Andrew Koenig is Missing

andrew koenig is missing

UPDATE: sadly, his body has been found. He died by his own hand in Stanley Park. My thoughts are with his family, whose behavior throughout has been an example to all of noble grief and parental love and support.

Andrew Koenig, actor, producer, and activist, is missing. Last seen in a bakery near Stanley Park in Vancouver on February 14th, he was scheduled to fly home to LA on the 16th, but never checked in for his flight. According to his parents he had been in a depressed state for some time, and they received a letter on the 16th of February that has alarmed them for his safety, because of the state of mind it betrays.

He is 41 years old, has brown hair and dark brown eyes, and is very familiar with Vancouver, having lived here for a number of years. He does not have a car in Vancouver, and is apparently not contacting his friends here, so is probably dependent on public transit. He has friends in the burlesque scene, but apparently hasn’t contacted any of them since the 14th. With hundreds of thousands of people in town for the Olympics, he could easily slip among the crowds, just another tourist.

UPDATE: TMZ reports that (possibly erroneous, of course) sightings have been coming in from all over the Vancouver and Gulf Islands area, and the cops say they are looking for “a living person.” They appear to have information about the use of his ATM card and phone which leads them to this conclusion, rather than the conclusion that a third party has stolen and used them. Given the cautious nature of the police, and the reticence with which they give out information like this, I’d have to say they wouldn’t normally say such a thing unless they were certain well beyond a reasonable doubt.

UPDATE: Radar has information from a New York-based friend of Andrew’s who says he returned borrowed items before he left and turned down new work opportunities, which the friend is taking as a bad sign.

Brooklyn-born filmmaker Lance Miccio said Koenig returned a book and other personal items to his doorstep and turned down two new editing jobs before leaving to visit friends in Vancouver. “I asked him to work on a couple gigs last time we spoke (Feb. 4), and he just refused. It was unusual. He was kind of fed up with the Hollywood business,” Miccio said. “He was a really talented guy, but he may have just said enough is enough and gone off into the wild. He was a nature boy. I keep hoping for a happy ending,” he said

He hasn’t posted any links to his Facebook profile since January, and the most recent activity on the eBay account he used is a testimonial from a buyer dated January 21. It appears he last signed in to YouTube four weeks ago, to upload a trailer for Run for Your Life, an independent web series he had hoped to develop.

This is a web pilot I made a few years back with my old improv group. It spoofs spy shows like Alias and 24 with a dash of Sid & Marty Krofft.

His father, Walter Koenig, has reworked his own site and dedicated it to the search for his son. The below is from that site.

If you’ve seen Andrew since February 14th, contact Detective Raymond Payette of the Vancouver PD at 604-717-2534.

PLEASE COPY and RE-POST THE INFORMATION BELOW!!!:

Andrew Koenig, the son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, is missing.  The last time Andrew
Koenig was seen was on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Andrew Koenig never boarded his flight back to the US, and he hasn’t heard from since then.

He was last seen at a bakery in the Stanley Park area of Vancouver.

Andrew Koenig, 41, was working as a camera operator on the show “Never Not Funny” as well
as doing improv in Los Angeles. Best known as “Boner” from “Growing Pains”, Andrew also
had a role in “Deep Space Nine”, and is a talented actor director, editor and photographer as
well as a passionate activist.  In 2008, he  was arrested at the Rose Bowl while protesting
China’s part in the genocide in the country of Burma.

This is a serious matter that has Koenig’s friends and family gravely concerned. If you have
seen him, emailed him or had any contact after the 14th or spent time with him during his stay
in Vancouver please call Detective Raymond Payette of the Vancouver PD at 604-717-2534.

Please share this and send prayers and positive thoughts. If you wish to leave Walter a note,
visit his site at: http://www.walterkoenigsite.com

andrew Koenig with long hair

PLEASE COPY and RE-POST THE INFORMATION BELOW!!!:

Andrew Koenig, the son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, is missing.  The last time Andrew
Koenig was seen was on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Andrew Koenig never boarded his flight back to the US, and he hasn’t heard from since then.

He was last seen at a bakery in the Stanley Park area of Vancouver.

Andrew Koenig, 41, was working as a camera operator on the show “Never Not Funny” as well
as doing improv in Los Angeles. Best known as “Boner” from “Growing Pains”, Andrew also
had a role in “Deep Space Nine”, and
is a talented actor director, editor and photographer as
well as a passionate activist.  In 2008, he  was arrested at the Rose Bowl
while protesting
China’s part in the genocide in
the country of Burma.

This is a serious matter that has Koenig’s friends and family gravely concerned. If you have
seen him, emailed him or had any contact after the 14th or spent time with him during his stay
in Vancouver please call Detective Raymond Payette of the Vancouver PD at 604-717-2534.

Please share this and send prayers and positive thoughts. If you wish to leave Walter a note,
visit his site at: http://www.walterkoenigsite.com

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Olympic Torch Ride-Along Live (well, undead) Blog

Olympic Torchbearer

I’m being tremendously lazy today because I spent far too much time trying to get iTunes to do what I want it to do, which is move certain songs off my CD drive onto my iPhone without erasing every song on my iPhone right now or forcing me to upload to the iPhone all the goddam ABBA and crap that’s on the hard drive, but Nooooooooooooo, Steve won’t have it.

Seriously, you KNOW you’ve put your stamp on a company when even their smallest products reproduce your pathologies in perfect detail.

Anyhoooooooo… Today, thanks to Sam Macmillan at 6S and Michael Allison at the Wilcox Group, I got to ride in the convoy of the Olympic Torch today, although I did not actually see the flame, which is neither here nor there but somewhere else, which is where it would be if it was, isn’t it?

Now, perhaps we need a little background…

I live on the Downtown Eastside, and the Olympics have, for literally the past 2 years, been a huge political shitstorm of Katrina-esque proportions. That the Olympics would take place regardless of how popular the No Olympics movement became was clear from the beginning and if there’s one thing my time working at Greenpeace taught me, it’s that by participating in useless protests that will never result in change, people bleed off their urge to act and, thus, prevent themselves from changing the world.

And I have a problem with that.

So, surrounded as I have been for the past 24 months by nonstop political sloganeering from all sides of the issue, essentially all of the mindshare I’ve given the Olympics has been equal-opportunity pushback, as in “WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE? AND YOU! THERE! SUCK IT UP, THE OLYMPICS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN WHETHER YOU WHINE ABOUT IT IN PUBLIC OR NOT! AND YOU! THERE! MY WHOLE GODDAM COUNTRY IS A FREE SPEECH ZONE SO SUCK IT YOU’RE NOT IN BEIJING ANYMORE!” and equally pointed words to those effects.

Although it was cool when my boy Bono said “No Olympics on Stolen Land” in the concert to which I didn’t buy a ticket to because I assumed, wrongly, that they’d be too expensive. Which they were not, and serves me right for not investigating, but oh well, such is the cost of pessimism.

So, as I remarked over at Trueslant, my ability to get past the politicking to connect emotionally with the actual sports and internationalism has been crippled (yes, deliberate word choice, suck it). Then again, apathy is a national characteristic, so maybe I’m just being a Good Canadian.

So, it was both nice and remarkable that, given all that backstory, Michael and Sam decided to pick me as one of the 2 bloggers to get a ride-along today (the other was the (in)famous John Chow) but they did (boy, I sure snookered them, didn’t I, and now I’m gonna hear from all the “billiards” PC-ists, aren’t I oh yes I am).

So, behold the live-tweeted timeline of a conversion. I’m really, truly grateful to them for inviting me along, because not even a cynic like me can resist seeing, say, 10,000 people in a single block in Deep Cove, all dressed in red and white and cheering their semifrozen faces off and freakin’ cowbelling like their lives depended on it.

Cherry Blossoms on the DTES

Stuck in traffic behind #Olympic torch on The Reservation in North Van can’t see a darn thing

@JohnChow we will see you soon. Why didn’t they pick speedy runners? Even I can run this fast!

Olympic Torch Traffic Dollarton Highway North Vancouver

Pretty thrilling, no? #Olympic #van2010 http://twitpic.com/12fbe0

@lussobaby yes the cherryblossoms behind Firehall Theatre are always the first in the city

Well @michaelallison says he can see the flame! Good eyes http://twitpic.com/12fd4n

Listening to thestory of how the #Olympic caravan saved a disabled driver who went off the road in Renfrew Ont thx to OnStar

RT @VANobserver RT @MargaretAtwood: Striking a blow for free speech: Vancouver Poet Laureate Brad Cran http://tinyurl.com/yek2qag Yikes!

Coca Cola is the longest running #Olympic sponsor

Convoy vehicles are called Happy1 Happy2 Loonie and Toonie. How Canadian is that? Kids are all cheering the Coke trucks looking 4 freebies!

2techs and 5 detailers 110 vehicles altogether, over half are GM #Olympic #van2010

We are rolling with the #Olympic #van2010 torch

Um we just passed the torch. Are we supposed to do that? http://twitpic.com/12fl1g

Olympic Torch Crowd in Dollarton, North Vancouver

http://twitpic.com/12fl95

Ha @johnchow is driving the crowd wild yelling “you’re on YouTube!” #Olympic #van2010

In Dollarton abt 5 minutes ahead of the #Olympic #van2010 torch. Now I know how U2‘s warmup act feels

[seriously, it’s like we know you’re wondering who the hell we are, but YAY, huh?]

Cowbell! #Olympic #van2010

Apparently schools go wild and so do some malls when they see the #Olympic #van2010 torch but Dollarton is too dignified

In Saskatchewan some ppl wheeled their granny out to see the #Olympic #van2010 torch and sstuck her right in the middle of the tracks!

3schools ina row coming up

I’m finally learning how this whole RELAY thing works #Olympic #van2010

Awesome job the announcers have whipping up the crowd for 110 straight days. WOO! Cowbell #Olympic #van2010 #olympics

@OkanaganWriting I’m riding with one of the GM guys and he says half [of the vehicles are GM]

Somebody is ringing the churchbell and someone else is waving a Molsons box! #Olympic #van2010 #olympics http://twitpic.com/12fokt [missed the picture, sadly; t’was funny]

@busybeeblogger It IS fun, I’m really glad I got the chance

@jeremylim you can ask I guess. They picked me out of thinair as far as I know [in reply to the obvious “how do I get in on that ridealong action question]

@WoundedCrane are they fancy? [she said she wanted Swiss cowbells for her dogs; I thought maybe Swiss House had special commemorative cowbells, or at least commemorative cows]

Olympic Torchbearer Deep Cove

Torchbearer http://twitpic.com/12fpeu

Cheers #van2010 #olympics #olympics http://moby.to/rqf86o

More cheers and now Journey on the stereo. Hair bands ftw http://moby.to/3j7ce5

Holycrap people actually singing along. That never happens in Canada #van2010 #olympics http://twitpic.com/12fqiw

Deep Cove on Olympic Torch Route

[another sunny day in Deep Cove]

Deep Cove #van2010 #olympics http://twitpic.com/12fqtx

The royal bank was giving out noisemakers and boy howdy are ppl using them. But I do think cowbells win #van2010 (cont) http://tl.gd/87jop

Deep Cove Crowd on Olympic Torch Route

http://twitpic.com/12frmk

Cowichan Sweater

Somebody just yelled Nice Coat at me. Real Cowichan FTW! #van2010 #olympics http://twitpic.com/12fs8t

@yurechko I’m with @michaelallison and @johnchow

@WoundedCrane deep cove [in response to “where are you that it’s raining?]

@jeremylim thanks you will get there [in response to “Nonsense. You’re highly prolific and very much loved. Wish I were the same so I could get in that van!”]

John chow says 300m is one Vegas block and I say 2 furlongs we all have diff frames of reference #van2010 #olympics

@WilcoxPR thx 4 the rt. 10,000 ppl in deep cove on just 2 blocks [the PR agency behind the ride-along starts contributing to the convo]

Explaining the Raven pub to my carmates for #van2010 [specifically, their Stupid Hot Wings. Story goes; they have 5 levels of heat, and if you can eat the Stupid Hot Wings plate, your whole meal is free. Nobody’s ever won. Waitress says “why do you think they’re called STUPID hot?]

raincoaster Art and John Chow from the Olympic Torch Ride Along

RT GM_ArtAndSerge @raincoaster and @johnchow with Art! http://tweetphoto.com/10968091

@WilcoxPR loved it, thanks 4 making the ridealong happen. Now I’m off to blog it

RT vanmediacoop upcoming – VIVO media arts “evening news” events to discuss Olympics, convergence, media & movements http://bit.ly/a2yrHt #report2010

Olympic Torch Coke Bottles

I have NO collector’s sensibility. #Olympic swag commemorative aluminum Caffeinated Swag cracked. I’m thirsty! http://tweetphoto.com/10980949

Eh Voila!

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The Pirate Bay -> The Prorogue Bay for a day, eh!

Prorogue Bay eh

Yes, The Pirate Bay has become The Prorogue Bay for a day (or more) eh. No way!

Way.

UPDATE: AndreaR reports on Twitter that apparently only Canadians can see it. Awwww, we feel speshul!

(In)Famous filesharing site The Pirate Bay has decided to stick it to the Canadian government in more ways than one. Let’s face it, the music industry can spend all it wants on lobbyists, but the real reason the Canadian Conservative Party has opposed filesharing is simply that they haven’t figured out how to tax it.

Yet.

So, besides NOT paying the Tories‘ baksheesh every darn day of their lives, the Pirate Bay‘s little Scandinavian hosers was hard at work last night getting up this lovely spoof of our illustrious or at least illustrated PM Stephen Harper on their main page, and ain’t she a beaut? Nice Peace Tower there, by jee.

If the Pirate Bay can bypass your government restrictions, why sure as you’re born so can the Canadian Government. They’re pirates alike under the skin, and if you don’t believe me you are encouraged to find a Tory and dissect him yourself just to make sure.

Now THAT would be a Good Day, eh?

And don’t forget to Follow @OnionRing4PM on Twitter and join the Facebook group Can This Onion Ring Get More Fans than Stephen Harper?

Che Conrad

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Quiz: What diner food are you?

countertop at the Ovaltine by Squeaky Marmot

Since I eat in diners on a regular basis, have actual credit at the Ovaltine, really should have a tag for the O for all my posts about it, and have done a diner tour of the PCH from Vancouver to San Francisco, this quiz has me written all over it. Especially in the following (perfectly accurate) result:


You Are Grilled Cheese


You are easygoing and easy to please. You don’t like change, and people can count on you to be consistent.

You don’t need or ask for much. If you have the basics satisfied, you’re happy.

You are a loyal and true friend. Your friends know to only expect the best from you.

You are a very “what you see is what you get” person and well liked for it. You are simply a delight.

And then we have the following. Also perfectly accurate, and the bizarre juxtaposition of which reminds me of the time we nearly had a tasting of Black Cloud Pinot Noir at the Ovaltine.

Brad Cooper, winemaker of Black Cloud Wines by April Smith of AHA Media

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE!!!


You Are Wine


You may be guilty of being a snob, but at least you’re always drinking good stuff.

You can appreciate a good wine, especially when it’s expertly paired with food.

And while you have a strong preference for wine, you can appreciate any fine beverage.

You’ve even been known to drink beer on occasion, if it’s the right microbrew.

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I’m too sexy for my geolocation…

You know it. I know it. We all know it.

Canadians are just too sexy.

epic fail pictures

Also: is this Mars, or the Canadian Shield?

mars is female

The God of War is female? Not news to anyone who’s been reading raincoaster!

Rembrandt's Pallas Athena

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