Earlier this week I had a poll on my site about the potential smoking ban on Vancouver beaches. Contrary to past articles I have written that have had heated discussions about smokers and non-smokers alike, I was (pleasantly) surprised to see the conversation shift to a matter of litter, as opposed to one about air pollution.

Discarded cigarettes not only litter the sand on beaches, they also cause environmental damage; whatever can be swept up on the beach will also be dragged out to sea with the tide and more than likely gobbled up by a creature after that.

Photo credit: Keira on Flickr

For 15 years the Vancouver Aquarium has been organizing the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. Over the span of a week (September 20-28, 2008) volunteers can gather on local beaches and on the edges of lakes for one massive effort to remove litter and help restore the natural environment.

The program allows and enables participants from all walks of life to be an environmental steward for a day. By choosing a shoreline, participants can register to cleanup and record all the litter found at that shoreline. All data is returned to the Vancouver Aquarium for tallying. All tallied data is forwarded to the International Coastal Cleanup to contribute to worldwide results. In 2006, Canada was the 2nd largest cleanup in the world! [Cleanup – FAQ]

Anyone can sign up on the Shoreline website and initiate or join a cleanup in their area. Looking at the current map, Vancouver, West Vancouver and North Vancouver seem to be pretty well covered already but we have much more shoreline around that could use our help ie. Surrey including an available (not yet initiated) cleanup site at Semiahmoo Bay.

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is, naturally, a nation-wide initiative even though it is formed by the Vancouver Aquarium. You can search by city on their website and follow event information and details on their blog if you would like to get involved this year.

The following is a guest post by DaveO – you can catch a multitude of links to hise various projects on his website and more video on his Blip channel.

All my hipster/greenie/crunchy/urbane pals were all bound for the luminary, venerable Vancouver Folk Fest this past weekend. I turned down extra tickets, rumoured media passes, friendly pleadings and erstwhile invitations cause i already had my weekend fest plans in mind – the Surrey Fusion Fest (see also: Greetings from Fusion Fest – video).

The festival grounds
Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

Sure you might think that i missed out on the awesome line-up and beautiful people on idyllic Jericho Beach but i spent scant ducats, saw great bands, ate well, and immersed myself in the ethnic re-mix that is the lower mainland’s super-diverse (and much maligned) municipality. Missed nothing methinks

I made the lengthy transit trek (3 zones for the price of 2 on weekends) from my North Van sanctuary and spent Saturday afternoon/evening at the new Holland Park with my comrade Dan Funboy, and made the following observations:

Whalley Little League
Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

Reportage for the People!
Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

I am very keen on festivals in general and tend to hang out with the proletariat rather than fancy folks, but i also don’t make it back anywhere near Whalley Exchange these days – cause well, i’ve been there, done that.

But in spite of all the yuppie grumblings from the urban core (many of whom speak of tolerance and diversity while ignoring where it actually happens), this is really where many new Canadians live – and this is where the low-income families can come have fun, where neighbours learn about each other, and where you can enjoy a variety of music you’d otherwise never get to hear. At a thrifty (free) price.

I spent my entire $11 on food tickets (plus someone gave Dan 3 more gratis) and, with Dan surveying the menu guide, we foraged the international booths for the following tasty snacks:

Winner of a tasty prize
Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

Even a veteran linguist would be challenged to name all the languages overheard and foodies could sample some creative tasty bits and also check out cultural exhibits from each cultural region (not political jurisdiction as Persia, Palestine, and Taiwan were included).

The musical line-up boasted a variety of ethnic and distinctly regular acts from a rock band you might see at a Bridgeview roadhouse (Rocking out while waiting for Salmon – video) to a bass player from the MicMac nation (via New Brunswick) who’s exclaimed that she’s “been in the business for 43 years”.

Gleaming metropolis
Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

The Chieftains were the headliners on Saturday night which had a Celtic bent to it with the Connors before them (Introducing The Chieftians – video). The Dublin-based band were joined by some young Canadians who were dancing and fiddling and mugging for the camera with mucho aplomb.

The main Chieftain didn’t care for the cameras on the stage projecting the show onto video screens. The drummer got to sing one and managed not to incite a riot when encouraging people to drink a long with his whiskey song.

Nathan the band
Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

The fave for me were Nettwerk recording artists, Nathan. A four piece with a country lilt and multi-instrument creativity. Switching between banjo, accordion and Theremin, acoustic and electric guitars, they sang tales of romance and deceit in a firm tender way, and even played a waltz. I am sucker for a quaver in a voice and i’ve listened to their plaintive, evocative songs on repeat today.

I planned to attend another day at the fest, but a lazy Sunday of watching the first Alpine stage of the Tour de France and unpacking at my new house (in North Van) won out.

Final observation (with my apologies to the do-gooders) while waiting for a bus at the Newton Exchange, listening to Angus (with a his can of Colt 45) ask a guy if the security guard uniform he was wearing was a Coast Guard uniform, i spotted a young woman wearing a shirt with iron-on glitter letters saying, “I was incredible in bed last night and all i got was this lousy t-shirt”

PS I coulda sworn i saw John Chow, the F*ck Art, Make Stats guy leaving as i arrived. Was that you?

Quick update: In order to help all of us track pledges I have added a form to my Blogathon page. I know that some of the other bloggers have solved this issue but for those of us who are not tracking the donations live (only getting totals at the end) we hope that those who would like to pledge our cause and keep us going will use this form.

Participants so far: Tania Morrison (Ottawa), Raul, Shane Gibson, Karen Hamilton, Ayeza Garcia, Isabella Mori, Danny Dang, Mehnaz Thawer, Jenn Lowther/Nadia Nascimento, Barbara Doduk, Chris Richardson, Colleen Vince

Blogathon Vancouver takes place this weekend (as seen this morning in the 24 Hours and last night on my Urban Rush segment) with participants starting at various times, check out any of the following blogs to lend your support simply by viewing, commenting, pledging or donating. Thank you to everyone in advance!

Due to unforeseen circumstances my Blogathon Vancouver campaign will now be taking on a later shift instead of my original 5:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday. My “1 post every 30 minutes for 24 hours” will begin upon my return so I’ll pick up the Blogathon on the fly and go until Sunday.

My cause of choice is the Union Gospel Mission in the downtown Eastside. They have been so accommodating in terms of getting their online donation page setup for Blogathon so I’m starting my fundraising early (as of right now).

Union Gospel Mission is a non-profit urban relief organization serving the Lower Mainland, providing hope for the hungry, hurting and homeless since 1940. [UGM]

Here is a sample from a post on their blog (The Street) that is eye-opening and inspiring.

As we make our way through the park, Arnie stops the van and turns all the lights on. He opens the doors and yells, “Are you hungry? Come out! Union Gospel Mission, we have food!” In that moment it hits me. We are in the middle of a park, just steps away from the downtown core of one of the world’s most opulent cities. There are people here that are lost and sleeping in the woods.

A few seconds later, a gentleman stumbles out of the forest. He tells us he has been lost. He thanks us for lighting his path but refuses any help we offer.

From the middle of the park we wind over to the water. Our searchlight combs the beach looking for hungry people sleeping on logs. We find someone. Arnie hops out and goes to wake him up. “Wake up man, I have some food for you,” he says as he gently wakes him. A cart beside him holds all his worldly possessions. He is filled with gratitude when our volunteer offers him a new, clean pair of socks.

It is a very warm evening and the beach is full of people. Some people criticize us. Some people praise us. But everyone notices us. Everyone we help is full of thanks. [TheStreet – UGM Blog]

There are currently FOUR ways you can support my Blogathon campaign:

If you are ready to donate immediately before the Blogathon starts this weekend, you can head directly to the UGM’s online donation page. When you’re there please choose “Miss604 Blogathon” from the appropriate dropdown.

If you would like to pledge a Blogathon campaign, please fill out this form. At the end of Blogathon you will be sent an email to remind you to follow through on the pledge and donate.

If you are a business you can donate $50 for a sponsored blog post or time slot to promote your company. Please contact me if you would like to donate for ad space.

If you are a blogger, you could write about the campaign – there is also a list of all other participating bloggers on my Blogathon Page.

This week will be rough for many but I am still very proud to be a part of something that will do so much good for so many non-profits and charities out there. If you have enjoyed my content over the years or even if you are a new reader, it would be great if you could help support this cause or the causes of the other bloggers. Thanks so much to everyone in advance.

Update: If you would like to help out the family you can contribute to a trust fund that has been put in place: remembering.randy [at] gmail.com via PayPal.

Sometimes life throws some real curveballs leaving things unsaid, unexplained, and all those affected in awe of its randomness.

Last Saturday I learned that my dear friend’s brother was killed in a motor vehicle accident. He was a husband, father, son and brother who was loved by all and could make you laugh and giggle with the flash of his genuine and kind-natured smile.

I first met him in the fall of 1997 when we hung out on the bleachers at Kwantlen Park while he charmed my best friend and I with his smooth talking and impressive skateboarding abilities. We were West Whalley girls and although he was from LA Matheson, that just made him even more enchanting to our impressionable teenage selves. But little did I know at the time how special a person he actually was.

The following year I started dating his brother (which lead to a five year relationship) and another year after that I met his sister, whom I still hang out with regularly to this day. During my relationship with his brother, naturally he was a part of my family and I even flew back from Boston when I was living there in order to attend his wedding.

He was a truly authentic and caring person who always saw the best in people and no one was more important to him than family.

Despite having the roughest of childhoods, losing a parent to cancer, and having countless odds stacked up in a row against him – he persevered. He married his sweetheart, bought a house, had two adorable sons and provided for his family in such an upstanding fashion. He was a touchstone for the rest of the family and his friends, always being the one to give a shoulder to cry on and to tell a joke when spirits needed lifting. He put all he had to making a life for his wife and children.

To be taken away at such a young age, with two little lives left without a father is a cruel turn of fate, leaving so many with questions. Illness, disease, tragedy and sorrow strike us at unexpected times taking the breath right from our lungs and the beats from our aching hearts.

I will not be posting (anywhere) for the rest of the day to provide some silence in my digital realm in an effort to best convey my sorrow and condolences for the family.