Clean up our city and our reputation

This post is mostly pictures. Please enjoy the images that prove Vancouver is not the images we saw Wednesday night.

Hundreds took to the streets to clean up our fair city

The wall of sorrow, where thousands posted the morning after

The shadow of these riots will linger for a long time, but at least we were able to witness a bright, positive aspect to our city, and to humanity. We are not always destructive and violent. When pushed by what we see as wrong, or degrading, many more than I believed, step up to make a difference.

Good job Vancouver.

I'm apologising, but what for?

And now for more on the riots.

As a disclaimer, I have no interest naming and shaming. Whilst effective as a deterrent, it serves only to cause mob justice towards otherwise innocent people, as this post will show. The links contain names, for that I cannot control.

Read the apology of a teen involved in the riot. This particular young man received some ardant vilification following the posting of a photo of him trying to set a police car on fire, and having it posted on the public shaming blog that arised after the riot.

In his apology, he apologises to all those in his community around him. His father is a doctor in the town that they live in, and accordingly he has suffered from some of the backlash that this has caused. My sympathy lies totally with his parents. I am sure that they never taught there son to behave in such a way, but because of his actions, his family's reputation has been brutally tarnished. His father's rating on an internet website allowing you to review your physician has dropped dramatically, although it appears that site will adjust the reviews accordingly.

His family will live in the spectre of their sons behaviour for a long time. He had to close his practice for a few days to stem the bombardment of phone calls that the vigilante justice squad was making. Don't get me wrong, this young man made a grave error and should be punished soundly, but his parents are now the unfortunate victims of his maligned behaviour.

Vancouver burns, but learns anonymity in an age of social media is impossible

In the wake of Vancouver's unsuccessful attempt to capture the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 40 year history, the streets were blighted by the grip of a few bottom feeders, aided by peer pressured youths and gawking crowds.

In reality, only about 10% of the crowd were actually causing any trouble, by overturning any unfortunate vehicle, porta-potty and garbage bin in their path. Several troublemakers showed up with gasoline, and I imagine it was not in case their car ran out.

But what of the other 90%? Thousands and thousands stood by and watched as willful and wanton destruction took place. Many recorded and photographed what they saw. A select few intervened but were quickly, and brutally, beaten down, for their attempts at being a Good Samaritan. To those, I feel truly sorry.

However, I am very concerned by the number of onlookers that remained in Vancouver's downtown during the events. How many burning cars and smashed windows do you need to see? Some people claim they were 'stuck' downtown. A ludicrous claim at best. Sure, it might take a longer walk, but if it means leaving the scene of a terrible crime, then do it!

Looting is the most brainless form of theft, thinking that the anonymity of the crowd means that stealing is more acceptable, because the 'item' was right there in front of you. Needless to say, the Louis Vutton bags on Craigslist the next day were more than likely stolen the night before.

Not to get into a legal lesson, but once the police have read the riot act, which they did in Vancouver on Wednesday night, you have the time the police have allowed to disperse and head home. Staying in the group now constitutes a crime, and the Vancouver Police Department gave rioters 10 minutes to disperse. As we saw on the night, many did not follow the advice.

Now the VPD has said that from all those pictures and videos taken, responsible citizens should identify those involved to help rounding up those responsible. Vancouverites have taken to the task in an unbelievable way. Mutliple groups on Facebook now exist to identify and shame those involved. One rioter had his Facebook status become so infamous, that he ended up trending on Twitter. Type in Brock Anton on Google or Twitter and you will see.

Tomorrow, I will talk about the efforts made by the brighter side of Vancouver to clean the city, and make some kind of recompense for the damage done by those intent on destruction.

L.A. Noire

Thanks to my friend Zac, who you can follow at iwasa16bitboy.blogspot.com, I started to play L.A. Noire. The commercials for the game made it out to be almost a movie, as it contains some new facial graphics that really brings the characters to life.

You play Phelps, a seemingly clean cut LA Police Officer who served in the Marines during the Second World War. You start out as a beat cop, but this is merely to introduce you to the intricacies of the game. Phelps is destined for more than mere beat work, and soon becomes the new hotshot detective.

The detective work has the feel of old school point and click games, such as Monkey Island and Full Throttle. You use these clues to piece together the evidence needed to bust the suspect when you interrogate them. Interrogation is mainly focused on the new facial graphics engine, which is superb. From the persons actions and expressions, you must determine whether to believe them, press for more information, or straight accuse them of lying, if you are able to back it up with evidence. The let down at this point is that despite how you do, you will still eventually come to the conclusion the game wants you to.

The open world environment is detailed, but seems almost pointless as you hardly spend time roaming. Unlike GTA, where mindless violence and driving are almost meaningful to the game, in L.A. Noire you are a clean cut cop, and clean cut cops do not run civilians down. Sorry to break it to you.

The gameplay feels repetitive, especially as you really can't go that wrong. The graphics are at the forefront of this game. I highly recommend playing it, however, as I believe this represents a new step for gaming. If they could develop this into a more open ended game, with your actions have repercussions on the outcome of the game, you could be looking at a new standard for console gaming.

Plants vs Zombies - "Braaaaaains!"

Pop Cap have released some fantastic time sinks, I mean, games in the last few years. Bejeweled, from its humble beginnings on mobile phones has now become a Facebook addiction, and is now available on Xbox Live Arcade. One of the other Arcade games that they released is the hilarious Plants vs Zombies.

As you know, Sarah loves zombies, so this game is the mix of Bejeweled and zombies that Sarah was looking for. She considered downloading it, but then it showed up in her work, so she picked it right up. In a frightening role reversal, I was forced to watch her play the game for at least 5 hours yesterday as she ploughed through the various levels, with a vast array of plants, from the basic Peashooter, the Wall-Nut and Sun-flower (you need sun to grow plants) to the fun 'Little Shop of Horrors' rip, the Chomper, the Jalapeno and my personal favourite, the Squash. He squashes the zombies.

The zombies are not just run of the mill brain-nomming zombies. Sure you have garden-variety zombies who shamble, but it doesn't stop there. Some Zombies use traffic cones, screen doors or buckets to protect themselves, and then there are the more humorous ones, such as the Disco Zombie who summons back up dancers, and the Zomboni, which ices up a lane for a bobsled zombie team.

Situations change, sometimes the zombies attack during the day, when the sun is out. Other times they attack at night when there is no sun, so you will have to create it with you plants. If the front yard doesn't work, they attack the back right through your pool, meaning you have to prepare for aquatic zombies.

It is no surprise to see that P vs Z appears on the top 20 Arcade titles for Xbox Live on Major Nelsons blog (www.majornelson.com) when he posts the latest online activity. It is an ingenious, fun and exciting game, and shows that sometimes the best games have the simplest premises'. Zombies who want your BRAAAAAAAINS!

Plants vs Zombies Game of the Year Limited Edition

WWE: Inside WWE News Sin Cara joins WWE

Inside WWE - News - Sin Cara joins WWE
STAMFORD, Conn. – WWE today unveiled their latest Superstar signing, Sin Cara, formerly known worldwide as Mistico. The announcement took place today during a press conference in his hometown Mexico City, where passionate fans of all ages turned out to see their favorite performer become the newest addition to the WWE roster.

Having already forged a strong international fan following, Sin Cara, known for his high-flying style and awe-inspiring acrobatics, is expected to reach new heights of global success with WWE.

“Sin Cara is a tremendous performer who brings the crowd to its feet every time he steps into the ring,” said Stephanie McMahon, Executive Vice President, WWE. “With us, his stardom will only get bigger and brighter.”

Upon his signing, Sin Cara said, “WWE is the pinnacle of sports-entertainment. It is an honor and a thrill for me to be able to perform with the world’s best. Being a WWE Superstar will present new challenges, new mountains to climb and new competition. It is a new beginning and a new life. With that in mind, I have chosen the new name of Sin Cara in hopes to represent all the legendary Mexican masked performers and to carry the banner of their legacy to the entire world.”

Libya and evolved dictators

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be well aware of some torrid events occurring in North Africa and the Middle East. Libya is the latest of these nations to find a voice clamouring for democracy.

A quick history lesson about the Libyan revolution of 1969

"On 1 September 1969, a small group of military officers led by then 27-year-old army officer Muammar al-Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching the Libyan Revolution. At the time, Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment. His nephew, Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi, was exercising regal powers at the time as King Idris had sent a signed document indicating his intent to step down as King on 2 September 1969. It was clear however that the revolutionary officers, who had announced the deposition of King Idris, did not want to appoint Crown Prince Hassan over the instruments of state as King, so the Crown Prince never attained that position.

Gaddafi was at the time only a captain and his co-conspirators were all junior officers. Nevertheless the small group seized Libyan military headquarters (due to the sympathies of the stationed men) and the radio broadcasting station with 48 rounds of revolver ammunition. Before the end of the day, Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida had been formally deposed by the revolutionary army officers and put under house arrest. In the meanwhile the revolutionary officers abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Gaddafi was, and is to this day, referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official Libyan press." (www.wikipedia.org)

So how do dictators in our day and age hold on to their power? Alexander, Xerxes or Caesar would have simply sent the Elites, Immortals or Praetorians round and cut you, and you family, into little pieces. Nowadays, communications mean this kind of behaviour ends up on Twitter before it hits the New York Times.

Mubarak declared a state of emergency in Egypt for 33 years, ending any chance of democratic elections, until, spurred by events in Tunisia, the people decided to remove the element that prevented them from having a fair chance to vote their own officials. They had some rough times, but eventually got what they wanted. Not what there leader wanted, what the people wanted. Sounds like democracy.

Gaddafi, on the other hand, claims that he is not an elected official and therefore cannot be removed. As dictators go, Gaddafi is probably one of the craziest, next to Mahidamenajad of Iran.

I mean, come on, does this image look like a guy in control. He shows up in a tuk-tuk, with a brolly, says "I'm not in Venezuela" and now he's good to stay as ruler of Libya!

In all seriousness, the violence that has come from the proceedings is shocking and frightening, showing that there are Libyan's more loyal to a man than their nation. I dare anyone to find a good thing Gaddafi has done for Libya or its people. I doubt you will, as his own people have decided that, in all honesty, he hasn't.

I pray daily for the people of Libya, that they can become the nation they want to be, and no longer be shackled to the whims of ludicrous, outdated dictator