The only pets I’ve ever owned are a hamster and my Kitty (who is pushing 17 years old and going strong) so I’ve never really known either side of the story, but growing up I knew which house to avoid walking past on my way home from school. You know, the one with the growling, salivating dog behind the weak fence post which could have even been a Pomeranian but you didn’t care because it’s bark was enough to make you quicken your pace? Yeah, that one.
I am well aware this is not a Pibtull, the image simply amused me Photo credit: Travis Smith on Flickr
Recently Surrey’s been in the news because of a recent rash of dog attacks on humans. Some are now calling for a ban on dangerous breeds.
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts says a ban on the breed is not up for discussion. Watts says the city has some of the toughest rules in the province governing vicious dogs. She says there’s absolutely no way they’re ‘soft on safety’ despite what some critics might say.
A few years back the city did consider a breed ban but instead Watts believes the responsibility should be on the owner. [News1130]
The Province of Ontario banned pitbulls a few years ago, and Saskatchewan did a few years before that, but it seems dozens of breeds could be deemed vicious. In most cases bylaws and provincial legislation requires an animal or person be killed or seriously injured before a dog is deemed dangerous.
An argument is that responsibility lies with the owner and malicious dogs are not bred, but raised, which leaves this open for another Miss604 poll.
[poll=7]
While reading VancouverHistory.ca I always check out the sidebar where there’s a teaser for the book, the Street Names of Vancouver by Elizabeth Walker. It asks, “Who was Davie? Why do we have a Broadway? What street was named for a Spanish Secretary of State?” and until the other day my previous knowledge of the origins of some Vancouver street names had floated like a McBarge out of my memory.
Cambie Street Bridge – Photo credit: SqueakyMarmot on Flickr
Walking down to Waterfront Station the other day John and I paused in the hallway to get some change out for a Jugo Juice and when I looked up at the side of the wall. It was someplace I had never thought to look before but there was a plaque dedicated to Henry John Cambie.
Cambie, a surveyor born in Ireland, was charged with the task for bringing the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) to its terminus on the coast, which he decided would be Vancouver. Plotting the route for the CPR through the Fraser Canyon and out to Burrard Inlet was no easy task. In fact his survey mission began at Yellowhead Pass, through the Rockies and across the Continental Divide.
I have a great photo of me sitting on a monument marking the Continental Divide, one side of me in Alberta the other in BC. However this was from my rebellious teenage years and I simply cannot justify the outfit I was wearing at the time (that and we were on a two week long camping trip) but I digress.
But that’s not the only route Cambie surveyed, “In 1879 surveyed the north for a third route from Prairies to coast. From 1880-83 supervised laying of tracks from Emory Bar to Boston Bar via Fraser Canyon; next supervised Savona to Shuswap Lake. In 1903, moved to Vancouver; retired in 1921.”
In honor of Henry John Cambie, Cambie Street in Vancouver, Cambie Road and H.J. Cambie School in Richmond are all named after him.
The history around here is rather new compared to other parts of the country but it wasn’t until the last century that it started to build up and boom. Talented people like Cambie helped secure the routes that would get people and supplies from our Pacific ports up, over and through the Rockies, truly building BC.
The City of Surrey sure isn’t going to live down its 2008 title of Cultural Capital of Canada anytime soon. With so many events and festivals planned here’s another big one for everyone to enjoy.
“This celebration has grown to become the largest Canada Day event in Western Canada with attendance in 2007 reaching 90,000 garnering near legendary status as one of the largest outdoor shows ever staged in BC.”
When: Tuesday July 1st from 10:00am until the fireworks at 11:00pm
Where: Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre, 176 Street and 64th Avenue (Google Map)
If you miss the downtown Canada Day fireworks that disappeared a few years ago you won’t be disappointed with this display which will have music simulcast on Rock 101.
Now I have to make a note about the nostalgic lineup of bands, which made me giggle with excitement when they were announced:
Not only will there be concerts and fireworks, the midway will be in full swing with rides like the Gravitron. Also, you can be assured there will be bouncy castle action for the kiddies along with other family-oriented activities throughout the day (like performances by Bobs and Lolo, and an outdoor skating rink… in July!).
Stay tuned to the site for updates and as with all of these festivals I’m reporting on for Surrey, there is no admission fee.
Update July 1, 2008: I’ll be checking in throughout the day with updates and photos from the celebration in Cloverdale.
A while back my friend Keira suggested we have a mother-daughter ladies night when he mother came to visit her in town this month. After weeks of anticipation we finally made it out to dinner at Boneta, did some blitz shopping, and hung out back at the house where we filled it with giggles and girl talk.
I’ve been to Boneta before but I’ve never tried the desserts. I highly recommend you sample some of their sweets, they were probably the highlight of my meal.
Keira’s got a recap post up as well, and I’m glad she an her mom had their cameras handy since my mom and I both forgot ours (although I had iPhone power, but that isn’t good at all in low light). I pretty much blew off every other event I was supposed to attend yesterday. I went to work then I hung out with great friends and family – sometimes these things have to come first… even when they should come first all the time.
You know when you hear a song and don’t know the words so you make up some lyrics in your head to sing along to? Well it turns out the lyrics of Weezer’s new song Pork and Beans are just that, “I eat my candy with my pork and beans.” So yeah, I’m not crazy.
With that I’ll back up a little and first introduce the concept of memes and then explain why the heck Weezer is going to get total geek cred for their single’s music video.
A meme consists of any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods and terms such as race, culture, and ethnicity. Memes propagate themselves and can move through a “culture” in a manner similar to the behavior of a virus. As a unit of cultural evolution, a meme in some ways resembles a gene [wiki] Note: A meme does not have to be a video.
I have a feeling the Weezer meme is going to make quite a splash. Even with an iTunes-only release in the USA last year our pal Matthew Good’s album Hospital Music was on Top 10 charts as well. The lesson here? Embrace the power of the internets.
I know that’s a big statement, but I’ll simply leave it at that and allow you to watch the video and get the Pork and Beans tune stuck in your head as it has been in mine for about six days now.
