digital blocks*, and the chain links together the *crypto* that more and more people are doing, and they're making a lot of money on it, and we're gonna do t
the problem with covering john horgan's memoir is i have gone down some 2020 rabbit holes and rediscovered things i blocked from my mind for my own sanity
new website, same need to block weirdos who decide they know what's in my brain and accuse me of being unethical at my job because they wish i would just write things that make them feel good
over the years a number of provincial NDPers would say “Horgan finds Kennedy Stewart deeply annoying”, or words to that effect, but it was always off the record so I could only get that point across in my reporting so clearly anyhow, Horgan found Kennedy Stewart deeply annoying
Yesterday I was assigned a book report. Only instead of for school it was for the public broadcaster And instead of a new topic it was about a person I knew very well. So maybe it wasn’t a book report at all. anyways here are a few passages from horgan’s memoir i found noteworthy
we did once and actually created a pretty fun/interesting 7-minute story about the worst parking lot in Metro Van www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
plan is for a little article on our website tomorrow!
have an advanced copy of John Horgan's memoir, and 3 pages in, my big takeaway is that he was also amused by the number of Saaniches
why build ferries in british columbia when you can threaten legal action against bands who make fun of how long you have to wait to get on a ferry in british columbia
sure, but 1) i think that goes to the deeper issue of how our constitution doesn’t think of cities as playing a meaningful role, b) you gotta play in the system you have, with all the inherent roadblocks in place, not the one that you wished existed
I keep saying "city halls are legally designed to be the most collaborative and least political form of government", and local politicians keep going "but what if that wasn't the case". The controversies differ by municipality but the root causes tend to be remarkably similar.
Here's my video on why Vancouver's Integrity Commissioner ruled that Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver councillors violated the city's code of conduct also i got some sun on grouse mountain yesterday and didn't go to our makeup studio before filming hahahaha whoops
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has responded to the Integrity Commissioner's report finding him and ABC councillors broke the code of conduct. "Caucusing is a normal and accepted practice at every level of Canadian democracy...that is how thoughtful and effective decisions are made. It is not misconduct."
Victoria councillor here. This is a very big problem and another strike against municipal parties. We are taught, upon election, that strategizing is allowed as long as it does not meet quorum. Quorum = 6 in Vancouver, so they seem to have broken it. And city staff should know better.
Two further passages from the report. The first shows every ABC councillor denying the email from the Mayors' Office that said "Team Voting Rules" was ever listened to, or was a rule in the first place. The second shows the one councillor who did not cooperate with the investigation.
There's a tension in municipal politics, because the charter says mayor+council have to come into public meetings with an open mind on motions and amendments. Obviously politics, particularly with parties, happen. But Vancouver has an integrity commissioner, so these emails can be made public.
it was the next post!
Vancouver’s Integrity Commissioner has found Mayor Ken Sim and ABC councillors broke the code of conduct on multiple occasions for coordinating amendments to controversial motions in separate private online conversations ahead of public council meetings
In the first big council meeting of Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver's reign at city hall, I noticed that the way amendments came up seemed fairly planned and partisan. Their chief of staff attacked me in pretty personal terms, and multiple ABC councillors liked it. Some news to come.
Spoilsport! Everyone knows this is Gatorade powder, claiming otherwise is going to confuse all the kids that I have been educating on this over the years.
the problem with aligning my bed to the window is it makes a poor motivator for getting up from early evening naps
as i become a weekly hiker i am not a person who goes “ugh this is a worse hike because i can see other humans” but the slightly extra effort in getting to Seymour instead of Grouse or Cypress does allow for a little more quiet contemplation that i wont complain about anyways pump peak was grand
When people voted for the Orca as British Columbia’s Best Symbol last week, there was a pretty simple mission: in 24 hours, we had to go somewhere with Orcas, hope to see Orcas, and make a video about it for our live special the next day. Amazingly, it all came together.
and i think of that, compared to the process of just like...plug and play creation of mindless ephemeral brain rot stuff that takes almost no effort and people can earn a nice middle class living off of
some friends of mine just started a little sandwich shop in our community and watching the effort they had to put into it/all the red tape involved. so much friction and energy is required to build something that is additive to peoples' lives. its amazing to see!
friction is the core of this & so many things now. the real slop issue doesnt seem to be moral to me or even 'fakery.' it's about effort & reward. systems that incentivize ppl fart out stuff that nobody really likes but is somehow more lucrative than stuff that makes life/community/society enjoyable
A detailed recap of the mayor’s speech today at a bitcoin conference, which his office said he was doing in his personal capacity
when another bracket is over and you wonder what’s next
There are many joys to a bracket, but one is we have to focus the story based on how people vote, and do it quickly. It’s bottom up journalism, and it’s a fun challenge to try and reflect how people are voting. Even when it might have meant talking about the flag on the legislature lawn.
Interesting question! We would have gone to Alert Bay, Haida Gwaii or Gitanyow, depending on guest/flight availability. It wouldn’t have been a full BC Today show, but we would still have a couple of stories, and focused on the complicated history of our collective connection to totems.
remember to live your life so you never get this angry at the world
Live! In 5 minutes from Sidney! A special BC Today to talk all about Orcas
the most scientific, in fact
bullshit, it’s the skate
What would they have done if they DIDN'T win, we have to think about that.
Salute to a Whale Roy Henry Vickers ~ Haida, Heiltsuk, Tsimshian 2000
Haida Killer Whale Lyle Campbell ~ Kaighani 2019
Killer Whale Robert Davidson ~ Haida 1970
Orcas at Sunset Monica Morrill n.d.
I DID NOT TIP CANADIAN PAINTINGS OFF BUT THIS IS EITHER A LOVELY TRIBUTE OR TIMING
It’s official: British Columbia’s best symbol is the Orca
This will be the 10TH BRACKET WINNER Canadian TV: Mr. Dressup Vancouver Ambassador: Canuck the Crow Vancouver Building: Science World BC Roadside Attraction: Goats on the Roof Metro Van Neighbourhood: Steveston BC Beer: Fat Tug Song: Home For A Rest Small Town: Kimberley Lake: Sproat Symbol: ????
Tomorrow at 8:10am, we’ll reveal the winner of the Search for BC’s Best Symbol. And at noon, I’ll be co-hosting a special BC Today devoted to the winner, from a place in this province connected to the symbol. The forecast might be dicey, but the jacket is ready.
everything about this story is incredible
The closing stretch. In the past few weeks every time I asked my dad for help on voting he immediately said "TENT CITY" and when I reminded him that it was not a write in survey he would say "WHAT SORT OF DEMOCRACY IS THIS?" and I would end up making my decision by myself anyway.
macduff should simply live forever
what was the saddest news of the day and why was it the former lieutenant governor of british columbia’s dog announcing he is about to die
Here's my video on why Orcas versus Totem Poles is a particularly interesting end to this competition for B.C.'s Best Symbol, and yes, it was very important for me to be on top of a symbol while children crowded around me
“not letting people see the winner in the final matchup” is a cherished Bracket Tradition, established for the noble purposes of “giving my bosses more dramatic programming” and “making diehard bracket fans suffer”
300 SUBMISSIONS 64 ENTRIES 400,000 VOTES ONE FINAL MATCH TO DETERMINE A CHAMPION
me the last week
THE FLAG GOES DOWN THE TOTEM RISES WHICH MEANS TOMORROW'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH IN THE SEARCH FOR BC'S BEST SYMBOL IS ORCAS VERSUS TOTEM POLES
I thought it would have been the funniest outcome, but I don't really root for any particular winner — the journalistically interesting thing about this is being adaptive to whatever stuff British Columbians vote for, and telling an interesting story about why they seem to like it
nobody: me at a party, talking at someone after my third beer:
(earnest voice) so one thing I like about brackets is it forces you to challenge assumptions about what British Columbians enjoy! that doesn't mean you have to like the flag, but it's helpful to remember that thousands voted for it four times in a CBC poll, and if nothing else that's interesting
we did our annual crossover thing! it was fun! many people in the newsroom said “what is happening”!
TOTEM FLAG WINNER MAKES THE CHAMPIONSHIP PICK THE SYMBOL FEEL THE SYMBOLISM
THE ORCA IS GOING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND OF THE SEARCH FOR BC'S BEST SYMBOL IT DEMOLISHES THE WESTERN RED CEDAR IN THE SEMIFINAL AND HAS WON ALL FOUR OF ITS MATCHUPS WITH AT LEAST 69 PER CENT OF THE VOTE
FIFA literally has billions in the bank. They can easily pay people. My column: theprovince.com/sports/socce...
thinking about not letting people the results of the totem pole versus bc flag semifinal when they vote tomorrow until i reveal the result at 10pm
BECAUSE BRACKETS ARE FOR SUFFERING
I don’t remember the Orcas helping us out when we were fighting COVID. The Red Cedars gave their lives to help www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
BC doesn't know how to vote. The *flag*? Wtf is wrong with you people? See, this explains a lot. A lot a lot.
Cant they both join forces why we gotta pit thrm against each other
THE SEARCH FOR BC’S BEST SYMBOL HAS REACHED THE FINAL FOUR ORCA RED CEDAR WHICH ONE WILL MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP?!?
BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.
geese be like do you know of the hidden gem kits pool
kits-ed hard last night
really feels like housing affordability is one of the most important political issues of our time, affecting nearly every aspect of our lives, and everyday our mainstream political discourse is about whether sour cream is woke or not
if the flag beats the totem pole i may need to flee the country
THE BC FLAG MAKES THE FINAL 4 OF THE SEARCH FOR BC'S BEST SYMBOL IT DEFEATS THE OGOPOGO WILL FACE THE TOTEM POLE IN THE SEMIFINAL WHAT A WORLD
yeah bluntly "websites should ban broadly legitimate governments because i didn't like their covid policies four years ago" is the type of increasingly standard discourse that makes me want to throw all my computers into the sea and go live in a cabin
absolutely delighted that we had a 11 minute conversation about flags with vexillologist @forrestpass.bsky.social on the radio today it probably won't change the minds of the many heroes upset the flag is losing, but a great example of the interesting conversations this bracket can produce
my confidence that Bluesky has the ability to proactively grow this platform and deal with repeated issues brought up by folks grows when the B.C. government gets on it, and their posts are immediately censored and declared spam by the administrators for unexplained reasons
who this
👀
Burnaby right now ...
tfw ubc is now at an airport
no i am entering these myself and they are very real
(oprah voice) YOU GET A MARPOLE, YOU GET A MARPOLE, YOU GET A MARPOLE
screaming
since it's now "albe rta" technically alberta separated against itself
