My very good friend Monica Hamburg (a social media maven and one of the funniest people on the planet) writes a personal blog very aptly named, “Your Dose of Lunacy“. It’s one of her creative outlets, where she dissects some really weird stuff that happens around the World Wide Web.
The news I’m going to quote below MUST certainly qualify for her blog and I would love to hear her viewpoints. Not only because she is really funny and has a great sense of humor, but also because I really think that these statements kind of qualify as being an unhealthy dose of lunacy.
Don’t take my word for it, but apparently, the VANOC CEO John Furlong suggested to businesses to consider shutting down temporarily. According to this news snippet from The Vancouver Sun, Furlong is quoted as saying:
5. Time off. Encourage “or even mandate” vacations at Games time. “Consider if it’s feasible for your business to close entirely to celebrate the Games,” Vanoc said.[The Vancouver Sun]
Um, I’m not even remotely implying that they’re actually crazy, but what part of “entrepreneurs are in business to make a profit” does VANOC not understand? How exactly are businesses supposed to temporarily close down and still make a profit, and why must they have to pay staff so that these staffers go and do unpaid volunteer work at the 2010 Winter Olympics? How are people who are “mandated” vacation going to make their rents, and put food on the table?
Again, I did not hear this myself, but just read it on The Vancouver Sun, and you can take it with a grain of salt, but … seriously! Somebody needs to really get a reality check. Preferably with a healthy dose of seriousness. Honestly, I am disappointed to hear some proposals that have absolutely no practicality and feasibility.
And on a related note – $ 48 million deficit already? Weren’t these Games supposed to be sustainable?
Credit: Dru!
Many people have asked me throughout the years if I have ever considered a career in conservation. While my PhD degree is in environmental studies, and you could argue that my work in pollution control would pretty much amount to some form of conservation, I hadn’t been much of a fan. And since forestry isn’t really my area, for a while there I neglected discussing or researching anything that was forest conservation-related. Until I heard of Simon Jackson. I met Simon in person and did a really quick interview for HappyFrog when he was a keynote speaker at EPIC 2008. And then Darren informed me that they (Capulet) were helping Greenpeace, Forest Ethics and Sierra Club BC with their campaign to make the Provincial Government “Keep The Promise”
You might ask why did I bring Simon Jackson into the discussion. Well, here is the thing: the work that Simon has done to protect the Spirit Bear is pretty much in line with the work that the coalition of environmental non-governmental organizations (GP, FE and SCBC) are doing: conserving the forest helps conserve the spirit bear’s habitat.
Credit: Art Catcher
In my research, I’ve written about how ENGOs use various types of strategies to galvanize public opinion (often, through mobilizations). This time, the work that these organizations are doing goes beyond protests and engages in a Web 2.0 kind of mobilizations: writing electronic letters to the Provincial Government.
You, too, can help this worthy cause by sending an email to the Provincial Government (the site is really well designed so all you really have to do is fill out the data form and voila! off you go).
As you can see, environmentalism is not dead, is well alive and kicking! Please contribute with this worthy cause. You can also participate in a photo contest (check links here) and follow their Twitter account (yeah, kinda cute that the Spirit Bear has a Twitter account, hehe – he better follow me back!). Furthermore, you can join the Facebook group (no thanks, I don’t do Facebook, but you can!). EDIT – And you can join the photo contest on Flickr!
In total Web 2.0 fashion, if you need more to be convinced, I invite you to watch this video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwHofAgCzLI]
Credit: Stuck in Customs
When I see how little do people think about wastewater and the right of humans to clean water, sometimes I wish I didn’t do research on wastewater governance. Admittedly, I was entirely thrilled at the beginning of the year, as the UN had announced that 2008 would be the International Year of Sanitation.
However, as time has gone by, I have begun to wonder (and a recent tweet by my friend Nadia Nascimento) made me dig a bit deeper in my archives.
Well, I can’t say that there’s been much progress. The “culture of flushing” still seems quite prevalent, and the only recent local news story about water pollution that I read was related to a Langley mushroom farm. Um, do people in Vancouver really think that we have made great strides in the way we manage our wastewater. I sure hope they don’t. Because if they do, they’re in for a big surprise.
I’m going to embark in doing some serious research on local (Metro Vancouver) wastewater governance and I’ll report back with some of my results. In the mean time, I should just say that if you want to be more environmentally conscious, you should make efforts in reducing the amount of wastewater you generate.
I had been thinking of doing a “link love” roundup in a while, but I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to have a theme or whether I just wanted to highlight recent posts, or especially interesting blog entries. In the interest of not thinking on a statutory holiday (today is Remembrance Day), here are a few items that I thought you should know of.
– The Fearless City is on Twitter now! They do amazing work with the Downtown East Side community. Do follow them here.
– Maktaaq provides us with an interesting post on primary data sources for investigations on World War I.
– Jonathon Narvey provides us with his predictions for an Obama presidency.
– Kerry Anne and Airdrie (Lip Gloss and Laptops) most recent podcast offers a chance to win a bottle of Sweet Obsession (sorry but that’s only for female readers). Totally self-absorbed comment – when I was studying chemical engineering, my parents bought me a different cologne every semester. I used Obsession for Men as my cologne of choice in the first year of my undergraduate. I love Calvin Klein colognes. And YAY! I got a shout-out from Kerry Anne and Airdrie while they were recording the show 🙂 Gotta love Twitter (and yes, my signature cologne is Carolina Herrera for Men).
– Dr. Beth Snow is continuing with her historical series now focused on BC Premiers. The 8th Premier of British Columbia is depicted in this post.
– Arieanna gives a good tip for us BC residents who may visit Capilano Suspension Bridge. Check it out! On a side note, I kind of prefer Lynn Canyon and their suspension bridge myself 🙂
– Via my friend Rob Cottingham, I found out that Social Signal has helped BC Hydro launch their new website, which is pretty cool. You can check it out here. Actually, the kind of work that Rob and Alex do is precisely something that appeals a lot to me (e.g. creating social media strategies for environmentally-focused firms). With my PhD training in environmental studies and all I’ve learned about social media, this kind of project is something I’d like to get involved in the future.
– I really enjoyed this very thorough and respectful post on Remembrance Day by VanCity Buzz (by their own admission, they tend to be kinda politically incorrect, but I like them and they’ve been always very respectful with me.
– I feel bad for not having written anything about Dia de los Muertos, but thankfully, Isabella Mori did, so check out her awesome post.
– I loved that Jen Stoddart posted about the upcoming cover of Vogue with Jennifer Aniston saying “what Angelina did was very uncool“. I agree. The worst part? It appears (at least the gossip blogs say so) that Angelina admitted that she and Brad had an affair while he was still married to Jen. If that’s true then – Not cool.
November 11th, 2008 in
link love |
4 Comments
It just hit me now (as the birthday of two of my best friends is tomorrow, JT’s and AF’s) that for various reasons, the one most powerful tool I have to tell the people I care and love how much I care, is often muffled or silenced by the fact that (a) some of my civilian friends do NOT read my blog and (b) sometimes they might feel uncomfortable if they read a blog post celebrating their birthday. I do write for myself, but sometimes it’s nice just to say it out loud. But the paradox is that, a vast majority of my civilian friends do not really visit my blog frequently. Le sigh 🙂
November 11th, 2008 in
Uncategorized |
No Comments
Many of my friends went to Vancouver Fashion Week this past week (even though I did want to get a media pass, I was also in the middle of some administrative bureaucracy with the university so, really, I couldn’t have gone anyways). I know that Friday was eco-designs, and since I didn’t make it to VFW, I would like to know if whoever did attend on Friday would mind leaving a comment (or if you write a post, you could either send it to me as a guest post on my blog or I could link to your post).
I’ve previously covered some eco-fashion stuff here on Hummingbird604.com too. For example, I wrote a profile of Dahlia Drive in North Vancouver (fashionable recycled garments). I also had some coverage when I did EPIC 2008. But I didn’t get a chance to see the eco-designs of VFW, so if you did, do let me know!
A couple of weeks ago, Pat Zaph and I were having lunch downtown and we were talking about the fact that there seems to be like, two (or more) groups of bloggers in Vancouver. We kind of know OF each other but we don’t seem to know each other very much.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Danielle and Chad (with whom Pat hangs out on a regular basis), and I know that Duane has hung out with them too. But I don’t get to see them very often. We all read each other’s blogs but we seem to find little time to actually organize gatherings.
One of my goals as the Organizer of Vancouver Bloggers Meetup is to actually build more bridges amongst local bloggers. It’s part of who I am, and part of what I think my role is, both as a blogger and as an individual. I think I am a good connector. I introduce people to each other and connect them.
Even as an academic and an instructor, I’ve connected my students with potential universities for post-graduate studies or job opportunities. I’ve linked my fellow researchers with other academics in the same field. Why? Well, because for one, I know a hell of a lot of people. And I keep in touch with them, particularly using Web 2.0 tools.
Recently, while having lunch with Rebecca, she reminded me that there is a whole other world of blogs out there. I do hope that those bloggers who write about everything else but blogging (e.g. hockey blogging, religious blogging, outdoor activities blogging, etc.) feel free to engage and join our circles of friendship.
If you are a Vancouverite and able to vote (Canadian citizen, older than 18 yrs old), you probably DO know that Vancouver’s municipal election takes place on November 15th, 2008 (8am to 8pm). You can start doing advance voting at 5 locations in Vancouver (read more here).
There’s an issue that I find has not been discussed at length (or maybe it has but I haven’t read much about it in the past few weeks/months) – the issue of evictions in order to increase rent. While I do not live in the West End, I have MANY very close friends, both civilians and tech/social media/PR people who have their homes there.
It does worry me that evictions to renovate and then increase rents continue to happen. This issue is something that has been written about extensively (I’ve read lots of stories in many major newspapers) . The question I have is – does anybody know if the candidates for city mayor have expressed any formal position on the issue?
Why do I think this issue is relevant, when there are others (homelessness, transportation, etc.) that are also key? Well, simply because if the trend continues in the West End, the likelihood that these kinds of evictions will happen (I haven’t read many reports about occurrences of evictions to increase rent outside the West End) in other areas may increase. My main concern, of course, is my own neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant)!
What do you think of this issue?
If you read my blog with certain regularity, you will know that I’m always passionate about fundraising. This month is particularly challenging, but as you may have read in previous months, I am always passionate about charitable causes particularly if they have to do with cancer. Gary Jones from BlueFur invited me to join his Movember Canada 2008 team and I have accepted. Why? Well, because (a) I consider Gary a friend and (b) I am passionate about fundraising for cancer research and awareness.
For those of you who don’t know me in person, I look HORRENDOUS in a moustache. But since November is the month to raise awareness and funds for cancer research (this event focuses particularly on prostate cancer) and I’ve agreed to collaborate with Gary, I’m going to do it in a special way – I’ll be trying to grow a goatee. Right now I know I’m late, but I can assure you, one way or another, I will show up at the party (or whenever we take the end-of-the-month pictures) with a moustache, be it mine (grown into a goatee) or even if I need to have it painted on my skin!
Please consider donating (I’m in the process of setting up my donation page, but it will be up very soon). For more details, you can check Gary’s blog post.
I’ve always a grateful person. I think that there is an intrinsic circle of positive energy whereby “what goes around, does come around” , and at least in my case, that’s always true. No matter how many hardships I may be facing, there’s always that ray of light, that glimmer of hope, that random act of kindness on the part of the people whom I care for and who care about me that just gives me *that* extra push to keep going.
These past few days have been nothing short of awesome. I feel so complete, I’m almost afraid of saying it out loud for fear of jinxing it. Some of my close friends who face seemingly unsurmountable challenges are still going strong and are always an example. My own mother has had a terrible past couple of years, and she is working hard to stay afloat and thrive. And all of these things, I take everything. I take the good with the bad.
I’ve also struggled, and had rough times. Living on a tight budget is not something I always did, but there’s always food on my table, I have everything I need (not everything I want, but everything I DO need, or at least almost everything). I’ve had a wonderful life, and I continue to do so. I have nothing to complain about to the universe. It’s just nice to realize it, every so often.
Thanks.
This month’s Vancouver Bloggers Meetup will take place at Gene Cafe on Kingsway and Main, on November 20th at 6:00pm. Here is the link to the Meetup site so that you can RSVP (or join the meetup in case you haven’t joined yet). Here is a review of Gene Cafe (not by me, though!).
With so many meetups happening in Vancouver, there may be some clashes every so often, but I am hoping that if we keep it to the third Thursday of the month (two days after Third Tuesday), it will provide structure and stability. Can’t wait to see all my fellow Vancouver blogger friends soon!
Ever since my readership increased from the 3 people who read my blog when I first started (thank you guys, I love you too!), I’ve almost always tried to mix my blog’s content. Some event recaps, some of my own research posts, a substantial amount of Vancouver-centric content, some tekkie stuff, some political commentary, etc. Still, my blog is about me.
But I’ve had friends of mine (particularly civilians who don’t blog) tell me that I don’t include nearly as much personal content as I used to. There’s a fine balance out there. On the one hand, I love writing recaps of what I’ve done. On the other hand, there’s always that part where “we were just hanging out – no need to blog about it”. That is, sometimes I may just want to have brunch with a few friends, and not blog it. Or do some shopping with them. Or order sushi in while we geek out. Or just go for lunch or dinner with them, and I don’t think I should always blog about these gatherings even if the friends I’m going out with are part of Vancouver’s social media scene.
Tonight’s Vancouver Tweetup totally deserves a recap (and lots of link love) but since I’ve had 6 drinks, the best and most reasonable idea is to just not write the recap tonight. But this post is just to say… the personal content IS going to continue 🙂
And on a really minor side note – it was raining and I got my hair wet (lost my umbrella at Ceili’s) and thus I had a shower (Mom recommends that to avoid getting a cold). And I woke up my upstairs neighbours! YAYAYAYAY! Sorry, I’m not vindictive or anything but – they had it coming! 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
November 8th, 2008 in
Uncategorized |
No Comments
Actually, this isn’t the actual child, but the kid who lives upstairs from my apartment behaves EXACTLY like the one shown in this video (I think it’s safe for the office, but it shows the word “preservative” so you may not want to watch it at the office – no actual preservatives are shown, though). Now you understand why I call him the Demon Spawn? 🙂
I usually attend this meetup because I have a lot of friends (the organizers included, Shane Gibson and Steve Jagger) who are either realtors or do tech stuff for realtors. Steve gave a quick talk followed by a question answer period on our beloved micro-blogging platform, Twitter. These are my notes of Steve’s talk
Twitter is a microblogging platform, but has evolved into a communication device. Twitter allows you to communicate with people you find interesting. Steve uses the Favorites function to engage with new people and stories (Steve talks about how he got an interview with The Vancouver Sun on Twitter precisely through Twitter itself). You can make stories happen.
Search.Twitter.Com (formerly known as Summize) is a tool that allows you to search the conversations happening on Twitter. You can see other’s public conversations, and through that, you start creating conversations and new relationships (that may lead to potential business). Start following people and engaging with them, and the relationships will come.
The concept of Tweetup – a gathering (mostly impromptu) of people who use Twitter and may be geographically close to you. Shane explained how he got involved with the China Speakers Bureau (he started following them and writing blog entries, etc.) Tom also explains how he got appointments to the National Real Estate Association.
Shane also commented on the fact that realtors should be on Twitter to signal that they are early adopters. Also, Ubertor and Twitter can be integrated.
Another tool that Rodney and Steve showcased was Twitterlocal – that’s a tool that allows you to find people who tweet within the same geographical location that you are.
If you’re following noisy people (I am one of them, hehe) you can use TweetDeck. Also, I emphasize that part of Steve and Shane’s success (and many other real estate tech people) is that they engage with people as human beings, not only as realtors. [Raul’s note as well -A great example of this are my friends, like MJ Ankenman and Matt Collingem Yam de la Peña, Kye Grace, to mention but a few. I would have never met them either if it hadn’t been for Twitter. Same goes for Steve and Shane]
I really enjoyed Steve’s talk, and was particularly amused by the fact that, while many realtors were already on Twitter, many were on the fence. Hopefully Steve’s talk helped them decide to join!
My friend Anthony Nicalo (Farmstead Wines) is hosting a Chef’s Luncheon Series during Whistler’s Cornucopia. Admittedly, I’d love to attend, but frankly and honestly, I can’t, because I have a grant application and a grant report to submit over the weekend. But Whistler’s Cornucopia sounds amazing, and knowing Anthony like I do, I am sure the Luncheon will be outstanding.
Chef’s Table Luncheon with Anthony Nicalo & Farmstead Wines
Saturday, November 8
12:30pm – 3:30pm
Enjoy a luncheon highlighting local, seasonal ingredients with gourmet selections from around the world. Share ideas and cooking techniques, learning ways to get the most out of great ingredients. Exploring the connection between the farm and table will extend to the wine pairings, with a selection of naturally farmed, handcrafted wines. Guests will move beyond the rhetoric of 100 mile diets and experience the underlying principles for themselves. [Whistler Cornucopia]
Anthony is passionate about sustainability and its implementation within our food systems. While I wasn’t much of a wine addict before I met Anthony, he’s introduced me to some really good (biodynamic) wines, and I think that participants in the event will have an outstanding time.
I actually thought of Russ for this event as he just started a food and wine blog, and while we are at it, I should probably point you out to his blog. I’ll edit this entry once I obtain permission from Russ to link to it, his is a new blog precisely on the topic of wine pairings with food. Russ and Gus are good friends of mine and I think you’ll love both their blogs (Gus has been blogging for quite a bit already!)
I may not be nearly as visible on the web as any of the top 20 most visible Vancouver bloggers, but I will never complain, because I have been fortunate enough to have the mainstream media cover my blogging activities (for example, the 24 hrs coverage of Blogathon and Buzz Bishop’s article where he mentioned my involvement as the organizer of Vancouver Bloggers Meetup). The most recent mainstream media coverage I have received is fresh off the presses, and it’s on The Georgia Straight, one of Vancouver’s (if not THE) most read weekly newspapers.
A few weeks back, Jeffery Simpson asked me if I’d like to be interviewed and I gladly accepted. In case you didn’t know, Jeffery wrote not only one, but two guest blog posts during my Blogathon 2008, and he has done really awesome work with Vancouver MetBlogs, so I was quite honored.
In Jeffery’s article for The Georgia Straight “Vancouver bloggers have their say in cyberspace“, Kate Milberry (a phenomenal analyst of digital activism, based out of Vancouver) is quoted. Kate has done research on the way in which activists use the internet to advance their agendas, and as a scholar of environmental studies, I have analyzed the behavior of environmental non-governmental organizations and their use of the Internet to disseminate information about toxic releases in their neighbourhoods, so in some ways, Kate’s work and mine have some parallels.
Jeffery also interviewed Sean Orr, of Beyond Robson/Morning Brew fame. While I haven’t met Sean in person, I do respect his work and that of many of the Beyond Robson writers (even if sometimes we do have our ideological differences, I think we all respect each other and the role we have in Vancouver’s blogosphere).
I really enjoyed Jeffery’s article and I hope you do too. Thanks for the interview Jeffery!
This quick thought just crossed my mind. Now that Obama is President-elect, wouldn’t it make sense to bring Hillary Clinton to his team? Keep shattering the old paradigms and build an alliance to move the US forward? What are your thoughts, dear readers?
November 5th, 2008 in
Uncategorized |
3 Comments
Since last night, the United States of America (and the world) are celebrating the historic Presidential win of Senator Barack Obama, President-Elect of the USA. At the same time that the US voters prove to the world that they are ready to welcome an African American to the White House, they also prove that they are NOT ready to recognize that every citizen has the same rights, regardless of sexual orientation. I am APPALLED.
So, we now have differentiated rights? I can’t believe that in a society that prides itself in values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The win by Senator Obama is a wonderful victory for the US, but it’s unfortunately also colored by the darkness of Proposition 8, “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry“.
I was on the bus talking to a couple of wonderful and intelligent ladies and in our conversation, I mentioned that Senator Obama’s win is a stepping stone for civil rights in the US, and that maybe, one day, the world’s most powerful country may be led by a gay man (or woman, for that matter), and one of these ladies indicated that, were this to happen, this might signal the real coming of age of the US.
When there is really no distinction based on skin color, or who we choose to love. I wish we were closer to that day. And I seriously hope that President Obama will help advance the rights of many LGBT voters who, too, chose him as their president, and who have EVERY RIGHT to marry. Because nobody can deny the freedom to love. NOBODY. And in the mean time, all states who approved California Proposition 8 (and similar ones by Arizona, etc. that eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry) – GROW UP ALREADY.
In an incredible feat (and I must add, today must have been really stressful for my fellow American expats), Barack Obama is now poised to be the next President of the USA. I’m really happy, somewhat speechless, and just want to congratulate him, for shattering the prejudices and breaking new ground in becoming the first African American president of the US. He is the President-Elect, and I salute him.
November 4th, 2008 in
Uncategorized |
No Comments
Today (November 4th, 2008) will go down in world history as a historic, hyper-relevant day. Admittedly, it is a day that holds a LOT of weight in the lives of Canadians. Regardless of whether you’re American or Canadian, I do hope that you’ll be voting or have voted in the upcoming elections (American President Nov 4th and Vancouver municipal election Nov 15th).
I am now comfortable with the fact that many, many Canadians (not dual citizens, but Canadian-only) will be paying attention to the US presidential election. Frankly, so will I. But right after it’s over, I plan to refocus (and draw attention) to our municipal elections.
Would I like Obama to win? For sure I would. That would be an Earth-shattering accomplishment, and one that I think will bring lots of positive changes to the US and the world.
I am a big listener of house music. Some hip-hop, although rare. But this song is a gem. I thoroughly enjoyed it (although the end of the video is rather abrupt). Hope you like it. I can’t embed the video but here is the link.
November 3rd, 2008 in
random thoughts | tags:
music |
1 Comment
Via Mark Sidel from the International Third Sector Research Network, I found out about the Google Policy Fellowship. I am pretty sure that many of my readers who work in social media, internet and society issues would be interested, so I’m reproducing part of it here.
The Google Policy Fellowship
As lawmakers around the world become more engaged on Internet policy, ensuring a robust and intelligent public debate around these issues becomes increasingly important. That’s why we’re announcing our second summer for the Google Policy Fellowship Program-to support students and organizations working on policy issues fundamental to the future of the Internet and its users.
According to the Google website, fellows will receive a stipend of $7,000 for 10 weeks during the summer of 2009 (June-August). Please do note that applications are due by Friday, December 12, 2008. Also, check their Frequently Asked Questions (e.g. this programme is mostly geared towards residents/students in the United States and Canada).
The program looks really interesting, and there are a number of institutions/organizations participating in the program that should appeal to my readers:
– Creative Commons
– Center for Democracy and Technology
– Public Knowledge
While I am always up for a good challenge, I am sometimes weary of trying again a restaurant where I’ve had a bad experience. True, one should give restaurants and coffee shops at least two tries, but in the case of Bin, I just hadn’t had neither the interest nor the willingness to change my opinion. I am glad that Arieanna and Ianiv invited me to Bin 942, because my opinion has shifted completely. I *really like* Bin 942.
Credit: Ianiv and Arieanna
We first ordered a mountain of pommes frites. It’s the perfect size for sharing (for four people, as Ianiv’s sister joined us too). Then each one of us ordered a different dish. Their menu is outstanding.
Tamara opted for the Crispy skin Yucatan Chicken Breast, with traditional mole sauce, poblano chile blue corn bread, chayote jicama salad, cilantro syrup, and pumpkin seed oil, while Ianiv chose their other special, roulades of venison that were accompanied by fries and a salad. Arieanna opted for Kobe Beef, Meatballs as contemporary stroganoff, black truffle pinot noir sauce, handcut papardelle, creme fraiche with a mascarpone garnish.
As for me, they had a wonderful fresh BC Halibut with warm fingerling potato salad with chorizo, crimini mushroom, shaved fennel, warm saffron creme fraiche, but I chose their halibut special with shiitake mushrooms and scallop.
Credit: Ianiv and Arieanna
We also shared a plate of Kalamata black olive hummus with Navajo fry bread, which was presented in a strange form, but really tasty. Overall, it was a great experience, particularly because of the company. It’s funny, but it’s the second time I’ve gone to a restaurant with Ianiv and Arieanna and I’ve had a wonderful second experience (my first time with Brown’s Social House was terrible and the second one was simply outstanding).
Overall, I would rate Bin 942 really high. My only (small) things against this place
– It’s become really much smaller since the bar opened.
– The wait time is slightly on the long side (45 minutes from the moment we got there)
But in addition to the great food and on the positive side, I have to say that the portions are relatively generous (while tapas-sized, the tapatisers are good for one person’s meal – ideal for sharing if you have 3 people at the table, more difficult to share if you have 4). Another great element – the music – slightly loud at times, but really really good.
And finally, there was this female server who was paying attention to EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of everybody’s table, so I have to say that she picked up the slack that our server had (yeah, I wasn’t all that impressed with our original server). But this other “star server” really did a wonderful job. Water glasses always full, always checking on us and asking how we were doing, etc.
I would sincerely go back to Bin 942, although most likely in a smaller group. The tables, unless you are lucky enough to score a booth, make it slightly complicated to sit. But don’t take that as a negative element. It’s a cozy atmosphere. And if you want to see my live-stream review, you can check it out on Ianiv’s Qik stream 🙂
November 3rd, 2008 in
Uncategorized |
6 Comments
I know for a fact that Rebecca Bollwitt is an amazing history and geography buff. If you have any shadow of a doubt, just read her Vancouver History series! She has, by and large, some of the best historical bits of Vancouver documented on her site.
When we were doing our Metro Vancouver-wide National Digital Media Day live-blog, Rebecca gave me little historical and geographical tidbits of various parts of Vancouver. I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun discovering the city that I call home now.
So I thought that she probably might like this book I came across while browsing some books with Ianiv and Arieanna this past weekend: The Vancouver Book of Everything.
From the quick browse I did, this book has a lot of interesting trivia and facts on the city. While the book seems to be well-researched and sourced, there were parts where I would have liked the authors to provide links to the facts they were indicating. Call me over-zealous, but as an academic, I have made it my life to properly source and attribute. And as a blogger, I have learned from some of the best bloggers in Vancouver some of the rules on how to properly attribute content, link back, etc.
But overall, I liked the book. I haven’t bought it but I figured that it must be a good investment for people who live in the city. If you’re interested in learning more about this book, click on the photo above and you will reach the editorial’s site.
EDIT- I *just* found out that my friend Karen Quinn Fung has a little text box in the book, so I am now a bit tempted to go and buy the book. Maybe some other of my friends may even have stuff in there too!
Credit: Vlastula on Flickr
Both of the candidates with actually the best shot at actually becoming the next Mayor of Vancouver (Gregor Robertson and Peter Ladner) have participated in debates on (and broadly proclaimed that they’ll work to end) homelessness in Vancouver (you can read a good recap by Tris here). Well, gentlemen, I seriously do hope that whoever wins, will seriously seek some sound advice on public policy, particularly on the issue of homelessness.
I am not an expert in homelessness policy by any means. I am, however, a specialist in environmental studies and public policy, and particularly I’ve researched issues that are clearly the domain of various levels of government. In particular, water governance in Mexico faces many challenges precisely because of this problem – overlapping jurisdictional responsibilities. Homelessness has the same basic structural problem. It should be a shared responsibility, but no actual level of government takes real responsibility and is truly accountable for dealing with homelessness.
In Mexico, wastewater governance and water supply provision, for example, is fully a responsibility of the municipality. That responsibility is enshrined in the Mexican Constitution (Article 115). Unfortunately, municipalities don’t really have a standing in the Canadian political system. Canadian federalism recognizes the Federation and the provinces (and Territories). However, municipalities/cities are not recognized (see Canada’s Cities report) and therefore, the intergovernmental relationships amongst municipalities, the provincial governments and the Federal have become really complicated [EDIT – Found even better sources on the debate on whether municipalities should be granted constitutional status in the site of the Library of the Parliament of Canada and in the Canadian Encylopedia].
This is unfortunate, and it’s a big problem if you think about it, because – who bears the brunt of homeless as a societal issue that needs to be addressed? The municipality. However, how can a municipality address an issue that requires cooperation between provinces, the Federation and the municipality if there is no actual recognized Constitutional status of the city in Canada? (see the sources I’ve included above on the state of the debate in regards to the constitutional status of the municipality/city)
According to Vision Vancouver’s blog, Gregor suggests to “build relationships with all levels of government” as one of the key actions they’ll undertake if elected.
According to Peter Ladner’s blog, Peter suggests that he will tackle homelessness “through a partnership of federal, provincial, regional, municipal governments and non-profit agencies”.
Well, dear candidates in the November 15th municipal election, you will need to not only build relationships and partnerships, but actually establish sound, solid intergovernmental agreements that lead to the implementation at a local (municipal) level of the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy. Although, that being said, I think we need a sound National Homelessness Action Strategy.
Homelessness is definitely a regional/municipal public policy issue, but municipalities can’t solve the problem by themselves, without the support of the Federal government. For all candidates, I suggest you coordinate your strategy with the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy (launched in December 2006).
Under the HPS, the federal government will offer the provinces and territories the opportunity to enter into bilateral partnerships, improve collaboration and develop linkages between the federal homelessness programs and provincial/territorial social services to help communities make strategic investments that will best serve their homeless populations.[HPS About Us]
I would also recommend investing in solid, evidence-based research on homelessness using a global, multi-country, multi-region comparative strategy. Surely, other countries have reduced homelessness. How did they do it? What did they do? What was needed?
I am sure someone must have done good research on the topic. I haven’t, but if I was a specialist in urban issues (specifically homelessness) rather than an environmental specialist, I probably would launch a research programme with applied outcomes (e.g. partner with the local communities to actually effect change).
I was able to find a good article on homelessness and health (co-authored by, amongst others, Dr. Jim Frankish, whose research I do respect a lot).
Homelessness and Health in Canada: Research Lessons and Priorities
C James Frankish; Stephen W Hwang; Darryl Quantz, Canadian Journal of Public Health; Mar/Apr 2005; 96.
[Link here]
Additional resources – Not a research paper, but Monte Paulsen’s post on The Tyee “Seven Solutions to Homelessness” is a great read.
One last word – whoever wins, please don’t just give us empty promises.
DO THINGS THAT WILL HAVE POSITIVE, LONG-LASTING POSITIVE EFFECTS!
November 2nd, 2008 in
academic life,
Focus on Vancouver,
food for thought,
Homeless Action Week,
homelessness,
public policy issues,
random thoughts,
social change,
Vancouver | tags:
homelessness,
public policy issues |
4 Comments
