Okay I'll go. My neighborhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is undergoing massive gentrification on account of our oil boom. Now the mainstream media is all smiles and glowy reports and yay isn't this wonderful. Frankly I disagree. I've seen scores of old character filled houses consumed by the wrecking ball and replaced with glassy carbon copy condos. This used to be an artsy bohemian part of town, now its just trendy.

Recently I decided to start going out on the street with my video camera capturing the transformation. A couple of days ago an old video store put up a sign; "Closeout sale! We're being forcefully evicted. Everything must go!" so I went down with my video camera and interviewed the owner, Chengis Javeri aka: C.J.

The store was opened twenty years ago by C.J.'s father because his mother wanted something to do. After a year she became bored of running the store so C.J. and his father took it over and ran it until 2003 when his father passed away. One week ago C.J. found a notice of eviction addressed to his deceased father on his door. It gave him until the end of January to vacate the premises.

He's in the process of liquidating as much of his inventory as possible and trying to figure out his next career move. He grew up in the video store so it'll be quite the change whatever he ends up doing.

The Blue Turtle gallery/art shop next door opened two years ago and is also run by C.J. He only accepts work from first time artists as a means to help them get their careers off the ground and bolster their confidence. That too will be closing come the end of the month.

My intention is to combine all this footage with some personal editorial ranting to make a kind of gonzo documentary on the gentrification of the neighborhood. I hope to have it online by the end of the month.