When John first downloaded a couple episodes of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch I was skeptical, but then it sucked me in and has grown to be one of my favourite shows on television. I’m finding myself drawn to those TV shows that make you laugh hysterically, cry, scream at the screen and be amazed all in one episode (a la Rescue Me).
This is reality TV at its best, it’s *real* people working one of the most lethal jobs on the planet. To top it off, their crabbing seasons are narrated by Mike Rowe, whom we all know and love (at least I do) from Dirty Jobs.
Deadliest Catch is a documentary-style television series that documents the events aboard fishing boats in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and Opilio crab fishing seasons. The Aleutian Islands town of Dutch Harbor is the base of operations for the fishing fleet. The show is named Deadliest Catch because the crew of these boats are at a high risk of death or injury due to the conditions of the sea during the seasons they fish, earning the title of most dangerous job in America (if not the world). [wiki]
Each captain and crew member of the fleet is interesting in their own way, they’re real people, with attitudes, passion and one tough job to do. The men are scruffy and gritty and so is the work – not only do you come to know and appreciate the various personalities on each boat featured, you soon learn the dangers that they face every day that they are out on the water. We watched a “behind the scenes” episode last night where Mike mentioned the Coast Guard has saved 48 lives over the last couple of seasons… although they have also lost 44 to the Bering Sea.
I have a soft spot for every crew member on all the featured vessels which include but are not limited to: Sig of the Northwestern who *knows* his stuff, Johnathan of the Time Bandit whom we saw save a man’s life this season, and Phil from the Cornelia Marie who needs to stop smoking but he’s got a heart of gold and man… his sons must drive him nuts hehe.
Not only are the crew members dynamic and interesting creatures but the cinematography of the show is phenomenal. The unique angles and shots above the water and below are far beyond anything you’ll see in Prime Time. In this last season we saw a shipwreck, open ocean rescue, people getting stitched up, men overboard, mental and emotional meltdowns, broken propellers, busted engines, and 30 foot waves crashing over the bows of these vessels – all with men on deck. You have to wonder what makes these men put it all on the line every season… aside from the thrill, the payout is amazing. We just watched the last episodes of the Opilio crab fishing season and boats that caught over 1,000,000 lbs of crab walked away with over that same amount in dollars. Basically for a week-straight of work during Opilio season a deckhand on a boat that brought in that much made about $40,000.
The show airs Thursdays and Sundays on Discovery Channel, if you’re looking for some good TV this summer (if you’re not out at the beach when we eventually get some sun) I highly recommend giving it a try.
This afternoon we met up with Duane and Keira for some food, which soon lead into a photowalk of Stanley Park. It was a super fun time that can only be explained and blogged about with photos…
The rest of the pics are up in this set on Flickr.
Yes, there’s a new media conference going on and John & I are *not* there, although we’d love to be. Podcasters Across Borders (PAB) is a weekend-long conference for podcasters to get together, eat, drink, network and talk about podcasting. This is the second annual international meeting of podcast veterans and rookies alike, coming together in Kingston, Ontario – mostly thanks to Mark and Bob from the Canadian Podcast Buffet. John and I had a chance to meet Mark this past February at an impromptus Vancouver Podcast Meetup and last year we listened to several episodes of our favourite podcasts to get their take and feel on the whole event (such as Andrew’s trip to PAB last year the on Geek.Farm.Life podcast).
This year I got the Twitter that Tod Maffin [todbits.com][todbits.tv]was heading to Kingston and we’ve been watching the blog posts and Flickr pics roll in, checking in on everyone and the awesome time they are having. John woke up this morning and told me to go watch “Tod Maffin with cowbell.” Our podcast hero donned a cow bell for a wonderfully kooky performance with the band Uncle Seth, so I’ve scooped the video from his blog post (and YouTube) as well as the comparison, in case you have never heard of the hilarious “More Cowbell” SNL sketch.
It’s been about 60 days but WE’RE BACK for Episode 36 – and just in time for the draft today.
We’re far from gone, and this episode should prove it. Life got pretty hectic for your Crazy Canuck’ers for a while, but all of us were able to link up for this triumphant return to the podcast.
Even though it’s the off-season, there is still plenty to talk about, and we go back on the end of the Canucks playoff run to give a rundown of how everything went throughout the season. With the cup in Anaheim this year, we’re already starting to look forward to the road leading to next season. Screw golfing, eh?[TCC]
Visit the site to listen, subscribe or to download the mp3.
Since I’m back in a “Canucks kind of mood” I thought I would also share what I found on the website last night: Fin’s date book… errm… event calendar. It’s no secret that I’m quite the fan of Fin (as stated numerous times on my blog and on TCC). If you’re looking to meetup with our beloved steamy-headed mascot, you can find him at the following:
June 24 – N. Van Ice Sports North Shore – 10 AM – 2 PM
July 22 – Richmond Automall Kidsake Day – 10 AM – 3 PM
Maybe one of these days he’ll be sporting the much-rumoured and anticipated “new” Canucks jersey…
Does it ever worry you when you head into the restaurant at a local restaurant and there’s a sign that reminds workers to be sure to wash their hands for a minimum amount of time or outlines the steps to proper hand washing? I do appreciate the friendly reminder for the staff but still… I also find it funny that things like that will creep me out but I won’t hesitate to grab a hot dog from a street meat vendor downtown at 11:00 on a Saturday night.
I wrote a post about Vancouver Coastal Health Restaurant inspections a few months ago called “The Dirty Banana Leaf“, so I thought I would follow up with VCH’s official list of restaurant closures that was release this past week (available here in pdf)
The main reasons for many of the closures are rodent infestations and unsanitary conditions. Some of the restaurants guilty of this include – Pink Pearl Restaurant on Hastings, Best Western Pizza on Main Street, Blenz Coffee on Robson as well as Ideal Bakery on Dunbar. [News 1130]
…Blenz Coffee on Robson forced to close for a day in March because of unsanitary conditions. The Cactus Club on Davie closed for a day in May because of a lack of potable water, and Tim Hortons on West Pender for a day in May due to pest infestation. [CKNW]
You can read more on the VCH site, as they have archives going back to 2002 as well as worksafe tips. Looking at past reports isn’t much fun, although I’m sure glad to see that Tanpopo has resolved that cockroach infestation that they had in 2002 and Pedro’s Organic Coffee only had “hazardous food” for 3 days in August of 2005. To be fair, most of these are one day closures, like that time in 2004 when Ricky’s had a sewer backup, they were up and running the next day without worry.
The two that hit close to home this time around are Blenz, and then Tim Hortons on Pender as I used to work in that building would often get coffee and a bagel on my way in to the office.
Me: “Ick, TimHo on Pender was closed for a day”
John: “Why?”
Me: “Pest infestation”
John: “What kind of pest?”
Me: “I unno” (continues to type blog post)
John: “Insects? Rodents? Rats?…. Evil Chipmunks?”
Me: “I’ve been looking for an excuse to post that on my blog, thanks!” (Click below…)
These kinds of reports always make me feel queasy and as I mention above, I start to reflect on where I’ve eaten over the past year. But ya know, it’s always better to know that these things are being watched, monitored and taken care of – and I am truly glad that Tanpopo, Blenz and TimHo are okay cause I won’t stop going there… you know, unless they get closed again.
Yes, there’s a new media conference going on and John & I are *not* there, although we’d love to be. 