Sunday, April 10, 2011

Welcome to Wonderful Calgary

Somehow the powers that be decided to put me in downtown Calgary a few weeks ago. This is some Monday video which YouTube's interface completely buggers up and I'm too tired to fix:



Yes, Mr. Westerberg, other cities are so afeared of winter that they too have turned their downtown buildings into a giant linked shopping mall, although I have to say Calgarians have a better winter than Minneapolis and are probably just spending money on construction to spend: oil wealth dontcha know, best displayed on fire on top of a fucking tower just because. (That flame's not continuous, but nobody seemed to know why it was lit so the whimsy of pretend Texans will do.)

I arrived Sunday, and the place was dead. Calgary has managed to destroy its downtown through a combination of terrible development and absurd suburban sprawl. There isn't much of a reason to go there but it's near some nice mountains and it's warmer and less of an industrial hellhole than its northern rival Edmonton. Didn't have time for the Glenbow which is sometimes worth a look.

11 comments:

Mandos said...

I haven't been there in a while, but I have, um, great reason to be fond of both Edmonton and Calgary, and yes, Calgary downtown is dead on Sunday, and they don't have an excuse like the West Edmonton Hell for it.

The Calgary Zoo is great, though, and you're only 2 hours drive from the best dino graveyard in the world.

Substance McGravitas said...

For whatever reason Google News sends me Animal Deaths at the Zoo stories and I feel kind of creepy about the Calgary Zoo as a result. But yes Drumheller's great, and the museum there is terrific.

Also near Drumheller.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

I thought the flame was a beacon to warn of invasion.

you're only 2 hours drive from the best dino graveyard in the world.

Lay a wreath, SMcG, lay a wreath...

Substance McGravitas said...

DID YOU NOT SEE THE GOPHERS???

Hamish Mack said...

I am a person of simple tastes and easily impressed by gaudy things but the GOPHERS ARE AN ABOMINATION!!!

Substance McGravitas said...

Lookit the dum gopher hippie!

Smut Clyde said...

DID YOU NOT SEE THE GOPHERS???


I was watching out for gorillas.

tigris said...

I'm jealous someone beat me to the gopher* diorama** concept. LE SIGH Back to the drawing board.

* placeholder for Van Gopher/chopping off a flush ear joke

** placeholder for teasing Smut

Smut Clyde said...

'Diorama' = Not a plural.
Smut not fooled.
W/v = 'saner', so I've been VINDICATED!!

tigris said...

It was a marker for a "dioramata" joke to be added later. EEK AND NOW I'VE RUINED IT OH NOES!

Substance McGravitas said...

Here I'd had diorama as more of a zombie thing.