Davin Greenwell

I haven’t used my Technics 1200 MKIIIs in quite a while. Not more than a handful of times since I moved back to Victoria. A few factors have been involved:

• Shopping for vinyl had gotten expensive long ago
• Shopping for vinyl I liked had become impossible except online
• Living in a wooden framed building meant I couldn’t play music loud (that’s probably okay)
• The music I was excited to play was available digitally and at perfect quality (.WAV is pretty damn good to begin with)

So when the offer came for the turntables earlier this week, it made complete sense to sell them. And sell them I did, to my old friend Tim, who had in fact taught me how to DJ in the first place. Now they’re in good hands, and they’ll be used a lot more than I ever did in the last several years. There’s no sense sitting on a depreciating asset if you are deriving no utility from it. The most utility I would say I was getting out of them was that they were a very fashionable interior accessory. But they’re slightly way too good to just be that.

Speaking of Tim, he now hosts an internet podcast named Control Freq Radio, which he runs with a bunch of awesome people (including the voice of all that is good, Ben Malcolm). I was lucky enough to be their first guest as AFK. The tracklisting looks like this:

1. Bent – Beautiful Otherness (Tom Middleton remix) [G&E Analogue]
2. Andy Chatterley and Behrouz – Lost in Translation (Timo Maas remix) [Franz Franz]
3. Omid 16B – Bites Without Teeth (Late Night Dub) [SexOnWax recordings]
4. Faithless – Not Going Home (Eric Prydz remix) [Ultra]
5. AFK – Megatech (Original Mix) [Unsigned]
6. Beatman and Ludmilla – Couldn’t Sleep (Shiloh remix) [Aurium Recordings]
7. Radiohead – Reckoner (Henry Saiz Vocal Mantra remix) [Unreleased]

The episode MP3 is available for download here:
AFK – Control Freq Radio Guest Mix 2011 – right-click or control-click, save file as whatever you like.
My mix begins about 15 minutes in, after they feature a few new tracks for you to check out. I encourage you to give those ones a listen, I heard a couple I really liked in there. You’ll see that my new track (Megatech) is in after the Faithless track. Hope you enjoy it!

As the Times Colonist duly noted, Alzu’s has closed it’s doors for good.
For better or worse, I knew what Alzu’s was. It was a 24 hour restaurant on Bay Street. Lets get one thing out of the way to begin with: Alzu’s was not fine dining. Are we good with that? Let’s proceed.
Victoria’s seen only a handful of 24 hour restaurants. QVs (still open, but not all night), Paul’s Motor Inn (same deal), Denny’s (still does as advertised), etc. As a night owl, a DJ who plays the latest of late night gigs, and a general coffee-consumer at non-traditional hours, I knew Alzu’s fairly well.
Alzu’s was home to all sorts of clientele. Headbangers from Langford, taxi drivers from all over town, skaters, Victoria’s version of thugs, some folks who were true believers that they were Vampires, World of Warcraft (or whatever online game – take your pick), and us, the pre-internet internet nerds.
I once saw Alzu himself in the restaurant. I asked if I could take his photo. He was confused as to why I would ever want to do that – it likely didn’t occur to him that his name was part of our freenet culture.
I wonder if the ownership of Alzu’s realized they were being talked about on the Victoria Freenet’s IRC (Internet Relay Chat) in the mid-nineties by a bunch of teenagers. We liked it because it wasn’t Denny’s, and it was pretty laid back and comically accessible. We knew the safe and unsafe menu items, we knew when the post-bar rush zoo would occur, and we would not likely be seen there when other things were open. But at night it was one of only a few options, and the ordinariness of a family restaurant was what attracted us to the place at night.
There was a waiter there that we referred to as Dave Babych, the ex Canucks hockey player, but he was not at all Dave Babych. His similarity was somewhat uncanny, at least it was to us, over and over again at 3 or 4 in the morning. He had a laugh that we believe he laughed at while laughing. Why do I bring this up? Because Alzu’s was that kind of place – home to characters.
If I went through my unposted digital archives, I could find quite a bit to post to an Alzu’s museum. Instead, I’ll leave you with this image to remember it by:

Botanical Beach is located in Juan De Fuca Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, really close to Port Renfrew. Port Renfrew is one of the first places I remember going camping with my family, and I remember buying some really terrible Gatorade Gum while I was there – it was called “Gator Gum” and I discovered that, yes, even something as seemingly indestructible as gum has a half-life. Also, we caught fish on the beach and cooked them over campfires. It was rad.
We didn’t bother with the town on this particular trip – we drove from Victoria straight to Botanical Beach.
I remember a wrecked school bus crashed down near the beach at some point. That or I am mis-remembering. I was quite young when we last went. Was that ever there? Does anyone remember? I didn’t see it there. I looked for it.
Maybe I dreamt it.
In any case, the lighting was great, and as you’ll see, the ocean was pretty active that day. The mountains you’ll see across the water are in the United States, the north west tip of the northwestern Washington state. The map below can elucidate relative positions.

View botanical beach in a larger map
Anyway, here are some photos:

I’ve had a great year – from career, to school, to family, and friends, 2010 was a banner year in almost every regard. I became clearer about what I want out of life, what I can actually get, and I challenged myself on both my assumptions about life around me, and also life inside of me. Of course, no one can truly do this on their own, because as much as assumptions, ability to challenge, and re-evaluate come from inside ourselves, they also come from those around us – what we value as groups, beliefs, ambitions, and so on.
A few events in 2010 reminded me that life is short, it’s precious, and people shouldn’t wonder where they stand around you. I fundamentally believe in this.
A week or two ago, I had several of my closest friends over at my parents for some home cooked goodness – my mom’s Indian food is one of my favourite things. My intention was to get those people together who have had a particular positive influence in my life and thank them for it. Some of them inspired me to push further in my degree, some pushed me to closely examine what I want out of a career, and some enabled me to closely examine what I want out of my life, and act on it. No, this was not a marketing pitch for anything. I brought them together to give them a simple message: “I appreciate you, and you matter to me.” That is all the night was about.
It felt great, and I cannot believe I never did it before. Due to logistics, not everyone that I would want to be there could be there, but most of the core group could be there. Many people account for the difference between a good life (as I could have) and a great life (which I do have) and I am deeply thankful for it.
Happy 1/1/11! We continue..

Tonight I went out around midnight with my dSLR and a tripod and found a patch of snow around the Burns Monument in Beacon Hill Park. The last time I shot this statue was 5 years and 9 days ago. Back then I just called the monument “Drooling lion.” In those days, the internets was smaller and had less old stuff on it. Also, my interest level was lower than it is now, for whatever reason I don’t know.

Here’s some background on the monument for anyone who is curious:

On November 10, 1900, the Burns Monument was unveiled. The subscribers of the “monument erected to the memory of Robert Burns” presented a Resolution dated November 9, 1900, transferring the monument to the City. The Resolution stipulated that the City must “forever maintain and keep the same as a Monument and Fountain for the benefit of inhabitants of Victoria.” Mayor Hayward acknowledged the gift and read out the conditions. He said, however, that “municipal law forbade anticipating the future or placing burdens on those coming after us.” He assured the group that “authorities would always be pleased to preserve this loving tribute…” (Colonist, November 11, 1900) – Source: beaconhillparkhistory.org

In the photo you’ll see I did some effects in the actual shot itself. That is me painting in 3 dimensions with a bright LED while the 25 second exposure finished. You can’t see me because I was dressed in black, and you don’t see the absence of light in a long time exposure, especially in the presence of captured light.