s h ! n d ! d

420: The term 420 originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971, among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking wiseacres who called themselves the Waldos, who are now pushing 50. The term was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot. Intent on developing their own discreet language, they made 420 code for a time to get high, and its use spread among members of an entire generation. So there ya go, someone’s parents out there invented the term 4/20.

Vancouver is very very proud of it’s B.C bud. April 20th, 2008 saw the celebration of all things Mary Jane related. I was shopping for DVDs when I stumbled upon 6,000 odd people and a smelly smoke cloud over the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG - for short!). I had no idea how open Vancouver was about weed until I got here… I’d say it’s attitude is probably only second to Amsterdam with it’s cafes and all. I don’t have fancy photos like on Tim’s site, but my camera phone is handy.

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Biked round me hood - East Van yesterday. I’ve decided to make a pin-hole camera experiment in the coming days. Will take more of my new environment then. Tried to find a park I saw earlier in the month, but couldn’t. Shame. Coulda had a few curious shots. Ever so slowly getting back into my images.

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So, inspired to get off my arse, I went about taking pictures of Vancouver. The city of Vancouver is reminiscent of pre-Olympics Sydney in many ways. With the 2010 Winter Olympics looming similar social and city/event planning issues are currently scruitinised by many locals - mostly what do we do about the homeless, public transit and what about indigenous land recognition? It’s not as busy as some other cities, and has a once/still-is-chilled-out-in-the-process-of-becoming-a-metropolitan-city vibe in the air.

My heart wasn’t really in photographing though… And I think you can tell, I was photographing more for the sake of taking photos of things I like and noticed most about Vancouver: the homeless, graffiti, mountains and construction. Smell-o-vision would have been very helpful - every block in parts of downtown have a different kind of gross pee smell…

I’ve decided I need a new lens, cos a couple I have are utterly useless for my cause… (Rudder: this all feels like de ja vu, like when you first moved to Japan…). Some cool stuff below tho.

These stairs were at the back of a barely there back alley art gallery, the stairs lead to a runway fashion boutique for men.

Some short Asian tourist…

People’s Pigeon Park cnr Hastings & Carrall St, Downtown Eastside - name says it all really. Many of Vancouver’s homeless and less fortunate spend their days here. [Read more]

After the recent Improv Everywhere gimmick at Grand Central Station in NYC, a Vancouver group has popped up.

Unfortunately,  yours truly had to work but one of my roommates joined in on the still action. Here are some YouTube videos on the event. The second is from a guy who was involved in the freeze with the camera running. More to come soon.

I’ve been downloading Season 4 of Grey’s Anatomy all night and watching them in quick desperate succession. Computers and internet - oh how I’ve missed you.

I’ve been doing a lot of data moving and filing; which means I’ve already used up most of my new computer’s 120Gb hard drive in four days… I haven’t even started loading it with new software yet. SO I should buy up a new external hard drive me thinks… the additional 180 or whatever I have just isn’t cutting it, and I have to reformat it anyways. AND I’ve still yet to buy my WACOM, speakers, keyboard, mouse, bluetooth mic headset… the list has no end. Unfortunately, my finances do.

Schizer!  I just realised my rent is due tomorrow. Luckily I already have that. I have been cooking at home again so I think I will be set for food until the next paycheck.
Dooooooode, there is still so much I need to get. I just got a futon bed thing, and still need a doona and pillows. My camera’s flash is a little buggered so I have to do some manual gidgetry on it.

So much to do and growing hungry.

Oh I had my first night out in Vancouver Friday. Saw Kid Koala at the Biltmore Cabaret, was pretty cool. I was more intrigued by the venue and crowd - you know me, always trying to suss those things out. Mixed crowd of 9-5 workers, hipster indie scene and to a lesser extent some sort of queer scene. Generally calm and good.
The venue had red velvet wallpaper - so need I say more. Apparently it was a dodgy hotel for years… That’s something crazy about Vancouver.

There’s a lot of honesty and a lot of sensual energy going around - or so I’ve been told repeatedly. I don’t get it. I haven’t really noticed that in other parts of the world the way it is here - sex clubs are a norm apparently. Fetishism and leather is everywhere and it’s just not something you expect out of the calm quiet West Coast Canadians.

I don’t want to sleep cos it means I have to work tomorrow. Although, the New Year’s Eve will be upon us.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I bought myself a radio last night. One of those doo-dads that let you play and charge your ipod too. At the time I thought it a wise investment - to improve my efficiencies as a punctual worker and an informed citizen of the world and what not. Big mistake.

I discovered (after sifting through Punjab, Chinese and French local stations) 94.5FM (one of the biggest commercial radio stations in Van). It was largely repetitive screaming by the female DJ telling millions of listeners about her meeting with David Beckham (Becks is here playing against one of the local teams or something). She was so annoying! Like listening to a 13 year old bicker and outdo her friends on who is the best! Drove me crazy! Who really cares if you think he’s “top-notch” or whatever (after the 4th time)?? Can I get some music? News? I seem to have very little alternative to listen to from my room. I did however, hear the new Britney Spears… Is that really the quality of pop right now?
I then woke up to advertising this morning, and that totally killed me. Can’t stand commercial radio, my head hurts. I want the J’s. In small doses.

Also yesterday, I tried to read a free local paper or two. All they did were depress me. The local lefty critical community paper was all about keeping your child’s brain away from the government’s dirty standardised skills tests and telling me how counter-culture is the new and last culture. I have half a mind to write a letter! Other papers were similar and the gang-wars of Vancouver right now don’t help. The news is so infuriating and depressing!

I guess I am starting to get back in touch with the world after having disconnected with it for the first time. I can now look from the outside and say “I don’t like it all that much”.
But then, I don’t want to be that person that shits allover everything. Infact, I think I am quite the optimist… haha… no, really.

I believe in the inherent good of most people.
I believe people are mostly, at least capable, of being smarter than what we are informed with.
I believe in a nearly cyclic human history. That is, yes we will repeat past mistakes (in varying forms), but will learn from it again and again. Becoming smarter and raising standards each time.
I believe there is no end. Someone is always going to have seen, felt, thought what you have; and that there is always someone better than you, and worse off at the same time. Someone will always pick up where you left off. The “revolution” is not over, it was never an event to start and end. That’s the problem. Maintenance. That’s the challenge.