Note to self, resting your eyes for “just a minute” while doing a Blogathon can turn into 45 minutes. Since I’m a little late getting this post out I’m going toss in this older photo from Dave in honor of last night’s fireworks.
This image was taken from Cypress – a unique alternative viewing area for the Celebration of Light. Vancouver Police are calling last night’s display from the United States a success as they were less busy than usual, only making seven arrests all night.
Blogathon Post #47 – Read all Blogathon Posts and pledge to keep me going.
My Dad told me about this term that’s being used around the globe called, “Vancouverism” and John recently sent me this snapshot from The Guardian: “The regeneration of Vancouver mixes slender, tall towers with low rise buildings and public spaces. An exhibition to celebrate Vancouverism is being held at Canada House in London.”
“Vancouverism is characterized by tall, but widely separated, slender towers interspersed with low-rise buildings, public spaces, small parks and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and facades to minimize the impact of a high density population.” – The New York Times, December 28, 2005
Not Asia, not Europe, not even North America, but a new kind of city living with elements from all of these – a hybrid that now demands to be taken on its own terms. In the language of city-building, “Vancouverism” is fast replacing “Manhattanism” as the maximum power setting for shaping the humane mixed-use city, important ideas for a new era of scarce energy and diminished natural resources.
The exhibition features architects and engineers such as Arthur Erickson (who did the Law Courts, SFU and the new Ritz Calrton), Bing Thom Architects (award-winning Central City in Surrey among other things), James K.M. Cheng, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers and Trafalgar Timber Construction.
The Vancouverism exhibit will also be moving to Paris in the fall of 2008.
Blogathon Post #46 – Read all Blogathon Posts and pledge to keep me going.
It’s pretty remarkable that now that the rain has started to fall, we’re not out in the tent somewhere as that’s the way things usually go with us and summer rain.
This year, a piddly 0.2 mm on July 3 and the same amount two days later means we’re out of the running for the driest July on record. Not bad, though, considering the normal rainfall in July is about 40 mm. [VancouverSun]
With the lack of rain comes the elevated forest fire danger and along with that comes a single lightning bolt or careless person and our Province’s forests burn.
Photo credit:
tbatty on Flickr
Aside from the risk of fire, it’s also worthy to be aware of smart water consumption as levels plummet during these arid times. The Province has developed some guidelines and reading materials that can help British Columbians live water smart.
From protecting our drinking water to learning how to do business in a more sustainable way in terms of water consumption, this issue can often be overlooked by so many of us that live around so much water all the time. You can take a quick survey to find out just how water smart you are.
It turns out my household’s “water footprint” is 93,214 litres per person, per year. Seeing as how we don’t have a lawn to water or a car to wash, I thought were were doing pretty good but that number still scares me.
The idea of being conscious of our water usage and decisions should be one that we carry with us year-round. You can get more tips on the Living Water Smart website, and find out why drinking bottled water is far less eco-friendly than having a glass from the tap.
Blogathon Post #45 – Read all Blogathon Posts and pledge to keep me going.
I am a big fan of the Stanley Park Ecology Society and the good work they go in the park – from guided walks to ive busters maintenance of the natural landscape. They have an upcoming event highlighting the flying squirrel (yes, there are flying squirrels in Stanley Park) that I would like to mention here.
“On Saturday, August 9, 2008,the Stanley Park Ecology Society proudly presents Flying Squirrels: Denizens of the Dark, an entertaining and uniquely educational program for audiences of all ages.
The program will begin with a snappy musical introduction provided by the Stanley Park Ecology Society’s Jarrid Jenkins – a huge flying squirrel fan. He will then introduce naturalist Steve Patterson, a good friend and business partner of Sabrina and Scooter (the Northern and Southern flying squirrels living in Steve’s care). For the next hour and a half, they intend to introduce everyone to the fascinating lives that these little mammals lead when the sun goes down and people are asleep. Forget about an expensive circus – come and see these real acrobats at work and play!”
Proceeds from this event will benefit the Stanley Park Ecology Society, a non-profit, community-based organization connecting people with nature through education and stewardship initiatives in Stanley Park for 20 years.
What: Flying Squirrels: Denizens of the Dark
Where: West End Community Centre
When: Saturday, August 9, 2008
Show time: 10:15am (Doors at 9:45am) – noon
Tickets are $7 each and children under one-year-old are FREE. Tickets can be purchased online through the West End Community Centre’s program registration.
Blogathon Post #44 – Read all Blogathon Posts and pledge to keep me going.
The Blogathon was not my creation, it’s something that has been around for many years and since its usual organizers decided to take a break for 2008, I picked up the torch for a mini Vancouver version. There were others who also decided it shouldn’t completely cease to be this year and they have been doing the Day of Blogs this weekend as well.
In the summer of 2000, blogger Cat Connor decided that a free weekend could be combined with a marathon session of insomnia to have some fun with her personal website. In fact, Cat decided to update frytopia every 15 minutes for an entire 24 hours, for a total of 96 posts over the course of a single day…
… The first annual event occurred in 2001, when Cat invited friends and other bloggers to join her in her sleepless marathon. Over a hundred participants stayed awake on July 28 and 29, some doing so in spectacular fashion: there were virtual mix tapes, physical collages, shoes aplenty, and even dreams for the sleepy. Altogether, bloggers raised over $20,000 for 77 different charities in 2001.
… Numbers again doubled in 2003, with over $100,000 raised for charity. 2004 saw a break for the official Blogathon, with Project-Blog taking over for a year. in 2005, staff from previous Blogathons took over, bringing in over $58,000.
… In 2006 year, the original administrator, Cat Connor, returned. She brought Rob Drimmie, her programmer from ’02, and Sheana Director, who handled the event in ’05.
If you have the chance, head over to the Day of Blogs website to check out their list of Bloggers that we have all been publishing alongside for the last few days.
I just thought that now was as good a time as any to explain the Blogathon and why all of us have stayed up all weekend for our causes.
Blogathon Post #43 – Read all Blogathon Posts and pledge to keep me going.
