It’s official, there will be a Blogathon in Vancouver this year (and by official, I mean that I created a wiki page with useful information and a sign up sheet).
Based on the Blogathon of the past, which is not in operation this year, bloggers are encouraged to sign up, pick a non-profit of choice, collect pledges (which can be a flat donation, or a certain amount for every hour the blogger manages to stay awake), and blog every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. No excessive post-dating entries, no making money (except for the charity) just purely and simply donating 24 hours of your time for a cause in hopes that your readers will pledge to keep you going.
Last year my amazing readers raised over $400 for the Surrey Food Bank. I’m hoping to shatter that record this year [Read my 2007 Blogathon Posts]
I put the call out earlier this month and the response was quite positive so I have setup the wiki and we’re all systems GO for the weekend of July 26-27.
- Sunshine Shift: 7/26/08 0500 GMT
(10:00pm PT Friday until 10:00pm PT Saturday)
- Swing Shift: 7/26/08 1200 GMT
(5:00am PT Saturday until 5:00am PT Sunday)
- Moonlight Shift: 7/27/08 0400 GMT
(9:00pm PT Saturday until 9:00pm PT Sunday)
The wiki is there to get an idea of how many people are interested, and it’s also one big link-love blogroll. If you are not in Vancouver, you can still sign up and participate – this is simply the Vancouver initiative for the Day of Blogs a spin off of the original Blogathon which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities all across North America.
I encourage all bloggers to save the date and make this effort to make a difference, especially at a time of year when charitable donations are at their lowest. You’ll have a support system of everyone else who is participating, lots of link love and many warm fuzzies.
Sign up here
A few months ago the Park Board met to discuss the fate of the Hollow Tree in Stanley Park as it began to lean – becoming a safety hazard for visitors to its site. The results of this meeting in March had the Park Board come to the conclusion that there were only two options, the first would be to build a quarter-million dollar cage around the tree to prop it up, and the second would be to knock it down.
I had a poll on my blog regarding the 40ft tall red cedar and many were in favour of whatever was most natural given the options at the time.
On Monday I picked up the Georgia Straight and found a small blurb about a group from SaveTheHollowTree.com who believed that the Park Board did not explore every possible solution. They brought in experts, arborists, consultants, engineers and produced an extensive report as they were unsure the Park Board considered every option possible when they came to their conclusion.
The Hollow Tree is listed on the Vancouver Heritage Registry (like those plaques you can spot on the side of old building downtown). This is not just a tree but actually a protected piece of nature and as such for any significant changes a meeting must be held with the Heritage Committee. The goal of the report would be to find an option that best preserves the historic value of the tree as this step was overlooked by the Park Board.
A report was presented to the Park Board on June 9th which contained a safe, upright, and practically invisible way to keep the Hollow Tree in its place using some degree of reinforcement – something that would be far more secure and pleasing to the eye than the current Frankenstein-like mess supporting it right now. They even looked into moving it if they no longer wants it in Stanley Park however, the report was ultimately shot down.
Yesterday I had the chance to speak with Lorne Whitehead, Leader of Education Innovation at the University of British Columbia. Lorne, who helped coordinate the team of experts for the report, gave me background on the tree, and the Park Board meetings. “We don’t see a reason not to keep it up,” he said. The report shows that it can remain as-is safely, while being cost-effective, and so that we can all continue to marvel at this wonder of nature.
Lorne said the form of support right now would be to visit the website and read up on the matter (and download the report in PDF). There’s no way to tell the next time this will come up on the Park Board meeting agenda but from independent surveys and public interest, it seems most cherish its heritage value and natural majesty and believe the Hollow Tree should not be tossed into the chipper.
[poll ended]
Update: The UBC Botanical Gardens put an offer into the Park Board to take the tree and display it upright. The Park Board (or members at least since I don’t believe there was a meeting) rejected the offer this afternoon and would still like to keep it in the park in “one or two pieces” to use for ecological and educational purposes (Report from the CBC)
Traditionally attending an outdoor concert in Vancouver means packing a garbage bag just in case you need to turn in into an emergency rain poncho. Hopefully this summer will be a bright one as there are so many outdoor events lined up, I’m not even sure I’ll get them all in this post but I’ll try.
TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Location: Outdoor venues include Gastown at the Steam Clock, Granville Island Market Stage, and the Capilano Suspension Bridge
When: June 20 – June 29
Artists: Too many to list, check the website for more details
Stanley Park
Location: Malkin Bowl
When: August 24 – Sept 18
Artists: Blue Rodeo, Neko Case, Destroyer, Andrew Bird, Deehoof, Evaporators, The New Pornographers, Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian, The 1900’s, Visqueen (as a part of the Stanley Park Singing Exhibition), and The Raconteurs
Burnaby
Location: Deer Lake Park
What: 9th Annual Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival
When: August 10 from 2:00pm – 10:00pm
Artists: Colin James and many more – details are available on the festival’s website.
When: August 5
Artists: Feist with The Weakerthans
Haywood Bandshell
Location: Beach Ave @ Bidwell
When: June 1 to July 31
Artists: Dave Davies Trio, Urbana, Little Mountain Brass Band, Celtic Harp Choir, The Creole Jazz Band, Just Jazz Trio, Vancouver Thunderbird Barbershop Chorus, The Randy Bluegrass Boys, Rainbow Concert Band, Warren Nipp, The Tunemakers
More information can be found on the official schedule
Yaletown Concert Series
Location: 1000 block of Mainland Street
When: June 27 to August 15 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Artists:Dj Johnny D’erico and other live music and DJs
15th Annual Enchanted Evenings Concert Series
Location: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden – 578 Carrall Street
When: Jul 11, 2008 to Sept 05 from 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Artists: Various
Surrey Fusion Festival
Location: Holland Park
When: July 18 to July 20
Artists: Jully Black and many more, information is available on my blog post and the official site
Canada Day Special July 1
Location: Cloverdale (Surrey)
Artists: Loverboy, Payola$, Rymes with Orange – read more in my blog post or on the official site.
Location: Canada Place, Vancouver
Artists: 54-40 and many more
Location: Waterfront Park, North Vancouver
Artists: Pipe bands, dancers, and more
Location: Steveston (Richmond)
Artists: Choirs, dancers, singers and various others
This post will be updated throughout the summer and I’ll pop it on the sidebar for easy reference.
I’ve been using Firefox for about four years and they recently unleashed Firefox 3 which touts: Increased security, wicked-fast loading times, heightened security, and new UI improvements, including default themes for different operating systems and new download manager [wiki] not to mention basics like tabbed browsing and spell-checker.
I’m a fan of “add-ons” like the del.icio.us toolbar and Firebug, and I use to be all over themes although not since my days of being a Windows user have I truly tricked out any application or got a new skin for Winamp. Now it feels as awkward as peeling the backing and placing that first sticker on your pristine Macbook – some say it enhances while other say it’s simply ruined now. However, what I’m hearing lately is that the themes for Firefox 3 are pretty freakin’ cool, so I’m willing to try out a couple.
– There’s one that makes it look like you’re running Vista (if you’re on XP), and another that simulates XP (if you’re on Vista). These are also available on Kubuntu Linux.
– There’s also an XP on Vista with a green theme.
– Andy wrote about some sleek Mac-styled themes for FF3
– Pimpzilla (themed for my pleasure) is hilariously fun – and note the leopard print.
– CrystalFox Qute 1.0.3 is decent, although I like CrystalFox Modern a little more.
– From the Top Ten Firefox 3 Themes, there’s also the nicely rounded AzertyIII.
You can search for themes directly on the Firefox website and chose the advanced search properties to narrow down the results based on the version you are running.
Things to remember when looking for a theme a) is it available for the current version of the browser you are running b) is it available for MacOSX (which pertains to me anyway). If you have a favourite theme for FF3, drop a link in the comments below.
Update: Another form of customization is to change around the toolbars, giving you more browsing space. I found these tips on LifeHacker via Sameer Vasta over Twitter.
I’m always a huge fan of roadtrips that have a theme. It’s a secret desire of mine to drive across North America finding the “biggest” things ie. biggest easter egg in Vegreville, Alberta or the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota. A while back Metroblogging authors from DC did a Brewpub Tour of Vancouver:
VBC Brewpub Tour – Granville Island Brewing
VBC Brewpub Tour – Dockside Brewing
VBC Brewpub Tour – Yaletown Brewing
VBC Brewpub Tour – Steamworks Brewing
VBC Brewpub Tour – Dix Brewing
It wasn’t until I saw these posts that I realized how much beer there really is flowing out of and brewing in Vancouver which leads into its (fitting) role as the host of the 2008 Canada Cup of Beer.
To be a truly national competition we have invited brewers and beer importers from across Canada to the festival. A select panel of beer experts (you, the event patrons!) will judge beer in various categories and award prizes for a variety of beer styles, flavours and packaging. The awards won’t stop at just the beer, the Canada Cup of Beer will include marketing categories for t-shirts, and beer names.
The event takes place at UBC Thunderbird Stadium on July 5th (B-Day aka Beer Day) from 1:00pm – 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20 ($25 at the door) which include 5 sample tokens (1 token equals 1, 4-ounce sample, some specialty items are 2 tokens or available in 2-ounce pours). More info can be found on the official B-Day website.
