In this edition: Fan Death's two new band members and future EP, You Say Party! We Say Die! add Canadian tour dates and release "Glory" video, and Bend Sinister temporarily moving to Toronto. Plus: "Cannibal" video by Fan Death and live cover video of "These Eyes" by Bend Sinister.<

The House of Switzerland opened on Friday, exactly one week before the Opening Ceremonies. Located in Bridges Restaurant on Granville Island, the two-storey yellow structure will be adorned with the red and white colours of Switzerland until February 28th (sorry Paralympians).

Vancouver's contribution to all things twee pop just got a little better. Enter the Thee Ahs. Twee as fuck. Last night at the Zoo Zhop the comic-loving pop piece performed welcoming pop chords -- a fitting welcome for the early Vancouver spring.

So, I don't know about you guys, but over the years I've found some real gems in Vancouver alleyways, free sections of apartments, and thrift store "free bins."

A few days ago I found this book placed carefully on a chair in the alleyway outside my apartment, miraculously sheltered from the rain and moist. It's a famous illustrated edition of the classic Frankenstein from 1977 with graphic novel-style drawings from Berni Wrightson. Even though its cover has been defaced, I'd still count it as one of my favourite finds.

Flipping through it, I was pretty amazed at the quality of the hand-drawn illustrations, done in pen and ink and meticulously detailed. The book now sits on my desk, inspiring me to start drawing and being creative again -- by using real art materials with my hands instead of my usual computer-based graphic design projects.

Thinking back, my friends and I have found many quality pieces in Vancouver's streets -- and the true advantage to these "found" items is how quirky and amazingly random they are. We've found orange Tiki lamps decorated with gaudy bamboo sticks, endless picture frames of all sizes and materials (sometimes with photos still inside), odd keychain charms and antique tables, limited-edition records, odd family pocket photographs, and when one is lucky, a real $50 bill (I felt like a king that night).

Gary Stephen Ross, in an article he wrote on Vancouver that appears in the latest Walrus Magazine, provides a portrait of the many different sides of our city. Now, I was kind of skeptical going into this article, considering it was written by the editor-in-chief of Vancouver Magazine, a local rag I find mostly vapid and overly-glossy (kind of like Vancouver sometimes, actually -- but more on that later). My test of a good magazine is basically this: if I can't tell the difference between what's content and what's an advertisement, back on the rack it goes -- Vancouver Magazine often fails this test. But I digress.

Ross hits on some of the usual points, but one of the most interesting sections in his essay is titled: The World-Class Thing.

Ah, yes, the "world-class thing". By my count, there are two camps of Vancouverites: those that enjoy and propagate the world-class thing, and those that are embarrassed by the world-class thing. Ross brings up a good point in that you can't declare yourself a world-class city, much like you can't declare yourself a genius or insane. It has to come from outside. Otherwise, it's like giving yourself a nickname. Or, put another way, it's like a father buying himself his own "World's Best Dad" t-shirt and then parading it around the office. Basically, it's lame.

As the Olympics near, there is a general dread in the air regarding how the heck we Vancouverites are going to get from A to B when the crowds hit. Workers citywide are fearing hyper-extended commute times, and though no one really knows which roads will be jammed and when, it's clear the Olympics will be tough for drive-to-work commuters.

I don't own or need a car, but like many who live in central Vancouver, my home is situated five minutes from a venue, and right smack in the middle of a labyrinth of streets marked with "no stopping" and "road closed" signs. These may protect roads near venues from becoming clogged arteries in the traffic flow of Vancouver, but with no parking at events, and little in the blocks nearby, where will event goers leave their cars?