By dfred on January 25, 2005 - 12:22pm
Is homelessness a crime? That's what groups working with Vancouver's homeless are fearing now that new rules promises a police crackdown on petty crime and other "incivilities."
Last year, when the Provincial government voted its Safe Streets Act, it stressed it had listened to citizens' concerns. New rules give Vancouver City Police new calling codes to classify the petty crimes that citizens and police officers call in to police stations. Included on the list? Bothersome presence of homeless people, the bothersome presence of beggars, the presence of squeegees and the gathering of youth in public areas.
A cop told me that the codes don't reflect new crimes but are simply new categories to keep better statistics on petty crimes.
Vancouver Police is criminalizing homelessness. Homelessness is treated as an incivility when it's really a life situation.
Perhaps more disturbing for the homeless and their advocates is the way in which the codes send a message to the general public that homeless people are somehow dangerous or harmful, or that there's something not quite right about them. It discourages co-existence.
Never mind that homeless people receive tickets no one else ever gets, for instance for crossing a street on a red light or for butting out a cigarette. They can't pay the tickets and often end up in jail during peak tourism season for unpaid tickets.
By theseed2005 on January 22, 2005 - 1:59pm
I think this may be a timely due to the recent media attention it has garnered because of Stephen Harper. There is talk of an election being called to address this situation once and for all. Below are some of my perceptions on this exact topic.
The Politics Involved Currently in the World of Same Sex Marriages.
[...]This is how messed up is the world is right now. We are all so politically correct and have an opinion on the world of same sex relationships and whether or not same sex marriages are a morally correct thing to allow. First off, who cares? The whole institution of marriage is failing anyway and if you have read carefully you would realize that society and the world has played a big part and is greatly responsible for this fact. There are opinions on this topic from every facet of society; from the church, to the state to the corporate world and so on. I think we are entirely missing the point here.
By theseed2005 on January 22, 2005 - 10:14am
Dakine and legalized Crack Houses.
This is a story that was big news in Vancouver just a few months ago. I was going through my own personal archives and came across some thoughts I had jotted down on it. These thoughts may appear in some form or other in my second book called "Put Down The Fork" which is a look at fitness, fashion and lifestyle. Whether it makes the final cut or not I hope you enjoy!!!
I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world Vancouver, British Columbia. We already have liberal pot laws. Though it is still illegal the law tends to look the other way to those who are consuming for personal reasons. Recently a business in our city called Dakine Café Shop
By Will Pate on January 21, 2005 - 5:38pm
What's with the girls along Granville trying to get people to sign or donate to some eco-related cause? Today I was approached by a new one and here's how the conversation went:
Girl: Hello!
Me: Sorry, not interested.
Girl: Well that's because you're not interesting!
How rude! Such a harsh assessment after less than 3 seconds.
By Roland Tanglao on January 19, 2005 - 10:19pm
Welcome NJ.com, MassLive.com and OregonLive.com to the community blogging revolution! I believe you can learn lots from UrbanVancouver. For once, Vancouverites are leading the way not only in Canada but also in the USA.
What we've learned is that you need a good platform but more importantly you need people (we call them site moms) to garden, nurture and seed.
From BuzzMachine... by Jeff Jarvis.:
QUOTE
Advance Internet, which includes NJ.com, MassLive.com, OregonLive.com and other fine local sites, is about to create a half-dozen town blogs in those markets -- new, group blogs
UNQUOTE
By Toddish McWong on January 19, 2005 - 3:41am
Gung Haggis Fat Choy gets Blogged!
"Gung Haggis Fat Choy" has been reported on the net all around the world. "You're famous in Scotland, you know, you've been posted on Friends of Scotland," Harry McGrath told me last night at the Vancouver Public Library reading for Gung Haggis Fat Choy Poetry Night. And Harry should know about Scotland, he was born there, and he is coordinator of the SFU Centre for Scottish Studies Program, Last year when he was quoted in the Canadian Press story Chinese Don Kilts, the story got picked up across Canada, the United States and especially in Scotland. "All my friends and relatives were calling me," Harry told me when the story first came out.
The following are links to blog sites, most are very recent. Most are very funny in their reaction to discovering that such an event called "Gung Haggis Fat Choy" actually exists. Many have posted the poster. But I will start off by listing the dinner event reviews by Roland Tanglao on his foodie website:
Click "read more" for some blogosphere reaction to Gung Haggis Fat Choy.
By worldpoetry on January 18, 2005 - 10:26am
Creativity Rocks #20.
Creativity Consultant Ariadne Sawyer responds to questions from around the world in the weekly World Poetry Radio Show (World Poetry Cafe) every Tuesday night at (9:00 PM on CFRO, 102.7 FM.
Ronnie from Calgary writes:
I am tried of churning out the same old material-variations on a theme. Do you have any ideas for doing something new?
Creating from an archetypal perspective can open up new material, the seed material that may can incubate and add freshness to your work.
Carl Jung (a Swiss psychologist) called the characters in myths: archetypes. He believed that all cultures can relate to these characters and use them for additional creativity in life. Examples of archetypes can be:
• The hero,
• The guardian,
• The trickster,
• The shadow,
• The shape shifter,
• The herald or others.
The herald may want to break new ground, the guardian may hold to a conservative and traditional view, the trickster jokes and deceives, and the shadow may see the dark side, the hero fights against all odds, internal and external, the shape shifter modifies direction to achieve goals.
In your art, try creating from the perspective of one or more of these archetypes. It will add a new perspective and dimension to your work. You may naturally beusing one of these characters more than others. If you are, try the others for more of a balance. Basically you are using the archetype technique to prime your creativity.
In the comments of a recent post (so far the most-accessed post of all-time, with over 12,000 hits since November in fact, thanks almost entirely due to high search engine ranking), Steve from Dublin, Ireland comments about the background of the Citroen C4 Commercial:
Some people think the backdrops & buildings are realworld.
The 'Images' or 'Maps' used on the models (such as the Buildings / Sky and Ground, are realword photographs. As a 3D Artist, I can see some tell-tale signs that screams '3D'. Without giving the game away too much, I'll just tell you one of the things to look-out for.Comment on Citroen C4 Transformer Commercial Filmed In Vancouver?
He says that the commercial may not have been filmed in Vancouver, but rather that the background comprises of photos, the consensus in the comments being that it is indeed Vancouver.
By julia on January 15, 2005 - 2:44pm
This is about Abbott Street in Gastown. I don't know if it should be a blog, or a topic. I would like to see other people's comments on how a neighbourhood or a street can take on a new life.
A few months ago the 200 block on Abbott Street (between Water and Cordova Streets)was comprised of a row of empty shops nestled between a convenience store and a hairdresser, both of which had been there for some 8 years, and the wildlife store. Then LiveStock moved onto the block.
I stumbled into Live Stock in August, and decided I wanted my shop to be on Abbott Street too. I figured between them at one end, and me at the other, we could get people interested, and the street could get populated by great shops. So, I opened u r b a n i t y (www.urbanity.ca) in mid-December.
A couple of days later, "o c c u p i e d" opened two doors down, and now Bruce Eyewear is soon to open next to "o c c u p i e d", and "The house of Envy" has opened a barber shop beside LiveStock.
Across the street from me there is a new south Asian fusion restaurant called Sapphire, and a Gallery called S P A C E.
In a period of 6 months, the street has been transformed. We are working together to create a new neighbourhood in Gastown.
Julia
By worldpoetry on January 14, 2005 - 11:58pm
Creativity Consultant Ariadne Sawyer answers questions on creativity from people around the world on The World Poetry Café Radio Show every Tuesday from 9-10 PM on CFRO 102.7 F
Creativity Rocks # 39.
Anna from Houston, Texas writes:
I find that I am in the habit of procrastinating whenever I want to write.
Do you have any suggestions for the New Year?
Happy New Year Anna!
Procrastination is one of the biggest challenges that many creative people face.
It is often thought that it is like a negative commercial, playing too fast to actually see the content. You may only get a feeling to put off or do something else instead.
Here are some suggestions:
• The best antidote to procrastination is to take action. Break tasks down into manageable chunks and do one at a time.
• If you tend to eat, watch TV, clean, or other avoidance tasks, make up some labels marked procrastinators and stick them on the offending items. This will give you a visual reminder.
• NASA Astronauts came up with a technique called Fast Forward which I find very useful. Pick a task that you are procrastinating and imagine going to the end of the task, feeling great that you have done it easily and well. Practice doing this at least three times until you are motivated to start.
• If the above do not work, ask yourself why you are procrastinating, write down your answers and look for solutions.
