A Day In Vancouver

 

Wolfie

A video of Wolfman Shaun Ellis teaching a wee lil’ baby wolf how to howl.



 

E-Wasteland

Artist Sophie Gerrard has featured the growing E-wasteland problem in Indian in her new collection. Currently, the waste is approximately 20 to 50 million tonnes.



In western nations, a computer, cell phone or electronic equipment is thrown away every 2 years. Some major cities have recycling depots for E-waste, but most people dispose of it in landfills.

E-waste is highly toxic. It contains lead, cadmium, mercury, tin, gold, copper, PVC and brominated, chlorinated and phosphorus based flame retardants. Many of these heavy metals and contaminants are extremely harmful to humans as well as to animals and plants.

Listening to: Indio - Hard Sun

 

White Trash Party, Playland and B/IAS

A few weekends ago, I went to Disaster Area's White Trash Party. I did not think the crew could top last year's epic Family Reunion, but they did. Will It Smash and the Redneck Olympics triumphed last year's shenanigans.

Almost a month ago, some friends, my niece and I went to Playland. It was somewhat gray and rainy that day, but we still had lots of fun. It was my niece's first trip to the fair. She was very brave and rode most of the high, scary rides while my feet stayed firmly planted on the ground.



In April, while I was in Seattle, some friends and I visited the B/IAS Burien/Interim Arts Space. Ignition Northwest consisting of Seattle Regional Burners and lots of hard work by volunteers brought a stunning art installation from Burning Man.

Listening to: Underworld - Two Months Off

 

Dance Revolution

100 days, 100 songs, 100 locations, 100 dances.

This guy rox.

 

Wicked and I'm Lazy

Animation with Led Zeppelin's Kashmir by Steve Scott.



 

Bureau of Communication's Declaration of Romantic Intent:



Listening to: Gerard McMann - Cry Little Sister

 

We're Screwed

Screwed I tell you. Not in a good way either. According to Michael Geist's explanation to the Canadian Senate, our Internet network is ranked 28 out of 30 OECD countries. The ranking is based on pricing, service, infrastructure and bit caps. We rank near the bottom in all four categories. Japan, Korea and France out rank us in all categories.

One has to wonder if this known fact of our Internet over last 15 or so years has also inhibited our consumer rights, business development, research and development, or academia.

It's the same with other urban issues: regulations, collective consciousness, transportation, consumer pricing, and cell phone plans. We pay more because we have no choice.

 

The US Congress is now promoting a Buy American rule in the US. The Congress is urging Americans to buy only products made with American resources or made only in America.



Many Canadians already support this mandate buy shopping at big American chains or corporations. Americans are very patriotic and will probably spend more to support their fellow Americans. Canadians will not and will typically choose the cheaper American brand (China-made) option. Who doesn't love Wal-Mart over Zellers, or Home-Depot over Rona?

Over 80% of our resource exports are to the US. This US movement could cripple our economy. Moreover, I could not see American corporations would pay higher costs for resources. They would not longer remain competitive in the market at higher prices. During a recession, I do not see the masses paying higher costs for disposable products.

List of Canadian companies on the TSE.

The whole ideal reminds me of the early 2000s when companies hung signs and banners of "Canadian Proud", even though they were American corporations.

Listening to: " target="new">REM - Loosing My Religion

 

Pogo Schtick

I am addicted to Pogo. I love card and board games. Since no one really plays them anymore in real life, Pogo is the next best thing. My character is kawaii.



Listening to: Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

 

Summertime

Well, yesterday was a high of 30C and today looks just as good. After months of cool, rainy and cloudy weather, it finally feels like spring... or summer? Mind you, June is famous for doing a 180 back to autumn-like weather.

 

Improv Everywhere Gives Newly Married Couple A Surprise Wedding Reception



Listening to: Billy Idol - Cradle of Love

 

Deluxe Hugs, Ukrainian Dinner & Monck

Deluxe Hugs Prank



 

Two weekends ago, on Friday I went to St. Mary's Church Ukrainian dinner. For $10.50, I scored a delicious plate of perogies, meatballs and gravy, and apple crumble. It was fantastic and service was excellent.

I also went to the opening of Kitsilano Pool with my niece. I had not been there since I was a teenager volunteering for the Boys' & Girls' Club. We also went to Playland. It was my niece's first visit to the fair and she went on all the scary rides while my feet were firmly planted on the ground.



Last weekend, a bunch of Amerikan GFYers visited Vancouver for Memorial Weekend. We all went to the White & Glitter Party Vegas-style. We also hung out at Kitsilano Beach and had brunch at the Reagle Beagle.

Last night, I skipped out of yoga (bad me) to go to Memphis Blues with my cousin and our friend. Meat coma galore! We shared a Memphis Platter and it was pure omnivore heaven. I love their potato salad and cornbread. After, we went for a walk along Jericho Beach.

Tomorrow, I am headed to Monck Provincial Park on Nicola Lake near Merritt. I have never been there before, but pictures of the lake and campground look wonderful. I am going with a bunch of friends and I have been looking forward to this weekend all month.




Listening to: Chilliwack - My Girl

 

Cat Videos Make Me Laugh

Cat In A Suitcase



 

Remembering Our First Crushes

My First Crush



 

Apparently

Apparently, I am "Daunting".



daunting - 2 dictionary results

daunt [dawnt, dahnt]

–verb (used with object)

1. to overcome with fear; intimidate: to daunt one's adversaries.

2. to lessen the courage of; dishearten: Don't be daunted by the amount of work still to be done.

Origin:

1250–1300; ME da(u)nten < AF da(u)nter, OF danter, alter. of donter (prob. by influence of dangier power, authority; see danger ) < L domitāre to tame, deriv. of domitus, ptp. of domāre to tame

Related forms:
daunt-ing⋅ly, adverb
daunt-ing⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. overawe, subdue, dismay, frighten. 2. discourage, dispirit.

Antonyms:
2. encourage.

Listening Rihanna - Disturbia

 

A to Zed

I borrowed this A to Z that is going around on FaceCrack Donna. I ain't no FaceCracker, but I like the insight it provides about the writer.

A - Age: 34.9

B - Bed size: Queen: Simmons Orthopedic with pillow-top mattress and mattress pad, 300+ count sheets. It's like sleeping on a cloud.

C - Chore you hate: Washing the tub and mopping the floors. Best to outsource.

D - Dog’s name: Cat's name is Choco.

E - Essential start your day item: Warm chai and soy or strawberry black tea.

F - Favorite color: Aquamarine, turquoise or teal.

G - Gold or Silver: Platinum.

H - Height: 5′3.5″

I - Instruments you play(ed): Flute (not at band camp).

J - Job title: Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director and Board of a non-profit organization that manages extended-care facilities.

K - Kids: Not yet. I am a parental-figure to a Siamese cat and an Aunt to an 8 year old.

L - Living arrangements: 750 sq ft one-bedroom apartment one block from Kitsilano Beach.

M - Mom’s name: Sadie

N - Nicknames: Stace, Sinja

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None that I know of.

P - Pet Peeve: People who waste, don't move to the back of the bus, bad drivers.

Q - Quote from a movie: "Would you like me to seduce you?", "Nobody puts 'Baby' in a corner.", "I'll have what she's having."

R - Right or left handed: Mostly right.

S - Siblings: Aaron

T - Time you wake up: 6:20 really is hell on earth.

U- Underwear: Affirmative.

V - Vegetable you dislike: I never met a vegetable I didn't like.

W - Ways you run late: Surfing the 'net, cat naps, or missed the bus.

X - X-rays you’ve had: Dental

Y - Yummy food you make: Scrambled eggs with sauteed veggies and Havarti.

Z - Zoo favorite: Portland Oregon Zoo (Love 'em all!)

 

Listening to: Engima - Sadness

 

Dating Advice

How to Date Someone Dumber Than You



 

Audrey Tautou in the Chanel No 5 Commercial



 

Cherry Blossoms

After I came out of the Burlesque show at 1:30 am on Sunday, I walked two blocks to my car to Parker Street near Commercial Drive. The whole street was covered in cherry blossoms. I wish I had my camera because someone drew a heart on my windshield (not my car below). It was such a lovely gift.



Listening to: Oliver Shanti - Spring Tea Ceremony

 

A La Weekends

These past few weekends have been fantastic. A few weekends ago, I went down to Seattle for Bunarchy. A bunch of us participated in a bunny bar-hop in Georgetown. It was a lot of fun. We started at the Georgetown Liquor Company, headed to Calamity Janes, Jules Maes and finished at the 9lb Hammer. The 9lb was a very funky bar because there were board games everywhere. I loved seeing Jenga, Trivial Pursuit and Rock'em Sock'em Robots. The evening creme de la creme was the Taco Truck that pulled up to serve fresh tacos at 2 am.



I spent the rest of the weekend at the Csto NW Regional Conference participating in a series to team-building workshops with my Csto campmates from Burning Man. It was great to see old Csto mates from as far away as Victoria and California.


Last weekend, I went to SinCity with a paddy wagon full of Recompression Cops. We wrote citations, performed illegal searches and confiscated concealed weapons. I am still a rookie in training, but I am learning a lot in the ways to becoming a good oscipher.


On Friday, I went to see The Secret World of Og at the Carousel Theatre in Granville Island with Kel, Omid and Erin. I had never read the children's book before, but the adaption was incredible. The screenplay was fantastic, the characters were adorable, the acting was great, and the set design was magical. It is a story about five children that discover their toys are being taken to a secret underground world. After the play, we went for dinner at the Cat's Social House (formerly Cat's Meow). More dark decor swanky, mind you, the service and food were good even though there was not enough staff on hand.

On Saturday, I went with Claire, Dorothy and Delilah to The Reef on Commercial Drive for some Jamaican food and drinks. I love their raspberry rum mojitas. After filling our palates, we went to see By the Seat of Our Panties: A Burlesque Musical at the Vancouver Burlesque Festival. The show was incredible! We laughed non-stop. The musical had so many great numbers performed by a talented cast. I loved the song about Day Jobs. The show was delightfully roaring.

This afternoon, I am going over to Leanne and Louie's for the Annual Brupper. I used to live next door to Leanne in our old apartment building and every year she would host an annual pancake brupper. Guests would bring an ingredient to be the added feature in a batch of pancakes. Previously pancakes have included Oreo chunks, gummie bears, baked apples, bananas and jelly beans. This year, I am bringing butterscotch chips.

I cannot believe it is already May! Spring sprung rather late and I feel sorry for all the hayfever sniffling sufferers. My rent went up again $35 the second year in a row. I am considering moving before it reaches $1,000. A bit much for a one-bedroom apartment, but the rents elsewhere are just as high. *sigh* I could purchase, but I would be paying through the nose as a single-incomer. I am not quite ready for the hippie commune just yet.

Listening to: Corey Hart - Never Surrender

 

Recompression IX

I just returned from my 7th Burning Man Vancouver Recompression on the Sunshine Coast.



I had so much fun and made so many new friends. I camped my second year with Arabian Nights and hung out with the Cops.

The theme for the weekend was Alice In Wonderland. The Moose Lodge decorations were fantastic, as was the chill space. I enjoyed all the performances of the talent show, propane poofers, fireballs and bunny cannons by Disaster Area, the Legion of Flying Monkeys Karaoke Puppet Show, the Rally Car Race, the fire show choreographed by Mystress Fire, and the Man burn.

I also helped Yonderboy with his photo booth for 3 hours Saturday evening.

Not too mention, the food was fantastic!

The ferry ride home was rather awesome.

Listening to: Opus III - Dreaming of Now

 

I Wish Dolphins Were My Friends

Dolphin Bubbles: An Amazing Behaviour



 

Kyoto Loves Me

Well, after taking a bus to the Gion district that consists of traditional Japan with temples, shrines and Geisha, we walked around for the better part of an hour looking for a Love Hotel. Rooms were either $50 per hour or $130 for overnight. But check-in was at 10 pm, and we did not know if we could go in and out of the hotel. The sun was setting, we were starting to get cranky and hungry. We ended up back on Higashioji Street just down from the Yasaka Pagoda staring into a diner. We were hungry, so we set our weary parts down at a table.

We did not have high expectations. While we were waiting for the only woman took cook our food, we contemplated sleeping at the train station, trying a hostel, or taking the train to another city and leaving Kyoto. The latter made me very sad because I really wanted to see Kyoto. We almost skipped the city all-together. We had not made a hotel reservation and every room from a hostel to a hotel was booked. It is the beginning of the cherry blossom season.

Our dinner was good and fufilling. We we were paying our bill, the restaurant owner took pitty on us. She called her husband to assist us. He came by the restaurant and phoned an aquaintance and left a voicemail. We sat a waited hoping for even a spare room in some random building.

After a few minutes, the husband came over and informed us he managed to arrange a place for us to stay. He even came out to explain the directions to the taxi driver. Most streets and buildings in Japan do not have signs or numbers.

The taxi driver had no idea where this guest house was, but he managed to find it. A fellow met us at a gate. We followed him down a walkway. When he opened the door, we were in complete awe inside the Gojo Machiya Guest House. It is a two-level Japanese style house with lots of browns and whites with a kitchen, shower and bathroom, heated-seat toliet, laundry and tv. The best part is the guest house is only $150 per night with a $100 deposit. Most of the hotels started at $250 to $300 per night.

I am currently sitting on a Thai-triangle pillow with a fuzzy blanket in a tatami room listening to classical opera playing on a cd player hanging on the wall.

Life in Kyoto is *so* rough.

Also, I saw my first Geisha. We were standing outside the restaurant and there were two Geisha standing on the street. A few people were photographing them, and they turned their backs to avoid being photographed. Both Geisha were stunning.